Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 848 Rose

The district head laughed and said, "That's really impressive. Actually, before the concept of hotels came from abroad, the people's standard of living was already quite high. We Chinese didn't have the word 'hotel'; we called them restaurants or inns."

"Guesthouse" is the Japanese term, as are "police station," "guesthouse," and "police." In fact, many things we use are borrowed from the Japanese; they are more advanced than us in many aspects.

At that time, we liberated the Northeast first, and we had no experience in governing the country. Moreover, the situation at the time was not easy to change significantly, so it just continued like that, and then it was brought into the Central Plains.

Chen Hui asked, "What about the hotel?"

The district head said, "Hotel is an ancient term, referring to a high-class place for entertaining guests. When we talk about guests, we use terms like 'guest,' 'state guest,' or 'distinguished guest,' right? A hotel is a place for them to rest. This term existed as early as the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Our national-level hotels are called 'state guesthouses.'"

Chen Hui said, "Uncle, do you think we have a chance of buying roses? From what I understand, the business of the Northern Trade City is declining sharply. To be honest, the business of state-owned department stores is not doing well these days, and the hotel business is also just average. I feel that their current profit margin is probably not high."

The district head said, "Let me ask around; I know that area well. Don't worry, I'll do my best."

Chen Hui said, "Thank you so much. I'll need your help to negotiate the price down. I was afraid they'd ask for too much, so I didn't dare to go directly to them."

The district chief thought for a moment and said, "Let me ask. I'm not really sure about this right now, but that place can't be cheap. But it's okay, with your strength, it's no problem, haha. Don't worry, I still have some influence. I'll scout things out for you first. You'd better be grateful and invest more here."

Chen Hui said, "Definitely, definitely. We'll keep that in mind."

The district chief asked, "Any other plans lately? If you have any ideas, you should definitely consider them from my perspective."

Chen Hui said, "With all this land and building buying, this year apart from Harbin, the majority of the investment is in Shenhe. Are you still not satisfied? You need to behave yourself for the next two years. You need to digest all this turmoil from last year to this year. At most, we can acquire another piece of land in Dongling this year, but that's all for now."

The district head asked, "Dongling? You're in an agricultural district, what are you going to do with the land? Right next to your headquarters? That's the only place in Dongling that still has anything, but the city is considering rezoning the districts, and that area might end up in Shenhe. The definitions are different for each district."

Shenhe is a commercial area, and Dongling is an agricultural area; this will not change.

Chen Hui said, "This is really unfair! Why can't they develop their business?"

The district head laughed and said, "Resource integration, you know, a clenched fist is the strongest. What are you going to do with the land? Large plots of land in Dongling are all rural areas now, for farming?"

Chen Hui said, "We really don't have a suitable place in the city to relocate and expand the food factory."

The district chief said, "I remember you seem to own quite a bit of land in Liguan's area, right? Why don't you go there?"

Chen Hui said, "Li Guan has a pig farm, a furniture factory, warehouses, and land bought by the village, but it's not enough. Taking everything into consideration, the city will definitely have to move eastward in the future, and we have to keep up with the trend."

The district head asked, "Why are you so sure? What are your reasons?"

Chen Hui said, "There's no particular reason, it's just a feeling. The Wanliu area has already started development, and I feel that the concepts of industrial zones, agricultural zones, and commercial zones will definitely weaken in the future. They will all develop, and the pace will accelerate. Dongling feels quite remote now, but it's actually not far from the center, and it will definitely belong to the central area in the future."

The district head said, "Nonsense, trying to play tricks on me. Did you hear they're building a development zone over there?"

Chen Hui said, "Yes, isn't this what development means? Why don't we take the lead?"

The district head stroked his chin and said, "Development zones, which one don't we want to build? Heping has one, a national-level one, and the other districts all have enough space. We in Shenhe don't have enough space. Being too central isn't good either; it puts too much pressure on us and leaves little room for development."

Chen Hui said, "Isn't Shenhe good enough? Several major markets, the Forbidden City, several major parks—do you want to have all the good things in your hands?"

The district head said, "That's true, but who doesn't like having more good things? We also have to compete. By the way, speaking of markets, we plan to carry out a concentrated renovation of the old city area and strive to create two or three more farmers' markets. Are you interested in participating?"

Chen Hui said, "It's probably not feasible for now. We really don't have the energy. The Dalian Longcheng Xidu project in Andong is under construction, and the Bingcheng Zhongjie project is about to start. We don't have three heads and six arms. Our cash flow also doesn't allow it. We'll need two years to process it."

The district head asked, "How large are Xidu and Bingcheng? How much investment has been made?"

Chen Hui said, "Xidu covers more than 100 acres and costs more than 70 million yuan. The project in Bingcheng was just signed, and the design plan has not yet been completed. It covers nearly 400 acres, so it will definitely cost more. The project contract is for 150 million yuan. I don't know if that's enough. This is also the first time we've done such a large project. It's located in the city center and has historical buildings."

The district head asked, "Where?"

Chen Hui said, "St. Sophia Cathedral."

The district head paused for a moment, then said, "Ice City has quite the boldness. How about I give you that area next to the Forbidden City? Wouldn't ours be more impressive than that?"

Chen Hui said, "Don't be a wimp. I can't afford it, and I can't do it. But I feel that Bingcheng's approach is correct: retain the key points, inherit the style, keep the area unified in terms of environment and visuals, and then carry out modern development that is centralized, convenient, and coordinated, so that both sides can drive each other."

The district head said, "Why is it that you dared to do this in Harbin but can't do it here?"

Chen Hui smiled wryly: "How big is the perimeter of that church? Just over 200,000 square meters. How big is the perimeter of the Forbidden City?"

The district chief said, "It's not as big as you think. The land is scattered now. The area around it was severely damaged in the past few years. Now, only the section from Daximen to the palace gate still looks somewhat the same, and that was mostly restored later. There's practically nothing left here and behind it."

Chen Hui said, "Actually, it's mainly a problem with the overall environment. It would be better if we made a few streets over there into an antique style."

The district chief said, "That's difficult, it's no small matter. Alright, I have a meeting, I can't keep you company any longer. I'll have someone contact you when I get news."

Chen Hui said, "Okay, then I'll thank you in advance. I'll wait for your call."

After leaving the district, Chen Hui called Xiao Wei and told him about his meeting with the district head. Xiao Wei said, "Okay, then let's wait. In the future, when you go out to do business, just say what you're doing and don't ramble on. And don't casually mention our internal matters; it won't do you any good."

(End of this chapter)