Lu Hao intended to stay for a few days. Yang Jian took him to the template factory and first showed him around the workshops and production process.
"Little Yang, this factory is managed quite well. Although the workshops are a bit rudimentary, the entire factory area is clean and tidy, materials are arranged in an orderly fashion, and safety facilities are complete. The workers' uniforms are even standardized, which many large factories haven't achieved."
Lu Hao was full of praise after touring the factory grounds. He was very surprised that a rural workshop-style factory was managed so formally.
Yang Jian chuckled, "I have a very capable factory director here. He was also the general manager of a billion-dollar company before. I've given him full management authority here, and I'm a hands-off boss."
"I knew it. The director managing this factory is definitely a talent. You must keep him firmly in your grasp and offer him good treatment. He can make this factory bigger and stronger."
"Don't worry, he's burdened by debt. I gave him thirty-five percent of the technical shares. This factory is his only chance to turn his life around. If it succeeds, he can go home with his head held high; otherwise, he'll always have to live a life of hiding from creditors."
"Thirty-five percent shares? You're truly generous. But this person is worth this treatment. With him managing it, you really don't have to worry; you can just lie back and collect money."
As they chatted, they arrived at the dormitory area. Lu Yao had planted many flowers and plants here, making it exceptionally quiet and fragrant.
"Brother Hao, I mostly stay here when I'm home. What do you think?"
After Yang Jian and Lu Yao moved in together, he had a private room here.
"Not bad, not bad. This place is excellent. I'll come here to stay for a couple of days whenever I have time."
Lu Hao was very satisfied with the place; it was much better than he had imagined for a rural area.
For the next two days, Yang Jian and Yang Huailin accompanied Lu Hao to tour the entire village. They measured and registered the number of rice fields being cultivated, vegetable plots, and fish ponds.
"Director Yang, I don't understand agricultural cultivation, but I know what our supermarket needs. If you want to get the village's agricultural products into our sales channels, there are two issues that need to be resolved."
After inspecting the village's current situation, before leaving, Lu Hao called Yang Huailin and Yang Jian to the conference room to discuss future cooperation.
Yang Huailin was extremely excited, "Mr. Lu, please tell us. As long as we can do it, we will fully cooperate. Also, Town Chief Peng Chaoyang of our Xinqiao Town wants to meet with you. Do you have time?"
Lu Hao glanced at his watch, "I have a meeting at ten o'clock, so I need to leave by eight at the latest. It's seven o'clock now, so I have an hour. Can he make it?"
"Yes, he's waiting for my call in Xinqiao Town and can be here within ten minutes."
Yang Huailin quickly went outside to make a phone call.
Yang Jian chuckled, "Brother Hao, the town chief of our Xinqiao Town is a department-level cadre. He needs an appointment to meet with you. Don't be too arrogant."
"What's a town chief? I deal with mayors and governors frequently. It's not that I'm arrogant; it's because my schedule is very tight. If it's not something particularly important, I really wouldn't meet with these lower-level township leaders."
"Wow, you're amazing. Then I must hold onto this strong leg of yours."
"Little Yang, you and I are brothers. There's no need to 'hold onto my leg.' If you encounter any difficulties, I hope you'll tell me immediately. While I can't guarantee I can help you one hundred percent, it will certainly be easier than facing it alone."
"Really? That's great. Brother Hao, to be honest, I've partnered with someone to open a casino on the Xunsi River in Hancheng. It's quite a large one, with daily rake income of two to three hundred thousand, plus loan sharking. My personal profit is over a hundred thousand a day. I'm worried the police will eventually target me. If I get caught, can you bail me out?"
Yang Jian was direct and voiced his long-standing concerns. He really didn't want to go back to that place. Because of the casino's considerable scale, if he were caught, he, as the organizer, would undoubtedly receive a heavy sentence.
However, the income of several million a month was a huge temptation, making it impossible for him to give up the casino.
The most important thing was that he was desperately short of money.
Lu Hao smiled, "Why don't you stop running the casino? This template factory and that Chunfeng Building can bring you stable income. Why take such a risk?"
Yang Jian shook his head, "It's not as simple as you think. This template factory is still in its early stages, and the products are sold on credit, requiring a large amount of working capital, otherwise, it won't be able to operate.
Furthermore, we're planning to launch a production line for decorative panels, which requires acquiring land, expanding the factory, and purchasing machinery. This again requires a significant amount of capital.
And the Chunfeng Building, with a total area of over 5,600 square meters, costs about five million at an estimated cost of 800 per square meter. I've only invested less than a million, and there's still a huge shortfall.
So, I can't give up the casino for now. It will take at least two to three more months to resolve my current funding issues."
Lu Hao nodded, "Hearing you say that, the shortfall is indeed substantial. Would you like me to lend you ten million? You can repay it when you have the money."
"Brother Hao, I know you have money. Since you consider me a brother, we shouldn't have any entanglements in terms of money.
You can help me with profitable ideas, and I can accept your support in my business. If it involves large sums of money as loans, it will inevitably create a rift between us, and we might even end up not being brothers anymore."
"That makes sense. I remember when you first got out the other day, you accepted money from others, but you refused money from your brothers. It was probably for this reason, right?"
"Yes, those who gave me money, I only consider them as ordinary friends. It's a matter of reciprocity, and I'll return that money through gifts. But those brothers and I have a life-and-death bond; I treat them like blood brothers. Those superficial formalities are unnecessary."
Lu Hao nodded solemnly, "Okay, I understand. Your refusal of my financial assistance means you consider me a brother. I'll give you a promise today: no matter what happens, I will use all my resources to help you overcome difficulties."
"Brother Hao, with your words, I'm at ease. As soon as the financial pressure here eases, I'll immediately withdraw from the casino and focus on the enterprise."
"That's a good idea. I know many influential figures in the underworld who used money earned through illicit means to do legitimate business and eventually went legitimate. I hope you can also get out of the casino soon and stop living a life of constant worry, because it's inevitable that the police will target you for running such a large casino; it's only a matter of time before you're caught."
As they were talking, the sound of a car braking was heard from outside. A moment later, Yang Huailin led in a dark-skinned, sturdy middle-aged man around forty years old, followed by two specialists from the land management office.