Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 187 Changing a City
We drove along the winding mountain road.

Chen Xuebing didn't talk to Yang Qingyue much.

He would occasionally point to a place along the way and tell her its name, like a tour guide.

Moisturizing is silent.

First-time visitors to Pengshui are easily drawn to the green waves of the Wujiang River stretching along the cliffside highway. Yang Qingyue gradually lowered her guard and began to appreciate the scenery with a traveler's mindset.

When Yang Qingyue finally saw the county town completely surrounded by water in the distance, she opened her eyes wide in surprise.

"Chongqing has a water city?"

Chen Xuebing smirked: "Don't be fooled by the beautiful scenery. Once you get there, don't wander off. There are bandits around here, and lots of bachelors. If you get dragged up the mountain to be someone's wife, there are hundreds of people in the village. I can't protect you."

Yang Qingyue rolled her eyes: "I don't believe it."

Jiao Gui, who was in front, spoke up: "It's true, sister-in-law! You know about the Great Suppression of Bandits in Southwest China? This was the last battlefield of liberation! I've heard some old people say that there were several bandit gangs, over a thousand people, in places like Liu Xuegu in Baojialou, Sanguping, and Hezu Village in Qingtuya! When the People's Liberation Army came, some of them hid in their villages and became law-abiding citizens. They didn't dare to come out to find wives, so they went outside to capture women to bring back to their villages to have children for them! There's a custom there!"

He enjoyed listening to the locals tell these strange tales when he came to Pengshui, and now he began to recount them with a touch of pride.

Upon hearing this, Yang Qingyue shrank further into her seat.

Then, realizing something was amiss, he yelled, "Who's your sister-in-law?!"

Jiao Gui chuckled awkwardly. He didn't know much about Bing Ge's love history either. Anyway, his eldest uncle and his second uncle were both his uncles, and Yang's wife and Xin's wife were both his wives.

However, he preferred Sister Yang, while Sister Xin seemed a bit cold and didn't talk much.

"Not bad, lad! Not bad!" Chen Xuebing smiled and reached out to pat Jiao Gui on the back of the head.

The compliment wasn't about his extensive knowledge, but rather about the casual way he called her "sister-in-law."

Right now, he needs such generals to lead him into battle.

This trip was rather abrupt; I should have brought all my brothers with me.

However, his visit this time was not just for sightseeing; he also had an inspection mission.

The car entered Pengshui County at 4:30 pm.

Without a highway, Jiao Gui drove at a considerable pace and still took four hours.

The transportation costs in this area are indeed too high; the only connection from the outside world is National Highway 319.

The Chongqing-Xiangyang section of the Baomao Expressway (G65) was connected around 2010, and it passed through Pengshui County.

The situation of county roads in Pengshui is even worse. The county seat is okay, but there is only one third-class road to Mafeng Village in Xintian Township, where the cement plant is located. The nearest waterway, Wanzu Wharf, is 10 kilometers away and is a simple wharf that is 20 meters long and 3 meters wide.

The Maotian Cement Plant was originally scheduled to be built in one year, starting in July 2003, but it was delayed for two and a half years without going into production. There were many reasons for this, but besides funding, the biggest factor was probably transportation.

If you want to get rich, build roads first.

...

The car drove around the county town and arrived at a row of townhouses by the roadside.

Chen Xuebing, holding onto the car door, shouted at the top of his lungs towards a window:
"Old Xu!"

"Old Xu!!"

Then a head popped out of another window, looking disgusted: "Stop yelling! Come down!"

Xu Haiqiao came down the stairs next to him a few minutes later.

Chen Xuebing chuckled: "Wow, Director Xu is so diligent! He was at work all New Year's Day! You've gotten to know him so well that you've even changed offices?"

These days, buildings in county towns aren't tall, so finding an agricultural bureau chief is a very simple and straightforward process.

Going upstairs to wait for a subordinate's report is less efficient than using voiceprint recognition downstairs.

— Chen Xuebing's mindset this time is that of an investor, and he is somewhat unscrupulous.

“I’m on duty! You’re only here today, what are you looking at? Everyone from the cement plant has left!” Xu Haiqiao said, his hands behind his back.

"I'm not leaving for now. I'll go to Furong Village to eat some fish first. I'll go to the cement factory tomorrow."

Xu Haiqiao waved his hand: "Never mind, I already said I'm on duty and can't go far. Let's just grab something to eat in the county."

Chen Xuebing hesitated for a moment, then turned to the car and said, "Director Xu is on duty, shall we grab something to eat in the county first?"

Upon hearing the title "Director Xu," Yang Qingyue knew that Chen Xuebing probably had something important to discuss, so she stopped being agitated and nodded.
"You can eat whatever you want."

Seeing her obedient appearance, Chen Xuebing smiled, then turned to Xu Haiqiao and became rude: "I'll sit in the back with her, you sit in the passenger seat or drive your own car?"

Normally, a bureau chief does not sit in the front passenger seat; leaders should sit in the back.

But Xu Haiqiao, who also came from humble beginnings and worked his way up from the village, town, and county levels, waved his hand dismissively:
“All the cars in our bureau are sealed off for the holidays, but I gave the order myself to ride in your car.”

Chen Xuebing smiled and opened the passenger door for him.

"Director Xu is much more capable in his administration than when he was in the town."

Xu Haiqiao: "..."

……

We found a two-story restaurant to eat at.

They didn't go into a private room; the four of them just ordered a few dishes at a table by the window and sat there eating and chatting.

Xu Haiqiao is a perceptive person. He noticed that Chen Xuebing's demeanor was different from before, as if he was more confident. So he asked him if he had any plans to invest in Pengshui.

These days, attracting investment is the top priority. All work is geared towards higher levels. Starting from the township level, no matter what the leader is, everyone has a quota to meet. At the end of the year, the leadership team will hold a meeting to settle accounts with everyone, telling you how much money you attracted and how much money he attracted. Those who fail to meet their quotas will be scolded because if the leadership team fails to meet its quotas, they will also have to go to the next level of leadership team to receive a severe scolding.

If this task isn't done well, then everyone's work for the whole year will have been for nothing.

Xu Haiqiao was also in a bind.

Things were alright in the town before, at least I had my own territory. But now that I'm at the Agricultural Bureau, I have to take on an 8 million yuan investment attraction task, and life is very difficult.

Chen Xuebing didn't answer, but just looked at the street corner downstairs and smiled:
“You urban management officers must be very busy, having to come out and clean up even during a holiday.”

Xu Haiqiao glanced outside and saw the urban management officers chasing away vendors downstairs. The scene was quite chaotic, but he didn't seem to care and said, "It's the sanitation campaign. We've been working on it for several years now. We've been notified that an inspection team will come down before the New Year. I don't know exactly when. These days, it's popular to do unannounced inspections. The more it's a holiday, the less we can afford to be careless."

Creating a clean and hygienic city is the second most important task besides attracting investment.

Chen Xuebing frowned.

He had been to the county town many times before, and he knew what it was like. The people and the government were both fierce.

But now his mindset has changed; he's re-evaluating how to change this place.

While financial and technology companies are developing steadily, and Gu'an Labor Services is also making money, it lacks long-term planning.

He doesn't want to simply define this company as a building construction company or a civil engineering company, and its future development goals should not be limited to a certain field.

His goal is to start by changing a city and undertake large-scale comprehensive renovation projects.

What project can be more profitable than operating a city?
What achievement could be more impressive than successfully managing a city?
Over the next 20 years, he aims to renovate one city every four years, completing comprehensive upgrades in five cities, ensuring that the Gu'an Construction brand will remain strong.

This plan had been in his mind for a long time, but the timing wasn't right, he didn't have enough start-up capital, and there were no suitable targets, so he could only do the preliminary work.

As for what groundwork was laid?
Of course, it's not just about starting a company.

It's about going to university.

The company is doing well, with projects coming one after another. The two chief engineers are also quite capable, with a strategic vision.

However, it is still far from comprehensive urban development.

Architecture, design, electricity, transportation, water supply and drainage, even culture, landscaping…

A super project team with hundreds or even thousands of professional and technical personnel.

Without projects, he couldn't afford to support so many people.

He lacked talent and dared not take on such a large project.

It seems to be a vicious cycle that can only be gradually untangled over a long period of development.

However, there are other solutions.

He studied at Chongqing Jiaotong University specifically to solve this problem.

"Secretary Lan really hasn't had time lately? Can't we even meet and chat?" Chen Xuebing suddenly asked.

He had already asked Xu Haiqiao about this issue by phone before he came.

"You think I'm lying to you?" Xu Haiqiao looked troubled. "I've already mentioned this to the Party Secretary for you. He remembers you and didn't say anything when he heard it was you. I think the cement plant issue will only work if you bring the funds to take over... If you have 100 million, I'll call him for you right now. Even if he's sleeping, I'll bring him over for you."

Chen Xuebing touched his chin; the stubble that hadn't hardened yet was a reminder of his youth.

It seems that meeting Secretary Lan was not a good thing after all.

In the eyes of others, one's appearance may be as young as this stubble.

"Alright then." Chen Xuebing chuckled. "When I come next time, if Secretary Lan asks about you, just say we're not familiar."

Xu Haiqiao was stunned: "You... I already mentioned you to him, this isn't a joke! What exactly do you mean? Hey... don't go solo behind my back!"

He didn't want to let such a significant political achievement slip by.

The cement plant is now constantly being reported by the city's various media outlets, banks are avoiding it like the plague, and fundraising seems a long way off. It has become a major concern for the county.

If he can resolve this matter, Xu Haiqiao will have a firm foothold. Even if he can't attract other investments for two or three years, no one will dare to say anything to him.

Otherwise, Chen Xuebing wouldn't have been able to make him run around with just one phone call.

Chen Xuebing grinned: "Don't worry, Lao Xu, you definitely deserve credit for this. But to change their attitude, we'll have to use some strong measures."

Xu Haiqiao said sullenly, "Don't you dare mess around. I'm telling you, there's a county-level reshuffle at the end of the year, we can't afford any chaos. We can't do something like inviting reporters last time!" Chen Xuebing waved his hand, "Don't worry, don't worry! Do you think I'm that kind of person?"

Xu Haiqiao remembered something and asked, "Hey, reporters go to that factory every few days to investigate undercover, and they've published several reports. You didn't arrange that, did you?"

"... "

"Oh, that one...that's me."

Chen Xuebing smiled innocently.

"... "

"...What the hell?!"

...

The economic newspaper's report on Maotian Cement Plant did not involve the county, which was something Chen Xuebing specifically instructed him to do.

There was no need to hide anything from Xu Haiqiao.

The fact that Xu Haiqiao spent 10 yuan to hire someone to keep reporting on their actions and cut off their funding chain actually made Xu Haiqiao feel Chen Xuebing's determination.

However, there was a somewhat taboo reminder that this shouldn't be done too often, as officials generally dislike it.

When Chen Xuebing heard him use the word "official," he couldn't help but laugh. He felt that although the director of the Agriculture Bureau was somewhat mercenary, he was still quite simple and honest in most aspects.

He ordered a beer and toasted Director Xu.

"I hope that when you become a leader in the future, you will not forget your original aspirations."

……

That night, I found a decent hotel to stay in.

Yang Qingyue knew he had something to do, so she didn't refuse and moved into the room next to Chen Xuebing's.

But less than an hour later, they came to Chen Xuebing's room again and knocked on the door.

When Chen Xuebing opened the door, her hair was still slightly damp.

I just took a shower.

"How many days are you going to stay? Is there a return bus from the county? I need to go back on the 3rd."

"Come in." Chen Xuebing opened the door and turned to go inside.

Yang Qingyue pursed her lips and obediently followed them inside.

Today, she overheard the bureau chief talking to Chen Xuebing over a meal, and the turmoil in her heart has overshadowed her earlier thoughts.

An investment of 100 million.

Chen Xuebing's business has now far exceeded her expectations.

Her worries now seemed rather insignificant.

What Chen Xuebing said next surprised her.

He handed her a piece of paper and said with a smile, "I've compiled a list of nearby tourist attractions. Take a look and see which one you'd like to visit. I'll take you there tomorrow... Don't worry, I've already booked your flight to Shenzhen the day after tomorrow. I promise to get you on the plane on time and I won't let you skip class."

"You...you wanted to see that cement factory, didn't you?" Yang Qingyue asked, somewhat surprised.

Chen Xuebing shook his head indifferently: "The main purpose of this trip is to take you to see the sights. As for the cement factory, we'll mainly check if the basic construction is completed. It won't take much time."

He had a general idea of ​​the situation at Maotian Cement Plant, and this time he wasn't inspecting the plant, but rather the tourist attractions.

He couldn't find Chiyou Jiuli City when he entered the county town. After asking around, some people said it was in Wanzu Ancient Town, and others said it was in Mowei Mountain.

They're not in the county.

Following his memories from his previous life, he found the address of Jiuli City in the county town, only to discover that it was still a desolate mountain village. The Chiyou ruins of that time did not refer to this place at all, but to the Miao village and altar outside the county town.

In his previous life, Jiuli City was built in an antique style and had a lot of character. He always thought it was a renovated ancient site, but now it seems that it was completely rebuilt in imitation of the Miao village.

Fortunately, Pengshui also has similar cultural sites these days, which prevented his eloquent talk in the tourism economics class from becoming a laughing stock.

But it's pretty good.

The key to renovating historical sites is to avoid destroying the original structure. Building a Miao village from the ground up allows for the addition of more imagination to the original advantages.

Yang Qingyue was unaware of these things, and hearing him say this, she felt…

Why did he treat himself better when he was with Xin Mengzhen?
She was happy.

But this happiness is veiled in a layer of oiled paper; it can be seen, but cannot be touched.

Chen Xuebing noticed her furrowed brows and knew what was wrong, but he continued with a smile, echoing what he had just said:

"Actually, I had my eye on that cement plant a long time ago. I took leave from school to come to Pengshui to work on a water conservancy project. Back then, there were no roads on the construction site..."

His voice was slow and gentle as he recounted the experiences of the past year.

Yang Qingyue knew about what was happening in Shenzhen, but she didn't know about what was happening in Chongqing.

So that's what he was doing all that running around.

It turns out that the reason so many people from the school ran away to fight was because he encountered such a big problem.

"...So they can't start construction if they don't get funding. If that doesn't work, I'll find someone to report them. There's no rush, we can talk about it slowly."

After Chen Xuebing finished speaking, Yang Qingyue smiled.

It wasn't because Chen Xuebing was cunning enough to hire reporters twice, but because it was the first time he hadn't acted mysteriously in front of her, allowing her to learn everything about him without having to rely on others.

Chen Xuebing knew what she wanted and what she wanted to hear, but he always preferred to do the opposite, gradually lowering Yang Qingyue's expectations of him.

But a man's weakness lies in the fact that he only realizes the value of something when he loses it. When Yang Qingyue seemed to have given up on him, he started acting like a scoundrel again.

Yang Qingyue isn't stupid; she's gradually becoming smarter.

After the initial joy, she thought about that crucial question again.

Upon thinking about this, she realized Chen Xuebing's despicable thoughts.

he…

He's playing both sides!
"What about Mengzhen? When did you get together with her?" Yang Qingyue suddenly asked.

Chen Xuebing remained silent.

However, the conditions for continuing to manipulate Yang Qingyue are no longer available this time.

He sat on the bed, looking somewhat dejected, and said:
"It was around December... when we were buying the house, but her family found out... her grandfather's secretary called me and told me to break up with her."

Hearing the first part of the sentence, Yang Qingyue's resentment subsided considerably.

It was December, not long after I rented a place in Shenzhen.

Perhaps it's because I haven't contacted him in a long time?
She had a tiny bit of fantasy.

But the second half of the sentence surprised her.

"No way, Mengzhen... she wouldn't agree!" She knew Xin Mengzhen's personality very well.

“I don’t know, but she said her grandfather has lung cancer and she didn’t want him to worry, so she wanted to contact me less in the future.” Chen Xuebing spread his hands dejectedly: “We haven’t been in touch for a long time.”

He went from only telling half the truth to telling most of the truth.

The situation was exactly as described, but he had no intention of giving up on Xin Mengzhen, and Xin Mengzhen probably had no intention of giving up on him either. This was a truth that couldn't be said outright.

Yang Qingyue bit her lower lip tightly.

Chen Xuebing continued to grieve, then gave a self-deprecating laugh: "Actually, I was quite happy when you came back. This trip was also a way for me to clear my head. I know I was being unreasonable, but having you here made me feel much better... If you don't want to stay with me, I'll have Jiao Gui take you back tomorrow."

Yang Qingyue's breathing quickened, her brows furrowed again, afraid that she would say something weak, and she turned to leave.

Chen Xuebing immediately added, "I'll come to your school to find you later."

Yang Qingyue became anxious.

He was so anxious that he stomped his feet.

"What are you doing! What are you doing!!"

Chen Xuebing walked up behind her and hugged her.

I can't forget you.

The body in his arms softened at the sound of her voice.

Her heart was pounding, and she thought, "This is the only time."

Chen Xuebing had no intention of letting any opportunity slip by. His hot hands embraced her soft waist, turning her body around and bringing his lips close to hers.

Yang Qingyue's eyes were a little watery, as if she had been bullied, or as if she intended to continue to accept her fate passively.

But just as Chen Xuebing was about to kiss her, a piece of paper came up from below and blocked her entire face.

The piece of paper with the tourist attractions written on it by Chen Xuebing.

Then she began to struggle violently, trying to escape from his embrace.

In a moment of shock, the person ran away, leaving behind a sound.

"I've made up my mind, I'm going to Ayi River!"

(End of this chapter)