Chapter 230: Collaborating to Purchase Land
Translator: BeetleBarker Editor: Tennesh
Tianhao walked over and moved a large stone over to Fang Zhao's side and sat down, his gaze sizing up Fang Zhao and the three bodyguards. Clicking his tongue, he thought to himself, This bastard is rather pretentious, having a major and two captains as his bodyguards. So many people would be jealous if they knew.
Not bothering at all about the looks from the three bodyguards, Tianhao sat cross-legged and plucked a strand of straw before placing it in his mouth. Without enunciating his words clearly, he said to Fang Zhao, "We are all participants of the first segment of Project Starlight and are more or less colleagues already. We shouldn't be that unfamiliar with each other. How about heading back to the base for a drink?"
"I'm still undergoing military service," Fang Zhao replied. There were many restrictions during military service duration, and in principle, conscripts were not permitted to consume alcohol. Of course, alcohol provided by senior officers for a celebratory banquet did not count.
"Oh, right, you are still a conscript." Tianhao felt that it was a pity. He had wanted to tell Fang Zhao that it was all right to secretly drink on planet Wai, but realizing the three bodyguards were staring at him, he stopped himself and thought, How are these bodyguards, they are simply monitors.
While under scrutiny, Tianhao would also not advise Fang Zhao to partake in any questionable activities. Changing the topic, he asked, "I heard that you are really good with history. Do you know about historical figures? Some people say that I resemble great general Woo Tong of the Founding Era; what do you say?"
Fang Zhao gave a simple reply. "There is some resemblance."
Tianhao, or Woo Tianhao, was a descendant of Tongzhou's Woo family. However, when he appeared in the the entertainment circles, Woo Tianhao generally did not display his family name.
Although he did not know whether or not Fang Zhao was flattering him, Tianhao seemed rather happy when he heard this, and his smile grew wider. "I think so too." He loved it when people said that he had a great general's style or that he looked like Woo Tong.
"Have people from Wai base asked you about investing yet?" Woo Tianhao asked.
"They did."
"What are you thoughts on this matter? Actually, it is really good to invest here, and you aren't short of money." Woo Tianhao had made inquiries about the value of Fang Zhao's works and income from other endorsement deals. Making some calculations, he understood that Fang Zhao, this little celebrity, would not lose to him when it came to cash in hand! He also had another motive for finding Fang Zhao so urgently.
"It's worth a try," Fang Zhao replied.
"I think so too, and I have already started looking at places." Woo Tianhao raised his eyebrows and noticed Fang Zhao gazing at the experimental plots to the side. Turning to Fang Zhao, he said, "Brother, let's play a game. Do you know what I wish to build on planet Wai? If you guess correctly, you get a prize. You have three chances. If you get it on the first try, one million dollars. If you take two tries, 500,000. If you take three tries, 100,000. How about it? You have nothing to lose."
As he watched Fang Zhao look over, Woo Tianhao was secretly pleased, and he thought to himself, The bait has been set, but even if you rack your brains, there is no way you can guess it!
"Build a dojo into a mountainside?" Fang Zhao replied.
Woo Tianhao: "..."
Woo Tianhao nearly swallowed his straw and started coughing before spitting it out. Surprise and plain disbelief was written all over his face. "How did you know? Don't tell me your ear can 'hear' it?"
There was a faint smile on Fang Zhao's face. "Guessed it." Just like Su Mu had said many times about returning to tending sheep after the war, Fang Zhao also remembered that Woo Tong had talked about building a dojo into a mountain after the war many times as well. Woo Tianhao, this little fellow, actually had the same dream as Woo Tong.
Fang Zhao had actually had no idea what Woo Tianhao wanted to construct on planet Wai. However, since Woo Tianhao had said he was like Woo Tong, Fang Zhao had then remembered Woo Tong's words and thus made his guess, which had turned out to be correct. The result was really unexpected, but he wouldn't reveal the reason for his guess to Woo Tianhao.
Realizing that he wouldn't be able to get the reason, Woo Tianhao no longer pressed Fang Zhao for it. His motive in looking for Fang Zhao had not been this. One million was just 1 million. When compared to what he wanted to discuss with Fang Zhao, 1 million was not a big deal.
"Pass me your bank account number. I will transfer the funds to you when I get access to the internet," Woo Tianhao said.
The three bodyguards behind Fang Zhao shot each other weird glances. In their hearts, they were thinking. Really building a dojo? What the h*ll goes on in his mind? Still building a dojo in this sort of era? Not saying that people of the New Era would have no interest, but even if they had interest in this, there are all sorts of virtual classes online and all sorts of tutors for one-on-one lessons. With it being so convenient, even gyms gradually faded into obscurity over time. Things from the old era like dojos only exist in history textbooks. Is there a need to construct one?
Too much money and too few things to spend on? Or have the people of Wai base brainwashed him and made him retarded?
On the contrary, Fang Zhao did not find it strange at all.
In the Old Era, the Woo clan had been a family of martial artists and had produced a number of martial arts action stars. It was reasonable to say that the Woo clan of old had not lacked methods of earning money, and Woo Tong had become a physical instructor. After the apocalypse had broken out, Woo Tong had rapidly gathered up a bunch of people and taken refuge. After that, it had turned into a resistance, counterattacking and recapturing Tong Zhao. In the end, he had become one of the great generals of the Founding Era, but due to certain reasons, he had been unable to accomplish his dream of building the dojo.
There was actually a commemorative dojo in Tongzhou, but it did not have the traditional significance and was not the sort of dojo Woo Tianhao wanted. In the New Era, other than Woo Tianhao, no one else in the Woo family had any interest toward this. Snatching a spot in the first iteration of Project Starlight and coming to planet Wai was something that Woo Tianhao had meticulously planned for.
Woo Tianhao did not hide his plans. "Places in Tongzhou that I am satisfied with all belong to the ecology parks and nature reserves. They can't be randomly torn down or undergo construction, so I can only build it on a foreign planet. After looking around, I picked planet Wai."
In the New Era, land resources were scarce. There were too many people and there was too little land. Scenic places were protected by all sorts of regulations. Even if it was the Woo family's Woo Tianhao, he could forget about trying to get his hands on a mountain with a panoramic view. Moreover, on their home planet, for such scenic places, even if they were not protected by laws and regulations, the land would be excessively expensive. Even Woo Tianhao did not have the financial capability to buy a mountaintop.
"How about it? Any interest in buying land here? Construct a manor, own a large piece of land, own a few good horses. When your spirits are low, you can come for a stay and live like the nobles of the Old Era that we see on television. How flashy is that! For safety, you can bring along bodyguards. Although the cost of traveling is a little high, with your income, you shouldn't have any problems."
Woo Tianhao's intention was to rope Fang Zhao in. The risks if only a single person was investing were too high. After all, the land here belonged to the Wai base, and Huo Yi might not necessarily give the Woo family any concessions, as he was not from Tongzhou. However, Woo Tianhao was too satisfied with planet Wai's conditions and did not want to give it up.
Therefore he wanted to rope in a few people to share the risks. If anything should happen, more people would mean more assistance. Woo Tianhao had also approached a few friends, but they had given a host of reasons and had not promised him anything. People from the Woo family were either unwilling or had given Woo Tianhao a little funding as support.
Recently, Woo Tianhao had been anxious. When he had heard that Fang Zhao would be coming, Woo Tianhao had started having all sorts of ideas.
Woo Tianhao continued trying to persuade Fang Zhao. "Isn't retro in fashion again? Let's indulge in a round of nostalgia. There is beautiful landscape here and not many dangerous creatures. Land here is so cheap because the people of planet Wai worry about selling it off. In simple terms, this is a rare opportunity. Aren't you interested in the experimental plots? If the research base gets approved, the price of land on planet Wai will appreciate. Let's get some land first. Otherwise, all the good areas will get snapped up by others."
He had not talked about the situation if the research base was not approved, and even if it was approved, it wouldn't have that much of an impact over here. Even if the price of land appreciated, it would not rise by much. A research base would not have much impetus.
Fang Zhao understood all this and had already considered carefully. However, he did have the notion of purchasing land to build a house. Just like Woo Tianhao had said, for that little bit of nostalgia.
In the early days of the Founding Era, survivors had also constructed ancient buildings of special significance in Huangzhou, such as pagodas, temples, palaces, and many more, with the purpose of passing on the culture to future generations. In the end, though, these buildings had been torn down bit by bit to build commercial buildings. Only a few were left.
Money still dominated everything else.
On planet Wai, the natural conditions were not too bad.
Fang Zhao had already had this idea, so when Woo Tianhao finished speaking, he asked, "Have you selected the area?"
Woo Tianhao expression became blank, and he hurriedly replied, "Not yet! I was just waiting for you!" Woo Tianhao was looking for partners, but he wanted partners that were serious about long-term investments. He had been waiting for another investor besides himself. When he saw that Fang Zhao had that desire, Woo Tianhao beamed. "If you wish to invest, let's jointly purchase land, and we can each build our own things. With regards to manpower, as long as you are agreeable, I can source the construction teams and we will split the expenses equally. How's that?"
Fang Zhao nodded. "Sure."
"All right. I will go draft a contract and send it to you in a bit. Just wait!" Woo Tianhao could not remain sitting any long. The collaborator he had waited so long for had finally appeared, and he had to make Fang Zhao stay here. His "Tianhao" dojo was going to see the light of day!
——
Wai base. Huo Yi and the others were feeling slightly dejected, but when they heard that Woo Tianhao and Fang Zhao were going to purchase land and build houses here, their spirits lifted in a flash.
That was good news!
"Commander, when is the transport ship arranged to send Fang Zhao back scheduled to leave?" someone asked.
"What scheduled to leave? Push it back, push back the departure timing! What's the rush for! Everyone would think that you are trying to get rid of him, huh," Huo Yi chided.
The person who spoke cursed silently. Just two minutes ago you were saying "out of sight, out of mind" and to hurry up and send him away.
Huo Yi seemed like had had totally forgotten his previous words. He opened up a map that displayed the areas that were available. "Bring this to them. Let me know after they have chosen. I will give them the most favorable price!"
Huo Yi did not conceal anything, nor did he make things difficult for Fang Zhao. On the contrary, to get the funds from Fang Zhao and Woo Tianhao's pockets, Huo Yi even recommended professionals to help them. The places put forward could also be considered to have enchanting sceneries. There were many places like these on planet Wai, but it was hard to find any better on this planet, and they were not trying to scam Fang Zhao and Woo Tianhao.
In the past, there had been a news story about an investment firm being scammed on a foreign planet. Here, the places were all part of the base's territory, and they had all the authority here.
Huo Yi also knew that. Thus, when he heard that Fang Zhao and Woo Tianhao wanted to invest in planet Wai, he showed a great deal of sincerity.
This was a hard chance to come by. Now, planet Baiji was a investment hot spot, and everyone would try to invest in Baiji. For planet's on the tail end of the development sequence, if they wished to develop faster, all they could do was use their own capabilities to solicit investments, which was down to their methods and luck.
It was rare for others to deliver stuff to his doorstep. Would Huo Yi let such an opportunity slip by?