Chapter 492 Border Trade Begins
With the joint efforts of Heihe and Blagoveshchensk, border trade between the two countries was scheduled to begin on New Year's Day 1986, on Daheihe Island in the middle of the river.
The Longjiang International Hotel, jointly invested and constructed by Tengyue Trading Company and Heihe Finance Bureau, has been completed and is scheduled to open on December 27.
Of course, the hotel had already entered the trial operation phase before its official opening.
According to the original agreement with the Finance Bureau, the hotel's employees were basically family members of the Finance Bureau staff.
Sheng Xiping poached a general manager and two department managers from Gangcheng with high salaries and trained the employees for nearly a month.
Those who pass the training assessment will be hired and assigned to various departments.
The warehouse is also ready. The tens of thousands of square meters of warehouse is filled with wine, canned goods and various light industrial products transported from factories in Northeast China.
At the same time, Sheng Xiping had also made prior contact with the Russians through Chen Ruiqing's channels.
Once border trade opens, both sides can trade directly on Daheihe Island.
At the time, Sheng Xiping arranged for Zhang Zhijun's younger brother Zhang Zhiqiang, Pan Fusheng's younger brother Pan Desheng, as well as Wang Dongcheng and Sun Jinggang to be the four people in charge of Heihe.
Sheng Xiping strolled around the warehouse twice and was very satisfied to see that everything was arranged very well.
Upon receiving the news, Sun Jinggang drove to the newly renovated Heihe Airport, which had only been in operation for a little over a month, to pick up people.
Sun Jinggang felt embarrassed that his hotel had nowhere for the boss to stay, and he had to stay in the staff dormitory.
Sun Jinggang led Sheng Xiping and Wu Yucheng into the courtyard, where they saw rows of tall warehouses, all fitted with heavy iron doors that were tightly sealed.
They also selected a group of young, strong, clever, and intelligent relatives from each family to be in charge of the storage and transportation of various materials.
"It's alright, we can stay anywhere. The staff dormitory is fine too. Yu Cheng and I aren't that picky."
Sheng Xiping was delighted to hear this. The hotel was fully booked, which meant business was good and that their investment direction was correct. What a great thing!
As for where they live, that's not a problem at all. They've lived in dormitories before, so what's there to be afraid of in staff dormitories?
After everyone settled down and rested for a while, they went to check out the warehouse in the afternoon.
The airport is 15 kilometers from the city center, and it doesn't take long to drive there.
Upon entering the courtyard, you are greeted by a four-story building, which houses the hotel's lobby, restaurant, conference rooms, entertainment rooms, and more.
The warehouse is located behind the hotel, in a separate large courtyard with a wall more than two meters high. The wall is reinforced with barbed wire to prevent anyone from climbing over it.
The hotel occupies a considerable area, consisting of five or six buildings in total.
Zhang Zhiqiang and Pan Desheng were in charge of the warehouse. When they met Sheng Xiping, they quickly reported the situation of the goods stored in the warehouse.
Upon meeting, Sun Jinggang quickly explained.
As soon as Sun Jinggang and Sheng Xiping approached, someone came out from a side gate, looking around warily.
More than sixty warehouses were built here, and on the other side, a row of bungalows was specially built as a place for people to live and eat.
"Mainly because officials from Buenos Aires across the river who came to negotiate have also been staying at our hotel these past few days."
Don't let the fact that this is a dormitory fool you; the conditions are far superior to those of a typical guesthouse.
Of course, the hotel is doing very well now and is expected to make a lot of money this winter. The subsequent construction of the project will probably not require Tengyue Company and the Finance Bureau to contribute much money.
So even before the hotel officially opened, the rooms were already fully booked, and at the restaurant, you had to take a number to get a table.
This is only the first phase of the project. Next spring, artificial hills, fountains, pavilions, and other supporting facilities will be built.
Recently, many people from other places have come to Heihe. They are all merchants from other places who came to look for opportunities to make money after learning that border trade was going to open.
Sheng Xiping and Wu Yucheng each stayed in a room, while the other accompanying personnel shared rooms with one other person.
The staff dormitory is in the last building. Sun Jinggang reserved a few sunny rooms for them, and cleaned them in advance. All the amenities were the same as those in a hotel.
These people needed to eat and stay, and since there weren't many hotels or guesthouses in the area, many of them stayed at the Longjiang Hotel, which had just started its trial operation.
The ventilation windows above were all fitted with iron bars, and without a key, it was impossible to enter the warehouse.
"Qiangzi, Desheng, arrange for someone to buy some fish and meat so we can have an extra meal for everyone tonight."
We originally reserved separate rooms for the two of them, but they've already taken them.
Two large iron gates painted black, with a sign next to them that reads "Warehouse, restricted area, no unauthorized personnel allowed."
"Manager Sun," the other person greeted Sun Jinggang.
The main reason was that Xu Guoxing and others were not very confident about the hotel's prospects and dared not invest too much money at once.
Upon seeing that it was Sun Jinggang leading his men, the people inside relaxed and quickly opened the side gate.
The east and west buildings, as well as the one behind them, are all guest rooms. Further back are staff dormitories, warehouses, laundry rooms, etc.
Before the hotel opened, Sheng Xiping, Wu Yucheng, and others flew to Harbin and then transferred to Heihe.
"Wow, this hotel is quite impressive." Wu Yucheng glanced out and exclaimed as Sun Jinggang drove into the hotel courtyard.
The warehouse is already more than half full, and many more goods are expected to arrive soon. It is estimated that it can hold more than ten more warehouses.
"Everyone has worked hard for the past six months. Let's persevere a little longer. The real battle will begin when border trade starts in a few days."
Each family has about twenty or thirty relatives here, all of them are great young men. They live and eat here, taking turns on night duty, killing two birds with one stone.
"President Sheng, President Wu, the hotel rooms are full. We can only arrange for you to stay in our staff dormitory."
Don't worry, once we make money, we definitely won't treat everyone unfairly.
"Eat well and rest well these next few days to recharge your energy," Sheng Xiping said loudly, waving his hand.
"Alright, thanks, Brother Xiping." Everyone cheered in unison.
"Don't worry, Brother Xiping, we will definitely do our best and there won't be any mistakes."
When Sheng Xiping arrives in Heihe, he will definitely meet with Xu Guoxing and the others to have a chat.
So he didn't stay at the warehouse for long. After chatting with everyone for a while, he returned to the hotel and called Xu Guoxing.
"Uncle, it's me, Xiping. I arrived in Heihe today. Do you have time tonight? I'd like to invite you to dinner."
On the other end of the phone, Xu Guoxing was overjoyed to hear that it was Sheng Xiping.
"Oh my, the God of Wealth has arrived! When did you get here? You didn't even tell me beforehand, so I could have arranged for someone to pick you up."
Even before it opened, Longjiang Hotel was already a hot seller. Even the people who came from Bushi to negotiate specifically requested that they stay at Longjiang Hotel in Heihe.
With the hotel thriving and business booming, how could Xu Guoxing not be happy?
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