For a moment, Principal Wang sat at the end of the table with a helpless expression on his face.

Gu Bai gave it some thought, but couldn't resist the requests of so many big shots, so he reluctantly sat in the central main seat of the round table.

Since the dishes had not been served yet, the group of big shots at the dining table began chatting about personal matters.

Gu Bai listened to their various verbal tricks trying to probe his background, feeling somewhat helpless. Up to this point, Gu Bai was very thankful for the system's privacy shield, otherwise, his parents would probably have been photographed by the media ages ago.

Things are different now. Not only is Gu Bai's identity under the highest level of secrecy thanks to the system, but even his parents enjoy the highest security level, which is why Gu Bai has been able to live so freely without his parents being disturbed.

However, Gu Bai remained tight-lipped, only vaguely responding to them, and when they realized he really didn't want to disclose family information, they gave up.

As the dinner slowly proceeded, a knock on the door was heard, and the restaurant's general manager led a group of waiters to serve an array of sumptuous dishes.

Matsutake mushroom stew with fish maw, gold soup scallops, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, sesame oil stone fish legs, Lingzhi jewel cicadas, and eighteen other national banquet-level dishes were presented, each priced extravagantly. Many people had neither seen nor heard of these dishes, but this group of big shots did not even bat an eye, as if they were just served a few plates of shredded potatoes.

The restaurant manager said a few customary words and then departed from the private room with the waiters.

Facing these top business moguls of Hua Country, he felt a lot of pressure, terrified of making a mistake.

Only after the dishes were served did the conversation shift from personal matters to business topics. In Hua Country's drinking culture, it seems that if business discussions don't happen over a meal, they're not considered official.

Xu Jiayin, sensing the atmosphere calming down, slowly turned to Gu Bai and said, "Today at the ceremony, I heard you mention that your charity foundation's Hope Primary School project is adding 3,000 schools. I wonder if you'd be interested in handing this project over to us uncles?"

Gu Bai, hearing Xu Jiayin's words, set his chopsticks on the chopstick rest and smiled as he countered, "Uncle Xu, would you really be interested in such a thankless project that doesn't earn much money?"

Gu Bai wasn't mocking him but was speaking frankly.

At present, Hengda is not the Hengda of 2021. It's only early 2018, and Hengda Real Estate is still in its prime. Not to mention existing homes, even presale properties are hard to come by.

Don't be fooled by the scale of the Hope Primary School project, worth tens of billions, but in the eyes of these real estate developers, even if they took it all, it would merely yield a profit of a few billion, which is nothing to them. They could earn that by casually developing a commercial community.

Xu Jiayin understood Gu Bai's doubts and smiled as he explained, "If you're just talking profit, indeed, there's not much money to be made, but Gu Bai, since you're not in real estate, you're unaware of the hidden value of your project.

First, the project itself is a win-win opportunity for fame and fortune. Just after the ceremony, building company CEOs were clamoring to find you for this reason, right?

However, for us larger-scale real estate companies, there's an even bigger benefit: having more goodwill in front of local governments.

Companies like Hengda and other real estate companies present here have almost encircled the first and second-tier cities domestically, while little has been ventured in third-tier and below cities. This could very well be an opportunity."

Despite many big shots present, Xu Jiayin did not hide his business plan at all. After all, with the saturation of the real estate market in first and second-tier cities, it's just a matter of time before major developers dive into third-tier and below cities.

After hearing him out, Gu Bai didn't rush to respond but rather squinted slightly.

"Uncle Xu, it's not that I'm unwilling, but from the moment this plan was conceived, I intended to allocate this project through a bidding process...

Primarily to save costs, because within the entire Flame Project, constructing Hope Primary Schools is just a minor part; the real focus is on subsidies for impoverished student families."

As Gu Bai spoke, Xu Jiayin began to laugh.

After doing business for so many years, gradually elevating Hengda Real Estate to the position of Hua Country's top developer, Xu Jiayin quickly picked up on the underlying meaning in Gu Bai's words, laughed heartily, and said, "You're worried that if we take the project, we might demand high prices, right?

In that case, there's no need for bidding. Let your foundation provide us with a proposal, and we'll stick to the lowest market price! How about that?"

Gu Bai exchanged a glance with Xu Jiayin.

Given Xu Jiayin's straightforwardness, Gu Bai saw no reason to refuse. After all, the project had to go to someone, so why not give these big shots some face?

For real estate companies like Hengda and Wanda, it's impossible not to have construction companies under their wing. 3,000 Hope Primary Schools sound massive, but when it comes to actual construction, it's not much.

"Since Uncle Xu has put it this way, I'll inform the foundation once I return. I'll directly bring this project out and hand it over to you. I trust you with it."

"Then it's settled!"

The big shots sitting next to Xu Jiayin burst into laughter.

With this project being mentioned by Gu Bai at the Hua Country ceremony, it's destined to gain national attention. These real estate moguls didn't have the best public perception, but with good publicity, they might garner some positive reviews.

After Xu Jiayin finished speaking, Ma Yun, who had been holding back, couldn't resist any longer and spoke up, "Gu Bai, I wonder if you have any opinions about what I said at the venue?

Charity isn't something one does alone; it requires joint efforts!"

Ma Yun's question was anticipated by Gu Bai, and he had already thought about how to respond on his way here.

"President Ma, it's not that I'm unwilling, but currently, the Black Swan Foundation truly doesn't need outside support. The foundation's initial goal during its creation was to serve our group. If we were to accept funding from you, Ah Li, how would the foundation operate?

With billions in funding flowing in, wouldn't Ah Li want to send someone to supervise and manage it? That would completely deviate from the original purpose of establishing the Black Swan Charity Fund. I hope President Ma can understand that I don't wish for other interests to be mixed into the charity aspect."

Gu Bai's words were diplomatic but essentially a direct refusal to Ma Yun.

Also, by calling others uncle, while addressing him as President Ma, it showed Gu Bai's stance clearly.

The Black Swan Foundation has now become so famous nationwide, and Gu Bai isn't foolish enough to agree to something like that.

Gu Bai is well aware that internet companies like Ah Li and Tencent...

This is also why Ah Li launched so many public welfare projects.

With Gu Bai's rejection, the atmosphere at the dinner became slightly tense.

After a few seconds, someone finally stepped in to smooth things over.

"Alright, let's just hold onto our commitment to charity; there's no need to dwell on it too much."

Gu Bai observed Ma Yun's slightly somber expression and offered a faint smile.

Although he is known as Ma Ba Ba, he doesn't hold much sway here. Even if he was turned down, so what? Gu Bai and Ah Li's businesses don't overlap at all, and although his social influence might not yet surpass Ma Yun's, with the support from Elder Xun and Elder Tu, Gu Bai can be considered among the top-tier big shots in Hua Country's business circle.

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