Monday, Henglong Group's top-floor Meeting Room.
Zhao Chen sat at the head of the Long Table, with the gray winter sky beyond the Floor-to-Ceiling Window behind him.
This was his first major strategic decision-making meeting since formally taking control. There was only one item on the agenda: an adjustment to the land investment strategy.
Chen Xi sat slightly behind him, taking notes, while Zhang Qingxue attended in her capacity as Legal Director.
Su Wantang was not present, but Zhao Chen knew she was waiting for news from him at the Villa.
"Everyone," Zhao Chen began, his voice quiet but clear.
"Today's agenda is very straightforward. I propose that the group immediately and completely halt all new land auction plans in second-tier cities and below."
The moment his words fell, the Meeting Room sank into a brief dead silence before restrained commotion erupted.
"Zhao Zong, that's impossible!"
Wu Hongwei, the general manager of the Strategic Development Department, was the first to rise to his feet. His department was responsible for land investment.
The fifty-five-year-old veteran's face had reddened. He had been a steadfast executor of Zhao Jianguo's expansion policy and a core figure among the vested interests.
"What kind of market is this right now? Every one of our competitors is scrambling for land! Vanke, Biguaiyuan, Hengda—who isn't positioning themselves in lower-tier markets?
If we pull back now, we'll be handing over the territory we've built over the past five years on a silver platter!"
He waved his arms agitatedly.
"I'm currently tracking seventeen parcels of land, and we've already paid deposits on five of them! If we halt now, the penalties alone will cost us hundreds of millions!
Not to mention team morale—my department has more than a hundred people, and their annual evaluations all depend on new projects being