Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 346 He Huang, the Land King

Mr. Chen disappeared for two whole days.

Nobody knows what he went to do.

All anyone saw was that when Mr. Chen drove the car back, he was wearing a thick Qiang ethnic costume, humming a little tune, and in a very good mood.

People in the headquarters courtyard were talking amongst themselves:
"Hey, where did the big boss go?"

"Is there even a need to guess? Look at that outfit! It's Qiang clothing! It must be from Aba or Mianyang! Only those places have Qiang people!"

"Wow—there are so many beautiful women from ethnic minorities! Mr. Chen is so young, I've heard that those ethnic minority girls are very conservative! If you touch them, the whole village won't let you leave! What if one day a bunch of villagers come and kidnap Mr. Chen?"

"Hahaha, you probably want to be robbed!"

Bi Yaxiong, who was on the second floor, was a little confused when he saw Chen Xuebing return dressed in "strange clothes" and even carrying a Tibetan knife at his waist.

"Chairman, where have you gone?"

Chen Xuebing grinned and tossed the car keys onto the table: "You've made the car a bit dirty, have someone take it to get it washed."

Having said that, he was about to leave again.

Bi Yaxiong hurriedly stopped him: "When will negotiations on the supply chain begin?"

"No rush. First, organize the supplier management department. I compared the material prices in Sichuan and Guangzhou. Vanke's 90% standard is not enough. It needs to be three percentage points lower."

"We need to integrate the housing construction, BOE factory project, National Highway 213, and Duwen Expressway. In the next few days, I will sign the transportation project contracts, have BOE issue an announcement, and then contact a group of suppliers in Hefei to come over."

"I'll give you ten days to set up a department. You need to have a group of people who understand materials and negotiation. You need to invite as many suppliers as possible and adopt a tiered negotiation approach. If lower-level procurement staff encounter obstacles or deadlocks in negotiations, they can apply for a higher-level procurement vice president or director. I will only talk to suppliers with a valuation of tens of millions or more."

"I will create momentum for you behind the scenes. This centralized procurement will be announced as a multi-billion-dollar purchase. The larger the scale, the better. The more people involved, the better we can negotiate a lower price."

Chen Xuebing's words surprised Bi Yaxiong.

Not urgent?
"Isn't our building construction project supposed to start the first phase at the end of the month? Ten days... that's after New Year's Day!"

“Delaying it until after New Year’s Day won’t cause any major delays.” Chen Xuebing laughed, his tone having changed: “The centralized procurement of other projects is equally important. I have some other arrangements for this matter, so we can postpone it. We need to get it done in one go, and the subsequent projects will go much more smoothly.”

Bi Yaxiong felt that the chairman's attitude towards the housing construction project had become much calmer, and he was a little unaccustomed to the previous impatient urging.

During this period, I wished I could stretch every day into hours. From deciding to invest, to negotiating in Sichuan, setting up the command center, to finding people to produce drawings, and securing four plots of land, it was all done in just one month. There was endless work every day.

If he were suddenly given ten days to set up a department, he wouldn't know how to use such a large amount of time.

However, with so many things to do, he quickly came up with an idea.

"Alright! I'll first make arrangements for the centralized procurement department. Since there's no rush, I'll go down and take a look around at the land purchases!"

"Okay, I'm going back to the hotel to rest for the day. Don't come looking for me even if the sky falls today."

Chen Xuebing walked away leisurely, hands in his pockets.

Bi Yaxiong arranged for his men to wash the car, but they returned shortly afterward.

"Mr. Bi! How many kilometers should this car be at for its first service?"

"Five thousand! I've only had this car for a few days! Why does it need maintenance? I only drove to Mianyang once before, which was at most 400 kilometers!"

"It's already 2300 kilometers! So the chairman drove 1900 kilometers on this trip?? Did he drive all the way up north?"

"."

Chen Xuebing slept for most of the day at the hotel.

On this trip, he traveled from Beichuan to Wenchuan, and then to Ma'erkang, the capital of Aba Prefecture.

The journey was not a straight line, but rather traversed many Qiang and Tibetan areas in Beichuan and Aba. He walked along the vast National Highway 213, experiencing the customs and traditions of ethnic minorities and learning many things.

Both areas have tens of thousands of Qiang people and are among the largest Qiang ethnic groups in the country. The minority groups in Beichuan are mainly Qiang, while in Wenchuan, in addition to Qiang, there are also Tibetans. Moreover, they have largely integrated with the Han people. Although they have been Sinicized, the presence of a large number of their own ethnic groups has allowed them to retain many minority customs.

There are many shared cultural traditions between the Qiang and Tibetan peoples. For example, the Guozhuang dance is a sacrificial dance shared by both ethnic groups, and embroiderers from both groups are responsible for making ethnic costumes.

The group of embroiderers has existed for a long time, but it is mostly scattered family workshops, and no Qiang embroidery enterprises or cooperatives have emerged to date.

Tibetan embroidery has seen the emergence of "Guinan Tibetan Embroidery" in Qinghai, "Zongka Tibetan Embroidery Company" in Hainan, and "Medog Workshop" in LS, integrating the resources of embroiderers in agricultural and pastoral areas and connecting them with the tourism souvenir market.

He found a way in which he could relocate not only the population of Beichuan, but also that of Wenchuan.

However, this is not a task suitable for him; a professional should be found.

There's no need to rush this; there's still time, plenty of time.

This bought him time to calm his anxiety, allowing him to proceed steadily and surely.

New Year's Day is fast approaching.

The Gregorian calendar is about to turn to a new year.

The offices at the Qingyang Command Center are getting increasingly full.

Gu An is very willing to pay high prices for talent, and the Gezhouba Group's network is also extensive in the construction industry, attracting many talents from state-owned enterprises.

The new purchasing director is Bai Ning, from China Railway 12th Bureau, a native of Suining, Sichuan. He was recommended by a friend of Bi Yaxiong and was personally interviewed by Chen Xuebing.

The forty-year-old woman was very knowledgeable about advanced engineering technologies, understood data management, and had a thorough understanding of building materials market trends. She spoke in a detailed yet concise manner. After only an hour of conversation, Chen Xuebing assigned her a position.

On his first day in office, after understanding the project situation, he drafted a recruitment list for various departments, including production, warehousing, quality inspection, finance, and R&D. The requirements for each department were excessively detailed, and he asked the headquarters to handle it, which forced Bi Yaxiong to ask Chen Xuebing for help.

After reviewing the documents, Chen Xuebing talked to her again, asking why there were so many people. She suggested that the purchasing department should be corporatized.

He then listed more than ten reasons for corporatizing procurement, covering aspects such as efficiency, centralized management, risk independence, cost control, and supply chain financing, leaving Chen Xuebing and Bi Yaxiong speechless.

Chen Xuebing secretly admired capable subordinates who dared to take initiative and were driven, but he still pretended to discuss it with Bi Yaxiong before telling her with a stern face to let her do it first and observe the results.

A few days later, Bi Yaxiong gave her an initial assessment: broad-minded, strong and shrewd, but she liked to keep a cold face and was not easy to get along with.

Chen Xuebing secretly admired them; it was right that procurement people were difficult to get along with.

With procurement handled by a dedicated person, Chen Xuebing also devoted his energy to the challenging aspects of the project in the days leading up to New Year's Day.

Chengdu plot of land.

December 27th, Sofitel Wanda Hotel.

Chen Xuebing arranged a dinner meeting, reviewed the information of the leaders attending the dinner in advance, and arrived half an hour early.

When the leader arrived, he was already waiting at the door of the private room.

"Lord Luo!"

"Secretary Jin!"

"Director Zhang didn't come?"

Chen Xuebing noticed that the director of the High-tech Zone Management Committee was not among the people accompanying him, so he asked a question.

Deputy Director Luo of the Construction Department smiled broadly: "Director Zhang went to the Party School for training! I've invited Secretary Jin here for you. What's the matter? Are you worried that Secretary Jin can't make the decision?"

Chen Xuebing's actions in Sichuan demonstrate a broad vision, and he is also a capable coordinator for transportation issues between Chengdu and Chongqing. Chongqing had specifically called to ask them to take care of Chen Xuebing's real estate project, and now that Chen Xuebing has spoken up for the first time, Deputy Director Luo has also given him face.

Chen Xuebing also smiled politely and said, "How could that be! I just heard that the current developer of the High-tech Zone was invited back from Hong Kong by Director Zhang and the Chengdu government delegation. I have some questions to ask you."

"Oh? What's the matter?" Secretary Jin asked. "Regarding the Hong Kong investment, Director Zhang was only responsible for signing the agreement, and our management committee was only responsible for the liaison! It was mainly the city that brought back the investment! It wasn't easy! I heard that the delegation visited several companies, including Yanlord, China Resources, and Wharf Holdings, to secure this batch of investment! We also have to thank Li Ka-shing for making the connections!"

"haha."

Chen Xuebing gestured for the visitors to sit down, then took two newspapers from Ren Ying and handed them to the two leaders, smiling as he said:
"The city has shown sincerity to investors, but it's not very ethical for Li to hoard 60 square meters of prime land. The media and the public have all noticed this, and the district hasn't raised any objections with them?"

He came today for the "King of Land in the South of the City" in the High-tech Zone, which is also the King of Land in Southwest China to date: Nancheng Duhui.

To be precise, it's 200 acres of land next to Nancheng Duhui.

That area is a plot of land in the High-tech Zone adjacent to Wuhou. Whether it's commercial facilities, educational resources, or medical resources, in Chengdu dialect, it can be summed up in two words: amazing.

Hutchison Whampoa, owned by Li Changjiang, acquired that land two years ago, and its value has since more than doubled, from 200 million yuan per mu to 600 million yuan per mu. The land was acquired for 21.35 billion yuan, and banks provided 26.21 billion yuan in development loans. After purchasing the land, there was still 5 million yuan left in working capital. However, only a small portion has been developed so far, and there is no indication that it will be put on sale.

The areas within Chengdu's second ring road, including Jinniu, Qingyang, Wuhou, Jinjiang, and Chenghua districts, are extremely crowded. There simply isn't a large, undeveloped plot of land available. Let alone 60 square meters, even 6 square meters is rare. Therefore, expansion is the only option.

In Gu'an's real estate projects, the houses in Chengdu are meant to be genuinely profitable. Moreover, the land available in Chengdu is insufficient to support the development of a public square, and the commercial facilities in the provincial capital do not have the necessary infrastructure. Therefore, the projects here are not developed in the model of satellite cities, but are purely real estate projects.

Therefore, location is very important.

Acquiring a high-value piece of land can also enhance the prestige of the development and greatly benefit negotiations with suppliers.

After searching around, it turns out that within the Third Ring Road, only the High-tech Zone still has land available. Other places will only have a chance after the shantytown renovation project is completed.

However, the land release in the high-tech zone is also planned, and many eyes are watching it, such as the group of investors brought in from Hong Kong.

Therefore, when he comes to talk today, he must explain his own advantages and ask the High-tech Zone to open the floodgates.

Gu'an is a new developer with few advantages, but fortunately, it has Li Ka-shing as its richest man to criticize.

Secretary Jin glanced at the newspaper, understood what was going on, and sighed, saying:

"When Hutchison Whampoa was first introduced, their planning was quite good, and the citizens were very excited. They even thought that with the arrival of Hong Kong real estate, the area's positioning as a 'high-end residential community' would shift from Tongzilin to this area! Nobody knew their development would be so slow. We did urge them; Deputy Director Du Biqiang of the Management Committee urged them to accelerate the construction of the South City Metropolis according to market demands and their commitments to the municipal government every time they met with Hutchison Whampoa representatives. The city was also trying to urge them, but alas, they just stopped mentioning it."

These days, people still hold Li Ka-shing in high esteem and don't want to say anything bad about him.

Chen Xuebing laughed and said frankly, "I think this area is very difficult to develop. As far as I know, as long as housing prices in China continue to rise, Hutchison Whampoa's development will never end. When it really reaches its peak, they will just sell it off and leave."

He wasn't just talking nonsense. Nancheng Metropolis was a very famous development in later generations. It was planned to be developed in eight phases, but it took a full 16 years to sell six phases. The remaining two phases were finally sold in 2020, and those two phases alone generated more than 70 billion yuan in revenue.

Later, Chengdu issued a document prohibiting Hutchison Whampoa from obtaining financing and loans, which was a way of venting their anger.

From Hutchison Whampoa's entry into Chengdu in 2004 to New World Development and Chinese Estates' withdrawal in 2015, the impression left by Hong Kong-funded real estate companies in Chengdu over the past decade has been: a single project takes many years to sell.

The impression of Chongqing residents is not much better. In 2007, Hutchison Whampoa acquired 2500 acres of land on Yanyu Road in Chongqing and planned 18 phases. It took 11 years to develop the fourth phase. In 2018, they wanted to sell it for 20 billion yuan to find a buyer, but the sale failed. As of 2024, the development is still proceeding slowly.

The key point is that they had a really good eye for opportunity; they chose a much smarter time to retreat than mainland real estate developers.

"Well... although Hutchison Whampoa's development was poor, it's a market-driven decision, and we can't forcefully interfere, let alone take it back." Deputy Director Luo was somewhat surprised, thinking that Chen Xuebing was actually bold enough to have designs on Hutchison Whampoa. Remembering the methods Chen Xuebing used to drive away Hanlong, he quickly smoothed things over.

Chen Xuebing, however, stared at Secretary Jin and smiled.

"Secretary Jin, you should understand what I mean, right?"

Secretary Jin looked troubled; he was aware of this outsider's reputation.

“We have another 200-mu plot of land next to Nancheng Duhui, but the specific plans have not yet been determined, whether it will be commercial or residential. We plan to make adjustments next year.”

Chen Xuebing smiled and said, “Secretary Jin, let’s analyze this objectively. There are no residents on the nearly 1,000 acres of residential land in Nancheng Metropolis. Even if the first phase is developed, it won’t make up for the population shortage. In this situation, who would we develop commercial land for? If you let me develop this land, I will give you a deadline: open for sale in six months and complete delivery within one to one and a half years. We will not do phased development. The entire community will be developed in one phase.”

After speaking, Ren Ying neatly placed the blueprints of the residential building in front of the two leaders.

(End of this chapter)