After discussions among the entire county leadership team, Li Rui reached a cooperation agreement with the county leaders.
The county would provide Li Rui with 2,000 mu of industrial land free of charge, and he could even choose the location himself. This was something Li Rui had not expected; he had thought it would cost him quite a lot.
Besides the free land, the county also granted Li Rui a four-year tax exemption. As long as the industrial park was completed and put into production within those four years, it would not have to pay taxes, while Li Rui had to invest no less than ten billion yuan within four years.
With 2,000 mu of land plus four years of tax exemptions, the county had certainly shown its sincerity. Although land in a small county town like this was not worth much, 2,000 mu was no small amount-a full 1.3 million square meters.
As for the fifty-billion-yuan investment Li Rui had mentioned, the county leaders had not taken it too seriously. After all, an investment of ten billion over four years was already an enormous sum for a tiny eighteenth-tier county town like this. If they asked for too much, they might scare their sucker away.
But was Li Rui a sucker? Of course not. As long as he had the high technology rewarded by the system, he could accomplish plenty even in an eighteenth-tier county town like this. Those county leaders might end up beating their chests and stamping their feet over the four-year tax exemption.
Two thousand mu of industrial land, 1.3 million square meters, 1.3 kilometers long and one kilometer wide-an industrial park this enormous would rank among the largest even in the provincial capital. If it was completed, the political achievements it brought could not be underestimated.
As for what Li Rui intended to do with so much industrial land, that would depend on the system's rewards. Li Rui reckoned he would receive a system reward once the ancestral hall was completed. He hoped it would be high technology, so he could fully spread his wings.
After signing the contract, he also told Ning Guoliang about his village's plans to build an ancestral hall. Their old ancestral hall was only a little over 600 square meters.
If they were spending fifty million yuan to rebuild it, it would certainly be larger than that, with a floor area possibly exceeding three or four thousand square meters. In addition, he planned to rebuild a house, so all of it required fresh approval.
Although it was in the countryside, an ordinary person could not get approval for such a large floor area. For Li Rui, however, none of this was a problem. After all, he was a pillar of the nation investing at least ten billion yuan.
With a word from Ning Guoliang, he had green lights all the way. Before dark, Li Rui had obtained approval for a 3,800-square-meter ancestral hall and a 1,000-square-meter residence.
By the time he returned home, it was already dark.
Meanwhile, every household in the village was still engaged in heated discussion. Some were calling their children who worked away from home, some were showing them the video of fifty million yuan in cash filmed that day, and others were telling them about establishing a family business and fund. Every household was bustling.
"Dad, is this really true? Xiao Rui really struck it rich?" On the other end of the video call, Li Weiguang asked Li Yongde uncertainly.
"How could it be fake? Xiao Rui drives a sports car worth over thirteen million and has twenty bodyguards working for him. Today, he even brought out fifty million in cash. I saw all of it with my own eyes! You think Xiao Rui is as useless as you? You're even two years older than him! Look at what you've made of yourself. You haven't earned any money, and you can't even find a girlfriend. You useless thing!" Hearing his son's doubts, Li Yongde roared.
On the other end of the video call, Li Weiguang trembled in fright at his father's roar. Although he was twenty-seven, he was still particularly afraid of his father.
He had been rather mischievous as a child and had taken plenty of beatings from his father. Even now that he was grown, he was still filled with fear when faced with this father of his, who was even burlier than a bear.
Luckily, this was only a video call, with hundreds of li between them. Even if his dad wanted to hit him, he could not reach him. Heh, heh.
At that thought, Li Weiguang stubbornly retorted, "Dad, whatever else you say, Xiao Rui is a university graduate. I'm just an illiterate who joined the army after finishing middle school. After leaving the army, what could I do besides work as a security guard? People these days want partners with good jobs and money. Who would want a security guard like me? There's nothing I can do if I can't find a girlfriend." After speaking, he even pursed his lips, feeling thoroughly wronged.
"Still talking back? Was I the one who told you not to study properly? Get your ass back here tomorrow! Xiao Rui has made something of himself now, and he's setting up a family business group. You useless cousins had better work hard under him. If you dare disobey Xiao Rui, I'll break your damn legs!"
"A family business? Xiao Rui is starting a family business? Dad, I'm just a security guard. What could I do back there? And what about my job?"
"What's with all the nonsense? If I tell you to come back, come back! What can you do with that three or four thousand yuan a month you earn? Can you get a wife with that? If you can't make it back tomorrow, don't ever come back!" With that, he angrily hung up the video call.
This son of his really was a disappointment. He was twenty-seven, twenty-eight by nominal age, practically twenty-nine, and would be thirty in the blink of an eye, yet he did not even have a girlfriend. Other people's sons had children old enough to run out and buy soy sauce by that age. He only hoped his son could make something of himself by following Xiao Rui and find a wife. Then he could rest easy.
In truth, Li Yongde also knew that his son could not bear all the blame for being unable to find a wife. He could not afford to buy his son a home or a car in the city, and he bore an undeniable share of the responsibility.
Girls these days were very practical too. Without a home or a car, no one would marry you. Expecting a young man in his twenties to own a home and a car by the time he married was unrealistic without help from his parents. At that thought, he let out a deep sigh.
The next morning, Li Rui was woken from his sleep by a racket.
"Who is that? Don't they have any consideration for others, disturbing people's sweet dreams so early in the morning?" Still groggy, Li Rui grumbled under his breath.
Just as Li Rui was about to open the window and yell, the sight of his room reminded him that he was already back home, not in his rented room.
This was the countryside. Generally, everyone got up around seven to make breakfast and eat. On an ordinary day, they would already be working in the fields by nine.
Today, however, was no ordinary day for the Li family.
Dozens of men and women were chatting and discussing things in Li Rui's courtyard, making the normally fairly spacious yard look terribly crowded.
Li Rui cracked the window open and took a look. Sure enough, the courtyard was filled with his uncles, aunts, male cousins, and their wives and children.
After receiving video calls from their parents, these cousins had rushed back through the night without stopping to rest. After all, their parents had told them that Li Rui had become a big shot and wanted to establish a family business group. As his brothers, they could bask in some of his reflected glory. How could they not be eager?
Looking at the McLaren P1 parked in Li Rui's courtyard and the two Land Rover Range Rovers outside, every one of these cousins was filled with emotion. The Li family really had produced a big shot.
"Second Brother, I remember you were over 1,600 kilometers from home. You sure got here fast! At that speed, did you take a plane?"
"Weiguang, you got that right. My dad called me yesterday and gave me strict orders to be home today, no matter what. So I took an overnight flight to Star City and chartered a car back. It cost me a month's wages! That really hurt." After speaking, he put on a look of utter heartache.
"Second Brother, my dad was the same. He said he'd break my damn legs if I didn't make it back today. He scared me into hurrying back overnight."
"But you've got to admit, the old men really weren't bragging. Xiao Rui really has made something of himself. Look at that car in the courtyard. I probably couldn't afford even one of its wheels in my whole life. And look at those four bodyguards standing at the gate. Their arms look thicker than my thighs. I bet one punch could kill an ox."
"Yeah, Xiao Rui really is something. He struck it rich, but he still hasn't forgotten us brothers."
While the cousins were still talking and marveling in the courtyard, Li Rui finally finished getting ready and walked outside into the yard.