Richest Rag-picker

"No, no, the total investment isn’t three to five billion. I was just talking about the investment for a single building."

Hearing Fang Chenyi’s words, the men were even more stunned. One of them asked uncertainly,

"Mr. Fang, are you planning to build more than one skyscraper? Three to five billion, after factoring in the cost of land development, is enough to build an office building of at least fifty stories. Even if you have five, or even ten companies, one office building should be enough, right?"

The speaker, Director Sun, had a point. In his view, it was impossible for a single company to occupy an entire fifty- or sixty-story office building. What kind of company would that even be? He figured that even Baida Group wasn’t that extravagant.

Hearing this, Fang Chenyi just smiled and waved his hand again. "No, no," he said.

"Each company will have its own office building. It’s impossible to put them all in one."

As he spoke, Fang Chenyi took out the map he had bought and spread it on the table. Then, he addressed Director Sun and the others.

"Come, Director Sun. Here’s my plan. See this? From here... all the way to here. This whole area, about ten kilometers, I want to acquire all of it. That includes this small patch of sea beyond the coastline. We’ll develop that too."

Before they could respond, Fang Chenyi added with another smile,

"Once I acquire this area, you won’t have to worry about a single thing regarding development. You just need to help with the land expropriation. After that, give us five years, and this place will become the most prosperous area on the entire island."

Director Sun and the others felt a pang of doubt. It sounded a bit like he was boasting.

Setting aside the question of cost, just how many businesses would it take to fill such a vast area? Surely each company wouldn’t occupy thousands of acres.

As if sensing their thoughts, Fang Chenyi said with a smile, "Don’t worry, Director Sun. We definitely won’t waste the land. To continue our earlier topic, my projection is to invest a total of this much into this land."

As he said this, Fang Chenyi held up three fingers and waved them in front of Director Sun.

Seeing this, Director Sun gave a resigned smile and asked, "Thirty billion? Heh, Mr. Fang, that is indeed a very large number, but for an area this size, it’s a bit..."

Director Sun trailed off, not finishing his sentence.

Fang Chenyi was speechless. ’I just said I was investing five billion in a single company,’ he thought. ’How did the total end up at thirty billion? It seems I forgot something. They really have no idea about my financial resources, do they?’

With this in mind, Fang Chenyi shook his head and said with a wry smile, "Not thirty billion. Three hundred billion. And that’s a conservative estimate. It’s possible we’ll invest even more later on."

"What?! Three hundred billion?!"

As the words "three hundred billion" left Fang Chenyi’s mouth, Director Sun and the others shot to their feet, their faces a mask of shock and disbelief.

Seeing their reaction, Fang Chenyi gestured for them to calm down. Once they were all seated again, he continued with a smile,

"Director Sun, don’t get too excited. The three hundred billion won’t come all at once. It will be injected in phases."

Whether it came in phases or all at once, as long as it came, that was all that mattered! It was no wonder Director Sun and the others were so agitated. This was a small, third-tier city, for goodness’ sake. Their annual investment target was only one hundred billion.

Good grief, Fang Chenyi was now talking about fulfilling their quota for three years in one go. How could they not be excited?!

But excitement aside, Director Sun started to have his doubts. Seeing how young Fang Chenyi was, he wondered, ’Is he pulling my leg?’

Just then, a waiter came in carrying platters of delicious dishes. Seeing this, Wei Yilong, who hadn’t had a chance to speak, finally found his opening and quickly invited everyone to eat.

While Director Sun was still wondering if Fang Chenyi was joking, Xiaoliu, who was beside him, discreetly nudged him.

Director Sun paused and glanced at Xiaoliu, only to see him secretly holding his phone up for him to see.

Director Sun couldn’t help but frown. ’Playing with his phone at a time like this. He’s still too young, no sense of propriety,’ he thought. ’I’ll have to have a good talk with him when we get back.’

But when his frowning gaze fell upon Xiaoliu’s phone, he froze. There was a photo on the screen. He recognized the person in it at a glance—it was none other than Mr. Fang, who was across the table, smiling as he watched the waiter serve the food.

Looking further down, his eyes went wide, and he cursed internally. ’Holy shit! He’s the second-largest shareholder of Baida Group! Holy shit! Southern Airlines belongs to him!!’ After seeing just those two titles, Director Sun didn’t need to look any further. All his doubts vanished completely.

’A man of his stature wouldn’t joke with me.’

At that thought, he could no longer hide the smile spreading across his face. ’It looks like my opportunity has arrived!’

After the waiter left, Director Sun immediately raised his cup and said with a broad smile,

"Come, President Fang. Let’s not drink alcohol this time. I’ll toast you with tea instead."

With that, he tipped his head back and drank the water in his cup. Seeing that Fang Chenyi had also drunk his, he asked with a beaming smile,

"Chairman Fang, uh, I was just curious... are you planning to move Baida Group here?"

The corners of Fang Chenyi’s mouth turned up slightly. He had, of course, noticed the exchange between the director and Xiaoliu. ’It seems they know who I am now.’

He shook his head and gestured for the others to eat before speaking.

"Baida Group won’t be moved for the time being. After all, I don’t have a controlling stake. As for whether it will be relocated in the future, that’s uncertain."

Hearing this, Director Sun felt a pang of disappointment. He had been hoping to bring the behemoth that was Baida Group over. However, Fang Chenyi’s next words made him excited all over again.

"However, the headquarters of Baida Film and Television will definitely be moved here. In addition, the headquarters of companies like Southern Airlines and Louis Vuitton China will also be relocated here for sure."

After the meal, Director Sun said a quick goodbye and hurried back to report. A matter of this magnitude wasn’t something he could decide on his own. He was confident that once he reported this, it would receive the full support of the entire city!

Leaving the restaurant, Fang Chenyi wasn’t in a hurry to go back. It was a rare visit; how could he miss out on the treasure trove behind the building?

After sending Wei Yilong off on his own, he turned and went to the garbage storage room behind the Qinhuang Hotel.

[To be continued...]

PS: Second Chapter of the day. To thank my bros for their tips recently, Xiao Youzi has decided to release an extra Chapter today. More updates coming soon!