Return to Hong Kong Island for a Century

Chapter 436 Let's pull off another big heist (5000 words)
Airbus executives felt disgusted because they knew that Chang'an Aircraft Manufacturing Plant did not have much production capacity at the moment, and that the 100 aircraft ordered by Dongfang might not be delivered for two or three years.

It is also known that these airlines cannot purchase the aircraft because CA201 has not yet obtained flight permits and airworthiness certificates from European Aramco.

But that doesn't stop these airlines from making phone calls.

What's worse is the stock price. Airbus's shareholders are several European countries, so these executives have to look at the performance.

The company's performance also affects the income of these executives; the better the company performs, the more money the executives can earn.

The stock price has fluctuated a lot this year. This is not a big deal, but every time the stock price fluctuates, it is passive and comes very suddenly.

This makes it impossible to plan ahead, resulting in significant losses for some individuals.

In Europe, Aramco is feeling very bad right now.

why?
Because planes are cheap in the East. The biggest investment for airlines is the money to buy planes, whether it's through loans or their own capital, and the capital itself has a rate of return.

Of course, there's also aircraft leasing. The pricing system for aircraft leasing also requires calculating the cost of the aircraft.

With airplanes being so cheap, this is extremely beneficial for airlines.

Airlines have already contacted relevant parties to inquire whether the price of the Chang'an 201 is genuine.

After reading the news, Li Song was also considering talking to his superiors.

"Is the leader talking to me about his child because he's afraid I'll run into trouble?" Li Song thought about it carefully and realized that the leader talking to him about his child must be related to this.

Li Song had actually thought about this problem, but he didn't have any good solutions at the moment.

Making a will?
Li Song thought for a long time but couldn't figure out who the beneficiary of the will was.

Your own parents?
These women of his own?

Neither is appropriate.

So, should it be given to the country?
Or should we turn it into a trust fund?

That's not appropriate either.

One should always be wary of others. Once you make a will, could it cause problems for yourself?
Some people say, what if something happens if you don't make a will?

Li Song, on the contrary, remained calm. If something happened, so be it. If he died, it was none of his business.

Therefore, Li Song did not make a will.

As for having children, Li Song was rather casual about it; he didn't care whether he had children or not. After all, he was a person living a hundred years in the future, and he had been given a second chance at life. What more could he ask for?

After the leader returned to Kyoto, he announced a closed-door meeting.

The main leader then compiled his conversation with Li Song into a document and distributed it to the meeting attendees.

Those present found it hard to believe that Li Song didn't plan to get married, as this was completely different from traditional thinking.

“This Li Song doesn’t want to get married, which makes things difficult,” a leader said, taking a drag on his cigarette.

The leader nodded: "At the time, I didn't know how to answer. I was originally thinking of finding out what kind of person Li Song liked so I could introduce myself, but I didn't expect him to be unwilling to get married."

"There's nothing wrong with Li Song's background. He's just been a bit mischievous since he was little, but aren't all boys like that?"

"Yes, could it be for some other reason? It's not good not to get married, after all, Li Song's current status is very important."

"Maybe it's because he's young and has many women around him, making it difficult to manage the other women after marriage," someone said.

"Li Song and his team have a series of follow-up actions, and Li Song's importance is self-evident."

"Well, let's wait and see. What do you all think, should we go with the TU160 or the TU22M3?" The leader nodded and said, "Let's talk about other things first."

"From this perspective, the 160 is more suitable. Although the M3 has mature technology, it is an upgraded model. We need to fully understand the technology and produce it, which will take time."

"Even if you get the technology of 160, it's about the same; you still need to thoroughly understand the technology and it takes time."

"So all things considered, the 160 is more suitable for us, after all, it's a completely new design," someone analyzed carefully.

"Besides, the fat bear won't have much of a conflict with us in the short term," someone else said.

On the one hand, the heavy industry and population of the fat bear are all in Europe. As long as the fat bear shifts its focus, Europe will definitely put pressure on it.

Moreover, most of Fat Bear's underlings are located in Europe, the Black Sea, and other similar areas.

Finally, the fat bear just gave a performance, and the Europeans are now on high alert.

"And the most important thing is money."

"Leaving aside other aircraft, how much does it cost to operate a fighter jet each year?"

"Even if we had the capability to build an aircraft carrier, we couldn't afford to maintain it. An aircraft carrier requires the care of thousands of people, not to mention the various supporting ships."

"The same goes for bombers. Right now, the main thing is to make money. Whether it's building warships, airplanes, roads, or various other construction projects, or even people's healthcare and education, it all costs money."

"Of course, this project must be kept top secret. If either Amei or Fat Bear finds out, it will be very disadvantageous for us," someone said.

Everyone nodded in agreement; the parameter of 160 was simply insane.

Once Amei and Fat Bear find out, they might join forces to suppress them. After all, in the previous conflict with Third Brother, if it weren't for Amei and Fat Bear working together to suppress them, South Asia might have changed completely.

"I propose that everyone who chooses 160 raise their hand," someone said directly.

Then everyone raised their hands, and the main leader nodded: "Then let's choose 160. As for whether it's blueprints or the actual product, let Li Song and the others decide."

"Next up are satellites, but we don't have enough satellites right now."

“That’s right, we only have 12 satellites, while America has nearly a thousand, and the US has a staggering 1723,” someone present remarked.

Everyone feels like they are being watched by countless eyes every day.

"Li Song and his team are willing to develop satellite navigation systems and communication satellites, and I think we should give them strong support, but we also need to have our own things," the leader said.

"In that case, we don't need to increase investment in the satellite field. Anyway, Li Song's project won't be long. We can revisit it at the end of the year."

"Ok!"

"We can afford to wait a few months."

"As for the mobile phones, computers, and automated equipment that Li Song mentioned, let's just let Li Song handle them. After all, the people behind Li Song are more capable in this area."

"Well, anyway, the factory that Li Song and his team built, as well as the technical personnel they trained, are all our people."

“Then let Li Song and his team do it.” The leaders present reached a consensus once again.

The next day, on Li Song's private plane to Shanghai, Section Chief Zhou said, "Mr. Li, the higher authorities have decided to choose 160. As for whether to use technology or physical equipment, Mr. Li, please choose whichever is more convenient."

"Ah."

"I'll give you an answer later." Li Song was ready to make another big move.

That means getting spare parts for one or two 160s, along with the necessary ammunition and such.

In addition, Li Song was also thinking about acquiring some satellites, because manufacturing these satellites on second-hand platforms is quick and the technology is mature.

In reality, to build even a few satellites, you need to thoroughly understand the technology before you can even begin manufacturing.
Putting everything else aside, do you need a year?

Yes, definitely.

So this time, we can take a few existing satellites, run a few satellites first, and lay the foundation. This will not only train technicians to manufacture satellites, but also technicians to operate satellites.

They can also develop their own business.

It can compete with GPS in advance.

Moreover, Li Song has the advantage of being a latecomer, which is that once the chip is developed, he can directly use the next generation of satellites, which are more advanced than GPS.

Because GPS satellites have different operating times, even if Aramco's latest satellites are very advanced, the system cannot compare with Li Song's due to the existence of other outdated satellites.

Of course, these GPS satellites are all large, weighing at least a ton, and they are all high-orbit satellites, at an altitude of 20,000 kilometers.

It is very different from those satellites that are three to five hundred kilometers high.

Communication satellites are at much higher altitudes, reaching 3.5 kilometers, and are generally in geostationary orbit.

It also involves launch technology, ground control technology, and so on.

Of course, the most important point is that the number of satellite orbits is limited, and it's first-come, first-served.

For example, communication satellites are located more than 3.5 kilometers from Earth because the farther the satellite is, the larger the area it can cover, which also affects the satellite's performance. However, communication relay, television broadcasting, and weather satellites have very long lifespans, generally 10-15 years.

The reason for going all out was that Li Song knew this was the last time; he wouldn't be taking any more physical goods afterward, because the foundation had already been laid.

Or perhaps the actual items brought out are too small to be transported by cargo ship.

Having a USB flash drive would make things even more convenient in the future.

The reason Li Song didn't say it was confirmed was to buy time. He wanted to wait until the chip manufacturing was successful, and then he would offer rewards on second-hand platforms for mobile phones, computers, multi-core chip technology, communication technology, automation technology, satellite technology, global positioning technology, satellite phone technology, and so on.

Li Song had these items transported by cargo ship.

Section Chief Zhou continued, "Mr. Li, regarding the satellite, the higher authorities have given special approval, so you can proceed as you see fit."

"That's great." Li Song was delighted to hear this, as it was tantamount to a special operating right.

Of course, Li Song also knew that the mainland did this because they felt at ease, since they had no people, and all the personnel and equipment came from the mainland.

Furthermore, they used their own money and technology to cultivate talent in the mainland.

However, Li Song was still very happy. He didn't really like joint ventures because there might be problems of one kind or another, and the business philosophy might be problematic.

It's nowhere near as convenient as owning it as a sole proprietorship.

After arriving at the small villa in Shanghai, Li Song browsed around on second-hand platforms.

The second-hand platform has ample funds, and although it offers a lot of technology, it's technology from a hundred years ago for the second-hand platform.

Li Song had long collected things related to the Tu-160. There are several models of the Tu-160, but Li Song could only buy the model that made its maiden flight this year. He couldn't buy the subsequent improved models.

Li Song then issued a targeted reward, seeking the technology and all parts of the 160 that first flew in 1981.

After the reward was posted, the platform asked Li Song to further confirm whether the part was a used part from a disassembled machine or a brand new one.

160 Because after the Fat Bear family split up, the second brother was destroyed, and although the eldest brother was still alive, he didn't appear often for various reasons.

Therefore, there are some disassembled parts that have been sealed away.

Because later on, such a large machine becomes a living coffin in the face of hypersonic missiles or space-based weapons.

"What a pity!" Li Song originally wanted to get two, but considering that the Fat Bear hadn't even had its maiden flight yet, it seemed a bit illogical for him to get two, so he chose only one.

Li Song directly asked the platform to optimize, and the platform suggested using brand new parts, because old parts are actually more expensive for various reasons, as some old parts may be contaminated, such as used parts.

Furthermore, the quality of the old ones is not guaranteed, and re-inspection would incur additional costs.

In addition, these parts may not be in the possession of a single seller.

It would be better to just build a new one.

Li Song immediately accepted the optimization plan provided by the platform.

The platform then suggested a price of 1.6 million, because it included technical data, all the parts of an aircraft, and existing supporting munitions, such as missiles that can carry mushrooms, as well as physical samples.

Li Song managed to negotiate the price down to 15 million, and soon someone accepted the order. Li Song recognized the person as an old acquaintance—the same merchant who had sold him the F-1.5 fighter jets.

However, Li Song was unable to contact the other party, so he didn't know what was going on.

However, Li Song could roughly guess that the seller must have a processing plant.

Although environmental standards will be high in 2080, many countries will still lag behind. With some money, you can start all kinds of manufacturing there. However, finished products manufactured on the platform must meet environmental requirements, which involves investment issues.

Li Song checked the time; it would take 45 days.

As for satellites, Li Song needs to obtain the chips, then send the chips to a second-hand platform, and then customize related products on the second-hand platform. This way, he can avoid some of the rules of spacetime.

That evening, Zhu Ling returned to Shanghai from the Three Kingdoms Film City. The two acted like an old married couple, and Zhu Ling felt most relaxed with Li Song.

Li Song never demands anything of himself, except for occasionally requiring him to perform certain actions. Otherwise, he doesn't make any demands; everyone does their own thing.

There was no pressure in life, no need to figure out what the boss was thinking, no need to ask favors for a role, and no demands on the children.

Sometimes Zhu Ling felt that she and Li Song were like an old married couple who had been together for decades.

However, as Li Song's career became more and more successful, Zhu Ling felt the pressure. Today, the newspaper reported the news of the mass production of the CA201 large passenger aircraft, breaking the foreign monopoly and reaching the world's leading technology.

The newspaper dedicated a page to the news, along with last night's news.

And many more people around were talking about these news.

Zhu Ling thought about the age gap between the two of them, as well as Li Song's achievements, and sometimes she would let her mind wander.

The news was reported again tonight, and Zhu Ling was completely obedient to Li Song's requests.

"Sister Lin, is something on your mind?" After finishing his business, Li Song put his arm around Zhu Ling and asked, thinking about her performance tonight.

"It's nothing." Zhu Ling clung to Li Song like an octopus. Luckily, there was air conditioning, otherwise it would have been impossible to be together like this in the sweltering heat of Shanghai in September.

"Don't keep things to yourself. We're not strangers," Li Song said, not knowing what was on Zhu Ling's mind.

"No." Zhu Ling didn't know where to begin.

Zhu Ling wanted to say something, but she always felt unworthy.

But if I don't want to, I feel uncomfortable.

"Okay, just tell me what's on your mind." Li Song didn't press the issue or try to guess what was going on, after all, who knows what a woman is thinking.

The next day, Zhu Ling drove Li Song around Shanghai for the whole day, and in the evening she was completely attentive to his every whim, letting Li Song enjoy himself to the fullest.

On Monday, Li Song left Shanghai, returned to Guangzhou, and then went back to Hong Kong Island.

Upon returning to Hong Kong Island, Li Song first read the newspaper and discovered that Boeing and Airbus stock prices had fallen.

The aviation sector also declined.

In addition, Aramco is preparing to send a trade delegation to visit the mainland to discuss some trade and economic cooperation.

Li Song, of course, had no idea that Amer wanted to bring the mainland into its trade circle.

If you knew, you'd probably laugh out loud, because one of America's top leaders later said that his biggest regret was letting the East join the WTO.

Historically, it was only in the 90s that it joined the WTO.

However, the mainland is unlikely to agree at the moment, because it is not ready yet, and its previous trade rules are completely different from GATT.

This is actually what the West excels at: using rules to restrict and suppress the other side.

On the surface, it appears to be adhering to the rules of the contract, but that's only because life is better in the West now.

Decades later, the true colors of the West were fully exposed. The bank went through bankruptcy, restructuring, and reopening in three days, and then, according to the law, paid out a maximum of $50 in compensation.

In some countries, wealthy people who had previously been rich were simply laundered by American capitalists.

Not to mention that the West is also adept at exploiting those who have no descendants; a certain female executive surnamed Zhao was exploited by the West.

As for a certain president drawing a candlestick chart, completely disregarding the rules, causing an industry's stock price to plummet because of this president, and then a few days later, the president says that the rules will not be implemented for the time being, and then the stock price rebounds.

Some people made billions from this one incident.

Not to mention the fluctuating tariffs, which have disrupted the global financial system.

It made the Wall Street elites feel as innocent as babies.

"Boss, this is the information sent by Bedouin Company." Tian Jiahui walked into Li Song's office with the information.

Li Song had also come for this matter, and while looking at the documents, he said, "Do you think there's anything fishy about this?"

"What does the boss mean?" Tian Jiahui was a little confused.

"We operate on a deposit model. After all, the wealthy people who order our planes have high total prices, so the deposit is also very high. This way, even if they breach the contract, our losses will not be significant."

“But if the other party breaches the contract for these basic models, the company will suffer huge losses,” Li Song said.

"Boss, do you mean you want them to pay more?" Tian Jiahui understood when he heard Li Song say that.

Custom-made private jets are expensive, costing millions or even more than ten million US dollars. Based on the deposit ratio, even if the other party doesn't want them, you won't lose much. However, a general aviation model costs 300 million US dollars. If the other party doesn't want them, you'll be stuck with them. If dozens of them are stuck with you, the loss will be quite large.

Li Song also knew that some people in the West would deliberately place orders and then disappear, so that no one would want the goods in the end, and they would then change their identities and buy them at a low price.

(End of this chapter)