Chapter 313 - 248: How Much? 10,000 Mu!

Chapter 313: Chapter 248: How Much? 10,000 Mu!

The wine was flowing, and the banquet was in full swing.

Buoyed by the pleasant buzz from the alcohol, the conversation gradually got down to business.

"Chairman Gu, President Fan, before we came here today, we held a special meeting at the Changbai Management Committee to carefully study and discuss the project proposal your group submitted."

As Zhao Hongbo made his point, the private room quickly fell silent.

"The Zhen Cui Group Medicinal Herb Plantation Base project: an initial investment of 30 million yuan, with a plan to contract 800 mu of land for medicinal herb cultivation and establish a dedicated Zhen Cui Group Medicinal Herb Plantation Base. You hope the Changbai Management Committee can provide ’Seven Connections and One Leveling’ policy support."

"At the same time, you hope the Changbai Management Committee can set aside ten thousand mu of land around the base for Zhen Cui Group’s future development and expansion."

At this point, Zhao Hongbo paused for a moment before turning to Gu Heng. "Chairman Gu, we can fully satisfy your first request. After all, you’ve come a long way and chosen to invest in our Changbai Region. This is a sign of your trust in us, and we will certainly do everything in our power to provide you with the best possible business environment."

"But your second request... that’s a bit difficult for us..."

Zhao Hongbo let a troubled expression show on his face at just the right moment.

At that moment, the eyes of the many Changbai leaders and group executives seated around the circular table were all fixed on Zhao Hongbo and Gu Heng.

Facing everyone’s gaze, Gu Heng’s expression remained unchanged.

"Director Zhao, as far as I know, providing ’Seven Connections and One Leveling’ policy support for outside enterprises has become standard practice for attracting investment everywhere, has it not?"

Gu Heng’s voice was calm. "Zhen Cui Group has come to the Changbai Region to invest, and we’ve only made two requests regarding the land. If the Changbai Region can only satisfy our first request..."

"Then pardon my bluntness, but I’m not seeing any sincerity from the Changbai Region."

The so-called "Seven Connections and One Leveling" policy support meant that before a company began its investment and construction, the local government would have already completed basic infrastructure development: road access, water supply, electricity, drainage, heating, telecommunications, and natural gas, as well as land leveling. This guaranteed that the business could operate smoothly in the area.

In today’s fiercely competitive investment climate, provinces and regions were practically tripping over each other to attract foreign capital, increase local employment, and promote economic prosperity.

If this were a decade ago, policy support would, at most, have been "Three Connections and One Leveling."

The evolution from "Three Connections and One Leveling" to "Five Connections and One Leveling," and now to "Seven Connections and One Leveling," was entirely due to the cutthroat competition among the various provinces and regions.

Nowadays, "Seven Connections and One Leveling" had become the standard package for attracting investment. As long as a project was of high enough quality and had great development potential, it could basically secure this level of policy support.

This was why Gu Heng had just said that he couldn’t see any sincerity. And as soon as he said it, subtle changes involuntarily appeared on the faces of everyone present.

"Chairman Gu, it’s not that we lack sincerity. It’s that your request is asking a bit much. The ten thousand mu of land you want us to set aside around the base is more than ten times the size of the base you plan to build."

"The Changbai Region is mountainous to begin with. Leaving aside whether we can even find such a large area of land suitable for growing medicinal herbs, even if we could, we can’t just reserve all of it for you."

Zhao Hongbo still wore a troubled expression, but his words were reasonable and well-founded.

"What if we reserve it for you, and you decide not to develop it in the future?"

"Even if you promise you’ll definitely develop it in the future, how far in the future are we talking? Three to five years? Or eight to ten years?"

Zhao Hongbo sighed softly. "Chairman Gu, it’s really not that we lack sincerity. If you asked us to reserve 3,000 mu as a backup, we would definitely do everything in our power to find a way to meet your request. But reserving ten thousand mu... our hands are tied. Even if we agreed, and we reported it to the provincial government, they wouldn’t agree either, let alone approve it. Unless... you provide a written commitment and a security deposit to guarantee that commitment."

The moment Zhao Hongbo finished speaking, just as the Changbai leaders thought the negotiation might stall, Gu Heng nodded his head without the slightest hesitation.

"Done."

Gu Heng’s voice was clear. "You reserve the ten thousand mu of land for us, and we will sign a written commitment and provide a security deposit to guarantee it."

"Within one year, the Zhen Cui Group Medicinal Herb Plantation Base will expand by no less than 3,000 mu."

"Within three years, the entire ten thousand mu of reserved land will be fully developed."

"If this plan is not completed, the security deposit will serve as compensation for breach of contract."

"Of course..."

"...the prerequisite is that the Changbai Region must maintain a clean and fair business environment, and all government departments must maintain a proactive and diligent attitude toward the medicinal herb plantation base that Zhen Cui Group is investing in and building here."

Gu Heng had agreed to the conditions Zhao Hongbo just proposed in front of everyone, without a trace of hesitation.

’Is a ten-thousand-mu medicinal herb plantation large?’

’On a national scale across China, a plantation of this size would be considered quite large. But for me, who possesses the Meng Shen’s Dietary Canon, it’s a drop in the bucket. Once all eighty-one of the medicinal cuisine recipes from the canon are put into use and Zhenyuan Restaurant has expanded across the country—and even the world—the current ten thousand mu will be woefully insufficient.’

’Ten thousand mu?’

’Even ten times that amount might not be enough.’

’This initial 800-mu plantation is merely a test field for Zhen Cui Group’s subsequent expansion. Once the group has figured out the ins and outs of the medicinal herb cultivation business, they can go all out and expand the scale of their operations. Changbai Mountain’s geographical environment is extremely suitable for cultivating ginseng and Lingzhi, and these two herbs appear with high frequency in the many secret recipes of the Meng Shen’s Dietary Canon. The demand for them is the highest among all medicinal herbs. In addition, Changbai Mountain also produces Schisandra, Immortal Grass, and epimedium, all of which have kidney-tonifying and essence-boosting effects. Although they don’t appear as frequently as ginseng and Lingzhi in the Meng Shen’s Dietary Canon, they are crucial ingredients in the aphrodisiac recipes. The demand for important ingredients related to aphrodisiacs... once Zhenyuan Restaurant fully expands, the demand for them will likely be not much lower than that for ginseng and Lingzhi. It’s best to prepare for a rainy day and plan for the long term while things are good. The future growth rate of Zhenyuan Restaurant will depend entirely on Zhen Cui Group’s stockpile of medicinal herbs. According to professional survey data, the total area for medicinal herb cultivation in China has already exceeded 60 million mu. However, the output from the vast majority of this area is monopolized by the country’s major pharmaceutical companies. Either these companies have established their own plantations, or the plantations have long ago signed exclusive supply contracts with major pharmaceutical firms or pharmacy chains. If Zhen Cui Group’s demand for medicinal herbs is small, they can still purchase them from the market. But once their demand grows, the small surplus available on the open market will be nowhere near enough to support Zhen Cui Group’s consumption. Furthermore, if Zhen Cui Group doesn’t have its own medicinal herb base, it will be easy for others to get a stranglehold on them in the future. As the saying goes, you can’t make bricks without straw. At that point, no matter how miraculous the Meng Shen’s Dietary Canon is, it will be useless. They would be at the mercy of others.’

Under these circumstances, while Zhenyuan Restaurant had yet to attract much attention, it was the perfect time for Zhen Cui Group to lie low and build up its strength.

Based on discussions between Gu Heng and Fan Hong, Zhen Cui Group was currently adopting a two-pronged strategy for its strategic reserve of medicinal herbs.

One prong focused on securing new sources, the other on stockpiling.

Securing new sources meant establishing Zhen Cui Group’s own medicinal herb plantation base, giving the group a long-term, stable supply.

Stockpiling meant that before Zhen Cui Group could establish its own internal supply-and-demand cycle, it would purchase as many medicinal herbs as possible from the existing market to build up a reserve for future needs.

Gu Heng’s thoughts raced, but in reality, only a moment had passed.

After Gu Heng finished speaking, Zhao Hongbo and the other Changbai leaders were all stunned. None of them had expected Gu Heng to be so straightforward.

A commitment of 3,000 mu in one year!

A commitment of 10,000 mu in three years!

In black and white, guaranteed by a security deposit.

Holy shit!

Was this a 30-million-yuan investment?

This was clearly a 300-million-yuan investment!

A medicinal herb plantation with a total area of over ten thousand mu—how many jobs would that create for the local area!

None of the Changbai leaders could remain calm. Zhao Hongbo’s eyelid was twitching uncontrollably.

While it was true that the Wanda Group had invested over twenty billion in the Changbai Mountain International Resort, that was a one-time deal. An investment of that magnitude was unlikely to happen again.

"Chairman Gu, are you serious?"

Zhao Hongbo struggled to maintain his composure.

"Of course."

Gu Heng smiled and nodded.

"Chairman Gu, our Fusong County has been deeply involved in the field of medicinal herb cultivation for decades. We have multiple model plantation bases and several locations suitable for your group to establish a new base. On behalf of the Fusong County Government, I sincerely invite your group to build your plantation in Fusong."

Zhang Jin, the County Mayor of Fusong County, who had been eager to make his move, immediately stood up and extended the invitation to Gu Heng the moment the words left his mouth.

Meanwhile, Gao Zhenfei, the County Mayor of Jingyu County, who was sitting across from Zhang Jin, saw that his rival had thrown all etiquette out the window and, without any warning, started trying to poach the investment. He couldn’t help but stand up as well, not to be outdone, and extended his own invitation to Gu Heng.

As for face?

Who gives a damn about face? Compared to this ten-thousand-mu medicinal herb plantation, face wasn’t worth a thing!

All they knew was that if they failed to bring this Zhen Cui Group investment back to their own county, and the ten-thousand-mu plantation ended up in a neighboring county instead, the people back home would curse them to their graves...