Chapter 357: Dinner Party, Planning

Words : 2089 Updated : Oct 9th, 2025

“15 billion, they really aren’t skimping,” Lu Liang mused. After lunch, having seen Old Wang off, Lu Liang strolled aimlessly over the barren land. There were some buildings, but they were deserted, And there were ponds, but they had fallen into disrepair, With only a group of anglers fishing by the riverside. As Lu Liang walked along, he approached them and looked across the river at the roiling dust, where hundreds of construction vehicles were coming and going. The situation on the other side had been no better than this side, but after a month had passed, the land had been completely leveled, and they were now laying the foundations. Some buildings were even taking shape in the distance. It was a multibillion infrastructure project guaranteed by the Su City Government, and they had even paid 50% of the construction fees upfront. If it hadn’t been for traffic management regulations, the hundred-ton king would probably have made a comeback in worldly society. "We need to get moving quickly on this side too.” Lu Liang made two phone calls, one to Wang Xiaofeng and another to Liu Pei, asking them to come over now. A 15 billion loan with an interest rate of 3.8%, totaling 2.85 billion in interest over five years—why not take it if it’s offered. He planned to loan out the entire amount. Headquarters, research buildings, manufacturing workshops, testing sites—whatever was lacking, he intended to build, all at once. If there wasn’t enough money, he had no plans to finance further but to invest more directly. If Golden Sand River and DiDi couldn’t keep up, it wouldn’t be Lu Liang’s fault if their stakes were diluted. After all, his initial idea was quite simple: to invest a true sum of 10 billion RMB in making cars. He had even made many preparations for this, but Su Daqiang was simply too forceful, offering directly a 15 billion loan for five years. And with such a low-interest rate of 3.8%, it would really be a shame not to make use of this splendid gesture from the Su City Government. "Mr. Lu, they’ve arrived,” Xu Jiawei suddenly spoke up softly. On the road about two hundred meters away, a few business Audis hurried over and parked at the roadside. Several men in suits and white shirts, looking like leaders, got out of the cars and looked around, searching for someone. "Let’s go meet them, we’ll be dealing with them a lot in the future.” With a smile, Lu Liang raised his arm to greet them. Before leaving, he tugged at an angler’s fish basket and made a face of disgust: “If you can’t catch any, just buy some at the market, it’s not shameful.” "It just rained recently, the air pressure is still a bit low the angler began, sounding indignant in his defense, but his voice abruptly cut off: “What the hell, Lu Liang?” That evening, Lu Liang booked a private room at a restaurant. Led by the local Mr. Liu, more than a dozen leaders from various departments were brought along. Among them were leaders from construction, land, environmental protection, labor, tax, finance, audit, and even law enforcement departments. "Mr. Lu, this is Director Zhuang… this is Director Wu With each new acquaintance, Xu Jiawei would whisper in Lu Liang’s ear. As a secretary, remembering names was of utmost importance. Although a few months earlier, when a 130 billion project had been confirmed and Lu Liang visited various places, these people weren’t even qualified to accompany him, and if they were, they could only follow behind and flatter him. However, the current official was better than the absent one. Respect that was due had to be given, which would ensure the project could progress more smoothly. The meal lasted for over three hours. In the end, it concluded with Mr. Liu’s remark, “Whether it’s the development of the Lou Shui New Energy Industrial Park or the establishment of Tianxing Technology in Su City, they are crucial projects for our city and district. I hope, going forward, every department will cooperate actively to create a green and environmentally friendly Jiangnan Technology City as soon as possible.” This year, Su City had a budget of 160 billion for infrastructure, and next year, it would be 180 billion, with a quarter of these funds revolving around these two projects. It was expected that a total investment of 200 billion would be made over the next five years to improve the surrounding civilian facilities. It’s easy to meet the king of hell, but hard to deal with his minions. Tonight’s dinner was about making the acquaintance of the various departments, not leveraging whatever little power one had to show anyone up, but to clearly distinguish the right targets. If these two projects met any delays, even the mightiest would be uprooted without hesitation. They might not be eyeing promotions, but Mr. Liu certainly was, as completing these projects successfully would become prominent entries in his career. S~eaʀᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Thank you all for your hard work.” With a smile, Lu Liang raised his glass and drained it in one go. The crowd also expressed that they were all there to serve the people. As night fell, Lu Liang returned to the hotel. Wang Xiaofeng and Liu Pei had been waiting in his room since early morning, having rushed over from Beijing and Modu, respectively. Drinking lemon water, Lu Liang rubbed his temples and inquired, “How much funds do we still have in our account?” Liu Pei answered, “4.35 billion RMB.” "Let me see,” Lu Liang was taken aback. He remembered that during DiDi’s financing period, there had been 120 million US dollars in the account, equivalent to 7.92 billion RMB. In less than two months, 3.57 billion had been spent—quite a rapid pace, averaging an expenditure of 60 million per day. He saw that 90% of the expenses were for scientific research, with multiple supercomputers rented in Beijing and a continuous influx of imported equipment and materials in Modu. "Fine,” Lu Liang gave a wry smile, having always heard how high the costs of technology research and development were, he now finally understood just how expensive it could be. Taking the development of smart driving in Beijing as an example, there were now 1273 engineers, each with a monthly salary of thirty thousand, resulting in nearly forty million a month. Although it was mostly brainwork with little material wastage, materials and equipment were provided by Modu. Car shells and frames that lacked any prior reference were created through copious amounts of materials, tested one by one. Spending money like water every day, if he didn’t have some family wealth, he couldn’t have withstood their extravagant spending. Lu Liang paused, then turned to Wang Xiaofeng, “How is the progress with the smart driving development after accessing DiDi’s database?” "I’ve heard it’s going well.” Wang Xiaofeng wasn’t very clear on the details as this project was managed by Qin Siyuan; his responsibilities mainly involved the daily operations and management tasks like personnel adjustments between the two companies. "I’ll go to Beijing in a few days and ask him about it.” Lu Liang summoned Xu Jiawei and took out a stack of documents, saying with a smile, “1450 mu of land, plan it out well.” Upon hearing the boss’s requirements, Liu Pei and Wang Xiaofeng frowned, the spread seemed a bit too vast. A production base, a scientific research building, and a headquarters skyscraper, just the construction costs for these three elements wouldn’t be less than five billion. And then there was the cost of equipment purchases and personnel recruitment; money was needed in every aspect, at least ten billion. Such a big spend from the start could easily lead to a financial crisis due to a break in the capital chain later on. Actually, for ‘face projects’ like the headquarters building, it would be possible to postpone them and deal with them later. "First, make plans and set a budget to see how much funding is needed, and then we can consider making cuts where appropriate.” Lu Liang was unconcerned, no matter how fast they spent money, could it be faster than the pace at which he raised funds in the market? He had been preparing for this project for two and a half years. If he was going to do it, he was going to do it well. Li Bing and Li Xiang would pull out their hair every day, ultimately due to a lack of funds and having to cater to the whims of investors. The problems they faced weren’t something Lu Liang would encounter, so there was no need for him to learn from their penny-pinching ways. Liu Pei and Wang Xiaofeng exchanged glances but didn’t attempt to dissuade him further, beginning to discuss plans for this piece of land. They planned to offer a reward of three million to publicly solicit suitable factory layout plans. After all, 1450 mu, nearly one million square meters, was equivalent to the size of four medium-sized neighborhoods; if the initial planning wasn’t done well, it would become very chaotic later on. The discussion carried on into the wee hours, until Lu Liang, feeling the effects of alcohol, could no longer hold up and let them leave, agreeing to discuss further tomorrow. Early over the weekend, Lu Liang hurriedly traveled from Su City to Modu, heading straight for Xinpu International Airport. "Sis, this is Zhuo Yifan, my assistant, he’ll be taking you over there this time.” "Miss Lu, hello, just call me Little Zhuo,” Zhuo Yifan said with a smile. "Stop with the formalities, just call me Ya,” Lu Ya laughed heartily, very familiar in her manner. Zhuo Yifan was startled; after all, this was the boss’s elder sister, and it felt somewhat inappropriate to call her by such an informal nickname. Lu Liang said with a smile, “Just listen to her.” Lu Ya’s personality was naturally straightforward, and now that she was married with two kids, the word ‘shy’ had probably been completely erased from her dictionary. Lu Liang produced a black UnionPay card: “The PIN is my birthday, spend it however you want.” "Don’t worry, I won’t be saving any for you.” Lu Ya beamed, intrigued by a bank card of this color for the first time. She was two years older than Lu Liang and wasn’t like the older generation who were illiterate about the internet; she had long known her brother was not short on cash. When it came time to spend money, she wouldn’t hesitate. Out of curiosity, Lu Ya asked, “How much am I allowed to spend?” "Just swipe it without worry; you definitely won’t find yourself short on funds,” Lu Liang reassured her with a smile. He had deposited three million British Pounds into it and it also allowed for a five million US Dollar overdraft; with a bit of frugality, it would be enough for a family of three to live abroad for half their lives. Before boarding, Lu Ya chatted with Lu Liang out of boredom, “I’m okay with the girl taking her mother’s surname, but if the boy takes it too, careful old Lu doesn’t cut you down.” "It’s just being born in the United Kingdom, he temporarily has his mother’s surname.” Lu Liang could only smile wryly and explain to Lu Ya. Not to mention a surname, children born overseas could change their nationality before they turn 18; he needed time to persuade Su Wanyu to come back first. Lu Ya sighed, “My reputation in the village was so good, and now you’ve ruined it.” As an aunt, she couldn’t just watch her niece and sister-in-law be thousands of miles apart. She suspected that Lu Liang invited her to act as a mediator, and the worst part was that she didn’t have the moral high ground. After all, Lu Liang was flirting around, and she couldn’t help but feel like she was abetting tyranny. "That’s not the case, don’t overthink it.” Lu Liang beamed brightly, suddenly feeling very happy. "Heh, hopefully not. I’m off.” Lu Ya glared at him fiercely, then followed Zhuo Yifan onto the flight to the United Kingdom.

Chapter 357: Dinner Party, Planning

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