Returning wealthy individuals develop their hometowns and become rich in the 1980s

After leaving the Urban Construction Bureau, Chen Zaixing drove his car, intending to go directly back to Lianzhai Guangdong Factory to find Chen Dong. However, he then thought that Chen Dong probably wouldn't be in Lianzhai at this time, but rather in the Jinbu Township Industrial Park. So he turned his car around and headed towards Jinbu.

As the car drove across Huanghe North Road and waited at the red light at the intersection, Chen Zaixing looked at the bustling scene of crowds at the entrance of his own Huaxingsheng Supermarket. His gaze then shifted to the shantytown area not far away.

The afternoon sun was blazing, turning the low rooftops white. A few children were chasing and playing at the alley entrance. An old woman sat on the doorstep picking vegetables, with a stray dog ​​squatting beside her, panting with its tongue lolling out. Everything was so ordinary, so ordinary that it made you feel that this land should just remain barren, poor, and continue to live a bland and uneventful life.

As soon as the light turned green, Chen Zaixing looked away, stepped on the gas, and left the old cars with Shanghai license plates like the 760 far behind the Mercedes-Benz 450.

Upon arriving at the construction site in Jinbu Township, Chen Zaixing found that Chen Dong was indeed in the workshop, overseeing the foreign engineers adjusting the equipment. He trudged through the muddy dirt road and entered the site, finding Chen Dong talking to a group of people.

"Dongzi, I need to talk to you about something," Chen Zaixing called out to Chen Dong after waiting for him to have some free time. Chen Dong turned around and saw that it was his fifth brother, Chen Zaixing. He smiled and pointed to the simple office not far away, "Come on, let's talk there."

The two men sat down in the office, and Chen Dong started boiling water to make tea. While washing the teaware, he asked Chen Zaixing, "What do you need me for, Fifth Brother?"

Chen Zaixing then recounted to Chen Dong what he had told Feng Kun and Dai Weiguo, and also told Chen Dong what Feng Kun had said, "Dongzi, do you think this is a hot trend?"

"It's not exactly a boom, but if you can take advantage of the current stage when China's real estate industry hasn't fully taken off yet, get policy permission to start a construction company, and obtain land development qualifications, you'll already be ahead of the curve," Chen Dong said, taking a tea canister and starting to brew Kung Fu tea in the style of the locals.

"So, Dongzi, tell me, is this something we can do?"

Chen Dong placed the brewed teacup in front of Chen Zaixing and casually said, "If you really want to get involved in real estate, then I have to give you a piece of advice: real estate is lucrative, but you can't become obsessed with it!"

"You must proceed cautiously and steadily. My advice is to focus on the housing development itself, supplemented by supporting projects, to build a community ecosystem and maintain housing prices. Only then can you go far. Once you have sufficient funds in the future, you must gradually transform your business. Don't become obsessed with it. Real estate is ultimately a bubble economy; it's unsustainable to expand at a high speed indefinitely!"

Although Chen Zaixing only understood half of what he heard, he didn't think his cousin Chen Dong was talking nonsense. He listened quietly to every word Chen Dong said, and then Chen Dong continued, "The real estate industry in China is still in its infancy. America and Hong Kong have already figured it out. If you really want to get involved in this industry, I suggest you go to Shenzhen and Hong Kong first and see how they operate."

After saying that, Chen Dong took out a business card from his briefcase and handed it to Chen Zaixing. Chen Zaixing looked at the business card and saw only the name "Li Jiacheng" and a phone number on it, nothing else.

"When you get to Hong Kong, call this person and tell him that I asked you to make this call. If you have any questions, just ask him!"

Chen Zaixing looked at the business card and nodded, saying he understood. "Dongzi, what should we do about the municipal party committee? The district only said that they'll approve the project after the municipal party committee gives its approval!"

"You just need to go to Shenzhen and Hong Kong for inspections. Don't worry about the municipal party committee. I'll take care of it for you," Chen Dong said, smiling as he sipped his tea at Chen Zaixing. "Remember to write a good business plan. Otherwise, the fund executor from Hong Kong won't be as easy to talk to as I am and won't approve your funding application."

Chen Zaixing chuckled. "Dongzi, how did you know I was planning to apply for funding from 'Oriental Fund' to invest in this project in the district?"

Chen Dong smiled and shook his head. "If you're not planning to apply for funding from the family foundation, are you planning to apply for a loan from a bank in the district or city? If the banks were really willing to lend, they wouldn't need you, Chen Zaixing, to do it; the district construction bureau would have approved the project long ago."

"That's not how it works," Chen Zaixing protested. "Once it's built, I'll deliver the 100 missing apartments in the district, and I can sell the rest directly to the market. The banks can't possibly not see the profits in that, so why wouldn't they lend to me?"

After listening, Chen Dong smiled and refilled Chen Zaixing's teacup before speaking loudly, "Fifth Brother, you've done a good job of calculating this. The bank can certainly see the profit in this project, but you need to understand that banks don't lend based on profit, but on risk assessment!"

"Your project has land owned by the county, the policy is pending approval, the houses haven't been built yet, and you haven't even registered your construction company. Tell me, what are you going to use as collateral to get a bank to lend you money?"

"I'll take it from Huaxingsheng Supermarket!"

Chen Dong looked at his angry words speechlessly, "If your older brothers heard you say that, you'd get at least three slaps across the face!"

Chen Zaixing pursed his lips, and Chen Dong continued, "You said it yourself, the municipal party committee will need at least a year and a half to approve the project. Even at the fastest, it will take three months. After you get the project approval, there will be several more months of wrangling with the bank for a loan. You'll have wasted a whole year on that."

“It’s different with ‘Oriental Fund’,” Chen Dong continued. “That’s our own money. They make quick and flexible decisions. They look at projects, not collateral. If you write a good business plan, do a clear accounting, and explain the risks clearly, they will invest. And they invest in equity, not debt. If you make a profit, the fund will wait for the dividends. If you lose money, they will accept the loss. You don’t have to sell everything you own to pay off the debt.”

"I've always supported and encouraged you to start your own businesses. As long as you're truly ambitious and have good projects, I'll support you. I don't want to support relatives who only ask me for money!"

"Including you, Fifth Brother, if any of you become successful in the future and earn more than me, remember not to forget to help those ambitious relatives in the family. The more friends you have, the better you can give back to yourselves!"

"Never let the narrow-mindedness of being afraid of your brothers suffering while also being afraid of them surpassing you get the better of you go far!"

"hey-hey!"

Chen Zaixing chuckled sheepishly. "Dongzi, I understand what you mean. Don't worry, I'll take your words to heart. If I ever become successful, I'll never forget my relatives in the village!"

"What future? Are you down on your luck right now?!"

"hey-hey!"