At the start, I had to choose one of four options, and I immediately picked the Brahmin from the cou

Having said all that Cao Weidong had to say, Li Xiao could no longer remain a listener.

He stood still, his gaze shifting from the sand table to Cao Weidong's face, which was half-lit by the lamplight.

This veteran Party Secretary, who had been navigating the political landscape of Jiangyang for over two decades, adopted an extremely humble posture at this moment, almost unlike himself.

Li Xiao could tell that Cao Weidong was truly anxious and genuinely saw him as the reins that could pull Jiang Yang forward.

"Secretary Cao, I understand your intentions."

Li Xiao spoke, his voice steady, reassuring him from the start.

"Xinglan will fully cooperate with the inspection team. We can provide all the necessary materials, data, and interviews at any time. As for the city and province, you don't need to worry too much. They haven't made a statement yet because the inspection team hasn't officially drawn a conclusion. At this critical juncture, whoever makes a statement first will expose themselves to risk."

The fact that Vice Mayor Liu called you to tell you to stay calm shows that the higher-ups' assessment is accurate. The fact that the senior director at the Provincial Development and Reform Commission relayed the message shows that the province's overall stance hasn't changed. What you need to do is continue your work as usual and stabilize the situation in Jiangyang. Only when Jiangyang is stable can they have the resources to help you.

Cao Weidong nodded repeatedly, his expression visibly softening.

But then, as if remembering something, he sighed, his tone revealing undisguised anxiety:

"President Li, I've been in Jiangyang for so many years, and I know what I'm doing. No matter how fast the industrial park is built, it's just a shell in the end. What truly supports this shell is industry. With Xinglan here, Jiangyang has a solid foundation."

But relying solely on Xinglan isn't enough. Those vacant standardized factory buildings in the south—if we keep delaying, they'll fail next year's assessment. You have connections in the provincial capital, and know many entrepreneurs and investors. Could you give me some ideas on whether we can bring in a few more decent companies, even if it's just to set up a branch, data center, or regional headquarters? Jiangyang isn't lacking land right now; it's lacking energy and vitality.”

"Secretary Cao, although the province's planning of the high-tech industrial park nominally gives Jiangyang preferential treatment and benefits, it is obvious to everyone that this is actually a byproduct of a battle between powerful figures."

"The Provincial Development and Reform Commission and the Department of Science and Technology approved this park with the initial intention of creating a secondary sub-center for the province's digital economy. However, the province's resource pool is only so big. Aren't the established high-tech zones like Jianye and Gusu vying for resources? Jiangyang has a weak foundation and is quite far from the provincial capital. Why would those giants that can truly bring in hundreds of billions of yuan in output bypass Jianye and directly settle in Jiangyang?"

Cao Weidong's facial muscles stiffened slightly, and his lips moved, but he couldn't refute them.

This is precisely his biggest worry—the policy approvals have been obtained, and the name sounds impressive, but when it comes to the real battle of attracting investment, Jiangyang's attractiveness is still woefully inadequate compared to other core cities in the province.

Li Xiao didn't rush to agree. Attracting investment isn't like picking cabbages at the market; you can't just throw out a few polite words and trick people into coming.

Even if a large-scale enterprise only has the idea of ​​setting up a branch, it involves a whole set of complex financial models, including management games, tax planning, supply chain radius, and employee placement.

Not to mention that when it comes to cross-regional migration, the original local government often sets up numerous administrative barriers in order to protect GDP and tax revenue.

"Secretary Cao, it's easy to make empty promises, but difficult for them to take root and become reality."

Li Xiao turned around, his expression calm yet exuding an undeniable composure:

"If we really try to poach those important companies from Jianye or southern Jiangsu, we can only manage to bring in a couple of shell companies by relying on personal connections. When the provincial government comes to assess the output next year, it will become a handle against us."

Cao Weidong's eagerness faltered slightly, and the bitterness at the corner of his mouth deepened. He knew that Li Xiao was telling the truth.

Cao Weidong's eagerness faltered slightly, and the bitterness at the corner of his mouth deepened. He knew Li Xiao was telling the truth. Attracting investment was something that couldn't be rushed, nor could it be faked. The old trick of using shell companies might get you through quarterly reports, but it wouldn't fool the province's "look back" inspections.

Li Xiao didn't say anything more, but simply turned his gaze away from the sand table and looked out the window.

The streetlights in the district are already on, their cool white rays stretching along the newly built main road into the distance like a glowing artery. This industrial park has transformed from a wasteland into a brightly lit place in just over half a year.

Xinglan settled down here, and Cao Weidong's political career also found a new foothold here.

But Li Xiao knew in his heart that this was far from enough. A single industrial park and a single core enterprise were, at best, just a seed. To grow into a forest, what was needed was not temporary favors, but continuous transfer of benefits and capital investment.

However, none of these are the most important things right now.

Xinglan's computing center has been completed, and Chen Qiming's team is currently doing the final data migration in the Jiangyang data center. Now, all that's left is to wait.

Although Zhou Bingsheng was still secretly sabotaging him, Li Xiao had plenty of patience to play along. The real battle was never in the open, and Zhou Bingsheng was someone you couldn't rush, nor was it worth the haste. If he liked to deliver the knife from the shadows, then let him do it.

Once he's handed out enough knives, he'll naturally find himself entangled in an even bigger net.

So Li Xiao is thinking about something else right now.

Xinglan Technology was on the right track, and Lansheng Capital's business was gradually stabilizing, giving them more and more options. But the more things were like this, the more he felt he couldn't just stick to his small territory.

Jiangyang is the foundation, Jianye is the springboard, but what truly sets him apart from Zhou Bingsheng and the old foxes of the school board is another, much larger ocean.

"Secretary Cao, don't worry about the park. I'll have Zhou Yanhuai coordinate with the development zone on the industrial guidance fund plan as soon as possible. Jiangyang has a solid foundation; what it lacks is time and patience. You should focus on improving the infrastructure and business environment first, and I'll take care of the business matters."

Upon hearing this, Cao Weidong felt as if he had received rain after a long drought, and quickly nodded: "With Mr. Li's words, I feel much more at ease. If you need the county's cooperation, just let me know."

Li Xiao smiled but didn't make any further promises. This was something he couldn't simply agree to with a few words.

Although the Li family has deep roots in Jiangyang, their core businesses revolve around traditional industries like building materials, real estate, and catering. Aside from Xinglan, they have no other technology companies. Making promises now is easy, but when it comes to actually implementing them, having no leverage will be even more embarrassing.

However, he was already thinking about which direction to take with his next company.