63. Hatching Eggs with Borrowed Chickens

[Ding!]

[Congratulations on completing Novice Mission 2!]

[Mission Objective: Identify four people who bear a grudge against you and ensure they no longer pose a threat!]

[Mission Completion: Li Mingjiang will no longer threaten you. Completion rate: 4/4.]

[No special reward triggered.]

[Mission Reward 1: Social Weight Template Upgrade: A Handful of Friends → Rising Star]

[Rising Star: You have officially entered a certain field and succeeded in attracting a degree of attention. From this moment on, you will gradually become known to more people. Take the building of connections seriously and strive to increase your social weight! The impact of connections often appears when least expected.]

[Mission Reward 2: Wealth Template D-Level Factor acquired!]

[Ding!]

[Novice Mission 3: You are a newcomer who has just entered the industry. A solid theoretical foundation will become your most crucial investment in the future. So, study hard! Strive! Push yourself!]

[Mission Objective: Acquire comprehensive knowledge of the real estate market and gain recognition for your academic paper from at least three renowned professors in the field at your university.]

[Mission Time Limit: 60 days]

[Mission Hint: The real estate industry is vast and complicated; what is needed is in-depth and meticulous cultivation.]

Staring at the system prompt, Chen Ling knew he had guessed correctly!

Last night at the Huanglong Hotel, from the very first glance at Li Mingjiang, Chen Ling sensed the wariness, resistance, and resentment directed at him.

Although this went somewhat against his prior analysis, since that was the case, it was only logical to fan the flames of that animosity and then resolve it; this was the key to completing the system’s task.

That was why Chen Ling had acted so uncharacteristically arrogant and domineering in front of Li Mingjiang.

Sure enough, after the previous missteps with Zhou Jing and Jin Youde, he hadn’t guessed wrong this time—the final person was Li Mingjiang.

However, the third novice mission that followed really left Chen Ling at a loss…

The first mission only required making money; as long as one found the right method and built some basic connections, it could be done.

For an ordinary person, that might be as difficult as reaching the heavens, but for someone reborn, it was merely a warm-up.

The second mission, though he’d made two mistakes, still had a clear path to follow.

After all, resentment comes down to either emotions or interests.

But this third mission…

Chen Ling felt a bit awkward.

Qujiang University of Business and Industry had started as Linjiang Business College, a vocational institution. Even after being upgraded to a university, most of its majors were only at the third-tier score line, with a few reaching the second tier.

In 2008, it was not considered a particularly good school.

The true prestige of Qujiang Business lay in just a handful of outstanding scholars in its business faculty.

Even the formulation of various policies, urban planning, and economic strategies for Qujiang Province and its cities had their involvement, sometimes even direct leadership.

It must be noted, Qujiang Province was the nation’s top province for private enterprise and a powerhouse in economic terms.

To gain recognition from such leading figures who shaped the province’s economic activities?

A daunting task, to say the least!

There was no room for shortcuts or clever tricks; only solid, undeniable strength could make it possible.

“What a headache…” Chen Ling smiled wryly in his heart. “To think that, even as someone reborn, I still have to bury myself in books? And with only two months’ time.”

“Study hard! Strive! Push yourself! It sounds inspiring, but just like the new generation of manga, it’s hard to actually feel fired up about it…”

“President Chen, what are you thinking about?”

Seeing Chen Ling lost in thought, Gelo asked with a cheerful smile.

Chen Ling snapped back to the present, putting the system’s mission aside for now, and replied seriously, “Mr. Ge, although we’ve managed to open up the situation for now, the subsequent issues still need our attention.”

“And you mean…?”

“The dividends!” Chen Ling gestured towards the door. “The first time distributing money to the villagers, it’s like manna from heaven—an unexpected windfall, so naturally, no one will demand much.”

“But once the project is completed and handed over, the villagers’ expectations of the operators—meaning the administration office—will rise dramatically.”

“If we can’t satisfy everyone, even after your project is over, the villagers will still come looking for trouble.”

“This can’t be handled carelessly, so my suggestion is to set up a property management company to provide unified management and operation of these collective assets. Only by securing returns can we ensure long-term stability.”

Gelo nodded thoughtfully, sighing, “You have great foresight, President Chen, and you’re absolutely right. But as developers, once the project ends, our work here is done…”

“But isn’t Mr. Li still here?” Chen Ling smiled, and Li Mingjiang, standing to the side, was momentarily stunned, looking at Chen Ling in surprise.

Chen Ling continued, “Relatively speaking, Mr. Li is more familiar with this area and knows the situation in the village. My idea is, I’ll take the lead in establishing a company, Mr. Li joins as a shareholder and acts as the actual manager. At the same time, Zhongrui Company also becomes a shareholder to prevent future issues arising from misunderstandings.”

“In this way, we can hire some villagers as employees, turning resistance into support. It also allows Zhongrui Company to train some talent in property management. In the future, when new projects are launched, Zhongrui will already have its own affiliated enterprise.”

“I believe with Zhongrui Group’s vision, you wouldn’t want to settle for the awkwardness of outsourcing property management, would you? After all, companies like Taihe and Binhu have their own property management companies, and they’re all star-rated.”

“In terms of soft strength, if Zhongrui Group doesn’t catch up, it will be hard to compete with those two local giants!”

Chen Ling’s proposal was both reasonable and nearly impossible to refuse.

Yet Gelo heard much more between the lines.

With Chen Ling at the helm, the company would be his, while Gelo and Li Mingjiang would only be shareholders.

But this would allow Zhongrui (Linjiang) Company to transfer property management personnel from headquarters in name of training back-up forces for Zhongrui, but in reality, Chen Ling would be leveraging Zhongrui Group’s resources to rapidly expand his own business scope and strength.

Clearly, Chen Ling’s ambitions went far beyond his current real estate agency.

Given time and opportunity, he would definitely move into the secondary, or even primary, real estate markets.

In other words, this partnership, though impossible for Gelo to refuse, was like raising a tiger that might turn on him.

What a clever way to lay eggs in another’s nest and win by biding his time!

Gelo found himself liking Chen Ling even more…

After all, he too had his own little calculations, which he was busy totting up!

Li Mingjiang, on the other hand, hadn’t thought so deeply.

He hadn’t expected Chen Ling would invite him to be a shareholder, but it was a result he was more than satisfied with.

“I have no objections!” Li Mingjiang immediately declared, “Working with President Chen has always been a pleasure. Being his enemy would be a pitiful fate indeed.”

He silently recalled Lian Xuzong’s embarrassing display earlier and felt fortunate.

Gelo nodded as well, “I’ll propose this at the company executive meeting—it’s almost certain to be approved.”

“Excellent!” Chen Ling smiled with satisfaction.

With this matter settled, next… he could focus all his energy on tackling the house number scalping scheme!

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