Chapter 87 PJM Gives Back

The day after Jean-Luc stayed in Oxford Town, Mu Xin handed over the entire preparation work for the hotel operations to him.

Mu Xin pushed the thick stack of design plans and construction schedules onto the table and said, "From today on, you call the shots for the hotel. Who to hire, what standards to set, who to partner with—you decide. For money matters, go to Victoria."

Jean-Luc looked at the stack of documents, then back at Mu Xin, and was silent for a few seconds.

"Aren't you afraid I'll spend all your money?"

"If it's all spent, that's on me." Mu Xin leaned back in his chair, holding a glass of cola. "If there's money left over, we'll talk about it then."

"Mr. Mu, you are the most hands-off boss I have ever met." Jean-Luc shrugged helplessly.

"This is called leaving professional matters to the professionals." Mu Xin stood up and patted his shoulder.

"You worked at Cheval Blanc for seventeen years; surely you know how to open a hotel, right?"

Jean-Luc didn't respond, just picked up the design plans from the table, flipped to the first page, looked at it for a few seconds, and then closed it.

"I need a team."

"Find it yourself." Mu Xin waved his hand.

"I need to coordinate design details with Rick and Marwan Al-Sayed."

"They are already here."

"I also need to coordinate construction progress with Robert."

"Robert is at the construction site; you can go find him anytime."

Jean-Luc looked at Mu Xin, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

"Mr. Mu, have you been waiting for someone to come and do this work for you all along?"

Mu Xin smiled but didn't answer.

[Current Population of Oxford Town: 10,237]

[USD Distributed Today: 10,237,000]

The population was still growing; although slow, it hadn't stopped.

Jean-Luc's actions were even faster than Mu Xin had anticipated.

On the third day, he flew to New York and met with several people.

When he returned on the fourth day, he was accompanied by a French woman in her early forties named Anna Bertrand, his former subordinate who had served as the Director of Rooms at Cheval Blanc for eight years.

On the fifth day, an Italian man in his thirties named Marco Rizzo arrived; he was the Director of Food and Beverage from his time at the Paris branch.

Mu Xin didn't ask how much their salaries were, nor did he ask how long their contracts were.

He simply had Jessica clear out a few offices for them in a vacant office building next to the Morris Building and had Victoria write a check as startup capital for the team.

When Jean-Luc received the check, he glanced at the number, and his eyebrows twitched slightly.

"Mr. Mu, you gave too much."

"The extra is your signing bonus." Mu Xin didn't even look up, continuing to read the feasibility report on the island power plant sent by Dan Miller. "If it's not enough, tell me again."

Jean-Luc tucked the check into his inner suit pocket without saying thank you. He was past the age of saying thank you, and he knew Mu Xin didn't need to hear those two words.

As for the hotel management company, Jean-Luc didn't even mention it.

Mu Xin couldn't help but ask once: "Don't you plan to talk to Four Seasons or Mandarin Oriental?"

Jean-Luc was looking at the latest elevation drawings sent by Rick Joy and didn't even look up: "Let them come to us; we aren't in a hurry anyway."

Mu Xin gave a thumbs up; he was appreciating Jean-Luc more and more.

...

The feedback from PJM came faster than Mu Xin had expected.

One week was agreed upon, but on the sixth day, Paul Hamilton called.

When Mu Xin answered the phone, Paul's tone was completely different from the last time in the construction shed.

It was no longer that condescending bureaucratic tone, but carried an imperceptible politeness.

"Mr. Mu, regarding your grid connection application, we have completed the internal preliminary assessment."

"And the result?"

"We believe that the existing power supply system in Oxford Town does indeed have N-1 reliability risks."

"The power outage records from the past five years, the specific nature of Miami University as a critical public facility, and the load growth forecast submitted by your side all support initiating the emergency reliability channel."

Mu Xin was very satisfied; it seemed his previous threat had indeed worked.

"So, it's approved?"

"It's approved. The approval document for the emergency reliability channel will be out next week."

"After the procedures are completed, your side can immediately start the detailed design of the substation and lines."

"PJM will send specialists to coordinate with your engineering team to ensure all technical parameters meet the grid connection requirements." Paul finished in one breath.

"What about the approval cycle?" This was what Mu Xin cared about most.

"Compressed to within ninety days." Paul paused, "If your materials are well-prepared, we will strive for sixty days."

"Sixty days." Mu Xin tapped his fingers on the desktop twice. "Mr. Hamilton, last time you said three months at the fastest."

"Last time was last time." Paul gave a dry laugh. "Mr. Mu, we have carefully studied your island power plant plan."

"Frankly speaking, that plan is not cost-effective, but its existence made us realize that your requirement for the construction schedule is a rigid constraint."

"As a service provider, PJM has no reason to push away a client willing to pay out of their own pocket to solve grid problems."

Mu Xin smiled; Paul was being tactful, but the meaning was very clear—they were scared.

A ninety-two-million-dollar island power plant plan, placed on PJM's desk, was enough to keep their analysts busy calculating for several days.

After calculating, there was only one conclusion: it was not worth offending this client.

"Mr. Hamilton, when shall we meet to finalize the details?"

"You set the time. I can come over anytime."

"Tomorrow at 10 AM, same construction shed as last time."

"Alright, see you tomorrow."

Jessica pushed the door open and entered, carrying two cups of coffee.

"Did PJM agree?" She placed a cup of coffee in front of Mu Xin.

"They agreed." Mu Xin picked up the coffee and took a sip. "Coming tomorrow to discuss details."

"What conditions do you think they will propose?"

"They won't propose any conditions." Mu Xin shook his head. "They have already been scared by the island power plant plan."

"What they need to do now is not to stall us, but to get things done quickly, lest I really go and build the power plant."

"Then what are you prepared to talk to them about?"

"Talk about relations." Mu Xin put down the coffee cup. "Jessica, please prepare a list for me."

"What list?"

"The profiles of the people coming from PJM: Paul Hamilton, Mark Bennett, Laura Chen."

"And the people behind them involved in the decision-making. I want to know their hobbies, family situations, and what needs they have."

Jessica frowned slightly: "What are you going to do?"

"Make friends, didn't I just say that?" Mu Xin smiled. "In the United States, no one will be grateful to you just because you do things by the book."

"But if you can remember his son's name, know what sports team he likes, and send a gift on his birthday, you are his friend."

"Friends don't stall friends' approvals."