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Chapter 387 0377 [Auspicious Land]

When the Hurun Rich List was released this year, Chen Guiliang had just boarded a plane back to China.

Huang is still the richest man in China.

Li Yanhong and Shi Yuzhu, representing the internet industry, were ranked 20th on the Hurun Rich List.

Little Ma and Ding Sanshi were even relegated to 32nd and 40th place, respectively.

Chen Guiliang is ranked 301st.

To be honest, I don't quite understand how Hurun compiled his statistics.

In early November, Chen Guiliang took Zhou Ruiping and Xu Shiwei to Chengdu for an inspection.

A few days before their departure, the Forbes China Rich List was also released, and the rankings differed greatly from the Hurun Rich List.

Liu Yongxing, from Sichuan, has become the richest person in China on the Forbes list. Meanwhile, Li Yanhong and Pony Ma both broke into the top ten. Chen Guiliang ranked 255th.

Netizens compared the two rich lists and fiercely debated who is the richest person in China.

Chen Guiliang didn't know who had more money; he only knew that Lao Huang was about to go to jail.

……

When the plane landed in Chengdu, the High-tech Zone sent people to pick him up. They took Chen Guiliang away in one car, afraid that he would run off to discuss cooperation with Shuangliu.

They were put up in a newly built hotel, and that evening Director Zhang personally hosted a banquet to entertain them.

The next day, Director Zhang took them to the construction site of the Sugon Cloud Computing Center...

It is still under construction.

Wang Jianbo, the project leader at Sugon, warmly received them and subtly probed their intentions.

Chen Guiliang smiled and said, "Mr. Wang, rest assured, our cloud computing center provides commercial services to the market. We won't compete with you for business."

"Haha, I was just asking casually," Wang Jianbo laughed it off.

The cloud computing center built by Sugon will serve Chengdu's e-government system. It's doing business with the government, so there's no worry about finding a market; it's a sure-fire way to make money.

Director Zhang chimed in with flattery, "You two companies, one public and one private, will not only be the twin pillars of Chengdu, but also the twin pillars of cloud technology in the entire western region once completed!"

Zhou Runping said, "Your construction site is a bit small."

Wang Jianbo explained, "This is the first phase, with an investment of 5000 million yuan."

"Won't the second phase be built here?" Zhou Runping asked.

Director Zhang said, "The location for the second phase hasn't been decided yet. It might be further south, where land isn't as scarce."

It's not just further south; the second phase extends all the way to Shuangliu. However, the first phase and headquarters are located in the High-tech Zone, so it remains a company within the High-tech Zone.

Zhou Ruiping said in a low voice, "That's a good way to save money."

Xu Shiwei said, "I think it would be best if the first phase and the subsequent phases were connected as one."

The three followed Director Zhang and Wang Jianbo, wandering around the construction site and asking about the purpose of various buildings.

Immediately afterwards, Director Zhang took them to see the land.

During the drive, Director Zhang said, "If your company chooses to locate its cloud computing center in our High-tech Zone, a small R&D team can move into the industrial park before the first phase of construction is completed. We have already built office and accommodation facilities, and the rent will be waived for the first year and a half."

Chen Guiliang smiled and said, "Director Zhang really cares about the company."

Director Zhang always speaks so kindly: "Only by planting the phoenix tree can you attract the golden phoenix. General Manager Chen's company is the golden phoenix."

As the car traveled south along Tianfu Avenue, Chen Guiliang kept asking what the construction sites and flat land on both sides were used for.

This entire area is under construction, with dusty construction sites everywhere.

Director Zhang listed them off as if they were his own family, introducing which company and which unit there: "This area has all been demolished, some are under construction, and some have just been leveled. Further south, demolition is still being discussed; that area is on the edge of the South Park of the High-tech Zone."

Chen Guiliang pointed to the future financial city area: "Has the land over there been decided what it will be used for?"

"Not yet. Has General Manager Chen taken a liking to you?" Director Zhang asked.

Chen Guiliang said, "The feng shui is quite good."

Director Zhang laughed heartily.

Xu Shiwei asked, "Do you have a planning map of the surrounding area?"

Director Zhang took out a map: "This is the planning and construction map of the entire South Park of the High-tech Zone."

Zhou Ruiping and Xu Shiwei spread out a map, mainly to check the locations of power, telecommunications and high-tech companies.

After watching for a while, they nodded almost simultaneously: "It's really good."

Director Zhang said to the driver, "Drive over there."

This area will belong to the Financial City area in the future. The headquarters of Sichuan Bank will be moved here, as well as the Rongcheng Exchange Building, Rongcheng Yintai Center, and other units.

It can be said that this will be the financial center of the entire Southwest region!
However, at that time, the government's planning and deployment focused on East Street as the main axis of the financial center, and they did not choose to develop it in this area.

It is bordered by Tianfu Avenue to the west and the Fuhe River to the east, with small hills and forests nearby.

Nestled amidst mountains and water, with convenient transportation, this superb location has now caught the eye of Chen Guiliang.

The group climbed the small hill, and Chen Guiliang took out his binoculars to observe: "The place where we're standing now can be turned into a green park in the future. Next to the park and the Fu River, it can be developed into a residential area to solve the employees' accommodation problem. The cloud computing center will be built in the middle." Director Zhang smiled and said, "President Chen's consideration is indeed far-sighted and comprehensive. So, President Chen also wants to acquire land and build the residential area himself?"

Chen Guiliang said, "I don't do real estate."

Director Zhang said, "Although the real estate market is sluggish now, as long as General Manager Chen builds the cloud computing center, once the economic situation improves slightly, real estate developers will definitely be willing to come and acquire land."

Currently, no real estate company is willing to acquire new land.

In other words, they didn't have the money to acquire land.

Real estate companies mainly rely on bank loans to acquire land, but banks are now not lending at all.

Chen Guiliang asked, "If I build my cloud computing center here, what policy incentives and support can I get?"

Director Zhang said:

"Initially, there's a three-year tax exemption and a two-year 50% tax reduction. After that, you can apply for support from the Western Development policy and have your corporate income tax levied at a rate of 15%. Although Mr. Chen's cloud computing center doesn't qualify for the post-earthquake recovery support policy and can't get the full tax exemption, it can apply for interest subsidies for technological upgrades."

"We can also offer the maximum discount on land acquisition costs. For early-stage high-tech startups, there's also a one-time R&D expense subsidy..."

"If there is insufficient real estate development in the vicinity in the future, our High-tech Zone will fund the construction of talent apartments, which will be rented to employees here at lower rents. For exceptionally high-level talents, we will directly reward them with an apartment and solve their children's schooling problem. And it will definitely be a good school."

"We will consider building a primary school and a middle school to address the schooling issues of ordinary employees."

"As long as Mr. Chen's investment reaches a certain scale, with a high-tech project like cloud computing, we can directly negotiate more favorable policies with the municipal government. I can't make that decision myself, but I can help you apply."

Chen Guiliang, Zhou Ruiping, and Xu Shiwei were very satisfied with the support; the level of assistance was already quite substantial.

"How much investment can we discuss with the municipal government?" Chen Guiliang asked again.

"The total investment in Sugon's cloud computing center is 3.5 million yuan, which was discussed with the city on a case-by-case basis," Director Zhang winked at Chen Guiliang. "Their first phase of the project only invested 5000 million yuan."

Chen Guiliang said, "Then I will invest a total of 1 billion yuan, which will be realized within five years. The first phase of the project will cost 10 million yuan!"

Director Zhang's eyes lit up: "I will immediately apply to the city for a case-by-case discussion."

Two days later, Chen Guiliang received a notification from the city to schedule a time to discuss more substantial policy support.

The talks lasted about ten days.

They approved 100 mu of land for him at a bargain price. The city government thought that the land was nothing special, but Chen Guiliang thought it was all prime real estate.

The leaders were afraid he would run away, so they couldn't wait to sign the contract first.

Moreover, the prerequisite for giving the land at such a low price was that Chen Guiliang deposited 1 million yuan of funds for the first phase of the project into an account at a bank in Chengdu for designated use.

Fearing something might go wrong, Chen Guiliang agreed to sign the land acquisition agreement and letter of intent for investment.

The two sides hit it off.

Chengdu's development strategy is to build a western information hub, and the cloud computing center is a high point within that information hub. Moreover, Chen Guiliang has pledged to invest 1 billion yuan within five years.

Such investments in cutting-edge technology are especially valuable during economic crises.

The city leaders invited a bunch of media outlets from both inside and outside Sichuan Province, and even invited reporters from the newspaper in Chen Guiliang's hometown.

On the day of the signing ceremony, dozens of media outlets gathered.

Even a provincial leader came, which shows how much the government values ​​this investment.

Chen Feng, a reporter from the Xihua City Daily, went to No. 2 Middle School to interview Chen Guiliang and was the first to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth report on him.

At this very moment, Chen Feng is sitting at the signing ceremony.

He covers social news; today, a government or financial news reporter should be here. But he has a good relationship with Chen Guiliang, so he was invited as well.

"Old Chen, are you really that familiar with him?" asked You Kang, a reporter who specializes in government news.

Chen Feng said, "I have his phone number and we've talked on the phone a few times. He's a very sentimental person. My news made him famous throughout Sichuan back then, and every time we talked, he would call me 'Brother Feng' very enthusiastically."

You Kang, unaware that the first phase of the project only required an investment of 10 million, exclaimed in astonishment, "Damn, they're so rich! They invest 1 billion right off the bat. The Hurun Rich List must be flawed; it can't accurately calculate the assets of the wealthy."

"That's really impressive," Chen Feng sighed. "I went to Longdu to interview his principal and teachers back then because he was going to be admitted to a prestigious university through a special admission program. Who could have predicted that a high school student from back then would develop into someone like this in just a few years?"

You Kang said, "Some people are geniuses. They're not from wealthy families, no one taught them how to do business, and they don't have any connections. But they use their royalties to start companies and build them into huge businesses. And both of their companies have grown so big."

"They're here, they're here, the leaders are here."

"..."

The signing ceremony began quickly, with the provincial leader speaking first.

The speaker began by outlining the province's strategy and determination to develop high-tech industries, listing various projects already underway and globally renowned companies that have established operations within the province. He then discussed the importance of cloud computing technology, emphasized the province's focus on this project, and concluded by welcoming domestic and international companies to invest.

Next came speeches from city leaders and leaders from the High-tech Zone.

Finally, it was Chen Guiliang's turn. Facing dozens of reporters, he said, "I am very honored and excited to be able to invest in my hometown, thanks to the care and support of leaders at all levels. Chengdu has developed rapidly in recent years, especially in high-tech industries, which are now catching up with major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. Cloud technology is at the forefront of global scientific research, and I hope that I can also contribute to the development of high technology in China..."

Click, click!
The camera shutters were clicking incessantly at the scene.

Outside the venue, a young man was squatting by the roadside.

He finally finished his animated short film "Hit a Big Watermelon" and originally planned to go to Beijing to seek investment from Chen Guiliang, but unexpectedly the newspapers suddenly reported that Chen Guiliang had come to Chengdu.

He quickly bought a train ticket and rushed over.

(End of this chapter)