My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 709 I really didn't intend to show off.

Actually, at this time, the main mode of public transportation from Guangzhou to various cities in the Pearl River Delta was by boat.

Various motorboats, passenger ships and cargo barges.

The same principle applies to Yangtze River shipping.

In the days before highways, the wide and gentle surface of the river was the best road.

This is one of the reasons why the construction of the expressway from Yuezhou to Pengzhen, which cost over 10 billion yuan, has caused controversy.

Many people have become accustomed to the golden waterways bestowed by God and cannot understand why so much money needs to be spent on road construction.

Moreover, the Pearl River Delta's extremely developed and abundant water system, like capillaries, facilitates shipping throughout the region, but also greatly increases the difficulty of highway construction.

So even compared to domestic shipyards, Guangdong's shipyards are quite strong.

China Ocean Shipping Group Corporation is the ultimate client for state-owned shipyards across the country.

Even Lao Fang had to suppress his temper and speak softly to Guoyuan, after all, Guoyuan was the only buyer of containers in China, and the only customer before opening up the international market.

Therefore, the chief engineer is one of the top executives in the group, and is a powerful figure who can decide the fate of a manufacturer from construction to supporting facilities.

Locals who knew the news rushed over to welcome and receive the delegation, inviting them to inspect the area and hold symposiums.

Unlike Wei Dong, who, relying on his connections with Hong Kong businessmen, ignored Guo Yuan, there's a reason why he's somewhat disliked.

The funniest thing is that there is a fishery administration wharf near the airport, with small boats that can go directly to the city center and several shipyards and docks along the river, completely unaffected by the already somewhat congested traffic in Yuezhou city.

There are even speedboats to Pengzhen, which is only about 80 kilometers from the city center.

It is a completely self-contained water world.

Wei Dong, who was originally observing the ecosystem of state-owned factories, suddenly had an idea in his mind. After hearing the arrangement, he immediately became interested: "Let's take a look."

He then asked He Yuemei to come with him on the boat, and also to ask what was going on.

It's mainly because my subconscious wants to avoid this kind of alluring charm.

Li Xuehong, who had no idea that such a big shot was traveling with her, could only accompany the group, who were surrounded by people, to their company van and then board a speedboat to depart.

The general manager of the Guangdong East Branch was a little surprised: "He said he was your subordinate in Pengzhen and that he was from your hometown. His dialect was similar to Manager Dong's."

Wei Dong was baffled: "I don't even know her name. That car belongs to the victim from the carjacking incident..."

He Yuemei rubbed the goosebumps on her arms as she listened: "If you were coming, the general manager's office would definitely have notified me, but she came on her own, which means she has already infiltrated your team in Pengzhen!"

She's been in charge of a region for two or three years, so she definitely has that kind of logical analysis ability.

She still had to struggle to recall if she had revealed too much information: "When you went to Shanghai, she came to find me and spent two or three days having enthusiastic exchanges with me. She must have become familiar with our products. She also asked for various samples to open a sales point in Shenzhen. In the past half month, we have indeed sold a lot of goods, all of which were paid in advance."

When asked to describe his feelings, Wei Dong said, "Damn, those were all seasoned veterans who had fought their way up in Shenzhen. We are a highly pure revolutionary team and have no intention of tolerating such black sheep. Back then, their car dealership was full of all sorts of swindlers."

He Yuemei, relying on her woman's intuition, said, "She doesn't seem to be lying. She's a bit agitated, and it seems like she was trying to find out about you in a roundabout way, about your personal situation..."

When saying the last four words, he even took a step back and observed them with a teasing tone.

Wei Dong asked sheepishly, "What personal circumstances do I have? Is there anything unusual in Yuezhou, such as an audit or something..."

The two sat at the stern and talked, not worried about being overheard, though the engine was quite noisy.

The people from the shipyard and shipping company mainly gathered around Chief Engineer Tang and his two attendants to exchange ideas.

Indeed, the road traffic is not as smooth as it is now.

Every time Wei Dong comes to Yuezhou, he notices a significant increase in traffic density. The roads are now filled with Toyota Crown taxis, along with various imported vehicles, trucks, and vans, all mixed together with the vast numbers of bicycles that can be seen everywhere in Yuezhou, creating a traffic jam if you're not careful.

Now, winding along the river, it seems a bit far, but it maintains a high speed all the time.

Soon, more and more houses appeared on both sides of the river, and Chief Engineer Tang frequently turned around to point the way to Wei Dong.

You can clearly see the gentle slope of the railway tracks leading into the water from the riverbank starting from the outskirts of the city, just like the yacht track that my family built on the riverside of the Jiangzhou screen printing factory.

This is a shipyard of all sizes.

From long, steep sliding rails that are one or two hundred meters long to short ones that are forty or fifty meters long, from three or four rails running side by side to more than a dozen rails with canopies, all of these reflect the advanced scale and tradition of shipbuilding.

However, this level of inland waterway transportation was far less developed than the large, strategically important ocean-going vessels of today. But once you pass through the city and enter an island in the middle of the river, you are suddenly greeted by a variety of large docks, drawbridges, cranes, and countless warships!
That's when the true national-level heritage was revealed.

He Yuemei, who had been in Yuezhou for two or three years, murmured, "I never knew... I didn't know there were so many here. This must be a military secret, right?"

Indeed, when the speedboat docked, Chief Engineer Tang pointed to a completely covered factory building in the distance and told Wei Dong: "A new type of warship is being built here to be stationed in Hong Kong, so please do not take any photos or stop here. We are civilian vessels, so don't get involved."

Wei Dong quickly nodded and pretended not to see it.

However, on this side, while holding a passionate meeting to express our determination to carry forward the spirit of the Foolish Old Man Who Moved Mountains and unite to fight for the realization of the Seventh Five-Year Plan, we were also expressing our determination to achieve our goals.

The usually stern Chief Engineer Tang surprisingly said, "This has nothing to do with spirit. This comrade is pushing for the construction of large cargo ships that are over 250 meters, or even around 300 meters. Guangdong doesn't have the conditions for that."

The entire audience was speechless, a suffocating pain settling over them.

When it comes to shipbuilding, the availability of docks and slipways is a crucial requirement.

Without a construction site large enough, you can forget about building a ship of the appropriate size.

Currently, the largest shipyard in Yuezhou is only a little over 200 meters long, and it can only be used for dismantling. Using it to build such a large ship is clearly like a poor family covering a quilt, focusing on the head but not the tail.

The main reason was that Wei Dong, this young man, was dressed plainly and just watched without saying a word.

Who would have thought he was the most ruthless?

Chief Engineer Tang casually introduced: "He is the chairman of Pengzhen West District Terminal, the chairman of China National Container Group Corporation, and an advisor to the Shanghai Ocean Shipping New Port Preparatory Committee. He is an outstanding entrepreneur with a new look of reform and opening up, and a pioneer who dares to define the new era of ship standards. You can consult with him. Shanghai Shipyard is now fully cooperating with him to design new ship types."

He Yuemei was sitting upright taking notes. She had been a manager of a private company since graduating from university and never expected to attend such a large-scale state-owned enterprise symposium.

I was still shocked when I heard the big boss's definition of his boss, but I wrote down all those titles.

Wei Dong didn't care whether the other party was in a bad mood or was belittling him. He smiled and nodded: "Since Chief Engineer Tang mentioned these tasks, I actually have an idea. Could we invite you to be the chairman of our Guoyuan Group? That way, Guoyuan can legitimately regard container ships as its main core direction for the future."

From Lin Wangfu in Singapore, from Lao Heng, Lao Li, and Uncle De in Hong Kong, from those short videos in my memory, and from various fragmented pieces of information later on.

Container ships are definitely the mainstream in the future, especially large container ships that serve Sino-US trade. It's such a lucrative business, but now due to limited shipping capacity, most of the business can only be handed over to overseas companies to make money, which is a real pity.

It seems that even Lao Fang couldn't completely reverse this forward-thinking idea; he truly has foresight.

Wei Dong decided to take a risky tactic: if you don't come, I'll send you away!
They forced Guoji onto Guoyuan to be their child!
Why aren't you breastfeeding?

In any case, most people think that since it has the national name, it must be a state-owned enterprise or state-owned assets.

Guoji is indeed a second-tier state-owned enterprise under China Merchants Investment Group.

It was a rather unique company that introduced a large amount of foreign capital from the very beginning, and later Wei Dong, a "Hong Kong capital" company, was brought in to become the major shareholder.

On the surface, it can be considered a state-owned enterprise, but its operation is completely different from that of the system. At least, Lao Fang brought Wei Dong to manage it precisely to avoid the whole company becoming the kind where you first make tea when you arrive at work, then read the newspaper before watering the flowers, and then it's almost time to go to the cafeteria.

Chief Engineer Tang was stunned. It wasn't a matter of the size of the company; even if one was building a giant ship weighing hundreds of thousands of tons, the other was building a container box. The difference in difficulty was like heaven and earth.

The key point is that these two group companies have the same administrative level!

Wei Dong then followed up, saying, "You see, I'm not a Party member, but you probably are. If you come, you can apply to be the Party Secretary and better lead the group in uniting and fighting to achieve the Seventh Five-Year Plan."

He can shout slogans too.

Chief Engineer Tang fell completely silent!

Those within the system know that whether or not the chairman of a state-owned enterprise holds the title of Party Secretary has two meanings; without it, one is simply working for someone else.

The leaders of other shipyards and shipping companies here could only look on with utter disbelief.

They all heard it. It was obvious that this young man had just come up with the idea on the spur of the moment. If you can make such a decision, isn't that higher than the actual rank of these positions?!
Who do you think you are?!
I've never heard of anyone with the surname Rang.

Who is your wife?
Who could have imagined that under Lao Fang's leadership, a unique state-owned asset structure would emerge?

Wei Dong wasn't just showing off; he genuinely was overwhelmed, and his focus would likely remain in Hong Kong, where he needed to help Lao Fang maintain control of the situation.
"Leaders of shipyards and shipping companies, Chief Engineer Tang is right. Super-large container ships will indeed be our key development direction in the future. You are all experts and can learn about the prospects of the international container shipping industry through your own channels. If you can allocate some of your production capacity to container ships, it could be the starting point for successful reform and development. Our West District Terminal, Guoji, as well as Shanghai Shipping and Shanghai Port, will strongly support this partnership of working together..."

He stood up as he said this, but then he saw a huge, rusty ship outside the window.

For people in inland areas, a ship that is much longer than a 100-meter running track is indeed a behemoth.

I couldn't help but ask, "What is this?"

(End of this chapter)