The anxious little Krupp, accompanied by Mary and several managers who had come to China with him, were sitting in this conference room waiting anxiously.
Little Krupp had been waiting for this moment. He knew that when he arrived in China, he would face a powerful governor of China.
This man was a close friend of the noble Prince Adalbert of Prussia. It is said that the land under his jurisdiction was even larger than that of Prussia.
In the eyes of little Krupp, such a person must be as wise, mature and dignified as Prince Adalbert.
Krupp, who has a technical background, absolutely does not want to deal with such a politician.
A staff member just came to inform us that their president will be arriving soon.
"They actually called that person president instead of governor. Maybe it's a special habit of the Chinese!" Little Krupp thought to himself.
Seeing her husband's nervous expression, Mary gently held her husband's hand.
Little Krupp turned his head and glanced at Mary, smiling knowingly at this woman who loved him deeply.
These days, Mary and little Krupp lived happily in Dafeng. They exchanged the marks they brought over for silver dollars at the bank here.
Little Krupp would go shopping with Mary every day, learning about the local customs and buying some necessities for their lives.
Mary likes these novel Chinese products very much and brings them back in large and small packages every time she goes out. No matter what era or where, shopping is a woman's favorite.
In the past few days, they have also made new friends. Their neighbor is an elderly Chinese man, and there are three generations of his family living in his home.
This old gentleman's surname is Lin. He is a famous doctor and works in a hospital in Dafeng.
Mr. Lin warmly invited them both to visit Lin's house.
Mrs. Lin cooked a lot of Chinese food. But Mary couldn't sit with little Krupp.
In the Lin family, when there are guests, men are not allowed to sit and eat together with women.
Although they were a little uncomfortable with Chinese customs and habits, the dinner made the two of them very satisfied.
Mrs. Lin also invited Mary to visit the Lin family when she had nothing to do.
Mary finally found her friends in China. Whenever she had time these days, Mary went to the Lin family to learn how to cook Chinese food. Chatting with the women in the Lin family also made Mary's Chinese improve rapidly.
At other times, the two of them are carefully decorating their small home and enjoying the rare leisure time together.
This period was the happiest time for the two of them. No one here looked at them from a worldly perspective.
The Chinese could only tell that they were foreigners, but could not tell that Mary was a Jew and little Krupp was a German. This made both of them very happy.
When we were in Prussia, as long as the two of them walked on the street together, they would attract others' attention, and people would often point fingers at them.
Now, it doesn't matter that they join the team as a pair every day. This feeling of entering a new environment and starting a new life makes both of them feel very relaxed. The previous pressure from their families has disappeared.
…
"Hello, Mr. Krupp!"
A very young Chinese man walked into the conference room surrounded by five or six officials.
"Hello!" Little Krupp stood up quickly and stretched out his hand.
At this time, the Chinese official who had been responsible for receiving him stood up and introduced: "Mr. Krupp is our President."
Little Krupp was very shocked. Although through the situation just now, little Krupp could roughly guess the identity of this Chinese young man. But now that he was confirmed, he was still shocked.
"Hello, Mr. President." Little Krupp bowed slightly and greeted again.
"Mr. Krupp, you must have had a hard time traveling all the way from Europe to China. Are you still used to living in Dafeng?" Dong Shuheng asked with a smile.
"Oh, it is really far from Europe to China, but I am very accustomed to living here. The climate here is mild and the city is very beautiful. Thank you very much for your arrangement." Little Krupp felt that chatting with this young man was very useful.
easy.
He didn't have the oppressive feeling of a superior speaking, but instead made people feel very relaxed and at ease.
"Mr. Krupp, I heard that you have a technical background. I know that people who do research don't like to waste time and like to speak directly." Dong Shuheng said very straightforwardly.
"Yes, Mr. President, thank you for your candor. Let's sit down and talk about the business first!" Little Krupp liked Dong Shuheng's straightforward speech very much.
To put it bluntly, he is a man of science and engineering. If you talk to him about some diplomatic secrets like a diplomat, then he will definitely not get used to it.
The two sides sat down. On Dong Shuheng's side were Liu Mingyuan, who was in charge of business and Huaihai Company, the person in charge of the Dafeng Military Government, and some senior executives of Huaihai Company.
It involves the establishment of a company, so the person specifically responsible for this matter is the investment department of Huaihai Company.
"Mr. Krupp, we have drawn up a plan for cooperation between the two parties. Here is the framework of the plan. You can take a brief look at it. In addition, Mr. Krupp, we will only talk about the cooperation framework today. As for the details of the cooperation,
You can talk to our staff slowly later."
"Yes, Mr. President, I understand what you mean." He took the framework agreement with both hands and read it carefully.
Little Krupp knew in his heart that it was impossible for a big shot like Dong Shuheng to discuss the minutiae of the contract with him.
In fact, little Krupp already had a plan in mind. He came to China to build another Krupp family in China.
But he is a white man after all. If he wants to continue to develop in China, he must rely on the Huaihai Navy.
However, he did not intend to surrender to the Huai Navy without reservation and contribute to the Huai Navy selflessly. He had to leave something for himself and Mary's children.
In addition, Old Krupp also gave instructions when he left, allowing him to use the technology he mastered to obtain sufficient benefits from the Chinese.
However, little Krupp didn't want to do what his father wanted. He felt that he wanted to give Mr. Huai Haijun a good impression, instead of making him think that he was a carefree capitalist.
Krupp Jr. believes that even without the family technologies he brought, he can still make a difference here in the future.
He believes in his own abilities because he is not only a boss, but also a developer. The knowledge in his head is his greatest reliance.
"Sir, can I add my last name to the name of this company?"
Dong Shuheng has been waiting for little Krupp's feedback. After all, it is a negotiation, and negotiation requires bargaining.
"Sir, there is one more thing I would like to ask your permission for. Mary and I are planning to become Chinese nationals. My father has separated me from the family, so I hope that my own surname can appear on the name of this company, so that
Only then will I feel that I have a sense of belonging here and a goal to strive for.”
Little Krupp said it very sincerely. Dong Shuheng knew that Westerners attach great importance to family names. In fact, most Western companies are named after the surnames of their founders.
Huaihai Company named the new company "Huaihai Heavy Industry" just because of Huaihai Navy's consistent naming habit.
Dong Shuheng didn't think it was a problem for Krupp Jr.'s request.
"Mr. Krupp, how about calling it Huaihai Krupp Company? This way it can be distinguished from the Prussian Krupp Company. In addition, I welcome your application for naturalization. I believe that it will be done soon."
You will be proud of your choice in the future."
"Thank you, Mr. President. I am ashamed of my previous prejudices. China is a great country." Little Krupp stood up and thanked him.
The two parties also negotiated on some other issues. Generally speaking, there were no major conflicts and the negotiation process was very pleasant.
Finally, the two parties initially decided to establish a large-scale heavy industry enterprise. This company will be funded by Huaihai Company on behalf of Huaihai Navy with 5 million silver dollars as start-up capital. Krupp Jr. will invest in technology patents and hold 20% of the company's shares.
The name of the company is "Huaihai Krupp Company". Krupp Jr. serves as the general manager, and other senior executives are dispatched by both parties. The company has a board of directors with a total of five seats. Krupp Jr. occupies one seat. The other four people
Deployed by Huaihai Company, one of them serves as the chairman.
Major matters of the company are decided by the board of directors, and the general manager is responsible for the company's daily operations and other specific matters. In addition, Krupp Jr. also serves as the manager of the technology department, responsible for the company's technology research and development and public relations work.
At the same time, the military and intelligence agencies will each send a team to the company to be responsible for confidentiality work and the handover and review of the company's military products.
Dong Shuheng was very happy that Krupp Jr. did not care too much about the shares. He knew that Krupp Jr. was a very valuable person. If not for accidents, he would be the next head of the Krupp family.
Therefore, Dong Shuheng was relieved to leave this large company to the younger Krupp.
The main businesses of this company include: 1. Military industry, mainly the R&D and production of heavy artillery.
Second, steel smelting, mainly the research and development and production of special alloy steel.
3. R&D and production of heavy machinery. Mainly the production and R&D of railway locomotives and large engineering machinery.
…
The negotiation time was not as long as expected. After finalizing the specific framework, Dong Shuheng chatted with Krupp alone for a while.
Krupp Jr. was an expert in metal smelting. Dong Shuheng asked him for some professional knowledge.
Dong Shuheng didn't know to what extent alloy research had developed now. So he didn't know whether he should say something about some of his ideas.
"Mr. Krupp, I think the future of steel smelting mainly lies in the research and development of alloy steel. There are two main directions: one is to change the softness and hardness of steel by adding other metals to meet certain special needs. For example, manganese
Steel, tungsten steel. On the other hand, the external properties of steel are changed by adding other metals, such as creating an alloy steel that does not rust."
Krupp's eyes widened when he heard this. The president of Huaihai Navy actually knew so much about alloys and had such insights!
"Mr. President, your idea has given me a great reminder. The potential of the steel industry is really endless."
"Yes, Krupp, the steel industry is a basic industry. It should not only serve the military industry, but also be used to improve people's lives."
While there was still time, Dong Shuheng talked with Krupp about the development direction of artillery. Dong Shuheng even told Krupp about the idea of an internal combustion engine.
In Dong Shuheng's view, little Krupp is now considered one of his own, and he can't escape from his grasp anyway.
"Dear, what did Mr. President tell you?" After Krupp came out, Mary saw that little Krupp seemed to be distracted when walking, so she asked with concern.
"Haha, don't worry Mary, I'm fine. This president is really a knowledgeable man. I think we have to work hard in the future. Our families will definitely develop and grow in China. Now we must go back quickly."
"My dear, is there something urgent going back?" Mary asked with wide eyes and doubts.
"Of course, it's very urgent. There are only two of us in our family now, so we must hurry up and create people." Little Krupp said with a smirk on his face.
Mary was so embarrassed that she twisted little Krupp hard, then turned and ran home.