Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 770 Imminent Departure
Soon it was time for the groundbreaking ceremony to begin.

First came the leader's speech, which was indispensable. Chen Fan and Zhou Yali sat in the guest seats, listening with drowsiness, while also having to deal with the Hong Kong businessmen who tried to strike up conversations with them.

The writer Chen is extremely famous and is also the vice chairman of the Jiangnan Provincial Writers Association. He holds a pivotal position in the literary world, especially since he is rumored to have a powerful background and even connections that go directly to the highest levels of government. Naturally, this has attracted these Hong Kong businessmen to frequently show him goodwill.

Chen Fan was quite friendly to patriotic Hong Kong businessmen, speaking frankly about everything he could, and unaware of anything he couldn't say.

Nevertheless, it still amazed many Hong Kong businessmen.

Judging from this young writer's demeanor, he doesn't seem like a writer who has lived in the mainland for a long time. Instead, he seems like an economic worker who frequently travels abroad. He can say a few words about the international economic situation, and he speaks with certainty, not just based on wishful thinking.

As for Zhou Yali, needless to say, she is a billionaire from the United States who owns a world-renowned publishing company and a high-tech company. Her father is a legal advisor to the Office of the United States Trade Representative and the head of a long-established Chinese family in New York.

If we could get in touch with her, we might be able to expand our business to the United States.

As a result, the two seemed to be busier than the leaders, always surrounded by a group of people, and didn't even have a chance to slack off.

I envy Jiang Tiantian and Jiang Lili enjoying the air conditioning in their car.

After the ceremony ended, at General Yuan's command, a soldier pressed the starter.

An old-fashioned bomb detonator, connected by a wire to dozens of bombs buried in the mound of earth from the last visit.

The moment the trigger was pressed, a deafening roar erupted, and dozens of bombs exploded simultaneously, sending soil flying tens of meters high, and half of the entire hillside was blasted away.

Once the soil had settled, the excavators waiting nearby received the start command and, accompanied by the roar of their engines, all drove toward the blasted hillside.

(The first shot fired in the reform)
With that, the groundbreaking ceremony came to an end. Under the guidance of the staff, the guests left in an orderly manner and returned to Shenzhen by car.

Chen Fan and Zhou Yali walked out in the crowd and saw trucks heading to the construction site to transport the blasted earth.

Zhou Yali looked at the old-fashioned trucks with some worry, "Will it be okay to use these trucks for transportation?"

Chen Fan clicked his tongue and said, "It can work even if it can't."

He paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "Don't be fooled by how big and clumsy these cars look. They have a lot of minor problems, but as long as they are in the hands of an experienced driver, they basically don't need major repairs. With a few spare parts, they can run tens of thousands of kilometers. The construction of the People's Republic of China in the first thirty years was basically carried out by these kinds of cars."

He looked around and, seeing that no one was around, lowered his voice and said, "Last year, our country imported 1000 Mercedes-Benz 2026 trucks. Each truck cost 22 marks, which is roughly equivalent to 11 US dollars. Mercedes-Benz is of good quality, right? But it is not suitable for the domestic road conditions and has many minor problems."

Moreover, very few people in our country understand this new type of truck, so maintenance is always a hassle, and if replacement parts are needed, they have to be imported from West Germany.

In terms of practical cost, you can buy 10 of these Jiefang trucks for the price of one Mercedes-Benz truck, and the maintenance cost is more than ten times higher.

Do you still look down on this old-fashioned truck?

Zhou Yali immediately shook her head upon hearing this, "No, no, those are all treasures!"

She watched the Jiefang truck, loaded with dirt, speeding across the rugged wasteland, her eyes shining. "I wonder if this kind of truck works well in America?"

Chen Fan's eyes twitched as he listened. "You don't actually want to buy some to take to America, do you?"

Zhou Yali glanced over, "Is that not allowed?"

Chen Fan kept quiet, smiled, and remained silent, indicating that it was his pleasure to do as he pleased.

Believe it or not, Jiefang trucks were indeed exported. As early as 1957, Mr. Bita, chairman of the Jordan Overseas Trading Company, purchased three Jiefang CA10 trucks, which were later "exported" in large quantities to countries such as Albania and Cuba.

Yes, some of them are practically being sold or given away for free.

However, in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, and Eastern Europe, there were indeed a large number of Jiefang trucks running on the roads.

However, there seems to be no precedent for exporting to Western countries.

I hope my cousin sets a precedent. If such a cool car were shipped to the United States and sped along Fifth Avenue in New York, it would definitely attract a lot of attention!

Thinking of this, Chen Fan couldn't help but pat Zhou Yali on the shoulder, "Then let's get a few and try them out. There's definitely no such model in the United States yet. You don't have to do anything else with them. Just use them as advertising display vehicles. Maybe you can make back your investment quickly."

Zhou Yali's eyes lit up immediately. "That seems to be true! When a shopping mall opens, they hold feng shui ceremonies and luxury car exhibitions. I'll get them a Jiefang truck; it'll definitely be more popular than a Ferrari or a Porsche!"

Chen Fan clenched his fist to encourage her, "Go for it, I believe in you!"

Just then, Mr. Yuan and his group finished entertaining several important guests and were watching them walk quickly towards them.

Chen Fan sensed the intense gaze, glanced back, and then pulled Zhou Yali to a stop.

Mr. Yuan quickly approached, first offering a polite greeting and then saying "I apologize for the lack of hospitality," before asking Zhou Yali, "Ms. Zhou, when would you like us to sign the investment intention agreement?"

Without hesitation, Zhou Yali replied, "Anything is fine."

Mr. Yuan was overjoyed and said with a smile, "Ms. Zhou is truly remarkable; she's efficient and decisive. In that case, why don't we hold a simple signing ceremony right here in the Shenzhen Government Auditorium?"

He pointed to the cameramen filming on the perimeter and said, "It just so happens that a provincial TV station is coming to interview us today. This will be a valuable memory, how about it?"

Zhou Yali glanced back at Chen Fan, then turned away and smiled, "No problem."

After making the agreement, the group got into their respective cars and headed towards the city.

Upon arriving at the city government compound, all preparations had already been completed.

Not only were banners displayed on the streets that read "Warmly welcome Ms. Zhou Yali, a Chinese-American businesswoman, to visit and inspect," but another banner was also displayed at the entrance of the compound that read "Warmly congratulate Ms. Zhou Yali, General Manager of Wanmuchun Company of the United States, on the successful signing ceremony of the investment agreement between her and Shekou Industrial Zone."

Red ribbons, yellow paper, and black calligraphy—simple yet solemn.

Many businessmen who had originally planned to return to Hong Kong after attending the groundbreaking ceremony also stayed on their own initiative upon hearing the news.

Soon the convoy arrived at the compound. Led by staff, Chen Fan accompanied Zhou Yali to the podium to sign a "cooperation agreement" with President Yuan.

In fact, due to the haste, the agreement was just a few handwritten drafts, mainly listing Zhou Yali's investment intentions and the preferential conditions that Shekou Industrial Zone could offer.

The key point is the investment amount. When they received the folder, the amount was still blank, waiting for Zhou Yali to fill it in.

At Chen Fan's prompting, Zhou Yali closed her eyes and wrote "one hundred million US dollars," which stunned President Yuan and the guests who came to witness it.

The lecture hall was filled with discussions, all wondering whether Zhou Yali's large-scale investment was real or just a ruse.
Zhou Yali had participated in several negotiations with her father and even witnessed a historic moment at the end of last year. She was already experienced and calmly signed her name. She then exchanged documents with President Yuan and signed again.

At this point, investing in Shekou is essentially a done deal.

Although it was only an agreement of intent, with Chen Fan on the list, he was practically a guarantor, so there was no possibility of the agreement being breached.

Mr. Yuan handed the agreement to the staff for safekeeping, looking very pleased with himself.

He said to Zhou Yali and Chen Fan, "Here, I can also reassure Ms. Zhou. Although Shenzhen has been established as a city, it is still under the jurisdiction of Huiyang Prefecture. The higher authorities are now considering elevating Shenzhen to a higher level and officially designating it as a prefecture-level city."

Moreover, this day is not far off; the results are expected around October.

As I mentioned before, the higher authorities are currently discussing the establishment of export special zones, and a basic consensus has been reached. However, further discussions are needed on how to do it and where to do it. Once these two core issues are clarified, it should be officially announced to the public.

Based on the approval from higher authorities for Shenzhen this year, we are very confident that Shenzhen will likely be included in the first batch of export special zones.

"At that time, Shenzhen will be an export-oriented special economic zone, and our Shekou Industrial Zone will be a special zone within a special zone. Investing in Shekou will not only give you a head start, but also a strategic advantage, which will definitely bring you considerable returns."

Zhou Yali glanced at Chen Fan, then turned back and smiled, "Thank you, President Yuan, for bringing us this good news. I also have some good news for you."

Mr. Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly. "Oh? Then I'll be all ears."

Zhou Yali smiled and said, "Just now, I saw the superior performance of our domestically produced trucks, so I decided to add 20 more trucks to the original purchase of 100 trucks and the formation of a transportation fleet. These 20 trucks will be shipped to the United States for use there."

Mr. Yuan's eyes lit up immediately. "That's great! I'll definitely support that."

Although this purchase was not directly related to him, it was still a significant achievement to facilitate the sale of cars in the United States. Most importantly, he saw Zhou Yali's determination to invest in the mainland.

However, the thought that Mr. Zhou would always look at Writer Chen whenever he was explaining the key points made him feel a little strange.

It's as if Writer Chen is the real boss?
Isn't this absurd?

He shook his head, about to speak, when Chen Fan suddenly said, "President Yuan, I have a small suggestion."

Mr. Yuan immediately gestured, "Please speak."

Chen Fan glanced at the guests in the audience and said in a low voice, "Although some Hong Kong businessmen are here today, there isn't a single heavyweight among them!"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Yuan couldn't help but smile wryly and lower his voice, saying, "The weight of Hong Kong's heavyweight businessmen is extraordinary. They are not people you can meet casually. Even I have to make an appointment in advance. But I've been busy with the opening of the Shekou Industrial Zone lately, and I really don't have the energy or time to go to them."

Chen Fan nodded. "I understand."

He paused for a moment, then continued, “However, if the mainland wants to establish export special zones and the Shekou Industrial Zone also needs to attract investment, it is inevitable that important Hong Kong businessmen will be involved. To put it simply, if any one of Mr. Fok, Mr. Gordon Wu, Mr. Cheng Yu-tung, or Mr. Wong Kwun-shing, the president of the Hong Kong Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, were to visit, they would set a good example. And today, we will definitely not be the only ones signing agreements.”

Mr. Yuan frowned slightly, thought about it carefully, and nodded gently, saying, "That's indeed the case. It seems I need to rearrange my work and take some time to go to Hong Kong to visit a few important Hong Kong businessmen."

Historically, it was originally planned that next year, the Hong Kong Chinese General Chamber of Commerce would take the initiative to visit the Shekou Industrial Zone in Shenzhen, forming a "super-rich delegation" composed of well-known Chinese businessmen such as Li Ka-shing, Fok Ying-tung, Fung King-hei, and Gordon Wu.

To welcome them, General Manager Yuan personally presided over several reception meetings.

At that time, the Shekou Industrial Zone was not yet completed, and many facilities were incomplete. There was not even a decent toilet, let alone a reception area!
Men can make do with relieving themselves in the construction site toilets, but what if a businessman brings his wife? Are we supposed to expect those ladies in high heels to squat in the outhouse?

To this end, he personally arranged for the construction of a beautiful toilet and even managed to find an old, unusable 10,000-ton ship to be towed over as a "passenger terminal," which was actually just for cruise ships to dock.

Otherwise, there really wouldn't be a pier to dock at all.

So Chen Fan spoke again at this moment.

He chuckled softly, "Inviting Hong Kong businessmen here is not my suggestion. My suggestion is that you'd better hurry up and make arrangements to build the 'reception area' for the industrial park first!"

Mr. Yuan was slightly taken aback. "What do you mean?"

Chen Fan gestured a few times, "First of all, the gate. The gate is the face of the industrial zone. We must build the gate of the industrial zone first, at least to give it a proper appearance, so that people know what this place is."

Mr. Yuan nodded thoughtfully, “Building a gate is not difficult; I can arrange it immediately.”

He hadn't figured out the purpose of building the gate yet, but that didn't stop him from humbly listening to opinions.

It's a very simple matter anyway; just listen to the advice and do as instructed.

Seeing that he readily agreed, Chen Fan didn't elaborate further and continued, "Secondly, when inviting important guests to visit, we can't have everyone standing and talking like today, without even a place to rest, can we?"

Upon hearing this, President Yuan blushed slightly and opened his mouth to explain.

Chen Fan waved his hand and laughed, "I didn't mean to criticize. The industrial zone started from scratch, and it was indeed full of hardships and pioneering spirit. There's no time to be so particular."

However, for some things, it's still necessary to be prepared.

For example, if we want to invite heavyweight Hong Kong businessmen to visit and inspect, we must make preparations for their arrival in advance. Currently, land transportation is inconvenient, and most of Hong Kong's wealthy individuals own cruise ships, so coming by sea is the simplest option.

So, the industrial zone needs to build a simple dock for cruise ships, and then a guesthouse on the dock. At the very least, it needs air-conditioned rooms and restrooms, right?

Upon hearing this, President Yuan understood Chen Fan's meaning and immediately nodded, saying, "Plant the phoenix tree to attract the phoenix. I understand."

He looked up, about to speak, when a staff member rushed over and whispered a few words in his ear.

Mr. Yuan waved for him to leave, then said to Zhou Yali, "Ms. Zhou, your father just called and asked us to inform you that he will be here tomorrow afternoon to meet you and then return to the United States together."

He suddenly laughed and said, "Congratulations, your mother is about to give birth. You're going to have a little brother."

(End of this chapter)