Siheyuan: I am different He Yuzhu

It was almost noon, the sun was shining through the windows of the restaurant into the lobby. Lou Bingcheng came to the lobby of the restaurant early as usual, sat in a comfortable chair, and quietly waited for the president of the Hong Kong Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and the president of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions to come. He was secretly thinking about how to subtly persuade these two important figures.

Just as Lou Bingcheng was lost in thought, Li Wenfeng walked quickly to his side, bent down slightly, and whispered in Lou Bingcheng's ear: "Boss, the two presidents' cars have entered the restaurant gate." Upon hearing this, Lou Bingcheng immediately stood up from his seat, quickly tidied his clothes, and then walked towards the entrance of the hotel.

Soon, Lou Bingcheng arrived at the entrance of the restaurant. At this time, the president of the Hong Kong Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and the president of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions were walking into the restaurant hall with their secretaries. Seeing this, Lou Bingcheng hurriedly stepped forward, with a warm smile on his face, and said, "President Zhang, President Liu, it's been a long time since we last met! You two are still so energetic!"

"Mr. Lou, I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting!" President Zhang of the Hong Kong Chinese General Chamber of Commerce responded with a smile. President Liu of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions also nodded to Lou Bingcheng with a smile.

After shaking hands with President Zhang and President Liu, Lou Bingcheng warmly invited the two presidents to enter the private room and expressed his hope to have an in-depth conversation with them. In the private room, the waiters brought the rich food and wine that had been prepared long ago, and Lou Bingcheng sat opposite the two presidents.

After the three of them exchanged pleasantries for a while, President Zhang spoke first, "I wonder why Mr. Lou invited the two of us here today?"

Lou Bingcheng picked up the cup and took a sip of tea. After putting it down, he slowly said, "I invited Chairman Zhang and Chairman Liu here today because I have something very important to discuss with you. Do you know anything about Hong Kong's tap water supply?"

After listening to Lou Bingcheng's words, President Zhang and President Liu looked at each other and said, "Mr. Lou, why don't you just speak frankly?"

"Before I speak, please take a look at some documents, both presidents." After Lou Bingcheng finished speaking, he nodded to Li Wenfeng behind him. Li Wenfeng hurriedly took out the previously prepared documents on the water supply situation in the Xiangjiang River from his briefcase and placed them in front of President Zhang and President Liu.

Chairman Zhang and Chairman Liu, with doubts, picked up the documents on the table and started reading. After a while, Chairman Zhang and Chairman Liu finished reading the documents, put them on the table, and looked up at Lou Bingcheng, wanting to hear what Lou Bingcheng had to say.

Lou Bingcheng cleared his throat and said, "Since the two presidents have finished reading the information, I will get straight to the point. The two presidents should know something about Lou's situation. I came to Hong Kong from Sijiucheng in the mainland in 1958. With the help of my colleagues in Hong Kong, I have established my business today. Some time ago, I was invited to participate in the Export Commodities Trading Conference held in Baiyun City, Lingnan Province. While attending the Export Commodities Trading Conference, I learned that large-scale droughts have occurred in many places in the mainland since 1959. Until the start of this year's conference, the drought in many places has not eased."

Lou Bingcheng paused for a moment and continued, "After I returned to Hong Kong from Baiyun City after attending the Export Commodities Trade Conference, I was worried that Hong Kong might encounter the same drought as the mainland, so I arranged for my secretary to investigate Hong Kong's tap water supply. I was shocked. It turns out that although Hong Kong is surrounded by the sea on three sides, its fresh water resources are very scarce. The severe drought in 1929 caused more than 7 Hong Kong residents to flee back to the mainland for refuge."

"The population of Hong Kong is now at least one million more than in 1929. If there is another drought, the impact will be even more serious. If there is no food, we can import it from outside. The food Hong Kong eats is also imported from outside. But if more than three million people have no water, the impact will be incalculable. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people will flee Hong Kong. If this situation really happens, it is estimated that all industries in Hong Kong will be in a depression. The first to be affected are those of us who do business. Many small bosses may become penniless."

After listening to Lou Bingcheng's words, Chairman Liu nodded and said, "What Boss Lou said makes sense. Water may seem insignificant at ordinary times, but whenever there is a shortage of water, the problems it causes are often more serious than food shortages. If a drought really occurs in Hong Kong, then in the future, everyone, young or old, male or female, will be concerned about how to get water. By then, workers will not be in the mood to go to work, and factories will not be able to start production. Therefore, we must prepare for the problem of water consumption in Hong Kong as soon as possible! Once a drought really occurs in Hong Kong, it will be too late. I just don't know how Mr. Lou plans to solve the problem of water shortage in Hong Kong?" After saying that, Chairman Liu looked at Lou Bingcheng seriously.

Lou Bingcheng smiled and said, "Hong Kong lacks water because of its small area and the lack of a large river. Hong Kong cannot solve the problem of water supply by itself. Therefore, we must seek help from outside to completely solve the water supply problem for the three million people in Hong Kong and all the factories in Hong Kong. So my idea is to seek help from the neighboring Lingnan Province. Only by relying on the abundant water resources of Lingnan Province can Hong Kong completely get rid of the water shortage dilemma and the development of factories will not be restricted by the shortage of water resources."

After listening to Lou Bingcheng's words, Chairman Zhang pondered for a moment and said, "Mr. Lou's proposal is good, but if we want the mainland to supply water to Hong Kong, we must get the consent of John Bull's Hong Kong government. Without their nod, it will be useless to rely on us!"

After listening to Chairman Zhang's words, Lou Bingcheng frowned slightly and said, "Chairman Zhang is right, but I think as long as we can convince the Hong Kong government and let them see the feasibility and benefits of this plan, there should still be hope. After all, this is a major event related to the future development of Hong Kong. If the water source problem is not solved, Hong Kong's economy and society will be seriously affected. Moreover, we can also express our demands and suggestions to the Hong Kong government through various channels and strive to get their support. But it's noon now, let's eat first, and then after dinner, find a place to sit down, drink tea and talk slowly. Such a big thing as the mainland supplying water to Hong Kong cannot be explained in a few words." After that, Lou Bingcheng invited Chairman Zhang and Chairman Liu to have dinner.