Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 926 Buy One Get One Free

The next day, Sun Hongbao and the other two were transferred to the procuratorate, and the public prosecution process began.

I heard that his parents went around asking people to plead for him, but there was no word about his wife.

Chen Hui said, "She's a calm woman. Panicking at this point won't help, and it's obvious that spending money won't do any good either; anyone with a brain can see that. At this time, it's better to hide the money, take good care of the children, and look after the elderly."

Xiao Wei looked at the document but didn't respond.

The investment promotion documents for Longcheng outlined the city's development strategy and listed various policies, benefits, and support measures.

Xiao Wei sighed a bit. The poorer the area, the more favorable the policies, yet the less it attracts investors. Judging from the setup here, it's clear they're aiming for the jobs that will follow the investment; they don't seem to care much about land prices. Quite pragmatic, indeed.

Three days later, Sun Hongbao and the others were sentenced, and Xiao Wei also reached an agreement with the Longcheng government and signed an investment agreement.

Xiao Wei acquired forty acres of land in the southeast corner of the roundabout. It wasn't that he wouldn't approve a larger one, but he felt that this was about enough. The city's economic foundation and capacity were what they were, and expanding further would only tie up capital and have no practical significance.

Li Wen got the old building she wanted, along with the yard. It was basically a buy-one-get-one-free deal; the land here is really cheap.

After signing the agreement, there was nothing else to do, and the restaurant was officially handed over to Liu Huasheng and his team. Huang Laowu happened to be in Longcheng at the time, so he was in charge of the renovation and repair of the old grain station building, as well as the maintenance and reconstruction of the building near the train station.

The two of them took a very excited Li Wen back to Fengtian.

Li Wen's family was quite well-off at that time, with two members working in government departments, a level above dual-income families.

Actually, back in 92, the concept of a "ten-thousand-yuan household" was just becoming popular, and the differences between individuals and families were not that great.

Although a group of wealthy people has emerged, due to problems and limitations in the circulation of goods and the dissemination of information, everyone's food, clothing, housing, and transportation are not much different. If you can buy something more expensive, so can I. It's just that it's easier for you to buy it than for me to put in some effort.

The difference lies in perspective and access to information. It's mainly a matter of perspective.

Of course, income disparities had already begun at this time, and a hierarchy of contempt had formed among farmers, city dwellers, workers, self-employed individuals, government-employed individuals, merchants, and officials.

Although at this time workers, citizens, self-employed individuals, and cadres were all crammed together in apartment buildings as neighbors, families like Li Wen's, who were government-employed, and cadre families had already distanced themselves from other households in terms of disposable income.

A few years later, various cadre housing complexes and family quarters began to spring up everywhere, removing government-owned grain households and cadre families from the common people, making them strangers to each other from then on.

Following the boom in the real estate market, people were divided into different classes based on housing prices and location. By the late 90s, this distinction was readily apparent in society, leading to a surge in competitive spending.

In reality, the so-called comparison is nothing more than the lower class's yearning for the life of the higher class.

At this time, ordinary working-class families had just accumulated some surplus wealth, dual-income families were starting to think about traveling, while those with government stipends had already taken action, let alone the Li Wen family, who had two government stipends.

When Li Wen talks about travel, she can talk a lot and knows a lot. She has really been to many places, and she has been to Fengtian, the provincial capital, countless times. You can tell from how she talks about how her mother loves to shop at Fengtian Spring.

Back then, ordinary families spent their money locally, wealthy families spent it in their provinces, big-shot managers spent it nationwide, and leading cadres spent it when they went abroad. This was no joke.

"Where is the company? The zoo? Why did you move there? It's so remote, there are hardly any buses. Isn't it just the countryside across the river? I remember it was all vegetable fields, with only a few buildings near the airport."

Chen Hui laughed and said, "You know quite a lot, huh? What? You're not interested?"

Li Wen said, "I'm a little disappointed. I thought it would be somewhere like Taiyuan Street or Zhongjie Street, which would be convenient for shopping. But you guys sent me to the countryside. I look down on you."

Xiao Wei said, "It costs money, doesn't it? Do you know how much land costs per square meter here? Building a building is even more expensive; it's good enough to have a headquarters."

Li Wen nodded slowly: "That's true, everything is expensive here. How far is the building where we live from the office building? Is it as big as the heavy machinery factory compound?"

Chen Hui thought for a moment and said, "How big is the heavy machinery factory? I've never seen it before."

Li Wen said, "The factory office is about ten acres of land, right? It's that big."

Xiao Wei said, "The factory isn't small, and the land doesn't cost money. It includes the main building, annex, canteen, boiler room, guesthouse, vehicle maintenance station, and security office. Add some greenery, and it'll be about ten acres, which isn't big. We don't have that much land, just two acres."

"Huh?" Li Wen pouted. "Sigh, so disappointing."

Chen Hui said, "You usually work on Zhongjie Street, not this side, so what are you worried about? You like to shop in the pedestrian street, right? Perfect."

Li Wen said, "That's more like it. Do I have my own office?"

Chen Hui said, "Yes, but currently three companies are sharing the office space, so it's not very big. We'll have to make do for the next two years. We'll have to squeeze in."

Li Wen covered her face and pretended to cry: "This is worse than Longcheng."

Chen Hui said, "You earn more than you did in Longcheng, and you even have a car and driver. Right?"

Li Wen thought for a moment and said, "That makes sense. Oh well, I'll just have to make do. I'm so disappointed. It's seriously damaging the great image I have of you guys."

……

"Ah!" Li Wen jumped up and screamed, "You two big liars, you tricked me into thinking it wasn't big!"

Standing downstairs at the headquarters, Li Wen looked up at the building, her face flushed.

Chen Hui said, "It's not very big. Look at the area it occupies, it's just over two acres, and the main building is only a little over one acre. You didn't even ask how tall it is."

"What's this?" Li Wen asked, pointing to the construction site next to her.

Chen Hui said, "Our food factory doesn't have enough space. We'll move the food factory here in the future, and this place will be the school. We'll separate."

Li Wen asked, "Does the school really need something this big?"

Chen Hui said, "We still need to set up the chefs and pastry chefs. The dormitories, canteens, workshops, training classrooms, and offices are almost ready. A more spacious place will make everyone more comfortable. Right now, it's a bit crowded."

Li Wen pointed to the residential building across the street and said, "Then I'll live here?"

Xiao Wei said, "I'll stay here for now, and move over here when the elevator building is completed."

Zhang Wei walked out of the main entrance of the right annex building: "President Zhang, President Chen, you're back."

Xiao Wei turned his head and asked, "Just arrived, how's it going over here?"

Zhang Wei said, "It's almost done. It should be ready to use in the next day or two. Would you like to come in and take a look?"

Xiao Wei, Chen Hui, and Li Wen followed Zhang Wei into the annex building, which had now been renovated into a car sales hall. However, due to the limitations of the era, it was much simpler than a 4S store. The floor was terrazzo, and the snow-white walls were covered with car promotional posters provided by the manufacturers, which were simply staged photos of the cars and the manufacturers' names.

The lighting is very bright, and several of the placement spots are equipped with spotlights, which is quite stylish for this time of year.

The workers were putting up the final cleanup when Zhang Wei said, "We can move the furniture in tomorrow—sofas, coffee tables, a reception desk. Do we need a projector?"

Xiao Wei thought for a moment and said, "Let's not worry about it for now, there's no point in installing that thing."

Chen Hui said, "You can put a car camera there, why not?"

(End of this chapter)