Restart life

Chapter 482 0472 [Representative Chen of the Future]

What can you do on New Year's Eve?
Just stay home and watch the Spring Festival Gala.

This year's Spring Festival Gala was really not very good, even Zhao Benshan's skit was far from his usual standard.

Surprisingly, the two songs that became the most popular at the end of the entire gala were "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion" sung by Jay Chou and Mrs. Kurosawa, and "In the Spring" sung by Wang Banbi and covered by Rising Sun.

My parents didn't watch many programs before the neighbors called them to play cards.

Bian Guanyue chatted with her grandmother while watching TV, while Chen Guiliang lay on the sofa playing on his phone the whole time, occasionally chiming in to make them laugh.

I was bombarded with New Year's greetings text messages.

Chen Guiliang reciprocated by editing and sending out a unified text message.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, people visit and sweep graves.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, I visited my maternal grandparents. Their dilapidated mud house had been transformed into a two-story building, thanks to my mother's efforts in its construction.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, we went to the county town to visit the maternal grandparents of Bian Guanyue.

On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, I visited my cousin Feng Tao and took him to the hospital for a full-body checkup.

My uncle, who should have already been diagnosed with stomach cancer, still hasn't been found to have any problems. I wonder if it's because his computer shop has been expanding so much that he's been too busy with business to drink, and that he's somehow gotten rid of the stomach cancer he had in his past life.

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, the city leaders finally arrived.

They not only tried to get Chen Guiliang to invest in their hometown, but also came to discuss the election of people's representatives with him.

We talked about it a few years ago, but Chen Guiliang always brushed it off.

Last year's rich list was released, and Chen Guiliang made it into the top three on two lists. Just one week later, the province sent people to Beijing to discuss inviting Chen Guiliang to serve as the province's representative.

This is to be expected.

If a billionaire ranked among the top ten richest in the country doesn't receive an invitation from their hometown government, it's either due to negligence on the part of local officials or because the billionaire has offended someone.

Chen Guiliang had little interest in serving as a people's representative, but he had already declined for several years, and it would be disrespectful to refuse again.

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Chen Guiliang reached a basic agreement with the city leaders.

需要等到2012年底（换届），市里提名并确认他为省代表候选人。2013年1月在市人代会投票他当选，2月或3月出席省代会一次会议（正式履行省代表职责）。

Rights and obligations are equal.

He's already invested in the provincial capital, so he should show his support in the city as well. Since Dad wants to start a food processing plant, let's invest in it in the local industrial park.

Once the highway is completed, Chen Guiliang will have to help his father find sales channels and try his best to help farmers throughout the city increase their income.

This is just a minor incident.

After inspecting the industrial park, Chen Guiliang had a closed-door meeting with local leaders.

He drew more than ten lines on the map and then added text annotations: Over the next 10 years, gradually build the Southern Sichuan Logistics Center... Express delivery... Cold chain logistics... International logistics...

This is the only correct direction for the development of our hometown; other projects will be difficult to succeed.

Before Chen Guiliang's rebirth, the ASEAN and China-Europe freight trains departing from Longdu had already firmly established themselves as the top tier in Sichuan Province. In particular, the number of southbound (to Southeast Asia) trains ranked second in the province and first in southern Sichuan.

At that time, Longdu didn't even have any privately-owned express delivery outlets. But more than ten years later, it would be the city with the highest daily parcel processing capacity in southern Sichuan. It would also be home to one of the first national backbone cold chain logistics bases in the Chengdu-Chongqing region.

The city leaders were somewhat bewildered: "The first expressway hasn't even been completed yet, and this place is suitable for developing logistics?"

Chen Guiliang has made ample preparations during this period. Pointing to the highways under construction and planned for construction, as well as the existing railway network, he said, "The conditions are not yet in place, but in the next three to five years, as transportation becomes more and more convenient, the regional advantages will gradually become apparent..."

"Once the highway is completed, we can attract investment to build a logistics park next year or the year after. This logistics park can radiate to southern Sichuan, connect to Yunnan and Guizhou, and link Chengdu and Chongqing. I am a shareholder of JD.com, and I can try to persuade Mr. Liu to set up a distribution center in Longdu first."

"Don't take too big a step, take it one step at a time. There are many things that can't be done yet, and the conditions for transportation and markets are still insufficient."

The city leaders may not have listened to anything else, but they clearly heard the instruction to "persuade JD.com to set up a distribution center."

They were overjoyed and decided to hold a meeting to discuss building a logistics park.

The city could easily turn Chen Guiliang's long-term plans into a plan and submit it to the province to boast about. What if it gets partial approval and funding?
"Mr. Chen is indeed a big businessman. His vision is absolutely forward-looking. He has even taken into account several southwestern provinces and even overseas!" The city leader praised enthusiastically, but he actually felt that Chen Guiliang was exaggerating more than he was talking.

Because the idea was too ahead of its time!
But the fact that JD.com was brought in to invest is a real achievement, and the fact that this was accomplished has already pleased the city leaders.

All the leaders here have been focused on developing tourism. Chen Guiliang's village was later demolished for tourism development, but the project was abandoned during the pandemic and left to grow weeds.

Now that he has been reborn, Chen Guiliang does not want the place where he grew up to be demolished beyond recognition and left to remain abandoned for a long time.

In crucial moments, it's always necessary to step in and provide guidance.

Convincing Liu Qiangdong to invest was relatively easy; the location advantage was undeniable—it's the geographical center of southern Sichuan. However, the prerequisite was that the highway had to be completed first.

……

"What did you say to the leader?" Chen Xinghua asked.

Chen Guiliang explained simply: "Regarding the express delivery, it will be very convenient for you to send express packages in the future."

Chen Xinghua smiled and said, "As long as it's convenient."

Chen Guiliang said, "Once our food processing plant is built, I'll think of ways to expand sales channels. Although I have some fame, helping to promote products is only temporary; in the long run, we need to rely on our own business." "I don't need your help; I can manage on my own," Chen Xinghua said confidently.

Chen Guiliang said no more.

The following day, Chen Guiliang and Bian Guanyue returned to the capital.

As the car drove through the city streets, Bian Guanyue said, "Grandma's 70th birthday is next year. Since she likes to listen to opera, I can contact some Sichuan opera actors and temporarily form an opera troupe to celebrate her birthday."

"That's great!" Chen Guiliang was particularly pleased.

Bian Guanyue said, "It's not just Sichuan Opera; we can also invite comedians from Sichuan like Li Boqing."

Chen Guiliang said, "Grandma must be so happy she can't stop smiling."

“Leave this matter to me,” Bian Guanyue said. “I will also pay for it; consider it my way of showing respect to Grandma.”

Bian Guanyue is definitely a wealthy woman. She owns shares in Tao Chenggang's Bailian Technology and receives a substantial dividend every year. Her cousin's clothing company also generates dividends for her popular erotic clothing.

Chen Guiliang laughed and asked, "Where are your silver bracelets?"

“Rah.” Bian Guanyue reached out and rolled up his sleeves.

Although it was a new bracelet made by my grandmother, the style is very old-fashioned. Well... you could even say it's rustic.

Fashion-conscious girls would probably be too embarrassed to wear it.

Because it would make you seem particularly tasteless.

The two arrived in Chengdu by car, dropped off their luggage at the hotel, and headed straight for the HarmonyOS mobile phone flagship store in Chengdu.

Qin Shanshan, the second-generation tobacco seller, was busy in the store, wearing a suit jacket and looking more capable than before.

"Old classmate, how was your New Year?" Chen Guiliang asked with a smile.

When Qin Shanshan saw the two of them, her expression immediately brightened, but she then complained, "I didn't go home for the New Year; I stayed at my post the whole time. So, how was my New Year?"

As they were talking, the shop assistants finally realized what was happening and came over to greet the boss.

The customers in the store also recognized Chen Guiliang.

It was quite a lively scene.

After catching up for a few minutes, Chen Guiliang invited Qin Shanshan to go next door for coffee.

"How was the business at the store during the Spring Festival?" Chen Guiliang asked.

Qin Shanshan said, "After the HarmonyOS A1 dropped to 1999 yuan, its daily sales increased significantly. The sales of A2 are also steadily improving. Tian Shu is still too expensive. Many people look at it, but when it comes to actually buying it, they end up buying A1 or A2."

"Weren't you impacted by Xiaomi?" Chen Guiliang asked.

Qin Shanshan said, "Although Xiaomi's prices are very low and its configuration is even higher than A1, it is currently only sold online. Many customers don't shop online at all, and they don't even know that there is a Xiaomi brand."

The Xiaomi phone was released just before the Spring Festival, priced at 1999 yuan. Its price is comparable to the HarmonyOS A1 and Meizu M8 after consecutive price reductions, but its specifications are higher, which has delighted many consumers and has already amassed a small but loyal following.

However, this low-price strategy achieved through a light-asset model has not had a significant impact on the overall market for the time being—because most consumers are not yet accustomed to buying mobile phones online.

Chen Guiliang then asked about some sales details, which Qin Shanshan answered quickly.

"You've been the store manager in Rongcheng for over half a year now, and you've built this flagship store from scratch. Have you ever thought about changing jobs?" Chen Guiliang asked.

Qin Shanshan said, "It's quite a learning experience, especially in the early days after the store opened. I was busy all day long, dealing with a whole bunch of messy problems. There were many things I didn't know how to solve, so I could only call the old store manager in Beijing for advice. Now that things are on track, I'm really reluctant to leave. This store is like my child."

She took a sip of coffee, smiled, and said, "In all my life, apart from studying, this is the first time I've done something seriously. What I've learned in the past six months is equivalent to several years of the past."

Chen Guiliang said, "You stay here until after National Day this year and train a qualified new store manager. Then I'll give you a holiday to go home and spend time with your parents. After that, you can go to Beijing to report for duty and become an assistant to Ye Peng, the COO of HarmonyOS Technology. Ye Peng is very capable, so learn a lot from him."

"I understand," Qin Shanshan said with a smile.

Chen Guiliang didn't say anything more and let the two girls talk.

Bian Guanyue said, "When I visited my grandparents during the Spring Festival, I found that many streets in the county town had been renovated and changed. There's a new upscale residential area near your house, and the housing prices are extremely high, exceeding most of the properties in the city."

“I know. The land had already been sold when I resigned from the tobacco bureau,” Qin Shanshan said. “My parents even wanted to buy me a house there. They said they would pay the down payment and I would have to pay the mortgage myself.”

Bian Guanyue smiled and said, "Are your parents still angry?"

Qin Shanshan said, "Of course I was angry. I quit my secure job without telling them. But when I called them during the Spring Festival and told them I had become the store manager of the Rongcheng flagship store, they were actually quite happy. By the way, I also ran into Zhang Xiaohui before the Spring Festival. She came to the store and bought a HarmonyOS A2."

"Who is Zhang Xiaohui?" Bian Guanyue didn't have much of an impression of her.

Qin Shanshan said, "She's the one who sat behind you when you were classmates with Wu Meng. She got married last year, and her husband is quite wealthy, but he's ten years older than her."

"Ah, I remember now, it's that short-haired girl. She doesn't seem to wash her hair often; it's always oily," Bian Guanyue said.

Qin Shanshan laughed and said, "She's really good at dressing up now. I almost didn't recognize her after she put on makeup."

The two girls were chatting enthusiastically, while Chen Guiliang sat to the side scrolling through Weibo.

(End of this chapter)