Chapter 67: New Concept of Land Speculation

"Brother Ming, look, look! You're in the newspapers again!" 

At the entrance of the Immigration Management Office, Tang Ran bounced out of the door, running towards Zhou Ming. She excitedly took out newspapers from her bag and spread them out for Zhou Ming to see: "Brother Ming, this is from the South Jiang Daily, this is from the Lingnan Times and the Economic Daily, and here are a few from the capital and Binhai's economic newspapers."

Zhou Ming took the newspapers from Tang Ran's hands and looked at the highlighted news articles about himself. He couldn't help but tease her: "You didn't slack off at work today, did you? You only looked for newspapers to find news about me?"

"Of course not!" Tang Ran replied. "I worked diligently today. I found these newspapers during my spare time."

Tang Ran pouted and said unhappily, "It's not like I wanted to find them. It's just that you didn't take me to the signing ceremony. I had no choice but to look through the newspapers!"

"It's not that I didn't want to take you. I was worried about the chaos and your safety. Didn't you see how even the hotel staff were nervous?" Zhou Ming reassured Tang Ran.

As Zhou Ming and Tang Ran chatted, some of Tang Ran's colleagues also came out of the office building. Seeing Tang Ran with Zhou Ming, they approached to greet him: "Ran Ran, is this the Brother Ming you often mention at work? He looks pretty handsome. I heard he's a big boss from Port City?"

Zhou Ming nodded at Tang Ran's colleagues. One of the older women joked, "Mr. Zhou, as such a big boss, you shouldn't be so humble with us!"

Another younger woman said, "I heard you faced dozens of media reporters at the signing ceremony yesterday, and you just left without saying goodbye. You're quite the character!"

"That's not true. I did answer some questions, or else how would these newspapers have content about me?" Zhou Ming explained.

"You still left without saying goodbye!" The young woman's eyes sparkled with admiration. "That's quite impressive. Most company bosses or leaders would be thrilled to talk to the media for days, but you just left them hanging."

Tang Ran added, "That's because those people want media exposure. My Brother Ming has already had media coverage in Port City, and it was on the front page. Here in South Jiang, it's not even on the front page, so why bother with interviews?"

"Yes, yes, Brother Ming is the best!" the older woman said in jest.

Tang Ran's face flushed with embarrassment as she replied, "Wang Jie, stop it!"

Wang Jie chuckled, "Alright, we know you're shy. We won't bother you two anymore. Enjoy your meal together."

After her colleagues left, Tang Ran, feeling guilty, said to Zhou Ming, "I'm sorry, Brother Ming. When I was looking for news about you, my colleagues saw it. They asked me what was going on, and I couldn't resist telling them. I didn't mean to, but you're not angry, right?"

Seeing Tang Ran's anxious expression, Zhou Ming smiled and said, "Of course I'm not angry. I'm your boyfriend. It's natural for you to be proud of me at work. How could I be upset?"

Tang Ran finally relaxed, "Thank you, Brother Ming!"

Suddenly, Zhou Ming's pager rang. He checked and saw it was a call from Du Peng. Tang Ran led Zhou Ming to the office's transmission room to use the phone.

The call was quickly connected, and Du Peng's cheerful voice came through: "Congratulations, Mr. Zhou! You're featured in so many newspapers. How wonderful!"

"Cut the crap! Why did you page me?" Zhou Ming asked with a laugh.

"Alright, no more jokes. Regarding the matter you asked about, I've contacted Governor Xiong. Here's his office number and pager number. Write it down."

Du Peng then read out a series of numbers. Tang Ran found a pen and paper to write them down, and Zhou Ming verified the numbers with Du Peng. Zhou Ming then asked, "I have no experience with the officialdom. Is Governor Xiong helping me because of your family connection? Do I just need to contact him directly and discuss the matter, without any formalities?"

Hearing this, Du Peng sounded disappointed: "Zhou Ming, can you stop being so perceptive? I was hoping you'd ask me more so I could teach you some officialdom rules. But you've figured it all out on your own, leaving me no room to show off."

Zhou Ming was taken aback: "What's the matter?"

"I was going to wait for you to ask me about officialdom so I could teach you some tricks as a red revolutionary descendant. But you figured it all out immediately. You're making me feel insecure!" Du Peng said with a tone of frustration.

Zhou Ming shook his head helplessly: "Alright, Du Peng. Can you tell me about the officialdom rules? I've never met a high-ranking official before. Should I bring some local specialties when I visit Governor Xiong?"

"You're asking me as if you're acting! Why does it sound so fake?" Du Peng replied.

"Damn it! I didn't study acting!" Zhou Ming retorted.

"Forget it, just contact Governor Xiong directly. I've already talked to him. You just need to explain the situation, and he'll tell you what to do," Du Peng said.

Zhou Ming nodded: "Got it. Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

"There's one more thing," Du Peng said. "The company still has four million in cash. I heard from Uncle Chen that the city government plans to hold a land auction next month. Do you want to participate?"

"Of course. Even if you hadn't mentioned it, I would have instructed you to take action before I left," Zhou Ming said. He was surprised that the land auction was happening so soon. According to his memory, the first land auction in South Jiang wasn't supposed to occur until the end of the year. It seems his previous auction had a significant impact on the government, prompting them to move the auction date forward.

Zhou Ming was unsure whether to feel relieved or frustrated. Relieved to know that he could influence government decisions, but frustrated if it delayed other opportunities for profit.

"How much do you estimate the land auction will cost this time?" Zhou Ming asked.

Du Peng thought for a moment and replied, "I don't expect it to be as high as last time, but at least six to seven million."

This amount was in line with Zhou Ming's estimate. In his memory, the average price for land in this auction was around four to five million, but due to the impact of the previous auction, the government adjusted the price but not significantly. Six to seven million seemed just right.

"Alright. I'll leave three million for you. Try to secure a piece of land for around six million," Zhou Ming instructed.

Du Peng considered this and said, "Six million should be manageable, but once we acquire the land, we won't have funds for development. Should we seek a loan from South Jiang Development Bank?"

"Borrowing for real estate development is a good idea, but have you considered that other real estate developers might also be doing the same? Or do you think they all have ample funds?" Zhou Ming analyzed. "South Jiang Development Bank just listed, and we only bought six million in stocks. They don't have much money to lend."

"What should we do then?" Du Peng asked.

"Since we can't develop it, don't. Just hold onto the land and see if there are buyers willing to pay more. If someone offers over ten million, sell it," Zhou Ming suggested.

"What?" Du Peng was stunned. "Mr. Zhou, are you serious? We'll just hold the land and find another buyer instead of developing it?"

"Of course. This is called land speculation. The next buyer might also just hold the land and wait for a higher offer. This continues until someone actually wants to develop it," Zhou Ming explained.

"Land can be speculated this way?" Du Peng marveled, clearly struggling to grasp the concept.

Zhou Ming smiled. He understood Du Peng's mindset; after all, land speculation wasn't common knowledge yet. Even the concept of holding land without developing it for profit was unfamiliar to Du Peng. If not for the government's timely intervention, this speculative practice could have continued indefinitely, eventually leading to an explosive market bubble.

"Zhou Ming, I'm increasingly impressed by you. How do you come up with so many money-making ideas?" Du Peng asked with admiration.

"Everyone is different!" Zhou Ming joked. "Well, Tang Ran and I are going out to dinner. Do you want to join us?"

"Forget it. I've been hit hard today. I'm going to find a girl to cheer me up. I'll see you off when you leave," Du Peng said.

"Do as you wish, but be careful not to end up broke because of women," Zhou Ming teased.