After the Divorce, I Could Hear the Voice of the Future
Chapter 401 - 398: The Wolf Comes

Leaving the construction site, Lu Liang headed to the city government office.

He secured a loan of 15 billion from Bank of China with an annual interest rate of 3.8%, intended strictly for the construction and development of the base.

Going forward, the project's engineering funds, staff payroll cards, and accounts set up for official use, all had to be through Bank of China.

Lu Liang accepted all these terms, as after all, industry isn't like finance—you often have to deal with banks later on.

Cultivating a long-term partnership was essential.

During his three-day stay in Su City, besides handling loan procedures, he hosted two press conferences, spreading the news far and wide.

The Su City Government strongly requested it, and Lu Liang couldn't refuse—after all, they spent the money, so he couldn't deny them the opportunity to show face.

Mainly, Lu Liang realized their intention; they simply wanted to proclaim their authority over him, warning others not to mess with him.

Lu Liang was now one of Su City's own and had been nominated for the People's Congress.

"Liangzi, you've finally entered the game!"

"It seems like he's playing a different game?"

"Others lead with PPTs and, if slightly more advanced, unveil a concept car before financing and fundraising."

"Why did he quietly secure 1,450 acres of land and sign a contract to invest 12 billion over five years?"

"Coming from finance, playing with concepts should have been his forte. Didn't expect Liangzi's approach to be so traditional?"

"It's all because Old Jia set a good precedent. Shouldn't real industry be like this? Having a base and production lines to produce goods."

"Just raising funds with a fictional product, how is that different from filling your belly with an imaginary cake?"

The news spread and sparked hot debate across the internet.

Leverage is a good thing, not only in finance; its purpose is to accelerate business development, but its unrestricted abuse in recent years has left many messy situations.

The most famous and widely known examples include the OFO with 18 million creditors.

Misappropriating deposits, expanding the market, attracting new customers, then repeating the cycle.

Each cycle was a doubling of leverage, which, if continued until market monopoly or the company went public,

would mean success.

However, in recent years, two notable examples have failed: OFO and LeEco.

The former turned 18 million users into creditors, while the latter, once a leader on the Growth Enterprise Market, now has defrauded hundreds of thousands of individual investors.

Real estate, too, has been a disaster area for leverage; they sell apartments as soon as they get the construction permits and use the money to bid on more land, repeating the cycle.

This is fine for now as the property market is booming and prices are steadily rising, but no one knows how many people will suffer once it starts to decline.

At this time, Lu Liang emerged.

Originating from real estate intermediation and succeeding in finance, he surely understands this game of concepts.

Lu Liang could have followed the new energy vehicle trend, showcasing a concept car and then going public directly.

With his reputation in the financial market, creating a hundred-billion enterprise to rival Tesla wouldn't be difficult.

He could have done so, but he didn't. Instead, he steadfastly researched vehicle computers and models, acquired land, and built factories.

Step by step, his traditional approach was like that of old-school entrepreneurs, a rare treasure in today's restless world where everyone wants to make quick money.

Li Xiang and NIO's shareholders expressed uniform opinions in their respective groups.

"Alas, the wolf is coming."

Lu Liang's development plans made them, and perhaps ninety percent of the new energy vehicle enterprises, look like jokers.

Even if Li Bing once boldly claimed in an interview that Porsche's Munich factory certainly couldn't compare with the Jianghuai's Hefei factory,

it couldn't change some customers' stereotypes; buying a NIO for over four hundred thousand was considered regretful.

NIO faced a predicament, and so did Li Xiang.

However, Li Xiang took a different approach, casting aside fashion and focusing on family use and comfort, so it wasn't too deeply affected by branding issues.

Tianxing Automobile, unlike these two companies, wouldn't face the same challenges as it was starting from scratch, from nothing.

Even if they priced their vehicles at a million in the future, as long as consumers accepted it, the price would be justified, unaffected by any external factors.

Although they could blame the state, claiming they didn't get a production license and had to have others produce for them,

this was only fooling the general public.

The state actively promotes the development of the new energy industry; getting a license is easy, it's just a matter of willingness to invest.

The shareholder groups, silent for a while, exploded with activity due to the two leaders' comments.

Lei Jun: "The Big Bad Wolf is still in the group."

Little Ma: "No wonder Mr. Lu hasn't been in the trending searches lately; turns out he's been making big news quietly."

Zhang Lei: "It still has to be Mr. Lu, a 12 billion investment on a wager, yet able to secure a 15 billion loan, with practically no conditions."

Daqiangzi: "Speaking of which, has the new car design come out yet? What style? Sedan? Coupe? SUV?"

Shen Peng: "Mr. Lu, so many people are looking for you, even a squeak would be nice. Not talking and playing it cool?"

Lu Liang: "Squeak~~~"

Shen Peng scolded with a laugh: "I knew you were peeking all along."

"How could it be called peeking?"

Lu Liang chuckled and sighed, "It's just that I'm worried, once I start talking, you guys would accuse me of showing off, and then this group would go silent."

Li Bing: "..."

Lei Jun: "..."

Everyone suddenly fell silent. It would have been fine if Lu Liang hadn't mentioned it, but as soon as he did, it reminded them of Zhang Lei's statement.

A 12 billion wagered investment, yet getting a 15 billion loan, this matter itself was quite telling.

This kind of treatment made them think of Tesla in Modu, which had signed a similar contract.

Spending so much to bring in Tesla, and making it the only foreign automaker in the country.

They wanted it to be the pike that stimulates the domestic lazy joint venture automakers.

Lu Liang also had this treatment, was it the action of Su City, or was it national behavior? It was very thought-provoking.

If it was the former, it's just another Su City's Pizza Hut, even if it developed well, the market influence would be limited.

But what if it's the latter?

If the nation launched a brand to rival Tesla, who else could compete with him?

Lei Jun had a deep understanding on this point, as such things had happened in the smartphone circle.

If Tesla is Apple, then the nationally promoted Tianxing would be the future Huawei.

"Damn, not speaking and I get called a show-off, and when I do speak, no one responds. Are you playing with me?"

Lu Liang was visibly frustrated. He put away his phone, indifferent to this bunch of rascals.

Approaching noon, after having lunch with several leaders from the city government, he was heading back to Modu in the afternoon.

There were still two hours before the flight to Beijing, and Lu Liang arrived early at Pu Xin Airport, planning to take a look at his plane.

Since that night he arrived, Li Manli had helped with the selection and configuration, and the plane had been parked at the airport, undergoing checks and decoration.

"Mr. Lu, hello, my name is Sun Yali, and I am your exclusive aviation customer service manager."

As soon as Lu Liang arrived in the reception room, a tall, sweet-looking and refined customer service manager with a great figure walked in.

She sat next to Lu Liang. The neckline of her shirt, whether intentionally or not, was one button lower, her long legs restless, the rubbing of her stockings producing a soft swish.

Sun Yali smiled like a breath of spring: "Mr. Lu, whether it's flight routing, personnel transfer, or feedback, we will do our utmost to meet all your needs."

A 37 million annual trust fee was a significant income that any domestic airline could not ignore.

As Lu Liang's aviation customer service manager, Sun Yali too was a direct beneficiary of this additional income.

Even if Lu Liang made inappropriate advances, she was willing.

But, casting coquettish glances at a blind man.

Not only was Lu Liang unappreciative, he suddenly said coldly, "Manager Sun, can you replace me with a male manager?"

If it were any other occasion, and the opposite party was so inviting, he wouldn't mind having a whirl with the beautiful manager.

To find out if the rumors about flight attendants were really true.

But since Sun Yali was his aviation customer service manager, if she could seduce him today, she could seduce others tomorrow, or be seduced the day after.

Involving safety and whereabouts, Lu Liang didn't want to mix in too much personal emotion; women can be impulsive, it's better to use men.

"For..."

Sun Yali was stunned, the words on her lips swallowed back, her face ever smiling: "Okay, Mr. Lu, please wait a moment."

She dared not express dissatisfaction, as showing the slightest sign of it could displease Lu Liang, and her job would be gone tomorrow.

In a few minutes, a male manager claiming to be Ye Zhipei arrived at the reception room, with thick eyebrows and handsome features.

Lu Liang found him agreeable and smiled, "I've heard it once, no need to introduce again; just take me to see the plane."

"Of course, Mr. Lu, please follow me."

Ye Zhipei smiled, restraining his excitement and not sure what his predecessor did to be replaced by Lu Liang, but this bit of good fortune had landed in his lap.

Exiting the airport through the VIP corridor, they took a shuttle bus and after another fifteen minutes' drive, they arrived at the logistics and maintenance department.

While walking, Ye Zhipei explained that maintenance and decoration were being carried out simultaneously, and it was expected that in three more days, it could be put into use.