126: Meeting with Hu Gaoguan

Immediately after, Young Master Mo added, "Liu Han, I'll leave this matter to you. If Qin Yang is obedient, spare his life. If he refuses to cooperate, I'll let you use any means necessary; I only care about the result."

After Young Master Mo finished speaking, a ruthless expression appeared on his face.

"Understood, Young Master Mo. I will definitely get this done."

The one called Liu Han was a burly middle-aged man with a prominent scar on his face. However, he sat at the very end of the private room; one could tell from his seat that his status among the group was not high.

Hearing Young Master Mo call his name, he hurriedly stood up and replied respectfully... The next day, this morning, Qin Yang contacted High Official Hu. Last time at Hongbin Tower, High Official Hu had specifically mentioned wanting to get together with him. Qin Yang naturally wouldn't decline and called to ask if he had time today.

High Official Hu chuckled over the phone and said he did, arranging the meeting at his home for noon.

In the morning, Qin Yang first had Wang Chao go to a nearby mall to buy some gifts. As noon approached, he took his maybach to the Municipal Party Committee Compound.

Upon arriving at the compound gate, Qin Yang contacted High Official Hu again before being granted entry. Then, guided by a security guard, he parked his car in front of the Municipal Party Committee's No. 3 Family Residence Building.

At this moment, a capable-looking young man was standing in front of the No. 3 Family Residence Building. Seeing Qin Yang's car arrive, he quickly jogged over.

As Qin Yang got out of the car, the young man smiled and said, "Hello, President Qin. I am Feng Yuqing, the boss's secretary. My boss has already brewed the tea and is waiting for you inside."

"Hello, Secretary Feng. Let's go," Qin Yang replied with a smile.

Then, guided by Feng Yuqing, Qin Yang walked into High Official Hu's home carrying the gifts.

As soon as he entered, Qin Yang saw High Official Hu sitting at the tea table in the living room brewing tea. Seeing Qin Yang enter, a smile appeared on his face, and he set down his teacup, waving Qin Yang over.

"Uncle Hu!" Qin Yang greeted him and, without ceremony, sat down opposite High Official Hu.

"Why didn't you bring your little girlfriend along today?" High Official Hu asked with a smile after Qin Yang sat down.

"She had things to do today, so she didn't come. Uncle Hu, when is dinner? I didn't even eat breakfast just for this meal of yours," Qin Yang joked.

"Haha, you kid really came to sponge off me, didn't you? Alright, let's eat first. We can talk about business after the meal." Seeing Qin Yang so informal, High Official Hu wasn't angry; instead, he pointed at Qin Yang quite happily.

"Hehe, you're my uncle. It's only natural for a nephew to crash his uncle's meal. How can you call that sponging?" Qin Yang chuckled.

Then, at High Official Hu's signal, a table full of sumptuous dishes was soon laid out in the living room.

During the meal, Qin Yang also met High Official Hu's family—his wife and daughter.

The two had likely been briefed by High Official Hu, as their attitude toward Qin Yang was very warm.

At the table, no official business was discussed; everyone chatted about domestic matters, and the meal was enjoyed by both host and guest.

After eating, Qin Yang was led into the study by High Official Hu.

Qin Yang understood that High Official Hu was about to get down to business. When he received the invitation earlier, he knew High Official Hu must have something to discuss; otherwise, given his status, he wouldn't invite him to dinner for no reason. In Dongda, it was a government-centric system—that was an indisputable fact. Well, let's leave it at that.

After they sat down, High Official Hu offered Qin Yang a cigarette, and the two began to cloud the room with smoke.

Then High Official Hu said, "Xiao Yang, how do you think our H City is developing?"

Qin Yang thought for a moment and said, "Uncle Hu, I'm a straightforward person with limited knowledge. Since you asked, shall I speak from my perspective?"

"Certainly. There are no outsiders here; just speak your mind," High Official Hu nodded.

Qin Yang continued, "In my opinion, H City still has too few pillar industries. Although the country has been talking about revitalizing the North, we haven't seen much improvement over the years. Tourism has been okay for the last two years, but everything else lags far behind other places."

High Official Hu was in charge of economic affairs, so Qin Yang spoke from that angle. He wasn't exaggerating; that was the reality. H City was considered a major military industry city with many such enterprises, but these were directly under the province or higher authorities, so H City didn't benefit much. Aside from these military industries, the most notable sectors were green agricultural product processing and tourism. To put it bluntly, there wasn't even a single decent high-tech enterprise.

Currently, although data suggests H City can still be considered a second-tier city, locals know the truth. No matter how you look at it, H City has been on a downward trend. Look at the wages in ordinary industries now; after deducting various insurances, a job paying five thousand yuan is considered decent. Yet, even such positions are in short supply. Employment pressure is high, and young people's career aspirations are shifting toward government institutions with stable establishment.

High Official Hu nodded and replied, "You're right. Our city's economy has indeed been in a state of stagnant development. We officials are also worried. We've tried many things, but due to factors like geography and transportation, our efforts to attract investment haven't been ideal. Fortunately, this year, your Qin's Manufacturing Plant developed the super carburetor and established it in H City, which has given us a bit of face."

Xiao Yang, I do have a purpose for seeking you out today. Do you have any plans to expand production? The super carburetor is a hit nationwide now, and even foreign car companies are contacting your company for cooperation. I've looked into it—your current production capacity is far from enough, yet you haven't made any large-scale investments to expand. Does your company intend to relocate?"

As he spoke the last sentence, High Official Hu's expression suddenly turned serious.

Hearing this, Qin Yang smiled and said, "Uncle Hu, you're overthinking it. Even if just for your sake, my company's manufacturing plant won't relocate; you can rest assured of that. As for not expanding yet, our plan is to do it gradually—a bit like hunger marketing. After all, with competition, profits can be maximized."

Upon hearing Qin Yang's words, High Official Hu visibly relaxed and continued, "Xiao Yang, you're a good lad. I owe you one. There's one more thing: there's an election coming up this year, and my political achievements are still a bit lacking. If a company could settle in H City that provides over three thousand jobs and pays billions in annual taxes, I could take another step up this year."

High Official Hu's words gave Qin Yang a start, but he quickly understood what he meant. After all, High Official Hu couldn't have been any clearer.

Instead of answering the question, Qin Yang smiled and asked, "Uncle Hu, what position? Number one or number two?"

Knowing this was a sure thing, High Official Hu didn't hide anything and smiled, "Both the number one and number two are being transferred. If this works out, there's a ninety percent chance I'll take over as the number one! By then, I'll also have a certain level of influence in the province."

Clap!

Qin Yang clapped his hands and said, "Leave this matter to me!"