Chapter Eighty-Four: The Plan Continues

The Tide Rider of Time Travel

Wei Hua was deeply troubled. He had no one with whom he could discuss his next steps; not even Jessie, Mary, Celine, or Sakura Kinoshita would suffice. First, these women had no understanding of the intricacies of Chinese officialdom and could not offer him sound advice; they simply lacked the necessary experience and wisdom. Second, Wei Hua couldn’t explain to them the source of the information he held. Though the four women were not responsible for managing Changbai Technology Lab, they still knew its basic operations—and the lab had never conducted any research related to military science. Wei Hua was acutely aware of the close links between American arms manufacturers and the government; to interfere recklessly, he feared, would arouse his peers’ suspicion and perhaps provoke attacks via the U.S. government. He regarded the American financial market as his personal cash machine and naturally wished to avoid any conflict with the U.S. government that might bring unwanted attention or interference to his investments there.

After more than a week of deliberation, Wei Hua finally resolved to proceed with his plan. This time, however, he would need to enlist the help of the second-generation leadership to establish ties with the military back home. Wei Hua spent Christmas in Hong Kong; Sakura Kinoshita, Celine, and Mary all joined him there, and the family enjoyed a warm, happy reunion during the holiday. After Christmas, Sakura returned to Japan, while Wei Hua, Celine, and Mary headed back to New York. Wei Hua’s purpose in returning to the U.S. was to meet Liu Tianhua; he was confident that, as the former secretary to the second-generation leader, Liu could put him in contact with the right people.

“Secretary Liu, I’ve come to the embassy today because I need your help. Don’t turn me down!” Wei Hua said, sipping the gongfu tea Liu Tianhua had brewed.

“Mr. Wei, we are all Chinese. If I can help, of course I will—especially since you’ve rendered great service to our country and people. But I must be clear: any help I offer cannot come at the expense of national or collective interests,” Liu Tianhua replied, smiling at Wei Hua.

“Rest assured, this is a minor matter for you and has nothing to do with national or collective interests. I am Chinese too, and I will never forget that. My reason for coming today is simple: you might not know, but the products from my electronics company in Shenzhen are now rolling off the assembly lines. The issue I face now is sales. Overseas sales are no problem; it’s the domestic market that has me stumped.”

“I’m afraid I can’t help you with that. You should be talking to the local government and party committees. This is the Chinese embassy in the U.S.—you’ve come to the wrong place.”

“Just hear me out! Apart from a few special zones, the domestic economy is still largely planned. I face major difficulties with logistics, and staffing my retail stores in major cities is also a challenge. I worry how various government and party organizations might view a new player like me. So I’ve come up with a solution and would like you to sound it out with the senior leader. My idea is to use the transport fleets of the major military regions to distribute my products. My retail outlets would be affiliated with the military, and staffing would also be handled by the military regions. Vocational training would be provided by the company. This arrangement would also help solve the employment issue for military families and dependents. Of course, I’m not just taking advantage of military resources for free. We’ll pay standard transport fees; we just need access to military vehicles and personnel. Our company can even contribute funds for new vehicles for the military regions. As for national interests, I can offer the country a special alloy steel formula and smelting process. With this alloy, our tanks’ armor could be greatly improved. I can also provide blueprints for firearms I’ve designed specifically for our troops. What do you think?” After listening to Wei Hua, Liu Tianhua stared at him for a long moment before replying slowly:

“I’m not sure why you’ve come up with such an idea, but I can ask on your behalf. The senior leader remains quite interested in your activities, and he was very impressed by your cooperation with the China Merchants Group.”

“Thank you, Secretary Liu. Please convey my gratitude to the senior leader. If I get the chance, I will thank him in person. I hope to hear back soon, because if this doesn’t work out, I’ll need to find another solution. Time is money—I can’t afford delays.”

The next day, Wei Hua flew back to Hong Kong. Construction had already begun on the Wei family mansion, and he needed to keep an eye on things himself, since Jessie was far too busy to manage it.

A week later, Wei Hua welcomed Deputy Director Bai of Xinhua News Agency to his home in Repulse Bay. Bai brought a response from the higher authorities: they would first need to verify the authenticity of the materials. Without further ado, Wei Hua handed over the documents he had long prepared. However Bai planned to take them back wasn’t Wei Hua’s concern, but the deputy director calmly produced a camera from his bag, opened each document, and began snapping photos right in front of Wei Hua. Witnessing this, Wei Hua nearly slapped himself—how could he, a writer, have forgotten how widely photography was used?

There weren’t many documents; within minutes, Deputy Director Bai had finished photographing them. He put the camera away and turned to Wei Hua:

“If these are valuable research materials, you ought to keep them safe. Leaving them around the house like this is highly irresponsible. What if they fell into the hands of imperialist countries?”

“I consider them valuable, but others might not agree. What’s more, I have a reputation as a genius, but I’ve never engaged in any specific technical research—only in guiding the general direction. And my Changbai Technology Lab has never conducted military science research. Who would imagine I’d have such things at home?” Wei Hua’s words brimmed with veiled dissatisfaction and irony.

Gentlemen! I’ll make up the missing chapter. Please keep supporting me!