The game of power begins with the police officers at the local police station.

Gu Jia picked up her wine glass, took a sip of red wine, and gently put it down: "County Chief Chen, I wanted to talk about feelings with you, but you're unwilling, so we can only talk about a deal."

Chen Shi waited for Gu Jia to continue.

Gu Jia continued, "I can help you get Governor Zhu to approve the highway in Chunyang County, but I can't get the provincial government to allocate funds."

You need to find a way to secure the funding for the highway construction. The highway construction will be handled by Mingzhou Jiajia Development Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the Jiajia Group.

Chen Shi looked at Gu Jia: "This highway has a total investment of 145 billion yuan. Even if it's approved, the province won't allocate funds, so it can't be built. Where will a poor county like Chunyang get the money?"

After a moment of silence, Chen Shi said, "President Gu, if you can get the approval, you can definitely get the funding. As long as the province provides the funding, your company will build this highway."

Gu Jia looked at Chen Shi: "You overestimate me. Getting the approval is just a matter of Governor Zhu's word, but getting funding is difficult. The province doesn't have money either. Each county has its own problems. If the money goes to Chunyang County, other places won't get any. This highway has not played any role in the province's development. Highways in other places are related to the overall economic development of the province. They can't be built just because Governor Zhu says not to."

The two fell silent once again, neither of them speaking.

Chen Shi broke the silence: "President Gu, I have a proposal here. Would you like to hear it?"

Gu Jia looked at Chen Shi: "I'm all ears."

"Jiajia Group has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Mingzhou Municipal Party Committee and Government. Chunyang County is under the jurisdiction of Mingzhou City. You will invest in and build this expressway, and the operating rights will be granted for twenty years. After twenty years, it will be returned to the Chunyang County Government. What do you think?"

"Chen County, you're trying to get something for nothing. The total investment is 145 billion yuan, and the operating rights are for 20 years. You need to collect at least 1 billion yuan in tolls every year to ensure the company doesn't lose money."

With that kind of traffic volume, can Chunyang County really generate 1 billion yuan in revenue a year?

Chen Shi said in a deep voice, "My answer is yes. This highway passes through Heyuan Town, Shangying Town, Fushan Town, Huangchang Town, and Laoyan Town. Chunyang County has a population of 69, Heyuan Town has 6.5, Shangying Town has 9.8, Fushan Town has 8.9, Huangchang Town has 11.5, and Laoyan Town has 5.7, totaling 42.4, accounting for 61.5% of Chunyang's total population."

With the highway completed, the Chunyang County government plans to build a thermal power plant in Laoyan Town. Shangying Town and Huangchang Town are major coal-producing towns, and all the coal from these two towns will be transported to the Laoyan Town thermal power plant. You can imagine how many large trucks will be hauling coal there.

This highway is also the only passage connecting Yixing County in Southwest Province. Yixing County is a commercially developed area, and there must be many people doing business in Chunyang County and even Mingzhou. I think it's no problem to have 1 billion yuan in toll fees per year.

You can arrange for someone to conduct an assessment and investigation; without investigation, one has no right to speak.

Gu Jia thought about it seriously for a while. If there really were that many people, they might not lose money, at most they could only break even and wouldn't make much money. The group would definitely not do such a loss-making business. From the perspective of the group's shareholders, not making money is a loss.

Cash flow is crucial for any company, determining its survival; the group's shareholders certainly wouldn't use 145 billion yuan for poverty alleviation.

Gu Jia's eyes lit up: "In Chen County, no company would dare to invest 145 billion yuan to gamble. Twenty years is too long, and too much will change. To be honest, it's hard to say whether I'll still be in Jiajia Group by then, and you certainly won't be in Chunyang County anymore."

"Once the highway is completed, you plan to build a thermal power plant in Laoyan Town. The construction of the power plant will be undertaken by Mingzhou Jiajia Development Co., Ltd. I can negotiate this with the group's shareholders."

Gu Jia was calculating: the thermal power plant construction would cost at least 10 billion yuan. The Chunyang County government didn't have the money, but the power company did, and they could make at least several billion yuan. The operating rights for the highway construction would be used to break even. This deal wouldn't be a loss.

Before Chen Shi could speak, Gu Jia continued, "I heard that the Chunyang County government is going to establish an economic development zone in Dawangdi and has already started the application process. I can use my connections in the province to get the economic development zone approved. However, they need to grant our company a 100-mu plot of land in Dawangdi, which will be transferred as industrial land. After the transfer, the land use will be changed to commercial land so our company can carry out commercial development in Dawangdi."

Chen Shi looked at Gu Jia: "No wonder President Gu is the top salesperson. She's very shrewd. Industrial land is around 150,000 yuan per mu, while commercial land is 400,000 to 500,000 yuan per mu. The difference is 200,000 to 300,000 yuan per mu. For 100 mu, that's 20 to 30 million yuan."

Gu Jia smiled and said, "County Chief Chen, if you want the horse to run, you have to feed it grass. If you agree to these two conditions, I will appeal to the group to send an expert team to conduct an investment assessment."

I would also like to emphasize that the 100 mu of land in the Greater Bay Area must be designated by our company.

Chen Shi replied, "The Greater Bay Area is going to be developed economically. The government has plans. When I have time, I'll take you to see the actual development area of ​​the Greater Bay Area. As long as it's not in the planned industrial development zone, you can go wherever you want."

Gu Jia looked at Chen Shi: "County Chief Chen, does that mean you've agreed?"

Chen Shi smiled bitterly: "Even a hero can be brought down by a penny. If a poor county wants to develop, it can only make painful sacrifices."

Gu Jia smiled broadly: "County Chief Chen, let's have a drink. It's been a pleasure working together."

Chen Shi raised his wine glass and clinked it against Gu Jia's: "It's been a pleasure working with you."

Gu Jia took a sip of red wine and put down her wine glass. "County Chief Chen, let me ask Governor Zhu if he's free tonight. I'd like to introduce you to him."

Thank you.

Gu Jia went to her room, got her phone, and called Zhu Xiaoyong.

Gu Jia immediately changed her previous domineering CEO image. When the call connected, she said in a sweet voice, "Governor Zhu, are you free tonight? I haven't seen you in so long, I miss you. I'd like to invite you for a couple of drinks."

How much do you miss me?

"I've been thinking about you so much that I can't sleep at night."

"I'm free at 8 PM tonight. Please arrange a place and give me the address."

"Okay, let's meet at the usual place. A friend here would like to see you."

"Don't bring shady characters to see me."

"My friend is no shady character; he is the executive deputy county head of Chunyang County, Mingzhou City."

Zhu Xiaoyong didn't refuse; he just hummed in agreement.

After hanging up the phone, Gu Jia came out and said, "Governor Zhu is free tonight. I'll introduce you."

Chen Shi nodded, and Gu Jia glanced at her watch: "It's only a little past four. Governor Zhu won't be free until eight. Come with me to see a movie."

Chen Shi smiled and said, "I'll be your bodyguard for a day, serving you personally."

"Really?"

Chen Shi stood up and pulled Gu Jia into his arms: "Does this count as serving you personally?"

Gu Jia chuckled, "No, it doesn't count, the clothes cover it."

Chen Shi pinched Gu Jia's buttocks, and Gu Jia hugged Chen Shi tightly: "I heard you got married."

"Married last year"

"Why are you so pessimistic? Marriage is the grave of love."

"After dating for several years, I have to give her an explanation. I'm a responsible man."

"Should I give you a 'Good Man' award?"

I'm not a good man.