Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 824 Find Two More Partners

A few hours later, the plane landed at Baiyun Airport.

Zhou Yali did not notify the provincial government before coming here, and the two of them did not plan to go to Shenzhen today.

Going there that day would be too rushed, and after trying it once last time, neither of them wanted to try it again.

Therefore, Chen Fan and Zhou Yali both plan to slow down their trip this time and avoid getting too tired.

After leaving the airport, I took a taxi straight to the Oriental Hotel.

The Dongfang Hotel was built in 61 to address the accommodation difficulties during the Canton Fair, especially the lack of high-end hotels.

There is a common misunderstanding about this era, with people thinking that the Canton Fair was low-class. What we are referring to here is the low-class products. Our goods were not highly regarded internationally, had little competitiveness, and were in a weak position in trade.

After all, they mainly produce agricultural products and have very few industrial products. At most, they produce some basic textiles, which do not seem to have much technological content, so naturally they are not competitive.

actually not.

To give a simple example, before the start of a certain Canton Fair, more than 3000 foreign guests had registered to participate. However, all the hotels, guesthouses and inns in Guangzhou could only accommodate more than 2,000 guests. But none of the registered foreign guests wanted to back out. In the end, the province specially arranged for a deputy secretary-general to be in charge of the accommodation problem for the businessmen.

Some people were sent to Panyu and Conghua, and the rooms in the city were crammed in as much as possible. In a standard room in the Aiqun Building, there were only two beds, but 12 people were squeezed in.

It was against this backdrop that the construction of the Oriental Hotel was brought about.

However, even after the completion of the Dongfang Hotel, it still failed to solve the accommodation problem for the Canton Fair.

According to a veteran of the Canton Fair, in 1979, guests were even required to sleep on canvas beds in the hotel corridor, which angered some guests so much that they cursed on the spot.
"None of my servants live in this kind of dilapidated place."

"If you don't have the means, don't invite us."

Some people even tore up their Canton Fair invitations on the spot, vowing that they would be dogs if they ever came again.

The staff were terrified, but if they wanted to stay, they could only stay in the corridor and sleep on canvas beds.

At the time, everyone thought that they would lose some customers next year, but at the Canton Fair the following year, these customers could still be seen.

Even when it was windy and all participants were required to memorize famous quotes, thousands of people still volunteered to attend.

The reason these merchants are so enthusiastic is simple: they can make a lot of money by participating in the Canton Fair!

Before the foreign trade monopoly was broken in May 1992, all import and export of goods in the country had to be carried out through import and export companies at various levels, and the Canton Fair was the main, and even the only, way for foreign merchants to buy domestic products.

Agricultural products from mainland China are known internationally for their high quality and low prices. The only factor limiting the export of these products is their low production volume.

Therefore, in order to secure a larger share of the products, these merchants would stay in corridors, recite famous quotes, accept bundled sales, and so on.

Make money, not shabby.

Of course, domestic efforts are also being made to provide better conditions for customers.

That's how the Dongfang Hotel came to be.

After getting out of the taxi, Chen Fan had Zhou Yali lead the way. With her American passport and a special business visa from China, she got through without any problems and successfully booked two luxury suites.

Unfortunately, the Dongfang Hotel was even more outrageous than the Beijing Hotel at that time, because it housed two consulates, one run by the United States and the other by the United States.

If it weren't for the Polish consulate in Shamian, this hotel could almost be considered Guangzhou's "consular district".

Therefore, various checks are essential for anyone wanting to stay here. However, this actually makes foreign guests feel more at ease.

It's safe.

Chen Fan took a shower in his room, changed into a long-sleeved shirt and trousers suitable for Guangzhou's weather, and then leisurely went out.

Knock on Zhou Yali's door, and she will come to open it shortly afterward.

Zhou Yali had just finished showering and was still wearing a bathrobe, rubbing her hair with a towel.

Upon seeing Chen Fan, she immediately said, "You've come at the right time, help me blow-dry my hair."

Chen Fan ignored her completely, closed the door behind him, and walked inside with his hands behind his back. "Don't even think about it. I'm only going to blow-dry Lili's hair."

I silently added to myself, "And there's Tian Tian too."

Zhou Yali pursed her lips, said nothing more, and plugged in the hair dryer to dry her own hair.

He then said loudly, "Last year, when my dad and I came here to discuss the switchboard business and investment with the provincial government, we stayed here. My dad even said that when we had money, we could build a five-star hotel here. With the Canton Fair as a foundation, we're sure to make money. What do you think?"

Chen Fan sat down on the sofa, picked up a magazine and flipped through it, saying, "You're aiming for airports one minute and hotels the next, you've got big ambitions."

Zhou Yali shook her head to smooth her hair, then grinned and said, "Airports and hotels are both part of the travel industry, just different business segments within the same industry. What kind of ambition is that?"

Tell me, is this project profitable or not?

Chen Fan looked up at her and said, "You can definitely make money, but that's not how business is done. Even if you have money and can invest in multiple projects at the same time, do you have enough management talent? How well do you understand the situation in the mainland? Have you thought about project applications, construction progress, and subsequent management?"

After a pause, he suddenly pointed to the rooftop and said seriously, "Leaving aside everything else, there's just one thing: Guangdong is a border province, and there's a strict rule for building high-rises here: anti-aircraft gun turrets must be built on the rooftops. If you're building a hotel, will you build these turrets or not?"
If construction is carried out, then the top floor and rooftop will have to be handed over to the relevant authorities for management. Even if you are the owner, you cannot go up there. If guests know that there is a turret on the roof, will they still choose your hotel as their first choice for accommodation?
"How can you get authorization if you don't build it?"

As soon as Chen Fan mentioned the turret, Zhou Yali instinctively turned off the hairdryer and stared at him in disbelief.

After he finished speaking, he blinked and murmured, "You're not kidding?"

Chen Fan shrugged and spread his hands. "How could you joke about something like this? Of course it's true."

Pointing outside, she said, "Go outside later, to a more open area, and look at the roof of this building again. You'll see the turrets. I can't guarantee anything else, but two quadruple machine guns are the basic configuration. If they're really aggressive, city defense cannons are quite possible." Zhou Yali's face twitched slightly, her lips moved several times, and she finally sighed, "I'm impressed. I'm really impressed!"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "It's no use if you submit; the Soviets and Americans have to submit first. If they don't submit, these turrets won't be removed."

The reason why the defensive gun emplacements on the rooftops of high-rise buildings in later generations were removed was not because the Americans and the Soviets gave in, but because such weapon deployments no longer had any real deterrent effect.

In modern urban defense systems, the systems that truly play a role are missile defense systems and missile defense systems. The former is mainly based on array control radar, while the latter is mainly based on missile launch systems. They rely on high technology and cost a lot of money.

What era are we living in? Who still uses a quadruple machine gun to shoot down airplanes?

Since they're no longer useful, we can only remove them. This also expresses our love of peace and our refusal to display weapons, killing two birds with one stone. Why not?

But now, this thing is really indispensable.

It was only later, when Mr. Huo invested in the construction of the White Swan Hotel, that he was granted permission not to build a turret on the roof of the White Swan Hotel after repeated applications and appeals to the old political commissar.

After this precedent was set, all joint venture and foreign-invested buildings removed this essential requirement.

Thinking of this, Chen Fan's eyes flickered slightly. He squinted and thought for a moment before saying, "Actually, investing in airports, airlines, and hotels at the same time is not a bad idea."

Zhou Yali turned the hairdryer back on, grabbed her hair and shook it, pouting as she said, "But you just said no."

Chen Fan looked up at her and smiled, "We definitely can't do it ourselves, but if we bring in one or two more powerful shareholders and delegate some of the work to them, that should be enough."

"shareholder?"

Zhou Yali looked at him curiously, "Who are you looking for?"

After a pause, she quickly added, "For such a large project, the choice of partners must be very careful. Not just anyone can be a partner. They must be trustworthy and capable in order to achieve the desired results."

She pursed her lips as she spoke, "The only person I can think of is my dad. He's made a lot of money in the last two years, and in addition to his business in China, he's also been expanding in the United States."

Although he gave Qianfan Publishing House to us, he did not give up using the influence of Qianfan Publishing House, which is your two sets of books, to seek benefits for his own company.

Although I haven't seen his company's financial statements, I've heard Aunt Lan mention that the Zhou family's assets have more than doubled. Their total assets used to be less than $100 million, mostly fixed assets, but now they are close to $300 million, with current assets accounting for 40%.

Major banks now consider the Zhou family's businesses to be top-tier, and can approve loans of tens of millions of dollars without any collateral.

Anyway, he has so much money he doesn't know what to do with it; bringing him on board would make him an excellent business partner.

Chen Fan looked at her speechlessly, "Are you planning to keep taking advantage of your dad forever?!"

Zhou Yali's lips curled up slightly as she raised her head and said, "He threw a few lousy companies at me, thinking he could get rid of me? No way. If I don't take advantage of my younger brother's youth now and ask my parents for more resources, it will be even harder to get them when he grows up."

Chen Fan clicked his tongue and sighed, "How could you have the nerve to say something so shameless?"

Zhou Yali snorted twice and laughed, "Unless they allow me to invest in the Zhou family's business, just like you, then I won't take advantage of them. Instead, I'll dedicate myself to the company's development."

Chen Fan chuckled twice and shook his head, saying, "It's right for your uncle to arrange for you to separate from the family. After all, you're a young woman and you'll get married sooner or later. Of course, you won't harm your own family, but the man you find in the future may not be the same."

You can't see into someone's heart. Who knows if a seemingly humble gentleman is a human being or a devil at heart?

"Now that we've separated the family, everything is much easier, and we won't give outsiders any chance to harm the Zhou family. If that person were to hurt you, your parents, your brother, and I would still have the means to avenge you and seek justice."

Zhou Yali pouted, paused for two seconds, then turned off the hairdryer and tossed it aside. She ran her hands through her still slightly damp hair, walked to the chair next to Chen Fan, and sat down, saying, "I understand Dad's thoughts. Aunt Lan also told me what you just said. I understand all these principles."

She turned to look at Chen Fan, winked playfully, and laughed, "But now that we're on the same team, how can we grow stronger if we don't take advantage of them a little?"

Don't be fooled by the fact that they have over 400 million in cash and their total assets far exceed those of the Zhou family. Capital is never about how much money you have, but about how many resources you can utilize.

A simple example is that a shareholder of Moutai holds more than 20 million shares, with a total value of 30 billion yuan, but his influence on society is not as great as that of a factory owner with total assets of 300 million yuan and 1000 workers.

The factory owner could probably make a phone call and meet directly with city or even higher-level leaders to discuss investing 50 million to expand production. What could that shareholder with a net worth of 30 billion do?
At most, you can take your shareholding certificate to the leaders of the investment promotion bureau to talk about investment. But if you don't have resources in the real economy, they may not even pay you any attention.

This is the difference between funds and resources.

In terms of funding, the two smaller companies can already overwhelm Zhou Zhengdong, but in terms of resource allocation, they still have a long way to go.

It is precisely for this reason that Zhou Yali's current development is inseparable from the resources of the Zhou family. On the other hand, Zhou Zhengdong and Zhao Wanru are also happy to be taken advantage of by their daughter in order to help her grow up as soon as possible.

When Wanmuchun Company, which boasts high-tech products such as personal computers, educational game consoles, network routers, Chinese character cards, Chinese computers, and communication services, truly grows into a giant like Apple, IBM, or Motorola, then there will be no need to give my daughter financial support anymore.

Conversely, back then, Zhou Yali could still wave her little hand and give her parents and younger brother countless benefits.

Growing together through mutual support is the survival strategy of many overseas Chinese business owners and the foundation for the longevity of family businesses.

Otherwise, if they only fight for power and profit, scheme over shares and management rights, such families will never last long and will eventually go bankrupt.

Chen Fan was well aware of all this. Seeing that Zhou Yali understood the implications, he smiled and nodded, saying, "Indeed, if we bring my uncle in, with his current network of connections in China, he can definitely play a significant role."

Okay, then count him as one.

However, having only my uncle isn't enough; we need to find two more shareholders for things to go more smoothly.

Zhou Yali raised an eyebrow slightly. "From what you're saying, you have a specific goal?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "We do have two targets, but whether they will succeed is still uncertain."

He patted the armrest of the chair and stood up, laughing, "I'll keep you in suspense for now. Let's go eat first. As for what's going on, we'll find out when we get to Shenzhen."

(End of this chapter)