Big Data Cultivation

Chapter 517: Chapter 517 Borrowing a Chicken to Lay Eggs

Chao Gang looked at his sister’s exasperated state and shook his head helplessly with a smile.

Ever since he received the news, he had accepted reality, “It was always meant for him to find out, what difference does it make?”

“The difference is huge,” Chao Ying replied irritably, “If he is willing to cooperate, my tourism development would be much easier… Without his support, I don’t have that much money either.”

“You don’t need to take such big steps,” Chao Gang responded unconcernedly. A man deeply immersed in his political career, although he was willing to help his sister make money to provide ammunition for his political maneuvers, he did not want her to take too many risks in the business world.

How much money is enough? Sufficient is good enough; comparisons are endless.

So he seriously suggested, “No matter who reminded him, now that he’s aware of the loophole, as long as the issue is resolved, his money can be put to use, and we can start investing in infrastructure development.”

...

Infrastructure development is a critical part and involves considerable expenses. Chao Ying wanted to collaborate with Feng Jun primarily to use the infrastructure he was planning to build.

For example, the road: Feng Jun contracted the mountain area, planning to let the elderly Feng couple live there in comfort. He certainly wouldn’t expect his parents to climb mountains to get there; the road had to be built.

This road couldn’t be too narrow. Dou Jiahui, Feng Wenhui and others had mentioned the roads Feng Jun built in Zhengyang were quite wide, accommodating two buses to pass each other, even within his private estate.

Constructing such a road in the mountains alone would be extraordinarily expensive, but Feng Jun would certainly build it—he is not short of money.

Chao Ying’s thought was, once you build the road, I can use a section of it, and even the mountains contracted to Feng family were chosen after consulting with Director Deng. With three plans in place, whichever Feng Jun chose would inevitably involve an extensive stretch of road passing through the future tourism area.

Was it a scheme against Feng Jun? Not really. Places like Riyue Lake Reservoir had long been planned on paper by the county for tourism development. Being close to the county seat, they couldn’t possibly contract it out.

Feng Jun, desiring a contract, would have to pick a relatively remote place—after all, they were looking for quiet, right?

Therefore, the contracted area running through the tourism zone made perfect sense.

It all comes down to that saying, “To get rich, first build roads.” As long as the roads are open, the tourism industry Chao Ying wants to develop can basically get off the paper.

In fact, her biggest concern was that Feng Jun wouldn’t be interested in any of the three proposals and insist on contracting in more accessible places.

She had even prepared a rationale for this eventuality.

The county leadership had agreed to these three proposals mainly because all three tracts were in remote areas, which, if not contracted, would remain so for another thirty to fifty years.

But why would Feng Jun worry about remoteness? He would prefer it even more secluded. Thus, he chose a forested tract with mountains and water, containing two small valleys and a hill.

With things progressing to the current step, all Chao Ying needed to do was to give him a hint. She could subtly suggest that there’s a slight problem with his contract—don’t say it was me who told you, just be aware of it in your mind.

Then, Feng Jun would insist on resolving the issue, owing her a favor in the process.

When favors are accounted for, she could then talk about borrowing the road, widening it, and so on, wouldn’t everything fall into place naturally?

Most importantly, as long as she coordinates her relationship with Feng Jun, no one can snatch the tourism development project away from her—they want to exclude me? Even Feng Jun would have to accept you.

Unfortunately, while she and her brother were confidently preparing this move, the other party had already discovered the problem themselves.

She felt regret, but Chao Gang’s perspective wasn’t that limited, and his adaptability was much stronger, “You can tell him I’ll help him coordinate the issue… Doesn’t he still owe you a favor?”

Chao Ying frowned in distress, “But now, that favor will be much smaller.”

“That’s why they say, in this world, things don’t always go as desired, eight or nine times out of ten,” Chao Gang lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, “But having a partner who isn’t a fool… should also be a good thing, right?”

“You’re right, brother, but…” Chao Ying hesitated, then voiced her concern, “he’s a bit too assertive, I’m worried… I won’t be able to suppress the little guy in the future.”

She hadn’t expected that someone would be bold enough to even consider… arranging for some of the old leaders to die non-natural deaths.

“Suppress him?” Chao Gang looked at her with a laugh and disbelief, “He has the Gu Family backing him, and he’s made a name for himself in Zhengyang. What are you worried about him taking from you in Chaoyang?”

Chao Ying was persuaded, but she still muttered softly, “I don’t like this feeling of not being in control.”

“I don’t like it either,” Chao Gang said with a helpless smile, “but… we have to learn to adapt. For most people, for most of their lives, they’re just drifting along with the current, and I’m no different.”

As he spoke, he stood up, “I need to visit Elder Hu once more, wait for my news.”

When he left the office, several people were already waiting at the door. Seeing him come out, they moved forward to speak.

But Mayor Chao waved them off harshly, “I have business to take care of; reschedule your appointments.”

At his position, it should be a time to show approachability, but Chao Gang, a longstanding deputy mayor and now the executive deputy, was very secure in his role. He didn’t need to be courteous to these people.

However, Hu Changqing didn’t need to be polite to him, “I, an old man, don’t understand… Local self-regulation and reporting to the relevant departments for approval… What does that mean?”

Chao Gang had not thought that Elder Hu truly didn’t understand, so he could only force a dry laugh, “This… We were also worried that after he took over the contract, he might not fulfill his promises. What if he engaged in overlogging? So, we thought of a restrictive measure, just to be safe rather than sorry.”

“You’re thinking that I might not keep my word, right?” Who was Hu Changqing? even a local dog that lived as long as he had would have become canny. How could he not see what Chao Gang was wary of?

Moreover, with his age, he didn’t need to beat around the bush, “Do I look like that kind of person in your eyes?”

“Elder Hu, I really didn’t mean that,” Chao Gang’s sweat was about to drip, “I just thought that…we must prepare a cage for capital…not to harm, but to restrain capital, to prevent it from doing evil.”

Talking nicer than singing! Hu Changqing glanced at him unimpressed: There’s plenty of evil capital out there, yet I haven’t seen you do anything about it.

So he asked directly, “You have ulterior motives, don’t you?”

“No,” Chao Gang shook his head and answered very clearly, “When I invited him to meet you, he just left without any consideration. I felt that he was disrespectful to the elder generation…Indeed, I wanted him to suffer a little, but I didn’t really plan to trouble him.”

Elder Hu pointed at him, smiling contentedly, “See, I knew it, you definitely played some tricks…and you say you’re not afraid of making me angry?”

Seeing that Elder Hu finally reverted to a normal state, Chao Gang forced another dry laugh, “Nowadays, those outside the system only talk about how much money they have, without any reverence… the young fellow is still young. This is also a way to help him grow.”

Elder Hu pointed at him and said helplessly, “I knew it, this mess still ends up being my responsibility to fix.”

He felt helpless, and so did Chao Gang. If you knew how to properly restrain Liu Er, would I have to do all this?

I’m the almighty Executive Deputy, equivalent to a Judicial Commissioner in ancient times, yet I still have to guess your thoughts and cannot follow my own ideas.

Yes, this is not my business at all, he smiled, “The Yuyuan affair should, of course, be steered by you, the senior leader.”

“In a couple of days I will go to the provincial capital and mention this matter,” Hu Changqing sighed, also a little disheartened, “I certainly won’t block him, you tell him to invest with confidence.”

Speaking in such a tone was essentially the big truth, after all, he was the head of an old series.

“Alright,” Chao Gang also felt Elder Hu’s resolve, so he nodded, “Then I will tell him about your great concern for this matter… Do I need to say anything else?”

“What else do I need?” Elder Hu smiled, “We are all retired. How much can I eat? How much can I spend? I just hope the villagers speak well of me. I don’t expect to be immortalized in history, but I can’t let people criticize my backbone.”

Chao Gang thought for a moment, then spoke with a smile, “You’re definitely going to be recorded in the local chronicles. How can you say you won’t be remembered?”

“Hmm,” Elder Hu nodded and fell silent again.

Chao Gang waited for a long time, and just as he was about to leave, the old man spoke again, “So he refuses to come and see me?”

Mayor Chao’s heart instantly wrenched. So Elder Hu had been waiting for… Feng Jun to visit him?

This possibility had always been there. After all, Feng Jun was just a young man making his way in the business world, while Elder Hu was the stabilizing force in Yuyuan’s political realm. It would be quite normal for Xiao Feng to pay him a visit — even whether he was qualified to do so was in question.

It was just that due to the previous issue at the lighting store, there was bad blood between them, and Feng Jun, being proud and stubborn, refused to come.

One was rising with high spirits in the morning sun; the other, an old steed with undisputed respect. It was a clash between the old guard and the new forces — the question was, how to resolve it?

The new waves of the Yangtze River push forward the old waves, with the old ones dying on the beach, Chao Gang couldn’t help feeling this way.

So, am I the old wave, the new wave, or… the middle wave?

He felt a bit old — seeing Feng Jun’s achievements, one unavoidably felt this way.

But in the end, Mayor Chao grasped what Elder Hu really wanted, “Do you want to meet someone from the Gu Family?”

Would Hu Changqing care about a younger person coming to pay respects? That would be a joke.

If a younger person paid respects, it wouldn’t add anything to him; if they did not, it would not take away anything from him either.

So, what was he insisting on, making Feng Jun come to visit him for?

Feng Jun was just from an ordinary small-town family.

Elder Hu had previously shown tolerance towards him, and later showed a sense of closeness. Could it merely be due to old neighborhood bonds?

Perhaps… It was for the resources behind Feng Jun, right?