Chapter Fourteen A Small Matter

  "Hello, Director Tang! I'm Rao Cong, we meet again!"

  A group of people, all dressed in sharp suits, walked into the headquarters building of AsiaMe Group on Wall Street. They had arrived in three luxury buses, with a luxurious Rolls-Royce leading the way. Many passersby couldn't help but glance at the group, assuming that AsiaMe Group was hosting some high-profile VIPs. It wasn't until everyone got out of the vehicles that people noticed they were all Asian, yet each one looked confident and composed in their sharp suits, as if walking into the world's largest automobile trust was like coming home - which, indeed, it was.

  "Everyone sit down, don't be formal, from now on this place is our own home!"

  Tang Guixin smiled and gave Rao Cong a light tap on the back of his head, then urged the elite group who had come from all over the country to hurry up and take their seats. The best conference room in the group's building was reserved for these people today. Every year, the Asia-America Group welcomes a batch of students and sends off a batch of talents, but unexpectedly, this year they welcomed not students, but a team led by Rao Cong, including himself, all of whom were excellent graduates from several universities in the autonomous region, with China Industrial University being the most represented. After all, currently, only this university has an economics and management college in the autonomous region. The main purpose of this team's visit was to establish the Asia-America Risk Investment Company, so the team was not short of high-caliber students from international finance, accounting, data analysis, and other professional fields. Moreover, in order to better analyze investment targets and evaluate their value, there were also a number of engineering professionals on the team. In short, this team contained no small amount of the autonomous region's elite talent.

  "President, this is a private letter from the chairman for you, and this is an official document!" After entertaining the talent, they temporarily rested in the conference room to eat something and take a look at some group materials to understand the current situation in the US and Europe, especially the market environment. Later, Tang Guixin quickly began handling the handover procedures with team leader Rao Cong.

  "In the future, we will no longer have graduate students sent to intern and work. The domestic industry has already embarked on a path of vigorous development driven by internal construction, and the autonomous region's demand for overseas markets is no longer urgent, but it does not mean giving up. Whether it is technical talents graduating from technical schools or high-end talents graduating from universities, the autonomous region has ample capacity to satisfy..."

  Jiao Cong's words are to a large extent Zhang Yusheng's oral representation of Tang Guishen. Indeed, the autonomous region no longer needs to send people to the United States for internships and work experience. The autonomous region itself has countless companies, enterprises, and factories, so it doesn't need students to travel across the ocean just to transform from apprentices to talents in the US. In other words, the autonomous region needs talent and can also cultivate talent, so there's no need to go through great trouble to train its own people with someone else's orders.

  "In recent years, it's precisely because of the continuous influx of student interns that our entire group has maintained a youthful and vibrant production atmosphere. It's all thanks to these students who have just graduated from school and internship factories coming to work with us that our veteran employees treat them like their own family members..."

  "On this aspect, the government has already considered it." Rao Cong said to this point, Tang Guiyin, who was already silver-haired, smiled and took out a plan book from his briefcase. "This is a plan book that was hastily prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce before departure, with the purpose of 'suggesting' that Asia Group relocate its Chinese employees and their families back to China, including their assets. The autonomous region will arrange for them to have household registration, employment, housing, etc.! However, this depends on the group's own arrangements and the wishes of the employees. The government is not forcing it, just suggesting..."

  "There are many in the group who have immigrated to the United States for many years, and have taken root here for decades. Whether or not they are willing to relocate back to their home country, I dare not give a definite answer, as it depends on their own wishes. After all, although many still have yellow skin and black eyes, it cannot be denied that they have long been American citizens. The fact that we provide them with jobs does not mean we can control their thoughts and actions. This is in stark contrast to the autonomous regions, which can arbitrarily control our group. As for how many people will return to China to develop, it is really difficult to come to a conclusion in a short period of time!"

  "So, we need time!" RAO Cong naturally knew that the group could not and would not use coercive means to force employees to return to China for development, nor would they use some grandiose reason like "work adjustment" to deceive anyone. What they truly wanted to see was people returning to their hometown with a sincere heart. RAO Cong licked his lips and said thickly: "We don't lack time, this matter can be promoted in the future production work, those who are willing to return home will be arranged to go back as soon as possible!"

  Tang Guixin understood that the autonomous region wanted to turn the transnational operating AsiaMe Group into what it was, thoroughly Europeanizing and Americanizing the production teams within the group, whether they were factories in the United States or Europe. Since Westerners still thought that the AsiaMe Group was founded by blond-haired and blue-eyed people, the autonomous region might as well follow their hearts and hide its strong industrial power once again. Although all the lower-level factories were manned by foreigners, the leadership at various levels of the group naturally still consisted of Chinese people, and there were many places within the AsiaMe Group that needed to be adjusted, but it wasn't just about letting Chinese employees and their families start returning home for development.

  "This time, I came as the technical director of new car models. Our Beetle, Jetta and Passat three sedan series have gone through more than a decade of wind and rain, with sales of over 10 million units, which is enough to prove that our sedans have excellent performance and high market share. In the past decade, the three cars have been improved to the extreme in terms of body paint, engine displacement, interior decoration, ride comfort and driving performance. It can be said that the current three cars on sale in the market have already caused aesthetic fatigue among consumers. The market and our own interests are calling for us to launch new sedans to meet the needs of the market!"

  The R&D department of the AsiaMei Group is a crucial part, just like the core components of a car. As long as it's important, their R&D and production must be domestic. The president Tang Guixin naturally knew that the AsiaMei Group was going to launch new models, including related technical data, but he didn't expect that the technical director would be a former genius employee of the AsiaMei Group, who had been arranged to study automotive manufacturing at the Industrial University shortly after returning home.

  "The sample car will be displayed at three 4S stores, and it's estimated that the setup is already complete." Tang Guixin took out a large stack of things from his drawer, flipped through them, and then looked at the technical details of the new car with his reading glasses on. "You're very familiar with the 'Ruibao' sedan's related technology, and its performance is naturally also clear to you. I received the relevant domestic materials here very early on, and we started promoting it in newspapers and radio three months ago. The car body has a streamlined ship-type design, with new colors such as silver white, deep blue, and pink added to the paint job. Overall, the performance feels similar to that of the Yadi. As for expanding the market, do you have any suggestions?"

  This question was a bit difficult for Rao Cong, he smiled faintly and said: "I'm sure the marketing department of the group has come up with a good plan, I'm here to take care of some technical issues at most, I don't have any good opinions." After saying this, Rao Cong took the thick technical data of the Ruijie car from Tang Guixin's hand and quickly browsed through it before saying: "Why don't we hold a competition? The Beetle, Jade and Huarui that we sell are products aimed at low, middle and high-end users. The group's marketing strategy is to differentiate, so let's subvert it."

  "Our marketing department has indeed thought of many methods, including past product exhibitions, new car test drives, and even using high-society parties as showcases. However, overall it feels similar to the past, like old wine in a new bottle - how can outsiders know that this bottle contains better wine? You might as well elaborate on what you mean by 'subversive methods'?"

  "Mr. President, let me tell you a story. You must know about the People's Liberation Army, when the army wanted to replace the Jeep with the Hummer which has better protection and performance, they couldn't think of a way to persuade the General Equipment Department to change the equipment for the whole army. Later, a lieutenant colonel from a certain division suggested, why not let the people from the General Staff Department come to the drill site in person, to see under 'war' conditions, which one is more useful, the Jeep or the Hummer."

  "What's the result?"

  "The result was that the Hummer, with its excellent protective performance and off-road mobility, easily defeated the Jeep. However, the Hummer's high fuel consumption also limited it. It is unknown how the military arranged for the equipment use of the two vehicles. Nevertheless, this incident shows that using competitions to demonstrate a vehicle's performance is feasible. Our Sharp sedan has many advantages, including automatic transmission, airbag protection, car radio and cassette player, air conditioning, new seats and interior trim... In short, holding an exhibition may not be enough for people to see the merits of the new car; a road competition might have a better effect!"

  "This kind of competition is not bad, before the European war, there were often car racing competitions in Germany, France and other regions, it's a good idea." After retrieving the documents, Tang Guixin opened Zhang Yusheng's letter and read it for a while, saying: "Regarding the establishment of Asia-Me Risk Investment Company, our work here is almost done, tomorrow morning these talents can be assigned to various departments. As for the operation and management of this company, the group will give strong support."

  Tang Guixin's words have already been said to this extent, and Rao Cong's leading work can be considered officially completed. Standing up and shaking hands with Tang Guixin, he said: "Chairman, I've always thought that the Jeep is quite good. If we can promote and sell it in the market, it will definitely become a new growth point for our performance. If we have a bit more courage and further develop the car's off-road capabilities, our group will be able to sell another model, called an off-road vehicle!"

  "This idea is not bad, I have never asked for instructions from the domestic side, asking when we can put the Jeep into the civilian market. The Jeep sold well in the autonomous region during the European war, and the military of various countries welcomed its excellent performance. There is also a large market potential in the private sector. I estimate that this Jeep will be handed over to us for operation soon, and at that time, you, as the technical director, will have more responsibilities!" Tang Guixin said, waving his hand to indicate that Rao Cong could leave.

  On February 1, 1928, the Boeing Company was officially incorporated with a starting capital of $35 million. Shortly after its operation, the company made an extremely bold investment move by acquiring William Edward Boeing's Boeing Company for a staggering price of $3.5 million.

  In April 1917, Boeing renamed "Pacific Aero Products" to "Boeing Airplane Company", and received an order for 50 planes from the US Navy that year. The company's focus was on commercial aircraft, after securing orders in the airmail market, they established their own airmail business, currently the number one airplane manufacturer and air transport enterprise in the United States.

  Boeing himself was a boss who took great care of his employees. After the end of World War I, the entire aviation industry in Europe fell into a slump, and Boeing was no exception. In order to retain key personnel and maintain the company's development, he went to great lengths to borrow money and continuously issue new stocks, most of which were bought by himself. During this difficult period, they even started a livestock business within the company to get through the hard times.

  In 1920, William Boeing and Eddie Hubbard flew airmail from Seattle to Vancouver, carrying a handful of letters. The route was significant for the company, marking it as a major player in the US air mail transport industry, a position it would hold until the present day.

  After conducting a thorough market survey and analysis, the Asian American Venture Capital Company still resolutely took out $3.5 million to acquire Boeing, which was not highly valued on Wall Street. This investment was undoubtedly seen as a failure by many astute people on Wall Street, with more people ridiculing the usually conservative Asian American Group for making such a reputation-damaging investment move, believing that Boeing would at best be a small biplane cargo plane company, similar to how people who had horse-drawn carriages looked down on steam trains. However, the Asian American Venture Capital Company did not mind this point.

  The "failed investment" storm of acquiring Boeing has not yet dissipated, and the American Venture Capital Company has made a second shocking move, that is, taking out $120 million to buy a large portion of Ford and General Motors' shares. This move by the American Group is undoubtedly another step closer to the death line. The American Group is indeed the world's largest automobile trust company, but fortunately, there are Ford and General Motors, so it occupies more than 90% of the market share in the automotive market, and even the US Federal Court cannot rule that it is a monopoly. However, the American Venture Capital Company's purchase of a large number of its competitors' stocks, especially its holding of General Motors' shares reaching 27%, is like walking on a high-altitude steel cable, and any slight carelessness will lead to a fall.

  The specter of dismemberment still haunted Wall Street investors when a rescue of the American Motors Corporation took place, the company announced that it would formally terminate its automobile sales contracts with the three major automakers, American Motors Passenger Car, American Motors Special Vehicles and American Motors Heavy Duty Truck, without any intention to continue negotiating for continued cooperation, American Motors Corporation will completely distance itself from antitrust laws.

  It is even more beneficial that, in order to avoid further inconvenience for the AsiaMei Group, AsiaMei Bus, which monopolized the world's bus production and manufacturing, announced its rebranding as Yaxing Bus Company, also known as Asiastar Bus. AsiaMei Heavy Duty Truck Co., Ltd. also announced its rebranding as Dongfeng Heavy Duty Truck, with a new logo to be unveiled soon, while AsiaMei Special Vehicle Co., Ltd. was rebranded as Shenzhou Special Purpose Vehicle Co., Ltd. The three companies all announced that they would complete internal reforms and production adjustments as soon as possible, but regarding whether they will list on Wall Street or issue stocks publicly, the major companies currently have no financing needs, but do not rule out the possibility of listing in the future.

  Many people quickly saw that the AsiaMe Group had an impact on several major independent companies, as the AsiaMe Venture Capital Company heavily bought stocks of Ford and General Motors before, and after the latter two companies cleared their relationship with the AsiaMe Group, there was a huge good news coming out immediately, which is Dongfeng Heavy Truck Co., Ltd. considering cooperation with Ford in small-displacement trucks, and Zhongzhou Special Automobile Co., Ltd. will cooperate with General Motors in engineering vehicles. The strong alliance between the two powerful companies and Ford and GM led to a surge in their stock prices.

  Several major companies will expand their independent and sincere cooperation with the sales system of Yamei Group. The automobile direct-sale stores of Yamei Group in various regions will be transformed into comprehensive automobile sales, and the sales stores will choose the models to be sold according to their own marketing strategies, whether they are Ford or General Motors, can be purchased in the store. Of course, this possibility still needs the cooperation between the sales store and the automobile manufacturer to reach an agreement, but it is certain that Yamei Group will truly become independent, which is undoubtedly very beneficial for the long-term development of the group.

  The auto industry on the US side is in turmoil, and the situation on this side of the autonomous region has also changed significantly.

  The pace and intensity of developing Hubei and Hunan are much faster than those of Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia. The construction of new machinery industry in Hubei has become a priority, including automobiles, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, machine tools, instruments and meters, etc. While Hunan focuses on the development of metallurgical industry, including non-ferrous metal smelting, mining equipment manufacturing, chemical production, etc.

  Wuhan will focus on developing steel, automobiles, commerce and chemical industries, especially the production of steel, plates, profiles, special steels, etc. Of course, China State Shipbuilding Corporation will not miss such a good location, and Wuhan Shipyard is expected to be established soon. Huangshi, as an industrial and port city, will strengthen its construction, and Daye's steel and cement will become the focus of development. Copper mines are still the old habit of the autonomous region, which remains sealed. Shiyan and Ezhou will both be built as automobile cities, especially with Asia America Group and Shen Zhou Special Automobile Company having already decided to build an automobile manufacturing base in Shiyan.

  Hunan's Zhuzhou will be the next big city for the automotive industry, just like Liuzhou in Guangxi. Yaxing Bus and Dongfeng Heavy Truck have not only set their sights on Deyang in Sichuan and Chongqing, but also this Zhuzhou in Hunan which has its own unique advantages. Xiangtan will become the next Hezhou in Guangxi or Mianyang in Sichuan, a city for manufacturing power generation equipment, with construction already underway.

  The two lakes region has become a dark horse in the development and construction of the autonomous region, because their conditions are better than those of the provinces and cities in the northwest. However, these regions are not without achievements either. Gansu, as an energy industrial city that is a key focus of the autonomous region's construction, has seen rapid development in the light industry sector in Lanzhou's petrochemical industry, Linxia, Zhangye, and Baiyin's cities, while the development of Gansu's leather, textile, and medicinal materials industries is also boundless.

  Shaanxi is a key area for the autonomous region's industrial construction, with high-precision machinery industry developing well here. Xi'an and Chengdu are two major cities in the northwest region that the autonomous region focuses on building into mechanical industrial cities. The development of high-precision machine tools, instruments, and meters in these two regions is rapid. Baoji and Hanzhong are also key areas for the development of logistics transportation and light industry, and they have become an important new production base for oil equipment in the autonomous region.

  Of course, the main development areas in Xinjiang are still transportation and primary processing of agriculture and animal husbandry. In terms of food processing and cotton textile products, their development is also very good. However, it is clear that the autonomous region has not yet fully developed and utilized its oil resources on a large scale. It is only a matter of time before Xinjiang becomes an important oil-producing province in the autonomous region.

  On the road of development, the autonomous region is clearly skilled and has shown strong control and construction capabilities in various tedious construction tasks. However, this world, especially China, does not always develop according to the wishes of the autonomous region. Life is often disappointing, but no matter how turbulent the unexpected events may be, they can only be like an ant trying to shake a giant tree in the face of reality. Even if the autonomous region has never acknowledged its own strength.