Chapter 815

Su Yang said, "Aunt, I know you're doing this for my own good, and I know you've seen far more than I could ever imagine. But I've always believed that being an official means seeking welfare for the common people and development for the locality."

"Otherwise, what's the difference between me and those good-for-nothings who just go through the motions day after day? Lieshan Xian has been held back for so many years, previously propping up its image with a distorted economic model. Now this winery has collapsed spectacularly—not only are the county's officials struggling, but the common people's lives are also hard."

"Although only about a thousand people actually go to work, at least ten thousand workers in industries linked to the Shuanggou district are involved. Not to go that far, just speaking of these civil servants—if no new projects come in and we don't revitalize our economic model, we might not even be able to pay salaries."

"Even though I'm merely a Vice County Magistrate, and moreover the one who almost always ranks last in the standing committee, I still can't shirk responsibility just because of my position. Therefore I must see these ideas through, even if I don't stay for two years—of course that's hard to say; maybe I'll end up working five or eight years."

Qiao Yin Yuan laughed outright: "What are you joking about? You want to work five or eight years in this barren land—never mind your maternal and paternal grandparents, even your father-in-law would be driven to death by your anger."

"The reason I didn't want you involved in this before is simply because the merit isn't immediate, the benefit lies far in the future, and you might not even get this political achievement. Later people would accuse you of meddling, overstepping your authority, and attack you."

"If something goes wrong during road construction, or if friction arises between businesses and government staff while you're developing the industrial park, it'll all be on you."

"Besides, everyone just focuses on their own post; even if someone becomes County Magistrate, they're only concerned with getting by day to day—who cares about grand development plans? Your position… well, since you've already come to me, I have no reason not to help you."

"Indeed, you also need to advance quickly and grow up. I can help you start work on all the county's road widening and hardening projects, even the streetlight project, including Yingbin Dadao; later, when your funds are in place, you can pay us gradually, which will also ease your financial pressure."

"But for a highway project, there's no such thing as starting work on credit—it requires money, and you need to spend it every day. Even though we're a large company, once we get involved in highways we must keep clear, detailed accounts. It's not that we can't afford it; it's that we have many projects running simultaneously with broad fund usage, so fronting hundreds of millions or even billions at once is difficult."

"As for the paperwork, go ahead and handle it; if you run into problems, call me anytime. I won't promise anything else, but I do know some people in this area. Although I may not know anyone in Ganzhou Sheng, I have plenty of acquaintances in the Ministry of Transport."

"Aunt, I'm a businessman—though I run a state-owned enterprise, I can't work for nothing; you need to give me some benefit. Let me be clear: this isn't bribery; the little you could produce wouldn't impress me anyway. You need to contribute something substantial, some solid assets."

Her half‑joking demand for repayment left Su Yang momentarily unsure how to respond. Moreover, his aunt was at the age of greatest charm, well‑maintained, so he dared not entertain such thoughts—but in an instant he thought of something and said:

"Aunt, I know you wouldn't care for money and such vulgar things, and as a poor official like me, even the salary I'd earn in a lifetime wouldn't catch your eye."

"I'm not like those scheming people who engage in extortion, bribery, and the like, so I also have no antiques or calligraphy. But I think that in the coming years real estate will surge unexpectedly, with the specific outbreak point occurring in 2008."

"In these years, buying land will be extremely cheap—don't even mention remote areas; even prime districts won't be worth much. Of course, don't go to first‑tier or super‑first‑tier cities; head straight to the county seats of second‑, third‑, fourth‑, or fifth‑tier cities. You'll surely think they have little purchasing power, and most buyers in county seats are employees of enterprises and institutions who normally get welfare housing from their units after starting work."

"But the true main force of future homebuyers won't be them—it will be all the young generation. Whether they marry or move to the city, they will have to buy a house, becoming a rigid demand. Moreover, the state's economic development will also focus on this sector."

"When everyone finally catches on to this business opportunity, even someone with your status might not be able to snag a larger slice of the cake. Remember, it must be the second‑ and third‑tier cities and their subordinate county seats."

"In those super‑developed cities, land prices are already high now, and the more prosperous the area, the more people watch it, and the more controversies arise. The more remote the place, the less attention it gets now; but once they discover it, you'll already have seized those resources. As long as you acquire the land, whether it's commercial or whether you can later build housing—that's up to you to decide."

Qiao Yin Yuan listened seriously to Su Yang's suggestion; although she didn't think the real‑estate market would dominate the economy in the future, she also vaguely felt it might see some development.

But the state currently has no related policies, not even a hint; large‑scale operation mainly carries some risk. She said: "Sure, if what you say is truly feasible and you turn out to be right in the future, then I wouldn't need to work at all—I could simply set up a development company and enter the real‑estate market directly."

Su Yang said, "I know you might not believe it, but the fact is exactly what I said. Later I'll talk with Ruo Han to see how much more money we can scrape together, and give it all to you as equity. Whether we can work honestly in the future and resist coveting others' luxuries will entirely depend on you."

Qiao Yin Yuan said with a smile, "Alright, do I still need that little bit of money from you? Later I'll just get you to take equity; you don't need to worry about the details. Moreover, if we really pour money into this place to hoard land, it will take hundreds of millions or even billions, and in the end we'll still need your cheap mother‑in‑law to step forward."

Although she is the head of a state‑owned enterprise, she is fundamentally a businessman; after Su Yang said that, she had already worked out all the details. Why would Qiao Yindi be asked to step forward?

Because that person is now the head of Jiangnan Bank. Sometimes Su Yang can't help but admire that person's connections within that circle; the only thing possibly lacking is the vision to sniff out historical opportunities.