Originally, Xu Zhao was supposed to be the main character today, but then Sha Rui Jin arrived.
Xu Zhao had to step aside, standing next to Li Da Kang.
“Isn’t that Secretary Xu? Why isn’t he the first? Who’s the one walking in front of him?”
“Don’t recognize him. Could he be someone even higher than Secretary Xu?”
“Someone higher than Secretary Xu? He must be someone from the province.”
“Could he be the newly appointed provincial party secretary, Sha Rui Jin…?”
Sha Rui Jin hadn't publicly appeared in Jinghai City before, so the people here didn't recognize him.
Yet, some were able to guess his identity.
“Secretary Xu, congratulations on securing such a big project. Where’s the CEO of Tesla? I’d like to meet him.”
Li Da Kang said as they walked.
“He’s back in the States. He didn’t come today. Those foreigners are engineers from Tesla.”
Xu Zhao pointed to the foreigners in the welcoming crowd.
“He doesn’t even show up on such an important day. That’s a bit disrespectful.”
Li Da Kang said.
“Whether he comes or not doesn’t matter. As long as the money and technology arrive.”
Xu Zhao didn’t care at all.
“So, has the money arrived?”
Li Da Kang asked.
“The first installment of five hundred million US dollars has been received. We’ll also take out a ten billion loan as a supplement.”
Xu Zhao said.
Actually, Tesla could have fully funded the factory construction.
But if they could take out a loan, why not? They could save money for other things.
“Is the ten billion loan in dragon yuan or US dollars?”
Li Da Kang asked.
“Of course, dragon yuan.”
Xu Zhao said.
Li Da Kang felt a jolt in his heart.
Five hundred million US dollars was equivalent to over thirty billion dragon yuan.
The other party was putting in five hundred million US dollars and only taking out a ten billion dragon yuan loan, indicating the project was real.
Could it be that Xu Zhao hadn't been deceived?
But it didn’t make sense. Why would such a large project choose Jinghai City specifically?
As they spoke, the leaders followed the red carpet onto the stage.
Then came the turn to deliver speeches.
Sha Rui Jin spoke first.
He simply congratulated Jinghai City, praised Xu Zhao and the other officials in Jinghai City, and hoped they would continue to do well.
Then it was Xu Zhao’s turn to speak.
He talked about his vision for the future of electric vehicles.
Finally, he let Yan Yang Xue and the others have their turn, to gain some exposure.
These guys could talk more than Xu Zhao. One after another, they spoke for a full hour and a half.
Especially Zhao Li Dong, who spoke for over twenty minutes.
The auspicious time arrived, and they finally reluctantly put down the microphones.
Then came the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Of course, Xu Zhao and Sha Rui Jin cut the ribbon together, while others could only hold the ribbon.
Li Da Kang was from another city and didn't even have the right to hold the ribbon.
He could only watch from behind.
Seeing Xu Zhao and Sha Rui Jin cutting the ribbon together, he felt a pang in his heart: “If this project is real, then Jingzhou City might be surpassed.”
After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the excavator, adorned with a large red embroidered ball, started working, scooping up a load of earth.
Groundbreaking!
Everyone applauded...
They had originally planned to hold a celebration banquet, but Xu Zhao rejected it.
Xu Zhao didn’t feel like eating with these people. He would rather go home and sleep with Gao Qi Lan.
“Secretary Sha, there’s nothing much to see here. Let’s go back to the city committee.”
Xu Zhao said.
“Good.”
Sha Rui Jin nodded inwardly when he learned that Xu Zhao wouldn't hold a celebration banquet.
Xu Zhao was truly a practical person. No wonder he could quietly secure such a big project.
Then, Sha Rui Jin smiled at Li Da Kang and said, “You said you’re experienced and can tell the truth from the false at a glance. What do you think, is this project real or fake?”
Li Da Kang gave a wry smile and said, “I was just joking. How could such a big project be fake?”
Xu Zhao chuckled and said, “It seems you came here to debunk things. Then I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. I personally sent people to invite them from the States.”
Li Da Kang thought: They were invited directly from the States. No wonder Tesla didn’t come to Jingzhou City.
He just didn't know how Xu Zhao knew about Tesla in the US.
And he also knew about their need for a factory.
Could it be that Xu Zhao had the ability to strategize from thousands of miles away?
“Xu Zhao, how did you know there was this company in the US, and that they would build a factory here?”
Sha Rui Jin was also curious.
“They had already inspected several first-tier cities in China. I just happened to get the news and invited them to come to Jinghai City to take a look.”
Xu Zhao said.
“That’s even more strange. Since they’ve seen first-tier cities, why would they choose Jinghai City?”
Sha Rui Jin and Li Da Kang didn’t understand.
“I personally took their CEO on a tour of Jinghai City and chatted with him for several hours. We hit it off. Besides, Jinghai City is not bad either. It can meet their needs for factory construction.”
Xu Zhao said.
“I see. You have such foresight. No wonder you were successful.”
Sha Rui Jin knew that things couldn’t be that simple.
But he didn’t need to investigate too carefully.
He only needed to know that Xu Zhao had secured this project, which was also an achievement for Handong Province and him.
Li Da Kang, however, was not happy. He thought: If I had known about this, I would have invited Tesla too. With the conditions of Jingzhou City, I probably could have succeeded.
He felt that perhaps Xu Zhao had just been lucky. Tesla’s requirements were not high.
As for the loans and policy incentives that Xu Zhao had provided, they were nothing special.
“It’s a shame to put this project in Jinghai City. If it were in Jingzhou City, it would definitely have developed even better.”
Li Da Kang couldn’t help but say to Sha Rui Jin.
“The conditions in Jingzhou City are indeed better, but they have already decided. It’s useless to say anything now.”
Sha Rui Jin saw through his thoughts.
“How is it useless? They’ve just started construction. It’s not too late to change locations now.”
Li Da Kang said.
Xu Zhao and the others were immediately unhappy.
Before Xu Zhao could speak, Yan Yang Xue exploded: “Li Da Kang, stop talking nonsense. Don’t think you can talk to me like that just because you’ve joined the provincial committee.”
Li Da Kang didn't expect him to dare to address him directly. He said angrily, “Vice Secretary Yan, I advise you to be more respectful. Even without joining the provincial committee, I’m still one level higher than you.”
Yan Yang Xue scoffed, “I’m the deputy secretary of Jinghai City. I don’t report to you.”
Xu Zhao said, “Secretary Da Kang, letting you participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony was to give you face. I advise you to speak less.”
Zhuang Yong Jie, Zhao Li Dong, and the others all stared at Li Da Kang with hostility.
If he dared to speak again, they would definitely scold him.
Seeing that these people were all hostile towards him, Li Da Kang didn’t dare to talk anymore.
Sha Rui Jin chuckled, “You’re all officials in Handong Province. What’s there to argue about?”
Li Da Kang thought: You’re the provincial party secretary, so of course you don’t care. I have to find a way to pry this project away to Jingzhou City.
He secretly prayed that something would go wrong during construction.