Siheyuan: My wife is Xu Huizhen

Chapter 632

In 1961, Hong Kong's economy was undergoing a delicate period of transformation.

He Hongshen came to He Yuzhu's office and told him his land investment plan in Haojing.

At that time, although Macau was not as prosperous as Hong Kong, it was quietly nurturing unlimited potential.

When He Yuzhu heard He Hongshen mention the two pieces of land located in the core area of ​​​​Haojing, a hint of surprise and certainty flashed in his eyes.

Without the slightest hesitation, he replied decisively, "Okay, I'll take these two places."

He Yuzhu's mind is as clear as a mirror. This special time node of 1961 has special significance.

In this era, land prices are relatively low. Even if you buy it at a price that seems high at the moment, when you look at it decades later, this price will be no different from the price of cabbage you picked up for free.

He was silently calculating in his mind that many powerful companies in Hong Kong were now doing business in both places, but the market competition in Central had already entered a white-hot stage.

Major conglomerates and family forces are vying for dominance in the Central business district, with complex intertwined interests. It will not be easy for new forces to get a piece of the pie in the short term.

In contrast, in Haojing, urban construction is booming and the tourism industry is gradually rising.

For him, having such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire two pieces of land with huge potential in Haojing for building a hotel is undoubtedly an excellent choice.

It was as if the hand of fate quietly opened a door for him to a new realm of wealth. Once he stepped in, he might reap immeasurable rewards in the future.

In fact, He Yuzhu is well aware of the established historical trajectory of the Lisboa Hotel.

According to the original plan, the Lisboa Hotel would not officially break ground until 1970, thus beginning its legendary chapter in Macau.

But now, because of his major collaboration with He Hongshen, this process is very likely to be greatly advanced.

At this moment, He Hongshen was filled with excitement and anticipation. The enthusiasm on his face seemed to ignite the air around him, and his eyes were full of longing for the blueprint for the future.

He Yuzhu took it all in, and his heart was actually as excited as the surging tide.

But after years of struggling in the volatile business world, the ups and downs, the open and secret struggles, have made him calm and composed, able to remain calm even in the face of a catastrophe.

Therefore, even though his heart was in turmoil, his expression remained calm. He just looked at He Hongshen quietly without saying anything more.

In He Yuzhu's heart, what he really cared about and was obsessed with was how to use He Hongshen's strong relationship to smoothly acquire the two pieces of land that were crucial to him.

After all, these two pieces of land are the key to his business layout.

Of course, He Yuzhu was clear in his mind. Business is business. Loans are loans, and it is a matter of capital turnover; but the land transfer fee cannot be sloppy, not a penny can be neglected. This is the bottom line of business cooperation and a principle issue that must not be touched.

If even one point is missing, subsequent cooperation will come to a standstill. Only by strictly adhering to this principle can this cooperation proceed steadily.

He Yuzhu sat up slightly, his hands, which had been casually dangling on the armrests, clenched subconsciously. He looked directly at He Hongshen with a frank and scrutinizing gaze, and asked without hesitation, "How much is the land transfer fee for the hotel, approximately one yuan?"

He Hongshen leaned back slightly, his lips curled up slightly in a calculated, confident smile. He tapped the armrest of the sofa with his right hand and replied slowly, "The location of the land has been precisely determined. One plot has relatively ordinary surrounding facilities and is worth approximately HK$300 million. The other, on the other hand, is truly remarkable. Its location is unique, with a crisscrossing network of major roads, bus stops, and a planned subway station nearby, offering unparalleled transportation convenience. In terms of commercial radiation, the area within a few kilometers is an emerging commercial district, and future traffic and spending power are expected to be extremely impressive. It's truly excellent. Because of this, the price is relatively higher, reaching HK$350 million."

When He Yuzhu heard these two numbers, his heart sank suddenly. Although he tried his best to remain calm, the hand holding the teacup tightened unconsciously, and his knuckles turned white.

After all, this is not a small amount of money. For him, every penny invested is of great importance.

Because he had limited knowledge of local real estate prices in Haojiang, he was inevitably hesitant. After weighing the pros and cons, he subconsciously turned to look at Huo Yingdong, who had been sitting and listening quietly. His eyes were full of eagerness and trust, as if saying, "Old Huo, please make a decision for me."

Huo Yingdong noticed He Yuzhu's gaze, gently put down his cigar, and elegantly wiped the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief. He understood and nodded slightly. He said in a calm and affirmative tone, "Both prices are quite reasonable in the current market environment. Given the location and potential of these two plots of land, the return rate will definitely be considerable over time. Take the surrounding transportation and commercial planning as an example. Within five years, the value of the land may double."

Hearing Huo Yingdong's professional evaluation, He Hongshen's smile grew even brighter, his eyes narrowed into slits, like a flower in full bloom, delicate and beautiful. He then said quickly, "Mr. He, you don't have to worry about this matter at all. I have been working in the Haojing real estate industry for many years and have strong connections and resources. I can assure you that the entire transaction process will be problem-free, from signing the contract to the subsequent transfer of property rights. It will be absolutely smooth. If there are any problems, please come to me."

He Hongshen leaned forward slightly, explaining seriously, "Yuzhu, these three plots of land we're considering purchasing, plus the one we've reserved, have special properties. According to local planning requirements and market positioning, they can only be used to build high-standard hotels. The lowest grade must be three stars or higher, and each hotel must have a minimum of 200 rooms. While the nature of the land imposes certain restrictions on its use and development intensity, we're lucky. These three plots are not far from each other, as if connected by an invisible thread, tightly surrounding Nanhu Bay."

When Nanhu Bay was mentioned, He Hongshen's eyes lit up. "Don't underestimate Nanhu Bay. It's an area with great development potential in Haojiang. The surrounding natural scenery is beautiful, with lush mountains and clear lakes. The supporting facilities are also being gradually improved in an orderly manner. Transportation is becoming more convenient, and living service facilities are becoming more and more complete."

In order to allow He Yuzhu to understand the specific locations of these lands more intuitively and clearly, He Hongshen stood up, walked to the filing cabinet next to him, gently turned the combination lock, opened the cabinet door, and carefully took out a detailed map from under a stack of documents.

He held the map solemnly in both hands, walked slowly and steadily to He Yuzhu, his movements as gentle as if he was treating a rare treasure, and then gently spread the map flat on the table.

He stretched out his finger and pointed out the locations of the two plots of land on the map very carefully. Every time he pointed to a place, he began to explain patiently.

He spoke slowly and described the surrounding environment in detail, as if painting a vivid picture: where there were lush trees that could add a natural atmosphere to the future hotel; where there were tranquil lakes that could be created into a landscape to attract customers.

When talking about transportation, he clearly explained how far away the hotel is from the main roads, the distribution of bus routes, and the locations of subway stations that may be planned in the future, which will undoubtedly greatly improve the accessibility of the hotel.

When talking about the future development plan, his eyes sparkled, as if he had already seen the prosperous scene of this area. He mentioned the commercial centers, schools and other supporting facilities that will be built in the surrounding area, which will bring a steady stream of customers to the hotel.

He Yuzhu listened attentively, staring intently at the location marked by He Hongshen on the map, his eyes revealing satisfaction and longing. In his mind, he had already begun to secretly plan what the future hotel would look like after it was built.

He seemed to see the grand hotel entrance and guests coming in and out in an endless stream; inside the hotel, the decoration style of each room and the layout of each public area gradually became clear in his mind, as if he already had a three-dimensional model.

Then, he raised his head, looked at He Hongshen with a firm gaze, and asked, "When do we start paying the transfer fee?"

He Hongshen maintained his gentle smile, his expression calm as he replied, "The entire year of 1962 is fine. This period of time is enough for you to arrange your funds reasonably, and it also gives you a certain buffer period for project preparation."

The setting of this time frame undoubtedly gives He Yuzhu a certain degree of flexibility, allowing him to better arrange funds according to his own financial situation and business plan. Whether it is preparing for bank loans or allocating his own funds, he has ample time to plan.

However, ideals are full of hope, but reality is extremely skinny.

He Yuzhu stood in front of the land that did not yet belong to him but had been repeatedly carved in his mind. His heart was full of ambition like a burning flame, but unfortunately, the lack of funds on hand forced this blazing ambition to face the cold reality.

At that time, Hong Kong's economic structure was in a delicate period of transformation, with currency value and market supply and demand intertwined, making every large transaction full of variables.

Although the land in front of us is not very vast, it is priced at HK$300 million due to its excellent geographical location and development potential.

In the economic environment at that time, this figure was like a towering mountain standing in front of He Yuzhu, daunting. Even compared with the land prices in Central, Hong Kong, where every inch of land is valuable and attracts the attention of global business elites, it is not inferior.

He Yuzhu couldn't help but fall into a whirlpool of memories, his thoughts drifting back to the past when he purchased the supply building.

Each of those buildings has an area far exceeding 1 square feet, and the area of ​​a single floor easily exceeds the 1000 square meter mark.

Standing inside the building, the vast space seems to be able to accommodate countless dreams and possibilities.

The price at that time was only between 35 and 40 Hong Kong dollars, which seems particularly affordable compared to the high land prices today.

Later, the Middle East Industrial Building, which was carefully built with a lot of effort, rose from the ground. It has a unique architectural style and the internal facilities were first-class at the time. Even so, the price after completion was only between 100 million and 120 million Hong Kong dollars.

Today, the price of this piece of land alone is like a bombshell, as high as 3 million Hong Kong dollars. If you calculate carefully, this figure is almost equivalent to the total price of 300 industrial buildings.

Moreover, if a hotel is to be built on this land that can stand out in the fiercely competitive market, from the professional perspective of cost-effectiveness and precise market positioning, it must have more than 20 floors.

After all, the higher the floors are, the more fully the vertical space can be expanded, the larger the total usable area will be, and the lower the construction costs, operating costs and other expenses allocated to each guest room will be. In the long run, the overall cost-effectiveness will be higher, and the hotel will have greater competitiveness in the ever-changing business tide and realize the ambition of sustainable development.

Time passed by like a white horse, and in the blink of an eye, the end of 1961 had quietly arrived.

At that time, the Hong Kong region was in its golden period of vigorous development, and the boom of urban construction swept every corner.

In this land full of opportunities and vitality, numerous buildings have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, competing to embellish the city's landscape.

Among these tall buildings, the Hilton Hotel located at 2 Queen's Road Central in Central is undoubtedly the most dazzling pearl.

This highly anticipated Hilton Hotel broke ground as early as 1958.

From the moment the project was launched, it attracted countless people's attention.

During the long construction process that followed, it took countless days and nights of meticulous craftsmanship.

Every laid brick and stone carries the craftsmen's persistent pursuit of quality; every decorative carving is the result of the designers' ingenious ideas and endless efforts.

The construction workers, unafraid of the scorching heat or bitter cold, stayed at the construction site day and night. With their superb skills and tenacious perseverance, they turned this magnificent building from blueprint into reality bit by bit.

Finally, in 1961, the Hilton Hotel officially opened with its incomparable splendor and solemnity, opening its warm arms to guests from all corners of the world.

Its majestic figure, standing 26 stories high, is like a giant standing on the bank of the Hong Kong River. It is particularly eye-catching and dazzling in the city's skyline, becoming a unique and magnificent landscape of the Hong Kong River.

The hotel has 750 spacious and comfortable rooms, each of which is carefully equipped with the most advanced facilities at the time.

From comfortable and soft beds to convenient and intelligent electrical appliances, from exquisite and elegant furniture to thoughtful and considerate services, everything provides guests with the ultimate stay experience.