Chapter 275 Legally “Winning Over” the Governor

"Okay." Yang Wendong took the notebook and read it carefully. He was not very familiar with antiques, but considering that he would be able to purchase some soon, he made up for it in a short period of time.

The book in his hand contained tripods, furnaces, jades, ceramics, calligraphy and paintings from many dynasties. Finally, Yang Wendong said, "Mr. Ding, there are many kinds of antiques here. I want to pick some calligraphy and paintings by ancient celebrities, such as Guo Moruo, Qi Baishi, Li Bai, Du Fu and so on."

Huo Yingdong's face changed after hearing this, and Ding Kejian said helplessly: "Mr. Yang, Guo Moruo and Qi Baishi are both modern people, and there are still some authentic works, but Li Bai and Du Fu are figures from thousands of years ago, and their authentic works are basically impossible to find. Moreover, calligraphy and paintings of this level are also national treasures and cannot be sold."

"Oh, then Guo Moruo and Qi Baishi are also fine." Yang Wendong didn't care, and said: "I am more interested in calligraphy and painting. I think many people in Hong Kong and even overseas Chinese are the same;
If there are famous people's calligraphy and paintings in the mainland, they can be sent to Hong Kong after they are found. Whether it is renting or selling, we can discuss it. I welcome it very much. '

Compared to various unknown antiques, calligraphy and paintings are actually more well-known, simply because their owners are more famous. The fame of Li Bai and Du Fu has been passed down for thousands of years, and it can be said that they are almost known to everyone.

I'm afraid that even the emperors in ancient times, except for those who founded the country, might not be more famous than the famous literati.

If a museum has a bunch of bronze tripods, jade artifacts and the like, many people will not be interested in them, but it is different if there are calligraphy and paintings by famous people.

In addition to Zhao Congyan, many wealthy people in Hong Kong also have a great interest in ancient calligraphy and paintings. Even from an economic point of view, these are hard currency.

Ding Kejian thought for a moment and said, "I will report this matter. If there are paintings and calligraphy by famous people, it will be easier to transport them to Hong Kong."

"Okay, then I will arrange for someone to verify the prices on the list above, and we will discuss it in detail after it is confirmed." Yang Wendong smiled, and then said: "In addition, many ships of my Changxing Shipping have gradually set off for the United States, and when they come back, they will bring food back to the port.

You still need to prepare in the United States so as not to miss the ship."

Yang Wendong does not participate in this trade. He only does transportation and does not care about anything else.

"No problem, Ms. Zheng from your company has already told us about it." Ding Kejian replied.

Yang Wendong added: "There is another thing. Hong Kong is facing a more severe water shortage during this period. I have reached an agreement with the Hong Kong government to send several cargo ships to transport water deep in the mainland.

So I thought since we have to go to the mainland with an empty ship, we might as well just ship the food to the mainland. Otherwise, if you unload the food in Hong Kong, you still have to ship it overland. It would be better for me to go along the way, so that we can all save money and effort."

"That's a good idea." Ding Kejian was delighted and added, "But unloading the grain also requires a corresponding dock. I need to coordinate with the internal staff to see if it can be done."

"Yeah, okay." Yang Wendong nodded.

There are relatively few ports in the mainland at the moment. One reason is the poor economy, and the other is that there is not much demand.

Huo Yingdong laughed loudly and said, "Haha, great, so many different collaborations have been integrated together. Mr. Yang, Mr. Ding, you should cooperate more in the future."

"No problem." Yang Wendong agreed and said, "I will have some needs for light industrial products in the future, and China Resources will be given priority."

Hong Kong’s local trade is a huge market and was once the foundation of Hong Kong.

Changxing Trading Company currently only imports plastic particles from Taiwan and then sells them to plastic manufacturers across Hong Kong, but it cannot stop there.

"Thank you, Mr. Yang, for your care." Ding Kejian also said.

Huo Yingdong said again: "Mr. Yang, we have almost finished discussing everything. So, shouldn't you apply to the Hong Kong government? You can't operate such a public project alone, right?"

"We will definitely inform the Hong Kong government. I will meet with Governor Robert Black in the next few days to discuss this matter." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "The museum cannot be small in size and its location cannot be checked. We will have to negotiate with the Hong Kong government. We cannot purchase the land for commercial use, otherwise the cost will be too high."

If it is an ordinary project that needs to be demolished in the future, then it is natural to apply for commercial land, but a museum is a long-term project, so it is natural to save as much as possible.

"Then we will wait for good news," replied Ho Ying-tung.

After inviting the two to have a simple meal at the Changxing Shopping Mall downstairs, the two left.

Yang Wendong also came to the Carrefour supermarket downstairs, and Liu Huayu naturally accompanied him personally.

"Mr. Yang, our supermarket is now profitable." Liu Huayu said, "This includes the rental cost of Changxing Plaza. We also calculated it based on shopping malls of similar size in the same location."

"It's quite fast." Yang Wendong said with a smile.

Liu Huayu explained: "This is also because your advertising costs are very high, and these have not been taken into account. You can only wait until the number of stores increases in the future to spread the cost."

Changxing Group has used a lot of publicity resources to help Carrefour supermarkets. Newspapers and radio stations are just the basics. Even the cinemas under Changxing Real Estate in Hong Kong Island have hung large Carrefour advertisements at the door.

Even the Hong Kong China Motors Group has paper advertisements posted behind all the seats; this idea is said to have been proposed by the boss Yang Wendong, and it has provided China Motors with a new profit point.

Although the advertising intensity during this period is not as high as before, it is still not something that can be shared by several supermarkets at present.

"Well, it's okay. If you want to do a good job, the initial investment must be large." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "The media may appropriately reduce the publicity efforts in the future, because too much is useless.

Next, you need to organize your operating experience and then open stores in other places. The more stores you open, the lower the cost. I don’t need to explain this further.”

"Understood, Mr. Yang." Liu Huayu said, "Changxing Real Estate has bought three more properties suitable for supermarkets in Hong Kong Island, and is negotiating for four more properties in Kowloon Peninsula.

It’s just that the locations of these places are not as good as our earliest stores, and the surrounding population and economy are not as good, so the efficiency of each store will be lower.”

"It's normal. How can there be Central and Causeway Bay everywhere?" Yang Wendong said, "It will be good if it opens. And I believe that the economy will get better and better in the future."

Even if we take into account the real estate crisis of 66-67, Hong Kong's economy took off rapidly from 63 to 73.

Therefore, if there is sufficient capital, except for some real estate properties in ordinary locations, other businesses can be done as they should be, and there is no need to wait until 66;
"Okay." Liu Huayu paused and said, "Mr. Yang, there is another piece of gossip. Because of the success of our Carrefour supermarket, it is said that some other large financial groups also want to open supermarkets."

"Oh, which consortiums? Are they British-owned?" Yang Wendong asked.

This is actually to be expected. Most of the business in Hong Kong can be summed up in one word: copying.

If someone makes money from a certain industry, others will follow suit.

In fact, many people pirated Changxing Industrial's export products at the beginning, but these people had average capabilities and could not handle the channels, so most of them could not make a big business. They only had a few products, such as sticky hooks and spin mops. These people were considered to be doing well, but the profits were very low because the channels controlled everything.

But for a pure service industry, even if it is a new model, there is no patent, so others can naturally enter, which is completely reasonable and legal.

Liu Huayu said: "There is news that it is Swire and Jardine Matheson."

"Don't worry, we can just focus on doing our job." Yang Wendong said.

His appearance in recent years will definitely change the business history of Hong Kong. In the supermarket industry, ParknShop and Wellcome may not exist in the future.
Similarly, new brands may emerge and the big conglomerates behind them may change.

"Okay." Liu Huayu agreed.

Yang Wendong added: "I will ask Zheng Zhijie to step up his efforts and try to acquire some properties as quickly as possible, so as to occupy some prime locations first."

The supermarket industry is exclusive to a certain extent. When a normal supermarket is successfully built, it will first attract nearby consumers. If a second supermarket is built nearby, it will most likely suffer a huge loss.

In the mainland of the past, there was basically no need to worry about this problem, because the area was too large, there were many cities, and the area of each city was not small, so no large supermarket could form a monopoly;
But Hong Kong is different. With a population of several million, the actual living area is probably only a few dozen square kilometers, so it is relatively easy to occupy the market first. "That's the best," Liu Huayu said with a smile.

Yang Wendong glanced at the crowd of shoppers and asked, "Did the arrangement of goods that I asked you to study earlier have any effect?"

Liu Huayu replied: "One thing is that we put instant noodles and sausages together, and sales increased a lot; and the beer and many snacks you mentioned before are very popular with British people."

"Okay, then you continue your research. Increasing sales volume little by little will have the highest profit margin." Yang Wendong said again.

Any industry needs to spread a lot of costs, so there may be only 100% profit from 10% sales, but if there is an additional 10% sales, the net profit may be an additional 5%.

The supermarket industry is particularly prominent, so how supermarkets display goods is very important and will be one of the core issues of future competition.

On April 4, Yang Wendong applied for a visit from the Governor of Hong Kong, and Robert Black naturally agreed. The two sides met at the Governor's House.

"Hello, Mr. Governor of Hong Kong." After seeing Mr. Robert Black, Yang Wendong said with a very polite smile.

"Hello, Mr. Yang." After standing up, Mr. Bai Liji said very gentlemanly, "Please sit down."

"Thank you." After Yang Wendong finished speaking, he also sat down.

After the two of them exchanged pleasantries for a while, Robert White said, "Mr. Yang, thank you for your cargo ship that went to the mainland to transport water in time. Otherwise, the water shortage problem in some places in Hong Kong might be very serious."

"This is what I should do as a Hong Kong citizen," Yang Wendong said with a smile, "I also hope that all people in Hong Kong will no longer have to worry about water shortages."

At the end of March and the beginning of April, 3 second-hand cargo ships purchased by Changxing Shipping from several countries returned to Hong Kong one after another and completed registration and safety inspections;
Among them, six ships joined Changxing Industrial's export product business, six ships were doing short-distance business within Southeast Asia, and seven ships went to the mainland to transport water to Hong Kong.

Because of his early joining and the fact that the drought has not yet reached its peak in the second half of the year, the entire Hong Kong has not yet reached a state of extreme water shortage. At most, some areas have water outages or the water pressure is very low at some times.

This has a certain impact on people's lives or economic activities, but it is not yet very serious.

"I hope this damn weather can recover soon." Robert Black added: "After two years, when the reservoir is built, Hong Kong's water supply will no longer be a problem."

"I hope so." Yang Wendong smiled.

The Hong Kong government is now building reservoirs in several places to store water when it rains in the future.

But this is just a fantasy. Not to mention that there was almost no rain in the entire South China region from 62 to 63, even if everything was normal, with the growth rate of Hong Kong's population and economy, the reservoirs being prepared now would definitely not be enough in a few years.

But it is not completely useless. 65 years later, when Dongjiang water comes to Hong Kong, it can also be stored in these reservoirs.

Bai Liji asked again: "Mr. Yang, what is the matter with you coming to see me this time?"

"There is one important thing," Yang Wendong said. "I want to build a museum in Hong Kong."

"Museum? Doesn't Hong Kong have one?" Robert Black asked curiously, "Hong Kong is a city, so it doesn't need a second museum, right?"

Yang Wendong shook his head and said: “The Hong Kong Museum records some of Hong Kong’s history, and there are too few things recorded in it;

What I want to build is a large museum that can house a large number of antiques from before China, as well as some antiques with Western historical significance.”

After all, Hong Kong is still under British rule, so it is not right for him to say that the museum only has antiques of Chinese culture.

Anyway, he would not refuse the entry of antiques from the Western world, but it is hard to say how many there are.

"A large museum?" Blackie frowned slightly. He felt that this thing might involve a lot of things.

Yang Wendong added: "Mr. Governor, didn't the British Empire say that it wanted to build Hong Kong into the Oriental Pearl of Asia and the crown of the empire?

But how can such a crown city not have a large museum? Every major city in the world has one.”

"What Mr. Yang said makes sense." Bai Liji thought for a moment and said, "But are you going to buy all the things in this museum?"

"A small number of them will." Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "Most of them still need to be obtained through leasing. This is also the normal business model of museums around the world."

Private museums overseas are not so wealthy that they own all the antiques, jewelry, famous paintings, etc. In fact, they only have a small number of them, and under normal circumstances they rent antiques from other museums or official institutions.

Furthermore, even if one is extremely wealthy and owns all the antiques and paintings, people living nearby will not come back after seeing them once, which is not in the interest of commercialization.

Therefore, it is normal for different cultural relics to fly around the world. This is also the reason why many antiques are easily lost or stolen. Otherwise, if they are locked up, who can steal them?
Bai Liji asked again: "Have you negotiated the lease with your partner?"

"I have already negotiated with the mainland." Yang Wendong said with a smile: "It is like this."

Such a large-scale cooperation cannot be hidden from outsiders. After a period of time, experts from the mainland will come to Hong Kong, so there is no need to hide it from the Governor of Hong Kong.

This can be said to be a pure business cooperation. The Hong Kong government itself relies on the mainland to stay in Hong Kong safely, so as long as other businessmen do not openly do the same as Huo a few years later, there is no problem.

After listening to this, Robert White said, "This is indeed a good idea, but I hope that Mr. Yang can introduce more antique calligraphy and paintings from Britain in the future."

Although he was the Governor of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong government had a strict "free market" policy. This was why the British Empire was still able to control so many colonies after the decline of the British Empire.

If Yang Wendong is determined to build a museum, the Hong Kong government's forceful interference will only undermine the rules it has set and may also offend a large number of Chinese businessmen. Therefore, it is better to win him over than to stop him in an unpleasant way.

"That's no problem." Yang Wendong agreed readily, "But there's no sign of a museum right now. British museums or official institutions won't pay any attention to me, right? Unless the Governor of Hong Kong shows up."

"I can't do that even if I want to." Robert Black shook his head and said, "By the time your museum is built, I may have already returned to England."

Yang Wendong said: "Why don't we quickly settle this matter, and then open the museum before you return to the UK, and you can also attend the opening ceremony;
I can promise that there will be a special section in the museum introducing the history of the museum itself, and your photo will be hung in the most prominent place. "

"Really?" Bai Liji was moved.

"Of course." Yang Wendong said very formally.

Robert Black's term of office is about to end, and the Governor of Hong Kong is basically forgotten. Although he will not betray the former president like the Blue House did in the past, his name will soon be forgotten.

But if I could leave my name in a museum, then even a hundred years later, it would be known by countless people.

Many political figures or officials attach great importance to "fame", which is also normal. After all, their lifelong pursuit is basically achieved in middle age. If people do not have goals, they will take the initiative to look for them.

Many wealthy people work hard to do charity when they get older. On the one hand, they hope to be rewarded with good deeds when they are old, and on the other hand, it is also out of consideration for fame.

This move of mine hit these people in the ribs, and could be said to be a blatant "bribe".

It's not against the law. After all, what's wrong with a museum recording real history? What's wrong with hanging a few more photos?
PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)

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