“Haha… Thank you Mr. President for your trust, but I think we don’t need to be so abrupt about this matter. Although we cannot join the United Nations forces, we cannot make enemies with the United States because of this.
We can just do what the United States did before the two world wars! Maintain a neutral attitude in the international arena, and then make some money from the war, which is not bad at all! "
As soon as Fang Lang finished speaking, Scalia immediately understood what he meant, but soon he sighed and said:
"Alas! It's a pity that we broke off diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union!"
Hearing this, Fang Lang couldn't help but look up to him. Wow, Scalia really is a profit-oriented person! As soon as he heard about the opportunity to make money from the war, he wanted to have it both ways.
"Hehe... The Soviet Union now has a relatively closed ecological chain. It is unlikely that we can provide them with goods. There is also the risk of offending the United States.
Before we have the strength of the US government, we cannot have it both ways, and the scale of the war on the peninsula is far from comparable to a world war, so we should not have too high expectations.
As long as we can squeeze into the US military's logistics supply system, even if we can only supply them with some tents, shoes and socks, it will be a huge success.
At least, politically, we can say that we stand with the Americans, and then the Americans won’t be able to say much.”
...
...
As a politician, Scalia may not be very proficient in business, but he is very sensitive to the twists and turns in politics. He immediately understood what Fang Lang said. It was not about making a lot of money from this war, but about making Americans feel that Brazil's position has not changed.
"Haha... Fang, you are not only an excellent military commander, but also an excellent politician. I think I know what to do.
Damn Argentina, if it weren't for that bastard Juan Perón who kept stirring up trouble on the border, we should have sent an army to support the Americans' actions."
Hearing Scalia use Argentina as a shield, Fang Lang couldn't help laughing again. He wondered what Juan Peron, the President of Argentina, would think when he knew that Brazil blamed them for not being able to join the UN forces!
"Yeah, it's all Argentina's fault."
Seeing that the most important goal for today had been completed, Scalia stood up and picked up a report from his desk. After returning to the sofa in the reception area, he unfolded the report and handed it to Fang Lang, saying:
"Fang, I invited you here this time not only to discuss your views on joining the United Nations Army, but also to ask for your help on something very important."
Hearing this, Fang Lang casually took the document handed over by Scalia and flipped through it. He saw the title of the document was "Brazil Power Resources Survey Report". Immediately, a flash of inspiration flashed through his mind, as if he had grasped something. Before he could think about it, President Scalia spoke directly:
"According to our government's investigation, with the rapid development of Brazil's industry in recent years, our electricity gap has become larger and larger. The development of many factories has been restricted by electricity, and power outages often occur.
This has brought huge obstacles to our development, but the power industry requires huge investment and slow return on investment. Many companies are unwilling to invest heavily in this area. Most of those willing to invest are large foreign companies. But I am really worried about handing over these basic energy projects to foreign companies.
I heard that the electrolytic aluminum processing plant established by your Fangyuan Group requires a lot of electricity, so you are planning to invest in building a hydroelectric power station, is that right?"
When Fang Lang heard this, he understood what the other party meant. Was he trying to encourage the Fang family to enter the power industry? It seemed that supporting Scalia to take office was really a good deal!
It is true that the power industry requires huge investment, but it also makes real money! However, this is an infrastructure project related to the national economy and people's livelihood. Although he had thought about entering this industry before, he had never dared to take that step officially. Unexpectedly, the President took the initiative to bring it up this time.
Fang Lang believed that Scalia understood the huge profits of the power industry and its importance to the country, but he still took the initiative to invite the Fang family to enter this industry, which meant that he wanted to repay the Fang family for their support.
Of course, it is definitely also to enhance his political achievements. After all, the power plant projects launched during his term will inevitably attract the attention of many people, which will inevitably bring him greater support.
The relatively pure interest relationship between Fang Lang and Scalia made them more honest with each other, so Fang Lang did not pretend, but went straight to the point:
"That's right! Do you want our Fang family to step up and invest in Brazil's power industry?"
Scalia nodded without any hesitation.
“From this report, I believe you can also see that we have a huge electricity gap in Brazil. I just came to power and I need several large projects as my political achievements, so I set my sights on this project.
Originally, I was thinking of developing Brazil's power industry through state investment, but relying solely on state investment is obviously not conducive to the development of a market economy.
I thought of talking to you to see if you have any ideas about this project. "
"Of course we have an idea. The power shortage in Brazil is also an obstacle to the development of our Fangyuan Group. This is why we want to build a large power station near the electrolytic aluminum plant.
To be honest, this project has been in the works for a long time. The reason why it has been delayed until now is that I have handed over the manufacturing of the power generation equipment to our Caterpillar's Brazilian company.
The large-scale power generation equipment is about to be completed and can then be fully deployed in Brazil.
Brazil is now able to have completely independent power generation equipment manufacturing capabilities.”
In fact, if it is just to build a few power stations, there is no need to be so troublesome. However, Fang Lang is very clear that the future is the era of electricity, and the demand for power stations will increase. If he just purchases power generation equipment from other people's factories, he is simply giving money to others.
It would be more convenient and cost-effective to develop power generation equipment by himself. Coincidentally, he took advantage of the European aid plan to acquire some power equipment manufacturing companies with considerable technical accumulation from European countries. In addition, Caterpillar was originally one of the important power generation equipment suppliers in the United States.
Therefore, he did not hesitate to gather the elite talents of these companies together, and combined with the original technical accumulation, he began to develop more advanced high-power power generation equipment at Caterpillar Power Equipment Manufacturing Company in Brazil.
After two years of hard work, he finally made a revolutionary breakthrough. He originally planned to build several small power stations to test the performance of these products. Among them, the key project is the supporting power station of the electrolytic aluminum plant.
After the generator equipment has been inspected, they will begin to lobby the Brazilian government to build corresponding power plants in Brazil. At that time, the power generation equipment purchased by the power plant will naturally be produced by their factory, which is also a very cost-effective deal.
Given the relationship between the Fang family and Scalia, Fang Lang believed that there would be no obstacles to such a small matter.
But he didn't expect that before they took the initiative to find this guy, this guy took the initiative to find them.
Fang Lang's words obviously gave Scalia a huge surprise. He couldn't help but sit up straight and said:
"What? Your factory has completed the localization of power generation equipment. This means that our power stations will use our own Brazilian generators in the future, right?"
Hearing this, Fang Lang nodded as if it was a matter of course:
“Of course, not only our own power plants in Brazil will use the generators we developed ourselves, but our products will also be exported to other European and American countries in the future.
It will become a new highlight of Brazil's export and foreign exchange earnings. By then, we will be able to grow from a traditional raw material exporter to an industrial product exporter, which will have a profound impact on Brazil's future influence in the international community."
After hearing Fang Lang's words, Scalia stood up from the sofa and repeated Fang Lang's words over and over again, "From a traditional raw material exporter to an industrial product exporter."
After a long while, he looked at Fang Lang seriously and said:
"Fang, your idea is really great. I will take it as my governing platform. During my term of office, I will seriously implement this idea.
As an industrial giant in Brazil, I hope your family will continue to support me."
It has to be said that Scalia is a very qualified politician. Fang Lang had just made a casual remark, but the other party seized the opportunity and not only used his words but also took the opportunity to ask for his support.
Seeing this, Fang Lang also smiled and said:
"Mr. President, our Fang family has always had a very good cooperative relationship with you. As long as you can maintain and protect the interests of our Fang family, we will spare no effort to support your work."
That means we all work together, hello, me, and everyone else! If he plays some tricks, that's another matter.
This statement would obviously be inappropriate if it were said by a Deputy Minister of the Navy, but Fang Lang was now representing the Fang family, so there was no problem at all.
If you want our Fang family to continue to support you, you must show your sincerity.
After hearing Fang Lang's words, Scalia did not show any sign of being angry. Instead, he said with a serious expression:
"Fang, please rest assured that I can't get to where I am today without your support. If I abandon you, then no one will continue to support me in the future.
I would never do such a stupid thing.
Many people originally suggested that this power station project should be built with funding from the state. This would ensure relative fairness and avoid a situation where developed areas have surplus electricity while remote areas have no electricity available.
But I still want to hand this project over to your Fang family. Why? I believe you should know it in your heart.
Although the capital investment in the power station is huge, its income is long-term and stable, which is very beneficial to your Fang family's asset layout."
Hearing this, Fang Lang nodded. He believed what Scalia said. After all, although Brazil had severed diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union was able to grow from an economically weak country to a world economic power, and from an agricultural country to an industrial country, in such a short period of time.
It still attracted the attention of many people, especially his state-owned economic development model, which also triggered widespread discussion. Many people wanted to copy this economic model.
So, Scalia said that many people suggested that the state should fund the construction of power stations. Fang Lang believed this very much, and he knew very well in his heart that this was indeed the best choice.
But if this is true, the Fang family will not be able to maximize their interests.
What Fang Lang wants is not how much money he can make from the power industry, but to control such a basic livelihood project as electricity, which means that they control the country's power switch.
By then, no matter who comes to power, they will not dare to do anything to the Fang family, because once someone has a brain cramp, the Fang family will dare to shut down the power station and plunge your entire country into chaos.
No politician or person in power can afford such a loss.
Some people may say, "If you shut it down, I won't be able to open it again." But have you ever thought that as the owner of the power plant, I have countless ways to paralyze the power plant. Even if you can find someone to come and repair and open these power equipment, how long will it take you?
I'll give you a shorter time, a week to restore power. But can your government withstand the pressure of public opinion that a week of power outages is the best way to deal with it? When Brazil is fully electrified, once power outages occur, it won't just be a matter of two lights not working in ordinary people's homes.
Instead, the entire country will fall into chaos, factories will stop working, schools will close, and the entire society will be paralyzed. Which government can afford such losses?
Therefore, in Fang Lang's view, as long as the government allows their Fang family to enter such basic livelihood industries, he will invest in it without hesitation even if he loses money every year.
Because these industries are the industries that control the lifeline of the country. Think about the serious consequences of a sudden power outage for a day in modern society. I believe everyone will explode!
“Thank you for your trust, Mr. President. We are very interested in the electricity market. If the government agrees, we will immediately start planning power plant projects in Brazil based on this report to ensure that Brazil can get rid of its current power shortage in the shortest possible time.
However, I think their suggestion is not unreasonable. If we were to invest, we would definitely give priority to investing in economically developed coastal areas with huge electricity demand. Relatively remote inland areas may not be able to be taken care of so quickly.
I suggest that you propose a two-pronged approach, with the state investing in building power plants in remote areas to ensure that people in remote areas have basic electricity needs. This is also a reflection of the advantages of state capital. What do you think? "
When Scalia heard this, he was not angry. He had expected this. After all, capital is profit-seeking and it is impossible to invest huge sums of money in a place where there is obviously no profit.
However, the plan proposed by Fang Lang also made his eyes light up. At first, he had never thought of letting the Fang family enter the power industry and then letting the state invest in building power plants to compete with the Fang family for business.
But now, after hearing what Fang Lang said, this country invested in building a power plant in a remote inland area. Although it might lose money, it is a definite political achievement! This is a model of thinking about the people! By then, the people's favorability and support rate will rise sharply!
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