Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 142 House Arrest
"Brother, to be honest, even if you run away, I can't keep up with you." After a day of this, Wang Yao was completely exasperated. "Don't you ever get tired?"

"I have my own lives tied to my hands," Yan Hui sighed. "Brother, you're joking. Where can I run to?"

"Sigh," Wang Yao groaned inwardly, this was really no good job.

Wang Yao actually knew that his uncle wasn't afraid of Yan Hui running away at all.

Wang Hongjun privately told Wang Yao that he had two main purposes in inviting Wang Yao. The first was to put some pressure on Yan Hui, and the second was to see what Yan Hui's work style was really like.

In reality, Wang Hongjun wasn't worried about losing the timber, whether it was at the processing plant or the train station, as long as the large invoice stubs hadn't been sent out. This was a bulk commodity, not something you could just carry in your pocket.

Once Yan Hui finished everything and shipped the goods, he had no freedom left. He had to return to the forest farm and was "confined" until the train arrived and the money was transferred. Only then could Yan Hui regain his temporary freedom.

Why is Yan Hui thinking about so many trivial things right now?
He wants to make money! A lot of money!
He took away more than 120 cubic meters of logs with 30,000 yuan, or 20,000 yuan to be exact, and even used the forest farm's own vehicles to transport them! He now owes Wang Hongjun 40,000 to 50,000 yuan.

He needs to stay at the processing plant to ensure all the timber is successfully split into planks.

The factory owner was somewhat helpless; he had never seen an owner like this before.

When Yan Hui worked at his fourth uncle's processing plant, he saw countless materials, but the boss who supplied the materials never personally supervised the process.

There are definitely tricks involved in processing wood panels; if one or two cubic meters of 120 cubic meters of wood are taken away during processing, it will go unnoticed.

Yan Hui had heard the saying, "If the cook doesn't steal, the harvest won't be good." He used to think it was just a lame excuse from bad cooks, but later he realized it was the boss's predicament. Giving someone a power (like processing ingredients) that can't be fully quantified makes complete oversight impossible. The boss can't always be watching; they can only turn a blind eye and tacitly allow the cook to steal a little.

The same situation exists in the timber processing industry. After all, almost no boss has time to supervise it. It's too tiring. Watching it from morning to night, with noise and sawdust constantly generated, is not something you can understand in just a few minutes.

But Yan Hui has free time; he has far too much free time.

When these boards were brought over, the factory owner discovered that each of the more than 200 logs was numbered and had lines drawn on it.

Yan Hui had to keep a close eye on every single plank of wood and the entire process of moving it, taking notes on paper from beginning to end.

It’s so heartbreaking!
Admittedly, for a processing plant, having the lines drawn already can certainly reduce a step, but it's always uncomfortable to be watched while working.

"I can tell you're an expert at a glance," the factory owner said, completely convinced the next day.

As the owner of the processing plant, he was surprisingly less knowledgeable about the entire wood processing process than Yan Hui. Over the course of the day, Yan Hui offered him four or five suggestions.

"I just hope the boss can reduce the processing fees a bit." Yan Hui wasn't after anything else. The most important thing was that knowledge could be exchanged for money.

"Don't worry, I know I can't fool you. I'll definitely give you the lowest price. Not only that, I can also buy these scraps of yours."

"Okay." Yan Hui nodded; he still wanted to leave some profit for the other party.

In just two days at the processing plant, Yan Hui had already secured a price lower than Lao Guo's. Of course, Lao Guo rarely shipped planks; he mostly shipped logs, so he had less contact with the processing plant.

The next day, Yan Hui was busy until nightfall. He had already processed most of the goods, meeting his quantity requirements, while Wang Yao had disappeared.

The processing plant had already closed, but Yan Hui was still recording and measuring his timber. He was the most meticulous boss ever. Over 100 cubic meters of timber, more than 200 logs, and over 1000 planks—Yan Hui recorded almost everything. After calculating, he found that the yield of this batch of larch reached 87%, a very high figure, a full 7% higher than his uncle's previous processing plant!

Yan Hui was aware of this. The timber he received, calculated by Wang Hongjun, was 120 cubic meters, but Yan Hui had carefully calculated and selected it. The actual volume of the timber was about 124 cubic meters, a difference of 3.5 percentage points. In addition, the quality of the timber was high and the processing was more refined. The 7% difference in yield between the two is normal.

Yan Hui was recording these things when Wang Yao arrived late. He wanted to take Yan Hui to rest, but Yan Hui said he was still busy for a while.

Wang Yao had no choice but to stay with them until after 10 p.m. before the two went to their resting place.

The following evening, Yan Hui finished compiling statistics on the current processing status.

Based on a yield of 120 cubic meters and an 87% yield rate, the total quantity of this batch of boards is approximately 104 cubic meters.

The cost is 120*520+10000 (shipping and processing fees, etc.). This is an approximate figure. With some conservative costs added, the total cost is approximately 72500 yuan.

Yan Hui quoted Teng a price of 845 per cubic meter, with total sales approaching 8.8.

The profit reached over 1.5.

The price on Yan Hui and General Manager Teng's contract is 845, and Wang Hongjun isn't worried about seeing that.

The price was public, but only Yan Hui knew the yield rate. Wang Yao also knew a little about timber, but only a little; he wasn't capable of estimating the quantity of planks.

Yan Hui's plan to Wang Yao was to produce 97 cubic meters of timber and load 80 cubic meters per truck, but in reality, it could produce 104 cubic meters of timber and load 87 cubic meters per truck.

The output of the logs in two days reached 87 cubic meters. Yan Hui left the remaining logs here for the time being. The processing plant registered them and guaranteed that Yan Hui could store them for a month. Anyway, it was only a little over 20 cubic meters, and the processing plant wouldn't be short of space.

...

According to Yan Hui's calculations, his profit per truckload of goods was 1.3 to 1.5 yuan, but after his manipulation, Wang Hongjun saw that his profit was only about 0.8 to 1 yuan.

This is a reasonable and healthy profit margin, and Wang Hongjun wouldn't give it much thought.

Yan Hui has staked his life on this, so he should be as careful as possible.

Two days later, Yan Hui successfully loaded 87 cubic meters of sheet metal onto a railcar, paid the fees, and received the invoice.

The large bill was taken with the vehicle, and the deposit slip was sent to General Manager Teng. When it was mailed, Wang Hongjun came over personally to accompany Yan Hui to mail it out, and then took Yan Hui back to the forest farm.

After arriving at the forest farm, Wang Hongjun found Yan Hui a small courtyard. The courtyard had two rooms: a kitchen and a bedroom inside, and a yard of several dozen square meters outside.

"Just stay here and relax. If all goes well, everything will be fine in ten days." Wang Hongjun still had a smile on his face.

"Okay." Yan Hui picked up his bag and cooperated with the other party to keep him under house arrest. "Get me a hoe and some vegetable seeds."

(I've traveled to three cities in the past two days and am currently on the high-speed train. I'll talk more when I get back this afternoon. I will definitely add the extra chapter I promised yesterday.)

(End of this chapter)