Chapter 255: Beautiful Mountains and Rivers in Shu
When flying from Beijing to Sichuan, Lin Ruoyan and Wang Min both flew first class. The daytime flight was not stressful, so Wang Min chatted with Lin Ruoyan, focusing on asking about things happening overseas.
Lin Ruoyan had already discussed the Lion City project and would invite Wang Min and Li Li to Lion City another day. Since the African project hadn't started bidding yet, it wouldn't be convenient, so she could only talk about Bolivia. "Bolivia in South America isn't very large, their president is very approachable, and they have a tradition of resisting Western enslavement. Generally speaking, they're easy to get along with. It's just that people overseas are obviously more comfortable and not as hardworking as us Chinese."
When Wang Min traveled overseas, he usually accompanied his wife and daughter on trips, visiting high-end stores and historical sites, rarely paying attention to the lower classes. He wondered curiously, "Bolivian was once the backyard of the North American powers. Why did it suddenly fall apart? I remember when I was young, North America was doing a lot of construction there."
Lin Ruoyan said: "At that time, North America had strong infrastructure. Since private land in their own country made it difficult to carry out projects, they exported their infrastructure capabilities to South America, also to make money. However, they always wanted other countries to share their ideology and become their economic colonies. This exploitation prevented most local areas from developing and created a strong dependence on North America.
Later, the locals woke up and realized that they had resources, land, and a good climate, so why should they be exploited by North America? They wanted their own industrial system, mining and processing their own minerals, and then selling them for a higher value than simply selling cheap mineral resources.
How could North America allow them to play like this? Most wealthy people there are already accustomed to being compradors, making enough money in their own countries and immigrating to Europe and the United States with their families. If all resources are state-controlled, how can these comprador private enterprises survive?
Wang Min asked, "How could a woman like you think of traveling so far to do business? I heard you even had dinner at the president's house?"
Lin Ruoyan spoke frankly: "I'm just following the ship of a large state-owned enterprise and doing what I can. I don't know how long the local stability will last, so I don't dare to expand my business. If I can't make money in the next two or three years, I'll quit while I'm ahead. This is just to train the team."
Wang Min said, "Our motherland is beautiful, and the opportunities here are no less than those abroad. Your idea is great. If you train your team, we can continue to expand our business wherever we go."
Lin Ruoyan nodded: "That's right. Hebei Province is good. It has all kinds of landforms. It would take more than ten years to complete a circle around Beijing."
Wang Min certainly liked to hear this: "Let's go to Shuzhong this time. If it doesn't work out, don't force it. My brother has connections in Hebei Province. Just like you said, if I can do a circle around Beijing, it will be enough for me to retire."
Lin Ruoyan said, "Mr. Wang is still young, don't think about retiring. If you retire, I will have no one to rely on, and I won't dare to do it anymore."
Wang Min laughed, "Hebei Province is still not wealthy enough. Even your luxury home has been downgraded. I wish we could get a high-end residence in the provincial capital that costs tens of thousands of yuan per square meter someday."
The provincial capital of Hebei Province is a renowned international town with a flourishing industrial base. With the future arrival of high-speed rail lines, expanding transportation links from north to south, it's a promising location for luxury housing. In the next few years, as housing prices rise, even ordinary school district housing in the provincial capital will fetch tens of thousands of yuan.
"I think it would be more profitable to open an international school in Guojizhuang first. People in Hebei Province attach great importance to education. There are too many people who cannot get into a first-tier university with 600 points, and cannot get into a famous university with 700 points. For those who don't want to squeeze into the narrow path of the college entrance examination, attending an international school is also a way out." Lin Ruoyan has been thinking about introducing international schools in large cities in provinces that attach great importance to education.
Currently, CY International School pays her a stable 100 million yuan in dividends annually. The school will recoup its investment in the first year, and continue to make profits thereafter. Opening an international school in both International Village and XX New Town is also a sure-win business.
Wang Min was even happier when he heard this: "Boss Lin, this is feasible. I'll talk to the relevant departments and see if I can get more favorable policies. This way the cost will be low, and I can get a share of the profits in the future."
Lin Ruoyan and Wang Min were partners. Wang Min was straightforward and would clearly outline his desired benefits before any business negotiations. Lin Ruoyan would usually give in whenever possible. After all, Wang Min had a strong hand in building relationships, which money couldn't buy.
The two chatted and laughed on the plane, and after getting off the plane, they chartered a car and went directly to Dayi County. There was a hot spring resort there, which was built ten years ago and was of the kind that was designed for tourists from the provincial capital of Shuzhong.
The scenery is nice, but the architectural style and decor are outdated. Any newly built hotel would be better than this. Wang Min, a hotel expert, looked at the description of the surrounding area on the tourist map and couldn't help but sigh: "Shuzhong is great, full of scenic spots and historical sites, you can spend months here. Running a hotel here will definitely have no shortage of guests."
Lin Ruoyan said, "Let's go and have fun on our own first, and don't let the people in the county notice us. Otherwise, their attitude will change as soon as they receive us."
Wang Min nodded in agreement. Sometimes, to leave a good impression on investors, the county's investment promotion office optimizes accommodations and itineraries, offering more attentiveness than ordinary guests would expect, thus concealing any shortcomings. This actually hinders the identification of problems.
In addition to seeing the snow-capped mountains, Wang Min and Lin Ruoyan also wanted to investigate the local industrial atmosphere. If the county had taken them there, the factory would have been full of applause and they wouldn't have been able to see anything.
They acted like ordinary tourists, first exploring existing snow-capped mountain routes, signing up for a day trip and exploring the area. Then, pretending to be distributors from the north, they visited the equipment manufacturers in the county to discuss orders and so on. They actually uncovered some inside information.
The local factories are not as popular as the county claims. There are many vacant factories, and you can also find a lot of rental information.
They will contact the county with such questions, and when they sit down for meetings, they can ask targeted questions and get to the point.
County leaders explained, "We have those factories vacant because local governments are vying for those mature themes. With strong policy support and homogeneous competition, only a few companies are willing to come. They will definitely choose more suitable locations."
"The snow mountain town and equipment manufacturing you proposed are very good. How is the investment promotion going?" Wang Min said some vague things at the beginning, and then asked practical questions.
"The entire province is talking about this concept, but our county has the widest altitude range and obvious advantages in tourism development, so we have the confidence to propose it." Another county official first mentioned the benefits, then added, "Existing well-known equipment manufacturing companies are all located in the southeast coast, and most of their sales are for export. If you want to build a factory inland, you must consider transportation costs. Labor is cheaper here, and so are land and factory buildings, but the most expensive cost of those products is still transportation."
Lin Ruoyan said, "Then do those countries bordering us in the west have any demand? Isn't it possible to use land transportation from Shuzhong to those places?"
"Shipping to Southeast Asia via the coast is cheaper, and we initially felt we couldn't compete. But in recent years, the country has built many roads and railways in western Guangxi, opening up access to the sea. This will provide us with access to Southeast Asia and Central Asia in the future."
Therefore, if we want to develop industries in the west, we must build bridges and roads and carry out large-scale infrastructure construction. Otherwise, even if the production cost of products is low, we will not be able to compete with places that have other transportation advantages.
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