Chapter 134: The Fellow Who Wanted to Launch a Satellite

Wang Shi's eyes always revealed a sharp, shrewd, and overbearing aura. Chai Jin could feel Wang Shi's indifference toward him. However, after glancing at Feng Haodong nearby, he understood that this big shot was only approaching him for Feng's sake. The business world was treacherous, and everyone spoke from behind a mask.

Chai Jin wore a mask of his own—the mask of the omnipotent Monkey King—as he smiled and shook hands. "Chai Jin, a bricklayer at Mr. Feng's construction site."

"This..." Wang Shi felt awkward for a moment and truly wanted to pull his hand back. But that would have looked overly snobbish. He covered it with a loud laugh: "Haha, I see."

"Old Li, come to my place later to discuss a partnership. My company has some containers headed to Southeast Asia that aren't full yet; I'll take some goods from your factory to fill them up."

At this stage, Vanke was not yet a real estate developer; it was primarily engaged in trade. To put it bluntly, it was a massive profiteering operation, trading whatever made money. A middle-aged man nearby responded quickly. Wang Shi walked out as if nothing had happened. The fact that Feng Haodong didn't see off a single one of the many guests who left spoke volumes about his influence.

After everyone had gone, he walked over and patted Chai Jin on the shoulder. "Come with me. Let's go take a look at that land."

Chai Jin knew he had been called over for this reason. The two walked out together. A few minutes later, they stood on the massive construction site. Feng Haodong had the bold air of a pioneer staking his claim, gesturing to the surroundings. "This part is mine. I plan to build a pharmaceutical factory in cooperation with a European pharmaceutical company. I'll provide the land and the capital."

"They will provide the technology. What do you think?"

Chai Jin gave a wry smile. "That’s a business that only makes money and never loses. Everyone gets minor ailments like colds and fevers. The larger the population, the larger the market."

Feng Haodong nodded and pointed to the other side. "I've handled the permits for that piece of land for you. Is your company registered? If it is, have your people go handle the registration procedures."

"Get the distillery up and running first. This November, I'm taking Little Libai Liquor abroad for a competition. If we can bring back an award, the market for Little Libai Liquor will definitely be much broader."

This was why Chai Jin had always treated Feng Haodong like an older brother. Feng Haodong was genuinely helping him, which was rare in the cutthroat business world. Chai Jin smiled. "Thanks, Brother Dong. I'll make the arrangements immediately. But Brother Dong, I heard you all talking about Soviet trade earlier. Do you know Mou Qizhong?"

Feng Haodong laughed heartily, possessing the temperament of a rugged warlord. "Back in the eighties, Old Mou brought some refrigerators over from H-Country and ran into some trouble when clearing customs in Hong Kong."

"Later, he found me through some connections, and I helped him smooth things over."

"Why? Have you been following the newspaper reports about him buying airplanes?"

Chai Jin smiled along with him. "With a move that big, it's impossible for no one to be paying attention. But regarding the special train, Brother Dong, can you really help those people get one?"

Feng Haodong shook his head with a laugh. "Chai Jin, wasting your own connections for the sake of useless people is the least worthwhile thing you can do."

He didn't spell it out, but Chai Jin understood two things. First, Feng Haodong really did have the power to secure a special train! Second, Feng Haodong would not help those people get one, as it was a matter of overusing one's social capital. There were only so many special lines running to Russia. If I help you get one, it's bound to cause a stir and involve a great many people and connections. If I go to such great lengths to help you, what do I stand to gain? Are you my younger brother or my uncle? If a connection isn't necessary, don't abuse it. If you use it too much, people will get annoyed, which is detrimental to maintaining your network.

Chai Jin understood this point. He was about to speak, but Feng Haodong interrupted him. "Let's go. We'll grab some food first, and I'll tell you more about this piece of land while we're at it."

Chai Jin sighed slightly and ultimately kept quiet. It was better not to speak until things were settled. However, while eating, the two discussed Mou Qizhong further. From Feng Haodong's tone, it was clear that not only did he know Mou, but their relationship was likely quite close. For instance, Feng Haodong was very interested in the development of Manzhouli. Because of the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia was extremely lacking in light industry while being very advanced in heavy industry. Manzhouli, as a border city, had become a hot spot. The local government had even coined a slogan about creating a "Northern Special Economic Zone."

Chai Jin knew that after Mou Qizhong's success in trading airplanes, he was about to enter a state of madness. He would later even try to launch satellites. Thinking of this, Chai Jin suddenly looked up. "Brother Dong, did you also participate in Manager Mou's grand project of blowing up the Himalayas to import warm currents from Nepal to transform the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau?"

*Pfft!*

At these words, Feng Haodong spat out the water in his mouth. He couldn't help but laugh out loud. "You know, sometimes you just have to admire Old Mou. His brain is filled with macro-plans; he never calculates things like how much money he's making today or how much he'll earn tomorrow."

"The Himalayan project will probably have to wait until he launches a few satellites first. We can't stop him."

Seeing Feng Haodong's attitude, Chai Jin felt relieved; he had been genuinely afraid that Feng might follow Mou Qizhong into madness. He smiled and said, "I hope I have a chance to meet Manager Mou in the future."

"You will. Come, tell me about your situation lately." Feng Haodong prompted.

The two continued to talk. However, Chai Jin still didn't bring up the matter of the airplanes.

...

The "canned goods for airplanes" story continued to spread in Shenzhen. Because of this, more and more people wanted to meet Ivanovich, hoping to establish a connection and trade goods with him. This included He Zhijun and Chen Nianhua of the Hongchang Electronics Factory. The recent wave of wealth had thoroughly stimulated them.

The electronics factory was just an assembly plant, making finished goods for a bit of labor fees, and that was no longer enough for them. In fact, they had been observing the phenomenon of the profiteers at the Xiushui Street in Beijing since last year. They had also secretly laid the groundwork, acquiring five or six small to medium-sized daily commodity factories in Shenzhen, and had been working on integrating them.

Finally, on this day, the last link was integrated. They immediately announced the establishment of the Hongchang Group, with business operations expanding into the field of daily commodities. Seven or eight factories merging into one caused quite a sensation in the industry. The photo of the two of them wearing large red flowers at the ribbon-cutting ceremony made the front page of the *Special Zone* newspaper. For a time, their prestige was unmatched.

Now that the company was established, what about the sales channels? They had recently investigated and discovered that Ivanovich, who was staying at the Xishan Hotel, was a big fish. If they could open that line of communication, their wealth would be endless.