Chapter 283: The Yuntian Conference

Yuntian Hotel is the finest hotel in Baiyun City, the capital of Lingnan Province. Generally, whether it's high-ranking government officials, wealthy businessmen from both domestic and abroad, or even national leaders, when they come to Baiyun City, they almost always stay here.

Because of this, Yuntian Hotel has witnessed many moments of glory. For example, during the early days of the Reform and Opening Up, Elder Yang and other central leaders stayed at Yuntian Hotel during their visits to Lingnan. Even negotiations about Port City began at Yuntian Hotel before moving to the capital for further discussions.

On July 14, Yuntian Hotel witnessed another moment of significance. High-ranking officials from seven cities in the provinces of Jingchu and Lingnan gathered here, along with many large enterprise owners from both domestic and abroad, to discuss the construction of the highway connecting Linyang to Nanjiang.

"This highway is the first privately-funded highway in the country. It has relieved the government of a massive financial burden and pioneered a new model of government-led private fundraising. This not only represents a deeper implementation of the Reform and Opening Up concept but also utilizes market economy solutions to address new economic challenges. If successful, we will undoubtedly enter the era of high-speed development soon!"

In the hotel lobby, Zhou Ming stood in front of the large TV, watching the promotional video playing repeatedly. He couldn't help but feel a bit awkward, but it must be said that the promotional materials of this era were quite spirited, unlike the sickly-sweet tones of later generations.

On the other hand, it was undeniable that the promotional materials had predicted correctly: the future would indeed be an era of high-speed development, with highways, fast trains, and later the much-loved and hated high-speed rail being the best proof of acceleration and speed.

As the proponent of the highway construction plan, Zhou Ming was naturally attending the meeting. He was accompanied by Chen Da, the Secretary of the Linyang Municipal Committee, and Dai Tingwei, the General Manager of Siming Investment Company. Lin Muqing, being the chairman of a joint investment fund in Port City, had to present internally and finalize many matters, so she was unable to attend.

Zhou Ming was pleased to see Lin Muqing fully embodying the image of a female entrepreneur. Although she couldn't say she had mastered her destiny, at least she could now make her own decisions without being harassed as she was when she worked at the factory's television station.

Unexpectedly, Shen Xin did not return to Port City with Lin Muqing but instead accompanied Zhou Ming to Baiyun City. Zhou Ming was puzzled by Lin Muqing's consent to this.

"Mr. Zhou, Secretary Chen from Nanjiang and Secretary Huang from Baiyun are about to arrive. They have gone out to welcome them. What are you still thinking about?" Shen Xin's voice suddenly pulled Zhou Ming back to reality. Despite their intimate relationship, Shen Xin still addressed him formally in public. Today's important meeting required her presence, whether as the chief reporter for the Hong Kong Financial News or Zhou Ming's partner.

"Got it, I'm coming now."

Zhou Ming replied, walking out of the hotel lobby with Shen Xin. He knew that Secretary Chen Yunfei of Nanjiang and Secretary Huang Nan of Baiyun were the officials Shen Xin mentioned.

Such a meeting of city-level officials would usually not require personal attendance, but since Chen Yunfei had heard that Zhou Ming proposed the highway project, he insisted on attending. Given that Chen Yunfei, as an executive vice-provincial governor and Nanjiang's municipal secretary, was present, Huang Nan had no choice but to join him. In an economic special zone like Nanjiang, even a city's municipal secretary could be considered lower-ranking compared to others, showcasing the unique treatment they received.

As Zhou Ming and Shen Xin arrived at the hotel entrance, Chen Da, who had come out earlier, said self-deprecatingly to Zhou Ming, "I didn't expect there would be so many people at the entrance. It suddenly makes me feel like I'm not a municipal secretary but just a regular official welcoming leaders."

"It's unavoidable. The level of this meeting is so high," Zhou Ming consoled Chen Da. "Perhaps a municipal secretary holds a high rank in his jurisdiction, but when several municipal secretaries gather together, along with a vice-provincial leader, they naturally become part of the welcoming committee—just a very high-level one."

Soon, two cars arrived at the hotel entrance. Chen Yunfei and Huang Nan got out of the cars one after another. Chen Da and other municipal secretaries went up to shake hands and greet them, and Zhou Ming and other private individuals followed.

The reception at the entrance was nothing special. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, everyone entered the hotel conference room. They took their seats according to their ranks. Chen Yunfei spoke first, "Hello, everyone. On behalf of Secretary Huang, I welcome you to Baiyun. As advertised, our meeting today concerns the construction of this groundbreaking highway. If successful, it will solve a major problem that has plagued the country since the Reform and Opening Up. All of you here are the contributors to solving this grand challenge!"

Chen Yunfei's words were met with applause. Shen Xin, dissatisfied, whispered to Zhou Ming, "This was clearly your idea, but now they're being hailed as the contributors."

Zhou Ming took it in stride and replied, "Without the support of these officials, the road would be difficult to build, so I accept their being called contributors."

Shen Xin pouted, "Mr. Zhou is broad-minded. As long as Mr. Zhou can make money, that's all that matters."

Zhou Ming smiled and was about to respond to Shen Xin when he heard Chen Yunfei say, "We all know that the proposal for this highway came from Zhou Ming of Linyang. Let's invite him to share his thoughts with us."

Chen Yunfei led the applause, and Zhou Ming believed that the attendees had likely reviewed his proposal multiple times. However, since many others, including reporters from Lingnan Province and even Beijing, were present, Zhou Ming had to repeat it.

Taking the microphone, Zhou Ming said, "Hello, leaders and entrepreneurs from home and abroad. I'm Zhou Ming. My idea for the highway is simple: our country's transportation network is inadequate and cannot meet the demands of economic development. To avoid the road issue becoming a burden on economic growth, we must build roads—highways that can support significant economic advancement."

"But building highways is expensive. Even in the Northeast, where the central government is attentive to old industrial bases, or in coastal economic regions, highway construction is intermittent, and funding is challenging," Zhou Ming continued. "If it's difficult there, it's even harder here, especially with the mountains between Jingchu and Lingnan, which adds to the engineering difficulty."

"Since the government's role in road construction is to promote economic development, we, as businessmen, cannot stand idly by. I proposed a method of funding roads with roads, where we pool private and bank funds for initial construction, then set up a highway management company to establish toll stations. The tolls collected will repay the loans and maintain the roads," Zhou Ming said. "Over the years, the Reform and Opening Up has achieved significant results, most importantly in economic growth and increasing wealth. By concentrating private funds, we can build roads."

Zhou Ming paused before continuing, "Recently, Lin Muqing, chairman of the Port City joint investment fund, visited Linyang, and I learned about some advanced international practices from her. We can adopt these practices for managing road funds and work with banks and securities companies to invest in the capital markets to increase the value of these funds."

"How much can it increase?" someone suddenly asked.

Zhou Ming glanced at the person, whom he did not recognize, but answered, "It's hard to say, as it depends on the investment areas we choose and the market conditions in the coming years. However, based on experiences in Port City and abroad, it generally maintains an annual return of around four to ten percent."

"Only ten percent? Isn't that a bit too low? Or is Mr. Zhou's investment philosophy too conservative?" the person asked again.

The question caused a stir in the room. Everyone was astonished, as no one expected such a challenge to Zhou Ming, especially in this context.

Everyone knew Zhou Ming's significance in this meeting and Lingnan Province. He had revitalized Nanjiang's securities market, stabilized the stock market, and created the Eight Treasure Porridge miracle during the Spring Festival. Even economic experts from Port City and the U.S. praised his ideas. Zhou Ming's appointment as Nanjiang's special development advisor was a distinguished honor not given to just anyone.

Moreover, it was clear that Chen Yunfei, who invited Zhou Ming to speak, was supporting him. Questioning Zhou Ming meant also challenging Chen Yunfei, which was risky.

Under this assumption, everyone turned their attention to the person questioning Zhou Ming, trying to identify this audacious individual. Zhou Ming himself furrowed his brow, looking at the person.

Disappointingly, no one recognized him.

Finally, Chen Yunfei addressed the issue, saying to the person, "Mr. Xing, you are a distinguished guest representing Jiangnan and Binhai. I hope you will be mindful of your conduct."