Chapter 901: All-round cooperation between politics and business

Xia Yu looked at the sincere-looking Situ Nan and then at Situ Boshan.

Situ Boshan immediately said, 'Mr. Xia, I beg you to be the guide for my son's political path!'

Xia Yu's face was solemn, and he nodded without hesitation, saying, 'No problem. Since Brother Situ has this ambition, I will of course help you with all my strength!'

Xia Yu knew the background of Situ Nan. He was a top student who had obtained a doctorate in law from the University of California, Berkeley, and was currently working at the US's number one law firm, Kravis, Swin and Moore.

With his abilities and education, he is indeed well suited for politics!

Of course, considering that he is the future head of the Szeto family, and with the Szeto family's reputation among Chinese in San Francisco and even the whole of the United States, his starting point is very high.

But no matter how high the starting point is, the key is to be able to successfully enter and gain a foothold in American politics, and you need the support of political bigwigs behind you.

Xia Yu knew very well that when Stuart Bosan approached him to be Stuart Nan's guide, he was actually looking at his relationship with Ronald Reagan.

Although outsiders always say that the president is a puppet launched by capitalists, in the political arena, power is still very great. Perhaps in some extremely important matters, it is necessary to go through Congress, but in some matters that do not need to go through Congress, the president's influence is very strong.

As long as Ronald Reagan is willing to say a few words for Stuart South, then Stuart South's career will grow very quickly.

Among the Chinese, the Stuart family and the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association can help him, and in the field of capital Xia Yu has formidable strength, and in the political field, coupled with the favour of the US president, even a pig can fly, not to mention Stuart South, who is not lacking in ability.

Of course, the prerequisite for all this is that Xia Yu is willing to step in and become Stuart South's guide and even protector, escorting him on his political path.

'Mr Xia, thank you for your help!'

Sutong Nan got up directly and bowed solemnly to Xia Yu to express his gratitude, his attitude was quite sincere.

'Mr Xia, what do you think is the most suitable path for me if I want to go into politics?'

Xia Yu thought for a moment and said, 'First you have to join the Republican Party. Now that the election is over, you have to go to the Republican Party office in San Francisco to go through the membership procedures.'

'Your first goal is to find a way to become a San Francisco city councilor.'

'I will say hello to Ronald Reagan, who was previously governor of California and has a lot of connections here.'

'Although California is a Democratic stronghold, the Republican Party also has a lot of influence here, not to mention that the Republican Party is about to take power and will definitely find a way to improve the situation in California. I will use Ronald Reagan to get Republican support for you.'

'You have a natural advantage, and that is your identity. As long as you can unite the Chinese in San Francisco, then you will have the room to advance and fight. The Republican Party will never miss this force of yours.'

'After gaining the support of the Chinese, you can then expand your influence among Asians. If you want to go higher, you definitely can't rely on the Chinese alone, you must rely on the entire Asian community.'

'In addition, you must also have sufficient influence in various charitable and public welfare groups and social groups. I will help you with this, and I will explain it in detail later.'

'The second step after becoming a city councilor is to become a state representative, the third step is to become a member of the House of Representatives, the fourth step is to become a senator, and it is not impossible to even plan to enter the cabinet later.'

'Of course, these things are not something you should be thinking about yet. They are still quite far away. The most pressing task at hand is to become a city councilor. It's not difficult, it just depends on how you approach it!'

'The next city councilor election is less than a year and a half away, so the time is tight, but it's not impossible. You are already 28 years old, so aim to become a San Francisco city councilor in a year or so.'

Situ Nan took Xia Yu's words to heart and nodded, saying, 'I understand.'

After speaking to Situ Nan, Xia Yu looked at Situ Boshan again and said bluntly, "Old man, I don't have much of a problem on my side, the key is on your side.'

Situ Boshan frowned and asked Xia Yu for advice, "Mr. Xia, what is your opinion?'

Xia Yu did not dwell on verbal etiquette and got straight to the point: 'I believe that the Situs have a great deal of prestige among the Chinese community and the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, but as you said earlier, the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association is not a one-man show for the Situs anymore, and the level of whitewashing is currently too low, which harbours huge hidden dangers.'

'The importance of Brother Situ in the eyes of the Republican Party depends on the Situs' appeal among Chinese and even Asian Americans!'

'So my advice is that you, Sir, must suppress the other forces in the Zhi Gong General Hall, take complete control of the Zhi Gong General Hall, grasp the direction of its development, and delegate authority, so as not to be involved with the Zhi Gong General Hall in any way.'

'Now the other five major halls are working hard to clean up their image, but the Zhi Gong General Hall is lagging far behind in this regard. One careless move and it will fall into the abyss!'

'The next step is to spread the influence of the Situ family to other groups. The Situ family can fully enter other business groups and associations, become a link that integrates influence, and further contact Chinese people across the United States to take the lead in establishing the United Chinese Overseas Association.'

'Of course, one thing to pay attention to is capital!'

'As the saying goes, 'you need to be strong to be able to do anything'. The Situ family must have enough capital to be able to influence the jobs of enough Chinese people. Although the Situ family has made achievements in the business world, I don't think it's enough.'

Xia Yu understands that the Situ family is quite powerful in the business world, but they only run a few restaurants and stalls, and do some foreign trade. It is enough to support the family, but there are still too few Chinese people living off the Situ family.

Situ Boshan frowned in thought, going over what Xia Yu had said again. He had to admit in his heart that Xia Yu's words were like pearls, and he had analysed the problem very thoroughly.

If these problems could really be solved to the extent that Xia Yu had described, then the Situ family would definitely be able to truly stand at the pinnacle of all Chinese in the United States and become a banner for the Chinese, rather than being like now, when outsiders hear the name Situ, the first thing that comes to mind is his uncle, who had worked tirelessly for the motherland decades ago and ended up standing on the National Day parade.

'Mr Xia, your analysis is thorough and penetrating. Some things really should be done, otherwise the legacy of our ancestors will be destroyed in an instant!'

Stu Boshan said solemnly, his eyes flashing with an inexplicable light.

The Huang, Chen, and Liang families in the Zhi Gong Zong Tang have a history of over a century, and are no worse than the Situ family. The internal politics are full of intrigue.

Moreover, the Zhi Gong Zong Tang is still involved in many forbidden industries. In particular, in recent years, Zhou Tianlong, who was introduced to the Zhi Gong Zong Tang from Xiangjiang, has relied on his courage to fight and his boldness, and his prestige has grown with each passing day. He is aggressive and has more than once felt like a thorn in the side.

The Zhi Gong General Hall had to change course. Not to mention the other major families, at the very least, Zhou Tianlong must disappear from the face of the earth. Otherwise, if the situation continued to drag on, it was not impossible that he would be forced to step down under his influence!

Seeing that Situ Boshan already had an idea, Xia Yu smiled slightly and said no more.

Situ Boshan was already in his fifties, a seasoned veteran, having experienced more hardships than he had eaten rice. He was able to become the head of the Zhi Gong General Hall, and his tactics and strategies could not be bad.

When it comes to the positioning of the Zhi Gong General Hall and the future of the Situ family, especially the future of his son, he will not hesitate to use ruthless tactics.

Now that he has reached a cooperation with the Situ family, the stronger the Situ family's influence, the greater the benefits for him in the future.

In the United States, where white supremacy reigns, he ultimately needs someone to cheer for him, and people of the same ethnicity are undoubtedly the most suitable!

What's more, for these compatriots who are not yellow on the outside and white on the inside, who have retained the heritage of Chinese culture, he also feels obliged to do something for them and improve their living environment.

The better the overseas Chinese people get by, the greater their influence, and the better the future situation of the motherland in the international community will be!

Just as Xia Yu was lifting his teacup to drink and thinking that today's business was more or less over, Situ Boshan spoke again.

'Mr Xia, you are a business genius. I wonder if we have any chance of deepening our cooperation?'

Xia Yu's eyebrows rose, and he was eager to deepen the cooperation in his heart. A relationship with a bond of interest would definitely be even stronger.

He thought for a moment and asked, 'Of course there is no problem with cooperation, but first we need to find a suitable direction. I wonder what industries the Situ family has?'

Situ Boshan did not hide anything and said directly, 'The Situ family's businesses are quite diverse, involving jewellery, antiques, food, catering, trade, retail, etc., but most of them are just a few small shops. The most prominent ones are catering and trade.'

This was not too different from what Xia Yu knew.

He thought for a moment and said, 'Grandpa, we can cooperate in the trading sector. After I go back, I will inform my company that it will give priority to contacting the Situ family for goods to be exported to North America. What do you think?'

Situ Boshan laughed and said, 'I would be happy to do that. Then I would be grateful for Mr. Xia's care.'

But that wasn't all. In Xia Yu's eyes, the potential and influence of trade was not as good as the catering industry.

He remembered the future American No. 1 Chinese food chain, Panda Express. It had more than 2,000 stores and more than 30,000 employees, with an annual turnover of more than 3 billion US dollars!

There were more than 30,000 employees alone, not to mention the jobs that could be driven along the catering industry chain, which could definitely reach hundreds of thousands or even more, and could affect hundreds of thousands of families and millions of people.

Not to mention the amount of tax they pay each year, the owner of Panda Express is definitely a guest of honour at the local government.

Having been in the US for so long, Xia Yu has never seen Panda Express, which means the brand has not yet appeared.

He has thought about running one, but found that he lacks the conditions and had to give up for the time being. He had planned to wait until Panda Express appeared later and invest then.

But now he has changed his mind, and the Situ family can provide the conditions he lacks.

He has quite a few memories of Panda Express in his mind, so he knows that it is not difficult to run.

Panda Express is actually a standardised fake Chinese food, using just six sauces. It is a product of Chinese food being localised in the United States, and the taste can be summed up as 'sweet, sour and spicy'. One of the main dishes, 'Chenpi Chicken', accounts for 30% of the annual turnover. It is completely modelled on McDonald's and KFC.

Since the Szeto family is strong in the restaurant business, the talent and industry chain conditions for opening a Chinese food chain in the United States are already in place. As long as a standard model is developed, it is enough to rely on capital to smash it. As for the minor problems encountered in development, I believe hardworking and intelligent Chinese people can solve them.

The Chinese people have been able to research the myriad Chinese cuisines, so simply standardising Chinese food is a piece of cake.

No one has done this before, simply because they are adhering to the pride of Chinese food culture and their minds have not turned the corner.

'Sir, I think there is great potential for Chinese food chains. You provide the money and I'll provide the people. Let's see if we can create a Chinese food chain brand based on the KFC and McDonald's model. Americans aren't used to authentic Chinese food, so let's give them a watered-down version, as long as they're willing to pay.'

As Xia Yugang finished speaking, Szeto Boshan's eyes lit up, and he felt that it was worth a try.

'Mr Xia, this is a great idea. Let's have a good chat...'

...

While chatting with Xia Yu, Szeto Boshan asked Szeto Nan to go and get a few chefs from his family restaurant to come and discuss things together.

Over the next few days, after continuous discussion and research, a complete cooperation plan was put in place.

In terms of funding, Xia Yu would contribute the majority, while the Situ family would provide the channels and stores. The Panda Catering Co., Ltd. was established to operate the Panda Express Chinese fast food chain brand, starting with expansion in San Francisco.

Xia Yu contributed 10 million US dollars and held 60% of the equity in Panda Express, while the Situ family held 40% and was responsible for operations.

The first Chinese fast food restaurant chain brand that will become popular throughout the United States is officially here!