Chapter 50: The So-Called Mansion

Today, besides the hot topic of Xia Yu and the advertising revenue from the "Jiuding Daily," HSBC Securities' statement also attracted considerable attention.

HSBC Securities' statement was not published in the "Jiuding Daily" but appeared in multiple newspapers, including the "Xinbao," "Shangbao," and "Sing Tao Daily." The statement was brief, stating that internal employees had spread false information due to personal issues, causing inconvenience to clients and seriously affecting the company's credibility. The company had dismissed the involved employees and would enhance its management to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Many spectators were baffled by the statement. HSBC Securities claimed it was false news, but did Xia Yu actually make a million?

Unfortunately, they were destined not to find an answer.

Of course, some HSBC clients who paid attention to the matter noticed that the "Jiuding Daily" also had no relevant content, and they knew roughly what had happened—HSBC Securities must have communicated with Xia Yu, and the dismissal of the employees was a form of statement. This reassured them.

With the matter concluded, the heat was expected to slowly decrease, so there was no need for further discussion.

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After Xia Yu dealt with some daily tasks at the company, he went out. He had decided the night before that he would look for a house today and move as soon as possible.

Previously, news of his novel had spread throughout the village, but it did not mention how much he had earned. The villagers were not aware of the income details for authors, so there was no agitation. At most, they would praise Xia Yu when they saw him and express envy towards Xia Dahai and Chen Mei, giving them some compliments as well.

So, although there was an impact, it was relatively benign. Despite the inconvenience and discomfort of his current residence, Xia Yu had planned to stay for a few more days due to his busy work schedule and had not rushed to buy a house and move to address his concerns.

However, the situation was different now. With the exposure that Xia Yu had earned a million in the stock market, regardless of whether Xia Yu admitted it, many people would believe he had made money, and the entire village would surely become restless.

It could be anticipated that there would be many envious and borrowing individuals, leading to a lot of trouble. If some people took risks, it would be even more problematic. Xia Yu did not view Hong Kong as a harmonious society of the future.

Many people who knew Xia Yu's situation might have reservations, but there was a fear of small-time troublemakers who knew nothing. These people posed a greater threat to Xia Yu at present.

Therefore, for the safety of himself and his family, Xia Yu needed to move and find a residential area with security and restricted access to outsiders. Only when his family was safe would Xia Yu be free to act without concerns.

Xia Yu then headed to a real estate agency. The agency's platform had the type of house Xia Yu needed.

In fact, Xia Yu had done some preparation over the past few days. Although he had been busy and could not get away, he had used spare time to gather information about the residential and luxury home distribution in Hong Kong.

In his past life, well-known luxury areas like Shallow Water Bay, Big Wave Bay, Victoria Peak, and Mid-Levels were exposed mainly due to the attention from media attracted by super-rich individuals like Li Chaoren and celebrities like Chen Long. Many people subconsciously believed that luxury homes were only found in these areas.

But the reality was different!

Hong Kong had many luxury areas, almost in every district, with the wealthy living in dispersed locations rather than being concentrated.

Hong Kong's luxury areas were divided into traditional and emerging luxury zones.

Traditional luxury areas included Victoria Peak, Mid-Levels, Kowloon Tong, Ho Man Tin, and Happy Valley, while emerging luxury areas such as Shallow Water Bay and Stanley appeared as Chinese capital groups rose.

In this era, the luxury homes on Victoria Peak and Mid-Levels on Hong Kong Island were more expensive.

This dated back many years, during the British rule when Victoria Peak and Mid-Levels were primarily inhabited by British expatriates. The peak became a luxury area mainly due to its high elevation, offering an unobstructed view of Victoria Harbour.

Early on, Victoria Peak and Mid-Levels were homes to officials and foreign consuls. Until 1906, Sir Ho Tung, known as the "Hong Kong Big Boss," became the first non-European allowed to live in the peak area.

Since then, many tycoons settled there, though British residents were still more numerous. New emerging Chinese tycoons mostly settled in other luxury areas, such as Li Chaoren and the boat king in Shallow Water Bay.

Unfortunately, Xia Yu's roots were in Kowloon. Shallow Water Bay, Big Wave Bay, and Victoria Peak were all on Hong Kong Island, making it impractical for him to move there due to the distance.

Thus, after careful consideration, Xia Yu decided on Kowloon Tong. As for Ho Man Tin in Kowloon, he thought it was too far and inconvenient.

Xia Yu also researched Kowloon Tong's luxury homes, which were suitable for his family's residence.

Kowloon Tong was a luxury area, but the size and price of the luxury homes varied significantly.

In Hong Kong, where land is scarce and the population dense, a home over a hundred square meters was considered a luxury.

Hong Kong people measured home sizes in square feet, with 10.75 square feet equaling one square meter. On the mainland, where 100 square meters is often considered minimal for comfort, by Hong Kong standards, every household would be living in luxury.

Luxury was not just about price but other factors as well. For example, a mansion bought for 1.5 billion yuan by Jack Ma in his previous life had an actual residential area of about 1,100 square meters.

In contrast, the mansion bought by the Xu family of the Hong Kong elite on Big Wave Bay Road No. 10 was about 9,600 square meters, truly luxurious, and later valued at over 800 million HKD.

Considering the current housing prices, if Xia Yu chose to buy a top-tier luxury home now, he could afford it, but it wouldn't be worth it!

He had his own views on money—money should be spent, otherwise, what's the point of earning it? But he would spend wisely because he was not someone who would squander money recklessly.

Thus, Xia Yu decided to buy a house around one million HKD for now. The prices for luxury homes here were much cheaper compared to Victoria Peak, where around one hundred thousand HKD could buy a home of about 2,000 square feet, approximately 200 square meters.

Don't underestimate the price of over one million HKD; it's early 1978, and the Hong Kong stock market is only around 600 points. In nine years, the Hang Seng Index would surge to over 4,000 points, increasing sevenfold. The Hong Kong economy would experience explosive growth, with prices and land values skyrocketing even more than the stock market.

So, a house bought for just over one million HKD now would cost over ten million or even close to twenty million HKD in nine years.

In other words, if Xia Yu used all his funds for real estate speculation now, he would become a billionaire in nine years!

However, Xia Yu would never make such a foolish decision. Indeed, for him, turning his wealth over tenfold in nine years was a foolish act! For an ordinary person, it would be a wise move, but for someone as capable as Xia Yu, real estate speculation would likely infuriate those great figures from his past life!

Without further ado, Xia Yu soon arrived at the real estate agency.

He directly approached the agency manager and, after a series of on-site evaluations, bought a house on the spot for one million HKD. Originally priced at over one million, he managed to negotiate and get the remainder waived.

The house, with an area of about 240 square meters, was two stories high, sufficient for a family of five. After each member had their own room, there were still three extra bedrooms.

Moreover, the house Xia Yu bought was fully furnished and ready to move in, saving him a lot of time. Given his current lack of time, spending some money to resolve the issue was very convenient.

From arriving at the real estate agency to signing the contract and paying in cash, it took less than two hours, and it was still before eleven o'clock.

Next, Xia Yu headed straight to Longchang Motors! With housing sorted, the next priority was solving the vehicle problem, as not having a car would be inconvenient and wasteful of time.