Tao Liangchen
Chapter 626 End of the Year
A little over two weeks passed in a flash.
During this time.
Su Yehao received an invitation to spend two days in Hu City, where he inspected potential sites for office buildings in the Lujiazui area and was shown around.
He didn't meddle in other business ventures, but he did acquire a residential plot next to the renowned Tomson Riviera along the Huangpu River. His plan was to develop it and keep it for himself, only renting it out for the next fifteen years.
The local authorities hoped he would replicate the Qianxin Science and Technology City model and establish a large-scale industrial park project in Hu City, offering him any location he desired.
Unfortunately, Su Yehao used his lack of available time and energy as an excuse to politely decline for the time being.
This wasn't just a pretext.
The Qianxin Science and Technology City project covers an area of over ten square kilometers, which is already enough to keep him busy in the short term.
Moreover, Su Yehao isn't running a printing press; while he has considerable funds, they are only barely sufficient. The projects he invested in this year won't yield significant returns anytime soon, making it impossible to support another massive industrial park.
In his opinion, it's better to focus his efforts and develop Qianxin Science and Technology City first, and then consider expansion later.
Before leaving, Su Yehao also visited the Hua Hong Semiconductor Company, a joint venture with Japan. Compared to Huajing, which he had invested in, this company used quite impressive equipment and technology.
However, with drAm memory chips currently selling for next to nothing, Su Yehao didn't want to be a sucker and take over a company that would only lose money. After the visit, he only promised to purchase as many of their products as possible.
He didn't utter a single word about financing or acquisition.
Since Su Yehao said he would invest 2.5 billion RMB as soon as possible to build an office building in Lujiazui, expected to be around 360 meters tall, those who greeted him weren't disappointed. It was just that the gains weren't as great as they had imagined.
Considering that Peng City and Hong Kong City are right next to each other, they could understand why Su Yehao would choose Peng City as his base for developing in the mainland.
They could only say that the geographical advantage wasn't in Hu City...
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On December 18, 1999.
Su Yehao woke up early and accompanied Yin Liuli for a walk on his own golf course. The warm winter sun felt especially comfortable.
He received a call from his father around nine in the morning, and went to the Si Hai International Center next to the Casino, 1997 to participate in the unveiling ceremony of a commemorative sculpture in the square. In addition to releasing peace doves, there was also a hundred-person choir. The northern television station filmed the entire event, which would be broadcast on the *Hot News Broadcast* tomorrow night.
The so-called sculpture was a monument with the inscription "A Century of Change, A Baptism of Wind and Rain, A Unified Nation, A Celebration for All."
These words were personally written by Grandpa Tang.
It was said that Su's father shamelessly brought gifts to visit, and wasn't kicked out because it was a serious matter.
Su Yehao recalled that in the past two years, he hadn't seen his father visit the Tang family's old mansion on the Mid-Levels. The strained relationship between the father-in-law and son-in-law was no secret. Ever since Su's father brought his second wife home and changed "Tang Yehao's" surname to "Su Yehao," the feud had been established.
Taking this opportunity to ask for the inscription, Su's father couldn't help but appear to be seeking forgiveness and currying favor.
The result, needless to say, was that the old man still gave him face.
As for the more specific details, Su Yehao wasn't too sure.
After the event, he strolled through the Central Mall, where he saw flags everywhere, creating a particularly festive atmosphere. Many people were taking photos, and the atmosphere was peaceful and harmonious.
Since it was a Saturday, there were many customers in the mall today, and almost every store had discount posters.
The matter didn't end there.
As soon as lunch was over, someone called Linda Yun, asking if the handover ceremony for the bronze *fang lei* vessel and the animal head sculptures could be moved to earlier in the afternoon, so it could be featured on the 7:00 PM *Hot News Broadcast* with five minutes of coverage.
After confirming with Su Yehao, Linda Yun agreed on the spot.
After hanging up, Linda Yun sipped her iced lemon tea and said with a smile, "I'll interview you in advance. You're donating treasures worth millions of dollars without batting an eye. Don't you feel any heartache?"
"Why should I feel heartache?"
Su Yehao shrugged, feeling cheerful, and said to her:
"Even if I donate ten million dollars, I might not get featured on this program. Today, they're giving me five minutes of coverage, and it's sure to be in the newspapers tomorrow. Even if only half the people pay attention, I can boost my reputation among 650 million people. There's a chance I'll even get a picture in the history books. A few million dollars is a bargain. It's like using good steel where it counts."
The *fang lei* bronze vessel that he bought back from a Japanese collector, as well as the four animal head sculptures that Su Yehao had collected, would all be donated to the Palace Museum this time.
The future appreciation potential of these treasures is significant, but the benefit of a few hundred million Hong Kong dollars is far less than the opportunity to gain publicity.
For this reason, Su Yehao gave up the idea of building an art museum in the Peng City Cultural Tourism City. As early as ten days ago, he took the initiative to contact the higher authorities, facilitating the reunion of the *fang lei*’s body and lid, as well as the donation and handover ceremony of the animal head sculptures.
Doing good deeds and leaving a good name, even Grandpa Tang, who regarded the *fang lei* as a treasure, strongly supported this and didn't feel any heartache at all. Instead, he praised Su Yehao for being too clever.
The old man had been in business for most of his life and was a shrewd old fox, so of course he could see the key points.
Only Linda Yun would foolishly focus on the value of the items themselves.
Linda Yun continued to ask, "Hundreds of millions of people will know you? Doesn't this equal advertising, which will greatly benefit your internet company and other businesses?"
"Well, those are secondary, just a bonus. Even without advertising, I'm confident in capturing the mainland market."
Su Yehao put away his phone, left the restaurant with his hands behind his back, and explained, "The items I'm donating have historical significance, and repeated victories can boost the confidence of the people. As for money, it's really not that important to me anymore. You grew up in San Francisco, so you really need to brush up on your history and knowledge. You probably can't understand the feeling of standing up after being oppressed."
Reliving a major historical event firsthand, even though he had experienced it once two years ago, Su Yehao couldn't help but feel excited because this time he was experiencing it more directly.
Of course.
Joining forces with his father as a pioneer to organize multiple events also brings tangible and intangible benefits, making it more convenient to do business up north in the future.
The donation ceremony was arranged at the Si Hai International Headquarters Building, and Su Yehao's speech had already been prepared.
When the event started, hundreds of media outlets came to the scene, taking photos of the animal head sculptures and the *fang lei* in the display cabinets. Considering that the footage had to be sent to Si Jiu City in a timely manner, some of the procedures were cut short.
In a total of more than an hour, the five national treasures were packed and sent away. Su Yehao specially arranged for his private jet to send the people back to Si Jiu City, so as not to miss tonight's news broadcast, as editing would take time.
That night.
The fireworks show donated by Su Yehao illuminated half the sky of Casino, 1997.
Standing on the deck of the Si Hai International yacht, Nangong Tian exclaimed, "In just over ten days, the twentieth century will be over. If nothing unexpected happens, our generation should only experience the millennium once, right?"
Jiang Yu, drinking a cocktail, calmly said, "Be more confident, remove the 'should.' I don't want to live to be over 120 years old."
Su Yehao suggested, "On the day of the millennium New Year's Eve, I'll donate another fireworks show over Victoria Harbour. We could also go traveling, what do you think?"
"Anything is fine."
"I don't want to go out this year. Let's just keep watching fireworks. If it weren't so expensive, I wouldn't mind watching them every day."
"It is quite expensive. Tonight's show cost me nine million, and that's at wholesale price..."