Chapter 317: Planting Trees for Future Generations to Enjoy the Shade

"I also talked about this with the people who came from the provincial government today!"

Yao Zhengru said solemnly. He didn't like strong tea, but in order to refresh himself, he still poured down a few big mouthfuls.

"I want the Pingyang Animal Park project to be like the Oriental Times Square, becoming one of Pingyang's iconic projects!"

In front of Li Dongling, Yao Zhengru said without concealment. The Pingyang Animal Park would be the last big project he left in Pingyang.

In the next few years, Yao Zhengru and even the Pingyang municipal government would be busy around the three boards he cut down.

"Ten thousand years is too long, seize the day!"

In front of Li Dongling, unlike in front of the Yao family's Han Liuping and Yao Luoying, Yao Zhengru didn't need to cover up anything.

Yao Zhengru, or rather the Pingyang municipal government, and even many people from the provincial capital, the Yanjing Foreign Exchange Bureau, and the State Economic and Trade Commission, have already stood in the same camp as Dongling High-Tech. When interests grow to a certain extent, those within that interest group will not betray it, because no one can betray themselves!

"I know there are many voices that think I am too hasty," Yao Zhengru said, "But I only have five years in Pingyang. If these things can't be done, there will be no chance in the future!"

Yao Zhengru knew that these five years might be the five years of his official career where he could show his talents the most. Pingyang's modernization planning was still like a blank sheet of paper, which could be waved by him. Plus the support and tax revenue brought by Dongling Gao Ke, it could allow Yao Zhengru to show his ambitions without being constrained.

In the future, Yao Zhengru didn't know if there would be such an opportunity, but he estimated that even if there was, there wouldn't be such good conditions. Not every place could have a company like Dongling Gao Ke that could earn back a large amount of foreign exchange and provide a large amount of tax and jobs, supporting him with all his strength.

To be honest, without Dongling Gao Ke's support, the plans Yao Zhengru made were almost no different from drawing big cakes. Big projects of hundreds of millions or billions were "fantasy-level" projects in this era.

Never mind Pingyang; even the provincial capital wouldn't dare make a decision lightly. That Yao Zhengru can get things moving and obtain support from the provincial capital and Yanjing is largely due to the tax revenue expected from Dongling High-Tech; otherwise, it simply wouldn't be possible.

Li Dongling heard these and didn't speak. The projects Yao Zhengru made might increase some burden on Dongling Gao Ke in the short term, but in the long run, it was absolutely beneficial to Dongling Gao Ke.

To put it bluntly, after Pingyang's plate was made bigger, as the "local snake" Dongling Gao Ke, it was certainly the most benefited one. Not to mention anything else, just the land hoarded by Dongling Gao Ke—the better Pingyang's economy, the more companies and settled populations attracted, the faster those lands would rise in price.

Not to mention, Yao Zhengru and his successors in Pingyang would certainly develop with Dongling Gao Ke as the center. The better Pingyang developed, the more talents and companies attracted, which was naturally more beneficial to Dongling Gao Ke. This was equivalent to continuously raising the ceiling above Dongling Gao Ke's head!

A single tree cannot make a forest. Even if the lotus is good, it needs green leaves to support it. A fence needs three stakes, and a hero needs three people to help. Only by forming a huge community of interests and camp could Dongling Gao Ke exist for a long time.

Eating alone was too easy to be targeted, but when a large group of people were eating in Dongling Gao Ke's trough, that was the "livelihood of a million boatmen." Whoever wanted to take action against Dongling Gao Ke had to weigh the consequences. Affecting a million families and countless cities, what kind of impact would it have?

"What does Dongling Gao Ke need to do?!" Li Dongling asked.

Yao Zhengru pondered for a while and said to Li Dongling, "The entire Pingyang Animal Park is divided into an animal park area and a park area. Among them, the park area will be free of charge, and everyone can go there."

"The animal park area will charge tickets. The entire animal park is expected to cover 2,800 mu, of which the animal park area is 1,800 mu. The main costs are demolition and construction costs. The Pingyang municipal government's estimate is around 210 million RMB!"

After saying this, Yao Zhengru's expression was also slightly embarrassed. Don't look at how he spoke confidently just now, but when it came to money, he really couldn't take out much.

Pingyang's finance had been improving continuously in recent years, and quite a bit of debt had been repaid. But after Yao Zhengru became the helmsman of Pingyang, he spent even more, and some were bank loans. After maintaining the operating expenses of the municipal government and some fixed expenses, the financial pressure on the Pingyang municipal government was actually quite large.

Only with "expected tax revenue" could the Pingyang municipal government stand up. But to take out 200 million at once, it really didn't have it. Not to mention Pingyang, even the provincial capital might be a bit difficult now.

Li Dongling waited for Yao Zhengru to speak later, saying what kind of price the Pingyang municipal government would pay to let Dongling Gao Ke pay for this project.

These 200 million, Dongling Gao Ke could certainly take out. Just Little Smart mobile phones now could be called "earning gold every day." The revenue brought by domestic sales alone exceeded 10 million RMB every day, not including the overseas market!

But being able to take it out didn't mean that Dongling Gao Ke had to pay for the Pingyang municipal government's projects at any cost.

Now in Yao Zhengru's period, there wouldn't be so many dog-fart-like things happening, but who could guarantee that his successors wouldn't be compliant in the future?!

Once they encountered those who didn't follow the rules and came up with various unrealistic projects, did Dongling Gao Ke have to pay for them?

If they all paid for them, it would be a bottomless pit. Ten Dongling Gaokes wouldn't be enough to fill it. So sometimes, it was better to set the rules in advance. Sometimes, the rules were not only to restrict others but also to protect themselves.

Although Li Dongling treated Pingyang and Hanxi as Dongling Gao Ke's old nest, if he really encountered those who didn't follow the rules, Li Dongling could just pat his butt and move the Dongling Gao Ke headquarters away. As for the mess, whoever loved to clean it up could clean it up!

Dongling Gao Ke's headquarters was in Pingyang, but in Hong Kong, it had also established the Dongling Gao Ke Asia headquarters. In ancient times, it was equivalent to a secondary capital. Dongling Gao Ke could move the headquarters to Hong Kong at any time, but whether to move or not was a matter of how much price to pay.

Additionally, in Europe, America, and other places, there were also branches, all with a set of management personnel and systems, which could also move the headquarters there.

Dongling High-Tech is also establishing production bases in Yangcheng and Shanghai, and has placed its internet division, Tianya Net, in Yanjing. These are all ways to avoid risk; the principle that one should not put all their eggs in one basket is always applicable.

"The Pingyang municipal government hopes to jointly develop the Pingyang Animal Park project with Dongling Gao Ke, with Dongling Gao Ke bearing the construction costs."

"After completion, in the future, Dongling Gao Ke and the Pingyang municipal government will jointly collect tickets. Dongling Gao Ke can collect 70% or even 80% of the tickets within a certain number of years as investment costs, as long as a portion of the tickets is reserved for the municipal government as the park's maintenance costs."

"After Dongling Gao Ke recovers the investment costs, we will renegotiate the ticket split!"

After saying this, Yao Zhengru couldn't help but cover his face with a teacup. He felt that his request was indeed harsh. If he had spoken these conditions to other companies, the other side would have long ago slammed the door and left.

Those who opened animal parks now were basically all municipal governments bearing the costs. Basically, no private enterprise was willing to do it. There was no other reason—it was losing money. The older the park, the more animals put in, the more it lost.

"Head-cutting business, as long as there is money to earn, a large number of people dare to do it. But loss-making business, even if beaten to death, no one is willing to do it. After all, what is the point?"

Yao Zhengru felt that this Pingyang Animal Park project might have a bit of his own selfishness. It was unfair to Dongling Gao Ke. On one hand, it was his current status, and on the other hand, it was because of Yao Luoying, which was why Li Dongling came to discuss this matter with him today.

According to other zoos in the country, in the future, the Pingyang Animal Park might also lose money. The tickets collected, let alone making money, would be good if they could maintain no loss every year. As for breaking even, Yao Zhengru himself felt it was difficult.

In an era when tourism heat hadn't risen, it was hard to imagine what it would be like for a zoo or amusement park to have a million tourists pouring in every holiday.

Just like in this era, the most daring dreamers in the country wouldn't dream that one day, the country would launch a batch of warships with the displacement of the Japanese "Eight-Eight Fleet" like dumplings, and even the total tonnage of warships launched in one year would approach the total tonnage of the British Navy of the former "Empire on which the sun never sets"...

Li Dongling heard these words from Yao Zhengru and just pondered for a moment. Anger certainly wasn't the case. The animal park project might lose a bit in the short term, but if the timeline was lengthened, it would certainly recover its costs, or even earn quite a bit. But the premise was that there had to be attractive projects, or some amusement projects done well, to attract tourists.

In the future, many cities in the country began to try to transform into tourism cities. Regardless of whether they succeeded or not, various gimmicks were flying, and they did attract a large number of tourists from Hong Kong, Korea, and overseas.

Now it was mainlanders who wanted to go to Hong Kong to see the prosperity of the big city, and every time they went, they carried big bags and small bags to shop. But after arriving, this scene was completely reversed.

Every holiday, a large number of "special forces" tourists from Hong Kong ran to scenic spots, restaurants, and fresh supermarkets in cities like Pengcheng, Yangcheng, and Tanzhou to play, eat, shop, and sightsee. When they left, the giant suitcases they brought would be stuffed full and taken back. Some shopping malls in Pengcheng were almost about to go bankrupt, but they were saved by these tourists from Hong Kong...

"I heard that the provincial capital zoo also wants to join this project?" Li Dongling asked.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 318 =====