Invasion of America

Chapter 46: People who do great things

The arrival hall of Miami International Airport was bustling with people.

Marco, who came from the other side of the ocean, pushed his suitcase and walked through the crowded crowd with two assistants, his eyes quickly scanning the pick-up signs.

As a winter resort, Miami maintains a warm and humid climate all year round, exuding a hot and relaxed atmosphere.

Tourists from all over the world gather here to enjoy the sun, waves, beaches, and endless tropical scenery.

Marcos, however, wasn't here for tourism. His gaze was fixed on a prominent signboard with his name written in neat Chinese.

There was a black man standing under the sign, wearing a neat suit and looking serious.

Marco walked over quickly, smiled, extended his hand, and said in fluent English, "Hello, I'm MAX from Electric Flight."

The black man looked down at the photo on his phone, then carefully examined Marcos a few times before nodding and saying briefly, "Get in the car. The boss is waiting for you."

A luxury Cadillac was parked on the side of the road. Its body lines were smooth and its paint was as smooth as a mirror, exuding a sense of low-key luxury.

Marco was no stranger to luxury cars. He walked to the back of the car and prepared to put the suitcase in the trunk, but found the rear hood was unusually heavy. He struggled to lift it, but it barely opened.

When he opened the back door, he was even more surprised - the car was actually bulletproof.

The car doors are heavy and the window glass is several centimeters thick, which cannot be penetrated even by assault rifles. It is obviously designed to deal with extreme security threats.

When he got into the car, in addition to the soft and comfortable seats, Marco was surprised to see the "Eagle Emblem" printed on the dashboard.

Look carefully, yes, it is the "Eagle Emblem" of the U.S. State Department.

Marco gasped, "Could this thing be fake?"

He secretly took out his phone, texted his arrival home, took a photo and sent it to the company group chat, "Brothers, help me take a look. What is this?"

Electric Flight was a small company with only a few dozen employees, mostly technical staff. A group of nerds looked at the photos Marcos had sent back and exclaimed in unison.

"You'd never guess that the car that came to pick me up was a bulletproof Cadillac. It's truly impressive. And the key point is, it looks like it's used by a high-ranking government official, a very high-ranking one at that."

Marcos was looking forward to meeting the CEO of Holy Light. "This CEO is no ordinary person. Could he have connections in the US government?"

He couldn't help but ask the black man who was driving.

The black man glanced in the rearview mirror and said calmly, "This is a retired government vehicle from Washington. The exterior markings have been removed, but the interior hasn't been cleaned much."

Marco was even more curious and asked, "How much does a car like this cost?"

The black man chuckled a few times, "This car is not for sale, but the boss got it for free. It was given to him by someone."

Free is good, free means you have connections.

A week ago, Electric Flight received an inquiry email from Miami, expressing strong interest in the company's low-altitude aircraft products.

The email mentioned that "Holy Light" Company hopes to order one hundred aircraft and hopes that "Electric Flight" will send someone to contact them immediately.

In recent years, "low-altitude economy" has been written into the government work reports of many provinces in China. Although the prospects of this industry are still unclear, both China and the United States are actively planning it.

In some respects, the United States is developing even faster.

The United States has a huge civil general aviation market and has mature experience in airspace management, policy planning, and industrial financing.

In contrast, although the Eastern powers have developed manufacturing industries, they are still in the exploratory stage in terms of market development and policy support.

As the vice president of Electric Flight, Marco was full of doubts about this trip to Miami.

The reason was simple. "Holy Light" was a newly established company, but it wanted to order one hundred aircraft right away, which made him feel a little unreal.

He repeatedly confirmed the other party's background and ruled out the possibility that it was an Indian company or a scam in northern Myanmar before finally deciding to come in person to negotiate.

The car slowly drove out of the airport, and the Miami sunshine poured into the car through the bulletproof windows, warm and bright.

"I hope there will be a good result this time." Marco looked at the bustling streets and towering buildings outside the window, with a lot of thoughts in his mind.

This negotiation not only concerns the future of "electric flight", but may also open a new door for the domestic low-altitude economy.

The reason is simple: the domestic general aviation market is practically nonexistent, while the US market is vast. Who wouldn't be envious?

The car drove into a wide boulevard and finally stopped in front of a modern apartment building. The black driver opened the door and whispered, "Mr. Max, the boss is waiting for you on the top floor."
-
Zhou Qingfeng's duplex apartment is located in the heart of Miami. The top floor has a wide view, and through the floor-to-ceiling windows you can overlook the bustling scenery of the entire city.

He converted one of the spacious rooms into an office, decorating it in a simple, modern style.

There are several high-configuration computers on the desk, several design sketches of low-altitude aircraft hanging on the wall, and some unopened equipment and file boxes piled in the corner.

It looks decent and is a feature that a startup should have.

Jennifer sat across from the desk. She was no longer the school doctor in a white coat. She was wearing a well-tailored professional suit, with her long golden hair casually draped over her shoulders, looking capable yet elegant.

She pushed an application document in front of Zhou Qingfeng and said firmly, "I want to invest in Shengguang. This is my sincerity."

Zhou Qingfeng glanced at the application with some surprise.

Jennifer's private money is not a small amount - more than 20 million US dollars, enough to make anyone tempted.

He still couldn't help but ask, "Why? You can live a much easier life, why come to me?"

"My father said I have to find a job, even if the salary is low." Jennifer smiled slyly. "So, I will be your secretary. You won't refuse, right?"

"of course not."

"My father also said that you have abundant funds, extensive connections, and a secret and powerful background. As long as you are not too stupid, you will succeed in anything you do."

Jennifer paused and pointed to several approval documents on the desk, "What's more, you have already obtained the 'Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability System' approval from the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States.

'Holy Light' also joined the Administration's 'Advanced Air Traffic' program and received its first round of support funding.

It was only $2 million, but it was official recognition.”

Zhou Qingfeng followed her gaze and looked at the documents. He himself felt puzzled. Where did these approval documents come from?

Kelly handled many things in "Holy Light", and the annoying Monica also played a key role in it.

The latter, through their connections at the Department of Homeland Security, easily secured approvals that ordinary people wouldn't even dare to dream of. "You know what?" Jennifer continued, "My father thinks very highly of you. He says you don't have a background, but that's precisely your greatest strength."

You've become a white glove for a certain power, and Pioneer Holdings is happy to add icing on the cake by acquiring some initial shares."

Zhou Qingfeng leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest. He hadn't expected that the "holy light" he had casually created would attract such attention.

What I didn’t expect was that not only did I not spend all my money, but I spent more and more.

After all, his real goal is to prepare for the end of the world, and these worldly interests are nothing but passing clouds to him.

"Alright," Zhou Qingfeng shrugged, his tone relaxed. "Since you have such confidence in me, let's do it together. You can give me any shares you want. I don't care anyway."

Jennifer's eyes flashed with joy, but she quickly regained her composure. She nodded, stood up, and extended her hand. "It's a pleasure to work with you."

Zhou Qingfeng held her hand, his lips curled up slightly. "It's a pleasure to work with you."

"From now on, I will be your secretary, and I will decide your daily work arrangements." Jennifer smiled and thought it was quite interesting.

Then, Marco, who had just taken the elevator, saw a beautiful girl coming to greet him. The president of 'Holy Light' was not only an extremely young compatriot, but also took the initiative to speak:

"I think your quote is too low. 2.4 million per unit is not enough to produce high-quality products.

I'll give you a purchase price of five million per unit, with one condition: produce and deliver as soon as possible, and send someone to the United States to help me set up the company."

Marco was stunned. This was the first time he had seen a customer who didn't lower the price but instead raised it by double the price. Could this be a scam?
Marco sat in Zhou Qingfeng's spacious and bright office, holding a letter of intent in his hand, his eyes fixed on the numbers on it.

His fingers slid lightly across the paper, and he recited to himself: "Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions..." He counted over and over again before finally confirming that he was not mistaken.

500 million RMB.

"Shengguang" Company plans to purchase 100 low-altitude aircraft with a total price of up to 500 million yuan.

Although this includes the full cost of spare parts, maintenance and training, the profit still makes Marco's heart beat faster.

After all, the unit price is almost twice the market price!
He raised his head and looked at Zhou Qingfeng who was sitting opposite him.

The young boss was wearing a simple black shirt with his cuffs casually rolled up to his elbows. He had a nonchalant smile on his face, and 500 million RMB seemed like just pocket money.

"This is just a letter of intent, not a formal contract," Zhou Qingfeng said. "I will send someone to your company to conduct an inspection and conduct actual tests on your aircraft.

As long as the performance requirements are met, we will immediately pay a deposit to purchase. One hundred units is just a preliminary order, and there will be more to come."

"President Zhou, I have a question," Marcos couldn't help but ask, "Why are you raising the price?"

"Do you know how much a similar aircraft costs in the United States? Two million four hundred thousand dollars.

Even if tariffs are added, my purchase cost of 5 million RMB from your company is still one-third of the purchase cost in the United States.

I want high-quality products that can be shipped as quickly as possible. I also hope that your company can recruit more employees to meet my needs as soon as possible.

Marco was a little bit unconvinced that there really were benevolent capitalists in this world. His heart was in turmoil, secretly calculating the profit behind this order.

However, Zhou Qingfeng's next words almost made him jump up from his chair.

"By the way, can you help me hire someone in mainland China?" Zhou Qingfeng continued, "I'm looking for engineers with an annual salary of $100,000 to $150,000.

We need young, strong, and energetic people, with military experience preferred. I need a team with a good work ethic, hard work, and the ability to fight tough battles."

Marco was stunned, his mind in turmoil. He couldn't understand what kind of prodigal son would spend money like that.
It’s bad enough that they charge double the unit price for purchases, but they also want to recruit people from the mainland?
Is there no one available in the United States? A salary of $100,000 a year is a very good income in the United States.

Converted into RMB, that’s an annual income of 700,000!

In China, people can brag about their jobs if they earn over 10,000 yuan a month, but wouldn’t people be scrambling to get a job that pays 50,000 or 60,000 yuan a month?

Marco couldn't help but feel a strong sense of imbalance in his heart.

As the vice president of Electric Flight, his annual salary was less than 700,000 RMB. Yet, this young man in front of him offered such an offer without hesitation.

Just as he was digesting this information, Zhou Qingfeng posed a more pressing question: "By the way, Mr. Ma, how much does it cost to acquire your company?"

Marco nearly dropped the contract. His eyes widened, and he thought to himself, "Did I come all this way just to meet the company's new president?"

"Electric Flight" is a new company, established less than three years ago. Although it has strong technical capabilities, it has been limited by financing difficulties and has not made much progress.

The domestic market is too competitive and difficult to navigate, and it is a torment for everyone in the industry.

If the 500 million RMB used to purchase 100 aircraft were used for mergers and acquisitions, it would definitely be enough to buy up the entire company.

This is also the reason why Marco was particularly excited when he heard about the order for 100 aircraft - the dozens of people in their company are not worth 500 million in total.

Marco took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He looked at Zhou Qingfeng and asked tentatively, "Mr. Zhou, are you saying... are you interested in acquiring our company?"

Zhou Qingfeng nodded, his tone still relaxed: "That's right. I think your team and technology have great potential. Instead of simply purchasing, it's better to acquire them directly.

This way we can better integrate resources and promote the development of the low-altitude economy."

Marco felt mixed emotions. On the one hand, he was excited because it meant that "electric flight" would have unprecedented development opportunities;
On the other hand, he was a little uneasy. After all, his position and future after the company was acquired were still unknown.

He was silent for a few seconds and said cautiously: "Mr. Zhou, I need to go back and discuss this matter with the team.

However, I have sensed your sincerity. Whether it is procurement or acquisition, we are very willing to cooperate with 'Holy Light'."

Zhou Qingfeng smiled, stood up and held out his hand: "Then wait for your good news. I can send someone to test your products at any time."

Marco shook his hand, feeling the strength of his palm. He had a premonition that this trip to Miami would completely change the fate of "electric flight".

As Marco walked out of the office, his steps were somewhat light. He looked up at the clear blue sky of Miami and sighed inwardly:

"This President Zhou, although young, is very courageous! If everything he promises comes true, he will definitely be a man of great things."

In the office, Zhou Qingfeng leaned back in his chair and apologized silently, "I'm sorry, Mr. Marco.

Americans are unreliable, so I can only recruit people from China to help. I can give you a lot of money. I hope you can withstand the apocalypse.

(End of this chapter)