Reborn as Zhao Ruilong of Handong, I will defy fate.

Chapter 402 Attracting Investment and Catching the Murderer? I, Zhang Xiaoxue, have no such ability.

"Dad, what are you muttering about while holding the map?"

The sudden sound from his daughter startled Zhang Jingchong so much that he trembled all over.

He subconsciously crumpled the map in his hand into a ball.

It's like being caught cheating on an exam and, in a moment of panic, crumpling up the cheat sheet into a ball.

"You...why are you back again?"

Zhang Jingchong asked in a flustered manner.

"I came back to get the corkscrew, otherwise how am I supposed to open this wine bottle?"

After saying that, Zhang Xiaoxue went straight to the kitchen.

"She probably didn't hear me, right?"

"No, she couldn't have heard us from that far away!"

"If she heard that I wanted to exchange her for Zhao Ruilong to invest in building the high-speed railway from Jiangcheng to Jinghai, she would definitely rush over there."

"No, I'm not selling my daughter, why would I trade her? They're together because they're in love, there's no question of either of them forcing the other!"

Zhang Jingchong silently comforted himself.

Then, quickly spread the crumpled map out on the coffee table.

What were you muttering about just now?

Zhang Xiaoxue, who was very curious, asked again after coming out of the kitchen.

"Didn't you mutter anything?"

Zhang Jingchong forced a smile.

"Hmph, pretending!"

"You've always been able to fool others, but you can't fool me!"

Zhang Xiaoxue held a bottle of red wine in her left hand and fiddled with a corkscrew in her right.

He walked suspiciously into the living room and looked his father up and down.

"Tell me honestly, what exactly are you muttering about?"

"Otherwise, I'll call my mom right now and tell her that you've been misbehaving at home since she left just two days ago!"

As she spoke, Zhang Xiaoxue pretended to take her phone out of her bag.

"No, no, no! Please stop!"

Zhang Jingchong quickly pressed down on his daughter's hand, and said with a pained expression:

"I'll tell you the truth!"

"I heard that the high-speed railway from Jingzhou to Tianhai has completed static acceptance and will soon begin joint commissioning and testing."

"At this rate, it is very likely that the trial operation will begin before National Day this year, or even before September 1st."

"Why has Handong become an economically strong province? In addition to its own superior conditions, it is also because it is adjacent to the international metropolis of Tianhai."

"Once the high-speed rail with a speed of 350 kilometers per hour is opened, the travel time between Jingzhou and Tianhai will be greatly shortened."

"Many cities along the route will be integrated into the one-hour and half-hour city circles of Tianhai. Just think about what that means?"

Zhang Xiaoxue frowned slightly.

"This means that the connection between Handong and Tianhai will become closer. Tianhai's strong financial and foreign trade capabilities will be perfectly combined with Handong's rapidly developing manufacturing industry, allowing the economic development of both sides to reach a new level!"

With a click!

Zhang Jingchong snapped his fingers.

"That's right!"

"Once the high-speed rail opens, Handong and Tianhai will benefit each other, and there will inevitably be more companies with offices in Tianhai and factories in Handong."

"Our Linjiang doesn't yet have the capability to build a high-speed rail line connecting the city to the sea, but their model of using high-speed rail to shorten the spatial and temporal distance between cities and promote economic development is worth learning from."

"So I want to build a high-speed railway with a speed of 350 kilometers per hour in our Linjiang Province, so that Jiangcheng, the city with the largest permanent population and the most prosperous economy, and Jinghai can be more closely connected..."

As he spoke, Zhang Jingchong reached for the map on the coffee table.

"Alright, alright, you already mentioned this before. Zhao Ruilong brought it up when he came to our house last time."

"But you can mutter to yourself all you want, so why do you get all scared and guilty when I call you?"

"Did I?"

Zhang Jinchong is lying through his teeth.

His superb acting skills, honed over many years in politics, could fool countless people, but they could never fool his daughter, Zhang Xiaoxue.

After rolling her eyes, Zhang Xiaoxue asked rather rudely:

"Can you please stop pretending?"

"You'd better tell me honestly, is this related to me? Otherwise, I'm really going to call Mom!"

Zhang Jinchong quickly begged for mercy.

"Stop hitting me, stop hitting me! I'll talk, I'll talk, okay?"

"Actually, I just want you to step in and help me talk to Zhao Ruilong."

Zhang Xiaoxue raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean? If you want Zhao Ruilong to invest in building this high-speed railway, why don't you just tell him directly? You two have such a good relationship, building a high-speed railway is just a matter of a word, isn't it?"

Zhang Jinchong was extremely embarrassed.

"Haven't I already asked him to invest heavily to help develop the clean energy industry in Linjiang?"

"During a break in the meeting today, I talked to him about increasing investment in Dening City to build the world's largest polymer lithium-ion battery production base."

"Once the base is completed, a super-large industrial cluster can be formed around battery research and development, design, manufacturing, packaging and testing, recycling, and the production of raw materials such as positive and negative electrodes, diaphragms, and electrolytes..."

Zhang Xiaoxue interrupted, asking, "You mean you've already gotten him to invest more, and you feel bad asking him to invest in building the high-speed rail again, is that what you mean?"

"Yeah!"

Zhang Jingchong smiled somewhat awkwardly, "Even if he's very rich, he's already helped me a lot. I can't keep asking him to invest, so..."

"So you had no choice but to let me handle the matter of persuading him to invest in building the high-speed rail, but why should I?"

Zhang Xiaoxue took a step forward and asked with wide eyes.

Of course she knew that high-speed rail was not cheap to build.

If a high-speed railway were to be built connecting Jiangcheng and Jinghai, it would seem to be only a little over 200 kilometers long, but the technical difficulty would far exceed that of building the Jingzhou to Tianhai line.

Because the route from Jingzhou to Tianhai is a completely flat plain, there is no need to dig tunnels. The biggest technical challenge is building various bridges to span the rivers, seas, and lakes.

However, within Linjiang Province, the construction of the high-speed railway from Jiangcheng to Jinghai requires the construction of multiple tunnels traversing mountains and valleys, as well as multiple bridges spanning bays with complex weather conditions, due to the influence of the terrain.

Although the distance is shorter, the difficulty is greater.

It's only 200 kilometers long, but it's estimated to cost nearly 30 billion!

The Railway Administration is certainly willing to build this high-speed railway, but it is neither willing nor able to spend more money.

Linjiang is relatively wealthy compared to other provinces in the interior, but in recent years, it has spent a lot on various infrastructure and public welfare projects and has not been able to come up with much money.

Therefore, it is estimated that Zhao Ruilong will be responsible for the majority of this huge investment of nearly 30 billion yuan.

In other words.

If Zhao Ruilong is willing to invest no less than 150 billion yuan, then there is a good chance that this high-speed railway will be built.

Otherwise... we'll just have to wait!

Once Linjiang Province and the Railway Administration are both financially better off, they can then invest in building this high-speed railway.

But the timing is uncertain; it might take five or even ten years.

In addition, the construction period will take at least four or five years.

It is estimated that it will be completed and put into operation in 2020.

By then, my father was no longer the top official in Linjiang; he had even retired.

But Zhao Ruilong is required to invest over 10 billion yuan to build a high-speed railway...

This is just too incredible!

This is similar to the story in Journey to the West, where the king orders a minor demon to capture Tang Sanzang.

Zhang Xiaoxue really wanted to point at herself and ask, "What have I done to deserve this ability?"

More than 10 billion!

Are you kidding me?

Even if I, Zhang Xiaoxue, have a close relationship with Zhao Ruilong, I can't just say something like that!

Once I open my mouth, what will I become?

They became inseparable upon meeting, but it turned out to be just a ploy to attract investment.

To achieve outstanding political accomplishments for his father?

Facing his daughter's scrutinizing gaze, Zhang Jingchong smiled wryly:

"I'm still considering it, aren't I?"

"I know you're not good at bringing this up, so I haven't told you yet, I'm just whispering about it."

"Alright, alright, stop standing there. Let's just pretend this never happened. Go find him and have a drink!"

Zhang Xiaoxue was pushed away by her father, but after taking a few steps, she turned around and broke free.

"No, if you want my help, you can just say so!"

"There's no need for someone to be so mysterious, muttering to themselves while holding a map, is there?"

Zhang Jingchong frowned and said, "I haven't thought about it yet, so how should I tell you? But now that you know, if you're willing to help me, find an opportunity to mention it to him. If you're not willing, then forget it."

Zhang Xiaoxue glared at her, somewhat annoyed, and said:

"I'm your own daughter. How can I refuse to help you when you ask me for it?"

"I know you'll definitely help, but... this project requires too much investment, let's forget about it!"

Zhang Jingchong waved his hand, turned around and went back to the coffee table to put away the map.

"I don't care if you're trying to provoke me or not, I know everything anyway. I'll definitely talk to him when I meet him. As for whether he's willing to invest or not, that's his business."

After saying that, Zhang Xiaoxue turned and left.

"If you're embarrassed, don't force yourself!"

Zhang Jinchong shouted.

After saying this, Zhang Jingchong suddenly realized that something was wrong.

The accusation of moral blackmail seems to have intensified.

But the next second...

Zhang Jinchong comforted himself.

"A daughter once married off is like spilled water!"

"Do you think it's easy for me to raise such a tall, beautiful, and educated daughter?"

"Anyway, she's already Zhao Ruilong's woman, so what's wrong with whispering sweet nothings in her ear?"

"I didn't make him propose marriage openly and pay a dowry; it's already good enough that he married my daughter in a proper and respectful manner!"

With a sigh, Zhang Jingchong sat down and carefully studied the map.

The more I look at it, the more I realize that building only the section from Jiangcheng to Jinghai is not enough to drive the development of other riverside and coastal cities.

It's better to extend it northeastward to Dening and southwestward to connect with Haizhang.

In this way, the most economically developed coastal areas of Linjiang Province are connected by a high-speed railway.

This approach not only facilitates coordinated development among cities but also ensures that the high-speed rail line achieves a high occupancy rate and avoids losses.

Looking at the map, Zhang Jingchong became more and more excited.

Holding a bottle of red wine and a corkscrew, Zhang Xiaoxue stormed into the garage.

"In order to prevent your career from being affected by the anti-corruption storm, I did not hesitate to lose a lot of money, withdraw my investment, and close the company."

"Instead of thanking me properly, you actually want me to help you persuade Zhao Ruilong to invest in building the high-speed rail!"

"Hmph, I really am her biological daughter. I don't have to feel embarrassed at all!"

After placing all the things in his hands on the passenger seat.

Zhang Xiaoxue deftly unplugged the charging gun.

Since taking delivery of her Land Rover M9, she prefers charging the car to refueling it.

Although the price of gasoline is not expensive, 97-octane gasoline is only 2.7 yuan per liter.

But if I can use electricity, I really don't want to burn oil.

I always make sure to charge my phone when I get home.

So much so that she hasn't been to a gas station even once since she picked up the car.

After playing a catchy song, Zhang Xiaoxue drove off.

Along the way, Zhang Xiaoxue hummed along loudly to the music, venting her frustration from the evening.

Just as they were singing enthusiastically...