Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 1130 - 965: Who Is It After All?

Chapter 1130: Chapter 965: Who Is It After All?

Originally, Mayor Zhang didn’t have much hope, he was just making small talk, trying indirectly to find out the identity of that mysterious young man.

He had realized that this young man definitely had no ordinary identity!

But exactly what his background was, he couldn’t say for sure.

It wasn’t appropriate to ask directly about such matters, so he could only use this method to probe into Wang Ye’s "foundation."

Having been in politics for so many years, Mayor Zhang had met countless people, ranging from various Big Shots and bosses to ordinary workers; he had seen too many to count.

With his "fiery eyes and golden vision" and his wealth of experience, he could generally guess someone’s status from their demeanor and speech.

Thus, he deliberately tested the waters, wanting to hear the young man’s views on Peng City.

One reason was to ascertain his identity through Wang Ye’s comments.

Secondly, the issue indeed troubled him for a long time, it felt like a significant problem at work. Although he didn’t hold out much hope, he believed it was good to listen to others’ opinions, who knows, there might be some unexpected gains.

Wang Ye smiled slightly, not rushing to explain what he meant by a "huge gold mine," but instead asked calmly, "So tell me, Mayor Zhang, what kind of city do you want Peng City to become?"

Oh, that’s a big topic.

Let’s keep it simple then!

Within your plans, will this city become like neighboring Xiangjiang, highly economically developed, but with immense living pressures on the common folk?

Or, more ideally, economically developed well and also suitable for ordinary people to live and reside in, a livable city?"

Mayor Zhang frowned, this question wasn’t easy to answer.

At the same time, he understood the implications in Wang Ye’s words.

The city of Xiangjiang, many mayors from mainland cities have visited to study it, and everyone envies its economic development.

Since Peng City is located right next to Xiangjiang, in its early development, it naturally took this "neighbor" as a model.

But the problems underlying Xiangjiang’s prosperity are not invisible to everyone.

The city is not livable, especially for ordinary people—the soaring housing and living costs alone put tremendous pressure on the lower-income group!

Many city dwellers in the mainland complain about high housing prices, small living spaces, and cramped conditions.

But they can hardly imagine the living environment of ordinary people in Xiangjiang!

A family of three generations, seven or eight people, living in a "pigeon cage" of twenty to thirty square meters is very common there!

A house of over a hundred square meters, which is just standard living space for a family of three in the country, counts as a "mansion" over there!

Of course, the wealthy in Xiangjiang are not included...

For the wealthy, life over there is indeed convenient and the living conditions are good.

......

Mayor Zhang was quite aware of the issues with Xiangjiang.

He hesitated for a moment and asked, "Can’t we achieve both? Economically affluent like Xiangjiang, but also ensuring that ordinary people can live and work in peace and happiness, without such immense living pressure?"

Wang Ye smiled and shook his head, countering with, "Can you give me an example? In any country in the whole world with a population exceeding thirty million, is there any city that has achieved this?"

Excluding some special cases like "city-states" or sparsely populated Northern European small countries, indeed no city in slightly more populous countries meets the criteria.

Especially for a populous country like China, your economic development may be astounding, but when it’s calculated per capita, the figure drops drastically...

Mayor Zhang was taken aback, smiling awkwardly as he indeed could not think of any city that fit the bill.

He could only say in self-mockery, "Yeah, Peng City is just starting out—not to say we are penniless, but we really can’t expect to cover all bases."

Wang Ye nodded and said:

"Simply developing the economy isn’t difficult; Peng City also has uniquely favorable conditions.

What I meant by saying you hold a gold mine is referring to Peng City’s land.

That is a tremendous wealth indeed..."

Mayor Zhang was somewhat disappointed; he knew that land was wealth, and didn’t need Wang Ye to point that out to him.

He had initially hoped that Wang Ye might have some unique perspectives, but it now seemed that was not the case.

Seeing Mayor Zhang’s disappointment, Wang Ye smiled nonchalantly and continued, "What’s the current land price in Peng City, especially the land suitable for developing commodity houses?"

"It’s not low anymore. The current housing prices in Peng City have reached an average of five thousand per square meter, and the land transfer fee is almost two to three thousand yuan per square meter. Compared to other cities in the country, that’s considered high," said Mayor Zhang honestly.

Wang Ye shook his head, his tone significant as he said:

"What if the average housing price in Peng City reaches fifty thousand, or even higher?

Wouldn’t the land transfer fees then reach forty thousand or more per square meter?

Then by just selling land, wouldn’t the city be able to collect tremendous funds to accelerate development?"

Regarding the development of real estate in the country, many people have complaints, thinking that housing prices are too high and unaffordable for ordinary people.

But everything has two sides.

High housing prices certainly have their downsides, but we also cannot overlook their benefits.

Not to mention, in the coming years, nationwide infrastructure will undergo massive development: expressways, high-speed rails, beautiful city roads, complete water and electricity facilities, and parks everywhere. Where does the money come from?