Chapter 1220: The Current Situation of the Kyushu Industry Group

Although Xia Yu's ancestral home is on the mainland, he was born and raised in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong is his hometown.

Since Cindy and Elena and the others had come to Hong Kong, Xia Yu naturally wanted to show them the charm of Hong Kong.

They had already seen the night view of Victoria Harbour, and there were more magnificent attractions like Ocean Park in the United States, the United Kingdom and other island countries, so it was naturally not worth visiting.

Instead, they had left footprints in places like Wong Tai Sin Temple, Repulse Bay and the Kowloon Museum.

Three days later, the trip to Hong Kong ended, and the group boarded the boat to the mainland with high expectations.

A few days ago, Xia Yu had already asked someone to contact Liu Zhihe to inform him that he would be taking people to the mainland.

But this time was different.

In addition to He Chaoying and Li Qian, Elena is the daughter of the Duke of Howard, Kumiko Sumitomo is from the Sumitomo family, and Cindy is from the Mellon family. None of these identities are simple.

It's better when nothing happens, but if something does happen, it could cause some trouble for the mainland.

Moreover, the mainland is already viewed with prejudice abroad. Although the mainland has opened up, most of the investment in the mainland comes from overseas Chinese, and very little comes from European and American countries. The mainland has always hoped to change the views of European and American countries, so the attitude of these large families and consortia in capitalist countries is very crucial.

Even if Cindy and Elena and others are just here for a visit, they will definitely bring back their impressions of the mainland to their respective countries.

Therefore, after considering all these factors, Xia Yu still informed the mainland in advance so that the mainland could be prepared.

Without affecting everyone's mood, if he can help the mainland in any way, then so be it. At the very least, the mainland will be grateful for his kindness.

As Xia Yu's ship was about to arrive at the port of Pengcheng, he noticed that Pengcheng had undergone another huge change.

From a distance, although there were very few high-rise buildings like those in Xiangjiang, most of the buildings were low-rise three-to-five storey houses, but at least the atmosphere of a small fishing village was almost non-existent. What came rushing towards them was an atmosphere of vitality and modernisation.

'Mr Xia, ladies, welcome!'

After disembarking the boat, Xia Yu and the others were given a grand welcome. The two people leading the way were Li Bin and old friend Liu Zhihe.

Xia Yu had met both before. Li Bin had been in his current position since 1981 and was an old revolutionary, already 64 years old.

'Secretary Li, Director Liu, it's been a long time. I'm really flattered that you waited here for me!'

'Mr Xia, you are our best friend. I often hope you can come and visit, but you are always busy. Now that you are here, how can I not come?'

'Secretary Li, I will definitely come to the mainland more often when I have time.'

'Mr Xia, Secretary Liu also received the news, but he is currently unable to come because he has gone north for a meeting. He has asked me to say hello to you.'

Secretary Liu, as Bin Li called him, was also an old friend of Yu Xia's, and his name was Zhongfei Liu.

'Thank Secretary Liu for me. He is getting old and has a lot on his mind, so he needs to take care of his health.'

'Haha, Mr Xia, I think you should tell him yourself. Secretary Liu is not available right now, but when you return to Hong Kong and pass through Guangdong Province again, he should be there and he will definitely want to have a good chat with you...'

Xia Yu couldn't help but smile helplessly and said with a touch of humour, 'Looks like I'll have to change my route...'

...

While joking, Xia Yu shook hands with Li Bin and Liu Zhihe.

'Mr Xia, let me introduce you to the people beside me...'

Then Li Bin introduced Xia Yu to the bigwigs from Pengcheng that he had brought along, and Xia Yu smiled as he shook hands and exchanged pleasantries with them one by one.

After Li Bin had finished introducing them, Xia Yu introduced the people he had brought along one by one, of course just their names.

There was no need to introduce the others in detail. Xia Yu had only briefly informed Liu Zhihe before, but with the intelligence capabilities of the mainland, the identities of the five beautiful girls next to Xia Yu had long been investigated. Li Bin and the others must have seen the information on Cindy and Elena.

Now he was introducing them, it was just a formality.

'Mr Xia, you have had a long journey. Would you like to go and stay first or come to my place for a visit?'

After Li Bin asked, Xia Yu smiled and shook his head, saying, 'Secretary Li, you have gone to so much trouble. That won't be necessary. I have already asked the Marco Polo Hotel to make preparations. We are just going to stay in Guangdong for a day, and then head north tomorrow to see the great rivers and mountains.'

Li Bin looked regretful, but then he gave a warm smile and said, 'There are countless beautiful places on the mainland, and you must take your time to explore them. Since you already have a travel plan, I won't interfere too much.'

'But you must give me face. I have already arranged for you to try Cantonese cuisine, one of the eight great cuisines of China, this afternoon.

'Since Secretary Li has made the arrangements, I definitely have to come, otherwise it would be a problem if I wasn't allowed to come for tea at your place next time,'

Xia Yu said with a light smile.

Knowing that Xia Yu was joking, Li Bin was also happy to get along with Xia Yu. Suddenly, he put on a serious face and said, 'I really might use an excuse to decline.'

'Haha...'

The group couldn't help but laugh.

Subsequently, the group boarded the car one after the other, and the magnificent convoy drove towards the reception venue arranged by Li Bin...

Li Bin's warm hospitality aside, after lunch, Xia Yu and the others did not linger, and with a large entourage of bodyguards, they drove north on their own.

There were many famous attractions in the future Guangdong Province, but most of them were man-made attractions that had not yet appeared at this time. Baiyun Mountain, Luofu Mountain, Xiqiao Mountain and other natural scenic spots had not been developed at this time, and naturally they were not worth visiting.

In the southeastern part of the mainland, if it comes to mountains, which other province has as many famous mountains and ancient mountains as Jiangxi Province?

Mingyue Mountain, Sanqingshan, Longhu Mountain, Jinggangshan, Lushan Mountain, etc., all of which are extremely well-known, either because their fame has been passed down since ancient times and they have a profound cultural heritage, or because they are naturally haloed, like Jinggangshan.

In addition to the mountains, there are also attractions with a unique cultural atmosphere, such as Tengwang Pavilion and the Porcelain Capital.

Since 1979, Guangdong Province has made great strides in construction for four years.

In 1978, Guangdong Province's economy ranked 28th in the country, but now it has surged to third place. The economy is strong, and various infrastructure projects are underway on a large scale.

The level of infrastructure in Guangdong Province, such as roads and bridges, is also closely related to Xia Yu.

The mainland has limited funds and cannot tilt all of them towards Guangdong Province. Other provinces and cities definitely will not be willing, but a large sum of money is needed for construction, and most of this money comes from overseas compatriots.

Xia Yu's Kyushu Industry Group is the largest investor and has made the greatest contribution to the construction of Guangdong Province.

The predecessor of the Kyushu Industrial Group was Kyushu Industrial Co., Ltd. After being upgraded to a holding group, the vast majority of the original assets were given to the newly established first subsidiary, Kyushu Road and Bridge Group, and then a portion was given to Kyushu Infrastructure Co., Ltd.

Over the past few years, Kyushu Road and Bridge Group has successively invested more than 50 billion yuan in various constructions. The Pengcheng-Yangcheng Expressway, which was initially invested 400 million yuan to build, has a 50-year property right toll expressway that has been completed and put into use. However, because the current per capita car ownership is low, this expressway is temporarily operating at a loss.

It can be said that before the number of cars increases, all highway companies will lose money, at least for more than ten years.

However, Xia Yu did not focus on the initial small profits, nor did he care about these losses. After all, the money he earned in the mainland was difficult to convert into US dollars, and the huge amount of exchange he undertook could not be sustained. It would be better to make full use of it, and the infrastructure that consumed the most capital became the destination of these funds.

Naturally, the Kyushu Bridge and Road Group also became the guest of honour in all cities in the entire Guangdong Province, all hoping to attract the Kyushu Bridge and Road Group to enter, to drive employment while also greatly improving the level of infrastructure in their respective jurisdictions.

However, Luo Yunfei, the president of the Kyushu Industrial Group, was no fool, knowing that this was a bottomless pit, and no matter how much money there was, it would not last. Therefore, investments were made selectively.

Under these circumstances, although the transportation level in Guangdong Province was not as good as in later times, cars could still move smoothly and would not be so bumpy.

However, when the convoy left Guangdong Province and entered the borders of Jiangxi Province, the road conditions dropped several notches.

The bodyguard team was all in high-ground Jeeps, which were very bumpy to drive, and Xia Yu and the others, considering comfort and drivability, rode in a bulletproof SUV specially built by Tiangong Motors Group. Even so, they still felt the bumps.

Fortunately, the journey was unimpeded. As night fell, Xia Yu and the others stopped in a small county town at the border between the city of Qian and Guangdong Province. They were hosted by local officials and then continued on the next day. Finally, at around 11am, the convoy arrived at Xia Yu's hometown.

He's back...