Liang Chao and Lu Shurui were taken to the office of the commune secretary. The wasteland belonged to Xiangyang Commune.
"Secretary Shen, these two are here to invest."
The secretary was puzzled; what in their commune was worth investing in?
"Please come in quickly, Xiao Lin, bring in some tea."
Secretary Shen was delighted to hear that they were there to invest. Although their commune was right next to Shanghai, it didn't have any advantages; it had no industries, just farmland. Now, the country was introducing foreign investment and injecting capital into enterprises.
"Come, please sit down. I am Shen Ming, the secretary of Xiangyang Commune. May I ask your names?"
"Hello, Secretary Shen, I am Liang Chao, and this is my friend Lu Shurui."
Liang Chao gave a brief introduction, explaining that they were there to lead the charge, and that Yu Yin would be the one to negotiate the terms last.
"You two are planning to invest in our commune, are you serious?"
Secretary Shen still didn't quite believe that there was anything in their commune that could attract them to invest.
"Secretary Shen, it's true, we wouldn't joke about this."
Liang Chao quickly explained that this was no joke.
"Then what do you want to invest in? Our commune has farmland, and this year the land has been distributed to individual households."
"Our boss has his eye on that piece of wasteland under your commune's name and wants to build a breeding farm. Does anyone know what policies your commune has in place?"
Liang Chao had inquired and found out that the wasteland did not belong to any village, but was under the jurisdiction of Xiangyang Commune.
"Ah! That wasteland! That piece of land is quite large, but it can't grow crops. It's been abandoned for so many years. Are you sure it's that wasteland?"
"Yes, our boss thinks our commune is mainly agricultural, with a good environment and no pollution, making it suitable for animal husbandry. He just doesn't know if our commune offers any preferential policies or support for investors like us?"
At this time, foreign and Hong Kong businesses were very popular, and various regions competed to offer them preferential policies and conditions.
"Excuse me, are you a veteran?"
Instead of answering Liang Chao's question, Secretary Shen asked a completely unrelated question he didn't want to ask.
"Oh? Yes, I'm a demobilized soldier."
"I could tell from the way you came in, and I also noticed you were injured..."
Secretary Shen, also a demobilized soldier, noticed that Liang Chao was missing his left hand. His first thought was that Liang Chao was disabled and must have some kind of background. However, judging from his posture, he dismissed that possibility, thinking Liang Chao was more like a veteran. He wasn't quite sure what Liang Chao did for a living.
"I was discharged from the army due to injury and didn't want to cause trouble for the country, so I didn't report to the unit I was assigned to. Our boss followed the national policy and was one of the first to start a self-employed business. My former supervisor introduced me to this job."
"I'm also a professional soldier, so I understand what you mean."
The two former soldiers stood up at the same time and saluted each other.
Soldiers, a special profession; veterans, an indelible sentiment.
"Comrade Liang, Comrade Lu, to be honest, you are the first people to come to our commune to discuss investment since the policy was introduced. We don't have our own regulations yet, so please leave your contact information and we will take a look."
"Secretary Shen, we are very sincere. We are all working for the development of the country's economy, so please give us some support. Although we do not have the financial strength of foreign capital or Hong Kong businessmen, we also have our own long-term development plans."
This was Lu Shurui's first speech since entering, and it contained a lot of information, clarifying that they were not limited to aquaculture as a single project, but would have related developments in the future.
"Okay, we will definitely take this seriously and give you a reply as soon as possible."
"Then we'll have to trouble Secretary Shen. After all, the seasons wait for no one. If the cooperation goes well, we need to make some plans before the new year."
Liang Chao left the phone number of the dried goods store. He had set it up at the beginning of the year, which cost several thousand yuan.
"Definitely, definitely. Our commune also needs to develop. Schools, medical care, everything needs money."
Secretary Shen personally saw Liang Chao and his companion out and watched them leave.
"Secretary Shen, can we trust what they say? Although that wasteland is large, it can't grow crops. Will the cattle and sheep eat the weeds?"
Secretary Lin listened to Liang Chao and the others and felt that the chances were slim.
"Go and inquire around the dried goods store they mentioned tomorrow. See if they're lying. If it's really as they say, it might actually work. That way, our commune can be out of its immediate predicament."
Secretary Lin thought about it and agreed. If that piece of wasteland were rented out, the money for the primary school repairs and the hospital repairs would be covered.
Three days later, Liang Chao received a call from Secretary Lin, asking them to come over to discuss specific investment matters.
Yu Yin was still at work. This time, Liang Chao and Lu Shurui went again. She listed the relevant conditions, which ones needed to be fought for and which ones could be negotiated. Such matters cannot be settled in one or two rounds; they also need to hold a meeting to discuss them.
"Xiao Liang is here, please sit down."
Secretary Shen was even more enthusiastic this time. Xiao Lin looked into it and found that the shop they mentioned really did exist. It had been open for almost two years, had a consistently good reputation, and a large customer base. Xiao Lin went there for three consecutive days and also visited the surrounding residents; everything seemed fine.
"Secretary Shen, what policies does our commune offer us?"
"Xiao Liang, we've discussed this in a meeting. That wasteland is over 500 mu (approximately 33 hectares). Let's round it up to 500 mu. We'll charge 25 yuan per mu in rent. There's a river near the wasteland, which you can use. How many years do you plan to rent it for?"
Liang Chao and Lu Shurui exchanged a glance. This was higher than the price Yu Yin had offered, so they had to try to negotiate.
"Secretary Shen, that's wasteland. Isn't the rent too high? We want to rent it, and of course, the longer the term, the better. Otherwise, if we invest money to develop it later, and you rent it out to someone else at a high price, wouldn't we have wasted our time?"
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