National Tide 1980.

Ning Weimin never dreamed that Mayor Xiao was such a straightforward and outspoken person, and that he actually intended to recruit him.

But he would definitely not agree to it no matter what.

For no other reason than that, although he could sense that the other party's invitation and high regard were sincere, Huo Yanping had done the same thing before.

If he wanted to take this path, he could have simply accepted Huo Yanping's offer back then. Why wait until now?
If he were to agree to Mayor Xiao's request, wouldn't that be tantamount to slapping Huo Yanping in the face?
Moreover, given his current circumstances, he is already able to control the flow and use of billions of dollars in wealth.

Why would a business tycoon like him give up what he does best to do and become a secretary to a mayor?

This isn't just a matter of him settling for less or being underutilized; it's simply a matter of him having a brain problem.

So there was no need for hesitation; Ning Weimin knew exactly what to choose.

However, the other party said those words based on their appreciation of him.

Moreover, since the other party is an official, his reputation is of utmost importance, and he cannot disregard the other party's feelings. Even if he refuses, he cannot be too blunt.

So, Ning Weimin smiled modestly, poured Mayor Xiao a glass of wine, and put on an expression that was both honored and helpless.

"Your willingness to promote me shows your trust and respect. Logically, I should accept your kindness. However, unfortunately, Pierre Carton has also been kind to me. Both Mr. Pierre Carton himself and the general manager of our Huaxia company have always trusted me and entrusted me with important responsibilities. Especially now, as our company faces a crucial juncture in the integration of the Huaxia and Japanese companies, and I am one of the key figures in charge, I absolutely cannot leave. Otherwise, I fear it would be seen as ingratitude. So, I have no choice; I have received a favor, and I must fulfill my duty. It is my duty, and I cannot shirk it. Therefore, please don't blame me for being ungrateful; my situation simply doesn't allow me to do so."

He declined the offer, but Ning Weimin phrased it quite eloquently.

He adopted a "continuing structure followed by a transition" approach.

Expressing emotional agreement first can provide emotional comfort to the other person.

In addition, Ning Weimin had already discerned from the other party's words and expressions that he was a rather straightforward person.

Therefore, upholding moral justice can reduce the unpleasantness of being rejected.

As expected, the other party listened to his words, and although they were disappointed, they did not blame him.

"It's alright, one should always be grateful. It was my request that was abrupt. Please don't take offense; I just felt you were exactly the kind of wise and economically savvy person I needed. If you were willing to come with me, I would have a better grasp of the local economic development. As the saying goes, 'A government official should benefit the people in his jurisdiction.' I dare not say we'll create a great undertaking together or accomplish many great things. But at least in terms of people's livelihood and the economy, I hope to have your help to avoid some detours and mistakes, and truly do some practical things that benefit the local development. Unfortunately, it seems we're not meant to be..."

After he finished speaking, Mayor Xiao pursed his lips, looking somewhat regretful and self-reproachful.

I don't know whether I feel sorry for myself or for the people of the place I'm taking office in.

His carefree and sincere nature made Ning Weimin like him even more.

He couldn't help but re-examine the mayor for a moment, and then glanced at the mayor's wife's expression beside him.

He felt that neither of them seemed to be the type to be good at pretending.

After thinking it over, I decided that it could be used to build up my network of contacts, so I simply offered a more beneficial suggestion.

"Mayor Xiao, whether we're destined to meet or not doesn't depend on this. Although this is our first meeting, I can tell you're a down-to-earth leader who truly wants to get things done. People like you are exactly what I admire most. If you don't mind, could you tell me where you're currently serving? I think if you're willing, we could have even more opportunities for cooperation. For example, I could visit your area sometime and maybe try to secure some investment for you..."

what?
invest!

Upon hearing the words, Mayor Xiao's eyes lit up, and he immediately perked up again.

It seemed that he only just remembered that Ning Weimin also had a foreign-invested enterprise affiliation.

"What's there to hide? I'm going to Sanya, the second largest city in Hainan. If you can help me find investment, that would be wonderful. I'd not only welcome it with open arms, but I'd also thank you. But... you... you're not kidding me, are you?"

As he said this, his eyes were fixed on Ning Weimin, as if he were worried about the veracity of his promise.

"Let me be clear from the start, this isn't something you can brag about, because I really mean it. If you're just saying it casually, just to be polite, then you should clarify things quickly, and we'll be fine. But if you still tell me you're going to do an inspection, and then I can't find you, then don't blame me for being serious, and I won't let you off the hook..."

This statement undoubtedly proves that Ning Weimin did not misjudge him; this man is indeed straightforward and direct.

What he wanted was not personal advancement, but genuine gratitude from the people and a legacy for the local community.

As for Ning Weimin, he was certainly aware of the promise he had made to himself.

Don't underestimate investing; usually, people worry most about where the money comes from, but for him, it's incredibly easy.

His only concern was that Mayor Xiao was going to take up a post in a small city with a population of a few hundred thousand, where the commercial potential was limited.

No matter how much money he invests, it can only be considered an investment in relationships, and he can only slowly recoup his losses.

But now that the other party is going to Sanya to take up the post, there is no longer any problem.

He originally planned to secure prime tourism resources in China in advance, but it turned out that the other party worked in Hainan, one of the best tourist destinations. It was an unexpected but perfect match.

So he vouched for them again to bolster their confidence. "You're overthinking it. Even if I'm naive, I wouldn't joke about investments. Here's what we'll do: once things are settled here in Beijing, I'll contact you. At most three months, I'll definitely bring them over for an inspection this summer. I can't say more than that, but I think we should be able to discuss projects like seaside resorts, high-end shopping malls, office buildings, five-star hotels, and convention centers. Of course, whether these projects can be implemented one by one depends on the level of incentives you offer."

However, things didn't go as planned. Ning Weimin's words not only failed to reassure the other party, but also surprised Mayor Xiao again, further increasing his doubts.

"What? You can attract investment for so many projects? As long as the policy incentives are big enough? Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

Of course, this is not surprising.

After all, anyone with basic common sense would think that Ning Weimin is young and arrogant and is just spouting nonsense, and would inevitably question him because of this.

You have to understand, with so many projects, let alone all of them combined, the total cost is staggering. Just pick any one of them, and you can't even get it to work without tens of millions of dollars.

So, not only were Mayor Xiao and his wife incredulous, but even Huo Yanping, who knew Ning Weimin quite well and had a certain amount of confidence in him, couldn't help but hesitate, fearing that Ning Weimin might be out of his mind.

"Weimin, you're really not joking, are you? Although you're a key member of your company, this is a huge matter, how much money will it tie up? Don't you really need to have a meeting with your company to discuss it? I think you shouldn't make any promises you can't keep. It's better to leave yourself some leeway. Otherwise, you might end up saying something you can't do. If you really make a fool of yourself like this, even if your Uncle Xiao isn't angry with you or blames you, it will be extremely difficult for you to get others to believe you as if this never happened."

Huo Yanping speaks very frankly and without any pretense.

He was giving earnest advice to his most valued student, just like a teacher, reminding him not to make promises lightly.

They weren't worried at all about making Ning Weimin lose face.

Ning Weimin naturally understood his good intentions.

But the facts are the facts, and he doesn't need to be deliberately modest at this time.

On the contrary, he felt that this was the best opportunity Huo Yanping had provided for him to reveal his strength.

"Boss, there have been some new developments in my career. I haven't had a chance to report to you yet."

Based on his own circumstances, he then explained in detail his current position at Pierre Cardin and some of his future plans.

He had no intention of boasting; he simply presented them with the most objective and realistic facts.

Even so, the shares he now owns in Pierre Cardin and the 20 billion yen he brought back are enough to leave two people of considerable status and worldly experience speechless.

Before he knew it, Ning Weimin had pulled off another show of bravado, and by the time he finished speaking, the atmosphere had completely changed.

Huo Yanping was amazed that Ning Weimin had become a real capitalist abroad without even realizing it.

Mayor Xiao was already beaming with joy at the prospect of making money.

"Haha, I never expected this! I've found a living god of wealth. This is great! When I go to Hainan to take up my new post, I'll put everything else aside and get these project plans ready for you first. When you get to Sanya, we'll discuss them one by one. Who knows, we might actually be able to accomplish some great things together."

At this point, Huo Yanping became somewhat protective of his own, repeatedly warning the excited Mayor Xiao.

“Hey Lao Xiao, you need to step it up a bit. I know you’re eager to get the infrastructure up and running as soon as possible, because only with infrastructure can you attract more investment. But you can’t expect your city to meet its investment targets for this year entirely through Pierre Cardin, can you? He’s young and doesn’t know his limits. Don’t do anything stupid like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. Things should be done the way they should be; you can’t make excessive demands.”

Mayor Xiao, however, was not offended at all and instead burst into laughter upon hearing these words.

"Look at what you're saying. If people didn't know better, they'd think I was trying to take advantage of them and impose mandatory contributions. Don't worry, Xiao Ning was introduced to me by you, so I would never bully someone who is more powerful than me. In fact, I will spare no effort to support and help a good comrade like Xiao Ning who truly values ​​Hainan and wants to invest."

Then he turned to Ning Weimin and said, "Hey young man, didn't you just say you have a travel agency in Japan and want to open one in China too? To boost tourism between the two countries. That's easy, I'll take care of it. I have connections at the tourism bureau, I'll handle the paperwork for you. That's not taking advantage of you, is it? Hey, if you can really get Japanese tourists to Sanya, I can even find a way to arrange a dedicated China-Japan flight for you. I only have one requirement: the domestic travel agency you open must be registered in Sanya. And you have to create at least fifty jobs for me. How does that sound?"

Even Ning Weimin couldn't help but feel a little excited.

His biggest headache was originally dealing with the domestic paperwork, but he didn't expect it to be resolved so easily.

Mayor Xiao, who handled this matter for him, did not charge him a high price.

It's just a matter of him paying taxes in Sanya and creating a few job opportunities.

And he even managed to set up a dedicated flight line for himself. This guy must have a lot of power to dare to say something like that.

What else could he possibly be unwilling to do?
To put it bluntly, with such a powerful backer, Sanya is worth his large-scale investment.

Despite Hainan's current underdevelopment, he will actually develop better and more smoothly there than in other places.

That's the difference between having someone to look after you and not having someone to care for you.

So he didn't mince words and said happily, "Since you've put it that way, what's impossible? As long as you can help me with the travel agency's paperwork, I'll set up the domestic travel agency headquarters in Hainan with a registered capital of 20 million. Job creation is no problem, of course. As for Japanese tourists, we can't rush things; we need to build a five-star hotel first. In any case, I'm definitely investing in that hotel. Otherwise, if I bring them here but don't have a suitable place to host them, we won't be able to make money from them. Don't you think so?"

Everyone present burst into laughter.

In short, no one expected this dinner to achieve such an effect; it was even more effective than an officially organized investment promotion conference.

By the time the meal was over, Mayor Xiao was practically treating Ning Weimin like his own nephew.

Afterwards, he demonstrated exceptional efficiency in handling matters.

A few days later, before he set off for Hainan, he kept his word and actually resolved the domestic travel agency procedures for Ning Weimin.

From then on, Ning Weimin's business in China had a backbone that could serve as a platform for integrating all his business ventures.

Ning Weimin named this domestic travel agency "Great Power Tourism".

It sounds like "Yamato Tourism" in Japan, but it's only one character different.

They share the same origin, yet are different.

If we add "Big Sword Merchants" to that, it would be even more amazing.

Whether it was coincidence or fate, Ning Weimin's international business dealings all seemed to be characterized by the word "large," much like the three brothers. (End of Chapter)