Chapter 61: Thirteen Mu of Land

Late October.

Wang Zuoyi, a real estate agent commonly known as a "ground turtle" or "broker," led Chen Guangliang and his associates to the bank of a small river alongside Yuyuan Road.

Originally, there were multiple small creeks in the vicinity of Yuyuan Road. Before the port opened to foreign trade, the primary settlement was Yongquan Village, which gradually flourished due to the nearby Jing'an Temple.

The main local waterways were the Tianji Creek, Xilulu Creek, and Feijing Creek. Following the expansion of roads beyond settlement boundaries, the traditional river network structure was progressively replaced by a grid of streets through the method of filling in creeks, with roads gradually becoming the backbone of regional land utilization.

"Boss Chen, the plot here is quite large, a full thirteen mu. Although it is not within the Foreign Settlement, it falls under the category of the settlement's 'extra-settlement road building' and appears to be protected by the settlement police," Wang Zuoyi introduced enthusiastically.

The so-called "extra-settlement road building" was a method of foreign expansion employed by the settlements. Roads were first extended outside the settlement boundaries, after which police were dispatched to patrol these roads and protect property within the areas through which the routes passed.

These extra-settlement roads would later become a battleground for maneuvering between the Shanghai Municipal Government and the Shanghai Municipal Council. Of course, the competition between the two parties for the patrol rights over these extra-settlement roads had no impact on the land on either side.

Chen Guangliang inquired, "Thirteen mu of land. Who is the owner?"

A plot of land this large naturally could not belong to ordinary farmers, yet at this moment, it was planted with vegetables and crops.

Wang Zuoyi laughed and said, "As it happens, this thirteen mu plot belongs to a group of brothers who are planning to sell the land and go into business in the city."

What a stroke of luck—dropping the watermelon to pick up sesame seeds!

For Chen Guangliang, this was a heaven-sent opportunity.

Subsequently, Chen Guangliang toured the thirteen mu plot of land.

From the perspective of geomancy, the land was situated right on the Azure Dragon's head, especially with a small river running alongside it, tracing a long and enduring course. It was an exceptionally auspicious sign.

In the vicinity, aside from a few garden residences and villas, the fields were vast yet quite desolate. Not only was it impossible to find a noodle shop, but not even a small teahouse was to be seen.

However, this in no way diminished its future appreciation potential.

"Can the Title Deed be processed?"

"Absolutely no problem. If the Title Deed cannot be secured, you simply don't have to pay."

Although it was land within the Chinese-administered territory, the Chinese authorities could likewise issue a Title Deed, and they held the exact same validity.

Only land possessing a Title Deed could have its value recognized by banks.

Indeed, a Title Deed of equivalent value was even more valuable than silver dollars.

Chen Guangliang inquired further, "What about the land to the west of the river?"

Wang Zuoyi immediately replied, "It is said that ghosts have appeared on the land west of the river. It's inauspicious!"

Chen Guangliang was taken aback. Where on earth had he arrived that ghosts were already showing up!

Seeing that Chen Guangliang was skeptical and fearing that the boss might think he was running a scam, Wang Zuoyi quickly added, "Look here, Boss Chen, the land east of the river is the Azure Dragon land, while the land west of the river is the White Tiger land. The White Tiger brings misfortune, and moreover, the land west of the river is cluttered and chaotic. How could it compare to the neat, square shape of the land east of the river?"

That made sense. A neat, square shape was a good thing, as it could maximize utilization efficiency.

"Very well. Please bother to arrange a meeting with the owners for me, Mr. Wang, so we can all discuss this together."

"No problem!"

........

The next day, Chen Guangliang met with the landowners—the three Wang brothers.

None of the three looked like pure farmers; they bore the appearance of petty merchants, seemingly eager to sell their land to pursue larger business ventures.

The eldest, Wang Zhongxiang, looked honest; the second, Wang Zhonglin, was relatively smooth and slick; and the third, Wang Zhonglei, appeared hot-tempered and full of youthful vigor. As soon as they met, the three of them also sized up Chen Guangliang and his entourage.

Wang Zhonglin took the initiative and said, "Boss Chen, I know of you. You only recently came here to open a transport agency, and now you are preparing to purchase so much land. Could it be you have some insider information?"

It seemed that Chen Guangliang purchasing so much land along Yuyuan Road in one go could not be hidden from those paying attention.

He smiled very calmly and said, "What insider information could the owner of a modest transport agency possibly have? I merely intend to buy this plot of land to set up a rickshaw and bicycle factory. If the three of you are reluctant to sell, just pretend I never asked!"

Wang Zhongxiang quickly chimed in, "Boss Chen is joking. If we weren't willing to sell, we wouldn't have troubled you to make this trip. It's just that at eleven hundred liang per mu, the price is truly a bit too low!"

Chen Guangliang stated, "I cannot raise the price by even a single fen. Think about it: I bought land inside the Foreign Settlement for only twelve hundred liang per mu. The public security and transportation of the Foreign Settlement simply cannot be compared to the Chinese territory... If I hadn't considered the proximity to the settlement and the main road, I wouldn't even be thinking of building a factory here."

Thirteen mu of land, according to the terms negotiated by Wang Zuoyi, came to 14,300 silver dollars, which meant 1,100 silver dollars per mu.

However, the subsequent agency fees, legal fees, and facilitation fees would add up to slightly over 1,000 silver dollars.

Calculated this way, the average price for this thirteen mu of land still came to around 1,200 silver dollars, slightly cheaper per unit than the previous two plots.

Wang Zuoyi also added from the side, "That's right. After all, this isn't land within the Foreign Settlement, and there's no way to guarantee the character of this new Shanghai Municipal Government. If I were in your shoes, I'd rather buy land in the Foreign Settlement too."

His words struck a chord with the three brothers, as they too harbored thoughts of going into the catering business within the Foreign Settlement, which at least held a more promising future.

The youngest, Wang Zhonglei, immediately declared, "We'll sell, but we want cash!"

Chen Guangliang laughed. "The three of you might not even be able to carry 14,300 silver dollars between you. Large transactions nowadays all use native bank draft orders, which guarantee safety."

Wang Zuoyi also interjected, "Rest assured, transactions nowadays involve signing the Title Deed and handing over cash simultaneously, witnessed by a law firm. It is completely safe."

The three Wang brothers had no further doubts and agreed to sell the land.

Next came the procedures of finding a way to obtain the Title Deed, as without this item, the value of the land would plummet. Fortunately, Wang Zuoyi, being a seasoned "ground turtle," was extremely well-versed in this area and had acquaintances at every step of the process.

.......

Chen Guangliang once again arrived at the Jincheng Bank and walked familiarly into Cheng Zikang's office.

Cheng Zikang had recently received support from the northern headquarters, allowing him to invest in some real estate in Shanghai. Of course, he was only permitted to make tentative investments for now, keeping the total amount controlled at around 300,000 silver dollars, primarily speculating on land within the Foreign Settlement.

Seeing Chen Guangliang call upon him, Cheng Zikang was quite pleased. The two shared a common topic of mutual interest—an analysis of the economic trends in Shanghai.

"I heard you've been busy investing in real estate for Mr. Gu. How do you find the time to come here?" Cheng Zikang asked with a smile.

In truth, Cheng Zikang maintained only a routine professional contact with Gu Zhuxuan, falling short of any deep friendship.

Indeed, he believed that Chen Guangliang working for Gu Zhuxuan was steering down a somewhat skewed path.

Chen Guangliang deliberately assumed a helpless expression and said, "I merely hold a part-time role at Mr. Gu's place; it can hardly be considered working for him."

Cheng Zikang nodded and let the topic drop. After all, Chen Guangliang was still relatively insignificant and ran a transport agency business, so he naturally could not avoid the "major gangsters" of that industry.

"So, what brings you here this time?"

Chen Guangliang stated, "I have my eyes on a plot of land on Yuyuan Road... It currently requires a little over 15,000 silver dollars. I can personally scrape together 8,000 silver dollars, and I hope to borrow 8,000 silver dollars from Jincheng Bank. Once I obtain the Title Deed, I am willing to mortgage it to your esteemed bank."

Generally speaking, one mortgaged the Title Deed first to secure a loan; currently, however, Chen Guangliang needed to obtain the loan first.

Naturally, Chen Guangliang had also considered a contingency plan, which was to divert some funds from the transport agency to acquire the land first, and then mortgage it to Jincheng Bank once the Title Deed was in hand to secure a loan of 15,000 silver dollars.

Cheng Zikang retrieved a map, located the area near Yuyuan Road on it, and after pondering for a moment, said, "The land here is outside the Foreign Settlement, though it is close. I feel its appreciation potential is inferior to Zhabei and South Shanghai within the Chinese territory."

Chen Guangliang argued, "But the land price is cheap, and it also holds a transportation advantage. Relying on Jing'an Temple Road, it offers direct access to the bustling district of Nanjing Road East."

Cheng Zikang then traced his finger straight eastward along Jing'an Temple Road (later known as Nanjing Road West), nodded finally, and said, "Viewed in this light, it is indeed not bad... Very well, a loan of 8,000 silver dollars is not a problem, but the Title Deed must be mortgaged with us when the time comes."

"No problem!"

Through this loan, Chen Guangliang made full use of "future assets" to mortgage to the bank in exchange for present funds—a modest experiment in its own right.