Weng Shirui was a very pragmatic person, so Li Cheng didn't want to beat around the bush with him. In just one day, Li Cheng took him to see the saline-alkali flats and the textile and weaving factories.

The last place they went to was the port, which Weng Shirui seemed more interested in.

The Weng family's first pot of gold was related to such a small port.

Like the rise of some people, the early capital accumulation of the ancestors of the Weng family was also either black or gray.

Think about those dark nights when the ancestors of the Weng family drove their small boats and transported the contraband to the shore one boat at a time, like mice moving house.

The Weng family also made huge profits from this and completed their original accumulation.

Of course, the most successful thing the Weng family did was their perfect transformation, which included the requirement that their descendants study.

The reason why Weng Xiaozhu was hated was not only because she eloped for love, but also because she ran away while she was in college. The Weng family despised such interruptions to their studies.

Today, the head of the Weng family is the eldest brother of the eldest branch, Weng Shirui is the representative of the second branch, and the rest of the uncles and brothers all work in the Weng Group.

They are all well-educated and have taken over the transformed Weng Group perfectly.

When Weng Shirui saw this port, he couldn't help but think of the so-called heroic deeds of the Weng family's ancestors.

He knew that such things were gone forever and could not be replicated. What he thought now was that this port could be expanded and made into a new port in the north.

The Weng Group's business now encompassed many aspects, but not the port business. Weng Shirui understood that this was because his predecessors avoided suspicion, fearing that others would accuse them of starting out as a contraband merchant, and therefore never ventured into the port business.

But times have changed. The Weng Group has become a formal enterprise, and its growing import and export business requires a suitable port.

Besides, it seems that as long as the Weng family deals with water, their fortune will be good.

"Mr. Li, just now on the way here, you said you were interested in expanding this port. Do you have a plan?"

Li Cheng looked at the vast sea and said, "I've already discussed this with the relevant municipal authorities, and they share this idea. But as you know, Mr. Weng, expanding the port isn't just about relocating a factory. It involves so many aspects, and many of them are beyond the city's control."

Weng Shirui nodded, took the two bottles of water handed over by Weng Xiaozhu, and then handed one to Li Cheng.

"Mr. Li, let's put it this way. Since you asked me to come here to discuss investing in the textile group, I can tell you clearly that this is a very simple matter. The Weng Group has several textile companies under its umbrella, and all of their products are exported..."

Weng Shirui said it was simple because he had successfully acquired several troubled textile companies before and had experience in handling such matters.

But Li Cheng couldn't accept the conditions proposed by Weng Shirui. Weng Shirui wanted a 70% controlling stake, which meant that the Weng Group would become the owner of the textile group.

This was beyond Li Cheng's bottom line, but it was in line with the city's intentions. The city explicitly told Li Cheng that as long as Weng Shirui agreed to invest, he could be allowed to hold a controlling stake of less than 70%.

In other words, as long as the Weng Group's controlling stake does not exceed 70%, the city will agree. It now appears that the conditions proposed by Weng Shirui already meet the city's requirements.

But this doesn’t fit Li Cheng’s idea!

Li Cheng didn't want Weng Shirui to hold such a large share. He knew that the textile market would get better and better. After the textile group was established, as long as the management was in place, there would definitely be good profits.

Those textile and weaving factories were all state-owned enterprises, and they were taken away by the Weng Group. Li Cheng was unwilling to accept this.

According to Li Cheng's idea, the city's state-owned assets department must hold 30% of the shares. This way, the city can ensure that it will have a portion of the profits while also receiving tax revenue.

Only when the city has money can municipal construction keep up and the city's environment be better.

As for the remaining 70% of the shares, Li Cheng felt that the Weng Group only needed to hold 34%.

What Li Cheng needs is the management experience and sales channels of the Weng Group, which is more important than the investment of the Weng Group.

Of course, this was just Li Cheng's little idea. He only told Yang Hong about it, and didn't even tell Weng Xiaozhu.

"Seventy percent, Mr. Weng, isn't that a bit too much? I know the Weng Group is powerful, but when you eat the meat, you should at least leave us some broth, right? Otherwise, someone will say you don't eat well."

Li Cheng spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly, as if he was not in a hurry about the investment.

Weng Shirui was already a veteran in the business world. The more relaxed Li Cheng spoke, the more he knew that Li Cheng was actually anxious.

"Boss Li, those factory managers are all in huge debt!"

The meaning of Weng Shirui's words was very clear. Whoever holds a larger share will have to pay back more debts. He wanted to scare Li Cheng with the debt repayment issue.

But he seemed to have forgotten that Li Cheng was the director of the bank's credit department. To put it bluntly, Li Cheng's job was to lend money. How could such huge debts scare Li Cheng?

Li Cheng has plenty of ways to make those debts disappear, or even make them exist in a different way. For example, converting debt into shares or exchanging debt for land.

Li Cheng is well aware of the importance of banks in the entire economic activities, or the absolute control of finance over economic activities.

In this world, without money, you are nothing.

As early as when humans wore animal skins and ate grass seeds, they knew to use shells as currency to act as a trading medium. In the wasteland era, didn't they also pick up bottle caps as currency?

The establishment of banks in modern society is simply a result of a greater understanding of the importance of finance.

Those huge debts are nothing in Li Cheng's eyes.

"Boss Weng, those huge debts you mentioned, our branch is actually the creditor..."

Without waiting for Li Cheng to finish speaking, Weng Shirui instantly understood why Li Cheng came to discuss investment with him.

Weng Shirui was a graduate of a business school, but he had never discussed such business with a bank manager.

The people he negotiated business with were either government officials or pure businessmen. As for the bank people, most of them came to him to deposit money to complete their deposit tasks.

This Li Cheng set a precedent. He actually used the identity of a bank employee to discuss business matters with me.

What kind of behavior is this? Weng Shirui thought about it and felt that if Li Cheng had no other personal purpose in doing this, then he was indeed wholeheartedly considering the interests of this city and local enterprises.

This is a bit of a noble and upright idea!

"Director Li, you're from the bank. What exactly do you want from me regarding business matters?"

He no longer called Li Cheng "Mr. Li", but emphasized Li Cheng's identity - Director Li.

Li Cheng smiled and said, "All I want is to make this city better and better."