Chapter 171: We Are All One Family of Sheep

Three days later, at Bianjiang's Zhoushuizi Airport.

A De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter, flying from Shenzhen, gently landed on the airport runway.

As the passengers disembarked with the assistance of flight attendants, they saw a black Toyota Camry with a government license plate waiting on one side of the runway. Noticing this, some passengers realized that there might be a VIP on board.

Sure enough, as people glanced at the Camry, a voice called out behind them: "Ms. Yan, take your time and be careful with the steps."

Everyone turned around to see a fashionable and elegant lady, accompanied by a middle-aged man, slowly descending the stairs.

At this moment, several people around the Toyota Camry immediately came forward to welcome the Hong Kong expatriate. Words of welcome such as "Welcome back to your hometown" were exchanged.

"Thank you, Mr. Mao, and thank you all." Surrounded by the crowd, the lady removed her sunglasses and looked around with curiosity, exclaiming, "I didn't expect the airport in northern mainland China to look so good. My hometown is developing better than I imagined."

Hearing this compliment, Tong Kai, the deputy director of the investment promotion office, laughed heartily. "Ms. Yan, you can't use old standards to judge the mainland. Since the reform and opening up, things here have changed rapidly! For example, this airport was originally a marshland called 'Stinky Water.' The Qing government built a racetrack here in the late Qing Dynasty. Later, the Japanese built a military airport here, and it had only four flights until 1972.

But look at it now! We have built a 3300-meter long and 45-meter wide runway and taxiway, and international flights are now available. Over there, you can see the new terminal building, ten times larger than the original. Haha, if you come again next year, or maybe even later this year, the entire airport will be different! You wouldn't have guessed that the name Zhoushuizi Airport comes from a pun on 'Stinky Water,' would you?"

While Tong Kai introduced, he observed the woman, who was rated as a "top-level" expatriate by the Hong Kong investment promotion point. 

Noticing that her face showed no expression, Tong Kai slapped his forehead. "I'm sorry, Ms. Yan, you must be tired from the journey. Let's get in the car. We highly welcome and value your visit to seek your roots. Just provide us with the details of your search, and we will assist you. You can take a tour of our Bianjiang city, and we have arranged a welcome dinner for you this evening..."

With such enthusiastic conversations, Ms. Yan Shilin was helped into the car.

...

Having previously appeared at the State-Owned Assets Department, Li Xian did not fly to Bianjiang with Yan Shilin. Instead, he arrived earlier to prepare for remote control and guidance.

Although the acquisition of Honghua Factory was stalled by the State-Owned Assets Department, the New North Sanitary Napkin Division was not idle. Li Xian's trip to Hong Kong was not communicated to the department, so they continued with their previous plan.

According to Li Xian's strategy, considering geographical location and industrial supply chain, the sanitary napkin production part had to be located in Bianjiang—there was no room for discussion.

So during this period, the division members were actively searching for land in Bianjiang and contacting foreign equipment suppliers through local foreign trade associations.

Things were not going smoothly.

In reality, New North, a company with only local fame, was not appealing to the local government. After half a month, they had made no progress even in acquiring basic land for the company.

The division was temporarily renting a room in a hotel as their office.

Seeing Li Xian's displeasure, Si Yang sighed. "Mr. Li, it's our fault."

However, Shang Fei clearly disagreed with this explanation. "Mr. Li, you haven't seen the attitude of those officials; everything is so difficult! We haven't accomplished much in these ten days, but we've worn out the chairs in the reception rooms of several departments! I don't understand why our private enterprise is treated this way. Can we really fool them, or are we just insignificant to them?"

Seeing Shang Fei's grievance and frustration, Li Xian waved his hand to comfort him. "I understand the situation, and I'm not blaming you."

There are things one cannot say to their subordinates, but Li Xian was clear in his mind.

Despite the years of reform, old ideas from the planned economy era still persisted, making private enterprises less favored.

Even though the New North Company was supported by the Beilin City government due to its quantitative reform plan and held 25% of the company's shares, which made it a semi-government enterprise, it still faced significant credit constraints and was unable to obtain financial support or access promising commercial organizations.

This was the reality for private enterprises at the time.

Even though New North had developed rapidly, surpassing state-owned enterprises in production efficiency and market performance, it still faced severe credit restrictions and was unable to secure financial support.

This situation, even thirty years later, persisted.

At this moment, Li Xian felt not anger but a deep sense of sympathy.

He realized that the road ahead was still long and distant. The brilliance he sought was vaguely visible at the end of a winding path but remained elusive.

With this sense of melancholy, he instructed everyone in the New North Sanitary Napkin Division to stop.

When Si Yang asked why they were waiting in Bianjiang rather than returning to Ice City, Li Xian gave an answer that left everyone puzzled.

"Just wait and see a show."

...

Although the New North Sanitary Napkin Division team didn't know what show Li Xian was referring to, a grand investment promotion drama was unfolding in Bianjiang City.

On April 27th, Bianjiang City Daily published a notice seeking relatives, claiming to find members of the Yan family from the 1920s.

On April 28th, Ms. Yan Shilin, a Hong Kong expatriate, was shown around the seaside resort and the Bianjiang Industrial Development Zone by the leaders of the investment promotion office.

On April 30th, Ms. Yan, feeling the changes in her ancestral land, expressed concerns about local education during a dinner with the investment promotion office leaders. She proposed establishing an education fund with a donation of one million to build five Hope Primary Schools. This proposal was highly regarded by local leaders.

On May 1st, International Labor Day, Ms. Yan attended a sports meeting at Bianjiang Experimental Middle School, specially organized for Hong Kong expatriates.

On May 7th, when there was no response to the notice seeking relatives, Ms. Yan expressed her disappointment. At a thank-you banquet held to show her appreciation to the investment promotion office, Ms. Yan announced her imminent return to Hong Kong. At the banquet, local leaders strongly suggested she extend her stay and integrate her search for relatives with investment in the local area for the long term.

The next day, Ms. Yan showed interest in the proposal to invest in the local area and inadvertently revealed her family's intention to enter the women's health products market. That night, Wan Chunhui, the director of the State-Owned Assets Department of Bianjiang City, met with Ms. Yan with the introduction of the investment promotion office leaders.

On May 10th, Ms. Yan visited the Bianjiang Honghua Sanitary Napkin Factory and several other enterprises. During her visit to the Honghua Factory, she made insightful industry reform suggestions and proposed using Hengyuan Trading Company to expand the factory's foreign trade business. She further suggested acquiring and expanding the Honghua Factory as a preliminary plan for Hengyuan Trading Company's production base in the mainland.

Just five days later, on May 15th, a detailed and complete investment proposal, stamped with all the necessary official seals and offering very favorable conditions, was presented to Ms. Yan.

According to this proposal, in order to deepen the adjustment of the local women's health products industry structure and actively expand the international sales channels of local enterprises, an invitation was extended to Hengyuan Trading to acquire Honghua Factory with an estimated value of 8 million. To demonstrate the sincerity of the Bianjiang government, substantial support would be provided in terms of taxes, utilities, and labor. Additionally, Bianjiang City would allocate 50 acres of prepared industrial land in the ongoing economic development zone for Hengyuan Trading's future expansion. Although not free, the price of 69 yuan per square meter still showed strong sincerity.

Three days later, after careful consideration, Ms. Yan agreed to the investment proposal prepared by the investment promotion office, State-Owned Assets Department, and Honghua Factory, considering the enthusiasm of the Bianjiang City investment office and her desire to fulfill her family's unfulfilled wish.

During an interview with local media, Ms. Yan gave a heartfelt speech: "Several million investment is too small and far less than my deep affection for this land. If the Honghua Factory project goes well, I will persuade my husband to increase investment in Bianjiang."

That evening, Ms. Yan dined with city leaders and investment promotion office staff.

As the dinner reached a warm atmosphere, reporter Xiao Liu captured the touching moment with a camera.

At that moment, Ms. Yan gently clinked glasses with the city leaders, and in response to their thanks for the expatriate's investment in their hometown, she repeatedly declined.

"No need for thanks. It's not about personal feelings for Bianjiang. On a larger scale, since Hong Kong's return to China has been confirmed, we are all one family of sheep after 1997."

It took a while for the attendees to understand what "one family

 of sheep" meant, after which there was a wave of warm agreement:

"Yes, yes, after 1997, we are all one family of sheep!"