The train driver in the courtyard

Hextech is now involved in more and more fields, many of which are specialized niche areas.

Li Aiguo naturally didn't know what to do and could only rely on professionals.

Li Aiguo's basic logic for engaging in several industries is to identify the general direction, invest in technology and capital, recruit professional talent, and then appropriately control and guide the direction.

Like Hongxing Automobile and Hongxing Mining Company, they are currently all composed of veterans who have been immersed in the industry for decades.

The same applies to Red Star Shipping.

However, it cannot be said that all past life experiences are good.

After all, the timeline has changed, and many experiences from the previous life may not be applicable to this era.

Everything needs to be explored gradually, and mistakes should be corrected promptly.

If you want to accomplish something, you will definitely encounter many difficulties, but once you succeed, the rewards will be very generous.

In the office of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

While Li Aiguo was sizing up Zheng Yushan, Zheng Yushan was also observing Li Aiguo. The real person in charge of this behemoth was far too young.

Looking at the simple decorations in the office, Zheng Yushan felt as if he had returned to the time when he first established his fleet decades ago.

Back then, I couldn't afford to rent an office, so I could only work from behind a grocery store.

"Comrade Aiguo, these are the financial documents of our Zheng family fleet for the past two years. Please take a look."

Having worked on the front lines for many years, Zheng Yushan had developed a decisive and efficient work style. Without any unnecessary words, he handed over a stack of materials.

To acquire another party's fleet, you definitely need to understand their background, including how many assets and how much debt they have.

"Okay." Li Aiguo took the document and began to read it carefully.

Zheng Yushan explained from the side: "Currently, our fleet has a total of seven cargo ships, three of which are capable of ocean-going navigation."

These were the three ships that Panama seized last time. Thanks to Brother Yang's help, otherwise these three ships would have been lost too.

"You're too kind. We're all family when we're traveling together." Yang Jizong nodded.

Li Aiguo then flipped through most of the financial documents.

The Zheng family's fleet has indeed suffered heavy losses over the years, mainly due to the seizure of their ships, resulting in substantial financial losses.

In fact, there are no problems with daily operations.

This is very crucial.

Although the establishment of the shipping company was for the benefit of Hongxing Mining and Hongxing Automobile, the shipping company itself also needs to have the ability to generate its own revenue, otherwise it will not be able to continue operating.

When Li Aiguo brought up the operational status, Zheng Yushan explained: "Our ships are all old ships. According to the fleet's financial practices, we divide the cargo ships into a four-year depreciation period, which means that the cost of buying the ship is spread over the first four years."

After deducting the cost of purchasing the ship, and covering daily operations, labor, fuel maintenance, and dock fees, the annual net profit is approximately one million Hong Kong dollars.

“One million?” Li Aiguo nodded and said, “After calculating depreciation in advance, the actual profit should be even higher.”

The shipping industry is not doing too well right now, and many people are losing money.

It seems that the Zheng family's fleet was able to obtain such substantial profits, which is inseparable from Zheng Yushan's personal abilities.

These seasoned captains, who have risen through the ranks from the ground up, are far better at maintaining a fleet than shipping experts.

“Yes, that’s right.” Zheng Yushan explained, “The early depreciation of cargo ships also takes into account the prevention of unexpected accidents. It is not common for large ships to have maritime accidents, but it has happened before. Early depreciation is a responsible way to protect the assets of shareholders.”

“That’s true.” Li Aiguo nodded and said, “When running a ship, you can’t just think about making money. You also have to consider unexpected accidents. I see that you’re mostly handling bulk cargo. If you had stable orders, your profits could increase by 20%.”

“Yes.” Zheng Yushan sensed that the young man in front of him also knew something about shipping, and replied, “Stable orders allow for advance planning of routes and return cargo, so even if we give the cargo owners a lot of discounts, we can still make more profit.”

In fact, many of the major shipping companies abroad have a number of stable orders.

For example, the Maersk Group has a very good relationship with companies like General Electric and ExxonMobil, and they transport goods for them.

Running a shipping business is actually similar to driving a rideshare; if you can carry passengers both ways, you'll definitely earn more than if you're driving an empty car.

“That’s our advantage.” Li Aiguo nodded. “Now Hextech sends more than a dozen cargo ships worth of goods to Xiaomei’s family and Young Master Ou every month, as well as minerals from Africa. These are all stable orders.”

Zheng Yushan was aware of these circumstances, which was one of the reasons he was willing to sell the fleet to Hextech.

Currently, only with Hextech can Zheng's fleet develop better.

Even though the Zheng family fleet has changed its name and has nothing to do with Zheng Yushan anymore, he doesn't want to see the Zheng family fleet disband.

Zheng Yushan still reminded him, "Comrade Aiguo, the documents in your hand contain detailed information about each cargo ship."

“Hmm.” Li Aiguo read through them one by one. Zheng Yushan wrote very clearly, including the valuation of these ships.

Li Aiguo doesn't need to worry about these figures being problematic.

Hextech has now set up an audit office, which will conduct a thorough review.

If an anomaly is discovered, it will be a very serious problem.

After taking a look, Li Aiguo said, "It's reasonable. The price of the entire fleet is within Hextech's budget. We can sign the agreement now. Once the port city takes over, all the payments will be transferred to the Zheng family's account."

"So fast!" Zheng Yushan was somewhat surprised. After all, this was a multi-million dollar deal, and he had originally thought it would take several days to negotiate.

“I believe the price you offered is very fair, right?” Li Aiguo said with a smile.

"Please rest assured," Zheng Yushan said calmly. "However, I have one more request that I hope you can grant. I hope you can keep the crew members on board, especially the ordinary crew members."

Senior crew members in the fleet can switch jobs at any time, but those ordinary crew members have been with the Zheng family for decades. If they lose their jobs, what will their families eat?
“Of course, but all crew members must undergo background checks. I hope you can understand,” Li Aiguo said.

“Of course.” Zheng Yushan nodded.

Li Aiguo paused for a moment, then said, "Also, I hope you can stay on and continue to oversee the work as the manager of Hongxing Shipping."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yushan was visibly taken aback, and replied, "I'm getting old, and the Zheng family's fleet is still in my hands, not quite there yet."

"It's not your fault that you failed in your mission. The new fleet needs someone to steer it. We can only feel at ease with an experienced comrade like you in charge."

Upon hearing the words "veteran comrade," Zheng Yushan became somewhat excited and nodded emphatically: "Please rest assured, I will do my utmost to help our Hongxing Shipping become the world's largest shipping company."

"Good!" Li Aiguo breathed a sigh of relief. With Zheng Yushan in charge, Hongxing Shipping would avoid many detours.

The two then signed an agreement.

Zheng Yushan handed the agreement to Li Aiguo: "Comrade Aiguo, from now on, the Zheng family's fleet will be renamed Hongxing Shipping. I think this name is quite good."

“I think so too.” Li Aiguo handed the documents to Yang Jizong, saying that once they returned to the port city, the lawyers could handle the formalities.

"Manager Zheng, what are your thoughts on the future development of Hongxing Shipping?" Li Aiguo offered cigarettes to the two men.

Zheng Yushan took the cigarette, realizing it was time to fulfill his duty. He took a drag and said slowly, "I've looked into the current cargo volume of Red Star Mining and Hextech. It's safe to say that with just a few ships from Red Star Shipping, we can't meet the transportation needs."

“Yes, buying a boat is imperative.” Li Aiguo then asked, “But should we buy a new boat or an old one?”

“Older ships are cheaper, but it’s hard to guarantee they won’t have problems, especially at sea,” Zheng Yushan said without offering a direct suggestion.

“Old ships do indeed carry this risk,” Li Aiguo nodded.

Older ships have higher maintenance costs and fuel consumption, which isn't a big deal, but if they break down halfway through the journey, that's a much bigger problem.

It's important to understand that maritime transport isn't like going on a leisurely trip. Every transport mission requires reporting to international shipping organizations and coordinating with various ports.

If the ship runs into trouble halfway through the journey and needs rescue, the cost will be astronomical.

Sometimes the cost of a single rescue operation is enough to buy half a boat.

More importantly, the cargo on board is covered by contracts, and if it cannot be delivered on time, a large amount of liquidated damages will be required.

Although the possibility is relatively small, we still cannot let our guard down.

"We still need to spend the money we need to spend. We can buy a few new boats first to meet our daily operations."

“Actually,” Zheng Yushan looked up at Li Aiguo and said, “we can buy those ocean-going freighters that haven’t been delivered yet.”

"There are ships like this?"

"Under normal circumstances, no. After all, it takes seven or eight years from when a shipping company places an order to when a shipyard produces an ocean-going freighter. Each ocean-going freighter is produced after a buyer is found."

Zheng Yushan gave a brief explanation of the situation, and Li Aiguo couldn't help but laugh after listening.

That unfortunate shipping company was called Desta, from the Pampas Eagles.

In its early years, the Pampas Eagles developed very well, and its abundant resources gave it enormous potential, making it a near-developed country.

Desta Shipping expanded aggressively, ordering three 10,000-ton ocean-going cargo ships from Norwegian shipyards, intending to make a fortune once the ships were built.

Unexpectedly, both Xiao Mei and Lao Maozi set their sights on the Pampas Eagles' home.

Meanwhile, the internal situation of the Pampas Eagles has also undergone earth-shattering changes, with a new leader every two years on average, making a complete mess of things.

Desta had also considered expanding into overseas business, but Xiao Mei's family and Young Master Ou were both keeping an eye on it.

Beset by internal and external troubles, Desta simply gave up and declared bankruptcy.

The shipyard responsible for building the ships was dumbfounded. The three 10,000-ton ocean-going freighters were about to be delivered, but the buyers had disappeared.

The shipbuilding model of that era was not "getting a deposit before spending money", but rather "advancing funds first to start the business, with the deposit only enough to fill part of the gaps".

The shipyard had already advanced more than double the deposit, meaning they had built more than half the ship but only received one-fifth of the payment.

When Desta went bankrupt, this advance payment became an unrecoverable bad debt.

Logically, the shipyard shouldn't lose too much money if it sells the ship.

The key is that those who can buy 10,000-ton cargo ships are either state-backed shipping companies or a few large capitalists, and Desta was one of the few powerful buyers.

"How much cheaper can it be?" Li Aiguo asked directly.

"At least thirty percent," Zheng Yushan hesitated for a moment before giving a conservative figure.

"Okay, I'll leave this to you."

"Once we get back to the port city, we'll contact the shipyard immediately and try to buy all three ships back."

Li Aiguo said, "No, you should release the news first and let the Norwegian shipyard contact us."

Zheng Yushan was taken aback for a moment before he understood Li Aiguo's intention and nodded in agreement.

The purchase of the boat was finalized by noon.

Li Aiguo originally planned to treat the two to a working meal at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot, but then he remembered that a wolf meat feast had been prepared at the courtyard house, so he suggested that they go back together.

Neither Yang Jizong nor Zheng Yushan had ever eaten this before, let alone attended a similar banquet, so they agreed on the spot.

Yang Jizong had prepared gifts in advance for his trip to the mainland, including cosmetics for Chen Xueru and small toys for the two children.

Zheng Yushan went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought a few bottles of wine, with wine coupons issued by Li Aiguo.

Both men changed into slightly worn Zhongshan suits and could speak fluent Cantonese, so they could pretend to be guests from the south.

Back in the compound, the middle courtyard was already bustling with activity.

Nan Yi, as the head chef, was busy at the cutting board. Xu Damao, along with Hailong and Haitao, were in charge of collecting firewood.

This was originally Yan Jiekuang's job; they were all in the hospital taking care of the Third Uncle.

Liu Haizhong led a few children to start a fire.

In no time, the air was filled with a delicious aroma.

He Yushui and several girls moved out the square table from their home, and also brought out some stools.

Since Yang Jizong and Zheng Yushan were guests, they were invited to sit at the head table.

"We don't have anything fancy here, here, have some melon seeds." Liu Lan used her expertise to act as a waitress.

Yang Jizong ate sunflower seeds while sighing.

"Patriotic comrades, this atmosphere is really comforting."

Zheng Yushan nodded in agreement: "Yes, every household contributes their labor and eats together, just like in our fleet, but with a greater sense of community."

Xu Damao came over to join in the fun and chimed in, "The most important thing is to have this wolf meat."

Upon hearing this, Yang Jizong and Zheng Yushan exchanged a glance and nodded in unison.

The excitement at the Intermediate People's Court also reached Yi Zhonghai's home.

Yi Zhonghai wasn't really craving the wolf meat, but when he heard that guests from out of town were coming, he felt that as the eldest son of a man in a courtyard house, he should step forward.

Yi Zhonghai changed into a clean Zhongshan suit, walked out of the house with his hands behind his back, and was stopped by Yan Jiecheng before he reached the pool.

"Grandpa, what are you doing?"

"Ahem, it's Jie Cheng. I saw that outsiders have come. You know Hai Zhong's skill level; he'll only be ridiculed. It's only because I, an old man, have to step in." Yi Zhonghai's expression remained unchanged, his face neither red nor pale.

In the past, Yan Jiecheng would never have offended him, but when he thought about how Yi Zhonghai had blocked the rescue after Yan Bugui fell into the ravine, he realized that...

If it weren't for Li Aiguo, Yan Bugui would have been eaten by wolves by now.

Yan Jiecheng was furious.

"Uncle, according to everyone's agreement, this wolf meat feast can only be attended by families who participated in the rescue, right? Did you participate?"

Yan Jiecheng's words were tantamount to slapping Yi Zhonghai in the face.

Yi Zhonghai stood there awkwardly, at a loss for what to do.

If I leave, wouldn't I lose all face?

If we don't leave, everyone's watching us.

"Hey, old man, come back and take your medicine!" At the crucial moment, an older woman ran over and pulled Yi Zhonghai back into the house.

Yi Zhonghai, sitting in his chair, slammed his fist down hard.

"Yan Jiecheng dares to criticize me? Does he have no manners at all?!"

An older woman advised, "Forget it, Old Yan is still lying in the hospital, and this child is holding in his anger."

"Old Yan's matter isn't my responsibility. I was just thinking about everyone's safety. Now, instead of thanking me, they think I'm trying to harm Old Yan. What kind of nonsense is this?" Yi Zhonghai said angrily.

This is the characteristic of people like Yi Zhonghai.

They will fabricate all sorts of lies to justify their selfishness, and they even believe these lies themselves, thinking that they have done nothing wrong.

This kind of person isn't stupid or foolish; they're just simply wicked.

Li Aiguo did not witness Yan Jiecheng's attempt to stop Yi Zhonghai.

Even if they saw it, they wouldn't care, because the wolf meat soup had already been served.

Each person had a large bowl, with specks of oil still clinging to the rim of the rough porcelain bowl. The soup was steaming with milky white vapor, carrying the aroma of meat and vegetables that wafted straight into one's nose.

Yang Jizong and Zheng Yushan both finished a large bowl of wine, and Liu Haizhong even came over to offer them a few toasts.

After a satisfying meal, the residents of the compound began tidying up their yards.

After Li Aiguo helped move the tables to the residents, he took the two men back to his study.

The fleet arrangement has been finalized, but the dock arrangements haven't been discussed yet.

“I also agree with buying the dock, especially since we have some special goods that need to be transported.” Zheng Yushan now considered himself a part of Hongxing Shipping.

“Now, some ports around the world have started handling container loading and unloading, and I think this model is the future of shipping.”

However, this loading and unloading requires the port to have large-scale supporting equipment and supporting transport vehicles.

It would be even better if trains could transport the containers; this not only involves a large investment but also requires container technology support.

Hearing this, Yang Jizong, who rarely spoke, smiled: "Old Zheng, I forgot to tell you, container technology is now gradually becoming popular in China, and the person who developed this technology is Comrade Li Aiguo."

"Really?! That's great!" Zheng Yushan was very happy.

Once shipping is on track, the competition boils down to cost. With the support of container technology, Red Star Shipping can significantly reduce costs and compete with shipping giants in Europe and America.

Li Aiguo had long had this idea. Container transport at several railway docks has been in operation for two or three years now, and the technology is already mature.

"Besides container transshipment at the port, is there anything else?"

“A shipyard! That’s another huge investment.” Zheng Yushan’s voice trailed off as soon as he said it.

Buying massive ships, purchasing docks, and building container terminals are already considered huge investments.

"As long as the money is well spent, we should spend it all." Li Aiguo asked, "What's the deal with the shipyard?"

Zheng Yushan explained: "Ji Zong once said that you attach great importance to the shipping market, which means that Hongxing Shipping will have more cargo ships in the future. As a result, our task of repairing and maintaining ships will be very heavy."

Putting aside the cost, going to a shipyard for repairs would take a lot of time, and currently, there are often long queues at the shipyards in the port city.

Therefore, I think that if we have our own shipyard, the investment may be larger, but it will save a lot of time and costs.

At the same time, having their own repair shop means their own staff will pay more attention, which has a significant impact on the lifespan of the vessel.

"I think it's feasible," Li Aiguo said decisively. "How much will it cost exactly?"

Zheng Yushan pondered for a moment: "The investment in the shipyard itself is only a few million. It needs to be built in conjunction with the dock and the dry dock needs to be planned in advance. It must be near a deep-sea port, which is why I brought this up at this time."

However, it requires purchasing a large amount of land in advance.

"So, the most important thing is to have a suitable port and land suitable for building a shipyard?" Li Aiguo asked.

"Yes, the best ports in the port city have long been occupied by large shipping companies. If we were to make a move, the cost would be too high."

Zheng Yushan was already considering the location of the dock, but after looking around, he couldn't find a suitable one.

The port city has a history of more than 100 years, and its excellent port has long been directly or indirectly in the hands of foreigners.

Li Aiguo picked up a map of the port city and tapped on it with his finger.

"What do you think of it here?"

“Kwai Chung Wharf?” Zheng Yushan frowned. “Isn’t that a garbage dump? The bay is indeed deep enough, but the usable land area is too small. It’s just a small wharf. Otherwise, those companies in Hong Kong would have taken it over long ago.”

"If the land area is small, we can reclaim land from the sea."

"..." Zheng Yushan looked at Li Aiguo with a strange gaze. Was this guy joking?
Li Aiguo was not joking.

In later generations, Kwai Chung Pier was actually built on reclaimed land in Drunken Bay.

Due to the unique terrain, the cost of land reclamation is not high, and the technical difficulty is not great.

It's just that nobody's paying attention to this place right now, otherwise Red Star Company wouldn't be here to take advantage of the situation.

Seeing Li Aiguo's resolute attitude, Zheng Yushan pondered for a moment and nodded: "If we want to reclaim the sea, we need to conduct surveying and mapping, and we also need to consider where the necessary materials will come from. After I return to the port city, I will need to find experts to conduct an evaluation."

“We have geological experts and dock experts here. As for materials, there is a small hill behind Kwai Chung that is blocking the flow of Kwai Chung. This time we can move the hill, which can both reclaim land from the sea and build roads.”

“It seems you’ve planned this all along. Then leave this to me.” Zheng Yushan nodded. “I’ll start making arrangements once we return to Hong Kong.”

Li Aiguo then looked at Yang Jizong: "We can't waste time. We must act as soon as possible to acquire the Kuiyong Wharf and the surrounding land."

"Don't worry, I had my lawyer draft the relevant documents before I came," Yang Jizong replied.

Because both Yang Jizong and Zheng Yushan were carrying heavy responsibilities, they left the capital by train that very evening.

Li Aiguo then began writing a development report for Hongxing Shipping, intending to submit it to the ministry.

Like other international shipping giants, Red Star Shipping needs more than just money; it also needs a powerful backer.

I was busy until after 5 p.m. before the report was finally finished.

Li Aiguo handed in the report and rode his motorcycle back to the courtyard house.

Just then, Aunt Liu and Zhang Gangzhu ran into them, who were on their way to the hospital to visit Uncle San.

This is an old rule: whenever the residents in the compound encounter any problems, everyone lends a hand.

There's no need to bring any expensive gifts; a few eggs and half a bag of brown sugar will suffice. It's all about the sentiment.

Li Aiguo followed suit and brought five eggs to the hospital.

Compared to last night, the third uncle is in much better condition. Although he is lying in bed unable to move, his face has regained some color.

Upon seeing Li Aiguo enter, the old man's first words were: "Aiguo, did you save me a bowl of wolf meat soup?"

The night is getting darker.

Inside a study in the capital city.

The superior opened the file folder and took out a report.

"The necessity of establishing Hongxing Shipping. Maritime transport is the world's cheapest mode of transportation, and the balance of bulk commodity transportation will inevitably tilt towards maritime transport. In the future, iron ore from Kangaroo will cross the Indian Ocean directly to Tangshan Port, and Middle Eastern crude oil will cross the Strait of Malacca to supply refineries in Northeast China."

The report, grounded in the present and looking towards the future, analyzes the importance of maritime transport.

What is most likely to attract the attention of superiors is a single sentence.

"In maritime transport, ports hold a very special position. Controlling a few key ports in the world is equivalent to holding the lifeline of global goods transportation."

Currently, we lack the strength to compete with established capital for ports, but we can prepare in advance and look for opportunities.

The assistant handed over tea and said softly, "Comrade Aiguo has a very forward-thinking perspective. This report not only thoroughly explains the importance of maritime transport, but also proposes countermeasures based on our actual situation, which is truly rare."

The superior took a sip of tea, picked up the report again, and said firmly, "If we only focus on the present and don't plan ahead, we will ultimately be at the mercy of others. This maritime route is linked to industry, people's livelihoods, and future development; we must make plans for it as early as possible."

After speaking, he took a fountain pen from the pen holder, unscrewed the cap, and wrote a few powerful words on the report: "Based on the present, planning for the long term, and prioritizing maritime transport."

Outside the window, a bright moon rose into the sky, its silvery light scattering across the earth.

(End of this chapter)