MMB Chapter 553: A Casual Chat Between Father and Son
Chapter 553: A Casual Chat Between Father and Son
After the family finished eating, the women took the children to watch TV and chat, while Huang Dahai and Huang Xiaochuan accompanied their elderly father, Lao Huang, to drink tea and chat.
Old Huang told his two sons about Huang Yanguang's return to his hometown to pay respects to his ancestors.
"You wouldn't believe it! The city leaders somehow found out that your great-uncle had returned. We had only been in the village for a short time when a large group of dozens of people came from the city, including the second-in-command. They stayed with me and your great-uncle the whole time. After we finished the ancestral worship ceremony, they took us to the city and treated us to dinner that night. They even arranged accommodation for us."
Huang Xiaochuan was already used to this kind of thing. He asked, "Dad! Did Grandpa agree to donate money? Did he also say he wanted to invest back in China?"
Upon hearing this, Old Huang looked at his youngest son with surprise: "How did you know?"
Just then, Jiang Rong, the eldest sister-in-law, brought watermelons to the group, interrupting their conversation. Huang Dahai took the watermelons and handed two slices to Lao Huang and his younger brother.
As soon as the watermelon arrived, Huang Xiaochuan took a bite. It was so sweet! Eating a few slices of watermelon after drinking alcohol made his mouth feel much fresher.
After eating most of the watermelon, Huang Xiaochuan spat out the seeds in his mouth before saying, "What's so hard to guess? My great-uncle is a wealthy businessman from Singapore. When he returns home in glory, he's bound to be generous! Besides, everyone from top to bottom has investment promotion tasks these days, and someone like my great-uncle is naturally the best target for investment promotion."
Furthermore, our country's real estate market is about to enter a period of rapid growth. My great-uncle has been in the real estate business for so many years, how could he not see that? Singapore is such a tiny place, how can it compare to the domestic market?
After Huang Xiaochuan finished speaking, he finished the remaining half of the watermelon in his hand and took another piece from the coffee table.
He added, "This watermelon is quite sweet!"
Huang Dahai chimed in, "Dad, my younger brother is a professor, after all. How could he not see through something like this?"
Huang Xiaochuan then asked his father, "Dad, what did Grandpa donate?"
"Your great-uncle wants to build a stadium in the city that can hold 10,000 people."
Huang Xiaochuan paused for a moment, then asked, "The kind with a football field?"
Old Huang nodded: "Yeah, Xiao Chuan, building a football field like that must cost a lot of money, right?"
Huang Xiaochuan laughed and said, "Dad, you thought a stadium with 10,000 people would cost a lot of money when you first heard about it, right? Actually, a stadium with 10,000 people is only considered a small to medium-sized stadium, and the land will definitely be allocated by the city, which saves a lot of money. In terms of the current construction costs in China, I estimate that it will only cost 30 to 40 million yuan to build. That's about the price of a villa that my great-uncle sold in Singapore, so it's nothing to him."
Huang Xiaochuan estimated the value based on the currency value in 2000. It should be noted that the RMB is still very strong today. Take the Bird's Nest, the main stadium of the 2008 Olympics, for example. Its construction cost was 3.5 billion, but the Bird's Nest is a giant stadium that can accommodate 91000 people to watch the games.
Moreover, the Bird's Nest's construction costs were driven up by its unique steel structure design, high standards of earthquake resistance and environmental protection, and the difficulty of construction. In comparison, the Water Cube, which was built at the same time, was much cheaper, costing about one billion yuan, less than one-third of the Bird's Nest's cost.
A stadium in a county-level city certainly wouldn't be built to such a high standard. Besides, he owns several real estate companies and can roughly predict the construction costs. Considering the current price level and conditions, a stadium that can accommodate 10,000 people would cost tens of millions to build.
Huang Xiaochuan spoke lightly because his assets were no longer measured in tens of millions, but it was different for Lao Huang and Huang Dahai.
Old Huang's retirement pension is less than three thousand yuan, and although Huang Dahai is a deputy regimental-level cadre, his monthly salary is only a little over two thousand yuan. Although Old Huang doesn't need his pension for food, clothing, housing, or transportation now, he's never seen tens of millions of yuan in his entire life!
Besides, Huang Xiaochuan wouldn't be idle and leave tens of millions of yuan in cash at home for his father to watch over.
Therefore, Huang Yanguang's promise to donate a sports stadium to Shazhou was quite a shock to Lao Huang.
However, after hearing what his son said tonight, Old Huang felt it was nothing. Thinking about the family business his youngest son had built up over the years, Old Huang couldn't help but feel proud. His son was no less capable.
Thinking of this, Lao Huang discussed it with Huang Xiaochuan: "Why don't you donate something too?"
"Cough cough cough," Huang Xiaochuan choked on a watermelon seed.
After Huang Xiaochuan finally coughed up the sunflower seed, he looked at Lao Huang with a flushed face.
"Dad, what did you just say?"
Old Huang said, "Actually, it won't cost much money. This time, when I went back with your great-uncle, everything else was fine, but the road and bridge from the town to our village were a bit too much."
Since Lao Huang had this idea, Huang Xiaochuan naturally wanted to help him achieve it; for Huang Xiaochuan, it was too easy.
Without hesitation, he agreed: "Okay, I'll have someone arrange it. I guarantee that when you go back to your hometown next time, the roads and bridges will be newly built."
Seeing his son agree so readily, Old Huang suddenly regretted it. He had just asked his son to do something that would cost a lot of money: paving roads and building bridges. It would definitely cost a lot of money.
"Maybe we should just forget about it!"
Huang Xiaochuan said firmly, "What's there to calculate? I already said I'll handle it, so you don't need to worry about it."
Old Huang glanced at the women to see if Zeng Lijuan had overheard their conversation. If she had, she might cause him trouble that night, since he had caused his son to have to spend money, something Zeng Lijuan absolutely could not tolerate.
Fortunately, the three women—mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, and son—were engrossed in their conversation and didn't hear what was happening on their end.
Old Huang lowered his voice and instructed his two sons, "Don't let your mother know about this, understand? Don't even tell your wives."
The Huang brothers, Dahai and Xiaochuan, smiled and nodded in agreement.
Huang Xiaochuan had already figured out how to do this project of donating to build roads and bridges in the township. He would use the overseas foundation he controlled to do it in Lao Huang's name, so that Lao Huang could show his face in front of the local officials and have some glory.
After discussing the donation, the conversation turned to Huang Dahai.
"Brother, how many years have you been a deputy regimental commander?"
"It's been almost three years. What's wrong? Why are you suddenly concerned about me again?"
Huang Xiaochuan laughed and said, "I was just asking casually, but I guess you'll be assigned to a higher-level military academy for further studies soon. You won't be able to stay in Shanghai for more than a few days."
Upon hearing this, Huang Dahai stared at his younger brother in disbelief and asked, "How did you know? I've noticed you're acting like a fortune teller now! Aren't you an economics professor? You must be teaching physiognomy!"
Huang Xiaochuan was somewhat surprised by Huang Dahai's expression and tone: "Really? I guessed right?"
Huang Dahai nodded: "I've already been spoken to by my superiors, and the order should be coming down soon. I'll go to the National Defense University for two years of further study, and I'll be able to get a master's degree upon graduation."
Huang Xiaochuan exclaimed with delight, "Big brother, you're awesome!"
Old Huang, an old intellectual, was naturally happy for his eldest son when he heard that he was going to go back to school for further education.
"That's great! As the saying goes, one is never too old to learn, and it's always good to read more books."
Huang Dahai explained to his father, "Dad! What we're learning is not the same as what you were learning. You were learning about building the country, while I'm learning about defending the country."
The father and his two sons chatted until Zeng Lijuan came over and said that the children couldn't stay awake any longer and wanted to sleep. Huang Dahai and Huang Xiaochuan each took their wives and children home. Huang Zeji and Huang Zemian had already fallen asleep, but Huang Ruiying, the little girl, was full of energy and kept chattering to her father and mother on the way home.