Chapter 6: Waterborne Aircraft Carrier
Half an hour later, two Black Mercedes-Benz Cars stopped at the temporary reception area of Yang Junsheng, the founder of the Zhong—Hua Shipyard.
Yang Junsheng, who had changed into a suit and tidied his appearance, was smiling brightly, waiting for Zhou Wenhua to get out of the car.
“Huh? No way!”
“The person I’m supposed to be meeting is a student?”
“Are they messing with me?”
But when Yang Junsheng saw Zhou Wenhua, who, under the protection of bodyguards, got out of the car and introduced himself to him,
his face was filled with incredulity as he yelled internally.
“Did my butler Liu Xing not introduce my age to you?”
“General Manager Yang?”
Seeing Yang Junsheng’s surprised and strange expression, Zhou Wenhua smiled and asked directly.
“Yes! I thought a wealthy businessman older than me would be visiting for peace talks and business!”
To Zhou Wenhua’s frank inquiry, Yang Junsheng honestly and awkwardly replied.
“My father was seriously injured in a sneak attack by a traitor and is recuperating at home, so all of our Zhou family’s business is now handled entirely by me!”
“Since my three elder brothers have no intention of inheriting the family business and are not at home, I am now the head of our Zhou family!”
“I am here this time to discuss a few matters, one of which is that I want to fund the construction of a seaplane carrier converted from a merchant ship!”
“And on this aircraft carrier, a platform will be built with wooden planks to carry seaplanes. Upon reaching the combat sea area, a crane on the ship will lift the seaplanes to the sea surface, and then these seaplanes will take off from the sea surface to execute combat missions!”
“Upon return, they will also stop on the sea surface and either be lifted back onto the ship by the crane or fly directly to a land airport to land!”
“What I need is a simple seaplane carrier like this. Originally, I also wanted your company to develop an aircraft carrier like Britain’s ‘Hermes’ for me!”
“However, your company is currently moving to a new shipyard location and rebuilding the factory, and many of the equipment is not yet in place, so I see that your company currently does not have the capability to build an aircraft carrier like the ‘Hermes’ that I want!”
“But perhaps in the future, it will be different!”
“I am very optimistic about your company’s potential and General Manager Yang’s abilities!”
“Even a few years ago, when your shipbuilding contract with the Second Fleet Commander Chen was rejected by the Navy’s new ship supervisor Li Shijia, along with a large number of engineering and technical personnel from the Jiangnan Shipyard who reviewed the drawings, thus losing the shipbuilding business with the military, I still remained very optimistic about your potential!”
“That’s why I came!”
Seeing that General Manager Yang Junsheng was also being very frank,
Zhou Wenhua suddenly said something astonishing.
Upon hearing this,
Yang Junsheng’s gaze sharpened, and his face was filled with surprise.
The reason for his surprise was that the young Zhou Wenhua actually wanted to come to him to fund the construction of a seaplane carrier. Although it was only a modification of a merchant ship rather than a cruiser, which reduced the technical requirements and difficulty,
it still required a certain level of technical expertise and money to develop.
Of course, the most surprising thing to him was that Zhou Wenhua actually knew that he had personally gone to promote shipbuilding design drawings to Commander Chen of the Second Fleet of the National Revolutionary Army Navy Department in 1928 and had obtained a preliminary contract from them.
Unfortunately, at the final moment, his shipyard was newly established, and even the land for the factory was temporarily leased.
Furthermore, both the factory’s scale, the soft and hard shipbuilding equipment, the machinery, and even the technical capabilities of the personnel in the shipbuilding factory could not compare with the largest, most powerful shipbuilding enterprises at the time, such as the Jiangnan Shipyard and Dagu Shipyard, which had military backing, substantial accumulated funds, and vast networks of connections.
For this reason, the preliminary shipbuilding contract, which was almost secured, was deemed invalid and terminated by the Navy’s new ship supervisor Li Shijia in conjunction with the technical engineers from the Jiangnan Shipyard.
Ultimately, the shipbuilding contract from Commander Chen of the Second Fleet went to the Jiangnan Shipyard for manufacturing.
For General Manager Yang Junsheng, this incident was unforgettable,
as it symbolized the arduous beginnings of his entrepreneurial journey as a private shipbuilding factory without any military background.
At the same time, it was one of the events that motivated him to strive for excellence and persevere.
After losing the shipbuilding contract with the Navy Department,
his order targets shifted entirely to the construction of civilian ships in the Yangtze River basin, where he worked diligently, waiting for the opportune moment to rise.
“Hahaha! It seems that Mr. Zhou, despite his young age, knows quite a lot!”
“You even know about the failed business contract that I’ve never told anyone!”
“How about this! Let’s go inside to discuss other matters!”
“It’s not very convenient to talk here!”
“Besides, I’ve already prepared refreshments to entertain Mr. Zhou!”
However, after his initial surprise, General Manager Yang Junsheng relaxed and responded with a hearty laugh to Zhou Wenhua.
At this moment, his curiosity about Zhou Wenhua reached a peak.
He particularly wanted to know how Zhou Wenhua found out about the shipbuilding contract with Commander Chen of the Second Fleet.
“Regarding your matter with Commander Chen, I only heard about it from a friend of my father!”
“He is one of the technical personnel at Jiangnan Shipyard, which is why I learned a little about this matter!”
However, the answer he sought was quickly provided by Zhou Wenhua.
Just as his mood improved and he was preparing to entertain Zhou Wenhua well,
Zhou Wenhua readily unveiled the mystery and replied with a smile.
“Hahaha!”
“So that’s how it is! No wonder you knew about the failure of my first military order!”
“I’m afraid this embarrassing matter of mine has become a topic of after-meal conversation for many people at Jiangnan Shipyard!”
After hearing the answer he wanted to know,
General Manager Yang Junsheng was slightly stunned, and then he let out another hearty laugh, self-deprecatingly, in a good mood.
After speaking, he politely led Zhou Wenhua into his reception room to be seated.
As for the bodyguards Zhou Wenhua brought, they waited outside.
“Thank you for your hospitality, General Manager Yang!”
“By the way, for the matters we are discussing today, do we need to get approval from your Chairman Du before a final decision can be made?”
However, after Zhou Wenhua sat down,
as soon as he took the tea that General Manager Yang Junsheng handed him, he once again asked a surprising question.
After his words fell,
General Manager Yang Junsheng was once again stunned by Zhou Wenhua’s astonishing statement for the second time.
Because he couldn’t imagine that Zhou Wenhua had also found out that he knew Boss Du, who was both a Qing gang leader and the chairman of the French Concession Chamber of Commerce General Association, in private.
He was also completely aware that Boss Du had invested money and become a shareholder in his shipbuilding factory, and served as the chairman behind the scenes.
Therefore, he was once again shocked by Zhou Wenhua’s information sources and background.
