If I can recoup the costs of Dream Garden quickly, I'll take a gamble and move the business to the provincial capital, secure the land parcel before mid-year, start development by the end of the year, and launch the presale in September next year.

If the real estate market still hasn't rebounded by then, maybe it's just my fate.

But no matter what, I don't want to keep struggling in this mire of Dream City anymore..."

Ha!

Han Lie suddenly looked up, his sharp and deep gaze directly met Pan Dajun's, who showed no signs of backing down. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

A moment later, a smile spread across Han Lie's face, growing quickly.

Interesting, very interesting! It seems I've underestimated the heroes of this world...

Han Lie wasn't disappointed. Instead, he laughed heartily, finding that he was starting to like Pan Dajun a bit.

What's the point of always dealing with those who are short-sighted and blinded by greed? It's with an opponent like this that interactions are full of surprises! No, that's not right. At this moment, Pan Dajun was no longer an opponent. Once he decided to make such a drastic cut, he 'got' a new title—the God of Wealth has Arrived!

Of course, Han Lie didn't rush to make any decisions.

"Your reasons are sound, but where's my reason to take it over?"

Pan Dajun poured tea for Han Lie himself, then smiled easily.

"My cost of capital is too high, and there's another piece of land I have my eye on; I can't afford to wait. But you're different. If you can get enough low-cost capital to take over Dream Garden entirely, selling it slowly over one or two years, an average price of 40,000 is effortless, and you wouldn't need to pay such high sales costs. The net profit would certainly be higher than my estimate."

Han Lie shook his head. "How come I wasn't aware I had an advantage in selling houses?"

Pan Dajun didn't call out Han Lie's feigned ignorance, replying with flattery, "If you're willing to slightly lower the entry threshold for the private equity fund, attracting some idle capital from the wealthy individuals of Dream City, I believe there'd be quite a few local prominent figures willing to be your neighbors..."

Tsk tsk. So clever! He really has thought of everything, Han Lie had to admire him.

Han Lie indeed didn't know how to sell houses. If he were given a resettlement complex with 500 units in the current environment, he really wouldn't have any good solutions.

But if it was only a top-tier community with just 92 units...

So easy.

Without exaggeration, Han Lie could casually bring in a couple of top financial bigwigs for endorsements, then hold an investment seminar in Dream City, flash some transaction slips while boasting and making grand "Flying" promises, and he reckoned half the units could be sold on the spot.

Those local Dream City tycoons were probably watching Pan Dajun's predicament with schadenfreude, or perhaps they had reservations, or maybe they were waiting for a price drop—in any case, they weren't buying what Pan Dajun was selling. But as soon as Han Lie personally stepped in, the situation would improve dramatically.

Dream City really was a small town with no visible prospects or future. In the long run, the value proposition of Dream Garden wasn't great.

But the issue was, with so many wealthy people around, how could they not absorb a mere 92 luxury apartments?

The cheapest one might only be 15 million; no need for coal tycoons to step in. Those involved in transport, hotels, high-end dining, or poultry sales could easily snap them up.

They just needed a reason.

Actually, Pan Dajun wasn't completely out of options; he just didn't want to drag it out any longer.

With his resolve to make a decisive cut and the magnanimity to share profits, he truly was a remarkable individual!

All of Han Lie's brain cells buzzed with activity as he calculated how low a cost he could incur to reap how high a profit.

1.2 billion... Not easy to find, but not impossible either.

The most cunning approach Han Lie could take was to issue a variant of REITs.

The previous projects were actually ABS, which were complicated to explain. What Han Lie wanted to do could be simply understood as follows:

Issue a two-year private placement product, investing 20% himself to meet regulatory requirements, and selling the remaining 80% externally.

A fixed interest rate, an annualized 8%, would suffice.

It would have an ironclad guarantee, with his own investment securing the interest payments for the externally sold portion.

Sell it to a specific crowd through brokerage connections... Ah? Wait a minute! What the hell am I doing making things so complicated? Just go directly to Boss Cai! Have Panzi provide a guarantee, borrow 1.2 billion directly from Boss Cai—an annualized 7% should be doable. That's only 84 million in interest for one year. Can't I sell a mere 92 luxury apartments in one year?! What a joke! As long as I hold out until September of this year, when the bull market officially kicks off, I'll return to Dream City with a glorious track record, launch a new fund, and sell some houses on the side, employing an invisible bundling tactic… Let me throw out a number: an average price of 50,000. Who would think that's expensive? Seriously, it would sell out on day one! How much profit would that be? Then, reinvesting those profits into the already rapidly expanding market, coupled with maximum leverage—what kind of terrifying returns could that ultimately leverage?!

The genius, Han Lie, almost instantly calculated a rough figure—an 11-digit number starting with 2.

This kind of play is definitely not for normal people. But is Han Lie a normal person?

In fact, this was a typical example of resource amplification, inspired by Stanford University's five-dollar challenge.

The experiment went something like this:

A business school professor divided students into over a dozen groups. Each group had two hours to make as much money as possible, starting with five US dollars.

Additionally, in the next class, each group had to give a three-minute presentation on how they made the money.

The third-place group, breaking free from the five-dollar constraint, earned 650 US dollars in two hours by queuing at popular restaurants for wealthy clients.

The second-place group bypassed the trading limit. They set up a booth at the school, offering free tire pressure checks and air for students' tires. Then, smiling, they invited people to drop some change into a donation box as they wished. Ultimately, they made nearly 1,000 US dollars.

The first-place group transcended all constraints. They focused on the three-minute presentation slot itself and successfully sold it to a company looking to recruit top students from Stanford's business school, earning a whopping 25,000 US dollars.

They redefined resources and maximized the use of their three-minute presentation time.

Han Lie's thinking was essentially the same—the opportunity to get on board with me, to become my neighbor and friend—don't you want it? The big shots in Magic Capital might not care, but the local tycoons in Dream City? They need it badly! If they had good connections, would they have been swindled so thoroughly in the entertainment industry? Okay, so, buying one of my properties in the city center, superb quality, just a tiny bit overpriced—is that excessive? Alright, alright, say no more! Waiter, take me to see the properties! See? It's settled, isn't it?

Han Lie's sales strategy had a touch of idealism; he might not actually sell them for as high as 50,000. However, selling all of them for over 40,000 was virtually a sure thing.

This would mean a net profit of at least 400 million.

And who said 1.2 billion was truly Pan Dajun's bottom line?!

Han Lie smiled with ill intent. "President Pan, I can accept a one-time payment, but doesn't a cost of 1.2 billion seem a bit inflated?"

It's feasible!

Pan Dajun's spirits instantly lifted. He threw all his enthusiasm into it, complaining to Han Lie, calculating costs, and revealing insider information…

Ultimately, the two reached a verbal agreement for 1.15 billion with considerable mutual understanding.

Pan Dajun definitely didn't lose out, and Han Lie made a killing. Suddenly, they found each other extremely agreeable, shook hands, smiled, and let bygones be bygones.

Han Lie didn't promise to stop targeting Panzi Hang or anything; he just casually called him "brother."

"Brother Pan, whenever you feel like having tea and a chat, come to Magic Capital. I'll be sure to give you my best hospitality!"

Pan Dajun naturally had no reason to refuse and shook Han Lie's hand firmly. "When I achieve success, I'll definitely pay you a visit to express my gratitude! Brother Han, great favors require no thanks. Until we meet again!"

And just like that, Panzi Hang, without realizing it, suddenly found himself with a new uncle, acquired practically for nothing.

Life's surprises always come unexpectedly...

Just like now with Han Lie. He had personally escorted Pan Dajun downstairs, and upon returning upstairs, the door to the neighboring apartment suddenly swung wide open. A beautiful, graceful girl burst out.

Liu Lianlian smiled brilliantly, revealing her two signature canine teeth. Her small face, with its touch of baby fat, seemed to hold all the memories of Han Lie's adolescence.

Brother Gou was startled, and the first thing that came to his mind was actually an idiom…