Back to the prime of life

Chapter 212 Busy
"Since its establishment, Xingkong Real Estate has only acquired two plots of land in Jiangzhou. Compared with other real estate companies that are aggressively expanding their territories, this is a world of difference, or rather, a complete lack of ambition. But this also shows that we have some ideas. In the words of President Lu, we should run the company with a ten-year vision."

Everyone knows about last year's tainted milk powder scandal, which gave us the idea to remain patient and meticulously create something that wouldn't cheat people. This also requires that Xingkong Real Estate consider this from the very beginning of the project design…

Wang Hongcheng saw Lu Changge's marketing tactics in both Hailan Bay and Lumang Company, and Lu Changge himself was also quite famous.

In this way, as long as Xingkong Real Estate's projects are good, there's no need to worry about a lack of buyers.

Conversely, if the project fails to meet Lu Changge's requirements, he certainly wouldn't want his reputation to be tarnished by such a real estate company; he wouldn't want that either.

Therefore, for Wang Hongcheng, the real challenge lies in creating a truly successful project and product. In terms of specific competitive strategy, this means differentiating himself from competitors and genuinely capturing consumer word-of-mouth. Starting with design is naturally a viable approach.

Lu Changge offered an important perspective on this, saying, "I think we can be a little more accommodating in terms of price for our project. I mean, we can be a bit more expensive, because our model represents a long-term strategy. In other words, the company can only offer a limited number of products over the next few years, so we don't need to make it affordable for everyone from the beginning. However, once the price goes up, it should be commensurate with that price... China is undergoing rapid urbanization, and slow development isn't necessarily a bad thing, because the level of prosperity in a location can be completely different in just two years."

Having lived in Jiangzhou for over twenty years, the location he chose for himself must have been excellent.

There is a lake in Jiangzhou City called Lintian Lake. In the past, the main urban area was located on the north side of the lake, while the south side was farmland.

However, this situation was completely changed within four or five years. With the construction of new urban areas, the development of new commercial and living facilities, and so on, many cities across China are seeing places that were once considered "the middle of nowhere" and cost 3000 yuan per square meter transformed into new urban centers.

So, going slower, getting better quality, and ultimately being more expensive—from a business perspective, it's definitely profitable. Moreover, Lu Changge chose a prime lakeside location, intending to elevate the company's brand through a landmark project.

Of course, the downsides are slow expansion, large capital tie-up, and high operational pressure. The probability of becoming a behemoth also decreases sharply.

That's why he used a ten-year perspective to fool Wang Hongcheng.

Anyway, the real estate industry will be a completely different story in ten years.

Wang Hongcheng is a rich second-generation heir who is not short of money. It would be enough to just start another company to satisfy his sense of accomplishment, but the feeling of creating a brand makes him feel even more satisfied, so he is now single-mindedly pursuing this path.

To address this demand, the design needs to be adjusted accordingly. For example, the apartment size shouldn't be too small, because if it's aimed at mid-to-high-end users, these people wouldn't be willing to buy an 89-square-meter affordable housing unit. They did introduce a few features, such as a main entrance and underground parking.

After listening for a while, Lu Changge realized that the design of anything was completely different in different eras.

The early houses were really ugly...

So he couldn't help but comment on the few slides, "We've talked about too much data just now, like plot ratio, green area, and so on. But many laymen, like me, don't understand plot ratio, or any of the data and standards for your building. I don't work in this industry, and I can't even understand the design drawings. It's like asking a science-savvy bookworm to pursue a beautiful woman—how can that work?"

As a consumer, my first impression is the appearance. Has the importance of appearance been overlooked? Furthermore, in the future, almost every household in China will own a car; at the very least, most of our users will have one or two cars, and we live in large apartments. What characteristics will large apartments bring?

Lu Changge felt somewhat helpless; it seemed that no one grasped the true core of how a product should be made. "To sell something, you must first consider the customer's needs from their perspective. Thirty years of reform and opening up have seen the emergence of a successful middle class in Chinese cities."
Many of these people are of marriageable age and have children, while their parents are still in their hometowns. Therefore, a large number of elderly people will inevitably come to the city to help them with childcare. At that point, will there still be cars on the ground? In the future, residential areas will definitely have more elderly people and children, and safety will become one of the customers' concerns.

Wang Hongcheng's eyes lit up when he heard this.

As for Feng Sixing and her boss, they acted like they were dealing with a client, frequently nodding in agreement to the client's requests.

"Pedestrian and vehicle separation," she said.

Lu Changge looked at Wang Hongcheng and said, "When we go public in the future, we need to use language that customers can understand. We can even be more straightforward and direct: all cars will be underground, and only people will be on the ground. The elderly can run around the community with their children. As for things like plot ratio, ordinary people won't understand them at all."

Wang Hongcheng said, "I didn't expect you to actually understand our industry."

Lu Changge shook his head helplessly. It wasn't that he understood; it was just that he had seen many new residential areas and knew some of the pain points.

Furthermore, product development is fundamentally the same. You always need to consider one question: who are you planning to sell this to, and then tailor your offerings to their unique needs. Feng Sixing then added, "If it's targeting large families, the internal details of the residential community are actually more important. We have experience with that."

Lu Changge had no time to concern himself with such details. As the client, he had already made enough demands, and he couldn't be expected to handle everything.

The more direct reason was that his phone rang.

Upon opening it, I was surprised to find it was Hsu Hui-ya.

So he left his seat and went outside to answer the phone, "Hello, Mr. Xu, what's the situation?"

"We'd like to invite you to Beijing. Some investors in the industry are interested in you."

Lu Changge's scalp tingled when he heard this. "Sis, I'm afraid you don't know. I just got back from Beijing, and I haven't even had a few full nights' sleep at home yet. And now I'm going to Beijing again?"

"What should we do? You're locked in a battle with Vancl. Now is the time to expand rapidly and seize the market. Our analysis shows that the recent online sentiment is in your favor. If we don't prepare, can Lumang handle such a surge in sales? If we have a backlog of products and our competitors engage in malicious hype, our current favorable situation will be gone. But if we want to expand, the previous $450 million is simply not enough. This is a big deal, my boss Lu."

"Ha, now everyone who comes to me says it's something big."

"Ha, you think being a boss is so easy? I've booked a hotel for you, you'll fly over tonight."

Lu Changge said, "Let's wait a bit. Min Xiuwen will start work the day after tomorrow."

"What's the big deal? Just give him an office, and have someone move his other belongings over. He can just take it directly to Beijing, right? You don't need to do it, I'll talk to him."

"Okay. But please don't arrange any more dinners for me, I've been eating too much lately."

"Don't talk about being a coward. I'm a woman and I'm not afraid to drink."

Before Lu Changge could speak again, Xu Huiya had already hung up the phone.

Lu Changge was about to put it away and go inside when, unfortunately, the phone rang again.

This time it was Zhou Shuang who called.

"President Lu, Shen Mo sent a letter asking for a product and technology seminar. Would you like to attend?"

Lu Changge returned and asked, "When?"

"Tomorrow morning."

Due to time zone differences, there's sometimes nothing that can be done about these awkward times.

"Okay. I'll try my best to attend, but I definitely won't be at the company."

"Understood. I'll send you some information first."

Lu Changge figured she'd be waiting anyway on her way to catch her flight, so she figured she might as well take the time to look at it. "Okay. Send it to my email."

The price of success is almost no time for oneself. Although one is financially independent and could easily quit, so many people are following him, how can one just give up?
Afterwards, he called Li Ming and asked him to come along this time, so that he would at least have a helper when they were drinking.

(End of this chapter)