The next day was the eighth day of the Lunar New Year.
On this day, all units began work, and Fang Bai brought his investment proposal to Mo Yang's office.
After exchanging pleasantries, Fang Bai sat on the solid wood sofa in his office, and Mo Yang poured him hot tea.
The weather was a bit cold. When Fang Bai rode his motorcycle over, his calves and hands were frozen. He warmed his hands with the hot cup, feeling them become less stiff.
Fang Bai maintained a calm expression, glanced at the unperturbed Mo Yang, and then spoke, "Director Mo, I have a preliminary investment idea that I'd like to discuss with you, hoping you can help connect me."
He wanted to buy land near the Xinghai Shopping Mall, and Mo Yang was the most suitable person to approach, not Chen Shi.
"Oh, tell me about it," Mo Yang's eyes lit up. This was a chance for political achievement, a good start to the New Year.
"It's like this: I plan to expand my Xinghai Shopping Mall to cover an area of five thousand square meters, or even larger, by combining the surrounding land to create Wen City's first large-scale comprehensive shopping mall!
It will not only sell home appliances but also daily necessities, home furnishings, dining, clothing, and so on. It will be a new generation urban complex integrating hotel-style apartments, leisure department stores, and large-scale catering, attracting people from the urban area to consume, providing new vitality for Oubei's development, and also boosting the economic development of both the north and south banks of the Oujiang River…"
Fang Bai spoke slowly, observing Mo Yang's expression. Seeing him listen more and more intently, he knew he was likely taking it in.
In the next few years, the tens of thousands of square meters of empty land west of his Xinghai Shopping Mall would be built into a trade city, with the Xinghai Shopping Mall itself occupying about forty thousand square meters. It was actually a commercial complex, and business was quite good. There was also a hotel and an office building next door.
However, Fang Bai now wanted to get involved in this commercial complex earlier, building it into the future Wanda Plaza. For now, he would build only the shopping mall, with the hotel and office building to come when he had more money.
As long as he could secure a loan, Fang Bai dared to do anything. He would first secure the land and then develop whatever was profitable.
If he got involved, his Xinghai Plaza would develop better than the trade city in later generations.
The future trade city's location was excellent, close to the Oubei Wharf and the bus station, with the prosperous Wuma Street in the city center directly across the Oujiang River.
But Fang Bai currently couldn't get involved in the development around Wuma Street because the investment amount was enormous, requiring urban renewal.
Urban renewal takes several years to complete, involves too many vested interests, and is not something ordinary people can afford to play with. There's a risk of interruption, and the interest costs are also very high; several years' interest might even exceed the principal.
Therefore, the investment cost is high and the return period is long, making it not worthwhile.
If Fang Bai had the energy to undertake urban renewal or build a large shopping mall in the city, he might as well go to Shanghai to play.
Furthermore, his current network of connections was all in Oubei. He was still far from being able to extend his influence into the city.
As for other areas of Oubei, specifically west of the county seat, they were all small workshops and factories. The county would not build a commercial center in an industrial zone. The small workshops and factories near the Oubei Wharf currently would all have to move to the industrial zone in a few years.
Currently, urban development was just beginning, and much of it was haphazard, leading to many problems.
In 1998, the Dongou Bridge was built. It was the only bridge connecting Wen City's urban area to Oubei. It opened to traffic in 2000, spanning 5.173 kilometers in total length, with a main span of over eight hundred meters across the Oujiang River, and a total investment of 387 million yuan.
Building bridges was very difficult in those days. This bridge was only open for ten years before it required costly repairs.
When it was planned, it was not built near the Oubei Wharf but on an island in the river 3.5 kilometers to the west, which was a bit far from the current Oubei Wharf.
But even so, the area near Xinghai Shopping Mall developed very well.
If the bridge were closer, perhaps even built at the current Oubei Wharf, directly connecting to the city center across the Oujiang River, Fang Bai was confident he could build his Xinghai Shopping Mall into Wen City's busiest shopping mall.
Now, Fang Bai envisioned this bridge with a river span of six to seven hundred meters, as the M3 subway line would also be built in the future. He hoped to influence the future planning of the Dongou Bridge.
From a public perspective, an additional bridge would make transportation more convenient.
But as long as his Xinghai Plaza was well-built and attracted people from the urban area, cross-river boat traffic would certainly be much busier than currently. If Wen City leaders considered this point, they might change the historical location of the Dongou Bridge's construction.
If the Dongou Bridge was the 'Golden Phoenix,' then Fang Bai's Xinghai Plaza was the 'Wutong Tree.'
Plant the Wutong Tree first, then attract the Golden Phoenix.
Fang Bai's ambition was grand. As long as the bank dared to lend him money, he would dare to ask for tens of millions or even hundreds of millions, planning ahead.
It would be even better if he could facilitate the bridge, but if not, it wouldn't affect his plans.
Mo Yang listened to Fang Bai's words, his eyes wide, shocked. He felt that Fang Bai was playing a bit too big.
A large-scale shopping mall covering over five thousand square meters!
A new generation urban complex!
Boosting the economic development of both the north and south banks of the Oujiang River!
This idea was truly bold, but it had to be said that Fang Bai's vision was very forward-looking.
Mo Yang even felt that this idea might actually be realized.
However, such a major planning matter already exceeded his authority; it would require the County Leader's approval.
Mo Yang asked, "Mr. Fang, how large would this investment be?"
"If it's just that five thousand square meters of land, building the first and second basements, and then the first floor, and decorating it, it's estimated to cost over ten million yuan. If we build five floors above ground, twenty to thirty million yuan will definitely be needed. Of course, I hope to acquire a larger plot of land, encompassing the tens of thousands of square meters nearby. I don't have the capacity to build it yet, but I believe I will have that capacity in three years," Fang Bai knew that Mo Yang didn't have this authority and that the County Leader would have to make the decision.
Without such an ambitious plan, he wouldn't gain the county's attention.
Only by establishing a connection with the County Leader could Fang Bai proceed with other matters, such as getting approval for the scratch-off lottery event he thought of before the New Year.
After listening, Mo Yang involuntarily swallowed a few times, saying with slight shock, "What a grand plan! Do you have any financial difficulties?"
"Of course, there are difficulties. It's impossible to withdraw so much capital at once. Currently, I can only withdraw two to three million yuan, which won't be a problem by the end of this year, but I hope to get support from the bank to accelerate construction," Fang Bai stated clearly, knowing they would still ask later.
In reality, he currently had two million yuan in cash but could only allocate over one million yuan. However, by the time the county investigated and made a decision, it would likely take a long time, and by then, he might already have two to three million yuan in funds.
When doing investments, how can you not brag a little?
Leveraging two million yuan to secure a ten-million-yuan investment was quite normal.
This was nothing; some real estate development companies didn't even spend a single cent of their own money. As long as you had a good project and dared to bear the responsibility of bank loan interest, two groups of people could get together and do anything.
Now, Fang Bai needed to open up these channels so he could thrive in Wen City.
He was a native of Wen City, working hard to earn money, and could be considered contributing to Wen City. He was a legal, tax-paying, active citizen!
If this could lead to joining the Party, Fang Bai felt he had the qualifications.
Otherwise, it would be a pity not to utilize the work he had done earlier.
Some swindlers create a plan and can deceive people completely, defrauding large amounts of bank loans, which indicates that the deceived regions are in urgent need of attracting investment.
Now, Fang Bai had already built a shopping mall, invested real money himself, and was a native of Wen City, which made him much stronger than those swindlers.
"Mr. Fang, have you discussed this investment with leaders from other departments?" Mo Yang estimated that this preliminary investment scale would indeed cost over ten million yuan. Even if Fang Bai exaggerated, it would be at least seven to eight million yuan.
And the later planning would involve tens of millions, or even over a hundred million yuan.
Mo Yang felt that Fang Bai's plan to invest in the five thousand square meters of land might actually be approved.
As for the plan to invest in tens of thousands of square meters, given Fang Bai's current capabilities, it would be difficult to get approved.
"Haha, I'm close with Director Mo, so of course I'd come to you first! Here's the detailed investment proposal."
Fang Bai understood Mo Yang's hidden meaning. If this project went well, it would be a huge political achievement. If he had also told leaders from other county departments, then Mo Yang would be competing with other leaders for credit, which would certainly cause conflict.
Mo Yang felt a warmth in his heart, thinking he hadn't helped the wrong person in Fang Bai. Seeing that his cup was almost empty, he personally refilled it and took the investment proposal.
The cover read "Xinghai Plaza Investment Proposal." The first page was the project directory: project overview, investment scale and funding requirements, revenue forecast and risk assessment, return on investment and timeline, operation and management plan, etc.
Turning to the second page was the project overview content, briefly introducing the project's background, goals, and value, and summarizing the industries, markets, and competitive landscape involved in the project.
Overall, this investment proposal was excellently written and also highlighted the benefits for the local government and economic development, directly addressing the leaders' pain points.
In short, Mo Yang had never seen such a formally written investment proposal before.
Mo Yang only skimmed it, then took a deep breath and said, "I didn't expect you to have even prepared a detailed investment proposal. Moreover, the Ideas is clear, it has great prospects, and it considers future planning and potential problems. It's truly rare.
Hmm, I need to report this to the County Leader. Planning such a large plot of land is beyond my scope of authority.
How about this: I'll make a call first to see if the leader is available and try to get support for your project. Please wait a moment; this is a good thing."
The County Leader was divided into several factions. Mo Yang was in charge of urban and rural planning and construction. His superior was the Deputy County Head, but not the Executive Deputy, who was responsible for departments like land and resources, urban and rural planning and construction, municipal public utilities, and property management.
To report work, he couldn't bypass his direct superior and report directly to the Executive Deputy County Head and the County Head.
"Okay, I'm very optimistic about this project and hope to contribute a little to Oubei's commercial development."
Fang Bai nodded, stood up, and walked outside the office for a bit.