Rebirth of Hong Kong Island, leading the technology war

Chapter 511 The Selfless Chinese-American Doctor

The next day, Guss met the Chinese-American technologist.

The meeting place was Gus's mansion, also known as Paradise 2.0.

It is said that before meeting Guss, the Chinese-American scientist went to the Stonemasons Club.

Upon hearing this news, Guss felt that this Chinese scientist was no ordinary person, even more complex than Catherine had guessed.

After all, those who can enter the Stonemasons' Club are the best of humanity, and their status is exceptionally high.

Even a top billionaire like Guss, a former tech mogul, was a marginal figure in the Stonemasons Club, holding a low rank.

Most ordinary people are unaware of the existence of the Stonemasons' Club.

The fact that this Chinese scientist was allowed to enter suggests that he was going to meet with someone in charge, implying that he was likely a member of the Stonemasons' Guild, and possibly even of a higher rank than Guss.

At this moment, in the surprisingly spacious reception room, Guss was facing a man with a Chinese face, who looked to be around fifty years old. He wore rimless glasses, had a beard, and seemed rather unkempt.

This Chinese man is named Kong Yanbin. He came to the United States from China in his early twenties and attended an Ivy League school, while in China he studied at the prestigious Tsinghua and Peking Universities.

Like many alumni of Tsinghua and Peking Universities, Kong Yanbin set a goal immediately after arriving in the United States: to stay in the United States after graduation, contribute to the country's scientific and technological development, and become a true "beacon of the nation."

Kong Yanbin is a typical high-IQ talent, so achieving this goal is not difficult for him. He only needs to complete his doctoral studies, produce research results, and obtain a green card.

Kong Yanbin even exceeded expectations and quickly entered the space agency of the United States, where he made many achievements, led many projects, and even rose to middle management. However, due to various reasons that cannot be mentioned, Kong Yanbin was unable to advance further.

Kong Yanbin originally had a chance to join the prestigious SpaceX company and become Aaron Malak's right-hand man, but he failed after meeting with Malak.

It is said that Malak did not like Kong Yanbin very much, so he canceled the plan to hire him.

It didn't matter; Kong Yanbin had plenty of options. Through some channels, he obtained a letter of introduction and entered the aerospace laboratory at MIT.

As for what channels Kong Yanbin used, not many people know, only that his connections are extremely strong, to an almost supernatural degree.

Of course, Guss couldn't neglect such a person, so he even sent a private plane to pick him up from Cambridge, giving him a seven-star treatment throughout the trip.

After exchanging pleasantries with Guss, Kong Yanbin said, "Mr. Guss, everyone says your home is decorated in a very unique way, and it certainly lives up to the reputation."

Gus smiled: "Thank you for the compliment, Dr. Kong."

Kong Yanbin speaks British English quite well, with almost no accent, making it hard to believe that it is not his native language.

Catherine was beside Gus when he was talking to Kong Yanbin.

Catherine immediately formed a basic first impression of Kong Yanbin: he was not an easy person to get along with and had a somewhat gloomy personality.

Catherine doesn't like people like that.

Guss asked, "Did Dr. Kong go to see Mr. Zachary Burke?"

Kong Yanbin took a sip of coffee and replied, "Yes, we met. We talked for a long time. Mr. Zachary Burke is a very gentlemanly person."

Guss remained noncommittal and said, "Dr. Kong should already know the basics. Let's talk about the details."

"Okay, Mr. Guss, what would you like to talk about?"

For some reason, Gus felt that Kong Yanbin's attitude was a bit strange, as if he wasn't very respectful to him.

Strangely, it is said that Kong Yanbin was very humble when he met Zakhar Burke.

Where is the problem?

Thinking about this somewhat affected Guss's mood, but fortunately, he was a very cultured person and wouldn't show his dissatisfaction.

Guss asked, "Dr. Kong, how do you plan to talk to Mr. Hu?"

Kong Yanbin said, "Boss Hu? You're the owner of the Tenglong Island Space Launch Site, right?"

"Yes, I thought you had already seen the launch site information."

Gus silently retorted to Kong Yanbin, but the other party seemed unfazed.

"Of course I've seen him, but I don't know what kind of person he is. I heard he's very young, but that doesn't matter. I think we should make things clear to this Mr. Hu from the beginning. We're taking a big risk by partnering with a private Chinese company, and we've shown a lot of sincerity. As the boss, he should also show corresponding sincerity and try his best to meet our requirements."

Guss asked, "So what do you plan to do if Mr. Hu disagrees?"

Kong Yanbin laughed: "How could that be? He couldn't possibly disagree."

Guss paused for a moment: "Hmm? Dr. Kong seems very confident."

"Of course. I've seen the data on the Tenglong Island space launch site. It's just been built and is in dire need of orders. Without orders, it's a dead end, completely useless. Besides, I know the Chinese people's character best. What they like most is money. They'll do anything for money, without any bottom line."

Gus and Catherine understood.

Kong Yanbin was certain that Hu Jiangshan would accept the conditions proposed here, any conditions would do, as long as there was money to be made.

However, what Kong Yanbin said seemed strange. Isn't he Chinese?

Although Kong Yanbin may now hold US citizenship, China is still his homeland, so it's not quite right to say that.

Guss said, "Dr. Kong, I must remind you that I have met with Mr. Hu twice before. He is not the kind of person who would do anything for money, and he is not short of money."

Kong Yanbin smiled slightly: "Mr. Guss, you don't understand the Chinese. It's just that the amount of money wasn't enough. If it were enough, he would definitely agree."

"Oh, so your negotiation strategy is to increase the order amount?"

"Of course not, it will remain unchanged."

"What if we don't have enough money?"

“We are a company from the United States. Without him, it won’t affect our ability to cooperate with other companies from the United States. He will definitely be in a difficult situation without our orders, so he will definitely agree.”

Catherine stared wide-eyed at Kong Yanbin.

Goodness, this guy wins on both sides, he's got Hu Jiangshan figured out.

The ensuing conversation was largely ineffective. No matter what questions Gus asked, Kong Yanbin considered them irrelevant, insisting on focusing on his side and forcing Hu Jiangshan to agree to all the conditions.

A moment later, Kong Yanbin left.

Gus asked Catherine, "What do you think of this Dr. Kong?"

Catherine said decisively, "Stupid! Utterly stupid! Do you think Mr. Hu is so easy to deal with? Is this Dr. Kong out of his mind?"

Gus laughed: "Catherine, it's rare to see you angry." "Daddy, I'm not angry. This Dr. Kong is too arrogant; I don't like him!"

Guss sighed: "There's nothing you can do if you don't like it. He'll definitely be talking to Mr. Hu on my and Zach Burke's behalf."

Catherine looked thoughtful: "Daddy, I don't understand, why did the leadership choose someone like this? Aren't they worried that he'll mess things up?"

After a moment of contemplation, Guss said, "Perhaps they believe that the Chinese understand the situation in China best and have an advantage in negotiations."

Catherine was speechless for a moment. Perhaps the leadership team was right, but she felt that if Kong Yanbin had this attitude, the atmosphere of the negotiations would probably not be very good. As for whether it would affect the cooperation between the two sides? Catherine didn't think so. Mainly, she knew Hu Jiangshan a bit. This Eastern man was very capable and wouldn't let one person affect the overall situation.

Catherine only hoped that Hu Jiangshan wouldn't be angered by this guy surnamed Kong.

Two days later, at the Rosewood Hong Kong Island Hotel.

The Rosewood Hotel is located in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong Island, close to Victoria Harbour, and is one of the best hotels on Hong Kong Island.

The hotel's high-rise luxury business suites are extremely well-equipped, even rivaling the presidential suites of other hotels, and also include a conference room.

At that moment, in one of the luxury business suites, seven or eight people were having a meeting in the conference room.

Sitting in the main seat was Kong Yanbin, the team leader representing the Gas Group and Meta Technology to discuss cooperation with the Tenglong Island Space Launch Site.

The others were, of course, team members, including Kong Yanbin's assistant and people from two other companies, mainly composed of technical personnel.

Kong Yanbin, as the team leader, didn't manage the experts despite being an outsider, because he himself was a technician with a PhD in aerospace dynamics and was a big shot in the MIT lab; he was qualified enough.

Of course, Kong Yanbin's identity is also quite special. He is a Chinese scientist, so it is reasonable for him to serve as the team leader, since there are no communication barriers.

There were quite a few people this time, nearly twenty. Only the core personnel are in this room, not all of them.

Kong Yanbin said to the person next to him, "Xiao Li, have you made contact with Tenglong Island yet?"

Xiao Li nodded: "It's all arranged. They'll send a car to pick us up at the pier tomorrow, and then we'll take a boat to the island."

Xiao Li's real name is Li Chenyu. He was originally a student of Kong Yanbin. His advantage was that he was very obedient, so he became Kong Yanbin's assistant.

Besides Li Chenyu, Kong Yanbin also brought another person, who is also Chinese, named Fan Hao.

Both Li Chenyu and Fan Hao share some common characteristics, such as being from prestigious universities in China, having values ​​highly aligned with Kong Yanbin, and neither wanting to return to China.

Of course, this excludes business trips to China. Not only do I not find it annoying, but I also feel a sense of superiority.

It's a pity they only came to Hong Kong Island this time. If they had gone to the mainland, they would have been so arrogant.

Kong Yanbin said calmly, "Very good. Let's think about what else we need and have them prepare everything."

The group looked at each other, unable to think of anything else they needed. They had already noted down and brought over the food and drinks they had just eaten and drunk.

Kong Yanbin waved his hand: "Alright, let's review tomorrow's procedures again. To sum it up, there are two points. First, we must be strict. We need to rigorously review all aspects of the Tenglong Island Space Launch Site and record any shortcomings or defects we find immediately. Second, we must argue our case and strive to obtain the most favorable conditions for us."

Everyone nodded.

Kong Yanbin's words make sense. When it comes to cooperation, the more favorable the terms are to one's own side, the better.

Moreover, Kong Yanbin's attitude is admirable even to non-Chinese people.

As a person of Chinese descent, it is truly admirable that he can be so fair and selfless after coming to China.

Kong Yanbin said, "The key is to check the equipment at the launch site, including the launch pad and the various equipment in the control center, to see if they are complete, powerful, and capable of meeting the launch requirements of deep space probes."

At this moment, Li Chenyu said, "By the way, Professor, what if the Tenglong Island Space Launch Site doesn't want us to inspect the equipment?"

Kong Yanbin raised an eyebrow: "If you don't let us see, it means you're guilty, it means you have something to hide, then there's nothing to talk about."

Li Chenyu quickly wrote it down in his notebook, looking very serious.

Kong Yanbin was very satisfied with Li Chenyu's attitude.

A moment later, the meeting adjourned, and Kong Yanbin left only his two assistants, Li Chenyu and Fan Hao.

After the two cleaned up the meeting room, Kong Yanbin asked them to sit down and have a short meeting.

Kong Yanbin said, "There are some things I don't want to say to the people from those two companies directly, because they wouldn't understand anyway."

Li Chenyu and Fan Hao leaned forward, listening intently.

Kong Yanbin took a sip of water and said, "I think this Tenglong Island Space Launch Site is most likely a scam."

Li and Fan were taken aback at first, then looked at each other, clearly not understanding why Kong Yanbin would say that.

Kong Yanbin said, "What, don't you understand the Chinese way of doing things? They don't do things without a reason. Would the Chinese spend so much money to build a launch site? They wouldn't make any money at all, they would only lose money!"

Fan Hao said, "So you mean... this is a scam project?"

"Yes, it's a scam project!"

Li Chenyu said, "Doctor, wasn't this space launch site built by people from Hong Kong Island? Not mainlanders."

Kong Yanbin rolled his eyes: "That's only a tiny bit better. Do you know who Hu Jiangshan is? He's Hu Yingxiang's grandson. Hu Yingxiang is a..."

Kong Yanbin didn't continue speaking, perhaps worried that someone might be overheard.

He coughed lightly before saying, "Anyway, you two need to pay close attention to the situation. If anything seems amiss, be sure to write it down immediately. I will report it to... to the leadership. We can't let the Hu family get away with this."

Li Chenyu and Fan Hao responded in unison.

Both of them greatly admired Kong Yanbin, noting his high academic level and keen insight.

The next day arrived in the blink of an eye. Kong Yanbin and his team waited in the lobby. A minibus sent by Tenglong Island picked them up and took them to a pier. They then boarded a large ship and set sail.

So far, everything has gone smoothly, and Kong Yanbin has been able to find no fault with it.

Li Chenyu leaned closer and whispered, "Professor, why do you think the Gas Group and Meta Technology chose this space launch site to discuss cooperation? Isn't the SpaceX a better option?"

Kong Yanbin glared at Li Chenyu: "What else could it be? To save money, of course."

"Oh, I understand."

In fact, Kong Yanbin knew the inside story, but he couldn't tell anyone and had to keep it strictly confidential.

(End of this chapter)