Fang Bai watched the County Leader leave, deep in thought.
He detected the immediate inner thoughts of the two County Leaders, and their opinions were not consistent.
Their main concern was his funding, a ten-million-yuan investment; they thought it would be good if his initial capital input was two to three million yuan.
That afternoon, at nearly two o'clock,
Fang Bai and his father arrived at the county compound.
This was Fang Shi's first time at the county compound; he mainly came to familiarize himself, not to participate in business negotiations, leaving everything to his son to see how he would conduct the business negotiations.
Fang Bai had told his father some precautions for business negotiations: no matter what he said, even if the sky fell, he had to remain calm, and if there were any questions, he should wait until after they left to ask him.
As soon as the two arrived at the entrance of the county compound, Secretary Wu Xingyun, the County Leader's secretary, had already been waiting for them for a while.
Fang Bai greeted Wu Xingyun politely, not daring to underestimate the County Leader's secretary.
County-level cadres generally do not have dedicated secretaries, but the current reality is that County Leaders often have a dedicated secretary primarily responsible for administrative tasks such as documents and daily life matters, usually concurrently serving as deputy director of the government office, and very likely becoming a County Leader in the future.
A moment later, Secretary Wu led Fang Bai and his father to the county office.
Fang Bai and his father had just sat down when the various County Leaders who had participated in the morning's site inspection arrived.
Gu Wen spoke first, representing the county government in warmly welcoming Fang Shi and his son to invest in their hometown, actively pay taxes, and contribute to Yongjia County.
Fang Bai and his father thanked them in unison, expressing their gratitude for the County Leaders' warm reception and support.
Fang Bai smiled and continued, "We are locals of Yongjia County and have always hoped to develop in our hometown and contribute to its economy.
We hope that with the support of the County Leaders, our Xinghai Shopping Mall can flourish and bring more employment opportunities and tax revenue to the county."
The County Leaders expressed their support and encouragement, stating that they would provide all necessary support and convenience to help Xinghai Shopping Mall develop rapidly.
Next, Fang Bai gave a broad overview of the "Xinghai Plaza" investment plan and management philosophy, hoping to acquire land for construction.
In the morning, Gu Wen had already discussed it with the various leaders, so now he let Li Bo present.
Li Bo nodded, holding the draft they had finalized, and said, "Mr. Fang, after careful consideration by the county, we have two options for you to choose from.
The first option: the county agrees to the purchase of 5,000 square meters of land in the plan, with a land price of 250,000 yuan, which can only be used for project planning, requiring construction to start within two years and be put into use within five years.
The second option: we agree to the future 40,000-square-meter Xinghai Plaza plan in the proposal, with a land price of 2 million yuan, requiring the land payment to be completed within two months, construction to start within one year, and the completion of at least 5,000 square meters of mall construction or a total investment of not less than 10 million yuan, to be put into use within three years.
For the remaining area, the total investment must not be less than 50 million yuan within five years; if the standard is not met, Xinghai Company must compensate the difference according to the market land price after five years; we hope Mr. Fang understands the county's difficulties."
Fang Bai listened carefully and understood the county's thoughts, which were simply that they were afraid of businessmen like them speculating on land.
Don't think he was too clever; people brainstormed and had already thought of the loopholes.
However, the County Leaders definitely wouldn't have anticipated the soaring land prices in the next few years.
Forty thousand square meters, currently worth 2 million yuan;
Three or four years later, it would be worth 30 million yuan, and if it were ten years later, it would be worth at least 300 million yuan.
Wen City began speculating in real estate in 2001, and land prices also surged, so by 2003, Wen City's housing prices were even higher than Shanghai's.
In the two decades that followed, Wen City's housing prices did not fluctuate much, unlike other cities that saw a straight rise.
It can be said that if one were to speculate in real estate and land, the next ten years in Wen City would be the most suitable.
Ten years later, it would be a first-tier city.
It's not easy for Fang Bai to earn this land money now; a total investment of not less than 50 million yuan within five years is a high requirement.
After a moment of silent thought, he asked Gu Wen, "Leader, how much financial support can the county provide?"
Gu Wen had already anticipated that Fang Bai would need a loan and said, "For the first option, the bank will support a loan of 2 million yuan;
For the second option, the bank will support a loan of 5 million yuan.
The interest will be based on normal commercial loans; we will communicate with the relevant banks and help facilitate the loan, but whether the bank agrees is ultimately decided by the bank, as the systems are different."
Fang Bai nodded, expressed understanding, and after another moment of silence, finally made his decision: "I choose the second option. I am confident I can do a good job with Xinghai Plaza, and that is also my original intention.
For the land to the east and west of the project site, I hope we can have priority purchase under the same conditions, so that Xinghai Plaza won't lack land for future expansion."
Gu Wen nodded: "That's not a problem. Please rest assured, Mr. Fang."
Next, both parties discussed some details.
After the discussions were almost complete, both parties signed the contract.
Bank loans could only be applied for after Fang Bai had paid the land fee, not before receiving the loan.
The meeting concluded, and Fang Bai and his father shook hands with the County Leaders to bid farewell.
Fang Bai was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something. He first let his father go back; he needed to talk to Gu Wen about something.
Gu Wen had just returned to his office when Secretary Wu told him that Fang Bai wanted to discuss something with him, so he invited him into the office.
Since they had just finished a pleasant conversation, there was no reason to refuse him.
However, Gu Wen was a bit unclear about why Fang Bai wanted to see him privately.
Gu Wen's office was simply yet solemnly decorated, with some Party-loving and inspiring slogans hanging on the walls.
An antique wooden desk was neatly placed in the center of the office, with a landline phone and a stack of documents on it.
In the middle of the room, there was a tea table and a set of solid wood sofas, with a wooden newspaper rack filled with newspapers and magazines beside the sofa.
After Fang Bai entered the County Leader's office, he glanced at the office layout, then met Gu Wen's gaze and said directly, standing in front of him, "Leader, I heard that the county's finances are a bit difficult?"
"Yes, Mr. Fang, do you have a way to help resolve it?" Gu Wen nodded; it was indeed a bit difficult.
Fiscal revenue growth was slow, and fiscal expenditure growth was faster than revenue growth; there were many places that needed expenses.
There were many enterprises in the county, but the tax amount was not much; every enterprise was trying to evade taxes by all means.
Of course, the county was not poor; last year, the city's total fiscal revenue was nearly 500 million yuan, of which Yongjia County's contribution accounted for only six percent, or about 30 million yuan.
Of the revenue collected by the state tax, 25% of the value-added tax was retained for local finance, 40% of the corporate income tax was retained for local finance, and all revenue collected by the local tax was given to the local finance.
In other words, out of this 30 million yuan in revenue, some would be cut, and the final amount left for the county was estimated to be just over 20 million yuan.
Therefore, the land purchased by Xinghai Company could contribute 2 million yuan to the county, accounting for a significant proportion.
In addition, Xinghai Company actively paid taxes, and its revenue grew very rapidly; its turnover during the Spring Festival alone exceeded 2 million yuan.
In contrast, a valve factory with a hundred employees had an annual revenue of only two to three million yuan, and its tax payment was not much.
Therefore, Gu Wen still highly valued the development of Xinghai Company and hoped it could contribute more to the county.
Hearing Fang Bai ask about the county's finances, Gu Wen thought Fang Bai was just asking casually and didn't have much hope.