Traveling through 1937, I came to fight against the Kwantung Army

Haizhou City,

Rubber Plantation Town,

In the morning light of August, the town mayor Chen Huian raised his hand and brushed the shiny stainless steel door frame of the town government office building. This nine-story building, which has been in use for only a little over a year, is gray and white.

The glass curtain wall reflects a cool luster in the sunlight. The golden dragon flag on the flagpole in front of the building flutters, contrasting with the slogan "Work hard to build a new town" hanging on the wall.

When I opened the door, the cool breeze from the central air-conditioning dispelled the heat.

He walked across the lobby on the brand new marble tiles, came to the elevator, and soon arrived at the mayor's office on the ninth floor!

Chen Huian gently placed the briefcase on the desk.

I picked up the teacup and made myself a cup of green tea.

Then he stood in front of the window!

Outside the French window,

In the rubber plantation industrial zone, dozens of factories are busy producing with white smoke coming out of their chimneys.

On the rubber avenue in front of the town government, dump trucks are crisscrossing each other, their wheels rolling steadily over the asphalt road surface. Railway tracks extend deep into the industrial park. Locomotives are parked under cranes, spewing white smoke, and their carriages are filled with finished industrial products waiting to be shipped out!

In just over two years, Rubber Garden Town has more than 40 factories in industries such as daily chemicals, tire manufacturing, conveyor belts, and medical consumables!

The economy was on the right track, and Chen Huian's work became less and less busy.

In order to reduce the number of administrative civil servants, Yin Xinjun did not establish Tiezhou Province until this year, but in the local area, there were no provincial and county-level institutions at all!

The government’s function is to serve, serve, and serve again. As for other matters, try to ignore them as much as possible!

Apart from holding a regular work meeting once a month, Chen Huian spends most of his time in the office, drinking tea and reading newspapers. Sometimes he wants to visit the factories, but the city has issued a notice prohibiting government officials from harassing businesses. If there is any major issue, it should be discussed in the government office!

He picked up today's Haizhou Daily.

I was reading it, and the headline on the front page read,

The Mulan Foundation donated 3 million Haizhou yuan to the reconstruction of Tiezhou Province, which will be used to build 6 high-standard primary schools!

He was very clear about the Mulan Foundation. It was rumored in official circles that this was a charitable foundation founded by the first lady. So far this year, it has donated more than 10 billion yuan, mainly to the field of basic education in Haizhou State!

There was also an article in the second edition that attracted him.

"Due to the rush for land by merchants from many countries, the city's land transaction prices have increased by an average of 22.7% compared to last month! The Ministry of the Interior is preparing regulatory measures!"

Haizhou currently has diplomatic relations with 39 countries, and the first thing these countries do when they come to Haizhou is to build embassies. Haizhou actually lets them buy land at the trading center themselves!

In addition, a large number of foreign companies and related personnel came to Haizhou to develop business, resulting in tight land supply and frequent increases in land prices!

As he was lost in thought,

There were footsteps at the door.

Office director Cao Hong walked in, followed by two foreigners, one of whom was Chinese!

The leader was about 40 years old, with wheat-colored skin showing the traces of years of running around outside, and thick dark brown curly hair combed neatly back with hairspray.

The person on his left wore gold-rimmed round glasses, had neatly trimmed light blond hair, and always had a kind smile on his fair face!

Cao Hong said,

"Mayor, two bosses from General Motors are here to see you!"

The translator also introduced,

"This is Robert, General Manager of the Asian Marketing Department of General Motors, and Raymond, Customer Director of Haizhou Country!"

Chen Huian hurriedly stood up and shook hands with the guest. Although he didn't know what General Motors was, Haizhou Country had indeed seen a large influx of foreign businessmen recently, including those from the United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union!

Some come to purchase supplies, and some come to sell goods!

Robert has been in Haizhou for a week. As the person in charge of the company's Asian market, he never expected that Haizhou is a place that is much richer and more developed than he imagined.

The average annual income of people here is 6 yuan, which is enough to afford a Buick car!

However, to his regret, Haizhou's automobile manufacturing industry is not inferior to that of the United States. There are 4 large automobile manufacturers and more than 200 other supporting parts manufacturers. Their products cover trucks, cars, pickup trucks, off-road vehicles and other categories!

In the past two years, the penetration rate of private cars in Haizhou State has been quite high. With a population of more than 2000 million, the country has 170 million cars, and this number is still growing rapidly!

Robert is not afraid of competition, he is confident that he can open up the market here. He has already asked about the price. The cars produced here in Haizhou country range from - yuan. If the conversion rate is 1:4 between US dollars and Haizhou currency, the price of cars produced in the United States is about the same!

Robert has full confidence in the company's products. He has now planned to do something in Haizhou National University and place the Asian headquarters here. Of course, first of all, he needs to buy a piece of land and build a sales center!

"Mayor Chen, we need to buy a piece of land, about 20 acres, to build a sales center. We also plan to put our General Motors Asia headquarters here!" Robert said confidently.

After hearing the translation, Chen Huian remained calm. He asked in confusion,

"Boss, if you need to buy land, you must go to the trading center in Haizhou City, where there are often land auctions!"

Robert shook his head.

"I have already investigated and I want to buy a piece of land here. I am very satisfied with the transportation facilities here!"

"But our land was also reported to the city according to the plan and was traded publicly!" Chen Huian explained!

"No, no, no, I've already asked. The town also has certain powers. For example, when introducing major projects, we can conduct sole-source negotiations. The land price is very expensive now. Our project can bring at least 2 million yuan in economic income to your town every year!" Robert said proudly. He felt that his project was a hot commodity. In other countries, many people would be unable to get it!

Chen Huian thought for a moment and said,

"Single source? We do have it, but our town never needs it because many companies are eager to settle here, and it's not like the land can't be sold! Besides, as for increasing our town's economic income, does that mean increasing tax revenue? The city has never required it!"

What Chen Huian said was the truth. The city's annual assessment is about service satisfaction, whether it satisfies businesses and the general public. As for tax indicators, there are no requirements at all!

Robert found it a little unbelievable when he heard it.

"Mayor Chen, do you mean that you don't care at all if a multinational company like us settles here?"

"That's not the case. Of course we welcome you!" Chen Huian said, but he felt an inexplicable feeling of disgust rising in his heart!