Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 1271 Arrival in Hainan

Three days later, Xiaowei and Chen Hui, along with Wang Jiwei, Zang Yuanwei, Hou Qiang, and their two assistants Shi Li and Jiang Xinting, flew to Haikou.

Miler brought a car to the airport to pick them up.

Tai Ying Shan Airport is very small; the terminal building is just a two-story concrete building. A row of two-story buildings with sloping yellow roofs separates the airport from the road, housing various shops, and cars can drive directly to the front of the building.

Looking up over the rooftops of these two-story buildings, you can see the airport's control tower and tall searchlights.

Outside the airport is a fairly large parking lot with some cars and vans. The surrounding area is full of shops, and rows of green trees stand along the roadside. Under the trees are large government propaganda posters introducing the scenery and culture of Haikou.

The car was bought here; it's a Toyota Hiace.

Miler brought three people from Xidu, two men and one woman. He pays their salaries privately, and it has nothing to do with the company here. Just like Wang Jiwei and the others, they are also paid by Xiaowei, and it has nothing to do with the company in Haikou.

This woman's name is Zhuang Shufang, she's about twenty-three or twenty-four years old, petite, and quite pretty. She seems to have an outgoing and cheerful personality. She will be representing Mile and staying here permanently. Neither Xiaowei nor Chen Hui asked about their relationship.

From the airport, head north for about a kilometer or two, and you'll reach Datong Road. Drive into the parking lot. We've arrived.

The company's basic structure is set up, with six or seven people. They've temporarily rented an apartment on Datong Road for both living and office use. It's basically just one floor, not far behind the Guoshang Building. This is currently one of the most bustling areas in Haikou.

I didn't notice anything special coming from the airport, except that the landscaping here is quite nice, with trees lining the roads, and the roads are well-maintained with a lot of traffic.

Standing up on the building and looking down, all you see is a huge construction site. Countless construction sites are sandwiched between several high-rise buildings, one after another, with some scattered residences and small buildings dotting the middle.

The buildings that had already been erected were all wrapped in green dust-proof netting, and the construction sites were also covered with tall propaganda posters. From a distance, they looked like large scars on the green field.

Miler came over and handed cigarettes to Xiaowei and Chen Hui, gesturing with his chin to the outside: "Look, the whole city is at a standstill. All the projects under construction or completed are government-funded or invested in by the national, provincial, or municipal governments. Almost all private projects have stopped."

He pointed south: "Over there, next to the Nanda Interchange. It's a bit far and I can't see it clearly. There's a cluster of villas over there, it seems to be developed by several companies, right next to each other. I've been thinking these past few days about whether I can bring them over as a package."

Chen Hui said, "Isn't this the city center? We can't see the sea. Is this okay?"

Miler said, "This is the provincial government area, the very center, so I think it will definitely work. I haven't looked at the other residential areas much; I've been focusing on this area of ​​unfinished high-rise buildings."

Xiao Wei said, "Didn't we say we'd build a resort by the sea? Haven't we looked yet? Or haven't we found a suitable place?"

Miler said, "I've looked, and according to your requirements, only Haibin Road and Haidian Island fit the bill. Haibin Road is a bit too desolate, and the plots are small. I've been wandering around Haidian Island these past few days. There's no industry there; the land was mostly divided up, and now there are still quite a few villa areas and unfinished hotels."

Chen Hui said, "Isn't that perfect? ​​We can just find a similar place and take it over. It needs to have a beach, and preferably a pier."

Miler lit a cigarette for Xiaowei and said, "I don't know, that's good. This place is a mess right now, with local government offices, banks, companies and all sorts of things mixed together. It's not easy to figure out who owns a place now."

Moreover, every single one of these abandoned projects here has something to do with banks, which is a real headache. How much did the banks lend initially, what's the current valuation, and how exactly are they taking over? We need to figure all that out, right? It's easier said than done.

Chen Hui slapped his forehead: "Damn, right, there are banks in here too. Logically speaking, all these unfinished buildings and communities should eventually belong to banks. How did they manage to do it? Back then, it was all about loans. One million per acre, three million, and at most six million."

"Right here, the highest price in 1993 was 6.8 million yuan per mu. And banks didn't just lend money; they also speculated and built things themselves. Back then, loan procedures were extremely simple; if a debt became bad, it was simply written off, and there was no real responsibility."

Xiao Wei said to Miler, "Have you contacted the provincial authorities? They should have some kind of response, right? They can't just leave it sitting there indefinitely. The bank's solution is to put it up for auction, right? Ultimately, the goal is to get their money back, so they have to respect the market, right? Who'll buy it if the price is too high?"

Miler shook his head: "It's not easy. I've contacted some, but they won't sell. There aren't many private investors here; most are state-owned enterprises. They're stuck here now, but they still have assets on paper, understand? If we sell, it'll be a loss."

In 1993, residential properties cost over 7,500 yuan per square meter; now they're around 3,000. Office buildings cost over 10,000 yuan per square meter; now they're 3,100. Who will take responsibility if they're sold? Those who made the decisions back then are still sitting on the stage; some have even been promoted. Who dares to touch them?

Miler laughed and said, "I feel like this whole thing is a case of everyone working together to screw over the banks. There are no losers; the government foots the bill."

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "That's true. As long as you're not too greedy, you'll make money no matter how much you invest. It's like a game of musical chairs; the unlucky one is always the last one standing. The money still goes to the bank. And surely not all of them are unfinished projects? Aren't there many that are built but empty?"

Miler said, "There are quite a few. Who will buy buildings in the future? They can make money by speculating on land. Right now, the vacancy rate of the buildings completed in the entire city is about 60%. The buildings being used are mostly taken over by government agencies and units. The power company has only built two buildings, as well as post and telecommunications companies."

Chen Hui looked downstairs and said, "The roads here are quite well-maintained, six lanes in both directions. Even Beijing and Fengtian aren't all like this. It's just that there aren't many people. With fewer people, development is bound to be slower. The city is too small."

Miler said, "These past few years have been fast enough. I've looked at a lot of old photos. A few years ago, this was all empty land, and you could see the whole area at a glance."

Looking at the crowds and traffic on the street below, Xiao Wei asked, "What kind of income do people here mainly rely on to make a living?"

Miler said, "It's mainly trade, automobiles, ships, transportation—these chains are all quite large. Clothing and footwear. There's a lot of overseas trade. And then there's agriculture and aquaculture."

Chen Hui asked, "Are you still planning to bring things back from here? The shipping costs are too high, aren't they?"

Xiao Wei said, "Let Sister Liu and the others figure it out. I just feel that the things here will definitely be fresh, so it should work."

Chen Hui shook his head: "Look at how much lychees and mangoes sell for in Fengtian, and bananas. How much do you think we'd sell these goods for if we transported them over there?"

Xiao Wei said, "Look at this, it's a huge quantity. We'll need to charter a whole train car, or ship it by sea. We've sold all our foreign goods, but how far is this compared to foreign countries?"

Chen Hui said, "I'm too lazy to argue with you. What comes in from abroad? Clothes, pants, shoes, bags, cars. Here we have agricultural products, bro, they're rotten."

Xiao Wei said, "Aren't the vegetables we sell in winter also transported from the south? Aren't the bananas rotten? We still sell them all year round."

Chen Hui waved his hand and said to Mi Le, "This is the city center, right? There should be old streets and commercial streets or something, right? Have you explored them?"

Miler smiled and glanced at Xiaowei, saying, "Yes, but things have changed a lot in the past few years. The old street's business is no longer doing well."

(End of this chapter)