The fish I caught wasn't enough to roast, so Gao Xiaobao ran to the fish pond next to the reservoir and bought over ten more fish to ensure everyone had a roasted fish. He also prepared other things like meat skewers, chicken wings, sausages, and roast duck. Several girls spread out a tablecloth, and everyone sat around on the grass, drinking beer, having a picnic, and laughing. The hen Lao Sha brought was thrown into the earth and a fire was made to make beggar's chicken.
Liu Jian drank his beer, watching his classmates sing and laugh around him, feeling the youth and sunshine. It was at this moment that his mood returned to his youthful days.
Sha Wanli sat next to Liu Jian, clinked beer bottles with him, and asked, "Boss, what are your plans? I haven't seen you in class. Are you really planning to go back and take over your dad's job?"
Liu Jian smiled and said, "If I don't take over the job, what else would I do? Okay, enough about me, tell me what your plans are for the future?"
Shawanli said blankly, "The future, ah, the future, what am I going to do?"
This time the voice was louder, and everyone heard it. After a while, the voices all quieted down, and everyone was thinking about the future.
Qi Zhenyu was straightforward, and he was the first to say, "As for me, I just want to get into an average university, find someone to marry after graduation, and live a stable life every day."
Liu Jian smiled. Qi Zhenyu's wish eventually came true. He got into a geological college, married a nurse, and soon had a son. The two of them went to work without much passion, but they were very stable.
Gao Xiaobao said, "I want to be an official in the government in the future. My dad said that China is a society where official rank is paramount. You can't do anything if you're not an official."
Hearing Gao Xiaobao say this, Liu Jian almost laughed out loud. Gao Xiaobao didn't get into college in the end. His family found someone to help him become a village official in the countryside, which, in a way, counted as becoming an official.
Wang Yajun said, "I want to test into the University of Science and Technology. I've wanted to be a scientist since I was little."
Wang Yajun's dream of becoming a scientist also didn't come true. After graduating from university, he stayed at the school to become a teacher. Back then, when we had gatherings, he would always emphasize that he was doing research.
Tang Xiuling thought for a moment and said, "I want to be a teacher. My mother is a teacher, and I think standing on the podium is especially great."
Like Sha Wanli, Zhang Ying was also confused. Her heart, still unsettled from the discussion with Liu Jian, was now stirred up again. What would the future hold? What were her ideals?
Everyone spoke briefly, and seeing that Liu Jian hadn't said anything, they all clamored for him to speak. Liu Jian stood up, looked at the reservoir, and said, "I want to become a tycoon, an entrepreneur. I want to make our city the pearl of the Northeast. I want to make my company a global corporation. I want half the people of Panshi to work for me. I want my words to influence the entire city in the future. I want the stock market to fluctuate with my mood."
Everyone was stunned. Liu Jian laughed and said, "Just kidding with you all. I just want to become a rich man, drive a car, live in a house, go wherever I want, and eat whatever I want."
Only then did everyone burst into laughter. Sha Wanli and Meng Qing, however, looked at Liu Jian seriously, guessing that perhaps what he said at the beginning was his true intention.
Years later, those present recalled the conversation by the reservoir and couldn't help but marvel that Liu Jian had truly done it, achieving exactly what he had said he would.
In that instant, Liu Jian finally affirmed what was in his heart, knowing his goal, and now it was time to strive for that goal.
Back home, Liu Jian immediately found Liu Fu and his wife. They knew and were happy that Liu Jian went out to play, as they felt this was the life Liu Jian should be living. Although they didn't say it, Liu Fu and his wife also felt Liu Jian was too mature. Lately, he'd been busy with company matters or reading books on various subjects, and when he had free time, he would play ball and exercise. He didn't seem like a teenager at all.
Liu Jian got straight to the point, saying, "Mom and Dad, I've been thinking, the real estate company needs to be established, and it needs to be established as soon as possible. This is very important for my future!"
Liu Fu and his wife exchanged a glance and said, "Your future? What are you planning?"
Liu Jian said, "I want to become the richest man in Panshi first, then the richest man in the Northeast, and finally the richest man in China. I even want to aim for the throne of the world's richest man!"
The Liu Fu couple were dumbfounded. Liu's mother touched her head and said, "Son, are you sick?"
Liu Jian shook his head and said, "Mom and Dad, I'm serious. I also have this opportunity. What I need now is start-up capital. I need someone to help me."
Liu Fu lit a cigarette and said through the hazy smoke, "Xiao Jian, tell me, why do you have such confidence? And why do you have such ambition?"
Liu Jian hesitated for a moment and said, "I can see through the fog of the future, I have a feeling of grasping the future, but it's not for long, only ten years. What I want to do is achieve my goals within these ten years. Everyone has ambition, I just want to control my own destiny and be able to do what I like in the future."
Liu Jian's parents may not fully understand what Liu Jian means, but they saw Liu Jian's confidence, his seriousness, and his persistence. It is said that the person who loves you most in the world must be your parents. If someone would rather give their life to help you, that person is your parents.
Liu Fu and his wife definitely thought in their hearts that Liu Jian wouldn't be able to do it, but in action, they gave their greatest support. They both nodded without hesitation, which is what it means to be parents.
Liu Fu said, "Xiao Jian, what do you want to do? Your mother and I will support you with all our strength. At worst, we'll go back to living a hard life. Anyway, we came from having nothing."
This time, Liu's mother didn't raise any objections either, and looked at Liu Jian encouragingly.
Liu Jian nodded, keeping his gratitude to his parents in his heart, and said, "The first step in my plan is to establish a real estate company. We'll use the real estate company to make money quickly, it's the fastest way to get money. Dad, this company will depend on you. I don't know anything about construction, but I know that in a few years the country will establish the real estate industry as a pillar industry, and housing prices will skyrocket. Take the buildings in Panshi now, they're over 700 yuan per square meter, and in ten years they'll reach 7,000 yuan per square meter. The profits here are too great. In ten years, 7 or 8 out of 10 Chinese millionaires will be in the real estate business."
Liu Fu and his wife were shocked. They didn't know whether to believe it or not. Looking at Liu Jian's serious expression, they believed him.
Liu Jian continued, "The second step is to establish a chain supermarket. Mom, this supermarket will depend on you in the future. I want to walk on two legs, one is real estate, and the other is supermarkets. These two industries are among the most profitable industries in China's future. As long as we become the richest in Northeast China, it can be said that it will definitely be us and not someone else, because the future is in our hands."
Liu Jian and Liu Fu and the others calmed down for a moment before continuing, "The third step is, after we have the funds, to acquire all the state-owned enterprises near Panshi. These enterprises have a good foundation, a large number of skilled workers, a broad market, and abundant raw materials. As long as we acquire these enterprises and make them bigger and stronger, I can become the richest man in China. By then, just one sentence from me can make the stock market tremble."
Liu Fu frowned and said, "None of what you said is easy to do. And Xiao Jian, you need to know that your mother and I don't have much education. We need people to help with these things. Our family can't even manage these two factories. Where are we going to find people to help with what you're saying?"
Liu Jian smiled and said, "Dad, talent is everywhere, it just depends on whether we can discover it. Although universities now guarantee job assignments, some students are already finding their own jobs. My plan is that we can recruit at universities. We'll just be decision-makers, and let them handle the specific implementation."
Mother Liu exclaimed, "Hire college students? Would they be willing to work for us?"
Liu Jian, thinking of ten years later when college students would be as common as dogs, laughed and said, "Mom, college students aren't as precious as you think. And now there are more and more college students, but fewer and fewer state-owned enterprises. Soon these college students will enter the job market and actively look for work themselves. So don't worry, maybe it won't be long before we can even hire college students to be our driver."
Mother Liu chuckled at this. Remembering what Liu Jian had said earlier, that he could see the future, maybe what Liu Jian was saying was true. Perhaps that was also the reason why Liu Jian no longer wanted to go to school.
Liu Fu then asked, "Xiao Jian, specifically how should we do this? And regarding establishing a real estate company, what should we build? Although we know the mayor and have a good relationship with your Uncle Chen, it will be difficult for a newly established company to receive large-scale projects from the city, right? If we build residential buildings, will there be enough people to buy them? You also said that future housing prices will be high, so can we make money building them now?"
It's 1997 now, and there aren't many buildings in Panshi. They're basically family buildings of various government departments. If you don't have a regular job and want to buy a place to live, sorry, you can't, even if you have money. Panshi doesn't have any real estate development companies building and selling houses yet. Housing prices aren't high in this era, and no one thinks about building houses to make money.
Liu Jian was taken aback by Liu Fu's words. Build houses and not make money? Dad, don't let real estate developers hear you say that, or they'll laugh their teeth out.
Liu Jian asked, "Dad, why do you say building construction doesn't make money?"
Liu Fu frowned and said, "Like this residential building we live in, it belongs to the construction company. They sold it to us for 750 yuan per square meter, but the actual cost of the building is more than 700 yuan per square meter. With a total of more than 5,000 square meters, they only made a little over 200,000 yuan, which is less than what our winery makes in a month. How can that make any money?"
Liu Jian almost fainted and said, "Dad, this is a family building for employees. Of course, they can't make much money. Everyone's from the same unit, and they're all in the construction industry, so they naturally know how much it cost to build. Even if they wanted to make money, they couldn't. But our development is different. Dad, do a market survey, and you'll find that many people want to buy apartments. These aren't people from government agencies; many are self-employed and can't buy apartments even if they want to. What do you say if we build several large buildings and sell them to them? Would they buy them? We can set our own prices for the buildings we build ourselves. If the cost is 700 yuan per square meter, we can sell it for 1,000 yuan per square meter. We'd make 300 yuan per square meter. If a building has 5,000 square meters, it wouldn't be a problem for us to make 1.5 million yuan. The open space at Sanbao Winery is at least sixty mu. Sixty mu can build 20 seven-story buildings. Subtracting the ground-floor storefronts, the remaining six floors could give us two hundred million in profit. Dad, the storefronts can be twice as expensive. Calculating it that way, we'll make at least two hundred million. Dad, you won't do this? You won't open a company that makes so much money? You still say building construction doesn't make money. It's just that no one has thought of it yet, and no one has that much capital. In another two years, real estate developers from the South will come, and we'll miss our chance."