Chapter 495: Delaying the Construction Schedule

Chen Yang didn't think he was that dark.

To increase the value of the Dongjiang New City residential area, he gave the land the government had allocated as his compensation to Xingcheng No. 1 Middle School, and also provided land free of charge for the Four Prestigious Schools to build branch campuses. Adding the three thousand units of relocation compensation housing purchased for the government and five years of bank interest, this cost was not small.

Of course, he readily agreed to Liu Jianghua's request to provide three thousand units of housing for the relocation households of Dongjiang New City, but in fact he was also putting on a show for Wang Haifeng's uncle, Deputy Secretary Wang, to see.

With Dongjiang New City housing priced at eight thousand yuan per square meter, three thousand units of one-hundred-square-meter apartments would cost 240 million yuan. This is not much different from Wang Haifeng's loss in the stock market.

Moreover, Chen Yang lost real money, while Wang Haifeng's losses were borne by the gullible shareholders of Carefree Dwelling. Deputy Secretary Wang only needs to do the math to know which side is losing.

In fact, Chen Yang also counted himself as having guessed right. Since announcing the provision of three thousand units of compensation housing for Dongjiang New City's relocation households, the troubles he encountered at his several companies in Xingcheng have obviously decreased a lot.

Of course, as long as Deputy Secretary Wang remains in office, Chen Yang will not let down his guard.

Any bigwig sitting in that position, if he harbors even a hint of malice, need not lift a finger himself—Chen Yang would have to pay a heavy price.

Just like this time, the other side never showed up personally; it was only some underlings causing trouble, and they gave Chen Yang a hard time.

So, Chen Yang specially called Su Mingyue and instructed her to look for more suitable industries and land in Shencheng and Yangcheng.

If the other side truly intends to strike a killing blow and Chen Yang cannot obtain strong support, then he would shift all his industries southward.

The business environment in Shencheng and Yangcheng can also play a better catalytic role in the development of the Old Hundreds E-commerce Platform.

After communicating with Liu Shijie, Chen Yang also got in touch with the management of Wu Clan Real Estate and asked them to extend the construction schedule.

As compensation, Chen Yang entrusted them with the construction project of the commercial building in Xinan City.

However, after several big promotions by Chen Yang, Dongjiang New City has become the focus of Xingcheng. As soon as the Phase One and Phase Two projects halt, the news immediately reaches Sun Changqing's ears.

Consequently, Chen Yang was summoned again to the Xingcheng Municipal Government.

"Chen Yang, have you encountered any new difficulties? Why has the Dongjiang New City project stopped again?" Sun Changqing got straight to the point as soon as he spoke.

Chen Yang already had a countermeasure and immediately said, "Mayor Sun, I plan to first complete the branch campuses of the Four Prestigious Schools. That way, after the Phase One and Phase Two projects are finished, the children's schooling issue in the residential area will also be resolved."

"Only one campus of the Four Prestigious Schools has been confirmed so far; you don't need to rush. For now, we should still get the Phase One and Phase Two projects of Dongjiang New City completed so the relocation households can move into new homes sooner." Sun Changqing did not know that Chen Yang's purpose in delaying the construction was to raise housing prices. He hoped even more that Dongjiang New City would take off during his term.

Chen Yang said to Sun Changqing, "Mayor Sun, sharpening the axe does not delay the work of cutting firewood; only by guaranteeing good supporting facilities for the residential area can we better attract residents. You wouldn't want all those houses of mine to go unsold, would you?"

Sun Changqing snorted, not believing Chen Yang's explanation from the bottom of his heart. He knew the situation of Dongjiang New City very well; even the staff of the Xingcheng Municipal Government General Office were closely watching its popularity. As long as the housing prices were not extraordinarily outrageous, they would surely be snapped up as soon as they went on the market.

"Chen Yang, I suggest you first finish the Phase One and Phase Two projects. The matter of building campuses for the Four Prestigious Schools can be postponed, or let the government handle it here."

Chen Yang immediately rejected Sun Changqing's suggestion. "Mayor Sun, I promised to build branch campuses for the Four Prestigious Schools because they pledged to prioritize hiring students from Dongjiang New City. If the government steps in, the priority admission qualification for Dongjiang New City students at the Four Prestigious Schools would disappear. Then disagreements would arise when people buy houses. Moreover, my investment would suffer severe damage."

Sun Changqing had already consulted with Cai Chongming, the principal of Xingcheng No. 1 Middle School, and knew Chen Yang was not lying. Nevertheless, he earnestly hoped the construction progress of Dongjiang New City could be a bit faster.

"Chen Yang, why not divide your forces? Let Sunshine Real Estate Company build the campuses of the Four Prestigious Schools, while Wu Clan Real Estate continues to push forward the Phase One project of Dongjiang New City."

Chen Yang immediately shook his head in opposition. "Since Dongjiang New City Phase One has been promised to Sunshine Real Estate Company, we cannot go back on that. Moreover, every construction company, to guard against losing its livelihood, keeps a trick up its sleeve during work."

"How can I guarantee that Wu Clan Real Estate will properly handle the hidden connections of Sunshine Real Estate?"

Sun Changqing asked Chen Yang, puzzled: "Isn't your relationship with the boss of Sunshine Real Estate not bad? Would they also keep a trick up their sleeve for you?"

Chen Yang said with a solemn expression: "Private relations are private relations; when it comes to cooperation, we must still conduct affairs publicly and impartially."

After thinking for a while, Sun Changqing said: "If Liu Shijie is unwilling to yield, then let Sunshine Real Estate continue with the Dongjiang New City Phase One project, and let Wu Clan Real Estate handle the campuses of the Four Prestigious Schools."

Chen Yang understood Sun Changqing's meaning—that the Dongjiang New City project must not be halted. To avoid offending Sun Changqing, he could only nod and say, "Mayor Sun, after I return I will get in touch with the heads of these two companies and strive to work out the best solution."

Only then did Sun Changqing nod in satisfaction.

He sighed and said to Chen Yang with earnest sincerity: "The Dongjiang New City project has already encountered enough problems; I don't want any further mishaps."

Chen Yang worried that Sun Changqing was overthinking, and immediately agreed.

The next day, the Phase Two project of Dongjiang New City restarted. However, Sun Changqing soon realized that the progress of Phase Two was still very slow—its efficiency was less than half of what it had been before.

When he contacted Chen Yang again, the latter made an excuse about family matters and returned early to Qingshui City.

Sun Changqing felt helpless. He sat down, thought calmly for a while, and suddenly had an epiphany.

A forced-demolition accident in the Phase Three project of Dongjiang New City compelled Chen Yang to produce three thousand units of housing to quell the uproar. To recoup this loss, he could only manipulate housing prices.

Although housing prices in Xingcheng had risen considerably, they still had not reached the level needed for Chen Yang to recover his losses.

Under these circumstances, the best choice was to delay the progress of the Dongjiang New City project. The later the delivery, the higher the housing prices could become.

Thinking this through, Sun Changqing abandoned the idea of recalling Chen Yang to Xingcheng to hold him accountable.

Since Chen Yang founded the Old Hundreds Agricultural Products Trading Company, Xingcheng's economic growth rate has noticeably increased. An Old Hundreds E-commerce Platform and a Dongjiang New City commercial-residential residential area have together driven many local industries to develop rapidly.

For someone who has made such a great contribution, it is only fitting that he should earn a little extra money from housing prices as well.