Chapter 96 (1/2)
Value of Land
The site of Thunder Horse Manufacturing was abuzz with activity in the bright light of morning. The students Liang Si-Yao had recruited were busy measuring the site and making drawings. The delivery men and engineering people from Forest Man had also arrived and vehicle after vehicle brought new building materials to the site as the engineering team prepared to start work.
A workshop would be built on this piece of land after a month if no incidents occured and Thunder Horse Manufacturing’s signboard would hang on the door.
Xia Lei felt a wave of emotion as he watched the busy scene. He said quietly, “Xiao-An, I wish you were here to see this. I’ll be able to get revenge for you in a few days. Huang Yi-Hu is finished, I guarantee it.”
There was no way Ma Xiao-An could hear him, but he would be happy if he did.
Liang Si-Yao brought Guan Ling-Shan and Yin Hao around the site, talking through the details of the design plan. Liang Si-Yao had not known about the attack on the students till she went to the site to work. She was angry about it for a period of time but was soon absorbed in work.
Xia Lei walked towards the trio and their conversation entered his ears.
“Big Sister Liang, I suggest we have the office building close to the road so the clients will see the office right when they arrive,” said Guan Ling-Shan.
“I think the warehouse should be next to the road so it’ll be convenient for materials to come in and goods to go out. We can also lessen some of the handling cost,” said Yin Hao.
“Both of you have valid points. I’ll ask Chairman Xia for his opinion,” said Liang Si-Yao.
Xia Lei walked over to them and said smilingly, “I have a different idea.”
The three of them realised that he had come over only then and Guan Ling-Shan and Yin Hao greeted Xia Lei.
Liang Si-Yao gave Xia Lei a warm, sweet smile, “What’s your idea?”
“I think we can’t use such a big piece of land for now,” said Xia Lei.
Liang Si-Yao, Guan Ling-Shan and Yin Hao looked at Xia Lei curiously, not understanding what he meant.
Xia Lei laughed, “I’ve been observing our plot of land the whole morning. Look, there is a large community across the road, transportation is convenient and there is high traffic. Why don’t we use the land close to the road? We can construct a building here not for office use but for a large supermarket. We’ll profit quite a bit annually.”
“A supermarket?” Liang Si-Yao looked at Xia Lei in astonishment, hardly able to believe that Xia Lei had come up with this idea.
Guan Ling-Shan and Yin Hao were also frozen in disbelief.
Xia Lei laughed, “Why are you guys looking at me like that? Huang Yi-Hu wanted this piece of land so badly because of its potential value, didn’t he? I got this piece of land and even though the government has put restrictions in place regarding the sale and rental of the land, there are no restrictions on how I can use it. If I build a supermarket on my land, the supermarket is ours and we don’t have to pay rent on it. Our products can be sold for cheaper too, so there’s no worry that nobody would come buy from us. Don’t belittle the revenue from a supermarket. If the groceries sell well daily, it will be no problem to make hundreds of millions a year. Why should we refuse such a source of revenue? This money can also be used to improve workers’ welfare.”
Building a supermarket in this good location seemed like a random idea but it was actually an obvious choice for Xia Lei.
Starting a company was not the same as starting a workshop in terms of insurance. Every employee of the company had to be insured and that was a huge expense. The new company had over a hundred employees and cost quite a bit to run daily. If he ran short of money, he would be put in an awkward position as Chairman. If he opened a supermarket in the best spot in the port area which would lessen the financial burden of his operations, then… Why not?
Liang Si-Yao suddenly laughed, “I didn’t think of that at all. This is a great idea! It is a waste to use this piece of land just for a machining plant. It is a great waste indeed if we don’t take advantage of its potential. Good, I support the idea of building a supermarket. However, it should occupy three floors. One basement, two above and our office shall occupy the third and fourth floors. What do you think?”
“We can also lessen the cost of building a separate office building that way,” added Guan Ling-Shan.
Yin Hao spoke excitedly, “Yeah, we only need to build an employee entrance. We can go from the workshop to the third and fourth floors without having to go through the supermarket and the people in the supermarket cannot enter our office area and affect our operations.”
Xia Lei smiled, “What are you waiting for then? Hurry, finish up the designs.”
“We’ll get it done right away,” said Guan Ling-Shan and Yin Hao together. They looked at each other and smiled awkwardly.
After Guan Ling-Shan and Yin Hao went off, Liang Si-Yao spoke, “Who’s going to be in charge of the supermarket?”
“I have someone in mind. He should be able to do it,” said Xia Lei.
“Who?” asked Liang Si-Yao.
At that moment, a Yamaha motorcycle came roaring from the road before coming to a sharp stop. A youth in tight leather shorts and a white embroidered T-shirt alighted. A beautiful face, well-proportioned figure and a well-rounded bottom; the tranny vibes were strong with this one. It was the person Xia Lei was talking about - Qin Xiang.
When Qin Xiang turned up, many people did a double-take and some started to whisper and talk about him. Qin Xiang seemed used to the strange looks of others and didn’t seem to mind as he walked confidently towards Xia Lei and Liang Si-Yao.
It was Liang Si-Yao’s first time seeing Qin Xiang and she lowered her voice to ask, “Who is this? Is it your friend?”
“His name’s Qin Xiang. He’s the one I was talking about when you asked who will manage the supermarket,” said Xia Lei.
“Huh?” Liang Si-Yao was taken aback and she looked at Xia Lei strangely.