How can I justify myself as a Magnate if I don't indulge myself?-Chapter 547 - 251: Drawing a Pie for the Boss_2

According to his previous idea, if Gu Heng could put out 500 to 800 million, and then have the Shanghai Municipal Government make up the difference to reach 1 billion, that was already impressive. But who would have imagined Gu Heng would increase the scale tenfold?

At present, the largest charitable foundation in Hua Country is the He Ren Foundation, founded by the Chairman of Fuyao Glass Group, Cao Wang, with a current asset size of 3 billion.

If one were to follow Gu Heng’s idea, would this yet-to-be-established foundation suddenly become the largest charitable foundation in the country?

Originally, the establishment of this official charitable foundation was due to a directive from the authorities, which required the government to lead by example in setting a philanthropic goal. As the economic center of the country, it was only natural that Shanghai would be expected to provide the funds.

But although Shanghai is wealthy, it doesn’t mean the Shanghai Municipal Government has money...

However, Mr. Chu didn’t want to get entangled in this minor issue of rounding up entrepreneurs from Shanghai to fundraise and establish the foundation. Although it might seem a trivial matter, it would require calling in favors. And if one calls in those favors, when these businesses come asking for assistance in the future, would one be obliged to act or not?

This time, taking advantage of the huge benefits that Gu Heng had acquired, and seeing his display of vast wealth and boldness, Mr. Chu brought up the idea. There was no need to owe anyone favors, and the job could be done well...

But unexpectedly, Gu Heng played it big—his opening bid was 10 billion?

If this really came to fruition, even for someone of his high status, it would be no small benefit...

With this thought, Mr. Chu spoke up, "Gu, are you sure? This is 10 billion, not a small sum."

"Of course I’m sure. Actually, I’ve always had the idea of engaging in philanthropy, but to speak frankly, as you’re aware, the domestic charity environment leaves much to be desired. If I seriously start large-scale philanthropy, who knows whose pockets this money could end up in.

Now that I have Mr. Chu leading and endorsing the project, I can certainly go ahead with great confidence!

However, in the short term, I might not have the funds available. After all, our IDE Capital is currently preparing for corporatization, including the down payment for Hushang Financial Center, and we’ve already committed 32 billion to the group’s construction funds.

But I’m not just stringing you along. Once a large project that our company is currently negotiating concludes, I’ll immediately withdraw my investments in the overseas financial markets. Then, not to mention 10 billion, even if you double it to 20 billion, I could provide it."

Since becoming a capitalist, Gu Heng had made many promises, but it was his first time doing so for a big shot like Mr. Chu...

Although it wasn’t ideal, he really had no choice but to make this promise...

Especially since Gu Heng truly was out of money...

He had previously had 35.7 billion, injected 30 billion into his company, and later due to insufficient budget, he put another 2 billion into it. Now, he only had 3.7 billion left, nowhere near 10 billion...

The most important reason was the way the system calculated it...

The total investment of 32 billion was calculated by the system as a whole. It had to be fully utilized in various aspects and spent completely for it to be considered an indulgence completed.

Now he had purchased the company headquarters building, acquired the shares of Wuyou Media, and reached cooperation with Yang Hanshu. He only needed to spend the remaining 18 billion in the new energy industry...

As long as the 18 billion was invested in the new energy sector, Gu Heng believed he could instantly become a billionaire...

At that point, supporting the charity industry with one or two billion wouldn’t be a problem at all...

And Gu didn’t feel any qualms about spending this money.

It wasn’t because Gu was particularly kind-hearted. If he were, he would have already delved into the maze of philanthropy long ago, and not waited until Mr. Chu had to speak up...

The primary factor for spending this money was to get in good with the big shot before him; charity was just a secondary consideration...

By now, his wealth had surpassed what an ordinary person could spend in ten lifetimes, even a hundred lifetimes. There was no material pleasure in the world he couldn’t enjoy, so naturally, he started to seek a change in his spiritual pursuits.

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After listening to Gu’s decree, Mr. Chu nodded his head.

He had some understanding of Gu; otherwise, he wouldn’t have entrusted such a big project to him and was very clear what Gu referred to as the project.

"You’re talking about the investment and cooperation project for the new energy battery research institute under Academician Chen Zhizhong, right?"

"Right."

Gu Heng wasn’t surprised that Mr. Chu knew all this.

The New Energy Battery Research Institute was affiliated with Peking University, which was directly under the Ministry of Education.

In other words, investing in a partnership with Academician Chen Zhizhong was tantamount to an indirect collaboration with the officials.

Since it was related to the officials, it wasn’t strange that Mr. Chu, at his level, would be aware of the specific details...

"If it’s about this matter, you might not need to worry anymore. In as short as ten days to half a month, or at most two to three months, there shouldn’t be any problems."

"???"

Gu Heng looked puzzled.

Although the investment negotiations were currently going fairly smoothly, according to Tu Yong’s response, the chances of success didn’t seem very high, did they?

The main issue was that IDE Capital lacked a solid foundation and had no research background. Starting virtually from scratch once partnered with IDE Capital was precisely the reason why, after such lengthy negotiations, there still wasn’t any definite news. If this were Huawei, XiaoMi, or BYD, such large firms, not to talk about an investment of 18 billion, even if they had cut several billion, they would have probably succeeded by now.

And now this top-level figure knew about something that even the person involved, himself, was unaware of?

Seeing Gu Heng’s puzzled look, Mr. Chu did not resolve his confusion directly but teased, "You can take my word for it; this matter should be successful soon. If you don’t believe me, I could do you a favor and call Academician Chen Zhizhong for you; after all, I am his junior. I believe I should have that much clout."

Hearing Mr. Chu speak like that, Gu Heng also realized that this time, the odds were very much in his favor, and he quickly said, "There’s no need, no need for that. I wouldn’t dream of bothering Mr. Chu over such a trifle."

Seeing how tactful Gu Heng was, Mr. Chu also smiled, "It looks like you’re planning on making the new energy industry your company’s main business, right?"

Gu Heng didn’t hide his intentions, "Yes, the majority of the company’s capital will be invested in this project in the future."

"Ah, that benefits Li quite a bit, no wonder the kid put in so much effort.

It’s a pity, though, that such a good deal didn’t come our way in Shanghai. I bet when you finally decide on the investment, the contract will stipulate that the ’research institution’ must remain in Jingcheng.

But I’m not at a loss either. At least I managed to bring your company’s headquarters to Shanghai. Though I might not partake in the scientific achievements, the economic benefits are probably something Gu won’t hold back from our Shanghai, right?"

Li?

Hearing this nickname made Gu Heng’s heart skip a beat.

There was only one person with the surname Li that he knew of, and that was Lizi...

Now Mr. Chu dropped the name "Li" so casually, Gu would never believe it wasn’t a hint meant for him.

And from Mr. Chu’s tone, Gu could sense that the two were on the same level…

But confused as he was, Gu Heng didn’t ask outright; the hint was clear enough, and pressing further would seem unappreciative...

Just then, Secretary Gao, who had left earlier, came back in carrying two cups of tea, and Gu Heng promptly stood up, "Mr. Chu, I won’t keep you any longer, I have to get back to the company."

He wasn’t going to drink the tea anyway. Having tea with an official of this caliber made him nervous…

Mr. Chu, hearing that, made no attempt to detain him and smiled with a nod, "Since Gu is busy, I won’t keep you. I’ll make sure to find time to attend your group’s founding ceremony. After all, IDE Capital is now a Shanghai enterprise."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Chu," Gu Heng said with a bow.

Mr. Chu waved his hand dismissively, "You’re an entrepreneur of Hua Country. As long as you operate legally and comply with regulations, you can turn to the government for any difficulties you face, and we will be there to help you."

With those few perfunctory official words, Gu Heng nodded to Secretary Gao and left the office...