Debuted right after graduating from high school

Chapter 702 Follow-up
I've been busy in Yanjing for several days, and haven't had a proper rest day or night.

After finishing his work, Fan Wumian took a private plane straight to Macau.

Regarding Gao Yuanyuan's decision to break up, he felt that a cooling-off approach was more appropriate and planned to leave the choice to her.

Staying by his side would only allow her to be his mistress, unable to provide the perfect family he desired. If Gao Yuanyuan truly couldn't accept this and hoped to have a normal relationship, then there was nothing he could do.

The purpose of this visit to Aocheng is to have a serious discussion with representatives from Aocheng and Guangdong Province about circumventing the 50% joint venture restriction and investing in and building an automobile production base in the Hengqin Special Economic Zone with sole proprietorship.

He received some support from Yanjing in advance, and policies such as tax reduction, sole proprietorship, low-price land acquisition, and talent settlement were negotiable. However, it had to be done in the name of "supporting enterprises in Macau" to avoid trouble from German, American, and Japanese car companies, who accused him of favoritism and unfair treatment.

Considering that Macau is located in the mainland, bypassing the restriction that imported cars require joint ventures is barely acceptable, which can save Fan Wumian a lot of trouble.

There are many key issues that need to be discussed.

He hopes to move the new factories for Jaguar and Land Rover from the UK to the mainland, reducing costs and tariffs while also adjusting the parts supply chain to avoid being taken advantage of by middlemen and being held hostage by them.

In addition to the production base, a research and development center has also been planned. The reason why Land Rover had so many minor problems after it was acquired by India's Tata Group in its previous life was partly because the research and development was led by the Indian team.

Fan Wumian is not in a hurry to launch a new model. He wants to overhaul the entire vehicle from the inside out, solidify the foundation, and thus increase market competitiveness.

And so, several more busy days passed.

During this period, a group of international speculative funds tried every means to boost A-shares, successfully pushing the Shanghai Composite Index to break through 4000 points again.

It's rare for a stock to break out of its own market trend, but it bucked the trend and surged despite the escalating subprime crisis.

Anyone with eyes to see can tell that the bubble is starting to inflate, but stock market investors are as happy as if it were Chinese New Year, much like the gamblers in the casinos of Macau.

A deeper understanding of the real world reveals that many people in mainland China are overprotected. They are unaware of the brutal reality of the capital market and how the "developed countries in Europe and America," which are touted by public intellectuals as paradise, maintain their respectable and high-welfare social systems by exploiting the entire world.

This time, Fan Wumian was only interested in watching the show and was holding his cash to prepare for buying at the bottom. Many of the people who were busy celebrating in the market were the same netizens who had previously been criticizing him without restraint, so it was hard for him to feel much sympathy for them.

In contrast, countless truly discerning investors are busy buying Bosera Funds, Mainland Mountain Bandit King Funds, or even the latest high-return annuity insurance from New China Life Insurance, or commercial pension insurance.

Although the Shanghai Composite Index has returned to 4000 points, his previous actions were not entirely in vain.

The difference is that in the previous life, the rise started from more than 4000 points, while this time it started from 3400 points. In between, two or three precious months were lost, which meant that speculators did not have time to slowly build up the bubble, and had to cash out while pushing up the price.

Those above also act maliciously, secretly stabbing people in the back.

Fan Wumian did withdraw, but many state-owned enterprises began reducing their holdings within the bounds of regulations, withdrawing excess funds from the market and enriching a group of people.
The Central Conservatory of Music is currently on summer vacation.

Zhuang Muxi was not idle. While renovating the design drawings according to her own aesthetic sense and decorating the mansion at No. 10 Pule Road on the mountaintop, she also often went to Fan Wumian to suggest that she invest in a pet supplies company that her parents would find something to do.

The company also got her some jobs, such as promoting a real estate project in Shanghai, shooting environmental public service advertisements, and making cameo appearances in the company's film crews. In just over a month, she earned another four or five million RMB.

November 8, 2007.

It was a hot day, and Zhuang Muxi was called back to Hong Kong by her company to shoot a set of promotional posters for the Land Rover LRX concept car.

Having just finished her work, she went to Bishop's Hill in Macau to find Fan Wumian. After touring a villa not far from the gambling king's house, she inquired:

"The interior is beautifully decorated. Did you buy this place?" Fan Wumian asked casually.
“It’s rare to find such a luxurious mansion on Bishop’s Hill. The renovation cost seven or eight million Hong Kong dollars, and the entire mansion was priced at only 2400 million Hong Kong dollars, which is less than the price of some luxury homes in Shenzhen. The previous owner had been living in New Zealand for many years and had only stayed here a few times, so it was a really good deal. I thought I would be coming here often in the future, and having a place to stay would be more convenient, so I bought it on a whim.”

After he arrived in Macau, the plan to build an automobile production base in the Hengqin Special Economic Zone progressed very smoothly, and a rough cooperation framework was quickly finalized.

In addition, with the global headquarters of Valentino and Filco located in Macau and plans to develop a fashion district in the future, there is indeed a need for a place to stay temporarily.

I had considered staying on a hybrid sailboat yacht, but unfortunately, yachts lack privacy. Given the small size of Macau, you can easily find a high spot and take pictures of everything happening on the yacht's deck with a DSLR camera, which is obviously not suitable for dating my girlfriends.

Zhuang Muxi clicked her tongue and said:

"Macau is so close to the port city, it only takes more than an hour by boat, yet the house prices are about 10 times different? That's outrageous."

Fan Wumian said with a smile:
"Given the population size of Macau, if we just develop some popular industries, the per capita income will go up, and I feel that housing prices will rise significantly in the future."

"Let's not talk about that. You saw the LRX concept car, right? What did you think of it?"

"The acquisition with Ford is basically finalized. After reviewing the materials, I came across this concept car and immediately fell in love with it. I plan to put it into mass production as soon as possible. You will then serve as the global brand ambassador for Land Rover. You just bought a mansion from Xingzai, so you're a little short on cash for the time being."

The Land Rover LRX concept car emphasizes a beautiful, compact, and stylish design, breaking away from the traditional Land Rover product's tall, imposing, and boxy appearance.

While others might not be clear, Fan Wumian guessed that it was likely the prototype of the "Range Rover Aurora".

Before Land Rover entered the mainland market through a joint venture, the Evoque series was incredibly popular due to its luxurious imported image similar to Porsche. Countless wealthy young women were willing to pay extra to buy it, and for a time, it was extremely difficult to obtain one.

Later, Land Rover's brand image suffered setbacks, and its quality, reputation, and cost-effectiveness also fell behind. Coupled with the rise of the new energy vehicle market, the Range Rover Evoque, which was positioned similarly to the Porsche Macan, suddenly disappeared and became very difficult to spot on the streets.

There are reasons related to Land Rover itself, as well as the impact of changing consumer demands. In any case, these knowledge points will be tested in the future, which can help Fan Wumian avoid many pitfalls.

Running a physical business like automobiles requires a significant investment of time, money, and energy, and it's difficult to see substantial changes in a short period of time.

Fan Wumian only plans to continue developing these car projects based on the current situation, and then make additional investments when he has spare cash. He may also try to raise funds from the market and invest his precious cash elsewhere.

He doesn't need to worry about the Land Rover brand; coal mine owners will help promote it in the mainland market.

Jaguar and Aston Martin are in dire straits. Jaguar is struggling to survive, relying on its "British gentleman" style as a selling point while suffering significant losses in revenue. Aston Martin is quietly developing a new car, the famous limited-edition supercar One77. The successor to the mass-market DB9 luxury coupe is still a long way off, indicating significant issues with product and market positioning that need to be addressed gradually.

The consulting firm gave Fan Wumian a good idea.

Some people advised him to consider merging Jaguar and Aston Martin directly, and to reorganize the product line like Porsche, making Jaguar a series under Aston Martin, bearing the Aston Martin brand, but lowering the starting price to around 40,000 to 50,000 pounds.

This solved both Jaguar's sales problem and Aston Martin's mass production problem.

Fan Wumian was a little worried that he might mess up both the Jaguar and Aston Martin brands at the same time, so he temporarily only asked people to study the plan and make a decision after reviewing the research report.

After listening to Fan Wumian finish speaking, Zhuang Muxi said:

"Give me another endorsement? That's not a good idea. Your company is supporting so many artists right now, people will say you're being biased. I'm going to film 'A Quiet Place Part 3' soon, and Disney will pay me a large sum of my remaining salary."

Reaching out, Fan Wumian patted her head, his tone calm:
"It's alright. They're global brand ambassadors, after all. Their international reputation isn't as high as yours, so it's normal to hand them over to you. I'm planning to become Aston Martin's brand ambassador myself, and when we attend auto shows abroad, we can go together."

(End of this chapter)