Reborn with Consumption System

After mulling it over from every angle, Dog Lie gritted his teeth—go!

Logically speaking, with the wealth and status he had today, officials of a prefecture-level city in the Inland Provinces didn’t even need to acknowledge him; they could neither help him much, nor would they have many points of contact.

But hometown was a different matter.

His parents and relatives were all under their jurisdiction; even if he didn’t go offer tribute, he at least had to show some respect.

And besides... Chen Yanfei was, after all, the white moonlight of his youth.

Just for that alone, the next day, Han Lie dressed himself properly, looking mature and sharp, and made a trip to the office.

Boss Chen’s aura was still as warm and pleasant as a spring breeze.

Seeing Han Lie, he immediately moved away from his desk and came over, beaming, hands outstretched.

"President Han, honored guest!"

"Little Han!"

Han Lie lifted a brow and solemnly corrected him: "A junior latecomer, a commoner under your governance, I wouldn’t dare call myself ’President’ in front of an elder like you."

"Hahaha, you, you really are different now!"

Boss Chen laughed heartily as he led Han Lie to the reception area. Host and guest sat down, and he sighed with emotion: "When I saw you a year ago, I already knew you weren’t some pond fish, that sooner or later you’d soar into the sky.

But I never imagined you’d fly this fast, this high..."

Han Lie smiled lightly and followed his lead.

"A year ago, it was thanks to you holding down the fort on the side. Otherwise, President Pan wouldn’t necessarily have been so straightforward. Strictly speaking, my first bucket of gold when I started out owes quite a lot to you!"

"Hey hey hey, don’t go plastering gold on my face!"

Boss Chen laughed loudly, bold and cheerful, his attitude growing even warmer.

"Back then I was only worried about my daughter, what’s it got to do with you? Pan Dajun is never petty; with or without me, he was going to pay compensation. If you’d run into someone without that kind of breadth of mind, and then still credited me for it!"

He praised Pan Dajun, so Han Lie just followed along with the praise, basically playing the supporting role the whole time.

"President Pan really has guts. After spending so much effort to build Dream Garden, he just handed it over to me, full transfer, and till now he hasn’t complained even once—truly decisive!"

"Mm, I admire Pan Dajun’s vision."

Boss Chen nodded, his tone tinged with emotion: "But it’s also thanks to his decisiveness that you two now have a win–win. Dream Garden selling at such high prices is good for the whole city. I should be thanking you both!"

The upside he was talking about was something people without a certain level really couldn’t grasp.

There was no way Han Lie would take this kind of credit on himself; he shook his head and said, "Business is business, we’re all driven by profit in what we do. If it really has helped the city’s development somehow, that’s actually the good result of you and your team being focused on development and guiding the situation to our advantage."

"Hey! Little Han, you’re also from Dream City, you grew up drinking the water of your hometown. You absolutely mustn’t have that ’none-of-my-business’ mindset!"

Han Lie went with the flow: "You’re right to call me out. If there’s anything later on where you need me to pitch in, of course I’d be happy to contribute my Strength for the development of my hometown."

Once Han Lie made his stance clear, Boss Chen felt at ease.

He said slowly, "The government offices definitely won’t forcibly make you do anything. That said, we are indeed planning to do some development around Dream Garden.

Based on the rumored selling price, Dream Garden will basically scoop up all the city’s top tycoons in one go. Replanning and upgrading the commercial district, expanding the roads, improving the surrounding facilities and creating an agglomeration effect would be hugely beneficial for the whole city.

Little Han, right now I just need one clear answer—

When exactly will Dream Garden start selling? And will the buyers mainly be residents, idle holdings, or pure investment?"

Han Lie fully got it.

The ex–father-in-law was here for the housing price bonus...

Small cities are different from big ones. In a place like the Magic Capital, upscale residential areas are relatively scattered, while commercial districts are concentrated downtown and focus more on foot traffic.

But in a small place like Dream City, if Dream Garden gathers a hundred or so top tycoons living there permanently, then the whole surrounding area benefits.

Looking at it from the smallest angle, the neighborhood mom-and-pop fruit shop downstairs would definitely get replaced by a boutique fruit store; Wang Ergou at the barbershop would immediately upgrade into "Teacher Tony"; the only loser would be the SPA parlor next door—they’d be screwed and have no choice but to move.

Impacts like these weren’t something Han Lie needed to think about—but they were exactly what Boss Chen wanted to make full use of.

He was still young and full of vigor, at the stage where ambition burned bright, which was totally understandable.

Having figured out his ex–father-in-law’s aim, Han Lie stated his position without hesitation: "Whatever kind of situation you’re hoping for, I’ll do my best on my side to cooperate!"

Heh! What a slick one!

Boss Chen sighed inwardly: Back then I really misjudged him; totally underestimated Han Lie’s potential...

"Then I’ll thank President Han in advance for his strong support of his hometown!"

Boss Chen personally topped off Han Lie’s tea, and casually, as if in small talk, mentioned: "Dream Garden is a non-typical, non-standard luxury compound. Its pricing can’t be judged by the current reality, nor will it have too big an impact on Dream City’s overall housing market, so I fully respect your business-first mindset. Go ahead and do whatever you want—I also want to see what kind of brilliance you can create in the end!"

Got it!

However high you can jack it up, jack it!

The key point of that "casual" remark could land on any sentence—it all depended on the listener’s level of perception.

If Han Lie had been a traditional real estate developer, Boss Chen might have phrased things more obliquely, but since Han Lie was just doing a one-off deal, there was no need.

Dog Lie caught the hint perfectly and nodded in reply: "The situation is excellent right now—I don’t think I’ll let you down."

"Good, good, good!"

Realizing that the subtext had been correctly picked up, Boss Chen was very pleased and handed Han Lie a cigarette.