1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 370: Past Events in the Mainland

In America, where the air is sweet.

There is an organization called the National Endowment for Democracy.

Since its establishment, it has been committed to promoting global democratization and providing international media assistance. Since 1983, it has allocated nearly one million US dollars to Hong Kong alone each year.

Compared to the simple and crude method of giving money directly.

The English-speaking foreigner who looks like a gentleman is more polite.

First, the British trading company will lend you interest-free money, and then use its status as a colonial overlord to take you to the colonies to speculate in land and build banks. The money earned in this way is more secure than that from a trust fund.

"These are only part of the profits. If you do this for a longer period of time like me and get to know more bosses, being a broker can also be a profitable business."

Li Zhiying's second meeting with Zhai Yuan was at the Royal Golf Course.

If you want to talk about some shady business, the golf course is definitely the best choice. You can take down all electronic devices in the name of playing golf, and whatever you say on the empty golf course will be blown away by the wind.

Standing on the green grass, Li Zhiying taught Zhai Yuan in the tone of a senior, and said proudly: "There was a big turmoil in Myanmar some time ago. The younger brother wanted to drive the older brother out of office. I acted as a middleman to introduce the younger brother to the foreigners in America and England, and I also took a small commission from them."

Zhai Yuan's face was full of convinced acceptance.

No wonder all regions in East Asia later had to go through this black gold governor in order to get to know the military and political leaders of the United States. He started doing this business in the 1980s.

"England's laws stipulate that political donations do not violate the law. Factions need donations from their sponsors to maintain their operations. So when you donate money to a designated faction figure, you don't have to worry about the ICAC causing trouble. Of course, they don't dare to cause trouble either. We all have the same boss, and we support them!"

Li Zhiying continued to speak frankly, "It's actually very simple to make the boss happy. When 91 merges with Forbidden Fruit in the future, you just need to make achievements and increase sales. The rest is nothing more than criticism. The boss of Ouxi is very happy to see articles criticizing the mainland or other regions. Do they really hate the Chinese? Of course not, because this can highlight their good governance and enhance their reputation and publicity advantages during their term. In the final analysis, it's all about business."

Zhai Yuan smiled noncommittally: "It's too complicated for a housing estate boy like me to understand. In a nutshell, if I am willing to take over the Forbidden Fruit Daily to promote it, and then donate the donations to designated faction figures, and use public opinion to support them in getting promoted in Hong Kong, then the bosses will be willing to support me?"

Li Zhiying nodded and smiled, "That's a very good summary. From now on, the various charities and trust funds will transfer the money to some overseas accounts in batches, just as I just said. Each transaction will be worth tens of millions of dollars to maintain the operation of the newspaper. First, we will promote you to the position of the top media in Hong Kong. With this status, it will be convenient for us to further cooperate and take you to see the outside world."

Zhai Yuan pursed his lips and said nothing when he heard this.

It's more troublesome than I thought. After all, I have never been a traitor. I thought that if I accepted this title, the foreigners would directly give me hundreds of millions of dollars to spend.

From the current situation, it seems that it is better to take it slow and steady, consolidate the relationship, and then gradually increase your value when you are useful.

"So when can I see the boss?"

It can be seen that Li Zhiying must have received a lot of kickbacks for putting himself on the stage. Zhai Yuan wanted to know the original price of the foreigner.

Otherwise, being a traitor would be too depressing.

However, Li Zhiying obviously did not intend to give this opportunity. He looked at Zhai Yuan and smiled: "Now is not the right time. Do the work first. When you make achievements, I will naturally recommend you."

It's like a pyramid scheme.

Zhai Yuan complained in his heart, with a slightly disappointed look on his face.

Since you are not willing to give the money directly, collect some interest from other places first.

"You praise your boss as if he is the sky, but you don't pay him and don't meet him. This shows that you are not sincere."

Zhai Yuan thought for a moment, then smiled at Li Zhiying and said, "How about this, I'm setting up a performing arts academy, and the Legislative Council has been reluctant to approve the school's qualifications. Let's put the money aside first, can we get this done first?"

…………

How difficult is it to be a patriotic Chinese businessman in Hong Kong under the rule of the Hong Kong government?

Just look at what happened to Lei Yingdong.

Or looking at the present, Zhai Yuan is setting up a performing arts academy through normal procedures, the Hong Kong government keeps talking about people's livelihood education, and Ho Chi-long is busy with various approval qualifications, and the scheduling still has to wait until the second half of the year or even after the new year.

But just change your stance a little bit.

Less than half a month after Zhai Yuan met with Li Zhiying for the second time, from the Legislative Council to the Social Welfare Department, the approval process at all levels went as smoothly as if using an enema.

“Here are the registration materials sent by the Legislative Council’s Department of Internal Affairs, including school name registration, legal person liability, tax registration and other related documents.”

"The Building Development Department has approved matters such as land use rights, building design and construction permits near Chunqiu College."

"The tax bureau called to ask whether the new university's funding source needs to rely on donations or non-profit funding. They can give the school some tax deductions at their discretion..."

He Zilang was extremely uncomfortable with the sudden change in the efficiency of the Hong Kong government. He found Zhai Yuan with a pile of relevant materials and couldn't help asking what kind of shady operation his boss was doing?
"Mr. Zhai, is the newly appointed Governor of Hong Kong, Wei Yixin, your relative?"

On the 9th of last month, the 27th Governor of Hong Kong, Sir David Wilson, landed at Queen's Pier, and the Acting Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Chung, officially stepped down.

Zhai Yuan did not respond, but asked: "I don't want to accept funding from other organizations. Can I set up a charity foundation myself?"

Building a university is expensive, especially for a profit-making institution like this one, which has a heavier tax burden than public schools. Not avoiding taxes and paying money to the Hong Kong government is tantamount to throwing money away.

He Zilang nodded and replied: "Institutions of higher learning themselves meet the requirements of charitable organizations, and can also avoid high tax burdens and improve social image."

"Then register a charity fund of your own and do some publicity to see if anyone is willing to donate money."

"What's the name? Spring and Autumn College Charity Foundation?"

"Nervous!" Zhai Yuan squinted at him and said, "Of course I'll use my name. What's the point of a school having a good reputation?"

He Zilang laughed awkwardly: "I understand. I totally understand."

Next, fill in all the registration information and wait for stamping. Soon the name of "Spring and Autumn Academy of Performing Arts" will be recorded in the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong University.

The next day after completing the formalities.

Zhai Yuan received a call from Li Zhiying.

Fatty Li laughed proudly on the phone, "How is it, Ayuan? Do you feel that choosing a different position makes things easier than before? I asked, and actually all your approval materials are fine, but it will take at least a year to get it done according to the rules, and it's still unknown whether it will be approved. After all, it's about people's livelihood and education, how could the Hong Kong government easily hand it over to a layman like you? It's possible that they'll delay you until 97."

Zhai Yuan held the phone, cursed two words silently, and smiled and said a few flattering words.

Li Zhiying's voice came again: "The University Grants Committee will allocate you 50 yuan in funding. Although the money is not much, it is also a recognition of your attitude towards running a school. What follows is your attitude~"

Zhai Yuan smiled and replied, "I understand. Don't worry, Boss Li. You will see my attitude in the September 1st Daily soon."

hang up the phone.

Zhai Yuan thought for a while and decided to keep this Boss Li for the time being to satisfy his desire to be a big boss behind the scenes. It has been heard in later generations that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has 16 billion US dollars of dog food. If he can take a bite this time, it is not impossible to play role-playing games with the other party.

"Hey, Brother Zhou, don't worry, Xiao Ping will be fine in Xiangjiang with me taking care of her."

Zhai Yuan then called Zhou Xuejun and briefly chatted about his daughter Zhou Ping. Then he changed the subject: "I'm calling this time to ask you to help me find someone, a writer from the mainland. His real name is Guan Moyan, and his current pen name should be Mo Yan. I don't know any more specific information. I read his articles when I went to the mainland last time and was very interested. Can you help me find out..."

…………

"My goodness, the information you gave me is too little. I asked a lot of people to inquire at various publishing houses, and it took me a week to find some information from Hebei's Lotus."

It had been a week since Zhou Xuejun called again.

Zhai Yuan returned to Jiuyi Entertainment from the newspaper office and was explaining something to Shi Nansheng when the phone on the desk rang.

He picked up the phone and said hello with a smile.

He then whispered to Shi Nansheng: "There's no rush for the other actors, just get Zhang Guorong back first."

Shi Nansheng pushed the door open and went to contact Zhang Guorong who was having a concert overseas and asked her to return quickly.

Zhai Yuan held the receiver and asked Zhou Xuejun with a smile: "Is the name correct?"

"Yes, Guan Moyan, pen name Mo Yan, both are correct. You probably saw his articles in the mainland through Lotus Magazine."

"Maybe, I can't remember."

Zhai Yuan said a few vague words, thinking that the information given was too little, and was about to give up on this literary master and prepare to take on the battle himself.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Xuejun was willing to put in the effort and actually found the other person.

Zhou Xuejun's voice came: "I heard that you started a newspaper in Hong Kong. Are you planning to ask him to write for you? This young man is only in his early thirties this year. If you need, I can help you find a few more veteran writers."

"No need." Zhai Yuan directly rejected his kindness and asked: "Can I arrange for him to come to Hong Kong to work? I will pay him 100 per thousand words, plus a base salary of yuan. The living environment will be worse, in the public housing where my family used to live."

On the other end of the phone, Zhou Xuejun gulped and said, "Well, actually, I'm also quite good at writing..."

Zhai Yuan rolled his eyes in annoyance.

What’s the use of your skills? Can you write articles as sharp and incisive as my teacher Mo Yan?

…………

Mid June.

The circulation and sales of "September 18st Daily" gradually stabilized, almost the same as the sales of the first issue, basically maintained at around .

After the habit of reading newspapers was formed, these 18 readers formed the basic base of the newspaper.

In terms of sales alone, it can barely maintain normal operations, including the employee salary expenses of the entire Jiuyi Culture Company.

But the profit that went into Boss Zhai's pocket was not much.

"You can start accepting advertisements this month. Put the movie ads of my 91 Entertainment on the front page. Take more high-priced items such as real estate and jewelry on the front page. The same goes for the food column. The first choice is those big restaurants..."

Zhai Yuan asked Pan Yongqiang to go out and discuss advertising matters, which is also the bulk of the newspaper industry's profits.

A circulation of 18 is by no means low, and it can receive many high-quality business orders. According to the financial report released by Ming Pao last year, the other party had an average daily sales volume of 20, and an annual profit of more than million, of which Jin Liangyong accounted for %.

During the same period, the sales of Forbidden Fruit Daily had climbed to 25, and the more it sold, the greater the loss.

"Mr. Zhai, I have already made this issue's comic column based on the story you provided. Do you think it is in this style?"

Pan Yongqiang just walked out of the office.

A young girl from the comics column walked in with a bright smile and placed several four-frame comics on Zhai Yuan's desk.

The girl's name is Chen Shaomei, pen name Xueqing. She was previously the cartoon assistant of Li Huizhen, a newspaper art designer. After Li Huizhen was recruited to Jiuyi, she introduced her to create four-frame cartoons, intending to give a new talent a chance to come to the fore.

The first time Chen Shaomei was promoted from assistant to chief writer, the work she submitted was a love script with a Japanese style, featuring a big-eyed beautiful girl.

Zhai Yuan felt that this was not possible as the pace was too slow and was obviously not suitable for a daily paper like a newspaper.

So a new set of comics was tailored for this young girl, still in the youth campus style, but more inclined to the "Abbot's Courtyard" style of humor.

It's called "A Shuai".

It would have been fine if Boss Zhai hadn't made a move, but he directly copied the most popular comedy comic in mainland China after the millennium. He designed the image and style with Chen Shaomei and provided her with the story. More than a month after the publication of the comic, the image of "A Shuai" has already invaded the junior and senior high school campus groups, and the stinky tofu in Goldfish Street has suddenly become a popular delicacy among children and teenagers.

"OK, no problem."

Zhai Yuan quickly glanced at the draft that Chen Shaomei placed on the table. There was basically no problem with it. On the basis of the original work, some popular memes among contemporary Hong Kong teenagers were incorporated. With his personal supervision, the difficulty of creation was not too high.

"After 50 issues, you can reorganize the content and the company will print it into a book and help you publish and distribute it. However, the contract needs to be re-signed, which is like signing a long-term indenture~"

Putting down the draft, Zhai Yuan smiled and nodded to Chen Shaomei. Just a few words of encouragement made this comic girl, who was younger than him, blush with excitement.

From being a comic assistant to becoming a writer who can publish comic books, it doesn't matter what you sell, let alone your indenture.

However, Zhai Yuan is now used to eating good food, and although Chen Shaomei is quite pretty, he can't bring himself to think of anything else.

I have simply handled a few transactions at Jiuyi Culture.

Around 6pm.

Chen Jiale, who was sent to the airport to receive the distinguished guests, called.

"Brother Yuan, I have already received Mr. Guan from the mainland. Should I bring him to see you now?"

"Really? Then bring him here first. I'll be waiting for you at the Jiuyi Culture Office."

After hanging up the phone, Zhai Yuan straightened his clothes and grinned.

He casually pulled over a copy of the "September 1st Daily" next to him, crossed out a page introducing overseas customs, and picked up a pen to write a new column name.

"Past Events in the Mainland", Editor-in-Chief: Guan Moyan
(End of this chapter)