Chapter 178 - Brightness

Su Can walking with Lin Luoran, whose face was rosy with shyness, he would easily draw the conclusion that Su Can was targeting another innocent girl.Bowing to his own performance, Xiao Rihua somewhat...Chapter 178: Brightness

However, in the end, Tian Nao still did not wait for Su Can's morning run. Lin Guangdong and others' flight arrived in Phoenix City at seven o'clock in the morning. Su Can didn't know when they had left to go to the airport. This time, they brought along the contract templates and various materials of the newly established Phoenix Industries and Phoenix Investment Co., Ltd. Apart from meeting with Su Can and the new executives of Phoenix Industries and Phoenix Investment Co., Ltd., another major factor was their initial contact with the coal mines, coking plants, and coal washing plants that Su Can planned to acquire in Phoenix City.

In the airport hall, Su Can saw Lin Guangdong's group of six people. Besides a clerk and two legal advisors, there were also two men wearing formal suits next to Lin Guangdong. One was wearing glasses with a scholarly appearance, while the other only wore a shirt and seemed to be enjoying the cool morning air in Phoenix City.

When Lin Guangdong saw Su Can and Li Pengyu who came by car, he waved his hand. They met each other. Among the two people present, the one wearing glasses was named Lu Wei, and the tall man in a light blue shirt was called Wu JianShe. After introductions, they shook hands with Su Can. Lu Wei said, "I've known about you for some time now, General Manager Su. You are a legendary figure among our old classmates. Now I finally get to meet the real person; you're too young. Many people say that Internet companies often have tremendous potential for explosive growth. I see it in your case as well."

The other Wu JianShe, although possibly forewarned before coming here, still looked at Su Can with amazement and said, "Then I'll be the person working under General Manager Su and General Manager Lin from now on. I hope to receive much guidance."

Su Can smiled and replied, "No need for that, Mr. Wu. Strictly speaking, you are our senior. We should seek your advice instead of vice versa. In this field, you have extensive experience after so many years; we still need frequent guidance from you." Wu JianShe was the former deputy general manager of Huoda Coal and Electricity Company under Shanxi Coking Coal Group. After experiencing some setbacks, he had been at home temporarily. Su Can had read his papers on coal and electricity from Nankai University and found them insightful; he seemed like a person who wanted to make something of himself.

Lin Guangdong went through great lengths to invite him over. Wu JianShe's annual salary in Huoda Coal and Electricity Company was 200,000 yuan. To get him on board, Lin Guangdong offered an annual salary of 300,000 yuan and handed over the current status report on Phoenix City's coking coal sector that Su Can had obtained from Su Richen. Of course, he also listed some of Phoenix City's reform initiatives and preferential policies to give him a boost. The position of general manager at Phoenix Industries was originally intended for Jiang Ming; now it has been handed over to Wu JianShe.

The vice-general manager would be Li JinSheng from Jinseng Company, which Su Can had already taken control of in Phoenix City. Strictly speaking, Jinseng Company is a sister company of the newly established Phoenix Industries, responsible for producing and selling clean carbon energy and coal-making equipment. In terms of coking coal sector expertise, Phoenix Industries would be much better off with Wu JianShe at the helm; their pairing would be ideal.

Lu Wei was a classmate of Qiao Shuxin from Peking University. He had worked in one of the Big Four accounting firms and later served as an executive in an American investment company. Impressed by the name of Su Can's Facebook, he now joined Phoenix Investment Holdings to serve as vice-president for overseas operations.

Fenghuang Industrial will initially proceed with a series of acquisitions: one coking plant, three coal mines, one coal washing plant, and several charcoal factories. These are just the first steps in Su Cang's plan. Merely these assets won't be enough to alter Huancheng’s weak industrial foundation; to profoundly change Huancheng's current state, future plans for Fenghuang Industrial need to be much more ambitious. They aim to comprehensively cover Huancheng and even gain influence within the province. To achieve this goal, they will need to control twenty coal mines, several large-scale coking plants, and washing plants.

To accomplish such an ambition, it is estimated that funds ranging from 1.5 billion to 2 billion yuan would be needed. With such a massive amount of capital, unless Su Cang himself were one of the most powerful figures in business who could mobilize this sum without external assistance— which seems highly unlikely—it wouldn't be feasible for him to provide it all at once. Currently, counting both hidden and public wealth, there are very few people across China capable of such an undertaking.

Fenghuang Investment Holding's Lu Wei is the guarantee that Su Cang will use a Chinese-owned company to control the shell corporation necessary for listing Fenghuang Industrial overseas.

With so many attendees, Li Pengyu’s car wouldn't suffice; Su Richen also provided his own vehicle. After all, this visit by Fenghuang Industrial aims to contribute to Huancheng's industrial economy, and thus doesn’t count as private use of a government vehicle.

The group first visited Li Jinsheng’s charcoal factory, then successively inspected other nearby factories and coking plants, along with the future location for new factories. They stayed at a hotel afterward; from there on, Li Jinsheng and Lin Guangdong would take charge of receiving guests.

That evening when Su Cang returned home, Su Richen asked about today’s meeting situation. Xu Changcheng had been dismissed from his position, and the city government's division of responsibilities had been adjusted accordingly. In recent meetings held by the municipal government, efforts were being made to mitigate the impact of this political shake-up while simultaneously assigning new tasks. Ultimately, what Su Richen truly aimed for was tangible achievements in Huancheng that would address existing issues and inefficiencies.

"Dad, I think you should find a time to meet with Wu Jianset, Lu Wei, and others when they're still here. They will eventually seek help from you. Also, regarding the commercial bank loan issue, try your best to give them a clear answer. If we can't secure this batch of loans for introducing resource recycling systems, the equipment upgrades at our acquired coking plants won’t be feasible. Even if relocation is possible, it still wouldn’t prevent vast amounts of coke gas from being emitted into the atmosphere."

Su Richen smiled and said, "You don't need to hint around me about this; the loan you want can only start negotiations after Wu Jianset’s team officially initiates the project and begins preliminary work. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even know how to approach Director Zhao at the bank."

"So the bank is in on it", Su Cang nodded, knowing that with Su Richen's current stance, he has significantly reduced political resistance in Huancheng. Previously, if Su Richen attempted to secure loans from commercial banks right after assuming office for his project, few would have been willing to cooperate or would find excuses to delay.

Xu Changcheng's downfall may cause many people to sigh, but more people see it as the result of Su Licheng's manipulation and Xu Changcheng's unexpected fall. Many people observe that Su Licheng and Wang Bo from Rong city seem to be on the same path, even their methods are similar.

When they remain inactive, they appear suffocatingly still, but once they act, it is with thunderous force... However, Su Cen remains calm. He says, "Xu Changcheng's fall seems odd; I'm still puzzled by why Du Wei from Qing Shan Group turned against him and delivered the fatal blow." Does internal conflict among them run deep She might have taken this opportunity to free herself from Xu Changcheng’s control" At this time, Su Cen and Su Licheng are outside on the balcony. Laughter and light from Tang Wu, Lin Luoran, Zeng Ke, and others in the living room occasionally shine through the curtains to the balcony. The cool breeze feels refreshing.

Su Licheng nods and says, "It’s certainly a possibility, but I believe that the situation is far more complicated than we imagine. After being questioned by the party and government authorities, Xu Changcheng confessed to everything willingly. Furthermore, he implicated not just himself in the construction of the new pedestrian street in Huacheng, but also Zhou Zhaofeng. Over the years, Xu and Zhou have been a united front, so it would be unrealistic for Zhou to remain unscathed after this incident. However, according to Du Wei’s testimony or Xu Changcheng’s confession, Zhou's mistakes are limited to negligence, posing no real threat to him. From Huacheng's and the provincial government's stance, they might treat Du Wei leniently if she turns herself in.

"This means all problems converge on Xu Changcheng. He truly suffers; could this be to cover something up" Su Cen pauses, squints his eyes, then opens them wide as if he had swallowed the courtyard's streetlights, saying thoughtfully: "I wonder if this is a real-life version of sacrificing a pawn to save a rook." Xu Changcheng’s downfall was first noticed by Wang Bo and followed by the provincial public security department. The involvement of both the provincial committee and the special position of Lu Hall makes some people feel threatened.

The power behind someone willing to take all blame for others must be significant, likely a large faction opposing Wang Bo's camp, which Zhou Zhaofeng alone could not possess.

Both Su Licheng and Xu Changcheng might just be pawns of their respective factions. As Xu Changcheng is about to collapse under the pressure from Wang Bo, he becomes expendable.

"I'm truly curious who's trying to hide something at such a cost that they're willing to sacrifice someone like Xu Changcheng," Su Cen looks up at the night sky, "it seems Huacheng’s skies are still dark..."

Regardless of any further secrets, I don't want to know. Whether it needs to be exposed or fully revealed is not my father's current concern nor mine. My aim is to boost the economy while protecting the environment reasonably during this process; that suffices."

Su Cen nods in agreement. This is reality: not everyone will be caught, and merely taking office won't instantly make a city shine with justice.

The places where sunlight reaches will inevitably cast shadows behind. There are many things that they cannot yet touch, and even if they could, not everyone would want to see such a profound impact—it might even lead to more dangerous consequences.

There never was a darkness that could be completely eradicated; the cost would be too high. Su Cen occasionally feels some regret when he thinks this way, which is perhaps what one must sometimes accept as a compromise.

However, at least, the dawn that this city welcomes tomorrow will be brighter than ever.

Vice Mayor Xu of Huancheng was put under dual regulations, and the dammed lake villa complex classified as cultural relics was liquidated. Soon after the reform and rectification of Qingshan Carbonization Industry, a regular meeting of the Huancheng municipal government took place, attended by all members of the municipal government, finance bureau, personnel bureau, planning bureau, construction bureau, agriculture bureau, industry and commerce bureau, tax bureau, among others.

Variety of topics were discussed at this meeting.

In his speech on looking ahead to Huancheng’s economic work, Su Licheng mentioned that while acknowledging the achievements made by previous work in the city, it is also necessary to face up to existing problems and concerns. Compared with other cities throughout the province, even some of the faster-growing industries and sectors in Huancheng are still lagging behind in most metrics. Particularly noteworthy are a monolithic industrial structure, insufficient development in coking coal and local industry, and few new growth points. Agricultural planting structures have reverted to traditional patterns with low levels of industrialization. Fiscal revenue growth has slowed, economic openness has declined—these factors all affect the city's sustainable development.

Su Licheng emphasized the special role of coking coal operations and trade in the city’s economy. The Party Committee and Municipal Government not only attach importance to interests but also place strategic emphasis on environmental protection. The municipal government decided to relocate several medium-polluting coking coal enterprises from upstream of Yanhe River to downstream of a newly defined industrial zone, upgrade major coking coal and coke enterprises gradually in terms of equipment, shut down scattered high-energy-consuming businesses without proper licenses, and initiate the promotion project for new clean energy mechanisms and devices. They aim to accelerate the phasing out of backward production capacities through clean energy means. Enterprises that fail to make improvements within a set period will face accountability for their primary executives.

The goal is to achieve transformation and leapfrog development in the coking coal sector over the next few years, with high-yield and efficient companies meeting standards of specialization, concentration, and annual sales revenue exceeding one billion yuan by 2006. These industry leaders should also contribute tax revenues surpassing one hundred million yuan.

Furthermore, he stated that in future economic work, the new round of rapid growth spurred by the national western development strategy will benefit coal cities such as Huancheng first and foremost. With this opportunity, relying on its city positioning, it aims to expand external demand and strive to build Huancheng into a core output city for refined coal, coke, electricity, and other industrial economies in the west region. It also plans to develop into an environmentally friendly, sustainable, prosperous trading and circulation hub with thriving traditional and emerging industries, expanded tourism industry, revitalized industrial bases, and become one of the top cities in the province.ncredulously at this young and elegant lady who was their ideal romantic figure."Tao Chuhong, you make me feel sick," Lin Luoran rubbed her fist, thinking that the guy’s skin was thicker than her brot...