Ning Bingyu casually used a pair of cutters to cut off the burning part of the cigar—
“Vivian, Rong Zhaonan’s sister knows that I was just saying that to make it sound like I didn’t actually invest in her. You’ve been with me for five years, yet you can’t see things as clearly as she did in an hour?”
Vivian's face turned pale instantly.
He casually put away his cigar: "I know you look down on the mainland for being poor now, but don't forget that the Ning family also came from the mainland."
None of the four prominent Hong Kong families have been native Hong Kong residents for generations.
Vivian froze, then quickly explained in a low voice, "Young Master, you are different..."
Ning Bingyu chuckled: "Nothing is different. Business is business. Back then, my grandfather didn't go to the United States or the United Kingdom; he chose to stay in Hong Kong."
"It's because its location as an international port, backed by the mainland, makes it easy to make money; it's not because the people here are inherently superior."
For a good businessman, vision is paramount; the worst thing is to be biased and blinded by prejudice.
Ning Bingyu said casually—
“We returned to the mainland because the old man was reluctant to leave his homeland, and even more so because the mainland has finally opened up and has unlimited potential.”
"Stop looking down on people. If you cause misunderstandings among our friends in the mainland and delay our important business, you know the consequences."
The wind from the Huangpu River blew through the man's hair, making his elegant and deep-set brows appear cold and unpredictable.
Vivian's heart skipped a beat. She was a trusted confidante of Ning Bingyu and knew that her boss only looked gentle and refined and never spoke ill of her.
But that doesn't mean he's easy to mess with.
He, Young Master Ning, simply disciplines people without ever personally lifting a finger.
Ning Bingyu is the kind of "good guy" who would visit the wife and children of an enemy who suddenly "disappeared and whose fate was unknown."
Vivian immediately bowed her head and admitted her mistake: "Yes, young master, we were wrong... We were just worried about how to explain things to the chairman."
The current CEO of the Ning family is Ning Bingyu, but the chairman is Ning Bingyu's uncle, Ning Zhengkun.
Chairman Ning is extremely strict. If he knew that the young master was actually investing in a soda shop run by poor students from the mainland, which is so low-class, he would probably cause trouble for the young master.
Ning Bingyu narrowed his eyes: "Vivian, I remember you are from the Department of Finance at the University of Hong Kong. Our Mingde Charitable Foundation has always provided entrepreneurial investment funds for students from the Department of Finance and the Department of Economics at the University of Hong Kong."
The four major families in Hong Kong all have their own charitable foundations, which not only allow them to avoid taxes but also provide funding for promising entrepreneurial projects by students from prestigious Hong Kong universities.
If the project succeeds, as the major shareholder, the family business will be expanded, and a group of talented people will be gained to serve them.
It doesn't matter if we fail; this amount of money is a drop in the ocean for a large family, and we can still gain a good reputation.
Vivian asked in surprise, "Didn't you just say you weren't planning to invest in that young woman from the north? She didn't even have a business plan..."
Ning Bingyu leaned back lazily in the leather car seat: "I won't invest. I'll let the Mingde Foundation set up a venture capital fund project at Fudan University, just like the one at HKU, and test the waters with her. It's a way to support education and teaching."
This is also a way to cooperate more closely with the mainland, and neither my uncle nor my grandfather would have any objections.
Ning Bingyu narrowed his eyes and looked out the window: "Rong Zhaonan's sister is very cunning, but she is right about one thing."
He paused for a moment: "The businesses in the mainland are all in the hands of state-owned enterprises. There is no administrative intervention. Whether it is a beverage factory or any other factory manager, they will not listen to us Hong Kong government 'outsiders'."
Every place has its own way of doing business.
While in Europe, he had witnessed the inefficiency of some local authorities—
You have to make several trips to get a certificate, while people chat and drink afternoon tea, finish their cake and leave on time, regardless of whether you've waited for hours.
While operating mines and factories in Africa and India, he also witnessed local staff who demanded bribes and employees who would come and go as they pleased, eat breakfast, and then leave without a second thought.
Before he personally invested in and built factories in mainland China, his understanding of the mainland was indeed limited to information.
We should first try casting some "bait" in the mainland market to see what kind of "fish" we can catch.
Vivian adjusted her glasses and nodded: "Having Mingde Foundation cooperate with Fuda is more dignified and sophisticated than us investing ourselves, and it also promotes our relationship with the mainland."
She's not stupid for staying by Ning Bingyu's side.
It was clear that Ning Bingyu was intrigued by the audacity of that northern girl.
As a girl from a backward area, that girl was flamboyant and frivolous.
But his words did reveal some knowledge.
“I’ll contact Mingde’s colleagues later and prepare the proposal for you so they can invest in Ms. Ningning,” Vivian nodded.
She then changed the title "Northern Girl" to "Miss Ningning".
She just hoped that this "Miss Ningning" really wanted to do business and make money.
Instead of engaging in unconventional remarks and actions like those Hong Kong female celebrities or the women around rich young men.
She just wanted to seduce a rich young master into marrying into a wealthy family or make a quick buck and then leave.
Miss Ningning was destined to be disappointed, since the young master always preferred glamorous beauties, not the kind of girl who looked like an underage girl.
...
Epoch Heart Cafe
Ning Yuan received Ying Gang and his entourage from the police station who came to "inspect public security."
A group of junior police officers were all very interested in trying the coffee.
The strange bitter taste made Ying Gang immediately grimace, put down his coffee, and stuff a snack into his mouth.
The next moment, he looked at the floor-to-ceiling windows and suddenly paused.
Ying Gang walked over, frowned, and reached out to touch it: "Ningning, such a large piece of glass will easily break if you bump into it, and shards of glass can easily hurt people."
It's not enough for a young girl to just be pretty.
Ning Yuan coughed lightly: "It won't break that easily. This is special glass from Yaohua Factory."
The next moment, Ying Gang indeed saw the label on the corner of the glass again, and was somewhat taken aback: "This really is... Yaohua Factory's special glass, how did you get it?"
The Yaohua factories in Shanghai and Qindao began producing special tempered glass for military use in 1965.
Special tempered glass is not easily broken, and even if it breaks, the pieces will not shatter and injure people.
These days, you need a permit to get these goods!
Ning Yuan coughed lightly: "Well, well, I got it through connections...it was goods that the other company didn't want."
She initially asked Uncle Fang for the source of the fragrances, but after considering it for a few days, Uncle Fang disagreed, saying that the goods had to be sourced from him because he was worried about the permits being leaked.
Ning Yuan knew that Uncle Fang wanted to control the fragrance distribution channels so he could make a quick buck.
She didn't argue with Uncle Fang, she just mentioned that she wanted to exchange the bracelet and wanted other items.
For example, coffee beans, hand-grind coffee grinders... tempered glass and the like.
To everyone's surprise, Uncle Fang shrugged and said that tempered glass was not available in ordinary glass.
There was a batch of bulletproof glass that a certain unit no longer wanted because of specification issues, which had been sitting in Yaohua's warehouse for several years. He had connections and could get his hands on it.
It's significantly more expensive than regular tempered glass, take it or leave it!
She was stunned. Holy crap, a coffee shop uses bulletproof glass?! Even bank counters don't go to the luxury of using bulletproof glass these days!
In addition, since Uncle Fang mentioned that the stockpiles had been there for several years, it was likely that Uncle Fang was going to take this opportunity to help people clear out their inventory.
He's a middleman who makes a quick buck by ripping off both the buyer and the seller!
But she gritted her teeth, tightened her belt, and took it, since she had no other choice.
Moreover, since the crackdown hasn't started yet, the security situation isn't great. Bulletproof glass is expensive, but it might actually be useful in a critical moment!
Uncle Fang is truly resourceful; he had someone bring the glass over on a cart and even found a technician from Yaohua Factory to help her install it!
Even though her coffee shop is located in America, which is now plagued by shootings decades later, it is still quite classy!
Ning Yuan was also secretly a little proud.
Ying Gang glanced at Ning Yuan, then at Rong Zhaonan, tacitly acknowledging that this was a "good thing" Rong Zhaonan had prepared for his cousin.
He patted Rong Zhaonan on the shoulder: "You spoil your cousin too much, you're willing to spend money to dress her up like this."
Rong Zhaonan: "?"
He glanced at Ning Yuan, smiled, and naturally took the blame.
Rong Zhaonan watched as Ying Gang led several colleagues to have snacks and drink fruit and sparkling water.
He walked up to Ning Yuan and asked, "Don't you have a bad impression of the eldest son of the Ning family? You spoke to him so rudely just now. Aren't you afraid that the journey to meet your relatives will not go smoothly?"
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