SEC Chapter 32 Buying Land
Chapter 32 Buying Land
He didn't go downstairs directly, but went to the finance office first. Inside, Wu Jiajia was sitting at her desk, head down, carefully checking the accounts. Sunlight shone on her profile, outlining a soft contour. Ledgers, an abacus, and a pile of receipts were neatly arranged on the desk, and a faint smell of ink filled the air.
Hearing footsteps, Wu Jiajia looked up and saw Lin Zhou. She quickly stood up: "Mr. Lin, you wanted to see me?"
"Jiajia, come with me for a bit," Lin Zhou said. "Bring the newspaper's financial seal and other relevant documents; we're going to buy land."
"Buying land?" Wu Jiajia was taken aback for a moment, then realized what she meant, and a look of surprise appeared on her face. "Is it the land that Manager Li has been looking for? Did you find a suitable one?"
"Huh? You know?" Lin Zhou asked, puzzled.
"Yes, Manager Li mentioned it when he came to me for expense reimbursement. I need to know where his money went."
"Oh, is that so? Now that we've made some progress on that land, we're going to pay the fees and complete the formalities." Lin Zhou nodded. "How much money is in the newspaper's account right now? Tell me."
Wu Jiajia quickly took out the latest account statement, glanced at it, and said with certainty, "President Lin, as of this morning, the newspaper's account has a total of HK$563,200. Of this, newspaper circulation revenue is over HK$380,000, and GG fees are over HK$180,000. After deducting the operating costs and employee salaries for the past two weeks, the net surplus is this much."
Lin Zhou quickly calculated in his mind. Five hundred and sixty thousand, two hundred and forty thousand to buy the land, the remaining three hundred thousand was enough to purchase equipment, raw materials and pay for the initial operating costs of the factory. The funds were just enough, not tight.
"Okay, got it." Lin Zhou nodded in satisfaction. "Let's go to the bank to open a checkbook first, then find Li Wangcai and go together to complete the formalities."
"Okay, I'll pack my things right away." Wu Jiajia quickly packed the financial seal, business license copy, account information and other relevant documents into a black briefcase. After checking it carefully to make sure nothing was missing, she followed Lin Zhou out of the finance office.
The newspaper's driver was already waiting downstairs. Seeing Lin Zhou and Wu Jiajia come out, he quickly opened the car door. It was a black Ford sedan, bought by one of the newspaper's previous owners to pick up important clients and handle emergencies.
The car smoothly drove out of the street where the newspaper office was located and headed west along Queen's Road. The street was bustling with traffic, and the buildings on both sides were of different styles, including Western-style mansions and Chinese-style tenement buildings. Ladies in cheongsams and men in suits brushed past each other, and the sounds of vendors hawking their wares, car horns, and shop music mingled together, creating a lively scene of Hong Kong's urban life.
Lin Zhou sat in the back seat, watching the street scenes rushing past the window, but his thoughts drifted to the piece of land in Yuen Long. Eighty acres, flat and open, close to the highway and the dock, it was practically tailor-made for manufacturing. He planned to build a home appliance factory first, innovate on the popular home appliances currently on the market, and then apply for global patents.
Wu Jiajia sat in the passenger seat, wondering why her boss wasn't sitting there. Wasn't the boss always in the front? She clutched her briefcase tightly, sitting in the boss's seat with a mixture of excitement and nervousness on her face.
She has been working with Lin Zhou for some time now, watching the Zhonghua Daily grow from small to large, and now it is venturing into the manufacturing industry, buying land and building factories. She can clearly feel the rapid development of the newspaper and is proud to be a part of it.
"President Lin, after we buy the land, will we start building the factory right away?" Wu Jiajia couldn't help but ask, her tone full of anticipation.
"Yes, construction will begin once the formalities are completed." Lin Zhou turned around and smiled. "I'll need you to keep a close eye on the finances then, as there will be a lot of financial transactions related to factory construction and operation, so the accounts must be kept clear."
"Don't worry, I will definitely do a good job!" Wu Jiajia nodded vigorously, her eyes firm.
After about an hour and a half of driving, we finally arrived in Yuen Long. Unlike the bustling and lively Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, the pace of life in Yuen Long was noticeably slower. There were many farmlands and low-rise houses on both sides of the street, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of earth.
Following the address provided by Li Wangcai, the driver parked the car at the corner of Sheung Wan Street, where the sign for the Double Happiness Teahouse was clearly visible. As soon as the car came to a stop, a figure in a gray suit and a baseball cap ran out of the teahouse—it was Li Wangcai.
His face showed anxiety, but when he saw Lin Zhou's car, his eyes lit up, and he quickly ran over: "President Lin! Accountant Wu! You've finally arrived! Mr. Williams has been waiting inside for more than ten minutes."
"Sorry to keep him waiting, there was some traffic on the way." Lin Zhou got out of the car and glanced around. "Are all the paperwork ready?"
"Everything is ready!" Li Wangcai nodded hurriedly, taking out a stack of documents from his pocket. "This is the relevant information about the land, and also the draft contract provided by Mr. Williams. I have already looked at it, and there are no major problems."
Lin Zhou took the document and quickly flipped through it. The document detailed the location, area, boundaries, and land use of the land, and included a simple map with the area of the plot circled in red. He carefully examined the map and confirmed that the plot was indeed as Li Wangcai had said, bordered by a highway on one side and a dock on the other—an excellent location.
"Let's go in and see Mr. Williams." Lin Zhou handed the documents back to Li Wangcai and headed towards the teahouse first.
The Hongshuangxi Teahouse is small, but elegantly decorated with wooden tables and chairs, and several landscape paintings hanging on the walls. The air is filled with the aroma of tea and snacks. It was afternoon, and the teahouse was quite full of customers, mostly locals, sitting in small groups, drinking tea and chatting, looking very relaxed.
Li Wangcai led Lin Zhou and Wu Jiajia through the hall to a private room on the second floor and gently knocked on the door.
"Please come in." A slightly stiff Chinese voice came from inside.
Li Wangcai pushed open the door and walked in first, introducing, "Mr. Williams, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. This is our newspaper's boss, Mr. Lin Zhou, and this is our financial accountant, Ms. Wu Jiajia."
Inside the private room sat a blond, blue-eyed foreigner, about forty years old, dressed in a sharp suit and tie, slowly sipping a cup of tea. Seeing Lin Zhou and his group enter, he put down his teacup, stood up, and extended his hand with a professional smile: "Mr. Lin, hello, I'm Williams, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Hello, Mr. Williams." Lin Zhou extended his hand and shook hands with him. "Thank you for taking the time to discuss the land."
"You're welcome, Mr. Lin." Williams spoke fairly fluent Chinese, though his pronunciation of some words was not quite standard. "I know that Mr. Lin's Zhonghua Daily is very popular in Hong Kong now, and the government also supports entrepreneurs like Mr. Lin, who have the ability and ideas, to invest and build factories in Hong Kong to promote local economic development."
The group sat down, and the waiter at the teahouse quickly brought them several cups of hot tea and a plate of snacks.
Williams got straight to the point, taking a formal contract from his briefcase and pushing it in front of Lin Zhou: "Mr. Lin, this is the land transfer contract, which details the location, area, price, payment method, and the rights and obligations of both parties."
This is government-approved industrial land, covering 80 mu (approximately 5.3 hectares), at HK$3,000 per mu, for a total of HK$240,000. Once payment is received in full, we will process the land title certificate within one week and hand it over to Mr. Lin.
Lin Zhou picked up the contract and carefully read it word by word. The contract terms were standard, with no hidden traps, consistent with what Li Wangcai had said before. He paid particular attention to the land boundary demarcation and the property rights term. After confirming that everything was correct, he looked up at Williams: "Mr. Williams, I've read the contract, it's fine. Could you elaborate on the government's preferential policies for newly built manufacturing plants?"
Williams smiled and explained, "Mr. Lin, the government's preferential policies are mainly aimed at eligible manufacturing companies. As long as your factory is built and put into operation, and employs a certain number of local workers, you can enjoy a three-year tax exemption: full exemption for the first two years and a 50% reduction for the third year. In addition, there are subsidies for water and electricity, which are 15% lower than the standard rates for ordinary companies. As for the specific application process, I can help you connect with the relevant departments after you obtain the land ownership certificate and start building the factory. There will be dedicated personnel to handle it for you then."
This preferential policy was even better than Lin Zhou had expected. Three years of tax breaks and subsidies for water and electricity would save the factory a significant amount of money. He nodded in satisfaction: "Okay, I understand. The contract is fine; we can sign and make payment now."
Upon hearing this, Wu Jiajia immediately took out her checkbook and financial seal from her briefcase. Lin Zhou filled in the amount of HK$240,000 on the check, signed his name, and then handed it to Wu Jiajia to affix the financial seal.
Wu Jiajia carefully checked the information on the check, and after confirming that it was correct, she handed it to Williams.
Williams took the check, glanced at it, a satisfied smile spreading across his face. He carefully placed it in his briefcase, then signed his name on the contract, affixed the seal of the relevant government department, and handed one of the contracts to Lin Zhou: "Mr. Lin, it's a pleasure doing business with you! This is your contract. We will process the land ownership certificate within a week and will notify you to pick it up then."
"It's a pleasure to cooperate with you!" Lin Zhou took the contract, carefully put it away, and finally felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders.
Stepping out of the teahouse, the sun shone brightly, warming him comfortably. Li Wangcai let out a long sigh of relief, a relieved smile spreading across his face: "President Lin, it's finally done! All the hard work of the past week and a half has finally paid off!"
Lin Zhou patted him on the shoulder and praised, "Brother Li, you've worked hard this time, you did a great job. I'll give you a bonus later."
"Thank you, Mr. Lin!" Li Wangcai was overjoyed and quickly expressed his gratitude.
Wu Jiajia smiled and said, "President Lin, now that we've bought the land, shouldn't we start planning how to build the factory?"