Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Don’t Be the First to Be a Billionaire

In June 2005, the sun was burning in Shenzhen.Ouyang is promoting his "beautiful AAA" real estate.I also happened to go to Shenzhen again. "Beautiful AAA" is the first comprehensive project integrating commerce, office and residence in Longhua, Shenzhen. It is also a key project for Ouyang Xiangshan and his Meili Group to make strategic adjustments, with an investment of hundreds of millions.I remember the first time I met Ouyang was at the end of 2004. That time he took me to the construction site of "Beautiful AAA". Such a magnificent scene!What's even more amazing is that Ouyang didn't borrow a cent from the bank for such a big project.In other words, he used all his own money to build such a large project!

"How much does this cost? How much can I earn back?" I asked him. Ouyang didn't answer me directly.He stared intently at the mountains of steel bars, the towering tower cranes, the orderly running concrete pumps, and the scene where more than 2,000 workers were sweating profusely.There must be endless sighs in his heart, but at the moment he is just watching seriously, and there are deep thoughts in this watching. The second time I met Ouyang was in mid-April 2005, when the buildings with a height of more than 80 meters were almost completed.Ouyang deliberately took me to the top of the highest building.From here, you can look up and see the whole picture of Shenzhen Longhua.

In the real estate industry, people like to use the word "landmark" to describe a representative building with a unique style.Almost every city has iconic buildings, and cities without them will eventually be forgotten.In Shenzhen, almost all the spaces that can represent the city of yesterday have been submerged by landmarks, and only new districts like Longhua still have room for development. The "beautiful AAA" garden is representing the future of Shenzhen! Therefore, Ouyang is busier than usual. In addition, during the "May 1st" period, he plans to carry out pre-sale promotion of real estate. All on-site packaging work within.

Through the introduction of Ms. Luo, the marketing director, I learned that the classic design concept and living orientation of "Beautiful AAA" can be explained from three aspects: "architectural style", "community environment", and "commercial, office, and living room as a whole" . Ouyang told me: "Site selection is the primary factor for the success of real estate development, and it is the result of a comprehensive consideration. Conclusive. In Shenzhen, Longhua is one of the most influential satellite cities in the future, and our "beautiful AAA" is in the center of such a geomantic treasure, where the foreseen human, material and financial resources are converging here. "

Ms. Luo added to me on the side: "Before Mr. Ou paid a huge sum of money to buy this precious land, due to the reason of the land price and the misunderstanding of the value of this land by many real estate professionals, such a golden treasure land fell asleep. for a few years." Yes, a few years, for an ancient city, may be a record of one of the thousands of hour hand rotations, but for a modern city like Shenzhen, it is almost the beginning and end of an era the process of.From the point of view of a layman like me, I am really thankful for Ouyang's decisiveness at that time.

I found that the most prominent thing about "Beautiful AAA" is the "environmental" culture! The "environment" mentioned by experts in the construction industry is not only the surrounding environment of the house that we usually know, but it specifically refers to the visual image and physical feeling created by the building itself, which is what we usually call "body environment". Immensely."Not to mention how magnificent the "Beautiful AAA" is, nor how elegant, generous, noble and dignified the entire building facade that Ouyang single-handedly determined is just the upper part that Ouyang invited Master Lu from the British Yalfi Garden Company to carefully carve and decorate. The 10,000-square-meter elevated garden, as well as the ecological combination, music combination, sound-light combination, poetry and painting combination, and surrounding road pavement that it presents are enough to make Ouyang spend tens of millions of yuan!And these "environments" will embrace every morning and evening of the owners in the future.

Meili Group has a lot of investment businesses, and there are currently several projects under construction in real estate alone: ​​Shenzhen is represented by "Beautiful AAA", the project in Dongguan is even bigger than this, and there are three projects in cooperation with Wuhan China Railway Bridge Bureau.There is a capital chain relationship between these projects, and "Beautiful AAA" as the leading project has the most capital invested in advance, and the capital return should have been the first.The operation of the entire group company is like a game of chess. "Beautiful AAA" is equal to the "car" in the big chess game of the company's business. "If it is stuck, the capital chain will be broken, and the entire chess of the group company will die there.Let’s just talk about the “beautiful AAA” area. The expected sales cannot be carried out, and hundreds of millions of funds cannot be recovered. Not to mention, thousands of construction workers can only stay on the construction site, and they have to eat and get paid.Not only that, real estate sales are a big subject, and the choice of sales timing has a great relationship with the consumer psychology of home buyers. "May 1st" and "October 1st" are usually the most optimistic times for real estate developers in a year.For a real estate project, it is of course important that the product itself is excellent, but in the real estate industry, due to the wrong timing of sales, there are many things that good houses fail to sell.Once a real estate is delayed due to a certain factor and then you want to sell it, the possibility of success is almost negligible.Real estate is a one-time investment and one-time income. When it is gradually invested, others do not know or understand.Hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested this time, but I don't know when it will be recovered...

I can't count the number of times Ouyang went back and forth to the Planning Bureau and the Land and Resources Bureau. Every time, he knocked on the office door respectfully, not too loudly, and not in a hurry. "What is the key reason why our document cannot be approved? We can improve it as soon as we know." In the office, Ouyang asked the staff softly. "This reason..." When the other party was slowly preparing to explain, Ouyang's cell phone rang suddenly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll answer the phone first." Ouyang apologized again and again, and bowed out of the office door.

The ghost phone, whether it rings sooner or later, why is it ringing at a critical moment, Ouyang retreated to the corner and answered the phone helplessly, upset: "Hello..." Before he finished "feeding", the other party hurriedly said on the phone: "Hello, Mr. Ou, when will you pay for the cable? We really can't help it here." "Cable payment, we will pay in a few days. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting for so long." In fact, Ouyang doesn't have any money to pay the cable payment now, so he can only deal with it with a good word.The pre-sale certificate cannot be approved here, and the payment has to be made on the other side. It is really urgent.

After hanging up the phone, Ouyang immediately went back to their office. When he arrived at the door, he almost rushed in. After his mind cleared, he quickly stepped back and knocked on the door politely again. "Come in, don't knock on the door." The office staff was very friendly and casual. "Yes, yes." Ouyang smiled apologetically, "Just now, we talked about the reason why the pre-sale certificate cannot be approved, do you see?" "We studied it carefully last time. According to the regulations, it is the kindergarten in your community that is not in compliance with the regulations."

"Yes, yes, yes, kindergarten...but this kindergarten we were originally..." "Ding Lingling——" The phone rang again like a ghost.Ouyang saw that it was the unit that came to urge the money again. He originally promised to pay today, but he didn't answer it, and it didn't matter if he didn't answer it. "Yes, I'm sorry, I will answer the phone again." When people saw it, they had to look at the documents by themselves.Ouyang smiled and left the office again. "Hey, Mr. Ou, you are busy right now. I'm sorry to bother you. Is our payment..." The other party called again on the mobile phone, and it was polite.Ouyang retreated subconsciously to the bathroom, as if afraid of being heard by someone. "Oh, that's what happened..." "I know, Mr. Ou, you are very busy. You see, the house has already been built to the tenth floor. Would you like to pay us some money first?" Before Ouyang could explain, the other party complained politely. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry...I'll go back and have a look. If it's not 3 days, I'll call the accountant to make the payment." The other party, what can I do? "Okay, okay, thank you, Mr. Ou." The other party hung up the phone politely, but this politeness is almost a "soft knife" to Ouyang. It's really raining, and Yu Niang is going to get married. Ouyang's nerves are almost out of order at this time, and he can't deal with one end, nor the other end.Yes, there is also the matter of the Planning Bureau, Ouyang suddenly ran from the bathroom back to the office as if waking up from a dream. "Sorry." "It's okay." The staff sitting on the office chair still had an accommodating attitude, "Then let's continue talking." "Okay, okay." "Ding Lingling——" With this sound, Ouyang almost smashed the phone to the ground.How come you can't stop pestering like a wandering ghost!Ouyang couldn't speak anymore at this moment, and wanted to apologize with a smile, but this time he didn't even have the strength to pretend to be a smile, and he seemed to have a nervous breakdown. Ouyang was completely speechless, looking extremely frustrated.On this day, they withdrew from the Planning Bureau without any results... Now, he had to give up the original sales plan, a huge project, thousands of people were stranded there, and he could only do one thing—wait!But can he afford to wait?In the end, Ouyang had no choice. On the one hand, he asked the construction team to destroy the kindergarten built with tens of millions of yuan. On the other hand, he had to borrow money from the bank to support the construction site with thousands of people. The employees of the group waited indefinitely for the pre-sale certificate... …Millions a day is like being thrown in the ocean and gone in the blink of an eye!Ouyang mortgaged the company's shopping malls, shops and his own house, and begged the bank's leaders to borrow 65 million yuan to cope with the current predicament.For such a large stall, tens of millions of yuan can only be used for a month.Two days ago, he even took out the remaining 460,000 Hong Kong dollars in cash at home... sky!Could a billionaire really be this miserable?When I heard this, my heart trembled heavily!A small department-level cadre can easily overthrow a powerful figure in the business world to the ground because of a small "commercial housing pre-sale certificate" in his hand.Good luck can really play tricks on people! Ouyang currently owns real estate and company assets of no less than one billion yuan, but in front of him he is a "poor man" who is already naked in a "big run"! "Didn't they also approve the construction plan at that time? Didn't they also approve the plan review at that time? There is also a seven-member expert group that has also read it! You can go to them for a theory! Or the administration will sue them !" I was a little bit aggrieved for Ouyang. "Did I dare to start work without their approval at that time? Even a fool with an investment of hundreds of millions wouldn't do it blindly?" Ouyang widened his eyes and shouted at me emotionally.In a blink of an eye, it seemed that the target was wrong, and he lowered his voice: "I may or may not be justified in the administrative prosecution, but in this lawsuit, even if I win in the end, it is equal to losing." "how to say?" "This kind of lawsuit will not have any results in a year and a half. For me, Meili Group, a year and a half is a complete death period! How much money do I have to throw away in a year and a half? Tens of millions, Hundreds of millions...Besides, these section chiefs and bureau chiefs must act according to the regulations, and they cannot violate the principles. I can't let people throw away their black hats to do things for me!" Ouyang said, like a headless fly Walking back and forth in the room. "Tomorrow morning, let's not do anything, go to the Planning Bureau and the Land and Resources Bureau! Isn't it just a few small department-level cadres! Find them for theories. Or we can find leading cadres in Guangdong Province through our relationship to say hello to Shenzhen. Just settle the matter!" I was a little annoyed. Unexpectedly, Ouyang waved his hands again and again: "Don't, calm down! Be sure to calm down! Then I might really be dead!" "How calm is this?" I don't understand. "Some people think that it is possible to get things done by giving money. It's true. But if you give money, if you don't make it right, you will fall into it with you in the end... But at this moment, I know that you may not be able to do it if you use money or not. Get it done!" Ouyang sighed, "Oh, that's where the difficulty lies!" "Then you can give him 'several squares', 'dozens of squares' (in a word, one side is 100,000 yuan), and let them grant you a 'beautiful AAA' pre-sale certificate!" I suggested, "Anyway, it's more cost-effective than throwing away one or two million a day for nothing, right?" Ouyang shook his head and smiled wryly: "Although I was born as a poor soldier, I have been educated by the party for many years. To be honest, I thought about doing this every time I encountered difficulties, but finally gave up. You must ask why? 99% of the staff will not accept this, they still act impartially. In general, if you give someone money, things may be done right away, but in the end, you may not only harm the other party, but also yourself. Do you think it's okay to harm others and yourself?" "But in such a society now, if you don't do this, some things just won't get over!" I also felt very helpless. "Whether we can touch 'God' this time depends on God's will." Ouyang smiled wryly at me. The burden placed on Ouyang's heart is too heavy. On the surface, he still needs to handle the various affairs of the whole company in an orderly manner with the attitude of a big group boss and a billionaire, so that no one can see any flaws.But I know how great the psychological pressure is at the moment. Early the next morning, the two of us first went to the Planning Bureau together. A month ago, he had "knocked out" the pre-built kindergarten. This "knockout" cost more than 8 million yuan in construction costs alone, and sent the new design and construction drawings to the Planning Bureau for re-approval. . If this new blueprint is approved, "then I will be saved!" Ouyang put all his magic weapon of relief in "deep water" on this trick. The district-level planning bureau is a division-level administrative unit.It's an unremarkable building in Shenzhen, but in Ouyang's eyes at the moment it is better than "Hall of Hell".The Planning Bureau goes to work at nine o'clock, and Ouyang and I drove here at eight o'clock. "For more than a month before this, I spent time going back and forth to the Planning Bureau or the Land and Resources Bureau at this time, every day." Ouyang said, "I was so anxious. Except for Saturdays and Sundays that they don't work, I have to go here every day, I can’t do it if I don’t come, I want to jump off the building when I stay in the company and at home. But once I enter the office buildings of the two bureaus, I have to pretend to be very natural and calm, as if I am doing something that is not very important at all. I don’t want the officials in charge to see how anxious I am.” "Then—don't you show some tricks when you come every day?" Ouyang smiled wryly: "This is one of the secrets of my success. No matter how big or small you do, you must make people feel that you are sincere. I am very familiar with the office staff of the Planning Bureau and the Land Bureau. Several business backbones usually I arrive at the office 10 to 20 minutes earlier than the director and the general staff. I always enter the office about ten minutes before they go to work. At this time, no one else comes to them for work, so I explain my difficulties to them one by one. To avoid waiting for a long time, I can buy time to do other things. When the working hours are up and there are many people in the building, I will leave the office and see when they are free before going in and telling them what I have to do. In the business world of Shenzhen, I, Ouyang, can be regarded as a respectable little person. In this way, these comrades think that I am not as domineering as some bosses, and I don’t like others in their eyes. So after three or five days, these civil servants will be very familiar with me. ! After they understand my real situation, they will take the initiative to help me find ways to supervise the things that need to be done." "You used this tactic again this time?" Ouyang acquiesced to my guess with a bitter smile.Sure enough, when the two of us entered the Planning Bureau around 8:30, the business hall was empty except for a security guard. The security guard greeted Ouyang with a smile as if seeing a familiar leader: "President Ou is here." Ouyang After seeing this, he responded modestly and said, "You have worked hard!" Then he threw a pack of "Good Day" cigarettes. These small actions moved the security guard very much.Afterwards, Ouyang was unimpeded in the building. Before entering the Planning Bureau, Ouyang did not park the car in the parking lot, but parked in an open space outside the yard.He said: "There are several advantages to parking here: one is that my car is better, and the rampage into the yard makes people feel like a big boss, which has a bad impression; You will be stuck inside and unable to get out, wasting time." After seeing Ouyang, a section chief and chief engineer of the Planning Bureau gave up their seats very enthusiastically and told Ouyang that the modification materials for his kindergarten construction design drawings had been sent to the director in charge... "This is a big and urgent matter for you. Why don't you wait until the director comes, and I'll go up and tell him about your application document?" The chief engineer said to Ouyang after he couldn't find the electronic reply from the director in the computer. Ouyang immediately declined and said: "Don't urge me! Once you urge the director, he will pay special attention to my problem. He doesn't understand the cause and effect, and this attention may cause serious trouble. If you understand the investigation and investigation, you will definitely approve it... Or let me go Of course, it is better for the director to treat it as a normal report." The chief engineer thought for a while, and said: "This will indeed make the approval faster." Then he smiled apologetically at Ouyang: "Then you have to prepare to wait a little longer." Hearing this, Ouyang became anxious again, stood up from the sofa, walked back and forth in the room, and sighed: "Oh, no matter how anxious I am, this is the only way I can do it. I am content with you good brothers who understand me!" While speaking, it was time to go to work, and the building was immediately buzzing with people.Ouyang and I immediately withdrew from the office of the section chief and chief engineer... "Where are you going now?" I asked. Ouyang also seemed at a loss.After thinking about it, he went up to the fourth floor, which was the office floor of the director.The director's office is on the right side of the elevator exit.The door was open, and the door was crowded with people who came to see the director for business... "Do you know the chief? Why don't you try to find him directly?" Seeing Ouyang hiding in the corner and sneaking over there, I couldn't help but feel a little useless, so I poked him with my arm. Ouyang suddenly took a few steps back like a thief who was discovered, and then whispered to me softly: "Of course I know him, and he knows me too! One of my comrades-in-arms has a good relationship with him! But I must not take the initiative to find him. He, as soon as I find him, he will pay attention to my change application, and it will make things troublesome if he pays attention to it!" "I don't quite understand that." I couldn't understand. Ouyang handed me a cigarette, then pulled me against the window on the side of the corridor and quietly told the whole story: the new modification plan avoids the procedure of re-applying for construction. The approval could not be completed within dozens of days, and the pre-sale of his "beautiful AAA" real estate was nowhere in sight. "I must die several times!" Ouyang trampled most of the cigarette butt under his feet in pain. "That's why you expect them to give you an approval right away, but you don't dare to find a relationship rashly and confront it head-on?" "Need to say?" Ouyang put his arms on the window sill and looked down at the window. I said: "Legislative operators do not get the support of the policy, but they have to survive in the cracks, and those who follow the underworld to find their way are instead unconstrained. There are some things that are really irritating." Seeing that I was getting angry, Ouyang comforted me: "I'm sorry, brother, you don't know that it is very difficult to be the director and section chief of the Planning Bureau and the Land Bureau. The policies above are constantly changing, there are too many rules and regulations, the procedures are also complicated, and there are so many people to find, they also have difficulties!" I laughed and said, "Why do you still speak for them? You know you understand them, but why don't they understand you? Look, it's almost ten o'clock, and I've been running upstairs and downstairs with you for several rounds, but nothing has been achieved! " "Brother, you don't understand. Now Shenzhen has more regulations than other places, but they have fewer people and they are too busy. Why don't we go! Anyway, I don't think there is much hope for today." Let's go back to the business hall on the first floor.The business hall is crowded.Looking at the bustling crowd who came to do business, Ouyang laughed at himself: "I am the biggest boss among these people, but I am also the grandson among those who come to do business!" Saying this, he left the Planning Bureau building helplessly.But just two steps out of the gate, Ouyang stood on his feet and regretted again: "Why don't I go up and confront the director directly, and see if he can accommodate and approve my application earlier?" "Go!" I immediately encouraged, and followed behind him like a secretary.Looking in from the corridor, there seemed to be fewer people in the director's office.But Ouyang retreated again: "It's better not to alarm the chief." He started talking to himself again. "This guy!" I had no more words, dragged my two tired legs, and followed him down the third floor.Ouyang went to the offices one by one to say hello and farewell to the section chiefs, deputy section chiefs, and staff. "I greet them like this every time before leaving, on the one hand to respect them, and on the other hand to deepen their understanding of my sincerity." Ouyang explained what he did. I just shook my head at his words. When they went downstairs, a section chief in his early 30s who got into the elevator with Ouyang walked behind them. When Ouyang saw it, he respectfully let people go first. I couldn't bear it anymore: "Ouyang, you are too useless." Ouyang said solemnly: "For our small private entrepreneurs, no matter how rich you are, so what if you are a billionaire or something? Even if you meet a section chief or a section member, you must never be in front of them. Take the first step. In such a situation, if you humbly give way to them and walk behind them, your difficult problem may be easily solved." "This is a great treasure of your success?" Although I doubt whether Ouyang's approach is effective, I admire him for keeping such a low-key attitude and patience forever. Coming out of the Planning Bureau, Ouyang carried his bag and leaned against the bumper of the car wearily and sadly, waiting helplessly for the fate's verdict. After a while, we drove to the Land and Resources Bureau more than ten miles away. Along the way, he was directing the heads of various departments of the company and answering various requests from assistants. "This side has not been approved yet, but you have to prepare all the various pre-sale reporting materials once the planning change is approved! Remember: if this side is approved now, you have to submit all the materials within one hour. Send it to the relevant department of the Land and Resources Bureau, it must be done this way, and it must not be delayed for a minute or a second..." Ouyang ordered sternly on the phone. But as soon as he entered the building of the Land and Resources Bureau, he greeted and said good things to those section chiefs and staff door by door aimlessly.As in the case of the Planning Bureau, many civil servants in the Bureau of Land and Resources knew Ouyang well, and asked with concern from time to time, "Is it done?"Ouyang smiled wryly and shook his head: "The materials are still in your bureau chief's place!" That's right, the pile of documents on the director's desk is as high as a mountain, when will it be your turn to approve yours!Those civil servants who seemed to sympathize with Ouyang greeted Ouyang while they were busy with the work at hand.Ouyang and I waited another full hour at the door of the director's office. Ouyang was tired and leaned against the wall at the foot of the door. But the director still did not come back, "It is likely that the meeting has gone", Ouyang comforted himself.He was still walking around upstairs and downstairs very patiently, saying hello. The hour hand is pointing to 12 noon.In the afternoon, I'm going back to Beijing, and I will go to Guangzhou to see a friend.Seeing that time was running out, Ouyang hurriedly led me to a coffee shop next to the Land Bureau.After sitting down, he asked the waiter for two bowls of noodles and some snacks. "For more than a month, I have often sat in this place at noon for two or three hours. I went to the Planning Bureau in the morning and was at the Land and Resources Bureau at noon. People had lunch after get off work at noon, so I sat here and waited for them to go to work... "Ouyang burst into tears as he spoke. "Brother, I..." He suddenly choked up. "Hey, what's the matter?" I was at a loss. Ouyang wiped his tears and murmured: "I have sat here alone and wept more than once... In fact, it is not a big deal to lose some money, but sometimes I can't figure it out: why is it so difficult to do business properly?" Woolen cloth?" yeah, why?I can't find an answer.Ouyang said to me apologetically: "I can't take you to Guangzhou in person. I will call a taxi and I will send you to Guangzhou safely. I'm sorry, I have to wait for news in the afternoon..." "It's okay, you are busy Yes, the most urgent thing is to try to get the pre-sale certificate as soon as possible!" I feel that Ouyang's matter seems to be my matter. Ouyang Qiang smiled happily when they broke up, but his heart was still very heavy.On the expressway from Shenzhen to Guangzhou, I meditated and imagined the scene of Ouyang drinking mineral water alone in a coffee shop and crying silently... It seems that being a billionaire is not so easy!I sighed and prayed for him at the same time. From time to time, I imagined how the director inadvertently glanced at Ouyang's "beautiful AAA" change application form among the piles of pending documents, and swiped his pen: Agreed! Brother Ouyang, your sincerity has also touched my friends, you know?I thought about it all the time. "Brother! Brother, have you gotten on the plane yet?" At about five o'clock in the afternoon, when I was about to board the plane at the Guangzhou New Airport, my phone suddenly rang.It belongs to Ouyang! "What's the matter? What's the matter?" "Tell you: the approval document is here! It's here!" Ouyang shouted excitedly and hastily over there. This was an unexpected and exciting event! "It was approved just now. The director, he understands me very well, so he approved it like this... Hahaha... I'm going to the Land and Resources Bureau to apply for the pre-sale!" The application for changing the construction drawings of the kindergarten, which exhausted Ouyang's efforts for dozens of days, and the approval document that almost dragged the billionaire into a corner, was just like that, with such a swipe of a pen by the director, and brought the "predators" of Shenzhen's real estate industry back to life, showing their former glory!It was a miracle! "Okay, when the house will open for sale, let me know one day in advance!" "Beautiful AAA" represents the current level of Longhua real estate, and it is Ouyang's favorite work. I look forward to seeing how the predators in the business field make money every day!