Siheyuan (courtyard house): My name is Shazhu!

After talking a lot with Annie and drinking quite a bit, He Yuzhu was still relatively sober when he was pulled to the sofa for a heart-to-heart talk.

I don't know if it's because the temperature in the port city is high in mid-December or because of the air conditioning, but I'm wearing less and less clothing.

An hour later, the two looked at each other, speechless. "You're pretty impressive, aren't you? Would you say this was something you did while drunk?"

"Don't talk nonsense, this is your problem. There are surveillance cameras in this lobby. Should we check who did it on purpose?"

"If it were me, I'd let you do whatever you want with me. If it were you, I'd come back again, and neither of us would lose out, okay? We're all adults; you can't let me be the only one who suffers."

"Could your demands be any more shameless?"

"I am fair, not shameless. Now it's my turn."

The woman did not resist and sent He Yuzhu home more than an hour later, saying she needed to rest.

I'll take a shower first, then change my clothes and go home.

The next day, they wanted to drink again, and he was still very proactive. When it was He Yuzhu's turn to take the initiative, he didn't resist.

Then, He Yuzhu was again sent home to be with his family.

For four days in a row, He Yuzhu didn't pay any attention. He could tell that this woman had something on her mind. If she didn't say anything, he would pretend not to know. It was no big deal to spend more time talking to her or drinking more wine with her.

Moreover, it's clear that this woman is different from Martha; she's not overly dependent on herself and will likely resemble that Iron Woman in the future.

He Yuzhu's situation is different now than it was ten years ago; he no longer needs this woman as a support.

Times are different!

"Sir He, I'm returning tomorrow morning. This city is wonderful; it put me in a good mood. I also enjoyed drinking and chatting with you. Hope to see you again sometime."

"Come over if you're feeling down. I'll keep you company and have a drink with you. It rains too much here in the summer, so you have to wait for the sun to shine before you can go shopping."

Tomorrow I'll send someone to escort you home, and then have them return to ensure your safety.

"Your security company is very capable. I heard from your wife that they wiped out a gang of 30,000 people in less than three days because of your father."

"They went too far, so I had them eliminated. I don't usually get involved in triad affairs; there's a reason they exist. Our security personnel are quite good."

"Everything that exists has a reason, I understand. One last question: why don't you go to the horse racing club? I like riding horses, but your wife says you never go."

"The most famous thing here is horse racing, not horseback riding as you mentioned. I don't go to the horse racing club; initially, they ostracized me."

I just looked down on them back then; they were a bunch of short-sighted small businessmen.

Now I look down on them even more; they gamble at the horse farm, which I dislike. I myself can ride horses, and I'd love to compete sometime.

"You're quite arrogant, and you have the right to look down on them—the biggest philanthropist here. You can leave now."

"How heartless! You're kicking me out just because the drainage is working properly? See you again sometime!"

Anne left the port city in a fairly good mood the next morning, and her complexion looked normal.

Perhaps because we had been drinking, I didn't think much of it. Maybe we can drink, chat, and brag together again sometime in the future, which would be nice.

He Yuzhu's office!

"Mr. He, this year we have completely opened up the markets in the United States and Europe. Home appliances and beverages have entered more than 30% of our company's products."

We sold 17 sets of 10,000-ton seawater desalination equipment, earning 340 million US dollars; and 62 sets of 20-ton equipment, earning 30 million US dollars.

Because of the acquisition of the four major trading companies last year, the total revenue this year is 24.5 billion more, and the total revenue for the whole year will be over 113 billion.

Wheelock and Hutchison are both undergoing restructuring, with profits of less than HK$100 million, which are not included in the calculation.

The first phase of our new power plant on Lamma Island officially started generating electricity on January 1st. The second and third phases are under construction, with a total power generation capacity of 11 billion kilowatt-hours.

The electric power company's site, the former site of the Ap Lei Chau oil-fired power plant, was vacated around 80 and could be converted into a residential area. That's about it.

"Nothing will happen here either. Niu Niu is starting to prepare for privatization, and the first step is their car manufacturing business. I'd like to buy a car brand. What do you think?"

"It's unnecessary to buy it using our group's name, but it's okay to buy it using Niu Niu's identity. We can keep a small R&D department and fewer workers."

The three families later opened a car manufacturing plant in their hometown and then used their car brands to penetrate the European market.

"That's what I think too. Producing cars in Niuniu is not feasible; their costs are too high. Let's see how the price is; if it's right, we'll buy it."

"We have money and no need to be taken advantage of. By the mid-1980s, many of their car factories had gone bankrupt."

There weren't many cars in my hometown, and even though we had the technology, we didn't produce many. If we had entered the market in '78, the costs would have come down a bit, and we could have continued to impact the car manufacturing industry.

"Which country is better for building a computer factory, the US or Europe? I've already started building a factory in Malaysia this year, but we still don't have enough people, we lack talent."

The main computer software is handled by the Americans, making it extremely difficult for us to get involved. The less important parts are in Malaysia, which is similar to our homeland.

"A few years earlier in Malaysia, and after 85 in my hometown, the main methods were soft card printing and CD printing. We don't need to move too fast; being two or three years ahead is enough."

Before 90, we were mainly engaged in manufacturing. We didn't need to sell mobile phones all over the world. Around 98, we were able to overtake others by directly launching smartphones, but we didn't have enough manpower.

It will take at least another ten years for Malaysia's education system to reach a certain standard, and I plan to export graduates from Hong Kong University to Malaysia.

"That's one way. We've already established six universities in the port city, with a total of 20,000 graduates every year. It would be even better if we could attract them to Malaysia."

The wages in the port city are not too high now, which we can afford. Although there are more than 20 universities in our hometown, they have a large population and are even more short of people.

Finding ordinary people or military personnel to work abroad is no problem, but it's unlikely that they'll be hiring a large number of university graduates.

"My hometown is doing alright. In the past fifteen years, there have been at least 500,000 more college students. There's strength in numbers."

"Have Qian Duobao accelerate the expansion of its department store retail business in Malaysia, continuing on a large scale, focusing on low prices. Sun Dewang's port and shipyard development should also be accelerated."

"Qian Duobao should be able to help; Sun Dewang is splitting up and integrating Hutchison Whampoa and Wheelock."

They want to rebuild a new pier on Lamma Island and use the old Hutchison Wharf for real estate, but they don't have the manpower.

"Do we have any extra people? Or locals, so we can let Sun Dewang take charge of the overall direction?"

"He has already done it."

"Slow down development in the port city and accelerate the development of Malaysia. In fifteen years, we should have at least a majority of the strength to rival the Westerners."

"I'll make the arrangements in a bit; that place is definitely more important than here."

slightly!

Back home, He Yuzhu saw He Mingzhong, who looked like a little adult at only fourteen, and casually asked, "Mingzhong, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

"Daddy, can I go into politics? I'll become a lawyer first, and then join the Legislative Yuan or the Executive Yuan."

"If you really want to change, that's fine, but... come to the study with me." He Yuzhu felt that there were too many people in the family and too much gossip, and it wouldn't be good if the children told others.

"We're all family, why be so secretive?"

"If a ruler is not discreet, he will lose his ministers; if a minister is not discreet, he will lose his life; if matters are not kept secret, disaster will ensue. You and Huai Ru should listen as well. It needs to be kept confidential for now, so neither of you should divulge it."