My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 796 Resolutely Refusing to Enter the System

Because it was Lao Fang who single-handedly promoted the establishment of the National Container Company, it sounds very impressive. In essence, it is just a container supplier.

When there weren't many container ships or container terminals across the country, there was no such thing as empty container management and scheduling, and this job was basically done by Guoyuan.

Guoyuan doesn't have much demand for containers.

People with Lao Fang's forward-thinking vision are truly rare.

So after a few years, the national group was already insolvent and on the verge of bankruptcy.

This led Wei Dong to not only spend money throughout the year, but also to vigorously promote the construction of various large container ships.

Now, Guoyuan and he himself have each ordered a Panamax container ship, driving the international standards of container terminals.

This alone has taken over Lao Fang's job, so the retired old man doesn't have to work so hard to keep it going.

In the end, Wei Dong found inspiration in highland beef, and with the help of Lin Wangfu, he chose refrigerated containers, a high-tech and readily applicable material that showcased the advantages of inland industries.

Old Fang clearly understood the significant changes he had made: "I inquired and found that as long as Guoji can guarantee the quality, Hong Kong businessmen can purchase more than two thousand units every year, which has completely saved Guoji!"

Although refrigerated display cases account for no more than 10% of the total market, their applications are constantly expanding as global demand for fresh food and pharmaceutical cold chain products continues to grow.

It is much more sought-after and valuable than a regular shipping container, which has been around for twenty years.

With ten times the construction cost, how much profit can be quietly slipped in?

But the veteran quickly turned hostile: "But all the Hong Kong businessmen say that you've been making waves in Hong Kong lately, daring to buy a luxury mansion worth tens of millions, and getting entangled with all sorts of celebrities to make movies!"

Wei Dong was not afraid: "What is this? I dare to build basketball stadiums worth hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars next."

Old Fang was completely stunned: "You, you, you, you..."

Li Xuehong lowered her head instead, not letting the leader see her expression.

Wei Dong teased him, saying, "Well, I didn't earn this money from the mainland, nor did I benefit from state-owned assets. I hope it won't be confiscated."

Old Fang pointed at him angrily: "Did you do this on purpose?"

Wei Dong smiled and shook his head: "No, I bought the mansion to better integrate into the circle of the rich. I just bought it yesterday, and I guess there are quite a few people who want to talk to me today. I should come back and report to you first. This matter of the refrigerated cabinet has also given me some insight into the gang. Perhaps they can also be considered a force that can be united. So the basketball court and the film industry are also attempts to help them contribute to society."

Old Fang finally stopped making exaggerated expressions and leaned back comfortably in his chair: "Hmm, keep going, let's see what kind of tricks you can come up with."

To let Wei Dong know that this was the explanation he needed, Lao Fang was able to help him explain things to others, so he broke it down: "First of all, before going to Citibank, I said that the follow-up work depended on how much business we could achieve at Citibank. This is a crucial moment for the computer industry to officially step onto the historical stage..."

At this point, he turned back to Li Xuehong to ask for the stack of newspapers and found two of them.

One is an industry popular science article explaining how Bo Zidong got hundreds of millions of US dollars from Citibank, which is much more reliable than having Wei Dong say it himself.

Moreover, newspapers collect various North American news, so it's quite possible to estimate that it's worth over a hundred million US dollars. It's likely that only the banking industry knows that Wei Dong and his wife brought back over three hundred million US dollars to Hong Kong alone, and deliberately left over two hundred million in California as an investment and cash flow statement.
The other one was the one Wei Dong stumbled upon. It featured Apple's latest print ad, with Demimore's sexy and beautiful image playing a housewife busy in an American-style open kitchen. A modified all-in-one Apple computer was on the cabinet, and colorful recipes were displayed on the screen!
The advertising slogan was "Every American family should have a Mac..."

Wei Dong instantly realized on the bus that this wave of Apple computer sales was about to explode!
"What Mr. Lin from Singapore and I brought was a sound card, sound, which gave this cold electronic machine music and sound. It just so happens that Apple has been working on improving color over the past six months. What do these two things add up to?"

Old Fang's lips were practically moving as he listened.

Let Wei Dong say the word that was about to come out: "It's sensual pleasures! From then on, computers went from being just work tools to multimedia appliances that entered thousands of households. Look at these advertisements, housewives are cooking and looking at recipes. Back then, we were chatting about playing cards, playing games, reading books, listening to music, writing documents, making spreadsheets, and creating PPTs. We could even relax while listening to music. This was selling to tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of families in Citibank, and to hundreds of millions of families in Europe and America. Every family felt that they should follow the trend and buy one!"

Before he returned from Citibank, he hadn't fully figured it out; he just felt that Apple computers would definitely sell very well this year.

I never expected Steve to be so ruthless!
This guy has such big ambitions!
"No wonder they sold over four million units back then, compared to only seven or eight million units for the whole of last year. I estimate that Apple computers will break the ten million mark by the end of the year. What does that mean?"

Wei Dong casually grabbed a pen and paper from the table: "We charge $198 for the sound card and speakers for each computer. In reality, we don't even have a production cost of $19. The output value of our West Wharf Industrial Park alone is over a billion dollars. It's all about innovative products with our own intellectual property rights, not just processing and making a little money."

Old Fang was stunned when he saw the calculated value of the sound cards and speakers. These two factories were right next to the chip factory, completely inconspicuous, yet their output ratio was so terrifyingly astonishing.

If it weren't for pioneering a new track that was unparalleled in the world, there wouldn't be such good returns.

Li Xuehong still didn't look up.

Wei Dong casually wrote down "CPU": "But compared to chip manufacturers, this is nothing. Apple's current 386 chips cost them over $400 internally, and their current production capacity is definitely insufficient. I suspect they may have to negotiate with Intel, the largest chip manufacturer, for procurement. This raises the question of whether they will invest in upgrading our West Coast chip plant. We are currently only barely at the manufacturing process level of 286 chips, and it's all imported equipment and technology. If we are abandoned by Apple at this critical juncture, our chip technology may fall behind by more than ten years!"

He was still a bit too inexperienced. Old Fang's gaze, which had been sharp as usual, relaxed, and he squinted at Wei Dong, asking, "Is that a likely possibility?"

Wei Dong had indeed thought about this issue, half-seriously: "At the end of last year, they launched a limited edition of 10,000 386 portable computers. Now, more than half a year later, with 400,000 units in stock, that should be the production limit of Citibank's local AMD chip factory. By the beginning of July, when I left Citibank, the total sales volume was 5.8 million units. We definitely have to deliver by the end of the year, which depends on the production capacity of the Intel factory and our upgraded production capacity data..."

In the information-isolated 1980s, there were simply no reference materials available for this technical data.

Wei Dong could only guess based on the data from the contract manufacturers: "The Shanghai Apple Plant 1 has already increased its monthly production capacity to 150,000 units, and the soon-to-be-completed Shanghai Plant 2 was defined from the beginning as a capacity of 250,000 units. This is the limit of two million units that can be produced in the remaining five months. Therefore, their assessment is to build an assembly plant in Pengzhen, starting with a production line and personnel training for 50,000 units. In other words, they have given us half of the capacity, and this part will be exported to earn foreign exchange..."

Wei Dong had calculated it privately many times: the foreign exchange earnings from the OEM production, including the monitors, should be around four billion US dollars!
He wrote the data down on a piece of paper and showed it to Lao Fang.

Before the foreign exchange earnings of Shanghai-based contract manufacturers were included in the statistical data last year, the country's foreign exchange reserves were over four billion US dollars.

Just by generating foreign exchange through the technology products of Wei Dong and his group, regardless of profit, the foreign exchange income alone can reach this amount.

Old Fang laughed and grabbed a pen and paper, marking down the key points he had just mentioned: "Alright, alright, I know you're indispensable to some people. Continue, what's the deal with the mansion, what's the deal with the movie?"

Li Xuehong looked up in shock, realizing that the two of them were still plotting against each other.

She quickly lowered her head again, probably afraid that her flamboyant style would ruin the atmosphere of the conversation, and wanted to be more transparent so that she could listen in on the situation.

She lacked the awareness to avoid it in time.

Wei Dong didn't mind telling her, "We've received over 500 million US dollars so far. Some of it is going to our partners and Citibank shareholders, and I took 100 to 200 million back to Hong Kong..."

Old Fang interrupted impatiently: "How much exactly? That's already half the difference."

Wei Dong squeezed out a toothpaste tube: "2.3 million..."

Old Fang adopted an interrogation-like demeanor: "I'm not trying to rob you. I need to have a clear understanding of the situation, otherwise things will get out of control if the various parties' accounts differ!"

Wei Dong reluctantly confessed: "3.4 million... US dollars."

Old Fang laughed heartily instead: "That's good, that's good. It's a good habit to be ready to ambush at any time. Keep going."

Wei Dong was indeed going around in circles: "Does this refrigerated container thing show that the gang has its own uses? Some inconvenient things are indeed suitable for them to do. What I'm thinking about is what role they should play at this critical juncture ten years from now."

Old Fang's eyebrows were already a bit gray, and he twitched his head vigorously, his expression turning serious.

Li Xuehong looked up in even greater shock, but only saw Rang Weidong's back standing there.

He said, "When I first arrived, I really didn't think much of it. I told you that some of my partners had a bit of a gangster vibe, and I looked down on them. Why hang out with this kind of social trash? But as I got to know them better, I found that Hong Kong society really does have the shadow of triads in every aspect. Can they sweep everything away like the mainland before and after liberation? If they can't, then they have to use them. After all, two of the three major triads in Hong Kong are spies left behind by the Kuomintang."

The veteran, who had been in charge of attracting investment in Hong Kong for almost ten years, couldn't help but scoff: "Are you really doing business or engaging in united front work? I might as well transfer you back to the military intelligence unit!"

Wei Dong chuckled and said, "That's within the state-owned system. Is my private united front work any different?"

Old Fang laughed heartily, truly enjoying himself.

Li Xuehong secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

(End of this chapter)