Chapter 982
What You Say, I Do
Port City.
Du Residence, located on the mountainside of Taiping Mountain.
When Du Lingling received Lu Yang's call, she had just returned from the Century Garden villa area on the mountaintop.
The former No. 10 Plow Road, with its British-style mansions on the Peak, which were left over from the British colonial era, has now been demolished and replaced by a group of modern villas that incorporate the style of Suzhou gardens in the Jiangnan region.
These are all the fruits of Du Lingling's hard work since returning to China in recent years.
Lu Yang handed it to him.
Then she will definitely do her best to deliver a perfect answer.
now,
Pre-sales to the public are imminent.
Whether the final answer is perfect or not, the moment of truth is fast approaching.
Du Lingling became even more cautious.
She has been going to the mountaintop almost every day recently, to prevent any accidents from happening, and also to ensure that the two parallel lines of construction—the progress and quality—can reach their destination simultaneously.
She was taking off her coat.
She was going to take a shower and then go see her son, An'an. The child was not even a year old yet, and as his mother, she had to be extra careful not to bring any bacteria or viruses home.
At this moment, Lu Yang called her.
This puzzled her.
Because of their agreement, Lu Yang would usually call her around noon or dinner time, when she would usually be home, and their son An'an would also be there. The child was at the age where he was just learning to speak, and he really wanted to hear his son call him "Dad" for the first time on the phone.
I took my phone out of my bag.
She pressed the speakerphone button.
I left my bag on the bed, but took my phone into the bathroom.
I placed my phone in a fixed spot on the sink and covered it with a dry towel to prevent water from splashing on it when I took a shower.
"I'm about to take a shower now. I just came back from the construction site on the mountaintop."
"Just say what you need to say."
"I'm going to see our son later."
Du Lingling casually picked up a black hair tie from the sink, tied her long hair up with both hands, and muttered something to herself while quickly taking off her clothes.
"Sister Du, there's something I need to tell you."
Lu Yang's voice came from the other side.
She was bending over to take off her stockings when she heard this, and she frowned and kicked the stockings off with her foot.
Before returning to the sink, I removed the dry towel covering my phone.
Grab your phone.
This made Lu Yang's next words even clearer.
"Go ahead and speak, I'm listening."
Lu Yang's voice came through the phone clearly, "I already notified the legal department this morning to transfer a portion of my group shares to Mingyue and our two children, totaling 35%. Well, although this is a temporary personal decision, I felt I should still inform you, Sister Du. I don't want to hide it from you. Even if you want to scold me a few times, scold me for our children, I will accept it."
Du Lingling first heard his voice.
His brows were furrowed!
But soon, after Lu Yang finished speaking, she felt relieved.
I threw the phone back into the sink.
Grabbing a towel, she walked towards the shower area and said calmly, "You're overthinking it. I wouldn't scold you. You earned the money yourself; you can give it to whomever you want."
She took a deep breath and said, "Mingyue is your lawfully wedded wife. In ancient times, her child would be your legitimate son or daughter, and rightfully, he or she should inherit your vast fortune. What you're doing now is simply taking a step ahead and eliminating some unnecessary risks in the future. I think it's a good thing. An'an... An'an still has me. Besides, as her father, even if he's just an illegitimate child, are you really going to refuse to give him a penny?"
at this point.
This is a done deal.
There's no point in saying more!
The reason the other party was able to come and tell her everything afterward was because he cared about her, not because he wanted her opinion as a mistress kept in an outside house.
If you can't even understand this.
Then their relationship is bound to be short-lived.
So, after calming her emotions, she chose to agree, but at the same time expressed a little bit of her dissatisfaction and grievance.
They are each other's offspring!
Her son, An'an, is still so young, yet he has to face unfair treatment from his biological father.
Yes.
We are illegitimate children.
We are human!
But surely one can at least say it, right?
If you've been wronged, can't you even speak up?
There was a moment of silence on the other end.
Four or five minutes later, amidst the sound of running water in the bathroom...
Lu Yang's voice then came through the speaker in the phone's earpiece again.
“I will have my lawyer officially transfer the house you are living in now, this villa on the hillside of Victoria Peak, to your name. From now on, it will be the real Du residence.”
This luxury mansion is located in Repulse Bay, on the hillside of Victoria Peak.
Lu Yang bought it for HK$5500 million.
Now, its listed price will only be higher than before.
This was merely Lu Yang's compensation to Du Lingling.
Next, there's his compensation to his two sons, An'an.
“An’an is our son, so of course I won’t abandon him. I’ve already made arrangements for his future. You’re currently managing Century Real Estate’s Hong Kong branch, and I’m sure you’re well aware of the company’s foundation and potential. The villa project on Victoria Peak alone can bring the company unimaginable wealth. Now I’ve decided to spin it off from the group and establish a new real estate company headquartered in Hong Kong. I personally will hold 55% of the shares for now, and our son An’an will hold 45%. Since he’s still young, you can hold the shares on his behalf for now. The company will be entirely managed by you. If he grows up and his performance satisfies us, I will consider transferring my 55% stake to him as well.”
"Are you serious?"
Du Lingling almost slipped and fell.
She turned off the skylight, wrapped herself tightly in a bathrobe, and walked back to the sink.
I picked up my phone from the sink again.
Staring at the small screen, he said, "Little man, could you say that again?"
How much potential does this real estate company in Gangcheng have in the future?
Du Lingling knew all too well.
Since she returned from Frankfurt last year and was parachuted here, she has been in charge of managing it.
Although the company currently has several projects operating simultaneously, the one with the greatest potential for future development is still the Century Garden villa complex at No. 10 Pollock's Path on Victoria Peak, as far as she knows.
In the company's current reservation plan, some people have already inquired in advance, and some have even offered as much as HK$100 million.
Yes, one hundred million Hong Kong dollars.
The other party is willing to spend HK$100 million to reserve and buy a luxury house in their company's Century Garden community on Victoria Peak.
And mansions like this.
There are now a total of 12 sets of equipment standing on the top of Victoria Peak.
Yes, in her planning and design, she demolished the old English-style executive house and transformed it into 12 villas that combined Chinese and Western styles, naming them after the twelve constellations of the zodiac.
A total of 12 luxury homes, each with a minimum value of HK$1 million!
Based on this one project!
How much is the total market value of the entire real estate company today?
No wonder she found it strange.
"Sister Du, you heard me right. That's exactly what I meant. From now on, the company will be managed by you. I will own 55% of the shares, and our son An'an will own 45%, which you will hold on his behalf. Our son is still young, hehe, still at the age of breastfeeding. Otherwise, I would have transferred the entire company to him."
Laughs aside!
But Lu Yang couldn't possibly hand over the entire company without reservation.
Retaining 55% of the shares, thus maintaining controlling ownership, was his way of protecting Sister Du and their two children, not out of defensiveness.
"Ah."
"I heard you."
Du Lingling almost choked up this time.
She thought that the young man across from her would definitely try to make amends to her and her son.
But I never expected the young man on the other end of the line to be so generous.
A company worth over a billion!
They handed it over without any reservations.
This was an immense trust in her, and also an immense love for their son An'an, the fruit of their love. Although she didn't care about money, and wasn't with him for his money, she felt extremely content at that moment.
"I'm glad you agree. I'll have my lawyer contact you."
Lu Yang continued on the other end of the phone.
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
Du Lingling readily agreed.
Faced with such a huge sum of money, she did not choose to be coy or pretend to be reserved, as doing so would not have brought her any benefit!
Du Lingling is not the kind of person who puts on airs.
She wanted it, and that's all. Besides, the other party offered it willingly, not begged for it.
Besides, these shares aren't for her, they're for her son. She doesn't own a single share of them!
Why should I act coy, pretentious, and affected on behalf of my son?
In her opinion, it was completely unnecessary. Lu Yang, as a father, was willing to provide security for his son's future, so she, on behalf of their son, would accept it.
"Okay, I knew you wouldn't refuse, Sister Du. I'll hang up now, you can take a shower first."
Lu Yang was about to hang up the phone.
Du Lingling quickly blurted out, "Don't hang it up, I'm all done washing. Go and bring our son over. He hasn't seen his father in so long, he'll be so happy to hear your voice."
"Okay, hurry up and get dressed, then take your phone and go find our son."
Lu Yang was happy to hear that he was going to see his son.
Even so, all that could be heard was the sound of his son grunting.
Lu An'an is only an eight-month-old baby.
He clearly can't call me "Dad" yet.
Du Lingling quickly got dressed, her hair still wet, and went downstairs to take her son back from the nanny.
What Lu Yang heard on the phone was indeed his son's "huffing and puffing" sound.
But he's happy as long as he can hear this.
Are you going out again this afternoon?
Lu Yang asked her.
"Yes, I need to go out for a bit."
Du Lingling sat on the sofa with her son in her arms, her phone on the coffee table in front of her.
It's still on speakerphone.
Du Lingling continued, "Let me tell you, our construction is progressing very quickly. I'm already ready to start pre-sales, and someone has already offered HK$100 million to buy our Aquarius mansion in the Zodiac constellation. Did you know that?"
She couldn't help but share this good news.
"what happened?"
She was puzzled as there was no response from Lu Yang.
Logically speaking, given what she has accomplished, shouldn't the other party praise her?
Lu Yang took a deep breath, cleared his mind, and said, "Sister Du, have I ever told you that after our Zodiac Mansion is completed, we don't plan to sell it initially, but only rent it out? Have I said that?"
"Is there?"
Du Lingling tried to recall, but she couldn't remember Lu Yang actually saying those words.
"What we didn't have, we have now. Here's a suggestion: Sister Du, once these luxury homes on the mountaintop are built, you can take one that suits you and live there. The rest, including this luxury home in Repulse Bay, can be rented out. We can become a landlord and landlady in a luxury residential area on Victoria Peak in Hong Kong. What do you think?"
Lu Yang wouldn't tell Du Lingling that although Hong Kong's housing prices have basically recovered a little from the Asian financial crisis of 1997, it will still be a long time before a real real estate bull market arrives.
The Peak mansion on Victoria Peak boasts a unique location in Hong Kong that will never be available again. While there are many who want to buy it, that doesn't mean it can be sold at a high price right now.
In fact, since the outbreak of the Asian financial crisis in 97, the housing prices in Hong Kong have been on a downward trend, and this downward trend will continue for a long time.
How long will it take?
As far as Lu Yang knows, it wasn't until 2011, on a certain day in a certain month of 2011, that the Rating and Valuation Department's official private residential property price index in Hong Kong was able to truly catch up with the historical peak of 163.1 points before the outbreak of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
It's obvious that selling your luxury house on the mountaintop now will lead to regret when the city's property prices actually take off.
Du Lingling didn't understand how powerful Lu Yang, this reborn person, was.
So she became a little curious, "Young man, why? Didn't you tell me that you only spent HK$120 million to buy the dilapidated house on the mountaintop? Now, we've renovated and upgraded it, and it's only cost less than HK$100 million. The total cost is at most less than HK$300 million. In just a few years, as soon as the pre-sale starts, I'm confident that we can immediately recoup more than HK$1.2 billion in revenue, making a profit of several times over. That's more than HK$100 million, a doubling of returns. That should be pretty good, right?"
Lu Yang shook his head on the phone. "You have to listen to me on this matter. Trust me. We're stopping the pre-sale plan and only releasing information about leasing to the public. I can't explain this to you right now, but trust me, you'll understand in a few years."
This is why he has always wanted to retain absolute control of the company.
If the other party refuses to listen.
He still has a chance to correct it.
"Well, since you insist, I'll listen to you."
Du Lingling smiled and said, "From now on, whatever you say, I'll do." (End of Chapter)