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Chapter 1179: Chapter 1037: Buying an Airplane (Please Subscribe!)
3:00 p.m.
Saying goodbye to Chai Ren,
Tang Qing boarded the plane back to the Shanghai Stock Market.
What left Tang Qing speechless was,
next month he would have to come back because in early December, there would be a "2006 Huaxia Enterprise Leaders Annual Meeting" in Beijing, and nearly all the business big shots of Huaxia would attend.
Many scholars, state-owned enterprise leaders, and government officials would be present.
They cordially invited him with a very humble attitude, so Tang Qing felt it would be rude to refuse. He simply agreed, thinking that since he was also a businessman, he might as well learn to blend into Huaxia’s business circles.
Being unconventional
does not mean being unsociable.
On the plane,
Tang Qing was surrounded by onlookers again.
"Tang Qing? Can I take a photo with you?"
"Is that really Tang Qing? Is this lady your girlfriend? She’s beautiful. What’s your last name, ma’am?"
"I’m the Chairman of Fengcheng Real Estate Group, my name is..."
"..."
Faced with one enthusiastic face after another, Tang Qing couldn’t say he disliked it, as it represented his level of popularity, but it also made him somewhat helpless. Some people kept staring at him, come on, you’re a man.
Suddenly,
the idea of buying a private jet popped into Tang Qing’s head.
And it quickly became irresistible.
"Alright, I’ve got the money, let’s build one." Tang Qing decided in a flash to buy one.
Closing his eyes,
he browsed for a while.
In the end, he chose the best-selling Gulfstream series, even though they’d ultimately have to replace everything from the inside out, down to the very screws, with scientists, but the expense was inevitable.
To construct a private jet.
The Myanmar Economic Zone was not yet ready for such a "big move," so he needed to find a shell company.
Of course,
he wouldn’t be foolish enough to buy a brand new one.
Purchasing a second-hand one was sufficient; consider it bought for scrap. Thinking about this, Tang Qing felt ridiculously extravagant, spending tens of millions just to scrap something – only he would do such a thing.
Very quickly,
the Fighters found a second-hand Gulfstream G550 for sale, and they immediately contacted the seller.
When he got off the plane,
the deal had already been struck, for thirty-two million U.S. dollars.
In the car,
Tang Qing called Chai Ren.
"Tang Qing, off the plane already?" Chai Ren answered after one ring.
"Yes, Chai Dashao, I need your help with something. I just made a decision to buy a private jet. This time I’m going for a used one, waiting for the new Gulfstream models takes too long," Tang Qing stated plainly.
Hearing that Tang Qing wanted to buy a plane, Chai Ren surmised he must have been ’harassed’.
"When can you get the plane?"
"Within five days," Tang Qing said.
Chai Ren immediately promised, "Then leave the procedures to me. If things go well, I can get them sorted by early next month. This isn’t like other purchases; the scrutiny is quite strict."
Tang Qing said, "Understood. Send me a list of the documents needed, and I’ll get them prepared."
"Okay."
After ending the call,
Chai Ren contacted a few friends. Policies change often, and it was better to consult the professionals. In less than two hours, a list was sent to Tang Qing’s email via the Sky Eye system.
At this time,
the purchase of the airplane was complete.
However, it wasn’t made under Tang Qing’s name.
It was the Comet Group – using a company to buy such transportation could save a lot of hassle, and domestic policy doesn’t allow private jets to be registered under an individual’s name, but rather a company entity.
...
Two days later.
The airplane’s procedures in the United States were completely finalized.
At 11:00 p.m.,
the plane took off from Nevada, United States, heading directly to Qingyan City Airport, because the airports in the Shanghai Stock Market were too busy, without any hangar space available for the plane. Only the expansive Qingyan City Airport had room to accommodate it.
This was also one of the biggest hassles with private jets in China – you can only entrust the plane, and the airport management is not as flexible as abroad. Finding a place to park it was a headache.
Qingyan City Airport was designed with leased hangars.
Handling the procedures there would also be easier; it could serve as a conveyance for his uncle.
...
As Tang Qing’s plane was flying over the Pacific,
United States,
Apple Headquarters,
in the Main Conference Room,
Company executives were perusing the files in their hands.
Page by page, scrutinizing carefully, the more they read, the worse their expressions became, and by the end, there was a sense of disbelief. Many started muttering expletives like "FUCK" and other common curses.
In the files,
was intelligence gathered over the past two months by their ’special business department’ from various partners.
Huaxia,
a place where, technically, no competition should arise,
suddenly produced an unexpected rival.
And in such a way that caught them off guard.
In the report, on one side were the specifications proposed by Qingyuan Technology to various corporations, and on the other side were those of Apple’s first-generation phone. Comparing the two, while the differences were not huge, they certainly existed.
Smartphones.
Besides Apple, all major phone manufacturers and communication enterprises were researching, but many were just ’old wine in new bottles’. Only Qingyuan Technology was truly different, with ideas that were ’quite unique’ in several aspects.
"After our experts’ analysis, Qingyuan Technology’s smartphones are a threat to us in at least three areas. First, pixel count – their camera uses four million pixels, twice as high as our first-generation model."
"Second, judging by the size of the motherboard, its screen ratio is considerable. Likely, they also adopted our approach of minimal buttons, but the exact design and number of buttons are still unknown to us."
"Third, is the chip – they’ve signed a contract with Qualcomm for the latest high-performance chip supply, the first batch totaling five million chips, quite a generous move."
"Overall, we have another competitor. However, due to our lack of knowledge about their appearance, operating system, internal programs, functionality settings, and other such data, we can only take proactive defence measures."
After Steve Jobs finished speaking, he looked at the executives below and continued, "Therefore, I propose we invest in Qingyuan Technology before it grows too large. It won’t cost much."
"We still can’t confirm whether Qingyuan Technology is a threat. Isn’t this investment, made so hastily, a bit premature?" a senior executive questioned.
"But I have a bad feeling because its owner is currently the richest man in inland Huaxia, with assets exceeding ten billion U.S. dollars. Such a rival, growing strong, is not in our best interest."
Steve Jobs persisted in his opinion.
"We’ll make an offer above market value. Tang Qing has invested nearly three hundred million U.S. dollars into it. Judging from Microcrystal Technology, he doesn’t seem like someone who insists on holding all his shares, as long as there’s sufficient interest."
"And if he still refuses to sell?" someone asked.
"Then we’ll battle." Steve Jobs was a proud man; in competition, he was willing to be defeated by a rival in terms of product quality and design but disdained the notion of sabotaging Tang Qing’s project.
At least,
if Qingyuan Technology hadn’t truly threatened Apple yet, there was no need to resort to foul play.
Quickly,
the Board of Directors of Apple authorized
allowing Steve Jobs to invest in Qingyuan Technology.
