Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 329 He Can't Touch Me

The leaders made no unusual remarks.

Director Xian also brought up the issue of Qingbaijiang without any distractions.

"We've also developed a fairly comprehensive concept recently, which is the 'Chengdu-Chongqing Combined Port' model."

"The freight train resources and international port functions of Chongqing Port can be deeply integrated with the railway hub advantages and vast hinterland of Qingbaijiang. A collaborative mechanism for container sharing, freight train sharing, and information exchange can be established, led by the governments of both places and with the participation of relevant enterprises."

"The Qingbaijiang Railway currently operates as a combined passenger and freight line. We plan to build a dedicated freight line that serves only companies within the Qingbaijiang Industrial Park, saving them money, increasing their efficiency, and boosting their transportation volume."

The expressions on the faces of the two section chiefs from Chongqing changed.

Dedicated line?
Industrial park?

That would require its own logistics park, right?

Chongqing's bonded logistics park hasn't even started construction yet, and you're already planning to?
That's a bit too fast!

During the brief pause in Director Xian's speech, the division chief from the National Development and Reform Commission cautiously asked, "Director Xian, when do you plan to start construction on the dedicated line for the Qingbaijiang Railway?"

“I think we should take advantage of this opportunity.” Director Xian glanced at everyone and then at Liu Han in the back row. “The Ziyang transit warehouse will be initially developed through a private platform. Our idea is to also integrate the Qingbaijiang dedicated line into this platform. Of course, the construction funds have already been secured and will be borne by Hanlong Group.”

At this moment, everyone's gaze turned to the back again. Liu Han grinned smugly, raised his hand holding half a cigarette, and a white jade ring shone brightly in the distance.

As everyone whispered among themselves, Chen Xuebing's face was ashen.

Only then did Director Xian meet his gaze.

Seeing that he looked unwell, Director Xian actually smiled at him.

Chen Xuebing noticed a different meaning in that smile, felt a slight chill in his heart, and then fell into deep thought.

He suddenly realized that he had overlooked something.

Since Qingbaijiang had already secured funding from Hanlong, it shouldn't have been brought up at this time. Why bother with platform consolidation? They could have just done it secretly.

If the Qingbaijiang Railway Port is built before the Chongqing Port, it may very well overshadow the Chongqing Port. If it also obtains the national train dispatching permit, it will become a complete competitor.

Bringing this up openly is definitely not in Chongqing's interest, and Chongqing will inevitably oppose it.

What exactly do they mean?
Chen Xuebing was certain there was something fishy going on, but he couldn't quite figure out what it was.

But involving Hanlong is absolutely out of the question.

This is a matter for the mainstream business community. Liu Han started by stealing timber and exploiting policy loopholes. He has been involved in gambling machines, futures, steel, energy, and mining, and his business has grown bigger and bigger over time, always making huge profits. He is unlikely to have much interest in long-term investments in infrastructure. If they want to come in, they must have ulterior motives.

The two section chiefs in Chongqing were unaware of any Hanlong Group, but upon hearing that there were suspicions of them operating independently in Sichuan, the Transportation Commission immediately brought the issue to the forefront:
"Is the construction of the Qingbaijiang dedicated line really necessary so early? What about the specific operational details for the two ports? For example, how will the profits be distributed? Who will take the lead? Chongqing Port's international freight train qualification is a core resource; how can we ensure that its value is not diluted?"

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) was more direct: "Can you guarantee that Chongqing Port's dominant position will remain unchanged? You won't use Chongqing Port's policies as a safety net while applying for international freight train policies from higher levels, will you?"

If you have this kind of attitude, you might as well not play at all.

"Could we settle accounts internally within the platform company based on the volume of goods and the contribution of cargo containers?" the Sichuan Development and Reform Commission said calmly.

A tone of questioning and confrontation followed.

"Chongqing's automobile industry produces high-value-added products, so how can we settle accounts based solely on the volume of goods?"

"Director Yang, why aren't Chengdu's products considered high value-added?"

Both sides stuck to their own versions of events and gradually started arguing.

Chen Xuebing stood with his arms crossed, saying nothing.

Two minutes later, Director Xian suddenly coughed and looked at Chen Xuebing, asking, "President Chen, you are an investor in the Chongqing Logistics Port, the one who proposed the Ziyang transit station concept, and now you are also an investor in Sichuan. Can you offer some suggestions on the construction of the dedicated line in Qingbaijiang?"

Chen Xuebing looked up and frowned.

That's really strange.

I told him not to speak before the meeting, but now they're actually asking for his opinion.

Chen Xuebing pondered the gains and losses in his mind.

After a long pause, he spoke calmly:

"I think it still needs to be discussed. Let's extend the meeting, take a break, and call the leaders in Chongqing. We'll talk about it again this afternoon."

When facing a group of leaders, his words left no room for argument.

The meeting has only been going on for a little over half an hour, and it's already adjourning?
But on today's topic, they seem to have the right to say that.

The private enterprise representatives present were all impressed by this spirit, and their understanding of Chen Xuebing deepened.

What's even more ingenious is that Director Xian whispered something to the leaders of the Development and Reform Commission, then glanced at the two section chiefs and asked, "Section Chief Yang, Section Chief Zhou, what do you think?"

When Director Chen stood up to express his opposition on behalf of Chongqing, the two section chiefs naturally stood by him.

"Alright! We'll discuss it again this afternoon!"

The meeting has truly adjourned.

Chen Xuebing stood up abruptly and hurriedly walked out of the conference room.

Gu An and his group quickly caught up.

Liu Han, sitting in the back row near the door, had a gleam in his eyes. He hadn't expected a representative of a private enterprise to have such an imposing presence. He stood up, stopped Chen Xuebing, and shook hands with him with a smile.

"Mr. Chen, this is Sichuan Hanlong."

"Nice to meet you!" Chen Xuebing shook hands perfunctorily before he could finish speaking and left.

ten minutes later.

Chen Xuebing did not leave the building, but went upstairs, made a phone call, and stood at the door of the deputy director's office, waiting for Director Xian to arrive.

Director Xian came upstairs with a smile on his face.

"Mr. Chen! I'm so sorry!"

If it were someone else, they certainly wouldn't understand what "I'm sorry" meant.

Chen Xuebing simply followed Director Xian into the room, closed the door, sat down on the sofa, and immediately questioned, "Director Xian, is this appropriate?"

"We had no choice!"

Director Xian sighed, took a sip of tea from the cup on his desk, and then said slowly, "Hanlong Group has nearly 10 billion yuan in mining assets and steel projects. It is heavily reliant on the Sichuan-Chongqing logistics network. A transit warehouse can reduce costs and increase efficiency, so it is reasonable for them to participate."

Chen Xuebing didn't get the answer he wanted, shook his head, and then provoked a deeper conversation:
"Is this appropriate? What should we do now that Hanlong is coming in?"

Director Xian of "Hanlong" frowned: "I heard that some of their projects were a bit domineering in the past, but it shouldn't have been to the point that they couldn't be done, right? Their boss has done a lot of charity work in recent years, and his behavior has improved."

Chen Xuebing remained silent. Donating a few coins was a minor issue, merely a fleeting illusion.

The real problem was that he didn't believe that the leaf could completely block Director Xian's view.

At most, they just don't know how serious the problem really is.

"However," Director Xian said, noticing the displeasure on the other's face, "it wasn't our original intention to bring Hanlong in. You remember I was the first to call you when the offices in both locations were established, inviting you to invest, but you didn't agree. Hanlong came in, and they are indeed qualified to participate, so I discussed it with Director Liu of the Development and Reform Commission, and we might as well take Chongqing's opinion into consideration."

These words confirmed Chen Xuebing's suspicions.

Shifting the blame.

Let Chongqing refute this.

Director Xian continued speaking, expressing goodwill: "Hanlong's past practices have indeed been somewhat problematic. We've considered that you're coming to invest, so I'm telling you today to try not to express your opinions and let the comrades in Chongqing make the decision."

Chen Xuebing laughed: "So you see I'm dissatisfied, so you're asking for my opinion again?"

Director Xian smiled and drank his tea without answering.

During the meeting, he observed Chen Xuebing and noticed that Chen Xuebing's dissatisfaction was evident in his words. Considering that Chen Xuebing was also deeply rooted in Chongqing and could establish himself there, he thought that Chen Xuebing might be able to challenge Liu Han. He felt that a strategy of using one tiger to devour another was not a bad idea.

Thinking it over, he added:
"By the way, Chengdu has no funds involved in this investment. They are prepared to exchange this 400 million yuan investment for one million square meters of real estate land and development rights along the Qingbaijiang River. If you change your mind now, we can try to negotiate the same terms for you."

Chen Xuebing's lips twitched as he listened.

400 yuan per square meter?
He inquired about several plots of land in the city center, such as Chunxi Road, and found that the land prices were all above 9,000 yuan per square meter! Even with a plot ratio of 3.0, the cost of purchasing a house was still 3000 yuan per square meter!

Even though Qingbaijiang is in the suburbs of the Fifth Ring Road, it's still too cheap.

Moreover, this land is going to be developed into a logistics hub, which will definitely appreciate in value. Even if someone wanted to buy it at a fair price now, it wouldn't be released, let alone at such an extremely low price.

Damn it, let him get it, develop it into real estate, and the building materials might even be illegally mined.

A supply chain that makes money by going around in circles.

Yes, since he's in the building materials business, there's no way he'd only be thinking about acquiring a piece of land.

Even if you don't think about it now, greed is endless. Once you open this door, you'll eventually set your sights on other things.

During the construction process, they might create some kind of specially supplied materials.
What a mess!

"Of course, this will offend people. If it puts you in a difficult position, Mr. Chen, then forget it."

Seeing him hesitate, Director Xian changed his tone and said.

A leader is a leader; in just a few words, he's spouting all the tricks of the trade.

Chen Xuebing's expression calmed down, and he asked in return, "Director Xian, have you considered that if the Chongqing side also didn't know the situation and agreed, would this matter be settled?"

Director Xian took a deep breath: "If Chongqing agrees as well, then we've done our best."

Chen Xuebing stood up with a sullen face, slowly shook his head, then took out his phone and dialed a number.

"Xiao Chen, you did the right thing! The freight railway in Qingbaijiang must not be built because of Chongqing! You'll go there this afternoon."

"I'm in the office of the Transportation Department's Fresh Hall," Chen Xuebing interrupted.

"Ok?"

"I was just about to report to you that I'm going to fund the 400 million yuan railway project in Qingbaijiang."

Chen Xuebing's calm and composed voice surprised both leaders.

"What? You're going to work for them? What were you thinking?!" The angry roar from the other end of the phone was clearly audible to Director Xian.

Chen Xuebing's voice was even louder: "Do you know who's in here now? Unless you can guarantee that Chongqing will completely reject this project, otherwise, if I don't kick him out, this project will be a mess! Rather than that, I'd rather leave as soon as possible! You guys do it yourselves!"

One sentence left both leaders in an awkward position.

"I heard about this. Are you overthinking it?"

"I suggest you do some research. This company is easy to hire but hard to get rid of."

"Wait for my call!"

The phone slammed down.

Chen Xuebing didn't say anything, but sat on the sofa and waited.

Seeing Chen Xuebing's serious expression, Director Xian hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head and started texting.

More than half an hour later, the call was finally answered.

The tone had changed; it was no longer a reprimand, but rather a hint of helplessness.

"Go ahead and do it if you want, but be careful about how you do it and try not to escalate the conflict. Once you've agreed on something, come back to Chongqing. Let your subordinates handle the rest."

The Kirin phone's earpiece reception was quite good; Director Xian was paying attention to Chen Xuebing's call but couldn't hear anything.

But Chen Xuebing's reply made Director Xian realize what they were talking about.

"I'll arrange it."

"Don't worry, this is a major event concerning the development of both places. We will make arrangements in advance. Anyone who tries to cause trouble will have to think twice."

Chen Xuebing calmed down and recalled some things he had heard about Liu Han in his previous life.

"That's settled then. I'll call you if I can't handle it." Chen Xuebing said and then hung up.

Director Xian stood up with a conflicted expression: "President Chen, if we can't reach an agreement, we can discuss other options. There's no need for that."

Seeing Chen Xuebing's demeanor, he was genuinely afraid that a conflict might arise between them, especially given the context of this project.

Chen Xuebing smiled and stretched out his hand: "I won't attend the meeting this afternoon. I'll take this project, one million square meters in Qingbaijiang. I'll charge 600 yuan per square meter. I'll add 200 million yuan after the project is completed. This meat is too oily for me to eat; it'll give me diarrhea."

Director Xian pondered for a moment.

"Mr. Chen, since you've done us such a great favor, I think we should go and talk to Hanlong about this matter ourselves."

“Sure.” Chen Xuebing cracked his neck and said decisively, “If we can’t reach an agreement, just give him my phone number.”

"Don't be impulsive." Director Xian became more direct in his speech after seeing his actions.

Chen Xuebing raised his hand and rubbed his shoulder blade, revealing a gentle smile.

"Don't worry, boss. I'm a legitimate businessman. Even if he's not, he can't touch me."

(End of this chapter)