Chapter 92: Dongling Real Estate

Halfway through the drinks, Deng Cheng suddenly looked around and asked, "Are you all free the night after tomorrow? My dad is hosting a banquet at the Celebrity Hotel, so let's all go and have some fun together."

The Celebrity Hotel was a five-star luxury hotel, thirty-seven stories high, located along the Jing River in the main urban district. It had long been the pearl of the Jing River, frequently chosen for high-end conferences, banquets, and wealthy weddings.

"Oh? Why is Uncle Deng suddenly hosting a banquet?" Jiang Yun asked with a smile.

Thinking that he was about to start working in Rongcheng just as Deng Ting'an was holding a banquet, Jiang Yun wondered if it was specially meant for him. However, he found it hard to believe that Deng Ting'an would be so obvious about it. Since his son was already a good friend of Jiang Yun's, there was no need for such grand gestures.

"Isn't it because the Tengfei Group has collapsed? Such a massive enterprise definitely needs someone to take over its assets. Several municipal projects, for instance, require other companies to step in and continue development. Therefore, the government will soon be calling upon interested companies for negotiations. Whether through private acquisition or public auction, many companies in the province are eyeing these assets with great greed. That's why my dad wants to gather some like-minded friends to sit down and discuss a strategy, so we can avoid driving the prices up too high," Deng Cheng explained with a smile.

That was how the business world worked; forming private alliances could often prevent unnecessary losses and save costs.

"Those assets of the Tengfei Group are all highly coveted prizes, so the competition will definitely be fierce. But given Uncle Deng's influence in the Southwest, securing half of them shouldn't be a problem, right?" Jiang Yun analyzed.

Now that the Tengfei Group had fallen, there was no longer any real estate company in the Southwest capable of threatening the Bluestky Group. It was time for Bluestky Group to consider its own growth and march toward becoming one of the nation's top real estate enterprises. However, recalling Deng Cheng's mention that his father had devoted all his energy to developing a new real estate project—aiming to build a high-end commercial real estate hub around Star Moon Lake—Jiang Yun held a very optimistic view of this ambition.

Listening to Deng Cheng, Zhou Xuan's mind raced. He suddenly grew a bit suspicious of Deng Ting'an's banquet. If it were merely a matter concerning provincial or Southwestern real estate companies, it wouldn't warrant Deng Ting'an going to such lengths.

Unless they were facing a formidable opponent—one so powerful that even the Bluestky Group's reputation as the top real estate giant in the Southwest could not suppress them—prompting Deng Ting'an to call this banquet in the hope of forming an alliance with other local developers to resist together.

Yet, who could this outsider be? Zhou Xuan pondered deeply...

Could it be...

Xue Ling, Dongling Real Estate, Huashang Capital.

"Heh, what a brilliant scheme!" Zhou Xuan thought to himself. "How could I have almost forgotten such an important matter?"

Xue Ling was the son of the province's top official, neither in business nor in politics. Yet, he shared an indescribable connection with Huashang Capital, one of the nation's top 500 enterprises. According to revelations from his past life, the mastermind behind Huashang Capital was none other than the Xue family. As for Dongling Real Estate, it ranked among the top five eastern real estate developers with assets exceeding ten billion, and its largest shareholder was Huashang Capital.

In his previous life, Dongling Real Estate had also expanded into the Southwest two years later. Its very first move was to devour the Bluestky Group alongside the Tengfei Group. Rather than calling it a joint venture, it was more like Dongling Real Estate eating the meat while the Tengfei Group drank the soup. One had to admit that the Xue family was extremely adept at playing these games, repeatedly orchestrating scenarios where big fish ate small fish, causing Dongling Real Estate's scale to expand rapidly.

Through this process of corporate cannibalism, Dongling Real Estate acquired several plots of land from the Bluestky Group at low prices, subsequently constructing commercial real estate, luxury residential towers, villa districts, and resort villages. Ultimately, riding the wave of soaring nationwide housing prices, they reaped massive profits, swelling their asset scale to over a hundred billion.

Yet in this lifetime, due to Zhou Xuan's interference, not only had the Bluestky Group avoided collapse, but they had also brought down Liu Teng and his associates. Still, Zhou Xuan could not help but admire the province's top official for seizing the momentum to let Dongling Real Estate in, swallow the Tengfei Group, and rise to power on the coattails of that success.

Once the Tengfei Group was absorbed, the Southwestern branch of Dongling Real Estate would have a solid foundation. With additional support from Dongling's headquarters, this regional branch would be no weaker than Deng Ting'an's Bluestky Group.

Then, through the political maneuvering of the province's top official, the Bluestky Group would likely follow in the footsteps of the Tengfei Group within a year or two.

However, considering the current provincial landscape, Zhou Xuan mused that such an outcome was not guaranteed. After all, powerful as Dongling Real Estate might be, the Bluestky Group was no pushover either. Backed by the Jiang family represented by Jiang Yun, Secretary Yu, and Minister Wang, it would not be so easy for Dongling Real Estate to expand its influence rapidly.

This division of the Tengfei Group's carcass would serve as a direct clash between the two factions. Whichever side gained the upper hand in this confrontation would seize the initiative. After all, for any real estate company, holding land in hand meant peace of mind.

"Not necessarily. I suspect Uncle Deng has already caught wind of some news, hasn't he?" Zhou Xuan asked, turning to Deng Cheng. "Did Uncle Deng discover that other developers are coming to grab a piece of the pie?"

"Hah, Zhou Xuan, you're amazing. You figured it out before I even said anything. Truly impressive!" Deng Cheng gave Zhou Xuan a thumbs-up, sighed, and continued, "My dad received a phone call from a friend the day before yesterday, saying that Dongling Real Estate is coming."

"Dongling Real Estate... Heh..." Jiang Yun naturally knew whose enterprise Dongling Real Estate belonged to, so hearing this news immediately stirred up a sense of displeasure in his heart.

"Dongling Real Estate is definitely coming with ill intent," Wang Ximing chimed in from the side.

Zhou Xuan smiled. "Ill intent? They're practically starving wolves. Don't you guys know how Dongling Real Estate grew over the past few years? Heh, a textbook case of big fish eating small fish, leaving not even the bones behind."

Recalling Dongling Real Estate's overbearing reputation, Jiang Yun realized it fit Xue Ling's personality perfectly. He then sneered, "So Xue Ling is coming too, then?"

Zhou Xuan looked at Jiang Yun and teased, "Brother Jiang, maybe Xue Ling is aiming right for you. If he swallows up the entire Tengfei Group right before you arrive in Rongcheng, wouldn't you lose quite a bit of face?"

"And knowing his personality, he'll definitely broadcast it all over the social circle just to humiliate me completely," Jiang Yun replied with a smile as he looked at Zhou Xuan.

"Heh, Brother Jiang, you're working now. You've practically stepped out of that circle; are you still worried about losing face?" Zhou Xuan shifted his tone. "Still, since they've brought the fight to our doorstep, we can't just let them bully us. It seems we need to discuss this thoroughly. We can't let Dongling Group walk in too easily or take too much. Otherwise, in a couple of years, the Tengfei Group's fate today will be the Bluestky Group's fate tomorrow."

He directed this final sentence straight at Deng Cheng!