Chapter 277: A Trip to the United States

The news of the K Industrial Park being wiped out spread back to Hong Kong.

Actually, it wasn't just spread back; Chen Jiajun had intentionally publicized that he was the one who did it.

Both Hong Kong and Brunei are his private preserves, and he does not allow any underground organizations to interfere.

Whoever dares to reach out, he will chop off their hand.

The effect of this was quite good, and now the people in the surrounding areas all know the attitude of this Sir Chen.

Those underground organizations that had been eyeing Hong Kong were, overnight, surprisingly much better behaved.

After all, if Chen Jiajun has the ability to wipe out the Piglet Trafficking Group as far away as Cambodia, he can wipe out them too.

Especially those CIA agents who had re-infiltrated Hong Kong; they now dare not move at all.

They are terrified that if Chen Jiajun discovers them, he will carry out another bloodbath.

"What the hell? You even manage this kind of thing?" Chen Jiajun looked at Cao Weicai with some surprise.

The other party didn't feel the slightest bit annoyed; instead, he joined Chen Jiajun in complaining about the air quality in New York.

Lao E suddenly realized and said, "So that's it, you want those underground organizations to be a bit quieter?"

Moreover, it was a top-floor suite at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York; standing in front of the window, one could see the scenery of the Hudson.

It was nothing more than racial discrimination; otherwise, would that company on the verge of bankruptcy not treat a big spender like their own father?

As an ethnic Chinese, Cao Weicai had also suffered quite a bit of unfair treatment over the years.

However, many people did not understand why Chen Jiajun would do this; it was completely not worth it for a Piglet Trafficking Group.

If you wipe out one such organization today, another will pop up tomorrow; no matter how much you kill, you can never finish them off.

He left the gang matters to Lao E and the company matters to Wei Li.

Hearing Chen Jiajun's complaint, Cao Weicai smiled and said, "There's nothing that can be done about it. Because of the wildfires raging on the West Coast of the United States thousands of kilometers away, the cities in the Eastern United States are shrouded in smoke."

One just needs to do well the things Chen Jiajun has entrusted.

A few days later, Chen Jiajun finished handling all matters in Hong Kong.

Chen Jiajun nodded: "Most of the industries under my control are basic manufacturing, which is already failing to keep up with the times. So I plan to go to the United States for a while to see if I can bring back some cutting-edge technology."

Chen Jiajun quite appreciated the young man before him and said with a smile, "A Cai, you don't mind me calling you that, do you?"

Chen Jiajun nodded: "I do have that thought, but most importantly, I hate human traffickers, and since Lao E isn't in Hong Kong, I'm afraid you won't be able to hold the fort alone."

"Damn it, they're almost bankrupt and they're still putting on airs with me." Chen Jiajun loosened his tie with some annoyance.

Cao Weicai's face immediately turned bitter: "These Gweilo are very picky. I estimate you will have to visit them in person; without seeing you yourself, these companies aren't willing to discuss anything."

Their loyalty to Chen Jiajun is one hundred percent; they would never have any other thoughts.

So he whispered to Chen Jiajun: "Mr. Chen, you don't need to be too polite to these Gweilo. If you're not happy, just curse them out directly; these people are all spineless."

Hearing Cao Weicai's words, Chen Jiajun became even more satisfied with this kid.

The first stop was New York, where Citigroup is based.

Cao Weicai smiled and said, "I'm glad you're satisfied. If you need any other special services, I can arrange them for you too."

However, as soon as he got off the plane, Chen Jiajun couldn't help but complain: "Damn it, the air quality in New York is truly fucking terrible."

Even though he works at Citibank, it is the same.

Then he felt at ease and took his inspection team to the United States.

After getting off the plane, a representative from Citibank came to welcome them.

"How are the situations of the companies I'm interested in?" Chen Jiajun asked with a smile.

It is said that standing high allows one to see far; Chen Jiajun had almost the entire most prosperous part of New York City in his view.

I have to say that Citibank's service is still very good; at the very least, Chen Jiajun was very satisfied with the accommodation.

The Citibank representative responsible for welcoming Chen Jiajun and his group was also an ethnic Chinese named Cao Weicai, and he could understand Cantonese.

Cao Weicai smiled bitterly and said, "What can be done about it."

Although Lao E has superior martial strength, he is, after all, not the type to be the brains of the operation.

Because Chen Jiajun is a VIP of Citibank, Citibank had booked a five-star hotel for Chen Jiajun early on.

Ao En shrugged on the side and said, "It's a miracle that these Gweilo can endure it."

"So I am preparing to take some talents from Guojun Group, along with Ao En, to form an inspection team to go to the United States for some investments."

Chen Jiajun is very clear about the inherent flaws of the Gweilo.

He smiled at him and said, "Don't worry, I haven't dealt with few Gweilo in Hong Kong. Whether they are from England or the United States."

Chen Jiajun timely repaid the loan, injecting capital into Citibank, and coupled with his status as an investor, he received great courtesy.

Cao Weicai smiled and said, "Of course I don't mind."

Lao E also understood this point and nodded silently.

Only a few of Chen Jiajun's confidants might understand why he would do this.

Although Cao Weicai didn't say much, it was obvious that he was not very happy staying here in the United States.

"Boss, are you planning to leave Hong Kong for a while?" Lao E said with some surprise.

The only talent Chen Jiajun has in charge of company business is Wei Li's team.

It's a pity that Wei Li is managing Longteng Fund on one hand, and has to be responsible for the business of China Light and Power Company on the other.

If he were asked to handle emerging industries as well, he would definitely be overwhelmed.

So Chen Jiajun had his eye on this kid, Cao Weicai.

However, Chen Jiajun was not in a hurry to speak; after all, the business he came here for had not yet been accomplished.

If he invited him rashly, he might not necessarily agree; after all, compared to a position at Citibank, his offer was still a vague, illusory pie in the sky, and anyone would know how to choose.

After declining Cao Weicai's kindness, Chen Jiajun prepared to rest.

After sitting on a plane for more than ten hours, even an iron man couldn't hold up.

It was the next afternoon before Chen Jiajun finally woke up from his sleep.

He called the hotel to have lunch delivered and tidied himself up, only then letting Cao Weicai take him to his first target.

This was a small electronics company, whose main business was tape recorders.

Just because of poor management, coupled with the stock market crash of '87, this company was already on the verge of bankruptcy.

The company's Boss not only ran a Tape Recorder Company, but was also the boss of a Risk Hedge Fund on Wall Street.

That was why Chen Jiajun was meeting this guy on Wall Street.

Arriving on Wall Street, Chen Jiajun found what was known as the "financial heart of the whole world" to be exceptionally desolate.

Of all the people walking on the street, he didn't see many with a smile on their faces.

Cao Weicai smiled bitterly and said, "Mr. Chen, let alone Wall Street, anyone involved in finance can't be happy at a time like this. Over at the Golden Gate Bridge, it's like people jumping off like dumplings all day long."

"A bit of my own savings invested in it is now trapped, so I can only grit my teeth and take the loss to end it."

Chen Jiajun smiled, patted Cao Weicai on the shoulder, and said, "With your ability, you will surely be able to make a comeback in Dongshan soon."

"I'll take your kind words," Cao Weicai shook his head and said.

Arriving downstairs at the Hedge Fund, Chen Jiajun discovered that the front desk here had already fled.

Making his way to the other party's office, he saw an old white man with messy hair.

This guy seemed to have been staying in the company for a long time, and his whole person exuded an indescribable odor.

Moreover, a pair of bloodshot eyes were staring fixedly at the computer screen in front of him, not even noticing that someone had come in.

Cao Weicai coughed several times before attracting the other party's attention.

"Who are you?" The man looked at Cao Weicai, Chen Jiajun, and the others rather strangely.

Cao Weicai said somewhat helplessly, "Mr. Xiao En, we had an appointment a few days ago."

"Oh, I remember now, you are the people who want to acquire the Tape Recorder Company in my hands?" Xiao En nodded, reacting: "Please sit anywhere; my assistant has already run off, and there isn't even anyone to make coffee, please excuse me."

This Xiao En was still relatively polite, just a bit absent-minded when talking.

Clearly, his mind was all on the stock market.

Chen Jiajun said with a smile, "It doesn't matter, we are here to talk business, not to drink coffee."

"Understood, how much money are you prepared to use to acquire my Tape Recorder Company?" Xiao En didn't talk nonsense either, saying straightforwardly: "If the price is right, I can sell it all to you in a package."

The Tape Recorder Company had been passed down from Xiao En's father's generation, but Xiao En didn't like this company, so even the management was entrusted to a Professional Manager.

Therefore, he had no burden in his heart regarding selling this company.

Generally speaking, for this kind of company with mature technology, a premium is required for an acquisition.

But looking at it now, Chen Jiajun's worries were superfluous.

Chen Jiajun conducted a comprehensive acquisition of Xiao En's company at a normal market price.

This included technical equipment and other things, and he promised to re-hire the previous employees.

There were many such small Tape Recorder Companies in the United States.

The reason Chen Jiajun took a fancy to this company was because of its Technical Director, a man named Li Zhao.

This guy was a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a pure tech geek.

What he liked most was tinkering with inventions and creations.

It was just that his inventions couldn't support his family, and on top of that, this person wasn't good at socializing.

A somewhat withdrawn personality made finding a job a difficult thing for him.

So he was resigned to working at this Tape Recorder Company.

In Chen Jiajun's view, the only thing of value in Xiao En's Tape Recorder Company was this Li Zhao.

This was also why Chen Jiajun wanted to buy it.

Of course, poaching someone was also an option, but Chen Jiajun couldn't guarantee that this Li Zhao would be willing to go with him.

So buying the company allowed for other operations, such as non-compete agreements and the like, to force the other party to submit.

However, these were all inferior choices.

Regarding Chen Jiajun's offer, Xiao En not only didn't feel dissatisfied, but was even somewhat happy.

After all, this Tape Recorder Company was already a burden to him, and being able to sell it was the best choice.

And being able to acquire it at a normal market price at this point in time was already a blessing from Jesus.

So Xiao En was so excited he almost dragged Chen Jiajun directly to get a massage to build rapport.

Chen Jiajun didn't have that much time, and he wasn't here in the United States to play.

After settling Xiao En, he needed to meet Li Zhao, this tech geek, first.

The development of his own technology empire would depend on this guy's level.

The next day, after both sides signed the equity transfer contract, Xiao En brought Chen Jiajun to his Tape Recorder Company.

The company's storefront was already very dilapidated, and there were only a few employees left.

And as soon as Xiao En appeared, several employees rushed up directly, grabbing Xiao En to demand their wages.

Xiao En helplessly pushed the few people away and said loudly, "Alright, alright, listen to me first, OK?"

Seeing that Xiao En had a way to solve it, they had come to the company.

The few employees quieted down.

At least having a solution was better than nothing; otherwise, if Xiao En went bankrupt, these people would have nowhere to cry.

Xiao En said to his subordinates, "The company, I have already sold it to this Mr. Chen beside me; from now on, he is your Boss. Mr. Chen heard about the company's situation and intends to pay you the unpaid wages, and will re-hire the employees who were laid off."

"So, let us welcome Mr. Chen."

Hearing Xiao En's words, joy suddenly appeared on everyone's faces.

With a new Boss, and the promise of re-hiring, naturally, he wouldn't owe them this bit of wages.

Furthermore, they didn't have to worry about where to go to find work.

Chen Jiajun had his Lawyer settle the wages for those few people, then asked about Li Zhao.

"You mean Li? He's still in the back tinkering with those little gadgets of his," the stout black woman at the front desk said helplessly. "He can barely afford to eat, so why does he still have to tinker with that junk of his?"

Chen Jiajun followed Xiao En to the office at the back of the company.

This place was originally an office area, but it had been converted by Li Zhao into a Laboratory.

Li Zhao was a thin, gaunt middle-aged man wearing a dowdy, somewhat yellowed white shirt, and he was fiddling with some machinery while wearing a pair of oversized glasses.

Xiao En coughed a few times without attracting his attention, but instead, Ao En, who was beside Chen Jiajun, suddenly spoke up: "Huh? This circuit of yours seems to have some problems in its layout, doesn't it?"

"I know, but I don't have enough materials on hand," Li Zhao replied impatiently, not even looking to see who had arrived.

Ao En didn't get angry and started chatting with Li Zhao directly: "But if you do it this way, it will greatly reduce the transmission efficiency, and the insufficient current later on will lead to a short circuit."

"Nonsense, I've been testing it for several days, and other than the loss being a bit high, there aren't any problems."

"Why don't you test it out? Power it on and run the whole system to see?"

The two tech fanatics started arguing right there over the device in front of Li Zhao.

Chen Jiajun didn't understand what they were saying, but with this guy's addition, his Walkman plan should be achievable.

The most profitable business in the 80s was electronic products.

Some people even made a killing just by reselling Walkmans, becoming wealthy.

And the Walkman was one of the electronic products with a relatively low technical threshold; Chen Jiajun intended to use this gadget to kick off the technology business empire he envisioned.

The two argued for a long time, and after a final test simulation, Li Zhao's experiment ultimately failed.

The device in his hands was burned out instantly, though he didn't look convinced and said to Ao En, who was standing to the side: "It must be that my materials are the problem."

"Li, can you stop for a moment?" Xiao En couldn't take it anymore and interrupted their argument: "There's something I want to explain to you."

Li Zhao said bluntly on the spot: "Say what? Are you planning to sell the company's equipment to pay our wages?"

Xiao En was almost choked to death by Li Zhao's words.

He rolled his eyes and said: "This is your new Boss; the new Boss will pay the wages you are owed."

Li Zhao said straightforwardly: "That's fine too; this company would never develop under you anyway."

Xiao En's expression was extremely ugly, but now that the company had changed hands, he had no standing to criticize Li Zhao.

He could only greet Chen Jiajun before turning around and leaving directly.

He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would be angered into having high blood pressure by this guy Li Zhao.

(End of chapter)