CHAPTER 403: CHAPTER 396: INVESTING OURSELVES

The Mayor and Deputy Mayor were both dumbfounded. What kind of parents are these? No wonder the children they raised are all like bandits, when the beam is warped, the rafters will follow!

But what about the investment? Are we still going to pursue economic development?

"Although the actions of these four comrades are understandable, we are in extraordinary times. We have already established diplomatic relations with Japan. Beating up a foreign guest in public has a really bad influence. So many eyes around the world are watching us, waiting to see how we handle this matter!"

The speaker was Liu Jinyi, who chose his words carefully, subtly trying to shift the blame onto Sisi and her group. After some thought, a smile came to his face as he said, "I have an idea, what do you think?"

After receiving nods of agreement, Liu Jinyi shared his approach.

"After all, we did beat up Japanese people, which has caused strong protests from their consulate. We must hand someone over to quell their anger."

"So who do you propose we hand over?" Mr. Yun asked, glancing sideways.

Liu Jinyi shivered, biting the bullet as he said, "Zhang Jie is Old General Zhang’s granddaughter and naturally has good upbringing. She wouldn’t start trouble on her own. Shangguan Feifei is General Shangguan’s daughter, and certainly also has no issues. How about we hand over He Sisi and Mo Liu?"

Liu Jinyi was actually trying to test how much Mr. Yun valued Sisi. His own granddaughter, Liu Xuelian, had suffered a great deal. Knowing his temperament, he wouldn’t give up easily, but because he couldn’t get a clear read on Sisi, he had held off until now.

Today it seemed to be a coincidence that he thought of this approach. If Mr. Yun agreed to the suggested plan, it would indicate that Mr. Yun did not place particular importance on He Sisi, and then Liu Jinyi would take good care of He Sisi. If Mr. Yun disagreed, then his granddaughter would just have to consider herself unlucky.

"I disagree!"

Shangguan Lie, Grandpa Lei Gang, Grandpa Zhang Jie, Mr. Yang, and Luo Datou opposed in unison.

"Hand over, what hand over? Those Japanese come to our China to run wild, and now they have the gall to protest? Let that consulate guy come here to protest, and I’d poke him dead with my finger."

Shangguan Lie’s temper was notoriously explosive, and his voice boomed like a bell, making Liu Jinyi’s ears buzz.

Everyone else also spoke in a similar vein. Mr. Yun looked at Liu Jinyi with an amused smile and asked lightly, "Liu Jinyi, are you suggesting that I, Yun Po Bi, should hand over my granddaughter to the Japanese to extinguish their anger?"

It was the first time Mr. Yun had publicly acknowledged in a large gathering that Sisi was his granddaughter, which struck awe into everyone. From this moment on, Sisi officially stepped into that circle and became one of ’those people’.

Seeing Mr. Yun’s expression, Liu Jinyi immediately knew things were not looking good. He hurriedly shook his head in denial, abandoning his intention to seek justice for his granddaughter.

Mr. Yun stood up and said to the director with a bitter face, "There’s no need to discuss this further. Those four kids did nothing wrong. They gave way to those little Japanese again and again. It was those Japanese who went too far, and the four kids were merely acting in self-defense. What fault do they have? Besides, if the Japanese are going to bully their way to our doorstep, are we not allowed to fight back? If all our citizens were as spineful as these four kids, why would China need to worry about not being prosperous and strong? Who needs Japanese investment?"

With that, Mr. Yun waved his hand and left without taking a single cloud with him.

Seeing Mr. Yun speak thus, the others hummed and walked away as well.

The situation didn’t develop as smoothly as one might have hoped. The attitude of the Japanese Consulate was simply too obstinate, as they insistently demanded the surrender of the perpetrator.

However, Mr. Yun and the higher-ups had a discussion, and those above issued a statement that investment was not a necessity, and moreover, there was no issue regarding a perpetrator. In other words, Mr. Yun had convinced the higher-ups.

The turning point occurred when a group of students, Sisi’s students, spontaneously organized a march and demonstration after the incident. Initially, only the sophomores were involved, but when the seniors and freshmen heard about the situation, they also expressed their desire to participate.

As a result, the crowd of students gathered in front of the Japanese Consulate grew to nearly a thousand. This was because not only high school students, but also middle school students, joined the protest.

These younger middle school students, even more fervent than their older high school counterparts, declared that they would absolutely not allow the Japanese to act arrogantly in Zhonghua.

Inspired by Liu Yu’s firsthand account, many of the onlooking crowds also became righteously indignant, voicing their firm opposition to punishing such a good teacher. Consequently, the number of demonstrators steadily increased to the point where the consulate staff couldn’t even exit the building.

The strong stance of the students and public, combined with the explicit statement from higher-ups that investment was no longer desired, provided the foreign ministry’s negotiators with a strong bargaining position. The Japanese Consulate was eventually forced to soften their approach.

Sisi, deeply moved upon learning all that had transpired, cried her eyes out during a night-time phone call with Tian Xinhua, leaving him, who had intended to scold and educate her, at a loss for words, and instead, he found himself comforting her with kind words.

Later, naturally, Takahashi and his group left for Japan in a disheartened state. The matter of Songli Company’s investment in establishing a factory was taken over by He Xuewen, Yang Wenbin, and Wang Shishi. Although the amount of money they offered was less than that of the Japanese, the onset of operations for the factory went smoothly, facilitated by Mr. Yun’s connections.

Vice Mayor Yu and his associates were demoted due to their poor handling of the situation, according to Zhang Jie. Vice Mayor Yu received the most severe demotion and was assigned to be the mayor of a small county town.

Wang Shishi had already established an electronics factory in Shenzhen, so setting up another one in the Capital City was familiar territory for him. There were no technical issues to speak of.

He Xuewen sought out Wang Shishi precisely for his technical expertise. He and Yang Wenbin provided the capital, while Wang Shishi brought the tech.

Sisi also invested a portion of her funds - the dividends from Mingguang Film Company and her clothing company, combined with money she earned before, amounted to two to three million. Although not a huge sum, it was enough to acquire a few shares.

The factory specialized in home appliances, such as color TVs, rice cookers, refrigerators, etc. Sisi actually had an idea: during the ’80s and ’90s, the Chinese home appliance market was virtually monopolized by Japanese products. Even after the year 2000, many Chinese still traveled to Japan to purchase a rice cooker to bring back home.

Hence, Sisi wanted the Chinese people to earn this money for themselves, rather than letting it benefit the Japanese.

However, things must proceed gradually; one cannot consume a hot bun in one gulp. It was best to start with small items. Sisi suggested they begin with color TVs, as the technology required for them wasn’t particularly advanced, and China had already developed the technology for color televisions, so manufacturing them wouldn’t be too difficult.

At that time, openly running a factory was not allowed. However, given the incident with the Japanese and Mr. Yun’s guarantee, the authorities turned a blind eye. As long as taxes were paid and the employment problems for urban youth were resolved, all was well.

The factory’s name had been decided upon, chosen by Mr. Yun - ’Ai Hua,’ symbolizing the love for our Zhonghua.

Due to the need to construct factory buildings, buy equipment, and hire workers, He Xuewen and Yang Wenbin were exceedingly busy. Sisi couldn’t help much, so she made sure to prepare good meals every day, ensuring that He Xuewen and Wang Shishi could come home to a nice dinner.

One day, taking advantage of a rare day off for He Xuewen, she pulled her own Daddy aside in the yard to ask him questions. It had been three years, so why was there still no progress between Daddy and Mo Ye?