Returning wealthy individuals develop their hometowns and become rich in the 1980s

Chen Dong and Zhang Yi have been back in Tuocheng for nearly half a month. During this time, the three families gathered outside the ancestral home. Because there were so many banquets, Chen Zaiguang had to set up a shed outside the ancestral home to cook.

Xiao Huiyi's full moon celebration was very elaborate, and she received many gifts, mostly gold locks and anklets. During the banquet, the children ate happily, and the adults toasted each other, creating a lively atmosphere.

Because Zhang Yi wanted to open an "Angel" clothing factory in Nanshan County, she had been taking Chen Lianxiang and Elena around to inspect various places. Chen Dong, on the other hand, took Fang Guotai and his group, who came later, to explore Tuocheng and other places.

After a week of sightseeing, having basically seen everything, the group returned to the office of the Lianzhai Guangdong Factory, drinking tea and discussing Fang Guotai's proposed investment.

"Tony, which industry do you think has good prospects for investment in Tuocheng right now?" Fang Guotai waved his hand to refuse the cigarette Chen Dong offered, and asked Chen Dong while drinking tea.

"That depends on what good projects you have on hand right now," Chen Dong lit a cigarette and exhaled a puff of smoke. "Do you want to make a quick buck, or do you want to cultivate the mainland market long-term and reap the big rewards?"

"Tell me more about it!"

"If you want to make quick money, the best project right now is to form a joint venture with a local company in Tuocheng to establish an import and export company," Chen Dong said, looking at Lu Yuanshan, the director of the Tuocheng Municipal Bureau of Industry and Commerce who was accompanying him. "Currently, there is a severe shortage of household appliances, automobiles, and other products in the overseas market in mainland China. As long as you can reach an agreement with the Tuocheng Municipal Party Committee, the company will be very profitable once it is established!"

"However, relying on imports without having our own production lines in mainland China is not a long-term solution. As industries such as home appliances and automobiles develop in mainland China in the future, imports will inevitably be restricted and tariffs will be raised. You may be able to make a quick buck, but the subsequent benefits will decrease year by year. In my opinion, it's a waste of time and energy!"

"My recommendation is to choose a project that can create jobs and generate revenue for the local area, while also driving industry development and successfully managing the mainland market. It may be difficult at the beginning, and you may not earn as quickly or as much as with import and export, but once the products find a market and the market expands, the profits will be sustainable and far superior to import and export!"

"Tony, I heard you were planning to build an automotive industrial park in Tuocheng. How's it going?" After listening to Chen Dong's analysis, Fang Guotai asked about Chen Dong's automotive industrial park in Jinbu, Zhaoyang County.

"We've known each other since we were kids, and Director Lu is an old acquaintance too, so I won't beat around the bush," Chen Dong finished the rest of his teacup before continuing, "Before the new year, I started the acquisition of Saab Automobile in Switzerland, which cost me 6.8 million US dollars. Currently, I'm in talks with Scania about introducing their heavy-duty truck engine technology. They're asking for a very high price, and my Huasheng Fund team is still negotiating with Scania!"

"Saab Automobile, how did you come up with the idea of ​​acquiring such a company?" Fang Guotai frowned. "America has many struggling car companies; there are plenty of opportunities to acquire them!"

"What I want is absolute control, Cathay Pacific. Furthermore, I won't continue investing in Switzerland; instead, I'll relocate the factories and other facilities to Hong Kong. Once the international situation improves, I'll move them directly to Hong Kong!"

Fang Guotai nodded. He was aware of the embargo imposed on Batumi, so he naturally wouldn't ask questions like why they didn't just relocate to Tuocheng.

"Director Lu, regarding the automobile production qualification that I discussed with you when I went to the United States before the Lunar New Year, has the Municipal Planning Commission responded yet?" Chen Dong asked Lu Yuanshan, the director of the Municipal Administration for Industry and Commerce.

Lu Yuanshan said in a deep voice, "Mr. Chen, I have already reported your automobile production qualification issue on your behalf, but you may not be aware of the current issues regarding automobile production in our country!"

"The national automotive restructuring plan proposed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in principle, does not allow local or private capital to be involved in vehicle manufacturing. Currently, only three companies nationwide possess the qualifications to manufacture complete vehicles: FAW, Dongfeng, and Shanghai Automotive!"

"I consulted with colleagues at the Municipal Planning Commission, and their suggestion to you is twofold: first, to form a joint venture with a qualified state-owned automobile factory and then list it on the stock exchange through a reverse takeover!"

"Secondly, there's the option of a joint venture with the Tuocheng Machinery Bureau. Currently, the Ministry of Industry's policies regarding local auto parts and vehicle modification are relatively lenient. Mr. Chen, you could start here, producing and modifying buses and ambulances, or simply producing parts for the three major state-owned automakers. Gradually accumulate resources, and perhaps when the policies loosen, you'll be able to get approval!"

After listening to Lu Yuanshan's two suggestions, Chen Dong simply smiled and said nothing. It was clear that the comrades in Tuocheng were not qualified to know about the contracts that Chen Dong had signed with the National Development and Reform Commission and other ministries.

At the time, Chen Dong was in a hurry to return to New York because his wife Zhang Yi was about to give birth. He only mentioned it casually to Lu Yuanshan, who came to see him off. Lu Yuanshan did not slack off and did help Chen Dong to find connections and try to get the car industrial park that Chen Dong wanted to open in Jinbu Township to be successfully opened.

However, the local comrades were unaware that Chen Dong had already obtained the approval of the top leadership of China to independently launch the project. As long as Chen Dong bypassed the Tuocheng Planning Commission and contacted Wang Huaimin of the Nanshan Institute, he could quickly obtain the automobile production qualification.

Chen Dong's ultimate goal was to be listed in the "National Directory of Automobile and Motorcycle Manufacturers" managed by China National Automobile Industry Corporation. Only by being included in this directory could the vehicles produced obtain vehicle license plates from the Ministry of Public Security of China.

This is the key to future success that will prevent many people from entering the automobile manufacturing industry!

At that time in China, the three major state-owned automobile factories controlled the direction of the country's automobile development. State-owned factories had a drawback: when there was no external pressure, they were prone to the embarrassing situation of relying on their past achievements.

They knew that as long as they could survive and produce cars, regardless of quality, they would have no trouble selling them. They would either be purchased by local governments or taken over by the military. With a guaranteed income regardless of drought or flood, it would be very, very difficult to get them to break out of their comfort zone and put pressure on themselves to develop new technologies!

The Ministry of Industry of China clearly saw this, which is why it subsequently introduced foreign car companies such as Volkswagen, hoping to improve China's domestic car technology by relying on the existing mature automotive technology of overseas companies.

The idea was good, but foreign investors weren't stupid. The technology they provided was several generations behind. Moreover, after foreign companies entered China and formed joint ventures with state-owned factories, the state-owned factories shut down their own car brands and turned to operating the foreign brands they had introduced.

The Chinese government's idea was to have these state-owned automobile factories introduce advanced overseas technologies, absorb and learn from them, and eventually catch up with them. However, in the end, these joint ventures became the new "state-owned factories"!