Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 120 Energy, I'm Terrifyingly Strong

Going upstairs and downstairs only takes about ten minutes.

Former Mayor Xu escorted Chen Xuebing downstairs, his gaze lingering on the new Audi with a complex expression.

"You really have 20 million?"

Chen Xuebing waved the documents in his hand at Xu Haiqiao and laughed, "If I were to brag to you about this, wouldn't I be asking for trouble? Give me another six months, and I'll raise 100 million yuan of my own funds. I'll solve the biggest problem in your county. Then you can go to the county to claim credit. But before that, don't tell anyone."

Xu Haiqiao grinned: "I really don't dare to make a fuss. If I say too much, and you can't get it done, the Party Secretary and the County Head will come looking for trouble with me."

Chen Xuebing patted his arm: "You just keep an eye on things for me. When I get back, I'll treat you to fish at Furong Village."

Xu Haiqiao sighed and stared at him with an inexplicable tone, saying, "You said you would help Furong Village develop wild fish, but I never expected that in just half a year, agriculture, forestry, fishery and animal husbandry would really become my job. It's not easy! But the fish in Pengshui are really good."

Chen Xuebing chuckled.

"Don't worry, I mean what I say. As soon as the cement plant is completed, we'll develop the fish industry in Pengshui, and I guarantee you'll get a second political achievement."

His words were quite straightforward.

Xu Haiqiao laughed heartily:
"Hurry up, I'm looking forward to it."

……

On the way back.

Chen Xuebing didn't drive; he and Tan Hailiang sat in the back seat, constantly flipping through the documents in their hands.

Xu Haiqiao used his personal connections to help him find out about Maotian Cement Plant and the Maotian Group behind it.

The intelligence was very detailed.

The entire Maotian Cement Plant project involved an investment of 1.9 million yuan, of which 1.3 million yuan was from bank loans and more than 6000 million yuan was from self-raised funds.

The delays have led to a series of increased costs, such as loan interest, which has increased from the original plan of 368 million yuan to over 1400 million yuan. There are also additional expenses related to equipment, including late payment penalties, land use fees, and an extra 100 million yuan per machine, bringing the total delayed investment to 3000 million yuan.

The bank refused to grant additional loans, and Mota couldn't come up with that much money all at once.

However, the cement plant cannot start production now, and the longer it is delayed, the worse the situation becomes. After half a year of coordination, the equipment was finally delivered on credit. This month, a ignition ceremony was held to mark the completion of the main structure, in order to show that it has the ability to start production, to calm the emotions of the county, and more importantly, to use this opportunity to find a bank to provide an additional loan of 2700 million yuan to secure materials, electricity, etc., so that it can start actual production.

On the day of the ignition, the event was quite grand. It cost 200 yuan for two hours and a total of 36 vehicles were called up. In addition, dozens of villagers were hired to wear safety helmets and pretend to work on the construction site for 36 yuan a day. The miscellaneous expenses amounted to more than 2 yuan.

The bank thought the project was almost finished and was about to continue disbursing funds when the project was anonymously reported to the China Banking Regulatory Commission. Upon investigation, the Commission discovered a 3000 million yuan funding gap due to delays. The bank then demanded that the property owner fill the gap before continuing to issue loans.

Of course, Mota didn't have the money to fill the gap. He borrowed 2700 million, but they were asked to put in 3000 million. Was he crazy?

This matter has been dragged on for a long time, and recently the entire Maotian Cement Plant only has one gatekeeper left.

Reporters still come undercover from time to time, so banks definitely won't lend money to them.

Xu Haiqiao said they were probably waiting for the storm to pass so they could hold another ceremony at the end of the year and then look for another loan.

However, the chances are slim; we can only wait for the Maotian Group to provide the hotel facilities.

This project started in 03 and has been delayed for two years, turning from a county-level achievement into a hidden worry.

Chen Xuebing pondered silently while holding the documents. Maotian wanted to achieve great things with little money. Now that things had come to this point, he was definitely unwilling to give up. To take over the factory from Maotian, not only would he need to prepare more than 100 million yuan, but he would also need the strong support of the county. He would need to help him get rid of Maotian and also help him find a loan to take over the other party's loan.

A cash cow.

According to calculations, with an annual output of one million tons and a cost of less than 120 per ton, and a current market price of around 320, the annual gross profit after deducting transportation costs is over 1.8 million.

Of course, there are also many troubles, such as coal and product transportation, power supply, and sales networks.

He believes that Mota must have encountered many problems to have failed to get the factory up and running.

But the factory's past success is undeniable.

It's also related to his grand strategy; he absolutely must get his hands on it.

We can't let Mota get rich.

He thought for a moment, then took out his phone and made a call.

After a while, a warm voice rang out from the other side.

"Mr. Chen! Long time no see!"

Chen Xuebing smiled and got straight to the point: "Section Chief Huang! I'm troubling you again!"

"Oh? What's the matter?"

"It's this... in Pengshui, there's a cement factory that misappropriated bank loans for other businesses..."

Chen Xuebing recounted the story in detail, vividly describing how the Maotian Cement Plant hired people to fake labor by starting a fire.

This story is much more interesting than that savage story from last time.

When Section Chief Huang heard "a loan of 1.3 million yuan," he hissed.

"Mr. Chen, is this a large-scale operation?"

Chen Xuebing smiled faintly: "The travel expenses won't be small either, 100,000."

Section Chief Huang remained silent.

half an hour.

"...How big do you want to go?"

Chen Xuebing shook his head: "It's not a big deal, but it's not appropriate for you to go. Secretary Peng Shuilan knows you, and when she sees your reports, she'll think of me. We can't keep causing trouble for people. Do you know any financial newspapers? I'm afraid we'll have to go and investigate a few more times and do a series of reports. You need to keep an eye on this for me until after the New Year. During this period, make sure the banks are cautious and that they can't get a loan."

The other person's tone became much more relaxed.

"Can't get a loan... According to you, he's already heavily indebted, that makes things easier... Mr. Chen, your business has grown so big now?"

"Section Chief Huang, let's just talk about business. If you know less, it'll be easier for you, right?"

"Hehe...that's right, that's right. How about having dinner tonight?" "Okay, see you tonight."

During the phone call, Tan Hailiang, who was standing next to him, didn't dare to breathe.

1.3 million, and he casually mentioned that he would prevent the other party from getting a loan.

This young man's tone changed completely in just a few months.

Ren Ying, who was in the front row, knew Chen Xuebing's background quite well. Hearing his phone call, she understood what he was up to and turned around to say:
"Mr. Chen...isn't it too hasty to build such a large factory?"

Chen Xuebing watched the scenery outside the window flash by like a fleeting moment, just like his ever-changing goals, and chuckled.
"I'm not in a hurry, but the opportunity is very urgent."

Ren Ying frowned and reminded her, "You are indeed very good at making money, and I know you must have a way. However, a person's energy is limited. If you want to become stronger, you need to be a clear person—clear about your needs, clear about your actions, and clear about your personality. A person's weakness stems from ambiguity. I still don't understand what you want to do; you are too vague. I read a book that had a great saying: 'The best way to boil water is to keep boiling it, constantly adding firewood, switching between the two sides halfway through, and it will never boil.'"

Chen Xuebing smiled as he listened.

"What you said is correct in the present moment, but it won't always be correct."

Ren Ying was completely confused.

Chen Xuebing smiled leisurely, offering no explanation.

It's hard to explain.

Looking at the present, no one can predict how rapidly the trends will shift twenty years from now.

In the past seven or eight years, the real estate market has collapsed, the once-dominant traditional internet companies have started laying off employees over 35, new energy has risen rapidly in the past two or three years, autonomous driving has been rushed into production, the fate of the chip industry has fluctuated between the policies of the two countries, and AI is watching the chip and electricity industries closely.

Xiaomi is building cars, Baidu is working on autonomous driving, Alibaba and Douyin are strategizing with AI, and Tencent is investing in various industries.

A ship worth trillions can capsize in two or three years.

Large corporations are desperately chasing every trend, afraid to let go of any opportunity, lest they miss out on an industry that will determine the future and become a relic of the past.

The intensity of competition among business people is far beyond what those down-to-earth business people who take "deep cultivation of the industry" as their survival rule can understand.

While we should certainly delve deeper into technology, we must not become complacent.

From the moment he was born into this era, he has been adapting to it.

He doesn't want to be the person who shakes his head and sighs twenty years later, saying, "Business is tough these days." He wants to enjoy the times and lead the times.

I'm only nineteen years old, and I can pee three meters away in one go.

My energy is terrifyingly strong.

Chen Xuebing was feeling triumphant when the phone rang.

His expression changed, and he answered the phone.

"Mr. Luo."

"I know, I know. I just boarded the plane. I'll definitely be there tomorrow morning."

"Believe me, this time I'm really on the plane!"

……

The first thing I did upon returning to Chongqing was to have a meal with Section Chief Huang.

Then Tan Hailiang was asked to clear the area.

Among Chongqing's eight major livelihood projects, water conservancy projects account for a large proportion of the investment, divided into three phases, totaling over one billion yuan.

The sewage treatment plant that my uncle built in Yuzhong District was the first phase of the project, and the current third section is the second phase. It is a comprehensive renovation of the river surrounding Taohuaxi Zoo in Jiulongpo District. The renovated river channel passes through the zoo and is about 7 kilometers long. A road needs to be built, some sections of the river need to be dredged, and a sewage pipe network system needs to be built. A sewage treatment plant needs to be built near the zoo, and it is required to be completed before June next year.

The construction period is quite tight, and the front line is very long, stretching from the city center to the suburbs.

Work has been suspended for a week now, and the project team calls Yu Chunyin every day, saying that the current team is not good enough and that stopping work is not an option.

It was practically saying that Yu Chunyin was incompetent.

Yu Chunyin had recently made a lot of money and knew that Chen Xuebing's net worth had increased by leaps and bounds, so he didn't feel any pressure. When the stock warrants ended on Thursday, he simply handed Chen Xuebing's phone number to the project manager.

He got divorced and made a fortune within a week, experiencing two of the three great joys of life. He then went out to relax and unwind.

He even turned off his phone.

Now, the pressure has been shifted.

For the past two days, Chen Xuebing has been getting yelled at and kicked by Project Manager Luo every day.

At first, since we weren't familiar with each other, we were rather reserved.

Chen Xuebing needed to rush to Pengshui over the weekend and pick up Tan Hailiang before he could arrange for work to start. He had to tell Manager Luo that he was out of town on business and would be back soon.

He said he'd be back soon on Thursday.

I said on Friday that things were delayed.

They said the weather was bad on Saturday and the flight was delayed.

By Sunday, Manager Luo couldn't wait any longer and asked Chen Xuebing where he was and which flight he was on.

On Monday, when he actually rushed back, Manager Luo no longer believed anything he said, calling him every two hours and issuing a warning to leave the venue.

Mr. Chen's net worth is now vastly different from what it used to be; how can he tolerate being caught in the middle like this?
During dinner that evening, Manager Luo called again, and Chen Xuebing hung up immediately and turned off his phone.

Anyway, he didn't plan to go to the project site; he'd let Tan Hailiang handle the apology.

After a busy holiday of traveling around making money, Mr. Chen was tired of the dusty life on construction sites and handed everything over to Tan Hailiang, preparing to enjoy life before the start of military training at the beginning of the school year.

……

(I wrote most of the chapter today, so I'm taking a day off to rest. I'll finish it later when I have time.)
(End of this chapter)