My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 712 The World Is Truly Wonderful

"Old Fang instructed me to do what I needed to do. I thought it was to coordinate all aspects of your work in Pengzhen. You should need such a helper, so I brought Fengchi Company to join us."

When Wei Dong left the tax compound, he must have subconsciously felt aversion to that alluring figure.

But hearing that deliberately emphasized Sichuan accent, Wei Dong calmly put on a superior expression, waiting to see what kind of nonsense you could come up with.

Li Xuehong, unhurriedly, first introduced the Fengchi Company: "It is a comprehensive company jointly established in 1984 by Jinxi City Seed Company and Pengzhen Electronic Information Technology Import and Export Company. Of course, you must know that it is a shell company that pays 50,000 yuan every year. It has changed hands several times. Peng Yongjun got involved with a line in Qionghai and started doing car reselling at the end of the year before last, earning about 1.7 million yuan, but the actual debt is more than 500,000 yuan."

Wei Dong simply listened without reacting; of course, he wouldn't look at the woman's face, especially not at this kind of alluring woman.

I'm a bit puzzled. I'm at the level of buying and selling aircraft carriers, so who gave you the courage to ramble on about some shell company?

But one sentence from Li Xuehong caught his attention: "I left the Shangzhou Sichuan Opera Troupe in June 1983 to start my own business..."

Wei Dong couldn't help but let a glint of light flash in his eyes; it goes without saying how unforgettable this moment was for him.

Finally, she looked up at the other person. She was wearing a standard apricot-white suit with high shoulder pads, a trendy style. Even though she tried her best to be dignified, her alluring charm couldn't be suppressed.

That oval face in her thirties, even with meticulous maintenance, still showed some fine lines around her eyes. Judging from the urban experience of twenty or thirty years later, it was probably the result of being too hasty and overdoing the skincare.

However, these days, ordinary women in mainland China are already showing signs of aging in their thirties.

Li Xuehong stared at him intently: "I first went to the Jiangzhou Steel Plant. I had met the propaganda cadres there when I was working in the theater troupe, but I didn't make much money in Jiangzhou for about a year. Most of the people I met were either lecherous or swindlers. So, taking advantage of the Olympic Games craze, I managed to get a border pass and a letter of introduction, and gritted my teeth to come to Pengzhen."

This piqued Wei Dong's interest. It seemed to be a path that was in sync with his own, but without the "Heavenly Eye," yet with more of the advantages of being a woman.

Li Xuehong, however, directly brought up his background: "On the train, I had already seen a lot of news about the X camera and Triumph film photography exhibition. After all, I had also been involved in photography in the Sichuan Opera Troupe. It wasn't until later that I saw you playing ball on TV in Pengzhen."

Wei Dong was shocked. He only made a brief appearance at the end of the reform-themed program hosted by Lao Qi, a close-up of his layup.

Very few people would notice this detail.

Li Xuehong further explained: "Of course I recognize the old leaders of Shangzhou City. They received us during the report performance. I have been following the news about the transformation of Beijiaochang and the food factory on Xier Street, which uses cheap pig offal from slaughterhouses. Even though I haven't been back to Shangzhou for the past three or four years, I have been watching all the news about Shangzhou and about you on TV and in the newspapers."

This allows Wei Dong to remain completely expressionless.

He Yuemei and Lin Wangfu had something to report, but when they saw them coming, they all stepped aside.

I guess they didn't expect the conversation to go on for so long.

But Li Xuehong mentioned another fellow villager: "I know you're the one who got You Qili out. I knew he was a well-known reformer in Shangzhou when he was still in the troupe. One of the reasons I resigned and went into business was because I saw how daring he was to do business. Then last year, I saw him by chance in the tenants upstairs from Fengchi Company."

Wei Dong raised his eyebrows; he never expected to hear news about You Qili like this.

Li Xuehong is definitely good at reading people: "They all have Shangzhou accents and speak loudly. If you run into them in the elevator or anywhere else, you can't help but pay attention. You Qili's height and temperament are also very special. If it weren't for the fact that I had just started making money with Peng Yongjun here, I would have thought about going to him and trying to find you."

Wei Dong finally spoke up: "What do they mainly do?"

Even without joining You Qili's side, Li Xuehong was still able to explain in detail: "Their approach is almost the same as here. In the end, everyone in Pengzhen is pretty much the same. They all rely on joint ventures and affiliations with companies in various provinces and cities that have foreign trade qualifications. Anyone who doesn't even understand this routine is just an outsider working for someone else. Only you are the only one who skipped all of this and went straight to the highest level."

Wei Dong had to suppress his smugness and lightly prop his mouth up with one hand to avoid laughing out loud.

"They took over the shell of a joint-venture food import and export company in eastern Shandong. Their costs should be similar to those of Fengchi Company. Then they do all sorts of long and short-term business. I know they do a pretty good job with cotton textiles. They organize a large amount of cotton yarn from northern Hebei for export to Hong Kong. At first, they only rented a three-bedroom apartment upstairs, but in less than three months, they took over the entire floor. It was bustling with people and very prosperous." Wei Dong almost saw the scene of You Qili's company in Jiangzhou back then, but this time it seemed that they had learned some lessons and had more of his own style of making foreign exchange through foreign trade.

But this is essentially still short selling, a form of speculation without any basis.

Sure enough, Li Xuehong immediately changed the subject: "The tight monetary policy the year before last poured cold water on all kinds of businesses in Pengzhen. Many shell companies were forced to contract out joint ventures, which meant that a lot of people were laid off, and that's how they managed to get in. Last year, the economy overheated, especially with all kinds of price gouging and panic buying of supplies causing prices to soar. There were cotton wars, silkworm cocoon wars, jute wars. In particular, after the Economic Commission started to take the lead in strictly controlling the prices of commercial housing, various places began to crack down on the practice of reselling. Their cotton yarn was stuck in northern Hebei, and they immediately defaulted on their contracts and lost money, which forced them to shrink their company back to a three-bedroom apartment. Then they left one or two people behind. You Qili hasn't been seen much since the end of the year."

Wei Dong countered, "What did you learn from You Qili's business deal?"

Just like when facing a senior management interview, Li Xuehong answered formally: "Policy. All our current business transactions are too easily affected by policy fluctuations. Either you have the ability to influence policy, or you have to have the ability to do so."

This awareness alone—that policy is the most magical guiding force of this era—already surpasses that of many who blindly followed the trend and ventured into business in Shenzhen.

But Wei Dong remained noncommittal: "So what are you planning to do now?"

Li Xuehong must have thought about it seriously: "I am the vice president of Fengchi Company, and I am actually in charge of car sales and finance. He is responsible for getting cars through connections. But since the tightening of credit in the last two years, I have noticed a huge fluctuation. Many provinces and cities have withdrawn, which has led to a sharp drop in rent by half. For example, the three-bedroom apartment that You Qili and his family rented used to cost two thousand a month, but last year it was only one thousand. Moreover, with the introduction of commercial housing policies, some people who withdrew simply sold their houses. So I tried to buy seven or eight houses in the name of Fengchi Company during this downturn. But I see that the company here does not have a formal office space yet, and the computer sales company is in dire need of rebuilding. So I plan to merge Fengchi Company, which still has two cars under my name, and the computer sales company. It just so happens that this place also belongs to the Electronic Information Technology Import and Export Group, which can enhance the combat effectiveness of the computer sales company. It will definitely be able to make achievements in the national market in Shenzhen."

Wei Dong was once again inwardly amazed. He never expected that Wei Dong would discover the secret to wealth through real estate speculation!

If someone could quietly accumulate seven or eight properties in Shenzhen around 86, they would likely achieve financial freedom in the future.

Moreover, Pengzhen is still a small town, and the houses available for purchase are all in prime locations.

In particular, as long as you follow this approach, you can make some money in business and then buy houses to accumulate fixed assets. This strategy will surely lead to a net worth of hundreds of millions in twenty or thirty years.

However, he had already moved beyond that stage, and he didn't offer any advice. He just shook his head and said, "You don't need to worry about the computer sales company. That's He Yuzhu's space to operate independently. I don't care how well he performs. In short, don't get involved."

Li Xuehong immediately replied, "I'll assign this part of the work to him tomorrow so he can carry out the tasks you've arranged for me."

Let Wei Dong think about it: "If we're talking about cooperation, I hope it can be business hotels, budget hotels, and budget hotels, including our own Hongguang Hotel. When I first came to Fengchi Auto, that was the only place in that building that I felt still had some use. If you can find a way to persuade someone to rent a building, I can arrange to integrate it into a hotel. This was originally my idea for the Yuezhou and Pengzhen areas. We won't get involved in the various resale businesses here, but we can do well in the international chain service industry."

One of the advantages of dealing with smart people is that they understand everything you say immediately.

Li Xuehong immediately grasped the idea: "That's great! The apartments I bought are upstairs. We can rent or buy them separately, or combine the whole unit. We can also rent other vacant buildings. In fact, after the tight credit two years ago and the soaring prices last year, many new buildings in Pengzhen are empty. They can be used as hotels, budget hotels! Your idea is brilliant!"

She didn't have the silver tongue of Wu Shengyun's flattery; she knew when to stop and clearly controlled her excitement, but the admiration and respect in her eyes spread like a surging river.

Wei Dong interpreted this as a high-level smooth talk: "Alright, then why should I believe you? Even your cooperation with the car company is full of your own ulterior motives. It's obvious that you're good at using your female advantages and disadvantages to gain benefits. My team needs all kinds of talents, but we also need to keep out any bad apples. What makes you think I can trust you?"

If the other party dares to use the same old trick of seducing you with their looks, then get lost immediately!
Unexpectedly, Li Xuehong just smiled and said, "I believe you one hundred percent because the whole of Shangzhou knows that you saved the middle school teacher while working as a dock porter. But I also know that you saved me on the motorboat from Shangzhou to Jiangzhou. You are the only person I can trust in this dangerous and ugly society..."

In fact, the moment the other party mentioned the motorboat from Shangzhou to Jiangzhou, a thought flashed through Wei Dong's mind!

Oh... that red shirt!

The first time they sold cured meat, they made money and sent Weidong to switch to a large state-owned passenger ship with a better security environment. The only time they bought a cheap ticket for a motorboat from a small local transportation company in a district was when they were exploring the area.

The red shirt that was attacked by thieves and hooligans!

The world is truly amazing.

(End of this chapter)