What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 304 Wavering (5200 monthly votes in April)

"Selling our active-duty fighter jets to our competitors? What an absurd idea!"

Congressman Courtney looked at the McDonnell Douglas lobbyist in front of him with utter sarcasm:

"This is betrayal! You're aiding the enemy!"

The lobbyist, Brian, a senior employee of McDonnell Douglas, was still smiling.

Although the A4 is outdated equipment, its sale is still a sensitive matter and will most likely be put on the agenda for a hearing.

Before that, Brian had to figure out how to persuade the congressmen who were likely to disagree, such as the old man Courtney in front of him.

As a traditional elite, Courtney made no secret of her opposition.

Brian: "Sir, in fact, the Navy has decided to retire all A4s and their improved versions from service by 1998, and the TA4Js we sell are not combat models, but only trainer models."

Courtney: "I disagree."

Brian: "As far as I know, you also bought MD stock, you should..."

Courtney got even angrier when the topic of stocks came up, grabbing Brian by the collar:

"Your shitty DC9 and DC10 made me lose so much money! Now I can't even sell them!"
Now, get out of here immediately!

Brian had no choice but to apologize while packing his things.

Courtney was still fuming after he left and was just about to have a drink to relax when she heard another knock on the door.

He frowned as he looked at Brian outside the door:
"You left your things here?"

“No, Congressman Courtney, I just consulted the president, and he authorized me to tell you a confidential message.”

Brian waved his phone in his hand:

"The University of Tokyo has decided to purchase 100 MD-11 passenger planes from McDonnell Douglas."

Courtney looked skeptical:
"That's impossible. They're very poor. Why would they buy so many intercontinental passenger planes?"

Brian: "No, this is true, and they are willing to pay no less than $30 billion for it."

"$3000 million a plane? That's a bit low."

"But that's a hundred planes, and the agreement was to complete them and pay all the money by 2000."

At this moment, Courtney's expression finally softened. In terms of amount alone, this was definitely a super deal in recent years.

If converted using gold as the anchor, it would be roughly equivalent to 200 billion US dollars in modern times.

Furthermore, the value of the US dollar did not decrease at this time, making it more valuable than a safe haven.

Brian continued, "And they hope to license the McDonnell Douglas 11. If that's successful, they'll have to keep sourcing engines and other components from the U.S. for the next decade."

"The technology of wide-body large ocean-going passenger aircraft is very sensitive, and this may involve export restriction legislation."

Courtney frowned slightly; technology isn't something money can buy.

Although the current empire views everyone as worthless, it still strictly controls the export of technology.

However, Brian said with a smile:

"It won't be that easy. I think it will take them at least ten years to fully digest the technology of the McDonnell Douglas 11. By then, we will have better and more advanced alternatives—not even ten years will be enough."

Have you forgotten about the McDonnell Douglas 82? It's been 11 years now, and they've learned almost nothing about core technology except for assembly capabilities.

There's also the Peace Paradigm program, where their aviation industry can't even replace parts for the same type of aircraft, remaining stuck in the primitive era of handcrafted manufacturing.

While the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 did encounter setbacks, it remained a technologically advanced high-performance passenger aircraft.

"Indeed it is."

Courtney's expression relaxed considerably. The industrial jewel of the empire, how could it be so easily taken away?
Even a powerful nation like Russia couldn't compete with the West in civil aviation, let alone a significantly weaker version like China.

"So McDonnell Douglas doesn't want to be merged?"

Brian: "If it's merged, Boeing certainly wouldn't want to give up this order, but it definitely wouldn't choose the McDonnell Douglas MD-11, nor would it be willing to transfer its technology. This deal would probably be..."

Courtney was hesitant, but Brian continued to increase his bets:
"McDonnell Douglas already has the McDonnell Douglas 12, which is comparable to the 747 and A380. As long as it survives this period and enters the market, the stock price will definitely improve." "I need to confirm the authenticity of the news."

Courtney was somewhat tempted.

……

Ge Xuan and Han Feng returned to land, greatly increasing their confidence in the construction project.

Han Feng immediately made phone calls to gather people and equipment, preparing to seize the initiative by taking advantage of the distance and not let the outsiders gain any advantage.

Ge Xuan was fully aware of this and flew directly back to Shanghai to discuss countermeasures.

Only Su Weiguo held several large oil drums, cherishing them as if they were treasures.

After landing, they sent the samples to the nearest CNOOC refinery and asked them to conduct tests.

When the experienced workers at the refinery heard that the crude oil was from elsewhere, they immediately pried open a can, glanced at it, and raised their eyebrows:
"This oil...is it unprocessed crude oil from the first bottling?"

Su Weiguo nodded.

The other party didn't say anything, just found a long-handled plastic bucket, stirred it a few times, then scooped it up and tilted it, watching the crude oil fall in a thin line, appearing almost translucent.

Until the oil was completely poured out, no obvious viscous residue or asphalt-like residue was seen in the oil container.

The master craftsman smelled it again before saying with certainty:

"These should be the oil wells from the big dog's place, and one of the better ones."

It contains almost no gum or asphalt, and its non-pungent smell indicates a very low sulfide content. Although it is not condensate oil, it is still among the best.

"Is this the smuggled oil you seized? Our refinery has taken everything."

The last sentence is because they recognized Su Weiguo as a government official and heard that he was from the Maritime Surveillance Bureau, so they naturally assumed that the oil was illegally imported.

Su Weiguo was somewhat excited, suppressing his overwhelming joy as he asked:
"So, how does this oil compare to domestic oil?"

"Domestic? To put it bluntly, which factory would want to use domestic oil?"
They're still operating oil wells now to support the oil industry and prevent it from collapsing.

The experienced worker bluntly stated that crude oil is different from most raw materials; domestic crude oil is not only of poor quality but also has a high cost.

Many of the "large oil fields" recognized in China are not even worth developing abroad.

As soon as they left the refinery, Su Weiguo asked Tang Wen:

How much oil reserves did the Gejin discover?

"In the Liletan area alone, there should be more than 10 billion tons of mineable resources."

Tang Wen wasn't just making things up. Although he didn't remember the actual oil field reserves beneath Liletan, the figure in his memory should be over 20 billion tons, so he wasn't afraid to verify it.

"Moreover, besides Lile Reef, the other islands and reefs can also be developed for oil, and the reserves are not small. My goal is to achieve an annual production of 5000 million tons within a few years!"

Su Weiguo took a deep breath and fell straight backward.

"Director, Director, hang in there!"

"Quickly, pinch his philtrum."

"No, we need to do CPR. Let me do it!"

Fortunately, everyone's panic was unnecessary. Su Weiguo was just unable to accept it for a moment and staggered back a few steps before he could stand still.

"Stop saying anything, just get me back to Qiongzhou quickly!"

Su Weiguo looked at Tang Wen with red eyes:
"Xiao Tang, the Qiongzhou State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission may be considering investing in the company."

"no problem."

Tang Wen readily agreed, his smile unchanged.

Want a piece of the pie? No problem.

(End of this chapter)