At Zhang Yi's words, the Development Zone director immediately perked up. The factory building Zhang Yi had asked about, while not the largest in the Development Zone, was definitely one of the best-located. Naturally, its rent was also among the highest in the entire Development Zone.
As a result, three years had passed since the Development Zone was established, yet the building had never been leased out. Its rent had been lowered again and again, and it was now less than 600,000 yuan a year.
Yet even with the rent reduced to that level, the building still had not been leased. They had originally planned to go to Zhou Tai City this time and let that company use the building for free, so long as it settled in Xian County.
Who would have thought that company would not only be a heavily polluting chemical plant, but would also make so many unreasonable demands? Naturally, the deal fell through.
After all, Xian County was one of the poorer counties in Jiangnan Province. There were not many factories in the entire county, and most of them were small ones. They simply could not afford to lease such a large factory building.
That was why the county had made those arrangements before. But just when it seemed there was no way out, a new opportunity appeared. The chemical plant deal had fallen through, yet a company from their own county now wanted to lease the building.
The Development Zone director naturally welcomed this. From the looks of it, Zhang Yi was preparing to make a major push. If his factory could truly grow strong, it would definitely be a fortunate thing for all of Xian County.
"Come, come. You're Boss Zhang Ming's son, right? Let's sit down and talk. The factory building you've taken a liking to may not be the largest in the Development Zone, but it's still quite sizable, one of the biggest here. Its location is excellent as well. The rent previously set by the county was 550,000 yuan a year. That price is already very reasonable; you won't find a factory building this cheap anywhere in Zhou Tai City, let alone one in such a good location. Transportation is convenient, and basic infrastructure like electricity is guaranteed.
"But that price is for outside companies. If you want to lease it, it obviously won't be that price. How about this? I'll need to discuss the specifics with the county leaders, but I can guarantee you one thing: if you truly want to lease it, the rent definitely won't be higher than 500,000 yuan.
"Also, Xiao Yi, stop calling me Director Zhang this and Director Zhang that. Didn't I tell you last time to call me Uncle Zhang from now on? Are you planning to expand your factory's scale? You know, I've already tried persuading your father several times." Zhang Ou said.
Zhang Yi was naturally delighted that Director Zhang had taken the initiative to lower the rent. However, 500,000 yuan was still somewhat higher than the price he had in mind. He said, "Director Zhang, my mechanical factory is preparing to expand. As a homegrown enterprise of Xian County, how much preferential treatment can the county offer us? To be honest, my funds are somewhat tight right now, so I hope the county can provide more support in terms of factory rent and policies."
"You don't need to say that. Our county will definitely provide you with support. But I can't make the decision right now. I'll have to wait until the county leaders have discussed it before I can give you an answer.
"But Xiao Yi, what products is your mechanical factory producing now? I heard a big boss came to your factory yesterday, and you also shipped out a batch of goods that same day. If your factory has its own products, especially independently innovated high-tech products, the county's support will be even greater. But if you're merely doing contract manufacturing for others like Boss Zhu, then the county's support will not be very substantial." Zhang Ou said.
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Yi said to Zhang Ou, "Director Zhang, this is actually the very reason I want to expand the factory. Some time ago, I invented a practical Aerodynamic Bicycle and applied for more than ten patents. Yesterday, we produced a trial batch and shipped it to Hang City for test sales.
"The market response was extremely good. As soon as that batch of Aerodynamic Bicycles arrived in Hang City last night, they were immediately snapped up. That same night, the Hang City distributor placed another order with our factory for two million yuan worth of Aerodynamic Bicycles.
"The boss who came to our Seven Color Stone Mechanical Factory yesterday was also there for our products. However, he wasn't interested in the Aerodynamic Bicycle itself, but the Air Motor used in it. He placed an order with our Seven Color Stone Mechanical Factory for roughly 800,000 yuan worth of goods.
"And you're well aware of my factory's current production capacity, Director Zhang, so I have no choice but to expand it." Zhang Yi said.
After Zhang Yi chatted with Zhang Ou for a while longer, he left. He knew that Zhang Ou was merely the Office Director of the Development Zone and had no authority to decide what kind of support the county could provide.
Just as Zhang Yi walked out of the Development Zone office, Zhang Ou, the Development Zone's Office Director, hurried out as well and rushed toward the county government.
If what Zhang Yi said was true, then his mechanical factory definitely had considerable potential for future development. After all, although Zhang Yi's factory was still very small in scale—
—it was different from Zhu Gang's auto parts factory. Zhang Yi's factory had its own products and even dozens of exclusive patents, things Zhu Gang's auto parts factory did not possess. Therefore, Zhang Ou believed that policy support was absolutely necessary in order to keep Zhang Yi's mechanical factory in Xian County.
If they failed to seize this opportunity now, then if Zhang Yi moved his factory elsewhere in the future, it would be far too late for regrets.
"Is what you said true? Zhang Ming's son really invented an Aerodynamic Bicycle and obtained more than ten patents for it?" When Zhang Ou reported the matter to the county government, the county leaders were greatly shocked. Over the past two years, the county government had spent considerable effort trying to attract investment, but the results had been poor—practically nonexistent, in fact.
Yet now, a small local workshop had quietly created such a huge stir. Most importantly, if Zhang Ou had not reported it, the county would still have known nothing about it. This was absolutely a dereliction of duty on the county government's part.
"Yes, leaders! Zhang Ming's son, Zhang Yi, told me this himself. Before coming here, I also checked the patents for this bicycle at the National Intellectual Property Center. It clearly listed Zhang Yi as the patent applicant, along with more than ten derivative patents related to the bicycle. Several of those patents have tremendous market potential, so this matter definitely cannot be false!" Zhang Ou said.
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