Rebirth of Hong Kong Island, leading the technology war

Chapter 642 Short of money? The young lady just writes a check!
"Huh? There's such an event? How come I had no idea?" Hu Jiangshan was shocked. He hadn't expected the resort's operations team to make such a big deal out of his absence!

"Hey! You, Young Master Hu, are usually so busy with important matters like space launches and land reclamation. How could you possibly care about the details of our little entertainment activities?"

Feng Chao joked with a smile, "But to be honest, this is the first large-scale themed carnival we've held since our resort opened, and the results have been surprisingly good! We plan to hold a similar event with a different theme every month in the future, so that we can continue to attract visitors and make our resort business boom and thriving!"

"That's true, it's definitely a good idea to attract customers."

Hu Jiangshan had to admit that looking at the bustling, vibrant, and even somewhat international scene before him, he was quite impressed.

The Tenglong Island Resort is now quite well-developed, and its development speed and popularity have even exceeded his initial expectations.

"Hey Chaozi, was it you who came up with the idea of ​​this carnival?"

Hu Jiangshan guessed that he knew Feng Chao had a lot of ideas about catering and entertainment marketing.

"Hehe, Young Master Hu, you really guessed right!"

Feng Chao's face showed a hint of pride: "It was my idea! I reported this idea to Ms. Catherine, and she thought it was a great idea and approved it on the spot! To be honest, even I didn't expect that this event would be so successful and that so many people would come!"

Hu Jiangshan gave Feng Chao a thumbs up, a genuine smile of approval on his face, and said, "Chaozi, you did a really good job! You're really full of clever ideas! Your business acumen and planning skills are absolutely amazing!"

He secretly rejoiced, thinking that bringing Feng Chao from Hong Kong Island to Tenglong Island to help manage the catering and entertainment business was a wise and brilliant decision, and he hadn't misjudged the situation at all.

As the group was talking, they heard a slightly noisy series of footsteps coming from outside the ice room.

Leading the way were two tall, burly foreign men in black suits and sunglasses. Their imposing presence and aura clearly indicated they were professional security personnel.

Hu Jiangshan glanced up and immediately understood – this entourage meant Catherine had arrived. The two men were Catherine's personal bodyguards.

Sure enough, Catherine Gates appeared at the door right after.

Today, Catherine was dressed very casually, wearing a white baseball cap that covered her natural brown hair, a simple knit sweater and jeans, and sneakers. She looked like a refreshing and neat girl next door, full of youthful energy.

Her outfit, if you don't look closely at the slightly Western-style three-dimensional features between her eyebrows and eyes, makes it difficult to immediately recognize that she is a foreign girl, making her seem very down-to-earth.

Catherine spotted Hu Jiangshan sitting by the window at a glance, and waved to him with a smile from afar as a greeting.

Then she turned her gaze to Feng Chao beside her, smiled and nodded at him, her attitude very friendly.

Feng Chao was flattered and quickly stepped forward, his face beaming with a warm smile. He said, "Ms. Catherine, you've arrived! Please come in, please come in! The best private room has been prepared for you and Young Master Hu. It's quiet and comfortable, and we guarantee you won't be disturbed!"

A moment later, in the elegant and private private room that Feng Chao had specially arranged, Hu Jiangshan and Catherine sat facing each other.

On the small mahogany tea table in the middle, Feng Chao's signature tea snacks and a set of exquisite tea utensils have already been set out.

As expected, Catherine brought the excellent tea she had mentioned, opened it herself, and a delicate tea aroma immediately wafted out.

Soon, a well-trained waiter came in and skillfully brewed tea for the two of them.

The three of them sipped their fragrant tea and chatted casually, naturally turning to the unprecedented island carnival that was being held over the past two days.

Catherine was clearly in a very good mood, praising the event's great success. She especially commended Feng Chao's planning and execution abilities, believing that Feng Chao not only had a business mind but also demonstrated high skill in event creativity, attention to detail, and creating a lively atmosphere, showing remarkable quick thinking.

Feng Chao was a little embarrassed by the praise and waved his hands modestly, but he couldn't hide the pride on his face.

He took the opportunity to say to Hu Jiangshan, "Young Master Hu, look, our carnival party will be lively for several days, and the programs are all wonderful! Now that you're here, don't rush to leave. Why don't you stay here and enjoy the experience!"

Hu Jiangshan thought about it for a moment and felt that the idea was indeed good.

He had planned to bring Chen Yifei over tomorrow to relax, and the timing was perfect, as they would arrive just in time for the carnival's most exciting ending.

However, recalling the current situation where rooms are hard to find at the resort, he couldn't help but worry and asked, "It's good to have a place to stay, but the key question is, are there any rooms available now? Judging from how popular our resort is, I'm afraid it's already been impossible to find a room for a long time, right?"

As he spoke, his gaze shifted to Catherine.

Upon hearing this, Catherine elegantly picked up her teacup, took a small sip, and replied with a smile, "Mr. Hu, you don't need to worry about that at all. I always have a few suites with the best views that are not available for booking, just in case. Arranging one for you is no problem at all."

"that would be great!"

Hu Jiangshan was overjoyed: "Then please reserve two days for me. I just made an appointment with a friend to come over tomorrow, and we can all experience the Tenglong Island Carnival together!"

"No problem, I'll let the front desk know in advance."

Catherine readily agreed: "Just go to the front desk and give them your name, and they'll check you in."

"Thank you so much, Catherine!" Hu Jiangshan said sincerely.

Feng Chao was a very perceptive person. Seeing that the important matters had been discussed to a sufficient extent, he felt that if he stayed any longer, he might be seen as a third wheel. Or perhaps he did have a lot of things to do outside. So, after chatting with them for a little while longer, he tactfully made an excuse to get up and leave the private room, leaving the space to Hu Jiangshan and Catherine.

After Feng Chao left, the private room fell silent for a while.

Hu Jiangshan picked up the teapot and refilled Catherine's cup with hot tea. He casually started a conversation, saying, "Catherine, to be honest, it's a real surprise to run into you here today. I thought you had already returned to the United States. It seems you really love Tenglong Island and have forgotten all about it?"

Catherine picked up her teacup, tilted her head to look at Hu Jiangshan, and asked with a playful tone, "What? Mr. Hu, aren't you happy that I'm staying here? Do you think I should go back now?" "How could I!" Hu Jiangshan quickly waved his hand with a smile, "Of course I hope you can stay here a little longer! That way, after I finish my work on the island, I can come over from time to time to have tea or coffee with you, chat about life, and talk about our ideals. How pleasant would that be!"

Catherine chuckled at his words and said, "Alright then, but I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. I have to leave tomorrow."

Hu Jiangshan was taken aback upon hearing this: "Tomorrow? You're leaving so soon?"

"Correct."

Catherine nodded, her tone becoming slightly more formal: "My father has some matters to attend to, which I need to take care of back home. I might have to stay there for a while. But I estimate I'll be back in about two months. Then we can talk at our leisure."

Hu Jiangshan nodded in understanding: "Oh, is that so? Okay, things at home are more important. Anyway, transportation is convenient now, so you're free to come and go as you please."

For a top-tier heiress like Catherine, traveling from the United States to Hong Kong Island and then to Teng Lung Island is indeed a piece of cake.

Traveling by family private jet takes only a dozen hours, so it's not an obstacle at all.

At this moment, Hu Jiangshan had a slight thought and remembered something, so he said, "By the way, Catherine, when you come again in the future, maybe you could try to have your plane land directly on Tenglong Island."

Catherine blinked her beautiful eyes, a look of interest on her face: "Land directly here? Is that possible? I remember..."

She seemed to remember something: "By the way, isn't there a runway next to your space launch site? That runway should be able to take off and land airplanes, right?"

Hu Jiangshan smiled and replied confidently, "Of course! That runway was built to high standards from the beginning, and it can handle small and medium-sized passenger planes and business jets without any problem. However, we may need to apply to the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Authority for a fixed route and complete the registration procedures so that we can come and go frequently and land directly here, saving us the trouble of transferring to a ferry from Hong Kong Island."

Catherine thought for a moment and said decisively, "Leave the application for the air route to me. It just so happens that I have some things to take care of at the Hong Kong government before I leave tomorrow, so I can apply for this air route while I'm at it. It shouldn't be a big problem."

"That would be even better! It would save me the trouble of going through all those procedures." Hu Jiangshan was happy to have some free time.

Moreover, it would actually be more advantageous for Hu Jiangshan to have Catherine apply on his behalf.

This will make him appear more low-key and avoid unnecessary gossip and criticism.

After all, Hu Jiangshan has been in the limelight recently, which has attracted the attention and even jealousy of some people, which is not a good thing for him.

As the saying goes, "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down." Why not use Catherine as a shield to protect us from both open and hidden attacks?

Catherine seemed to have thought of something and asked, "By the way, Mr. Hu, did you come all the way to the island for some important business? You seemed quite preoccupied earlier."

Hu Jiangshan felt there was nothing to hide, so he told him the truth: "There is indeed an important matter concerning land reclamation."

"Reclaiming land from the sea?"

Upon hearing those four words, Catherine's azure eyes lit up, and she sat up slightly, showing great interest: "Mr. Hu, where are you planning to reclaim land? Could it be... near Tenglong Island? Are you expanding the island?"

Hu Jiangshan nodded approvingly: "Catherine, it's so easy talking to you, you're so smart! You guessed it right away! It's about reclaiming a new piece of land in the outer sea area on the east side of Tenglong Island, to expand the actual usable area of ​​Tenglong Island."

Catherine looked slightly puzzled: "But Mr. Hu, Tenglong Island is already quite large, and its ecological environment is perfect. Why spend so much money to make it even bigger? Do you have some particularly large new project to launch?"

"There is indeed a big project,"

Hu Jiangshan affirmed, "The main purpose is to expand the island's space launch site. In the future, there will be some larger and more advanced launch facilities, which will require large areas of contiguous flat land to build. However, the existing land on the island is not suitable and does not meet the conditions for building those facilities."

"So it was for the space launch site..."

Catherine looked enlightened, then raised her teacup in a gesture of respect: "Then I must wish you a speedy and successful completion of this massive land reclamation project!"

Hu Jiangshan raised his teacup and clinked it with hers, but a wry smile appeared on his face: "Thank you for your kind words, but I'm afraid this matter won't be so easy, and it won't go too smoothly."

Catherine keenly noticed a hint of unease in his expression and asked with concern, "What's wrong? From what I'm saying, Mr. Hu, have you encountered some difficulties? Is it technical, or...?"

Hu Jiangshan hesitated for a moment, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the rim of the teacup.

He was weighing whether or not to ask Catherine for the money. After all, asking a woman, especially a friend like Catherine, for money felt a little, well, a little unmanly, a little embarrassing.

Catherine was very clever; seeing his hesitant expression, she guessed about 70-80% of what was going on.

She smiled gently and said in a relaxed and frank tone, "Mr. Hu, we're so familiar with each other, and we've been through a lot together. What can't we say to each other? There's no need to hold back. If you have any difficulties, just tell me. If I can help, I will do my best. If I can't, at least I can be a patient listener and let you vent to relieve some of your stress, right?"

Upon hearing her words, Hu Jiangshan's initial unease vanished instantly.

He cursed himself inwardly, "Yeah, why be so indecisive and hesitant? This isn't like me."

So he took a deep breath and said directly, "Actually, it's not a huge problem. It's just that this project is currently facing a slight funding shortfall."

Upon hearing this, Catherine's expression remained unchanged; she simply asked calmly and naturally, "How much are you short?"

Hu Jiangshan tried to keep his tone calm: "Actually, it's not that much, maybe just a few tens of millions short." He was referring to Hong Kong dollars.

(End of this chapter)