Rebirth of Hong Kong Island, leading the technology war

Chapter 516 Performing an Exorbitant Demand

Kong Yanbin's ideas are very much in line with the consciousness of their group, which is the so-called "self-hatred".

These people wake up every morning cursing themselves for not looking like Westerners and hating that they were born into the wrong family.

They are ashamed of their ethnic group and do not believe that this group can produce anything sophisticated.

If it exists, and it wasn't bought, then it was stolen.

Therefore, Kong Yanbin was quite uncomfortable with cooperating with Tenglong Island. Fortunately, Tenglong Island is located in Hong Kong Island. If it were in mainland China, Kong Yanbin would definitely not have taken the job.

Kong Yanbin said, "We can compile instruction documents, but we cannot give you detailed values ​​and functions."

Hu Jiangshan said calmly, "Dr. Kong, who do you represent?"

"...Huh? Mr. Hu, you understand?"

"What I mean is, are you speaking on behalf of the Gas Group and Meta Technology?"

"This……"

Kong Yanbin looked at the other members of the team; they were the ones from the Gas Group and Meta Technology.

Neither Guise nor Zakbard said they would not provide detailed numerical and functional specifications when communicating with Kong Yanbin.

In other words, this was a scene that Kong Yanbin added himself.

It was Kong Yanbin himself who was unwilling to do so.

Hu Jiangshan said, "Dr. Kong, you may not know this, but I already mentioned this matter when I communicated with Ms. Catherine Guise. She clearly stated that she could give us the detailed information and then file it with the China National Space Administration."

Kong Yanbin's eyes popped out of their sockets: "Katherine Guise? Mr. Guise's..."

Someone nearby whispered to him that she was Mr. Bill Guise's daughter.

Kong Yanbin let out a breath, thinking to himself, "What a mess! How did Mr. Guise's daughter discuss this with Hu Jiangshan beforehand?"

Kong Yanbin still tried to argue, saying, "That was just talk, not a formal negotiation, so how can it be taken as evidence?"

Hu Jiangshan said calmly, "Alright, Dr. Kong, you can take some time to consult with Mr. Guise and Mr. Zachary Burke and ask them what they think."

Kong Yanbin was stunned: "What do you mean? Boss Hu, you're not right to say that. I have all the authorization from them."

"Can you make this decision?"

"Yes, of course."

Hu Jiangshan said, "Okay, if you can't submit detailed functional data, then our cooperation can't be finalized. Our company must comply with the regulations of the relevant departments."

Kong Yanbin said dismissively, "Don't think I don't know. What regulations are there? They're not strictly enforced. Most projects are just shoddy."

Hu Jiangshan smiled slightly: "Dr. Kong, I advise you not to live in the past."

Kong Yanbin's expression turned ugly: "I live in the past? You, what do you mean? Explain yourself!"

“I’ve made it very clear, how long has Dr. Kong been abroad?”

"What does this have to do with you?"

"That's why I'm telling you not to live in the past. Besides, the past wasn't as carefree as Dr. Kong said. The regulations of the relevant departments are regulations, and there's no way to get around them."

Kong Yanbin narrowed his eyes: "Mr. Hu, when did Hong Kong become like this? As far as I know, you weren't like this before."

Hu Jiangshan glanced at Kong Yanbin: "If Dr. Kong doesn't want to talk, he can leave and we can talk to someone else."

"you……"

Kong Yanbin's face was contorted with anger. He had originally thought that Hu Jiangshan was young and wanted to take advantage of him, but he was instead humiliated by the other party. It was outrageous!

Hu Jiangshan took a sip of coffee and said nothing more.

Hu Jiangshan's attitude seemed arrogant, but he was actually putting pressure on the other party. Zhang Rui knew his boss well, so he didn't think anything of it. However, Shi Lingfei was attending such an important meeting for the first time and admired her boss immensely. He was really awesome.

The other side is a top-notch team from the United States, led by Dr. Kong, who is of Chinese descent. They seem like very cunning old foxes.

The boss showed no stage fright whatsoever, and even managed to suppress the other party's aura, making the other party seem like a child, completely powerless to resist.

It's worth noting that Hu Jiangshan is quite young, looking no more than thirty years old, yet he can handle such a large-scale event.

He truly lives up to his reputation as a big boss!

At this moment, Kong Yanbin seemed to have sobered up a bit and said, "Okay, let's discuss the functional data again."

Hu Jiangshan nodded: "Okay, I have another request."

Kong Yanbin paused, then asked, "What are your requirements?"

"If you want your technical staff to participate in the entire project, you will need to pay an additional service fee."

"Huh? Fifty million isn't enough?"

Hu Jiangshan said, "It's not enough."

Kong Yanbin asked, "Mr. Hu, how much more would you like to add?"

Hu Jiangshan held up one finger.

Kong Yanbin asked, "One million?"

"Ten million."

"You, you...this is impossible, it's too high!"

Kong Yanbin never expected Hu Jiangshan to ask for ten million, especially in Lighthouse Yuan. In his opinion, it was a typical case of asking for the moon, which was simply outrageous.

Hu Jiangshan said, "Dr. Kong, I think your side can also have a good discussion. We can find a time to continue the conversation."

As he spoke, Hu Jiangshan stood up and said to Zhang Rui, "Dr. Zhang, why don't you entertain them? I'll be leaving for a bit. Call me if you need anything."

Zhang Rui nodded: "Okay, I understand, boss."

Hu Jiangshan left so readily, leaving Kong Yanbin and the others dumbfounded and speechless.

It took Kong Yanbin a long time to speak: "This, this, does your boss even want to talk? He's just leaving?"

Zhang Rui smiled and said politely, "Dr. Kong, the boss has left, but we're still here. You can talk to me, but our boss also said that you should discuss the two conditions he mentioned earlier. Our boss put them very seriously."

"Are you kidding me? He's asking for an extra ten million Lighthouse Dollars right off the bat. Why doesn't he just rob us?!"

Zhang Rui calmly took a sip of coffee, offering no response to Kong Yanbin's hysteria.

Kong Yanbin wanted to go crazy, but he couldn't. He felt like he had energy but nowhere to channel it, and his stomach was pounding with anger, as if it was about to explode.

Sitting next to him, Li Chenyu was worried that Kong Yanbin would explode and he would be caught in the crossfire.

At this moment, Li Chenyu noticed Kong Yanbin looking over and asked, "Professor, what do we do now?"

"What can we do? What else can we do? Let's contact them!"

Meanwhile, across the ocean, in the beacon nation of West Asia.

It's already evening, and the setting sun is shining on the surface of Huasheng Lake, making it look like it's been dyed with a layer of gold. It's absolutely beautiful.

In her spacious, palatial living room, Kathryn Guise sipped tea and gazed at the lake through the large floor-to-ceiling windows, enjoying a tranquil and serene moment.

Although Catherine didn't consider herself a rich kid or an aristocrat, to others she certainly possessed an air of nobility. This was quite different from the spoiled rich kids in the United States and other countries.

Leaving aside other places, few of the children of the wealthy in the United States are doing well these days. Almost all of them have entered into a hedonistic frenzy, attending endless parties every day, gatherings with all sorts of strange themes and bizarre purposes. And the practice of using needles and even more outrageous behaviors is everywhere.

This situation will become even more serious in the next few years or even the next decade or so, to the point that normal people will be unable to integrate into their society.

Catherine didn't have that kind of habit at all, and she really didn't fit in with the people in the circle, to the point that those people didn't dare to approach her much.

Just then, someone walked over. It was Catherine's father, Bill Guise, a well-known tech mogul on Earth.

Bill Guise sat down opposite Catherine, glanced at the teapot, and asked, "What would you like to drink?"

Catherine replied, "It's Chinese tea that I brought from Hong Kong Island. It tastes quite good. You should try it."

As she spoke, Catherine poured Gus a cup of tea.

Guss took a sip and exclaimed, "It's really good, excellent, much better than British black tea. Catherine, you still have such a good eye for quality."

Catherine said, "Daddy, you may not know this, but all the black tea in Britain comes from Barat."

Gus raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Really? This is the first time I've heard of this."

Catherine asked, "Daddy, how are the negotiations going? Have they come to a result?"

Gus shook his head, glanced at the time, and said, "They're probably still negotiating. This negotiation process is going to be very long, and it's probably not going to be easy. Catherine, what are your thoughts?"

Catherine took a sip of tea and replied, "I don't really have any thoughts on that. I'm only concerned about my resort. I just don't think Dr. Kong is very reliable. He might mess things up."

Guss sighed, "There's nothing we can do about it. I don't think it'll turn out well either. Who knows what that guy will do?"

Gus then asked, "By the way, how's the preparation for your resort operations team going?"

"It's basically complete. In a few days, after the Chinese New Year, it will be able to enter the trial operation phase."

"That's perfect. May I stay at your resort for a few days?"

"Of course you can. You must stay there. It will be a great publicity opportunity. Just say that the famous former tech leader Bill Gates stayed at the resort. The publicity effect will be very good."

Guss was somewhat helpless, but he also thought the idea was really good.

The key point is that Gus did advertising for his daughter Catherine without receiving any advertising fees; in fact, he had to pay out of his own pocket.

There was nothing he could do; the beautiful girl in front of him was his precious daughter, Gus.

Just then, Gus's phone rang; it was his assistant calling.

Gus answered the call, his expression changing slightly, and said, "Okay, Henry, I understand. Tell him to get ready."

After hanging up, Gus used the remote control to turn on the large LCD TV on the wall. It was a very special brand of TV, and it seemed that it could not be bought on the market.

In fact, most of the appliances in Gus's home were custom-made, and some were even products from his own company.

There are two advantages. First, it is of good quality, made with good materials, and is not prone to problems.

The second advantage is high privacy and security, ensuring that the Gas family's affairs will not be leaked.

For top billionaires like Guss, the second benefit is the most important. After all, many people are watching their family affairs, including the intelligence agencies of the United States, which will also include their family as a target of surveillance.

Of course, another characteristic of custom-made items is that they are very expensive.

However, for the Guise family, this was not a drawback and was not worth mentioning.

The TV in the Gus family's house can make video calls.

This feature was not unusual in the years that followed, but few LCD TV models in 2019 could do it.

Catherine asked curiously, "Daddy, what's wrong?"

Gus replied, "Dr. Kong will be requesting a video conference in a little while; he has something important to discuss."

"Oh, I guess the negotiations have come to an end."

"I only hope that Dr. Kong brings good news."

It's clear that Gus really wants to establish a cooperative relationship with Hu Jiangshan.

Not only did the intelligence agencies of the United States want to know the details of Tenglong Island, but Gus himself also wanted to know, although their purposes were different.

Guise wants to have a deeper and more in-depth cooperation with the Tenglong Island Space Launch Site, not to bring down Tenglong Island.

Soon, a video conference invitation arrived, and Guss pressed the "accept" button.

First, they saw Kong Yanbin's face, and then Zakaborg joined in.

Several other people did not show their faces, including intelligence personnel of considerable rank, as well as members of the stonemasons' guild leadership, possibly Chalod, Dickinson, or both.

In theory, members of the leadership team would not speak at such public meetings; they would only listen in.

It's not because the leadership team isn't high-ranking enough to have a say; on the contrary, it's because they are too important figures, beyond the imagination of ordinary people, so their existence cannot be easily known.

This is the status of the behind-the-scenes bigwigs in the industry.

Kong Yanbin first greeted the attendees.

Zakbark asked, "Dr. Kong, has there been any result in the negotiations with Tenglong Island?"

Kong Yanbin's expression was somewhat unnatural as he replied, "It's just come to an end for now."

"Oh, is there a problem? Why are so many people being called to a meeting?"

Kong Yanbin said, "There is indeed an important matter to discuss with everyone. Hu Jiangshan, who is the owner of Tenglong Island, has made some demands, which, frankly speaking, are a bit excessive. So I would like to ask for everyone's opinion."

Concabak paused, then said, "They've made an unreasonable demand? Interesting. Do they think they have the right to do so?"

"He clearly felt he was qualified."

Guss said, "Alright, Dr. Kong, tell me, what kind of request did he make?"

Kong Yanbin then recounted the process of negotiating with Hu Jiangshan in great detail.

In conclusion, Hu Jiangshan made two requests.

The first requirement is to provide detailed functional data for the lunar orbiter.

The second demand is for more money, specifically ten million Lighthouse Dollars.

Upon hearing this, Concabock's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and he exclaimed, "What? How dare he?! That Chinese man surnamed Hu is utterly unreasonable!"

Gus fell silent, saying nothing.

Kong Yanbin asked, "Everyone, what should we do? Should we agree to Mr. Hu's demands? Or should we suspend negotiations?"

A voice asked, "Dr. Kong, what is your opinion?"

Kong Yanbin replied, "I believe we should reject their demands and suspend negotiations!"

The voice said, "No! We must continue negotiating!"

"……what?"

(End of this chapter)