Rebirth of Hong Kong Island, leading the technology war

Chapter 515 This is my cousin's strength
Hu Mingqian's cousin is named Hu Jiangshan, and Jiangshan Group is naturally his company.

Although it's a bit narcissistic, the name is easy to remember and recognize.

Gibson looked surprised: "The company looks huge!"

Mills' expression was somewhat unnatural. He had to admit that, at least in appearance, it was indeed larger and more impressive than his trading company, and the decoration was also exquisite, giving it a high-end feel.

Of course, you can't judge a company's strength by its appearance or decor alone.

Many companies appear to be doing very well on the outside, but are actually weak inside, constantly losing money and going bankrupt after a short time.

Mills, a well-known Chinese businessman, has seen many such unreliable companies.

Hu Mingqian said, "Let's go in."

Eva asked, "Qian, shouldn't you call your brother?"

"It's okay, there's a receptionist there, we can just ask them."

Although it's still the Lunar New Year holiday, most companies still have staff on duty. Right now, there's a pretty girl sitting at the front desk.

Hu Mingqian walked ahead and arrived at the company entrance.

The company's doors are usually closed; you need to swipe a card to enter. Hu Mingqian gestured to the girl in front of her.

The receptionist opened the door and asked, "Who are you looking for?"

Hu Mingqian said she was there to see her boss, Hu Jiangshan, and of course, she also revealed her identity as Hu Jiangshan's cousin.

The receptionist let them in, saying, "The boss hasn't arrived at the company yet, but he should be here soon. Please go to the meeting room and rest for a bit."

Hu Mingqian responded.

The receptionist led everyone to a meeting room, poured in a few cups of coffee, and then left, maintaining a polite and courteous demeanor throughout.

Eva said, "Qian, your brother's company looks very good."

Hu Mingqian chuckled: "Indeed, it's quite impressive. The receptionist is beautiful and highly professional. Look at the decor, it's even better than my dad's company."

Eva nodded. Of course she had been to Hu Pingyang's company. In terms of offices alone, Jiangshan Group was indeed more upscale.

Seeing Eva's expression, Gibson felt uneasy and quickly said, "It doesn't matter whether the office is well-run or not, the key is profit. We have to be able to make money."

Eva asked Hu Mingqian curiously, "By the way, what does your brother's company do?"

Hu Mingqian thought for a moment and said, "I don't know the specifics, but I've heard there are several businesses involved."

Gibson said, "Several businesses? That means you're not focused. How can you make money that way?"

Hu Mingqian glanced at Gibson: "What kind of talk is that? What's the point of my brother starting a company if he doesn't make money?"

Gibson waved his hand: "Isn't your brother a rich second-generation from Hong Kong? It's normal for him to lose money running a company."

"you……"

Hu Mingqian was a little angry. She had thought that foreigners thought differently from Chinese people and wouldn't say such sarcastic things. It seems that she was wrong. Foreigners are just like Chinese people. They can also be sarcastic when they encounter such things, and they might even be more sarcastic.

Gibbs seemed worried that Eva wouldn't believe him, so he turned and winked at Mills.

Mills was quite shrewd and immediately understood that it was his turn to speak. He said, "You really can't do things recklessly when you start a company. There's an old Chinese saying, 'Good steel should be used on the blade.' If you make the office this beautiful right from the start, it's a waste, and you might not have the money to do business."

Gibbs gave Mills a thumbs up: "Good, well said, I completely agree!"

Hu Mingqian rolled her eyes. Hu Jiangshan had given people a really bad impression before. It was impossible for him to succeed in starting a company, and his character was not good either. He even tried to lay a hand on her. But after her two recent interactions with Hu Jiangshan, she felt that her cousin had completely changed and was unlikely to do anything too outrageous.

Otherwise, Hu Mingqian wouldn't have come to visit now. On one hand, she was curious and wanted to see what Hu Jiangshan's company was like, and on the other hand, she wanted to see how powerful Hu Jiangshan was now.

Just then, someone opened the door and came in; it was Hu Jiangshan.

Hu Jiangshan was still very handsome, and even though Eva had met him once before, he still caught her eye.

Hu Jiangshan greeted Hu Mingqian, Eva, and others in a friendly yet appropriate manner.

Gibson had a bad feeling; Eva's gaze towards Hu Jiangshan was strange.

Gibson never expected that Hu Mingqian's cousin would be so handsome, and he even seemed to be quite a gentleman, making him feel like he was on a completely different level from him.

How can this be allowed? How can we be outdone by this Chinese man surnamed Hu?
Gibson felt he had to do something to make the other side expose their weaknesses.

Gibson asked Hu Jiangshan in British English, "Mr. Hu, does your company still have business during the Chinese New Year?"

Gibson expected that Hu Jiangshan probably didn't speak much British, or at least not very well, and would embarrass himself whenever he spoke to him.

Unexpectedly, Hu Jiangshan not only understood it, but also responded fluently in British English, almost at the level of a native speaker, except for a slight accent.

Gibson was somewhat surprised; this Asian man really did have some skills.

Hu Jiangshan replied, "Yes, some business can still be done during the Spring Festival, and some people will be on duty."

"What kind of business is it? Could you share it with us?"

Hu Jiangshan casually replied, "It's aerospace-related business."

"……what?"

Gibson, Eva, and Mills were all shocked, but Hu Mingqian was not too surprised.

Hu Mingqian seemed to have heard Hu Jiangshan mention that his company had some connection with the aerospace industry, but she didn't know the extent of that connection.

Gibson turned to look at Mills, clearly wanting him to step in.

Mills cleared his throat and asked in British English, "Mr. Hu, what exactly is this space business? Can we know more clearly? We can't just say it's launching rockets, can we?"

Hu Jiangshan laughed: "Mr. Mills, you guessed right, it really is a rocket launch."

"Huh? This... no way..."

Mills was shocked, and Gibson was completely dumbfounded. They looked at Hu Jiangshan as if he were an alien monster or a deep-sea Cthulhu.

That's outrageous, absolutely outrageous!

Gibson didn't believe a single word Hu Jiangshan said.

This guy is obviously bragging!
Gibson was so angry he laughed: "Mr. Hu, you're really something. How come I didn't know there was a Hong Kong company that could launch rockets? I've never heard of such a thing. You An, have you heard of it?"

Mills hesitated for a moment before saying, "I have indeed heard recently that there is a launch site on Hong Kong Island, and a rocket was launched there a while ago."

"W-what? Mills, are you serious?"

Mills nodded. He had spent quite a bit of time on Hong Kong Island and was fairly familiar with what was happening there.

But Mills didn't think that space launch site had anything to do with Hu Jiangshan in front of him.

It's common sense that a private company cannot operate a rocket launch site.

Just then, someone came in; it was the same receptionist who had greeted them earlier.

"Boss, Dr. Kong and his team have arrived and are in the main conference room."

Hu Jiangshan nodded: "Okay, I'll be right there."

The receptionist responded and left. Hu Jiangshan said to Hu Mingqian, "Qian, you guys can do whatever you want at the company. I'm going to a meeting. We can have lunch together if we have time."

Hu Mingqian nodded: "Okay, brother, you go ahead and get busy."

Hu Jiangshan left the meeting room.

Eva asked Hu Mingqian curiously, "Qian, can your brother's company really launch rockets?"

Hu Mingqian thought for a moment and said, "If he said it's okay, then it should be okay, right? He wouldn't lie, would he?"

"makes sense."

Gibson waved his hand: "That's impossible. I bet there's some misunderstanding."

Hu Mingqian was taken aback: "Misunderstanding? What do you mean?"

"I mean... he can launch rockets at people? I certainly don't believe it, Euan, do you?"

Mills said, "Based on my understanding of China's policies, it's impossible for a private company to have such a business."

Hu Mingqian was naturally unhappy and said, "No need to rush, I'll ask my brother again in a bit and you'll be convinced!"

Just then, the receptionist came in again, bringing a large fruit platter and a large box of pastries.

Gibson's eyes darted around, and he said, "Dear Hu, there's no need to ask your brother; asking her would probably be the same."

Hu Mingqian remained noncommittal, but thought it was a feasible idea, and she also wanted to know the situation as soon as possible.

Just as the receptionist was about to leave, Hu Mingfu called her back.

Hu Mingqian asked, "I haven't had a chance to ask my brother yet, what are the main businesses of this company?"

The receptionist said, "Our main business includes several items, such as aquaculture."

Gibson quickly asked Mills what the receptionist had said, and when he heard it was "aquaculture," he couldn't help but laugh.

Hu Mingqian then asked, "What about other businesses? What is my brother doing now?"

The receptionist thought for a moment and said, "They should be discussing the launch of the space probe right now."

Hu Mingqian's eyes widened: "A probe launch? A rocket launch?"

"Yes, a team came yesterday from the United States to discuss cooperation."

Mills was dumbfounded. When Gibson saw that his expression was off, he quickly asked what had been said.

When Gibson heard the translation, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and he couldn't utter a single word for a moment.

The receptionist smiled and said, "I'm not too sure about the specifics either. You should ask the boss later."

Hu Mingqian smiled slightly: "Okay, thank you."

After the receptionist left, Hu Mingqian looked at Gibson and said, "See? I wasn't wrong, was I? What my brother said was true. They're currently negotiating with the people from the United States, which shows that my brother's level of expertise is very high."

Gibson was speechless; no matter how much he looked at Mills, it was no use, and Mills couldn't refute him either.

Although Jiangshan Group may not be really that powerful, it at least appears to be quite impressive on the surface.

Hu Jiangshan didn't even take a break during the Chinese New Year; he was still holding meetings with people from the United States to discuss business. You can't say that Hu Jiangshan's company wasn't just a side project.

Eva said, "Qian, your brother is really amazing."

Hu Mingqian chuckled: "Of course. If he weren't capable, he wouldn't have been able to solve such a big problem for my dad. My dad even said that my brother's abilities are unfathomable."

Eva actually showed an expression of admiration, which made Gibson grit his teeth in hatred.

Meanwhile, Hu Jiangshan was negotiating with Kong Yanbin and others.

Kong Yanbin's team of more than a dozen people spent a long time inspecting the Tenglong Island Space Launch Site yesterday.

They examined every piece of equipment very carefully, down to the smallest detail, and even recorded everything. This can't be called an inspection; it's more like a survey.

Of course, Hu Jiangshan didn't care, which shows that the other party was indeed very serious and cautious, which is not a bad thing.

As for the possibility of leaking any secrets, that's highly unlikely. If it were that easy for someone to figure out anything, then the facility's security system would be useless.

At this time, there were not many people on either side of the meeting. Hu Jiangshan's side had three people, including Zhang Rui and Zheng Lingfei, while Kong Yanbin's side had five people, all of whom were core members of the team.

It is worth mentioning that Zheng Lingfei had already become a core member of the space launch site due to her outstanding performance, so she was qualified to participate in the negotiations this time.

Zheng Lingfei is still too young. She is in good spirits, but her eyes are red, which means she didn't sleep well last night.

This is actually quite normal, considering that the other party is a team from the United States, representing the Gas Group and Meta Technology, both of which are top-tier companies on Earth.

Of course, Kong Yanbin still maintained a very high stance, as if he could easily control Tenglong Island.

Hu Jiangshan didn't care about Kong Yanbin's attitude. The fact that the other party was sitting there meant that the other party couldn't find anything wrong with him.

Kong Yanbin said, "Mr. Hu, based on our inspection yesterday, we initially believe that you have certain technical capabilities."

Hu Jiangshan nodded without saying a word, waiting for Kong Yanbin to continue.

Kong Yanbin said, "Then we can formally discuss the cooperation. This is our offer."

As he spoke, Kong Yanbin showed Hu Jiangshan a number using a calculator: fifty million Lighthouse Yuan.

Catherine had already reported this number, and Hu Jiangshan had no objections. Please let Kong Yanbin continue.

Kong Yanbin said, "However, it's not so easy to get this lucrative order; we have some additional conditions."

Hu Jiangshan said, "Please tell me, and we can discuss it."

"We need technical personnel to be involved throughout the entire project phase."

At this point, Kong Yanbin looked at Hu Jiangshan's reaction. To Kong Yanbin's surprise, Hu Jiangshan didn't seem very surprised.

Hu Jiangshan said, "Full participation is possible, but it must be limited. Some positions should be handled by our staff."

"This one……"

Before Kong Yanbin could react, Hu Jiangshan added, "Furthermore, your side also needs to submit detailed functional data of the lunar orbiter, which must be filed with the China National Space Administration in advance."

"Oh no? That won't do!"

Kong Yanbin realized what was happening and waved his hand, saying, "Our detector has technical secrets, and some data absolutely cannot be submitted!"

Hu Jiangshan said calmly, "If we can't do that, then our cooperation can't be achieved."

Kong Yanbin glanced at Hu Jiangshan, but to his surprise, the other party became even more assertive.

While following the rules is fine, Kong Yanbin believes that matters concerning China can be discussed. For example, detailed versions of the detector's functional data don't necessarily need to be submitted; a general description would suffice.

Hu Jiangshan clearly did not mean that.

This won't do! Data from the advanced probes of the United States absolutely cannot be handed over to the Chinese space agency!

(End of this chapter)