The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 649 - 648: Invest Five Million

Chapter 649: Chapter 648: Invest Five Million

"President Shen, you wanted to see me?"

"Sit."

Upon hearing Shen Mingzhu’s response, Shen Hongmei walked over to the sofa and sat down, unable to resist taking in the office’s layout and environment.

It was almost unchanged from before, but her feelings about it were worlds apart.

A month ago, she had thought the office too plain and imagined that her own office would have to be decorated both lavishly and with style.

Now, she realized that simplicity and comfort were best.

"You’ve been with us for two days now. How does it feel?"

"Pretty good. I am working on a consumer profile analysis for snack products. I’ll have a detailed report done by Friday..."

Shen Mingzhu raised her hand to interrupt, "You don’t need to report your work to me. I called you here for a personal matter."

Shen Hongmei’s face showed anticipation as she thought of something, "Go ahead."

"It’s about that investment. I’ve given it considerable thought. Tell Brother Zhao to bring the project proposal as soon as possible. As for whether to invest or not, I’ll decide after I see the plan."

"Okay, when would you be available?"

"Anytime this week. Next week I’ll be out of town."

"I’ll call Brother Zhao right away!"

After speaking, she realized something and quickly corrected herself, "I’ll call after work."

"It’s fine, go back to work."

After speaking, Shen Mingzhu stood up and returned to her desk to continue working.

Shen Hongmei got up to leave and, just as she was nearing the office door, she turned around and said to her, "Mingzhu, thank you."

Shen Mingzhu looked up, "I didn’t do it for you."

"I know. But I still want to thank you for not prejudging Brother Zhao’s project because of me."

...

At seven o’clock in the evening, when Shen Mingzhu and Pei Yang arrived at the private room of the restaurant, Shen Hongmei, along with Zhao Dafa and Ren Yan, were already there, seemingly waiting for a while.

"Xiaopei, President Shen, you’re here. Please, take a seat."

The couple had not even entered when Zhao Dafa warmly stood up to greet them.

"Sorry for being late, Brother Zhao. We got held up in traffic."

"Not late at all, you’re right on time. It’s just that we arrived early."

Zhao Dafa, with a hearty laugh, went to pour tea for them. Ren Yan subconsciously tried to help but was stopped by Zhao Dafa, and instead, Shen Hongmei took over the task.

"Let me do it. You have a good catch-up with Mingzhu and the others."

"Okay."

Zhao Dafa handed the teapot to Shen Hongmei, then sat down to chat eagerly with Shen Mingzhu and Pei Yang.

Zhao Dafa had his eye on a piece of land in the northern suburbs. The total area was about 50 acres, not large, but sufficient for a small-scale real estate development.

"Actually, the city is just like the countryside. I remember, when I was about five or six years old, our village was tiny, barely twenty households."

"Later, as the young people in the village grew up and started their own families, they got their housings plots from the village and built new homes."

"Our village had a lot of land and was close to the town, so every two or three years, we would have outsiders who couldn’t get enough to eat come to our village to settle down. By the time I got married, the village population had more than doubled, and all the open spaces around the village had been turned into housing plots with new houses springing up all around."

"Fengcheng today is just like my village when I was a kid. The population is growing every year. When there’s no room left in the city, people will have to move to the suburbs."

"Of the four districts—east, west, south, north—the northern district is the poorest, so when the government wants to develop, they’ll definitely prioritize the north. Another reason I chose the north is because of its open terrain and proximity to a provincial road, and it’s very likely the new station will be located there."

Anywhere that has convenient transportation becomes a valuable location.

Shen Mingzhu, thanks to her advantage of having transmigrated into a book, was clear that the future suburban areas would definitely undergo significant development. Yet, even as a local, Zhao Dafa’s vision and insight deeply impressed her.

Regarding Zhao Dafa’s project proposal, Shen Mingzhu had a few simple suggestions.

First was to improve transportation by opening a public transit route that leads directly from the residential area to the city center.

Second was to establish complementary living, medical, and educational facilities.

Of course, one can’t get fat in one gulp; these amenities might not be possible to fully equip in a short time, nor could they spare such a vast amount of capital immediately, but it was essential to have plans and considerations for these aspects. Moreover, they could also serve as selling points for the property’s marketing.

Zhao Dafa humbly accepted Shen Mingzhu’s suggestions and asked Ren Yan to note the modifications on the spot.

Having almost finished discussing the plan, it was time to talk about money.

The land was 50 acres, on which they planned to build multi-story residential buildings of up to six floors. Based on a floor area ratio of 2.0, the total construction area would be approximately 66,600 square meters.

Calculating with the highest current building cost of 280 yuan per square meter, in addition to land transfer fees and other costs, the total investment for the entire project was expected to need thirty million yuan.

However, the project could successfully kick off with just ten million yuan to begin with.

"Mingzhu, I won’t hide it from you; I’m still short by more than seven million yuan in funds," Zhao said.

Shen Mingzhu sipped her juice; under the tense gaze of Zhao Dafa, Shen Hongmei, and Ren Yan, she slowly spoke, "Our side is willing to invest five million yuan."

"Clang."

The cup Shen Hongmei was holding slipped and hit the bowl.

"I’m sorry," she said in a fluster as she cleaned up the table.

Zhao Dafa patted her arm soothingly and turned to Shen Mingzhu with a look of surprise clearly written on his face.

"Mingzhu, did you just say you are willing to invest five million yuan? Are you serious?" he asked.

Even though Zhao Dafa was once a big boss with tens of millions to his name, it wasn’t easy for him to come up with five million yuan in cash.

Moreover, it is not normal for anyone to invest more than half of their family’s wealth.

The fact that Shen Mingzhu could offer five million yuan without batting an eye indicated she had much more cash on hand than that.

"Brother Zhao, don’t worry about the funds. I can definitely produce the amount since I’ve offered it. Now, let’s discuss the profit distribution," Shen Mingzhu said.

"Great!"

Zhao Dafa was overjoyed, and both Shen Hongmei and Ren Yan were similarly thrilled.

Shen Mingzhu’s generous offer was evidently unexpected to them.

While her five million yuan only accounted for 16.66% of the entire project, it was critical to the initiation of the development.

In gratitude, Zhao Dafa offered Shen Mingzhu a 20% share of the profits.

Shen Mingzhu was pleased, and they agreed to sign the contract the next day.

...

"Why aren’t you talking? Are you so happy you’ve gone dumb?"

On the drive home, seeing Shen Hongmei silently staring out the car window, Zhao Dafa couldn’t help but tease her.

Shen Hongmei turned to look at the joyful Zhao Dafa, "Brother Zhao, isn’t it funny?"

"Why talk down about yourself? Mingzhu’s willingness to invest in us is partly due to your merit," he said.

Shen Hongmei’s self-deprecating response came, "How self-important was I? To think that Mingzhu would be jealous of me for making a million in the stock market."

Zhao Dafa patted her head, comforting her: "There is always someone better. It’s normal for us to be unaware of Mingzhu’s and Xiaopei’s true strength, given their deliberate low key."

"Even I was shocked, let alone you. I originally thought if Mingzhu could invest a million or so, that would be great," he said.