Chapter 1223: Layout of rare earth and furniture town

Sun Yucai's face changed, his brows furrowed tightly, his expression grave, and he remained silent.

Seeing him like this, Xia Yu gave a faint smile and drank his tea.

As for Xia Anshan, he didn't quite understand the content of Xia Yu's conversation with Sun Yucai, but he knew that the content was actually considered confidential. After finishing his tea, he excused himself and left.

Xia Yu and Sun Yucai were the only two people left in the pavilion.

After a long while, a determined look flashed in Sun Yucai's eyes. He looked up at Xia Yu and said in a deep voice, 'Mr. Xia, I understand your considerations. This is indeed the wisest course of action. However, the difficulty of implementation is great. I can only say that I will do my best!'

That being said, in fact Sun Yucai didn't really know what to do.

Qianzhou City had mines and companies in various counties and districts that were owned by the state. As the head of Qianzhou City, it was still possible for him to forcibly integrate them.

But in addition to the local area, central enterprises had also established a foothold here. These central enterprises belonged to the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry. He had also worked in government ministries and commissions before, although not in the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry. However, he also knew the situation of the major ministries and commissions. He had no one above him now, and his words carried little weight, so he didn't really know what to do.

That was just the first problem.

The second problem was the pricing power of rare earths.

Even if all the rare earth mines were really consolidated, how could he guarantee that the rare earths could be sold at high prices?

When he was looking for a way out for Qianzhou City before, he had also looked into it and knew about the hegemony of Western countries.

In this day and age, although Europe and the United States have opened up most of their export markets for technological products to the mainland in order to win it over, the mentality of the past few decades cannot be eliminated overnight.

Xia Yu could see the lack of confidence behind Sun Yucai's resolute attitude. He said with a light smile, 'Secretary Sun, if you have any difficulties, you can tell me, maybe I can help.'

Sun Yucai's eyes lit up, and thinking of Xia Yu's omnipotence and formidable strength, he told him his concerns: 'Mr Xia, actually I really...'

Xia Yu kept smiling the whole time, listening to Sun Yucai's story.

Facing Sun Yucai's expectant gaze, Xia Yu did not disappoint him and said, 'Secretary Sun, the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry is indeed an obstacle that cannot be avoided, but if we don't touch the non-ferrous metals in Qianzhou City, and simply integrate the rare earth mines that have only started exporting in recent years, there is still some room for manoeuvre.'

'As for controlling pricing power, it is indeed a difficult problem for the mainland. After all, the mainland relies on Europe and the United States for so many things, and there are too many weaknesses, so it is difficult to be assertive.'

'Another thing is that the export price of rare earth ore, which is simply excavated and simply purified, is too low. Even if the price is raised, it will not go up much. The mainland also needs to develop heavy industry and the military industry, which involve the lifeblood of the country. By then, it will still have to import rare earths that have been refined in European and American countries and have appreciated in value by dozens or hundreds of times. This is not worth it.'

'The strengths of the mainland are obvious, namely its abundant rare earth mineral deposits, while its weaknesses are also obvious: it does not have the technology or pricing power to support the rare earth industry, and it does not have sufficient funds to develop and build the entire rare earth industry chain.

'How about this? We can make a suggestion to the authorities: Consolidate all the rare earth mines in Qianzhou City and set up a joint venture company. The mainland will provide the resources, and I will be responsible for sales and obtaining pricing power. We will also invest capital to build the industrial chain, striving to create a complete rare earth industrial chain for Qianzhou City and the mainland. What do you think?'

Sun Yucai frowned, staring at Xia Yu with burning eyes.

Xia Yu smiled faintly and looked at Sun Yucai calmly.

'Mr Xia, the difficulty involved is great...'

After a few seconds, Sun Yucai said with a wry smile.

'There is definitely difficulty, but for the mainland, if this can be achieved, the benefits will actually be far greater than they are now, won't they?'

Xia Yu asked with a smile.

Sun Yucai was silent.

He is not a fool, of course he can tell the benefits.

Not to mention that even if he has to give Xia Yu 49% of the equity, as long as he doubles the price, he will not lose money. Not to mention the country, just for Qianzhou, if they can really build an industrial chain around the rare earth industry, it will benefit the entire Qianzhou city.

At the very least, it would solve the employment problem for some of the population!

Thinking about the huge number of idle people in society today and the resulting chaotic social security problems, Sun Yucai felt a headache coming on.

And not only that, if he could really create a complete rare earth industry chain, even if it was just a few foundations and a rudimentary form, it would create huge political achievements for him!

No matter how you look at it, Xia Yu's proposal is very beneficial to him!

But the key is that he, a supporter of reform, knows very well that this is no longer something he can decide.

He sighed inwardly, then said sincerely to Xia Yu, 'Mr Xia, your proposal has exceeded my authority. I need to report it to the higher-ups for a decision.'

Xia Yu was not surprised. He knew before making the proposal that it would have to be discussed and approved by the top.

He readily agreed, 'That's only right. Secretary Sun, just report it, and we'll talk about it then.'

'Actually, apart from the rare earth and navel orange industries, I also have two immature ideas. I'm not sure if you're interested?'

Sun Yucai's heart rose with anticipation, and he nodded with a smile, saying, 'Of course, Mr Xia, please go on!'

Xia Yu said slowly, 'I think Qianzhen City has the foundation to develop two other industries: one is the furniture industry, and the other is the pharmaceutical industry.'

As soon as he finished naming them, Sun Yucai's face broke into a smile, and his anticipation grew stronger.

Of these two industries, the former is labour-intensive and has a significant impact on employment, while the pharmaceutical industry is high-tech and has a significant impact on tax revenue.

Qianzhou City actually has the potential to develop these two industries?

Xia Yu continued, 'First, the furniture industry. In fact, Qianzhou City itself has a good foundation.

'The most important thing about making furniture is having enough carpenters and skilled craftsmen. Although talent can be trained, skilled carpenters cannot be trained overnight. Qianzhou City does not need to train them, as it already has a large number of carpenters.'

'Are you referring to Nankang County, Mr Xia?' Sun Yucai suddenly asked.

Xia Yu nodded slightly: "Yes, it has a deep and unique carpentry culture. Since ancient times, it has been known as the "Hometown of Carpenters'.

'Secretary Sun seems to know quite a bit.'

Sun Yucai smiled and said, 'I have researched various counties in the region before. Nankang County is not far from the city, and I have been there many times. Plus, I am originally from Qianzhou, so I have some understanding.'

'Nankang has a history of more than 1,700 years since its inception.'

'I didn't realize that you also knew about Nankang County, Mr. Xia, that's admirable!'

Xia Yu smiled and said, 'I've heard of it.'

This is just a modest way of putting it. In fact, as a native of Qianzhou in a previous life, how could Xia Yu not know the fame of Nankang?

This is a major town for the production of solid wood furniture with an annual output value of more than 180 billion yuan!

During the Three Kingdoms period, Nankang's earliest name was Nan'an County, and it was not until the first year of the Jintaikang period (280 AD) that it was named Nankang County.

Of course, if you trace the roots of Nankang's woodworking culture, you can trace it back to the Qin Dynasty. Legend has it that the 100,000 Daxian Mountains in southern Jiangxi were mostly primeval forests, and some were excellent wood and timber. Emperor Qin Shihuang wanted to build the Afang Palace and urgently needed to requisition a large amount of timber, so he sent hundreds of thousands of people to southern Jiangxi to cut wood. Many of these original 'carpenters' stayed behind, living and reproducing in southern Jiangxi, and became the ancestors of the Nankang people.

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties period, the Nankang Ji (Record of Nankang), written by the Nanan scholar Deng Deming, described Nankang County as being deep in the mountains and densely forested, with many trees. It also mentioned the 'muke' (woodcutters) of Nanan, and the distinct characteristics of the mountain culture and carpenter culture.

During the Song Dynasty, the literary giant Su Dongpo was exiled to Lingnan, and along the north-south official road, via Gannan, he heard the story of the 'wooden guest' and wrote the famous line 'Who plays with the bright moon in the empty mountain? The wooden guest in the mountain recites a poem'.

During the Yuan Dynasty, Gannan was the shipbuilding centre of the country, and most of the carpenters in the shipyards were also from Nankang.

Needless to say, in the Ming Dynasty, a large number of Nankang carpenters also participated in the construction of the Ming Imperial Palace and built Chongyi County under the commission of Wang Yangming.

This craftsmanship that has been passed down for thousands of years has now blossomed everywhere. Nankang carpenters are everywhere, and most of them are skilled old carpenters. There is also a complete system of inheritance, so Nankang County has the foundation to develop the furniture industry.

It can be said that all that is needed is for some companies to integrate these resources and solve the problem of furniture sales, and an industry chain for furniture production can be created!

'Secretary Sun, Qianzhou City can completely plan for Nankang County and focus on supporting the furniture production industry. If you don't know how to go about it, I can have someone invest in Nankang County to create a leading enterprise, solve some of the employment problems first, and then the government can see how to make the cake bigger.'

'At the beginning, you can follow the template of my company, and then we can each show our talents and see what we can do.'

'Mr Xia, this is a great idea!'

'Thank you for wanting to benefit the people of Nankang County!'

Sun Yucai seemed so excited that he stood up and bowed to Xia Yu.

Xia Yu had to stand up and ask Sun Yucai to sit down again.

'Secretary Sun, I will instruct my staff about the investment, and the Qianzhen City government will liaise with you on that front. The prerequisite is that you prepare a good plan first.'

'Of course, I personally suggest that both sides communicate well to avoid detours and mistakes,' Xia Yu said with a smile.

'That's only natural. By then, your company will be the leader of the furniture industry in Nankang County, and your opinion will definitely be respected,' Sun Yucai nodded.

'Mr Xia, what about the other idea you mentioned, the pharmaceutical industry?'

A furniture industry idea, no, it can't be called an idea anymore. In Sun Yucai's opinion, this is a completely viable path that already has a bright future.

So what would the other idea be that Xia Yu was talking about?

Sun Yucai, who had lost a lot of hair trying to find a way out for Pianzhou City, was now filled with emotion, looking at Xia Yu with a look of expectation.