Restarting life in Siheyuan

Chapter 451 Eastern Airlines
"No, no, no. Cathay Pacific is too short-sighted to pose a threat to us. Of course, if we can get strong assistance from you two, there is no need for us to care about Cathay Pacific at all."

Yuri couldn't understand why the young man in front of him was so arrogant. Cathay Pacific has been established for 16 years and has a strong foundation. Why does he ignore this young man who doesn't even have a plane and is not a registered airline? He couldn't help but sneer.

"Mr. Zhu, Cathay Pacific acquired Hong Kong Airlines only last year. Its current position in Hong Kong is not something you, who hasn't even established a company yet, can underestimate."

Not paying any attention to Yuri's rudeness, Zhu Xuefeng took a sip of coffee and spoke slowly.

"Mr. Yuri, there are some things you may not be clear about. They acquired Hong Kong Airlines last year, but do you think this is a good move? I think you should be very clear about Hong Kong Airlines. Since the unification of Huaguo, they have lost most of their routes and are losing money every day. The planes can only be parked at the airport, and the pilots rely on alcohol every day. Can the acquisition of such a company enhance Cathay Pacific's strength? Can old planes that have been idle for several years fly in the sky again?"

Cathay Pacific Airways was founded in 1946 with a starting capital of only HK$1948 million. Its headquarters was then located in Shanghai, and later moved to Hong Kong. It and Hong Kong Airlines, which was established in , had their own flight routes. Cathay Pacific was responsible for flights to the south, mainly to Singapore, Malaysia, etc., while Hong Kong Airlines mainly flew domestic flights. After the unification of the country, most of Hong Kong Airlines' routes were discontinued.

Zhu Xuefeng's gentle words brought great shock. The two seniors thought about Zhu Xuefeng's words and had no way to refute them for a while. Zhu Xuefeng smiled and continued.

"Cathay Pacific has been unable to keep up with the pace of the world's aviation industry, and now it has an additional burden. You two should be very clear about Cathay Pacific's current financial situation. They simply cannot afford to buy new aircraft, right?"

The two nodded with difficulty and wanted to say something, but Zhu Xuefeng would not interrupt the rhythm they had just mastered, so he continued.

"Now they are still focusing on several small countries in Southeast Asia, ignoring the profitable routes. Of course, it may not be that they have no vision, but that they really do not have the ability."

"Since they can't see these roads to wealth, then we will."

The two of them vaguely guessed Zhu Xuefeng's thoughts, and Boss Henry asked hesitantly.

"Does Mr. Zhu want to open a route to Fuso?"

There is now a large flow of people and goods from Fuso to and from Hong Kong. There are also many companies and tourists in Hong Kong who want to go to Fuso, but they can only take the sea route, which is very inconvenient. This route is indeed a golden road, with no worries about the source of passengers and goods.

Zhu Xuefeng nodded. "Fuso is developing very fast now. I have been there three times recently and I have a deep impression. Both sides have urgent needs, but there are no suitable flights. This is an opportunity. What do you think?"

"Mr. Zhu is indeed a man of insight. You have discovered this opportunity. It is indeed a very good route, but one route cannot support an entire airline."

"Don't worry about this, Mr. Yuri. I can tell you, but you have to keep it a secret."

The two bosses nodded and said, "It’s a secret. Let’s take a look first. We’ll tell you whether it’s a secret or not after we hear it."

"We have submitted an application to the Hong Kong government for an airline company. The Hong Kong government is very interested because the routes we want to develop are not limited to Fuso. In Asia, we will also open routes to Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and Central Asia. At the same time, we will also open flights to Europe! In the future, we will cooperate with Pan American Airlines to open North American routes!"

Both of them were envious. Flying to Europe must be a golden route. Now that Asia's economy is developing rapidly and its economic ties with Europe are becoming increasingly stronger, the demand is very strong, but the airlines do not have suitable flights. The value of this route is even higher than that of flying to Fuso.

The Hong Kong government will certainly strongly support the opening of more international routes. With direct connection to Europe, Hong Kong's status will inevitably be greatly enhanced. Hong Kong is positioned as an international financial center. With these international routes, Hong Kong's economic development will inevitably accelerate. The Governor of Hong Kong will of course be the biggest beneficiary. People travel thousands of miles to become officials just for money. The Governor's family has also paid a lot of price to come to Hong Kong to make money.

"But, excuse me, Mr. Zhu, there are no planes that can fly to Europe right now. As far as I know, neither the L1049 Constellation of Rockwell Automation nor the 707 series of Boeing can fly so far directly."

"Mr. Yuri, we have already considered your concerns. The maximum range of these two aircraft is less than 6,000 kilometers. They really cannot fly directly. We will stop once in Central Asia."

Central Asia is of course the cooperative airport that Prince Hodled helped to find. This was secretly agreed upon by the two after the Spring Festival this year.

"You are really well prepared. What if, I mean what if, Cathay Pacific also wants to expand into Europe? You know, although they don't have Boeing 707s, they still have two L1049 Constellations, but they are just using them to carry cargo now."

L-1049 is the world's first pressurized passenger aircraft. Its advent made cheap and comfortable air travel possible. The Constellation has therefore become widely popular, and now many international flights use this aircraft.

Many of Bald Eagle's bombers and transport aircraft are modified versions of this aircraft. Cathay Pacific's two L-1049s are second-hand cargo planes converted from retired bombers purchased from Bald Eagle.

"You don't have to worry about that. Let's not talk about whether their outdated cargo planes can be converted to passenger planes. You know Bald Eagle's Air Force One, right?"

"Of course, this is President Bald Eagle's plane."

"Sky One is the 707-120. Now you understand, who would choose the L-1049 instead of the safer and more comfortable jet approved by the President, even though this aircraft is also good."

"Besides, Boeing is following our suggestions and is making modifications to make passengers more comfortable. Please wait and see."

Boss Yuri stopped worrying about the plane and expressed his opinion directly.

"I have to say, Mr. Zhu, your idea is very bold and very tempting, but we still want to know more details. Of course, this involves your company's business secrets. We will sign confidentiality legal clauses according to the rules. As you said, 10% of the shares is indeed not a small amount. This project looks huge. We need to understand it more fully before we can convince the board of directors."

Seeing that Zhu Xuefeng was holding the cup without speaking and seemed a little hesitant, Henry quickly stood up and expressed his opinion.

"Mr. Zhu, we are very interested in this project and hope to get the detailed plan as soon as possible. Don't worry, this involves the interests of our three companies and we will strictly keep it confidential according to the legal provisions."

Zhu Xuefeng put down the cup and several people stood up. Seeing that the two were so anxious and seemed to want to sign the plan right away, Zhu Xuefeng smiled.

"That's no problem. We have already completed the more detailed plan. We can make an appointment and bring a lawyer to handle it. I am very happy to have had such a long and happy chat with you two. I am waiting for your good news."

"Hubby, isn't 10% too much? The two families together own 20%, and we only keep 65%. This way of making money is letting them take advantage for nothing."

"You should think long-term. We need to use their funds to buy planes and their connections to run routes. We can't leave them nothing." "The Hong Kong government only took half, and Prince Hodred only took 10%. How much will these two families pay? Five million too?"

"Of course, are their identities more prestigious than the Hong Kong government and Prince Hodlid? They are just two banks, and they are not irreplaceable like those two."

Doing business in Hong Kong and getting the Hong Kong government to invest is definitely a good thing. The key is that Zhu Xuefeng's pie is too much to the Hong Kong government's taste, so they took advantage of it. As for Prince Hodled, he is the financial sponsor, and we have to ask him for help in opening Central Asian routes, flight transfers, and many other things in the future. Fortunately, the two have communicated privately several times through Mr. Ram (the persevering Mr. Ram), and the prince also accepted a gift designed and made by Zhu Xuefeng himself. The two are now good friends.

"So we just wait and see? What if the two boards of directors think the investment is too big and have no intention? What if they insist on getting involved in down jackets?"

Zhu Xuefeng smiled. "You have been in the banking industry for so long, but you still don't understand their beliefs? This is an obviously promising industry with no competitors for now. It is the one with the highest investment returns. If they believe in our judgment on down jackets, they will definitely give up on that and turn their attention to the aviation industry. They know how to choose between an industry that is getting bigger and bigger and one that is getting harder and harder."

"Remember, you should invest early to seize a favorable position, and you will be the leader in the future. You should know that the most profitable people in every industry are always the leaders, but the opposite is true for consumption. You will never be the first batch of consumers, as those are just test products of new products, and the risks are far greater than the opportunities."

"Well, I remember it. It's a bit confusing, but it makes sense."

"Honey, last time you said you were going to take a trip to the Middle East during the summer vacation, why did you ask me to cancel the charter flight and not talk to the prince again?"

"Why, I canceled the charter flight, and Pan Am is not happy about it?"

"No, we are still able to cooperate now. Besides, we withdrew early. As soon as I received your message, I notified them to cancel the charter flight. It didn't cause any impact on them."

"That's good. You will have to deal with them when flying to North America. You should hurry up and contact Mr. George more often. You will have to deal with him in the future."

"I know, but I haven't told you why you're not going to the Middle East."

"Oh, about this, I've already explained to the prince that I'll be sent there on official business in October, and we can talk about it then. It's quite troublesome to go there, so let's avoid it if possible."

Within a few days, directors from the two banks came forward and learned about the airline's plans and capital structure in detail again. After three rounds of arduous negotiations and bargaining, they finally reached a cooperation agreement. Both companies invested a lot, US$5.5 million each, which was exactly the investment for one aircraft. They also had to help contact Athens to open routes and establish branches.

In order to solve the noise problem of 707-120 raised by Dongsheng Company, Boeing promised to add sound insulation devices, adding $ to each aircraft.

"It seems that motorcycles need to work harder in North America. The funds for purchasing aircraft can be deducted from taxes. Now it is difficult to earn 1100 million in taxes. Qianqian, you have to work harder."

"Husband, this is too difficult for me. I have to sell nearly 280,000 cars to raise enough tax. At the current supply rate in the north, it will take four or five years to produce that many."

"Oh, by the way, husband, you promised us to inject 33 million in assets into the airline company before the end of next year. Were you cheating them?"

Just now Wu Qianqian kept talking about shares, and Zhu Xuefeng knew that she was worried about this, so he hesitated for a long time before finally speaking it out.

"How can a legal document written in black and white deceive people? Of course it has to be injected. I am still waiting for the airline to lay golden eggs."

Wu Qianqian panicked, "Husband, our profitability this year is okay. You've seen the financial statements. We expect to make a profit of about 20 million by the end of the year. All our industries combined have not reached a scale of 50 million. We don't know what will happen next year. Even if our assets can reach 100 million, we can't borrow much if we use them all as collateral for mortgage loans. We can't fill them all in. Didn't you say that you also need shipping and docks, and you need to keep money to buy at the bottom? There is no room for this. I thought you were lying to them."

Zhu Xuefeng smiled but said nothing. Yes, it was a big step and it was a failure. The profit did increase significantly this year, but the funding gap also became much larger.

Seeing that Zhu Xuefeng didn't say anything, Wu Qianqian asked anxiously, "Is the prince willing to lend it to you privately?"

"You think the Prince's family is printing money? They lend tens of millions to others casually. Forget it. Since you are in a hurry, I will tell you. I originally planned to start the business in two or three years, but the prince heard my idea and insisted on doing it right away. He wanted to invest 10%. I had no choice but to start it early. Anyway, I have already bought two planes. It would be a waste to just rely on running Guoming. I might as well do a big one."

"We have to beg for the money from rich people. Don't worry, Chen Dong has already notified Zheng Xu and he will come back in the next few days. He organized it well last time. Let him come again. After deducting the commission fee, we can at least collect 30 million."

"We have already bought two airplanes, and the two buildings of Chuangxin Bank that you acquired. If you use one of them as the headquarters building, that would be about 17 million US dollars. Add the money from the auction, and you won't need a mortgage. You can also run other businesses. When the time comes, you can build a shipyard. Even if you add two docks, it will definitely not be more than 10 million. You can definitely get it."

Wu Qianqian calculated and found that it was true. This was 30 million. All the assets in Hong Kong and Fuso now added up were only a little more than this. She couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Husband, are you going to auction again?"

"Well, we're going to auction them off in London this time. Remember you asked me yesterday what the small boxes in my bedroom were? They're for auction. There are four of them in total."

"What is it? Is it from Fuso again?"

"Well, this time it's a four-piece set, which was awarded to them during the Tang Dynasty. They have always used this to prove the legitimacy of their culture. Given their character, it's impossible for them not to pay a high price for it."

Wu Qianqian also roughly knew that the cultural exchanges between the two countries during the Tang Dynasty were extremely frequent. At that time, Fuso regarded itself as a subordinate country. Even the Fuso people today admire the Tang Dynasty civilization very much.

"Hubby, the first time I accompanied you to Rijing, did you go and steal this? How come you have so many valuable Fuso cultural relics?"

Zhu Xuefeng pinched her face in annoyance, "How can you say that about your own husband? I am keeping it for them and I am just charging a storage fee. Besides, when did you hear that they lost their national treasure? No, they themselves don't know where it is. I just happened to come across it and I am keeping it for them out of kindness."

"Hubby, you are awesome. I can't argue with you. Now tell me why you gave them such a high share. You don't need their 11 million. If you really need to find someone to do the job, it shouldn't cost half a million. Their 11 million accounts for 20%. When the time comes, the dividends will be far more than this 1 million. You must have some tricks up your sleeve, right?"

(End of this chapter)