Chapter Eighty-One: Communication

Mr. Wei, it appears that the main points of contention between us are, firstly, whether your company's products should be included in the material allocation plan, and secondly, whether the Foreign Exchange Administration can guarantee timely and sufficient foreign currency expenditure for imported raw materials. Regarding the issue of foreign currency expenditure, I personally don't see it as a significant problem. After all, the forex is yours; the department merely manages it centrally. If you truly can earn substantial foreign currency for the nation, I believe the Foreign Exchange Administration has no reason not to support your work. The primary issue now remains whether your products will be included in the material allocation plan. We understand your reasoning, so we will return to discuss and report to our superiors. We won't keep you any longer!

Wei Hua admired these men greatly; for the sake of the country, they never concerned themselves with personal gain or loss. He did his utmost to persuade Director Sun to stay for dinner, but Sun was eager to report back and declined. Before leaving, the Deputy Director Bai from the Hong Kong branch of Xinhua News Agency left his contact number. Wei Hua escorted the three out to the gate, watching as their car disappeared into the distance.

After another hectic week, Wei Hua finally found a suitable plot for the grand mansion he had envisioned. He entrusted Attorney Liu Weijian with handling the legal paperwork. Jessie, acting on behalf of the Hong Kong branch of Excellence Private Investment Company, purchased a ten-story building in Central, renaming it Excellence Tower. All the companies Wei Hua had instructed to be established were situated within this building. Snow Leopard Security Company also set up its office there, since the safety of Jessie and the senior staff of the investment company required professional security services. Jessie had already departed for Europe, her main purpose being to negotiate with Christina about purchasing the cargo ships and oil tankers needed for the ocean shipping company, as well as hiring crews for these vessels. Additionally, Jessie was responsible for acquiring several production lines for television picture tubes and refrigerator compressors from Europe. The site construction for Snowpool Appliance Manufacturing Company was progressing rapidly, and these production lines needed to be secured immediately to avoid delays in installation.

Jessie and her team stayed in Europe for over a month, mainly because the negotiations with Christina required time. Christina, though not gifted in management, had inherited a capable team from her father. Over the past few years, the "Olympic Shipping Company" had seen a decline in profits, but was not yet at the point of needing to sell ships. Thus, Jessie's purchase negotiations were tough, but eventually, Jessie succeeded in acquiring fifteen vessels of various sizes from Olympic Shipping Company, including two oil tankers and three cargo ships each over ten thousand tons, totaling a shipping capacity of 100,000 tons.

On August 6, 1980, Jessie and her team completed their mission in Europe and returned to Hong Kong. On August 8, in Excellence Tower, Deep Blue Ocean Shipping Company and Snowpool Appliance Manufacturing Company were officially established, quietly beginning operations. On the same day, Hope Charitable Education Foundation was also inaugurated in Excellence Tower. Father James had returned from the mainland, bringing fruitful results. In Beijing, he met his old friend, Mr. Song Qingling, who strongly supported the charitable educational foundation. Mr. Song had dedicated her life to the nation and its people, desiring a strong homeland and understanding the crucial importance of education. She thus offered much assistance to Hope Education Foundation's charitable work in the mainland. All of Wei Hua's aspirations had come to fruition, which made him extremely happy.

Wei Hua, the little butterfly who had crossed time, fluttered his wings without causing any storm. History continued along its original path. On August 26, the Fifteenth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Fifth National People's Congress decided to establish Special Economic Zones in Shenzhen, Zhuhai, and Shantou in Guangdong Province, as well as Xiamen in Fujian Province. When Wei Hua saw this news, he realized that the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone had finally emerged before the world. On September 10, Zhao Ziyang replaced Hua Guofeng as Premier of the State Council, marking the beginning of reform as the focal point of China's political and economic development.

On September 15, Director Sun and his secretary visited Hong Kong again. Wei Hua received them in his office on the top floor of Excellence Tower. Director Sun brought the superior's reply to Wei Hua's requests. As expected, the government agreed to Wei Hua's terms: products manufactured by Snowpool Appliance Manufacturing Company would not be included in the material allocation plan, and the policy of autonomous sales would be implemented. Hearing Director Sun's news, Wei Hua felt secretly triumphant: Panasonic, Toshiba, Hitachi—those Japanese appliance companies could prepare to eat dirt. Without the mainland Chinese market, let's see how they can grow. The main task now was to completely dominate the mainland household appliance market within two to three years, leaving no share for the Japanese companies.

In mid-October, the fifteen ocean vessels purchased by Deep Blue Ocean Shipping Company from Greece arrived in Hong Kong, as did the television picture tube production lines and refrigerator compressor production lines bought by Jessie from West Germany. By this time, after more than a year of construction, the Snowpool Appliance Manufacturing Company's factory in Shenzhen Shekou Industrial Zone was completed and ready for installation and commissioning of the production lines. Upon their arrival, Jessie immediately organized company personnel to transport all the production lines to Shenzhen Shekou, personally leading her team and the German installation and commissioning experts to Shenzhen.

One day, Wei Hua had just arrived at his office when his secretary brought him an invitation. Opening it, he saw that the host was Mr. Rong Zhijian of the Rong family in Hong Kong. Even without consulting his bio-computer, Wei Hua was well acquainted with the Rong family, having researched them extensively during his days as a writer. This family was known as the "Red Family," sometimes called "Red Capitalists." In the twenty-first century, online rumors claimed that much of the Rong family's funds in Hong Kong were backed by the Chinese government, and that many of their investments were essentially official mainland investments, such as the future China Trust Investment Company. Wei Hua did not know what motives the Rong family had in inviting him to the banquet, but he knew he had to attend. Excellence Private Investment Company had entered Hong Kong with a large influx of capital; the local tycoons would surely be aware, and eventually, he would need to interact with these financial magnates. This was a good opportunity to make acquaintances and exchange sentiments.

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