"Uncle Gao, look, relying solely on our company to fight alone to retain talent is ultimately limited in its power. But wouldn't it be wonderful if we could work together to make Mingzhu City itself a place where people never want to leave once they arrive?"
The leader was momentarily taken aback by Liu Yutong's sudden shift in topic, but he gestured with keen interest for her to continue.
"I know there must be people in the city government discussing plans to attract chemical plants to the development zone. But if this must be done, I suggest building them far away from the urban area, and even far away from the suburbs.
Mingzhu City has beautiful mountains and rivers, a uniquely advantageous geographical environment, and an excellent transportation network. We absolutely must not destroy these exceptional advantages just for short-term economic gains," Liu Yutong said earnestly.
The leader's eyes immediately narrowed. He knew very well that Liu Yutong was hinting at something specific.
Indeed, there had been people in the leadership team pushing for chemical enterprises to settle in the new industrial park, but they faced resistance from the companies brought in by the Wanlong Group. If those companies hadn't claimed the spots first, the eastern part of the city would likely be filled with chemical plants by now. Although chemical industries don't necessarily guarantee pollution, they undeniably bring a negative impact to the city's image.
The urban area of Mingzhu City wasn't large to begin with, and according to the city planning, it was bound to expand outward gradually. If those chemical plants were too close, who would want to buy new houses in the newly developed areas?
Let alone the talents recruited from outside.
"There's also the issue of urban transportation. Many roads in the old district of Mingzhu City are simply too narrow, and the city planning is still stuck in the outdated mindset of ten or twenty years ago. During the morning and evening rush hours, it's common to be stuck in traffic at key intersections for half an hour..."
Liu Yutong went on to list many areas she believed needed improvement.
Whether now or in the future, these issues truly affected the city's development, not to mention she was looking at them from the perspective of someone from the future. In her previous life, the exact problems she mentioned had plagued Mingzhu City's growth, turning a city that originally ranked near the top in provincial GDP into one at the very bottom.
Speaking up in advance was her way of giving a warning to prevent history from repeating itself.
If the city couldn't keep up with development, it came back to the old saying: even if she brought the talent in, they wouldn't stay.
The leader never expected that a girl not even twenty years old could have such a long-term vision.
Every issue she pointed out precisely hit the crux of Mingzhu City's development, and many were pain points that the city's leadership team had repeatedly discussed but struggled to solve.
At the end of the day, it all came down to a lack of municipal funds.
But seeing this young woman speaking with such confidence and eloquence beside him, he suddenly felt that if he didn't take these matters seriously, he wouldn't even measure up to a little girl.
"By the way, Uncle Gao, I heard the city is planning to invest in building a sports stadium. Is that true?" Liu Yutong suddenly asked.
The leader paused for a moment and nodded. "That's right. Why do you ask?"
Liu Yutong replied, "To be honest, I think the scale of this stadium is too small."
The leader was a bit surprised. "Is that really small? The plan is to accommodate twenty thousand people at once, which is already somewhat excessive for our Mingzhu City."
In reality, he knew very well that building this stadium would be a loss-making venture. After all, not many sporting events would be willing to be hosted in a small place like Mingzhu City. Building it smaller meant losing less money.
But as soon as the words left his mouth, he realized something: this girl, Liu Yutong, wouldn't care about a stadium for no reason.
"Do you have any thoughts on this stadium?"
Liu Yutong nodded and spoke frankly. "Uncle Gao, we just talked about how retaining talent in Mingzhu City requires enriching everyone's entertainment life. A twenty-thousand-seat stadium is just too petty. My suggestion is to do it right the first time: aim for a capacity of fifty thousand and build it to the standards capable of hosting top-tier domestic leagues and international single-sport events."
"Fifty thousand? Are you sure?"
"Absolutely!"
The leader fell deep into thought. He understood the underlying meaning of Liu Yutong's words. She was clearly telling him that she had a way to increase the stadium's utilization rate. And to fill a fifty-thousand-seat venue, it would definitely require attracting a significant number of out-of-town tourists to boost attendance.
If that were truly the case, it would indeed be a wonderful thing.
His guess was correct; Liu Yutong had long had plans in this regard.
The Wanlong Group controlled an entertainment company. In the future, asking their famous singers to hold concerts in Mingzhu City wouldn't be too much to ask, right?
If Weibo took off, they could also host events like Weibo Night here every year.
Furthermore, with the esports club Li Xiaohui was running, future esports tournaments could also choose to be hosted in Mingzhu City.
She had countless ways to attract tourists to Mingzhu City.
When the time came, if Mingzhu City vigorously promoted its tourism industry, over time, it was entirely possible for Mingzhu City to become a trending internet-famous city.
By then, wouldn't those talents be even more willing to stay and settle down?
Once the talent stayed, the scientific and technological development level of the entire city would rise.
With technological advancement, tax revenues would naturally increase. As the financial situation improved, the city could be better renovated, making it even more livable.
This would undoubtedly create a virtuous cycle.
However, whether Mingzhu City could develop according to her expectations still depended on the leader's boldness and execution capabilities.
To put it bluntly, the leader had to be a true doer.
Looking at the light in Liu Yutong's eyes, the leader sighed in his heart: This girl really spares no effort in wanting to develop her hometown. What a good kid!
In the future, if anyone dared to gossip in his ear saying that the Wanlong Group might be involved in organized crime, he would fly into a rage at them!
How could such a kind-hearted kid, so wholeheartedly devoted to her hometown, be involved in anything shady?
Someone must be throwing dirty water on her!
Subsequently, the leader turned his head and instructed the secretary behind him, "Write this down immediately. When we get back, gather everyone for a discussion to see if we can redesign this project. We can refer more to the opinions of the Wanlong Group."
"Yes, sir!" the secretary immediately complied.
An hour later, having finished his inspection, the leader got into his car with a gratified smile on his face.
"Little Zhang, look at this girl. Just over a year ago, she was leading people on the streets to sell crawfish, and now she has transformed into a pragmatic entrepreneur. What a huge change."
The secretary smiled in agreement. "Yes, sir, Director Liu's growth speed is indeed astonishing."
The leader said with a touch of emotion, "More than astonishing, it's no different from riding a rocket. I still remember the first time I met her last year; she was still a bit immature and reserved. Now look at her, she dares to directly offer city planning suggestions to me, the local magistrate."
There was not a hint of blame in his words; instead, they were filled with admiration.
The secretary naturally understood the leader's thoughts and followed his lead, saying, "This shows that Director Liu genuinely treats Mingzhu City as her home and sees you as an elder in her own family. That's why she doesn't treat you like an outsider and can't wait to share any good ideas with you."
"You are absolutely right."
The leader nodded in agreement and said earnestly, "This child always keeps her hometown in her heart. She isn't just focused on making money for herself; she genuinely wants to pull Pearl City forward along with her. Just for this dedication and drive of hers, as her uncle, I must support her."
"Give the departments below a heads-up. From now on, whenever the Wanlonghui Group, especially that Liu girl, makes a reasonable request, as long as it doesn't violate any principles, give them the green light and expedite the process. Whether our Pearl City can seize this opportunity to take off might really depend on this group of young people."
"Understood, sir." The secretary noted it down solemnly.
At the same time, he was secretly astonished. Having followed this exceptionally rigorous and principle-abiding leader for so long, this was the first time he had ever seen him pull strings for anyone. It was clear just how much weight Liu Yutong held in the leader's heart.
Just then, as the leader was about to close his eyes for a quick nap, the figure of a certain guy who always opposed him suddenly flashed through his mind, and his gaze instantly turned sharp.
"Little Zhang, later on, go find Qi Wei privately and ask around. He's been mixed up with that investigation team for over half a year now; isn't it about time to close the net!"
