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

"The three of you, shall we have you checked?" Zheng Junming said calmly, unable to comprehend the pain in their hearts.

“Yes, inspect the goods first,” Zhang Qifu said, taking a deep breath.

He waved for people to go up and inspect. There were over 300 tons, so it was impossible to inspect them all. He just carried them down and took a look.

Zheng Junming stayed by his side while Liang Yaozong directed people to unload several hundred blue plastic pontoons.

"What are you doing?" Peng Jiasheng asked, pointing.

"Build a pontoon bridge."

"A pontoon bridge?" Peng Jiasheng, from the equipment section, took a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, looked at it, and put it back. He already had the equipment at home, so it wasn't anything special. He wouldn't need it for the inspection, so he just followed along to see what this pontoon bridge was all about.

I have a feeling this thing might be quite useful.

Rapid assembly of pontoon bridges, jetties, and offshore platforms is a common training exercise, and the process is quick.

Piles were driven into the ground, pontoons were assembled, and anchors were used to secure the structure. The dark blue, 2.5-meter-wide floating bridge extended toward the opposite bank at a visible speed.

At this moment, Zhang Qifu and Luo Xinghan also came over with surprise, and even walked on the already built part to step and jump. The stability was far beyond their expectations, and they quickly thought of many application scenarios.

Shan State is a rainy place, and when it rains, many places are slightly flooded and traffic is disrupted. But once the rain stops, there is no problem. In this situation, it is impossible to build a bridge. If you have these pontoons, you don't have to be at a loss when you encounter this situation, which can solve a lot of problems.

Then there's the water-based operation. This area has many mountains, rivers, and small lakes, so freshwater fishery resources are actually quite abundant. However, the water level rises significantly during the rainy season, making it impossible to build piers, which greatly limits the fishing capacity.

For example, right now, this batch of goods needs to be moved piece by piece by people to the riverbank, and then loaded onto a boat for transport to the other side. However, the riverbank on this side is not well repaired; it's just that they used stones to pave it when they came and went. It's very rough and not as convenient as a pier for moving goods.

It's not that they don't want to repair it, nor that they lack the manpower, but rather that if they did repair it, it would soon be destroyed by the Siamese army. That would be better than if they were ambushed and killed.

The 300-ton load was originally planned to take a day and a night to move, but now that the 40-meter-long floating bridge has been built, it is much more stable than any iron chain bridge, and the transportation speed is incredibly fast.

If these temporary pontoon bridges are used for shipping goods in the future, the safety and speed will be greatly improved... Zhang Qifu watched as his men led over mules and horses, his face beaming with smiles.

Just as I was thinking about how to take down all of these pontoons, I saw the crew-cut men get off several more carts, assemble them with a simple step and lift, and neatly stack the boxes of "goods" onto the pontoon bridge, easily pulling several hundred pounds of cargo onto the bridge.

Wow, this thing is simple and easy to use. If the ground is in good condition, it seems more convenient than a mule or horse!

Many things may seem insignificant, but they can actually solve a lot of problems.

I want it!

"Brother Zheng."

"Brother Zheng."

"Brother Zheng."

Luo, Peng, and Zhang all spoke at the same time.

"I want all of these pontoons, Brother Zheng (younger brother, younger brother) name your price!" the three said in unison.

“I’m guarding the Chao Phraya River in Tachileik. There’s a lot of stuff passing through. Give me this pontoon first!” Zhang Qifu stepped forward and looked at Luo and Peng.

“My terrain is more complex, and I need even more resources there, so why should I give it to you first!” Peng Jiasheng said bluntly.

"You think you can get your goods through here?" Zhang Qifu sneered.

Luo Xinghan opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know what to say.

Zheng Junming and Liang Yaozong exchanged a somewhat amused glance. A few hundred pontoons—these were just a few hundred pontoons, and the three military commanders were practically local tyrants—yet they were arguing over something like this. It was truly...

It's both pitiful and funny.

This is the downside of doing things secretly.

In the end, all three of them looked at Zheng Junming.

“These weren’t on the planned sales list. They were only brought here for convenient transportation. I don’t know the price either. How about I call the boss?” Zheng Junming said with a smile, pointing to the truck.

"Telephone?"

"here?"

The three of them stared at Zheng Junming in bewilderment. "You can make a phone call here?"

“Satellite phone,” Zheng Junming said casually, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

Although he had never even seen or heard of such a thing before, it didn't stop him from showing off in front of the three military officers.

The big boss once said that if a person doesn't live to show off, then life is meaningless!
Under the shocked, confused, and astonished gazes of the three soldiers, and seeing their ignorant attitude, Zheng Junming felt very satisfied and wanted to shout out loud.

But he can't; he has to maintain his composure!
"What does satellite phone mean?" Zhang Qifu, who had the most power and the greatest need for external communication, asked impatiently.

"It's just connecting to the satellite to make phone calls," Zheng Junming said with a faint smile, calling out to the communications soldier. Immediately, someone carried out a parabolic antenna with a diameter of 1.5 meters from the truck and climbed onto the truck bed to fix it in place.

Luo, Peng, and Zhang exchanged glances. This thing looked a bit like radar, something they had never heard of before. This was high technology!
The commercialization of satellite phones was promoted by Inmarsat-A in 1982, with its main application being communication between ships and aircraft.

The equipment consists of two parts: a parabolic antenna on the deck and main equipment below deck.

The satellite terminal's antenna diameter exceeds 1 meter, while the main equipment consists of a cabinet, power supply, etc. The overall volume is about one meter square, weighs tens of kilograms, consumes a lot of power, and requires a transfer from the maritime satellite network to the terrestrial telephone network to make calls.

There is currently no civilian market for it. Not to mention ordinary people, very few people in the maritime industry know about it. It is only installed on some ocean-going vessels.

How could Wang Yaotang not take a $1.4 million deal seriously? However, his presence on-site would be meaningless. What 100 buzz-cut men couldn't handle, he couldn't handle either. With a satellite phone, he could contact anyone in case of any problems. It would be easier for him to operate from the sidelines.

Once the satellite phone was assembled and powered by the truck engine, the phone quickly connected with Wang Yaotang, who was far away in Hong Kong.

"Brother Zhang, Brother Luo, Brother Peng, have you seen the goods? Are you satisfied?" Wang Yaotang said with a smile.

The satellite phone has excellent communication quality, which is understandable given its high price. The average monthly salary in Hong Kong is only enough for 20 minutes of calls, so it can't be bad.

"Good, satisfied, very satisfied." Zhang Qifu said with a big laugh, "Why didn't you come over, brother? I was thinking of giving you a proper welcome."

“I also want to go and see our Shan State Chinese compatriots with my own eyes, but I can’t get away. I wasted a lot of time before, and now I have a lot of things to decide and sign off on. The Tuen Mun Port construction plan and project, the expansion of the Tsing Yi Island oil and gas terminal and warehouses, the construction of the Sheng Yi Building, two factories in Hong Kong with an output value of over 10 billion are about to start production, and the cooperative construction of a large power plant, ship repair yard, shipyard in my hometown…” Wang Yaotang counted on his fingers as he told the three of them, “This does not even include the port and tourism industry development in Bangkok and Pattaya. I really can’t get away.”

"Oh right, you guys bought the goods too. I need to go back to my hometown and get another batch. There's just too much to do."

Zhang Qifu and the other two knew that Wang Yaotang was deliberately showing off to them, to let them know how big his business was and how wide his business scope was, but they were still amazed when they heard it.

Any one of these projects is beyond their reach!
Putting aside other things, the electricity in Tachileik, which Zhang Qifu controls, is supplied from Siam, and the amount of electricity it can supply is very small. Forget about industrial use; even daily electricity consumption has to be carefully calculated. This was the situation in his remote hometown at that time, let alone in the Golden Triangle.

If there is enough power supply... Zhang Qifu and the other two exchanged glances. If the man surnamed Wang could build a large power plant in his hometown, building a small one here would definitely not be a problem.

Another issue is shipbuilding; they even struggle to build wooden boats!

Their reputation and profession make even legitimate businessmen hesitant to cooperate with them.

After exchanging a few casual words, Luo Xinghan got down to business, mentioning his desire to purchase those pontoons.

"Hey, I thought it was something serious. It's just a few hundred pontoons. I'll give them to you. It's too much trouble to tow them back," Wang Yaotang said generously.

"We want more; we can't possibly give them all away. How much for one?"

"How could I possibly know such trivial matters?" Wang Yaotang's tone sounded quite speechless.

One sentence was enough to make the three of them unable to do it.

Do you really think it's just for convenience? Door-to-door delivery is good enough. Who cares how they transport it? Why bother with their service?

But Wang Yaotang can't bring it up; they have to ask for it themselves, and it can't be just once. Things that are asked for are the ones that are truly cherished.

"Is there anything else?" Wang Yaotang asked with a smile.

“Sell me this satellite phone,” Zhang Qifu said immediately.

"I also want."

"And I."

"Brothers, stop joking around," Wang Yaotang said directly.

"How much? Money is no problem!" Zhang Qifu said anxiously. He knew he would be ripped off, but he desperately needed communication equipment.

“This isn’t about money. Currently, a set of equipment costs $50, with installation fees separate. The network access fee is $5000 per month, and the call cost is $30 per minute. I believe this amount is negligible for you, but…” Wang Yaotang said in a deep voice, “Currently, there are only 4 communication satellites and 12 Inmarsat ground stations in the world. Channel resources are in short supply. At present, users are well-known ocean-going fleets, governments, and military agencies around the world, such as the Russian Coast Guard and the Russian Navy, which purchase in bulk for maritime patrol and military command.”

"I was able to get it because Hong Kong is the largest trading port and duty-free port in Asia. At the same time, I jointly established Haojiang Communications Company with the Ho family. With the right timing, location, and people, I was able to get the satellite phone business agency business in Hong Kong and Macau from Inmarsat-A Company." "There are too few users of this thing. The customer's identity needs to be strictly verified. Even if I sell you a few sets, it won't be useful. You can't get past Inmarsat-A Company."

"Why not just change to a different company or identity?" Zhang Qifu said eagerly.

"Impossible. The approximate location of the ground terminal cannot be concealed," Wang Yaotang denied directly.

Of course, you need to set a threshold for something that sells like this; otherwise, how can you show that the customer is different? Most of the $30 per minute call fee is for emotional value services.

In fact, they could just change the name of the geological exploration company and it would be perfectly reasonable for them to explore for minerals in Shan State, but Wang Yaotang wouldn't say that.

He only made a few bucks from a satellite phone, not enough to waste his breath; what he had his eye on was the fixed-line telephone market in Shan State.

Shan State is like a remote area of ​​my hometown in the 50s and 60s, well, maybe even worse. The soon-to-be-obsolete crossbar telephone exchanges and magneto telephones were used here.

Other telecom companies can't do this business, but we can. We can recruit our team directly from their hometowns. Those few bastards dare to owe other people's phone bills, but would they dare to owe their own?

Shan State has a population of over 300 million. No matter how backward it is, the profits from monopolizing the telecommunications market are still considerable. Besides, it's not like we're not developing. With ourselves around, how could we let others steal our business?
Smash his head!

No rush, the hooks are already set, we're just waiting for Luo, Peng, and Zhang to bite.

Telecommunications market, energy market, automobile market, home appliance market...

Mine, all of them are mine!
After hanging up the phone, Wang Yaotang chuckled.

The false Shan State King: Shan State Allied Army.

The real King of Shan State: The King of Shan State!

There was a knock on the office door, and Wang Yaotang pressed the open button.

"Chairman, the people from the Fourth Harbor Engineering Bureau have arrived," a young woman whose looks rivaled those of Hong Kong actresses said crisply as she walked in.

With so many companies under Wang Yaotang's control, Wei Tao, as a secretary, couldn't possibly manage it all. He had a team of over a dozen secretaries working behind him, who screened candidates based on their family background, education, business skills, and personality. If the candidate was a woman, her appearance was even more important. Every time someone was added to the team, it caused a small stir.

Reception room.

"Good afternoon, Director Zhou, good afternoon, Dr. Shi," Wang Yaotang said with a smile as he entered.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Wang." The two stood up.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the secretary pulled out chairs, and the three of them sat down around the mahogany table.

Seeing his secretary about to make tea, Director Zhou smiled, picked up the bag next to him, and took out a tin box. "I had someone bring some Lu'an Melon Seed tea from my hometown of Jinzhai County. Mr. Wang, have a taste."

“Great!” Wang Yaotang replied with a smile. “This is a famous tea. I’ve never actually tasted it before. It’s said that Empress Dowager Cixi was only entitled to enjoy this Lu’an Melon Seed tea after she gave birth to the emperor. President Zhou and Commander Ye also really liked this tea. When Kissinger visited China, Lu’an Melon Seed tea was presented as a national gift.”

"Haha, Wang Sheng said he's never had it before." Director Zhou laughed. A gift should be appreciated by its recipient to make them happy.

“This is no exaggeration. I’ve only heard of it but never tasted it.” Wang Yaotang said with a self-deprecating smile, “A few years ago, I couldn’t even get enough to eat. Later, when I suddenly became rich, I followed movies and TV shows and learned to drink red wine and coffee. I didn’t know how to enjoy myself. Now I realize that the real top-tier luxury goods are all in our hometown. They are carefully selected by our ancestors over thousands of years.”

“What garbage are those foreign countries!” Wang Yaotang shook his head with a look of disgust. “Those barbarians who eat raw meat and drink blood haven’t even evolved to be cleansed of their stench. How would they know what enjoyment is?”

This blatant contempt and discrimination left Director Zhou speechless with astonishment, a hint of embarrassment flashing in his eyes. "This...this..."

While the slogan "Catch up with Britain and surpass the United States" has inspired a group of people, it has also inadvertently created an image of backwardness. Hearing this kind of voice for a long time makes people start to think that everything abroad is better.

"The wine is still..." Dr. Shi blurted out subconsciously. He had returned from studying in France, and while he was patriotic, he also considered France his second home and couldn't bear to hear this.

“Grapes and fine wine in a luminous cup, we already had sophisticated winemaking technology in the Western Han Dynasty.” Wang Yaotang interrupted, “There was no Gallo in 200 BC, and the Celtic tribal civilization didn’t know anything about winemaking.”

"The fundamental reason why Europe took the route of wine and fruit wine was that the mountainous and hilly terrain led to backward agricultural technology. In the 15th century, they did not even know how to use manure. They were extremely ignorant, backward and barbaric. The insufficient grain yield led them to take the wine route. In contrast, our agricultural technology is advanced, so we developed grain-based winemaking."

"Furthermore, wine is naturally fermented, and the technological threshold is extremely low, while the technology threshold for making wine yeast in my country is too high. They are just a bunch of livestock who don't even take a bath. What do they know about enjoying life?"

Making so much money and gaining such a big reputation is all for the sake of being able to say whatever one wants. Wang Yaotang won't hold back just because the other party is from the Fourth Navigation Bureau.

Dr. Shi's face flushed red, and Director Zhou's expression was strange.

"What, haven't you ever seen someone like me who discriminates against foreigners?" Wang Yaotang laughed.

"No." Director Zhou shook his head.

“It’s really awful. In Jin Yong’s ‘The Deer and the Cauldron,’ Wei Chunfang angrily cursed: ‘Do you think your mother is a rotten whore? Damn it, if any Rakshasa or Red-haired devil comes to the Lichun Brothel, I’ll swat them out with a big broom.’ In fact, the most xenophobic ethnic group in the world is the Chinese. Going abroad to make a living doesn’t mean they are conservative, but they are still unwilling to leave Chinatown. Deep down, they still look down on them.”

Wang Yaotang said with a smile, "In Master Jing's eyes, you're just a nouveau riche from out of town, a country bumpkin. You're poor, but he looks down on you. Do you know how to spend your money, or do you want to learn everything from Master Jing—tea, silk, porcelain, handicrafts, cuisine…"

"What do they have? I've eaten the finest Western food from both China and abroad in the last two years. French foie gras, that stuff comes from ancient Egypt, Italian truffle steak. The perfect combination of meat and mushrooms, pshaw, they won't even make the best cuts, they're too ashamed. What kind of craftsmanship is that? Truffles are everywhere in China, and there's also Iberian ham."

Wang Yaotang chuckled, “Spain didn’t drive out the Moors until the 16th century. At that time, Iberians were Christian and didn’t eat pork, so they didn’t have any ham. Jinhua ham was a tribute during the Tang Dynasty. After the Age of Exploration, the Spanish stole the production technology from Jinhua, and it wasn’t until the 19th century that it got the name Iberian ham.”

"Other bouillabaisses are made by simmering sea fish, shellfish, tomatoes, saffron, fennel, pepper, and other spices for several hours. The tomatoes are from the Americas, the peppers and other spices are from Southeast Asia, and saffron goes without saying. Without these to remove the fishy smell, how can you drink that stuff? Who would believe that this method wasn't learned from us after the Age of Exploration!"

"Other French clear broths are based on stock such as beef or chicken. When we were making stock, we didn't even have Gallic chickens yet."

"Why is it said that all roads lead to Rome? Because in all of Europe, only Italy and Rome had civilization. Other regions were not just 'eating raw meat and drinking blood,' they were 'nouns,' they were 'verbs.' They didn't even have any countries, so what food culture or luxury goods did they have? From the Han Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, we always exported cultural and handicraft products. When did we ever import anything from them?"

"Let me tell you, you can't delve too deeply into these things. If you do, you'll find the filter is shattered, and it's so tacky!"

"Pfft!" Director Zhou really couldn't hold back this time. Dr. Shi pursed her lips, with a kind of indignation after her filter was shattered.

After a few boastful remarks, the relationship between the two parties was immediately brought closer. Wang Yaotang was no longer the arrogant foreign tycoon of the past, but a steadfast and approachable 'patriotic businessman,' and subsequent communication became much smoother.

The process of finalizing the construction plan, investment scale, construction timeline, and signing documents went very smoothly. All that remained was to hold a public signing ceremony.

The event should be grand, the guests should be of high status, and there should be a lot of media. This is not only to make his hometown famous, but also to make Tuen Mun Port famous, so that people, whether related or not, know that Tuen Mun Port will be built in three phases and will eventually become Hong Kong's largest port for importing raw materials!
Five days later, more than 50 domestic and foreign media outlets, heads of the top ten construction companies, the Directors of the Works Department and Commerce Department of Hong Kong, the Senior Secretary of the Government House, and others were all present, and the event was broadcast live on TVB and ATV.

That evening, Wang Yaotang made his first appearance on his hometown's news broadcast, spending a full five minutes introducing his life story, showering him with accolades such as self-made man, patriotic businessman, businessman who promoted trade and industry, and philanthropist.

What do you mean by "prestige"?
"Brother Yao, this is the videotape of last night's news broadcast." Wei Tao brought it over with a smile the next morning.

"Why record this?" Wang Yaotang's lips curled up.

"Yes, yes, I'll have someone save them. These are valuable video materials that all our employees should study." Wei Tao understood immediately.

"They're just doing useless things. Giving out more money is better than any kind of learning." Wang Yaotang could no longer suppress his smile.

"Understood, understood. I've set up a special publicity department to collect all the interviews and reports you've received both domestically and internationally. The company will build a museum for you, Yao-ge, and all of this will be historical material," Wei Tao said loudly.

"You, you..." Wang Yaotang could no longer contain his laughter and burst out laughing, "A raise! From now on, 1 yuan more every month!"

Wei Tao was overjoyed, "Thank you, Brother Yao!"

Seeing that Wang Yaotang was in a good mood, Wei Tao smiled and said, "After yesterday's press conference, people from the Hong Kong Construction Industry General Union, a subsidiary of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, came to us to ask about labor issues in Tuen Mun Harbour. What do you think..."

"What does this 'Hong Kong' project entail? What will it be used for?" Wang Yaotang blinked.

"The Hong Kong Construction Industry General Union is committed to protecting the rights and interests of construction workers and promoting the healthy development of the construction industry. Specifically, it mainly strives for reasonable wages for workers, legal support for construction disputes, and prevents foreign workers from becoming cheap labor and affecting the employment of local workers."

"Cheap labor?" Wang Yaotang seemed to understand something.

“It’s cheaper to use people who have fled to Hong Kong from their hometowns to work illegally or those from the Kai Tak refugee camp in Annam.”

"Damn it!" Wang Yaotang cursed, "Who gave them the nerve? I don't use the people from the Fourth Navigation Bureau back home who are fast, good, and cheap, but I use these scoundrels!"

"They really think they're something special!"

“They still have a lot of influence; all the construction companies on Hong Kong Island use their people,” Wei Tao explained.

“How much money did you receive from them?” Wang Yaotang said coldly.

Wei Tao: "..."

"Get out."

Wei Tao breathed a sigh of relief, lowered his head, and quickly retreated.

As the company grew, some personal relationships became unavoidable. Wang Yaotang didn't really hold a grudge against Wei Tao, but he was determined to deal with this so-called union.

Damn it, a bunch of vermin, trying to freeload off me.

They thought they were like Li Xiangjiao and Li Zhaoji, and would compromise as well.

That's just asking for death! (End of Chapter)