Chapter 487 The Key is the Industrial Chain: Let's Conduct Another Thorough Investigation

Wang Xiao paid special attention to a batch of newspapers.

In 1999, even in Hong Kong where the internet was already quite developed, newspapers still had many loyal readers.

Take the famous tabloid "The Sun" as an example. With a population of 7 million, Hong Kong's third-largest newspaper has 1.74 million readers.

It was probably because her answers to the reporters didn't suit the tastes of these readers, or perhaps the reporters and editors; in any case, she talked on and on, but not a single word of her appeared in the news.

The entire report was sarcastic and mocking of mainland tourists' wasteful behavior.

Mr. Wang was furious: What a joke! If you're not going to publish my comments, why are you interviewing me? Let me tell you, normally if you want to interview me, you have to make an appointment in advance, and 9.9 out of 10 appointments will be rejected.

Enraged, she went online, ready to cause some trouble.

When she went online, she found that the comments under the electronic version of the news were very abstract.

Almost no one criticized the extravagance and waste of mainland tourists; on the contrary, a lot of people were excited that wealthy mainlanders had indeed come to Hong Kong to look at properties again.

Wang Xiao was completely bewildered, not understanding how this matter was related to the building at all.

As a result, Hong Kong netizens have labeled this group of mainland female tourists, who are clearly tourists, as a "housewife property speculation group".

Even if knowledgeable netizens explain that these people are mainland civil servants on a government-funded trip to Hong Kong, it doesn't matter.

This was also misinterpreted by many netizens as: "See, the 'official residence' policy was indeed correct. The mainland government intends to provide every provincial and ministerial-level official with a residence in Hong Kong."

Two years ago, Hong Kong had just returned to China on July 1st when the Thai baht collapsed on July 2nd, causing panic throughout Southeast Asia and putting the Hong Kong dollar in grave danger.

Therefore, the central government was too busy protecting the Hong Kong dollar to care about buying properties.

Now that the situation has stabilized for almost a year, the mainland government has indeed come to Hong Kong to look at properties again.

Wang Xiao sat in front of the computer, dumbfounded.

Wait a minute, how come this logic is both bizarre and smooth? What kind of nonsense is this?!

Tang Yicheng, holding a lemon tea, watched and laughed as he said, "The hottest thing in Hong Kong right now is the property market. Everything can be linked to the property market."

The housing market crash at the end of 1997 bankrupted a lot of people.

But just six months later, the housing market surged again. Who among those who owns property doesn't hope for a housing market boom?

Wang Xiao sighed.

Things in this world are indeed like a coin, with two sides.

In this timeline, because she joined forces with the KGB to short US stocks and, under the guise of a Southeast Asian avenger, specifically targeted short sellers led by Soros, Hong Kong won the battle to defend the Hong Kong dollar at the end of 1997. The following year, it did not suffer another attack from short sellers.

This should be considered a good thing.

However, precisely because of this, the overheated Hong Kong property market has not cooled down thoroughly enough.

Following the US presidential sex scandal, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped, and especially after the US took action against Iraq, a large amount of capital flowed back into Hong Kong, driving up Hong Kong property prices once again.

This is hardly a good thing.

In a sense, Hong Kong's abnormally high housing prices and the enthusiasm for pursuing them are among the main culprits behind the continued slump in Hong Kong's manufacturing industry.

It is often said that it was the reform and opening up of the mainland that led to the northward relocation of Hong Kong's production lines, resulting in the hollowing out of Hong Kong's manufacturing industry.

But in reality, the other three Asian Tigers that experienced industrial relocation around the same time—South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan—did not suffer from hollowing out of their manufacturing industries.

Because after relocating their labor-intensive industries, these companies simultaneously completed their transformation and upgrading to high-tech, high-value-added manufacturing.

What was Hong Kong doing at the same time? They all shifted to industries like finance, real estate, and services, which could bring faster and richer returns.

Then, gradually, my path became narrower and narrower.

Since the late 1990s, the mainland has been unable to obtain the impetus for industrial upgrading from Hong Kong's economy—the latter has not upgraded its own industries, so how can there be any spillover of production capacity?

On the other hand, Hong Kong's service industries, such as information technology, cannot rely on the rapid growth of the mainland economy to stimulate their own industrial development—what you can provide is completely different from what others need.

The same applies to the industrial system.

Even when mainland China was the world's assembly plant, the core components used in assembly were almost entirely sourced from Hong Kong. So, what does the huge demand from mainland assembly plants have to do with Hong Kong?

If you can't supply what I need, how can our trade volume not decrease? And when trade decreases, our ties naturally loosen.

Wang Xiao sighed inwardly.

Tang Yicheng saw her in a daze and didn't dare to say a word.

He only spoke up to remind his boss when it was absolutely necessary to leave, saying, "It's time to go to the airport."

Generally, mainlanders who come to Hong Kong are willing to stay as long as possible, as long as conditions permit—they want to see everything new and watch all the scenes on TV.

But his boss is busy. Mr. Zhang Rujing returned to Taiwan, and his boss is about to return to the mainland.

Wang Xiao then came to her senses and said "Oh".

Taking the opportunity, Tang Yicheng glanced at his boss's computer screen and couldn't help but tease, "Boss, how about you make an 'If you are Bill' 2.0 version?"

He said this because one of the main figures on the front page of gossip news on the computer is still the US president.

Another woman came forward, saying that he had sexually harassed her and that she would sue him in court.

Tsk tsk, it's obvious to the naked eye that President Bill will likely have to present his testimony in court again and again during the remaining two years of his term.

American tabloids must be ecstatic; with him around, they'll never have to worry about KPIs.

Wang Xiao glanced at it, nodded, and didn't object: "That's definitely a good idea. Why not jump on the bandwagon?"

She wanted to nail him to the pillar of shame forever, so that he could never be redeemed.

Xiao Gao was all packed and ready to leave at his boss's command.

Hearing this, he asked curiously, "Boss, how is Bill going to save himself this time?"

The results of the previous round of discussions and competitions are in. Ultimately, the winners chose to purchase $10,000 worth of food and donate it to an American church, which will then distribute it to people in need.

Completely politically correct.

Wang Xiao smiled and said casually, "Simple, just have a few more people report him."

Xiao Zhao gasped and blurted out, "That's too ruthless! He'll go bankrupt before he even finishes his term as president."

They now understand that, contrary to popular belief, Americans are actually reluctant to go to court because lawyer fees are simply too expensive.

Wang Xiao laughed and said, "You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub. How can you turn the tide without being ruthless?"

She pointed to the names of the former White House intern and Ms. Jones on the screen, "Their online search volume and news appearances this year definitely surpass those of top Hollywood stars. Infamy is still fame. Maybe they don't want this fame, but that doesn't mean others don't."

The allure of instant global fame is immense.

When the temptation becomes too great, some people will inevitably take the risk.

See, as long as you sue the US president for sexual harassment, you can become famous, become the focus of the spotlight, have a large number of fans, and even get a lot of money by giving an interview.

And since you are a victim, you are always politically correct.

"In this situation, the victims that emerge are a mixed bag. Others don't know whether they were really sexually harassed before the court investigation and trial. But President Bill himself knows. If he can just seize on one of the accusers, focus all his firepower on him, and win the case, he can win back a portion of the voters' hearts."

"Because human nature is very strange, if you find a counterfeit bill in a pile of real money, you will involuntarily suspect that the rest of the money is also counterfeit."

"At that point, the president and the Democrats behind him will try to steer the narrative, implying that the Jones trial was actually a political persecution."

"So, even if American citizens can't completely trust him, they'll feel like this is never going to end, and they'll develop a sense of weariness or even resentment. Some people are even annoyed by Jones's presence. Isn't that enough? You've already received so much compensation, how much more blood are you going to bleed out of? You greedy and shameless woman!"

Wang Xiao's lips curled up slightly, with a hint of sarcasm: "To put it bluntly, those who control the mainstream discourse in society don't think that sexual harassment of women is such a terrible or awful thing. They don't care; they can beautify it as a symbol of female charm."

Tang Yicheng felt as if his boss had scrutinized everyone, making him feel awkward and he had to touch his nose. Then he immediately switched to flattery mode: "I think the biggest mistake President Bill made was not hiring you to be his public relations officer."

Wang Xiao rolled her eyes, making no attempt to hide her arrogance: "Things are different now. My worth is different. He can't afford to hire me anymore."

Tang Yicheng burst into laughter.

That's the truth.

Putting aside other things, just take those two companies listed on Nasdaq. Now, the market value of "Wobuy.com" has soared to 3 billion US dollars.

Yes, it's just a website, a website for selling things. Even today, its total revenue doesn't reach 3 billion US dollars, but that doesn't stop it from having such a high market value.

Another portal has a lower valuation because it's not as well-known as Wobuy.com, but even that lower valuation is still a whopping $1.5 billion.

People say everyone on the Nasdaq market is going crazy, but all that's going crazy is real money.

With a boss like that, even the US president couldn't afford to open his wallet.

Tang Yicheng saw his boss off at the airport, expressing his anxiety: "Boss, won't you keep an eye on things a little longer? I'm not at ease unless you keep an eye on me."

They're throwing so much money into building chip factories; what if they lose money?

Wang Xiao resigned himself to being the manager: "What am I supposed to look at? What can I possibly look at? I don't understand it. The chip factories you looked at in South Korea were much more detailed than mine."

He's not someone who hasn't taken on important responsibilities before. If he can't stand on his own, does he expect her to keep watching over him?

Oh my! If that's the case, even eight of them working themselves to death wouldn't be enough.

Tang Yicheng raised his eyebrows, getting anxious: "How can you say you don't understand? You're a proper college student, unlike me, who didn't even really finish high school."

Wang Xiao gave him a look and said, "Hehe, sorry, I think I studied chemical engineering, and I've forgotten most of it."

She looked at Tang Yicheng earnestly and said, "If you really care about your education and it feels like a knot in your heart, I suggest you take the self-study exam. Don't run away from any of the things you fear in life, face them squarely, and then overcome them. Once you get through this stage, you will feel like you have entered the next level."

When people leave school and enter society, their bodies are already mature, so how can they grow further? They can only move forward step by step.

The thought of studying made Tang Yicheng's scalp tingle, and he instinctively wanted to hide.

Wang Xiao directly challenged him: "What do you have to be afraid of? At least your English isn't a problem now. Many college students can't pass the CET-4 exam and can't get their graduation certificates."

Tang Yicheng's eyes widened: "That's ruthless!"

Wang Xiao nodded: "If we want to develop the economy now, we must integrate into the world. It's not about others adapting to you, but about you adapting to them. What if we don't learn English? How can we introduce advanced technology? How can we conduct foreign trade? Just saying it's important is useless; we must have hard rules to force people to learn. Learning is never an easy or pleasant thing."

Tang Yicheng was tempted, but then he started to dawdle again: "But I'm too old to learn anymore."

He is three years older than Wang Xiao, and is 32 this year. He was born in 1999, so he is actually 33.

Wang Xiao, unable to contain herself any longer, rolled her eyes and said, "Give me a break! When the college entrance exam was reinstated, how many people brought their children along? There were even women who went to university heavily pregnant. So what? Did it interfere with their studies? What's 33? You can study at 83. Don't try to bargain with me. If you feel uneasy or afraid, then go and master it, overcome it!"

Fortunately, Ms. Chen Yanqiu did not hear these words, otherwise she would have definitely taken them and shut her daughter up.

Oh dear! You know that what you fear, you must overcome.

If you're afraid of having children, why don't you have one yourself to overcome your fear?

Now, she picked up her daughter at the airport and started to worry again as she looked at her daughter.

Seriously, 30 is a turning point; every parent gets a headache when they see their 30-year-old daughter.

Because women's reproductive age is different from men's, once you've passed that age, even if you regret it and want to have children, you won't be able to anymore.

Every year, a lot of people who choose not to have children regret it.

Why should you, at 30, cut off the path for your 40s and 50s?

Are you no longer the owner of this body when you are 40 or 50 years old?

Unfortunately, Ms. Chen Yanqiu's efforts to build up her emotions were in vain; she didn't even get a chance to express them.

Wang Xiao hurriedly hugged her mother and waved goodbye, saying, "Mom, I have to go to the provincial government. Secretary Fang is going to inspect the work tomorrow, and today is the only time he can spare for me."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yanqiu almost choked on the breath she had just exhaled.

Why can't you learn from Secretary Fang?

Even though she became the top leader of the provincial party committee, it didn't stop her from having two children.

Your parents don't have high expectations. First, we don't require you to get married (forget it, compared to Ivan, our daughter is more important. If she doesn't want to get married, then she doesn't have to). Second, we didn't ask you to have two children. We're just following the national policy of having only one. Why can't you listen to a word of advice?

Unfortunately, Chen Yanqiu didn't even have time to say those words.

Wang Xiao had already hurriedly gotten into the car. Rolling down the window to say goodbye to her mother was already the greatest filial piety she could show as a daughter.

She was in a hurry to go to the provincial government because it was difficult to explain over the phone and she needed to talk to them in person.

Generally, the period from New Year's Day to the Spring Festival is considered a period for summarizing and reviewing work, and any work should be postponed until after the Lantern Festival.

Nobody likes to take on big tasks during this time of year.

But Wang Xiao now has to play the bad guy. She has to get the Jiangdong Provincial Government to come forward and conduct another industrial survey to see if Jiangdong's electronics industry and supporting industries have made progress in the past four years.

This is crucial, as it determines whether the local industrial system can seize this opportunity to take off.

Time seems to stand still at a certain point, and Secretary Fang looks no different from the last time Wang Xiao saw her.

Wang Xiao sat opposite her, and after exchanging a few pleasantries, he got straight to the point: "Secretary, we need to take stock of our industry. I've invited an industry leader over; he's a senior expert from Texas Instruments and the general manager of Taiwan's third-largest chip foundry."

After Degi made money in the memory chip industry in 1992, Taiwanese capital, sensing the business opportunity, entered the industry one after another, and semiconductor companies sprang up like mushrooms after rain. Now Taiwan is recognized as a new force in the semiconductor industry.

So when Wang Xiao mentioned the third one, Secretary Fang immediately became interested: "Wow, this is a formidable expert. You've got some impressive skills; you've even managed to poach him."

Wang Xiao smiled and shook his head: "It's not really like poaching them. They just agreed to be our consultants for now."

Secretary Fang couldn't quite manage a smile; being an advisor and being a general manager were two completely different things.

If she could poach a top talent to be the general manager, she bet Wang Xiao would definitely expand production capacity. The fact that Wang Xiao approached her directly meant she would locate the new chip factory in Jiangdong.

Seriously, an investor like her, who only needs policy support, land, and tax breaks, and doesn't need government help finding funding, is highly sought after everywhere.

If the chip factory were to replace the consultant, it would likely not open a branch factory, thus diminishing the significance for Jiangdong.

Secretary Fang's emotions didn't show on her face; she simply picked up her teacup and took a sip of jasmine tea.

Yes, she knew that jasmine tea in Moscow was popular because of Wang Xiao and Ivan, so she specially brought it out to entertain Wang Xiao.

She put down her teacup and smiled: "Advisors are great too. They're very experienced, and sometimes a single sentence from them can turn lead into gold."

Wang Xiao clapped his hands with a smile: "That's what I was thinking too! So we need to do some research first and see if we can form our own industrial supply chain. Mr. Zhang's parents both contributed to the War of Resistance against Japan, and he has always wanted to build a factory on the mainland. He also has a habit of preferring to build a local supply chain. If we can use our own products, we will use our own and not import from outside."

With the two baits, one large and one small, thrown out, Secretary Fang's interest instantly soared.

Putting aside when the new chip factory will be built, just the supply of a single component and equipment is a huge, lucrative opportunity.

Jiangdong is a major economic province, and Secretary Fang, as the top leader, devotes most of his energy to developing the economy.

Therefore, she had some understanding of the ins and outs.

Even if the same type of goods are of similar quality, if your brand isn't well-known, people won't be willing to use them.

That's normal; who doesn't prefer the assurance of a big brand?

However, this creates a vicious cycle: people are unwilling to use your products, the less they use them, the less famous you become, and the less famous you become, the less market you have.

Without a market, you can't make money or maintain production capacity. In the long run, no matter how much capital you invest in your factory, it will be useless; it will still fail.

But if you have such an industry leader who is willing to give you a chance to shine, and you play well this time, then a constant stream of opportunities will come your way.

Hey! It's a good thing that he's not coming to be the general manager but just a consultant.

Because they own the third largest chip foundry in Taiwan!

If such a large manufacturer uses parts or even equipment produced in Jiangdong, it means that these products have the opportunity to open up the Taiwanese market.

Just think about it, how many semiconductor companies are there in Taiwan right now? Even if you take a small portion of their orders, the total amount is still staggering.

Moreover, that's how industrial supply chains work; everyone prefers stability.

If we've been working together for a long time, even if my new requirements can't be met by your old products, my first reaction isn't to immediately switch suppliers. Instead, I'll give you the specifications and even send technical personnel over to provide guidance, to see if you can make it.

If you are proactive and cooperative, but ultimately manage to do it according to my requirements, then OK, we can still continue to work together.

How does technology advance? How do industries gradually upgrade? Just like that.

The more Secretary Fang thought about it, the more excited he felt.

Opportunities may not appear with great fanfare, but if you seize them, they can be a game-changer.

Wang Xiao looked at her with a grin and began to flatter himself: "Secretary, you see, although I'm always running around and don't have much time to attend meetings as a member of the CPPCC, my heart is always with Jiangdong. Whenever there's an opportunity, my first thought is always Jiangdong."

You can't trust what businessmen say, of course; it's in their nature to talk a good game.

Wang Xiao was the same, of course.

She proactively approached the Jiangdong government instead of going to Jiangbei, valuing Jiangdong's ability to attract numerous German companies to invest and its rapid progress in corporate standardization.

Standardization is very important for the semiconductor industry.

Secretary Fang smiled and pointed at her, saying, "I know, I know, you are one of the daughters of Jiangdong, a hero of Jiangdong."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiao realized that if Jiang Dong were to respond, it would sound like he was some kind of lowly Jiang Dong.

Pshaw! She was born in the Year of the Monkey, not the Year of the Rat.

After laughing, Secretary Fang got down to business: "So, what kind of company information do you need?"

Wang Xiao shook his head: "I don't know, because I'm not sure what our company can provide. Secretary, I hope everyone will list everything they can do."

She pointed to the computer on Secretary Xia's desk.

Times are changing so fast. The last time she came here, the provincial government leaders didn't even have computers.

"The financial crisis has hit the whole world hard, and I know that the foreign trade industry is not doing well. So we have to be more proactive, go out and tell others what we can do. Otherwise, people outside will look at us with old ideas, thinking that we can only make clothes and shoes, and that we don't have the technology or talent to do anything else."

"So when they have needs, they don't think of us. We have no idea what they need, so we don't come to them."

"It's a large-scale trade fair organized by the state to foreign countries. The exhibitors guess what foreigners want and what they like, and then provide exhibits."

"As a result, the supply side and the demand side are always in a state of invisible misalignment. Even when foreign businesses are proactive and approach the government hoping to help introduce suppliers, our local governments don't know what their factories can actually do. So they miss the opportunity."

Secretary Fang listened and nodded, "There is indeed such a problem."

Market economy and planned economy are different.

During the planned economy era, factories did everything according to orders from above. Even if there were innovations, they would be reported to the higher authorities immediately.

In a market economy, everyone has to find their own way to make a living. Companies that don't evade taxes are considered good companies and deserve to be celebrated. Who would bother reporting anything to their superiors?

However, to be honest, with so many companies these days, if you really had to report to each one individually, the higher-level authorities wouldn't bother listening; they simply wouldn't have the time.

But ironically, mainland China has only had about ten years of experience in developing a market economy. Don't forget, the concept of a market economy was only formally introduced into official documents a few years ago.

This means that companies operating under the mainland market economy are immature and cannot compete with companies operating under mature capitalist market economies.

They must have government support and guidance.

It is indeed necessary for the government to take the lead in conducting a comprehensive survey of the industrial sector to once again understand its own strength.

But then another problem arose.

Secretary Fang frowned slightly: "We can certainly get a clear picture of the situation, it'll just be a bit more troublesome for us. But the foreign businessmen still don't know what we can do. We can't exactly set up a museum and have everyone look up these materials themselves, can we?"

Unrealistic, completely unrealistic.

Moreover, a museum is a museum because its information does not need to be updated frequently.

But when it comes to industrial production, the technology is updated and iterated every few years. If you put out the old almanac, it will be meaningless for people to look at it.

Wang Xiao laughed and pointed to the computer: "Isn't this what we have? It's true that there aren't many computers in mainland China right now, and people aren't used to using them. But the situation is different overseas. We compile information about the factory's technology and product supply range into a profile. That way, when they go online, foreign buyers can search by keywords and find the sources of goods they need."

Secretary Fang's eyes widened in surprise: "You can't do that?"

Then she frowned again, "Updating this data is also a big problem. We'll have to organize an update every now and then."

She estimated that this workload would be enough to make a lot of people complain.

That's normal. Who likes unnecessary trouble?

Wang Xiao laughed and said, "After a while, we probably won't need the government's help anymore. Once the companies have more orders and their businesses have their own computers, they can go online and update their information to do business on their own."

Secretary Fang laughed and said, "Then I hope you come quickly so I can get less scolded."

As is customary, she can serve a maximum of two terms as secretary of Jiangdong, and she hopes that this era can arrive before she leaves office.

After all, a new emperor brings a new court, and each leader has their own governing principles. She cannot expect her successor to follow the same development path as her.

Secretary Fang gestured to Wang Xiao: "Have some tea, have some tea, this tea is quite good. But how should we set up this website?"

There are quite a few computer companies in Jiangdong now, so setting up a government website or something similar isn't difficult.

But if your factory wants to do business with foreigners, then the requirements for this website will definitely be higher, and the issues to be considered will be more comprehensive.

Even what issues should be considered is a big question.

Wang Xiao laughed: "Secretary, you've come to the right person. I really have experience in this area; our website is already listed in the United States."

In 1999, during the early days of the internet, doing business with the government was a lucrative business opportunity.

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[Sigh] Good morning, I'm late again.