You didn't accept my confession, why are you crying because I changed my mind? - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: The Funds Have Doubled, Cool!

Time flew by in the blink of an eye.

Before he knew it, a month of summer vacation had already passed.

During this month, Jiang Zhou had been actively searching for a chance to strike it rich.

His goal was to turn 500,000 yuan into a million, and then head off to university to start his own business.

And on July 29th, he finally achieved that goal.

It was a sweltering summer day, with the sound of cicadas echoing through the streets.

Inside the Shangri-La Hotel, on the third floor in the banquet hall, Jiang Zhou sat in a suit across from a middle-aged man, also dressed in a suit.

This man was the regional manager of Walmart, and he had flown in from the capital just to meet Jiang Zhou.

Why? Because Jiang Zhou had recently spent 480,000 yuan to buy a small 30-square-meter house.

And that house was located right at the center of the plot where Walmart planned to build a new shopping mall.

If they didn’t buy that house, Walmart would have to find a new location entirely.

It was a total stroke of luck.

Half a month earlier, Jiang Zhou had ridden past an abandoned steel factory on his bike.

From outside the factory, he had spotted a small residential house.

From his memories of his previous life, Jiang Zhou knew that Walmart would soon purchase that very steel factory land.

It would later be cleared and turned into a mall.

But oddly enough, someone still lived in that little house in the center of the factory site.

Now, for a mall to be built, the land needs to be secured first. How could someone still be living in the middle of what was supposed to be Walmart’s land?

Curious, Jiang Zhou had gone up and knocked on the door.

Through conversation, he uncovered the truth.

Back when the steel factory was first constructed, it had two zones: an east and a west section.

The house was built precisely between those two zones.

Later, the factory merged the two zones into one, and people naturally assumed the entire land belonged to the steel plant.

But what Walmart didn’t realize was that a 30-square-meter parcel in the dead center of the factory was privately owned.

This was a major oversight.

Without buying that small house, there was no way they could build the mall properly.

So Jiang Zhou quickly negotiated with the homeowner and bought the shabby house for 480,000 yuan.

Keep in mind that housing prices hadn’t skyrocketed yet.

In a small city like Linjiang, 480,000 yuan was enough to buy a full apartment.

Also, people back then had a strange mindset. Living in an apartment building was considered a symbol of status.

So the homeowner gladly agreed.

He had no idea Walmart was planning to build a mall there.

After all, the steel factory was a state-owned enterprise, and the land was under government control.

Walmart negotiated directly with the authorities when purchasing the land.

That meant the public had no clue a mall was coming.

So the homeowner didn’t know he was sitting on gold, and Walmart didn’t know the land wasn’t completely theirs.

This absurd coincidence was a golden opportunity.

Jiang Zhou immediately sent an email to Walmart headquarters, explaining the situation.

To his surprise, they replied right away, expressing interest in buying the house.

And so, on this day, he met with the regional manager of Walmart at the Shangri-La.

“Let me introduce myself. I’m Li Kun, regional manager for Walmart.”

“Hello, Manager Li. I’m Jiang Zhou.”

Li Kun gave him a once-over. “You look quite young, Mr. Jiang.”

“I just have a baby face. I’m actually 26.”

The 18-year-old Jiang Zhou lied smoothly, without even blinking.

Li Kun nodded. “Then let’s get down to business. Shall we discuss the price?”

“Sure. What price is Walmart offering?”

“We’ve assessed Linjiang’s market rates and done our due diligence. The offer from headquarters is 600,000 yuan. Is that acceptable?”

Jiang Zhou smiled. “Not selling.”

Li Kun frowned slightly. “600,000 is already above market value.”

“Then I’ll hold onto it and wait for the price to rise.”

“So you already have a number in mind?”

Jiang Zhou nodded and confidently held up one finger.

“One million? Impossible!” Li Kun shook his head. “That’s nearly double. Your asking price is outrageous.”

“But without this land, your whole project needs to be relocated.”

“We could also just build around it. It wouldn’t stop the project.”

Jiang Zhou calmly said, “Actually, I did my own estimate, and I believe one million is totally reasonable.”

Li Kun looked skeptical. “You? An estimate?”

“If Walmart relocates, the extra costs will definitely exceed one million.”

“I told you, we can build around it.”

Jiang Zhou shook his head. “But if you go around my house, the construction plan will need to be reapproved. You’ll need to grease the wheels with the authorities again, and redesign the blueprints. All of that costs more than one million.”

Hearing that, Li Kun’s expression darkened slightly.

He hadn’t expected this young man to see through it so clearly.

Indeed, relocating would incur significant expenses.

After all, Walmart had already signed contracts with the government.

Changing the building plan would cost a fortune. Just redesigning the blueprints would go over a million.

It was obvious Jiang Zhou came prepared, determined to get his asking price.

“Mr. Jiang, I’ll need to discuss this with headquarters. Would you mind waiting a bit?”

Jiang Zhou nodded. “Go ahead, Manager Li. I’m not in any rush.”

Li Kun nodded, pulled out his phone, and walked a short distance away.