The waiter quickly filled everyone's glasses with wine.
Chen Xianming couldn't wait to taste it. He took one sip after another, and the rich fruity flavor spread in his mouth.
How did you manage to do that?
Lin Yinan picked up her wine glass, stared at him silently, a faint smile always on her face.
"I'm sorry, I overstepped my bounds." Chen Xianming cursed himself inwardly for being too hasty.
After everyone tasted it, they all praised the wine.
Deng Kang said, "Lord Lin, I wonder if you could sell me some lychee wine?"
Upon hearing this, the others all looked at Lin Yinan with expectant eyes.
Seeing that everyone's eyes were on her, Lin Yinan cleared her throat twice and said, "We just arrived this year. By the time we found the lychee orchard, the fruit had almost all fallen. We didn't pick much fruit, so naturally we didn't make much wine."
Everyone could not hide their disappointment upon hearing this.
"However," Lin Yinan continued, "we will give each of our distinguished guests who come to Longtan a jar of lychees upon their departure. Of course, we can also purchase lychees from you all when they are harvested this year, if you are willing to cooperate with us."
The head of the Zhong family nodded vigorously, "Willing! Of course I'm willing! That would be wonderful."
Huaizhou has many mountains, and its annual lychee production is higher than that of other places.
Chen Xianming and Deng Kang nodded in agreement, finding the suggestion to be excellent.
Wu Xingwang was overjoyed; it seemed that the Longtan Winery could finally open this year.
The meal was enjoyed by all the guests in a harmonious atmosphere.
The investment promotion conference was held as scheduled in the main hall of the county government. As many as one or two hundred businessmen, both large and small, came to Longtan in search of business opportunities.
The purpose of attracting investment is to bring Longtan back to the world's attention and increase its population and employment opportunities.
As the host of this investment promotion conference, Wu Xingwang first took the stage to introduce the current population and land area of Longtan, as well as the construction of shops and residential areas in the city.
At the same time, Lin Yiheng and his team distributed printed blueprints of shops and residences to the participating merchants, each with a starting bid price marked on it.
Chen Xianming will not participate in the bidding for the shops and houses; he is here today mainly to support Longtan.
Sitting next to him, the head of the Zhong family held a booklet, frowning as he flipped through it over and over. He and Chen Xianming had arrived early and had been wandering around the city for the past two days, but they had not yet chosen a shop that suited their taste, let alone a house.
Finally, Wu Xingwang glanced at everyone present and said loudly, "There's one more thing: all shops and residences in Longtan are strictly prohibited from being used to operate gambling dens or brothels. Anyone found doing so will be expelled from Longtan and severely punished!"
After he finished speaking, the bidding process officially began, with the highest bidder winning.
At that moment, a voice of doubt arose from the crowd: "Your Longtan is a vast place with a small population, and you only have salt as your industry. Even if the shops and houses are newly built, I don't think they are worth this price."
As soon as he finished speaking, people around him started talking.
"With so few people in the city, even if they have tax-free policies, who will you sell your goods to?"
"This place is so close to the West River, the Japanese pirates can come whenever they want. That city wall might just be a pretty but useless piece of furniture."
"You've scared me!"
"It looks impressive, but when I walk down the street, I don't see a single person for ages."
Hearing this, Deng Kang's lips twitched. He shook his head with a sneer, "Money is hard to earn, and life is tough. You always have to make sacrifices if you want to make money."
Too lazy to listen to the babbling of these cowardly small businessmen, Deng Kang, a wealthy salt agent in Cangwu County, invested in three shops and two residences in one go: one hillside residence and one exquisite residence.
"Who's that rich idiot?"
"Shh! I think the person next to him is the steward of the Deng family in Cangwu County."
Two businesses recognized Deng Kang as the person who had just made the bid, and they whispered among themselves as they also made bids to each acquire two shops and a small house.
The head of the Zhong family was still tossing and turning, unable to make up his mind. Seeing his hesitation, Chen Xianming, who knew the Zhong family's main business, pointed to the booklet.
"These two on the main street are good, and these two over here are also fine."
Seeing that he remained calm and collected, the head of the Zhong family asked curiously, "Why don't you choose?"
Chen Xianming sighed and pointed to the booklet, "These shops belong to our Chen family."
"Huh? When did you get the shop?"
"Before it was covered."
Thinking of Chen Xianming's relationship with Longtan, the Zhong family head suddenly realized, "What about the mansion?"
Helpless, Chen Xianming pointed them out to him one by one. The head of the Zhong family immediately decided that the villa and mansion would be located next to the Chen family's house, and he would go wherever the Chen family was.
After spending a few days together, he discovered that Chen Xianming was far smarter than him.
After the head of the Zhong family bid and won the auction for several shops and a residence, the discussions in the main hall grew even louder.
"The Zhong family isn't the Yu family's lackeys, so why are they getting involved in this mess?"
This infuriated the head of the Zhong family; his whole family were lackeys.
Some people started to get anxious.
"What should we do? If we don't choose now, all the good spots will be taken by the powerful families."
Some people are calm and collected, and know everything about it.
"Who knows if it's a game played by their powerful families to lure us, the leeks, into investing so they can harvest us?"
Wu Xingwang squinted and glanced at the people below the stage who hadn't yet made a move. He then gave a wink to the manager standing in the corner.
The audience below saw the manager lead several people carrying trays up.
"Now, let me introduce some of the specialties of Longtan. If you are interested, you are welcome to try them."
"This is Yuanbao brown sugar, made from sugarcane using traditional processing techniques. It has the effects of invigorating qi, relieving stagnation, aiding digestion, replenishing blood and removing blood stasis, and also has the effect of dispelling cold and relieving pain. Last year, we built a sugar factory in Longtan, and this year we will increase production and supply it to markets in various places."
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