Shadow Empire

Chapter 97 Renting Land and Friends’ Duties
It costs sixty thousand dollars a year to maintain a congressman of some value. This is the price William gave Lance, which he thinks is reasonable.

"I don't know how much money you make every year now, but it's clear that these things are still far away from you."

"What you should consider now is to stabilize your job and then expand your horizons. When you become richer, you don't need to invest in those congressmen, they will come to you on their own initiative."

William lowered his voice a little, "The ten city councilors of Jingang City are all connected to the Kodak family, but no matter who they are, they were not promoted by the Kodak family. Do you understand what I mean?"

Lance nodded, "I see."

But even if I understand, I still need to express what needs to be expressed. "William, I mean, if, if they plan to make you one of them, do you think you have hope?"

This cafe is of decent quality, after all, the City Hall is just across the street, and two cookies are given with every cup of coffee.

There are chocolate chips on the cookies, not the kind of soft chocolate or chocolate sauce, which has a nice taste, especially when chewing.

The sweet smell it exudes and the coffee form a good chemical reaction. William picked up a small cookie and stuffed it into his mouth. "If I plan to run for election, the Federal Party will definitely support me if I don't need their money."

He clapped his hands and leaned back in his chair. "It will be a pleasant surprise for them if they win, and they won't feel sorry or lose anything if they lose, but are you really going to do this?"

To be honest, he was a little tempted. After all, as a middle-aged federal man, he still hoped that he could shine by being a "waiter" in the city hall and becoming a prominent city councilor.

Seeing Lance's confirming look, William became more motivated. "The political party will definitely support me. There are also many capitalists with Federal Party backgrounds in Jingang City. They will all help me."

"But they won't be a key contributor. You know, this is the Socialist Party's territory. The most they can do is give me a check for $200, rather than stand up and clearly support me."

"So we need to carefully choose a district that is less competitive and easier to get votes in." He couldn't help but ask, "Are you really going to do this?"

Lance took out a cigar from his arms and threw it to him, "Am I kidding you?"

"Tell me, if I want to help you become a senator, what do I need to do?"

Glancing at the cigar in his hand, William said thoughtfully, "Money, votes, and campaigning."

After listening to this, Lance memorized these three key words in his mind, then stood up and said, "I still have to go to the Bureau of Land Management. I'll contact you when I'm almost ready."

Looking at Lance's carefree back, William's calm heart suddenly became a little disturbed.

The Bureau of Land Management is not far from the City Hall, and it takes no more than five minutes to walk there. After explaining his purpose in the lobby, Lance was invited into an office.

A middle-aged man received him.

The most profound impression that this guy gave to Lance was his shiny head, which could even reflect light bulbs!

"Mr. Lance, all the plots of land are here." As a map was unfolded, the entire Jingang City appeared in front of Lance in another form.

It is marked into many regular shapes and painted in different colors.

Residential land, commercial land, docks, ports, public utility land...

The city has become a little... trendy!
Finally, his eyes were guided by the gentleman to the industrial concentration area in the west of the city. "This part is the land where we have already done infrastructure construction. The ground has been hardened, and there are simple factory buildings and supporting warehouses."

"If you set up a factory here, you only need to pay us rent."

"These are all original lands that we haven't processed in any way. If you want to take them, you first need to pay the city hall the cost of purchasing the land according to the price listed here."

"Secondly, the factory you need to build must comply with the Industrial Management Regulations of Jingang City."

This management regulation refers to the basic "social responsibilities" that need to be fulfilled when opening a factory, that is, hiring workers and so on.

"I heard that you are planning to open a garment factory?" Mediterranean looked outgoing and was talking beside Lance while he was observing the maps.

Lance handed him a cigarette, "Any suggestions?"

The price of each piece of land is different. In the cheapest place, you only need 20 yuan to buy one acre of land, but the same area in different places costs nearly 400 yuan. The price difference is too big!

Lance didn't know much about these things, and it seemed that the Mediterranean in front of him could provide him with some help.

Mediterranean took the cigarette and lit it up. "If you don't plan to open a large factory with thousands of employees, my suggestion is to directly rent the basic factory land we provide for small businesses."

"This is it. You only need to pay a rent of 10 to 20 cents per square meter every month, and you can enjoy all the infrastructure here. We will also give you a 100-square-meter warehouse."

"Until your factory area does not exceed 2,000 square meters, my personal advice is to rent it."

Two thousand square meters may not sound like a lot, but in fact, based on one job per two square meters, such a large area can provide at least five hundred jobs. If warehouses and other things are used in the factory area, then eight hundred jobs will definitely be available.

His monthly expenses are only a few hundred dollars.

“If you want to buy land and do it yourself, these plots of land at around 200 bucks an acre are very suitable.”

"They are well-located away from the main roads and are already within the city's short- and medium-term plans. The Planning Bureau has done a good job of basic road planning. You just need to have people do the construction according to the construction design drawings."

"The ground treatment in this area is relatively simple. There are no huge rocks. We can just find a construction company to clean it up within a month..."

He talked about many things, including how a piece of land was transformed from a wasteland into a factory.

There are many issues involved here, such as the road construction. It is not the case that you can just buy the land and build a road to connect the factory and the main road.

Maybe there are other plans between your factory and the main road. You need to go to the Planning Bureau to ask if it is possible to construct it this way.

If you are lucky, they will tell you that it is okay, but if you are unlucky, they will tell you that you have to take a detour of several kilometers because there are other plans between you and the main road.

Then there is the issue of water and electricity access, electric poles, and water pipes. If it is a planned area, the service provider will build them for free. If not, they will ask you to build them at your own expense first.

When the area you bought becomes prosperous, they will buy the power grid and water network you built at market price, but if there is no one here, they will never do that.

Mediterranean told Lance that there was actually a high probability that they would keep the price very low.

The cheaper the land, the more time and investment it takes to turn it from land into a factory. If Lance is willing to open up wasteland and build a factory in the wilderness at the edge of Jingang City, the city hall will only charge a symbolic fee of one dollar per acre, and it will belong completely to Lance!
For large and powerful enterprises, they don't care. They directly acquire hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of acres of land. Of course, the cheaper the better.

But for small businesses, especially start-ups, Mediterranean recommends renting space directly in a factory area where infrastructure has already been completed.

Of course you can buy it, but the price is very high.

Lance extended his hand again. "Your help is very important to me. Let me introduce myself again. My name is Lance, Lance White."

Mediterranean quickly threw the cigarette on the ground and extended his hand enthusiastically, "John Brown."

He saw Lance put a five-dollar bill in his palm, and his mouth was wide open.

Having received the unexpected surprise of five dollars, he naturally became more enthusiastic in introducing the situation here to Lance.

"Your suggestion is very meaningful to me. If I plan to rent a factory of 1,000 square meters temporarily and consider the possibility of expansion in the future, where should I choose?"

For the sake of the cigarette instead of the money, Mediterranean marked some plots of land on the map for Lance. "This is a good place. It's not far from the main road and close to the public warehouse."

“Everything is very convenient. It only takes ten minutes to walk from the bus station.”

"It will also be convenient for future factory expansion, but the rent is a little expensive, 18 cents per square meter, and the other expenses add up to about 220 yuan per month."

Lance made a quick decision, "This is the place. What next?"

Mediterranean helped him fill out a form and said, "Take the form to the City Service Bureau..."

Lance's head began to hurt. He hadn't expected that there were so many gatekeepers in the federal government. "This is my first time, and it's a little complicated. Is there any agency service?"

Mediterranean smiled and said, "Yes, there are usually intermediary companies to help with this, and few people would do it themselves."

"I'm afraid it's too late for me to go look for him now. Listen, John, I think we'll be good friends in the future. Can you help me make the trip?"

Mediterranean was a little confused, "But I still have work to do."

Lance closed the door and took out ten dollars. "I'll buy you coffee."

John couldn't take his eyes off the ten dollars on the table. After a long while, he spread his hands and looked at Lance with a smile, "I'm just doing my duty as a friend!"

Lance smiled back, "Yeah, who can blame you on that?"

John asked for leave soon. This is the advantage of being a civil servant. As long as the reason is reasonable, the boss will most likely approve it.

John asked for leave because he had a stomachache and needed to be away for two hours.

(End of this chapter)