Chapter 72: Night Talk at the Teahouse
“Oh?” Hearing Xiao Liang say real estate would be difficult this year, Xu Jianqiang narrowed his eyes. Unwilling to reveal weakness too easily, he smiled and asked, “Officer Xiao has studied real estate too?”
“Not studied, exactly. I just know a little.”
Xiao Liang cracked sunflower seeds as he spoke.
“After the founding of New China, the country was still full of the wreckage of war. The economic system hadn’t been fully established or unified yet. Even if there was a real estate industry, it was bare bones—nothing much to study.”
“From 1958 onward, real estate across the country was nationalized. Up until reform and opening up, the focus of domestic economic construction was on developing heavy industry. In a true market sense, there basically wasn’t a real estate market.”
“After reform and opening up, the central government proposed selling public housing, adjusting rents, and encouraging individuals to build and buy homes. That also marked the beginning of housing system reform. Only then could the real estate market be said to have entered its embryonic stage.”
“In 1992, after the southern tour speeches, the country called for faster economic development, and the real estate market finally saw its first real boom.”
He paused and tossed another seed shell aside.
“Unfortunately, it also coincided with the second wave of Party and government cadres, as well as employees of state-owned enterprises, going into business. Huge numbers of speculators flooded into places like Hainan, Beihai, and Daya Bay, flipping land and properties. Too many bubbles formed too quickly. Haikou housing prices soared four or five times in just a year and a half, forcing the state to slam on the brakes.”
“On one hand, real estate companies were directly banned from listing. On the other, bank lending to real estate firms was sharply tightened across the country. The Hainan property bubble burst immediately.”
“These things have all been reported in the newspapers. Dongzhou’s real estate development over the past two years hasn’t been anywhere near as wild as Hainan’s, and probably didn’t have the chance to form too many bubbles—but I’d guess it would still be hard to avoid being affected.”
This was not like eight or ten years later, after the internet had developed and people had been washed over by waves of information, when anyone could casually talk about national economic and industrial policy.
In 1994, ordinary people’s main sources of information were still television, newspapers, and magazines.
Even if everything Xiao Liang said had been published in various newspapers, how many people in Dongzhou—let alone Jiang Province—could so clearly and concisely trace the development of China’s real estate industry over four or five decades since the founding of the country?
Xu Jianqiang had resigned from public office and gone into real estate more than two years ago, yet even he could not have done this.
He stared at Xiao Liang and asked, “Did you study economics before you started working?”
“My undergraduate major was applied chemistry. I just like reading newspapers when I’ve got nothing else to do,” Xiao Liang said lightly. “As for bragging, I’m not afraid of anyone.”
“Then let me light you a cigarette. Keep bragging.”
Xu Jianqiang smiled, handed cigarettes to Xiao Liang and Yuan Wenhai, and very seriously lit them both.
Twenty or thirty years later, Fanhua Construction would only be somewhat known in the province. It had scale, but not enough to draw heavy media attention.
In his previous life, Xiao Liang had spent a long time collecting and studying the hidden scandals beneath Dongzhou’s surface, but none of it directly involved Fanhua Construction.
So at this moment, he truly knew nothing about Fanhua’s internal situation. At dinner earlier, Xu Jianqiang had also kept a very low profile and hadn’t talked about the company.
However, Dongzhou had only a handful of commercial residential developments over the past two years, and their construction cycles were long.
Judging by Xu Jianqiang’s age—perhaps not even thirty—and the distinct traces of a former public-sector worker still on him, Xiao Liang guessed he hadn’t been in business for long. Most likely, only two or three years.
Fanhua Construction had probably developed only one or two commercial or office buildings in Dongzhou so far.
So Xiao Liang shifted the conversation toward office buildings, mixed-use commercial-residential buildings still in their infancy, the bustling rise of street-level commercial property, and the second-generation commercial formats emerging after the nineties—department stores and large shopping centers.
He spoke casually for a full hour.
Sun Feifei and Sui Jing were both dumbfounded.
Even if they still leaned toward thinking Xiao Liang was talking nonsense, they had never seen anyone capable of talking nonsense this well.
“Sui Jing, you didn’t tell Officer Xiao about Fanhua Construction before, did you?” Xu Jianqiang asked, still somewhat incredulous.
Sui Jing rolled her eyes. “A month ago, I was still arresting him as a rape suspect. President Xu, who do you think you are?”
Xu Jianqiang swept his hair back and said to Xiao Liang, “I don’t know much about the village-run enterprise you’re currently working at, but Fanhua Construction happens to be especially short of a vice general manager who understands the business. Salary can be discussed.”
“President Xu, are you crazy? Didn’t you hear he was just blowing hot air?” Sui Jing stared at Xu Jianqiang in surprise. “If Fanhua Construction really needs a vice general manager, why don’t you go to Beijing and hire any random taxi driver?”
Beijing taxi drivers were famous for their ability to talk, even in the nineties.
“Sui Jing, don’t make trouble,” Xu Jianqiang said. He looked at Xiao Liang seriously. “I’m sincerely inviting you to join Fanhua Construction. This isn’t a joke. When I resigned from public office to go into business, I was a little too optimistic about how things would develop. Fanhua has indeed run into some problems, but don’t worry—I’m not trying to drag you into a mess. The problems are still controllable, not severe.”
He paused and spoke more frankly.
“Still, things haven’t matched my expectations, and there’s inevitably some frustration. What I need most right now is someone clear-headed, someone who understands this industry well enough to help me sort out the direction and smooth out the business.”
“I was just transferred to a village-run factory under Yunshe and have taken over a pile of work. It’s not something I can drop just because I want to,” Xiao Liang declined politely.
The real estate industry would not truly enter its rapid development phase until 2001 or 2002, seven or eight years later.
Even if Xu Jianqiang offered him a partnership outright, not merely a vice general manager position, Xiao Liang would still refuse.
However, Xu Jianqiang was certainly far more worthy of respect than people like Le You or Zhou Jun. Xiao Liang also wanted to keep in contact with him.
“Of course,” Xiao Liang said with a smile, “if President Xu doesn’t mind my habit of shooting my mouth off, I’d be happy to sit down for tea from time to time and freeload a few more of your cigarettes.”
By now, Xu Jianqiang finally understood why Yuan Wenhai and Sui Jing valued Xiao Liang so much. He also guessed that a vice general manager position and an annual salary of one or two hundred thousand yuan might not be enough to move such a person.
But Fanhua Construction was not his alone to decide. He could not make any greater promise at this moment.
He carefully wrote down Xiao Liang’s contact information—home phone, work phone, and pager number—in his notebook.
Earlier at dinner, he had learned that more than a month had passed since the case, and Xiao Liang had not contacted Yuan Wenhai. He worried that if he missed the chance tonight, he could not count on Xiao Liang to reach out to him first.
Of course, Sun Feifei and Sui Jing had no clear understanding of China’s economic situation, real estate development, especially commercial property and office buildings. They only felt Xu Jianqiang’s reaction was a little exaggerated.
Just because Xiao Liang had rambled for a while, was there really a need to look so eager for talent?
Around ten o’clock, Xiao Liang said it was rare for him and Yuan Wenhai to meet and they might talk for a long time, so he didn’t want to delay Xu Jianqiang’s rest. He would not ride back to the city with him.
Xu Jianqiang figured their next conversation probably involved Yuan Wenhai’s transfer to Yunshe and would be relatively private, so he stood up and left first with Sun Feifei and Sui Jing. Sui Jing had a rare day off tomorrow, and she had already agreed to spend the night in the city with Sun Feifei.
After they left, Xiao Liang’s expression turned serious. He asked Yuan Wenhai, “Old Yuan, whose thigh did you grab to get transferred to Yunshe this time?”
“If I had some thigh to grab, I wouldn’t have had to wait until now to become a township station chief. To be honest, I find it strange myself. I really didn’t go around giving gifts.”
Yuan Wenhai laughed at himself.
“Chen Shen can barely speak now, but he probably won’t get out of bed again in this life. The bureau decided to apply for a one-rank promotion for him before medical retirement. Add in some other personnel adjustments, and maybe there were enough vacancies this time. Maybe someone finally discovered a conscience and remembered that even if I haven’t made great contributions, I’ve at least worked hard all these years.”
He looked at Xiao Liang. “What’s going on with your side? Why so serious?”
Xiao Liang frowned slightly. “My situation is complicated. I need to be honest with you, and then you can decide whether to keep your distance from me.”
“What, are you worried Xiao Yujun will come out after only a couple of years in prison?” Yuan Wenhai asked. “Grassroots work can be complicated, but people like that can’t overturn the sky.”
“It may be more complicated than that,” Xiao Liang said with a bitter smile. “You’ve heard of the Chen Fushan case, right?”
“Former Municipal Party Secretary Chen Fushan? Of course I’ve heard of him,” Yuan Wenhai said, growing curious. “Back then, when Xudong Road was built, it was Dongzhou’s first large-scale infrastructure project funded mainly through local financing. It was meant to improve the closed-off transportation environment. But the interests involved were enormous. Not only was the originally planned route changed several times, the final construction quality was deeply worrying. Barely a year later, it already needed major repairs.”
“Chen Fushan was furious and wanted a thorough investigation into corruption in the Xudong Road project. I also heard he wanted to investigate problems at the ship machinery factory. But before he could act, someone brought him down first.”
He sighed. “A pity. If Chen Fushan had remained in office, Dongzhou’s development wouldn’t have stagnated these past two years.”
“Oh, you know quite a bit about the Chen Fushan case,” Xiao Liang said.
Back then, Xiao Liang had investigated the background of the case, but he had only traced it back to the Xudong Road corruption scandal. He had assumed the route changes before construction were normal planning adjustments. He had never expected there to be deeper hidden reasons.
No wonder when he had investigated Xudong Road in 1997 and 1998 in his previous life, he always felt something was missing.
He had also never found out that the Chen Fushan case might be connected to the ship machinery factory where his father had once worked.
Of course, back then his father had been deeply guarded and refused to speak of many things. Xiao Liang had only been able to search for information from the outside. It was normal that he knew less of the inside story than Yuan Wenhai.
“You’re connected to former Party Secretary Chen Fushan?” Yuan Wenhai asked curiously.
“Six years ago, my father was transferred by Chen Fushan from the ship machinery factory to work at the municipal Party committee. He briefly served as deputy director of the municipal Party office. After Chen Fushan’s case, my father was dismissed from his position. Now he’s just an ordinary staff member in the Municipal Party History Research Office.”
Xiao Liang continued, “Before, the township was far from the city. I was just an ordinary worker in Yunshe. Even if someone knew my family background, no one would be bored enough to make an issue of it. But later? Hard to say.”
He then told Yuan Wenhai about the conflict between his family and Yuan Tong.
“Zhou Kangyuan’s secretary, Yuan Tong, definitely knows my family’s situation. He’s also close to Zhou Jianqi’s son, Zhou Bin. It would be easy for them to form a network to suppress me. If you and I call each other brothers, your days in Yunshe may not be easy.”
“No wonder your father didn’t seem like an ordinary staff member,” Yuan Wenhai said.
Then he asked curiously, “If you’re worried so many people might work against you, why did you refuse President Xu’s invitation just now?”
He didn’t care much about business and wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about official advancement, but he had noticed Xu Jianqiang’s presence at the dinner table, where he had overshadowed even Vice Mayor Le’s son.
“President Xu is an outside dragon crossing the river. But once he really understands my family situation, whether he’ll still be so interested in me is hard to say,” Xiao Liang said with a smile. “Besides, everyone has a few hard bones in them. Until I have no road left, I don’t like living by someone else’s breath, no matter how highly he values me.”
“What a coincidence. That temper is just like mine.”
Sometimes, when two people shared the same temperament, it didn’t take long for trust to form. Yuan Wenhai smiled.
“I’ve worked diligently in the bureau all these years. I’ve solved a few cases with a bit of influence. I was once the youngest criminal investigation squad leader and deputy brigade captain in the city police system. But I’ve sat in the deputy brigade captain position for seven or eight years like I was nailed there, unable to move at all. I don’t know how many people I’ve offended over the years. I can’t suddenly change my temper just because I was inexplicably promoted one rank.”
“Good. Then I understand.”
Xiao Liang smiled and patted Yuan Wenhai on the shoulder. “Where do you live? I’ll take a taxi and send you back first, then head back to the city. We’ll meet in Yunshe when we have time.”
The Chen Fushan case had happened more than two years ago. His father had been kicked to the Party History Research Office and had become an insignificant figure. Meanwhile, the province was deeply dissatisfied with Dongzhou’s stagnant development over the past two years and was determined to shake up key positions.
Although in the original course of history, the province’s determination had not produced much effect, Xiao Liang believed that for now, no one in the city would be interested in suppressing an insignificant figure like him.
At least before he showed enough threat, he could still quietly develop.
But in Yunshe, where the emperor was far away and conflicts of interest were sharp, things were harder to say.
Fan Chunjiang definitely did not want to see him get rich.
Yuan Tong had direct conflict with his family, and through the Zhou family—Zhou Jianqi and Liang Aizhen—he could extend his reach into Yunshe.
Xiao Liang worried that if the entanglements became too deep, it would be hard to guarantee Wang Xingmin would not retreat again and choose to cut ties with him.
Originally, Xiao Liang had considered that if the forces targeting and suppressing him in Yunshe became too strong, he would simply pull off a golden cicada escape.
He could resign completely from public office. He could also give up the titles of deputy factory director and sales section chief at Nanting Lake Juice Factory.
Even if, due to interference from certain people, the Nanting Village committees escaped Gu Peijun’s control and refused to let Nanting Lake Juice Factory handle contract manufacturing for the new company’s supplements, Xiao Liang didn’t think it would be a real problem.
In the end, as long as the new company opened the market and controlled the supplement formula and production process, finding another contract manufacturer in Jiang Province—or even in Dongzhou or Xijiang—would not be difficult.
He had deliberately registered the new company in Xijiang precisely to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
But since Yuan Wenhai didn’t care, Xiao Liang felt he shouldn’t retreat too easily either.
Besides, meeting Xu Jianqiang today was also an unexpected gain.
As long as Xu Jianqiang found some of his suggestions useful, and as long as he believed the benefits of receiving advice from Xiao Liang outweighed the trouble, he probably wouldn’t mind stepping forward to help with small favors from time to time.
