Xiao Qiang?

The caller ID wasn't just seen by Ye Chen.

Chen Yinuo also noticed it.

She couldn't help but slightly frown.

"Do you remember what I told you last time? That I wanted to earn four billion, but the other party only wanted me to make twenty million?"

Without rushing to answer the call, Ye Chen smiled and explained.

"So the person you went to meet that night a few months ago was this Xiao Qiang?"

Chen Yinuo immediately recalled the incident from a few months ago. At the time, she was convinced Ye Chen was just making things up.

"Yes, she is the vice president in charge of real estate at Hengda Group! The last time I was on the phone on your parents' balcony, it was with her!" Ye Chen confirmed.

"Then hurry up and answer!" Chen Yinuo nodded, only now realizing the urgency.

"Alright!"

Smiling, Ye Chen picked up his phone just before the call ended.

He didn't mind answering in front of Chen Yinuo.

"President Ye, still busy so late at night?" Xiao Qiang teased from the other end.

"Not too bad!" Ye Chen chuckled, then joked, "President Xiao, don't tell me this call is about Yi Ren Ru Xue again?"

"President Ye, you make it sound like I have no sense of propriety! Is that really how you see me?" Xiao Qiang responded with feigned annoyance.

"As they say, people don't visit the temple without a reason. So, President Xiao, what's this call about?"

Not wanting to beat around the bush, Ye Chen asked directly.

"President Ye, I really underestimated your decisiveness before. When you said you wanted to enter the real estate industry last time, I thought you were just talking big. But in such a short time, not only did you acquire a shell company, but you also invested over six billion to develop a villa community on the mountainside. That level of ambition and courage is truly something!" Xiao Qiang praised.

"So, President Xiao, is this call just to compliment my courage and ambition?" Ye Chen laughed.

"You really have no idea how to hold a conversation, do you?" Xiao Qiang sounded exasperated.

Then, she got straight to the point.

"President Ye, Chairman Xu asked me to make this call. When he found out you were serious about real estate and had spent over six billion to acquire the mountainside, he wanted me to probe your intentions."

"Probing again?"

Last time, they probed him about Yi Ren Ru Xue.

And now, another round?

But Ye Chen knew that this time, it wasn't about Yi Ren Ru Xue.

"Oh? What does Chairman Xu want to find out?"

"President Ye, your company, Tenglong Real Estate, spending sixty-eight billion to acquire the development rights for the mountainside has shown not just the real estate industry, but the entire country, your ambition in this field! So, Chairman Xu wants to explore a potential partnership with you."

Ye Chen sneered internally.

Showed them his ambition in real estate?

No.

More likely, they were cursing him as a fool in their hearts.

Ignoring the pleasantries, Ye Chen asked, "What kind of partnership?"

"Land!" Xiao Qiang stated seriously. "Since you're entering real estate, you'll need land reserves. From what we understand, Tenglong Real Estate was only recently established and doesn't have much land in hand. Meanwhile, Hengda Group has one of the largest land reserves in the industry!"

"You mean Hengda Group wants to sell me its land reserves?" Ye Chen cut straight to the point.

"Why does President Ye assume that instead of partnering with you for joint development?" Xiao Qiang countered.

"President Xiao, forgive me for being blunt, but does Hengda Group even have the capacity to continue real estate development right now?" Ye Chen posed the question.

A silence fell on the other end.

Indeed.

Hengda Group was already in a dire situation.

With the real estate market slumping, Hengda had been slashing prices left and right in an attempt to recover funds.

So, their focus was no longer on development.

Even if they wanted to, they couldn't—tightening government policies and their skyrocketing debt ratio made it nearly impossible for Hengda to secure bank loans for further development.

The days of leveraging borrowed money for massive projects were long gone.

"Besides, even if I pay for the land and Hengda provides it, and we split the profits 50/50 after development, I doubt your group would even be interested. So, let's cut the formalities," Ye Chen continued.

"President Ye, you're right that Hengda Group has plenty of land but lacks liquidity, while Tenglong Real Estate is in need of land reserves. Given this supply-and-demand dynamic, isn't there an opportunity for collaboration?" Xiao Qiang now spoke with a more serious tone.

However—

Ye Chen's response was immediate and blunt, leaving Xiao Qiang stunned.

"None!"

"Huh?" Xiao Qiang was visibly shocked.

"To be honest, I'm not interested in Hengda's land reserves. I already told Chairman Xu the same thing when we met at your headquarters. Many see me as a reckless, ignorant investor blindly throwing money into real estate, but do you and Chairman Xu really think I'm that foolish?"

Ye Chen's words left Xiao Qiang speechless.

Not just her—Chairman Xu Jia, too.

They had spent a long time trying to understand why Ye Chen was entering real estate at this particular moment.

Yet, from what they knew of him, he was never someone to act blindly.

As Xiao Qiang remained silent, Ye Chen continued.

"I know. I know Hengda has been cutting prices to recover funds, which likely means a liquidity crisis. Out of goodwill from our past dealings, I can consider taking some of Hengda's land off your hands, and I won't take advantage of your situation. But—I have a few conditions!"

Inside the brightly lit Hengda headquarters—

Xiao Qiang glanced at the middle-aged man sitting on the nearby sofa.

Receiving a nod from him, she turned back to the call, now on speaker.

"Go ahead!"

"First, you provide your land reserves, and I get to choose which ones I want."

"Second, I will only take land in top-tier cities or those ranked among the strongest economically."

"Third, President Xiao, you will join Tenglong Real Estate as Vice President—with a salary of twenty million per year!"

Ye Chen laid out his three conditions.

Among them—

The third condition was his real goal.

He had already planned to bring Xiao Qiang over to Tenglong Real Estate.

He just hadn't expected her to call him at this moment.

Perfect timing—he could now seize the opportunity.

Of course, he didn't actually expect Hengda Group to accept these conditions.

In fact, he knew that Chairman Xu wasn't calling to sell land in the first place.

In his previous life, Hengda only started selling land when they were at their breaking point.

And right now, they weren't at that stage yet.

So, this whole "selling land" proposal was just a cover.

As for what Chairman Xu was really probing for—

That still needed some thought.

But since they had set up the act, Ye Chen didn't mind playing along for a while.

"President Ye, you actually included poaching me as a condition?" Xiao Qiang was completely taken aback.