Hong Kong Island: From a small stall to a global supplier

"Who the hell are you?!"

"Go ahead and threaten me!"

"come on!"

"Three days, three days! Do you know how I spent those three days?!"

I can't eat or sleep properly, I'm on the verge of a complete breakdown!
At the Shek O and Lamma Island mines, the senior management seems to have contracted some strange illness. These days, they've all been acting strangely, looking haggard and irritable.

……

Luohu Customs.

Wang Yaotang, Aji, Ajie, Awei, Siyanzi, and Bisina led more than 20 people directly through the side gate of the customs to Shenzhen. The customs officers on the other side seemed to be collectively 'shrimp' at that moment.

Those above "don't know," and those below "can't see," so it's pointless for middle management to care about them. Are they really worried about Wang Yaotang smuggling?

"Are you still leaving those people from Shek O hanging like this?" Four-Eyes asked.

“The New Year is almost here. It’s too cruel of you to bother them now.” Wang Yaotang said with a playful look, “Let them have a good New Year.”

"Are you sure they're in the mood to celebrate the New Year in this situation?" the four-eyed man said with amusement.

“Then it’s not my problem.” Wang Yaotang laughed loudly.

As I walked out of customs, Director Shi was already waiting outside.

"Why didn't you come through the main entrance?" Director Shi asked, looking at Wang Yaotang as he walked over.

"I like to use the back door."

"Don't the customs officials care?"

“I could have taken a speedboat directly, but I took a car and went through Luohu instead. That’s already the best I can do for customs. What more do they want?” Wang Yaotang shrugged. “If they really go through the proper procedures and ask me what I’m going to do in Shenzhen, I’ll say I’m going to attend the municipal government’s New Year’s Eve party. It’ll be awkward for everyone. Why bother?”

After greeting everyone, Director Shi chuckled and said, "With so many of you, it'll be difficult to arrange things at the Zhuyuan Hotel."

"I told them not to bring so many people, but my subordinates disagreed, saying the security here isn't good. It's fine, just find them a hotel nearby." Wang Yaotang shook his head with a smile.

Director Shi frowned but didn't say anything.

The group got into the car that came to pick them up, and three Toyota Hiaces also arrived from Wang Yaotang's side.

"Have you ever thought about opening a hotel in Shenzhen? I remember you have hotels in Hong Kong, dozens of them. You have quite a few people here, so it would be convenient to have a hotel for them to stay in," Director Shi asked with a smile in the car.

"I'm looking for a buyer to sell Maple Forest Evening."

"Huh? Why? It's not making money?"

"I do make money, about 1500 million a year, but there are too many things to do, it's troublesome."

Director Shi opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know what to say. "1500 million? I'm not afraid of trouble!"

"I remember there was a residential building being developed in Pengcheng?"

"Yes, Donghu Liyuan. What, you want to buy it?" Director Shi asked.

“Otherwise, I’d like to buy a plot of land and build a villa. Can the government sell me the land?” Wang Yaotang countered.

“We could develop it in conjunction with a real estate company in the special economic zone, like Donghu Liyuan, but it would be developed into a villa area. But could you sell them? Don’t think that you can just build a few villas for yourself to live in. That definitely won’t work.”

"Co-develop it, and then I'll buy it all under a different identity?" Wang Yaotang blinked.

"Aren't you just taking advantage of a loophole?" Director Shi said helplessly.

"Never mind, I don't have any money on me right now."

"You're still short of money?"

“There’s less than 2 million left,” Wang Yaotang said with a look of ’grief and indignation’.

Director Shi's expression froze, and he gritted his teeth. Damn it, he'd been tricked. He'd fallen for this guy's trick.

"I can tell from your expression that you're badmouthing me in your heart." Wang Yaotang snorted. "Is 2 million a lot? I'm planning to do a few big projects, and I have a funding gap of 10 billion."

"Are you sure?" Director Shi wasn't ignorant, but several hundred million was still an astronomical figure.

"I've come here today because I need your help," Wang Yaotang said with a smile. "Hong Kong and Macau have relatively small land areas, and land expansion relies entirely on land reclamation projects. In addition, with the city's own development, the demand for building materials is enormous."

I mentioned the acquisition of the stone quarry and the plan to cooperate with Zhuhai. It would be too abrupt to go directly to Zhuhai to propose integrating the local stone quarries. It would be better to communicate privately with Pengcheng in advance.

"I see. I'll have dinner with Director Zhao tonight." Director Shi certainly wouldn't make any empty promises.

"Hmm." Wang Yaotang smiled and changed the subject. "By the way, I brought the four people back. How did they feel up there?"

Speaking of this, Director Shi's expression turned serious. "It really touches on my heart!"

After the people returned, they conducted a small internal exercise, using a building as the battlefield. It started as a four-on-four game, and they won completely, both offensively and defensively.

Then, in a four-on-eight battle, eight people were killed at the cost of one death and one injury.

Further testing is unnecessary. These eight men are all top performers in the team. The reason they weren't selected for Italy is because they are not good at speaking and can't learn English, not because they lack combat ability. Not to mention, these four men can now drive armored vehicles, helicopters, small boats, parachute, etc. During training, they wear bulletproof vests, helmets, grenades, and night vision goggles. Equipping them all will greatly enhance the combat effectiveness of a five-man squad and enable them to perform a wider range of missions.

The authorities attach great importance to this result.

Hong Kong is right across the street. Leaving aside what would happen if negotiations broke down, even if they succeeded, what if the foreigners suddenly sabotaged things? These are things we need to consider and prepare for…

Therefore, the first special forces unit in the country, the "Southern Sword," was established in Guangzhou in 88.

"I was asked by the higher-ups to thank you on behalf of the organization for your contributions," Director Shi said solemnly.

Laughing out loud now is a bit too unserious, so Wang Yaotang tries to hold it in...

But he was so pleased with himself that he grinned and laughed silently.

Seeing Wang Yaotang's expression, Director Shi also laughed.

After settling into the Zhuyuan Hotel, a private room had already been prepared in the restaurant downstairs. Director Zhao arrived from the Commerce Bureau and introduced A-Jie, A-Ji, and Bisina. The group then began to drink.

After a few drinks, Director Zhao patted his chest and guaranteed, "I'll call Old Hou in Zhuhai as soon as I get back, and I promise he'll be here tomorrow. I'll make sure he treats me to a good meal."

They are both development zones, separated by a narrow strait. Their main source of foreign investment is Hong Kong. They are old rivals and have fought and slandered each other quite a bit. They know each other very well.

"However, there is one thing I must say: the policy stipulates that the products of joint ventures are for export, and only a small percentage can be sold domestically. That is to say, once a joint venture is formed, the vast majority of the mined ore must be exported. If it is sold domestically, tariffs will be levied."

Wang Yaotang shook his head; he really didn't know.

At this time, domestic resources were in a state of both scarcity and abundance, and high tariffs were levied on imports!

In 81, the import tariff on complete vehicles was 150%, and an additional 80% import adjustment tax was levied, bringing the total tax rate to 230%.

From 86 to 94, the tariff rate for gasoline cars with an engine displacement of 3.0 liters or more was 220%, and for cars with an engine displacement of less than 3.0 liters, it was 180%, excluding adjustment tax.

“I know, there’s no problem. I’ve already reached an agreement with the Governor-General of Macau,” Wang Yaotang said with a smile.

"Huh? I remember Haojiang is discussing the supply of sand and gravel for the land reclamation project with Zhuhai?" Director Zhao asked, frowning.

“I recently invested 2000 million to build a prestigious primary and secondary school in Haojiang, and I will invest several million every year thereafter. The Governor’s Office can’t just leave without any contribution, after all, the students going to school will be children from prominent families in Haojiang.” Wang Yaotang reached out and made a grabbing motion in the air. “What’s wrong with the imported stone passing through my hands? It’s not their personal money, so why can’t I get a share?”

Directors Shi and Zhao looked at Wang Yaotang with a mixture of amusement and exasperation, "If you're not on the same page, don't say anything!"

“In capitalism, nothing is off-limits for trade,” Wang Yaotang said with a smile. “Besides, they’re actually more at ease with me having the mining rights. Even if something goes wrong, the governor’s office won’t have to take responsibility. They can just hold me accountable through the commercial sector. Everything will be done according to the rules.”

"That's more like it," Director Shi said irritably.

Some things couldn't be said in detail, so Wang Yaotang changed the subject, "What is the domestic production of bulletproof steel plates?"

"What are you doing?" Director Zhao was a little stunned.

"My security company is preparing to enter the cash escort business of banks. If I want people to be willing to pay a lot of money to hire me, they need to have a good reason. I plan to modify a batch of bulletproof escort vehicles."

“Domestic production of bulletproof steel plates is very limited, with most being for military use, and there is also a significant technological gap compared to foreign countries.” Director Zhao was indeed familiar with some relevant data. “Currently, we cannot produce 3mm bulletproof steel plates; the minimum is 5mm, and the cost is relatively high, amounting to tens of thousands of US dollars per ton. Meanwhile, the 3mm bulletproof steel plates exported by the United States are cheaper than ours.”

Wang Yaotang paused for a moment, then looked up and said with a smile, "5mm is great. It can defend against AK47s. That's what robbers use the most. What's the use of 3mm? It's neither here nor there. As for the higher price, consider it as supporting national construction. I'll go to Wenchong Shipyard later and ask them to help me modify it."

"Wenchong? Guangzhou has car factories, why are you looking for a shipyard?"

"Huh? There's a car factory here?" Wang Yaotang was taken aback.

"Yes, the Guangzhou Automobile Manufacturing Plant's Hongwei brand freight trucks handle the vast majority of freight traffic in Guangdong. They're very good."

"I don't really care, as long as it can be modified well. But, do they even have access to bulletproof steel plates?"

"Uh, I don't know either. You should ask Director Zhao first." Director Zhao shook his head. "But, would Hong Kong and Macau recognize such casual modifications?"

"Others may not be able to, but I can. I'm a government official and a businessman..."

"Stop, stop, stop!" Director Zhao quickly raised his hand. "I'm very worried about you doing this."

"Okay, I won't say it again." Wang Yaotang smiled.

The next morning, Wang Yaotang took a car straight to Wenchong Shipyard, where the party was held in the evening.

“My shipyard!” Factory Director Zhao said with a strange expression. “I’m glad you thought of me, but I don’t know anything about modifying cars!”

"I think building cars and ships are pretty much the same. They both use diesel engines, chassis are like keels, and they both use steering wheels. What's the difference?" Wang Yaotang raised an eyebrow.

Factory Director Zhao gave me a look that said, "I'm not well-educated, don't try to fool me."

"If you don't believe me, ask Masters Li and Liu. I've brought the car over for you. If you can build it, this thing makes money much faster than building a ship. Shipbuilding takes too long."

"I have a feeling you're trying to harm me."

"How can it be."

"Then why don't you invest in our factory and form a joint venture?"

"Uh... how's the speedboat testing going? When will further improvements be made? Is the shock absorption for the machine gun turret on the roof ready?"

Factory Director Zhao rolled his eyes dramatically. (End of Chapter)