One Hundred and Forty-Four: Conditions

"Very well! Let us wait for them outside." Director Xie agreed with Wei Hua's suggestion, and the two walked out into the courtyard. Seeing them come out and sit down, Ding Peng hurriedly poured two cups of tea for them, then resumed his patrols around the perimeter. Director Xie picked up his teacup, took a sip, held the cup in his hand, and asked,

"Mr. Wei! Although our comrades have not yet verified whether the data is authentic, given the interactions between Mr. Wei and us, I believe the data is genuine. Therefore, I would now like to hear Mr. Wei's conditions. If this is beyond my authority to decide, I will report Mr. Wei's terms directly to the Central Committee. I am sure Mr. Wei has no doubt about this."

"Director Xie! You are being far too polite. How could I possibly doubt Director Xie?" Wei Hua replied. "My conditions are not extensive, only two points: First, one of my nephews wishes to become a naval sailor, but he is not yet of age, and moreover, the boy dislikes studying, so I want to send him into the military to receive some education. Second, this GPS satellite positioning and navigation system holds immense military value, but its commercial value is equally significant. I want the rights for its commercial exploitation. Actually, my terms are not exorbitant. I will provide all the construction capital, and your military will design and build the entire system. Once the system is successfully established, the civil commercial exploitation rights will naturally belong entirely to me, and no mainland government authority shall interfere. Of course, I will operate the commercial exploitation according to business rules and will not use this condition as a special privilege. You must realize that the cost of building this system is definitely not low—there are twenty-four satellites that need to be launched, and I estimate the required expense will be no less than three billion US dollars. I am afraid you might not be able to raise that much money all at once." Wei Hua stated his conditions.

"I can agree to your nephew's request to join the navy right now. We can grant him a special recruitment quota. However, regarding the commercial exploitation rights of this system belonging to you, I cannot give you an answer on that just yet. Even though this system would be funded and built by you, I am afraid this issue will not be easily resolved, as it inevitably involves military secrets. I need to report this to my superiors!" Director Xie said after listening to Wei Hua's terms.

"It doesn't matter! I can wait! This is a massive system, and its successful construction will be a tremendous strengthening of the national defense. However, the annual maintenance cost of this system alone will be a huge expense, which I believe would be a heavy burden for you. If the civil commercial exploitation rights belong to me, I can also bear this cost. But this is my final condition; I cannot spend money and receive nothing in return, can I? That does not conform to the code of conduct for a businessman!"

"I understand!" Director Xie said after hearing Wei Hua's words.

As dusk approached, several middle-aged men finished reviewing the data and came out. One of them said to Director Xie:

"Director Xie! We believe the data is authentic. With this data, we can build our own satellite navigation and positioning system, and we will finish it ahead of the Americans."

"That is wonderful! Mr. Wei! I suppose there is no problem with me taking the data back to Beijing first, right? We will rush back to Beijing tonight. As for the conditions, we can discuss them later—what do you think? Next time I come, I will bring the naval comrades along, so have your nephew get ready. I believe I will be back soon." Director Xie asked.

"No problem! Just take them with you. Leaving them here would only give me something to worry about, so it is best if you take them. I will not keep you for dinner, but you must be careful all the way. The road conditions here are poor, so drive carefully." Director Xie left with his entourage.

After dinner, Stone came over again. Wei Hua smiled and said to Stone:

"The matter you asked your uncle to handle for you has been taken care of. Get ready to join the navy!"

"Really? That's fantastic! Uncle, you really know how to get things done!" Stone was overjoyed upon hearing Wei Hua's words. Wei Hua just smiled without speaking.

Less than a week later, Director Xie came to Wei Hua's home for the second time, accompanied this time by two naval comrades. After entering Wei Hua's ancestral home and sitting down, Director Xie said to Wei:

"After deliberation by the central leadership, your conditions have basically been approved, but they will not be implemented according to your original plan. The intention of the Central Committee is that we will take two to three years to complete the construction of this system. Commercial exploitation of this system may only begin five years after its completion. Furthermore, our military must hold a stake in your commercial exploitation, and the required share shall not be less than thirty percent. The technical personnel required by the company will be provided by our military, while the maintenance costs of the entire system will be borne by the commercial exploitation company. The military will also shoulder thirty percent of the maintenance costs for the first five years. What do you think?"

"No problem!" Wei Hua said.

The main reason Wei Hua agreed to this condition was that it was currently 1984, and domestic electronic technology was not developing very rapidly; the commercial value of the satellite positioning system could not yet be fully realized. Waiting five years before commercial exploitation was entirely acceptable. Even when commercial exploitation began, Wei Hua would need to find someone else to run it. People close to him must never step forward into the spotlight; otherwise, the Americans would undoubtedly cause trouble for him. This was genuine American technology after all, and the CIA would certainly investigate.

Thinking of this, Wei Hua said to Director Xie:

"Director Xie! I have one additional condition: you must maintain strict confidentiality, and the source of the technology must not be leaked. Our cooperation must also remain confidential and under no circumstances be divulged. The funds you need will be delivered to you through secret channels. I do not want the Americans giving me trouble over this matter. You must understand that once the US government targets me, my losses will be enormous. You should know that the majority of my assets are currently in the United States."