Chapter 93

The next morning, Lin Qiangsheng woke up groggily. He opened his eyes and found that Evelyn was lying on his side, and his arms were still holding her.

Lin Qiangsheng carefully pulled his arm out, slowly rubbed his numb arm, and then lifted the quilt to get out of bed.

He washed his face in the bathroom, went downstairs, and bought two breakfasts from a nearby bakery.

"Evelyn, I'm leaving first. I've left breakfast on the table for you," Lin Qiangsheng said softly in Evelyn's ear after finishing his breakfast.

Evelyn moved slightly and nodded weakly. Hearing the sound of Lin Qiangsheng closing the door, she opened her eyes, sat up groggily, and glanced around, seeing the breakfast on the table.

Evelyn smiled, reached under the pillow, and pulled out a bloodstained towel, which she casually threw into the bedside table. The girl yawned and lay down again.

"My first time was given to a Chinese man!" Evelyn murmured softly.

Lin Qiangsheng returned to the hotel. Some of the delegation members had already woken up, but they were clearly still suffering from jet lag, looking dazed and unrested.

His mother, Xu Hongmei, came over and asked, "Qiangsheng, where were you last night? Director Gong and Deputy Director Song couldn't find you! The delegation has rules, and you're not allowed to go out randomly. Do you know that?"

Lin Qiangsheng nodded while brushing his teeth.

Seeing her son remain silent, Xu Hongmei didn't know what to do. She sighed and said, "The delegation has arranged visits today. Don't run around again!"

After wiping his face, Lin Qiangsheng said, "Did you finish writing the business invitation letter about finding foreign companies to cooperate with, as I discussed with Father yesterday?"

Xu Hongmei nodded and said, "The leaders took it very seriously and even contacted our embassy!"

Lin Qiangsheng said, "I'll go take a look." He hurried to his parents' room and found several English letters on the bedside table. Seeing that his father was still sleeping, he picked up the letters and started reading them.

The letters were mainly about seeking cooperation with foreign car companies, hoping to obtain technology and equipment from foreign manufacturers, and discussing alliances with world-renowned companies.

Although their Bincheng car factory was just a small local factory, at that time, China's car industry didn't have many large factories. Apart from their factory, there was only the Shanghai brand car. The Shanghai Automobile Manufacturing Factory produced 3,000 to 5,000 cars per year, a very small scale. However, even with such a small production, the Shanghai Automobile Manufacturing Factory was a central enterprise and enjoyed special favor. The Bincheng Automobile Factory didn't have such advantages, but being a small factory allowed it to develop more flexibly and without constraints.

Lin Qiangsheng thought about how Hyundai Motor, since its establishment in 1967, had successively formed alliances with Ford, Toyota, and Mitsubishi to acquire their technology for its own development.

The first stage of Hyundai was from 1967 to 1970, during which it cooperated with Ford to introduce Ford technology to produce the "Cortina" car and built the Ulsan factory with an annual production capacity of 26,000 cars in 1970. The second stage was from 1970 to 1975, a period of digestion and absorption. During this time, Hyundai invested heavily to absorb Ford's technology within the company. In 1974, it invested $100 million to build a new factory with an annual production capacity of 56,000 cars. By 1975, the factory was completed, and the domestic production rate of cars reached 100%. The third stage, starting in 1975, saw Hyundai begin to expand globally. In 1976, the self-designed Pony car was launched, and Hyundai exported 1,000 cars worth $2.5 million to Latin America and Africa, marking the company's maturity.

In the 1980s, Hyundai monopolized the Korean market, broke ties with Toyota, and formed an alliance with Mitsubishi to produce the Pony car. They adopted a low-price strategy and provided comprehensive lifetime warranty services to build their brand, gradually establishing a foothold in the North American market.

Hyundai took nearly 10 years to go from its initial stages to global expansion. It then took another 8 years to establish its own brand and enter the U.S. market.

By 1979, Hyundai had already achieved a dominant position in the Korean car market, and its sights were set on the North American region, the heart of the automotive industry!

Time was of the essence! For Lin Qiangsheng, every opportunity was valuable! As long as he could seize one!

Inviting foreign companies to discuss cooperation was a matter of no opportunity without effort, but with effort, there was a 50% chance of success!

Lin Qiangsheng added a section to the letter about the prospects of the Chinese passenger car market. The Chinese passenger car market was vast! Unlike the Western perception that Chinese people couldn't even afford clothes, let alone cars.

He used the example of the Jetta car produced by the Bincheng car factory. Since its launch, it had been in high demand. Due to national price adjustments, the retail price of each car had been raised to 6,000 RMB, yet the demand remained strong. People lined up at the factory gates every day to wait for their new cars. The factory could only meet the needs of one province, and neighboring provinces, upon learning of the Jetta's availability, also began to purchase cars. However, due to insufficient production capacity, the factory could not meet the market demand.

Lin Qiangsheng predicted that by the early 1980s, China's car market would have a demand for over a million cars, and this was just for official use! With a population of 900 million, even if only one in a thousand owned a car, that would be 900,000 cars! If one in a hundred owned a car, that would be 9 million cars!

In short, the rigid demand for passenger cars in China was enormous, and for a long time to come, China would not be able to import a large number of cars from overseas. Such a large demand needed to be met, and the gap was significant. World-renowned car companies could see this if they paid attention!

The German Volkswagen company had already taken action, preparing to cooperate with a state-owned car manufacturer in Shanghai. Lin Qiangsheng urgently hoped that car companies from various countries would discuss cooperation with their Bincheng car factory.

He drew a simple supply and demand chart for the population and car market, showing the supply and demand ratio of the population and car numbers, making the data more intuitive.

Lin Qiangsheng knew that when dealing with Europeans, there was no need to beat around the bush. They could be straightforward and open about the benefits. Europeans had no concept of personal relationships in business, or at least not with unfamiliar partners. Benefits were benefits, and it was best to put money on the table when dealing with them.

What could attract these foreign car companies? Low labor costs, international division of labor—these were ideal conditions that foreigners might consider. But what would most attract them now was the vast Chinese market.

Lin Qiangsheng explained this to his father. If he were to tell his father directly that he was helping foreigners make money in China, his father might find it hard to accept. These real benefits were the most attractive to foreigners.

After finishing writing, Lin Xiangrong had already finished washing up and was sitting beside him.

When Lin Qiangsheng put down his pen, Lin Xiangrong asked, "Qiangsheng, do you think our cooperation application will work?" He was feeling anxious, as if he was about to seize an opportunity but hadn't quite reached it yet.

Lin Qiangsheng shook his head and said, "I don't know, but trying hard is much better than doing nothing! No matter what, seeking technical and equipment support from abroad is a practical and feasible path!"

Lin Xiangrong nodded and waved his hand, saying, "Director Gong has already contacted the embassy, and they are willing to help us. You can go directly to the embassy to send the fax. Look for the receptionist, Liu Counselor. With the embassy's help, these foreign companies should take it seriously."

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and asked, "What are the plans for the delegation today?"

His father handed him a schedule, which the delegation had arranged yesterday. Clearly, they hadn't been idle and had, with the embassy's help, confirmed visits with many foreign companies.

After all, most Chinese people had never been to the West, let alone out of the country, and had no experience dealing with foreigners. Being in a foreign land, feeling lost and unsure was understandable. Being able to arrange a schedule in such a short time was a significant improvement.

After reading the schedule, Lin Qiangsheng said to his father, "I won't go to the meeting with the French Minister of Industry. It will probably only last half an hour, and my presence won't be useful. I have my own things to do, so don't worry about me, Mom and Dad!"

Lin Xiangrong nodded, and Xu Hongmei nodded helplessly, saying, "Take care of yourself. After all, you're in a foreign country, and any trouble could become an international issue!"

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and said, "There won't be that many international issues. It's just some people back home worrying unnecessarily!" He waved to his parents, picked up the draft, and walked out of the room.

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