Chapter 833: Cultivating a Successor

As soon as He Yuzhu stepped into the villa that Hu Bayi had helped him buy, the mobile phone in his pocket rang.

He pulled it out to take a look; it was He Yushui.

The moment he pressed the answer button, He Yushui's voice came through like a barrage of gunfire: "Brother, why are you giving Ma Rui money again! Do you know that every time you give him money, he goes around treating people recklessly? He spent over two thousand on a single meal!"

He Yuzhu was stunned for a moment after listening, then burst into laughter.

"Yushui, your son clearly inherited your genes. Have you forgotten what you were like when you were little? Xiaomi, Dahua, and Xiaoqi were with you every day, eating your food. Now that your son treats someone to a meal, you're feeling the pinch?"

On the other end of the line, He Yushui couldn't keep her composure anymore and let out a snort of laughter.

"Brother, is that the same thing? Ma Rui is a boy; boys should be raised frugally, while girls should be raised with abundance."

He Yuzhu picked up the teacup from the coffee table and took a sip, his tone suddenly turning serious: "Yushui, listen to what I have to say. I feel that this kid Ma Rui is the most like me when I was young. I won't hide it from you today; I have carefully evaluated all my own sons. One by one, they each have their own flaws. He Zheng is too bold; he wants to gamble on everything, never considering a way out, and he doesn't understand what it means to be tactful. He Xiao is too soft-natured and can't shoulder heavy responsibilities. The child I have with Lin Wanning... there is always a barrier between us, and we can't get close. He Mu is quite good, but sooner or later he will have to take over the Liu Family Trade Company; that is his battlefield. Our He Family has such a massive operation, and we really lack someone who can stand as the head of the household. I want to evaluate Ma Rui; if he passes, he could potentially be the head of our He Family."

After hearing this, He Yushui didn't speak for a long time.

When she spoke again, her voice had changed pitch: "Brother, are you saying this for real? I look down on that kid of mine the most, yet... he caught your eye?"

"When have I ever misjudged a person? This kid is approachable and can get along with anyone, yet he is so elusive that you can never figure out what he is really thinking. He has a very clear ledger in his heart, yet he doesn't place much importance on wealth. This kind of temperament is one in ten thousand. Give me ten years to cultivate him, and he will certainly be able to shoulder great responsibilities."

He Yushui remained silent for a good while before speaking hesitantly: "Brother, I think... you had better not cultivate him. This kid really isn't as good as you say, and he will surely disappoint you in the future. Reasonably and emotionally, you should just focus on cultivating He Zheng; why bother..."

"You don't need to persuade me," He Yuzhu interrupted her directly. "My mind is made up."

He Yushui still wanted to make excuses for her son.

She was a mother, after all; how could she not hope for her son to get ahead? But she knew too well how much money He Yuzhu had and how vast his business was. Just thinking about that burden resting on her son's shoulders made her feel panicked.

"Brother," her tone suddenly turned firm, "you must explain clearly to me exactly what you value in him. Otherwise, I won't let him do it!"

He Yuzhu laughed, a laugh full of confidence.

"Yushui, the world of the future will be completely different from today. By then, the world's main industries won't be steel, construction, or petrochemicals; those are things of the past. The future belongs to the electronics industry. And in the electronics industry, the two most important things are communication and—short videos and film/television content. Think about it: in the future, everyone will have a mobile phone in their hand, and a phone will be just like a computer, capable of everything. If you don't watch videos, what will you watch? But the videos of that time will be different from the TV and movies of today. Everyone can be a director, everyone can be an actor; content is king, and traffic dominates. If Ma Rui learns the film and television trade thoroughly and masters it, our He Family's great ship will be able to sail steadily and go far."

He Yushui was mesmerized by his words.

He Yuzhu did not stop; he described the scenes of the future—short video platforms, live-stream shopping, an era where everyone is a creator—one by one, as if pushing open a door to the future before her eyes.

There was a long silence on the other end of the line.

When He Yushui spoke again, her tone had completely changed: "Brother, I'll listen to you... I'm going to buy up a large amount of novel copyrights."

He Yuzhu said with satisfaction: "Have Ma Rui come find me; I'll take him under my wing for a while."

The next evening, Ma Rui flew to Shen City.

The young man arrived travel-worn, and as soon as he entered the door, he stood respectfully before He Yuzhu with a slightly ingratiating smile: "Uncle, what do you want me to do this time? I will definitely work hard, otherwise my mother will surely scold me for taking your money for nothing."

He Yuzhu looked him up and down and smiled: "I'm going to bid on land soon; you'll be my assistant."

"Alright!" Ma Rui answered readily, then scratched his head, "But Uncle, I can only follow you for twenty days; the school..."

"That's enough." He Yuzhu waved his hand, his eyes carrying a meaningful smile. "Twenty days is just for you to experience life. Otherwise, how will you be a good actor in the future?"

He Yuzhu had already deployed his forces.

He divided his subordinates into several groups, each with their own tasks, spreading them out like a cast net.

Lingzi and Wang Pangzi were responsible for sweeping up properties—any storefronts or villas in the old city district that were listed for sale, they took them all, refusing no one.

Xu Damao and Hu Bayi targeted the old, failing factories in the city that were being transferred, visiting them one by one to negotiate, using both soft and hard tactics, pestering them relentlessly.

As for He Yuzhu himself, he took Ma Rui directly into the land auctions.

At that auction in Qiongzhou, land had sold for sky-high prices, and with that demonstration effect in place, every city of any scale across the country had learned a thing or two, setting up their auction processes to look quite professional.

Shen City had learned it perfectly; land had to be auctioned to be acquired.

For the next half month, Ma Rui followed He Yuzhu, shuttling between various auction venues, attending every auction and raising the paddle every time.

It was Ma Rui who raised the paddle every single time.

This was He Yuzhu's deliberate arrangement, intended to train the kid's psychological fortitude. Hundreds of thousands, millions, tens of millions—every time the paddle was raised, it was real money; an average person's hands would be shaking.

But He Yuzhu wanted him to raise it, to get him used to the feeling of spending money like water.

Interestingly, He Yuzhu ran into old acquaintances at every auction.

Zhao Jing, Boss Pan, Boss Feng, Boss Wang—those old rivals who had crossed him in Qiongzhou, every single one of them had come.

The moment these people saw He Yuzhu sitting in the venue, their expressions changed on the spot.

They tried to set traps every time; as long as He Yuzhu raised his paddle, they would follow, determined to compete.

And the result? All the good land was snatched up by He Yuzhu at reasonable prices, while they ended up buying the undesirable plots at high prices.

In the end, it was because the two sides had different psychological expectations.

He Yuzhu knew how much the houses in these areas would be worth in the future; he had a clear ledger in his mind, so his bids were both ruthless and accurate, never wasting a single cent.

As for Zhao Jing and his gang, they were completely in the dark, relying entirely on guesswork.

Qiongzhou had already issued extremely strict policies—if 25 percent of the land area was not developed within two years, not only could it not be transferred, but the land would be directly reclaimed.

The land Zhao Jing bought couldn't be sold, and Boss Li was also trapped by Cheng Shao, forced to bite the bullet and spend money to build houses.

This time, Zhao Jing and his group had run to Pudong because they had heard some inside information and planned to use the same old tricks to pick up a bargain again.

They hadn't expected to run into the madman He Yuzhu again.

Bad news from the front line soon reached Cheng Shao's ears.

He was so angry his face turned blue; he smashed cups and chairs, breaking everything in his office that could be broken, and in the end, he could only stare in frustration, completely helpless.

In fact, He Yuzhu's purpose in coming to Pudong this time wasn't entirely to spite Cheng Shao.

He had deeper intentions.

He didn't want those Hong Kong businessmen to circle off good plots of land one by one at cabbage prices, develop them slowly, drag it out for eight or ten years, and finally build houses that were outrageously expensive, squeezing the common people's hard-earned money dry.

In this life, since he wasn't short of money, he couldn't give them the chance to pick up such big bargains.

Furthermore, he wanted to ensure that those speculators who purely traded in land wouldn't even get a sip of the soup.