People often say that there is no such thing as an honest merchant, and merchants often resort to unscrupulous methods to make money. Ironically, however, merchants have their own set of morals, or rather, rules of the game.
As long as you're not planning on a one-shot deal, business people know the importance of honesty and openness because they determine whether you can gain the trust of other merchants and get opportunities for collaboration.
Xiao Ming's straightforward revelation that he was making the call for his own reasons was based on this principle.
If he hadn't said anything, Zhou Jicang would inevitably feel resentful when he later discovered that Xiao Ming's goal was to take control of Dabang, and although it wouldn't harm Canghai, Zhou Jicang would feel that Xiao Ming was not a person to be closely associated with.
In short, when doing business, having a long-term vision is very important; you can't just focus on the small immediate gains.
When Xiao Ming sat down, the lengthy speeches by the leaders on the stage hadn't ended, and Yu couldn't wait to ask, "How did it go? Did you butter up Zhou Jicang?"
Xiao Ming glanced at her sideways, "You're a pretty little girl, why so dark inside?
I have an honorable relationship with Sir Zhou, open and honest, understand?
You have to be honest. Don't go around claiming to know me and tarnish my reputation in the future."
Yu was furious, but since it wasn't appropriate to make a big scene in a public setting, she could only stretch her hand under the table and pinch a chunk of soft flesh on Xiao Ming's waist, twisting it with all her might.
Xiao Ming winced in pain and turned to Shen Siyi, "Hey! Control your shareholder. She's always getting physical and taking advantage of me."
Shen Siyi gave a wry smile, "Bro, do you see me having the guts to discipline her? She only gets handsy with you, but with me, she doesn't hold back."
Xiao Ming then looked at Yang Hanqing... Forget it, she looked way too meek, ten of her would be no match for Yu.
"Let's swap seats then. Yu had garlic this morning; it doesn't smell good."
Yu immediately became both embarrassed and angry, but fearing that he would actually switch seats with Yang Hanqing, she let go of her grip and silently sent a threatening gaze towards Shen Siyi.
Shen Siyi, with a Buddha-like concentration, pretended to be in meditation, playing blind and deaf.
Xiao Ming, now at peace, chuckled at Yang Hanqing, leaving her feeling all sorts of emotions without understanding why.
After what felt like an eternity, the speeches finally came to an end and the auctioneer took the stage, instantly rejuvenating the sleepy merchants.
There were eight plots of land being auctioned today, four commercial and four residential, ranked from low to high quality as A, B, C, and D.
As per tradition, the auction started with commercial properties, from the least to the most desirable, in the sequence of C, A, D, and B.
The plot of land Xiao Ming was interested in was marked with the letter D, so he had quite a wait ahead of him and decided to take a nap.
His physical fitness had greatly improved recently due to exercising, but as a result, his need for rest also decreased. This was a good time to catch up on some sleep.
He was shaken awake by Yu after an undetermined amount of time.
"You sleepy pig, stop sleeping! The auction for Plot Ding A is about to start."
Xiao Ming rubbed the sleep from his eyes and yawned, "No hurry, Dabang Group will definitely bid. We can make our move after seeing how it goes."
Plot Ding A was the same rundown district by the riverside of the old town, where Yang Hanqing had just purchased nearly a hundred properties, so she, like Yu, was intent on winning that plot.
Upon hearing his words, she truly started to panic.
"How do you know Dabang will definitely bid?"
Xiao Ming wiped away the tears that had come out with his yawn, "Stop asking such dumb questions in the future."
Yang Hanqing pouted in frustration before changing tack, "Since you knew in advance, you must have a strategy, right? Come on, spit it out."
"At an auction, the highest bidder wins. What kind of strategy could there be? If Dabang bids, we just have to follow suit and compete!"
Xiao Ming's casual demeanor finally infuriated Yang Hanqing, who reached across Shen Siyi and pinched him fiercely.
"Dead man! We're all about to go crazy here, can't you focus a little?"
Beside him, Yun Shi Yu had a predatory look, seemingly considering where to hit that would hurt the most.
Shen Siyi continued to pretend to be an old monk.
When immortals clash, mortals suffer. For the sake of his own little life, he thought it best not to get involved.
As for whether or not they could snatch that plot of land, if Emperor Ming wasn't in a hurry, why should he, a mere eunuch, be anxious?
At this moment, Xiao Ming hated the societal moral restraints placed on men.
Men should not hit women, but it was utterly frustrating when you got hit by a woman and couldn't fight back.
Careless retaliation could even be construed as hooliganism—where would you go to argue your innocence?
Pinching his nose bridge, he offered an exasperated explanation, "First of all, although an auction is about the highest bid, it's not always true that whoever has more money will definitely win.
We've already bought so much real estate there, seizing the initiative, so naturally, our costs are much lower than Dabang's, which means we have a higher threshold for how much we can bid.
Furthermore, we have a choice of two plots today. Even if we don't get this one, it's still a success if we manage to buy the next one, so what's there to worry about?𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
Are you afraid that Dabang will renege on the deal later and not pay us for the demolition?"
Yang Hanqing gave it some thought and realized that it made sense, but still felt displeased and said, "You knew the importance of that plot so early on, and I've worked so hard these past few days that I've got dark circles under my eyes.
If Dabang ends up snagging it, that would be so irritating!"
Xiao Ming glanced at her eyes and saw that despite the foundation makeup, the color was still a bit dark, feeling somewhat apologetic, he said softly, "Sorry! I unexpectedly put so much work on your plate.
This time it was due to an urgent and special situation. It won't happen again.
Also, no matter the outcome of the auction today, you can take a break for yourself, rest up well. Besides, there's nothing at Maohe that urgently requires your personal attention."
Feeling his concern, Yang Hanqing felt much better and said with a shake of her head, "Easy for you to say, you're not the one affected by it.
So many employees at the company are counting on me to pay their salaries, do you think anyone can afford to be as lazily content as you?"
If this conversation continued, it would turn into flirting, so Xiao Ming just chuckled and then addressed Shen Siyi, "Stop playing statue now. You'll be in charge of bidding later. No matter how much Dabang bids, you just add the base price on top.
I've calculated that the maximum future profit of that plot is about five hundred million.
So, Dabang is likely willing to bid between three hundred ninety million and four hundred million.
Once it reaches that price point, we'll pull out."
"Why give up?" Yun Shi Yu asked.
"You just said we have a cost advantage. Even if we go up to four hundred and ten million, there's still a ninety-million profit."
Xiao Ming shook his head, "Ninety million is too little, after deducting bank interest, it's peanuts. Not worth our time to develop it over a year or two.
By comparison, Plot Ding B has a higher advantage, and we need to spend our funds where they count the most."
"Right," said Yang Hanqing, "you haven't mentioned what's so special about Plot Ding B. Though its location is a bit better than Plot Ding A, its starting price will definitely be higher!"
Xiao Ming looked around, then with a secretive smile, whispered, "I'll tell you, but don't spread it around.
In three days, the authorities will announce the new infrastructure plans, which are only phase one.
In two more months, phase two will be confirmed and announced, and the focus of that phase will be to initiate subway construction.
The first line of it will start right at Plot Ding B, cutting through the city center.
And the endpoint, hehe, is the airport!"