dognovel Chapter 1405
Chapter 1405
Chapter 1405
"Hmm, Qizhi, is something the matter?"
Hearing Sha Qizhi's greeting on the phone, Li Xuewu smiled and asked, "You're not here to wish me a Happy New Year, are you?"
He glanced at the documents in his hand, then looked up and said, "You wouldn't come here unless you needed something."
“Yes, I accept the criticism.” Sha Qizhi said apologetically, “I’m so sorry for troubling you every time, and I’m afraid of bothering you, but I have no other choice.”
"Hehe—" Li Xuewu chuckled and said, "Go ahead and tell me, I want to hear what's causing you, the general manager of the international business division, such a predicament."
"I really didn't dare to trouble you, but it was Deputy Director Gao who was also in a difficult position, so he asked me to consult you."
Sha Qi apologized and then explained the purpose of his call.
Li Xuewu listened very carefully, even putting down his work. Whatever troubled Sha Qi must be no small matter.
The soldiers he trained, including Han Yating, Xu Ning, Han Zhan, and Wei Tong, were all colleagues from the security department, while his secretaries were Sha Qizhi and Peng Xiaoli.
Peng Xiaoli is currently the deputy director of the production department of the food company, and Sha Qizhi is the general manager of the international business division of the sales company.
Judging from their positions, Sha Qizhi and Xu Ning have developed the best, while Han Yating, who was in the same batch, has been held back.
Who held us back?
Who else could it be but Ji Weidong?
Han Yating's marriage and childbirth took two years to recover, which was also the golden period of her career.
Xu Ning, who was in the same batch, is now the vice president of the energy company. He has experience in port city training and is very useful.
Sha Qizhi, who also had special training experience in the port city, has been a pillar of Hongxing Steel Group's foreign trade.
What could put him in a difficult position, so the fact that he proactively called Li Xuewu, was no small matter.
Sure enough, after listening to his story, Li Xuewu also pondered in his heart that Gao Yaqin's actions were quite significant.
Of course, Li Xuewu was not surprised by either Gao Yaqin's actions or Sha Qizhi's predicament.
Gao Yaqin is in charge of economic development, and the sales headquarters is under her supervision, which also includes Shaqizhi.
After Li Huaide became the director of the management committee in 66, he took the lead in establishing an economic leadership group, with Jing Yunong and Li Xuewu among the deputy leaders.
In reality, the economic development work of Hongxing Factory at that time was carried out by Li Xuewu in cooperation with Jing Yunong. During the process of group-based restructuring and organizational reform, Jing Yunong and Li Xuewu withdrew from the economic development management work, namely their positions in the economic leadership group, in accordance with Li Huaide's opinions and requirements.
Although Jing Yunong, as the leader in charge of finance and human resources, can still offer suggestions on the group's economic development, so can Li Xuewu, as a leader of the group.
However, after the division of labor was completed, neither Jing Yunong nor Li Xuewu directly interfered with the group's economic development work, including the sales headquarters.
Everyone in the company is talking about how many people Deputy Director Jing and Li Xuewu promoted back in the economic management field, and how much influence they had.
These words were a burden for Li Xuewu and Jing Yunong, and an even greater pressure for Gao Yaqin.
It's not obvious at first glance, but upon closer inspection, some unusual things can be found. For example, Sha Qizhi almost never contacts him by phone or other means in the sales department. Also, Gao Yaqin will communicate with him cautiously on some work-related matters.
From this perspective, Li Xuewu was helpless, and the others were also exhausted, but some things couldn't be explained clearly.
Jing Yunong and Li Xuewu made significant contributions to the economic development of Hongxing Factory, the most important of which was helping the factory open up channels for foreign trade and establish formal mechanisms for foreign cooperation.
The group's sales department is still operating according to the original plan, which is an objective fact.
During the years that Jing Yunong and Li Xuewu were in charge of economic development, the total value of foreign trade exports exceeded 100 million yuan. This was the biggest pressure Gao Yaqin faced after taking over the relevant work.
She must achieve sufficient results, both in terms of the number of export destinations and the growth of foreign trade, to prove that the group was right to entrust her with the economic development work.
That's a lot of pressure.
She made over 100 million yuan worth of orders in three years, but even if she had another three years, she might not be able to make 200 million yuan worth.
So Gao Yaqin got anxious. When a woman gets anxious, she's capable of anything. She actually tried to steal customers from the Guangzhou Export Trade Fair. Can you believe how audacious she is?
The Guangzhou Export Commodities Fair is held twice a year, in April and October. The April fair is called the Spring Fair, and the October fair is called the Autumn Fair.
Speaking of stealing customers, Jing Yunong and Li Xuewu have done it before, and even smashed up places.
To date, Hongxing Factory has only participated in one Guangzhou Export Commodities Fair. It was at that fair that Hongxing Factory's products shone brightly and attracted the attention of many foreign merchants.
It was precisely because of the attention and cooperation of foreign businesses that Hongxing Factory was able to open the door to foreign trade and conduct a second round of negotiations when it invited international traders to Beijing for business trips.
It was from that negotiation that Hongxing Factory established its economic development pattern with foreign trade as the three driving forces: Jilixing Shipbuilding, Santaya Group, and Sanhe Co., Ltd.
By leveraging foreign trade to carry out economic development, Hongxing Factory rapidly accumulated initial capital and embarked on a new chapter of group-based development and organizational restructuring.
Such a high-profile affair could not be kept secret, and Li Huaide never intended to keep a low profile. As a result, Hongxing Factory became a new force for reform that was closely watched by the higher authorities, and the Guangzhou Export Commodities Fair was wary of it, so no more invitations were sent to Hongxing Factory.
Of course, even if the sheep trade fair sent an invitation to Hongxing Factory, Hongxing Factory wouldn't go; it wouldn't dare to go.
After smashing all their pots and pans, how could they possibly have the face to pick fruit on their turf?
Jing Yunong had a small face, and Li Xuewu was a gentleman, both of whom cared about their reputation, so nothing came of it.
Fortunately, the economic management work of Hongxing Factory fell into the hands of Gao Yaqin. She originally worked in foreign trade and economic cooperation, so she knew these things very well and was even more familiar with the details of the operation.
She didn't intend to follow Jing Yunong and Li Xuewu's example and smash other people's pots and pans; she was going to overturn their table.
The idea that Sha Qizhi presented to Li Xuewu was actually Li Xuewu's own idea; it was a remnant from last year.
what is it then?
It is the Andrew Buyers Club, which was established in the port city last year. She wants to use this channel as a bridge to attract more international traders to join the sheep trade fair.
In other words, she wanted to retain these customers in the port city, establish partnerships with them, and create a loyal customer base.
Who knows how underhanded this tactic is?
Do you think Gao Yaqin would look down on those small international traders?
How could that be? She's targeting large buyers; she's aiming to build the most professional buyer club.
Think about it: the International Business Division serves import and export trade activities, and the Tianjin Trade Management Center holds the unplanned distribution rights for many related companies' products.
The current trade management center is no longer the small-scale operation of the dozen or so joint units of the past. It now has more than a hundred companies that are permanently stationed in Tianjin, covering all walks of life.
They all claim that the products they provide are unplanned products, but they don't explain how these products came about.
They planned to produce 100 pieces, so how did they manage to produce 200, more than double the planned production?
This is what they call "money makes the world go round"!
How could Hongxing Factory's transformation from a factory-level enterprise into a group enterprise not make these people envious?
How Hongxing Factory progressed into a group enterprise is a well-known story. It was simply a matter of actively developing tertiary industries and taking planned industry to its extreme.
You say that Hongxing Factory is neglecting its main business and only knows how to develop tertiary industries to generate its own funds beyond the government budget. But who can deny that Hongxing Factory now has the best steel rolling industry in North China? And who can turn a blind eye to the best special steel, non-ferrous metal and alloy smelting plant in North China?
It achieved a leapfrog development within the planned production system and made great strides and leaps in economic construction.
Now everyone should learn from the Red Star Factory, and make sure their pockets are full. Only with money can they develop planned industries, and only with money can they build factories that are more advanced and more competitive.
Therefore, these companies all associated with the trade management center of Hongxing Factory to achieve the distribution and conversion of unplanned products.
Some people ask, since they have their own products, wouldn't it be better for them to become distributors themselves?
Yes, that's good, but it's not as good as having this part of the business operated by the Trade Management Center.
After expansion and renovation, Hongxing Steel Group's trade management center in Tianjin has become the largest trade operation and management center in North China.
Millions, even tens of millions, of trade documents are processed here every day.
How far can a factory go by independently distributing and operating its own products? It's time-consuming, labor-intensive, and carries financial management risks.
However, there is no need to worry about these issues at the trade management center. The tradeable documents submitted one second may be completed the distribution work the next second. As long as the goods are delivered on time, the money will be transferred to the factory's account at the United Savings Bank.
Quick, convenient, and safe—who would bother building their own distribution channels?
The trade management center has hundreds of affiliated production units from all over the country, as well as many powerful secondary distributors, which can quickly convert small orders into sales.
This creates a trade distribution model where sellers don't have to wait and buyers don't have to worry. In fact, neither party needs to sit down for negotiations or coordinate with each other. The trade management center will use the latest prices as a benchmark to quickly complete the trade process.
What's even more considerate is that, in order to support the sales company's trade operations, Hongxing Steel Group has also established a joint logistics development company. In the future, whether it's foreign trade or internal related transactions, there will be no need to raise funds for transportation channels; professional transportation companies will handle the corresponding cargo transportation.
With integrated, one-stop service, countless unplanned products of domestic enterprises are shipped overseas through these distribution companies and trade management centers.
The best and largest distributor in the current trade management center is Jinmen Shunfeng Trading Co., Ltd., which has resumed operations after being shut down for several months.
This change is significant. Previously, it was responsible for the dedicated distribution line from Tianjin to Beijing, including seafood and other products. Now, the original distribution line has been upgraded in terms of service level, the structure and scope of the distribution personnel have been reduced, and the distribution scope and direction have been expanded to foreign trade. There are even plans to establish a service center in the Yingcheng Trade Port Area in the future.
Starting this year, more and more companies like Jinmen Shunfeng Trading have emerged, including local joint ventures and supply and marketing cooperatives that have joined in to supplement their procurement.
The increased trade volume also gave Gao Yaqin the ambition to expand foreign trade. This ambition and courage were not given by Liang Jingru, but by Li Xuewu.
Andrew is the owner of Geestar Shipping, and his daughter is currently in charge of Geestar's business in Yingcheng. Even after returning to Italy, Andrew continues to keep an eye on the port city's trade.
He also treated his friendship with Hongxing Steel Group with great care, and the buyer's club that Li Xuewu had agreed to with him was put into operation under the organization and construction of a dedicated person.
In Victoria Harbour, Andrew purchased an eleven-story building to use as office space for his buyers' club.
He is willing to invest in the future, and even dares to put his own daughter in Yingcheng for training and testing.
Andrew's Buyers Club offers integrated business services encompassing dining, entertainment, and leisure, making it ideal for business dealings.
Compared to local chambers of commerce in the port city, this place is more professional, especially recently.
The Guangzhou Spring Export Trade Fair is about to be held, and international traders will need to travel to Guangzhou via the port.
Many traders were visiting for the first time or were not very familiar with current events in mainland China, so they all came to the Andrew Buyers Club for a visit after being introduced by friends.
They can get the latest information about the mainland from the club, and they can also get some support for going to the mainland.
For example, some goods at the Guangzhou Trade Fair can be ordered directly from the Andrew Buyers Club.
The club has a regular merchandise display, as well as product catalogs and pictures for them to view.
If you feel it's not suitable, or don't believe it, you can go to the Guangzhou Trade Fair first, and then go back to Guangzhou to negotiate.
The club offers interested clients the option to travel directly by boat or private plane to the trade management center connected to the club, which is located in Tianjin.
Foreign businesspeople can enjoy leisure and entertainment at the Tianjin Binhai Club, while mainland companies can arrange for them to visit factories for on-site inspections.
This is an experience you can't get at the Guangzhou Trade Fair, which implements unified signing and unified management.
They had no opportunity to visit factories, let alone explore more product categories in mainland China.
Now with the VIP exclusive channel, international traders can succeed as long as they are bold enough and willing to place orders.
This is quite normal. Whether it's a passenger ship or a business jet flying directly to Tianjin, there are operating costs involved. Hongxing Steel Group wouldn't do something that would lose money.
For a trader like Art, it wouldn't matter if he flew to Tianjin and didn't buy anything, because his spending at the Red Star Steel Group already met those requirements.
Furthermore, international traders like Art, who have already established deep partnerships, can attract other traders to join them.
Conducting trade in the mainland requires trust and confidence; having friends to guide you naturally makes you feel much more at ease.
The current difficulty facing Shaqizhi and Gaoyaqin is that, even with the recommendations of Andrew and Chantal, very few foreign businessmen have actually decided to come to Tianjin, and their intentions are even weak.
This requires Li Xuewu to recommend or introduce someone with sufficient influence and trust in Hong Kong to endorse the Andrew Buyers Club.
Gao Yaqin is so clever and cunning; she's afraid that Li Xuewu shouldn't have given it to her, or that he was hiding it from her.
She knows how to use people. She knows that Sha Qizhi needs her help, and Li Xuewu will not easily refuse. If Sha Qizhi succeeds in this matter, she will also achieve something, as the supervisor.
It was really wrong of her to think of Li Xuewu like that. Li Xuewu was eager for them to develop foreign trade, because only when the group had money could he get more funds from the group to build up the industry in Liaodong.
So after Sha Qizhi finished explaining with difficulty, he nodded and asked, "Didn't you meet any of the heads of China Resources or Ng Fung Hong during your training in Hong Kong? Didn't you take the initiative to make friends with them?"
“How could I be qualified—” Sha Qizhi said with a wry smile, “If you were here, I might dare to speak. Who am I to be able to associate with others?”
"What's wrong with you saying that?"
Li Xuewu said with slight dissatisfaction, "You're the general manager in charge of foreign trade for the group now, aren't you qualified?"
"Do you feel inferior, or do you feel that your company is not qualified to cooperate with them?"
Before Sha Qi could explain, he continued, "Alright, be careful next time. If you don't even have this much confidence, how can you manage foreign trade?"
"Yes, I understand," Sha Qizhi replied earnestly, his attitude very firm.
“Yes, you should do what you say.” Li Xuewu nodded. “Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll contact Wufengxing and see if they have any suitable opportunities. You should prepare in advance. If necessary, you should go to Gangcheng and take the initiative.”
"Okay, I'm ready anytime."
Sha Qizhi, having served as Li Xuewu's secretary for nearly two years, naturally understood the confidence in Li Xuewu's words.
No need to think about it anymore, no need to worry anymore, this matter is basically settled.
Although Li Xuewu only said he would make a phone call to ask, Sha Qizhi knew that although Li Xuewu had never been to Hong Kong, his ability and influence there were by no means weak.
This is the advantage of a secretary: even if he leaves now and takes a position in another organization, he still has the ability to leverage external resources.
After hanging up the phone, Li Xuewu wondered if Gao Yaqin had acted too hastily or rashly.
Even if results are needed, it doesn't seem worthwhile to use his early preparations now.
It's best to wait for the Andrew Buyers Club to develop gradually, especially its reputation and service. Three to five years is enough time for international traders passing through the port city to see this convenience.
There's a saying that goes, "If you're too eager, it's not a good deal." The more Hongxing Factory invited these people to Tianjin, the less they dared to come. They were even afraid of their attitude.
Could I have encountered a scammer?
Before a reputation and service are established, a "spokesperson" is needed to endorse them.
Since Gao Yaqin couldn't find a suitable spokesperson, she assigned Sha Qi a task to find one.
This is no different from a manager in later times telling a junior employee, "Go and invite Liu Yifei to be our spokesperson; go and tell the short video platform to give us all the traffic, not to anyone else."
Li Xuewu wasn't afraid to sacrifice his reputation for the sake of sand and the group's foreign trade. He was thinking about whether Gao Yaqin's use of this method to recruit more international traders would have a significant impact on the Guangzhou Export Trade Fair.
Snatching a little food is fine, but taking it all away will cause trouble.
Another point is that inviting these people to Tianjin requires certain procedures, including visa support.
Foreign businesspeople participating in the Guangzhou Trade Fair can only enter and leave Guangzhou; they cannot enter the mainland without a special invitation.
Hongxing Steel Group can send out invitations and coordinate on behalf of the government, but Guangzhou may not agree.
Isn't this just prying it open?
Attending the trade fair at Guangzhou Port is very simple; all you need is an invitation letter with the seal of China Resources. This was decided upon through discussions between China Travel Service and relevant departments. It seems that Hongxing Steel Group does not yet have the resources or prestige for this.
then what should we do?
Both the Yingcheng Port Area, which is under construction, and the Jingu Port Area in Tianjin have customs offices.
No visa is required to move within customs territory. In other words, if the ship is at sea and the person is at a unit's residence by the sea, this can be done as long as no one investigates.
These days, customs management is not very strict, and there is a lack of necessary management measures.
How can we carry out inspection missions if we can't even get the right boats?
Li Xuewu was thinking that he needed to turn this sneaky behavior into a legitimate way to enter the country, and also have the ability to visit the factory and conduct normal negotiations.
Being sneaky always gives people a feeling of distrust, and this feeling can lead to the loss of many potential customers.
In fact, as long as you have an invitation letter from a company with import and export trade rights, you can use it as a visa to enter the country.
Which entities in China have import and export trade rights?
Silk company, general merchandise export company, tea export company, import company, mineral company, hardware import company, livestock product export company, machinery import company, grain and oil export company, transportation machinery company, food export company, instrument import company, native product export company.
Does this look familiar? Hongxing Steel Group also does some import and export trade, and the volume is not small.
Furthermore, Hongxing Steel Group is actively seeking to obtain the right to conduct foreign import and export trade.
The group does not currently have this brand; however, the higher authorities have tacitly approved the group's foreign trade activities and have recognized and affirmed them in some documents.
If, after completing the group's restructuring next year, the group's overall economic size and trade volume become influential enough, it might actually be able to obtain this designation in one fell swoop.
By then, the group will have the ability to send out invitations, and today's constraints will be broken.
Expanding foreign trade is a long and arduous task.
-
Eat a good breakfast, a full lunch, and a light dinner.
Fu Zhidong put down his chopsticks and looked at Bang Geng, who was still eating from the bowl, and reminded him, "You're going to eat too much again."
"I'm growing, so I need to eat more."
Tonight, Zhou Yamei made catfish stew with eggplant. Because she used plenty of lard, both the catfish and eggplant were delicious.
Bang Geng, the big eater, has increased his food intake due to increased training in the past few days.
Big-faced Cat didn't seem to have lost any weight; in fact, he seemed more energetic. By the end, he didn't even need chopsticks anymore. He used a spoon to scoop up eggplant and fish soup, mix it with rice, and ate it in a medium-sized enamel bowl. Every time he ate a spoonful, Zhou Yamei would frown.
She wasn't worried that the sticks would eat her family out of house and home; with Li Xuewu, this god of wealth, around, how could they possibly go broke?
She was worried that eating too much rice would make her feel unwell. It was already dinner time, and if she ate such a small bowl of rice, could her stomach handle it?
The amount of food Bang Geng ate in that meal was enough for Fu Zhidong to eat for three days, as he kept stuffing it into his mouth without stopping.
Li Xuewu called in the afternoon, saying that a meeting would take up his time and he wouldn't be home for dinner.
The three of them had finished their meal long ago, and Zhou Yamei and Fu Zhidong were now sitting in the dining room watching Bang Geng eat.
The sound of a car came from outside the window. Fu Zhidong jumped off the stool and ran out of the restaurant. He saw his uncle get out of the car and enter the courtyard through the window, so he went to the entrance to greet him.
"You're wearing a bit too little—"
When Li Xuewu opened the door, he saw Fu Zhidong standing smiling in the entryway, waiting for him, but the guy was wearing a thin nightgown.
Although it was mid-March, the weather in the steel city was still cold, especially after dark.
"I just finished eating, it's still warm," Fu Zhidong replied with a smile, taking his godfather's briefcase from his hand.
Li Xuewu went into the entryway and changed into slippers, and then saw Zhou Yamei coming from the living room.
"You're back at this hour, have you had dinner yet?" Zhou Yamei asked with concern. "If you haven't, there's still rice and dishes at home."
“Not necessarily—” Fu Zhidong said with a grin, “Uncle, you should go to the kitchen first. If you go early, there might still be some left. If you go late, he will have eaten all the food.”
"Don't be silly—" Zhou Yamei glared at her son; she wouldn't allow Fu Zhidong to say anything like "sticky rice" while eating.
Li Xuewu glanced in the direction of the restaurant and asked with a smile, "What delicious food are you making for dinner? It smells so good."
"Catfish stew with eggplant, would you like some?"
Zhou Yamei helped him take off his wool coat and asked, "If you're hungry, I'll prepare another dish."
"I've already eaten. I ate with Director Kuang from the steel rolling mill. He insisted on treating me, and I couldn't refuse his hospitality."
Li Xuewu walked into the living room and explained, "If I hadn't told him there would be heavy snow tonight, he would have gone to the city."
"Is he asking you out for a drink?"
Zhou Yamei raised an eyebrow and said, "I've heard that among all the people in your group in Liaodong, he's the one with the best drinking capacity."
"He's doing alright. He doesn't drink as much anymore. He says his health isn't very good, maybe he has high blood pressure or something."
Li Xuewu casually turned on the radio. There's been a lot of current events going on lately, and he likes to listen to the radio for a while after he gets home.
Actually, I can listen to it in the morning too; it's basically the same content. It's just that recently I've had to take my two little ones to exercise in the mornings, and he also wants to exercise himself, so I've moved the time away.
"There's no good in drinking, especially when you drink like there's no tomorrow. It damages your liver."
Zhou Yamei went to the kitchen and saw that Banggeng was still eating. She was very worried.
When she returned to the living room, she took Li Xuewu's outer clothes to the bathroom to soak and wash them, muttering, "That's how my dad died, he couldn't stand seeing people do well."
"Drank to death?" This was the first time Li Xuewu had heard Zhou Yamei talk about her family. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Liver disease?"
“I didn’t go to the hospital. I guess it was liver disease. She kept saying her stomach hurt. What else could it be but liver disease?” she said with a resentful tone. “Her face was sallow, and she even wanted to drink alcohol the day before she died.”
"It was during those years when the family's financial situation improved that he started clinging to the bottle of liquor. Whenever you tried to persuade him to drink, he'd say things like, 'Liquor is the essence of grain, and the more you drink, the younger you get,' humph—"
Zhou Yamei glanced at Li Xuewu and said, "I heard them say you're the best drinker in the steel group, someone who can't get drunk?"
"Don't listen to their nonsense, what kind of wine connoisseur am I?"
As Li Xuewu listened to the news broadcast, he casually explained, "It's just that they're young and willing to stoop to cheating and being cunning."
"Then you also need to be careful."
Zhou Yamei looked at him seriously and reminded him, "I've noticed that you've been going out more often at night since you came to Gangcheng, and you often come back smelling of alcohol. Can you really endure this for three years?"
"I didn't drink much. When have you ever seen me come back drunk?" Li Xuewu nodded with a smile and replied, "But you're right, I'll have to be more careful in the future."
"I'm not afraid of you drinking, I'm afraid something will happen to you."
Zhou Yamei sighed and said, "What the Northeast has in abundance is news of people freezing to death outside after drinking too much in the winter."
She looked at Li Xuewu and said, "Even if you have a driver and secretary to take care of you, it's freezing cold, and it's not worth getting cold or falling down. So you should reduce your social drinking parties."
"The main problem is that there's nowhere suitable to go in the steel city," Li Xuewu said helplessly. "Some things aren't suitable to be discussed at the office, and it's not very convenient at the guesthouse either. We can only discuss them outside, either at a restaurant or at home."
He looked at Zhou Yamei and asked, "Should I go to their house, or should they come to our house?"
"Where do you get so many personal matters in your workplace?"
Zhou Yamei said with equal helplessness, "Can't we just be more open and aboveboard?"
"Hmm, that sounds nice." Li Xuewu turned to look at the radio and said, "The four characters 'upright and just' are displayed in the Qianqing Palace, but have you ever seen any Qing Dynasty emperor who was upright and just?"
"I knew I couldn't win an argument with you."
Zhou Yamei turned around and saw that Bang Geng had finished eating and come out, too lazy to chat with Li Xuewu anymore.
"Hey, are you full?"
Li Xuewu smiled and looked at Big Face Cat, saying, "Run five kilometers tomorrow morning. You can't keep it up if you're not full."
"How about... I get some more?"
Banggeng remembered how hungry he was that morning, hesitated and was about to turn around, but was glared at by Aunt Zhou.
Aunt Zhou wasn't glaring at him, but at Uncle Wu behind him.
"You're just teasing him. What if he gets hurt from overeating?"
Zhou Yamei said with dissatisfaction, "He ate three big bowls of rice tonight. I bet he'll have a stomachache tonight."
"No, no—" Banggeng was afraid that Uncle Wu would misunderstand, so he waved his hands repeatedly and emphasized to Aunt Zhou, "Last time I ate sixteen buns and didn't feel any stomach pain, really, Aunt."
"It's a good thing that you can eat a lot, young man, it proves that you are growing, but you can't overeat and ruin your health."
Zhou Yamei sighed softly and said, "Starting tomorrow, let's eat dinner earlier, and you can go for a walk after dinner."
"Ah! Then I'd better not eat it."
Banggeng glanced back at Fu Zhidong, who was smiling at him from the sofa, and grinned, saying, "Running in the morning, and running again at night?"
It turns out that Big Face Cat misunderstood Aunt Zhou's idea that they should run and exercise at night. How could he stand that?
He runs five kilometers in the morning and another night. He worked so hard to gain this physique, it would be a waste if he lost it all.
***
Li Xuewu was listening intently to the news on the radio; there had been further developments regarding the matter in the north.
The publicity efforts have improved. The decision to publish the story from the 15th was made last night. The incident happened during the day today, and it was reported on the news tonight. It seems that confidence has been built up.
Today's report mainly focused on artillery fire, indicating that the other side has also been frightened and dares not cross the line easily.
When it comes to exchanging fire, it's all about whose range is farther. It's like a kid comparing how far he can pee – it sounds ridiculous.
After washing up, Zhou Yamei saw that Bang Geng and Fu Zhidong were asleep before returning to the master bedroom.
"You're not asleep? I heard no noise from upstairs, I thought you were asleep."
She walked to the dressing table by the bed, took out some hand cream, applied it to the back of her hands, and looked at Li Xuewu, asking, "What happened?"
The reason for asking this question was that Li Xuewu's gaze was fixed on the radio, as if he could see the television effects through the radio. Li Xuewu would not do this unless there were special circumstances.
"It's alright, it's just that things aren't very peaceful up north."
Li Xuewu turned to look at her and asked, "Are the children all asleep? Is Banggeng alright?"
"You know he's worried, yet you still tease him."
Zhou Yamei glared at him, rubbing her hands with oil as she said, "Kids this age are so carefree, they'll fall for anything you say. It's a shame he trusted you so much."
“I wasn’t really telling him to eat more.”
Li Xuewu shifted his body and lay down under the covers, saying, "His mother wrote to me, asking how Banggeng was doing here. I told her that life was extremely miserable, worse than death."
“You—” Zhou Yamei glanced at him with amusement and said, “A mother worries about her son even when he is far away. Qin Huairu is probably worried about her son at home, and you still say that.”
“She’ll be even more worried if I don’t say it this way.” Li Xuewu smirked and said, “Do you think she’ll believe me or you?”
"You'll just spout nonsense with a straight face—"
Zhou Yamei rolled her eyes and said, "She's completely under your thumb. She only feels at ease listening to your nonsense."
"That's also a form of trust, isn't it?"
Li Xuewu tilted his head and said, "If I say that Banggeng is living a good life here, she definitely won't believe me, because in her mind, only she is the best to Banggeng, and that home in the capital is the place where Banggeng can enjoy the warmth the most."
“By saying that, I lowered her expectations and built trust from distrust.”
"You're the real psychology master!"
Zhou Yamei finished applying hand cream, then tied her hair up. Don't ask why she was tying her hair up when she was about to go to sleep. Those who know, know; those who don't, will know in the future. I won't explain further here.
"I have something to tell you, but the kids were all here, so I didn't get a chance to say it." Zhou Yamei finished tying her hair up and then looked at Li Xuewu seriously and said, "Zhao Dezhu went to Yingcheng and said that someone is doing mortgage lending."
"What is that?" Li Xuewu opened his eyes wide, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Is it a legitimate mortgage loan?"
"What do you think? There's no such thing as a proper one when it comes to these things."
Zhou Yamei rolled her eyes at him and said, "This month, more and more people have been asking about speedboats, and quite a few of them have even taken out loans to buy them, just to gamble on a life of wealth and fortune."
“There aren’t that many people destined for wealth and honor—” Li Xuewu turned over and lay on the bed, saying, “Wealth and honor are a matter of fate, there’s no need to work hard for it. Those who risk their lives will never get rich and honor. Even if they get rich temporarily, they can’t escape the word ‘greed’.”
“Who could be as clear-headed as you? They’d all be blinded by greed long ago.” Zhou Yamei looked at Li Xuewu and asked, “Biaozi told me some things before he left. Do you mean I should continue to follow his plan, or…”
"What's your judgment?" Li Xuewu asked, looking at her. "What are you thinking? Did you feel pity?"
“What I’m doing isn’t compassion, it’s more like womanly kindness,” Zhou Yamei said calmly. “I’m also aware of my own limitations; if I stop them now, I’ll become their enemy.”
"You can't stop this from happening."
Li Xuewu shook his head slightly and said, "It's an inevitable trend. Sanhe Co., Ltd. discovered the problems in the market a long time ago and has been trying to find solutions. It seems they are about to take action."
"What are they going to do?" Zhou Yamei asked, frowning. "Use their investigative forces?"
"Not necessarily. It's also possible that they will actively open up the market." Li Xuewu shook his head slightly and said, "Since the Elegant brand products are flooding the electrical appliance market, it's better to open the floodgates and release the flood."
"You mean—" Zhou Yamei asked, her eyes wide, "that they want to actively dump their products to increase Ya Telephone's market share in the distribution area, and then use this trend to sell higher-end products?"
“Maybe that’s what they’re thinking: kill off their competitors first.” Li Xuewu thought for a moment and said, “With fewer competitors, the market expands, doesn’t it?”
"You can do that?" Zhou Yamei asked in surprise. "What about their losses?"
The loss she referred to was that the electrical appliances were exported to Japan through legitimate channels, which incurs certain costs.
Li Xuewu said confidently, "Don't worry, they won't lose money. Just watch, these big-time flyers are about to enter their golden age. It'll just be a matter of who's bold and who can make money."
“They—” Zhou Yamei seemed to understand, and in an instant she thought of a possibility.
"Biaozi is too ruthless. No wonder he said he couldn't stay in this steel city for long and would have to leave sooner or later."
Zhou Yamei looked at Li Xuewu and said, "This time, the fishing boats sold like hotcakes, and the money those people earned from running the boats earlier has gone into our accounts again. What are your plans for using this money?"
"Wait a minute, no rush." Li Xuewu shook his chin and said, "With more people running ships, there will be more ships. Then we won't need to hire people to run them anymore. We'll still need funds to operate and receive the goods they bring back. Get ready."
“What wouldn’t be tempting? Even a fool would be tempted by what they’re saying.” Zhou Yamei lifted the blanket and sighed softly, saying, “One trip can be equivalent to a year’s harvest, three trips will cover the cost, ten trips will save enough for a lifetime of expenses, and so on…”
"Most people won't make even ten trips."
Li Xuewu closed his eyes, enjoying the moment, and said, "This is what they mean by 'life and death are predestined, wealth and honor are determined by fate, one boat rich, one boat poor, one boat alive, one boat dead'—"
(End of this chapter)