amaotonovel Chapter 1350 Shanghai's Tallest Building
Chapter 1350 Shanghai's Tallest Building
Chapter 1350 Shanghai's Tallest Building
Meeting Old Master Wang's gaze, Qin Hao smiled calmly, his tone steady yet resolute: "Actually, I've always been optimistic about the development of the mainland. Otherwise, I wouldn't have made the decision to invest in and build an industrial park in Donghai several years ago. Now, the third phase of the industrial park is completed, employing over 60,000 people, most of whom are laid-off workers from state-owned enterprises. This not only solves the employment problem but also generates considerable tax revenue for the local area every year. This is the best proof of the mainland's development potential."
"Oh?" Old Master Wang shook his head gently, his fingertips lightly stroking the handle of his cane, his tone tinged with sorrow: "But I always feel that the development of the mainland currently lacks sustainability, especially the policy risks are too great. I have done business in Hong Kong and the United States for so many years, and what I fear most is the policy changing from day to day."
Instead of immediately refuting, he patiently explained: "Sir, times have changed. Although there is still debate in society about whether something is capitalist or socialist, from a policy perspective, the general policy of reform and opening up has never wavered. From the establishment of special economic zones to encouraging foreign investment and supporting the development of private enterprises, these measures all demonstrate that the determination of the central government to develop the economy has never changed."
"Sir, I have a suggestion for you—why don't you take a trip to Shenzhen? It was one of the earliest special economic zones, and the changes it has undergone in recent years can only be described as 'rapid and ever-changing.' Skyscrapers are springing up everywhere, foreign-funded enterprises are everywhere, and young people are flocking in with their entrepreneurial spirit. The whole city exudes an upward vitality. I believe that after you go there, you will have a different feeling about the development of the mainland."
“Shenzhen?” Grandpa Wang repeated the name, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes. He was silent for a few seconds, then turned to Liang Sichen beside him and said, “Sichen, book Grandpa a plane ticket to Shenzhen for tomorrow, the sooner the better.”
Standing to the side, Liang's mother was filled with surprise—in her memory, her father was notoriously stubborn, once he made up his mind, nothing could sway him. In the past, when his family advised him to go back to the mainland, he always refused on the grounds of "unstable policies." Now, because of Qin Hao's words, he was willing to travel thousands of miles to a completely unfamiliar city, even canceling a meeting he had arranged with his old friends in Shanghai. This was truly beyond her expectations.
“Okay, Grandpa.” Liang Sichen didn’t ask any more questions and took out her mobile phone to contact the airline.
Xiao Ran stood to the side, observing everything, his admiration for Qin Hao growing even stronger. He was perceptive enough to know that talking in the wasteland wasn't a long-term solution, so he quickly stepped forward and suggested with a smile, "Mr. Lei, Grandpa, it's windy here, and not a good place to talk. There's an authentic Shanghainese restaurant not far ahead; their braised pork and drunken crab are very authentic. I'll treat you all to a meal, and we can chat while we eat?"
Qin Hao glanced at Old Master Wang, and seeing that he had no objection, he nodded and replied, "Alright, then I'll trouble you, Mr. Xiao."
The group drove to the local Shanghainese restaurant, where Xiao Ran had already booked a private room. The room was decorated in an antique style, with old Shanghai posters hanging on the walls and celadon tableware on the table. The aroma of the food filled the air as soon as they entered.
The waiters brought out the dishes one after another: the glistening braised pork belly trembled, coated in a thick sauce; the drunken crab had an orange-red hue and a fragrant aroma of wine; there was also braised eel in sizzling oil and stir-fried river shrimp. Each dish exuded authentic Shanghai flavor, making even the usually picky Mr. Wang's mouth water.
After several rounds of drinks and dishes, the atmosphere in the private room gradually warmed up. Xiao Ran put down his wine glass, his eyes filled with trepidation, and cautiously looked at Qin Hao: "President Lei, regarding the cooperation on the Shanghai land plot, do you think... there's still room for adjustment to the plan we discussed before?"
Qin Hao put down his chopsticks, picked up a tissue to wipe his mouth, and his face instantly became serious: "Excuse me for being frank, Mr. Xiao, the '28-story office building + 5-story shopping mall' plan you proposed earlier is actually not very attractive to me."
Xiao Ran's heart tightened instantly, and his palms sweated. He quickly asked, "President Lei, do you mean... there's a problem with this plan? Is it a bad location, or is the scale insufficient?"
Grandpa Wang put down his wine glass, shook his head, and said with the wisdom of an old businessman, "Don't you understand? He means that there will be more and more office buildings in Shanghai in the future, especially in prime locations, and the competition will only become more and more intense. Your plan has no unique features and no advantage compared to other office buildings. How will you compete with them in the future? Just relying on the foot traffic brought by the shopping mall?"
He paused, looked at Xiao Ran, and said earnestly, "Young man, doing business is about mutual benefit. You have to let your partners see enough benefits, not one party losing out and the other party gaining. Otherwise, such a cooperation will not last long."
Qin Hao couldn't help but nod in approval—no wonder he was a self-made businessman who had been in the business world for decades; he saw through the core problem of the plan at a glance.
Xiao Ran felt a little embarrassed by what was said, but he did not give up. Instead, he lowered his posture and said sincerely, "The old man is right. I did not consider things thoroughly. President Lei, how about this, if you think there is anything in the plan that needs to be changed, please feel free to suggest it, and I will listen to you."
Seeing his sincere attitude and that he wasn't discouraged by being pointed out, Qin Hao felt more approval for him. He pondered for a moment and then slowly said, "Just as the old man said, there will be more and more office buildings in Shanghai in the future. If you just build an ordinary 28-story office building, you will soon be submerged in the crowd of projects. In the end, you can only compete with others by lowering rents, and your profit margin will become smaller and smaller."
“If I were to do this project, I would build it into Shanghai’s tallest building, a landmark. Even years later, when taller buildings surpass it, people will remember that this was once Shanghai’s tallest office building and one of the city’s iconic symbols. Such a project, in addition to the value of the building itself, also has the added value of brand, which is incomparable to ordinary office buildings.”
Upon hearing this, a hint of approval flashed in Old Master Wang's eyes, and he nodded slightly—this young man's vision was even more far-sighted than he had imagined, and he knew how to use "landmark" to enhance the core value of the project; such a perspective was indeed rare.
Mother Liang was also shocked by Qin Hao's boldness. She originally thought Qin Hao was just an ordinary businessman, but she did not expect that he would have the courage to undertake such a large project as "Shanghai's tallest building".
Liang Sichen was already used to it. Having lived in the United States for many years, skyscrapers were nothing new to her. But as she watched Qin Hao talk so eloquently, her eyes remained bright as she looked at him. Besides her usual admiration, there was also a subtle, unnoticed emotion flickering in them.
Yang Xun and Xiao Ran exchanged a glance, both seeing a bitter smile in each other's eyes. Shanghai's tallest building? They wouldn't even dare to dream of such a thing.
Yang Xun muttered to himself: Qin Hao had previously said that his vision for "Donghai No. 1" was too small, and he was unconvinced. Now it seems that it's not that his vision was small, but that Qin Hao's vision was too big, so big that he simply couldn't keep up.
Xiao Ran, in particular, thought that the 28-story office building with a total height of nearly 90 meters was already "impressive" enough, but compared with Qin Hao's proposal of "Shanghai's tallest building", it seemed petty.
He swallowed hard and asked cautiously, "Mr. Lei, what do you think would be a suitable height for Shanghai's tallest building?"
"The Shanghai Centre, which was just completed this year, is 165 meters tall, making it one of the tallest buildings in Shanghai at present," Qin Hao said confidently. "To become the tallest building, it needs to be at least 230 meters tall so that it won't be surpassed in a short period of time and can truly establish itself as a 'landmark'."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran's face showed a bitter expression: "President Lei, a 230-meter building is incredibly difficult to construct. Not to mention anything else, the earthquake and wind resistance requirements alone are several levels higher than for ordinary buildings; in terms of construction, it requires specialized high-altitude work equipment and a technical team, which significantly increases costs. And..."
He paused, his tone tinged with helplessness: "Just in terms of funding, I simply can't afford it. At current construction costs, a 230-meter-tall building would require at least several hundred million yuan in investment, which my company simply doesn't have. Even if we went to the bank for a loan, we might not be able to get that much approved."
Xiao Ran was telling the truth—there's a rule in the construction industry: the taller a building is, the more exponentially the difficulty and capital required for its construction increase. For buildings exceeding 100 meters, the requirements for design, construction technology, materials, and capital increase exponentially with each additional floor. A 230-meter building is far more difficult and costly than a 28-story building.
Qin Hao shook his head and said, "President Xiao, you still haven't broken free from the constraints of the previous 28-story office building. Why don't you think about it from a different perspective—when you're building 'Shanghai's tallest building,' a landmark of the city, will you still receive the same treatment when it comes to bank loans or private financing?"
He looked at Xiao Ran and said, word by word, "The capital market is never short of funds; what it lacks is attractive ideas and the ability to put those ideas into practice. When you have a project like 'Shanghai's tallest building,' when you can show investors the huge potential of this project, they will rush to lend you money, or even come to you to ask for cooperation. Because they know how great the returns will be if such a project succeeds."
These words struck Xiao Ran like a thunderbolt, instantly waking him up. He slapped his thigh, his eyes filled with excitement: "President Lei, your words are truly invaluable! I was focused on the immediate costs and risks, but I didn't see the value behind this 'landmark project.' Rest assured, once I get back, I'll immediately have the Shanghai Design Institute redesign it, and everything will be done to the standards of 'Shanghai's tallest building,' without any compromise!"
"Alright, then I'll await good news." Qin Hao raised his glass, lightly clinked it against Xiao Ran's, and then drank it all in one gulp.
The atmosphere in the private room warmed up again, and Yang Xun began to imagine the future scene of "Donghai No. 1" moving into the vicinity of Shanghai's tallest building.
Grandpa Wang then chatted with Qin Hao about Shenzhen's investment environment, and everyone's face was filled with anticipation for the future.
After finishing his meal, Xiao Ran didn't waste any time and drove straight to the Shanghai Design Institute. As soon as he entered the office, he found Engineer Wang, who was in charge of the previous project design. He placed a stack of documents on the table and said urgently, "Engineer Wang, the 28-story office building plan you prepared for us needs to be redesigned!"
Wang, who was drawing blueprints, was taken aback when he heard this. He looked up, adjusted his glasses, and assumed that Xiao Ran was only dissatisfied with the details of the plan. He smiled and said, "Mr. Xiao, is there anything that needs to be adjusted? For example, the layout of the office building or the shopping mall? We can talk about it slowly, there's no need to rush."
"It's not about adjusting the details, it's about starting from scratch!" Xiao Ran said firmly. "The previous plan is no longer acceptable; we need to create a completely new plan!"
Wang's pencil fell to the table with a thud. He stared wide-eyed at Xiao Ran, his tone incredulous: "Start from scratch? Mr. Xiao, are you kidding me? Our team worked overtime for more than half a month to come up with that plan, and now you're saying to start from scratch?"
His tone already carried a hint of anger—the thing designers hate most is having their hard work easily dismissed.
Just as Engineer Wang was about to explode, Xiao Ran took a deep breath and spoke his mind: "Engineer Wang, don't be angry. I didn't mean to criticize your work. What we're building this time isn't an ordinary office building, it's Shanghai's tallest building! A landmark building over 230 meters tall!"
Engineer Wang was completely stunned. He stared at Xiao Ran for a long time before hesitatingly saying, "Mr. Xiao, are you sure you're not joking? I saw you drank quite a bit of alcohol at dinner just now. Are you still drunk?"
In his view, building a project like "Shanghai's tallest building" is simply beyond the capabilities of a small to medium-sized real estate company like Xiao Ran's; it sounds more like he's drunk and making a scene.
Xiao Ran's voice was quite loud, and the other designers in the office all looked over, whispering among themselves. Hearing the commotion, Director Zhang of the design institute quickly came over and invited Xiao Ran into his office.
After more than half an hour of communication, Dean Zhang repeatedly confirmed that Xiao Ran was not "acting drunk" but really wanted to build the "tallest building in Shanghai" project. His doubts finally turned into excitement.
"President Xiao, if you really intend to build Shanghai's tallest building, our design institute will absolutely give our full support!" Dean Zhang said excitedly. "I will immediately assemble the best design team, led by Engineer Wang, and invite several top domestic architectural experts from Beijing and Guangzhou to serve as consultants. We will definitely come up with the most perfect design plan!"
Dean Zhang knew perfectly well that no architect could resist the allure of a "landmark building."
If such a project succeeds, it will not only enhance the design institute's reputation, but also make the designers involved in the design famous overnight. This is a win-win situation, more valuable than doing a hundred ordinary residential projects.
Seeing how much Dean Zhang valued this, Xiao Ran recalled Qin Hao's previous advice and couldn't help but sigh inwardly, realizing that Qin Hao's vision and perspective were beyond his reach.
"Dean Zhang, then I'll have to trouble you. The design plan needs to be submitted as soon as possible. I hope to receive your design drawings in the shortest possible time."
"Don't worry, we'll hold a project kick-off meeting tomorrow and strive to come up with a preliminary design framework within a week!"