Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 834 Let's cooperate again

Upon hearing Mr. Huo's answer, Zhou Yali was stunned.

OK?

So decisively?

That's $500 million, no small sum. How could you agree to it so casually without even hearing the project details?
Mr. Huo did not go to see her. After agreeing to the proposal, he smiled at Chen Fan and said, "I have known about Mr. Yuan of China Merchants Group for a long time. I have admired him for a long time, but I have been too busy to go and see it for myself."

With this industrial park and Shenzhen's geographical advantages, if nothing unexpected happens, Shenzhen will definitely be one of the 'export special zones' currently being discussed and are about to be established.

To establish an export-oriented special economic zone, attracting investment is essential; however, Shenzhen's infrastructure for business reception is severely lacking.

He paused for two seconds, turned to look at Zhang Xuansong and the other two, and then turned back to say, "Actually, if it weren't for the fact that I had to come to Beijing frequently over the past year to work on the construction of the White Swan Hotel, I would have wanted to take some time to visit Shenzhen. I did manage to visit the three of you twice during my trips to Beijing."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xuansong and the other two couldn't help but chuckle. The tension they had felt earlier because of Chen Fan's medical appointment eased considerably.

Mr. Huo is no ordinary man; he rose from humble beginnings as a Tanka person to where he is today, and reading people is a fundamental skill for him. Just now, when he entered the room, he sensed that the atmosphere was somewhat tense, but he managed to hide it because of my arrival.

A little joke was made at this point, which helped to ease the tension a bit.

He chuckled a few times and continued, "Their General Manager Yuan has extended invitations to me multiple times through the Hong Kong Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, but I haven't had time lately. I originally planned to wait until the White Swan Hotel issue was resolved before inviting a few friends who are enthusiastic about the mainland to go and take a look."

Unexpectedly, before I even started, you decided to invest in a five-star hotel in Shenzhen.

Since Brother Chen thinks so highly of me and has invited me to invest, I have to give him that courtesy no matter what. I'll invest the $500 million.

After he finished speaking, Chen Fan laughed and said, "Actually, I didn't agree with my cousin's initial idea to invest in this hotel..."

Hearing this, Zhou Yali suppressed the urge to roll her eyes, keeping a straight face but watching her younger brother's performance with wide eyes.

Is this the legendary "scene-maker"?
I've witnessed it firsthand today. No wonder my dad always tells me to learn from my cousin; his ability to lie so blatantly is truly eye-opening and commands my utmost respect!
Chen Fan continued nonchalantly, "Why? I think you can guess the reason."

Mr. Huo first chuckled, then shook his head with a wry smile, "When I invested in this hotel, I never thought about making money. I only thought about doing a good job with the hotel, which would be my small contribution. But I didn't expect it to be so difficult."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "It was precisely because you wanted to build this Swan Hotel that I decided to support my cousin's investment in a hotel project in Shenzhen after hearing the news."

You pave the way, and we reap the rewards from behind. Besides, we never said we didn't want any profits or to donate shares; from the very beginning, our goal was to make money.

Upon hearing this, Mr. Huo quickly said, "In business, profit is of course the primary goal. You're different from us; we received our assignments from our superiors, and..."

He hesitated for a moment before continuing, “Don’t laugh at me, but from the beginning, many friends never thought that operating a five-star hotel in mainland China could recoup their investment. That’s why everyone decided to go all the way and simply pledge to donate all their investments.”

He then looked at Chen Fan with a hint of doubt in his eyes, "However, Brother Chen, from what you're saying, you seem very confident in running a five-star hotel?"

Chen Fan smiled and repeated what he had said to President Yuan yesterday, finally saying, "If ordinary people want to live a good life, once the restrictions are lifted, they will definitely unleash creativity beyond people's imagination."

Another advantage is that as the world's most populous country, with a basic education enrollment rate of over 90%, we have a sufficient pool of educated workers.

Once this labor force is transformed into productivity and ordinary people reap the rewards, there is no doubt that the mainland market will become an existence that no company in the world can ignore.

I simply cannot imagine that our first batch of export-oriented special economic zones could fail when higher-level leaders are focused solely on economic development.

Mr. Huo nodded thoughtfully, and after a while, he suddenly said, "Do you think it's possible for the Shekou Industrial Zone to accept foreign investment?"

Chen Fan was taken aback upon hearing this. He frowned, thought for a moment, and slowly shook his head, saying, "It's unlikely for the time being."

Mr. Huo stared intently at him. "Why?"

Chen Fan said seriously, "Have you heard of the hotel that just started construction inside Jianguomen in Beijing?"

Mr. Huo nodded. "I know, it's the Jianguo Hotel, a Sino-US joint venture."

He frowned deeply. "I thought the White Swan Hotel had enough troubles, but after seeing the Jianguo Hotel, I realized that those were just child's play and not worth mentioning."

Chen Fan said, "That's it. President Yuan wants to develop the Shekou Industrial Zone. The problems he faces are no less than those of the Jianguo Hotel. At least he can still negotiate with various units with a clear conscience as a leader of a state-owned enterprise. If foreign capital is involved, the nature of the situation will change, and things will become even more complicated."

Furthermore, the Shekou Industrial Zone involves the formulation of opening-up policies, which requires ensuring the "purity" of the organizations involved. Therefore, I believe that even if General Manager Yuan is extremely bold, he probably wouldn't dare to accept foreign investment for the time being.

Historically, Mr. Fok visited Shekou Industrial Park in December of this year, 1980, along with other prominent Chinese business leaders such as Wang Kuancheng (President of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce), Hu Yingxiang, Li Ka-shing, and Feng Jingxi. It was at that time that he expressed his intention to invest in Shekou.

However, after careful consideration, Mr. Yuan declined the investment. In a later interview, he said he regretted it very much.

That was regret after knowing the outcome, but at this point in time, even if he had three times the courage, he wouldn't dare to let the Shekou Industrial Zone accept foreign investment.

Because this industrial zone is a pilot project, who would dare to give it a wide berth?

Hearing Chen Fan's words, and reflecting on the year's journey, Mr. Huo understood something and could only regretfully give up.

He was a decisive person, and once he made a decision, he stopped thinking about it and instead asked Chen Fan, "What are your plans for the hotel in Shenzhen?"

Sitting across from her, Zhou Yali was very annoyed. "I'm the chairman of the company, okay? Why do you keep asking my brother?"
Chen Fan ignored her and said with a smile, "We signed an agreement yesterday. The construction company is a construction unit under the Ministry of Transport. The assembly and preparation work can be completed within a month at the earliest. We are currently preparing funds and looking for an excellent hotel management team and an excellent architectural design firm in the United States."

If all goes well, site leveling and other construction work will begin after the Spring Festival. Including the leveling time, construction is expected to start in three to six months.

Mr. Huo was somewhat surprised. "That's quite a tight schedule. Architectural design is no joke, and five-star hotels have many construction standards, especially in terms of decoration. If it's this rushed, will it be enough time?" Chen Fan laughed and said, "It should be enough time. I already have the hotel's plans in my mind. I'll draw them out and give them to the architectural firm. They can then supplement them with five-star hotel standards and convert them into construction drawings. It will definitely be enough time."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Huo was immediately taken aback. "You can do architectural design?"

The three old men finally found a place to join the conversation, and Lin Yuanxiang quickly said, "This is the design he made himself, and the engineers from the Beijing construction company all said it was good."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Xuansong continued, "There's also the Ningjun Prince's Mansion on Beijige Third Street. He was the chief designer of the overall renovation project, and then the ancient building restoration unit refined it based on his design. Everyone who has seen it says it's great."

Li Shangde laughed and said, "This kid is very capable. You'll find out in time."

Mr. Huo blinked, turned his head, and asked with a hint of doubt in his eyes, "The Prince Ning's residence?"

Chen Fan smiled and pointed at Zhou Yali, "My uncle bought it for her. Originally, there were several units and more than a dozen households inside. My uncle paid a sum of money first to build office buildings and dormitories for the municipal government, and then paid the remaining balance after they all moved in."

The entire Ningjun Prince's Mansion now belongs to Yali, but it's still under renovation, and they won't be able to move in for another two years.

Mr. Huo's eyes darted around, and he asked curiously, "How much did it cost?"

Chen Fan: "Not many."

He then held up a hand and said, "Including the purchase of the yard and renovations, it would only cost five or six hundred thousand US dollars."

Mr. Huo's eyes widened upon hearing this. "So cheap?"

Want to buy!

Chen Fan immediately said, "Actually, you can buy one too. There are still quite a few dilapidated courtyard houses like this nowadays."

He pointed to the opposite side of the lake and said, "For example, this area has many former residences of princes and nobles, which have now been turned into tenement courtyards."

If you can negotiate with the city government to exchange two or three times the living space, the city government would be more than happy to sell the house to you. Then you can renovate it nicely, and when you come to Beijing again, it'll be your own little nest, at least avoiding the embarrassment of having to stay in other places because there are no hotel rooms available.

Actually, the tricks Chen Fan used when buying the Ningjun Prince's Mansion were learned from Mr. Huo.

Those who know him know that he had a two-courtyard siheyuan in Beijing, which he later gave to his daughter-in-law. After he bought the courtyard, he paid out of his own pocket to build new houses for the residents and then moved them out before he could finally take possession of the courtyard.

However, after the courtyard was renovated, neither he nor Jingjing lived there much. At most, they would go there to sit for a while, have a cup of tea, or chat with friends.

Because the courtyard is too big, it's not really suitable to live inside if there aren't enough people.

So where did they stay when they came to the capital?
This brings us to another lesser-known five-star hotel invested in by Mr. Huo, namely the "VIP Building".

Strictly speaking, the VIP building is not actually an independent hotel, because it is too small and is only equivalent to an annex of a regular five-star hotel.

In fact, the VIP Building is indeed an annex. It is a hotel jointly built by the Beijing Hotel and Mr. Huo, located on the west side of the Beijing Hotel.

This hotel is actually somewhat related to Mr. Wu.

When the East Building of the Beijing Hotel was being built in 73, Mr. Wu suggested that it be constructed as a tourist hotel.

However, for various reasons, Donglou ultimately did not become what he wanted.

Then in 85, the Beijing Hotel was expanded, and the "VIP Building" hotel, a joint venture with Mr. Huo, was built. The hotel was designed entirely according to Mr. Wu's wishes, and its exterior was dignified and simple, with a strong national style.

After the hotel was built, Mr. Huo personally named it "VIP Building".

Despite its relatively unknown reputation, this hotel was once frequented by important figures from both China and abroad, and its members were also highly sought-after members of the "World's Best Hotels Organization."

After its completion and trial operation in 89, the hotel became a "base" for top Hong Kong Chinese businessmen in Beijing.

Whenever those big shots come to Beijing, they usually stay here unless the hotel is fully booked.

Another point is that this hotel is separated from the Forbidden City by only one wall, making it one of the very few hotels where you can overlook the Forbidden City from your room.

Thinking of this, Chen Fan said to Mr. Huo, who was deep in thought, "Mr. Huo, since you have already invested in the White Swan Hotel, why not build a five-star hotel in Beijing as well? At least, once this hotel is built, there won't be any more roomless situations."

Before Mr. Huo could speak, Lin Yuanxiang interjected, "What? You've come to the capital and have nowhere to stay?"

He then patted the table and said, "You can stay here!"

Zhang Xuansong pointed upstairs and said, "Xiao Fan doesn't usually stay here. There are plenty of guest rooms upstairs. If that's not enough, there are more than a dozen rooms in the small building behind the garden. If that's still not enough..."

Pointing north, he said, "That four-story building over there also belongs to Xiao Fan. There are only a dozen or so people working there now. Oh, the east side of that building is the office, and the west side is all dormitories. It can accommodate not just a few dozen people, but even a hundred or two hundred."

Mr. Huo's eyes widened as he turned to look at Chen Fan. "So many houses, are they all yours?"

Chen Fan chuckled. "This house is mine. The one in front was originally intended for a unit in my hometown, but they didn't want it because they thought it was too far from their superior unit. Later, when Yali's company wanted to set up a branch in Beijing, we gave it to them."

Mr. Huo clicked his tongue, "That's still quite something."

He had some understanding of the living conditions in mainland China, but he never expected that among the many cramped apartments, there was a wealthy man who lived in a mansion and owned an office building!
Chen Fan didn't want to talk about himself, so he changed the subject and said, "Mr. Huo, let's talk about building a hotel in Beijing. If it's a good fit, how about we collaborate again?"

(End of this chapter)