Chapter 1046 - 1011: Investment at the Door

Xu Chunliang said, "That’s hard to say. Human desire is endless—rich people want both fame and fortune, and poor people still start thinking about sex once they’re full."

Xiahou Mulan said, "Do you think everyone is like you?"

Xu Chunliang couldn’t help bursting into laughter. "Mulan, you’ve gone bad."

Xiahou Mulan thought to herself, I learned it from you, but said softly, "I’m not chatting with you anymore, I’m about to go into a meeting. Once this matter is settled, I’ll come over right away to talk with your hospital about the investment contract."

Xu Chunliang said, "No rush. I’d actually like to see what exactly Zhai Pingqing is scheming."

Zhai Pingqing hadn’t come alone. This time he was accompanied not only by his investment consultant and legal consultant, but also by Health Bureau head Hu Zhengjin and CDC director Yang Yuqiang.

Seeing this lineup, Xu Chunliang understood: Zhai Pingqing wasn’t just paying lip service to this investment; he’d done his homework and obviously had a ’must-win’ mindset.

Hu Zhengjin was the top leader of the Health Bureau. Him coming forward to endorse Zhai Pingqing proved that Kangjian Group had already secured the support of the health system. As for Yang Yuqiang, he represented the CDC, and the future CDC would also be relocated to the new campus of the Infectious Disease Hospital. Yang Yuqiang himself held a certain say in the construction of the new hospital, it’s just that he had always maintained a wait-and-see attitude, with very low sense of involvement.

On the Infectious Disease Hospital’s side, besides Yan Huaiyi and Pan Junfeng, it was only Xu Chunliang. That was also Yan Huaiyi’s intention; he didn’t want too many people attending this meeting.

The meeting was arranged in a small conference room. After the routine pleasantries, everyone took their seats one by one. Xu Chunliang sat next to Pan Junfeng, planning to first see how things developed.

Yan Huaiyi delivered a stammering opening speech—nothing more than the usual clichés about welcoming all the leaders and investors to the hospital for inspection. No one present was really interested in what he said, but they still did their best to look like they were listening very attentively. In truth, it was exhausting for everyone to listen to him talk.

Yan Huaiyi was aware of his own stutter, so he tried his best to compress his speech. But even compressed, it still took him at least one-third more time than others to finish the same sentence. After all, he stuttered and repeated syllables too much.

After finishing his speech, Yan Huaiyi secretly let out a sigh of relief. It was fine when he spoke in front of subordinates, but he always got nervous in front of higher-ups.

Smiling, Yan Huaiyi turned to Hu Zhengjin and said, "Director... Hu, could you... say a few... few words?"

Hu Zhengjin said, "Then I’ll say a few words first. The reason I came today is specifically to help the Infectious Disease Hospital solve its problem. We’ve long been aware of Equatorial Capital’s investment in the Infectious Disease Hospital, but now they’ve decided to acquire Jishi Investment, and that deal has already been finalized. In other words, their funds have been put into Changxing Hospital, so they’re no longer considering investing in the new campus of the Infectious Disease Hospital."

Hu Zhengjin picked up his teacup and took a sip. Because he accidentally drank a tea leaf, he habitually spat that leaf back into his own cup.

Seeing this, everyone felt a bit uncomfortable inside. Actually, a lot of leaders have this bad habit when drinking tea; they just don’t notice it themselves.

After brewing his emotions for a moment, Hu Zhengjin continued, "Although we don’t want to see such a situation occur, from the investor’s perspective they have the right to decide where to put their money. Ever since this happened, we’ve been actively contacting new investors to help your hospital get through this crisis as soon as possible. Just then, Kangjian Group extended an olive branch. You could say it’s a two-way pursuit."

Everyone laughed, and Xu Chunliang followed along, though his was a cold laugh.

Hu Zhengjin said, "I’ve known President Zhai of Kangjian Group for quite some time now. President Zhai is someone who does things in earnest, a person with a strong sense of responsibility, and someone with great compassion. Personally, I believe that in the field of medical care and epidemic prevention, Kangjian Group has more experience than Equatorial Capital and is more professional. I hope that through our efforts we can help bring about cooperation between you and them."

Yang Yuqiang was the first to start clapping. Once he clapped, everyone else followed.

Yan Huaiyi said, "Thank... thank you... Director Hu... for your concern. With... with leaders like you as... our backing, we... we won’t have... any... an... an..." He said "an" (back) four times in a row and still hadn’t managed to finish the idiom "后顾之忧" (no worries at the back).

Inwardly, Hu Zhengjin thought, With Yan Huaiyi’s level, making him dean of the Infectious Disease Hospital really is putting him on the spot. But he didn’t interrupt, patiently waiting for Yan Huaiyi to finally get the idiom out before smiling and saying, "Dean Yan put it very well. My job is exactly to help you remove worries and solve problems. Director Yang, you should say a few words too. The new campus of the Infectious Disease Hospital also includes a part for your CDC."

Yang Yuqiang laughed and said, "Our CDC only takes up a very small portion. To borrow a line from the business world, we’re just a minority shareholder, the majority shareholder is the Infectious Disease Hospital."

Pan Junfeng said, "Director Yang is being modest. In future, we’ll be comrades fighting side by side for the long term."

Yang Yuqiang said, "All right, since Director Hu asked me to speak, I’ll say a couple of words. I may not be familiar with President Zhai personally, but I’ve long heard of Kangjian Group. Both my parents live in the Kangjian Elderly Care Center. Kangjian’s operation and management left an extremely deep impression on me. As a leading player in domestic medical care and elderly care, Kangjian’s strength and reputation are beyond doubt. If this cooperation can be successfully achieved, I believe Kangjian will definitely help the Infectious Disease Hospital climb to a higher level and enter the first tier of Dongzhou’s medical system."

Everything Yang Yuqiang said was flattering. It didn’t really matter who came to invest; it had little to do with their CDC anyway. Their CDC only occupied a small area, and the incoming investment was targeted at the Infectious Disease Hospital. They were funded by the state, so they didn’t have to worry about investment at all. Even if the Infectious Disease Hospital’s future general medical zone couldn’t be built, it wouldn’t have much to do with them. Today, Yang Yuqiang had mainly come to lend Kangjian Group some public support.

Zhai Pingqing said, "Thank you, leaders, for your trust and appreciation. Kangjian Group’s decision to invest in the Infectious Disease Hospital’s comprehensive medical zone is not on a whim, but a decision made after fully considering current medical development and the Infectious Disease Hospital’s technical strength. I’m not someone who likes to brag. Our team has already prepared a project proposal. Please take a look."

His investment consultant, Xie Yongchang, distributed the investment proposal to everyone. The proposal was very detailed and would take some time to study. Of course, Zhai Pingqing didn’t expect to get a definitive result today; what he wanted was an attitude.

Zhai Pingqing turned his gaze to Xu Chunliang. "Director Xu, I already talked with you about this investment plan in Nanjiang. How are your thoughts on it now?"

At first, Xu Chunliang hadn’t planned to express any opinion, but since Zhai Pingqing had taken the initiative to single him out, he couldn’t keep playing deaf and dumb. Xu Chunliang said, "My current job is concrete implementation. I don’t understand something as big as investment, and I don’t dare to speak rashly."

Health Bureau Director Hu Zhengjin laughed. "Xiaoxu, don’t be modest. Your abilities are obvious to all. Don’t be modest—say whatever comes to mind. What we want is to hear everyone’s opinions."

Xu Chunliang said, "I have a question: what is President Zhai’s vision for the future new hospital’s layout?"

Zhai Pingqing smiled. "It’s all written in the proposal. Simply put, we and the Infectious Disease Hospital will join forces for mutual strength, and through cooperation unleash maximum energy, building it into a top-tier general hospital in Dongzhou and even the whole of Pinghai."

Xu Chunliang closed the investment proposal he had opened and smiled. "President Zhai might not have quite understood what I meant. I was asking: in your mind, what distinctive features should an ideal general hospital highlight? We all know that even the strongest general hospital will have dominant departments. What specialties do you want, what emphasis?"

Zhai Pingqing said, "Since we’re relying on the Infectious Disease Hospital, our focus definitely has to revolve around infectious diseases and preventive medicine. As for other departments, they will develop in a balanced way. There’s no need to worry about medical resources. I do have some connections in the medical community, and I’m firmly optimistic about the long-term development of the hospital. The thirty billion mentioned in the proposal is only our investment in hardware, and doesn’t include the software side."

Zhai Pingqing also picked up his teacup and took a sip, taking the opportunity to glance at everyone’s expressions out of the corner of his eye. Health Bureau Director Hu Zhengjin was blowing at the tea leaves in his cup. CDC Director Yang Yuqiang had his cheeks propped up in his hands, looking thoughtful—one glance and you could tell he was spacing out, who knew what he was thinking.

The Infectious Disease Hospital’s dean, Yan Huaiyi, looked somewhat excited. This investment had come at just the right time.

Pan Junfeng was still studying their investment proposal.

Xu Chunliang was also listening. He realized that Zhai Pingqing wasn’t just talking for show. The man had come well-prepared and was planning to put in real money. The problem was, up to now Xu Chunliang still couldn’t figure out this man’s motive. In theory, getting into health and elderly care is far more profitable and easier than running a general hospital. So why was Zhai Pingqing choosing to enter a new battlefield?

Zhai Pingqing said, "On top of the thirty billion we’ll spend building the hospital, Kangjian Group will also put up an additional twenty billion as a talent reserve fund, used to recruit talents and bring in the top-tier medical experts from across the country."

Hearing this, even Yan Huaiyi couldn’t help getting excited. That was fifty billion going in—every problem would be solved. "That’s... that’s wonderful."

Xu Chunliang couldn’t help pouring cold water. "A fifty billion investment in a hospital is not that much. There are plenty of capital outfits interested in investing in our hospital."

Yan Huaiyi was somewhat afraid that Xu Chunliang would say the wrong thing. Why wouldn’t you accept an investment that walks itself to your door?

Zhai Pingqing smiled faintly. "I’m sure quite a few capital firms have their eyes on your hospital, but I’m also sure that no one has the kind of strong confidence in you that Kangjian does. As far as I know, even if Equatorial Capital hadn’t halted their investment, their upper limit would only be thirty billion. Of course, there are many investors interested in you, and you can bring in more of them. But introducing too many investors will create new problems. When it comes to formulating policy and management in future, there will inevitably be wrangling, and that is definitely not a good thing for the hospital’s long-term development."