Chapter 1784: Trouble Caused by a Small Matter

Zhao Fusheng was very unhappy!

The flight attendant's attitude was flawless; you couldn't say she was wrong, but she completely failed to solve the problem, just wearing a mocking smile and watching the show, deliberately embarrassing the young man.

This wasn't Zhao Fusheng's imagination; it was something he truly felt.

Zhao Fusheng wasn't some naive fool who had never seen the world. Over the years, he had taken many international flights, and language barriers were never a problem in his view.

From the capital to Hong Kong Island, you're telling me you can't speak Mandarin or even Cantonese? Who are you pretending to be, an international friend?

Besides, knowing full well that the customer didn't understand English and couldn't communicate with you, instead of finding another crew member, you kept repeating the same question, making the guest anxious—was that what a normal person would do?

Even if none of the crew on the plane could speak Mandarin or Cantonese, couldn't they ask for help from someone nearby? After all, Zhao Fusheng had just spoken to her in English.

The simplest example: even if she wasn't sure whether other passengers understood Mandarin, couldn't she have pointed to the meal and let the young man choose?

There are many ways to solve a problem. Zhao Fusheng had heard that once, an employee from his company went abroad on business. At New York airport, when buying a ticket, the agent asked if he wanted a stopover, round trip, or direct flight. He didn't understand, so the agent took a piece of paper and drew it until he understood.

Communication is never really difficult; the problem is only whether you're willing.

But now, this female flight attendant gave Zhao Fusheng the feeling that she was deliberately embarrassing the guest, and doing so with a smile, as if watching a performance.

If the young man had reacted unreasonably, Zhao Fusheng might not have been angry, but this was a very introverted, polite, and even somewhat timid young man.

That made Zhao Fusheng very unhappy.

"Miss, I think you should apologize to this gentleman."

Zhao Fusheng suddenly spoke to the flight attendant in English.

"What?"

The flight attendant looked bewildered, staring at Zhao Fusheng, not understanding what he meant.

But Zhao Fusheng didn't care and said seriously, "I think you should apologize to this guest for your work mistake just now."

As he spoke, he pointed at the bewildered young man: "He is a guest, but you made him so embarrassed by your actions. Don't you think your behavior was inappropriate?"

"Sorry, sir, I don't understand what you're saying."

The flight attendant paused, then put on that professional smile, glanced at Zhao Fusheng, and said flatly.

Clearly, she didn't take Zhao Fusheng's words seriously.

Zhao Fusheng frowned: "I said, you need to apologize!"

"Who are you?"

The flight attendant said displeasedly.

Obviously, Zhao Fusheng's words made her unhappy.

Zhao Fusheng shrugged: "Who I am is not important. What matters is that your approach was wrong."

"Heh, a mainlander, what right do you have to make me apologize?"

The flight attendant suddenly burst out with Hong Kong-accented Mandarin, and Zhao Fusheng's face immediately darkened.

To be honest, if it weren't for that last sentence, he might have let it go. After all, it wasn't his business, and Zhao Fusheng had no standing to intervene.

But the moment the woman uttered the words "mainlander," Zhao Fusheng's brows furrowed.

"Miss, I think you should apologize."

Zhao Fusheng looked at the woman again and said seriously.

"What do you mean?"

The woman said in Hong Kong-accented Mandarin.

Clearly, she had deliberately pretended not to understand the young man's words earlier.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled, glanced at her, but said nothing more.

The woman looked baffled, snorted, ignored Zhao Fusheng and the young man, and began distributing utensils on her own.

"Cathay Pacific."

Zhao Fusheng's face darkened, and he muttered to himself.

He had no particular feelings about this company before, but now, he was very unhappy.

Since he was unhappy, he had to do something about it.

The plane soon arrived in Hong Kong Island, and the staff from the Hong Kong office arranged a car to pick them up.

Once in the car, Zhao Fusheng dialed Tan Kaixuan's number.

"Old Tan, what are you up to?"

"Why are you calling me?"

Tan Kaixuan was a bit puzzled, wondering what Zhao Fusheng meant.

"There's something. Are you interested?"

Zhao Fusheng said with a smile.

"Go ahead."

Tan Kaixuan was taken aback but still asked curiously.

Zhao Fusheng calling him out of the blue clearly meant something was up.

"Get ready."

Zhao Fusheng said, "Should we take on Cathay Pacific?"

"Cathay Pacific?"

Tan Kaixuan was baffled; he had never heard of this company before. It seemed to be an airline. Had it offended Zhao Fusheng?

Zhao Fusheng nodded: "I'll look up the information and send it to you later. Let's give it a try."

After hanging up, Zhao Fusheng said to Wu Sijie, "Have someone investigate Cathay Pacific's information."

"Huh? Okay."

Wu Sijie nodded repeatedly and then started making calls.

The group soon arrived at the hotel. Zhao Fusheng rested with Fan Baobao; tired from the day, he was also a bit weary.

The next morning, Wu Sijie delivered the researched information to Zhao Fusheng.

Cathay Pacific Airways was founded in 1946 by two businessmen, one American and one Australian.

Initially, they operated under the name Austro-Chinese Exports in Shanghai, but later moved to Hong Kong Island due to protectionism and registered as Cathay Pacific Airways. Initially, they operated flights with two DC-3s converted from C-47 transport aircraft, running passenger and cargo charter flights to Manila, Bangkok, Singapore, and Pearl.

Cathay Pacific was the first airline to provide civil aviation services in Hong Kong Island. In 1948, Taikoo Bank acquired 45% of Cathay's shares. The British Hong Kong government later allocated routes south of Hong Kong Island to Cathay, while routes to the north were given to Cathay's only local competitor, Hong Kong Airways. In 1958, Cathay acquired Hong Kong Airways, officially dominating the local aviation industry and entering the Northeast Asian market.

In the 1980s, Cathay Pacific was 70% owned by Swire Group and 30% by HSBC. In April 1986, Cathay Pacific was listed on the Hong Kong Island Stock Exchange, with its initial public offering oversubscribed 56 times, and officially began trading on May 16. In February 1987, Swire Group and HSBC sold 12.5% of Cathay Pacific's shares to CITIC Group for HK$2.3 billion.

"This Cathay has a rather complicated shareholding structure."

Zhao Fusheng frowned and said to Wu Sijie.

Wu Sijie nodded: "That's not all. Keep reading and you'll see."

Zhao Fusheng continued reading, and his expression became interesting.

In June 2006, Cathay Pacific issued a statement saying it had reached an agreement with other relevant companies regarding the acquisition of Dragonair. Cathay Pacific would acquire Dragonair from other shareholders for HK$8.2 billion and new shares (accounting for 90% of shares). It would also use HK$4.07 billion to increase its stake in Air China from 10% to 20%. Meanwhile, Air China would use HK$5.4 billion to purchase 10% of Cathay Pacific's shares, creating a cross-shareholding relationship between Air China and Cathay Pacific, subject to the following four points:

Unless prior written consent is obtained from Swire, Chinese shareholders shall not hold 40% or more of Cathay Pacific's shares, or more than Swire's shareholding.

Unless prior written consent is obtained from all shareholders, CITIC Pacific and China National Aviation Holding shall not hold more than 29.9% of shares.

Cathay Pacific shareholders agree that any shareholder holding 15% or more of shares shall not make a takeover offer for Cathay Pacific or accept a third-party takeover unless recommended by Cathay Pacific's board.

Maintain five executive directors nominated by Swire, and increase non-executive directors from three to four. After the transaction, Swire, CITIC Pacific, China National Aviation Holding, and CNAC (Hong Kong) would hold approximately 40%, 17.5%, 10.6%, and 7% of shares respectively.

"This is an acquisition?"

Zhao Fusheng looked at Wu Sijie, his face twisted.

Wu Sijie nodded: "Yeah, they had fun with it, didn't they?"

Zhao Fusheng's expression grew even darker, and he said to Wu Sijie, "Send the information to Chairman Tan."

"Okay, I understand."

Wu Sijie nodded. He could tell the boss was in a bad mood. It seemed that the Cathay Pacific people had provoked him yesterday.