Epiphanies of Rebirth 40.1
Chapter 40.1
Although Changqing City was not that far away, it took about six hours to drive there, not counting the occasional pit stop. Despite leaving early in the morning, it was already four o’clock in the afternoon when they arrived at their destination.
Now, Lin Jingzhe understood why it was a two-day trip with an overnight stay. When he came here in his last life, it was after the highway had already opened. At that time, the distance to Changqing City was about the same as the total length of the elevated roads from the innermost to the outermost ring road in Yan City. After arriving in Changqing City just in time for a late breakfast, he dealt with what he came here to do before leisurely heading back in the afternoon. When comparing the present and the future, it was obvious how much the highway would contribute to the development of this city.
Changqing City, the capital of Changqing Province, had been planned as a big, modern city with a high-rise skyline. It was just that because of all the factories that had opened here, the air quality was not very good.
But this did not affect Changqing’s soaring housing prices—it was too close to Yan City, after all. It was difficult to buy a house in Yan City in later years, and to be granted permanent residency in the capital and allocated housing was nigh impossible. For people with somewhat higher income, like Lin Jingzhe, it was still bearable, but not all of his subordinates in the company were so lucky. In order to gain a firm foothold in Yan City, the young people who didn’t own a house would bend over backward. If they couldn’t get one here, settling down in a nearby city was the next best alternative. Before he got married, Lin Jingzhe’s assistant bought a house in one of the better districts of Changqing City, and it was quite expensive. Lin Jingzhe remembered it well because he had lent him 500,000 yuan at the time. The assistant was very grateful and after the wedding, he and his newlywed wife invited Lin Jingzhe home for dinner.
Now, however, the city was still far from blooming into its future form. Despite being a province’s capital and close to Yan City, it was less developed than the rural Qunnan City; even the main road was bumpy and full of potholes. The municipal party committee guest house’s clerk, who boarded the bus to act as the tour guide, cleared his throat with some embarrassment. “This situation is unavoidable, I’m afraid, with the industrial zone in development,” he said, motioning towards a big truck that roared past. “New factories open every day. The coal mines in Beisong [A/N: a neighboring county] have a very high output, and the trucks drive through here so often that even the newly built roads are worn out in no time.”
His explanation was apologetic but there was a note of pride in his voice. The abundant mineral resources were currently the distinguishing feature of Changqing Province and also its key to escaping poverty.
The authorities had been informed of the investigation trip. With the province being in urgent need of property development, the provincial government attached great importance to so many well-known real estate businessmen visiting Changqing. They were welcomed as honorable guests, and naturally, there was a banquet planned in the evening.
The coach drove along the main roads, tracing a big circle around the urban area, allowing them to gauge the basic situation of the city. As the sky dimmed, it slowly headed towards the commercial district which was currently most prosperous.
The mineral and precious metals deposits had attracted a large number of prospectors about a decade prior, and in the early ‘80s, the production of coal in Changqing began to increase, marking a beginning on its road towards prosperity. As such, while the city was still not very well-developed, it nonetheless had an “upscale” area whose neon signs, dazzling in the night, struck a sharp contrast to the potholes and low-rise residential buildings.
In Changqing Restaurant, a round table meant to seat twenty was set up, and almost all members of the Changqing government responsible for the economy awaited the group.
Lin Jingzhe had napped in the coach in the afternoon and was now rested and in good spirits. He and Xiao Chi sat next to each other all the way. By the time they got off the bus, they had almost worked out the development plan for the triangle plot, which was the main reason contributing to his good mood.
In the future, Flux Realty was a very successful and powerful company. Almost all of their development projects were oriented towards mid-to-high-end customers. In his last life, Lin Jingzhe had done some research on real estate before buying his apartment; if Flux Realty had been involved in the development, the prices more often than not tended to be higher, just like with celebrity endorsement marketing strategy. The company had enough fame and reputation to trigger the brand effect.
The main reason for this was the professionalism of their construction work. Without even touching on the surrounding facilities, no one could doubt the quality of the houses built by Flux Realty. Contemporary real estate was still in its infancy and the market was chaotic; the majority of developers grabbed the land, then outsourced the construction work since this cooperation model was a way to make big profits with small capital. To seize a project, many construction companies tried to increase their competitiveness by adding conditions favorable to the developer, for example, paying only after the construction had been finished and so on. This directly cut away more than half of the risk and economic pressure that the developer needed to bear, and the constructor just needed to wait before collecting the money.
However, the risks were always equal to advantages. These outsourced construction companies might have been adept in competing for a contract, but when it came to actual skills, it was a real mixed bag—some didn’t even possess proper construction qualifications. Of course, it wasn’t that excellent construction companies didn’t exist, but Lin Jingzhe had just become involved in the real estate industry and had no way to sort the wheat from the chaff. If he chose wrongly, there was bound to be no end to troubles in the future; to cut down on the actual money they spent, some contractors were audacious to the point of even skimming off large quantities of rebar that should’ve been used to reinforce a concrete construction.
This was also a major reason for so many “tofu-dreg projects” emerging in later years.
The building in the triangle plot would have at least a dozen floors and Lin Jingzhe dared not take safety lightly. In the future, there would be overpasses and a subway line built nearby; Lin Jingzhe might as well never get into the real estate industry rather than have his building collapsing because of the vibrations caused by a dump truck driving past the entrance.
As such, he was overjoyed to have been spared this worry. All his old scores against Xiao Chi seemed to be written off, and they even sat next to each other during the meal.
During the bus trip, Qi Kai had tried several times to talk with him about the triangle plot but had not been successful. Obviously unhappy, he stared darkly at Lin Jingzhe from the other side of the table.
Lin Jingzhe ignored him. To be honest, he had a bad impression of Qi Kai from the few encounters he had with him in his last life. The man was so used to being “heaven’s favored son” and getting whatever he wanted that he was insufferably arrogant and felt that the whole world was at his beck and call. Moreover, according to the rumors, his character was questionable and whatever business he was doing out in the country was not honest.
This questionable character seemed to be passed down to Dominion Properties. These days, Lin Jingzhe heard a lot of gossip from Deng Mai, a large part of which revolved around Qi Kai’s company. It was said that before being brought down by Flux Realty, the real estate industry in Yan City was pretty much Qi Kai’s playground. Unlike Hu Shaofeng and Fang Wenhao, who hardly even talked about their family background at work, Qi Kai brought up his grandfather’s name so often he might’ve as well tattooed on his forehead, making many of his competitors helpless and unable to do anything but yield out of deference to Elder Qi. Therefore, even the wealthy and powerful New Era Group had to avoid him sometimes.
At that time, almost no one dared to grab the land Dominion Properties wanted, because it pretty much meant being finished. Although this was no longer the case, Qi Kai was still not easy to deal with. Lin Jingzhe really didn’t want to offend him, so he could only pretend he didn’t see him, as there was no way in hell he was going to surrender the triangle plot’s development project which was guaranteed to be a huge success.
He was not the kind of person who would willingly suffer losses; if someone provoked him, he would rather make them both lose than let the other side win.
As the evening wore on, Changqing Restaurant was bustling as this was where the province’s upper crust tended to gather. There was no business done without a drinking party, after all, and the sounds of toasts could also be heard from the other private rooms on this floor.
When Lin Jingzhe was about halfway done with the food on his plate, there was some kind of commotion outside, then someone knocked on the door.
It was a group of businessmen, holding cups of alcohol in their hands, led by a middle-aged man with a beer belly and a shiny, balding crown. After pushing the door open and peering in, he said with a smile, “Oh, please excuse me! I’m very sorry to interrupt, Mayor Cao. I just heard someone say that you’re here so I rushed out to see. Who knew it was really true! Recently, you’ve been so busy with work it’s not easy to run into you. Now that I finally did, I have to respect you with a toast!”
The man he addressed laughed; clearly, the two were good friends. Rather than making his excuses and letting the interlopers leave, he stood up and addressed the guests at the table. “I didn’t expect to meet him here—gentlemen, let me introduce to you Mr. Wang Quan. Mr. Wang is one of the big taxpayers in Changqing Province—his manufacturing company is now worth more than one billion!”
He looked towards the door. “You old rascal, to have run here now, your luck is as good as always! These esteemed guests are all big real estate bosses, all the way from Yan City. Rather than me, it’s these gentlemen you should respect with a toast!”
Wang Quan put an amazed expression on his face. “Oh! Indeed, I would be honored to offer you a toast if I may, gentlemen!”
Saying this, he led his group into the room.
The people accompanying him were well-dressed and looked like fellow businessmen, but they were probably only casually acquainted with him as their demeanor wasn’t as relaxed as his. When Mayor Cao introduced his guests with such a solemn attitude, they all became nervous, their smiles slightly stiff as they followed closely behind Wang Quan.
Originally, Lin Jingzhe just smiled at them affably, but spotting two familiar figures in the crowd, his smile faded a little.
Xiao Chi usually seemed to be indifferent to everything around him, but this time, he asked Lin Jingzhe in a low voice, “What’s wrong?”
Lin Jingzhe’s gaze followed a man and woman walking behind Wang Quan for a moment longer. “It’s nothing,” he said, looking away.
Wang Quan took a bottle of Maotai and boldly and heroically drank a toast with every guest at the table one-by-one while introducing himself. When he reached Lin Jingzhe, he was shocked by his good looks and young age.
“This is Mr. Lin Jingzhe,” Mayor Cao introduced. “You shouldn’t underestimate him because of his age, Old Wang. Mr. Lin’s company, New Beginnings Real Estate, has quite a reputation in Yan City. A few days ago, weren’t you excited when we talked about the ‘land king’s’ auction? The lead character of that story is exactly Mr. Lin here!”
This was beyond Wang Quan’s expectations. He’d thought Lin Jingzhe was a junior that one of the big bosses brought along for experience—he didn’t expect the young man to actually be one of the big bosses. Of course, he had heard about the famous “land king” of Yan City; New Beginnings made almost 100 million yuan of pure profit, which was pretty much a textbook example of the “buy low and sell high” strategy. Pretty much everyone in the business world heard about it. Whenever Wang Quan talked about it, he didn’t hide his admiration for New Beginning’s decision-maker. Unexpectedly, that person turned out to be this astonishingly young man.
He stared in shock for a second before getting his expression under control, and hurriedly poured Lin Jingzhe a glass of liquor. “After hearing the stories, I have long admired Mr. Lin, but I never expected him to be such a young talent! I’m stunned! Let me toast you, Mr. Lin, but you don’t have to drink.”
Lin Jingzhe didn’t really like socializing, but not liking it didn’t mean being bad at it. At Wang Quan’s words, he just smiled and replied, “I don’t deserve your praise, Mr. Wang—compared to your achievements, my little outfit is nothing. As a junior in the business world, I should consider you my teacher, so let me respect you with this cup of liquor.”
“Ah ah ah, I dare not, I dare not!” Seeing that Lin Jingzhe raised his glass intending to drink, Wang Quan hurriedly grabbed his own cup and gulped it down, preempting him. Still, Lin Jingzhe’s words made his heart tickle with pleasure. Putting down his cup, he couldn’t help but inwardly sigh with feeling—the rear waves of the Yangtze River drive on those ahead, as the saying goes. He thought back on his own youth; at twenty, he’d been still pretty much a snot-nosed brat, with nowhere close to this level of poise and sophistication.
After he finished drinking, the people who accompanied him also stepped forward one by one to toast the guests at the table. However, in terms of status, they were clearly minnows to Wang Quan’s whale, so they acted much more deferentially, even taking the initiative to pour alcohol.
Lin Jingzhe watched the tall, slender man pouring liquor for him with a smile. Despite being middle-aged, the man was still quite handsome, with an elegant, refined look.
Seeing that Lin Jingzhe’s gaze stayed on the man for a long time, Wang Quan hurried to introduce him. “Mr. Lin, let me introduce you—this is Mr. Qi Qing. Speaking of which, he also does real estate business like all of you, but in Qunnan. After hearing the news of the highway, he came to Changqing to get the lay of the land.”
“No, no, please don’t even mention this, Mr. Wang. How can my small company be compared to the big businesses of those gentlemen?” Qi Qing carefully poured alcohol into Lin Jingzhe’s glass, stopping immediately when it was seven-tenths full. He put down the bottle, then took his own cup and toasted Lin Jingzhe, deferentially holding it in both hands. “It seems that coming to Changqing was the right decision since I was lucky enough to have the honor of meeting Mr. Lin. I have long admired your vision and strategy, Mr. Lin. Please allow me to respect you with a toast!”
Is that so. Lin Jingzhe raised a corner of his mouth in an ambiguous smile. “Mr. Qi’s business is based in Qunnan?”
Qi Qing drank the cup in one gulp. Hearing the question, he replied quickly, “Yes, that’s right. Has Mr. Lin ever been to Qunnan?”
Lin Jingzhe raised his glass but only took a sip. Not answering directly, he remarked, “Qunnan is a good place.”
“Hahaha, that it is. We have good water and good soil, and there are many beautiful mountains and rivers. You really should visit Qunnan when you have a chance—I’d be honored to play the host if you’d allow me,” Qi Qing said, understanding the youth’s answer as to mean that he had never been to Qunnan. Lin Jingzhe accepting his toast put Qi Qing in a very happy mood. After extending this invitation, he even turned back and pulled forward the woman who originally was standing behind him. “Come here, let me introduce you. This is Jiang Qiaqia, my wife and also the general manager of Qiqing Real Estate.”
Translator’s Notes:
- “To sort the wheat from the chaff” – literally “separate pearls from a pile of fish eyes.” Comes from the idiom 魚目混珠 – “to pass off fish eyes for pearls,” which means to pass off fake products as genuine.
- “Heaven’s favored son” [天之骄子] – God’s favored one; an unusually lucky person; specially privileged person.
- “(…) making many of his competitors helpless and unable to do anything but yield out of deference to Elder Qi“ [不看僧面看佛面] – not for the monk’s sake, but for the Buddha’s; (to do sth. for a person) out of deference to sb. else; do sth. out of consideration for sb. else.
- “Let me respect you with this cup of liquor“ – 酒 [jiǔ] means alcoholic drink; wine; liquor; spirits – in short, alcoholic beverages in general. MTL often translates 酒 as simply “wine” but it should be understood as a general term for an alcoholic drink.
- “The rear waves of the Yangtze River drive on those ahead” – a saying meaning the new is constantly replacing the old; each new generation excels the previous, etc. The full saying goes 长江后浪推前浪， 一代更比一代强 – “As in the Yangtze River the waves behind drive on those ahead, so each new generation excels the last one.” (Dictionary)
- “They acted much more deferentially, even taking the initiative to pour alcohol” – according to the etiquette, the lower-ranking person would pour alcohol for the higher-ranking person. (Chinese Drinking Culture; A Guide to China’s Alcohol Culture and Drinking Etiquette)
- “Qi Qing carefully poured alcohol into Lin Jingzhe’s glass, stopping immediately when it was seven-tenths full“ – according to the convention, you should only pour until the glass is seven-tenths full because the other three-tenths is said to be filled with friendship and affection.
(I took the explanation from this book and it’s actually about tea, but I guess it’s the same for alcohol.)
Translator: Eques
Editor: Austera
Consultant: Austera
Oya, i’m pretty sure Lin Jingzhe remembers this guy from his previous life. in any case, he sounds suspicious (i hope he wasn’t actually mentioned previously and it flew over my head) 😂
Thank you for the chapter! ^•^
That’s his mother’s husband.
If you already forgot about it.
And Jiang Chacha is his mother.
At least I think they are. Unless I remember wrongly.
thanks a lot for clarifying this for me. remembering names is not my strongest point at all, as can be seen already 😐
I could be misremembering, but he should be Lin Jingzhe’s mother’s new husband, which means he is currently introducing our MC to his own mother.
Wow this just got interesting!!
It’s hilarious tor think that he is being introduced to his own mother. I wonder if she will recognize him and act like he’s a complete stranger.
Thank you so much fir the update!!
Love your translations
Ooh! Wasn’t expecting them to show up now. Very curious how the rest of the evening goes. Thank you for sharing the story with us!
Oh shit his mother… I hope she doesn’t make trouble for him.
Thank you so much for your hard work! Looking towards next chapter <3
On the contrary, I hope Lin Jingzhe would have the opportunity to make his mother embarrassed.
But then again, remembering how desperate she is about her status in Qi Qing’s family…
I guess she would be pestering him if he’s not strong enough to reject her.
We’ll see…
Wait, isn’t that his mother? :’D (If I remember it right.) Urghs, let’s just hope that she doesn’t talk out of line now….
Thx for the ch ٩( >ヮ<)۶
I bet his Mother won’t even recognize him – I mean Its not like she was visiting him all thise years…
Thank You for new chapter <3
Interesting. This is absolutely unexpected. It’s going to be very entertaining to see his mother’s reaction. I just hope she won’t be pestering him because of his success.
Thank you for the update ❤️
It seems the waters run deep. A small fry from Qunnan came all the way to ride the waves and really succeeded in meeting the bigwigs. I understand a rich tycoon but Qi Qing & Jiang Qiaqia? Isn’t the tycoon afraid of implicating himself? Is the mayor ok in the head?
Wow, not even recognizing your stepson after being told his full name. How shameful is that? Even if you don’t want to acknowledge him as part of your family, you should at least familiarize yourself with his name and picture so you don’t embarrass yourself.
OMG WELCOME STEP FATHER 🤓
Also, I’m not sure I will ever fully understand Southeast Asia’s business drinking culture. Like, I know it, but I’ll never understand it. Why bother to drink yourself to cirrhosis of the liver when you could just talk nicely while slowly enjoying a reasonable amount of alcohol or tea or something?