Chapter 470: A Staggering Investment of 30 Billion

Chapter 470: A Staggering Investment of 30 Billion

8:00 PM.

Shuifeng Restaurant.

After a satisfying meal, Zhang Guangzong looked at the time and said, "It's getting late, I'll head back now."

Deng Shirong said, "Uncle Zhang, let me have someone see you off."

Zhang Guangzong smiled, "No need, I can take a leisurely walk back. It's just like going for a stroll after a meal."

Deng Shirong nodded, "Alright, then we'll continue our drinks tomorrow at noon."

Zhang Guangzong responded and then said goodbye to Zhu Junjie and Deng Yunzhen before walking leisurely toward the new village.

Shuifeng Restaurant only operates for lunch and dinner, not breakfast or late-night snacks. Therefore, at this time, there were hardly any customers left, with only one table still occupied.

Deng Yunzhen brought over a pot of tea and poured a cup for her father, saying, "Dad, you drank quite a bit. Drink more tea to sober up."

Deng Shirong nodded and looked at his son-in-law, "Junjie, how's your work been lately?"

Zhu Junjie smiled, "The county leaders all know I'm your son-in-law, and the team left by Uncle Song fully supports me. My work is going very smoothly."

Deng Shirong took a sip of tea and said, "I came here today to discuss something important with you. It concerns the development of our hometown. If we handle it well, it could easily help you get promoted."

Zhu Junjie was taken aback and asked, "Dad, what big move are you planning for our hometown?"

Deng Yunzhen also perked up and looked at her father.

Deng Shirong said, "I plan to build the largest film city in the country in our hometown. The total investment is expected to exceed 30 billion, and it will require full support from the county government. Once it's up and running, it could significantly boost the economy of Bobai County."

Zhu Junjie and Deng Yunzhen were both stunned.

An investment of 30 billion, in the future, might be insignificant in megacities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Shenzhen, and might not even make the top list.

But in present-day Guangxi, even in the capital city of Nanning, such an investment would be groundbreaking, let alone in a county like Bobai, where it would be like a nuclear bomb.

Zhu Junjie, excited, said, "Dad, with an investment of 30 billion, the city leaders will be overjoyed when we report it to them."

Deng Shirong smiled, "Of course, they will be thrilled. This is a golden opportunity for political achievements. Bobai is under the jurisdiction of Yulin City, so any success will naturally reflect well on the city leaders. However, this achievement won't come without their support."

Zhu Junjie said, "Dad, just tell me what kind of support you need, and I'll do my best to help secure it."

Deng Shirong said, "Building such a massive film city in our hometown is a bit of a stretch, mainly due to the lack of transportation and various supporting industries. But since I'm from Bobai and want to develop my hometown, we need support from the county, city, and even provincial levels to plan and build highways, railways, and an airport.

However, we can't expect everything to be done overnight. The airport can wait, but the highways connecting Bobai County to Nanning and the capital city need to be expedited, as well as the railway, if possible.

As for the supporting industries, some can be handled by the film city itself, while others will require government intervention.

Additionally, constructing the film city will require tens of thousands of acres of land, and the government needs to help expedite the land acquisition process.

Of course, building the largest film base in the country will come with numerous challenges, but these can be addressed gradually during development. As long as the province agrees to these conditions and provides some policy support, I will make the investment.

If they can't even meet these basic conditions, then the investment will likely not happen."

Building a film base like Hengdian in our hometown is indeed challenging, but it's not impossible. As long as we solve the most critical issues of transportation and supporting industries, the other problems will be easier to handle.

In the previous life, Hengdian wasn't always so successful.

In 2000, to expand its scale and attract more film crews, Hengdian made a wise decision: the film city would not only waive rental fees for all filming locations but also provide a series of supporting services, including set construction, prop making, and accommodation.

As a result, more and more film crews came, and Hengdian Film City's popularity soared, starkly contrasting with the desolate state of many other film bases in China.

The increased flow of people also spurred the rapid development of related industries, and the film city gradually achieved industrialized operations.

Deng Shirong plans to implement this free strategy from the start, waiving rental fees and providing a series of supporting services, such as set construction, prop making, and accommodation.

With such favorable conditions, why would any film crew choose not to shoot here?

Even the Deng Group could establish a film and television production company, specifically to invest in some TV series and films. Before delving into online novels, Deng Shirong's only way to pass the time was watching TV, and he had a clear memory of the popular TV series and movies.

With such insider knowledge, he couldn't possibly lose money, even if he invested blindly.

When the time comes, it would be only natural for TV series and films produced by their own company to be filmed at their own film city.

Moreover, the Deng Group could invest in cinema chains to strengthen their influence in the film and television industry. With such a multi-pronged approach, how could the film city fail to develop?

In short, when it comes to building a film city, money can solve 99.999999% of the problems. The remaining 0.000001% that can't be solved is simply because there isn't enough money; more funds are needed.

Once the film city grows and becomes strong, it will naturally bring about a cluster effect, replacing Hengdian as the largest film shooting base in the world. This would be a natural progression.

As the county magistrate, Zhu Junjie naturally understood the importance of transportation and supporting industries. He nodded repeatedly, saying, "Dad, I understand. Tomorrow morning, I'll convene a meeting with the county leadership to unify our thoughts, and then I'll report to the city leaders, clearly explaining the requirements of your Deng Group. I believe the leaders will do their best to support us."

...

The next day.

Zhu Junjie took action. He first held a meeting with the county leadership, presenting the 30-billion-yuan film city investment plan, which immediately stunned the other leaders.

At this time, only the forefront cities of the reform and opening-up had investments of this scale. For a place like Bobai County in Guangxi, a 30-billion-yuan investment was something they dared not even dream about.

Therefore, Zhu Junjie easily unified the leadership's thoughts, and then, together with the county magistrate, went to Yulin to report to the city leaders.

Upon hearing the news, the city leaders were equally highly concerned and were eager to immediately agree to all the requirements of the Deng Group to ensure the investment was quickly realized.

After all, these requirements were reasonable, and the highway was already in the planning stages. To secure the 30-billion-yuan investment, it was necessary to prioritize the highway's extension to Bobai.

Unfortunately, building a highway was not something they could decide on their own.

Thus, after unifying their thoughts, the city leaders reported to the provincial leadership, asking them to make the final decision.

Upon hearing the report, the provincial leaders were also very concerned. The leader in charge of transportation personally met with the chairman of the Deng Group for a discussion.

After receiving the message, Deng Shirong returned to Nanning and had a lengthy conversation with the provincial leader.

What they discussed during those hours is unknown to outsiders, but after the conversation, Deng Shirong had a new film and television production company established, officially launching the super project of the film city.

Soon after, the provincial government approved the construction of the highways from Shuangwang to Nanning and from Shuangwang to Bobai.

In fact, the highway from Shuangwang to Nanning was already under construction, and now it was just a matter of adding an extension to connect it to Shuangwang Town.

On the other hand, the highway from Shuangwang to Bobai was a newly planned route.

As for the railway, it was only in the planning stages, and it might take a long time before it was finalized.

...

Nanning Architectural Design Institute.

Dean Huang's Office.

After exchanging greetings, Dean Huang handed over a cigarette with a smile, saying, "Mr. Deng, what big business do you have for us this time?"

Deng Shirong took the cigarette and smiled, "Dean Huang, this time it's a big business, much bigger than all our previous collaborations combined."

Upon hearing this, Dean Huang's spirits immediately lifted, and he asked excitedly, "Mr. Deng, is that true?"

It's no wonder he was excited. Over the past decade, their architectural design institute had collaborated with Mr. Deng on many projects, including the design of the Ye Deng Clan Hall, the design, construction, and renovation of the Five Peaks Square in Nanning, the design and renovation of the seven-story building in the Ye Deng Neighborhood in Bobai, the design of the Ye Deng Villa Cluster, the design of the Ye Hospital, the design of the Deng Group headquarters in Nanning, and the design of the Nanning Snack Street.

These projects had naturally made Mr. Deng their most esteemed client.

Now, the business Mr. Deng was bringing was even bigger than all these projects combined, which was like a blessing from the heavens.

Deng Shirong smiled, "Of course, I wouldn't joke about such a matter with you, Dean Huang."

"Excellent, Mr. Deng, you are truly our design institute's greatest benefactor!"

Dean Huang lit Mr. Deng's cigarette with a lighter and asked excitedly, "So, what are you planning to build, Mr. Deng?"

Deng Shirong said, "The Deng Group plans to invest around 30 billion yuan to build the largest film base in the country. We need to construct architectural clusters like Guangzhou Street, Hong Kong Street, the Qin King's Palace, the Qingming Riverside Scene, and the Ming-Qing Palace Complex. In short, we will build all the commonly used scenic spots from films and TV series."

Dean Huang almost fainted from happiness upon hearing this.

An investment of 30 billion yuan to build the largest film base in the country.

With just this one sentence, it was easy to imagine the sheer scale of the architectural clusters that would need to be constructed. Deng Shirong was indeed not exaggerating; all their previous collaborations combined would not match the scale of this super project.

If their architectural design institute could secure this project, they would truly take off.

After the initial excitement, Dean Huang immediately expressed his commitment, "Mr. Deng, we have worked on many projects together, and it has always been very pleasant. If you entrust this project to our architectural design institute, we will not let you down. We will build this film base for you."

Deng Shirong smiled, "I trust the capabilities of your institute and your sincerity. However, the construction of this film base is time-sensitive. If we reach an agreement, you must spare no effort to complete the design as quickly as possible and build the required scenic spots for me."

Dean Huang solemnly promised, "Mr. Deng, rest assured. Our architectural design institute will suspend all external collaborations and focus entirely on this film base."

"Very well, let's discuss the specifics of our cooperation."

"Sure, Mr. Deng, please proceed..."

...

The county government, having unified their thoughts and received the green light, demonstrated an impressive work efficiency.

After signing the land acquisition contract with the Deng Group, they organized a team to begin large-scale land acquisition within the area planned by Deng Shirong.

Thanks to the Ye Deng Clan's young brides who had previously returned to their hometowns to explain the benefits of building the film city, the government's land acquisition process went extremely smoothly. It took less than a month to complete the land acquisition.

Families with more land received over 200,000 yuan, while those with less land still received at least 10,000 yuan.

This acquisition price was quite reasonable. In the previous life, more than 20 years later, the Bai Ping Industrial Park paid over 2 million yuan to families with more land and at least 100,000 yuan to those with less land.

Naturally, the current land prices could not compare to those of 20 years later.

The acquisition price offered by the Deng Group was already very generous.

As a result, the economic strength of the villages within the acquisition range skyrocketed, far surpassing their previous conditions.

The other villages that were not included in the acquisition range drooled with envy. However, many of these villages had daughters married into the Ye Deng Clan, and they understood that the success of the film city would also benefit their villages.

Even without the land acquisition benefits, the film city, located right at their doorstep, would attract tens of thousands of visitors. Whether it was renting out houses or starting small businesses, they could certainly make money.

During the Dragon Boat Festival, the construction of the first scenic spot, Guangzhou Street, began under the watchful eyes of the public.

The decision to build Guangzhou Street first was primarily to preempt Hengdian's opportunity.

In the previous life, in 1996, the historical film "The Opium War" lacked an appropriate filming location. The Hengdian Group seized this opportunity, inviting the film's director to shoot in Hengdian and investing heavily to create the first film base in Hengdian, Guangzhou Street.

Now, Deng Shirong aimed to build Guangzhou Street first, ensuring that "The Opium War" would have a suitable filming location next year. If Hengdian Group missed this opportunity, they might not have the idea to establish a film base.

...

Villa Cluster.

Deng Sibao came to visit Ninth Ancestor to bring him zongzi (sticky rice dumplings).

After receiving the zongzi, Deng Shirong asked, "Aibao, how is the construction of your skating rink going? When will it open?"

Deng Sibao excitedly replied, "Ninth Ancestor, the skating rink is already built. We are making final preparations and plan to open the day after tomorrow."

Deng Shirong said, "That's good. With the recent land acquisition, the other villages have also received significant income. When your skating rink opens, the young people from these villages will come to play, and your business will surely boom."

Deng Sibao also looked forward to it, saying with anticipation, "I hope so. I spent quite a bit of money to build this skating rink. If business is good, I can recover my costs in no time."

Deng Shirong picked up the pipe next to him and cautioned, "Aibao, the skating rink will attract young people, who can be quite impulsive. Any small friction could lead to conflicts. Pay attention to this and don't let your skating rink become a chaotic place."

Deng Sibao nodded, "I will, Ninth Ancestor."

Deng Shirong took a small pinch of tobacco and stuffed it into the pipe, then smiled and asked, "Aibao, I heard you are dating a nurse from our hospital?"

Deng Sibao blushed slightly and replied, "That's true..."

"Where is this girl from?"

"Longtan."

Deng Shirong lit the tobacco and took a few puffs before saying, "When choosing a wife, the most important thing is to look at her character. Generally, if a wife has a good character, the family will be harmonious. If her character is poor, there will often be minor arguments every three days and major ones every five. You must pay attention to this."

Deng Sibao replied, "I understand. She seems to have a good temper and shouldn't be difficult to get along with."

Deng Shirong asked, "Have your parents met her?"

Deng Sibao laughed, "They have. Actually, the house she's renting is our old family home."

Deng Shirong continued stuffing tobacco into his pipe, "That's quite a coincidence. What do your parents think?"

Deng Sibao said, "They think she's fine."

Deng Shirong smiled, "Since your parents have no objections, I'll be waiting to drink your wedding wine!"

Deng Sibao chuckled, "No rush. I'm still young, and I'm not old enough to register for marriage yet. Let's see how things go before we talk about getting married."

Deng Shirong cautioned, "It doesn't matter if you register for marriage a bit later, but you mustn't take advantage of her now. If you decide you don't want her later and kick her out, how will she find another husband?"

In the future, couples generally have intimate relationships before marriage, and it's rare for them to wait until their wedding night. With the open-mindedness of the future, it's not a big deal if a woman isn't a virgin, and even if she's pregnant, there are plenty of men willing to marry her. So, having a relationship before marriage isn't a big issue.

But it's the 1990s, and people in the countryside still take these matters very seriously. Unless it's a family with very poor conditions and difficulty finding a wife, no one wants to marry someone who isn't a virgin. Therefore, Deng Shirong had to remind him not to ruin a girl's chastity and then abandon her, which would be utterly despicable.

"I understand!"

Deng Sibao smiled awkwardly and quickly changed the topic, "Nine Ancestor, my skating rink is opening the day after tomorrow. Do you want to come and try it out?"

Deng Shirong laughed, "I'm just an old man. Why would I join in the fun with you young people?"

Deng Sibao laughed, "Skating is actually very fun, and you don't look that old at all!"

Deng Shirong lit the tobacco and took a few more puffs before putting the pipe aside, "I can come and take a look, but I'm too old to learn skating. However, you should prepare a dozen pairs of different sizes of new skates for me. When my grandchildren and nephews come back during the summer break, they can use them to play at your rink."

The public skates at the rink are used by everyone, and it's unknown if anyone has foot fungus. Deng Shirong naturally wanted to prepare brand new skates for his grandchildren and nephews so they could enjoy themselves without any issues.

Deng Sibao agreed, "No problem, Nine Ancestor. I have hundreds of new skates. I'll bring a dozen pairs back for you tonight."

...

Two days later.

The first skating rink in Shuangwang Town officially opened.

Ever since the construction began, it had attracted the attention of the young people in the clan. Now that the rink was open, Deng Sibao had spread the news in advance, naturally drawing in those interested in skating.

After breakfast, everyone gathered at Aibao's Skating Rink.

At the rink, disco music was playing, the high volume and dynamic rhythm making people feel very excited. The young people of the clan couldn't help but dance along to the music as they arrived.

Skating isn't something that only became popular in recent years. In fact, as early as 1879, the newspaper Shen Bao reported on the opening of a skating rink in Shanghai.

This skating rink was located on the upper floor of a warehouse next to the Tianxiang Foreign Firm on Guangdong Road. It offered roller skating as an entertainment option, with daily attendance ranging from dozens to over a hundred people.

The sport gradually gained popularity.

By the 1980s, skating had become a nationwide craze, and national competitions were held in 1982, 1987, and 1990.

The young people in the clan were no strangers to skating, as they often visited the county town. While not every young person had been to a skating rink, most had, and more than once.

Skating was a trendy activity, and it spread through word of mouth, with one person bringing another along.

Since most young clan members knew how to skate, they paid, signed up, put on their skates, and started gliding to the music. The more experienced skaters immediately formed a train, having a blast!

By the time Deng Shirong arrived, there were already over a hundred people skating, and the number was still growing.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end