As Claire said, the entire city of Aurous Hill, and even the entirety of China, eagerly awaited the details of the collaboration between the Evans and Wade families.
The relationship and grievances between these two families had become widely known throughout the country over the past two decades.
Back then, various newspapers, magazines, and gossip news outlets extensively dissected the conflicts between these prominent families. Even now, a quick online search would yield a plethora of articles, many of which distorted the truth and were highly unreliable. Yet, the more uncertain and enigmatic these gossip stories became, the more they fueled discussions among the people.
However, in the past 20 years, there had been no response or concrete evidence of any interaction between the two families. It was widely believed that their relationship had reached an irreparable point.
Now, the sudden announcement of a strategic collaboration between the Evans and Wade families caught everyone off guard, capturing the attention of major media outlets and the general public.
To make this collaboration highly publicized, the Evans and Wade families chose to host the press conference in the grandest banquet hall of Shangri-La, capable of accommodating over two thousand journalists.
Renowned media outlets from around the world were invited to attend the press conference. The number of journalists and staff alone exceeded two thousand. Unexpectedly, even Charlie’s wife, who typically avoided such events, showed interest in attending this press conference.
Since Charlie had planned to attend as a member of the audience, it made no difference for favonovel.com to go with his wife.
Claire left early after breakfast, and shortly after, Charlie also left home and headed to Shangri-La.
Shangri-La had completely suspended all external operations for the day. Security personnel were heavily deployed to ensure the safety of the key individuals from the Evans and Wade families. Special security personnel were even brought in from Eastcliff to handle on-site security. This demonstrated the high level of attention and importance that China placed on the Evans family as the largest foreign investment.
When Charlie arrived at Shangri-La, his grandfather and Claire’s family had already taken their seats in the largest conference room.
Mr. Riley had also arrived early with his newlywed wife, Matilda. Today, they would not only announce the collaboration between the two families, but also reveal their own appointments.
After Charlie’s arrival, everyone began discussing the flow of the press conference and the details to be disclosed to the public.
Charlie‘s second uncle, Marcus, took the floor first. “Ladies and gentlemen, let me first outline the main flow of today’s conference. The conference will begin promptly at 2 o’clock this afternoon. We have not invited an external host, so I will serve as the host. From 2 to 2,20, I will deliver a welcoming speech to our esteemed media friends and announce the collaboration project between the Evans and Wade families, which is the Bruce Automotive brand.”
“Next, I will invite Uncle Wade to speak, followed by my father. Their speeches will primarily revolve around the reasons and goals of our collaboration. After their speeches, I will present the first-stage summary report to the media friends, accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation revealing all the data of our Bruce Automotive brand, including but not limited to our investment scale, infrastructure, team size, and the hypothetical models we plan to launch…”
“After that, I will introduce Professor Riley and Professor Matilda to the media friends, highlighting their resumes and the positions they will hold at Bruce Automotive. Each of them will have five to ten minutes for their speeches. Following their speeches, I will conclude with a final summary…”
“Once I finish my final summary speech, we will enter the media Q&A session. The planned duration for this session is half an hour, with ten questions to be answered. The selection of which reporters will ask questions will be decided randomly by me…”
“We will not prearrange it. However, I will explain the basic rules of questioning in advance. They can ask me, Uncle Wade, my father, Professor Riley, or Professor Matilda. The questions must pertain to Bruce Automotive. If anyone asks irrelevant questions or intentionally brings up past grievances between the two families, I will refuse to answer and pass the opportunity to the next person. We have prepared a large number of security personnel and staff to maintain order at the venue. If a reporter persists with inappropriate questions, I will directly mute their microphone. Let’s not allow them to disrupt the flow. We will move on to the next question…”
“Furthermore, when answering questions, please focus on the core of Bruce Automotive and try not to deviate. After answering ten questions, I will express gratitude to all attending media friends and announce the successful conclusion of the press conference. This is the basic outline of the conference. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask.”
Marcus, who had represented the Evans family for many years, was experienced and had formulated a clear and concise plan. He had defined the roles each person needed to play, and everyone expressed their agreement without any questions.
Seeing that everyone had no objections, Marcus nodded. “Since there are no questions, let’s move on to the next step, which is synchronizing the specific information about Bruce Automotive that we will disclose to the public.”
Taking a brief pause, Marcus continued, “We will announce that the estimated total investment in Bruce Automotive is 40 billion dollars, with an initial investment of 20 billion dollars. The Evans and Wade families will jointly contribute and hold a 50% stake each…”
“The initial 20 billion dollars will primarily be used to establish a state-of-the-art factory and supporting facilities in Aurous Hill. We aim to commence construction within a year, following the timeline of Tesla’s Gigafactory, and achieve production within the same timeframe…”
“As for the remaining 20 billion dollars, it will mainly be allocated for capacity expansion, product upgrades, as well as the penetration and development of the upstream and downstream industries such as automobile parts, vehicle logistics, and vehicle sales.”
At this moment, Charlie spoke up, “Uncle, I propose allocating an additional 2 billion dollars for an education fund in the initial investment. This fund will be used for extensive collaboration with major universities and vocational colleges in Aurous Hill. On one hand, we will invest to upgrade and strengthen their relevant programs, and on the other hand, we will jointly establish automotive-related programs with them based on our actual needs.”
“A portion of this fund will also be used to establish dedicated scholarships and financial aid programs, supporting outstanding and underprivileged college students who are willing to study in Aurous Hill and choose automotive-related programs. This aspect is relatively important. We haven’t had the opportunity to deeply communicate with these institutions, but I believe that with substantial financial support and job opportunities, they will not refuse our cooperation. So, after the press conference, I would like Professor Matilda to approach the relevant officials from all the universities in Aurous Hill for face-to-face discussions on this matter.”
“Great!” Mr. Riley couldn’t contain his excitement. “I have been teaching at a university for the past few years, so I have a good understanding of the needs of the schools and students. For universities, the employment rate and the quality of employment greatly impact the overall appeal of the institution…”
“In the past, it was uncommon for companies to provide employment opportunities to graduates through university-industry collaborations. Most companies only offer job opportunities during campus recruitment and believe that’s sufficient. We are not only providing financial assistance but also offering employment opportunities. For the universities, it’s like encountering a miracle. They will undoubtedly attach great importance to it.”
“That’s good,” Charlie said. “Many companies offer assistance and support with various conditions, and many of them are just seeking publicity without a genuine sense of social responsibility. However, our aim is to become a leading Chinese manufacturer of new energy vehicles and carry the reputation of the Evans and Wade families. Therefore, we cannot be stingy in our collaborations with universities.”
Mr. Riley pondered for a moment and said, “Mr. Wade, to be honest, 2 billion dollars for the education fund seems a bit excessive. The number of related talents that Aurous Hill can produce each year should not exceed ten thousand, and we cannot hire all of them. We still need to select the best talents. I estimate that around 200 million dollars should be more than enough.”
Charlie nodded and said, “Subsidizing the institutions and students alone will not require that much money, but my idea is to establish deeper collaborations with those institutions that are determined to develop automotive-related programs. One crucial aspect is providing them with research funding.”
“So, my suggestion is that we can have extensive collaborations with the strong departments of these institutions. We can jointly establish laboratories with them, or we can directly establish laboratories funded by us for their use. The laboratories should strive to reach a world-leading level.”
“We have quite a few local companies that do not prioritize research and development. They earn hundreds of billions or even trillions each year, but they do not invest their profits in developing new scientific and technological advancements. Instead, they focus on developing new gaming products, fast-moving consumer goods, or live-streaming sales…”
“Although I don’t have the authority to judge their choices, I don’t want us to fall into the same category. The 20 billion dollars is just a starting point. If these institutions can make good use of the resources and funding we provide to develop better technology, I am willing to increase this amount fivefold next year.”
Speaking emphatically, Charlie emphasized, “Our collaborations with universities aim to position ourselves as true benefactors. We are providing funding to enhance their educational capabilities and offering financial support to alleviate the living difficulties of students…”
“Regardless of whether these students come to work at Bruce Automotive after graduation, we will ensure that they can wholeheartedly pursue their studies until graduation. Even if they go to other car companies after graduation, it is still a contribution to the Chinese automotive industry. If they choose to stay in Aurous Hill and join Bruce Automotive, then we can truly say that we have helped others as well as ourselves, and our merits will be immeasurable!”
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