Hearing her husband's praise on the phone, Nessia felt that she had become a true artist.
"I'm not sure about the collector's identity, but he is a Chinese American with the last name Fang."
At this time, General Leta didn't understand what was going on, and couldn't help but reveal an expression of "I see, that's what happened". In his heart, he couldn't help but admire the other party.
Although I had always accepted benefits from those below me, I was always nervous, fearing that I would be discovered and reported.
In order to maintain his clean image, he never dared to accept benefits from unfamiliar subordinates, but Fang Lang's action this time opened a whole new door for him.
"My dear, since your work has been recognized by people, believe me, more and more people will buy your work in the future."
"Yes, dear! I think so too. We will make a fortune soon! Haha..."
General Leta couldn't help but laugh, and couldn't help thinking, yes! I'm about to make a fortune, and I don't dare to use the benefits I received.
The income from his wife's paintings was legitimate, so he didn't have to worry about being investigated even if someone reported him.
...
...
That night, in the luxurious private room of Olim, the most luxurious restaurant in Rio de Janeiro.
When Fang Lang saw General Leta in casual clothes again, he was completely different from when he was in the office.
Fang Lang, who had just stood up to greet the other party and was about to shake hands with him, had just shaken the other party's hand when the old man pulled him into his arms and gave him a tight hug.
Because General Leta was only as tall as Fang Lang's chin, and this hug almost made Fang Lang trip.
It was obvious that the other party already knew what happened in the afternoon.
Sure enough, General Leta asked straight to the point:
"Fang, I heard that you are very knowledgeable about painting?"
Fang Lang pretended to be surprised and said:
"Hey! How did General Leta know my hobby? Yes, you know what I am talking about. This afternoon I found a beautiful female painter in Rio.
His works are full of romantic sentiments and are rare works of art.”
Seeing Fang Lang talking nonsense in a serious manner, General Leta almost believed it, if his eyebrows hadn't twitched twice on purpose.
"Oh! Thank you very much, Colonel Fang, for discovering a new artist for Rio. I want to toast you."
"Then I won't be polite. Come on! General, let's have a toast."
The two of them laughed knowingly.
The two of them then chatted and laughed while toasting each other, just like old friends who had met again after a long time, bragging about all sorts of things.
Finally, when the dinner was over, General Leta took the initiative to bring up the topic:
"Fang, I heard General Dutra tell me that your family has a cannon production line shipped back from Japan, right?"
"Yes, General! General Dutra wants our family to use this production line to build a military manufacturing plant.
However, many family members are now opposed to this.”
Since General Leta took the initiative to bring up the issue of the artillery production line, it means that the military has already made a clear attitude. At this time, Fang Lang did not want to get involved and express his willingness to intervene actively.
This makes it easy for people to take advantage of you.
Obviously Fang Lang's answer was somewhat beyond General Leta's expectations.
"Oh! Why would anyone express an objection? This is a rare opportunity to become a supplier to the Ministry of National Defense! With me in the logistics department, I will definitely not let you suffer any loss."
“Because, although we have this set of equipment, we have no production experience, and the products we produce may not be up to standard.
In addition, we in Brazil do not have a great demand for weapons, so we certainly won't make much profit.
Many of these devices are also needed by other factories in our group, so many people want to share them.”
"That won't work! Fang, if we don't have the technology, we can go abroad to find it! As for the problem of limited sales, we can export it! These are not problems.
I'll tell you the truth! The Ministry of National Defense held a meeting on this matter, and some people also proposed to directly establish a state-owned arms group after purchasing the equipment.
However, most people believed that state-owned arms companies might lack market competitiveness and ambition, so they voted against it.
The Ministry of Defense now advises that we fully support your family and use this batch of equipment to build our own military equipment enterprise in Brazil.
You can't back down at this time. If the pressure on you is too great, I suggest you find a few partners to share the risk with you!"
From General Leta's words, Fang Lang realized that some people in the big Brazilian families also wanted to join.
After all, if you become an arms supplier to the Brazilian military, profit is not what everyone cares about most. Instead, some intangible influence is more attractive.
However, since he wanted to produce it, Fang Lang must also want to obtain absolute controlling rights. After thinking for a while, Fang Lang said:
“General, if such an arms group were entirely privately controlled, I would be concerned.
We have actually considered your suggestion of finding a partner.
However, if we do not have controlling rights in this company, our family will definitely choose to give up.
Since you can introduce us to a capable partner, I will tell you my family's idea and you can see if it is suitable."
"Oh! So you already have some specific ideas. Tell me so I can give you some reference."
"The family means that they must own 51% of the military-industrial complex, and the state must hold at least 20% of the shares. The remaining 29% can be invested by companies that are interested in participating. What do you think?"
“There is no problem with your family holding the controlling stake, but as for state investment, it may not be easy to handle.
Because, although the country now earns some foreign exchange by providing resources for the war.
However, the Ministry of Finance has already made plans to invest these funds in national infrastructure construction.”
What Fang Lang wants is certainly not direct investment from the state. If the state invests, it will definitely be offset by land and the like, which is meaningless.
His purpose was to allow his family to participate in the state-controlled resource industry, so after listening to General Leta's words, Fang Lang smiled and said:
"General, I have an idea for you to consider and see if it is feasible."
"Oh! Tell me about it!"
"If the newly established military-industrial complex is swapped with existing state-owned enterprises, wouldn't the government need to reinvest money?"
After hearing Fang Lang's words, General Leta immediately understood what Fang Lang meant and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
After a while, he raised his head and said:
"Tell me the truth, kid! Are you interested in the shares of that company?"
Fang Lang smiled without any embarrassment and said:
"How about Vale?"
Vale is the world's largest iron ore producer and exporter and the largest mining company in the Americas. It is known as the "crown jewel" of Brazil and the "engine of the Amazon region."
In addition to iron ore, Vale also operates manganese ore, aluminum ore, gold ore and other mineral products as well as pulp, ports, railways and energy.
At that time, Vale had only been established for three years and relied on exporting iron ore to the United States for its survival. It could only be considered a start-up company.
When General Leta heard Fang Lang mention Vale, it took him a while to realize which company he was talking about.
Although he didn't quite understand why Fang Lang was interested in this company, in the eyes of military personnel, a military-industrial enterprise must be more valuable than a mining company.
General Leta nodded and said:
"I will report your idea tomorrow. The Ministry of National Defense is very concerned about this matter. Now is a period of martial law, so the waiting time will not be long.
I suggest you start preparing now.”
"If we really want to enter the military industry, we can't just produce artillery. If we really need it, I need to go to Europe and the United States to find technical support."
Things went very smoothly as expected. The next night, Fang Lang received a notice from General Leta.
The Ministry of National Defense agreed to Fang Lang's factory construction plan and urged Fang Lang to start the construction of the factory as soon as possible.
After receiving the news, Fang Lang flew back to Natal that night and formed the staff of the Brazilian Navy's First Fleet the next day, appointing De La Torre as chief of staff.
Responsible for the management of the First Fleet during Fang Lang's inspection trip to Europe and the United States.
In early December 1945, Fang Lang, accompanied by the newly formed Fangyuan Group's nine-member assistant group and protected by soldiers from the guard platoon in plain clothes, flew to New York on a special plane to begin his inspection tour of Europe and the United States.
The purpose of the inspection, which was reported to the Ministry of National Defense, was mainly to visit and investigate the military industries of European and American countries and to seek technical support for Brazil's own military factories.
Of course, it is normal to do some private work for your family's business on the way, and no one will have any objections.
After half a day's flight, Fang Lang and his group of 46 people arrived safely at the New York airport in the United States.
This time, when Fang Lang arrived in New York, the team that came to pick him up at the airport was also very large. After all, Fang Lang's Global Group in the United States is now a well-established large company.
The CEOs of each branch company needed to make themselves familiar to the big boss. As a result, when Fang Lang and others walked out of the airport, the team was very large.
This attracted the attention of passers-by.
December was the height of summer in Natal, Brazil, but it was already snowing heavily in New York. After attending the welcome dinner prepared for him by Wan Chongxin that evening, Fang Lang went to bed early.
After all, current aviation technology cannot be compared with that of the future, so Fang Lang dare not rest on his laurels on the C46.
The next morning, Fang Lang was awakened by a graceful blonde girl.
Looking at this Nicole Kidman-like beauty who could enter and leave his hotel room at will, Fang Lang was still a little dazed.
What's going on? Did I spend a good night with this girl last night? But why don't I feel anything?
What made Fang Lang feel most embarrassed was that he had no idea the name of the girl in front of him. Wouldn't it be too bad of him to forget someone's name just after spending a good night with her?
But I really have no impression of it at all!
The beauty obviously noticed Fang Lang's embarrassment. She smiled and stood up, picked up a nightgown from the stool beside the bed and handed it to Fang Lang, saying:
"Hello, boss! I'm the assistant to the president of Global Group. My name is Ophelia Berg, and from now on I will be your personal assistant."
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