My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 318 Finally Became the King of Beasts
The city laughed heartily. "I want someone like Wei Dong, but I'm already very familiar with the 'scumbag' tactic of not getting a marriage certificate!"
This approach avoids the current policy uncertainty and the possibility of being taken down by capitalists, while also seizing the opportunity to expand the scale of operations.

Simply put, it's freebies!

Anyway, I'm convinced that he just doesn't want to be held back by heavy assets.

So don't even think about running away.

“Alright, but you are the legal representative, and you hold the state-owned shares on behalf of the state-owned enterprise. This is a three-party relationship and can be considered an exploration of the reform. Let’s first see how to proceed with this zoo area renovation project that has started construction ahead of schedule.”

As long as Wei Dong isn't caught up in this sensitive state-owned asset issue, that's fine: "I'm only responsible for offering suggestions. In my team, the one in charge of real estate is Xiao Chi, that young man from Hong Kong who grew up in Jiangzhou. He has spent several years preparing to study Hong Kong real estate and is preparing to focus on doing business in mainland real estate."

The city government then relinquished control, saying, "That's your business. As the legal representative, you have to take responsibility. How you painstakingly fight against Hong Kong businessmen, the market, conservative diehards, and radical capitalist roaders—that's all your task."

He then turned to relieve the pressure on the serious Lao Geng: "You are a veteran comrade, so help Wei Dong with some specific tasks and let him free up his energy to do more reform attempts that are more helpful to the people. I believe you two will definitely work together to create a good situation."

To reach this level in the military, one must be exceptionally perceptive: "I will certainly assist Comrade Weidong in exploring real estate reform."

It's clearly emphasizing that the deputy shouldn't interrupt.

The city was very satisfied: "Don't underestimate him because of his young age. He is very steady and reliable in his work. So trust his strategic choices, but don't be superstitious about his tactical expertise. Instead, fill in any gaps in his knowledge."

This is quite rare. Usually, older comrades are sent to take the helm while younger people are sent to fight. Here, it's the opposite.

Wei Dong even dared to joke: "It's just that I, a private entrepreneur who is prone to making mistakes, am made to take the blame..."

Old Geng had no choice but to start learning the local dialect, because even the secretary in the city was laughing heartily, clearly quite familiar with this guy's style.

But taking advantage of this moment, I brought out a huge regional map that's only available in the city, about one or two meters square, which only shows a part of the city where the zoo is located.

Let Wei Dong demonstrate his tactics, which is actually not bad.

The zoo is located in the western suburbs, surrounded by mostly open land. However, about one kilometer from the district center, along the main road, are traditional institutions such as the district government, district hospital, and district middle school.

Therefore, if you want to build residential communities, you can only go to the outskirts, where there are only vacant plots of land.

These days, as long as you don't build in the city center, the demolition costs are extremely low.

There are open spaces everywhere.

Wei Dong then discussed with Lao Geng: "We'll try to get a 20-story elevator residential building. You can discuss and demonstrate the technology with the Municipal Design Institute and adopt products from Jiangzhou Elevator Factory. This will also serve as a model for the reform of commercial housing nationwide."

It was during our conversation on the way back to the city that he learned that the infrastructure engineering corps basically represents the strongest construction level in the country, not to mention their discipline and ability to endure hardship.

But just now the city officials mentioned that Pengzhen relied entirely on two engineering divisions of the infrastructure construction corps to withstand the intensity of construction.

Wei Dong suddenly remembered that the Pengzhen speed of building a floor every few days in the 1980s and 90s was probably the work of these two infrastructure engineers.

Since we already have a strong military, why not just go for the ultimate weapon?

The fact that a 20-plus-story hotel with a glass curtain wall is being built near Jiangda University shows that Jiangzhou has no problems with technology and materials.

Let's seize this opportunity of a great start and create a model building that is closer to what it will look like 20 or 30 years from now.

Because if you were to build a few of these high-rise buildings right now, it would be very difficult to sell them through the market alone.

It is precisely now that Weidong has accumulated a considerable number of sanitary napkin factories and workers in the Economic Development Zone who can help him lay the foundation. In addition, the demolition and resettlement of Hong Kong-owned commercial real estate in the city in the future will provide even more room for consumption.

After listening to the description, Lao Geng said that he would listen to the design institute on the technical aspects, and that they could guarantee that they could overcome the construction difficulties.

The city officials laughed and said, "Now we have two months to see if the zoo can have a new look after the restructuring and contracting. The problem with the zoo is that its daily operating costs are high, but we can't raise ticket prices and damage its recreational value for citizens. What are you going to do?"

For Wei Dong to dare to take on this difficult task, he must have a lot of confidence: "Take a look at this photo, the entrance to the Hong Kong area amusement park and zoo of HK Defa Group."

The entrance, shaped like a pointed castle, features a cluster of castle walls of varying heights, along with palaces and towers, adding a touch of childlike charm.

The gates of zoos nowadays are all in the most standard park style.

There are two cement pillars on the left and right, with the words "Zoo" inlaid on them, and iron railings along the sides.

It definitely doesn't look like something you'd want to take a photo with. It's true that it doesn't cost much, but the aesthetic appeal increases dramatically immediately.

Several city leaders passed it around curiously: "And then? This looks interesting, but it's just something to look at."

Rang Weidong explained, "What looks like just a row of buildings at the entrance is actually a hotel in the park. It can be opened to the public at a reasonable price so they can stay overnight and experience the zoo in the morning and at night."

Everyone scratched their heads: "Would anyone actually pay to stay here?"

Rang Weidong asked Lao Geng, "If you were to come to Jiangzhou on a business trip with your child, would you be willing to stay at the Zoo Hotel, which costs eight yuan a room?" Lao Geng thought about it seriously and said, "Since we're going to stay one night anyway, the guesthouse is about two to five yuan per person. My child has never seen a zoo before, so it's definitely worth staying there."

Wei Dong clapped his hands and said, "Maybe you're used to big cities, but there aren't many complete zoos in the whole country. Many children and adults have never seen a zebra, tiger, or panda in their lives. This will turn zoos into tourist attractions. At least the number of business travelers, tourists, and college students will increase. We need to make more money without allocating more funds, and we can't raise prices. So we have to attract more people."

This is a business mindset, and it even incorporates some tourist city promotion tactics, which are no longer used today.

Everyone felt that it made some sense, but there was something inexplicable about it. Could it really be that simple? Could this really lead to a complete transformation?

On the contrary, it was Lao Geng who was trying to participate. He already had a role to play: "But you said you'd be staying at the zoo, so what special things could you see? It's impossible for it to be open at night, right?"

Wei Dong had already thoroughly explored the place with the Hong Kong businessmen, and he might even be studying the photos; it had become one of the joys of his work.

Now I'm digging up photos of Songcheng, the ice rink, and other places from Uncle De's amusement park.

"It's already quite good that we were able to build these novel towers and city gates in two months to make a good impression, but what we should continue to improve is to take the 200-meter-long and 100-meter-wide green space at the entrance and turn it into our park night market and themed street."

This is way beyond the scope of the curriculum. In the 1980s, there was no nightlife. The bigger the city, the earlier the nights would end. Basically, with the night bus finishing work at nine o'clock, almost no one would wander around outside the city.

Even in the city center of Jiangzhou, there were no entertainment venues at night. Neon lights and the like were just flashy decorations that wasted electricity. In an era when power outages were frequent to ensure production, the nights would quickly become dark.

On the contrary, third-line factories and mines, large state-owned enterprises like Xishan Factory, were much more fun because they had workers' clubs, lighted sports fields, bathhouses, nighttime reading rooms, cinemas, and auditoriums, all brightly lit.

But it's not entirely the same as the large-scale construction of Songcheng's antique-style buildings. Wei Dong described it more like a themed shopping mall: "It's a bit like our free market, specializing in selling animal-related products from all over the country, such as animal-shaped cookies, pancakes, and omelets. Of course, it would be even better if we could train a few monkeys to serve the food, but the most important thing is to hold animal parades."

Everyone in the city listened with the same fascination as Lao Geng, and they all frowned and changed color: "Are they going to parade lions and tigers? It's dangerous, it's not appropriate."

Wei Dong was a complete mess: "It was dancers dressed up in animal costumes, acting cute as they paraded through the streets..."

While speaking, she made a cute cat-paw wrist-clasping gesture.

This muscular young man, making such coy and cute gestures, made a group of people shiver.

They all wore expressions that I completely didn't understand, but were quite shocked by: "People actually watch this?"

Wei Dong scratched his head: "Ah, do you think anyone would like to watch someone dressed as Sun Wukong or Tang Sanzang walking around like this? With nice background music, dancing out like that..."

Unable to resist, really unable to resist, Wei Dong subconsciously performed a few movements of twisting his waist and swaying his shoulders while wearing overalls, before finally shooting a basketball.

Everyone leaned back in unison, what the hell is that all about?!

Wei Dong himself felt embarrassed by the huge failure: "I'll find some professional dancers to tidy it up and add music. You'll see how appealing it is when you see it."

In fact, having him take on the contract was basically the indisputable choice.

With no competitors and reduced government subsidies, Wei Dong's company can guarantee that he won't run away with the money, and at least take responsibility.

This shows that he did indeed prepare a lot of tricks, and everyone can only reluctantly say that they roughly understood and that it's up to you to figure it out.

The premise, of course, is that the existing land boundaries of the zoo cannot be violated, and the number of animals will not be harmed.

According to Wei Dong's explanation, the zoo itself might not be profitable; it would probably break even by building houses around it and selling them.

Then let them allocate the more than one kilometer stretch of vacant land surrounding the zoo, especially the outer suburbs, for planning purposes. It's not about giving it away, but about allowing them to plan and submit plans for approval, including the residential buildings that are about to be built.

We will not discuss land prices for now. Let's separate land and housing first, and then we can talk about land issues once we get the real estate reform and commercial housing reform in place.

Zoos are usually under the Ministry of Construction, and then assigned to local parks and gardens bureaus for management.

This kind of contracting is absolutely unprecedented in the country.

The leaders of the Parks and Gardens Bureau rushed over, all thanking Comrade Weidong for taking on such a heavy burden.

He was also very bold. His family's sanitary napkin factory earned about 200,000 yuan a day, so he dared to take over several hundred people from the Xishan factory, and immediately led a construction team of over a thousand people. He also took over a medium-to-large-sized zoo with nearly two thousand animals.

The Parks and Forestry Bureau was worried for him. The city approved Wei Dong's proposal for a one-month handover buffer period, which meant extending the financial burden on this side for another month.

After all, once you take over, you have to start a major construction project immediately. It's rare to find a private entrepreneur like this, so you should be careful with how much you take advantage of them.

For those who haven't experienced the era of a commodity economy, even far-sighted leaders couldn't imagine that every selling point Wei Dong outlined was a precise marketing tactic to generate buzz, and that all of his previous preparations could be put to use.

For example, he used the Jiangzhou Daily to advertise when he sold tangerines.

(End of this chapter)