Since the leader had said this, the men next to him naturally didn't dare to say anything more. The one who spoke was Mr. Zhou, the chairman of the local post and telecommunications group, while the men next to him were the business heads of China Unicom and China Telecom.
The attitudes of the people around Huang Youwei were also quite ambiguous. For state-owned enterprises, this was indeed not a very worthwhile deal. Just because a company wanted to sell mobile phones, they had to pay to build a signal tower.
Huang Youwei looked at the man sitting at the head of the table and said, “Secretary Li, I think from the perspective of the whole province, this investment is insignificant. Smooth communication will bring great commercial prosperity. People’s communication costs will be lower. Behind the economy, it’s not just about roads, electricity, and water, but also about telephone communication. Faster communication will bring a huge consumer market.”
"It's not just about buying a phone. To give a simple example, one day I might suddenly want to invite Mr. Zhou to dinner without saying anything in advance. I just need to give him a call, and the meal will be paid for. Another example is business negotiations. Being able to stay in touch anytime and anywhere makes it easier to facilitate cooperation."
"Oh dear, Secretary Huang!" the chairman of the post and telecommunications company on the other end said, "Isn't that sophistry? If we don't have cell phones, we still have pagers, and phone booths are being developed vigorously. We have our own tasks. We can't just say that when Zhang San comes, we pave the way for Zhang San, and when Li Si comes, we build bridges for Li Si, can we?"
A man in his fifties standing next to Huang Youwei asked, "Secretary Huang, I remember this General Manager Lu from Jiafeng Group. You two must have a close relationship, right? Back in Suzhou, everyone knew you were his backer."
"No, no, no!" Huang Youwei waved his hands repeatedly and said, "Secretary Zhida, you can't say things like that. When I was in Suzhou, I supported local private enterprises. My relationship with this General Manager Lu was just a work-related one. I was looking at this matter entirely from a developmental perspective."
The scene appeared quite tense, with Huang Youwei surrounded and attacked. Secretary Li, who made the final decision, remained silent. The Post and Telecommunications Group had its own considerations. Now, each entity had its own territory. China Unicom had been spun off, but its foothold was unstable. The Post and Telecommunications Group had been losing money for years. They knew that China Telecom would be spun off sooner or later. For now, they were only concerned with their own postal and savings businesses, and were unwilling to spend too much energy on China Telecom, which was about to leave.
Huang Youwei's meteoric rise has drawn criticism in the province. It seems that he is only focused on economic development and is unresponsive to other matters. This kind of meeting is not a good place for him.
"Communication is extremely important. The transmission of information means communication. Although the country hasn't included this in its overall strategic plan yet, there are development requirements for landlines and phone booths. We can't be like stink bugs, only moving when poked." Secretary Li looked around the scene and said, "We still need the motivation to actively explore. Let's not decide on this matter today. Everyone should go back and think about it themselves. We need to make decisions that are truly relevant to our own development, instead of engaging in some empty talk."
The meeting ended there. General Manager Zhou chatted with Huang Youwei for a bit, basically telling him not to cause them any trouble. Their most important task right now was setting up landline telephone lines, as mobile phones were not suitable for the current situation in China.
After Mr. Zhou left, the chairman of China Unicom came over for a chat, implying that they were willing to do it as long as the investment wasn't too large, but that China Unicom had only been separated for a few years and was still too weak.
The CEO in charge of telecommunications business also came over and chatted for a bit. These three companies now have different intentions, afraid of doing the work for someone else. They used to be one family. Not to mention that China Unicom has already become independent, China Telecom will soon face separation and live its own life.
Lu Feng rested briefly at the hotel, but no one paid him any attention, which annoyed him. As soon as these people realized they couldn't gain any advantage, they immediately distanced themselves from him.
Around 4 PM, Lu Feng called Huang Youwei's office. After the call was connected, Lu Feng briefly explained his current situation.
"I'm in a meeting in the province today. Vice Mayor Wang isn't usually in charge of these things, but he's just temporarily picking you up for me. How about this, come to the government canteen tonight, and we'll have dinner and chat," Huang Youwei said into the phone.
"good!"
Lu Feng's intuition told him that this matter was probably not going to be easy; negotiations in Guangzhou were difficult, and things were also going to be tough here.
After hanging up the phone, Lu Feng went downstairs and headed straight for the municipal government building.
Led by the office director, Lu Feng entered Huang Youwei's office. Looking at Huang Youwei, he was clearly much older, his hair was parted, and there was a lot more white hair. Compared to his previous high spirits, he now looked more tired and worn out, and it was clear that he had been working very hard.
"Mr. Huang, it's been a long time." Lu Feng stepped forward and said with great emotion.
Huang Youwei glanced at Lu Feng, then said in a more formal tone, "Mr. Lu, please sit down. Xiao Zhao, pour me a cup of tea."
"No need to be so polite." Lu Feng said, sitting on the sofa, "How about it? This project is a real investment, definitely not just about acquiring land or money."
“I held a meeting in the province and mentioned this matter. The province didn’t give a response, but the Post and Telecommunications Group is very resistant. I guess this matter will be difficult for you.” Huang Youwei took out a pack of cigarettes from the drawer, lit one, handed the rest to Lu Feng, and continued, “The Post and Telecommunications Group is not directly under the jurisdiction of the province. Their main task now is telephone lines. Mobile phones are not easy to handle.”
“But if this project succeeds, the economic impact will be very obvious. Information is the primary factor for development. The reason I came here this time is to cooperate with the province. It's not about having them contribute all the money; we can also contribute some of the construction costs.” Lu Feng said to Huang Youwei, “I think this is a win-win-win situation.”
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