Hearing this, Jiang Cheng's eyebrows twitched: "Oh? So that's what your dad meant?"
Wang Congcong shook his head: "My dad isn't stupid. He told Old Xu that he has no face in front of you..."
"To reject Old Xu, your dad is certainly being quite humble..."
Wang Congcong naturally picked up the conversation: "Brother Cheng, please let us off. You don't know, my dad used to think I wasn't as good as Xu Zhi, but things are different now. He even praised me, okay? He praised me for being sensible and not causing trouble, otherwise, it might be our Wang Family trembling in fear right now..."
To be honest, although he knew the ultimate fate of Company, Jiang Cheng had felt a silent sigh of emotion when he first met Boss Xu.
That man was someone who could adapt to any situation; he truly deserved to be someone who achieved great things.
If it weren't for Xu Zhi, he and Xu Jiayin might have coexisted peacefully.
After all, the Xu Family's fate was already sealed; Jiang Cheng had no need to push it along.
It was just a pity that Xu Zhi crashed headlong into him, and now he's ended up going inside even earlier than his old man.
Qin Fen, who was nearby, seemed to know what Wang Congcong was talking about and leaned his head in as well.
Jiang Cheng smiled at the sight, then thought of An Jingsheng's words.
Chengdu was their territory, that much was true, but the Wang Family and Shen An's family were also in the real estate business.
After all, they also had influence in Beijing.
Thinking of this, the corners of Jiang Cheng's mouth curled up.
Doesn't this mean I can fleece the wool from both ends?
I'll leave Chengdu to An Jingsheng, and in Beijing, I'll integrate the power of the Wang and Shen families.
Jiang Cheng waved his hand at Wang Zheng and Shen An.
Seeing Jiang Cheng beckoning them, the two immediately leaned over.
Jiang Cheng spoke: "Brothers, are you interested in making a little pocket money?"
Hearing this, the eyes of the four men instantly lit up, and they nodded in perfect unison.
"I'm interested!"
"Definitely interested!"
"Must be interested!"
Compared to the other three, Shen An was clearly more excited.
Because those three had clearly joined Jiang Cheng's circle earlier than him.
"Sigh, Brother Cheng, you have no idea. Just a few days ago, I crashed a supercar. I just earned over a hundred million under your lead, and then I immediately spent tens of millions. I'm in desperate need of pocket money for an emergency..."
Jiang Cheng looked at Shen An and tested the waters: "You know about Xu Zhi's situation, right? What do you think of it?"
As a local loafer in Beijing, how could he not know about Xu Zhi?
Shen An leaned forward slightly upon hearing this, his tone respectful and sincere, without a hint of arrogance: "Brother Cheng, to be honest, our Shen Family had some friction with the Xu Family earlier. It wasn't big, but a grudge was formed."
Shen An's words were clearly a direct move to take Jiang Cheng's side.
Jiang Cheng's brow arched slightly as he said casually: "Oh? Is it about that plot of land for King of Fengtai?"
"It seems Brother Cheng knows everything?" Shen An was stunned for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "That's the one. Our family has been doing real estate in Beijing for nearly thirty years. From the earliest renovation of the old Hutongs in the Second Ring Road to the high-end residential projects and Tianjie commercial complexes in Haidian and Chaoyang today, which piece of prime meat did we touch without first mastering the rules? The Xu Family, on the other hand, dared to snatch the Fengtai land just because they had some capital, and they even played that double-contract game. They were purely getting ahead of themselves."
Seeing Shen An say this, Wang Congcong chimed in: "Your old man is a veteran of the Beijing real estate circle. He holds the property rights to several office buildings in the Chaoyang CBD and has two commercial complexes similar to Tianjie. He just got a new plot of land in Tongzhou for a low-density project. In terms of local foundations, he's much tougher than those outside real estate firms."
Shen An smiled and didn't deny it, only nodding toward Jiang Cheng: "Brother Cheng, you also know that real estate hasn't been easy these past few years. Our family stopped pursuing blind expansion long ago, focusing instead on high-end residential and self-owned commercial properties. Our occupancy rate has stayed steady at over 95% year-round, and our cash flow is much more stable than those real estate firms that are collapsing. As for Company's approach, our old man told us to stay far away long ago, saying he'd trip up sooner or later."
Hearing this, Jiang Cheng's smile deepened.
The Shen and Wang families—one holding commercial and residential resources in Beijing's core business districts as a well-connected local veteran, and the other backed by political and business resources with a layout across various regions around Beijing. Wasn't this exactly the springboard for Beijing real estate that he wanted?
"Both you and Brother Wang's families are deeply rooted in real estate and related industries with well-informed sources. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe the Xu Family's current situation as 'beset by internal and external difficulties, precarious and unstable,' right?"
Wang Congcong nodded: "The cash flow is about to break, and Xu Zhi has gone inside. Everyone is kicking them while they're down."
Qin Fen joined in: "The operation is too large and the debt is too high. Everyone is afraid of being dragged down."
Wang Zheng nodded: "Although my family isn't in this field, I've heard quite a bit about their family recently."
Shen An leaned in closer: "Brother Cheng, do you have some ideas? These muddy waters aren't easy to wade through."
Jiang Cheng gave a light chuckle.
He mimicked the words An Shengyu had said to him.
"Muddy waters are best for catching fish. Jumping in directly to take over the whole mess? That's for fools. But while the water is murky, fishing out the good things that are still shining with gold—getting in and out quickly—is another matter entirely."
He paused, observing the reactions of the three. Seeing their eyes light up, he continued:
"The Xu Family's assets are poison in the long run; whoever takes them dies. But in the short term, some of the assets inside are hard currency. For example, those plots of land they hoarded in core locations of first- and second-tier cities where the floor price was kept very low; or for instance, their high-quality properties and commercial projects with stable cash flow. These are all things that can be stripped away and 'weighed for sale' individually."
Wang Congcong's mind worked fast: "Brother Cheng, you mean... we don't touch the Xu Family as a whole, but just pick the fattest meat inside?"
"Exactly," Jiang Cheng confirmed. "And we don't need to sink too much of our own cold, hard cash into it. What the Xu Family lacks most now is cash flow to deal with the crisis and debt. We can use debt-to-equity swaps, debt acquisitions, or partner with other strategic investors to drive down the price and acquire these high-quality assets at a lower cost. Then, we either quickly flip them to other real estate firms in desperate need of replenishing their land reserves, or hold and operate them for a short period until the value rebounds and then immediately cash out. We'll control the cycle within half a year and absolutely won't linger."
Shen An was a bit excited but asked cautiously: "Brother Cheng, the risk for this...?"
Jiang Cheng smiled, his tone carrying a convincing certainty:
"There's definitely risk, but it's controllable. I don't think this is something you can decide individually, so there's no need to say more. Go back and discuss it with your families. As I said before, investment requires caution; no pressure."
The several men all indicated they understood.
Soon, the time approached 11:00 PM.
Seeing it was about time, Jiang Cheng didn't do anything like spraying wine and getting soaked.
After getting into the Rolls-Royce with Fang Yuan, she clearly seemed a bit drunk.
But whether she was truly drunk or faking it, Jiang Cheng couldn't judge.
Because he remembered she hadn't drunk much.
But as the saying goes, if a Girl is willing, she's down after one glass; if she's not, she can handle a thousand... Seeing her body leaning softly against the leather seat, her breath carried a faint mix of alcohol and the sweet scent of perfume.
Jiang Cheng reached out and thoughtfully raised the car's partition.
"Are you drunk?"
"No... not really drunk." Her voice was softer and more melodious than usual, as if dipped in honey. "Just a bit dizzy..."
"Is that so? Then, should I lend you my shoulder to lean on?"
Fang Yuan didn't answer after he spoke.
But a few seconds later, her body, which had been leaning against the car window, proactively moved closer to Jiang Cheng.
Jiang Cheng could feel the warmth and softness of her body transmitted through the thin fabric of her clothes, along with that faint, unique fragrance of hers.
She seemed truly a bit weary; her long eyelashes trembled slightly before slowly closing, casting a small shadow under her eyelids.
But her arm proactively and somewhat dependently wrapped gently around Jiang Cheng's arm.