Returning wealthy individuals develop their hometowns and become rich in the 1980s

Chen Dong and his group stood on the edge of the field amidst the wasteland. Chen Zailong stretched out his hand and gestured to Chen Dong, saying, "Dongzi, this is the only plot. You heard Huang Bingkun mention it earlier; it's over thirty-four mu. If you really want it, we'll talk to Secretary Tian properly when he arrives."

Chen Dong nodded. Thirty-four acres, which is equivalent to more than 22,600 square meters, is about the size of three standard football fields. The wasteland in front of him is mostly sandy and gravelly, but Chen Dong saw that it was covered with reeds, so there must be many ponds and swamps among them. Filling this land would require a lot of sand and gravel.

This piece of land, though a bit small for Chen Dong's planned industrial park, is still in its initial stage. It is only in China today that Chen Dong dares to invest so heavily in its construction.

If this were America, the involvement of animal rights, environmental protection, or any other petty organization would force Chen Dong to abandon his industrial park plan.

Chen Dong wanted to take his men around to look around, but not far away, a man in a gray military uniform jogged over. Chen Zaixing, with his sharp eyes, immediately recognized him as the village secretary and stopped Chen Dong and his men from leaving.

"Secretary Tian, ​​slow down, don't fall into the field," Chen Zaixing said with a smile as he called out to Tian Chulian, the Party Secretary, who was jogging over. "Watch out for the pit."

Tian Chulian finally made it over, still trying to maintain the dignity of a secretary and cadre, but he was getting old after all, and he almost strained his back after walking just a few steps.

Looking at Chen Dong, who was dressed in a white shirt, trousers, and leather shoes, with a gold watch on his wrist, Tian Chulian took a deep breath before stepping forward and shaking Chen Dong's outstretched hand. "You must be Xiangui's nephew. I am Tian Chulian, the Party Secretary of Lianzhai Village."

"Hello, Secretary Tian, ​​my name is Chen Zaidong," Chen Dong introduced himself and shook hands with Tian Chulian with a smile.

"I heard from Bingkun that you plan to set up a factory in our Lianzhai village. Is that true?" Tian Chulian withdrew his hand and looked at Chen Dong seriously as he asked.

Chen Dong habitually took out his Huazi cigarette, offered one to Tian Chulian across from him, then to Chen Xiangui and his other cousins, and finally lit one for himself with his Zippo lighter.

Tian Chulian, who was about to light a match, quickly shielded his eyes from the wind and leaned down to hold the cigarette to Chen Dong's side. Chen Zaixing, who had been eyeing Chen Dong's Zippo lighter for a while, made an excuse that he was out of matches and came over to borrow a light from Chen Dong. After lighting the cigarette, he put it directly into his pocket.

Chen Dong didn't care at the moment. When Tian Chulian asked him, he didn't beat around the bush, "I do have this idea, but I don't know if it's feasible in terms of policy."

Chen Dong's question stumped Tian Chulian. As just a village party secretary, he wasn't entirely clear on the specific policies from above. He could only shake his head and say to Chen Dong, "You'll have to ask the county about that. But if you want to set up a factory in our Lianzhai village, I'll wholeheartedly support it. As for all the procedures, whatever documents you need from our village committee, I'll get them done for you as soon as possible!"

"Let's go for a walk," Chen Dong gestured for Tian Chulian to walk down into the wasteland. "Director Feng of the Industry and Commerce Bureau has already spoken with me. The county attaches great importance to this and has given me a lot of support since they learned that I want to set up a factory in our Lianzhai."

"However, under the current policy, as a foreign investor, I still cannot establish a company and factory in China on my own," Chen Dong said as he walked side by side with Tian Chulian on the ridge of the field.

When Tian Chulian heard the county government's strong support, he couldn't suppress the smile on his face. He thought that if he could really get Chen Dong's factory up and running during his tenure, even if he was transferred later, the villagers of Lianzhai Village would still remember his kindness.

Tian Chulian had not let down the villagers of Lianzhai Village, but when he heard Chen Dong say that the policy from above did not allow foreign investors like Chen Dong to set up factories independently, his smile froze.

"What can we do then? The county just rejected us like that?"

Tian Chulian didn't believe that the county would just let Chen Dong, this big hen that only knew how to make foreign exchange, slip away right before their eyes. If the city found out, every single member of the Nanshan County Party Committee would be summoned to the city party committee compound and berated by name.

Therefore, when Chen Dong said these words, Tian Chulian believed that Chen Dong must have a solution and definitely needed Lianzhai's help to say it in front of him.

Tian Chulian wasn't in a hurry; he was just waiting for Chen Dong to bring it up himself. Chen Dong didn't keep Secretary Tian Chulian waiting too long. He smiled and said, "The policy does indeed prohibit foreign investment from setting up factories independently, but it encourages joint ventures. Secretary Tian, ​​do you understand what I mean?"

Tian Chulian nodded first, then shook his head. "I know there must be a reason for this policy, but I don't know what it has to do with our Lianzhai village?"

"That's right," Chen Zaiguang, who was following behind, said for Chen Dong, "Secretary Tian, ​​Zaidong plans to start a company called 'Guangdong' with me. The legal representatives will be Zaidong and me. According to the policy, I must hold 60% of the shares and Zaidong will hold 40%."

Chen Zaixing, Chen Zaiguang, and their cousins ​​following behind all lit up, staring intently at Chen Zaiguang and then at Chen Dong, thinking that if their eldest brother had already secured a company boss position, then they, Chen Dong's cousins, would surely be at least some kind of manager or supervisor in the company.

Just thinking about it makes me happy!

Chen Zaiguang didn't notice the money-grubbing expressions on the faces of his younger brothers behind him. He continued to say to Tian Chulian, "But Director Feng also talked to me and Zai Dong. Currently, our country doesn't have any policies to support individuals starting companies. It's easy to be reported for speculation and profiteering if you're not careful."

"Director Feng said that it would be best to find a state-owned unit to affiliate with. I currently have two options: one is to directly affiliate with my current unit, the Nanshan County Water Transport Bureau, and the other is to affiliate with our village brigade collective."

"I was thinking, since we're all from Lianzhai Village, I'll go ask Secretary Tian first and have him convene a village meeting to ask the villagers if they agree to this."

When Tian Chulian heard Chen Zaiguang say that he wanted to be affiliated with the county water transport bureau, his heart tightened. He quickly said to Chen Zaiguang and Chen Dong, "Zaiguang, you didn't tell your unit about this, did you? Of course we should agree to this good thing. You grew up in Lianzhai, so you naturally know the situation there."

"Since the county doesn't support us, we have to find our own way out. I am extremely grateful to the village secretary for choosing to come to Lianzhai. Let me, the old village secretary, do the work for the villagers. Rest assured, I will give you a satisfactory answer."

Seeing Tian Chulian's anxiety, Chen Dong quickly told him to calm down, "Secretary Tian, ​​we need to do some ideological work, but we also need to be upfront about the unpleasant aspects first—let's be polite before resorting to force!"