Rebirth in 1960, My Industrial Age

Chapter 443 Another Scammer
"Deputy Director Zhou, this is Zhang Yunya from the National Defense Commission. Director Qian and the others returned to Beijing the day before yesterday and plan to hold a meeting to announce some matters concerning the Dongfeng and Hongqi projects."
The meeting is scheduled for 9:00 AM tomorrow in the conference room on the fourth floor of the National Defense Commission building. Do you have time?

A phone call suddenly came to Zhou Fengnian's office, and the news surprised him: two projects in the Northwest were about to be completed.

Although others did not participate in this project with Director Qian, they would inquire about the progress when they went to meetings at the National Defense Commission.

After all, he provided a research direction for missile engine technology, which was of considerable help to the project team. Moreover, his name was still on the project team, so he could keep track of the progress of the Dongfeng and Hongqi projects, but he couldn't disclose it to outsiders.

"Okay, I'll be there on time."

After thinking for a moment, Zhou Fengnian agreed. He then asked for more details before hanging up the phone.

Most of the people he knew had returned, which meant that things had come to a close on that side, and the next step was to discuss the deployment.

Recently, Amei has become increasingly withdrawn, making money and doing business with them on one hand, while vigorously suppressing all kinds of provocations on the other, as if she has a split personality.

A classic wolfish ambition, fighting while simultaneously devouring their flesh.

Furthermore, FAW's cars were "banned" some time ago. Although there was no explicit ban on FAW's cars entering the Aramco market, the increased tariffs have already made FAW's cars lose their price advantage.

Even though it's fuel-efficient, the high price deterred many potential buyers, causing FAW's car sales to plummet to almost zero.

This is probably just the first wave. Amei will definitely target their other industries in the future. What angers Zhou Fengnian is that they have very few means of countermeasures.

That's not the case right now, at least not now. Right now, they need the Aramco market, not the other way around.

In the ten years since China's reform and opening up, its GDP has increased fivefold and the income of ordinary families has almost quadrupled, but it still lags behind the world's top three markets.

It's just that there's hope now, after all, such great potential is obvious to anyone who isn't Indian; moreover, China has never lagged behind in cutting-edge technology, and it leads the way in the fields of computers and semiconductors.

Amei was also quite anxious. She had suppressed them with a hammer, but before she knew it, the sickle had risen up. It had only been ten years, how could they have risen up so quickly?

Zhou Fengnian called Qian Zhi over and told him to write down the meeting for tomorrow and remind him to attend.

Except for a slightly weaker navy, the land and air forces almost immediately caught up to the world's best. It has to be said, the Russians' corpses are truly delicious.

Although we cannot yet refer to them as remains, the decline of the Russians is already undeniable; it remains to be seen when and how they will disband.

For a while, they and the US were almost in a competition, trying to get a piece of the Russians' flesh.

Similar to Zhou Xianzhe and Zhou Xianrui, the state sent two more groups of "civilian smugglers," but Zhou Xianzhe and Zhou Xianrui were the best at it.

The relationships they had built with money were already very solid, so within a few months they brought back a lot of things from the Russians, including two of the latest main battle tanks.

Although they can't go now, Zhou Xianzhe and his companion still remotely control their subordinates to trade and purchase goods from the Russians.

Some raw materials that are not very valuable in their country can be transported to China and, after further processing, their price may increase two or three times.

Moreover, thanks to the contributions of Zhou Xianzhe and Zhou Xianrui, the Ministry of Railways also opened a border train route for them.

As long as the goods can be transported to the border, this train is practically for the two of them; all they have to do is cover the transportation costs.

The Zhou family has now risen to prominence even in its third generation. They rarely need Zhou Fengnian's help when problems arise, as they can handle most things on their own.

Zhou Xianyang, in particular, is now worth nearly 3 billion yuan. His Guangxun mobile phone business alone can earn him several hundred million yuan a year.

Once the agreement with Bank of Communications is finalized and he acquires the bank's shares, his net worth will balloon to over 20 billion.

According to Zhou Xianyang's plan, although the agreement would take at least ten years, he would not need ten years at all; he estimated that it could be completed within six years.

It will only be around 1994 by then, and his shares in Bank of Communications alone will make him worth 30 to 40 billion. If his other businesses are included, it will probably be even higher, possibly doubling to 60 billion.

If Fiberhome's technology doesn't lag behind, it will basically be the leader in the mobile phone industry in the future. If it can't even reach a production value of tens of billions, then it will really be a joke.

By then, even a typical mayor would find it difficult to meet Zhou Xianyang. Provincial-level officials would treat him as an honored guest, and not because of Zhou Fengnian, but purely because of Zhou Xianyang's intrinsic value.

dong dong!

A sudden knock on the door interrupted Zhou Fengnian's thoughts. Qian Zhi then came in and reported, "Sir, Vice President Cai has something he'd like to discuss with you. He just called to ask if you have time right now. It's about some financial matters."

"Shouldn't you talk to the dean about this? Tell him I'm free now."

After hearing Zhou Fengnian's words, Qian Zhi left the office to call Cai Hongqiao.

A short while later, Cai Hongqiao knocked on the door and came in with a document. Upon seeing this, Zhou Fengnian said, "Comrade Hongqiao, don't be so polite next time. Just call me directly."

"That won't do, Vice Dean Zhou. You travel frequently for work. If it disturbs your research, then it would be my fault."

Cai Hongqiao said with a smile, his words still full of respect; before he was promoted, he did not know the gap between himself and Zhou Fengnian, but after he was promoted, he realized that the gap between the two was really too big.

Although he was only one level away, this was Cai Hongqiao's limit, and he would not be able to improve in any way, but Zhou Fengnian could continue to climb.

Zhou Fengnian waved his hand and said, "Let's not talk about anything else. Comrade Hongqiao, what brings you here? It's about finances, right?"

"Yes, Vice Dean Zhou, in principle this matter should be discussed with the dean, but there are some issues that need to be discussed with you first."

After Cai Hongqiao finished speaking, he handed the document to Zhou Fengnian and then continued, "Our institute's financial allocation is increasing year by year, and next year's allocation will even increase by about 7%, but compared with the expected expenditure, it will be far from enough."
"There are just too many research projects I'm applying for next year. You've approved almost half of them, and there are still 279 that you haven't approved yet."

I didn't finish my sentence, but that's enough.

After looking at it for a while, Zhou Fengnian quickly understood that the projects he approved were all for immediate execution, with sufficient funding, equipment, and human resources. Nowadays, research projects are well-categorized, clearly from the national level to the university level. Zhou Fengnian was mainly responsible for approving key national research projects and research projects for high-ranking officials, and even then, he wasn't always allowed to review all of the high-ranking officials' research projects.

The rest are research projects with less impact, less specific problems, or that lay the foundation for higher-level projects.

There were too many projects, and they didn't have much funding of their own, so they turned their attention to the provincial branches of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which then handed the projects over to them.

Logically, if a provincial branch cannot resolve a financial issue, the local government should be responsible for addressing it. However, given the current environment of rapid development in China, no place is without debt. If we cannot rely on the local government, we can only apply to the head office.

"There are quite a lot."

After looking at it for a while, Zhou Fengnian wrote down almost everything. Then he shook his head and said, "They're using us as a stepping stone. How can they possibly solve everything? Even if they take into account all our remaining funds, it's unlikely that they'll approve everything."

Cai Hongqiao honestly said, "It's not enough at all. There are too many places where we need money now. This year I have asked the staff to cut costs wherever possible, but it's still far from enough."

If I have to cut costs further, I'll have to consider reducing the food budget.

"Yes, that is indeed a problem."

Zhou Fengnian nodded in thought while casually flipping through the documents in his hand.

"There's no need for our province to investigate these projects. What is this? The new generation of the most advanced chips?"

Just as Zhou Fengnian was about to talk about tightening the approval process, he suddenly discovered that one of the research projects he had applied for was about building the most advanced chips, which immediately made him inexplicably wary.

They already have the most advanced chips, and the semiconductor research institute has no shortage of funding and is already researching the next generation. Is this project going to compete with the semiconductor research institute?
After hearing this, Cai Hongqiao took the document and examined it carefully for a while. Then he looked up and asked, "Vice Dean Zhou, is this project unlikely to be a reality?"

"The semiconductor research institute is already a revolutionary step, and this one is about to leapfrog another era."
"That's impressive! I wasn't even that confident. Send them a notice, telling this person to come to Beijing. If he doesn't come or runs away, have the local police bring him over."

After a pause, Zhou Fengnian continued, "Regarding the funding for research projects, we can refer to the policies of the new technology pilot development zones from some time ago, and cooperate with profitable factories or private enterprises."

Then we'll increase the scrutiny of approvals. Projects like this, which are so outrageous, won't be allowed to appear anymore. It's ridiculous that projects that are just boasting can be submitted. These kinds of projects will be verified and then sent directly in.”

Finance is nothing more than two issues: cutting expenses and increasing revenue. However, Cai Hongqiao dared not talk about cutting expenses, so he went to Zhou Fengnian.

If Cai Hongqiao makes a proposal, a bunch of people will block his door, but if Zhou Fengnian makes one, not many people will dare to do it, unless they have a truly substantial research project.

"That's all for now. As for the specific implementation, we'll bring it up at the meeting next week and have a good talk with Dean Wu and the others to see if there are any other good ideas."

Zhou Fengnian and Cai Hongqiao discussed several issues, all of which were solvable at this stage.

Some research projects related to electronics can be collaborated with Shenzhou Computer Factory or Zhou Xianyang's two factories. One party provides funding and the other provides manpower, and the final results are divided proportionally.

The policy for the new technology pilot development zone has already shown this intention, and Zhou Fengnian can now give it a push.

"Remember to tell that person in charge of the chip project to bring me to Beijing. If he has real skills, I'll apply for a senior researcher position for him!"

"Okay, I see."

Cai Hongqiao smiled and agreed, but in his heart he thought this person was going to be in trouble; last time when Zhou Fengnian smashed the iron fist, it directly hit the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The key point is that after being punched by Zhou Fengnian, these two departments haven't said anything yet, but have silently cut ties with that qigong practitioner.

This guy was really unlucky this time, and he had too big an appetite, asking for ten million in funding right off the bat.

Even wealthy provinces struggle to meet this requirement; what are the local branch offices doing? Cai Hongqiao plans to immediately summon the officials in charge of approvals upon returning and ask them what they're doing!
------

"Director Liu, I'm sorry for the long delay in replying to you. I've made up my mind and will move in immediately after completing the formalities."

Zhou Xianyang met Liu Xinguo in the office building of the new technology experimental development zone. After speaking, he joked with a smile, "But your place is a bit shabby. I guess many people would be deterred if they saw this office building."

"Oh, Representative Zhou, please forgive us. We have limited funds. This building was left over from the previous factory. It's already quite good that we can paint it."

Liu Xinguo said embarrassedly, but he was also considering whether to ask his superiors for funding to at least tidy up the office building.

Otherwise, with such a dilapidated storefront, who would believe that they would strongly support factories and enterprises in connecting with high-tech industries?
Zhou Xianyang didn't waste time exchanging pleasantries with Liu Xinguo and went straight to the point; Liu Xinguo was the first company to move in, and at this time Zhou Xianyang had also changed some of his decisions and increased his efforts.

He not only wants to set up a research institute, but also to build a large building here as his group headquarters.

When I talked to that friend from Motorola last time, that foreigner told Zhou Xianyang that it was rare to see someone like him who owned so many factories and businesses, but each operated independently; it seemed like a waste of resources.
After thinking about it for a while, Zhou Xianyang felt that it made sense. Most of his factories were related to electronics and electrical appliances, and several of them were owned by him personally, which could be combined into a company.

So, taking advantage of the opportunity of being invited to the new technology pilot development zone, Zhou Xianyang wanted to build a headquarters building.

When he went to Hong Kong, he wasn't just having fun. He also observed the business practices of Hong Kong merchants and learned from them.

After some discussion, Zhou Xianyang obtained a sizable space from Liu Xinguo's side, enough for him to build a 'generous' research institute and group office building.

The subsequent policies were also favorable; once the research institute and office building were completed, Zhou Xianyang was able to recruit a large number of people.

Since he is a graduate of Tsinghua University, he can definitely recruit a lot of talented people by going to Tsinghua University as a senior alumnus.

If all else fails, he can secretly use his father Zhou Fengnian's name.

Just as Zhou Xianyang was about to leave, Liu Xinguo suddenly remembered something and called out to Zhou Xianyang.
"By the way, Representative Zhou, we recently received a letter of intent for a scientific research cooperation project from above. You're also planning to build a research institute. If you're interested, I can tell you about it."

(End of this chapter)