Ch. 81..90
Life at the Top Chapter 81
Jasper frowned at Hudson’s words.
According to what he remembered, Sena should currently be in a critical period of preparation for listing.
Sena had indeed developed a communication software, and they had indeed caused a great amount of trouble for Terizone.
Yet that was something that happened in 2004.
The butterfly’s wings had begun to flutter, yet Sena was now entering the communications industry two whole years before it should have. Not to mention that they were developing it by themselves.
Sena was currently in full swing and would turn into one of the country’s top three networking sites along with Netsy and Soha.
The most important concept for internet users right now was that of web portals. Since its main function now was to read up on the latest news, it was far less complex than it would be in later years.
Terizone and Sena were of completely different sizes right now. All it took was one small move from Sena and Terizone would lose one line of defense.
Which was why Husdon had immediately called Jasper the moment he got wind of it. His nervousness was apparent in his tone.
“Calm down first. Wait for my call.
“For now, find a way to get their internal beta version.”
Unlike those in Terizone who were worried, Jasper remained unfazed.
Sena had never managed to overpower Terizone in the end, for the latter had slowly made its way into a trillion-dollar powerhouse. Meanwhile, Sena was left to stand on its last legs, completely left to the dust.
Coupled with the memories he had of his past life, Jasper had full belief that he could come out of this business war victorious.
All that was left was to wait and watch how Sena planned to attack Terizone.
After ending the phone call, the door behind him opened.
Wendy came out.
“They’ve already fallen asleep,” Wendy told Jasper.
“Okay. It’s time for us to go back too, then,” Jasper replied.
However, Wendy refused to move. Her gaze swept past Jasper as she asked nonchalantly, “Your ex-girlfriend, Penelope, you two almost got married, right?”
‘Yeah, I’ve seen this script before. If I get this wrong, I’m screwed.’
Jasper walked toward the Bentley and replied in a tone even more nonchalant than Wendy’s. “To err is to human, to human is to err.”
Wendy smiled with crescent eyes as she looked at Jasper and quickly ran to open the passenger seat door. “Let’s go. Send me home, please!”
Starting the car, Jasper let out a sigh of relief.
‘Now’s the time!’
“Isn’t it scary living on your own?”
In the Bentley, Jasper drove toward the small district where Wendy lived and asked casually.
“Not really,” Wendy replied carefreely, not catching on to Jasper’s hidden meaning.
“Don’t look down on me, okay? I’ve been sleeping by myself since I was young because my dad was always busy with work. Then that followed on as I grew older.”
Jasper praised her. “You can tell how much my parents like you, can’t you? So come drop by my parents’ place for dinner anytime. It’s just that the district you live in is a little far, isn’t it?”
“That’s a bit too much, isn’t it?” Wendy blinked, still clueless to what Jasper was hinting. “I’ll feel bad if I always eat your parents’ food.”
“What ‘your’ parents and ‘my’ parents? Did you forget what your dad said?” Jasper asked sternly.
Wendy suddenly remembered how her dad had passed her to Jasper to take care of. That moment, it dawned on her what Jasper had been implying the entire drive.
Flushed red, Wendy replied embarrassedly, “That, I…”
“This entire villa area is mine anyway. They’re all empty for now, so just pick one around mine.” Jasper invited sincerely.
“Huh?! Weren’t you asking me to move in with you?” Wendy blurted out
“…”
Ten minutes later, below Wendy’s apartment.
With a bang, the car door was slammed shut.
“Jasper, you b*stard! Screw you!”
Grabbing the villa key that she had stolen from Jasper, Wendy ran off humiliated and infuriated.
Jasper watched as Wendy’s figure slowly vanished into the building while he rubbed his cheek and sighed despondently.
He knew that if he wanted Wendy to live with him, there was no chance Wendy would agree considering their current relationship and her shy, conservative character.
As it had not been his intention, Wendy was pushed into playing the overthinking role… and she was now angry from humiliation.
Still, he had given her another set of keys to his villa and he would not need to spend time driving between the two locations.
“I should’ve just invited her to live with me if I knew this was going to happen. I’d rather be rejected than be resented by an angel,” Jasper murmured to himself and drove home.
…
As Jasper peacefully fell asleep, Sena’s entire office was burning the midnight oil in Capital City.
Having received venture capital from the world’s strongest country in the beginning, Sena had plans to push themselves into the market overseas this year. Their working conditions and everything else were much better than that of Terizone’s.
Dane Warren sat in the meeting room, where all of Sena’s technical backbones and senior executives were present.
“I’ve already seen the beta version of Sena Chat, it’s not bad.”
Dane spoke, and most of them in the meeting room brightened up.
“However, this is no reason for us to get ahead of ourselves. If we can’t even win those five amateurs in Cavern City with the best industrial technical force and team in the country, then we might as well forget about entering the market. We might as well take a swan dive off the roof, then.”
As the founder, Dane had absolute authority within Sena, and his choice of words was rather crude.
“Our goal is to take the leading spot in the field of instant messaging. A mere Terizone has nothing more than the advantage of having developed the technology earlier than us. It’s nothing more than a small pebble in our way to becoming the top.
“Instant messaging is the most important battle we have to win before we enter the stock market overseas. If we win, then our business reports will look much better, and it will thus influence the outcome of whether we can succeed in entering the market or not. There is no room for carelessness.”
“Mr. Warren, the Technological Research and Development Department is very confident in winning this battle,” claimed Wells confidently, Sena’s current technical director.
Dane nodded. “What about the Business Department? Have you finalized the release plan for the first version of the beta program yet?”
Another senior executive nodded and spoke, “Ready as planned. It’ll be officially released at eight o’clock tomorrow morning, and we’ve already started spreading the news on our official website.”
“Very well. Then I shall await your triumphant and victorious news.”
Dane stood up and walked to the large French windows with a smile. “Soha is our only competitor when it comes to the internet market within the country. Even Sam’s Netsy is miles behind us.”
Life at the Top Chapter 82
Jasper was woken up by Hudson’s phone call at six o’clock in the morning.
“We’ve just gotten wind that Sena’s beta communication software, Sena Chat, will be officially released tomorrow morning.”
Hudson’s tone was anxious, for the release of Sena Chat would definitely deal a fatal blow to Terizone right now!
“I’ll be right over!”
Hanging up the phone, Jasper booked a ticket and rushed to Cavern City as fast as he could.
Meanwhile, Sena Chat was officially released on the market.
Sena’s sudden launch of the software, Sena Chat, had resulted in a frenzy within the domestic internet circle.
Disregarding its portal sites and its gaming aspect, instant messaging had the most users in the internet industry within the country right now, for it was also the easiest to draw users in at alarming rates.
It was just that this form of business did not have overwhelming web portals like Sena and Soha.
KK might have the most users within the country, but no one seemed to be taking Terizone seriously at all right now.
That was why Sena’s sudden act had attracted a lot of attention.
Several potential large investors in the circle downloaded the newly announced Sena Chat software in their offices and revealed disdainful smiles when they saw the familiar interface.
This was blatant plagiarism off KK’s program.
However, no one was speaking up for Terizone.
The market was like a battlefield. If given the chance, they would all come for a taste.
Under the gathering of wind and clouds, everyone’s gazes were pinned on Cavern City.
Everyone wanted to know how Terizone’s group of amateurs would react.
Entering Terizone’s office, he could feel the nervousness within the room.
It was evident that neither Hudson nor the other four had slept a wink last night. Each of them had a bird’s nest on their heads and looked unkempt.
The sight of Jasper was the only thing that brought a bit of life to the crowd.
For the only one who could save them and Terizone now was Jasper.
“Mr. Laine, they’re simply too shameless. Come and look at their Sena Chat. It’s an exact copy of our KK!” Cameron huffed.
Jasper remained silent and sat in front of the company, clicking on the software. Then, he registered a new number.
It would do no good to say more when the priority was to understand the opponent’s move.
The entire main page and its features were 80% to 90% similar to KK’s. Had it not been for the different name, one might not even be able to tell the two software apart.
“You have to admit that its optimization is better than KK’s.”
Everyone smiled bitterly at Jasper’s words, and the already depressive atmosphere grew denser.
“But it’s only expected. Our research and development strength was too weak in the beginning, and we put all our efforts into maintaining the server and realizing KK’s functions. Optimization-wise, if you employ a few technicians, I think you’ll be able to catch up with no issue.”
Jasper smiled, his gaze filled with utter confidence.
“What you should do now is introduce new features to KK.”
Hudson suddenly asked. “What features?”
Jasper previously had them compress KK’s software to 1MB.
While everyone disagreed, it was the first instruction from Jasper and they did not dare to hesitate.
The moment the newly repackaged KK was released, Terizone gained more than two million users.
Terizone did not even have more than five million users in the beginning.
That one moment had garnered Jasper admiration from Terizone’s entire team.
Jasper has absolute credibility and authority over Hudson and the others now.
“Realize the function of file transmission first, but not merely constricted to file transmission only. Instead, include the realization of breakpoint resumption as well.”
Everyone’s eyes shone at Jasper’s first sentence.
There was no direct file transferring software on the internet, and the only option was through sending email attachments. However, email attachments were very troublesome and they were very specific when it came to file size and capacity.
Slightly larger files could not be transferred.
The most horrible part was that if the current network was generally unstable, the transmission would often be interrupted mid-way.
Once that happened, the only option was to start again.
It was foreseeable that the implementation of the feature would definitely attract immeasurable users.
“That’s easy to work with. I can make a beta version within today.”
Zaine affirmed by the side.
Such was life. Technically speaking, it was not much of an issue, let alone when the five founders of Terizone, except Daniel, were the country’s best technicians.
The only problem was whether they could come up with the idea or not.
“Then develop a video calling feature as well as the feature to make friends within their cities!” Jasper continued to speak.
How did Mimi make a path for themselves despite the overwhelming force of WeTalk in the future?
By developing the concept of making friends within the same city to its extreme.
Even though everyone called Mimi ‘the app one used to look for one-night stands’, it was still a compliment in its own way.
The product itself was innocent.
In this aspect, Mimi was indeed better.
At that train of thought, Jasper emphasized, “The feature to make friends within the city should allow users a free choice on whether they wish to be found when searched and whether they can be freely searched by the opposite sex. Then limit the number of times each user can search each day, and slowly increase that limit whenever they promote the software.”
These were all features that would be overpromoted in the future, but they were extremely novel now in the year 2000.
The eyes of Hudson and the rest were shinier than the other.
At the very beginning, Hudson had even pretended to be a woman and talked to strangers on KK to attract customers.
While it would turn into a funny story for the future, it was a fact that confirmed people’s desire to make friends with the opposite sex.
Features like making friends in the same city were the best way to release their desires.
Hudson and the rest knew that once this feature was released, no one could shake their position in the real-time chatting field within the country.
Hudson exclaimed sincerely, “Your remarks have completely enlightened us, Mr. Laine! We’ve considered these functions before, but they’ve just never been realized!”
The others nodded in agreement.
“Haha. All I did is to give suggestions and opinions. I’ll still need you to settle the arrangements for how you want to do it, Mr. Moore.”
“Of course!”
Jasper chuckled. “This is just a small ripple, it won’t end KK. Instead, we’ll only come out of this stronger.”
With that, everyone in Terizone began to move.
Even so, Jasper’s expression was tightly bunched up.
Life at the Top Chapter 83
Sena was evidently at a greater advantage than Terizone right now.
Not to mention that the other party was still one of the three major domestic web portals. Once they did everything they could to push their chatting software into the market, it would be an easy feat to gather more users.
All they had to do was advertise it on their web portal.
Therefore, merely giving Hudson and the rest ideas was not enough.
What Terizone needed the most now was users. The purpose of the new features was only to increase their attractiveness and customer stickiness. However, it could also easily be plagiarized by their competitors.
What Terizone needed the most now was to pull in a large wave of users in the shortest amount of time.
Jasper already had a plan to carry that out, but he had to be the one to do it personally.
If he succeeded, it would function as a figurative thruster for the carriage Terizone was, and it was something Hudson and the rest could not do now.
That night, Terizone’s office was brightly lit.
The following day, Jasper was woken up in the lounge.
Jasper was surprised to find that Zaine had managed to make a rough version of the three features that Jasper spoke of the day before.
Jasper immediately used the new version of KK Hudson sent him and clicked to turn on video calling.
Although the screen was a little laggy because the current internet speed was too slow, the basic features were already realized.
“Not bad, Mr. Moore. That’s one promising team you have there. One night was all it took for you to complete three features.”
Jasper clicked on the new version of KK and tried out its intra-city friend-making feature.
Since the feature was only available in the unreleased version, there was not a single contactable person in the city on the page Jasper clicked on.
“Alright, let’s test it out now. If there are no problems, then we’ll release the newest version before noon today!”
Jasper’s gaze was exceptionally calm as he stood from the lounge chair.
“One more thing, launch Terizone’s web portal project as well!”
At that, Jasper’s voice grew louder.
“Build it directly into KK’s program so that the users will receive a pop-up notification whenever they open KK. The pop-up will lead to our main website.”
Hudson and the rest were stunned.
“What? So Dane can attack us, but we can’t hit back? There are no rules about Terizone not being allowed to benefit from a web portal!”
“I have to say… Mr. Laine, you’re a much greater man than the rest of us.” Hudson chuckled bitterly.
He was not apple-polishing but being utterly sincere.
In truth, including Hudson, all five founders of Terizone felt hopeless in the face of Sena’s aggressiveness.
Terizone was just too small.
Had Jasper not bought ten million dollars worth of shares, they might have considered dispersing the moment they found out that Sena was targeting them!
Still, Hudson and the four of them were considering how to best defend themselves from this wave of attack.
It would be the best-case scenario to not lose any of their users, but if their luck exploded and they managed to strike back, then it would be a fanciful sight.
That was the confidence Hudson and the others only got back after Jasper’s guidance last night.
Yet right now, Jasper was asking them to muster the courage and counterattack.
It was evident that he refused to be pushed over by Sena’s attack!
There was no way Hudson could compare to him, not even in heart and mind.
Hudson suddenly understood how Jasper managed to make so much money at a young age and even have the country’s best professional manager, Jack, working for him.
“Remember.”
Jasper’s gaze swept over Hudson and the remaining four behind the monitor.
“Terizone may be weak right now, but you’re no longer the same amateurs you were then. Nor are you fighting alone. You have me, don’t you? And the one billion dollars worth of funds from JW Capital. What are you afraid of?”
Life at the Top Chapter 84
“If one billion isn’t enough, then two billion, three billion!
“There is not a single person in the domestic internet industry who has more money than me.”
While Jasper’s ‘two billion’ and ‘three billion’ were mostly exaggerations, newfound confidence had grown in the five’s hearts with Jasper’s words.
Hudson waved his hand. “Everyone heard what Mr. Laine said, right? Stop hesitating and get to work!”
“Alright. Cameron, Logan, and I will take charge of building the webpage’s content as fast as we can, while Zaine and Daniel, you two endure a little more and finalize the new features we made last night. We’ll upload the updated software before noon today!”
…
After a while of busying and under the expectant gazes of everyone, Hudson released the newest version of KK at 12 o’clock sharp!
This update had caused an uproar within the market!
It now seemed to everyone that Terizone was long prepared for Sena’s aggressive attack, for they managed to upload a new version of KK the next day.
Files could be transferred! Support resumable breakpoints!
Intra-city friend-making! Talking to the opposite sex!
Video calling! Communication was no longer restricted to texts!
The three lines summarizing the update neatly and efficiently told the entire country of Terizone’s determination to counterattack.
Reading the three sentences, all users in the country were stunned.
They had never expected such messaging software to be so outstanding.
Video calling in itself was rather useless. Unless the users went to an internet cafe, most families did not have cameras at home. As such, it was mainly an extra feature.
However, the file transferring feature that supported resumable breakpoints had cast the menacing Sena Chat into an extremely embarrassing situation.
Sena Chat’s selling point was its new ability to transfer files, but it was now replaced by Terizone’s enhanced version that supported resumable breakpoints. It was a slap to Sena’s face.
What was more extraordinary was KK’s function to allow users to make friends.
Normal users were elated that they no longer had to worry about not being able to make friends of the opposite gender. Meanwhile, the large investors had made their decisions and praised Terizone’s ability.
The general public joined the frenzy while those of the same line of business came to evaluate.
Even the big shots within this circle were startled by Terizone’s fierce counterattack.
Anyone with sharp eyes could tell that the friend-making function was the true ultimate attack among KK’s updates.
As such, Sena, after having released their software that morning and gleefully watching their user count increasing, were suddenly thrown into a spiral that afternoon.
Sena Chat’s advertisement started to seem like a background for KK.
No one wondered how Sena Chat was doing, for everyone was curious about KK’s new intra-city friend-making feature.
Sena’s headquarters in Capital City, in the chairman’s office.
With a pale face, Dane stared at KK’s new version on the screen but did not say anything.
There were quite a few people in the office, most of whom were Sena’s senior executives—especially those in charge of Project Sena Chat. Sweat beaded on their foreheads, and they looked like they were about to cry.
“Would someone like to tell me why KK released an updated version after Sena Chat was released this morning? That resumable breakpoint has turned Sena Chat into a complete joke!”
Dane roared, his anger no longer able to be suppressed.
“Do you even know how many phone calls I’ve gotten today? Do you know how many of them were watching me make a fool of myself? Sena? We might as well be renamed Senile instead!”
With a hot temper, Dane vented his frustrations while the office went silent. No one dared to speak in fear of getting shouted at.
James Lennon, the person in charge of Project Sena Chat carefully piped up, “There’s got to be some kind of divine being helping Terizone, Mr. Warren. I refuse to believe that they developed these features by themselves. Something tells me that there’s more to this than we know.”
James continued to speak as he took in Dane’s dark but silent expression, “Each of these three features is strong enough to make Terizone the top chatting software in the country. Yet Terizone pushed for all of them at the same time. Someone has to be helping them.”
Dane threw a file at James’ face and spoke chillingly, “If I needed you to tell me this, Sena would’ve closed down a long time ago. This is Terizone’s equity registration data. JW Capital had only just invested in Terizone a few days ago. This must be the work of JW Capital!”
“JW Capital? The legendary company that managed to bring Jack over from Weresoft?” Someone in the office gasped.
Life at the Top Chapter 85
“This Jack, I’ve had people contact him before and offer him a high pay so that he could work for Sena, but he rejected the offer without a thought.”
Dane pushed himself from the table with two hands and stood. There was a treacherous glint in his eyes.
“I was fine with that since he was working happily at Weresoft and there’s no way Sena could compete with Weresoft. But then he moved to work for JW Capital and managed to bring the company instant success. There’s something that doesn’t seem right here.”
The person in charge of Sena’s business department replied, “I’ve dug a little into this JW Capital before. All I know is that its legal personality and its shareholder goes by the name Jasper Laine. That’s all I have. The company’s investment with Terizone should be their first investment.”
“It’s their first investment and they’ve helped Terizone counterattack us. There’s more to this JW Capital that meets the eye.” Dane scoffed.
“That makes more sense, then.” James smiled bitterly. “Terizone only ever had one server in the beginning, and I heard they built it themselves.”
“It must be difficult to support so many users now, let alone with so many added features. However, Terizone doesn’t seem to be worrying about this at all. It must be because of the investment that they’re so calm.”
Just then, someone knocked on the office door.
Dane made a sound, and the secretary understood. She entered the room and whispered in Dane’s ear.
Dane’s expression changed drastically.
He rushed to his computer and found KK’s software before opening it.
A pop-up window that was still considered novel in this era appeared, leading its users to… Terizone’s new web portal.
Bang!
Dane punched the table and roared, “JW Capital sure is coming for my neck! We stole their market and here they are, digging our graves!”
The person in charge of the business department looked solemn by the side as he watched the entire process of the pop-up window leading them to Terizone’s new web portal.
“They actually launched a web portal too… I wouldn’t be worrying if this was any other company since there won’t be users to fight with them over, but Terizone already has more than eight million users now! And they’re still using a pop-up window to direct users, this… This is too cruel!”
“JW Capital!”
Dane clenched his jaw, his gaze looking fierce.
…
Without a question, Jasper had led Terizone into victory in this business war. As of that moment, everyone in Terizone began to busy themselves with optimizing all sorts of kinks.
Jasper sat in the office and stared at Terizone’s website on the computer… in distaste.
There was nothing he could do, for web portals had only started these few years. Its hype was long gone before he transmigrated.
Although, the aesthetic and sorting of websites were still important back then.
Unlike how it was now. Staring at the mess of advisory contacts and a webpage filled to the brim with words, it almost hurt to look at it through the eyes of someone from the future.
The only consolation was that the web portals of the major three internet businesses within the country had similarly disastrous web pages, so no one had the right to laugh at someone else.
According to the data from Terizone, the portal had only been launched for less than two hours but the number of visits had already exceeded two million.
Sena was one of the country’s three major internet businesses in these few years, but how many visits did they get each day on average?
No more than 30 million.
KK’s users’ loyalty and customer stickiness were evident now.
Almost every other user who tapped on KK clicked into Terizone’s website, and the ratio itself was one that similar businesses envied and drooled over.
At the same time, Jasper was getting progressively more pleased with Hudson’s team.
It was indeed a team that would one day sit Terizone on the throne.
Putting aside their technical skills, what was horrifying was their execution.
They had managed to realize features that Jasper spoke of overnight.
How long did the programming of the web portal take?
15 hours!
While it was just a basic framework that could barely be used and many functions needed to be slowly improved as well as optimized in the later stage, it was still an incredible feat to come up with a website that could handle millions of visits in just 15 hours.
Just then, Jasper’s phone rang.
Seeing that it was from Wendy, Jasper quickly picked up the call.
“Jasp!” Wendy’s voice rang out.
“My dad told us to go back for dinner. He says he wants to talk to you about the real estate plan as well.”
“Alright. I’ve just wrapped up everything on my end as well. I’ll be leaving Cavern City, wait for me!” Jasper replied.
JW Capital did not have much business as of now.
The only issue to deal with was Terizone, and even that had come to a temporary end.
What next would be to watch for the actions Sena would take.
With Hudson and Jack watching after Sena, Jasper was now very free.
Life at the Top Chapter 86
When he saw Dawson again, it was when his future father-in-law was the most high-spirited.
Jasper was not clear about the fight with the Hanks, but when he saw Dawson in high spirits, it was evident that the outcome was ideal.
“The head of the Hanks family has stepped down,” Dawson said directly after Jasper sat down.
“That bad?” Jasper asked in surprise.
After all, the Hanks was one of the influential big families in the province. The failure of the scheme last time almost caused the head of the Hanks family to fall from his position of prestige.
“The most important thing is that Zayden is the son of the head of the family. The father and son were pushed out by the Hanks to ease my anger.”
Dawson’s face was gloomy. “Although another person is the head now, the Hanks will still be the Hanks. This time, they’ve lost billions and their reputation. They won’t do anything for now, but they won’t let this go after suffering a loss.”
“Different situations call for different actions.”
Jasper was not bothered.
His development was destined to be faster and fiercer than what people imagined. They were just a family from the province, so even if they flipped the sky upside down, Jasper would not be bothered.
“Let’s talk about the property you mentioned last time. After what you said, I’ve hired someone to survey the market and I think there’s hope,” Dawson said excitedly.
Jasper was not surprised at the conclusion Dawson had come up with.
As one of the main ruling bodies of reform and opening to the outside world, real estate was a trillion-dollar market. As such, it was obvious that there was a lot of potential.
“Schuler Group can make the province as the core to build and stabilize its headquarters. After that, you can spread out to the surrounding cities,” Jasper smiled and said.
After nodding disapprovingly, Dawson said, “However, this industry has a high requirement for capital and funding. I don’t think Schuler Group is equipped to handle this.”
“Uncle, you’re so ambitious,” Jasper smiled and said.
According to Schuler Group’s current numbers, it would not be a problem for them to get a few commercial properties to play around with.
However, Dawson had already said that, so it meant he did not come to play. If he wanted to do this, he would just devour the entire real estate market in the province.
“There isn’t any particularly large real estate market in the province. There are two, but they are state-owned. Because of the system, they will not be Schuler Group’s rival in terms of market competition.”
Dawson’s words were methodical and reasonable. It was obvious that he had thought this through.
“So, I don’t want to give anyone time to react before I take down sections of land in every excellent area and spread out. I want to use the least amount of time to build my position in the real estate market in the province.”
After Jasper thought about it, he said, “However, the capital for that is indeed the biggest problem.”
“That’s why I’m looking for you.” Dawson looked at Jasper in admiration.
He had heard about JW Capital during this period and knew how powerful Jasper was.
If Jasper was willing to help him out with the capital, then there would be no problem.
“I’m planning to start a new real estate company. Schuler Group will be responsible for its daily operation and management. We’ll invest 500 million.”
After hearing what Dawson said, Jasper said directly, “Then, JW Capital will invest 800 million. The total capital will be 1.2 billion dollars. There won’t be much problem dominating the real estate market in the province now.”
Dawson guffawed and said, “Good! What are your requirements in terms of the ratio of the equity shares?”
“The more the better, of course!”
The person who said this was Wendy, who had not been given a chance to join in the conversation for a very long time.
Her adorable face turned red after she said that because the two men opposite her were looking at her at the same time.
Dawson shook his head helplessly. No wonder they said married daughters were like water that had been splashed out. His precious daughter’s heart was completely siding with Jasper now.
“Uncle Schuler, let me take an unfair advantage. I’ll take 40% of the shares,” Jasper said with a smile.
In fact, according to the ratio of the capital, Jasper should be the one with the bigger portion.
However, the real estate industry was not the same as other industries. Connections were very important, especially when they needed to get into contact with the local government and banks.
Even though Jasper’s JW Capital was famous now, it still could not compete with Schuler Group that had been established a long time ago in the province.
Schuler Group’s name would do better than JW Capital’s when it came to getting into contact with the locals.
As such, the ratio of the equity shares was pretty reasonable.
However, Wendy did not care about this. Her beautiful eyes glared at her father, and it was obvious that she was not happy with the ratio Jasper proposed. She kept on hinting at Jasper to increase it.
Dawson had no choice, so he said, “Let’s do 50-50. My assets will belong to you two in the future anyway.”
After he said that, Jasper was delighted.
Wendy was blushing while blaming Dawson for being so disrespectful even though he was the senior.
After they finished talking about the serious matters, Dawson suddenly received a call while he was having tea with Jasper.
After he placed his phone down, Dawson smiled and said to Jasper, “Jasper, the city hall of the province is planning to auction off a piece of land. I think it’s worth the investment.”
Life at the Top Chapter 87
“How’s the location of the land?” Jasper asked with one raised eyebrow.
Dawson quickly asked someone to fetch a map of the city of the province.
After opening the map, Dawson pointed at a small area on the map and said, “It’s a total of 16 acres, so it’s not small.
“The location belongs to the plot of the Southface River. However, the only problem is that it has slightly strayed from the intended line and is part of the surrounding of the city center now. The traffic and facilities might be a little worse.”
Jasper’s eyes were glued on the map while listening to what Dawson said.
Then, a glint flashed across his eyes.
He was so familiar with this place.
The most popular high-end residential area in the province would be built here five years later.
The geographical location was not a problem at all because years later, the province would build the subway and enlarge the city center.
In those two projects, this area would be included as the core area.
The Southface River would be an important spot for tourism and be highly valued.
Soon after, the biggest amusement park in the province would be built next to the area Dawson mentioned.
This amusement park would be funded by investors from Harbor City, and it could be said that there was nothing like it.
Jasper remembered how in his previous life, the opening price for this high-end residential area was 6,000 dollars for every square meter. Back then, it was definitely an extremely high price in the province.
However, this did not stop the passion of the house buyers. It was difficult to get a good house, so numerous house buyers lined up overnight and made every attempt just to get into the hot housing stock.
What was even more extreme was that in the future, the only key university in the province would build their new campus here. Plus, with the development of an affiliated high school, the price of the houses would be pushed to a terrifying new height.
How much was the price of a house in this residential area when Jasper was reborn?
80,000 dollars per square meter.
It was important to note that it was already 2020 back then and it had been 15 years since this place was built. They could already be categorized as old houses.
However, even the negotiated price of a second-hand house in the worst location would not be less than 77,000 per square meter.
“From the looks of it now, it’s fine that the location is not so ideal. The construction of a building will take years, at least. The development of the province will definitely be faster than our construction.”
Jasper’s eyes were burning brightly as he said affirmatively.
“Now, the city of the province is pretty old and congested, so I think there will be an expansion coming soon. I think the higher-ups have already been discussing this. Plus, since this place is near the Southface River, it’ll definitely be an excellent plot.”
Jasper’s words surprised Dawson.
“Jasper, sometimes I wonder if you truly can predict the future.
“You’re right. I’ve obtained some top-secret internal news. The city hall is already discussing some related projects regarding the expansion of the city.
“After it has been confirmed, the proposal will be sent to the provincial government for approval. In the news I obtained, there’s a high possibility that this piece of land will be included in the prioritized development project.
“The news is not out yet, but you’re able to see this based on your own foresight.”
Dawson put away the map and sighed. “Your nose for business terrifies me.”
When Wendy saw that Jasper was being praised, she beamed and felt giddy with happiness.
Jasper smiled softly. Of course, he would never tell Dawson that he was indeed able to predict the future.
“How much is the base auction price for this piece of land?”
Life at the Top Chapter 88
Dawson chuckled wryly and said, “300 million.”
“That’s insane!” Jasper did not know whether to laugh or cry.
“According to the market price right now, the residential area in the province will be about 3,000 dollars per square foot. A 16-acre land won’t even be 11,000 square meters, so 34 million should be enough and they’re asking for ten times the price?”
“Also the land development rights to develop the south bank of Southface River as a whole.”
What Dawson said was shocking.
Jasper lifted his eyebrow violently, and one word appeared in his heart immediately. ‘Buy!’
There were a lot of barren hills on the north bank of the Southface River, so it was not suitable for commercial development. In comparison, the commercial value of the south bank would be much higher.
This piece of land was located at the south bank of the Southface River, and the entire river cut across the province. Not only would there be universities in the future, but there would also even be affiliated high schools and a series of schools for the elite.
The amusement park invested by investors from Harbor City in the future would be built at the south bank as well.
It could be said that in the next 20 years, the south bank of the Southface River that stretched for six kilometers would be the main area of development for the entire province.
If one had the land development rights, then it would mean that they had bought a vast swathe of the province in the next 20 years.
Since they had made a horrible loss from this deal, the province never sold any land development rights as a whole in the future anymore.
The most they would give was one of the barren hills, but even so, people would go head-to-head for it.
“The base auction price is 300 million dollars, so big families like the Hanks will definitely go for it. Anyone can see the importance of land development rights as a whole. It would be worth it even if you can just hold on to it. As such, the final price will definitely be high.”
Dawson pinched the bridge of his nose and said, “Do you think there’s a need for us to fight for this?”
“We have to take this down.”
Jasper’s extremely resolute voice made Dawson and Wendy look over in surprise.
After he opened the map again, Jasper pointed at the heart of the city and said, “The heart of the city is too old. The city hall is contemplating the expansion of the city now, but according to my knowledge about the more urbanized cities, the transformed old city and the development of the new city will be mainstreamed.
“Look, is there another place more suitable than the south bank of the Southface River in the entire province?”
Dawson and Wendy looked closely, and much to their surprise, they realized if they really were to build a new city, there would be no better place for it in the entire province than the south bank of the Southface River.
“Once we can get the land development rights to develop the south bank of the Southface River as a whole, then we will obtain the biggest power of speech in the core of the economic sector in the province in the next 20 years.”
Jasper said with utmost confidence and assurance. Then, he opened his palm and made a grabbing motion with his hand on the map.
“This will be the trend in the future, and it’s also the one thing that will help our real estate company flourish.”
Dawson stared straight at Jasper. He suppressed the emotions and excitement in his heart before saying, “Are you already planning for the trend in the next 20 years?”
Jasper said conceitedly, “Uncle Schuler, this is the age when only the strong survive and we don’t have much time. We can’t move steadily and surely now. If we want to do this, we have to grab the chance to get instant success.”
“Okay! I trust you!”
If Dawson could start from nothing and build the family business to what he had now, it would mean that he was not an indecisive person.
“If the trend you mentioned were to come true, then it would be worth it even if I just hold the land in my hand for ten years.”
Jasper thought silently in his heart, ‘You don’t need ten years. If my memory is correct, the businessmen from Harbor City might now be in contact with the leaders in the Provincial Foreign Direct Investment Department.’
After confirming the amusement park project on the south bank of Southface River according to his memory of his past life, the investment of three billion would become the biggest foreign direct investment in the province this year.
If this project was implemented, then the capital for the land development rights would be back!
Life at the Top Chapter 89
“Jasper, you’ll be responsible for the auction in the future. I’ll get someone to register the real estate company.”
After they confirmed their plan, Dawson then sought advice from Jasper.
Jasper nodded. “It’s better to do it now than later. Since we’ve decided this, then it’s only natural to start immediately.”
Jasper and Dawson were people who were swift and decisive. They did not like to dilly-dally. The process of registering the company started immediately.
On the other hand, Jasper also transferred the 800 million dollars he had promised to the capital account of the Bureau of Industry and Commerce.
Initially, he had a little more than 4.5 billion in his account.
He had used one billion to register JW Capital. Then, Jasper used some of the money for investment, and he did not plan to take it out for the time being.
After deducting the 800 million for the real estate company, Jasper still had 2.7 billion in his account.
“The money went out so fast.” Wendy felt a little pitiful when she looked at the remaining balance in Jasper’s account.
“The money that is spent never really left. They’re just accompanying us in another way,” Jasper said with a chuckle after recalling the sketch that went viral on the internet in the later generation.
“However, I don’t feel secure seeing the number go down,” Wendy said.
“It’ll come back in two-fold soon.”
Jasper was confident.
As long as he wanted to, earning 100 million to one billion dollars would be no problem to him.
He had spent one billion as the capital for JW Capital and 800 million for the real estate company.
In the future, they would all come back 1,000 or even 10,000 times more. Was there anything more effortless than this in the world?
…
Province. Hanks Residence.
After Sylva stepped down as the head of the family, he wore a casual tracksuit as he bent down to water the plants in the parterre.
He was more than 50 years old, so strictly speaking, he should be in the prime of his life. As such, he was far from the age where he had to wear the tracksuits old people wore when they were strolling to fiddle with plants.
However, Sylva looked happy and content.
He did not look as reluctant or livid as the outsiders would have thought.
Meanwhile, Zayden was standing at the entrance of the parterre. His face looked gloomy, and the glint that was flashing occasionally across his eyes stemmed from bitter resentment.
“Dad, are you seriously going to retire like this?” Zayden said while feeling unconvinced.
“Your Uncle Zach has been eyeing my position since the beginning of time. I’ve been in that position for more than ten years, so it’s fine for him to be in that position for a while.”
Sylva scrutinized the orchid in front of him carefully. When he saw the weeds next to the orchid, he reached out his hand to Zayden and said, “Get me the shovel.”
Zayden picked up the small shovel and handed it to Sylva. When he saw him removing the weeds for the orchid, he could not help but ask, “Dad, how can you have such a relaxed frame of mind to take care of the plants?”
After removing the weeds, Sylva placed the shovel down and looked at Zayden flatly. Then, he got up to wipe his hand with a handkerchief.
“When can you be more mild-tempered? You’re so hot-tempered and impatient. You don’t look like my son at all.”
“I’m unconvinced!” Zayden yelled angrily.
“You’ve been the head for so many years, and the development of the Hanks family has increased so much because of you. You’ve made so much money for the family that we can’t possibly finish counting it all. It was just a tiny slip-up this time and you were thrown from your seat. What the hell is going on?”
Life at the Top Chapter 90
Sylva leaned back against the rattan chair. He picked up a clay teapot and took a sip from the mouth of the pot. He asked, “Do you know why you lost?”
Zayden stared blankly at him, then his face became filled with bitter resentment. “The Schulers stabbed me in the back! They’re despicable and have no shame!”
“Everyone has the right to say that the Schulers are despicable and have no shame, but we can’t. If you want to say those things, then both of us are the ones who are despicable and have no shame.
“Plus, the business world is like a warzone. If you lose, it means you’re not as good as the others. You refuse to look at your own problems but instead, you accuse others of being despicable and shameless. You’re still too inexperienced.”
Sylva asked Zayden to sit down. His tone and appearance looked unhurried.
“The reason you lost is that you’re too shortsighted. You were too caught up in the momentary gains and losses. When you’re in the face of a crisis, you throw yourself into confusion. Plus, you’re so condescending and opinionated.”
Sylva looked deeply at Zayden. He was feeling a little disappointed as he shook his head and said, “You can be sophisticated, but your temper will be the thing that destroys you.”
Zayden said angrily, “Then why didn’t you remind me back then?”
“Why should I?”
Zayden was speechless after Sylva questioned him back.
“You’re my son.” Sylva looked as if he was blaming himself.
“I’ll treat this ten billion as buying a lesson for you. If you can grow, then this fee is worth it.”
“However, Dad, your position as the head—”
Sylva interrupted Zayden, “That position is just a false reputation. If people acknowledge you, then you’re the head. If people don’t, then what’s the use of you writing ‘the head’ on your face?”
“Dawson is not to be trifled with. There are more things he’s hiding than anyone else. I’ve been going against him for 23 years and I know him too well.”
Sylva put his teapot down and said slowly, “This is just a gesture, a gesture to show Dawson and the mysterious person behind his back.”
Zayden gritted his teeth and said unwillingly, “So we’re just gonna let this be?”
“An old friend from the provincial government gave me some news. He said that they’re planning to sell a piece of land at the south bank of the Southface River including the rights to develop the south bank as a whole.”
Zayden twitched his mouth when he heard Sylva changing the topic suddenly. He said, “It’s the middle of nowhere. What will it be worth?”
“Shortsighted.” Sylva chuckled.
“That piece of land will be very useful,” Sylva narrowed his eyes and said profoundly.
“Dawson is very interested in that place.”
Zayden’s expression changed as he lowered his voice to ask, “Dad, is there any inside news about this?”
Sylva caressed his expensive clay teapot and said, “Dawson is the prime example of someone who doesn’t act without some incentives. If he wants to do something, then there must be some goodies that are attracting him.
“My people are still investigating what exactly it is. However, one thing is for sure. We will snatch everything he wants from his hands,” Sylva said and looked at Zayden.
“I’ll let you handle this. If there are any mishaps, don’t even think about coming back to the Hanks family.”
Zayden could sense that Sylva was definitely not joking. He quickly said, “Dad, don’t worry. I’ll definitely do it correctly this time.”
“I know your little thoughts. Remember, a man’s first goal is their career. Women and other things are all supplementary. When you have enough status, then the things you want will come to you without you looking for them.”
“Dad, I understand,” Zayden said while feeling ashamed.
“Go report yourself in the family’s investment office later. I’ll let you handle the business over there for the time being.”
Sylva stood up and looked at the flowers all over the garden. He chuckled lightly and said, “I have a feeling that the grudge between me and Dawson for the past 20 years will end soon.”