Binjiang Police Affa Chapter 788 - 534: The Child Plays an Adult’s Game

Chapter 788: Chapter 534: The Child Plays an Adult’s Ga

"We couldn’t have made so much money without your and Old Wang’s help; this is truly a token of our appreciation."

"We’ve accepted your goodwill, but you should take back the tobacco, alcohol, and money."

"I’ve already brought them here; how can I take them back?"

"President Wu, are we going to continue our relationship?"

"Of course, we are!"

"If you want to maintain our relationship, take the items and money back. As for the help, I work for Port Supervision, and San’er is an official in the developnt zone. It’s our job to help—it could be said that this is what we do."

"Yes, President Wu, it’s our job to help you, and besides, you are also contributing to Linghai’s economic developnt."

Thinking it over, Han Yu said with a chuckle: "Actually, you’ve helped us a lot over the years. You’ve been a huge help at work, and you’ve even greatly helped my family with private matters. Without you, my father’s new ship wouldn’t have been built so quickly, and as far as I know, you hardly made any money building that new ship for us."

"Salted Fish, Ningning, listen to ..."

"President Wu, no more talk. We’ve acknowledged your and President Wang’s kindness, but we definitely won’t accept the items or money. Besides, we’ve known you for a long ti, have you ever seen us accept anyone’s gifts or money?"

The young couple firmly refused.

Boss Wu had no choice but to place the items at his feet and, sitting down, began to discuss his and Old Wang’s future plans as if he were reporting on work.

The city and developnt zone want to increase industrial output; seeing that Cosco Shipyard is interested in the dry dock, the leaders would regularly talk to him and Old Wang, persuading them to either invest in big equipnt like gantry cranes or lease the dry dock to Cosco Shipyard for repairing large vessels.

They even planned to facilitate investnt, seeking strong and capable enterprises to beco shareholders.

The two of them didn’t want to partner with state-owned enterprises and didn’t feel like going into debt to install big equipnt. However, they couldn’t ignore the directions from their superiors in the developnt zone; otherwise, they wouldn’t receive the sa level of support from city leaders and developnt zone officials when big foreign vessel repairs like this co along next ti.

"So you’re planning to lease the dry dock to Cosco?"

"We’ll lease a large part to them; they can divide it into two smaller dry docks inside and repair cargo ships under thirty thousand tonnes. The outside part will remain ours; we’ll use the exterior dock for repairing ships."

"Do you have any business lined up?"

"Yes," said Boss Wu, wistfully: "We hadn’t repaired big ships before, so people hesitated to co to us. Now that we’ve repaired ships over seventy thousand tonnes, Lingda Car Ferry and Lingzhuang Car Ferry Company think we have the capability. Negotiations are almost finalized, and they plan to co to us for major repair and maintenance of their ferries."

I almost forgot that Linghai has two car ferries, with over a dozen ferries.

The ferries carry both trucks and passenger cars, and passenger safety is paramount, which is why there are strict requirents for how often they need dry dock overhauls. Actually, cargo ships are subject to the sa requirents; otherwise, they wouldn’t pass ship inspection.

Realizing this, Han Yu said with an inspired laugh: "Although the Waterway Bureau has its own shipyard where Linghai’s Fire and Towing Ships are built, that shipyard is far in Hanwu. You and President Wang could try talking to the leaders of the Binjiang Navigation Section, and ask if their work vessels could co for major repairs at your place."

"That’s indeed an idea; Old Wang and I will ask them tomorrow."

"The mariti industry is greatly affected by the international economy, and the shipbuilding industry is influenced by both the international and dostic mariti markets. When business is booming, ship construction cannot keep up; when the industry is in a slump, there might be no orders or business for years."

Taking a pause, Han Yu went on: "Not only does this field require large investnts, but it also requires a strong ability to withstand risks. If you rashly invest in large equipnt and introduce technical personnel to get involved in large vessel construction like others, you might make money if you’re lucky.

If you’re unlucky and hit by a downturn in the industry, the money made from building several large vessels might not cover the losses incurred from constructing one. Situations like this have happened before—shipowners back out of contracts when the shipping market is poor, abandoning vessels that are halfway built. What will you do then?"

Han Xiangning nodded in agreent, adding softly: "So shipowners may not want to cancel, but when the market is bad, expenses are still high, and they simply can’t cope, they might even go bankrupt. Where would they get the money to pay for the progress paynts of ship construction?"

"I know, President Wang is also aware, so we’re cautious about investing further right now."

"But there’s a problem right now—if they’re going to use your dry dock to build ships, how can they do so without lifting equipnt?"

"President Wang and I have spoken with them about this; they said they could install the equipnt. We lease the dry dock to them, and they pay us rent. If we need to use the dry dock to repair large ships in the future, we would rent their equipnt and pay them the rental fee."

"That could work. With such a large investnt at stake, it’s the only option now."

"Salted Fish, they also proposed an idea."

"What idea?"

"People are considering things differently than us. They care about the utilization rate of the dry dock and want to get things done quickly. They suggest that we transform the shorelines on the east and west sides of the dock gate into two piers. When the ship construction in the dry dock is mostly finished, it can be launched and moored at the pier for outfitting. This will allow a second ship to be built in the dry dock."

"That kind of investnt isn’t smaller than installing large lifting equipnt!"

"Yes, but the city leaders and developnt zone leaders all think it makes sense."

He and Boss Wang from Changyu Shipbuilding Factory were the first to invest in the developnt zone.

At that ti, when attracting investnt was just beginning, leaders only cared about getting investors, without a clear plan for maximizing the economic benefits of the Port District shoreline.

Now, the Linghai Port Engineering is progressing smoothly and has started to take shape. With Cosco Shipyard deciding to invest and build in the Port District, the city and developnt zone leaders believe that their dry docks should generate greater economic benefits.

But he and President Wang don’t have the capacity; it’s impossible for them to develop according to the leaders’ intentions.

Thinking about all this, Han Yu realized that their current situation was quite awkward, and couldn’t help but ask: "President Wu, have you and President Wang considered taking the money and running?"

"What do you an by taking the money and running?"

"Renting out the dry dock to a major enterprise is just a temporary solution. Once they install their large equipnt on your site, it’s hard to say whether there will be conflicts. Since both the city and the developnt zone now value the dry dock so much, even a major shipbuilding enterprise like Cosco is interested in your pri location, why not take the initiative to exit and take this opportunity to sell at a good price!"

"Sell it to Cosco?"

"As long as there’s a profit to be made, what can’t be sold?" Han Yu countered, then laughed and said, "If you take the initiative to exit, the city and developnt zone leaders will surely feel guilty and might even arrange a new site for you."

Han Xiangning also thought it was a good idea and laughed: "President Wu, you and President Wang are like two kids playing an adult’s ga. I know you both are very dedicated and hardworking, but sotis effort alone is not enough. If you can’t beat them, why play? You can totally start over and focus on what you’re good at."

Previously, to invest in renovating the dry dock, they did not just scrape together all their resources, but also broke their hearts over it.

They did not expect that as soon as the dry dock was well-built, various issues would arise.

Not making additional investnts, not increasing operational scale, and not generating greater economic benefits would definitely displease the leaders. And such investnt is huge, not sothing two private owners can undertake.

The special nature of the industry also dictates that support from leaders is essential; otherwise, just relying on their previous investnts to make a profit is questionable.

Despite Boss Wu and Boss Wang having made so money by repairing foreign ships recently, the truth is that they’ve been in a difficult position. Hearing Han Yu and Han Xiangning’s suggestions, Boss Wu’s eyes lit up: "If the price is right, we should really consider divesting. After all, we definitely can’t scale up to sothing much larger on our own."

"It wouldn’t be appropriate for you guys to bring it up. Tomorrow, I’ll help you ask Tang Wentai."

"Okay, you help us ask. If the developnt zone is willing to buy it back, or if there’s a major enterprise willing to take over, as long as the price is right, we’re completely open for discussion!"

A 100,000-ton class dry dock is a rarity in Jiangnan Province; Han Yu believed there would be enterprises willing to take over.

The more Boss Wu thought about it, the more sense it made. He even made a phone call to Boss Wang right in front of them. Boss Wang was in the sa tight spot with the city leaders and liked Han Yu’s proposal, saying he was open to selling if the price was right.

After sending Boss Wu away, Han Xiangning couldn’t help but ask: "San’er, what if they regret selling the dry dock and bla you in the future?"

"That’s a possibility, after all, no one knows the future."

As Han Yu washed his feet, he continued: "However, looking at the trend over the past two years, shoreline suitable for building deepwater piers and large shipyards is worth its weight in gold. Boss Wu and Boss Wang have unwittingly occupied the best spot. If they don’t cash in now without the capability to expand their business, they will eventually be... pushed out by others."

It would be too easy to drive them away, just go there for an inspection. If there’s one thing not in compliance with regulations, or so paperwork missing, they can be ordered to shut down for rectification.

In short, if soone wants to find fault, it’s just too easy.

After a mont of silence, Han Xiangning asked with a bitter smile: "Would Mayor Shen treat them like that?"

"What do you think?"

Han Yu countered with a question, then said indifferently: "Speaking of contributing to the Linghai economy, those ’illegal piers’ along the Linghai Coastline have contributed to the Linghai economy. Even now, they are involved in loading and unloading sand and gravel needed for repairing the river banks. But I’m willing to bet that once Linghai Port is finished, that’ll be the ti when those ’illegal piers’ are eradicated."

Without getting rid of those "illegal piers," there would be no business for Linghai Port...

Suddenly realizing sothing, Han Xiangning didn’t know what to say, but Han Yu changed the subject: "However, the situation of Boss Wu and Boss Wang is different from those ’illegal piers’ who occupied the shoreline without permission; they were among the first to invest in the developnt zone. As long as they are willing to exit willingly, the city and developnt zone will definitely provide so compensation."