Wuhu's two pillar industries have different attitudes. The pulp and dyeing industry is booming, so it is inevitable to worry about gains and losses. The steel industry is half dead and is eager to be supported by someone.

In addition, the relationship between the Wang and Zhao families was not comparable to that of Ruan Bi, so Wang Yu spoke more directly. "Sir, Jiangnan Group is growing rapidly. The companies under it cannot only employ Dongting merchants, right? We Hui merchants are our own people."

"Haha, that makes sense." Zhao Hao took a sip of the strange-tasting fire-reducing tea. In fact, it was Zhao Liben's idea not to use Huizhou merchants when the group was first established.

Because the Huizhou merchants were so powerful and influential, and he was a young man from Huizhou, he would not be able to overwhelm these fellow countrymen just by relying on the opportunistic achievements of the Xishan Company.

If they were brought into the Jiangnan Company early on, the company would certainly develop more smoothly, but it would inevitably require giving up greater interests. It would also be easy for a group of Huizhou merchant elders to take advantage of their seniority and regard themselves as founding fathers, which would then be a serious constraint.

So the old man let Zhao Hao and others get the company on the right track and make achievements, and then he would invite his fellow villagers to join. That way, it would be easier for everyone to adjust their mindset.

However, Zhao Liben did not expect that Zhao Hao would be able to set up the framework in such a short time and turn the Jiangnan Group into a daunting behemoth.

Now, those Huizhou compatriots who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, seeing that the Dongting merchants were about to make it big with the help of the Jiangnan Group, finally could not sit still and began to actively ask to join.

Wang Yu's half-true, half-false joke was most likely spoken on behalf of the Huizhou merchants.

Zhao Hao naturally welcomed it with both hands. Introducing Hui merchants at this time would not only eliminate the worry that they would become complacent, but would also help balance the hidden danger of too many Dongting merchants in the group.

Moreover, the subsidiaries of the group are independent of each other and are responsible for their own profits and losses. As long as they are arranged properly, it will be easy to form healthy competition between "Zhuantian Dongting" and "Biandi Hui", which will be of great benefit to the development of the company.

~~

With this thought in mind, Mr. Zhao put down his teacup, looked at Wang Yu with a smile and said, "Whether you are close to your fellow townspeople or not, of course, people from Huizhou are more reliable."

"That's right." Wang Yu nodded repeatedly and said, "We Hui merchants value fellow countrymen the most. We are all first-class managers and traders. It's your loss if you don't use it."

"First, the group was just starting out, and we didn't know if it would work, so we didn't dare to drag our fellow villagers and elders into it." Zhao Hao explained with a smile: "Second, we Hui merchants all want to be bosses, and I'm afraid this temple is too small to accommodate a great Bodhisattva."

"Alas, why would you think so, young master? No wonder, you grew up in Jinling and didn't have the chance to experience the strong unity and friendship among our fellow countrymen from Huizhou." Wang Yu shook his head and said:

"As the saying goes, 'a thousand people of one mind can make a thousand people strong; ten thousand people of different minds can make no one useful'. This is a truth known to all Huizhou merchants. As long as your Jiangnan ship is big enough, your fellow countrymen will naturally work together to support you to the end. Why bother to set up your own business?"

"It seems that I am overthinking." Zhao Hao smiled apologetically and said, "Uncle Wang is so enthusiastic. Are you interested in working for Jiangnan Group?"

"Of course I'm interested, otherwise I wouldn't be wasting my time with you." Wang Yu laughed and said, "I heard last night that President Ruan had a meeting overnight. I was really anxious. I can't let him get ahead of me this time."

"Then the position of vice chairman and general manager of Jiangnan Coal and Iron Corporation must go to Uncle Wang." Zhao Hao said seriously, "Chairman Xu has limited energy to devote to the company. I hope Mr. Wang will take care of it in the future."

"Oh my." Wang Yu was flattered and said, "I'm afraid I can't do such a high position."

"Uncle Wang is too modest. Our Coal and Iron Corporation is still just an empty shell." Young Master Zhao said with a smile to relieve his stress: "In addition, in the next few years, the company's main focus will be on improving production technology. As for production, it is sufficient to maintain the current level."

"Is that so?" Wang Yu heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that there was no great performance pressure. He then asked, "Then my steel mill will be incorporated into the company?"

"Of course." Zhao Hao smiled and nodded, "You can merge in alone, or you can discuss with your peers and merge together if you are willing. The steel industry has great potential in the future, so we should be willing to let the water flow and fish grow."

"Understood." Wang Yu also smiled and nodded, "Don't worry, sir. Although we are under-operating, we are not losing money yet. We can definitely help the group make money, and we don't need to pay for it."

"Of course we have a good relationship." Zhao Hao said happily: "How about this, I will give you a quarter of the shares of the Coal and Iron Company, or half of the shares of the Steel Company. You can discuss it among yourselves and see which one you choose."

"Okay, I'll give you an answer as soon as possible." This kind of thing needs to be discussed with everyone, and Wang Yu can't make the decision on his own.

~~

In the next few days, Zhao Hao visited several major industries in Wuhu, including the rice market, shipyard, and medicine store. He also reached a strategic cooperation intention with Jiang Shuxian, the president of the rice market guild... In short, Jiangnan Group used cash to purchase a part of the shares of Wuhu Rice Market, and in the future, Jiangnan Group would purchase rice from Wuhu regularly and in fixed quantities.

Correspondingly, Wuhu Rice Market must give Jiangnan Group a stable price. As for how to set the price in the interests of both parties, they can only wait for Jiang Xueying to come and discuss it.

In addition, he also reached a preliminary merger intention with Zha Jie, chairman of the Wuhu Shipbuilding Industry Association... The Wuhu Shipbuilding Association will be fully incorporated into the Jiangnan Shipbuilding Corporation and become its subsidiary Wuhu Shipyard, with Zha Jie as the director.

Before the Wuhu Shipyard was officially established, it received the group's first order - 300 1,000-ton ocean-going vessels.

Although Longjiang Shipyard and Suzhou Shipyard are working day and night for Jiangnan Group, and Jiangnan First Shipyard on Chongming Island has also officially started construction, Zhao Hao still thinks the construction speed is too slow. He is very dissatisfied that he has not built 100 ships yet.

So Mr. Zhao seized the opportunity and opened a new factory to build ships.

However, Zha Jie was shocked by the order and stammered to Zhao Hao that his family had never built a thousand-ton sea-going ship.

In fact, with the current technical strength and number of craftsmen in Wuhu's shipbuilding industry, it is not difficult to build a thousand-ton sea-going ship. All Longjiang Factory needs to do is send a few masters to give some advice and avoid taking detours. But Director Cha still has many concerns.

Zhao Hao was not surprised by this, because the largest ship the court allowed civilians to build was 400 tons. The coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong had a strong demand for large ships, and since the emperor was far away, it was not uncommon to secretly build large ships of 1,000 to 2,000 tons. But Wuhu was deep inland and close to Nanjing, so naturally they did not dare to be so presumptuous.

In Zha Jie's opinion, the most he could do was to secretly add 600 tons of fuel to the ship, and adding more would cause trouble.

However, Zhao Hao told them not to worry, as the thousand-ton ships currently owned by Jiangnan Group were all river defense ships ordered by the Jiangdu Censorate, so naturally there was no size restriction.

As soon as he gets the imperial approval, Uncle Wu will cancel the order for the ships on the grounds of lack of funds and let Jiangnan Group take over. There are no loopholes in the procedure, and even the Paw Patrol can't find any fault with it.

Zha Jie was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect it to be played like this. He secretly sighed in his heart that Jiangnan Group really had a strong background. Even Wu Shilai, the high and mighty Minister of Caojiang, was willing to cooperate with them.

But what if the imperial court doesn't approve it? The factory director carefully asked his question.

Zhao Hao laughed loudly upon hearing this and said, "This is not something you should worry about."

ps. Monthly ticket.