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Chapter 257: Chapter 215: Core Pillar Industry (Please Subscribe!)_1
School let out in the afternoon.
Tang Qing didn’t go back to his uncle’s place because his second uncle had come to pick him up from school.
He had mentioned at lunch that they were going to have dinner out, and everyone at home was quite curious to know who the host was. After all, they were not familiar with many people around here except their relatives and if the invite came from someone, it had to be someone from their home town. Tang Qing’s parents had moved here not long ago, but no matter how much they pestered Tang Qing, he would not reveal anything.
They never cast their thoughts towards Tang Kai, who hadn’t been heard from in years and was believed to be dead or missing.
Qin Shiqi was excited at the prospect of a luxurious dinner but was least interested in who the host was.
Tang Qing, Li Kai, and Wang Yan walked out of the gate of the school with smiles on their faces. He instantly spotted his second uncle, looking more energetic and relaxed in casual clothes and a neat haircut than before.
What drew people’s attention was the bodyguard dressed in a suit standing behind him. It was apparent that the warrior outfit was bought by the second uncle. Earlier, their dress code was quite casual as they were supposed to provide discreet protection and dressing up like secret service agents would have been too conspicuous.
Many teachers and students curiously stopped at the gate to watch the two of them, particularly attracted to the sight of the bodyguard, wearing the same outfit, standing next to a Mercedes-Benz on the side of the road. In the year 2005, such an entrance meant grandeur. Some students left whispering and chattering amongst themselves, their central idea being they aspired to make such an entrance someday.
Tang Qing swiftly walked up to his uncle and cheerfully greeted, "Second Uncle, you’re here."
Tang Kai gave Tang Qing a once-over and nodded in approval of his school uniform. He praised, "Tangtang, you look very handsome in your school uniform. I bet you’ll charm a lot of girls in the future."
On hearing this, Tang Qing chuckled and said, "Second Uncle, I don’t need to charm anyone." He had no interest in impressing anyone. All he cared about was charming Lin Jiaxue.
By then, Li Kai, and Wang Yan walked up as well, curious about Tang Kai’s seasoned demeanour. Tang Qing promptly introduced, "This is Li Kai and Wang Yan, my good friends; and this is my Second Uncle, Tang Kai."
On learning that he was Tang Qing’s uncle, both of them quickly greeted, "Hello, Uncle."
Li Kai wasn’t much surprised; he had a sense of sudden realization. Anybody could tell that Tang Qing’s second uncle was a big shot; it made sense why he had so much money to lend them and even to buy a factory. He now had the answer to a mystery that had bugged him for a while. However, having just met him, it would be inappropriate to inquire about Tang Kai’s occupation.
Wang Yan seemed a bit nervous, her demeanor a touch too formal, much like meeting the parents.
Being a billionaire businessman, Tang Kai could clearly see Wang Yan’s intent. It wasn’t that he was adept at understanding women, it’s just that social sciences like business development fall within the realms of psychology, the essence of all social sciences.
Understanding the human mind is the key to successful manipulation.
He knew Tang Qing was engaged to Lin Jiaxue. However, he didn’t see anything wrong as he himself was worldly-wise. It is normal for young people to be infatuated with an attractive woman or man. Especially Tang Qing, who not only was an excellent young man but the sole heir of the Tang family. If he wanted to play around in the future, he could, as long as he wouldn’t cause any trouble. He trusted Tang Qing knew what he was doing, he wasn’t the type who would think with his pants.
"Nice to meet you guys. I’ve been away from here for over a decade. Thank you for looking after our Tangtang in my absence. I’ll treat you to a meal when I get the chance." Tang Kai greeted them with a heartwarming smile.
Li Kai realized that Tang Qing must have been occupied, so he took his leave saying, "Thank you, Uncle. I should be on my way home."
"I should be going too. Goodbye Uncle Tang." Wang Yan quickly chimed in having realized she overstayed.
"Goodbye." Tang Kai waved and laughed in response.
Ah! School was such a good time. Alas, he could merely watch in envy.
Then, Tang Qing and his second uncle got into the car, and the two bodyguards carried out their duties. But Tang Qing wasn’t used to someone else opening and closing the door for him. He preferred doing it himself, not because he couldn’t adapt or was being narcistic. He found these tasks, like opening and closing the door, somehow quite fascinating.
"Uncle, did you buy this car?" Tang Qing looked at the car’s interior decorations and asked, but it seemed like it was a brand new purchase, not a rental.
Tang Kai nodded and said, "Yes, I just bought it yesterday. I took the two bodyguards you recommended out and we can’t always take a taxi, it’s quite inconvenient. What do you think?"
"Not bad, let me drive a little and try it out." Tang Qing suddenly thought, he hadn’t driven this model of Mercedes before. In his previous life, he only drove Li Kai’s sports and off-road cars. Li Jianguo has one of these cars, but he didn’t have the guts to try it out.
"You can drive?" Tang Kai asked in surprise.
"Of course, it’s nothing big. I feel like driving today, to indulge myself." Tang Qing said, then got out of the car and swapped seats with the driver. The car was an automatic, which was quite easy to drive.
Tang Kai wasn’t worried that Tang Qing would trick him or mess around. Even if Tang Qing’s driving skills were a bit poor, if the car was damaged, it was just a car. The only thing that mattered was Tang Qing’s happiness.
Afterwards, Tang Qing smoothly drove the new Mercedes towards the Tianfu Hotel.
That’s right, he wanted to mooch off of Liu Qian again. This kind of occasion didn’t suit a visit to Li Jianguo, and going to other restaurants would cost money. It was better to eat for free here, and he only came occasionally, so Liu Qian surely wouldn’t begrudge him this expense.
Moreover, in the future, Liu Qian and his uncle could potentially become business partners. As far as he knew, quite a few jades and gemstones from the Dream Melody Group were provided by his uncle, but the deal wasn’t made directly. Instead, it went through some middlemen like Wei Jun.
After about ten minutes.
Tang Qing quickly arrived at the Tianfu Hotel in the car. Honestly, sedans weren’t that thrilling to drive. He drove it once and lost interest in the car. He planned to buy a good off-road vehicle to drive after the National College Entrance Examination, and also buy a big villa. As for the Audi A6, he would leave it for Sheng Tang to use.
Thinking of this, Tang Qing suddenly remembered that once the Sky Eye headquarters was completed, he would probably need to buy some vehicles for Sky Eye’s leadership. Now that he had money, he planned to invest in some industries after a while, with the main purpose not being to make money. He didn’t really care for the modest profits of actual industries, but rather used it for strategic planning.
Now that everything was basically on track and his money-making channels were diversifying, he no longer worried about financial issues. With money, he naturally needed to slowly buy the ’raw materials’ for his banking empire. Banking is a banker’s most core industry, but it also requires many other core pillars to support this building.
Military-industrial, pharmaceuticals, precision machinery manufacturing, minerals, energy, food, scientific research, etc, are the core pillars of this building. As for others, they’re just playthings. These core industries have one main characteristic: they can attain a dialogue with other countries’ upper classes, have political influence over other countries, and have the confidence to negotiate and make them painfully shed their meat without too much complaint. Otherwise, they cannot be called core pillar industries.
For example, Tang Qing’s Sheng Tang and Dream Melody Group, or even Liu Qian’s Tian Qian Group, even if they became world-famous, foreigners wouldn’t care about them unless it was about money. This influence must be brought about by other things beyond money and allowing them to be called core pillar industries.
The military represents war and fists.
Pharmaceuticals represent life.
Precision mechanical manufacture represents the pinnacle of industry, because industry is the most important foundation of a strong country, without comparison.
Minerals, energy, and food represent supply.
Scientific research represents the future.
All these are standard equipment for a top-tier banker.
Of course, they have to be the pinnacle of these fields to have influence. If you own a factory producing military-grade cans, a rice processing plant, a pharmaceutical company producing cold medicine, or a research institute studying why cats eat feces under certain circumstances, you will naturally not be included.
Even the entire internet doesn’t count as a pillar industry. Information has borders. It can generate value, a huge value, make a lot of money, have strong local influence and media channels, but it cannot generate real influence on the upper classes of other countries. Saying that controlling information on the internet is influential is ridiculous. Before any country lets you control things, they wouldn’t even admit you. However, as long as you operate well, no country can stop the penetration and leverage of the above-mentioned core pillar industries.
