Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 936 The Calculation Was Wrong

Add one more?
What do you mean?
The groundbreaking ceremony is about to be held and the construction of the hotel is about to begin, and now they want to add clauses? Are you sure this isn't just a deliberate attempt to cause trouble?
Ye Yufeng glanced at Zhou Yali hesitantly, only to find that the young lady was also completely bewildered, clearly indicating that the young master had not consulted her beforehand.

However, she didn't say much, but asked softly, "What additional conditions?"

Chen Fan said, "It's very simple. Please ask the municipal government to include our Pengcheng Hotel project in the list of key construction projects of the municipal government. Unless there are special circumstances, such as wartime management or major natural disasters, the construction personnel should not be withdrawn at any time. On the contrary, additional personnel can be added when necessary."

Ye Yufeng blinked rapidly. This?
Now, Wanmuchun Company can be said to be a hot commodity in Shenzhen and even the whole province, bringing in tens of millions of US dollars in foreign exchange every year. Who would dare to transfer workers from Wanmuchun Company?
Moreover, this grand hotel was originally a key project in Shenzhen, but it wasn't included in the list because it was a foreign-invested enterprise.

What difference does it make whether this is included or not?
Zhou Yali looked left and right, helped Jiang Lili sit up straight, and asked in confusion, "Brother, why did you add this condition? Are you worried that the city will withdraw the construction workers? Is there something else going on?"

Chen Fan nodded slightly, picked up his teacup and took a sip. He looked around at everyone and said seriously, "The special economic zones that have been discussed for a long time may be implemented this time. This place is very likely to be among them, so we need to be prepared to deal with it."

This is most likely a conservative estimate; anyone with eyes can see that Shenzhen's name will definitely be on the list.

Otherwise, why would the higher-ups have nothing better to do than promote Bao'an County to SZ City?
Moreover, Shenzhen is adjacent to Hong Kong by land, making it the best natural bridgehead. If we don't develop this place, where else can we develop?

Every major event has its omens, and the omens in Shenzhen are practically out in the open. If you don't place your bets now, are you just waiting to hatch chicks?

Zhou Yali said excitedly, "This is a good thing. If we can be selected here, it will definitely bring new opportunities."

Moreover, on the other hand, there is always a scale effect in economic development. Although the Shekou Industrial Zone is thriving, its area is still too small. With so many companies sharing it, it simply cannot operate at its full potential.

If the industrial zone could be expanded to encompass the entire city, it would undoubtedly bring us more opportunities for development.

Especially since our industrial park is still a bit small. Surely we can apply for a separate industrial park eventually?

As soon as she finished speaking, she frowned slightly and turned to look at Chen Fan. "But what does this have to do with the hotel construction?"

Before Chen Fan could speak, Ye Yufeng frowned and said, "When the Shekou Industrial Zone started construction last year, it took a lot of construction workers to level the land and build docks and factories in a short period of time. If Shenzhen is confirmed to be established as a special economic zone, there will definitely be a large wave of infrastructure construction needed."

She looked up at Chen Fan, her eyes full of admiration. "Given Shenzhen's current situation and trends, once development begins, the entire project will be almost equivalent to building a new city. In that case, no amount of manpower would be excessive. The task is heavy and the time is tight, so it's really possible that we'll have to draw manpower from other projects."

So, what the young master meant was to plug this loophole in advance and prevent the city from transferring people from our construction site.

Without Chen Fan needing to say anything more, she straightened up and smiled, "I understand. Tomorrow I will talk to the provincial and municipal leaders to make sure that the hotel project's progress is not affected by urban development."

"Being unaffected is one aspect. The previous three-year construction period was estimated based on the existing construction team's capabilities. Since a large number of workers need to be mobilized, is there an opportunity for us to get a share and turn a bad thing into a good thing?"

Chen Fan toyed with his teacup and smiled at her, "There's a severe shortage of foreign exchange in China right now, and this year we even implemented a foreign exchange certificate system. If necessary, we can use foreign exchange to pay for the project, which I'm sure they'll be very happy to do."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Guangzhou is currently constructing the White Swan Hotel. If this hotel opens smoothly, it is highly likely to become the first five-star hotel in mainland China. This is a name."

"The White Swan Hotel can achieve this level of fame, and Shenzhen City might be able to as well."

Seeing Chen Fan's meaningful look, Ye Yufeng nodded thoughtfully, "I understand."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "The sooner the hotel opens, the sooner it will be profitable. That's a real benefit. Fame and fortune are right in front of you. Whether you can seize them is up to you."

Mr. Fok has already navigated all the pitfalls of building a five-star hotel in mainland China. What remains are just minor details. Whoever builds the hotel first will be the "first in mainland China".

People only remember "first place," how many people remember "second place"?
If Pengcheng Hotel can obtain this title, the benefits will be self-evident.

In any case, Mr. Huo never considered making a profit from the White Swan Hotel. On the contrary, since the White Swan opened, he has devoted himself to it and invested a lot of resources in it until he donated all his shares to the country before completely withdrawing.

If Pengcheng Hotel can take the lead and open first, it can serve as a "model" for hotels in mainland China. The White Swan Hotel will only need to follow suit, which will save it a lot of effort and money.

This is what we call a win-win situation, where the country suffers no loss. After all, whether it's the Swan Lake or Shenzhen, they are both located in the mainland, and ultimately, the country benefits.

Why not do it?!
With fame and fortune laid out before them, Ye Yufeng and his companions' eyes gleamed as they pondered how to persuade the provincial leaders to provide Pengcheng Hotel with more staff and equipment.

The design takes three years to complete, but is it possible to complete it in two years, or even one year?
It's just money. Wanmuchun Company in mainland China may not have much else, but it has plenty of money.

Before coming here, they knew that labor costs were low in the mainland, and even including transportation costs, the cost was much lower than in the United States.

When I arrived, I realized I had miscalculated!

The costs here aren't just much lower; they're practically nonexistently low!

Let's talk about labor costs first. In the United States, the average daily income of a worker is $24. What about here?

A horizontal comparison based on working hours and intensity in the United States reveals that $24 is equivalent to a month's wages for a worker here.

The gap is that big.

Looking at raw materials, apart from a few core components that rely on imports, most of the low-tech parts can actually be replaced in mainland China, and the quality and quantity are guaranteed.

As for the price... well, never mind, I'm afraid my American counterparts will hide and cry if they find out.

Even those companies that have moved their factories to Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, or Hong Kong are far from comparable to this place.

In cheaper places, there are no skilled workers or a complete industrial system to support the supply of spare parts.

And so, from home appliances to clothing and bags, box after box... well, these boxes are shipping containers.

Boxes of goods were shipped to the United States through the port of Hong Kong, and the cash balance in the company's Hong Kong account was increasing every day.

If it weren't for the outrageous sales figures and incredibly high profit margins of the computer and game sales at the US headquarters, it wouldn't be impossible for this branch office to surpass the headquarters.

one left.

Originally, Chen Fan went to great lengths to obtain authorization to sell the product in mainland China in order to mitigate risk. This actually violated the policies of the Shekou Development Zone. However, in order to secure a $100 million investment from Wan Muchun Company and set a benchmark for the Shekou Industrial Zone, the provincial government, after reporting to higher authorities for approval, surprisingly agreed. However, Wan Muchun Company was responsible for the sales in mainland China, and there was no agreement on how to convert the profits in local currency into foreign currency; everything had to be figured out by themselves.

At the time, Chen Fan thought that once he made money, he would go to major cities to buy land and buildings, or purchase raw materials. He believed that if he could accumulate wealth over a decade, he could reap unimaginable returns.

However, once the export sales figures came out, all the plans for domestic sales became impossible.

Instead of going to great lengths to open up sales channels in mainland China and then having to figure out how to process the local currency payments received, it's much easier to simply send the goods to the United States to exchange them for US dollars. It's obvious which path to choose.

The result was that before subsequent investments could follow, the initial investments were already close to recouping their costs. It seems that this intended investment of "one hundred million US dollars" could ultimately be resolved with just an initial investment of twenty million US dollars.

The construction of the "Pengcheng Grand Hotel" is a case in point. Despite the investment amount of up to 50 million US dollars, the current profitability of Wanmuchun's mainland company is sufficient to fully support the construction of the hotel.

Moreover, now you only need to spend a little bit of US dollars to get the title of "the first five-star hotel in mainland China". Once it starts operating, you can make a lot of money. This business is worth it no matter how you look at it!

Just as Ye Yufeng and the other three were lost in their daydreams, Zhou Yali leaned against Jiang Lili, clutching her stomach, and said, "Sister Yufeng, when is dinner? We're going to starve if we don't eat soon."

Ye Yufeng immediately came to her senses, "Ah, I'll call the cafeteria and ask."

She had just stood up when the phone on the table rang.

He quickly walked over, picked up the phone, said a few words, and hung up. Turning around, he grinned and asked, "The food is ready. Should we have it delivered here, or should we go directly to the cafeteria?"

Chen Fan immediately said, "Let's go to the cafeteria to eat. Our dorm is upstairs, so we can go up and rest after we finish eating."

Zhou Yali instantly revived, leaping up with a whoosh, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go go go!"

……

The next day, Zhou Yali was taken by Ye Yufeng to the municipal government to discuss matters related to the hotel.

Jiang Lili, accompanied by Fang Xiaoying, visited the garment factory here.

Her dozens of clothing designs were transformed into beautiful fashions here, then branded with "Liliya" and shipped to the United States, Europe and other places.

According to Zhou Yali, sales are quite good, and the mysterious fashion designer "Liliya" has also gained a little fame in the European and American fashion world.

Don't mind, if it weren't for Liliya's fashion having a touch of mysterious oriental flair, which aroused the interest of many people, coupled with the fact that Zhou Zhengdong's trading company spared no expense in promoting it, reserving the largest shops in every self-built plaza for Liliya, and also opening stores on traditional high-end streets, it wouldn't have caught the attention of many consumers and fashion industry people.

Otherwise, leaving a mark on the European and American fashion world, especially without the designer himself, is almost a pipe dream.

Fortunately, Jiang Lili designed her own clothes... well, although she adopted many design elements and ideas provided by Chen Fan, they were ultimately her own designs, right?

With her ingenious designs and the planning of a top European and American marketing team hired by Zhou Yali, she finally managed to leave her mark on the European and American fashion world.

However, despite the fact that its products have always been in short supply, Liliya Apparel Company is still in a state of serious loss due to the large initial investment.

Perhaps when Liliya has 500 stores, it will be able to turn a profit?
Regarding the loss of money, Zhou Yali was very shrewd. The losses in the company's accounts were all royalties left by writer Chen in Qianfan Company's accounts.

Writer Chen said he didn't care.

Jiang Lili, who was completely unaware that she was the founder of a clothing company and an emerging fashion designer in Europe and America, was also completely unaware that she was losing money.

She thought she was just a small-time fashion designer, and that her designs could be exported to earn foreign exchange.

That's why she could excitedly flit around the garment workshop like a butterfly, watching her designs transform from fabric into finished products, then be packaged and boxed, waiting to be shipped to the United States.

Chen Fan could only hope that the Liliya brand's clothing could quickly increase its share of the factory's total output, which is currently less than one percent, and recoup the millions of dollars of initial investment.

Otherwise, if the initial investment turns into a loss, he will still feel the pain.

After spending some time with Jiang Lili, he couldn't stay still any longer. The main problem was that the roar of the industrial sewing machine was making his ears hurt.

She then asked Fang Xiaoying to stay with her while she went downstairs for a stroll.

It's been a long time since I've been here, and some things have changed.

Next to the cafeteria, a small but exquisitely decorated coffee shop has appeared.

Next to the coffee shop is a quaint tea room.

Chen Fan walked over and took a look, then asked curiously, "When did this open? Why doesn't it even have a sign?"

I came to the cafeteria for dinner last night, but the coffee shop and tea room were closed. It was pitch black and I couldn't see anything, so I didn't notice anything.

Looking through the glass curtain wall from the outside now, it does have a rather unique appearance.

Wang Jianguo, who had been following behind him, immediately said, "It hasn't been open for long; it was only completed in March or April this year. The main reason is that we often have guests from Hong Kong coming to the Shekou Industrial Park. I don't know why, but almost all of them choose to visit our company after they arrive."

All visitors are guests, and these people are all quite wealthy. They might become the company's clients someday, so General Manager Ye and General Manager Fang will receive them whenever they have time.

However, sometimes there are more guests, and Mr. Ye is very busy, so he can't always take them to the general manager's office on the top floor, and the space in other places is also limited.

In the end, it was Mr. Fang who found a way to squeeze out a little space from the warehouse on the first floor and convert it into a coffee shop and a tea room.

Later, when other guests came and finished their tour, we would bring them here to sit and chat for a while.

After explaining at length, Wang Jianguo suddenly laughed and said, "Sometimes when there are no guests, the comrades from the management committee will also take some time to come here to relax. This place has become their place to steal a moment of leisure."

(End of this chapter)