A whirlwind marriage with a high-ranking official: Lights out, don't force me to take the initi

"Six hundred thousand?!"

As soon as this number was announced, several officials from the Light Industry Bureau at the table gasped simultaneously.

Three hundred thousand to six hundred thousand, that's no small sum.

Liu Jianguo, being a seasoned veteran of officialdom, only maintained his joy for a second before regaining his composure.

There's no such thing as a free lunch, and Hong Kong businessmen certainly won't give away money for nothing.

There must be conditions behind this doubling of numbers.

Liu Jianguo put down his chopsticks, leaned back, and said with a smile, "Ms. Lin, this is quite a generous gesture."

"May I ask, what makes you suddenly so...confident?"

Lin Wanzhi remained calm and composed, saying, "To be honest, the mainland's policies had just opened up, and we were indeed taking a relatively cautious approach, intending to use the first year as a period of adjustment."

"But after interacting with the leaders during this period, we have gained a deeper understanding of the mainland's determination to reform and open up, as well as its development speed. This has greatly inspired us and given us confidence."

"Therefore, if we have a first-class factory with complete equipment and better basic conditions to support us, we are absolutely confident in achieving this goal."

The dinner table fell silent for a moment.

Liu Jianguo held the teacup, his fingers gently stroking the inside of the cup.

He understood Lin Wanzhi's demands, emphasizing the importance of "perfect equipment" and "the support of a first-class factory".

She's asking for a good factory, and she's tying "giving a good factory" to "600,000 foreign exchange" together, making a blatant exchange.

Lin Wanzhi gently clasped her hands together under the table, her fingertips brushing against her palms.

She then smiled and added, "Of course, words alone are not enough. To demonstrate our commitment, the group has revised the plan and will formally include this 600,000 foreign exchange commitment in the contract."

Write it into the contract? What's the point? Liu Jianguo sneered inwardly.

Current international contracts often feature foreign exchange clauses that sound impressive, but in reality, they have very weak binding force.

If Hong Kong businesses fail to meet their promises, the mainland has no means to do so, and it's not worth going through any cross-border arbitration or mandatory sanctions for a few hundred thousand dollars.

Writing it down is just a paper exercise; all talk and no action.

A factory is different; once it's approved, the land, equipment, and workforce are all provided in full.

So Liu Jianguo didn't respond to that comment at all.

Just then, the waiter brought in the hot dishes, and he immediately stretched out his chopsticks, smiling broadly as he said, "Come on, the dishes are all here, let's eat first. We can talk about work after we finish eating."

With a single sentence, Liu Jianguo lightly unloaded the heavy weight of 600,000 yuan onto the table, as easily as brushing aside a peanut.

Lin Wanzhi tightened her grip on the teacup, her smile froze for half a second, and then returned to normal.

Liu Jianguo took a couple of bites of food, then suddenly turned to the clerk next to him: "Xiao Zhang, has the situation report from the Sixth Garment Factory arrived yet?"

"Since Comrade Lin is so confident now, shouldn't we set a time to finalize this as soon as possible and strike while the iron is hot?"

The Sixth Garment Factory.

Lin Wanzhi's heart sank. It was an old, small factory in the middle to lower tier of the industry, not large in scale, with outdated equipment and workers of varying skill levels.

Liu Jianguo is pretending to be confused, trying to brush her off with a small factory.

She put down her chopsticks, ignoring the conversation about "Factory No. 6," and instead picked up the serving chopsticks to put a piece of the newly served dish on Liu Jianguo's plate.

He said in a calm and unhurried tone, "Director Liu, we've done some research recently. We know a little about the situation at the Hongxing Garment Factory."

Liu Jianguo's eyes twitched slightly, and he pricked up his ears.

"In its early years, Hongxing relied on a group of very talented designers to build its brand into a well-established name in Harbin's garment industry."

"But in recent years, there seems to be a gap in the talent pool. There are signs of talent mobility, and design capabilities have declined compared to their peak."

"At the same time, the internal management mechanism may also need some fresh blood to truly mobilize performance and creativity."

Lin Wanzhi observed the expressions of everyone at the table and continued, "On the other hand, Red Star's equipment infrastructure is actually not bad. It was operated at overcapacity in the early years, but the maintenance and upkeep in the later years did not keep up, which caused the equipment to age and be obsolete faster than expected."

"When profits decline, there's a funding gap of over 100,000 yuan for equipment upgrades. It's difficult for the factory to break out of this predicament on its own."

"But with the injection of external funds, management expertise, and technology, Red Star could very well be revitalized."

"After all, its foundation, worker quality, and historical accumulation are things that small and medium-sized factories do not have."

These words hit the nail on the head.

Several cadres from the Light Industry Bureau exchanged glances at each other at the table.

It seems this Hong Kong businessman came prepared and is determined to take over Red Star. The group slowly turned their attention to Liu Jianguo.

Liu Jianguo didn't say anything, but just grunted and picked up another bite of food, chewing slowly and deliberately.

"Regarding the two problems that Hongxing Garment Factory is currently facing," Lin Wanzhi put down her chopsticks and glanced at everyone at the table, "we can actually come up with solutions."

Liu Jianguo raised his eyes and looked at her carefully.

"First, regarding personnel management and performance mechanisms, Hong Kong has mature experience that can be exported, and we are confident that we can help Red Star establish an effective management model. Second, equipment upgrades..." She paused, her voice becoming steady, "...I will fill that gap of over ten thousand dollars."

Liu Jianguo turned to Lin Wanzhi: "Ms. Lin, in your previous budget proposal, the amount allocated for equipment investment seemed... less than this, right? If it's increased to over ten thousand, then this gap will be filled."

"You misunderstood. I said 'I'll fill it out.'" Lin Wanzhi looked him straight in the eye and slowly shook her head. "It's not a company account; it's my personal sponsorship."

Upon hearing this, everyone at the dinner table turned their heads in unison.

Cai Shan nearly knocked over the teacup beside her, looking at Lin Wanzhi in surprise.

Tens of thousands of yuan is a huge sum, even for a senior executive at Hong Kong City Company, and it would almost use up all of her savings.

Lin Wanzhi remained calm, as if she had simply asked everyone to have another dish.

No one knew that just last night, during her phone call with Michael, the group had already given a clear response:

They agreed to a joint venture with Hongxing Garment Factory, but refused to sign a performance-based agreement.

The so-called "betting agreement" means exchanging higher performance targets for greater resource allocation. If the targets are not met, the investor will bear certain operational responsibilities and provide financial compensation.

Michael said the group was unwilling to take the risk and pushed the betting proposal back to her.

Projects located in mainland China are the only way for her to be promoted to partner.

Since the group won't gamble, she'll gamble herself.

Lin Wanzhi carried with her a do-or-die gamble and immense pressure.

"A little over ten thousand." Lin Wanzhi looked at Liu Jianguo, her tone casual. "It's a small token of my personal sincerity towards Hongxing and Harbin. Director Liu, give me the factory, and I'll give you six hundred thousand; I'll pay for the equipment myself. Is this... acceptable?"

Liu Jianguo looked at her and remained silent for a long time.

The table was so quiet you could hear cars driving by outside the window.