Chapter 454 - 387: The Bai Family Father-in-law’s Income (2)

Soon, the motorcade arrived at a lavishly decorated teahouse.

Wu Yun and his group found a semi-open booth in the farthest corner and sat down, while their bodyguards took the adjacent booth or individual tables in the main hall.

After the waiter finished serving the tea, Wang Hao pulled down the curtain over the booth and sat down beside Wu Yun.

Seeing that it was time to get down to business, Bai Yang said to the young man beside him, "Xiaoli, take good notes!"

Xiaoli deftly pulled a notebook and pen from his bag, placed them on his lap, and looked quietly at Wu Yun.

Wu Yun got straight to the point. "President Bai, I’m about to invest in a lithium battery production and R&D plant. The initial investment is estimated to be one billion!"

The three men, including Wang Hao, were all inwardly shocked. Xiaoli, who was taking notes, flinched, his hand jerking and leaving a crooked scrawl on the page.

Bai Yang swallowed hard. It was the first time such a massive project had just landed in his lap! Projects of this scale were typically impossible to secure without extensive lobbying and networking.

Therefore, Bai Yang wasn’t swept away by joy. Instead, he asked, "President Wu, could you tell me why you chose us, Huaxia Machinery Industry Construction?"

After all, Huaxia Machinery Industry Construction couldn’t really compare to the major divisions like Huaxia Architecture or Huatie.

Of course, Bai Yang knew that his company had a distinct advantage when it came to industrial construction. It was, after all, their traditional line of business.

Wu Yun wanted to say, ’It’s because of your daughter,’ but what came out was, "I don’t have much time to manage this project, so I need you to provide a full-service package, from design and construction to equipment procurement."

Bai Yang immediately understood. "President Wu, you mean you’re looking for an EPC general contractor?"

Seeing Wu Yun’s confused expression, Bai Yang quickly explained what EPC general contracting meant.

Wu Yun nodded. "Yes, that’s it. I’ve done some research on your Huaxia Machinery Industrial Construction Group, and I know that both your main division and your subsidiaries have the necessary design certifications."

"Plus, with the backing of the Sinomach Group, you have access to a wealth of resources from various equipment manufacturers. It’s much more convenient than me sending my own people out to solicit quotes."

Wu Yun picked up his teacup, blew the floating flower petals aside, and took a small sip. "After all, your company’s roots are in industry. I’m confident you have the capabilities for this."

A look of excitement spread across Bai Yang’s face. This was a project worth at least one billion. Upon completion, he could easily earn a bonus of several million!

Xiaoli, at his side, was also thrilled. As a member of Bai Yang’s team, if Bai Yang was eating meat, he could always get a taste of the soup.

Both of them felt as if a jackpot had just fallen from the sky.

However, Bai Yang was a seasoned veteran and quickly composed himself. He had seen plenty of deals slip through his fingers right at the finish line, let alone a project like Wu Yun’s, which was still in the conceptual stage.

So, Bai Yang probed, "President Wu, have you secured the land yet? Where is the proposed construction site?"

Wu Yun glanced at the copious notes already filling Xiaoli’s notebook, then said, "It will be in the industrial park here. I plan to talk with the county officials tomorrow. The amount of land I can get is what will determine the ultimate scale of this project."

"Once I’ve bought the land, I’ll need you to prepare the bidding process as quickly as possible, just like last time. We’ll just be going through the motions."

Something suddenly occurred to Wu Yun. "Given that the initial phase of construction will require large-scale steel procurement, I can make an advance payment of 20 to 30 percent."

"Of course, that will depend on the design and the final budget."

Bai Yang nodded in understanding and said with a smile, "President Wu, will you need us to send anyone to accompany you to the negotiations tomorrow?"

Wu Yun replied without a second thought, "Not for tomorrow. It’s just an initial chat. When it comes time to actually survey the land, I’ll need you on-site. So, President Bai, your people should plan to stay for a few more days."

"Okay! No problem!"

...

Just as Wu Yun had expected, an investment of this size immediately caught the attention of the deputy county mayor in charge of business recruitment.

At the negotiation table, the slightly balding deputy county mayor could be heard slapping his chest and booming, "No problem, President Wu! Whichever plot of land you set your eyes on! We’ll give you our most favorable policies! That includes taxes, land price, all of it!"

As a result, Wu Yun’s investment was greenlit at every level. Accompanied by Bai Yang and technicians from the Jinshan Environment project department, Wu Yun selected a plot of land over eighty acres in size. It was in a prime location, right beside an expressway and less than a kilometer from the highway.

That wasn’t even the best part. Behind the proposed factory site was a large expanse of low hills and flat terrain, providing more than enough land for future expansion, should Wu Yun ever need it.

Due to the tight schedule, after selecting the land in the morning, both parties drafted the contract that very afternoon in a conference room at the business recruitment department, under the cameras of their assembled staff.

After a careful review by Nirvana Investment’s legal counsel and its General Manager, Tang Hongjiang, Wu Yun signed his name to the document.

With everyone watching, the funds for the land purchase were quickly transferred from Nirvana Investment to the relevant department’s official account.

For a moment, all parties involved breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Then, in front of everyone, Wu Yun made a call to his bank. An expedited transfer of 900 million was wired directly into Nirvana Investment’s corporate account.

With this expenditure, Wu Yun’s personal account balance dropped to just over forty million, but his personal experience points shot up, reaching Level 7 (3.43178 billion / 20 billion).

Looking at his drastically reduced funds, Wu Yun didn’t feel the slightest bit of panic. After all, the first-quarter revenue from his two games was due in May, and a new round of system funds would be available in June.

Wu Yun had already asked the system: stock dividends that remained in a company account instead of being transferred to his personal account would automatically be converted into experience. However, that money would not be counted a second time when it was spent. This also applied to the funds he had just transferred to Nirvana Investment; if the money were returned to him and spent again, it would not generate any more experience.

When Tang Hongjiang posted the land purchase receipt and Wu Yun’s wire transfer confirmation in the temporary group chat, Bai Yang’s last shred of doubt vanished. This was a client with seriously deep pockets; it was the first time he had ever seen all the funds arrive in a single lump sum.

A delighted Bai Yang then said his goodbyes to Wu Yun. "President Wu, I’ll head back to the Capital City to get things moving on my end! Please come visit the Capital City when you have the chance!"

Wu Yun smiled and shook Bai Yang’s hand. "President Bai! You get things finalized on your side, and we’ll get the business license registered over here. We need to complete the bidding formalities and confirm the preliminary design as soon as possible."

Then, Wu Yun turned to Tang Hongjiang. "President Tang, this factory is going to need a lot of technical personnel and management staff. Contact some headhunters as soon as possible and poach an initial batch. Graduation season is almost here, too! We can also do some campus recruitment."

...

As soon as their plane landed, Bai Yang and his team had no intention of going home to rest. They rushed straight back to the company.

Having been notified in advance, upper management immediately convened a meeting for all personnel at the middle-manager level and above to begin the preliminary project approval review.

Bai Yang had already arranged for the meeting materials to be prepared, just waiting for his return to convince everyone.

"Leaders, colleagues, good afternoon! I’ve called this meeting today to conduct a preliminary approval review for a new project!" Bai Yang spoke with confidence as he gave a general overview of Wu Yun’s project.

He quickly finished the overview. Upon hearing that the initial scale of the project was one billion, everyone except the staff from Bai Yang’s own division and the Vice President of Operations remained impassive. Some even wore disdainful expressions.

Then came the Q&A session.

While some were pleased, others were naturally disgruntled, and the questions they asked were designed to be difficult.

"President Bai, are you sure? A project this big is being handed directly to our company without a normal bidding process? This isn’t some kind of scam, is it?" A middle manager who often opposed Bai Yang stood up, seemingly on cue.

Bai Yang sneered inwardly but retorted calmly, "Minister Liu, what exactly do you think they could scam from us? They haven’t asked for a single cent, no performance bond, no brokerage fees! We were even personally involved in the entire land acquisition process!"

At this, Bai Yang acted as if he had just remembered something and said to Xiaoli, "Xiaoli, pull up the video we recorded. Show the key clips to our leaders and colleagues."

Soon, a few edited clips were displayed for everyone, showing scenes from the meeting, the on-site tour, the contract signing, and the wire transfer.

Seeing the uncomfortable, stifled expressions on many faces, Bai Yang smiled. "Oh, right. I forgot to mention. The client’s name is Wu Yun. He’s a well-known billionaire in this country."