Chapter 333: Living s.p.a.ce
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In reality, the more vicissitudes that one experienced in Shanghai as one rose to be the “top dog” in the business world, the greater the understanding of this principle became.
Land was the foundation of many things. Mastering the land meant that you would be in control of everything. You could grow grains, fruits, vegetables, a variety of food would be available for harvest. Land could also provide mineral resources.
It was common knowledge, of course, that land could also bring about companies, factories, toll stations and taxes that must be paid on the land. Many things could not be avoided.
Xinghai Technologies was no exception. Chen Jin’s company, to a certain extent, produced a cla.s.s of high-value “crops.” The company was very profitable, with annual revenue exceeding one trillion with a net profit of more than three to four hundred billion.
Excluding employee wages and all necessary expenses, at least one or two billion of that money belonged to Chen Jin alone. Could this money go into his personal account? Could this money be placed on his bank card in its entirety?
That was impossible. Most countries adopted a taxation strategy that “robbed the rich to help the poor.” The upper cla.s.s was heavily taxed and the majority of their income had to be turned over once it exceeded a certain amount. Even if every penny earned was through honest means, the tax rate was the same.
Chen Jin’s profits could only be placed in a company account or spent in the form of investments. Therefore, in recent years, Xing Hai Technologies had maintained a state of expansion. The company increased and swelled like a s...o...b..ll, getting bigger as it continued to roll.
This state could not last forever. Chen Jin also hoped to stabilize the company and maintain a controllable pace. After all, Xing Hai Technologies had completed its most profitable projects. There was no need to take on any remaining projects that would not make much money. An organization should not become overinflated.
This meant there would be a day when Xing Hai Technologies would have to make a “landing” sooner or later. Xing Hai Technologies’ cash flow would increase rapidly, and investment projects would be reduced. Corporate actions would be conservative. The company would begin to rely on the “mountain of treasures” that it had achieved and rest on its laurels.
This could not be allowed! Investors would not be happy because Xing Hai Technologies stopped exploring new ventures and taking them along on the ride to more riches.
The government leaders would not be happy that Xing Hai Technologies had become a scrooge. As a scrooge, it would not contribute to economic growth, and the social value brought about by the company would be reduced.
When that time came, whether it was intentional or not, Xing Hai Technologies would become the target at which everyone aimed their fire because the “conservative and selfish” company had blocked the way for their interests to expand. Xing Hai Technologies wanted to land smoothly. Unfortunately, that was not only unlikely, but it would also be short-lived.
What could Chen Jin do? He could only think to make some high-value investments that would bring about long-term benefits.
Land. The one last thing that was worth investing in was land.
Of course, Xing Hai Technologies could not get its hands on good land that cost hundreds of millions per acre. It would not be worthwhile. Chen Jin was reluctant to spend too much money. Instead, remote, overgrown, almost worthless land entered his sight.
This type of land had very large areas and there were millions of square kilometers of those lands in Z nation. There were even more in foreign countries. For example, the Sahara Desert in Africa had expanded to 3.5 million square miles. Another example was the Arabian Desert in the Middle East, with an area of more than 800,000 square miles. Deserts in other regions also encompa.s.sed areas of several million square miles.
All these deserts had become “business opportunities” in Chen Jin’s eyes.
“According to statistics, the global population in 20X3 was approaching 8 billion. This year, it will exceed 8 billion, and next year it will reach 8.1 billion. By 20X0, after 25 years, the global population will exceed 10 billion,” Chen Jin mused out loud.
“At that time, the scarcest resource that mankind needs will no longer be energy, food or water. The most likely scarcity will be precious living s.p.a.ce! Land is living s.p.a.ce! Land is the most precious resource.”
A huge ambition suddenly appeared in Chen Jin’s mind. He wanted to be a landlord. The world’s largest landlord!
“Technology is not a very good commodity. No matter how you play around with it, it is possible that it could become the possession of others in the end. It’s best to be an evil landlord!” Chen Jin continued to speak his thoughts out loud in excitement.
“Landlords have their own houses, fields, hordes of servants and tenant farmers. They live a carefree life and can experience boundless joy.”
It was no wonder that many people wanted to travel back to ancient times and become a landlord. It would be great to be a landowning young master!
Z people had a disposition towards farming because of this. No matter what they did, nothing was stable and it was difficult for anything to last. Only farming could last for thousands of years continuously.
The consciousness of the little farmer in Chen Jin’s mind had been awakened, and he fell into the desire to become a big landlord. He planned to enter the desert treatment industry, which was only of interest to a few companies around the world.
He decided he would invest 10 million dollars for every square kilometer. Multiplied by 10 million square kilometers, Xing Hai Technologies’ future investment could reach as high as 100 trillion. The investment cycle was over 50 years, based on the current volume and profitability of Xing Hai Technologies.
“It’s over, this is the next step of expansion for Xing Hai Technologies,” Chen Jin said. “No problem here, Xing Hai Technologies is a pioneering company that never stops. No one can say that my company is not continuing to make progress. To say that would be slander!”
Of course, that was not quite right. Something was a little off. It seemed like Chen Jin had forgotten his biggest dream. He’d only thought about struggling for his ambitions here on the Earth and forgotten his original intentions for setting up his company.
In reality, Chen Jin had not forgotten. That plan had been in his mind all along. Xing Hai Technologies would go towards the sea of stars in the future!
It was just that the cost-effectiveness of engaging in interplanetary colonization was not too high right now. Thinking about the Mars Colonization that the planet of Haierfa had once given up, it was apparent that entering the interstellar exploration field too early was an extravagant, money-wasting behavior.
Chen Jin decided to wait and see.
When the cost had decreased dramatically and the time was ripe, it would be the right moment for him to release the ultimate move that he had been preparing for a long time.
By that time, he would not only the biggest landlord on Earth, but also the biggest landlord in the entire solar system!
The next day, Chen Jin called Ling Jundong and briefed him on several arrangements.
“Establish the ‘Desert Administration and Research Center’ and allocate a supercomputer with a computing speed of 100 billion Flops. Recruit a large number of relevant talents and conduct in-depth research on desert governance.”
Chen Jin’s voice was pa.s.sionate and conveyed his excitement as he spoke.
“Acquire all the desert research inst.i.tutions and sand control materials companies in the country. Recruit relevant expert teams. Get all the outstanding desert management talents over to our company. Also, acquire some sprout companies and seed companies, and purchase a large amount of agricultural machinery. Xing Hai Technologies will enter the field of desert governance with our best effort!”
Ling Jundong was rather surprised. He answered with a nod.
“Yes, President Chen!”