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

Although it was only two short words, it seemed as if he had used all his strength to strike them in the cool morning air, making a resounding impact.

Li Baibing leaned against his strong chest, obediently closing her eyes, letting the tears from the corners of her eyes slide down just in time, wetting his shirt. "I'll wait for you, no matter how long it takes. When we get back... eat on time, don't overwork yourself."

She raised her head, her pure and beautiful face filled with reluctance and longing, like a wife about to bid farewell to her husband on his long journey.

Zhou Yanhuai gave her one last, deep look, as if trying to etch her image into his very bones. Then, without further hesitation, he resolutely turned and boarded the shuttle bus.

He wanted to bring Li Baibing to his side, but that was simply unrealistic. In Jiangyang County, his every move was under the old man's control, and he had no room to resist.

Only when he arrives in the capital can he briefly escape his father's watchful eye, and only then will the two meet again.

The shuttle bus drove smoothly down the winding mountain road, and Li Baibing's white figure grew smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror until it was completely hidden by layers of green bamboo.

At the foot of the mountain, the black Alphard had been waiting for a long time.

Back in the car, Zheng Hao was still somewhat savoring the moment. He sprawled out in the comfortable airline seat, smacking his lips as he reminisced, "Wow, Mingyue Bay is truly a haven for the soul! Brother Xiao, next time there's a gathering like this, don't forget your brother. But speaking of which, Lao Zhou has really gotten it this time; I've been envious these past few days."

After returning to Jiangyang County, the group of young men, who had just shed their feminine airs and languidness, quickly devoted their energy to the covert battle over the piece of land in the south of the city.

For the next whole week, Zheng Hao truly experienced what it meant to run himself ragged and talk himself hoarse.

He followed his father, Zheng Guodong, and began a seven-day period of being a grandson.

Although the wasteland in the south of the city was ignored and even considered a troublesome idle asset on the county government's books, acquiring a 50-year commercial land use right without incurring huge short-term infrastructure quotas was a complex matter. He simply couldn't handle it with his abilities. Therefore, while Zheng Jianguo was busy with the paperwork, he was responsible for running errands.

Zheng Guodong used up all the connections and influence he had built up over decades in Jiangyang County.

In the most luxurious private room of Jiangyang Grand Hotel, Zheng Guodong hosted a three-day banquet, bringing together Lao Sun from the Land and Resources Bureau, Lao Liu from the Planning Bureau, and several other powerful figures in charge of urban construction for drinks and conversation.

"Old Zheng, I wouldn't give you the green light if we weren't brothers."

After a few rounds of drinks, Old Sun from the Land and Resources Bureau spoke in an official tone, picking his teeth as he spoke.

"If you're just renting the land to build a temporary warehouse for building materials, I can get my staff to stamp it up for you tomorrow. But if you want to buy it outright, even though this wasteland isn't worth much, you still have to go through the proper public listing process. Besides, the county now has infrastructure targets for land sales. If you just acquire the land without making any major investments, it'll be difficult for me to handle if the higher-ups investigate."

At this moment, Zheng Hao, following his father's prior instructions, obediently went up to pour wine and light cigarettes.

Zheng Guodong chuckled and pulled a solid proof of funds from his briefcase.

"Director Sun, don't you trust me, Lao Zheng, to handle things? All the funds have been deposited into the joint management account, a full ten million! And I'm helping the county solve the problem of idle land. Although it's just for building a building materials warehouse in the early stages, I'm willing to pay an extra 15% premium on top of the land transfer fee as a leveling fee for the surrounding environment. I absolutely won't make things difficult for the leaders."

With this substantial premium backing, coupled with Zheng Guodong's long-standing relationship, Lao Sun finally relented.

Actually, it wasn't really favoritism or corruption on his part. Everything was done through normal procedures and was completely legal and compliant. Otherwise, even if it was a huge favor, Old Sun wouldn't have agreed.

After returning from Mingyue Bay, Zhou Yanhuai was like a man possessed. With Li Baibing as his concern, he developed an unprecedented fervor for the five percent stake that would allow him to make a living.

When Zheng Jia delivered a copy of the "State-owned Construction Land Use Right Transfer Contract" drafted by the Land and Resources Bureau to Zhou Yanhuai, Zhou Yanhuai meticulously worked on it word by word throughout the entire night.

The next morning, Zhou Yanhuai, sporting dark circles under his eyes, crossed out three hidden additional clauses on the contract with a red pen.

"These third and seventh clauses are absolutely unacceptable! Look at this sentence—'The transferee must reach 30% of the total investment within two years of land handover; otherwise, the transferor has the right to reclaim the land use rights without compensation.' This is a gambling tactic that local governments love to use when attracting investment!"

Zheng Hao was taken aback. "What's the problem? We've already invested all ten million, we've already exceeded the limit."

"Foolish! Most of our ten million was used to buy out the property rights. The initial construction was only planned to build a few simple prefabricated houses! This amount of construction cost doesn't even meet the so-called investment ratio target. Once the provincial government issues the official document, this land will instantly become a hot commodity. The county will be envious and can easily use this breach of contract clause regarding failing to meet the investment standard to forcibly take back the land and kick us out of the game!"

Zheng Hao broke out in a cold sweat after hearing this. If he were the one negotiating, he would have signed the official contract without even reading it, and once the official document was issued, they would have been doing all the work for someone else!

"So, what do you think is the best way to solve this?"

"Remove the clauses regarding repossession due to breach of contract and replace them with late fees or penalties. Even if it means paying hundreds of thousands more in deposit upfront, we must completely lock in the property rights. As long as the land is in our name, what's a little penalty? Once the planning is finalized, that amount won't even amount to a fraction of the land price after it doubles!"

Armed with Zhou Yanhuai's revised contract annotations, Zheng Guodong once again took up his post.

After another round of difficult negotiations, concessions, and leveraging connections, and even after Li Jianguo subtly hinted at something, the contract, which had been filtered through multiple layers of negotiation, was finally finalized.

After being verified by the correct law and confirmed to be correct.

Five days later, at the Jiangyang County Government Service Center.

The approximately one hundred acres of wasteland in the south of the city officially and without any suspense fell into Li Xiao's hands. The property rights were clear, and there were no future troubles.

On the night he received the land deed, Li Xiao hosted another celebratory banquet in Guilan.

"Brother Xiao, what do we do next? Should we strike while the iron is hot and get the construction team to come in, build the prefabricated houses, and mark the land?"

"You and Uncle Deng can handle the construction of the temporary housing. Make sure the act is convincing and doesn't give the impression that we're just hoarding land. As for me, you can continue your act; I'm going out for a bit."

"Where to?" they both asked in unison.

"Let's go to Tianshui City, or maybe head further south to the coast to escape the summer heat," Li Xiao chuckled.

After working so hard for so long, he deserves to enjoy himself. Well, even though he's always been a hands-off manager, he still put in the effort, didn't he? Shouting encouragement doesn't take much effort.