Epiphanies of Rebirth 38.2

Chapter 38.2

“Why should we cooperate with you and pay so much when we effectively gain nothing?”

“Did Mr. Hu forget?” Lin Jingzhe’s smile turned even more genial. He took a sip of water from the glass on the table, then continued unhurriedly, “The mixed-use building in the project I proposed has not been built yet—everything is still nothing more than an idea.”

Hu Shaofeng was stunned for a moment and his mind, swirling with all kinds of ridicule he was about to unleash, cleared. It didn’t take him long to understand what Lin Jingzhe implied, and he suddenly became at a loss.

Lin Jingzhe added with a smile, “Since the development of the triangle plot hasn’t started yet, the shares you mentioned are also virtual. Isn’t that right, Mr. Hu?”

Unable to resist the needle concealed in silk floss, Hu Shaofeng cleared his throat and reached for his drink, using it as an opportunity to look away.

He finally understood that there would never be such good things as a meat pie falling from the sky in this world! Lin Jingzhe clearly aimed at this outcome from the very beginning, from the moment the first contract was signed.

Xiao Chi didn’t look very surprised. Hearing the scoundrelly words, his lips even curled in a smile: “So, what Mr. Lin is saying is that if the new contract isn’t signed, New Beginnings Real Estate will give up developing the triangle plot despite having already formulated a complete development plan? The location of that land is so good—doesn’t Mr. Lin feel it’s a pity to sell it?”

It sure is!, Hu Shaofeng thought vengefully.

“Why would I sell it? Of course, I’ll keep it and develop it on my own.” It turned out Hu Shaofeng still underestimated the shamelessness of their opponent. Lin Jingzhe didn’t even blush as he replied, using a tone of ‘I’m doing this for you’, “For me, developing the triangle plot is an absolute imperative, which is why I’m sincerely proposing follow-up cooperation with Flux Realty—after all, the Dongtai Community proves how well your company does with property development, right? Compared with you, the strength of our New Beginnings is not worth mentioning. You’re the ideal partner for this project, so of course, I wish for us to cooperate if we can. Otherwise, what I’ve brought today would not have been the project proposal but the damages for breach of contract.”

He chuckled as if he had told a funny joke, his big, bright eyes narrowing into amused crescents.

However, Hu Shaofeng felt his scalp tightening. Lin Jingzhe’s words reminded him that defaulting the contract was still an option. There was an item of breach of contract damages in the contract, and the amount was set by Lin Jingzhe himself: three times the amount of the loan, 15 million yuan. This default fine was quite substantial; at the time, Hu Shaofeng felt that Lin Jingzhe was a babe in the woods who dug a pit for himself and jumped in willingly.

Only now did he realize that the real babe in the woods was probably him. Although the damage fine of 15 million was indeed not small, it was insignificant when compared to the profits once the north of the city was developed.

Looking at Lin Jingzhe’s deceptively innocent smile, Hu Shaofeng opened his mouth a few times, but in the end, no words managed to pass through his throat. He felt as if there was some invisible pressure filling the private restaurant room, making the atmosphere inside eerie.

It lasted until another laughter broke the silence—this time, from the always calm and collected Xiao Chi.

It was rare for Xiao Chi to laugh so plainly, even revealing a row of neat teeth. His sharp eyes slightly narrowed when he smiled, but as he stared at Lin Jingzhe, they were clearer and brighter than before.

He stretched out his hand with a smile. “Mr. Lin, you’re indeed very sincere.”

Lin Jingzhe shook hands with him. His hand was instantly squeezed with force by the big, warm palm, but he didn’t care. It was normal for Xiao Chi to be angry—any businessman who firmly believed that he had an upper hand but then found that the actual situation wasn’t so would be the same. Even if the follow-up cooperation would indeed be very profitable, it would be impossible to simply accept the situation happily. Thinking of their past contradictions, he smiled wider, and even slightly provocatively scratched the other man’s palm with his fingers. “Then, let us wish ourselves happy cooperation, shall we?”

Xiao Chi squeezed tighter the unruly hand that was noticeably smaller than his own, the itch in his palm seeming to climb up his arm to the center of his heart. He noticeably paused for a second, suppressing his rising smile. “Happy cooperation.”

On the way back, Hu Shaofeng cussed for a long time. He never expected that the cooperation, which he’d thought to be completely advantageous to them, would turn on its head like this. He studied the new contract practically word by word, for fear that Lin Jingzhe buried some traps in it, awaiting an opportunity to push them into a pitfall again.

Taught by painful experience, he no longer dared to underestimate their business partner who looked as harmless and innocent as a little white bunny. Recalling Xiao Chi’s laughter and all kinds of unusual reactions, he was convinced that his friend must be very upset.

This was probably the first time when the all-powerful Brother Xiao, who was so smart that he almost seemed omniscient, failed where failure was completely not expected, right?

He couldn’t help but step on the car throttle more carefully and make the ride as smooth as possible. He wanted to comfort Xiao Chi but was afraid of unintentionally aggravating him even more, so he could only try to do it in a roundabout way: “Brother Xiao, actually, I think that Lin Jingzhe’s mixed-use building project is pretty good. After all, it would be a pity to just give up our 50% of the shares. I mean, yeah, we’d have to spend some labor and give up a piece of our land, but ultimately, we should get a huge return on this investment, right?”

He glanced in the rear-view mirror. Xiao Chi had opened the car window, and the wind blowing in whipped his hair about his expressionless face. He didn’t pass the prayer beads through his fingers—the rosary that never left his body had actually been carelessly thrown on the other side of the back seat. Since his friend didn’t give out his usual intimidating aura that made the others almost afraid to breathe, Hu Shaofeng cautiously concluded that the situation was safe.

Xiao Chi didn’t even look at him. He leaned against his seat, clenching his right hand hard. He seemed to feel an inexplicable itch in his heart as if something was scratching it, and it made his whole body burning hot.

Recalling Xiao Chi’s stiff back when the man was leaving, Lin Jingzhe sniffed, satisfied to have successfully vented his resentment. He put away the business smile, returning to his usual calm expression, and put the signed contract into the briefcase.

He got the idea of building a mixed-use building there the moment he saw the triangular plot. The location of this piece of land was just too special—it was situated at the 2nd Middle Road, whose course remained the same since decades ago, and in the future, it would be not even two minutes’ walk away from the subway entrance that would open by the nearby intersection. Commercial building in such a place was bound to be an absolutely profitable investment.

Lin Jingzhe had never thought of getting into residential real estate. The business world was callous, especially the real estate industry, which had a lot of unwritten, unspoken rules. If he was developing residential property, he would later inevitably be dragged into the ranks of unscrupulous developers who speculate on housing prices, whether he was willing or not. How difficult it would be to buy a house in Yan City about ten years from now, Lin Jingzhe, who had lived through that era, knew better than anyone. His income had already been considered high among the salaried workers, but it still took him almost a lifetime’s effort to pay for his apartment. For ordinary people, it would only be even more difficult.

He may not have the power to stop this change, but he could at least prevent himself from becoming complicit.

And commercial real estate was actually no less profitable than residential real estate.

The biggest difference was that commercial buildings such as shopping malls or office buildings made profits not immediately, by being sold, but rather over a period of time, through leases.

One would get more money from selling a hen than selling an egg, but keeping the hen and selling the eggs would bring sustainable, long-term income. Moreover, in the next few decades, the rate of increase in commercial rental prices in Yan City would be no less than that of residential property prices.

The whole northern district was developing rapidly, but Lin Jingzhe knew that in the future, one could count on the fingers of one hand the number of pieces of land as exceptionally advantaged as his triangular plot.

As for arm-twisting Flux Realty into cooperation—he had no choice but to do it. He had just stepped into the real estate industry; perhaps he could use his knowledge of the future to grab the biggest prize when buying land, but he was nothing but a layman when it came to the actual property development. In case something went wrong with his first development project, it was likely to have a lasting negative impact on the company. Flux Realty, which had developed several real estate projects with excellent results, would be the best possible teacher he could learn from.

Lin Jingzhe planned to develop the triangular piece of land into a splendid “hen” that would perhaps become the first member of his “golden egg factory”.

Thinking of this, now he had a bit of craving for chicken.

Once she heard this, Mother Zhou immediately made him braised chicken with Chinese mushrooms. The old hen’s meat was braised until it was soft enough to almost melt in the mouth, and Mother Zhou added a lot of mushrooms to the stock, so the broth was thick and rich. Needless to say, the savory smell made all the neighbors’ mouths water.

Mother Zhou just took pity on a hard-working student—she had no idea Lin Jingzhe set up a company. Deng Mai wasn’t loose-lipped and had a sense of proportion; he knew what should and shouldn’t be said. Although he’d been living with the Zhou couple, he never mentioned Lin Jingzhe’s business. He kept it secret even from Gao Sheng and Zhou Haitang.

On their part, the Zhou couple also hadn’t found out that he didn’t attend school, since after New Beginnings Real Estate became well-known, Deng Mai had to deal with countless invitations. Lin Jingzhe wanted Deng Mai to learn and gain experience, so he intentionally didn’t pick through them and let Deng Mai socialize as much as possible. As such, the poor guy hardly spent any time at home, going out to attend various gatherings and parties every day.

In Mother Zhou’s eyes, he was the most pitiful of the boys—he had classes every day, not getting to rest even at weekends!

Fortunately, Mother Zhou only sighed over Deng Mai’s fate and didn’t think about it more. She also had been very busy recently. Last year, the food stall’s business had been very prosperous, letting the couple earn a lot of money. His ambition stirring, Father Zhou made up his mind to set up a proper store after they returned to Yan City after the Spring Festival. After searching all over the city for a suitable place, he finally found one that was acceptable both in terms of size and the amount of the rent and began preparing it for the business. Seeing that summer was coming and the renovation was about to be finished, he contacted Gao Sheng’s father who, as they’d agreed, quit his job at the construction site in Qunnan City and was about to leave for Yan City. These days, Father Zhou and his wife had no time to set up the food stall behind Wutong University, rushing back and forth between the new store to help and take care of the finishing touches.

Tables, chairs, and other furniture were going to be delivered today, so there had to be someone in the store to keep an eye on the delivery workers or they would definitely not be careful when carrying things in!

After the chicken stew was ready, Mother Zhou urged Lin Jingzhe to eat properly, then grabbed her bag and rushed out in a hurry. Deng Mai came back right after she left, saying that they had bumped into each other at the entrance downstairs.

The chicken and mushroom stew smell was rich and savory. After a whole day of running outside and drinking a lot of alcohol, a mere whiff made Deng Mai drool. He quickly served himself a bowl and drank the nearly scalding broth in small mouthfuls. Only after that did he get his mind back on the business.

Chewing on a mushroom, he took out an invitation letter from his bag and handed it to Lin Jingzhe. “Brother Lin, New Era Group is holding a gathering in Changqing Province. Are you going?”

Hearing the words “New Era Group,” Lin Jingzhe became a bit more serious. After taking a look at the invitation, he realized that rather than a gathering, it was actually alliance members meeting up to take a look at the situation and opportunities in Changqing Province.

In Yan City, there existed a small, elite alliance of real estate companies, headed by New Era Group, one of China’s leading enterprises. Many reputable companies joined in, sharing resources or connections for mutual benefit. Xiao Chi’s Flux Realty was one of them and in the future, after it grew and developed, it replaced New Era Group as the alliance’s unspoken leader. At present, though, Flux Realty was still a new member that was probably allowed to join relying on the success of the Dongtai Community project.

This served as proof of how amazing Deng Mai’s networking skills were. New Beginnings Real Estate hadn’t developed even one project yet; even if it sold land worth hundreds of millions, it was severely lacking qualifications to join the alliance. However, after barely a month of “learning by experience,” he unexpectedly managed to develop strong friendships with many real estate developers he got to know at the wine table, and New Beginnings Real Estate was jointly recommended by seven or eight alliance members.

In order to deepen the spirit of cooperation, the alliance often organized “official” get-togethers on the pretext of doing business, usually banquets and similar entertainment. The news of the construction of the highway made clear to all that the prospects of Changqing Province looked very promising. Going there for a look-around made sense, but was a two-day trip with overnight stay really necessary…?

Lin Jingzhe thought for a while. “How serious is this investigation? How many members are going?” he asked.

“All of them. The senior management of New Era Group said they will all go, and I’ve heard that even Mr. Xiao from Flux Realty is going. It should be pretty serious.” Deng Mai, a gossip king, naturally had already gotten all the latest gossip.

Coteries existed in any industry, and real estate was naturally no exception. It wouldn’t be good to be absent or let just Deng Mai go to the event that almost all the members of the alliance would attend.

After some consideration, Lin Jingzhe nodded and put down the invitation letter. “Okay, then I’ll go, and you’re going with me. Tomorrow, I’m going to ask for a leave from school.”

Deng Mai immediately agreed. “By the way, I met Gao Sheng when I went home yesterday afternoon,” he added. “He went to your school to find you but he didn’t know your class schedule so he failed to catch you. He asked me to tell you that the leader of his school interest group, Wu Wangfei or something, has already prepared the information, and would like to ask when you can meet with him and discuss the cooperation face to face.”

Lin Jingzhe had almost forgotten about this matter. He took a sip of soup as he thought, and recalled that he had no classes this afternoon. “Please call Gao Sheng’s dorm room later and tell him that Wu Wangfei can come to meet me at… let’s see… the teahouse at the street just behind my university’s campus, at six o’clock today.”

Deng Mai took out a small notebook and recorded it diligently in his chicken-scratches-like scrawl. Recently, his swarthy face seemed much more mature, and the eyes flashing behind the glasses were bright and intelligent.

He hesitated, then asked, a little worried, “Brother Lin, do you really want to invest in that Internet thing? In the beginning, I thought it was just a small business and it would need 100,000 or 200,000 yuan at most.”

Lin Jingzhe raised a hand and patted him on the head, pushing it down slightly. The glasses made Deng Mai’s face appear sharp and cunning, like an “intellectual villain,” and it could actually put quite a lot of pressure on whoever was facing him.

“Don’t stare at me.” Lin Jingzhe thought about the project Gao Sheng described to him and shook his head. He couldn’t give a definite reply at the moment since he still didn’t know how solid the project was. “Let’s talk about this after the meeting.”

Translator’s Notes:

  1. The old hen’s meat was braised… – this puzzled me but it turned out to be relevant. It has to do with traditional Chinese medicine: old hen’s meat is supposed to enrich blood (and it’s called “old”, but apparently it’s usually not older than three years).
    Took my info from this site.

Translator: Eques
Editor: –

Eques:

(-ι_-)

Eques

Eques

Office worker by day, translator by night~ 🐱‍👤 I translate Death Progress Bar and Epiphanies of Rebirth

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qyuraa
January 16, 2021 1:45 pm

Thank you so much!!!!!!!!
I’m so excited that Xiao Chi and Lin Jingzhe are going on a trip!!!!! Hopefully they get closer and many good things happen!!!
LJZ is so impressive, I’m so happy for him(⁎˃ᴗ˂⁎)
Thank you so much again for your hard work!<33 Can’t wait for next chapter!

comixmcj
January 16, 2021 2:55 pm

Thank you for the update! Clever Lin Jingzhe <3

missymirei
missymirei
January 16, 2021 5:24 pm

Thank you so much for the update Eques~! I’ve been constantly refreshing my bookmarks for this, huhu. 🥺 I hope you’re in good health, fighting~! 💪

Polan
Polan
January 16, 2021 7:17 pm

The mention of the hen being old makes sense, even outside of China.
Older birds are used in stewing and braising as they are tougher, so they need longer wet cooking, but they have more flavour for a stew and are usually a cheaper meat.
For a roast you want a young tender bird.
Compare cooking lamb and mutton for a similar idea

MariAkki
MariAkki
January 16, 2021 7:55 pm

Our mc is very impressive, huh~

jess
jess
January 16, 2021 7:57 pm

thank you for new chapter 😘😘
it’s been so long since last chapter

Zo Arai
January 16, 2021 8:32 pm

It’s finally moving. I wonder how Xiao Chi can capture Lin Jingzhe’s heart.
Thank you for the update ❤️

Blood
Blood
January 16, 2021 8:45 pm

Thanks for the chapter! ^^)❤

Muggelschmuggel
Muggelschmuggel
January 17, 2021 1:36 am

LJZ feeling pressured by DM look – no one would believe it xD

Thx for the update ٩(。˃ ᵕ ˂ )و

maknae
maknae
January 17, 2021 5:04 am

it’s always a pleasure to read about Lin Jingzhe’s ways of dealing with his business, he’s ever so eloquent and charming (no wonder Xiao Chi fell for him). but what really makes me love his character so much is how invested he is in helping his old friends and their families 💛💜

thank you for the great translation \^•^/

Ruka
Ruka
January 27, 2021 12:16 am

Thank you for translating! 💙

littlerhymes
littlerhymes
February 13, 2021 12:44 am

Thank you for the update!!

Your daddy
Your daddy
April 18, 2021 10:54 am

Now I’m craving for braised chicken with mushrooms (ノ`Д´)ノ

Mndless
Mndless
March 11, 2024 2:16 pm

I would be suitably hesitant to splash out any serious cash. Limit it to around 2mil at most for the time being. Even with Flux Real Estate taking on a leading role in the development and shouldering 2/5 of the budget, it can still take dozens of millions at a conservative estimate to develop that land into the mixed-use business utopia that he envisions.