Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 171 Reflections
Yan Hui's expertise is mainly focused on the timber industry.

He has actually been to quite a few places. Besides Beijing, he has been to Yichun, Harbin, Fengtian, Jianye, and has also passed through some other cities.

But after seeing the map markings made by these two foreigners, Yan Hui's first reaction was that it was impossible.

The first page of this map book is not a map of China at all, but a world map. At least 30 countries have been marked on the world map, and as you flip through the pages, you will find that most of these marked countries have been visited by more than one city.

Opening a map of China reveals that these people, besides having visited several major cities, are now traveling along a loop around China. They entered China from Guangdong Province and followed the coastal route to this point. Yan Hui flipped through the map and saw a map of Guangdong Province, discovering that these two people arrived from Hong Kong Island in early October after its return to China—the date was marked on the map.

These two foreign friends seemed very willing to show off the places they had been to, and were very enthusiastic, boasting to Yan Hui and Lao Guo about how many places were amazing.

The two of them had a decent aptitude for languages; they knew a little Chinese. They chatted away, and whether they understood each other or not, they seemed to be having a great time. They arrived last night and stayed overnight. Today they were going to see the strange rocks in the forest, and after that, they planned to head back to Harbin. It was probably too cold. They planned to come back next year to continue their challenge of the China Loop.

After several rounds of communication, Yan Hui finally understood that one of the two people was from Germany and the other from Norway. Neither of them came from wealthy families, and they were on a work-six-months-a-half-years-travel-six-months-a-half-year ...

This directly challenged Yan Hui's understanding of work and business.

A round-the-world trip is definitely expensive, something that working-class people simply can't afford. Yan Hui has a high income now, but if you make him leave for six months and then come back, I guarantee he won't get anything.

As for the two people's work, Yan Hui couldn't understand it at all.

The young man from Germany, probably an engineer, had a stubborn streak that insisted on making sure Yan Hui understood. He took out paper and pen and drew and gestured for Yan Hui, and it took Yan Hui quite a while to understand.

Simply put, this person is an engineer who operates a high-precision machine tool.

After finishing their meal and chatting for a while, the four of them put on their warm clothes, hopped on two motorcycles, and headed straight for the area with its strange rocks and forest. Although the two of them had a map, they weren't as familiar with the route as Yan Hui and his companion.

This place, now called Yichun Granite National Geopark, began construction in 2001 and later became a 5A-level scenic spot, located in Tangwanghe District. At that time, it was undeveloped, and no one ever came here for no reason; when people arrived, there wasn't a soul in sight.

Upon entering this area, Yan Hui was also stunned by the scene before him. Various strange rocks were partially hidden in the snow, forming a beautiful winter landscape with the entire mountain range.

Two foreign friends took out their cameras and took pictures.

Perhaps because they talked a lot, Yan Hui and the others started gesturing and communicating, and they actually managed to have a decent conversation, albeit with some stumbling. Their Chinese was much better than his English.

From these two people, Yan Hui saw a completely different way of life.

Both are top engineering students, with patents or designs from their university years; one is in the field of mechanical processing, and the other in the field of fashion design. Their philosophy is that work is only one part of life, and trying and experiencing are the most important things.

Yan Hui asked the engineer why he could guarantee that they wouldn't fall behind in six months, and the answer he got was that being a year ahead was enough.

These words deeply impressed Yan Hui. He had always heard that German industry was decades ahead of theirs, but he never expected an engineer to be so confident. Yan Hui and Lao Guo had nothing much to do today, so they wandered around for most of the day, only parting ways with the two in the afternoon.

"Does this mean we can speak English now?" Old Guo exclaimed excitedly as he watched the two foreign friends leave.

"It's because those two speak better Chinese. What do we know?" Yan Hui still had some pride.

"Same idea! I really envy them. Look how free they are. When can I be like that?"

“Everyone has their own way of living. They enjoy life, and we enjoy life too when we do business.” Yan Hui was a little hungry. “Let’s go find a place to eat.”

"Yeah, time to eat. I'm starving. But you're right." Old Guo rubbed his stomach.

"However, no matter what, I'm deeply moved. You know, those two, they don't have rich fathers, they're not in business, how do they manage to support this kind of travel just by working?" Yan Hui got on the motorcycle and started it.

"What?" Old Guo also got into the car.

“They’re so advanced! Those who are ahead are making money, you can’t argue with that.” Yan Hui thought for a moment, “I think we should also move forward.”

"You want to open an advanced processing plant?" Old Guo asked, somewhat puzzled.

"I don't have an idea yet." The motorcycle sputtered away from where it stood.

All the businesses Yan Hui is currently involved in are actually following the paths already taken by predecessors; there are no new paths to explore. The timber business itself doesn't offer much room for innovation; if you want to stay ahead, you generally have to find solutions in processing equipment.

“You’ll be able to ship four train cars at once by the end of August,” Lao Guo said, sitting behind Yan Hui and whispering in his ear. “You’ve got at least 200,000 yuan now. I feel like by next spring, you’ll be able to set up a big processing plant. A processing plant with good equipment should cost around 400,000 yuan. If you’re going to set up a processing plant, I can find a way to invest, and then we can process our own goods.”

“It won’t work, Lao Guo. Look at Tangwanghe, some processing plants don’t even have any work! A lot of the timber here is shipped out as logs, while there are more processing plants and machinery factories in Fengtian, and their equipment is more advanced.” Yan Hui has been involved in too many processing operations recently and has contacted more than a dozen processing plants. He knows this is not a good business.

Currently, apart from large processing plants that have introduced automated equipment, small processing plants do not have high profit margins.

If you invest 40 yuan in a processing plant, you'll be lucky to earn 20 yuan a year after deducting labor, electricity, and losses! And that's just the ideal situation. If you encounter machine malfunctions or other problems, your profits will be greatly reduced. As for fires, I don't even want to think about it.

"So what do you want to do?" The road was difficult to travel, and Yan Hui was not riding his bike fast, so Lao Guo, who was sitting on the back seat, was chatting very easily.

"As I just said, I don't have any ideas yet. I need to find time to go to the market in Fengtian and then to the market in Jianye to see where the opportunities are. In short, no matter what, I must be ahead of the curve!" Yan Hui thought of the two foreigners.

In business, being ahead of the curve is always the most profitable, but it's also the most difficult.

(End of this chapter)