Chapter 23: Loans and Acquisitions

This is an era where success is measured by the ability to attract investment.

When a township succeeds in drawing in investment, superiors provide subsidies, grants, allowances, and sometimes even reward them with a sedan; the entire township lives without worry for the year. When they fail, they get nothing, faces are replaced, and the township spends the year in gloom.

As for why they need to attract investment… it is because of poverty.

Take Shiliying, for example. The people there cannot sustain themselves by farming, let alone afford to send their children to high school, so they have no choice but to work away from home. The township only has a coal briquette factory, a flour mill, an extinguished brick kiln, and a few street-side shops. People have no choice but to seek a living elsewhere.

Some go out as laborers, returning at the end of the year with wages. Others pack up their entire families and never return. Some, due to various misfortunes, die abroad, leaving behind households of women, children, and the elderly. As the population dwindles, the burden on the township grows, and the economy worsens. To change this, the only way is to bring enterprises into the township to solve the employment problem locally.

This is the case for Shiliying, Han'gai, Fotuomiao, and every town and village across the vast Orient.

Places that succeed in attracting investment and have a solid foundation, like Quanpu to the south, generate tens of millions in annual fiscal revenue. Places that do moderately well, like Fotuomiao, generate millions. Places that fail miserably and have nothing to offer, like Shiliying, suffer an annual fiscal deficit of one hundred thousand.

"That is the gap!"
"You need to think carefully about why they succeed and why we fail."
"Is it because we lack capability? No."
"Is it because we lack sincerity? No."
"Then what is it?"
"It is because we didn't go out and seize it."
"Seize the enterprises, seize the capital, seize the population."
"Look at all those who acted early—which of them isn't a centrally administered municipality? Which of them isn't a special economic zone?"

Inside the glass factory, Yu Yang and the township head squatted under a streetlight, smoking and chatting.

In the distance, the glass factory—having secured a million-dollar order from Sanyuan Agricultural Company—sent its factory manager, finance officer, and sales manager to the main gate to greet the laid-off workers.

"Work is here! The agricultural company needs to build a sunroom and requires a large amount of tempered ultra-clear glass and tempered insulating glass!"
"I need six veteran masters for the furnace!"
"Eight masters for quenching!"
"Fifteen hands for transport!"
"Three for cutting!"
"Two for edge grinding!"
"Two for drilling!"
"Equipment inspections..."

The two middle-aged men who had seen the 7.0-liter Mercedes-Benz "Tiger Head" enter the factory that evening had already spread the news of the wealthy boss's arrival to their friends and family.

Within less than half an hour, over fifty people had gathered at the gate. These laid-off workers cared far more about this order than the glass factory did, and upon hearing the million-dollar figure, they burst into thunderous cheers.

"Everyone, listen to me. The resettlement issues we couldn't resolve before now have a solution."
"You will all stay in the idle factory buildings for now while I assess each family's situation to make further arrangements!"

In order to retain these experienced workers, the factory manager, blushing with excitement, made his promise. The crowd roared again.

Inside the factory grounds, Yu Yang flicked away his cigarette butt. "Has the township cleared the housing?"

"Just like your technicians, they will all stay at the grain station. I’ve already contacted people to weld bunk beds overnight... I’m just worried the city folks won't want to go to our place."

"They aren't really city folks; they are just villagers who obtained urban household registrations but have no jobs, no homes, and no pensions in the city—their children even have to pay to attend school as outsiders. If things develop well in our township, they will certainly stay. Besides, no one said they couldn't come back."

"I hope everything goes smoothly."
"I'm going to sleep."

As Yu Yang spoke, he pulled out his mobile phone and contacted Old Han's partner, Yue Donglai, the owner of the Quanpu trailer fleet.

"Boss Yue, are you asleep yet?"
"Not yet. What are your orders, Boss Yu? Just say it."

From some point on, the vegetable vendors had started calling him "Boss," just like the tough guys did. Especially after a scuffle in the county seat, the title seemed to roll off the tongue even more naturally.

"Here’s the thing: help me prepare five semi-trailers and come to the Sanxin Glass Factory in Liaoshi. If anyone asks, just say you're here to haul glass."

"What a coincidence. We just finished mobilizing five semi-trailers to haul those 1,000 crates of bean sprouts. I'll send them over right now via the highway."

"It might delay things for two days. When you're done, put the highway tolls, fuel costs, and downtime compensation on my tab. I'll make it up to you with 200 crates of bean sprouts later."

"I won't stand on ceremony, then."

Yu Yang hung up and contacted his second brother, telling him to be ready at all times. As soon as the loan was secured, they would rent a bus to get to work, load the equipment, and follow the semi-trailers back to Shiliying. Naturally, the tools for dismantling equipment and the mechanical repair masters had to be ready as well.

...

Outside the glass factory, although the AMG "Tiger Head" was looked down upon by those who held the vast majority of wealth, ordinary people—including the local leaders—had no idea what an AMG was. They only knew this 7.0-liter model was wider, longer, and looked far more imposing than the standard ones. Whoever bought this car was clearly someone of unusual status.

On the road opposite the glass factory:
"Did you find out?"
"I did. The young man is named Yu Yang. That Tiger Head is worth 2.2 million. He paid for it personally, not through company accounts."
"Where is he from, and what business is he in?"
"There is too little information left behind; we haven't found out yet. But through the sales consultant, we heard his father is in the construction business and has several luxury cars at home. However, this young man just had a falling out with his father."
"A falling out?"
"Yes. His father bought two Japanese cars—a Crown worth 800,000 to 900,000, and a Toyota Century worth over a million. He called his father a traitor."

"..."

"Even after falling out with his father, he can still pull out 1.7 million in pocket money at once. His family background is clearly excellent, but I’ve searched through the contracting circles and still haven't been able to identify him."

"That doesn't matter. We'll see if he really places the order for the glass factory. Since the factory has started hiring, it's clearly not a ruse. I imagine the glass factory will be applying for a loan soon."

"And us?"
"As long as they can solve the resettlement problem for the laid-off workers, give them as much leeway as possible."

"Understood."

...

The next day, the glass factory signed the mortgage documents with Yu Yang, handing over the AMG Tiger Head along with the purchase invoice, contract, and engine registration.

The factory manager then took the documents and materials, led his finance officer, and headed straight for the Liaoshi Bank. After a busy morning, it wasn't until he pressed his fingerprint that the manager finally understood why Yu Yang insisted on using a local bank.

The loan processing was incredibly fast. At other banks, the review process would take at least a week. Here, after discussing the amount, it was approved in less than half an hour. If the factory manager hadn't wanted to avoid complications, he would have considered taking out another loan from the credit union.

Of course, signing the contract didn't mean the money was in hand; they still had to wait for the funds to hit the account. But it turned out that the mortgaged AMG Tiger Head carried significant weight. That very evening, the glass factory received a 500,000 loan.

Yu Yang received the news and immediately contacted the Quanpu fleet owner to get those five semi-trailers moving. At the same time, he had his 89 "brothers," along with the veteran masters from the Shiliying auto repair shop and agricultural machinery station, break into smaller groups and arrive in Liaoshi using various modes of transport.

Yu Yang then made his first public appearance, heading straight for the plastic factory next door in front of the many eyes watching him. If he had already offended Liaoshi, he might as well offend them to the end. He would take the plastic factory, too. After all, his bean sprouts still needed packaging.

Of course, he was a legitimate businessman. He didn't steal, rob, or cheat. He was there to negotiate an acquisition. And the funds... 500,000 from the glass factory loan and 230,000 from today's bean sprout sales—a total of 730,000. That was more than enough to acquire a small-scale plastic factory.

Yu Yang pondered this as he arrived at the plastic factory. He looked up at the sign...

"The glass factory is called Sanxin..."
"I really do have a destiny with the number three!"