Return to 1958 and build a century-old giant

Chapter 963 Heading to Shandong Province
A few days later, Yang Wendong met with Director Lin again;
Director Lin said, "Mr. Yang, we have agreed to all of your previous requests, except for the ten supermarkets that require approval from the central government."

“Okay, then I will also arrange for several teams from Hong Kong to come to Shanghai to negotiate with you.” Yang Wendong readily agreed.
He needed to relocate his industry anyway, and now that he can complete the relocation while also gaining some additional benefits, that's enough.

Director Lin smiled and said, "Alright, then may I ask, Mr. Yang, where in Pudong would you like to invest?"

Pudong is also a very large area.

Yang Wendong looked at the Shanghai map in the hotel, then drew an area along the Huangpu River and said, "This area will do. I need to find a place along the river to build a factory."
This way, the river water can be fully utilized to reduce logistics costs, making it very convenient whether selling domestically or exporting abroad.

When choosing a location, it's natural to choose one by the river, just like in Hong Kong, where locations near the sea are very valuable unless they are too remote.
Moreover, the Huangpu River is still freshwater on this side;
Of course, the Huangpu River is still a bit polluted now, but it will be much better in a decade or so.

Director Lin glanced at the map and didn't think much of it, as this was a normal choice. He said, "Okay, but there are some residents and small factories in this area, so it will probably involve a lot of demolition."

“We will not participate in the demolition process, but I agree to provide the demolition party with normal compensation. The specific price can be calculated in addition to the land price.”

Yang Wendong is not a stingy person. He has already acquired a large area along the river in Pudong, so he won't be too stingy with the people living on this land now.

At the very least, building some new houses or providing financial compensation in a similar location would be appropriate;
When doing big business, just focus on the big profits. The smaller ones can be left to partners and other stakeholders. Only in this way will others be willing to cooperate with you.
Director Lin smiled and said, "Okay, if that's the case, then there's not much of a problem."

"Okay, how things go next depends on the negotiations between our two teams," Yang Wendong continued.
The decision of how much land to acquire was naturally left to his subordinates.

On the one hand, I don't know much about industry, so I need a professional to handle the negotiations in this area;

On the other hand, even if one wants more money, one should not say it out loud, otherwise what is the point of supporting so many subordinates?
Director Lin said, "Okay, the municipal government has invited you to a banquet tonight, what do you think?"

“No problem, I will definitely arrive on time.” Yang Wendong would naturally not refuse such a business banquet.

"Okay, I'll head back now," Director Lin said.

Yang Wendong suddenly added, "By the way, Director Lin, I plan to travel to Shandong Province in two days. Please discuss with the railway department to get me a private carriage."

When traveling to other cities within mainland China, he still doesn't like to fly; taking the train is more suitable for him.

Trains in this era don't travel fast, so you can open the windows to keep warm and also enjoy the many natural landscapes of the motherland—a win-win situation.
"Shandong Province?" Director Lin immediately asked, "Should we notify Shandong Province to prepare for our welcome?"

Yang Wendong said, "Let's give them a heads-up, but don't have any grand welcoming ceremony. Just have someone pick us up there."

Given his wealth, wherever he goes, the local government must treat him with utmost care.

A few times he did it well, but after a while, Yang Wendong felt it was pointless, a waste of time, and tiring. He figured he might as well just do what he was supposed to do.

Director Lin said, "Okay, may I tell you the purpose of your trip to Shandong Province so that they can make preparations?"

"No need, I'm just going to take a look around." Yang Wendong didn't say anything more.
Upon seeing this, Director Lin said, "Okay, I'll go right away."

Two days later, Yang Wendong boarded a train to Shandong Province.

After a day of slow travel, the train arrived in Qingdao City, Shandong Province, where a group of officials from Qingdao City came to the train station to welcome it.

Yang Wendong shook hands with everyone present one by one to get to know them. At the same time, he also observed that an area inside the station had been almost cleared out, and there were a large number of police officers and plainclothes officers around.
He was quite calm about this, as it was the norm. Even though he wanted to keep a low profile, his status was too special, and no place dared to disregard it.
A slight deficiency in etiquette is not a big deal, but the real concern is security issues. If a security incident were to occur to the head of a top Hong Kong conglomerate like him, it would be big news both domestically and internationally.

This approach provides a certain level of protection for Yang Wendong's safety; after all, the crackdown in the 80s wasn't carried out because the environment was too good.

After exchanging pleasantries at the train station, everyone headed to the Kiyoshima City Hall, where a simple welcoming ceremony was held. Yang Wendong couldn't refuse, so he naturally participated as well.
That evening, they had dinner at a nearby upscale guesthouse, where Yang Wendong even ate bear paw for the first time.

Clearly, at this time, the country's wildlife protection law had not yet been fully enacted, and even if it had been enacted, it probably wouldn't have been taken seriously at the beginning.

Yang Wendong didn't mind eating out occasionally;
In fact, the nutrition of wild animals is not necessarily much better than that of domesticated animals. On the contrary, they are at risk of being infected with various viruses and bacteria, which is what worries him.
However, such things are difficult to prevent, not to mention individuals, even at the national level. So he doesn't feel any psychological pressure, as long as he doesn't do it intentionally.
That evening, Yang Wendong checked into the most luxurious guesthouse in the area. The conditions were naturally not comparable to those in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, which made him realize once again that there was still a large untapped market in the domestic hotel industry.

The next day, Yang Wendong got up feeling a bit tired; he hadn't slept very well the night before.

Upon seeing this, Secretary Huang quickly asked, "Mr. Yang, did you not sleep well last night?"

"You look pretty much the same," Yang Wendong said casually to those around him, at least outside of work hours. "Your dark circles are quite noticeable too."

Xiao Huang said, "Yes, there were a lot of mosquitoes last night. Even though there was a mosquito net, I could still hear the mosquitoes outside. Some mosquitoes even managed to fly in."
Then I lit mosquito coils, but the smell was too strong, and since I have a pre-existing condition called congenital rhinitis, I felt uncomfortable all night.

"Mosquito coils?" Yang Wendong suddenly thought of something and said, "Xiao Huang, make a note of mosquito coils. When we get back to Hong Kong, call Zhao Liming and tell him that he can make this product in the lighter factory in China. There should be a lot of demand for it in China."

He wasn't really interested in this kind of small business, but since he'd thought of it, it wouldn't hurt to give it to his brother. He happened to be making lighters and mosquito coils in China, so it was somewhat related to that business.
"Yes, Mr. Yang," Xiao Huang replied.

Yang Wendong added, "Also, inform Tang Sheng to start building new Four Seasons hotels in provincial capitals outside of major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. That way, we'll have somewhere to stay when we visit different provinces in the future." The Four Seasons Hotels had already invested in top-tier cities in China a long time ago, but hadn't yet begun investing in the next tier of cities.
It has been 85 years now. Although the pace of reform and opening up in China has sometimes been inconsistent, overall it has been moving forward. By 92, it was fully open.

Once fully open, there will inevitably be more overseas tourists and business travelers, which will lead to a higher demand for hotels.

Xiao Huang said, "Okay."

Yang Wendong then asked, "Have you prepared the information about Haier that I asked you to look up?"

The core purpose of this trip to Qingdao City is, of course, to visit Haier, the most well-known company in my previous life.
This company didn't even need Yang Wendong to deliberately collect information, because last year, its factory director Zhang Ruimin smashed 76 substandard refrigerators, which was exposed in the newspapers and made it an instant national sensation.

It must be said that this was one of the most classic marketing campaigns in human history.
If it was just a coincidence, then Haier was lucky; if it was deliberate, then Yang Wendong was even more impressed. This kind of marketing ability is far superior to the "small print mode" or "phones thinner than coins" that came decades later.

Being good at marketing is a skill in itself. In an era where technology is mature, being able to market and attract consumers' attention is even more difficult than having technical skills.

Of course, a normal company needs both marketing and technology.

Xiao Huang quickly took out a document from his bag and said, "Mr. Yang, this was prepared before we came to the mainland. Please take a look."

Yang Wendong took the documents, glanced at them, and said, "Okay, let them know, we'll go to the Haier factory right away."

"Is it in such a hurry?" Xiao Huang asked tentatively. "Should we give them some time to prepare?"

"No need. I'm not going to inspect anything. Besides, I just want to see what Haier is like now," Yang Wendong said, shaking his head.
He was actually quite curious and wanted to see these remarkable figures from history.

It's important to understand that his success was due to his prophetic abilities, while many Americans succeed because of technological innovation.
However, in the domestic environment, much of the technology relies on imports, making it extremely difficult to succeed.

So he also wanted to see the real Haier factory;

Xiao Huang said, "Okay."

In a factory in Laoshan District, Qingdao City, a phone suddenly rang. A woman answered the phone and hurriedly ran out.

Inside the factory, a middle-aged man was discussing something with a group of workers when suddenly a familiar voice called out from afar, "Factory Manager Zhang."
When I turned around, it was my secretary, Xiao Liu;

Xiao Liu ran over breathlessly and said, "Director Zhang, there's an urgent telegram from the municipal government. Mr. Yang Wendong from Hong Kong is coming to our factory soon."

"Yang Wendong, is that the richest Chinese person in the world from Hong Kong?" Zhang Ruimin was startled when he heard this;
Although he was based in mainland China, he was, after all, the manager of a medium-sized factory and had some understanding of the situation overseas.
Yang Wendong, a famous figure from Hong Kong, is a household name abroad and can be considered one of the most famous Chinese people in the world.

Xiao Liu said, "Yes."

"He'll come to Qingdao City? Why would he choose our factory? When will he come?" Zhang Ruimin asked three questions in a row.

Xiao Liu replied, "He'll be here soon. Yang Wendong arrived in Qingdao City yesterday, but didn't say where he was going. This morning he told the municipal government that he wanted to visit our factory, so he called immediately."

"So urgent." Zhang Ruimin was speechless. But time was of the essence, so he immediately said, "Hurry up. Everyone except the employees who are in normal production, clean up the area immediately. Make sure everyone pays attention and doesn't smoke or spit anywhere. Be careful. This is even more important than when people from the province come to inspect."

Although the purpose of Yang Wendong's visit is unknown, people of his caliber are considered top-tier guests in Beijing, let alone those from their small factory.

"Okay." Everyone immediately dispersed to get to work;

Less than an hour later, a line of cars drove into the Haier factory, which attracted the attention of many workers. In this day and age, it is really not easy to see cars, especially such a large number.
Zhang Ruimin stood at the door with a group of people, discussing quietly with those around him;

"Factory manager, why did Yang Wendong come to our factory?" Xiao Liu asked.
Zhang Ruimin thought for a moment and said, "I guess it's because of the refrigerator incident. Only this incident could have drawn Yang Wendong's attention, but I'm not sure why he came to our factory."

Haier's factory is of a certain size in Qingdao City, but it is neither big nor small in the whole country. It even faces many difficulties in applying for foreign exchange to purchase overseas equipment.
The only explanation is that his previous act of smashing the refrigerator made the news, which is why this top Hong Kong tycoon took notice.

"I guess so." Xiao Liu nodded and said, "Factory manager, you're really shrewd. You only smashed a few dozen refrigerators, and you got Haier featured in the People's Daily. This time you even attracted Hong Kong tycoons. Maybe we can even get them to invest. You've really got a brilliant idea!"

"What do you mean by 'cunning and shrewd'? That's a derogatory term, don't talk nonsense." Zhang Ruimin was too lazy to say anything more. If he continued, people might think he had deliberately created news back then.

Soon, everyone got out of the car. Director Shen of the Industrial Bureau of Qingdao City said, "Mr. Yang, this is Zhang Ruimin, the factory director of Haier Factory. Mr. Zhang, this is Mr. Yang Wendong from Hong Kong."

"Hello, Mr. Yang," Zhang Ruimin quickly stepped forward to greet him.

"Mr. Zhang, hello. I saw the news about you smashing refrigerators last year. It's really rare to see someone who values ​​quality so much in this environment," Yang Wendong said with a smile.

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(End of this chapter)