At the start, I had to choose one of four options, and I immediately picked the Brahmin from the cou

Old Li didn't speak immediately. He turned the teacup in his hand around. The hot tea in the cup had already been refilled, and the color was a little lighter, but the aroma was still there.

"Do you know what the biggest problem is for Jianhui Real Estate right now?" He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the group of people.

No one responded. Jianhui Real Estate was too big a business, and it was also someone else's front man; they knew very little about it.

Old Li is different. He has been in this industry for a long time, knows many people, and knows some inside information that they don't.

"It's not about how much Wang Jianhui will confess while he's inside, nor how far the provincial discipline inspection commission has investigated. The biggest problem is—the land transfer fees for those projects."

"Over the years, Jianhui Real Estate has mostly acquired land through negotiated transfers. What does negotiated transfer mean? It means that the land transfer fee is not paid in full at once, but in installments, with extensions, and sometimes even with deferred payment agreements signed with the government. When Wang Jianhui was in charge, with his third-in-command above him protecting him, the deferred payments could be extended when they expired, and re-signing the agreements was just a matter of a word. Now that he's in jail, will anyone still recognize those deferred payment agreements?"

Sun Dewang was the first to realize that this was a classic case of getting something for nothing. "Old Li, you mean... the land payments for those plots haven't been settled yet?"

"For the commercial complex in Linjiang, only the first installment of the land transfer fee has been paid. The remaining two installments, totaling over 40 million yuan, are still outstanding. The grace period for payment expires at the end of this month. The land for Jianhui Plaza has been paid in full, but it's commercial land with complex ownership. To reduce taxes, Wang Jianhui split the buildings and land use rights into two separate entities, mortgaging them to two different banks. One is currently pursuing litigation to recover the loan, and the other has already sent a lawyer's letter. Whoever takes over this project won't be taking over assets, they'll be taking over a lawsuit."

Old Zhao's expression was already rather unpleasant. Although he had partnered with Jianhui Real Estate on that project in Linjiang, he knew nothing about the specific details; he was only responsible for coming and going and collecting money.

All eyes were now focused on Old Zhao, with a hint of sympathy in their eyes. Bald Liu, who had just argued with him over the project, was now drenched in a cold sweat.

He was secretly relieved that he had asked Lao Li about this beforehand; otherwise, once he was actually inside and signed the contract, he would have nowhere to turn to cry.

"I've invested 30 million in that Linjiang project. If Jianhui can't make up the difference, the bank will take back the land, and my 30% stake will be gone..."

"Your 30% stake is legally tied to the joint development contract you signed with Jianhui. But if the land is reclaimed, the contract will no longer exist, and your 30% stake will be worthless."

Old Li added insult to injury without holding back: Although they have some strength, the bank certainly won't turn this debt into a dead debt for them. Not only will the bank disagree, but even the higher-ups won't agree to this.

They're not Jianhui Real Estate; they don't have anyone backing them up.

If the money from the bank can't be recovered, the first thing they'll seize is their fixed assets in Tianshui City. At that point, forget about sharing the pie; they'll even have to pay out of their own pockets.

Thinking of this, the color drained from Old Zhao's face. Half of the 30 million he had mortgaged in Linjiang was a bank loan, and the other half was raised by selling two shops in the city. If what Old Li said was true, and Jianhui's 70% stake was frozen by the bank and the land was reclaimed, then his 30% stake would just be an empty shell, with no one to even chase after him for debt.

Thirty million is no small sum. Although he is worth hundreds of millions, his wealth in the real estate and building materials business is mostly in fixed assets—a few plots of land, a few production lines, a few unsold shops, plus accounts receivable tied up in various projects.

The maximum amount of readily available liquid funds in the accounts is only a little over ten million.

I was hoping to make some money after this project, but I never expected that I wouldn't even be able to keep my principal.

"What about that villa land in the southern suburbs? Wasn't that land just acquired last year? Surely there can't be a problem with it too?"

"That piece of land has the biggest problem. The planning permit for that land in the southern suburbs states a plot ratio of 0.8 and a height limit of 12 meters. What did Wang Jianhui build on it? Semi-detached villas and townhouses, exceeding the plot ratio by more than double. It only passed the permit because he used the back door of the deputy director in charge. Now that deputy director has been summoned for questioning by the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection. Once the over-construction is officially classified, all the construction projects on that land will be illegal. Illegal buildings cannot be transferred or mortgaged, and whoever takes over will be responsible for a huge amount of demolition fees."

After Lao Li finished speaking, no one in the private room spoke at all.

Old Zhao stopped drinking tea, and Bald Liu had completely lost interest in the land. The other two bosses, who had been mostly silent, exchanged glances. One of them quietly took out his phone and sent a message to his finance manager under the table, putting aside the acquisition letter of intent that had just been drafted that afternoon.

If they take on this project, wouldn't they be sucking up? They're not as rich as Lao Zhao, who can just throw away tens of millions of dollars.

Sun Dewang was completely helpless. He knew that Jianhui Real Estate might have some problems, but he didn't expect there to be so many. Jianhui Real Estate is now a ticking time bomb. In the past, the person above him and Wang Jianhui had been keeping it under control, which is why this bomb hadn't exploded yet.

Now that people are inside, these covered-up bombs are about to explode. As for who will be killed in the end, that's no longer a problem for those in power.

"So you mean, Jianhui's entire scheme has no one he can touch?"

"Yes. But not now. Of Jianhui's assets, the truly clean ones are those few completed and delivered residential complexes. But the property rights of those complexes are clear, the houses have long been sold, what's left is the property management and parking space ownership—the profit margin is thin, not much to be made. Would you be interested?"

No one present nodded in agreement. After all, they were big bosses with assets of hundreds of millions; how could they possibly be interested in such trivial matters?

Sun Dewang didn't think much of it, Lao Zhao didn't think much of it, and neither did Bald Liu.

They're sitting here tonight, eyeing the lucrative projects Jianhui is still developing, not here to gnaw on scraps.