Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1380 A Flowery Sedan Chair Carried by People

Although it has not yet become the "Cotton King of Asia," Weiqiao has already created a legend in the textile industry by transforming itself from an oil and cotton mill in a small town into the largest textile company in China.

Especially during the Asian financial crisis, Weiqiao expanded counter-cyclically, which solidified its position.

Zhang Shiping is a conservative man who doesn't easily borrow money from banks, yet he has a large amount of cash flow in his hands. The Southeast Asian financial crisis a few years ago was like the end of the world for other cotton textile companies, as they suddenly lost overseas orders.

But for Weiqiao, which has a large amount of cash flow, it is the arrival of a feast.

When its competitors were struggling to survive, Weiqiao imported equipment from abroad at low prices, bought up struggling cotton mills, and aggressively expanded its production capacity.

Now, Weiqiao has become the largest cotton textile giant in China, and even ranks among the top in Asia.

Now full of ambition, Zhang Shiping is ready to make a big splash. He has spent a lot of resources and connections and finally obtained the approval to build his own power plant.

According to Zhang Shiping's plan, once Weiqiao's own power plant is completed, a textile empire will emerge.

The cost of building its own power plant will definitely be lower than that of Qilu Power. At that time, the overall cost of Weiqiao will be much lower than that of its competitors.

But what Zhang Shiping wanted was not only a textile empire, but also the electrolytic aluminum industry related to electricity.

As long as the path of building its own power plants is viable, the aluminum industry, like the textile industry, will be a major electricity consumer, and this is also Weiqiao's next target!
However, Weiqiao only dares to launch a power plant project with a capacity of less than 100,000 kilowatts as a trial run. As for whether it will succeed, Zhang Shiping is not sure.

Even a 7.8-kilowatt power plant still cost tens of millions of yuan, which is quite a risk for Weiqiao.

But seeing the news of the establishment of Dongke Power today still gave Zhang Shiping a sense of being greatly surprised.

Weiqiao's power plant project, even by today's standards, would be considered a large-scale undertaking for a private company, but compared to Dongke's self-built power plant project, it's simply insignificant!
Weiqiao is now a major contributor to foreign exchange earnings in Shandong Province, exporting large quantities of textiles every year. Naturally, it has heard of Dongling High-Tech, which is known as the largest foreign exchange earner in China.

Zhang Shiping knew that Weiqiao couldn't compare to Dongling High-Tech, which was involved in high-tech industries, because the textile industry was all about hard-earned money.

Dongling High-Tech sells its high-priced electronic products overseas, making them incomparable to each other. However, after seeing the news today, Zhang Shiping realized that the gap between Weiqiao and Dongling High-Tech is even greater than he had imagined!
The amount of money invested in Dongke Power is much higher than Weiqiao's cash flow on paper.

The news of the establishment of Dongke Power has caused different waves in different industries, but no matter which industry it is, as long as they still need electricity, seeing this news makes Dongling High-Tech feel envious.

Brands in industries such as electronics and machinery have been affected by power shortages to varying degrees in recent years.

Now that Dongke has invested so much money and directly solved its power problem, it would be a lie to say that its competitors aren't envious.

Other companies can copy Dongling High-Tech's products, but no matter how much they envy this approach, they can't copy it. To build a power plant, you first need to get approval from Yanjing Power, and then you need to secure a large sum of construction costs.

Which domestic electronics manufacturers would be willing to invest so much money to build their own power plant, like Dongke did?

With that money, wouldn't it be better to distribute dividends to major shareholders and management? They are incredibly stingy with R&D funding and treat their employees and R&D staff like mortal enemies. Expecting them to spend billions to build a power plant is just asking the impossible.
……

"Baba!"

The villas in Dongfang Jiayuan were bustling with activity today, as almost all of the Li family members from Pingyang had come over.

In addition, a group of senior executives from Dongling High-Tech, including Ren Yuefeng, Zhang Ao, Hu Zixian, and Gao Peng, also made time to come over.

Other special guests included Liu Weiguang, the head of the Pingyang Municipal Government; Chen Linfeng, the chief secretary of the Pingyang Municipal Government Office and a representative of the local Pingyang faction during Yao Zhengru's tenure; Gao Tianqing, the head of the Pingyang Bureau of Industry and Commerce; and Ding Ming, the head of the Shangguan Economic Development Zone. They all made a special trip by canceling many other commitments.

With so many people coming, especially the local Pingyang faction, it was almost a full-scale event to express their stance. Today was the first birthday celebration for Li Zhiyuan, the eldest son of the Li family and a potential future heir to Dongling High-Tech!

Little Zhiyuan can walk now, though he's still a bit unsteady and his speech is a little unclear, but Mr. Li seems to enjoy it.

Upon hearing Xiao Zhiyuan's cry, they immediately picked him up and held him in their arms. The photographer who was there to record the event captured the moment.

In the future, this scene might even become an important record for the Li family and even Dongling High-Tech. With video evidence, who would dare to say that Li Zhiyuan's status as an heir is not high enough?

Despite the noisy scene inside the villa, Xiao Zhiyuan wasn't shy at all. She simply leaned against Li Dongling's chest and stared intently at the scene before her.

Inside the living room, a silk carpet was laid out on the floor. The items for the baby's first birthday celebration—books, dictionaries, calligraphy brushes, abacus, various banknotes, gold ingots, seals, musical instruments, antiques, and so on—were placed on the silk. The Li family's celebration was similar to other families, except for some extra items, such as the seal of the philanthropist Li and the logo of Dongling High-Tech. Furthermore, the pens, banknotes, and gold ingots on it were all…real, or gold-plated!

Li Dashanren didn't intentionally collect those things, but over the years, Li Dongling and Yao Luoying have participated in many charity auctions, charity banquets, and art auctions, and the collection room in the basement of Dongfang Jiayuan has gradually been filled up.

After everything was arranged and the time was almost up, Li Dongling placed Xiao Zhiyuan on the carpet, patted the little guy's bottom, and saw Xiao Zhiyuan waddle towards the carpet like a motor had been started.

The "first birthday celebration" is just for good luck and symbolism; it's not something to be taken seriously, but it still gives people a bit of anticipation.

Li Dongling was also curious, wondering what his eldest son would choose.

Just like the legendary dragon, Xiao Zhiyuan now naturally likes things that are shiny and golden. As soon as he got up there, he went straight for the gold ingot.

Whether it was the Li family or the guests present, the camera lenses were all fixed on Xiao Zhiyuan's figure.

First, when they arrived at the gold ingot, Xiao Zhiyuan picked it up with great effort, played with it for a while, and then threw it aside.

Seeing this, many people couldn't help but twitch their lips, but then they thought that with this little guy's status, he really wouldn't need to worry about these things in the future.

With his short legs, he walked and crawled on the carpet, picking up many things, but then throwing them aside. When he picked up Li Dashanren's seal, a gasp of surprise rang out, startling the little guy.

However, the little guy didn't keep the seal. In the end, he spotted something colorful, climbed over, grabbed it, and headed straight for Li Dongling and Yao Luoying.

What Xiao Zhiyuan was holding in his hand was a miniature globe inlaid with emeralds and sapphires.

Upon seeing what Xiao Zhiyuan had chosen, applause erupted. Liu Weiguang, standing to the side, complimented Li Dashanren, saying, "Congratulations, President Li! Dongling High-Tech will soon welcome a successor who will take the company to new heights!"

Li Dongling and Yao Luoying watched as Xiao Zhiyuan crawled towards them, proudly holding up a miniature globe. For a moment, they were unsure whether this was fate or just Xiao Zhiyuan randomly grabbing things.

There are many possible interpretations of the "first birthday celebration" ritual. For example, it could be interpreted as a prediction that one day Xiao Zhiyuan will inherit the position and lead Dongling High-Tech to a new round of expansion.

It can also be explained that Li Zhiyuan, as the successor, has a strategic vision that encompasses all attributes, etc. Anyway, it's up to others to say what they want!
The philanthropist Li didn't care much about these things. For him, a good omen from the baby's first birthday celebration was enough; he didn't need to expect anything more.

After the baby's first birthday celebration, the Li family held a banquet at their villa in Dongfang Jiayuan, where Li Dongling toasted the guests.

After finishing their meal, Li Dongling and Liu Weiguang went to the garden behind the villa, which connected to a small park in the villa area.

As the villa where Li Dashan, a philanthropist, and the executives of Dongling High-Tech lived, Dongfang Jiayuan used very particular materials and put a lot of thought into the design when building the Pingyang villa area. It is fully equipped with privacy, security, small parks and other facilities within the villa area.

"Dongke Power's project is truly groundbreaking! Liang Bohua from Shangzhong, as well as Gui City and other places, have all called, wanting Dongke's power grid to connect with theirs!"

Walking in the small park in the villa area, Liu Weiguang smiled and said to Li Dongling, his words revealing a hint of pride.

The fact that even business leaders from Shangzhong and other places had to seek help from Liu Weiguang clearly shows that Liang Bohua and his associates were extremely humble in their dealings with him.

"Of course, whether or not to accept the proposals from Shangzhong and other places is up to Dongke Power to decide. The Pingyang City Government fully respects Dongke Power's opinion!"

Liu Weiguang said that he would definitely be leaving Pingyang next year, and before leaving, he had added such a great achievement to his resume, so he had no complaints.

What Liu Weiguang needs to do now is to maintain the current situation in Pingyang, preserve his achievements, and especially maintain the relationship with Dongling High-Tech. He should not cause any trouble.

"Since Shangzhong and other places have come to Liu Shuji for help, then Liu Shuji must make the decision. Dongke Power fully supports Liu Shuji's decision!"

Li Dongling gave Liu Weiguang face and did not change his attitude after the other party left.

It's just a matter of personal favor. Besides, places like Shangzhong are willing to actively connect to Dongke Power's power grid, which means they are potential users of Dongke Power in the future. There's no reason to push away a major customer.

Hearing Li Dongling's words, Liu Weiguang's smile widened, and then he paused for a moment before saying, "Next, the Pingyang Municipal Government will be making plans for next year's projects. The most important projects planned for next year include the Pingyang Olympic Sports Center and the Pingyang Metro Line 1..."

(End of this chapter)