Reborn in 1977

“Three years?”

Zhou Yali lay on the table, still hugging the little monkey, and said weakly, “Why does it take three years? You could build a new house in three years.”

Now the little monkey wasn't afraid of her anymore. Its body was being hugged and couldn't move, so it waved its claws and rummaged through her hair, but unfortunately, it couldn't find anything. Its eyes were full of confusion.

It remembered being held by its mother when it was little and being able to find small insects as snacks, ah?

Chen Fan leaned back in his chair, took a sip of tea, and had a faint smile on his face, “Don’t you like ancient architecture? Since it's restoring the old to its original state, it must be restored to its original appearance. Then all the patterns and decorations have to be drawn manually, which cannot be completed in a short time.

First, the later haphazard constructions must be demolished, and the trenches used for burying modern facilities must be excavated. Then, the main building must be repaired. At the same time, the delicate parts such as caisson ceilings and doors and windows must be disassembled, cleaned, and reassembled. Finally, they must be painted, painted, and restored, and furniture must be made according to the regulations of the year, as well as fine-tuning based on modern comfortable living.

With this set of procedures, three years is considered fast. Even if it's one or two years slower, it's not impossible.”

Zhou Yali raised her head and took a deep breath. “Five years?”

Chen Fan smiled, “I'm just saying it's possible. Maybe they'll increase manpower and complete it ahead of schedule in order to earn more foreign exchange.”

The restoration work of Ning Jun Wangfu in later generations took more than three years, even with the lack of the West Wing and the addition of many advanced construction equipment and methods. Therefore, Chen Fan never expected them to be able to complete the restoration quickly, and he had already prepared for a protracted war.

Anyway, there was no shortage of houses to live in, so he might as well lay the foundation once and for all.

Lest relevant laws on the protection of ancient buildings be introduced in the future, and even installing an air conditioner would require an application, which would be troublesome.

Hearing what he said, Zhou Yali resigned herself to her fate, “Forget it. Didn't you say that the villa in Shanghai has been repaired? I'd better go and see how it is there.”

Chen Fan took a sip of tea and said with a smile, “Okay, actually, if you hadn't come to Beijing for a meeting, I would have gone to Shanghai long ago. That's it, I'll go buy air tickets later and call Lili to clean up the room for you.”

Putting down the teacup, he asked again, “Are you staying in that small building or directly in the villa?”

Zhou Yali blinked and looked at him blankly, “Can't we stay at your house?”

Chen Fan glanced at her, “It's not that you can't stay, it's just that you've already bought a house, and you still want to stay at my place?”

Zhou Yali opened her mouth to say something. At this moment, Zhou Zhengdong came down the stairs with a notebook and said loudly, “Don't rush to move in. It's not too late to arrange it after the office is opened.”

Saying that, he walked over and sat opposite Chen Fan. Liu Juan immediately brought a cup of tea.

Zhou Zhengdong said thank you with a smile, then opened his notebook and said to Chen Fan, “During the negotiations some time ago, we talked about some general things. I won't mention the specific content, anyway, it's nothing more than trade and navigation.

In general, everyone is heading in the same direction, and there are no problems with the route. It's almost what you guessed last time, so there's nothing to talk about. I'll tell you about my company's arrangements.”

He looked at the notebook, then raised his head, “I have decided to open two offices in Beijing and Shanghai in the first half of next year, mainly to provide consulting and services to foreign companies intending to invest in China.”

Chen Fan nodded, waiting for him to continue.

But after waiting for him to take out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, light it, and spit out a puff of smoke, he still didn't hear the following, and couldn't help but look surprised, “And then?”

Zhou Zhengdong also picked up a cigarette, lit it, looked at him and smiled slightly, “Then it depends on you.”

Chen Fan widened his eyes, “What do you mean?”

Zhou Yali smiled from the side, “It means asking you to help find two office locations, the venues should be a little spacious, and then show your face at the right time to support Dad.”

Chen Fan blinked frantically, looked at her, then looked at his uncle, spread his hands, “Is that all? Don't you invest or open a factory or something?”

Zhou Zhengdong grinned and chuckled, without saying anything, just pointing to his daughter next to him.

Zhou Yali sat up straight, hugged the two little monkeys in her arms, and chuckled, “That's my business, it has nothing to do with my dad.”

Chen Fan bit his cigarette butt and glanced over, “What do you mean?”

Zhou Yali coughed dryly, put on a businesslike professional face, “Brother, this is how it is.”

She really wanted to make a gesture to add a little persuasiveness, but she couldn't bear to part with the little monkey in her arms, so she could only tighten her grip and said seriously, “First of all, Zhou's main business is mainly in real estate, international trade, and commercial retail. Other things are either icing on the cake, such as banks, or have other purposes, such as the publishing company that has now been assigned to the two of us, which is actually mainly to serve the Chinese in New York State, and is not for profit at all.

Of course, it is now very profitable, more profitable than all of Zhou's other businesses combined. But this is not the key, the key is what? According to the content and results of the negotiations during this period, it is already very clear that real estate is not within the scope of open business, so give up.

Finance is even more impossible, so the banking industry cannot enter. As for international trade, China has a monopoly on imports and exports. Zhou can contact them as an agent, but there is no need to set up a branch office specifically. Just hang an office in the office and arrange someone to handle it.

Then there is manufacturing, the most common and most important module in cross-border investment, to put it bluntly, it is a factory. It is a pity…”

Zhou Yali finally reluctantly let go of the little monkey and spread her hands, “The specific implementation rules are still under discussion, but the basic principle is very clear, that is, foreign-owned enterprises will not be accepted for the time being.”

The corners of Chen Fan's mouth twitched slightly. He did know something about the last point Zhou Yali said.

Speaking of foreign companies entering the mainland after the reform and opening up, many people know that the first joint venture was BJ Aviation Food Company, and the first wholly foreign-owned enterprise was Chia Tai Kang Di Agricultural and Livestock Group in Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. The company was established in 1979 and registered in Shenzhen in 1981, with the number “Shen Wai Zi Zheng Zi 〔1981〕0001”.”

Then the first wholly-owned company in a non-special zone was 3M, which was registered in Shanghai in 1984.

The Liberation Daily also published a report on the grand opening of the company's factory on March 8, 1985.

Therefore, reform and opening up has never been about opening the door all at once, but about experimenting, correcting mistakes, and then opening up and promoting.

The special economic zone, which doesn't even have a concept yet, is the experimental field for reform and opening up.

Since there is no experimental field yet, naturally, foreign businessmen will not be allowed in all at once.

Zhou Yali looked at Chen Fan and continued, “So, after discussing with my dad, we unanimously agreed that now is not a good time to invest deeply in China, but as the most populous country in the world, once it opens its doors, it will definitely become the largest emerging market in the world. This piece of fat must not be given up.”

So, we took a compromise. We're not rushing to establish a company, but instead setting up an office first. The primary task isn't investment, but rather gathering information, opening up channels, and building connections."

As she spoke, she glanced at Zhou Zhengdong, then turned back and continued, "But, we can't just spend money without making any. It just so happens that when I came back last time, you mentioned considering building a home appliance factory in the mainland. I thought we could make this factory the first project for Dad's office. What do you think?"

After a pause, she looked at Chen Fan and smiled, "This is just the conclusion Dad and I discussed. If you have different opinions, as long as you have valid reasons, we're open to them."

Chen Fan shrugged, flicked off some ash, and smiled, "It's very reasonable, no need to change it."

He turned to look at Zhou Zhengdong, "Since you work at the US Trade Representative's office and participated in this negotiation, then making a move, even if it's just an office, sends a signal. I believe both sides will provide appropriate convenience for this office, which also creates conditions for opening up economic and trade relations between the two countries.

If things go well after the office is set up, you might consider doing a bit more."

Zhou Zhengdong immediately frowned slightly, a thoughtful look in his eyes, "Do a bit more?"

Chen Fan nodded, "Yes. By 'do a bit more,' I mean put forward more feasible suggestions."

After a pause, he suddenly lowered his voice, "For example, the Leghorn Free Port."

The Leghorn Free Port, established in Genoa, Italy in 1547, aimed to attract international trade and investment through tax-free policies and is recognized as the world's first special economic zone.

Hearing this, Zhou Zhengdong didn't react immediately… after all, his field was law, not economics, especially international trade.

But Zhou Yali already understood Chen Fan's meaning and said softly, "Establish a Chinese 'free port'?!"

Looking at his daughter, Zhou Zhengdong finally understood Chen Fan's meaning, and his eyes lit up, "That's a good idea!"

Chen Fan smiled and continued, "I'm just giving an example. Other suggestions are also welcome. For example, Yali just mentioned not accepting wholly foreign-owned enterprises for the time being. Then, could we consider joint ventures? Joint ventures don't necessarily require capital investment; technology, equipment, human resources, and even land are all elements that can be chosen."

Zhou Zhengdong took a pen and scribbled notes in his notebook, nodding slightly from time to time, clearly taking his nephew's advice to heart.

After her father finished recording, Zhou Yali smiled from the side, "Little brother, let me update you. Our tech company is doing quite well now."

Chen Fan picked up his teacup and took a sip, looking at her with a smile, "How well?"

Zhou Yali, "It's about the Chinese character card. We've now partnered with Apple. They'll offer computer products with Chinese software in the market, and they'll mainly source those modules from us.

Additionally, we've produced 100,000 Chinese character cards through OEM manufacturing. The first batch has already been released to the market and is very popular in Chinese communities. The returns are quick…"

Hearing this, Chen Fan couldn't help but ask, "What's the price?"

Zhou Yali gestured with her hand, playfully saying, "Not too much, just $999!"

"Pfft…"

Chen Fan spat a mouthful of tea onto the ground. He wiped his mouth, looked up, and asked in astonishment, "How much?"

Zhou Yali blinked, "$999."

Chen Fan stared, "Why is it so expensive?"

An Apple computer only costs $1500, but the Chinese character card costs $999? How can you sell that?

Zhou Yali said innocently, "The latest memory chips cost $299 alone. Including processing fees, logistics, and channel fees, the cost is almost $450.

Electronic products are inherently high-profit, high-tech products. We're only selling it for $999 retail, which is already very reasonable."

Chen Fan blinked, somewhat speechless.

He had told Professor Huang of Jiangda University that this thing wasn't expensive, just a few hundred dollars.

But the hardware procurement alone costs three hundred dollars?

Uh, $999 is still considered a few hundred, so I shouldn't be lying, right?

But thinking that Professor Huang hadn't contacted him since then, he felt inexplicably guilty.

Chen Fan took a couple of breaths and silently lit a cigarette, "Okay, continue."

Zhou Yali, "Oh."

She tilted her head and thought for a moment before saying, "Originally, the tech company didn't have any money in the beginning, but didn't the publishing house make a lot of money? So I used the publishing house as a guarantor and borrowed $10 million from Zhouji Bank as seed money to start shipping the Chinese character cards.

The target market for the Chinese character card is mainly the Chinese communities in Western countries, as well as Taiwan and Hong Kong here. Sales are currently doing well, especially in Taiwan. The first batch of 10,000 sets of Chinese character cards sold out in just one week…"

Speaking of this, her expression became a little strange, "Little brother, do you know what the most popular function of the Chinese character card is?"

Chen Fan curled his lips, "Isn't it the Chinese character input method?"

Zhou Yali nodded, "It's the Chinese character input method, that's right, but it's not the Pinyin input method you came up with, but the Cangjie input method."

Chen Fan's gaze drifted over.

What does that mean? Are you saying I'm unreliable and lost to someone else?

Seeing his expression, Zhou Yali chuckled dryly, then her expression changed and she said seriously, "Of course, I'm not saying your Pinyin input method is bad. Blame those people for being ignorant, they don't even know Pinyin and refuse to learn it, preferring to memorize the shapes of the characters instead of learning Pinyin. It's too wrong of them!"

Hearing this, Zhou Zhengdong silently closed his notebook and took out a cigarette, putting it in his mouth.

If he wasn't sure that his daughter didn't have other intentions, he might have thought that this girl had changed her personality and was actually considering her cousin's feelings.

Chen Fan's mouth twitched slightly, and he coughed dryly, "There's no need to say that. Pinyin is indeed not popular overseas. But when the Chinese character card is introduced to China, the Pinyin input method should be quickly adopted."

Zhou Yali was a little curious, "Little brother, how many personal computers are there in China now?"

Chen Fan's face darkened, and he didn't want to talk to her.

The development of personal computers in China is very fast. How fast? There weren't any in the 80s, but tens of thousands were imported the following year, and then the rate of increase was calculated in tens of thousands.

What needs to be clarified is that personal computers are also called microcomputers, but the two are not the same thing. Microcomputers were studied in China very early on, and many units were equipped with them in the 1970s, but they were basically used for scientific research and mainly for data calculation, rather than ordinary document office work or even entertainment.

But if microcomputers are included, there are many more computers in China now. When calculating the number of personal computers in China in later generations, these machines are sometimes included, and the number of units owned increases at once.