Chapter 206 Journey to the Deep Sea 1
After arranging some matters for the Berlin Consumer Electronics Show and the Frankfurt Motor Show, Bao Zixuan returned to Hong Kong. China has officially designated Shenhai City as a special economic zone. In response to the country's needs, Huo Yingdong organized a group of Xiangjiang businessmen to support it. Let’s see if we can invest and build factories in the deep sea. In this area, Mr. Huo always considers the country. Many times, he used his influence to lead Xiangjiang businessmen to invest in the mainland, and he also invested in and constructed many large-scale projects.
After Bao Zixuan returned to Xiangjiang, he only rested at home for one day and came to Huo Mansion early in the morning. Many Xiangjiang tycoons had already arrived there in advance, and when they saw Bao Zixuan coming, everyone said hello to him.
Dong Haoyun: "Xiaobao, I haven't seen you for a few months, but your efforts are getting bigger and bigger every time. Not long after I just acquired Hutchison Whampoa, I acquired two car brands in the United States, and the sales at the exhibition reached more than 1 billion US dollars. You kid! We made more money in two years than we did in 20 years.”
Bao Zixuan: "Mr. Dong is joking, it's just a fluke. I still have a long way to go compared to the seniors, but I haven't seen you for a few months, Mr. Dong, and you look much better. Is there any happy news?"
Dong Haoyun: "Xiaobao still knows me well. I just bought the world's largest oil tanker with the largest displacement. Once completed, it will definitely bring the Dong family's shipping business to a higher level."
Hearing this, Bao Zixuan knew that sometimes history is really difficult to change. Because of the foundation of cooperation with Heiyun, Dong Haoyun's appetite is getting bigger and bigger, "He strives to be the best in the world in everything. At that time, the largest oil tanker was 60,000 tons, and he wanted to order 80,000 tons; others developed it to 100,000 tons. , he wants 120,000 tons." Since 1967, Dong Haoyun has successively ordered 3 batches of very large tankers (VLCC) with a load capacity of more than 220,000 tons from Japan's Sasebo Shipyard and several other shipyards, with 6 ships in each batch, a total of 18 ship. The first two batches of 220,000 tons were already very large crude carriers (VLCC), and the third batch has entered the ultra-large tanker (ULCC) stage of more than 300,000 tons each. Such 18 extremely large oil tankers are enough to form a giant fleet. Such a great courage is really as majestic as a cloud, which makes the world stunned!
Dong Haoyun did not stop, and later bought the 360,000-ton "Brazilian Glory" and the 380,000-ton "Brazilian Vision". But this is not the climax of the story.
In 1976, a Greek shipowner ordered a 420,000-ton oil tanker at Japan's Sumitomo Heavy Industries Oppama Shipyard in Yokosuka. But God's calculations were not as good as those of others. Before the tanker was completed, the Greek went bankrupt. In 1979, the tanker fell into the hands of Dong Haoyun.
But Dong Haoyun still thinks it is not big enough. He is determined to be the best in the world, even if it is just a little bigger. So I gave this question to Chief Engineer Huang Cifa. After careful design and careful calculation, Huang Cifa came up with a graft: cut the 420,000-ton ship in the middle and add a section. This addition added 140,000 tons, becoming the "Sea Giant" with a load capacity of 564,763.
On December 19, 1980, the "Sea Giant" was successfully launched, causing a sensation in Japan and the world. It is worthy of being the largest ship in the world, more than 120 meters longer and 8 times heavier than the world's largest aircraft carrier, the US Navy's Nimitz-class aircraft carrier! The development of oil tankers into "sea giants" can be said to be the pinnacle and unprecedented, and it has no equal so far! "Sea Giant" is the greatest masterpiece of mankind on the sea. The winding track behind it reminds people of the greatest masterpiece of mankind on land - the Great Wall of China!
"Sea Giant" also marked the peak of Dong Haoyun's shipping career. From a 16-year-old boy who entered the shipping industry in 1928, after decades of turbulent times, he finally established a powerful fleet with a total of 150 ships and a gross tonnage of more than 11 million - twice as much as the Greek shipping king Onassis. He and Bao Yugang, another Ningbo native, were like two peaks in the clouds, and together they ascended the throne of "World Shipping King"!
But now I don't know how to persuade Dong Haoyun. The Sea Giant is the pinnacle of the Dong family's career, and it is also the source of almost bankruptcy. As the oil crisis intensified, it brought about a shipping crisis. As a result, the Dong family almost went bankrupt. Fortunately, both sons were very capable. In addition, Dong Haoyun had many friends during his lifetime, so everyone helped out at the critical moment! It seems that I can only contribute some money to help the Dong family tide over the difficulties at that time, but I still need to remind them.
Bao Zixuan: "Mr. Dong, the current oil market is very unstable. There may not be too many tankers needed in the future. I feel it is better to buy more cargo ships."
Dong Haoyun is now obsessed with surpassing Bao Yugang and becoming the world's number one shipping king, but he still listened to Bao Xuan's words. We know that things go to extremes in reverse, and too many tankers is really not a good thing. It seems that some tanker purchase contracts will be reduced in the future. This is also a disguised way to help the Dong family!
Huo Yingdong came over and said: "Little Baosheng, we are ready and waiting for you. But this time you have set an example for the businessmen in Xiangjiang. You even bought the American car brand. This has greatly increased our family in Xiangjiang." The ambition of a businessman.”
Bao Zixuan: "Mr. Huo has given me many awards. These are insignificant compared to your previous feats."
Huo Yingdong: "Well, what feats I have now are all in the past. I asked you to come back this time because I want to go to the deep sea together and build a new industrial zone in Shekou country. Xiangjiang businessmen are very welcome to invest. , I’ll go there tomorrow and see how it goes. In addition, your car pass has been processed for you, so you can drive there directly."
Bao Zixuan knew that except for the roads in a few special cities in mainland China, it was not easy to travel anywhere else. So when I decided to go to the deep sea, I expressed my concerns to Huo Yingdong and wanted to drive Black Cloud Knight XV there. Otherwise, we might have suffered a lot!
However, after Huo Yingdong explained Bao Zixuan's request to the leaders of Shenhai City, they did not dare to make the decision at all. After all, there is no precedent before. Not only did Shenhai City dare not make a decision, but the Southern Guangdong Province also did not dare to make an independent decision. In the end, it was only after special approval from the highest level that we could drive directly there.
After all, everything now has to be crossed by feeling the stones, and many things and policies have to be changed and tilted accordingly. This is Huo Yingdong's application, plus it is Bao Zixuan's car, otherwise it would be impossible to do it.
In the words of the top management: "If you don't even let people come over with a car, why would they invest a lot of money in you? Why should they trust you and do anything special?"
It's just that Bao Zixuan didn't know, and he didn't expect that things would be so troublesome. After all, there were many license plates in Xiangjiang and Shenhai in the previous life, and a large number of vehicles traveled between the two places every day.
Bao Zixuan: "Mr. Huo, who among us will go there tomorrow?"
Huo Yingdong: "You, me, Dong Sheng and Bao Sheng. The four of us will go explore the way first. The other people have to check the situation. Besides, there are too many people going there and Shenhai City can't handle them. The infrastructure there is not good now." Very good, you have to be mentally prepared."
But we can only go there. The bodyguards and entourage are waiting for us at the port. I hope you can understand this.
Bao Zixuan: "I have no problem, but now it seems that I can only drive you three; I will wait for you at the port at what time."
Huo Yingdong: "We are old, and most people can't drive your car. We will meet at Luohu Port on time at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning. We will go directly there in your car."
Bao Zixuan: "No problem, but my car consumes a lot of gas. There is a supply of diesel in Shenhai City! And how can we exchange for Chinese currency? After all, the mainland is not financially well-off now, and we can no longer ask people to pay for us. This is also a problem. It’s not a small fee.”
Huo Yingdong didn't expect that Bao Zixuan would consider it in such detail. It seemed that it made sense for this young man to make a fortune. Smart, bold, and careful, he has all the conditions to become a big entrepreneur.
Huo Yingdong: "There is still diesel. You don't need to bring Chinese coins. I will pay for all the expenses. You can just bring some US dollars, which can be exchanged in the deep sea."
After Huo Fu finalized the details of going to the deep sea, Bao Zixuan returned home. He also needed to take a good rest. After all, he would be driving for three tycoons tomorrow, and there was no room for sloppiness.