Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 871 It's not easy.

The district chief said, "I'm not getting involved in this. I'll forget about it once I leave this room. They also said to let you handle it yourselves."

Xiao Wei asked, "Just the two of them? How many people are there?"

The district head said, "I didn't ask, and neither of them said anything. There can't be too many people involved in this. I estimate there are at most three or four. I know them. If they were corrupt, they would have made their fortunes long ago. It's not that the supply and marketing cooperative is short of money. The district, county, township, and rural commerce all rely on the supply and marketing cooperative."

Back then, you were young, but the supply and marketing cooperatives had a lot of power. They controlled the purchase and sale of everything, from general merchandise to agricultural tools, agricultural products, non-staple foods, and industrial goods. Even now, are these businesses and department stores small? Their supply channels are much wider than those of the commerce bureau. Now, there's just not much they can do.

Xiao Wei asked, "Over there, that plot of land across the street, has the district government finalized its decision yet?"

The district head said, "That's about it. We've held several meetings and discussed everything that needed to be discussed. We can basically accept your suggestions and proposals, but when it comes to implementation, both of us must send people together to carry them out. It's a kind of guarantee."

Xiao Wei said, "That's no problem. We didn't plan to get anything from the demolition anyway. As long as things go smoothly, that's fine."

The district head said, "Then there's no problem. We can find a suitable time to sign the contract, and I'll start working on it. We need to make sure construction starts by next spring. We're in a hurry for you to build and put the city into use, so that it can be profitable. Only when you have profits can we collect taxes."

Xiao Wei said, "The district should allocate the demolition compensation funds to us, and we'll handle the work. As for cement and other supplies, let them deliver some. Giving us money directly is impossible; I'd rather not buy them. However, I'm not stubborn. The demolition compensation and cement should be enough for them to make a profit. I just want quality and efficiency."

Xiao Wei glanced at the district head, chuckled, and said, "Look how much money you guys make. You spend hundreds of thousands on something, but sell it to us for hundreds of millions." He knew in his heart that the district head was negotiating with an old friend.

The district head said, "You'll pay the demolition compensation, right? And what about the housing, the resettlement fee? How much will it cost per family in total?"

Xiao Wei thought for a moment and said, "I'll give him one million for the demolition compensation, and we can earn the rest slowly, settling the payment every fifty tons. There's nothing else I can help with; you'll have to figure something out."

Back then, a construction site had its own contractors for sand, bricks, cement, and steel. They weren't exactly triads, but they did get their start through fighting. A large construction site would have to go through several fierce battles to decide on the contractor. Once they paid the price, they naturally wouldn't allow outsiders to get involved.

Xiao Wei didn't want to get involved in this matter; he'd let the district chief handle it, since the district chief had a lot of influence.

Even now, things are not peaceful on the construction site; in places we can't see, there is bloodshed and chaos.

The district head thought for a moment, nodded, and asked, "When will the contract be signed? How do you plan to make the payments?"

Xiao Wei said, "The contract can be signed anytime. As for the payment, let's settle it within six months. I'll pay 20 million after the contract is signed, and the final payment will be given to him within six months."

The district head nodded and said, "Alright. I'll remember this as a favor."

Chen Hui asked, "Doesn't the Hong Kong side need to be present when signing the contract? Should we communicate with them about this?"

The district head shook his head and said, "There is no shareholding prohibition agreement between the two parties. Once the procedures here are completed, you will become legal shareholders. Then you can send your own chairman over. There will be time to discuss your internal matters later. Actually, the main problem with Lao Hu's side was a lack of funds and experience. You can now poach their talent, inject capital to dilute the shares, and take back the equity."

Chen Hui said to Xiao Wei, "I think it's a good idea, what do you think?"

Xiao Wei said, "We're being forced into this situation; we know absolutely nothing about it. Let's learn more about it first and discuss it further. It's a bit premature to rush into thinking about equity. If they can really manage the business well and have sufficient capabilities in all aspects of managing the Gaodang Hotel, continuing the partnership is better than trying to buy back the equity. Let's talk about it later."

Chen Hui said, "Isn't the main issue people? We can just poach them, and that'll be fine."

Xiao Wei said, "It's not that simple. I don't believe the supply and marketing cooperative didn't have this idea after the economy recovered. There must be a reason behind it."

The district head said, "Although the supply and marketing cooperatives are an independent system, they are still under the jurisdiction of the government. In recent years, you can't even imagine how much importance they have attached to attracting foreign investment. Even if they wanted to take back the shares from the Hong Kong people, they couldn't do it; the higher-ups wouldn't approve it. You are different."

Xiao Wei raised an eyebrow, thought for a moment, and nodded. The district chief said, "Since it's agreed, then call them both over and finalize things. I have a meeting to attend to."

Chen Hui stood up and said, "I'll go invite them." He straightened his clothes and strode out to the next room to invite Directors Hu and Mou.

Liang Gaoyou drew up a contract, and Xiaowei and Director Hu signed their names and affixed their official seals to the contract, making it effective. Rose now belonged to Brothers Group and would become an independently accounted wholly-owned subsidiary.

No one mentioned the money. After signing the contract, Director Hu said with some emotion, "I'm actually a little reluctant to part with it. You don't know how difficult it was for us to get this up and running back then. It was even more difficult than ZTE's back then. They just didn't understand architecture, but we didn't understand anything and didn't have enough money. We still had to build a star-rated hotel."

The operation of the trade city is influenced by the market, and no one can do anything about that. But to be honest, we have a responsibility on Rose's side. We've repeatedly brushed off the Hong Kong side's requests for rectification. There's nothing we can do; the higher-ups won't approve it. We don't have much freedom; there's a bunch of bosses above us.

The Hong Kong side also offered to buy shares, but we didn't agree. In the current situation, we can still get a little something, but if we sell, we'll have nothing left. Will we even get the money?

Chen Hui asked, "So, are you even going to get this money now?"

Director Hu said, "The situation is different. In foreign affairs, the province has the final say and they are in control. But this time, we are in charge. Hehe, haven't you heard of rushing to spend money? As soon as the money arrives, it has to be spent immediately, otherwise, once the higher-ups take notice, it's basically gone."

The practice of rushing to spend money is a unique characteristic of our country. Every year-end, all government agencies across the country do this: spend all the money they have, or even incur some debt, so they can justifiably ask for more funding from higher authorities. If you don't spend it all and have some left over, not only will you not be praised, but your budget for the following year will also be reduced. This is still the case now.

Director Mu said, "It's alright, your money goes into our own account. If it were foreign-related, it would go into the provincial treasury. It's different."

Director Hu said, "They still have to be reassigned. This can't be kept secret. Let's make the most of the time difference and spend as much as we can. Let's try to get more benefits for the lower-level units. Everyone has a hard time."

Xiao Wei arranged to treat everyone to a meal, but the district head and the two directors didn't go; they all went their separate ways, busy with their own things.

(End of this chapter)