That year the flowers bloomed 1981

Chapter 1670 Brokers, Everywhere

When Li Ye took over Southwest Heavy Truck, he knew that his 25 million yuan would not be enough to pay off the various debts left behind by Dong Shan and his associates.

Among these debtors, the drivers who paid but didn't receive their cars are the least cared about and the easiest to fool.

Since Dong Shan's collapse, drivers have been coming to demand their debts back, but most can only stay for a week or two before going home in tears.

Ordinary people can never outlast professionals who excel at wrangling and bickering.

However, when hundreds of drivers, misled by Lai Jiayi and others, stormed to Li Ye's door, Li Ye did not choose to argue with them, but instead sincerely discussed solutions with them.

These people were among the earliest heavy-duty truck users in mainland China, and they played a positive role in the development of heavy-duty trucks in the country. Decades later, mainland China was able to occupy the first, second, third, and fourth positions in the global heavy-duty truck sales rankings, which is inseparable from their initial contributions.

"Has no one eaten yet? Let's go to the cafeteria to eat first, and then we can talk in the conference room, okay?"

"."

The group of rough-looking men blocking the office building were stunned. They had been protesting in Southwest China for so long, and this was the first time they had ever been fed by their "creditors"!

Having food in your belly means you won't panic. Anyone who has ever owed money knows that if you want to get rid of a debt, you must never feed the debtor, otherwise he can stay at your house forever.

So after Li Ye generously offered to provide meals, the group of men who had just been full of resentment felt a little embarrassed.

Many people actually know they've been misled and that their situation has nothing to do with Li Ye, but the potential losses of tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan are simply unbearable for them.
Seeing Li Ye's righteousness now, how could any person with a conscience not feel ashamed?
"Isn't it inappropriate for us to do this? They're Jingnan Group, not Southwest Heavy Truck. We've been here for so long, and only this General Manager Li treats us like human beings. We can't..."

"Then what do you suggest we do? Who should we ask for the money? How are we going to pay off the loan? Tell me what to do? What should we do?"

"Anyway, I feel that doing it this way is wrong."

"Then you go home after you finish eating, and then carry a lifetime of debt you can't repay. See if your wife will divorce you."

"I"

Those who were honest and straightforward were also forced to remain silent. In the 1990s, when the average wage was only a few hundred yuan, a six-figure debt could really crush a person.

"Hurry up and eat! After we finish, let's go to the conference room. If that General Manager Li is really willing to discuss things with us, then there's a chance we'll get our money back. But if it's someone else dealing with us, then we've been fooled again."

"."

After having a good meal, the hundreds of drivers who were protesting rushed to the meeting room. The disputes they had experienced over the past few days had eroded their trust in each other to the extreme.

However, when these people arrived at the conference room, they found that Li Ye was already waiting for them.

"Has everyone finished eating? Now that you've eaten, let's get down to business. Last year, my classmate's father paid a deposit for two Southwest Heavy Trucks. I suspected something was wrong at the time, but I had no proof. I didn't expect the situation to deteriorate so quickly."
At the time, the deposit for each car was 10,000, and the car price was 328,000. Now I would like to know how much deposit everyone paid, and what the agreed car price was at the time.”

"."

"What? The deposit is 10,000, but mine is 50,000?"

"My deposit is 30,000, but the car price is high, 351,000."

"Mine is also 30,000, but I ordered three cars at once, and with the travel expenses these past few days, I've already spent almost 100,000."

"You only paid a deposit, but I paid the full amount, 336,000."

"I also paid in full, 328,000 yuan. The monthly interest is over a thousand. If I can't get it back this time, I'll have no choice but to hang myself."

"Hey, when I paid the money last year, some people said you can't completely trust the TV commercials, but I was blinded by greed at the time."

"Who can argue with that! I was hoping to make a fortune by betting my life savings, but I never expected to run into a swindler. Even such a large state-owned enterprise can cheat people. Who would have dared to trust them in the past?"

With just a few words, Li Ye got the drivers who were defending their rights talking, and they all started to recount their experiences, pouring out their grievances and complaining.

After listening quietly, Li Ye determined that half of the drivers who came to collect their debts had paid tens of thousands of yuan in deposits, while the other half had paid hundreds of thousands of yuan in full.

In addition, many of the creditors are transportation companies from various regions, holding claims on several Southwest Heavy Trucks.

After analyzing all the possible scenarios, Li Ye felt that they were similar to his initial guesses and believed that there was a high probability that the situation could be salvaged.

However, you can't rush things, so Li Ye first poured out his grievances to these creditors.

"I completely understand how you all feel. Losing such a large sum of money is upsetting for everyone. But please don't think that the money you paid went into my hands; that would be a huge injustice to me."
To be honest, I came to the Southwest from Beijing to put out a fire. We paid tens of millions of yuan to take on the responsibility of supporting tens of thousands of employees who haven't been paid for months. We need to feed them first. The factory hasn't resumed production yet, and we are under a lot of pressure.”

When the driver below heard Li Ye start complaining, his heart sank.

These days they've seen too many people like Li Ye, who first smile and tell everyone "not to get excited," then emphasize their own difficulties, and then tell everyone to "go back and wait for news."

Those fools just went home and waited for news, but what about those who persevered? Are they also going to go home and wait for that good news that is destined to never come?

However, after pouring out his grievances, Li Ye suddenly changed the subject, saying, "Actually, there is a way to have the best of both worlds. We expect to resume production next week and start producing Beijing-brand heavy trucks."

"If you can transfer your vehicle purchase contracts to our company through normal channels, we can offset your purchase contracts with Beijing-plated heavy trucks at the most favorable price."

"."

After Li Ye finished speaking, the users in the meeting room remained silent for a long time before they finally understood what Li Ye meant.

It's impossible for you to buy the high-tech Southwest heavy trucks, but we can provide heavy trucks with Beijing license plates at a discounted price, provided you transfer your purchase contract to us. Some savvy people immediately asked, "Mr. Li, can't we just buy your trucks directly? We've already paid an 80,000 yuan deposit; please don't give us a discount, just deduct the deposit from the price."

Li Ye shook his head slightly: "One thing at a time. The deposit you paid to Southwest Heavy Truck is not refundable here. If you want to buy our products, you can only buy them at the factory price."

The savvy person immediately followed up with, "What is your factory price? When can you deliver the cars?"

Li Ye chuckled and said ambiguously, "It's not finalized yet, but it shouldn't exceed 290,000. As for the delivery time, it's first-come, first-served. It could be as quick as half a month, or as slow as three months."

"Two hundred and ninety thousand? That's forty or fifty thousand less than our contract!"

"But in this way, we still end up spending over 300,000 yuan on a car that costs over 200,000 yuan, right? We already paid a 50,000 yuan deposit."

"Are you stupid? Some people have paid a deposit of 100,000 or 200,000, and some have paid in full. How can they be compared to us?"

Besides, there's a huge shortage of heavy trucks with Beijing license plates right now. If you want to buy one, you'll have to wait six months. If we buy it six months earlier, we can make back the tens of thousands of yuan much sooner. I'll go to the finance department here to pay the deposit first. You hurry and send a telegram to your family to bring the money.”

"What? Another deposit? Bro, maybe we should be more careful this time! We haven't even paid the 50,000 deposit yet!"

"You blockhead, all you're good for is driving. Don't worry about things that require thinking. Just do as I say."

"."

There are quite a few smart people. After hearing Li Ye's suggestion, many people immediately rushed to pay and line up, hoping to get their hands on heavy trucks as soon as possible to make money.

Those who paid a deposit of over 100,000 yuan or the full amount are aggrieved. Although heavy trucks with Beijing license plates are indeed in short supply, if they spend another 290,000 yuan to buy a heavy truck with a Beijing license plate, the cost will be over 400,000 yuan.

Surprisingly, when these people went to the Southwest Heavy Truck's office, complaining and asking to have their purchase contracts transferred to Li Ye, the staff there didn't argue with them like before. Instead, they seriously said they would give a reply within three days.

After Southwest Heavy Truck was seized, there was actually money in the frozen accounts. However, there were too many different parties involved in this money, and they still haven't figured out how to distribute it. No one dares to sign off on the loan easily.

But what if you could exchange a heavy truck worth over 200,000 yuan for a debt of over 300,000 yuan?
Brokers were everywhere in the 1990s; there were always some incredibly resourceful people who could collect debts that others couldn't.

So, by the very next day, people kept contacting Li Ye through various channels, demanding not only to get the cars immediately but also to enjoy the lowest possible prices.

Moreover, they were perfectly justified and had very valid reasons—they could not allow the vast majority of users to suffer losses and they had to ensure the interests of users.

[Mr. Li, logically speaking, since you acquired the core assets of Southwest Heavy Truck, you should assume some of these debts. You can't possibly continue to profit from this, can you?]

[Mr. Li, those customers are all pitiful people. It's not easy for us to squeeze out our precious funds to fulfill their contracts. Please understand and let us pay half of the payment first, okay?]

Li Ye always refused anyone who wanted to buy on credit, but he didn't consider those who paid in cash to be particularly noble.

The customer paid over 300,000 yuan for the car, and you expect me, Li Ye, to sell it to you for 260,000 yuan? Who benefits from this price difference?
However, after discussing it with Lu Zhizhang, Li Ye actually agreed to this price that barely broke even.

Because the heavy trucks produced by the Southwest Branch will be equipped with the newly developed Kamaz power system, this combination of engine and transmission is being launched in mainland China for the first time and will require a period of verification before it can be accepted by a wide range of users.

This verification phase is the most difficult. Even though Li Ye made promises such as a 100,000-kilometer warranty and nationwide after-sales service, he still faced a situation where users did not trust him.

But now the opportunity is different. If these users don't accept Li Ye's suggestion, their car purchase contracts will be worthless, and they will lose all the deposits and payments they made.

If they accepted Li Ye's plan, although they would still spend a lot more money, they would eventually get a genuine, sturdy, and reliable heavy-duty truck. As long as they worked hard for two years, they would have no trouble realizing their dream of getting rich.

Although Li Ye is selling at cost, the transportation industry is a "lazy" group. If they get used to a truck, they will habitually stick to that brand. If Li Ye can seize this opportunity, he can gain a large number of loyal fans.

Therefore, Li Ye felt that his move was a "win-win" strategy, and it was worth it even if those brokers made a little money off him.

However, after Li Ye and Lu Zhizhang accepted the lowest discounted price, something unexpected happened.

In less than a week, Li Ye received production orders for more than 5,000 vehicles, all of which were "transfer contracts" requiring Li Ye to deliver the vehicles at the lowest possible price.

It turns out that the people left behind at Southwest Heavy Truck actually took the initiative to contact "creditors" all over the country, asking them to come to Southwest to pick up the trucks.

Not long ago, the people at the custodian office treated these creditors like the plague, but now they're incredibly friendly, calling and sending telegrams to each of them, afraid that they won't fulfill their contracts.

Dong Shan's "pre-sale" business was booming, with numerous pre-sale contracts signed across the country. Many of these people had given up on protecting their rights, but unexpectedly encountered the rare occurrence of "voluntarily returning the money." As a result, they all bought tickets overnight and rushed over.

However, when the creditors arrived in the Southwest with some skepticism and discovered that the high-tech Southwest heavy trucks had been replaced by Beijing-branded heavy trucks, some accepted their fate with resignation, while others cursed and swore.

They were only going to lose a deposit of 20,000 yuan, but now they've also lost money on travel expenses, and the delivery date has been postponed for several months.

Moreover, the marketing department of Jingnan Group began to report that some people in the market had started to continue pre-selling Southwest Heavy Trucks and were collecting deposits again.

Li Ye realized the seriousness of the situation and quickly discussed it with Lu Zhizhang: "Old Lu, we need to set a deadline. People's greed is endless. I'm afraid that after those people taste the benefits, they will come up with an endless stream of transfer contracts."

Lu Zhizhang nodded and said, "That's what I think too. We can't be trying to solve a problem with good intentions, only for others to take advantage of it."

"Ah~"

Li Ye sighed and said, "Old Lu, why is it so difficult for us to do something meaningful?"

Hahaha~

Lu Zhizhang laughed heartily, feeling that Li Ye was sometimes excessively shrewd, and at other times incredibly pedantic.

(End of this chapter)