"Hey, Su Yan, have we secured Jinzhong Village yet?"

At Henda Group's headquarters, Xiao Qiang asked while flipping through documents and answering the phone.

For her, the land acquisition task assigned by higher-ups was a piece of cake.

"Those villagers? Offer them a few hundred thousand, and they'll sign contracts gleefully."

"Ms. Xiao, there's bad news!"

Currently in Jinzhong Village, Su Yan observed the bustling villagers with a deeply complex expression.

"What?"

Xiao Qiang's hand paused mid-document review, her tone sharp.

"What's happened?"

"All the houses in Jinzhong Village have been bought up! The villagers are busy packing and moving right now!" Su Yan replied.

"What?!"

Hearing this, Xiao Qiang shot up from her executive chair.

Her elegant face instantly contorted in disbelief. "What did you just say? Repeat that!"

"Ms. Xiao, we were late. Someone's already purchased all the properties in Jinzhong Village. What... what should we do now?"

"We've been beaten to it? Damn it! How did this happen? Why?"

Xiao Qiang was thrown into a panic. She didn't believe it was a coincidence.

Because no one in their right mind would want to acquire a desolate place like Jinzhong Village.

And what did that imply?

It meant the other party either knew Henda Group's plans and bought up the properties to target them or was privy to the government's upcoming developments, making them an unintentional competitor.

Either way, this wasn't something to be taken lightly.

"Go, immediately question the villagers. Find out who bought their houses, when the transaction happened, and at what price! Also, investigate the buyer's background!" Xiao Qiang demanded.

"Understood, Ms. Xiao. I'll handle it right away!"

After hanging up, Su Yan left her colleagues behind, taking only a burly male coworker as she strode quickly into the lively village.

"Excuse me, sir!"

Spotting a villager who seemed to be idling, Su Yan hurried over.

"Sir? Who are you calling sir? Do I look that old to you?"

The man was none other than Zhong Jianshe, the villager who had made quite the contribution to Jinzhong Village's recent windfall.

Overjoyed wasn't enough to describe his current mood.

Besides getting an extra 200,000 yuan during the acquisition of his property, the other 65 households had collectively credited him with securing the high prices.

As thanks, they had each given him 3,000 yuan. Altogether, he had pocketed another 200,000 yuan.

Now, his net worth had soared to 1.4 million yuan, making him feel like a budding tycoon.

"Uh, apologies, big brother!" Su Yan quickly corrected herself.

As a savvy professional, she avoided calling him "uncle" and went straight to "big brother" instead.

"That's better. What do you want?" Zhong Jianshe replied, satisfied.

"Big brother, I heard the villagers here are moving. What's going on?" Su Yan asked with a sheepish smile, probing for information.

"Isn't it obvious? Heaven smiled on us, and we met a benefactor!" Zhong Jianshe exclaimed, his face lighting up.

"A benefactor?" Su Yan's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Of course! Just yesterday, someone bought the entire village in one go. For years, we wished for a buyer to come along, and finally, the heavens answered!" Zhong Jianshe said, his joy palpable.

"Bought the entire village? That must've cost a fortune. Who was it?" Su Yan pressed.

"Over 60 million yuan! The boss drove a luxury Range Rover. I don't know who he is, but he spent millions without batting an eye."

As he spoke, Zhong Jianshe suddenly paused. "Wait, why are you asking so much? Who are you?"

"Big brother, I'm just curious! Can you give me that boss's contact number?" Su Yan asked, flashing a smile.

"Hmm?"

Zhong Jianshe eyed her suspiciously.

"What do you want it for?"

"Nothing shady! I just want to connect with such a generous boss and see if there's any opportunity to collaborate."

"Collaborate, huh?" Zhong Jianshe smirked.

To him, this foxy-looking young woman was likely just trying to cozy up to a wealthy man.

"You're asking the right person. I'm the only one in the village with his number. But why should I give it to you?" Zhong Jianshe said, eyes gleaming with cunning.

"Two thousand yuan, okay?" Su Yan offered, reading his thoughts.

"Do I look like a beggar?" Zhong Jianshe scowled.

Before the acquisition, he'd have accepted 200 yuan, let alone 2,000.

But times had changed, and he wasn't desperate anymore.

"Three thousand, big brother. That's fair, isn't it?" Su Yan tried again, surprised at his boldness.

"Dream on!" Zhong Jianshe swung a leg over his motorbike.

"Five thousand!" Su Yan raised her offer hastily, sensing that he really did hold the number.

Zhong Jianshe hesitated for a moment but said nothing, revving the engine as if to leave.

"Ten thousand! Big brother, ten thousand! That's my final offer!" Su Yan blurted, stepping in front of his bike.

Finally, Zhong Jianshe killed the engine.

"Should've said that earlier. Deal!"

With that, he took out his phone and showed her a QR code.

Grinding her teeth, Su Yan reluctantly transferred the 10,000 yuan.

"Got it. Take it down!" Zhong Jianshe said smugly, satisfied with the easy windfall.

Su Yan didn't waste another word. After noting down Ye Chen's number, she hurried back to the business vehicle and called her boss, Xiao Qiang.

"Well?" Xiao Qiang asked anxiously.

"Ms. Xiao, Jinzhong Village was acquired yesterday for over 60 million yuan. Based on the number of houses, the price was about one million yuan per house!" Su Yan reported quickly.

"Yesterday? Damn it!"

Over the phone, Xiao Qiang could be heard slamming her desk in frustration. "Did you find out who bought it?"

"The villagers didn't care who the buyer was. The price was too good to refuse. Normally, those houses wouldn't even sell for 300,000–500,000 yuan. All they know is the buyer's name—Ye Chen," Su Yan replied.

"Ye Chen?"

Xiao Qiang frowned, racking her brain.

She'd never heard of anyone named Ye Chen.

"Did you get his contact info?"

"Yes, Ms. Xiao. I spent 10,000 yuan to get it, so you better reimburse me!"

"A few thousand won't break the bank. Call him now and feel him out!" Xiao Qiang ordered.

"Yes, Ms. Xiao!"

Back in her posh office, Xiao Qiang stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, frowning deeply.

She couldn't shake the feeling that reclaiming Jinzhong Village from this mysterious Ye Chen would be no simple task.