Chapter 292: This Is the Real Zhou Ming!

Zhou Ming's final remark was clearly a taunt, but at this moment, no one could laugh. The information Zhou Ming had revealed was simply too unbelievable: a businessman with ten billion, who had ignited an investment boom in Jiangnan and was sent to Lingnan by the leaders of Binhai and Jiangnan provinces to attend the meeting, turned out to be a massive financial fraudster?

This news was shocking nationwide. If it weren't for the deputy director of the Economic Crime Investigation Bureau from the Ministry of Public Security holding an arrest warrant approved by the Supreme People's Court and the consistent good reputation Zhou Ming had in Lingnan, no one would believe it.

Even so, people still found it hard to accept. It was unclear whether this difficulty was due to the situation itself or the disappointment of not receiving the 40% high return promised by Xing Yuan. Despite understanding Zhou Ming's explanation of the financial scam, human greed made it impossible not to be tempted by such a large amount of money.

"Advisor Zhou, what would happen if Xing Yuan had really taken the road construction funds? Would all this money be wasted?" someone asked.

Zhou Ming glanced at him. The questioner was an entrepreneur from Baiyun City. Since most entrepreneurs from Nanjiang wanted to list their companies and were relatively close to Zhou Ming, they didn't openly support Xing Yuan despite their internal thoughts. The ones who had supported Xing Yuan the most were the Baiyun City entrepreneurs.

"Is that even a question? With such a high-interest rate on all his investments, having our ten billion in funds would only boost his credibility and allow him to expand his scheme. By the time his investment scale reached over one hundred billion, the interest alone would exceed the total investment of our highway. How much do you think we could recover?" Zhou Ming countered.

Everyone gasped at Zhou Ming's rebuttal. In this era, ten billion was already an explosive figure, and one hundred billion was almost unimaginable. According to Zhou Ming's analysis, this was quite possible, and when such a huge sum exploded, the result would be devastating.

"Advisor Zhou, you've really helped us avoid a massive loss. Thank you so much!"

Suddenly, someone took the lead in expressing gratitude, and others quickly followed suit: "Thank you, Advisor Zhou. If it weren't for your timely report and revelation of Xing Yuan's financial scam, we would have been severely deceived. Our hard-earned money would have been lost!"

Hearing the gratitude from the entire room, Shen Xin proudly raised her head, her eyes full of admiration for Zhou Ming.

This was the Zhou Ming she knew and admired. No matter how much Xing Yuan had, whether it was ten billion or a hundred billion, it was insignificant compared to Zhou Ming. A financial speculator might have a temporary advantage, but ultimately, it would be Zhou Ming's victory. Now that everyone saw through Xing Yuan's scam, they would surely praise Zhou Ming.

In stark contrast to Shen Xin's pride, Xing Yuan was furious. He never expected that the people of Lingnan would be so shameless. They had questioned Zhou Ming with him earlier but were now turning around to curse him.

Xing Yuan opened his mouth to curse the people, but unfortunately, his mouth was blocked, and with two strong armed police officers pressing him down, he couldn't move.

What surprised everyone even more was that Chen Yunfei, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke: "If it weren't for Zhou Ming, if Xing Yuan had succeeded this time, the loss wouldn't have been limited to our ten billion. He would have used this money to expand his scam to Lingnan. By the time he defrauded over one hundred billion, as Zhou Ming said, once the scam collapses without new investments, it wouldn't just be a financial loss; it would ruin the ten years of reform and opening up in Lingnan."

Chen Yunfei concluded, "So on behalf of the Lingnan Provincial Committee and the provincial government, I thank Zhou Ming!"

Chen Yunfei took the lead, and Huang Nan, the Secretary of the Baiyun Municipal Committee, also expressed gratitude to Zhou Ming: "Yes! Comrade Zhou Ming has prevented not only financial loss but also damage to the overall planning of Lingnan. We are very grateful!"

With Chen Yunfei and Huang Nan, two senior provincial officials leading the way, the atmosphere of gratitude towards Zhou Ming reached its peak.

Xing Yuan, who was pinned down on the table, turned a deep shade of purple. Each expression of thanks to Zhou Ming felt like a hammer pounding on his heart, making him feel as if he might vomit blood.

Amidst the gratitude, Zhou Ming raised his hand to signal for quiet. He said to Chen Yunfei, "I also appreciate your support and trust, Governor Chen, and everyone here. As the initiator of the Chuling Expressway project, I believe I need to take responsibility for the entire project. If someone truly has the capability to do better than me, I would step aside, but only if they can actually improve the project without engaging in deceitful practices. Otherwise, they can get lost!"

Zhou Ming's words made everyone cheer: "Advisor Zhou, well done! You are our role model. We all believe in you!"

Of course, some were also reflecting on their previous behavior: "Advisor Zhou, you are truly the one who considered this project's interests. We shouldn't have doubted you; we should have always trusted you!"

"I understand everyone's feelings, but I believe the most important thing now is to discuss the expressway project. As for Xing Yuan's matter, let our judicial authorities handle it. I trust the law will give a fair judgment."

Zhou Ming finished speaking and turned to Chen Yunfei: "Governor Chen, my speech is over."

Chen Yunfei nodded and said to the deputy director from the Ministry of Public Security, "Director Yang, thank you for your hard work. Please take this criminal away. We still need to continue the meeting."

Director Yang stood at attention and saluted Chen Yunfei, then waved his hand, and two armed police officers took Xing Yuan away.

The presence of a deputy director from the Ministry of Public Security commanding armed police officers was novel to everyone, but no one commented. After all, with a senior provincial governor and a municipal secretary present, it was clear that today's events were planned. It was not surprising that the armed police were assigned to Director Yang. Local authorities must cooperate with the central investigation team!

Once Xing Yuan was taken out, the conference room returned to calm. Zhou Ming went back to his seat but did not sit down, as there were still matters concerning the expressway project to discuss.

"Those who know me or follow current events should be aware that I have established a township industrial park in Linyang. Some of you here have invested in the industrial park. The reason I proposed this method of raising funds for the expressway construction is to better stimulate the economy along this route. Therefore, I don't want the construction of this expressway to drag on. I hope it can be completed as soon as possible."

Zhou Ming continued, "I know that the expressways in Northeast and Jiangnan regions have been slow to complete, partly due to insufficient government investment and partly due to planning issues."

"Here, since we are raising funds privately, the money will be available before bidding starts. Funding is not an issue; what remains is how to handle the planning," Zhou Ming said. "In those regions, expressways are all contracted to engineering bureaus. While this method isn't necessarily bad, even the National Engineering Bureau can't complete an entire expressway all at once, which naturally slows down the process."

Zhou Ming pointed to himself and said, "As you and Mr. Xing know, I am involved in finance. There is an old saying in our capital market: it's best not to put all your eggs in one basket because if anything goes wrong, there's no room for maneuver."

"So, I believe the same principle applies to highway construction. If we contract the entire highway to one unit, the construction will be slow. But what if we divide the expressway into several sections and contract them to different units? If one unit needs ten days, ten units could finish it in one day," Zhou Ming said. "Of course, it's not as simple as that in practice, but in terms of planning, it can definitely speed up the process."

Zhou Ming's modest words made everyone's eyes light up, especially those from Nanjiang. They were originally worried that the road would take ten or eight years to complete. The promised road construction fund and toll revenue seemed far off, but according to Zhou Ming's plan, it might be finished in one or two years. How could they not be happy?

Immediately, someone cheered, "Advisor Zhou, your idea is brilliant! You're a commercial genius. We should adopt your method of segmented contracting!"

With the first person voicing support, others joined in: "Yes, Advisor Zhou, we support you. To connect Jingchu Province and Lingnan, the road must be completed as soon as possible!"

Hearing the applause, Chen Yunfei showed a satisfied smile: This is the Zhou Ming I know! What was that before?

On the other hand, Huang Nan, the Secretary of Baiyun Municipal Committee, looked at Chen Yunfei with surprise. Compared to Chen Yunfei, Huang Nan had little understanding of Zhou Ming. He only knew that Zhou Ming was a development advisor for Nanjiang, involved in the stock market, and had helped Chen Yunfei with many problems. He didn't think much of him. But after seeing Zhou Ming's performance today, he deeply understood why Chen Yunfei held Zhou Ming in such high regard.