For Wu Wangfei and Liang Pi, the investment might’ve been a great wave, a life-changing event that at long last let them see the hope of fulfilling their dream, but for Lin Jingzhe, it was naught but a small ripple on the water surface.

Although one million yuan was not a small amount, for the current him, it was not worth a mention. He told Liang Pi that they’d cooperate “if there’s nothing inappropriate,” by which he meant he was certain to do so if there were no accidents. It was meant to be a long-term investment and the groundwork for potential future development.

Others might not be able to tell but actually, Lin Jingzhe’s self-esteem was not very high. In his previous life, he wasted his youth; although later, he worked hard, determined to achieve success, it was not easy because his lack of solid foundations gave him no competitive edge. He truly felt that he was not smart enough, especially that he lacked insight and judgment, and all the regrets of his previous life seemed to confirm these flaws. As such, even though he somehow got a second chance, he still considered himself to be the same ordinary, mediocre man, the only difference being that he knew some of what was going to happen in the future.

Depending on this knowledge, such as which piece of land would increase in value and which stock will soar, he might be able to get some advantage at the beginning, but after that?

Business competition would be getting more and more fierce and the opportunities would be dwindling. His “prophetic ability” would gradually become useless. Then what? Was he supposed to just sit back and rest on his laurels, idling his fortune away?

Investing in some enterprises with good prospects was great insurance for the future. Those one- or two-million investments were akin to bets; if he lost, he lost, but if he won, they’d surely give him back tens or hundreds times the return.

Once this idea appeared in Lin Jingzhe’s mind, it refused to leave. When he was boarding the coach to Changqing Province the next day, he was still scouring his memory for domestic companies that were well-known in the future.

Yan City’s “real estate alliance” gathered almost all of the small and reputable real estate enterprises. The investigation trip to Changqing Province seemed to be an “official” group activity and pretty much all the members were attending—even Dai Gaofeng, the chairman of New Era Group and the alliance’s unofficial leader, came in person. At present, the drive to Changqing Province was still neither easy nor pleasant, so as per Dai Gaofeng’s proposition, everyone decided to forgo cars and travel together by coach.

It was New Era Group that bought Lin Jingzhe’s land at Shiku Lane, paying 160 million yuan. Being able to easily take out such a big sum showed just how deep-pocketed and influential it was. Therefore, all those bosses, despite having enough power to shake Yan City’s business circle if they joined hands, got on the coach without raising a word of protest.

Lin Jingzhe was undoubtedly the youngest among this group of entrepreneurs. Adding to that his exceptional looks and bearing, he was especially eye-catching. Dai Gaofeng clearly was quite impressed with him; upon meeting, he shook hands and greeted Lin Jingzhe, and later, he specially arranged for him to sit in the frontmost row of seats, which were the most convenient and had the best view.

Deng Mai was very popular—right after getting on the bus, a group of bosses dragged him to the back rows to chat. Lin Jingzhe exchanged polite greetings with the people sitting nearby, then quietly sat in his seat, looking through the information on Changqing Province.

Changqing was a large province close to Yan City. It used to be very poor, with barely any sense of existence among the other provinces. It was not until the rich mineral resources were discovered there that the situation began to improve. Since then, it gradually transformed into a province abundant with factories and with an industry-driven economy.

Before the news of the construction of the highway, few real estate businessmen in Yan City cared about this place, but now, it’d become a tasty treat everyone wanted a piece of. Not to mention the inspection organized by the Yan City’s “real estate alliance,” even a special booklet introducing the province had been printed. It was quite detailed, to the point of listing the previous Changqing Party Committee Secretaries on top of the current one.

Reportedly, since the construction of the highway was announced, the land price in Changqing City, the capital of Changqing Province, exploded. Although it was still nowhere close to the price in Yan City, unlike there, it was a “virgin land”! Moreover, the developable range was much larger than in the relatively mature Yan City, and the prices were bound to rise sharply after the highway was completed. If one could seize the opportunity, they’d likely reap huge profits in the future.

Lin Jingzhe, however, wasn’t really interested. As someone with no family background and lacking sufficient financial assets, who barely managed to squeeze his foot in Yan City’s business circle, he had neither strength nor energy to spare to eye other provinces.

What’s more, he was well aware that the real estate market in Yan City was far from being saturated. Others might not know it, but how could he not know? The ring roads would continue to be added along with viaducts linking them together, expanding urban areas, and as long as the house was within the bounds of Yan City, even if it was the outermost suburb, the price would never be lower than in any provincial capital.

So he just looked through the booklet casually, concentrating mainly on his peripheral vision, observing the scene inside and outside the coach.