Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 938 Go Big

Although the company gave them money, Wang Jianguo and his colleagues did not touch it, mainly because they felt the amount was too large and it was a bit too much to handle.

The salaries were already quite high. Chen Fan initially set them at 100 yuan per month, and later assigned them to different positions. After the implementation of position-based salaries, those who became "leaders" saw their salaries increase several times over.

As the general manager of the SF Express transportation company, his salary alone increased to 500 yuan, not including bonuses.

Those comrades who didn't become leaders but still went on business trips also received travel allowances in addition to their salaries, earning more than 200 yuan a month, something they never dared to dream of before.

That's why they were somewhat apprehensive when Ye Yufeng later gave them dividends.

In particular, I'm worried that Chen Fan might have a problem with it if he finds out.
To this day, the dividend money is still in the bank and no one has touched it.

It wasn't until today that Wang Jianguo took the opportunity to bring it up, testing Chen Fan's attitude. And Chen Fan's reaction was exactly what he expected; he agreed without hesitation.

That way, I can spend money with peace of mind in the future.

Although it's possible not to ask Chen Fan, Wang Jianguo and his group felt that their current life was provided by Consultant Chen, and the necessary procedures couldn't be omitted; otherwise, it would be forgetting their roots, and they wouldn't feel at ease taking any amount of money.

Isn't it great that it's like this now? It only takes a few words. In the future, I can spend money with a clear conscience. That's the principle.

Thinking of the astronomical sum in his savings account, Wang Jianguo couldn't help but get excited and grabbed the teacup in front of him, drinking it all in one gulp.

After a few seconds, Wang Jianguo finally calmed down and poured Chen Fan a full cup of tea, then poured one for himself. He put down the teapot, dusted off the ash, and seemed a little restless.

Chen Fan looked at him and smiled, "You have something to say? Just say it."

He tossed away the cigarette butt, lit another one, and seeing that the man was still hesitant, Chen Fan couldn't help but say, "You can't have done something heinous that you're afraid to tell me, can you?"

Wang Jianguo immediately waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, absolutely not."

Chen Fan chuckled twice and said, "Since there isn't, what's there to hide? In my eyes, as long as it's not something morally reprehensible, there's room for compromise. Even if it crosses legal boundaries, if it's for an emergency rescue, I'll help find a solution..."

Upon hearing this, Wang Jianguo waved his hand again and said, "No, we all have principles. We certainly won't do anything immoral, illegal, or criminal."

Chen Fan laughed and said, "Since that's the case, then what can't be said?"

Wang Jianguo chuckled a few times, then said with a hint of embarrassment, "Well, what is it? You said before that if our factory's products are sold domestically, we could open up several transportation routes in the mainland, and then choose a few convenient places as transit points, so we can sell goods along the way."

Chen Fan nodded, looking at him with a puzzled expression. "Yes, I said it. What's wrong?"

Wang Jianguo chuckled again and said softly, "When we were recruiting for the transportation team last year, I... I also found people to build the transfer station at the same time. But... but..."

Chen Fan rolled his eyes slightly and said, "But right now all our products are exported, not a single one is sold domestically, so the transportation lines and transit warehouses haven't been built yet. How can you explain this to those brothers?"

Wang Jianguo chuckled and said, "It doesn't matter whether they confess or not, they haven't suffered any losses anyway. But, I have an idea, I don't know if it's appropriate."

Chen Fan looked at him helplessly, "I'm telling you, you're a grown man, why can't you be more decisive? Can't you just be direct?"

Wang Jianguo immediately coughed twice, looked at Chen Fan, and said, "Then, I'll just say it directly?"

Seeing that Chen Fan's expression had changed, he quickly said, "It's like this, this is what I was thinking. Although we don't have our own products, the wholesale markets in Guangzhou, Zhongshan, and Dongguan have them."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan raised an eyebrow and looked at him with a smile, "So, you want to go directly from being a transportation team leader to a goods boss? You want to source the goods yourself, use the company's fleet to transport them, supply the goods to the brothers in various places, and let them sell them locally?"

Wang Jianguo nodded vigorously, "Mmm-hmm-hmm-hmm."

Then, looking cautiously at Chen Fan, she asked, "Do you think this is alright?"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "What's wrong with that? Others can trade goods all over the country, so can you. Whether you work independently or expand your trading business under the company's name, I have no objection."

Seeing Wang Jianguo's excited face, Chen Fan's expression suddenly changed. He pointed at him and said, "However, there are some things I need to say beforehand."

Wang Jianguo's smile vanished immediately, and he nodded seriously, "Go ahead, I'm listening."

Chen Fan looked at him and said, "As the saying goes, you only see the thief eating meat, but you don't see the thief getting beaten. Selling smuggled goods is indeed a 'golden road.' If you do it well, it's easy for a person to earn tens of thousands of yuan a year. But there are also considerable risks involved."

You need to explain to your comrades what risks they might encounter when selling goods, such as surprise inspections by superiors or being double-crossed.

On the other hand, since company resources have been used, the transportation routes and transit warehouses must be accountable to General Manager Ye. They can't use company resources for their own purposes and then not share the profits with the company.

As for the risk of goods piling up and not being able to be sold, which is the most common risk for traders in later generations, Chen Fan did not mention it.

Are there still things that can't be sold?
Whether it's a digital watch costing a little over a hundred yuan or a denim jacket costing a few dozen yuan, everything is sold out; there's absolutely no unsold stock.

It wasn't until the 1990s, when the market shifted from a seller's market to a buyer's market, that business risks emerged. Before that, the only risks were transportation and policy-related, as well as difficulties in procuring goods. If a product couldn't be sold, the problem had to be traced back to the individual.

After hearing Chen Fan's words, Wang Jianguo immediately shook his head repeatedly, "No, no, that won't happen."

After a pause, he said seriously, "Here's what we're thinking: First of all, if you and President Ye agree to this business, it will definitely still be the company's business. If it goes well, we'll get a bonus; if it doesn't go well, we'll cut our losses immediately and won't put the company in a difficult position."

Chen Fan nodded slightly, signaling him to continue.

After calming down a bit, Wang Jianguo said, "Secondly, my idea is to establish fixed transportation routes and transit warehouses first. Goods coming in from the wholesale market are just a means to stabilize the transportation lines and warehouses."

Finally, after the goods are transported to the transit warehouse, they are handed over to our comrades to sell. The company shares the profits with them. How are these profits distributed?
I think we can use the prices offered by the current wholesalers as a reference. For example, if the purchase price of an item in Guangzhou is 5 yuan, and it reaches Beijing with shipping costs, the wholesale price might be 20 or 30 yuan. We can use that price to sell to the person in charge of the transit warehouse. They can then see how much they sell and how much they earn. Referring to the bonuses Mr. Ye gave us, the company takes 70%, and those remaining locally take 30%.

After speaking, Wang Jianguo looked into Chen Fan's eyes and asked softly, "Do you think this is okay?"

Chen Fan frowned slightly and looked at him, asking, "Do those comrades you found, who are in charge of transit warehouses and local sales, receive salaries from the company?"

Wang Jianguo smiled and said, "My idea is that there should only be a salary for managing the warehouse; selling goods is extra income and shouldn't be counted as money." Chen Fan thought for a few seconds, then nodded slightly, "Have you discussed this idea with President Ye?"

Wang Jianguo immediately shook his head, "I wanted to ask for your opinion first. If you agree, then I'll go see President Ye."

Although his direct superior was Ye Yufeng, and Shunfeng Company was under Wan Muchun's name, in their hearts, Chen Fan was the real leader.

If one day Chen Fan and his cousin fall out... although the possibility is almost zero, if that situation really happens, they will definitely follow Chen Fan.

Without Chen Fan, who would know who Ye Yufeng is?!
Chen Fan looked at him and smiled, "Then you can go find President Ye later and talk to her about your ideas. Let's proceed with this plan for now."

Seeing the excited look on Wang Jianguo's face, Chen Fan smiled and said, "In addition, I would like to add two suggestions."

Wang Jianguo nodded repeatedly, "Please go ahead."

Chen Fan laughed and said, "First, if you can buy the warehouse, then buy it. It can be located in the suburbs of the city, that's fine too. The key is that it must be safe and reliable. You should find a local comrade to be in charge. It can't be a lone wolf, otherwise this warehouse will be a disaster for them, not a blessing."

They needed to have family connections in the area, or find more comrades to unite and increase their strength, in order to protect the warehouse and further sell the goods.

Wang Jianguo immediately nodded, "I've considered what you said."

After a pause, he said seriously, "Actually, the main purpose of my suggestion to you is to help more comrades earn an income. So even if you hadn't suggested it, I would still want more comrades to join in."

I'd rather have 100 people earning 50 yuan a month than 10 people earning 500 yuan. That's my thinking.

Veterans are all one family; the comrades he referred to are all retired veterans. If we only count those who retired from the same unit, firstly, we can't gather this many people, and secondly, we can't cover this many places.

Only by opening our arms and embracing all veterans can we realize the blueprint for the world's warehouses that Chen Fan originally drew for them.

Chen Fan smiled and nodded slightly, then said, "The other one, if you're going to do it, do it on a large scale. Don't be stingy. How much area can you cover with just a few dozen vehicles?"

After a pause, he continued, "Last year, the company bought a hundred Jiefang trucks. The factory had not yet officially started production, and we did not know the subsequent situation, so we naturally had to act cautiously."

Since the current situation is favorable and the transportation company has found its direction for development, it might as well continue to expand the fleet size.

At this point, he suddenly asked, "When you transport the goods to Hong Kong, will you switch to using containers?"

Wang Jianguo immediately nodded, "Yes, the cargo ships from Hong Kong to the United States are now mostly container ships. After our products are unloaded at the port warehouse, they have to be repacked before they can be shipped to the United States."

As early as 1933, the West established the International Container Association and formulated unified container standards.

Then in 1955, Transatlantic Shipping Company of the United States loaded 58 metal containers onto the deck of an oil tanker for the first time, completing a transoceanic transport and marking the beginning of containerization in maritime transport.

By the 70s, major global shipping routes had gradually begun containerizing general cargo, forming an international container shipping network covering 52 countries.
Finally, in the 80s, almost all ocean-going bulk carriers were phased out.

Hong Kong's ocean shipping industry is currently at a critical juncture in the conversion of bulk cargo to container shipping.

When Ye Yufeng and her team were managing the company in the United States, they used containers for all their cargo transportation. Now that they are shipping goods from Hong Kong to the United States, they will naturally have to use containers for transportation as well.

However, all the trucks in China are bulk cargo trucks with cargo beds, so the fleet can only transport the goods to Hong Kong first, and then convert them into containers at the port warehouse.

Chen Fan immediately said, "Select a group of people with the best driving skills and have General Manager Ye find a way to send them to Hong Kong to learn how to drive container trailers. At the same time, purchase a batch of trailers and bring them back. From now on, all the Hong Kong routes will be transported using trailers."

Wang Jianguo nodded immediately, "Understood."

Using trailers is better; the goods can be packed directly in the mainland, transported to the Hong Kong port, inspected, and then loaded onto the ship, saving a lot of time and foreign exchange. Naturally, he had no objection.

Moreover, the Shekou Port, which is currently under construction, is designed as a container terminal, making it more convenient to load ships directly from here in the future.

Chen Fan continued, "Once the trailers arrive, we'll put all the Jiefang trucks into the inland transport teams. Besides that, we'll continue to buy trucks."

Wang Jianguo nodded first, then hesitated for a moment before saying, "Continuing to buy cars is no problem, but if we want them to arrive quickly, we may need to use foreign exchange."

Whether it's building a transit warehouse or conducting goods trading, you can use your local currency and don't need to use foreign exchange at all.

But buying a car is different. When he bought a car last year, he had contacted people from the car factory. Now, no, I should say at any time, FAW's cars are never hard to sell. Back then, it was because they used foreign exchange to purchase cars that they diverted all the cars that should have been delivered to other units and delivered them to Shunfeng Company.

If you want to continue buying cars, you'll probably have to use foreign currency to have a chance to "jump the queue".

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Foreign exchange it is, I'll talk to President Ye about that. Also, don't just focus on FAW, Dongfeng, SAIC, and even Yunhu Automobile Factory can be considered."

The key point is that the quality of the cars cannot be poor; at least they should reach the level of FAW and Dongfeng, such as cars from SAIC and Yunnan Automobile.

In addition to large trucks, light trucks and vans can also be purchased and distributed to transit warehouses.

The route from here to the north is called the main transport line, while the route from the transit warehouse to the surrounding districts and counties is called the branch transport line. The main line uses large trucks, while the branch line uses light trucks and small cars.

Don't be afraid of having too many cars; buy as many as you can.

He paused for a moment, then thought for a moment and said, "Are you still in contact with your superiors in the military?"

Wang Jianguo was taken aback by the sudden turn of his head. After a couple of seconds, he reacted and quickly nodded, saying, "We are in contact. When we were recruiting last year, I called the old company commander and told him that if there were any retired brothers, he could recommend them to me."

Later, he told his superiors about it, and it went all the way up to the division headquarters. The division headquarters even assigned someone to contact me and send quite a few people over.”

Chen Fan nodded slightly and said, "Then ask them if they have any retired old vehicles. It's not just new vehicles that can haul goods; old vehicles can do it too."

(End of this chapter)