Chapter 94

"Sure, I'll go with them to finalize it," Jia Hongjian said over the phone to his father. "By the way, Dad, could you do me a favor and find us an office space after you finish eating?" "Sure, I know what to do," Jia Gang said, then hung up the phone.

Jia Hongjian's idea was quite normal. Although in this era, there were no regulations like in the 21st century to prevent shell companies and fraud by banning the use of home addresses as company addresses, Jia Hongjian and his team were going to do big things! If future partners came to their company and found out it was just a residential home, wouldn't they doubt Jia Hongjian's capabilities?

Perhaps all these efforts to make others think they were wealthy and powerful seemed a bit "fake," and if enemies found out, they might even use it against Jia Hongjian. But since Jia Hongjian had already embarked on this path, would he leave any handles for others to grab? Jia Hongjian and his parents would never tell others how capable they were; he would only let the salespeople form their own impression of their strength.

Was this desire to make others think they were wealthy and powerful just vanity? Not at all! Just like people who didn't understand always thought that 21st-century Zhejiang businessmen, who drove BMWs and Mercedes and smoked Zhonghua cigarettes, were too vain and showy, but in reality, this was just a legacy of their humble beginnings!

Zhejiang could be said to have the best and most numerous small private enterprises. Many ordinary people started from scratch. During their rise, if they didn't drive BMWs or smoke Zhonghua cigarettes, why would others believe in their strength? To put it bluntly, if two potential partners were to choose, one driving a BMW and smoking Zhonghua, and the other driving an Alto and smoking Daqianmen, who would choose the latter?

People are judged by their appearance, just like the Buddha is judged by his gold. Could the old saying be wrong? When one reaches the level of Bill Gates, one can wear flip-flops and a 10-yuan old man's shirt, and people would still think he was genuine. But if Bill Gates had to start over with no resources, would he dare to wear such clothes to do business?

After leaving home, Jia Hongjian went with his mother to have dinner with those people. By the time they returned home, it was already 9 PM. When they entered the house, they found Jia Gang, the head of the family, drinking from a large enamel cup and eating Sanxian Yimian (a type of instant noodles).

"Back already? Why are you eating this? There are eggs in the fridge. Why don't you make yourself some fried rice?" Su Ping said, a bit concerned for her husband. "Forget it... I spent some money today, so I'm trying to save where I can. Besides, I actually like these instant noodles," Jia Gang said. Jia Hongjian almost forgot that in this era, instant noodles were called "fast noodles."

"How did you spend money?" Su Ping's housewife instincts kicked in, and she started to feel the pain of spending. "I booked the Xijiao Hotel for the press conference and auction. The deposit was 30,000 yuan," Jia Gang said, putting down the enamel cup with a troubled look.

"30,000? 30,000?" Su Ping's eyes grew wider, and she looked like she was about to get angry. "Mom, we have to spend where we need to. If we're too frugal, we won't make the 400,000 yuan, right? You can't catch a wolf without risking a child, and you can't catch a thug without risking a girlfriend..." Jia Hongjian comforted his mother and then asked his father, "How about the office space?"

"I drove around the area. The old office building of our Yanzhong Industrial in this community is still there. It's not big, just two floors, and it looks a bit old. The building hasn't been rented out, and it's currently being used as a senior activity center by the neighborhood committee, where old people play mahjong all day. If we want to rent it, it's 1,000 yuan per month," Jia Gang said.

Jia Hongjian didn't immediately calculate whether 1,000 yuan was expensive or not. Instead, he considered whether they needed to renovate the office. If it were the 21st century, Jia Hongjian would have insisted on a luxurious renovation, no matter the cost. But it was 1993! No matter how good a company was, their office buildings were usually unrenovated. Not to mention, this era's buildings didn't even have balconies sealed off. Sealing balconies was something people did themselves with wooden enclosures. The popular interior design style of the time didn't even include hardwood floors; living rooms had tiles or vinyl flooring, and bedrooms had wallpaper and carpets. If people's homes were so mundane, how could company interiors be any better?

Moreover, time was tight, and renovation was simply not feasible. "Okay, let's go see it tomorrow, and then we'll figure out how to contact the police for security and buy Ma Junren's ticket back to Northeast China... There are so many things to do..." Jia Hongjian said, frowning.

"Are you not going to school tomorrow?" Su Ping, in her motherly role, was unhappy when she heard her son might skip school. "Mom, when can't I go to school? If we don't get the auction set up, how will we give Ma Junren the 1 million yuan? Even if I sold myself, I couldn't get 600,000 yuan!"

Just as Su Ping reluctantly accepted this reason, the phone rang again. Su Ping answered and heard a rather unfamiliar girl's voice, speaking in a crisp Beijing accent, asking, "Is this Jia Hongjian's home?" "Yes, are you looking for Jia Hongjian?" Su Ping's eyes darted around Jia Hongjian when she heard it was a strange girl looking for her son.

"Yes, are you his mother? Oh, Auntie, hello. I'm Ye Jing. Jia Hongjian must have mentioned me many times, right?" Hearing this, Su Ping's eyes sparkled with a smile.

Without hesitation, she lied, "Oh, you're Ye Jing? Yes, yes, our Hongjian has mentioned you many times..."

Jia Hongjian, seeing the situation, quickly snatched the phone and pushed his parents into their bedroom before speaking to Ye Jing, "Hello? Ye Jing? You're already in the U.S.?" On the other end, a sweet voice replied, "Yes, it took 14 hours. I landed in New York and then flew to Massachusetts. I boarded the plane at 9 PM on September 25th and arrived in the U.S. at midnight on September 25th..."

"Hey, don't think I don't know about the International Date Line. Don't play that with me." Jia Hongjian scoffed. He had flown before in his previous life. The trip from China to the U.S. "only" took two to three hours, but the return trip took two days due to the time zone difference, which only seemed strange to those who hadn't flown internationally.

"Wow, you're pretty smart." Ye Jing said sweetly. "Oh, by the way, I almost forgot to tell you. The results of the Wang Hongcheng case are out."

"So soon?" Jia Hongjian was curious. "It's only been a day, right?" "Well, how could the higher-ups not have an opinion? In the end, it's just a legal procedure. The court's verdict might differ in details, but the overall direction is the same," Ye Jing explained matter-of-factly. "I called my dad as soon as I landed. He said they basically decided to charge Wang Hongcheng with producing counterfeit and substandard goods, with a sentence of about 15 years, and he will be held in the Qincheng Prison in Beijing."

Jia Hongjian nodded. In his previous life, he didn't know the final outcome of Wang Hongcheng's case. He assumed Wang was imprisoned, but he couldn't recall any media reports of the verdict. It made sense; the victims wouldn't want to publicize their embarrassment. This time, the general public probably wouldn't know the outcome...

But this thought led Jia Hongjian to think of something else. He immediately asked, "What about those who supported Wang Hongcheng or were deceived by him?"

"Let me think... The professors at Harbin Institute of Technology were given major administrative reprimands, criticized nationwide in the education system, and placed on probation. Those with party membership were also given major party reprimands. Basically, their careers are over, and they won't be able to advance further. The president and party secretary of Harbin Institute of Technology were dismissed and expelled from the party, and criticized nationwide in the education system... What else... Why do I have to tell you everything you ask?" Ye Jing teased, leaving him in suspense.

"Oh, because our Ye Jing is the best, an internationally invincible, youthful, and beautiful girl, the dream lover of countless young men, and many boys dream of meeting you. If they could be your friend, they would be overjoyed..." Jia Hongjian, well-versed in sweet talk from his upbringing and experience, knew exactly what to say.

"Ha... You... You know how to flatter!" Ye Jing said, sounding a bit proud. "As for the others, the State Councilor mentioned before, Wang Fang or something, who supported Wang Hongcheng, had a chance to climb higher and might have entered the Central Committee in ten years. Now he's ruined and will definitely be removed in the next reshuffle... There's also a 'Two Bombs, One Satellite' hero, Jin or Liu, who, in his senility, praised Wang Hongcheng's project, and was sent home to retire... The deputy director of the State Planning Commission was criticized internally, given a major party reprimand, and a major administrative reprimand. He's in his fifties, and in a few years, he'll retire and go home to take care of his grandchildren... Then... Then there are those in Heilongjiang. They haven't finished the investigation yet, but the basic rule is that if they didn't take money, they get a major reprimand and internal criticism, and their careers are basically over. If they took money, they won't go to prison but will definitely be dismissed. The reporters from the People's Daily and Heilongjiang Daily in Harbin were directly fired..."

Listening to Ye Jing, Jia Hongjian was somewhat satisfied. He knew that in this era without the internet, even if the central government intervened, the media wouldn't report the outcome, and the matter would quietly end. He didn't have strong feelings about the lack of public disclosure.

He thought it was fair that those people wouldn't have a chance to advance, but he wondered why they weren't all dismissed. A bunch of fools with only primary school education had deceived the country and the people, causing huge economic losses. Even if the central government, provincial governments, and military companies had spent over 100 million yuan, which was equivalent to billions in 2012, why couldn't they be dismissed outright for their negligence?

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