※Xiaoyue Township held an investment promotion event in the provincial capital. Many local businessmen came to visit. For this purpose, Fatty arranged for Vice Mayor Zhou, a non-Party member, to attend. This caused a sensation at the grassroots level. Although Vice Mayor Zhou was not a Party member, his rank and power were considerable, especially since Fatty was merely the Party Secretary of a township, a far cry from him.
So being able to get Vice Mayor Zhou to attend was a huge boost to Fatty's reputation. It also led many to speculate whether Fatty had some kind of relationship with Vice Mayor Zhou; otherwise, how could a township's investment promotion conference possibly attract the vice mayor's attendance?
Even that evening, the news on CCTV-2 and the provincial news broadcast the story of the high-profile businessman from Zhangba Township. The fat man appeared on screen, and reporters interviewed him, uttering many astonishing statements, creating many highlights in the news, and of course, controversy was inevitable.
The next day's newspaper carried a headline: "Is Haikou Unrealistic or Ambitious?" The article described Fatty's vision for Zhangba Township and the preliminary results of investment attraction. While the reporter sought newsworthy elements, Fatty was happy to showcase the achievements, presenting a series of data that further convinced the reporter.
Overall, the newspaper's viewpoints are fairly good, neither biased nor overly optimistic; we'll see how it fares.
The investment promotion boom lasted only a week. However, the week-long exhibition yielded nearly 900 million yuan in revenue. This made the district quite envious. Keep in mind, this was only the initial stage for Zhangba Township. If, as Fatty said, Zhangba Township were to be fully developed in the future, the total revenue would not just be 900 million yuan, but could very well be several times 900 million yuan, or even more.
Zhangba Township is positioned as a green township, requiring high-tech enterprises, green businesses, and a livable environment typical of northern China. It's also a land for medicinal herbs and economic forests, a goal already proposed to the district and city governments. As Fatty says, they won't leave until they achieve their objective.
With the order given, everyone was watching and waiting, and Zhangba Township went all out to start infrastructure construction.
Mid-October. Jixing Village, Taoyuan Xiaozhu.
Next to Taoyuanju, another two-story building has been erected. However, this small building is much larger than the one Zhang Guodong lives in, with four apartments and eighteen rooms. It was just completed, with solid materials like blue bricks and red tiles. The decoration is brand new, and it will be ready to move in once the smell of the renovation dissipates.
This was Zhang Guodong's suggestion.
In this way, even if relatives come to stay, it won't be crowded. Sharing a courtyard will make it even more lively in the future.
"This little building must have cost a million, that's really expensive. And it's on your own land in the countryside. If it were in the city, this little building would cost three or four million. You're so rich and powerful!" Fatty, who rarely had a day off, eagerly went to Taoyuan Xiaozhu for a free meal. As soon as he sat down, he clicked his tongue in envy.
Seeing this newly built two-story luxury house, it was impossible for the fat man not to be envious. Although he wasn't short of money, all of it belonged to his older sister, Wang Lin. He, the township secretary and mayor, only received a single salary of a little over three thousand yuan. In the past, that wouldn't even be enough for one of his expenses.
But now I'm short of money. I envy Zhang Guodong's idyllic life.
Under the parasol, Zhang Guodong and the fat man chatted idly while sipping tea. The fat man seemed to enjoy the tea, making smacking sounds as he drank it. Meanwhile, under a large umbrella, four women—no, now five—were present. There was one more: the petite and beautiful Lin Yujiao.
After returning from Yangling, Zhang Guodong attended the engagement and wedding banquets of Fatty and Lin Yujiao. Now that the two are officially husband and wife, another young couple has entered the "grave" of marriage. Zhang Guodong was the best man. This was his inescapable duty, and he couldn't refuse. Originally, the bridesmaid was supposed to be Li Yun, but how could Li Yun show up? In the end, Lin Yue took her place! It's quite a feat that the two of them ended up as a "couple."
Former Executive Deputy Director Liang Xin stepped down, and Jiang Lihan pushed Lin Yue to a higher position. Now, as the Executive Deputy Director of the District Public Security Bureau, her official authority has only increased her ruthlessness. Although Lin Yue is Li Yun's close friend, she remains extremely cold towards Zhang Guodong. Of course, Zhang Guodong reciprocates with a glare. Neither of them is willing to yield to the other.
Luo Jianhui and Jiang Lihan, though not invited by the fat man, did invite Xiang Chunyan through Zhang Guodong. The fat man only invited Luo Jianhui and others the day after the wedding. This shows that the fat man's loyalty to Luo Jianhui wasn't absolute; he was holding back. The fat man didn't want them to know about his family background, which exhausted Zhang Guodong and made him very uncomfortable. On the wedding day, Zhang Guodong met many officials at the city level or above. The lowest-ranking official was probably Xiang Chunyan, a deputy district head at the division level. The rest were at least at the provincial level. The same kind of playboy as the fat man, however, wasn't invited at all. Small circle, high-class!
The fat man spoke with envy, but his eyes held a knowing glint in them, as if he were thinking, "This building is probably for my other wives, right?" A second glance at the four women not far away made him even more disheartened. Each one was more beautiful than the last!
"Have your tea. This building is for my parents. They're probably tired of living in the city, so they can stay here! I can take better care of them," Zhang Guodong said lazily, half-reclining in his chair. Shorts and slippers were essential, especially the shorts—Li Yun had actually bought cartoon-patterned ones! Ugh, but since he bought them, he had to wear them. Besides, if there weren't ladies around, Zhang Guodong would have even taken off his vest.
Speaking of which, he really doesn't have time right now. During this period, he stopped his physical cultivation and focused entirely on training his body. Basically, as soon as the fatigue from pushing his body to its limits subsided, Zhang Guodong immediately resumed training. This intense training was extremely effective, shortening the recovery time interval to six hours! Furthermore, during his morning runs, he strapped specially made lead bags to his thighs, calves, waist, shoulders, and arms, totaling five hundred kilograms! This is what he does when he's not training...
With 500 kilograms of weight on his body, running became like walking. It took Zhang Guodong half a month to gradually get used to eating, sleeping, and exercising all while wearing it. But wearing it really worked; he stuck with it. His running speed improved significantly, reaching a jogging level.
His level has reached the peak of level twenty-one, and he's about to break through again! The increased power allows him to unleash the Hundred Blades Seal with greater speed, fluidity, and power. The strain on his power consumption has also decreased significantly; at the very least, Zhang Guodong can now unleash the Hundred Blades Seal twice at full power!
The fat man arrived just as he exited the customs. He knew he had to get busy.
"The villagers in Jixing Village are harvesting some mature crops these days, which will free up a lot of land. Is that what you're here to talk about?" Zhang Guodong continued. "Don't worry, the medicinal herb seeds are ready. But what about the price?"
"Ha, Guodong understands me best. The whole township is undergoing major construction, but the cultivation of medicinal herbs is one of the fundamental tasks. The 300 million yuan investment was attracted by medicinal herbs, so we can't delay. I think we should let some villagers in Jixing Village plant them first, and they can harvest them next October. As for the price, we've talked to Secretary Zhao and the village representatives. How about 1,100 yuan per kilogram for Xingxing medicinal herb seeds?" the fat man said with a laugh.
The seeds of *Stellaria media* are not large. If each pound contains seeds the size of a grain of rice, there would be approximately 70,000 to 80,000 seeds. Normally, 1,100 seeds per pound could plant about three acres, considering there are also unproductive seeds. Even if some seeds don't germinate, the price should be quite good.
But Zhang Guodong just smiled dismissively. These seeds already had a good growing environment, with very few defective seeds. Now, after soaking in spiritual water for two hours, they were almost guaranteed to survive. The price of 1100 yuan per pound was so low it left him speechless.
"Too little, far from my goal. You know, one pound of my medicinal herb seeds is enough to plant ten acres of land, and I wouldn't even consider it a profit at 30,000 yuan per pound!" Zhang Guodong refused outright. Although the yield of Star Grass seeds in Peach Blossom Space was very high, collecting them was too troublesome. It was only he and Li Yun who were collecting them, and with not enough manpower, it would take several days to collect them, which was too much trouble.
Friendship is friendship. But this is for official business, and business should be conducted according to the rules of the business world.
The fat man was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected Zhang Guodong to refuse right off the bat!
"Thirty thousand per pound? Holy crap, you're really asking for the moon!" The fat man suddenly became agitated. Shouldn't there be a bottom line in negotiations? This is more than ten times the original price! Is there any room for negotiation at all?!
“It’s not that I’m asking for an exorbitant price, but you simply don’t understand the excellence of my seeds. If I were to plant them, the survival rate would be almost 100%. For others, the survival rate would be 90%, so 1,100 per jin is too low. I’m not going to waste my efforts!” Zhang Guodong insisted without backing down.
"If you sell the mature medicinal herbs to pharmaceutical factories, with 3,000 plants per acre, earning 10,000 yuan would be easy, right? What is the cost of these seeds? According to your calculations, it's only one-thirtieth, right?"
The high medicinal value of Xingxing herb is related to its high content of natural antibiotics, making it a genuine treasure. These people are too unscrupulous; they don't understand this herb and yet they're trying to drive down the price. Zhang Guodong absolutely cannot accept this.
“Phew, what you said is true. I’ve had people check, and we’ve basically agreed on a purchase price with the pharmaceutical manufacturers. Now, three manufacturers have finalized their deals to share all the medicinal herbs in Jixing Village, buying them by the kilogram. The price is divided into two tiers depending on the quality. If you grow them well, you can easily earn over ten thousand yuan per mu (unit of land area). But Guodong, the price for your seeds is far too low; there’s no way we can reach an agreement! Even this price was negotiated by me.” The fat man said bitterly.
"Tell me the truth, are your seeds really that good? Can they have a 100% survival rate?"
Zhang Guodong rolled his eyes. Isn't that obvious?
"certainly!"
"Oh dear, what can we do? Even if we talk to the villagers again, raising the price to two thousand is probably the absolute maximum. After all, the price of medicinal herb seeds is already very high, even though the germination rate is very high. But getting everyone to accept it won't be easy," the fat man pondered for a moment, then said with a somewhat frustrated bitter smile.
Planting was about to begin, but unexpectedly, the price of the crucial seeds became a major problem. If Zhang Guodong were an ordinary businessman, this wouldn't concern him. The fat man might suspect Zhang Guodong of blackmail. But would Zhang Guodong need to ask for this small amount of money? The answer is no. For Zhang Guodong, money isn't particularly important these days; it's just a number. Of course, he won't let go of what he should earn—that's a matter of principle.
"I think you should negotiate with them again, at least let them know that this is not just between you and me, but a business matter, a public matter. The germination rate of the seeds can reach at least 90%, that's a conservative estimate, just say I said so!" Seeing that the fat man was a bit depressed, Zhang Guodong said with a smile.
"Well, that's the only way. Let's not talk about this anymore. We finally got a day off. Yu Jiao and I aren't leaving for a bit, hehe!" the fat man nodded and said.
"I knew you were just here to freeload. I'll pack you some tea before you leave, not much, only half a jin, so drink it sparingly," Zhang Guodong said. "However, judging from the situation, the ladies are quite..."
The five ladies were clattering mahjong tiles loudly and excitedly, while Zhang Guodong and the fat man could only smile wryly.
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