The Grandmother in the Siheyuan

Chapter 351 Pretending to be cool
Rosamund Kwan instantly became curious about her cousin-in-law, but of course, it was just curiosity, without any other unusual feelings.

For most Hong Kong people, the mainland is now perceived as backward, poor, and mysterious.

Her cousin bought her things without batting an eye, spending tens of thousands of yuan in no time. Even Rosamund Kwan herself felt a little heartache, considering that her salary for a movie is only around four or five hundred thousand yuan now.

Because Liu Hua is busy with academic exchanges, he has very little time to spend with his wife.

Since Rosamund Kwan happened to be available, he enthusiastically accompanied his cousin on a tour of Hong Kong.

So she learned a lot about her family from her cousin, but she still didn't know what kind of business her cousin's husband was in. It seemed like he was in the engine business, but it also seemed like he was in more than just engines. As for what else he did, her cousin seemed to evade the question at this point.

One day, when the three of them were having dinner together, Rosamund Kwan couldn't hold back any longer.

"Brother-in-law, what kind of business do you run? My sister has been spending money on me like water these past few days, it hurts me to see it. How do you have so much money?"

Liu Hua smiled and said, "I've opened two factories. One produces engines, and the other produces high-tech materials, like carbon fiber."

“Carbon fiber?” Rosamund Kwan tilted her head and said, “I think I’ve heard someone mention this before. I think some rich kid was showing off his sports car to me, saying that the body material is made of carbon fiber, so it’s very light, but very strong.”

"That's right, it's the raw material for carbon fiber."

"Is it very profitable?" Rosamund Kwan continued to ask. "It must be very expensive to use it on sports cars, right?"

"It is indeed quite expensive. In the past, only Japan and the United States were able to mass-produce this. Although some other countries could also produce it, they were not a significant force. We are the third country in the world that can mass-produce this high-tech material."

"Wow, that's amazing!" Rosamund Kwan said admiringly. "It must be much more expensive than steel."

"The price is $120 per kilogram."

"That's not that expensive, wait, you mean one hundred and twenty US dollars per kilogram?"

Liu Hua nodded: "That's right, these things are priced by the kilogram."

"Brother-in-law, how many kilograms can you produce in a year?"

Liu Hua held up one finger: "About 10,000 tons a year."

"Ten thousand tons?"

Rosamund Kwan didn't even need to do mental calculations to know that this was an astronomical figure, an astronomical figure beyond her comprehension.

Hong Kong has many tycoons today, most of whom are in real estate, while some are in manufacturing, such as the clothing king and the toy king.

But in reality, for these people, including real estate tycoons, coming up with 100 million yuan in cash is not an easy task.

"Who's buying these expensive materials?"

Liu Hua smiled and said, "Our domestic customers are mainly from various countries, so I sell them for a few hundred yuan in local currency. For overseas customers, I only sell them for a few hundred US dollars. Currently, I only have a few overseas customers, all of whom are Han Chinese, but they are all shareholders of manufacturers like Audi and BMW." Guan Zhilin instantly thought of many things. Her cousin-in-law was definitely a powerful figure; she had to get on his good side. If she could, she wouldn't have to worry about the rest of her life.

Liu Hua smiled and said, "If you want to buy a BMW or Audi, I can talk to my client and have one customized for you."

Rosamund Kwan shook her head: "There's no need for such extravagance."

My cousin is basically an adopted child. Since her family is powerful, I should get along well with them. There's no need to take advantage of these small things. If we get along well, the benefits I can get will far outweigh these small advantages.

Rosamund Kwan does have a good eye for investment; otherwise, she wouldn't have made her fortune investing in real estate.

Liu Hua spends his days at the school communicating with professors or giving lectures to graduate students in semiconductors.

After a long period of communication, these graduate students from Hong Kong University, who were originally a bit arrogant, finally realized that Liu Hua, as a leading figure in the domestic semiconductor industry, was not someone to be trifled with.

Their mentor had previously told them that General Electric had offered Liu Hua the position of chief engineer, but they still couldn't hire him, which shows how capable Liu Hua is.

Because Hong Kong's local manufacturing industry is gradually declining, these students' future employment prospects are not very good. When Liu Hua talked to them, he could feel their worries.

“If it’s really hard to find a job, you can go to the mainland, even though the salary is lower for now,” Liu Hua said with a smile. “But in the long run, the development potential of the mainland is limitless.”

Some students disagreed: "Even if Professor Liu worked in mainland China for a hundred years, he still couldn't afford a house in Hong Kong."

"Why confine yourselves to such a small island?" Liu Hua shook his head: "Hong Kong's future positioning is not industrial. It will be the financial hub of the motherland, an international financial city, mainly based on the financial industry and service industry. If you want to buy a house, why not just settle down on the mainland? At least you will be able to live in a much more spacious house in the future."

"Leaving one's hometown."

Liu Hua smiled and said, "For graduate students like you, if you want to have a future, you either have to go to the mainland or go abroad. Isn't that leaving your hometown? At least in the mainland, you share the same language and culture, and you won't be discriminated against."

"But the conditions on the mainland are too poor right now."

“Is it bad? I don’t think it is. Right now, it’s just that we don’t have the money.” Liu Hua said with a smile, “But the supplies we can buy are just as good, and it won’t affect your life at all. It’s just not as extravagant as it is abroad. But in the long run, it will be good for your future and for your next generation.”

What Liu Hua didn't expect was that his actions actually attracted a lot of talent from Hong Kong in the early stages of our reform. These people played a significant role in the country's semiconductor development in the future, which can be considered an unexpected but fruitful outcome.

The exchange with City University of Hong Kong lasted only about half a month. All the other teachers went back, but Liu Hua stayed in Hong Kong.

He hadn't had a chance to properly explore the area with his wife yet, so he planned to stay a few more days before heading back.

When he was having tea at Lu Yu Lou with his wife, children, and Rosamund Kwan, an uninvited guest came to him.

"Mr. Liu, our boss would like to invite you to dinner."

Liu Hua didn't recognize the person in front of him and frowned as he asked, "May I ask your name, and who is your boss?"

(End of this chapter)