In the afternoon, Zhao Yi did not rush back to Kyoto immediately, but drove to Zhou Zhigang's house. Since he came to Jiujiang, he must go back to see them.
It is much more convenient to drive home now. A highway has been built that connects the north and south of Jiangxi. As Zhao Yi's hometown, Xiaoyang County will definitely be given priority, and a highway will be built directly from the county seat to Jiujiang.
It only took Zhao Yi an hour and a half to drive from Jiujiang to Xiaoyang County. After arriving in Xiaoyang County, Zhao Yi did not rush to Zhou Zhigang's home, but drove around the county for an hour.
The main thing is to see how the county has changed in the past two years. Although Zhao Yi rushes back every year to celebrate the New Year, he always comes and goes in a hurry and does not take a closer look at the county.
Although there are still many old houses in Xiaoyang County today, there are also many new modern buildings. For example, the library built by Tianwen Book Club has become the most eye-catching landmark building in the county.
Tianwen Library looks like a huge hemisphere upside down on the ground from the outside. The entire building is made of steel structure, and the exterior wall is made of fiberglass with adjustable light transmittance, which can save money for the library during the day. A lot of energy.
Moreover, each node of the exterior wall steel structure is a spherical structure of different sizes, with patterns on it. Each spherical node is a landmark pattern of the planet, which is quite imaginative.
The first time he saw this building, Zhao Yi actually felt a little worried about his money. To be honest, it was completely unnecessary for a county to build such a luxurious library.
After all, the population is there. Only God knows how many people are willing to enter the library to read. As for recovering the cost by selling books or membership cards, it is a no-brainer. At most, it can only maintain the operation of the library. .
It was hard for Zhao Yi to imagine that a small county town built such a luxurious library. The libraries built by Tianwen Bookstore in big cities must be much more luxurious than this, and the cost is probably going up.
If Zhao Yi hadn't known that he would be able to recoup his capital through the appreciation of fixed assets in the future, he would have stopped Tianwen Publishing House from doing such a crazy move, and completely mistaking his money for money.
Sitting here, watching the people coming and going, many of whom were new to the library, Zhao Yi found some comfort for his bleeding heart just now.
Regardless of whether these people go to enjoy the air conditioning or study, they will be influenced by knowledge to some extent.
Not far from the library is the commercial center of the county. It was built by Shangtong Trading Company and the property is completely self-sustaining. This was part of the previous plan of Shangtong Trading Company to build retail malls and shopping centers across the country.
According to Shangtong Trading Company's plan, their retail terminals are not only tall shopping malls and shopping centers, but also many distribution centers and even vegetable markets.
Anyway, Shangtong Trading Company wants to lay out any terminal retail format they can come up with. This is why Shangtong Trading Company is obviously so profitable and has a high profit margin, but Zhao Yi has never allocated their funds. For your own use.
It is because according to the layout plan of Shangtong Trading Company, the money on hand will never be enough. Now it is a very good situation not to need Zhao Yi to give them money.
Now Shangtong Trading Company is building modern intelligent logistics and warehousing to lay a solid foundation for the upcoming explosion of commodity trade. At the same time, it is deploying more retail terminals and cultivating more terminal merchants.
The money spent here has also gone to the sea, and it is far away to recover some money from Shangtong Trading Company. However, if all the plans of Shangtong Trading Company are really completed, it will become the largest trading company in the world. .
Although ordinary people in the county still live in old-fashioned buildings that lack a modern look, the entire county has slowly begun to be rendered with modern colors. It is only a matter of time before all the renderings are completed.
Although Zhao Yi felt a little distressed for spending money, he couldn't hide his pride. He also made a huge contribution here. He was also a contributing member of the country's modernization, and he was an extremely important one.
The entire county is actually not big, with only tens of thousands of people. However, in rural areas with more people, they have not yet thought about moving to the county. First, there is no money, and second, there is no suitable livelihood.
So Zhao Yi spent an hour shopping around, and it was a stop-and-go car. After visiting the entire county, Zhao Yi drove down to the countryside to Zhou Zhigang's house.
When they arrived at Zhou Zhigang's house, it was already 4 pm. They were not at home and were still at work. When Zhao Yi parked the car outside the yard, he pushed the yard door and found that it was not locked.
When Zhao Yi pushed open the courtyard door and entered, Zhou Jinyu came out of his room. He probably noticed something moving in the courtyard and came out to take a look.
"Why are you here?" Zhou Jinyu asked in surprise.
"This is not about going to the city to do something. After the things are done, I stopped by to see Uncle Zhou and Aunt Wang. Are you on summer vacation?" Zhao Yi asked.
"Well, I just came back a few days ago. I've finished all the things in school, so I'm going home to stay for a few days. I'm going to go back in a few days. You're back just in time. I'll take your plane back." Zhou Jinyu said happily. .
"Okay, you can make arrangements yourself. Uncle Zhou and Aunt Wang are still at work?" Zhao Yi asked.
"Are you confused? My dad's school is also on summer vacation. He went out for a walk, but my mom is still at work." Zhou Jinyu said.
"Oh, come with me to the car and unload the things. I brought some gifts for Uncle Zhou and Aunt Wang." Zhao Yi said to Zhou Jinyu.
"Oh, what gifts did you bring?" Zhou Jinyu asked as he followed Zhao Yi out.
"It's nothing, just the same as usual, just some mutton and beef from Maowusu, and some fruit wine. The other gifts are nothing fancy. Only these, you may not be able to buy them if you have money." Zhao Yi said.
It took the two of them several times to move the gifts in the car. It was not that Zhao Yi's car was big, but that Zhao Yi and the security personnel's cars were all full. Three cars in a row could indeed hold a lot of things.
The car and security personnel on Zhao Yi's side were indeed a bit cool, and all the children who had already gone on summer vacation came over to see the strange thing. Seeing this, Zhou Jinyu quickly took out a lot of candies from home and distributed them to these children.
A little girl about 10 years old asked, "Sister Jinyu, is that your brother-in-law?" while accepting the candy from Zhou Jinyu.
Hearing the little girl's words, Zhou Jinyu's face suddenly turned red, and she said in an angry tone: "Don't talk nonsense, it's your brother Zhao, don't you recognize him?"
"Oh, when Brother Zhao came here before, there were no such beautiful cars." The little girl said.
"I bought it new and drove it back for the first time." Zhou Jinyu said.
At this time, Zhao Yi, who had been packing things in the room, came out and saw Zhou Jinyu handing out candies to the children. He smiled and said, "How old are you? You even prepared candies to bring back."
After hearing Zhao Yi's words, Zhou Jinyu rolled her eyes, ignored him, and continued talking to the little girl, while other children gathered around the car to look at her curiously.
Not to mention the luxury car Zhao Yi was riding in, it was an ordinary car that was rarely seen here. This reminded Zhao Yi of his previous life, when he climbed onto the back of a hand-held tractor. He remembers one time when he used too much force. , bumping his feet together.
It took a long time to heal. Fortunately, the bones of the foot were not damaged, but there were only some skin injuries. Although they were a little ugly, they were not serious.
Seeing that the children like cars so much and have nothing to do now, Zhao Yi said to the children: "Brother will take you to the car, okay?"
"Okay!!!" the children replied with loud voices.
After hearing the affirmative answer, Zhao Yi asked other security personnel to stay here. Each car had only one driver, and he himself acted as the driver. The children were also very conscious and hurriedly ran into the car to grab a seat.
Seeing that the little girl was about to move, Zhou Jinyu asked her to sit in Zhao Yi's car, then drove a boy in the passenger seat to the back and let the little girl sit in.
Zhou Jinyu didn't come up herself. She closed the car door and told Zhao Yiyi: "Drive carefully."
"I know."
Zhao Yi's motorcade then drove around the town several times. Since the town was not big, it only took half an hour after 5 laps, and finally stopped back in Zhou Zhigang's yard.
After the little girl got off the car, Zhou Jinyu asked, "Is it fun?"
"It's so fun, it's very comfortable to sit on, and it's very cool inside. I really want to sit there again." The little girl said excitedly.
"You have to study hard and you will be able to buy a car by yourself in the future, you know?" Zhou Jinyu said to the little girl.
Zhao Yi smiled and said nothing after listening to Zhou Jinyu's words. If you want to buy a car in the future, you don't have to be good at studies. Ordinary working-class people should be able to afford it.
Otherwise, what's the point of building so many highways? It's just to make all Chinese people able to afford cars, and at the same time, they can afford cars.
At around six o'clock, Zhou Zhigang finally came back and saw these three super luxury cars at a glance. Zhou Zhigang turned around several times and was amazed because they were really beautiful.
Entering the yard, I saw Zhao Yi and Zhou Jinyu each holding a chair and lying under the pergola, chatting.
As soon as Zhao saw Zhou Zhigang coming in, he quickly sat up and said, "Hello, Uncle Zhou!"
"Well, Zhao Yi, the car outside is yours, right? Why haven't you seen this kind of car before?" Zhou Zhigang asked.
"Well, this is a new model. It's not sold outside. I've only been driving it for a few months." Zhao Yi asked.
Just after the three of them chatted for a while, Wang Huilan finally came back from get off work.
Since Zhao Yi is only staying here for one night, he will take a flight to Hong Kong early tomorrow morning.
So the dinner was quite sumptuous. Wang Huilan took out almost all the good things at home and cooked it, which made Zhou Jinyu feel a little bit appreciative.
During the meal, through chatting, Zhao Yi learned that the supply and marketing cooperative in the town had closed down. The reason was that a new department store that was larger than the supply and marketing cooperative had opened in the town. It not only had a complete range of products, but also had a much better service attitude. .
Under such circumstances, of course, the supply and marketing cooperative had fewer and fewer customers, and the department store became more and more popular. After a few months, the supply and marketing cooperative finally couldn't hold on anymore and closed.
And Wang Huilan now works in that new department store, otherwise she would also be one of the laid-off workers.
However, according to Wang Huilan, in fact, most of the employees of the supply and marketing cooperative were recruited by that department store. Only a few with bad character did not get in. Although the workload is heavier than before, they are more comfortable than before. too much.
In the past, jobs in supply and marketing cooperatives were very popular. Many technical secondary school graduates were rushing to join supply and marketing cooperatives. In an era of scarce supplies, this was indeed a lucrative job.
However, as domestic materials become more and more abundant, many commodity bills have been cancelled, and the work of supply and marketing cooperatives is no longer so special. As more and more stores become available, their advantages will be further weakened, and eventually they will be laid off and changed jobs.
This is just a microcosm of the times. In an era of drastic social and economic changes, many professions are facing this dilemma. Only those who adapt to the development of the times can survive and become more successful as they live.
The next day, after breakfast, Zhao Yi was ready to take Zhou Jinyu back to Nanchang. Before leaving, Zhao Yi suddenly wanted to see that department store. Those who can afford to open a department store in this era are definitely worth a lot. Not to mention in this small town.
So he was a little curious, so he took Zhou Jinyu and Zhao Yi to spare some time to go and see the department store. The signboard of the store said "Convenience Department Store". This name was a bad name in the past life, and there was nothing unusual about it.
However, Zhao Yi saw a slightly smaller logo under the signboard, with the word "Shangtong" in seal script and a red circle outside, which was the logo of Shangtong Trading Company.
In other words, this convenience department store was actually opened by Shangtong Trading Company and was part of their sales terminal sinking plan.
This department store does both retail and wholesale. The retail mainly caters to the residents of the town, while the wholesale caters to the grocery stores in the surrounding villages. The grocery stores in the villages below have a long way to go to the county to purchase goods.
"I asked why I wanted to go around in a circle. It turned out that I wanted to see this department store." Zhou Jinyu said.
"Isn't it because I care about Aunt Wang's work? I also want to see how this department store is doing." Zhao Yi said with a smile.
After Zhou Jinyu heard this, he nodded and no longer cared about this issue.
After reading it, Zhao Yi took Zhou Jinyu and drove directly to Nanchang. The journey took three and a half hours, which was quite far. After all, there was Poyang Lake in the middle. If a cross-lake bridge was built directly from Xiaoyang County, the distance would be shortened to just over an hour.
After arriving at the airport and getting on the plane, Zhao Yiyi said to Zhou Jinyu, "Let me go to Hong Kong first, it will only take two or three days."
"Okay, I haven't seen Lin Hexia for about half a year. Let's go and get together with her this time." Zhou Jinyu said with a smile.
This time Zhao came to Hong Kong, firstly to see how the Hong Kong Housing Company's new city construction was going, secondly to see how the Hong Kong Telecom Company's information high-speed network layout was completed, and thirdly to see how their mobile business was developing. .
The most important thing is that Zhao Yi has not seen Lin Hexia for more than half a year. The purpose of coming here this time is to meet her. After all, the above three reasons are not sufficient. These can all be known from the monthly report.
Before the plane took off, Zhao Yi called Lin Hexia and told her that his plane would take off immediately. When Zhao Yi's plane landed in Hong Kong, Lin Hexia was already at the airport to pick him up.
Then everyone left from the VIP channel. Now Lin Hexia's identity is relatively sensitive. Both the serious media and the gossip media want to find some news from her.
It's just that these media have never been given a chance before. Lin Hexia's life is very regular, let alone those gossips. No matter how determined the paparazzi is, there is nothing they can do to Lin Hexia.
So this time Lin Hexia came to pick up the plane, and he was very cautious. The only person who could ask Lin Hexia to pick up the plane in person was either a person with a very good relationship, or his immediate boss.
No matter which identity the person comes over, it will arouse the interest of the Hong Kong media, and Zhao Yi does not want to make himself the focus of the news, so he keeps a low profile as much as possible.
The group of people drove directly to the Barker Road Villa. The security here was very strict, so there was no need to worry about being secretly photographed by others. The privacy was very good.
On this day, Zhao Yi didn't plan to work, so he stayed in the villa with Lin Hexia and Zhou Jinyu, reminiscing about old times, or playing in the swimming pool on the top floor. Life was quite comfortable.
On the third day, Zhao Yi entered work mode and summoned He Pinyun to the villa to ask about the situation of Hong Kong Telecommunications Company. Elsewhere, Hengtong Communications Company was still discussing with the host country about building submarine optical fiber.
As for Hong Kong Telecom, a company with mobile business, Zhao Yi hopes that Hong Kong Telecom and Hengtong Communications will directly build transnational optical fibers to connect the world's Internet.
"Have you obtained the mobile operating rights in European and American countries?" Zhao Yi asked directly.
"It's probably very difficult. These countries are very determined. More than a year has passed and they still haven't let go." He Pinyun said helplessly.
"What about Japan and South Korea?"
"It's similar to European and American countries, except that they didn't reject it immediately, but they kept delaying it and cooperated with their domestic consortium, but there was no progress."
After hearing what He Pinyun said, Zhao Yi was silent for a long time. It seemed that they were very wary of Hong Kong Telecommunications Company and would rather delay than cooperate with Hong Kong Telecommunications Company.
It was better before, but now Hong Kong Telecommunications Company is owned by the Umbrella Holdings Company, and another company under the Umbrella Holdings Company, the Hong Kong Housing Company, has just had a battle with the British Hong Kong government.
Now the nature of Hong Kong Telecommunications Company has made these European and American countries quite vigilant. It is no longer possible to achieve the set goals.
"Then choose to give up, stop wasting energy, and focus your main energy on Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern countries. Just build mobile networks in these countries." Zhao Yi said.
"Okay, I understand." He Pinyun said.
"What about the information high-speed network? What achievements have it made?" Zhao Yi asked.
“In countries where we have mobile operations, permits to build optical fiber have been obtained and construction is already underway.
It is expected that by the middle of next year, the construction of the backbone network will basically be completed, and Hong Kong has now completed the construction and can be activated at any time. He Pinyun said.
After hearing what He Pinyun said, Zhao nodded and asked, "What about Europe, the United States, Japan, South Korea and other countries?"
“In terms of Internet business expansion, it is not as difficult as mobile business. We cooperate with local companies, and we basically hold the majority of the shares.
After all, we have technology and funds, and the companies we choose to cooperate with are not very large. The governments of these countries have not deliberately made things difficult in this regard, and the progress has been relatively smooth. He Pinyun said.
The Internet is a relatively new thing. Currently, governments do not pay as much attention to it as mobile services, so the sensitivity is relatively low.
This can be considered good news among many bad news. Although it does not meet expectations, it is better than nothing. (End of chapter)