novelones Chapter 1008 Roland Scarlett bowed his head and apologized!
Chapter 1008 Roland Scarlett bowed his head and apologized!
In the blink of an eye, two days had passed since Lin Haoran arrived in mainland China from Hong Kong.
In the past two days, he not only inspected the development of Shenzhen, but also visited Dongguan, which is adjacent to Shenzhen.
Dongguan City also has a lot of foreign investment, but its advantages are obviously not comparable to those of Shenzhen City.
Pengcheng is a special economic zone with special policy support, priority power supply, and a higher administrative level, all of which Dongguan City does not have.
However, Guancheng also has its own advantages: lower land costs, more abundant labor force, and not far from Hong Kong. Many foreign-funded enterprises that cannot find suitable locations in Shenzhen have chosen Guancheng as a second choice.
Lin Haoran's various groups also have investments in Dongguan, and quite a lot of them.
For example, the Landmark Group built a large industrial park in Fenggang, Dongguan, with a contiguous area of 2 square kilometers.
As a consumer group giant, Langwei Group relies on sales channels such as 711-Eleven, Lawson, Wellcome, Mannings, and ParknShop under Lin Haoran's company. The daily sales of its various brands of daily necessities, snacks, beverages, etc., around the world are staggering. Therefore, the daily production demand is enormous, and even stockouts are common.
Therefore, the number of factories under the Langwei Group is constantly increasing.
Located in the heart of the Pearl River Delta, Guancheng boasts abundant agricultural resources and convenient transportation, making it ideal for the development of the food processing industry.
Therefore, Langwei Group's East Asian production base cannot be located only in Shenzhen; it also has factories in Dongguan, Guangzhou, Chancheng, Xiangshan and other places.
Every day, tens of thousands of tons of raw materials are transported in from all over the world, and countless boxes of finished products are transported to Nanshan Port in Shenzhen and shipped to all parts of the world.
This is the core reason why, when the mainland needed a large amount of manufacturing and sought help from Lin Haoran, he immediately established the Langwei Group and acquired a large number of well-known global brands of daily necessities, snacks, and beverages.
Manufacturing is not a castle in the air; it needs orders to drive it and markets to absorb it.
Without orders, no matter how beautiful the factory is or how advanced the equipment is, it's just a pile of scrap metal.
Lin Haoran's acquisition of Langwei Group integrated the daily necessities, snacks, and beverage brands that were originally produced in Europe and America, and then transferred the production base to the mainland. This is equivalent to injecting a continuous stream of orders into the mainland's manufacturing industry.
These orders were not attracted by investment promotion policies or government subsidies, but were driven by genuine market demand.
Shampoo, toothpaste, laundry detergent, biscuits, beverages, and snacks are everyday consumer goods that people need and consume regardless of the economic situation.
Sales increase during periods of economic prosperity.
Sales will not decline significantly during economic downturns.
This kind of stable, sustainable demand, unaffected by economic cycles, is what the manufacturing industry needs most.
Numerous factories provided a large number of jobs for people in the mainland. These workers, while not wealthy, were able to gradually achieve a comfortable standard of living, greatly improving the fate of many impoverished families.
When Lin Haoran was inspecting the Fenggang Industrial Park in Guancheng, he chatted with a few workers at random.
A young female worker from Hunan Province, who farmed at home after graduating from primary school, learned that Guangdong Province was undergoing economic reform and opening up and had many opportunities. So she found a way to take the train to Dongguan City and worked in the beverage factory of Langwei Group for half a year. Her monthly salary plus bonus was more than 200 yuan.
She sends 150 yuan home every month and keeps 50 yuan for herself for spending money. As a result, her younger siblings have tuition fees, and her parents no longer have to worry about making a living.
When she told Lin Haoran these things, her face showed a simple sense of pride, not gratitude, but pride in being able to earn money to support her family.
It's important to know that in those days, apart from the foreign companies in the Pearl River Delta, the average monthly salary in other provinces was only around 60 RMB.
She, a rural girl who only graduated from primary school, can earn more than 200 yuan a month in a factory in Dongguan, which is more than three times the average wage in her hometown.
This amount of money would be enough to transform a family from barely making ends meet to having enough to eat and wear back home. After saving up for a few years, they could even move from a dilapidated mud-brick house into a new brick house, and go from not having enough to eat or wear to having meat at every meal and new clothes every year.
This is the power of manufacturing.
It doesn't require advanced technology, highly educated talent, or a complex industrial chain; all it needs is a group of hardworking and diligent people to create enormous value.
Lin Haoran, through the Langwei Group platform, brought this power to the mainland and into the lives of millions of ordinary people.
Today, what these millions of ordinary people need most is to escape poverty through labor.
Only when people are lifted out of poverty and no longer worry about their daily meals can they have the right to talk about education, healthcare, quality of life, and hope for the future, and only then can they have the right to pursue a better life.
What Lin Haoran is doing is providing them with such an opportunity, a chance to change their destiny with their own hands.
This opportunity is not charity or a favor, but an equal exchange.
Workers provide labor, and the company pays them wages; each gets what they need, which is fair and reasonable.
After inspecting several industrial parks, Lin Haoran was deeply moved.
With great power comes great responsibility.
As an entrepreneur, he can do more than just make money; he can create value for society and provide opportunities for millions of ordinary people to change their destiny through his business strategy.
This sense of accomplishment is more real and more lasting than any amount of money he earns.
Of course, he wouldn't become arrogant because of this.
A businessman is a businessman; making profits for himself is always his top priority.
Social responsibility is not something to boast about; it arises naturally in the process of making money.
His factory is not a charity, his investment is not a poverty alleviation project; everything he does is ultimately aimed at making his business empire more stable and larger.
However, in this process, value is created for society and opportunities are provided for ordinary people.
This is enough.
"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."
Although he had more money than he could spend, he never considered donating it directly to the mainland to improve the living conditions of ordinary people. That would be unrealistic and wouldn't solve the fundamental problem.
Donating money can only solve temporary difficulties. Giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him how to fish. Only by providing people with stable job opportunities and enabling them to earn money with their own hands can we truly change their destiny.
This has always been Lin Haoran's philosophy, and it's also the reason why he would rather spend a lot of money building factories, ports, and industrial parks in the Pearl River Delta than donate money directly.
His Lin Haoran Charitable Foundation has a specific target for donations: it only donates to education, disaster areas, medical care, and road and bridge construction, and never directly donates money to individuals.
Education is a long-term endeavor; a child with knowledge can potentially change the fate of an entire family.
Emergency relief in disaster areas is like sending charcoal in snowy weather; lending a helping hand when people are in their most difficult time can help them overcome the crisis.
Medical care is a matter of saving lives. If people who cannot afford medical treatment receive it, a family will not be dragged down.
Road and bridge construction is infrastructure. Once roads are open and bridges are built, people can travel more easily, and the economy will naturally develop.
These donations are all targeted, goal-oriented, and effective.
Every penny was spent wisely, and tangible results were visible.
Lin Haoran dislikes the kind of charity where money is donated but no one hears about it. He wants charity that is visible, tangible, traceable, and assessable.
Shenzhen, Shekou, Nanshan Port.
At 9:00 a.m. on March 3, Chen Shulin and his assistant disembarked from the jib ferry, stepped onto the pier, and easily boarded a Hong Kong Electric Group official vehicle.
As the president of HK Electric Group, he had a lot of work to handle, so he did not come to Shenzhen with Lin Haoran on March 1st.
The car sped out of Wanqing Industrial Park, left Shekou, and headed quickly towards Luohu along the wide Shennan Avenue.
More than half an hour later, the car stopped in the private parking lot downstairs of Pengcheng Gangtie Building.
After getting out of the car, Chen Shulin looked up at the brand-new building.
He would come here almost every one or two months, and he even personally cut the ribbon when the building was completed.
Hong Kong Electric Building is actually located diagonally opposite Wanqing Building. It has 23 floors and is shorter than Wanqing Building, but it is sufficient for Hong Kong Electric Group's business in the Pearl River Delta.
Upon entering the building, the Mainland General Manager of HK Electric Group quickly walked up to Chen Shulin.
"Chairman Chen, the boss is already waiting for you in his office upstairs," the general manager said respectfully to Chen Shulin.
"Okay, I understand. You can go do your thing. I'll go up by myself." Chen Shulin waved his hand and walked towards the elevator.
Having been here several times, he was already very familiar with the place.
The elevator went directly to the top floor, the 22nd floor, and Chen Shulin stepped out with his assistant.
The corridor was very quiet, with white walls and a gray carpet. There was a window at each end of the corridor, and sunlight shone through the windows, preventing the corridor from feeling gloomy.
He walked to the door of an office and knocked gently.
"Come in," Lin Haoran's voice came from inside. The assistant helped open the door, and Chen Shulin strode into the office.
Lin Haoran was sitting on the sofa, facing the spacious floor-to-ceiling window.
Outside the window, there is a view of most of Shenzhen's urban area. Due to the clear weather, the Nanshan Port in Shekou, which is 20 to 30 kilometers away, can even be faintly seen.
On the coffee table to the side, steam still rose from the teacups.
"Boss, how elegant!" Chen Shulin said with a smile.
"Chairman Chen, come and sit down!" Lin Haoran said, pointing to the sofa next to him.
Chen Shulin nodded and sat down next to Lin Haoran.
"How are the preparations for the negotiations going?" Lin Haoran asked.
"Everything is ready. We'll start at 2 PM. Also, I heard that the Kadoorie family has set off as well. Someone saw their car heading towards the New Territories," Chen Shulin replied, glancing at his watch.
It was almost 10 a.m. at this point.
Lin Haoran was not surprised when he heard this.
After all, Kadoorie and the mainland have been negotiating the Daya Bay nuclear power plant project for four years. Even if they want to delay now, they definitely don't want to give up this opportunity.
After all, once the project is implemented, CLP Power will not only be able to purchase nuclear power at preferential prices, but also gain the initiative in grid connection and power regulation.
"Chairman Chen, you will lead the negotiations this afternoon, and I will listen in. I will speak when it is necessary for me to express my opinion," Lin Haoran said, glancing at Chen Shulin.
He had already shared his thoughts on the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant with Chen Shulin.
As the head of Hong Kong Electric Group, it was very appropriate for Chan Shou-lun to step forward and negotiate.
"Understood." Chen Shulin nodded.
The two talked for another ten minutes or so, discussing several potential problems and solutions.
Around noon, Lin Haoran called Yang Mingyi, and the group had a simple lunch at a nearby authentic Cantonese restaurant.
Yang Mingyi has been in Pengcheng for several years and has witnessed the city's development from a small fishing village to its current size.
He knows every street and every decent restaurant in Shenzhen like the back of his hand.
The Cantonese restaurant he chose was located on Luohu New Street. It had a fairly large storefront and private rooms. The owner was a master chef from Hong Kong who had been running the restaurant for several years and had many repeat customers.
During the meal, the group didn't discuss business; they simply chatted about the changes in Shenzhen over the past few years.
When Yang Mingyi first came to Shenzhen, it was a wasteland with no decent roads. Locals relied on their own two legs or bicycles to get around.
Shennan Avenue is now wider than the widest road in Hong Kong, with more and more bus routes, motorcycles, and even cars. It only takes half an hour to drive from Shekou to Luohu, which was unimaginable a few years ago.
Before we knew it, it was 1:30 p.m.
The group then left the private room.
After saying goodbye to Lin Haoran and Chen Shulin, Yang Mingyi hurriedly left.
The Daya Bay nuclear power plant project has nothing to do with him, so naturally he wouldn't participate.
Lin Haoran and Chen Shulin also got into an official car and drove directly towards the municipal government.
The Pengcheng Municipal Government is actually nearby, less than two kilometers away.
Therefore, a few minutes later, the car was parked in the government compound.
"Mr. Lin, Mr. Chen, we've been waiting for you!" A leader from Pengcheng City strode forward and laughed loudly.
"Mayor Zhou, am I not late?" Lin Haoran asked with a smile.
"No, no, the timing is perfect." The Pengcheng leader smiled and led Lin Haoran and Chen Shulin toward the conference room. "Today's meeting is chaired by Director Luo of the Provincial Power Department. He is already waiting in the conference room. Mr. Kadoorie is also here. We're just waiting for the two of you."
Lin Haoran nodded and followed Mayor Zhou into the building.
The government compound is built in a typical Soviet style, heavy, solemn and steady. The corridors are covered with dark carpets, and old photos of Shenzhen are hung on the walls, recording the city's transformation from a small fishing village into a special economic zone.
Lin Haoran walked and looked around, his pace neither hurried nor slow.
The meeting room is on the second floor, in a spacious and bright hall.
The long conference table was covered with a dark green tablecloth, and chairs were placed on both sides, with a nameplate and folder in front of each seat.
There were already quite a few people in the conference room.
Lin Haoran immediately spotted Laurence Kadoorie chatting with leaders from Guangdong Province, as well as Michael Kadoorie standing beside him.
Upon seeing Lin Haoran enter, the leaders greeted him one after another.
Today, Lin Haoran can definitely be called the biggest tycoon in mainland China.
Lin Haoran's emergence accelerated the development of the mainland economy, single-handedly boosting the pace of economic reform and opening up.
This is not an exaggeration, but a fact.
From Shenzhen to Dongguan, Guangzhou, and then to the entire Pearl River Delta, Shanghai, and Beijing, Lin Haoran's factories, ports, industrial parks, and commercial buildings act as fulcrums, leveraging the economic development of the entire region.
These changes are visible and tangible.
This is not only because he is rich, but also because he has made real contributions to the economic development of the mainland.
This kind of contribution is not achieved through donations or slogans, but through hard work and dedication, step by step.
Lin Haoran responded to each of them and shook hands with them.
Laurence Kadoorie's originally smiling face became somewhat unnatural when he saw Lin Haoran enter, but he quickly returned to normal.
He stood up, took a deep breath, and then took a few steps toward Lin Haoran, extending his right hand and saying with a smile, "Mr. Lin, what happened before was the fault of our Kadoorie family. On behalf of the Kadoorie family, I apologize to you. I hope you will be magnanimous and not hold a grudge."
The moment those words were spoken, the atmosphere in the conference room became subtly tense.
Although the mainland leaders present were not very familiar with the feuds in Hong Kong's business community, they had at least heard of the conflict between the Kadoorie family and Lam Ho-yin.
The Kadoorie family, along with several other business giants, launched a business war against Lin Haoran, resulting in the forced acquisition of the Peninsula Hotel, a major event that caused a sensation in Hong Kong and was known to everyone in the business world.
Laurence Kadoorie's willingness to apologize in front of so many people demonstrates his magnanimity and composure, which is truly admirable.
Lin Haoran also looked at the other party in surprise. He had forcibly acquired the Peninsula Hotel, which the other party regarded as the pride of Kadoorie, which was considered a deadly enemy in the business world.
Lin Haoran was truly surprised that the other party would actually set aside his pride and take the initiative to show goodwill towards him.
Lin Haoran originally thought that even if he and Laurence Kadoorie participated in the consultations for the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant project together, they would not have any communication and would at most discuss the project in a businesslike manner.
Unexpectedly, the other party not only took the initiative to show goodwill, but also apologized in front of so many people. This sincerity really surprised Lin Haoran.
Not everyone can smile and face their former rivals after suffering a major blow. The Kadoorie family has stood strong in Hong Kong for a century, which shows they have something special about them.
Of course, this was just a facade; Lin Haoran had no idea what they were really thinking.
However, as the saying goes, one cannot hit a smiling face. Since the other party was willing to put aside past grievances and take the initiative to make amends, Lin Haoran naturally would not be petty and put on airs.
In business, harmony brings wealth; it's always better to have one more friend than one more enemy.
Moreover, the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Project is inextricably linked to CLP Power, whose Kadoorie family controls the power grid in Kowloon and the New Territories, making them an indispensable part of the project.
Making relationships too strained benefits no one.
"Mr. Roland, it's been a long time!" Lin Haoran shook hands with him and smiled.
Then he shook hands with Michael Kadoorie. (End of Chapter)