Chapter 234: Grabbing Land
Translator: BeetleBarker Editor: Tennesh
Zaro's agent had a stiff expression on his face, and he gave Zaro a cruel jab as Zaro's mind was wandering on the limitless possibilities. "Senior Master, we don't have any more money."
Zaro stared at him. "Impossible!"
"We used up most of our funds during the auction and to obtain land here," Zaro's agent patiently explained.
Zaro wore an expression of shock. "We really don't have money?"
Zaro's agent looked him in the eye and said seriously, "This time it is real." He was not lying to Zaro. They really did not have enough funds to purchase land, let alone the areas that Zaro wanted on the map. It was an impossible dream! Even if they had the money, he would advise Zaro to give up on this idea. The risk of investing in planet Wai was too great.
Zaro checked his own bank accounts in disbelief. After coming to terms with the cruel blow reality had struck him with, he sat down in a chair in a daze.
How could the great Zaro from Leizhou actually be in such a predicament where he lacked funds!
If he could not happily pretend all he wanted to, he might as well return home and plant watermelons!
Zaro mused for a bit. He was unwilling to give up this dream of obtaining land on planet Wai. In his heart, he thought of different ways to obtain money.
Noticing Zaro's eyeballs swiveling around in their sockets, Zaro's agent felt a lump in his heart. Having been by Zaro's side for so long, he could tell straightaway what this b*stard was trying to pull! For the sake of preventing Zaro from making an even more foolish decision, his agent decided to help out. Otherwise, this demented numbskull might try to sell off the land on planet Baiji they had worked so hard to obtain from Fan Lin.
Zaro's agent spoke. "Senior Master, if you urgently need money, we can chase your debtors."
"Collect debts?" In Zaro's dictionary, the words "collect debts" did not exist. In his opinion, the affair of collecting debts was beneath him. Zaro was unwilling to do this. "How can I, the great Zaro of Leizhou, have the face to ask people to return those small amounts of money? That is too shameful."
Zaro might not bother about small matters such as debts, but his agent had recorded every single bit. Those "small amounts" were not really small. There were a few people in his records that had debts in the tens of millions!
Browsing through the agent's list of debtors, and seeing the total sum at the end of the list, Zaro was stunned once more. "That much?!"
He actually had not known he had loaned out that much money!
"Chase it! Chase every single one of them back!" Zaro clenched his teeth and turned to face his agent. "You go chase them!"
Zaro was still unable to bring himself so low as to personally do such a thing.
Zaro's agent was indifferent to it. He had long wanted to collect those debts. After all, their side was not the one in debt, so what was so shameful about asking for it back? Previously, he had been worried that Zaro would vehemently oppose it, but now that Zaro had encountered a situation where he himself lacked money, his agent had to settle it as soon as possible.
Zaro's agent was very satisfied with the decision Zaro had made. This time, he would allow Zaro to squander all the funds he reclaimed.
Zaro's agent pointed at the debtor that owed the most. "I can chase the others except the one from Lazhou. My status isn't sufficient enough, so it is best if Senior Master personally chases this debt."
——
Lakalinazhou.
An elegant-looking lass wearing a princess skirt was half-lying on the soft sofa. She had nearly dozed off when her bracelet, placed on the coffee table beside her, rang, breaking the peaceful silence in the room.
The lass opened her eyes, squinted at the name displayed on the bracelet, and knit her brows. She waved her pale slender fingers and her assistant hurriedly came forward and handed the bracelet to her.
Voice was selected instead of videoconference.
" Sha-ro 1 ?"
"Barbie!"
"We aren't that close. Please call me Barbara 2 ." Barbara felt like puking whenever she heard Zaro call her that.
"Return my money!" Over on the other end, Zaro simply did not care about anything else.
"Since when has this princess owed you any money?" Barbara retorted impatiently.
Although there was no longer any feudalism, with her identity and "Lakalina" family name, her status in Lazhou was similar to a princess. This was also what Barbara liked to call herself.
On the other end, after listening to what Barbara said, Zaro sucked in a deep breath of air and puffed it out. This told others how shocked he was.
Zaro raised his voice in disbelief. "You want to renege on your debt?! When we went to Muzhou to watch the competition, you saw a flying potato car and borrowed money from me to purchase it!"
"It's a flying pumpkin car!"
In their hearts, both Zaro and Barbara came to a certain evaluation of the other party: f*cking moronic!
Zaro had no way of understanding Barbara's weird aesthetic tastes, and Barbara looked down on Zaro's brain that could not differentiate between a potato and a pumpkin.
However, now that Zaro had mentioned it, Barbara recalled that she had borrowed 10 million from this moron to purchase a flying car. Back then, she had lost quite a lot of money betting on dogs, and following that, she had bought a few championship pedigree puppies. After that, she had seen a limited edition commemorative flying pumpkin car. At that time, several of the projects she'd had a hand in were not yet making profits, so she had been a little short. Back then, Zaro had been beside her, so she had borrowed the money from him. An IOU had not even been written, as the two had felt that this sort of thing was beneath their noble status. After returning, they had both forgotten about it.
"All right, I remember. It's 10 million, right? I will transfer it to you right away," Barbara replied impatiently.
"With interest, you have to return 20 million. That was what you said!" Zaro added.
"I did?" Barbara could not remember what she had said back then.
"Yes!" Zaro exclaimed confidently. When his agent had recorded down the debt, he had even left a note. This was definitely true.
Barbara tried to recall it—it seemed like that was how it had been.
"All right, so be it. Twenty million it is." Barbara would not argue over such a trivial matter. Projects she had invested in were making profits, and her treasury was abundant. She was prepared to let her assistant make the transfer when she paused.
Chasing her so anxiously over 20 million was not Zaro's usual idiotic style!
"What are you up to that requires this money so urgently?" Barbara asked.
Zaro was unwilling to share. "None of your business. Hurry up and return my money!"
"I will give you an extra one million if you tell me," Barbara said.
"Cough, do I look like I care about that small sum?"
"Five million."
"Land on planet Wai."
When the call ended, an elusive smile flash acrossed Barbara's face as she gazed at the mural on the wall in her room. The scene on the mural depicted an ancient castle from the Old Era. It was said that her family ancestors had once lived in that place.
Apparently, during the Old Era, Lakalinazhou had been densely covered with numerous castles, mystical castles that had had many years of history that were both romantic and frightening. Yet these castles had all been destroyed during the Period of Destruction.
Every member of the Lakalina family wished to have their own castle, but land was scarce and the family clan kept getting bigger, so a constructed castle could not just be for one person. If anyone wanted to occupy a castle alone, they could only look to foreign planets.
After managing to scrape through to invest in planet Baiji, the land Barbara had obtained was not a lot. The young generations had limited capabilities, and Barbara was not satisfied.
But now she had a new place to construct her castle.
On the other end, Zaro's agent remained expressionless after the call between the two spoiled youths. Only when he received a notification of funds received did he let out a smile.
After that, Zaro's manager continued to chase debts, and Zaro contacted Fang Zhao, asking the composer to reserve a mountain for him. He had wanted a large plot of land, but unfortunately, his reserves were a little tight and all the debts he had reclaimed could only purchase a mountain. Before Barbara made her move, Zaro would first take his pick.
Zaro also told Fang Zhao about Barbara.
Fang Zhao sent a message to Huo Yi regarding the mountain that Zaro had selected to make a reservation.
Huo Yi was also accommodating. When he heard that Zaro wanted to make a reservation, he did not chase the funds. He immediately marked up that area.
"One more mountain sold." Huo Yi gazed happily at the 3D map on his table. He had already marked up the places that people had bought and areas that were pending. However, this area's land was too vast. Just the trio of Fang Zhao, Woo Tianhao, and Zaro would not be able to stomach it.
Just as he was worrying, Huo Yi received a long-distance call request originating from Lakalinazhou on Earth.
——
After Fang Zhao replied to Zaro's message, he received a new message from Duan Qianji. Fang Zhao had also left a message with Duan Qianji regarding this matter. After Duan Qianji had viewed the risk assessment reports done up by her subordinates, she had decided to agree to Fang Zhao's invitation and join in the investment for that area surrounded by mountains.
Duan Qianji wanted to imitate the large-scale period dramas of the Old Era. This genre had never really seen large-scale investments. Most period dramas were done by small companies and were cringy and full of mistakes. If there were no real sets, they would just have to create them so the images filmed had that thick and authentic historical flavor to them. When the period drama was completed, the constructed sets would still remain there and could be always used for other period dramas. In the long run, it would not be a loss.
"When the time comes, I will send someone to keep an eye on the development on planet Wai. You don't have to worry about a thing; just concentrate on your military service," Duan Qianji told Fang Zhao.
After all, during military service, attention would be on Fang Zhao. Duan Qianji was doing it for Fang Zhao's sake
——
At Woo Tianhao's end, he was persuading an uncle to join in and purchase a mountain on planet Wai.
"Have you seen the video I sent? Really, although that mountain isn't really that high, its landscape is especially 'celestial,' and it is suitable for filming that awesome mystical sword fighting serial you talked about!"
On the other side, Woo Tianhao's uncle, who owned an entertainment company, was silent for a few seconds, possibly wondering when he and Woo Tianhao were ever that close.
"We can build however we like?"
"As long as it has a rich historical feel to it. There is no problem if we agree to work together to develop the film studio complex. These are good lands and the prices are preferential. First come first serve," Woo Tianhao said.
This uncle of Woo Tianhao had unintentionally read a book that had been discovered by archaeologists. At that time, he had become captivated by novels of the Old Era. After he had built up his own business, it had been his dream to film a series with magic and celestial beings using real sets and without using too many special effects. However, the mountainous regions back on their home planet were not "celestial" enough, and there were limited scenic areas. But now, in the video Woo Tianhao had sent over, there were a few mountains wrapped by clouds and mist that gave off that sort of "celestial" vibe.
Woo Tianhao continued persuading his uncle. "This is totally undeveloped land, and there are not a lot of restrictions. If you purchase a mountain and construct those scenes and landscapes, filming a long-running serial is not a problem. You can even enjoy yourself over there. How good is that!"
Woo Tianhao's uncle pondered for a bit. That was the good point about places far back on the development sequence. There were not many restrictions and the land was cheap. Picking out a suitable area and signing a 100- or 200-year lease meant he would be able to build anything that his heart desired. How great was that!
"All right. Mark out that mountain. I want it!"