Chapter 141
Meng Dong hadn't been back to Xin Yao for a long time. After hearing what Tan Wenyin said, he also wanted to go home to see his grandma.
Tan Wenyin told the news that Xin Yao had established itself as a city.
"I heard Xu Wei is pushing for a new airport to be built."
"real?"
Meng Dong was so excited that he is still taking the train home.
If Xinyao became an independent city and had an airport, it would only take him two or three hours to get back to Xinyao from Beijing.
This is much more convenient.
“I don’t know when it will be completed.”
Tan Wenyin pondered: "Xin Yao Airport was rebuilt on the basis of the original military airport. Xin Yao has a lot of money, so it should be completed quickly."
Tan Wenyin was right, Xu Wei was indeed having a headache about the airport issue.
Xinyao County has well-developed land and transportation, but to attract wealthy businessmen to invest, their worries must be resolved.
Xin Yao will introduce private schools to provide investors' children with a good education.
We also need to develop supporting facilities such as swimming pools, gymnasiums, and libraries.
In addition, air transportation is essential.
But Tan Wenyin was wrong about one thing, that is, Xin Yao simply cannot afford to build an airport.
Black government cars were lined up on both sides of the road, with dust filling the air. Several government workers in shirts stood on the side of the road, seemingly waiting for something.
The leader, Xu Wei, looked at his watch anxiously, and finally saw a group of foreigners in suits coming out of the airport.
"Secretary Xu, the delegation from the American Parkett Company is here."
Xu Wei quickly stepped forward and said that the mainland did not have the ability to build an airport, so Xin Yao wanted to bring in a team from the United States to do it.
Xu Wei immediately invited Parkett, the most famous architectural firm in the United States.
Xu Wei attached great importance to this membership and came to greet them in person.
I have to say that the people at Parkett are very professional.
After investigation, they determined that Xinyao City had the conditions to build an airport.
However, Xin Yao had just been upgraded from a county seat to a city, and the suburbs of Xin Yao still had difficulty in overcoming problems such as water and electricity supply.
Mike, a representative of Parkett, considered:
"The specific budget needs to be calculated, but it will take at least 5 billion!"
"How many!"
Xu Weijian simply couldn't believe his ears.
"Five billion? Five billion? You American, are you mistaken? You sold me for five billion, even if you sold all the new Yao people, and I still can't make that much money! It costs five billion to build an airport! What about your after-sales service, the Eight-Nation Alliance?"
Mike only knew that he was very emotional and asked the translator:
"What did County Governor Xu say?"
Xin Yao couldn't find a suitable translator, and Meng Dong happened to go home to visit his relatives, so Xu Wei captured Meng Dong and Meng Nan to make up the number.
Zhen Zhen winked at Meng Dong, who immediately said:
"What County Mayor Xu meant was that the price was too high and Xin Yao couldn't afford it! He thought you were a great architect and should be able to lower the budget."
Mike shrugged. "I'm sorry, in our opinion, building an airport on such a wasteland is not an easy task. Building an airport requires solving problems such as drainage, water supply, and power supply, and also requires overcoming complex terrain conditions. This is not a simple project."
Mike thinks 5 billion is a normal price. After all, it does cost that much money to build an airport abroad.
But Zhenzhen felt that this architect did not understand China's national conditions.
Meng Nan asked quickly, "Is it possible to lower the price?"
Mike shook his head. "I don't think it's possible. We at Parker also want to get this order, but the price is too low and our profit margin is too low, so we can't complete it."
Meng Nan and Meng Dong looked at each other, and both saw deep disappointment in each other's eyes.
China's economy and technology are very backward, we can't even build our own airport.
Using 5 billion to build an airport, not only is it impossible for the country to agree, but even they think it is just a fool's dream.
It has only been a few years since the common people got out of poverty?
Where does Xin Yao get the money?
Parkett obviously thinks that China can only turn to them for help, so he asked for so much!
Meng Nan and Meng Dong both felt powerless as if someone was strangling them.
Xu Wei asked someone to entertain Mike and his group, and then turned around and scolded Mike.
"Sister Zhen, what should we do about this? We have no money. The money for building the school was donated by you. Even if the county can apply for a sum of money from the state, it will only be 100-200 million at most. We will never get 5 billion!"
Zhen Zhen sat down on the sofa, Xu Wei took the kettle from the secretary and respectfully made tea for her.
Zhen Zhen blew on the fresh green tea leaves on the teacup, took a sip of tea, and murmured:
“We build it ourselves!”
"It's not that we haven't considered it, it's just that we can't do it! You know the level of our country, we don't have the technology!"
Zhen Zhen laughed when he heard this. Our country does not have this technology, but in 1998, what technology was worth more than 5 billion Chinese yuan?
"If you don't have the skills, go learn them. If you don't know how to do something, go and find a way to do it! You can't expect others to feed you, right?"
Xu Wei was not angry even though she criticized him.
"Do you really think we can do it?"
"Whether it works or not depends on how you think. I think that water and electricity supply is not a problem for our national institutions! Airport planning is also simple, phase 1, phase 2, and phase 3, we will do it in stages and build it up! As for the airport design drawings, our architectural institute can find a few talented people! As for the funds..."
Zhen Zhen thought about it and gave Xu Wei some advice:
"First, we apply for a portion from the state, then the city finance department collects another portion, and the rest is collected from local companies."
Xu Wei didn't expect Zhen Zhen to cut his own leg flesh.
If they solicit funds from local companies, they will have to target Zhenxin Group, so it is hard for her to say such a thing.
"Sister Zhen, to be honest, we have also considered cooperating with enterprises."
"Don't think about it, just do it this way. The profits will be divided according to the amount of investment. After the airport makes money, the money will be returned to the enterprise."
“What if the airport doesn’t make money?”
"If we don't make money, we can always have billboards, right? We can use advertising revenue to pay it back, right? We can use the rent of the shops in the airport to pay it back, right? Methods are all thought up by people. We can't just rely on throwing money at foreigners. This is not a long-term solution."
Xu Wei's mood gradually calmed down.
"You are right. It seemed impossible for Xinyao to get rid of poverty in the past! But we did it in just over ten years."
Zhen Zhen agreed with this statement, "Young people should show some fighting spirit. Isn't it just building an airport? There are always more solutions than difficulties!"
"good!"
Xu Wei also told Zhen Zhen that the city was planning to build a clothing market.
Currently, Xinyao has a medicinal materials trading market and a woolen sweater trading market.
Xu Wei wanted to take the lead in setting up a comprehensive trading market.
"Comprehensive?" Zhen Zhen felt that anything that was comprehensive meant that it had no characteristics. "What do you mean by comprehensive?"
"We sell small commodities, shoes, clothing, etc. We can get all kinds of goods by having people come to our Xinyao."
The county government relocated, and Xu Wei wanted to use the old building to renovate the market as the first phase of a comprehensive trading market.
The second and third phases were built slowly, with sky bridges connecting different buildings, forming a comprehensive market.
In recent years, under the leadership of Zhenxin Group, many garment OEM factories have emerged locally.
Xu Wei's idea was to let wholesalers come to Xinyao, find local factories to process products on their behalf, and sell them in comprehensive shopping malls, thus truly revitalizing the local economy.
But Zhen Zhen thought this was not a good idea.
"Comprehensive means not specialized. You can't do all kinds of business. You should focus on a single category, such as clothing, and attract people from all over the country who want to wholesale clothing to come and buy goods, so that they will have a fixed impression of 'Xin Yao Wholesale Clothing'. Only by specializing in one thing can you last longer."
What's more, Xinyao's wool sweater market is already mature.
It is practical to enter the clothing market.
Xu Wei groaned: "I'll go back and discuss it in a meeting."
"Okay."
"So what do you think? Should we build the temple first and then recruit monks, or should we put out the advertisement first and see how people react to the costumes?"
"Of course, we will build the temple first, renovate the house and turn it into small stalls, and then introduce rent and tax reduction policies."
Xu Wei was so busy that he was overwhelmed. He began to envy Zhen Zhen.
Sister Zhen's business is so big, but it can't withstand the size of the Meng family.
Each business has a dedicated person in charge, but she is different. She just drinks tea and basks in the sun every day. As long as she gives an order, someone will help her complete it.
These days are really leisurely.
Meng Dong talked to Qiao Lu about his grandmother, and Qiao Lu developed a strong curiosity about this legendary old lady.
Meng Dong had just returned home for a few days when Qiao Lu bought a train ticket and came over.
But she came at an unfortunate time because the Meng family was moving and the old house was in a mess and inconvenient for entertaining guests, so Zhen Zhen planned to receive Qiao Lu in the new building.
Qiao Lu carried her suitcase and entered the Meng family's new house. She was surprised by the large open-plan apartment.
Looking around, there are few beams in this room. The floor-to-ceiling windows are more than six meters high. It has an open-plan design and is mainly white. The modern and simple decoration makes the space look larger.
All of these make this large flat different from ordinary luxury houses in the country.
Qiao Lu exclaimed:
"Meng Dong, your house is too big. How many square meters is it?"
"It's less than 500 square meters per floor. My grandma lives in a loft-style apartment. My uncles live in the other apartments, which are not as big as my grandma's and are decorated differently from here."
“Who designed this?”
Qiao Lu particularly likes this minimalist style. She always feels that having fewer things in the house makes one seem rich inside.
"Who else?" Meng Dong glanced at Zhen Zhen who opened the door and came over. "Of course it's my dear grandmother! How can anyone else be so fashionable?"
Zhen Zhen smiled and welcomed Qiao Lu warmly.
"Don't be shy, tell grandma what you want to eat and she will make it for you."
Qiao Lu didn't expect Meng Dong's grandmother to be so beautiful.
She was wearing a well-fitting shirt and black pants, with a gentle smile on her lips. She looked very tolerant, which made people feel inexplicably favorable towards her.
"Hello, grandma. I brought you some bird's nests to nourish your body."
"Hey, you're Meng Dong's friend and Wen Yin's neighbor. Why are you so polite when you come to my house?"
Zhen Zhen invited her to take a seat, and Cheng Su brought out a bowl of fruit.
Qiao Lu didn't expect to see cherries in the fruit plate. She felt that the Meng family's living standard was quite high.
Qiao Lu talked to Zhen Zhen about her own shopping website, but Zhen Zhen felt that the current logistics was immature and it would not be easy to build her own logistics network.
Qiao Lu also felt that the road ahead was bleak. "You're right. I'm not sure if I can continue on this path."
"Of course you can. Mengdong's payment software is already mature. We can use Panda Account to attract traffic and promote your website. First try the FBA model and independent logistics delivery. Later, you can adopt various cooperation models to expand your business."
"So do you think selling books is feasible?"
"Yes, of course. If we want to build the largest bookstore on earth, we'll start by selling books, and then expand to clothing and other businesses."
Qiao Lu had never been so excited. She grew up in a university compound and studied abroad, but many people did not agree with her ideas.
Her parents also hope that she will get married early and not bother starting a business.
After all, Qiao Lu spent all day packing books on the cement floor of her home and delivering books to customers on her bicycle. To her family, she looked no different from a beggar.
Grandma Meng Dong is the only one who understands her and supports her.
Qiao Lu met her confidant and liked Zhen Zhen more and more.
She leaned over to me affectionately, "Grandma, do you really think I'm not just daydreaming?"
"If there were no wild ideas, how could human beings make progress? The brave ones will die of exhaustion, and the timid ones will die of hunger. If you ask me, there is only one word - fuck it!"
Qiao Lu's blood boiled, and she stood up suddenly:
"Okay, I'll do it! No... I don't have any money."
Zhen Zhen laughed, "Grandma has it, Meng Dong and Meng Nan also have it, our Meng family can't give this business to others! We have to invest in online shopping malls, develop online payment software, and do our own logistics! In the future, Zhenxin Department Store will also move from offline to online."
Meng Dong could see that his grandmother was particularly optimistic about this project.
He and Qiao Lu calculated that at least hundreds of millions of dollars of investment would be needed in the early stages.
"Hundreds of millions? Definitely not enough." Zhen Zhen smiled, "One hundred million is not enough to run logistics, let alone a website."
Qiao Lu thought one hundred million was scary enough, and she was afraid that Zhen Zhen would back out after hearing this number.
Unexpectedly, the old lady had seen more of the world than her.
People think one hundred million is too little!
"It does cost a lot of money to run logistics across the country and bring merchants online."
Qiao Lu conservatively estimated that it was around 300 million.
Zhen Zhen told them about the plan to build a shopping mall locally.
Xin Yao has well-developed transportation and is making great efforts to attract investment. It is also planning to build an airport and a clothing mall.
In addition, Zhen Zhen wanted to give back to the local people and hoped that Qiao Lu would build the headquarters in Jingshi, but build a logistics warehouse and office building in Xinyao.
Qiao Lu agreed immediately.
With Zhen Zhen in charge, Xin Yao has another big enterprise.
Xu Wei almost knelt down to her. "Big sister, I don't know how to thank you. But is this online mall really reliable?"
"Reliable! Of course it's reliable! Xu Wei, you have to take a long-term view. The future belongs to the Internet. If we move our online mall to Xinyao, it will create tens of thousands of jobs and the tax revenue will be immeasurable! Just think about it, if the number one company in the future is in Xinyao, how proud it will be to say so!"
Xu Wei blinked, "Isn't the No. 1 company sincere?"
"Hey, if you really don't plan to go public, how can a food company beat an Internet company? Fortunately, Meng Nan and Meng Dong don't have enough money, so I plan to invest 200 million in them! I will take 70% of the shares."
Xu Wei almost fell to his knees, "Big sister, can you leave some money for others to earn?"
“I can’t stay.”
Xu Wei burst into tears, not understanding why some people were so smart.
But when he thought about having an Internet company and a logistics company in Xinyao County, he couldn't help but feel excited and felt that Xinyao had a promising future.
Zhen Zhen gave Qiao Lu 200 million yuan, all of which came from the state-owned enterprises she integrated and listed.
It was Meng Dong who helped her sort out the contracts and other things.
Zhen Zhen didn't have time to care about that, she was packing up to move.
She put the photo albums of Meng Nan and others into the box, and packed the quilts and other things.
There was also Meng Nan's diary, Sanwa's slingshot, Wuwa's jumping ball, Siya's book, and Erya's trophy and medal, all in the packing box.
Jiao Huilan took the quilt from her hand and said, "Mom, didn't I tell you that we will clean up the mess? You just sit down."
"I can't sit still, and I'm afraid the movers might lose my stuff."
"It won't be lost. I'm watching it."
They have lived in this house for more than ten years and have developed feelings for it.
Today, the walls of the house are rusty, there are more than a dozen pots of flowers on the roof, the grape trellis in the yard needs to be pruned every year, and the roses in the small flower beds have just bloomed successfully.
The house is a microcosm of time. It has carried their family's joys for more than ten years, silently watched their children grow from infancy to adulthood, watched Grandma and Father Meng leave happily, and witnessed the wealth and power of the Meng family.
Zhen Zhen was particularly reluctant to move out, but she had to look ahead. The house was too small and could not accommodate so many people in the family.
The new house is large and spacious. Everyone has a room, bathroom and study, so they can live together without making noise.
This kind of house is suitable for a large family.
Cheng Su was also particularly reluctant to leave, because this place, like Batou Village, was filled with memories of her and Aunt Zhen.
She and Aunt Zhen always slept in the same bed, watched TV, chatted about family matters, played shuttlecock in the yard, picked vegetables, and went to the kitchen together.
Cheng Su hugged Zhen Zhen and said:
"Auntie Zhen, I just found Su Xiu's things, packed them up for her, and put them in her room."
Su Xiu doesn't have to come back, but Zhen Zhen has to leave a room for her.
"Okay, keep all her things for her."
"I brought my camera with me and took some photos of the old house. I will send them to everyone so that they can keep a copy as a souvenir."
"Okay, let's take a group photo too."
Meng Daguo was indeed reluctant to leave, but the house was old, the first floor was damp, the yard had poor drainage, and the lighting was not as good as that of a high-rise building.
My mother is right. Once we have money, we should improve our living environment. Living well is also a kind of feng shui.
"Mom, when we first moved here, we didn't have much money. We thought it was great happiness to earn a few hundred dollars a day. Now, even if we earn millions, we're not happy."
"Yes, the house is bigger and the living standard is better, but it is hard to be satisfied."
"Mom, happiness has nothing to do with money."
Meng Daguo feels that having his mother is the greatest happiness.
The Meng family planned to hold a relocation banquet in the new house. Meng Nan, who had just returned from a business trip, sat on the sofa and sighed:
"Grandma, I'm heartbroken again."
"Thanks to me for asking your dad to leave you alone. We haven't even been dating for two days, how come you're already heartbroken?"
“People think I don’t have a local hukou!”
The more Meng Nan thought about it, the angrier he got. Damn the household registration system! Damn prejudice! Damn the distinction between urban and rural areas!
Meng Nan’s registered residence has always been in Xinyao. She has an office in Xinyao and it is convenient to handle documents with her registered residence here.
Zhen Zhen smiled, "Last time it was for money, this time it's for household registration?"
"Oh, now I understand. How can marriage be based on love? It's clearly a transaction! It's a show for the sake of reproduction and sex."
Zhen Zhen brought her a box of jelly and stuffed a meat bun into her mouth. Seeing that her eldest granddaughter's cheeks were puffy like a little hamster, she coaxed her:
"My eldest granddaughter is not angry, right?"
Meng Nan was not angry, but disappointed. He was disappointed that as he grew older, he discovered that many of the things he had learned in his childhood were lies.
Marriage is also a scam.
"Grandma, I don't want to get married, I just want a child, and I only want to sleep with men, is that okay?"
Zhen Zhen didn't dare to say yes, because Meng Nan might not be able to bear the consequences that she could bear.
"Theoretically, there's nothing wrong with that, but I'm afraid you'll regret it."
"There's nothing to regret, grandma. I'm so rich, but I regret being cheated by a man to divide my property! He despised me for not having a local hukou, and I despised him for being poor! We're evenly matched!"
Meng Nan is 28 years old. She has no interest in getting married. In the early years, she did not want to leave home and wanted to stay with her parents and grandmother.
In the past two years, I have been busy with my career and have no time for love.
She has always believed that women must get married, so that they can have children and have someone to support them in their old age.
But this breakup changed her attitude. She suddenly thought, why did she have to get married if she just wanted a child?
These men are always calculating, no matter how much money they open their mouths.
How could such a man be Meng Nan's man?
Moving to a new house was a big deal for the Meng family. Mrs. Meng brought some smoked meat and sausages, and also steamed meat buns, wanting to see what her sister-in-law's new house looked like.
As soon as Mrs. Meng entered the house, she was shocked by the emptiness of the house.
"Auntie, why is there nothing in the house? Is it because it's not renovated?"
Meng Nan chuckled. "It's not that it's not renovated. It's my grandmother who wanted a simple decoration. This is called avant-garde!"
"Vanguard, yes, vanguard!"
Mrs. Meng thought that it must be something high-end that country people couldn't understand.
This must have come from some big city or developed country.
She is a country girl and has no experience, but she knows how to respect others. She doesn't have to spend any money on the decoration of other people's houses, so why should she have any say?
Mrs. Meng thought that Zhen Guizhi's house not only had good lighting, but was also very clean. What made her even more envious was that every room had a bathroom.
Mrs. Meng turned around and muttered:
"Guizhi, why doesn't your house have a toilet?"
Meng Nan and Meng Dong laughed out loud, "There is a toilet, this is it!"
Meng Nan pointed to the toilet in the room and said, "Look, squat on it, press the button, and it will flush! We have a natural gas water heater! And floor heating."
"What is floor heating?" Mrs. Meng walked around curiously.
Meng Nan smiled and said, "When winter comes to our house, we turn on the floor heating and the house will be as warm as if there were a coal stove burning in it. It will be so warm that we can even wear short sleeves at home!"
"That's great! I'll come here to warm myself by the fire in the winter!"
"No need for a fire! We use hot water to heat it up!" Meng Nan laughed.
There was laughter in the room, and then there was another knock on the door. It was Meng Li who came in with Dabao and Xiaobao.
"Auntie!" Dabao and Xiaobao shouted.
Dabao and Xiaobao were born in September 1976, and they are now 23 years old.
It has been 25 years since Zhen Zhen traveled through time. The length of time she has traveled through time is the same as the age she lived in her previous life.
Meng Li is in her forties. She has gained weight in middle age and has some white hair, but she always has a smile on her face and looks very happy.
"Auntie, your house is decorated like the mansions in Hong Kong movies. Is this your house? The large glass windows provide great lighting, and there is also a large cloakroom, flush toilet, and bathtub..."
The more Meng Li looked at it, the more envious she became. They had also bought a villa a few years ago, but the decoration was too extravagant. Jiang Dongping even got a particularly exaggerated crystal lamp that was seven or eight meters high and very difficult to clean.
In Meng Li's opinion, the decoration of her aunt's house is more sophisticated.
Old Mrs. Meng looked at the bright room and couldn't help wiping away tears.
How could she be so worthy to live in such a big house? Her daughter-in-law even taught her how to use the toilet and installed safety measures in her room.
Old Mrs. Meng said proudly, "My house is also big, Meng Li, go and have a look, my toilet is specially designed for the elderly. Your aunt takes good care of me!"
"In our Batou Village, and even in the whole Xinyao, who doesn't envy your good fortune!" said Meng Li.
Old Mrs. Meng smiled naively, she also felt that she was lucky.
Many of her peers died early. She is almost ninety years old, but she can still live in such a nice house. Isn’t it because she found a good daughter-in-law?
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