Unintentional Willow Planting

This path is blocked; the Pengcheng side shifted the topic again.

"Let's set this issue aside for now. Based on your company's operations in Shanmei, through waste recycling, manufacturing liquefied gas, organic fertilizer, and recovering raw materials, your annual turnover is quite substantial..."

Jiang Hailin interrupted the other party directly: "We cannot agree with that assessment. The byproducts of waste recycling are the result of significant human and material investment by our company, and they contain a vast amount of intellectual property..."

"Furthermore, the gas company and the organic fertilizer company both have operating costs. Our profits barely cover these expenses; no one is willing to run a business at a loss."

The negotiations were filled with tension from the very start. Suiren Company refused to give an inch and began putting forward its own conditions.

These included issues regarding the land for recycling plants, employee dormitories, vehicle licensing, gas operating rights, and detailed regulations for urban cleaning.

After a morning of negotiations, the two sides still had not reached an agreement, primarily due to several major issues.

One was the sanitation contract; Suiren Company demanded a twenty-year franchise with an annual service fee of 5 billion, and required payment to be made in advance each year.

Other issues were equally contentious.

For example, regarding the sewage treatment plant, because of the Pengcheng Water Group—a joint venture between Pengcheng and the Gallic Veolia Company—Suiren Company did not intend to supply the purified water it processed to Pengcheng Water, but instead demanded the establishment of a bottled purified water company.

Additionally, the issue of gas operating rights also proved exceptionally thorny for the Pengcheng side.

This was destined to be a difficult negotiation.

After three consecutive days of talks, the two sides were still unable to reach a consensus and ultimately had to suspend the negotiations, each returning to readjust their terms of cooperation.

However, Suiren Company had no intention of backing down.

Just as the two sides reached a stalemate.

A special delegation from the Hui City Special Economic Zone arrived in the Shanmei urban area.

They moved very quickly. The team leader, Gao Jianwei, came to the Guizhuling Industrial Park for an inspection. After observing the sewage treatment and deep recycling processes, he realized this trip was well worth it.

He immediately paid a visit to the Suiren Company headquarters.

When they arrived at the main entrance and saw the row of plaques, they realized that the strength behind this company exceeded their expectations.

Lin Baijie, who happened to be at headquarters, received Gao Jianwei and his delegation.

After fifteen minutes of mutual flattery, Gao Jianwei stated his purpose: he hoped Suiren would invest and set up factories in the Hui City Special Economic Zone.

Jiang Hailin, who was participating in the meeting, produced a general cooperation agreement. Using the 5.14 million permanent residents of the Hui City Special Economic Zone as a reference, he demanded an annual sanitation contract fee of 514 million.

The general cooperation agreement was aimed at non-first-tier cities and had a specific fee standard:

First-tier cities: over 200 per capita annually; second-tier cities: 100 per capita annually; third-tier cities: 80 per capita annually; fourth-tier cities and below: 50 per capita annually.

Seeing this cost, Gao Jianwei and his team found it hard to accept. After all, the fee was too high. Although Hui City was a special zone, it was only a special zone in name; compared to Pengcheng, the difference was like heaven and earth.

The asking price of 514 million per year clearly exceeded their psychological expectations.

Seeming to see through their thoughts, Jiang Hailin brought out another contract: "Actually, this contract price is not set in stone."

Taking the new contract, Gao Jianwei flipped through it and found that the sanitation contract fee remained the same. Turning to the next page, Suiren Company finally revealed its true intentions.

They demanded that the Hui City Special Economic Zone hand over the Hui City Water Company and the sewage treatment plant to Suiren Company for operation to offset the difference in the sanitation contract.

At the same time, they required that Hailu Gas Company be allowed to obtain gas franchise rights in Hui City.

Seeing this, Gao Jianwei fell into a dilemma. Unable to make a decision on the spot, he had no choice but to head home, taking the two cooperation agreements back to Hui City.

Watching Gao Jianwei and his team leave.

Lin Baijie and Jiang Hailin had not retreated; Suiren Company could profit from either contract.

If they took over the water company, the annual consumption of tap water in Hui City was around 300 million cubic meters. With an average price of 2.6 per cubic meter (1.6 for water, 1 for sewage), the annual turnover would be around 800 million.

This was a high-quality asset. As long as they implemented internal reforms and fixed the unreasonable aspects—such as the large number of redundant employees, falsified accounts, and accelerated depreciation—it would be fine.

As long as it was managed well, combined with Suiren Company's technology, an annual profit of 500 to 600 million would not be a problem.

Add in liquefied gas, organic fertilizer, recovered raw materials, and factory pollution treatment, and it was a business that guaranteed returns regardless of the circumstances.

September 6th.

Huang Xiuyuan paid a little attention to the international financial markets. His company, Huang's International in Xiangjiang, had already hired several professional managers.

Currently, the total assets there, after several months of short-selling, had reached the height of 420 million USD.

He instructed the managers to keep an eye on the US financial market, especially Lehman Brothers. However, Huang Xiuyuan was very cautious and did not allow the investment company to use more than double leverage, so as not to be outmaneuvered by Wall Street.

Meanwhile.

The Pengcheng side was still dragging its feet on making a decision.

On the contrary, the Hui City side showed sincerity, and Gao Jianwei led a team to the Shanmei urban area once again.

In the conference room on the seventh floor of the Shiguang Information headquarters, Gao Jianwei, who had full authority to negotiate for Hui City, sat down at the negotiating table with Lin Baijie and Jiang Hailin once more.

"Mr. Lin, Team Leader Jiang, these are our conditions."

After carefully studying the cooperation terms from Hui City, the Hui City side, lacking large amounts of capital, chose the second cooperation plan.

"We can agree to your side retaining 80% of the shares in the water company, but I have some objections regarding the management rights." Jiang Hailin put forward his opinion.

He demanded to exercise 100% of the management rights during the 30-year franchise period.

At the same time, he requested an addendum to the contract: all profits from Hui City Water during the franchise period would be used to offset the sanitation and sewage treatment costs. If this contract were to be voided, the sanitation contract would be voided as well.

Other issues included requirements such as water rates not exceeding the official state-mandated pricing, ensuring a stable water supply for residents, and meeting water quality standards.

After some bargaining, the two sides finally reached an agreement three days later.

The final cooperation plan was as follows.

Suiren Company would obtain a 30-year sanitation contract for Hui City, priced at 514 million per year.

Regarding the additional terms, Suiren Company would acquire a 20% stake in the Hui City Water Company (including the sewage treatment plant) for 5 million, gaining 100% management rights and a 30-year franchise.

The profits from the water company would offset the sanitation contract fees, using a "refund for excess or payment for deficit" method.

Other miscellaneous terms included a gas franchise, a 500-mu plot of industrial land (at 100,000 per mu), and a 100-mu plot of residential land (at 1.3 million per mu).

Once this cooperation contract was signed, the news could not be kept secret, especially for the Pengcheng side, which had been hesitating and now found itself in an even more passive position.

The swift-acting Suiren Company immediately sent personnel to Hui City to establish a branch, and then Lin Baijie personally headed to Hui City with 300 million in capital to direct the branch's operations.

After securing the industrial land plot, the factory construction company they had previously worked with once again landed the first phase of the order.

Ever since they started working with Suiren Company, this firm had found it to be a great experience; compared to those clients who liked to drag their feet, Suiren Company, while strict with requirements, never delayed project payments.

Therefore, as soon as they heard there was another project, they immediately brought their team straight to Hui City and began entering full construction mode.

On the other side, Lin Baijie also began taking over the Hui City Water Company; the moment he took charge, he immediately began auditing the accounts and clarifying all aspects of the water company's operations.

Thank you all for your support, and thanks to book friends "Qingtianyi" and "ZACK Yang" for the tips (ω｀)