85: Land auction

Inside the auction hall of Huaxing Mansion, the atmosphere was slightly oppressive, with many people whispering in low voices.

Chen Jinfei led Liu Xiaoli and the others, nodding familiarly to several well-known entrepreneurs and greeting acquaintances.

Their seats were toward the back. After sitting down, they could see most of the participating companies. Li Xiuwu and Liu Yifei sat behind them.

Directly in front of everyone was a huge map of the capital. Most of it was gray, but thirteen plots were colored, representing the thirteen plots of land to be auctioned today.

"Why are they here too?" Chen Jinfei's heavy voice came through.

"What's wrong?" Liu Xiaoli followed Chen Jinfei's gaze.

"If I'm not mistaken, those people should be the coal miners from Jincheng. I didn't expect them to get involved as well."

Liu Xiaoli looked over; she wasn't familiar with them and didn't know them, nor did she know what kind of influence they wielded.

Chen Jinfei scanned everyone in the hall, his expression becoming quite solemn.

"Is it very troublesome?" Liu Xiaoli also noticed Chen Jinfei's expression.

"Those families over there are local real estate developers from the capital, and their strength is no less than mine. On the left, there are six or seven companies from out of town, all of which are very powerful real estate groups."

Every company present was a well-known real estate enterprise. As for funding channels, none of them were weaker than him; after all, who didn't have someone backing them?

Liu Yifei sized up the scene curiously. She was here for fun and felt no pressure.

Li Xiuwu was also observing these people, especially those from well-known real estate companies like Yida and Lvdi; some of their faces looked somewhat familiar.

Suddenly, Li Xiuwu's phone vibrated. He took it out and saw it was a call from Qiu Wanjun. Looking up, he saw a phone sticking out from behind a window on the upper floor.

"I'm going to the restroom," Li Xiuwu said to Liu Xiaoli and the others.

"Don't wander off," Liu Xiaoli nodded.

"I'm going too," Liu Yifei stood up.

Li Xiuwu frowned slightly but didn't refuse. The two of them left the auction hall and headed upstairs.

"The restroom is this way," Liu Yifei pointed to a sign.

"There are so many people here today, the restroom is bound to be crowded. Let's go upstairs," Li Xiuwu pulled her along.

Liu Yifei thought that made sense and went upstairs with him.

At the staircase, security guards stopped them. For today's auction, the upper floor was the organizer's area.

Liu Yifei held Li Xiuwu's hand: "Let's just go back downstairs. Let's not disturb people's work."

Liu Yifei felt that since these were rules that even the big bosses followed, there was no need to challenge them.

"No rush, wait a moment," Li Xiuwu held her hand.

After a moment, Lin Qian came down from upstairs and greeted the two security guards.

"Lin Qian, why are you upstairs?" Liu Yifei looked at Lin Qian in surprise.

"The boss stays home every day and doesn't go out, so I came out to earn some extra money," Lin Qian said with a smile.

"Let's go up first, don't wander around," Lin Qian said to the two of them, though he was actually speaking to Liu Yifei.

"Okay," Liu Yifei agreed with a nod. With Lin Qian leading them, the security guards didn't stop them this time.

Lin Qian was here because he had known in advance that Li Xiuwu would be attending the auction, so he had arrived early.

The two went upstairs, and Liu Yifei went to the restroom.

"Boss," Qiu Wanjun appeared by Li Xiuwu's side.

"There shouldn't be any problems, right?" Li Xiuwu had also noticed that the people who came had no lack of financial resources or background.

"They keep each other in check. To us, their backgrounds don't matter at all," Qiu Wanjun said.

"Boss, what about that Chen Jinfei?" he asked cautiously.

"I'm not close to him. Don't worry about him; just proceed with the auction normally," Li Xiuwu waved his hand. This guy didn't have any face in front of him.

Never mind Chen Jinfei; even if Liu Xiaoli wanted to buy land, she would have to bid normally.

"Good." With these words from Li Xiuwu, Qiu Wanjun was relieved.

Qiu Wanjun shared some information about the participants and the land appraisals.

"Our recent estimate for the total transaction price should be around four billion. After paying the land value-added tax, it should be close to three billion. This is a very massive amount of capital, and capital flow might be subject to regulation."

"It will be very difficult to move this capital through Giant Crocodile Investment."

Li Xiuwu nodded. He had considered this issue long ago. How could the country let people take money abroad so easily?

"I will set up a new company to invest in the form of loans. As long as the money is invested domestically, the investigation won't be very strict, and the local authorities will help with the operations."

Qiu Wanjun nodded. Just then, a sound came from the restroom.

"Go back to your work; just preside over it normally," Li Xiuwu said to Qiu Wanjun.

"Boss, I'm leaving now."

Qiu Wanjun left just as Liu Yifei came out. She saw his back but didn't take much notice of him.

"You've already been to the restroom? That fast?" She came to Li Xiuwu's side.

"You even care about that?"

"Pah, who wants to care?" Liu Yifei spat. She had just asked subconsciously.

"Where's Lin Qian?" She didn't see Lin Qian.

"He went to work. Let's head down quickly; the auction is starting."

Li Xiuwu and Liu Yifei returned to the auction hall. Liu Xiaoli glanced back at them, frowning.

Chen Jinfei was not there. Li Xiuwu scanned the room, and Liu Yifei asked Liu Xiaoli about it.

"Tongchan might have to cooperate with others," Liu Xiaoli looked over.

Following Liu Xiaoli's gaze, the two saw Chen Jinfei sitting with other real estate developers, chatting animatedly.

Before long, Chen Jinfei returned. The funds he had prepared might not be enough to secure the target land, so he needed to cooperate with others to acquire it.

No real estate developer who had reached this status was a fool. They could all see the value of these lands. Holding them would make money even without development, and if developed, the profits would be even greater.

Although everyone had a tacit understanding to suppress land prices together before the auction, when it came to the actual bidding, everyone relied on their own abilities, and no one wanted to give up their interests.

"Our main goal today is that mixed-use plot near Chaoyang Park. The location is excellent, and the planning prospects are good, but the competition will be very fierce." Chen Jinfei's face was solemn, having lost the confidence he had when he first arrived.

"I just heard that Yida is also interested in that plot. The starting price for that land will probably be five hundred million. Back then, Giant Crocodile Capital acquired this land for only a little over one hundred million."

Liu Xiaoli looked up at the plot on the map closest to the central area. The plot wasn't large, but its value was the highest.

The wait was short as the auctioneer took the stage and the process began.

"Welcome, everyone. I won't waste words. We'll start with Plot No. 1. This plot is located on the Fourth Ring Road near Chaoyang Park. It has excellent comprehensive conditions and huge development potential. I believe you all understand how to use this land better than I do, so I won't say more. The starting price is five hundred million, with each bid increase being no less than ten million."

Starting with this plot in Chaoyang District, Qiu Wanjun was thinking of not letting people hold onto their money. Once the best plot had an owner, those who didn't get it would feel free to bid on the other plots.

"Five hundred and ten million," Chen Jinfei was the first to speak.