blogombal Page 170
Page 170
Blair opened his laptop—a gadget Apple introduced in 1985 that worked surprisingly well, supposedly thanks to the late Steve Jobs.
Victor nodded in agreement, poured himself a glass of water, and sat down opposite Blair.
He noticed the barely concealed excitement in Blair's eyes, which meant the company had made significant progress.
"Let's start with the most exciting news,"
Blair handed several colorful promotional images to Victor, saying, "The design for the Skywind City Group building has been finalized, and construction will begin next month."
The paper displayed a rendering of a modern skyscraper, sixty stories high, soaring into the clouds, its glass curtain wall gleaming against the Chicago sky.
Viktor gazed at the image that symbolized his success, a surge of indescribable emotion welling up within him.
From a poor boy who made a living by fighting on the streets to owning a building named after his own company, only he knows how arduous his journey was.
"go on."
He said calmly, not letting his emotions show.
"The construction of this building is scheduled to take 440 days, with 51 construction teams working simultaneously. Except for the ground floor, which will take four months, the remaining floors will be completed at a rate of one floor every five days. This will definitely make Skywind City Construction Company a household name!"
Blair reported on the progress of each business segment: "The Food Express now has 1,400 mobile food trucks, covering various areas including Chicago, New York, Washington, and Houston."
Our 160 physical restaurants saw an average monthly profit increase of 15%.
The logistics department added thirty transport vehicles and signed contracts with three major clients;
The fresh produce logistics network has expanded to Wisconsin and Indiana...
Victor would occasionally interrupt with questions, which always hit the nail on the head—profit margins, competitor reactions, and the quality of employee training.
Blair answered fluently, clearly demonstrating his thorough understanding of the company's operations.
"The sports promotion department is in talks with three promising Olympic athletes, and the sports agency department already represents twelve professional athletes, including two NBA rookies, three boxers, and seven track and field athletes..."
Blair continued, "Our sports training center will open to the public next quarter and is expected to be the most advanced facility in the Midwest."
"How is the integration of farms and food processing plants going?"
"It went very smoothly. We have achieved full control from raw materials to the table, reducing costs by 18 percent and making quality control more stringent."
Blair pulled out the relevant data, saying, "This gives us a clear advantage in the competition."
Victor nodded in satisfaction.
His initial motivation for founding SkyCity Group was not only to make a profit, but also to provide employment opportunities and economic influence for the Chinese community in Chicago.
This goal is now being gradually achieved.
"Finally, there's the situation with finance companies,"
Blair lowered his voice, “We have provided low-interest loans to over 400 small businesses in the community to help them expand or weather difficulties. As you requested, these loan terms are more favorable than any other institution on the market.”
Externally, they've already developed a program allowing over 600 children of small business owners to access free loans... I think this could easily provoke conflict.
"They're just small business owners. I just don't want to be too greedy. I'm not forcing their children to take advantage of our low-interest loans. Those big shots are more interested in taking advantage of them!"
Victor finally showed a genuine smile.
This is one of the projects he values most—strengthening the community's self-sufficiency through economic empowerment, with the initial capital accumulation naturally coming from the middle class.
Blair closed his laptop: "Overall, the group is progressing steadily in all aspects, and we expect profits this quarter to increase by 240 percent compared to the same period last quarter."
The two discussed the details for another half hour, after which Victor escorted Blair to the door.
"I will arrange for extensive media coverage of the building's groundbreaking ceremony,"
"This is very helpful for the brand image," Blair said before leaving.
“You did a great job, Blair. Thank you for your hard work.”
Victor shook hands with the CEO to say goodbye.
After closing the door, Victor stood alone in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the Chicago night view. About five or six minutes later, Victor lit a cigarette, smoked one, and then dialed Frankie's number.
“I’m not at ease. I’m worried that one day he’ll force me to take him on a trip to the bottom of Lake Michigan, and I can’t bear to do that.”
"Frankie, it's winter in Chicago, is Blair's room cold?"
"Find him a woman? You're really insightful, I agree with you. Naturally, it should be one of ours, I believe you have a way to persuade her."
Chapter 144 Victor's Additional Ideas
For the next six days, Victor worked tirelessly, shooting various advertisements and promotional photos.
As a newly crowned boxing champion and a successful businessman, his image attracts both sports fans and business groups, a cross-industry appeal that is extremely valuable in the endorsement market.
The first day was for an advertisement for men's luxury watches, which took place in a professional photography studio.
Victor changed into a custom-made suit and wore a watch on his wrist that was worth the equivalent of an average person's annual salary.
The photographer kept asking him to adjust his pose to perfectly showcase the product.
“Mr. Victor, could you turn slightly to the side so the dial is more visible?”
The photographer instructed, "Yes, that's it. Now make your eyes more... determined, like in the boxing ring."
Viktor adjusted his pose cooperatively, but inwardly he felt a little tired of this posed photo.
He prefers to do real training or work rather than pretend to perform for the camera.
However, he knew that these endorsements not only brought in considerable income, but more importantly, they maintained public visibility and built capital for his real goals.
The next day was a photoshoot for a sports brand, and the location was changed to the streets of Chicago.
Wearing the latest sportswear, Victor jogged, punched, and did various other poses at the photographer's request.
This photoshoot was relatively relaxed; at least I didn't have to wear a restrictive suit and pose.
A group of passersby gathered around to watch and take pictures, many of whom were his fans.
During breaks in filming, Victor voluntarily signed autographs for them and took photos with the children.
These moments were carefully captured by the accompanying public relations staff, with the intention of using them for newspaper publicity.
Viktor was well aware of the importance of public image, especially for someone like him with irrational political ambitions.
The third day was for a local supermarket chain, the fourth day for a car dealership, the fifth day for men's grooming products... Each endorsement was carefully selected, and only brands that did not conflict with Chicago local businesses or Skycity Group were accepted.
That evening, Victor reviewed the new batch of endorsement offers that Blair had sent him.
He rejected most of them and chose only a public service advertisement from a local educational institution—which aligned with the image he wanted to project of valuing education.
After the sixth day of filming, Victor stood in front of the mirror, watching his makeup being removed.
Behind his glamorous appearances these days lies an increasingly clear plan.
Tomorrow, he will convene the leaders of the Chinese community to present the long-planned scheme.
Thinking of this, a resolute yet almost obsessive light flashed in his eyes.
On the evening of the seventh day, in an inconspicuous building near Chicago's Chinatown, Victor stood in the foyer of the conference room, finalizing the meeting details with Frankie and Joe.
"Is everyone here?"
"I ask," Viktor asked, adjusting his cuffs.
"They've all arrived, but their mood isn't quite right."
Franky replied in a low voice, "Some people have already expressed their opposition when they heard that you were going to propose encouraging childbirth."
Old Joe added, "They thought it was too much of an interference in their private lives and too expensive."
"Interfering in our private lives? We are Chinese, not Russian Americans. What private lives are you interfering in? Having children increases our Chinese population. Does that affect our lives?"
Viktor was furious with this group of people who wouldn't listen to him: "I think they've had enough of their good life and don't want to give up the cake!"
He pushed open the conference room door, and instantly more than a dozen eyes were fixed on him.
Around the long table sat leaders from various Chinese communities in Chicago—representatives of senior citizen associations, presidents of hometown associations, chairpersons of chambers of commerce, heads of community centers, and so on.
These people, who are on average over sixty years old, control the traditional power structure of Chicago's Chinese community.
Thank you all for coming.
Victor walked to the head of the table and, without exchanging pleasantries, went straight to the point: “I have a proposal today that concerns the future development of the Chinese community in Chicago.”
He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping across the room, before continuing:
“I propose that Skycity Group provide resources to encourage and support all Chinese families to have children at the legal age, and each child will receive material subsidies from the Group from birth to adulthood.”
The meeting room fell silent for a moment, then erupted into a flurry of discussion.
"This is such an interference in their private lives!"
Mr. Wang from the senior citizens' home objected first, saying, "Whether or not to have children, and when to have them, is the freedom of every family!"
President Li of the hometown association shook his head and said, "And how much will this cost? Although Skywind City Group is profitable, it can't support the entire community's childbirth expenses, can it?"
The Chamber of Commerce Chairwoman, Ms. Chen, asked more rationally, "Victor, what is the purpose of your plan? Is it merely to increase the population?"
"The United States talks a lot about freedom, but in reality there are four classes of people. 60.1% of non-Hispanic whites are the first class, 18.7% of Hispanics and 13.4% of Blacks are the second class, and we, with 6%, can barely be considered the third class. But what about Native Americans? The government allocated them land plots and treated them like they were not human!"
Victor calmly waited for all the questions to subside before answering, "The goal is to secure the future of Chinese people in Chicago and in America. Our population is small, and our political and economic influence is limited. Only by increasing our numbers can we amplify our voice and power, thereby earning more money!"
He turned on the projector and displayed the carefully prepared data:
"Currently, the Chinese population in the Chicago area only accounts for 6.7%, and based on natural growth projections, this percentage may decline further in twenty years—Black people are just too prolific. My plan is to quadruple the Chinese population within twenty years, so that we can occupy a more prominent position!"
The meeting room erupted in commotion once again.
Victor continued, "Now we have Black sheriffs, Black police chiefs, but are there any Asian ones? They won't even take money from us!"
"Even with subsidies, young people may not be willing to have children early!"
"This money would be better used to build better schools or senior centers!"
Another voice joined in.
Viktor calmly responded: "We won't provide subsidies in the form of money; we don't have that much money. However, we will provide supplies, such as food, cooking oil, and milk powder. I will also acquire two hospitals and several kindergartens. They only require a small amount of wages, which will be enough to cover most of the childcare costs. In addition, we will provide a series of support measures, including childcare services and educational subsidies."
Mr. Wang slammed his fist on the table and stood up: "You're trying to change the entire lifestyle of our community! Traditionally, we don't interfere much with families' decisions about having children!"
"Times have changed, Mr. Wang."
Victor's gaze was sharp. "If we don't proactively plan for the future, we'll only be marginalized. Look at the Irish and Italian communities—what have they gained through political power and population advantage? We Chinese deserve the same, not to be harvested like pigs!"