Chapter 48: The Killer Has Arrived!
First update one chapter, and then another chapter later! Two chapters today, 8,000 words!!
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Ge Tai stood in the office of the Secretary of Qiong Island Li and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, looking out at the scenery with a sense of emotion. This was the capital of the autonomous prefecture, also a city located in the mountainous area of central Hainan Island.
It's called a city, but the entire city of Tongzhou has a population of less than 200,000. As for the poor population... Ge Tai can only think of it with a bitter smile.
Tongzha City has jurisdiction over a group of towns, most of which can be considered impoverished. Among the population of over 200,000, it is estimated that at least 100,000 are impoverished.
Only a small number of people can eat their fill. Moreover, most of those who do are still part of the agricultural reclamation system and don't even belong to themselves.
The Reclamation System is headed by the General Administration of Reclamation, and above it is the Ministry of Reclamation. They are only counted as part of their own administrative area's population, but the actual management rights are all in the hands of the reclamation itself.
"Knock, knock, knock..." At this time, the knocking sound started. Ge Tai withdrew his thoughts and sat down on the chair before saying: "Come in..."
The newcomer was Shu Heng, the secretary he had brought from Qiongzhou. He saw Shu Heng walk in respectfully and say to Ge Tai, "Secretary, Liang Sanping has arrived and is waiting outside..."
"Oh?! What's this kid doing here?!" Ge Tai chuckled and said: "Since I took office, this kid has never come to visit! No one comes to the Three Treasures Hall for no reason, this little guy must be up to no good."
"He didn't tell me what specifically, but his face doesn't look too good." Shu Heng said to Ge Tai with utmost respect: "Then you see..."
"Let him in..." Ge Tai heard that Liang Sanping's face was not good, and after a moment of contemplation, he said: "Notify everyone to postpone the meeting this afternoon, I'll see what kind of trouble this kid has run into."
Shu Han smiled and nodded, walking out of the office door. When he reached the outside, he saw Liang Sanping with a not-so-good-looking face, Shu Han comforted him in a soft voice.
"San Ping, don't worry. The secretary has already called you in and postponed the meeting. If you have any issues, just tell the secretary directly, and they will help you resolve them..."
Liang Sanping heard this and couldn't help but sigh, saying: "Shu Ge, to be honest, this matter is too big, even I myself think that the secretary may not have a way to resolve it..."
Shu Han's face changed as soon as he heard it. If even Secretary Lian couldn't handle this matter, then it was undoubtedly a big deal.
"Hurry up and go in!" Shu Heng said to Liang Sanping: "Since things are so big, don't delay any longer..."
Liang Sanping nodded, and under Shu Heng's leadership, he walked to the door of Ge Tai's office in a few steps. After Shu Heng knocked on the door and got Ge Tai's consent, they entered the office.
No matter what, even if things are urgent, Liang Sanping will always do things by the book. This is a lesson learned from past experiences, so now no matter how anxious Liang Sanping gets.
He will also finish what he is supposed to do before bringing up his own matters.
"What?! You're quite bold, aren't you? I've been here for several days already. And now you come to find me, and it's only because you need something!"
When he saw Liang Sanping's face wasn't very good, Ge Tai couldn't help but make a small joke to ease his mood.
"Secretary, don't tease me. I just sent the first batch of vegetables from Lucheng and came back to encounter this problem..." But then Liang Sanping smiled wryly and said: "Well, I've only just found some free time to come find you..."
At this time, Shu Hong knocked on the door. Brought in tea and then turned around to leave and closed the door.
Liang Sanping took a sip of tea and organized his words in his mind before starting to tell Ge Tai about the difficulties he had encountered.
Ge Tai listened quietly, and as Liang Sanping spoke, his face also gradually became solemn. This matter was indeed difficult to handle, and under the current circumstances, Dajin Yun undoubtedly had an absolute advantage.
"What are you going to do now?!" Ge Tai leaned back in his chair and said to Liang Sanping, "What else do you want me to help you with?"
"To be honest, I'm really excited about this proposal. At the very least, it can actually increase the income of ordinary people on Hainan Island and take Hainan's agricultural income to a new level!"
Liang Sanping listened to Ge Tai's words, and smiled bitterly: "In the short term, it is indeed so. But in the long run, the labor costs and land costs we pay are too high, and once the Japanese use our products to open up the market, it will be even more difficult for us to establish our own brand in the future!"
"If we didn't have planting technology now, it would also be acceptable to exchange our land and labor for the Japanese technology. But now, we have everything from technology to land to manpower!"
"Why are we still allowing Japanese people to peel off a layer and use our products to establish their own brand, monopolizing our market?!"
Ge Tai heard this and sank into thought for a moment before sighing and saying: "To be honest, I'm afraid I won't be able to help with this matter. You have to understand, my current position is just the secretary of the autonomous prefecture."
"It's still 108,000 miles away from the highest decision-making level! If this matter is reflected from me, I'm afraid it won't reach the top."
Liang Sanping sighed upon hearing this. He had already thought of this matter long ago, but he still hoped to make one more effort.
"Secretary, then my other request is very simple......" Liang Sanping took a deep breath and said: "I want to write an article myself to explain the truth of this matter. As for whether the higher-ups agree, it's up to them..."
At this time, Wan Hong Corporation welcomed a guest. As soon as the guest got off the car, he received bows from all employees of the company.
This is an old man in his seventies, wearing a black kimono. He wears wooden clogs on his feet. Everyone who sees him bows deeply to show their respect.
"Father, how did you come...". The president of Wan Hong Corporation is now standing in front of the company elevator with utmost respect, welcoming the arrival of this old man.
"This time it involves an important decision for the company, so I had to come." The old man's face didn't change at all, and he walked slowly into Bayong Corporation with his cane.
When he heard his father say so, the company president could only lower his head and follow his father into the company.
"Gather everyone, let's have a meeting first!" With that, the old man walked straight towards the conference room. Although he didn't know what the old man was thinking, Yamazaki could only follow his father's will.
Soon, all the high-level executives of Wan Hong Corporation gathered in the conference room. Looking at the old president sitting in the main seat without saying a word, while the current president was also on the side with an unpleasant expression.
Everyone knows that this time it's probably a real confrontation between the two. As a result, everyone held their breath and quietly took their seats, waiting for the meeting to begin.
"Is everyone here?!" The old chairman, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly asked, while Yamazaki stood up and bowed deeply to his father: "Everyone is here..."
"Alright then, let's begin the meeting!" However, the old man slowly opened his eyes and coldly swept his gaze across everyone. Wherever his eyes landed, no one dared to meet his gaze.
"What we are going to discuss today is about the company's previous investment plan on Jeju Island." However, the old man stood up with his cane and pushed away Yamazaki who was trying to support him.
"First of all, I want to clarify. I have already retired and handed over the position of company president to the current president. So I will unconditionally support all his decisions!"
"I'm now just reporting my thoughts to the board of directors as an old employee of Wan Hong Corporation." Everyone who heard the old man's words couldn't help but smile wryly.
Is it as simple as you said? You are the old boss, who dares not listen to your words? You are an old employee, that's true. But you're not just an ordinary old employee.
"The company is investing in China, and I support this in principle. In fact, I have been promoting it all along. I think a country with a population of hundreds of millions is an incredibly huge market at any time! Giving up the market means giving up profits. This is not what we should do as entrepreneurs."
The old man's eyes gleamed as he looked at these directors and said, "But this does not include the land!"
"In the 1950s and 1960s, Japanese companies also attempted to invest in land overseas. Many of our companies had actively developed plantations in Southeast Asian countries. Unexpectedly, these countries, such as the Philippines, lacked a system for managing land ownership."
"While the land sellers arbitrarily designate the boundaries of the land, disputes over land have repeatedly occurred afterwards. Moreover, with the weak social and legal systems in place locally, our property rights as investors are not protected at all. Furthermore, due to the social instability and frequent changes in government in Southeast Asian countries and regions, our Japanese companies' investments in land have almost been completely lost..."
"Even if some remain, they face various problems." However, the old man leaned on his cane and said to the directors: "Unclear property rights, inadequate laws. Local people's non-cooperation, and changes in government power. Enterprises that insist on staying there are all losing investments."
But then the old man slowly walked and sighed, saying: "Our Japan has too little arable land. It is impossible to support the entire country, and expanding overseas has become a must."
"But at the same time, we also need to know that this is not a simple matter. Now in China's development, almost all of our transactions are cash on delivery. The profit is also very good."
"Even if the situation is turbulent, our losses are within a tolerable and controllable range. But if it's about territory, then the situation would be completely different!"
He paused for a moment, and then the old director said in a deep voice: "Land investment is a long-term project. It can't be done blindly, nor can it be done perfunctorily."
"Agriculture is a business that requires long-term investment and operation to be effective, and it is necessary to minimize risks as much as possible. Agricultural overseas investment requires two things: first, government-to-government investment agreements and trade insurance measures; second, cooperation between the public sector and private enterprises, in order to guarantee expected returns."
"If there's no way to guarantee these two basic points, I'd rather give up on cooperation!"
As soon as this was said, everyone's face changed. Everyone involuntarily looked at the current president Yamazaki, and Yamazaki sank his face and cursed in his heart the bastard who leaked this news to his father.
But on the surface he still pretended to be nonchalant and clapped his palms together.
"Clap, clap, clap......" Since Yamazaki took the lead, no one dared to slack off. They quickly followed suit and started clapping their hands together. Not doing so would offend both the new and old CEOs.
"What we can see now is that the situation in China is still not very stable. The issue of reform is still being debated. What we need to do is to solidify the current market and continue to expand it."
"Rather than taking a huge risk, to do a long-term business." However, the old man looked at everyone and said: "This long-term operation of land, the variables in between are too great. I don't support it!"
After finishing, the old man directly sat on the chair and said: "In the 1950s and 1960s, the lessons we learned from agricultural investment in Southeast Asia were too great. Since we have already paid our tuition last time, I think this time we still need to invest cautiously! My speech is over."
As soon as the old man finished speaking, a buzz of discussion erupted from below. Few people had expected that this old man would suddenly appear in the conference room and strongly oppose an investment his son had recently supported.
Of course, some people also guessed that there must be someone among the current company's directors who is dissatisfied with President Yamazaki's decision. So they reported this matter to the former president.
This triggered today's meeting of old directors.
"Honorable chairman and fellow board members! I'd like to express my opinion..." Sakaki finally spoke up, and everyone immediately fell silent.
Everyone is watching Sakaki, waiting to see how he will resolve this matter. If he can't resolve it, there's no doubt that his prestige within the company will plummet.
At that time, there will be a huge problem with the management of the entire Wan Hong Corporation. And if he handles this matter well, his prestige will undoubtedly be boosted again.
"Indeed, the current situation in China is not stable. But I think that instability is an opportunity for us to get in." Just then, Yamazaki stood up and said to everyone: "Instability means other competitors will be deterred."
"At this time, our cooperation with them is especially important." However, Yamazaki looked at the crowd and said: "And China, as a big country, has a stable political framework."
"Under this architecture, the probability of chaos is low. Indeed, they have been chaotic before. But it's precisely because they've experienced that kind of chaos that they definitely don't want to go back."
Yamasaki pressed down on the desktop and said to everyone, "I have carefully studied China's current policies and the speeches of their leaders. I discovered an extremely important fact: they are seeking development and trying to strengthen national power. Even if some policies waver left and right, this fundamental point has not changed!"