Starting out as a drug dealer in 1988

Just as Yang Weimin and Zhao Wenhao were talking, Ma Chenggong, who had returned to the hotel, finally broke free from the vice president's support, then leisurely lit a cigarette and sat on the sofa.

At this time, Chen Xiao pushed the door open and saw Ma Chenggong in such a state. He couldn't help but laugh: "Old Ma, why are you doing this? If people see that you are pretending to be drunk, won't it make everyone unhappy?"

"Old Chen, do you think I'm willing?" Ma Chenggong handed over a cigarette with a wry smile. "Zhao Wenhao has already said that. If the management committee comes up with more favorable conditions, do you think we should agree or not?"

Chen Xiao took the cigarette, lit it, took a deep breath, blew out a smoke ring, and then looked at Ma Chenggong thoughtfully.

He understood Ma Chenggong's concerns and knew that this investment was crucial to the company.

If the company accepts the preferential terms offered by the management committee, it may gain more benefits, but it will also need to bear greater responsibilities and risks;

If I refuse, I worry about missing this opportunity and affecting the company's development prospects.

After a moment of silence, Chen Xiao said, "Actually, I think we can consider this matter. After all, the preferential conditions they offer are indeed very attractive, and we have sufficient strength to bear such a responsibility. Of course, we also need to fully assess the risks to ensure that the interests of the company are not harmed."

"Old Chen, you have no experience dealing with officials from mainland cities!" Ma Chenggong shook his head bitterly, looking helpless.

“I am very clear about Zhao Wenhao’s sincerity, and it will indeed be of great benefit to us.

But don't trust those officials so easily. They are so obedient to you now, naturally hoping that you can take root.

Once that happens, the subsequent troubles will be overwhelming. I've experienced this kind of suffering myself before," Ma Chenggong continued.

Chen Xiao really had no idea what kind of experiences Ma Chenggong had. Although the two were quite familiar with each other, they were not that familiar.

"Two years ago, my wife's hometown, a northern province, invited me to visit and build a new factory there."

Ma Chenggong snuffed out the cigarette butt in his hand, took out another one from the cigarette box, and lit it. Then he began to tell Chen Xiao about his past.

It turned out that just two years ago, Ma Chenggong went back to his hometown with his wife to visit relatives.

After the local government learned about it, many members of the Standing Committee, including the municipal party secretary and mayor, paid a personal visit.

This thoughtfulness and courtesy made Ma Chenggong feel elated.

Of course, Ma Chenggong knew in his heart that the other party treated him so attentively simply because they hoped he would invest there.

Moreover, the conditions they offered were really attractive. Not only did they provide the land almost for free, they also promised a preferential policy of tax exemption for three years.

In addition, they also took the initiative to help Ma Chenggong solve many problems he had never thought of, which made Ma Chenggong feel unprecedentedly happy.

In this way, the two parties successfully signed the agreement in less than a month.

Guangdong Weicheng Electronics decided to invest 3000 million yuan to build a new factory in the local area.

However, when the factory building was completed, the equipment was debugged, and the personnel training was completed, and the new factory was about to start its grand plan, a series of problems emerged one after another like a tide.

At first, the tax department came to audit the accounts;

Then the fire department pointed out that something did not meet the standards.

Subsequently, various departments such as industry and commerce, joint defense and urban construction followed suit.

In the end, even the Family Planning Commission sent someone to visit and said that several employees in the factory were violating regulations and were going to have a second child.

Ma Chenggong was furious. He thought it was understandable for other departments to cause trouble, but why did the Family Planning Commission come to him?

The employees in their new factory were all newly recruited. How could they possibly recruit a pregnant woman?

However, no matter how much the company's management explained, the other party still stubbornly demanded to take many female employees for testing.

As someone who has been working in the business world, Ma Chenggong naturally understood that the other party was just asking for money.

He was never stingy with his filial piety and gave everything, whether it was what he deserved or what he shouldn't have.

But even so, various problems still arose, making him very annoyed.

According to statistics from his staff, there were as many as 150 inspections of various types last year alone.

Excluding weekends and holidays, I have to undergo an examination almost every two days on average.

Such frequent inspections made Ma Chenggong feel very distressed and tired.

Although he tried many times to communicate with the local government and reflect the problem, the response he received disappointed him.

The officials who once enthusiastically invited him to invest now became indifferent and perfunctory towards him.

This made him feel very helpless and depressed.

After operating in the new factory for a year and a half, the company was no longer able to make ends meet due to poor management for various reasons.

Faced with the pressure of reality, Ma Chenggong had to make a difficult decision - to close the new factory and lay off all employees.

This experience made Ma Chenggong deeply reluctant to invest in inland areas.

If it weren't for Zhao Wenhao, he might not even have been interested in visiting the so-called industrial park in the morning.

Today, he is cautious about the development prospects in inland areas.

At the dinner table, Yang Weimin offered him many favorable terms, which reminded Ma Chenggong of the time when he first invested and the other party's municipal party secretary and mayor personally came forward to make promises.

As a result, he still took bribes and demanded everything he wanted!

Therefore, Ma Chenggong is very pessimistic about the business environment in inland cities.

He pretended to be drunk on purpose to avoid the other party's repeated persuasion. With Zhao Wenhao involved, he could not refuse and the previous experience would happen again.

"Oh, I didn't expect that Mr. Ma had such an experience." Chen Xiao sighed deeply and shook his head repeatedly, expressing his incomprehension.

He has been doing business in Jiangsu Province and is quite satisfied with the local business environment.

Although there are some cases of corruption and extortion there, they are not so outrageous.

Chen Xiao was shocked and confused when he heard Ma Chenggong say that there were more than 150 inspections in a year.

"This situation is absolutely ridiculous! Who can afford such frequent inspections? If this is true, how can business be carried out smoothly? How can the company operate normally?"

Chen Xiao couldn't help but feel fear and began to have doubts about investing and building a factory here.

Chen Xiao, who was originally a little excited, his enthusiasm instantly cooled after listening to Ma Chenggong's story.

He began to re-examine the investment opportunity and wonder whether it was worth the risk.

He was glad that he did not make the decision lightly, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous.