Shadow Empire

Chapter 644: A Glimpse of the Leopard [666+5]
It snowed last night, and there was no sun in the morning in Jingang City. The whole world was dim and dark.

In the dark room, a pair of eyes suddenly opened, blinked, and then looked towards the window.

A ray of light shone through the curtains that did not completely cover the windows, but it was so dim that it made people doubt the time.

He tried to close his eyes again and fall asleep, but unfortunately failed.

He closed his eyes for a while, then opened them again, unable to fall asleep.

This is the case for people who have something on their mind. Once they get up early, it is difficult for them to fall asleep again.

Only someone as carefree as his wife could fall asleep anytime she lay down. He was a little envious of that guy's "superpowers". He also wanted the ability to fall asleep anytime and anywhere, but he didn't have it.

He slowly got up from the bed and pulled back the quilt.

There is heating in the room, and the copper pipes in the walls make the whole house warm.

Living in a single-family house in the Bay Area, you don’t have to worry about heating in the winter.

A basement boiler costs several hundred dollars in diesel per winter, but it can ensure that the house is warm all winter long.

He left the bedroom in his pajamas.

His wife did not wake up until he left.

He is a...business operator who owns his own factory in Jingang City, mainly engaged in import and export trade. He cannot be said to be particularly wealthy, but he is definitely not short of money.

He got into trouble recently.

Because the old industrial area was going to be demolished, it blocked the city's path to continued development——

There is sea to the east and south of Jingang City. In other words, if Jingang City wants to continue to expand its urban circle, it can only expand to the north and west.

There are some hills to the north. Although the Federation has the technology to level them, the cost is too high. To the northwest is Valley City. Unless the Likalai State Government decides to let Jingang City annex Valley City, there will be many troubles and restrictions in developing there.

From this perspective, developing westward seems to be one of the few options.

It just so happens that the industrial zone is located on the west side of the city, so moving it away becomes an option that cannot be avoided.

He sat in the study without turning on the lights. The sky outside the window was still dark, but he could already feel that daybreak was almost approaching.

Now is the moment before dawn, daybreak is coming!

He drank some of the water from last night and lit a cigarette.

In the dark room, the inconspicuous light from the cigarette butt becomes the brightest thing.

As he took a puff of his cigarette, the tobacco in the cigarette made an audible crackling sound in the quiet night.

That's the sound tobacco makes when it's lit.

He inhaled a puff of thick smoke into his lungs.

The problem he faces now is to continue to raise land prices with everyone else and wait for an opportunity to act.

Or choose to move closer to Mayor Williams.

Mayor Williams has arranged for someone to talk to him. If he is willing to hand over his current land to the city hall through the "replacement plus subsidy" method, he can choose any piece of land in the new industrial zone to rebuild the factory.

The land is free, you can choose a larger one, and there are also some preferential policies and subsidies.

It is called a subsidy, but in fact it can also be seen as a "land payment". As a government subsidy for the construction of new factories, it is about two thousand yuan per acre of land.

It seems like a big loss, but if you add in the subsequent policy support promised by the city hall, it is actually very cost-effective.

Another option is to continue to raise land prices.

As the saying that "old industries should be demolished and new cores should be built" becomes more and more popular, the prices of land and houses around industrial areas have begun to rise.

Now the price of one acre of land in the old industrial zone has risen to more than 12,000 yuan, which is obviously an unreasonable price.

But… the profits are staggering.

He owns about 60 acres of land, which, if calculated according to the market price, is worth more than 700,000 yuan.

But if he chose to replace it, more than 700,000 yuan would become 120,000 or 130,000 yuan, a loss of 600,000 yuan in an instant!
That's why he couldn't sleep.

Some friends are organizing everywhere and asking everyone to hold on.

As long as the majority stand together against City Hall, they will definitely reap the benefits.

His only confusion now is, is it so easy to take advantage of City Hall, or Mayor Williams?
He had a hunch that this was not a good bargain, and it would not be easy to take advantage of.

As a businessman, it is actually quite difficult to convince yourself to refuse such a huge profit. Up to now, perhaps only a little over 20% of people have chosen replacement and subsidies.

The rest are all holding on, continuing to push up land prices.

It's crazy already!
After finishing a cigarette, he still sat there, motionless, as if he was dead.

The sky outside the window gradually brightened. He didn't know how long he had been sitting there or how many cigarettes he had smoked. There were already quite a few cigarette butts in the ashtray in front of him.

When the sunlight tore through the gloomy clouds and slashed the darkness with its golden sword, day broke.

He rubbed his neck, having already made a decision.

His father once told him that businessmen should be greedy, but not greedy for things that are clearly beyond their ability to bear the consequences.

He didn't think it was a smart decision to confront the mayor on his own turf, even though he wanted the money very much!

At around nine o'clock, the phone rang. It was his good friend.

The friends of the poor are poor, and the friends of the rich are also rich. His friend and he have known each other since childhood, and their fathers are also friends. Both families came to Jingang City from other places to do business.

They have been good friends since childhood, went to school together, and only separated when they went to high school and college.

But after graduating from university, they all returned to Jingang City to inherit the family business, and they have been away for more than 20 years until today.

"Have you made a decision?" his friend asked.

Because today is the "ultimatum" from the City Hall, there will be no replacement or subsidy for those who register after today.

This can be seen as a way for Mayor Williams to force these people to take a stand, and also as a means to build prestige.

He has thought it through and realized that after today, there will definitely be a series of actions.

So he nodded and said, "Yes, I decided to sign the replacement agreement."

"Are you crazy?"

The sound in the receiver rose an octave, as if someone had pinched the throat of the person in the receiver and punched him in the balls, making his voice become shrill and sharp!
“That’s hundreds of thousands!”

"The subsidy you received when you replaced your old car was only a few hundred thousand yuan. The gap is too big!"

“How long does it take you to make hundreds of thousands?”

"Two or three years?"

"Or longer?"

He was silent for a while, "That's not the money I earned through my own hard work..."

"Shit, you still fucking believe this?"

"Your brain is really broken!"

The person on the receiver spoke very quickly, causing him to remain silent for a while. "I don't know if it's bad or not, but I know that in this city, the mayor has the most power."

A disdainful laugh reached my ears, "The previous mayor thought so, too."

He continued to argue and defend his point of view, "But the previous mayor was not a local, and Williams is a local, and a local prominent family!"

“But he doesn’t represent the Bay Area!”

The two people argued endlessly for a long time before gradually calming down.

"In short, once you make a decision, you can't go back on it. My advice is to wait a little longer."

His friends are still trying to persuade him, but he has made up his mind and will not change it.

After saying one more sentence, he hung up the phone, changed his clothes and chose to go out. He was going to the city hall to sign the replacement agreement!

He had a feeling he might not make that much of a fortune digging holes for City Hall.

But at least he was safe.

There is a saying that he has always believed to be very true: when faced with a choice involving huge risks, the one who loses less is the winner!

This round, he won!

There are not many people at the city hall, because those who are willing to replace have already done so, and those who are unwilling to replace will most likely not come as today is the last day.

Only people like him who have hesitated for a long time will come here on the last day, and there are not many such people.

After all... if you want to please the mayor, the sooner you come, the better. Those who stand firmly on the Bay Area side like his friends would not have come before, and are even less likely to come now.

Led by his staff, he came to the mayor's office. Originally, Mayor Williams did not need to do this kind of work personally, but now was the time for him to establish his own authority, and he needed to entertain these people in person.

"Please wait a moment, the mayor will be here soon."

After the secretary brought the coffee, he left on his own initiative.

After about seven or eight minutes, the door of the room opened and Mayor Williams stood at the door with a smile on his face.

He immediately walked towards her with a smile on his face, but at this moment, the smile on his face suddenly froze and his steps paused.

He saw a man behind Mayor Williams putting on his hat and passing through the door, and the man glanced at him.

That familiar face… Everyone in the entire Jingang City knows him, but there is only one person who is handsome enough to be recognizable.

His stiff smile became warm again, and he quickly walked to the front and shook Mayor Williams' hand, "I hope I didn't disturb your work."

Mayor Williams smiled and shook his hands a few times. "Don't bother me. I'm going to take a whole day today to serve those of you who are willing to support my work. As long as it's before 24 o'clock, I will serve you anytime and anywhere!"

He paused, loosened his hand, and invited the businessman to sit down, "Shall we sit down and talk for a while?"

The businessman nodded repeatedly, and the two of them walked to the sofa and sat down. This was the reception room, not the mayor's office.

Mayor Williams looked at him, observing this man. He originally wanted to get straight to the point and talk about replacement and subsidies.

But he found that the businessman's expression seemed a little strange.

“Any questions?”, he asked.

The businessman asked tentatively, "Just now I saw a gentleman leaving behind you. Who is that..."

"Mr. Lance?"

(End of this chapter)