The convoy did not drive directly into the city center; instead, it followed a somewhat dilapidated concrete road toward a newly emerging development zone in the east of the city.
After about twenty minutes of a bumpy ride, the convoy came to a halt at the edge of an incredibly vast and empty expanse of land.
The land before them appeared to be at least two to three thousand mu in size. It had clearly been pre-treated, as the ground was perfectly level.
Uncle Li was the first to step out of the car, followed closely by Liu Yutong and the rest of the Longxin team.
"Yutong, President Qiu, and all the experts,"
Uncle Li stood at the edge of the field, looking like a general directing his troops. He swept his arm across the vast expanse of land before them. "This is the core starting area for the planned Lucheng Future Sci-Tech City, and it is also the first welcoming gift we have prepared for the Longxin project!"
A few officials, who appeared to be heads of the land planning department, immediately directed their staff to unroll a massive regional planning map.
Pointing at the blueprint, Uncle Li said, "This area covers a total of 3,200 mu. The original plan was to divide it into three phases over five to eight years, gradually bringing in a batch of high-tech enterprises and R&D institutions to build Lucheng's innovation park."
"Upon learning that the Longxin project was about to launch, our Provincial Party Committee, Provincial Government, and Lucheng Municipal Government held an emergency joint meeting overnight. We made a major decision to suspend all previous planning and investment attraction for this area. These 3,200 mu of land will be comprehensively planned, reserved, and packaged together, to be provided entirely, free of charge, and permanently to the Longxin project as the construction site for your headquarters, R&D center, and first wafer fabrication plant!"
"Free of charge? And permanent?" Qiu Ciyun couldn't help but exclaim, finding it somewhat unbelievable.
As an industry insider, he knew all too well the value of industrial land of this scale and location. Even the conditions offered by Modu were merely ten years of rent-free use. Yet here, it was being offered permanently and for free. This was simply too generous—or rather, so overwhelmingly generous that it felt unreal.
"Yes, free of charge, and permanent." Uncle Li looked at Qiu Ciyun and nodded affirmatively.
"Not only that, but all the costs for the preliminary infrastructure connections and land leveling, as well as the ultra-high-specification foundation treatment tailored to the special requirements of a semiconductor factory, will be entirely borne by the provincial and municipal finances. Longxin won't have to pay a single cent. We are not giving you a raw plot of land to struggle with yourselves; we are giving you a fully prepared plot finished to the highest standards. You can take it and immediately start construction according to your design blueprints."
"Beneath this land, we have already buried the dual-circuit high-voltage cable channels, ultra-pure water supply mains, reserved interfaces for special gas pipelines, and an independent industrial wastewater pipe network needed for a future wafer plant... All infrastructure has been planned and constructed in advance according to the standards of world-class wafer plants. What we want is for Longxin to be able to build the factory at the fastest speed and with the lowest initial cost as soon as you arrive."
Hearing this, Liu Yutong was completely shocked. She had absolutely no idea that Uncle Li had quietly pulled off such a massive undertaking.
This place definitely hadn't been modified just in the last few days; construction must have started a long time ago. Uncle Li had just kept it a secret from her, presumably to give her a surprise.
After the school anniversary, she had indeed had a deep conversation with Uncle Li about Longxin's plans. Uncle Li had probably started taking it to heart right then. He might not have anticipated that Modu would suddenly swoop in halfway to hijack the deal, which prompted him to reveal this trump card early.
Having figured this out, Liu Yutong felt somewhat moved, and with a hint of shame, she said, "Uncle Li, why didn't you tell me earlier? What if we..."
"There are no 'what ifs'!" Li Weimin interrupted her.
"Yutong, I understand what you mean, but for our HS Province and our Lucheng to achieve technological iteration and industrial upgrading, we must have the courage to burn our boats, dare to take a gamble, and dare to go all in!"
"Bringing in Longxin and developing the integrated circuit industry is our strategy to overtake on a different track and win the initiative for development in the coming decades. This is a battle we must fight, and we must win!"
"I believe that in the future, this place will absolutely not just be a single Longxin factory. It will become a complete industrial ecosystem centered around Longxin, attracting countless upstream and downstream enterprises in chip design, semiconductor materials, precision equipment, packaging and testing, and terminal applications. It will become the heart of our HS Province's new generation of information technology industry!"
Shocking! It was nothing short of deeply shocking!
Qiu Ciyun's original mindset of just going through the motions and humoring them was completely shattered by this high-ranking official's thunderous determination and massive generosity.
He had to admit that this was his first time seeing a leader with such audacity, such decisiveness, and such a willingness to invest almost regardless of the cost.
Just as the man had said, this was no longer a negotiation; it was a strategic, all-in gamble!
Although it was a bit crazy, it worked very well on him.
"Let's go, get in the cars! We're off to see the second grand gift!"
With a wave of his large hand, Uncle Li didn't give everyone much time to digest the information before leading the way to the next stop.
As before, Liu Yutong rode in Uncle Li's Audi, while Qiu Ciyun and another municipal leader got into Liu Yutong's Maybach.
Not long after getting into the car,
Liu Yutong received a text message from Qiu Ciyun.
"Director Liu, are the leaders over here all this crazy?"
Looking at the screen, Liu Yutong couldn't help but smile. She thought for a moment and typed out a reply.
"Do you know how Longke University ended up settling in Lucheng back then? I suppose it's an old tradition."
As one of the country's top science and engineering universities, Longke University had been invited over by the leaders of HS Province with the same level of passion and determination.
To what extent did this passion go?
To give a simple example, during the winter, the entire HS Province had no centralized heating, not even the offices of the provincial leaders. However, Longke University did.
And it was one of the very few places in the relatively southern regions to have centralized heating.
Hence, it was an old tradition.
Uncle Li's actions today could be said to be a continuation of the audacity and sincerity shown back then to bring in Longke University.
They might be a bit poorer compared to others, but when it came to sincerity, who could match them?
About ten minutes after this text was sent, just as they were nearing their destination, Qiu Ciyun finally replied.
"What a great place!"
Although he hadn't made any formal declaration, Liu Yutong could already tell from these few words that Qiu Ciyun was truly swayed.
For their second stop, they arrived at Longke University. The main purpose was to introduce a new talent cultivation and experimental platform spearheaded by the province, in collaboration with top provincial universities like Longke University and the Institute of Technology.
The third stop was a freight railway hub in the suburbs and a planned bonded logistics park.
The fourth stop involved viewing the architectural sand models for an international school and a high-end talent apartment community, for which the land acquisition had already been completed and construction was about to begin.
After seeing all of this along the way, the scales in the hearts of the Longxin team—especially Qiu Ciyun, who had initially harbored doubts—had begun to tilt irreversibly.
How was this merely a local government trying to attract investment?
They were practically treating them like royalty!
From land, infrastructure, research and development, talent, and logistics to the support system for living facilities, everything far exceeded their expectations.
After running around all day, their tight schedule meant everyone had to settle for boxed lunches at noon.
When evening came, Uncle Li played the host, inviting everyone to dine at Yuyuefang. This surprised Liu Yutong once again; she had not expected Uncle Li to choose the newly opened restaurant under her company's umbrella.
Inside the private dining room.
Once everyone was seated, Uncle Li did not waste time on pleasantries. He simply had his secretary place a document, bearing the red letterheads of the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government, right in front of Liu Yutong.
"This is the support package our HS Provincial Party Committee and Government have finalized for Longxin after multiple research meetings. This is not a draft; it is an official document that has already been approved. Every clause inside bears the official seal of the provincial authorities, representing the collective will and commitment of the province's highest decision-making body."
Liu Yutong carefully read through the terms before passing the document over to Qiu Ciyun.
After reading it, Qiu Ciyun was profoundly moved, even a little visibly excited. Upon finishing the final point, he looked up and nodded at Liu Yutong, having completely tossed the conditions offered by the Magic City out of his mind.
Seeing this, Liu Yutong felt a wave of reassurance settle in her heart. She stood up and extended her hand: "Here is to a successful partnership, Uncle Li!"
Uncle Li burst into hearty laughter: "To a successful partnership!!!"
After the dinner concluded, Liu Yutong could not help but pull Uncle Li aside to ask him a private question.
"Uncle Li, did you offer such incredible terms as a special favor to me because of my relationship with Little Hui? After all, you might not even see Longxin rise to prominence during your term in office, which means you might not get to claim this as your political achievement."
Hearing this, Uncle Li merely chuckled and replied with a simple phrase: "Success does not have to be mine."
