The next day, Friday.

After dropping off Yoyo at kindergarten, Ye Chen rushed straight to the bank.

Once he had opened a new bank account, he called Li Changfeng.

In less than twenty minutes, Zhang Jingshan's Range Rover appeared in front of the bank.

"Brother Ye, the shorting of Sihai Group netted a total of 49 million, including both principal and profit. Give me your account number, and I'll transfer it right now!"

Inside the Range Rover, even before Zhang Jingshan could ask where they were heading, Li Changfeng spoke up.

"Alright!"

Ye Chen handed over the newly opened bank card to Li Changfeng. The latter immediately opened his laptop and got to work. Moments later, Ye Chen's phone pinged with a notification of the 49 million deposit.

"Received!" Ye Chen smiled calmly, showing no excitement over the huge amount.

This composed reaction left Li Changfeng secretly in awe. Forty-nine million! Even with Ye Chen's background, staying so unperturbed was rare. For Li Changfeng, it elevated Ye Chen's enigmatic image even further.

"Brother Ye, where are we heading next?" Zhang Jingshan, who had been driving slowly, finally asked.

"Jinzhong Village, in the outskirts. Navigate there." Ye Chen replied.

"Got it!"

After setting up the navigation, Zhang Jingshan couldn't help but ask, "Brother Ye, the short-term investment you said could multiply eight to ten times—is it in Jinzhong Village?"

"Yes. I've already scouted it. There are 66 houses in Jinzhong Village, selling for 1 million each for three-story ones and 900,000 for two-story ones. I currently have over 40 million on hand, so I can't buy them all. I plan to purchase 46 houses, and you two can each take 10 houses," Ye Chen explained.

This statement stunned both Zhang Jingshan and Li Changfeng.

This was the short-term investment that could multiply tenfold?

From the map, Jinzhong Village appeared to be a remote, ungoverned area. Although it fell under Jiangzhou's jurisdiction, it was still a barren wasteland. Could such a desolate place have investment potential?

"Brother Ye, how did you come up with the idea to buy houses there? Is there some hidden opportunity?" Li Changfeng, knowing Ye Chen wouldn't make baseless claims, asked.

"I calculated it."

Ye Chen smirked mysteriously, adding, "Of course, it's up to you whether to believe it or not."

"Brother Ye, if you're putting your entire fortune into this, how could we not trust you? At this point, even if you picked up a random stone from the ground and said it contained imperial-grade jade, I wouldn't doubt you!" Zhang Jingshan declared, even though he couldn't fathom what opportunity could exist in such a remote area.

However, upon arriving at Jinzhong Village, he was dumbfounded.

The place was desolate. Aside from the 66 old houses standing there, there was no sign of a market or even a small convenience store.

"This is the place for a tenfold investment?" Zhang Jingshan couldn't hide his skepticism.

"Mr. Ye, you've finally arrived! Our entire village has been eagerly waiting for you!"

As Ye Chen stepped out of the car, Zhong Jianshe, the village representative, greeted him with a flattering smile. He eagerly extended a hand, which he wiped on his clothes first.

Behind him stood the entire population of Jinzhong Village, young and old, their faces beaming with excitement and anticipation.

"Mr. Zhong, hello!" Ye Chen shook his hand and went straight to the point. "You're willing to sell all 66 houses in the village, correct?"

"Yes! Yes, we are!" The villagers immediately responded in unison.

"Great! I'll take a look around first. Please prepare the property and land documents for each house. If everything checks out, we'll head to the property bureau to finalize the transfer and payment today. Is that alright?" Ye Chen said.

"Absolutely! Please follow me, Mr. Ye!" Zhong Jianshe said eagerly, leading the way.

Amid the crowd, Ye Chen, along with Zhang Jingshan and Li Changfeng, followed behind.

"Brother Ye, are you really going to spend over 40 million here?" Zhang Jingshan asked in a hushed tone after hesitating for a while.

"If I could afford it, I'd buy all 66 houses myself. The only reason I'm sharing is because of our friendship," Ye Chen replied firmly.

"Alright, Brother Ye. With that, I won't question it further!" Zhang Jingshan nodded, dropping any lingering doubts.

With Zhong Jianshe's guidance, Ye Chen inspected all 66 houses. The villagers also presented the required documents.

"Everything checks out! Let's head to the property bureau to finalize the transfers," Ye Chen said with a smile as they returned to the village entrance.

At the property bureau an hour later, an unusual scene unfolded. Dozens of villagers from a remote area showed up with property and land documents, shocking the staff.

"What's going on? Is this some kind of redevelopment project? Did real estate developers catch wind of a policy change and swoop in?" the staff murmured.

By the end of the afternoon, all the transactions were completed smoothly, thanks to Ye Chen's meticulous preparation and the simplicity of the old houses' paperwork.

"Brother Ye, if people find out we spent over 60 million here, they'll think we're crazy! My father would definitely call me a spendthrift!" Zhang Jingshan lamented as they drove back to pick up Yoyo from kindergarten.

"Then don't let your dad find out!" Ye Chen teased.

"Brother Ye, you said this was a short-term investment. How short are we talking?" Li Changfeng asked.

"Ten days or so," Ye Chen replied confidently.

"What?!" Both Zhang Jingshan and Li Changfeng were wide-eyed.

They had mentally prepared for a three- to five-month wait. But Ye Chen claimed it would take just ten days?

"I've calculated it. That place is a treasure. Ten days should be enough," Ye Chen said with a mysterious smile.

However, Ye Chen underestimated Henda Group's speed. It was a close call—almost too close—for his investment to achieve its promised tenfold return.