Chapter 860: Jiang Longyin Seeks Advice!

Just after seeing Zhou Rui off, Li Yi checked the time and realized it was getting late. He was about to discuss dinner plans with Jiang Xue.

Suddenly, he heard a commotion outside the front door, and immediately afterward, he saw his father-in-law push the door open and walk in.

To Li Yi’s surprise, his father-in-law was accompanied by someone—none other than Jiang Longyin, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.

Upon seeing the two of them, Li Yi immediately quickened his pace to greet them!

Upon seeing his son-in-law, Jiang Shiying smiled and asked, “When did you get back?”

“I’ve been here for a while!”

Li Yi then turned to Jiang Longyin and asked, “How did you end up in Guangzhou, Second Brother?”

Jiang Longyin smiled and replied, “I originally came to the provincial capital to report on some work. I heard from Uncle San that you’d be back in a day or two, so I decided to stay and wait for you!”

“Wait for me to do what?”

“I wanted to chat with you and get your advice on a few things!”

Jiang Longyin knew his brother-in-law’s capabilities and insight. Thinking of the mess he was dealing with at work, he was eager to talk things over with Li Yi.

Li Yi didn’t refuse. “No problem,” he said immediately. “But I suggest we talk after we finish eating.”

“Alright…”

Since there were so many people in the family, and Jiang Shiying’s villa was designed solely for living—it had absolutely no facilities for multiple people to cook—they naturally had to eat out.

They ate at a state-run restaurant just outside the neighborhood, serving authentic Cantonese cuisine.

After the meal, they returned to the villa. Jiang Xue, his mother-in-law, and his eldest sister went to the bathroom to bathe the three kids, while Li Yi followed his father-in-law and Jiang Longyin upstairs.

It was just like his conversation with Zhou Rui that afternoon, except now there were three people instead of two, and an extra pot of green tea.

After taking their seats, his father-in-law sipped his tea and asked, “I hear the situation over there is pretty chaotic. Are you okay over there?”

“Dad, have you heard some rumors?” Li Yi asked with a smile.

Jiang Shiying nodded and said, “I heard there was an attempt to assassinate you, and last night, there were reports of suspected gang shootouts in many areas over there. Is that true?”

“It’s true, but it’s been taken care of now!” Li Yi replied honestly.

“How was it resolved?”

“My security firm took action. We launched a preemptive strike and wiped out all those enemies!” Li Yi explained.

“Has it been completely cleared up? Would it be dangerous for your mother and Xiao Xue to go there now?” Jiang Shiying asked earnestly.

“It’s been completely cleared up. All the mercenaries, assassins, and local gangs involved have been taken out, and even the mastermind behind it all has been exposed.”

Li Yi continued, “Once my mother and Xiao Xue arrive, I’ll have my brother-in-law personally lead a team to protect them. With Zhang Feng, Yang Miao, and the others providing close protection, I can guarantee their absolute safety!”

“Hmm, that puts my mind at ease…”

Seeing that Jiang Shiying was about to say something else, Jiang Longyin hurriedly interjected, “Third Uncle, you and your son-in-law can talk as much as you want later. But for now, could you please let me have a word with my brother-in-law?”

Jiang Shiying smiled and said, “Alright, alright. You two go ahead and talk. I’m going to check on Yunrui and Yunjin!”

With that, he stood up and left the study!

Once they were alone, Li Yi looked at Jiang Longyin and said, “Second Brother, what’s wrong with you? Did something happen?”

Jiang Longyin nodded, first uttering a soft “Mm-hmm,” then said, “Let me just get my thoughts in order. You don’t know the situation back home—it’s like a tangled ball of yarn. The more you try to untangle it, the more tangled it gets!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “No rush—we’re not in a hurry!”

“Right. Let’s start with the problems we’re facing back home. Right now, we’re dealing with a never-ending list of issues. It’s a tiny place, but all sorts of problems are intertwined. To put it simply, we lack resources and funding, and we don’t know where to begin with economic development. So I wanted to ask you, brother-in-law, if you have any ideas on how to break this deadlock,” Jiang Longyin said.

Li Yi paused to think for a moment, then said, “I wouldn’t call it a breakthrough strategy, but I do have a few ideas I’d like to discuss with you, Second Brother. They might not be useful, though!”

“Alright, go ahead, brother-in-law!” Jiang Longyin said, looking at Li Yi with eager anticipation.

He knew his brother-in-law was always modest; saying this was likely just to save face for his older brother-in-law. After all, Jiang Longyin was well aware of the achievements his brother-in-law had made over the past few years.

Even if he knew only the tip of the iceberg, it still left him utterly astonished!

Li Yi gathered his thoughts and said, “Pengcheng lacks the resources found elsewhere, and it doesn’t have sufficient development funds—these are objective realities. But I believe what Pengcheng lacks most right now isn’t those things!”

“Then what is it most lacking?”

“Spirit!”

“Spirit?”

“Exactly. Right now, whether it’s you leading officials or Pengcheng as a whole, you lack a reformist spirit of ‘daring to be the first in the world.’ Because the path you’re about to take is one no one has ever walked before—it’s truly a case of feeling your way across the river. If you’re timid and hesitant, you won’t get very far down this road!”

Li Yi continued, “Resources can be tapped, and funding can be secured through other means, but only the problem of mindset cannot be solved by external forces.”

“If Pengcheng wants to solve its current problems, the first step is to clear our minds and cast aside all those jumbled, outdated ideas.”

Jiang Longyin fell deep into thought; Li Yi’s words had taken him completely by surprise.

He had originally come seeking “strategies”—concrete solutions to the funding shortage—but his brother-in-law had instead presented him with a “big-picture perspective,” speaking of “momentum.”

Although Li Yi’s words sounded a bit grandiose and abstract, when Jiang Longyin considered Pengcheng’s current situation and carefully analyzed the predicament at hand, he immediately realized that his brother-in-law’s words made a lot of sense.

They were indeed failing to act with sufficient decisiveness and resolve in many matters, particularly among a large number of leading officials, who were timid and hesitant in their work, fearful of making mistakes.

If the leaders were like this, one could only imagine the situation among the rank-and-file staff carrying out the actual work.

After pondering for a long time, Jiang Longyin asked again, “So what should we do now? How do we clear our heads?”

Li Yi replied immediately, “First and foremost, you, as the leader, must take responsibility. Only then will those below dare to go all out!”

“Think about it: although your place is called a ‘city’ on paper, it’s really just a remote town with a population of just over 30,000 and two or three streets. It’s already poor and has nothing to its name—what is there to lose?”

Jiang Longyin’s expression turned resolute. That’s right—they had nothing to begin with. What was there to lose?

At that thought, it suddenly dawned on him.

Just then, Li Yi’s voice rang in his ears once more: “Secondly, start from the local conditions, identify your strengths, and transform them into drivers of economic development!”

“Take Pengcheng’s location, for example. Just open the door and you’re right next to Hong Kong Island—that’s a uniquely advantageous resource. Add to that a natural deep-water port, and it would be a real shame not to develop foreign processing trade in a place like this!”

“Are you suggesting we vigorously develop foreign processing trade?” asked Jiang Longyin.

“Exactly. I can help you connect with companies in Hong Kong to set up factories in Pengcheng. If you handle the policies and logistical support, you’ll be able to resolve your resource and funding shortages in just a few years!” Li Yi said.

“Can this really work?”

With the future of both himself and the entire city at stake, Jiang Longyin had to be as cautious as possible.

Li Yi smiled and said, “I can’t guarantee it, but there’s still a 70 to 80 percent chance of success!”

As far as Li Yi knew, the country’s first “three-comes-one-processing” enterprise had already set up shop in Shiyan, Pengcheng. However, people still harbored doubts about this business model and hadn’t dared to take bolder steps.

But in fact, the reason Pengcheng was able to stand out among all the “Special Economic Zones” and become one of the four major super-first-tier cities later on was largely due to their seizing this opportunity in the early stages.

By combining capital from Hong Kong with the local workforce to create a processing trade model, they returned a portion of the added value to the local community in the form of labor fees, distributed another portion to the people as wages, and allocated the remaining portion as dividends to Chinese investors after they acquired equity stakes.

After accumulating its “seed capital,” Pengcheng embarked on large-scale investment and construction projects, leveraging domestic and foreign loans to accelerate economic growth.

By the late 1980s, Pengcheng had begun to take shape as an export-oriented economy; in 1987, its total exports ranked third among Chinese cities, and by 1988, it had jumped to second place. From 1993 onward, its total import and export trade volume ranked first in the country year after year.

When Jiang Longyin heard Li Yi say he was 70 to 80 percent certain, he was instantly delighted and immediately replied, “Alright, let’s do it!”

“Just as you said, we have nothing to lose, so why not take a chance?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “That’s the spirit. Take a chance, and a bicycle becomes a motorcycle; take a gamble, and a motorcycle becomes a jeep!”

“Hahaha, that sounds inspiring. Let’s take the plunge!” Jiang Longyin said with a laugh.

“Then I wish you success, Second Brother, and may Pengcheng have a bright future and soar to new heights!”

“Thank you for your kind words, brother-in-law…”

……….