The Yu Corporation's planned small commodities city project is estimated to cover over 2,000 acres of land. Among this, Plot 33 serves as the main commercial district, occupying approximately 450 acres. Including surrounding facilities like exhibition halls, logistics warehouses, and other supporting infrastructure, the total area amounts to nearly 1,000 acres. The remaining 1,000 acres are divided into several residential communities scattered around the commercial zone, creating a massive mixed-use complex integrating business and housing.
The total investment is projected to be around 10 billion yuan, making it Yu Corporation's largest real estate project in the next decade.
Of course, this 10 billion investment won’t be poured in all at once but will be allocated in phases according to the project’s progress. After all, even the wealthiest corporations can’t afford to dump 10 billion in cash flow in one go.
However, purchasing the land requires upfront payment.
For 2,000 acres, based on Bright Pearl City’s current average commercial land price of 500–2,000 yuan per square meter, the cost per acre ranges from 330,000 to 1.3 million yuan. The wide disparity is entirely due to location—plots in the city center naturally command higher prices.
The land parcels released in the northern district, though not in Bright Pearl City’s core area, have seen prices surge from the usual 550,000 yuan per acre to around 700,000 yuan due to rumors of a high-speed rail project being approved next year. This means that after Yu Corporation secures these plots, they’ll normally have to pay no less than 1.5 billion yuan within a year.
Just as Lin Muyang had struck a deal with Yu Fei, Liu Yutong sent Yun Cheng to relay a message, asking him to step outside for a talk.
There was still some time before the official bidding began, and Lin Muyang had a while before he needed to submit his offer. Though puzzled, he walked over, curious to see what this woman was scheming.
At that moment, Zhao Tianyi arrived in a hurry, carrying two contracts.
Liu Yutong took the contracts and met Lin Muyang’s gaze directly. "I’m guessing your bottom line is between 650,000 and 680,000 yuan per acre. Even with the money you borrowed from Yu Fei, your budget can’t exceed an extra 50 million—you’d never stretch to 100 million. But I can help you save some money. Sign this, and I’ll withdraw from the western district land auction. You’ll save at least 50 million."
Lin Muyang felt a chill run down his spine. It was as if this woman, two or three years his junior, could see right through his every move.
He had indeed received insider information and originally planned to bid 550,000 yuan per acre for those three plots. But because of Liu Yutong’s earlier remarks, he’d been forced to raise his budget to over 650,000.
And yet, she’d still guessed it. It was almost... unsettling.
Did she have powerful connections feeding her intel too?
Otherwise, Lin Muyang couldn’t explain any of this.
But Lin Muyang was a man of immense pride. How could he bow to a woman who had repeatedly rejected him?
"Miss Liu, I despise being forced into anything."
"What a coincidence—so do I." Liu Yutong smiled faintly. "Since Mr. Lin refuses to return the supermarket to me, I’ll just have to take it by force."
With that, she took a video recorder from Zhao Tianyi, turned it on, and handed it to Lin Muyang. "Mr. Lin, you might want to take a look at this first."
On the screen, Li Huai, the former regional manager of Bright City Supermarket, was being escorted by two police officers into a squad car.
Though surprised by Li Huai’s arrest, Lin Muyang remained expressionless. If he wanted, a single word from him could get Li Huai released.
But Liu Yutong had more up her sleeve.
"Mr. Lin, I’d wager your available funds for this auction are around 100 million yuan. Even with Yu Fei’s loan, you’d have at most 200 million. But what if a portion of that suddenly became... inaccessible?"
"What are you implying?" A sense of foreboding rose in Lin Muyang’s chest.
"Why don’t you call your bank and check if the money in your China Merchants Bank account is still usable?" Liu Yutong suggested.
Lin Muyang could no longer stay composed. He immediately pulled out his phone and dialed his bank manager.
When he learned that all his funds had been frozen, he nearly exploded with rage.
Little did he know, this was all part of Liu Yutong’s prior arrangement with her senior, Lin Ke.
Under normal circumstances, Lin Ke wouldn’t freeze her own son’s assets just because Liu Yutong asked.
But Liu Yutong had sent her evidence of Li Huai’s arrest and the reasons behind it.
As both a mother and a bank president, Lin Ke couldn’t ignore the severity of the situation. She had no choice but to make an exception and freeze Lin Muyang’s funds.
Of course, she could have chosen to cover for her son—but that wasn’t her style.
"What do you want?" Lin Muyang glared at Liu Yutong.
She remained unruffled. "I told you—what I want, I get. Mr. Lin, even with half your funds frozen, you still have Yu Fei’s loan to fall back on. That should be enough for the deposit."
Glancing at her watch, she added, "You have one minute."
After a brief silence, Lin Muyang suddenly laughed. "Yutong, it’s been a pleasure knowing you. I’m honored to be one of your suitors."
Without hesitation, he signed the contract.
Once done, he turned and walked away as if nothing had happened.
"Miss, is this guy out of his mind? How can he just laugh it off?" Zhao Tianyi, as a lawyer, had met all kinds of people, but this was the first time he’d seen someone switch moods so quickly.
"None of that matters." Liu Yutong handed the contract back to Zhao Tianyi. "Take this to Yang Xin and have him start optimizing the supermarket—rebranding, firing the necessary staff, and recruiting internally."
"Understood, Miss!" Zhao Tianyi replied promptly.
Once he left, Liu Yutong turned to Yun Cheng. "Let’s go. It’s time to teach Yu Fei a lesson too."
Indeed, her sudden move against Lin Muyang was all part of a larger plan—to dig a pit so deep it would make Yu Corporation implode.
Plot 33 in the northern district? She was taking it.
By the time Lin Muyang returned to his seat, Yu Fei hadn’t even had the chance to ask about his conversation with Liu Yutong before the auction began.
"Plot 61 in the northern district—bidding starts now."
"Plot 45 in the northern district—bidding starts now."
"Plot 6 in the western district—bidding starts now."
Since it was a blind auction, participants wrote their bids on numbered placards after each plot was announced. Those not participating simply left theirs blank.
After each round, staff collected the placards.
This method was far more efficient than traditional auctions.
Round after round concluded, and the entire process took only about half an hour.
After the auction concluded, the winning results began to be announced one by one.
"East City Plot No. 3—no bids received. The lot remains unsold."
"North City Plot No. 7—successfully acquired by Bidder No. 5."
"..."
"West City... successfully acquired by Bidder No. 3."
"East City... unsold..."
"West City... Bidder No. 3 wins again."
Having secured three plots in a row, nearly every pair of eyes in the room was searching for the owner of Bid No. 3.
Since the bidder numbers were randomly assigned, unless you actively inquired, there was no way to know who held which number.
"Damn, three plots in one go—must be some big-shot tycoon, right?"
"No kidding. Serious financial muscle."
"But isn’t West City the old district? Those plots aren’t easy to develop. Without landing an urban renewal project, it might not even be worth the investment."
"..."
