Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 192 Ash Willow

Yan Hui was probably the first boss to be so polite to the security guard. The security guard was very happy: "I think you're a good person. Here, come over tomorrow and I'll introduce you to someone."

"Huh?" Yan Hui frowned. "Sir, what time tomorrow?"

"Come over after lunch. I think you two will definitely have something in common!" the old man said.

Yan Hui paused for a few seconds, then said, "Okay."

After saying goodbye to the security guard, Yan Hui went home that evening and had dinner with his cousin and third brother, where they talked about the matter.

"You're such a big boss, you actually believe what the security guards say? How much experience do they have?" My cousin was a little confused.

The first half of this year has passed, and my cousin has made quite a bit of money. He doesn't rely entirely on Yan Hui for his earnings; he has his own channels and connections. In fact, his resources are richer than Yan Hui's, and if he puts his mind to it, he can earn a considerable amount of money.

"Anyway, I'm not busy lately, so I'll go and take a look. I think this old man is quite knowledgeable." Yan Hui shook his head slightly.

"If the fifth brother says it's okay, then there's no problem. Anyway, he gets a lot of things by talking." The third brother interrupted his cousin when he saw that his cousin was about to speak.

"No, but I promised, so I have to go," Yan Hui laughed, then changed the subject, "By the way, has the price of red pine gone up in the market?"

"The price has gone up. Red pine is still powerful, but sales are low, so there aren't many people who can afford it." My cousin thought for a moment, "That Mr. Zheng you know is one of them."

"I'll go to Northeast China later and see if I can get some imported rosewood to lower the price," Yan Hui said thoughtfully.

The next day, Yan Hui arrived at the construction site gate as promised and offered the security guard from the previous day a cigarette.

"You're here. Sit here and wait a bit. I'll go call someone for you." The old man took a cigarette and left the guard booth to Yan Hui.

This surprised Yan Hui. Did he really trust him that much?

Less than ten minutes later, the old man led out a man who looked to be close to 30 years old and began to introduce Yan Hui: "This is a big boss who runs a timber business. He donated more than 10 yuan worth of supplies for this flood!"

"It's an honor to meet you," the young man said, shaking hands with Yan Hui. "My name is Li Shengli, and I'm the project manager at the construction site. My dad mentioned you to me last night, and I knew right away that I had to meet you! I didn't expect you to be so young!"

"Huh? This is your father?" Yan Hui exclaimed in surprise. He had just seen them from afar and thought they looked very close, but they didn't look alike at all!
"My father-in-law!" Manager Li laughed heartily.

"Oh, no wonder!" Yan Hui immediately understood. "I knew Uncle looked extraordinary; it turns out he has such a wonderful son-in-law. The other day, chatting with him, I realized he's no ordinary man!" "What do I know!" the old man waved his hands repeatedly. "You young people, you go and chat!"

Li Shengli led Yan Hui into the construction site and into a newly built workshop, inviting Yan Hui to sit down.

"These past few months of torrential rain have flooded the entire construction site. Fortunately, the main structure is already finished, otherwise we would have been in big trouble," Manager Li chatted with Yan Hui.

"I've visited several construction sites these past few days, and Manager Li's site is very well-organized. It seems like construction has completely resumed," Yan Hui said, subtly offering a compliment.

"The construction period is tight!" Manager Li sighed. "My dad said yesterday that you have timber, but... this is a high-rise building, and the foundation piles are all reinforced concrete, so we don't need much timber."

“Manager Li, you’ve misunderstood,” Yan Hui shook his head. “Yesterday, your father-in-law told me he would introduce someone to me, but I didn’t know it was you, and I’m not here to sell timber. I’ve actually indirectly served many construction sites, and most of them have two needs for timber. First, when building a house, larch planks are needed as support for the scaffolding; second, after the brickwork is laid, timber of the same height as the floor is needed to support it while waiting for the cement to set. I see that your building has already been renovated, so you don’t need timber for these aspects.”

"Hmm? Then come here, what's this?" Manager Li was a little puzzled. After a few words, he knew that Yan Hui was an expert.

“My company is now quite large, but the timber we deal in is mainly white pine and larch. However, I actually have quite a few high-end tree species resources, including red pine and birch. You might need them for your house renovation. I’ve heard that this is a high-end residential area.” Yan Hui wanted to further expand his red pine business.

"Your business is so comprehensive? Do you have any high-quality ash wood? We need it for our stair railings, but I've looked in several markets and haven't found anything suitable," Li Shengli asked tentatively.

“Then you’ve come to the right person. I’ve been in contact with ash trees for over three years,” Yan Hui immediately replied.

Yan Hui had come into contact with ash when he helped out at his second brother's place in Fengtian!
"Oh? Could you tell me about it?" Li Shengli was clearly testing Yan Hui.

"Generally speaking, the higher the density of wood, the better its quality. The density of common pine is less than 0.5, while that of Japanese red pine is exactly 0.5, and that of linden is also 0.5. These are all high-quality woods. Ash has a density of 0.65, close to that of mahogany (0.8), and is considered a high-end wood. The current price for logs is no less than 1800 yuan per cubic meter. I have shipped ash with friends in Northeast China before. This kind of wood needs to be transported with other tree species, otherwise the gaps are too large."

Yan Hui had never shipped any ash wood products, but Lao Guo had, and he had also inspected them.

Ash wood is different from other types of wood; it is not coarse, nor is it straight, and its wood is very hard.

Because ash wood is not straight, it's difficult to cut it into boards directly for use. It requires drying followed by steam heating and mechanical pressurization. This step cannot be done at the production end and must be performed at the user end, which greatly increases transportation difficulties. The most critical issue is the significant increase in average freight costs. Therefore, loading trucks with ash wood is already difficult, and it's necessary to also load other types of timber in between to reduce transportation costs.

Yan Hui spoke eloquently for a long time. It was only because the other party was not a professional that Yan Hui could have discussed a great deal about the processing of ash wood and its secondary and tertiary treatments.

"I really underestimated you, Mr. Yan. I didn't expect you to be such an expert! I asked a few people, and my friend in Shanghai told me that this stuff can be used for stair railings and won't break for decades! Our boss said he wants to build quality housing and a century-old brand, so he specifically requested ash wood. It seems I've met the right person!" Li Shengli was also happy. He now felt that his father-in-law had a really good eye!

That's great, of course. How could someone who chooses me as their son-in-law have poor taste?
(End of this chapter)