webnovelfull Chapter 1054 "Gunner" Xu Lian
Chapter 1054 "Gunner" Xu Lian
From Duan Feng's face, which was so somber it could drip water, Wu Yingjie had already discerned some clues; the enthusiasm he had shown that morning had long since dissipated.
During the meal, he just kept his head down and ate without saying a word to the other person, as if he was afraid of getting into trouble.
He was starting to have doubts. Qi Tongwei had come to his door this morning not to surrender, but to make a deal with bargaining chips. It was a blatant attempt to force him to step down.
Judging from the current situation, it is clear that the coup has succeeded, and the two have reached some shady political deal.
As for Duan Feng, his political career is probably over.
Perhaps not only is his political life over, but judging from his dejected appearance, he may not even be able to keep his freedom.
The only question is how deep this hole will go—five years? Ten years? Or indefinitely?
He never expected Duan Feng to be involved in a murder case; if it were just embezzlement, the worst he could get was a life sentence.
After all, things are different now than they were a decade or two ago; corruption is much less prevalent now.
There is no death penalty.
As soon as they finished eating, Xia Guanglei didn't give anyone a chance to catch their breath. He removed the lunchbox, tapped the table, and went straight to the second topic.
"Several high-quality private enterprises in China are going to invest in Beishan. Everyone knows this. The negotiations are almost over, and we are just waiting for the funds to be invested."
Apart from Superman Group, the other companies have almost finalized their site selections and have all moved into Beishan High-tech Industrial Park.
So today, we're going to focus on discussing this Superman group.
The Superman Corporation wants to move their headquarters here and build a 100-story building.
"A hundred-story building, that's no small matter."
The tallest newly built building in China this year is the Jinmao Tower in Shanghai, with 88 floors and a height of 420 meters.
If the Superman Group's building is completed, it will be a new landmark in China, and possibly even the tallest building in Asia.
To be honest, I take this project very seriously. A hundred-story building like this will become the face of Beishan, so the location must be perfect, ideally in the heart of the city center.
After saying that, he looked up at Qi Tongwei, his tone inquiring: "Comrade Tongwei, is it possible for the municipal government to coordinate such a piece of land?"
Qi Tongwei leaned back in his chair and pondered for a moment: "I'm afraid it will be somewhat difficult."
As you know, Beishan has a special location, with the urban area and the factory area intertwined. To free up land in the core area, it is inevitable to occupy Hansteel's factory buildings or workers' housing.
Acquiring land and demolishing properties are both tough challenges; they're not easy to handle.
In my opinion, it would be better to locate this project in An'nan County, which would also boost the local economy—a win-win situation.
Xia Guanglei was stunned, not expecting Qi Tongwei to make such a suggestion.
He had inspected An'nan County. The transportation was alright, but the economic foundation was far from good. Putting a hundred-story building there would be too conspicuous and too out of place.
"How can this be allowed? The fact that Superman Group agreed to settle in Beishan is already a great honor for us. Instead of giving us a good plot of land in the city, they're pushing us to a remote county. Aren't they just driving us out of the city?"
Xia Guanglei waved his hand firmly, "I'll coordinate with Hansteel. The city just needs to handle the site selection and demolition preparations."
Qi Tongwei smiled and didn't refute further.
He mentioned it casually, but the fact that the 100-story building could be built in Beishan was a real achievement for him, and there was no need to deliberately stop it.
However, what he said is also true. Due to its special historical environment, Beishan faces many difficulties in urban redevelopment.
The existence of Hansteel is like a city having two sets of leadership; coordinating the initiation of any project is very troublesome.
The previous high-tech industrial park was only created because he asked the provincial party committee to intervene.
Since Xia Guanglei was willing to take on this difficult problem, then he had nothing more to say.
Holding Qi Tongwei down, Xia Guanglei was about to make a final decision when Xu Lian suddenly leaned forward, his tone hesitant: "Secretary Xia, I have some different opinions, but I don't know if I should say them."
Xia Guanglei glanced at Qi Tongwei out of the corner of his eye, his eyes filled with dissatisfaction—hadn't everyone just tacitly agreed? Why did this guy suddenly appear to disrupt things?
Qi Tongwei looked down at his nose and inwardly focused on his mind, indicating that it was none of his business.
Xia Guanglei understood immediately, and his face turned cold.
In his eyes, Qi Tongwei was the only person in the entire Beishan who could speak to him on equal terms.
The reason is simple: Qi Tongwei is the mayor, a department-level official, capable and shrewd, backed by the Zhong family, and has connections in the provincial party committee.
In some ways, the two were evenly matched, like two equally talented individuals.
Xu Lian was only a deputy mayor. In terms of rank and influence, he had no right to challenge him in Beishan, let alone question his decision in public.
Considering it was a Standing Committee meeting, where every word and action of the leaders would be recorded, Xia Guanglei had no choice but to suppress his displeasure: "Comrade Xu Lian, our Red Star Party advocates democracy. We should speak our minds freely and without reservation. There's no such thing as something that should or shouldn't be said."
Xu Lian seemed oblivious to Xia Guanglei's expression and smiled at everyone: "Then I'll be frank. Please correct me if I'm wrong."
From the bottom of my heart, I welcome this investment. Such a tall building standing in Beishan is a significant achievement for each of us here.
A 100-story building, the first in the country and the first in Asia—these titles alone are enough to make anyone's heart flutter.
While I was tempted, I still had some worries and concerns.
Just as Secretary Xia just said, to date, China and even Asia have never produced a building that is over 100 stories high. Is it because they don't have money? Absolutely not.
Let alone developed countries, even in Shanghai today, raising funds to build a 100-story building is not difficult.
So, the root of the problem lies in the technology!
To put it bluntly, it's uncertain whether China's domestic construction technology can even support a building of this height.
For a 100-story building, earthquake resistance, wind resistance, and fire protection are all critical requirements. If any one of these aspects goes wrong, it could lead to a catastrophic collapse.
Superman Group casually mentioned building a 100-story building. Where does this private enterprise get the confidence to do that?
Do you have a mature construction plan, or have you found a reliable technical team?
We haven't even figured these things out, yet we're rushing to acquire prime land and invest manpower and resources. What if the technology can't keep up later, construction stops halfway through, or there are hidden safety hazards after completion? Who will take responsibility then?
Xu Lian was like a skilled gunner, bombarding Xia Guanglei relentlessly, and the more he bombarded him, the colder Xia Guanglei's face became.
Duan Feng listened with great satisfaction, a hint of pleasure flashing across his face.
You fucking used me as a pawn, and now look what happened! They just played a small pawn and you've got yourself checkmated.
"Moreover, when I received this meeting agenda this morning, I specifically looked up this Superman Group. Their total assets are only a little over two billion."
However, as far as I know, the total investment in the 88 floors of the Jinmao Building is around 5 billion yuan, which means that the Superman Group simply does not have that amount of money.
What do they want to do?
They say no merchant is without guile, so we need to be careful. We don't want them to just pack up and leave us with a mess.
"At that time, every single one of us will be drowned and spitting out by the people's spittle!"