Rebirth in 1960, My Industrial Age

Chapter 362 Hong Kong Businessmen Come to Seek
When Zhou Fengnian left his leader and returned to the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building, he was still thinking about what the leader had just said.

Some of his words are not groundless. Zhou Fengnian usually pays little attention to the information hidden behind international conflicts and reacts slowly in this regard.

However, no matter how little he paid attention, he knew that the Russians and the Chinese had almost become the number one concern of Western foreigners recently.

Even the Chinese are ranked ahead of the Russians, as can be seen from the Coordinating Committee's banned sales list alone.

After the initial easing of relations with Ame, many items on the banned sales list were lifted.

But then the number of names added each year, and this year's list is 20% larger than last year's. If the number continues to increase, I'm afraid in three years the number will return to the level before the establishment of diplomatic relations with Aramco.

Otherwise, Zhou Fengnian would be in a hurry to buy back the biopharmaceutical equipment and instruments by the end of the year, otherwise it would definitely appear on the banned sales list.

The Russians are now showing signs of decline. Their military is indeed strong; and they often find various ways to import industrial machine tools from China to accelerate the development of their military industry.

The Russians now seem to be in a desperate mood. Since light industry and agriculture cannot be developed, they simply give up and focus on developing the military industry.

If the other leg is lame, he will focus on training the good leg; this also makes Amei a little afraid of the Russians' military strength. Before, they could say that the military situation is 50-50 or 4.5 to 5.5.

Now Ame no longer dares to say that it is 50-50 with the Soviet Union in military terms, at most it is 40-60.

However, the Russians are developing abnormally. Although Amei is wary of the Russians' military strength, she no longer regards them as enemies.

They are well aware of the dire situation at home. If things continue like this, the Russians won't be able to hold out for more than a few years, even without starting a war. They have no foreign aid, and even China is no longer an ally of the Russians.

However, they really need to be vigilant about China. Unlike the Russians, China is too difficult to infiltrate.

Not only is it difficult to infiltrate, but they have also developed well in all aspects, especially high-tech such as computers, which are simply overwhelming them.

Computers are the future, but they can no longer catch up with China in the future. This is not the most serious problem. What worries them is that China is a balanced player.

There are no weaknesses, and the agriculture, light industry, heavy industry and military are all well developed, which makes it difficult for them to take action, as it is like a tiger biting a turtle shell, with no idea where to start.

So they stepped up their actions against China, but this also made China aware of it and they began to prepare countermeasures.

Military force is only the last resort. China will not start a war unless it is absolutely necessary.

Although the war thirty years ago achieved its goal, it forced them to tighten their belts for several years.

On the way back, Zhou Fengnian and Gu Wenjie were in the same car. Gu Wenjie suddenly asked, "Fengnian, do you have any idea about what the leader just said?"

"No, but we can prepare for the worst."

Zhou Fengnian thought for a while and then said, "How can I be 100% sure about something that hasn't happened? But it won't go wrong to be prepared in advance."

If war really breaks out one day, they will be fully prepared.

It seems that the Robotics Research Institute needs to speed up the progress and he needs to pay more attention.

If they are really affected by the war, the latest Spider-Type 1 robots can also come in handy.

"Alas, these are troubled times."

Gu Wenjie was in a bad mood as he was about to retire. If this happened during his term of office, it would be a troublesome matter.

There was no conversation along the way. After the two returned to the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building, Zhou Fengnian did not get out of the car. Instead, he called the driver and asked him to take him to visit the research institute.

The Spider-Type 1 intelligence robot and the self-destruct robot must be completed by the end of the year and produced as soon as possible.

Although the suicide robot is a bit expensive, costing more than a thousand yuan each, it is well worth it when used to deal with enemy tanks or fortress buildings.

"Thank you very much, President Liu."

After signing the loan contract, Zhou Xianyang smiled and said to the staff in front of him: "President Liu, do you have time? If you are free at noon, how about we go to the Imperial Kitchen for lunch?"

"Oh, what a coincidence"

President Liu said apologetically, “I may not be able to do it today. I’m so sorry, Director Zhou, there have been too many things going on recently;

But I know that the boss of Yushantang has also borrowed money from us, and their business is doing well, so they are a good target for support."

Companies like Yushantang have a large amount of net profit every month, and their turnover increases slightly every month. Lending money to such companies is exactly what they hope to achieve.

There is almost no risk, and lending it out means results.

The same goes for Zhou Xianyang's Feiyang Electric Factory. It can be said that with orders worth more than 30 million US dollars, their bank is not afraid of not being able to repay the money. What's more, Feiyang Electric Factory is a joint venture factory with a research institute under the Academy of Sciences.

"That's a pity. I can only have dinner with you, President Liu, another day. The Imperial Kitchen is run by my uncle, and the food there tastes very good."

Now Zhou Weitian also knows the necessity of good chefs. He has hired many chefs with good skills. The newly opened branch of Yushantang is also called Sifang Pavilion.

It claims to be able to cook the famous dishes from Sichuan, Shandong, Huai'an and Guangdong, and has attracted many people to eat there.

Zhou Xianyang smiled and said, "President Liu must give me this opportunity next time."

President Liu smiled and said, "Okay, okay, I'll treat you next time, Director Zhou."

After borrowing money from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Zhou Xianyang went to the Robotics Research Institute to prepare for the next step of cooperation.

Now the production in Feiyang Electric Appliance Factory has been put on track. Batches of MP3 music players are produced and then packaged and shipped away.

Moreover, there are new orders from all over the country. Although the domestic purchasing power is not large, it still adds up to several thousand or tens of thousands every month.

Together with the portable music players and the small domestic orders, Feiyang Electric Appliance Factory can earn two to three million in net profit every month.

As long as production is normal and corruption is prevented, Zhou Xianyang doesn't have to worry about the Feiyang Electric Factory; what's more, he has found some people, and the financial accountants and supervisors are all people he trusts.

With the funds in place, Lu Junfeng contacted the Industrial Bureau in Jinkou through official channels and soon revealed his intention to acquire the reform.

Now those two battery factories are still public, although they have been contracted out to individuals. But a year has passed and there has been no change at all, instead they continue to make losses.

Not only was the local industrial bureau anxious, but even the contractors were in a bit of a dilemma; however, they really had no choice, as there were only a few batteries left and not many people would buy them privately.

If we rely on other factories to buy, we either have to buy on credit or sell at a lower price. They cannot get funds for technological innovation, so the contracting effect is naturally not very significant.

Now there is news that the research institute under the Academy of Sciences is planning to purchase a factory and carry out shareholding reform. The local industrial bureau is naturally overjoyed.

After the reform, it still has public attributes, and the workers will be resettled instead of moved away, so the local industrial bureau will definitely welcome it.

Although Zhou Xianyang did not have a dominant position in the factory shares, he was able to arrange some people financially and he also had a share of the profits.

With his father as an example, no one dared to play tricks on him. Lu Junfeng was always polite and there was no way he would treat Zhou Xianyang as an ordinary self-employed person.

Ordinary people are also divided into different levels. For Zhou Xianyang, if he puts on a serious face, he will be 30% threatened by his father Zhou Fengnian. A few days later, Lu Junfeng called Zhou Fengnian and said, "Deputy Director Zhou, the Industrial Bureau in Jinkou invites us to go there. When are we going to leave?"

Zhou Xianyang said with some surprise: "So fast, Director Lu, I remember it's been less than three days."

Lu Junfeng said on the other end of the phone: "Not fast, actually we also need a new battery, so we have to have our own subsidiary factory as soon as possible. The higher-ups have already said hello, so this matter needs to be done as soon as possible.
Deputy Director Zhou, if there is no problem on your side, I will prepare tickets for you. We will go to Jinkou tomorrow at nine o'clock the day after tomorrow?"

The batteries they are using now are the most specialized ones, but they still cannot meet their requirements; if they want to develop the next generation of robots, the energy endurance problem must be solved.

However, it is impossible for other battery factories to invest heavily in research and development just because of their words, so the Robotics Research Institute still needs its own subordinate battery factories and corresponding scientific research teams.

This matter has been reported to the Academy of Sciences, and they have agreed. Otherwise, they would not have persuaded the other party to give up one of their plants and reorganize again within a few days.

Zhou Xianyang said, "Okay, I'll do as you said, Director Lu. I'll be there on time at nine o'clock the day after tomorrow."

After saying that, Zhou Xianyang hung up the phone.

"I just said a few days ago that I would not go on business trips, and today I am breaking my promise again."

Zhou Xianyang was just about to call the art troupe and chat with his wife for a while.

But before he could dial, the phone rang again.

"Hello, Feiyang Electric Factory, who is this?"

[Director Zhou, I am Liu Lin from the Chengdong Industrial and Commercial Bank. Are you busy now? ]

Zhou Xianyang was startled, then quickly smiled and said, "President Liu, I'm free now, what do you want?"

The money has been released, so what does President Liu want to see him about now?

[Someone knows that I know you and wants to invite you to dinner. He asked me for help through a connection, so I called to ask about your willingness. That person is a Hong Kong businessman.]

When it comes to Hong Kong businessmen at this time, everyone from top to bottom must treat them with extreme caution.

After the policy of attracting investment was established, Guangdong took the lead, and then other regions immediately followed suit after seeing that the Guangdong Special Economic Zone had reaped the benefits. Now all cities with a little strength are doing this.

It’s just that most of them cannot attract Hong Kong businessmen, and those people only go to a few more prosperous cities.

Although there are many Hong Kong businessmen in Sijiu City, there are not many projects that have landed. Zhou Xianyang was a little surprised to hear that Hong Kong businessmen were looking for him, but he quickly reacted.
"President Liu, why do Hong Kong businessmen want to see me?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe I want to cooperate with you, or maybe it's something else. Director Zhou, do you have time? If not, I'll turn it down."

"Then let's meet him. After all, he might be a compatriot. By the way, he is Chinese, right?"

"That's for sure. If it were an Englishman, he wouldn't have come to you through me."

After listening to this, Zhou Xianyang agreed on the time and place with President Liu, and they would still meet in the Imperial Kitchen in the evening.

It is one of the few high-end restaurants in the city of Beijing. Most people go there to do business now. Even though Hongbinlou and Fengzeyuan have reopened, they are not as popular as Yushantang.

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Xianyang called the art troupe and told Bai Qing'an that they would eat out tonight.

Bai Qing'an originally planned to retire early and enjoy her life at home, but she likes acting, and recently a film crew asked her to act in a TV series.

If he passes, Bai Qing'an will have to stay outside for a while before coming back.

After a while, when it was almost the agreed time, Zhou Xianyang gave some instructions at the factory and drove away directly.

Before coming, he booked a private room with his uncle, told his name, and was taken upstairs by the waiter.

Soon, President Liu came into the box with the other two people. Zhou Xianyang stood up and greeted them with a smile, "President Liu."

"Director Zhou, let me introduce you. This is Mr. Li Xuanting, and this is Mr. Li's assistant Han."

President Liu immediately introduced him to Zhou Xianyang.

The one who was older than him seemed to be the one in charge, and the woman was just his assistant.

Zhou Xianyang smiled and said, "Mr. Li, welcome to Sijiu City. I must try the cooking here today."

Li Xuanting chuckled and said, "No problem. I heard about the Imperial Kitchen not long after I arrived. I shouldn't be disappointed."

Zhou Xianyang was a little surprised by Li Xuanting's accent, which was quite standard.

But he didn't care too much about it. After asking Li Xuanting to take a seat, he asked the waiter to serve the food.

For a moment, he couldn't figure out what Mr. Li wanted to see him about, but Zhou Xianyang guessed that it was either for him or for his father.

If it was the latter, then he could only refuse. It was really difficult for him, a son, to make the decision as a father.

After the dishes were served, several people ate and chatted. Zhou Xianyang did not drink, which was a habit he developed with Zhou Fengnian.

Although he had never been submissive to his father since childhood, Zhou Xianyang did learn frequently. He not only learned boxing and kicking from Zhou Fengnian, but also learned a lot of other things.

Not drinking is one of them. Except for the Chinese New Year when the whole family gets together, he basically doesn't touch alcohol at other times.

"Mr. Li, we have almost finished eating and drinking."

Although Zhou Xianyang had been drinking tea, he was almost full.

"I don't know why you suddenly came to me, Mr. Li? Is there anything you need my help with?"

"Almost. Mr. Zhou's name is very famous even in Hong Kong. Nowadays, every young person in Hong Kong has an MP3 player. If you don't have one, you won't be able to make a living."

Li Xuanting was almost drunk, and under the influence of the alcohol, he quickly stated his purpose: "Mr. Zhou, I like your MP3, so I want to invest in your factory. I want to build a factory in Hong Kong with you in a joint venture.

From there, MP3 music players can be easily sold all over the world, and my family has some shipping capabilities."

There are many people in Hong Kong who are jealous of MP3, but he should be the first one to come. Moreover, this is not Li Xuanting's first time to the mainland. He knows that people here have great respect for Hong Kong businessmen.
If he could get investment cooperation, he would definitely be able to make a lot of money from MP3.

In fact, many people in Hong Kong planned to copy it directly, but Li Xuanting checked and found that Zhou Xianyang was applying for patents in many places, including England.

Therefore, the imitation route is not feasible. It is meaningless to do it on a small scale, and if you expand it, you will be quickly destroyed.

You can only cooperate with Zhou Xianyang to get this piece of meat.

After Li Xuanting finished speaking, the box suddenly became quiet. President Liu, who brought people with him, pretended not to hear and concentrated on eating the food on the table.

After more than ten seconds, Zhou Xianyang said with a smile: "Mr. Li, try this dish. This is the work of the imperial chef."

(End of this chapter)