Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 208 Struck

After the summer vacation, Yan Hui finally got his driver's license and even took a photo with the students and instructors at the driving school.

He hasn't bought a car yet, mainly because he has high standards. The cars he can appreciate are at least Audi level, which he simply can't afford.

These days, Audis are very expensive. Yan Hui rented one when his brother-in-law came last time, and it cost 800 yuan a day. Now that he knows the car rental owner, the price is still 600 yuan a day, which is a month's salary for an average person.

As a new driver, Yan Hui's skills weren't quite up to par, so he specifically asked a driver to sit in the passenger seat and keep an eye on things. Mainly, the car was too expensive, and it would be a huge hassle if it got damaged.

Driving an Audi on the street, countless people would turn their heads to look at him; Yan Hui had never experienced that sense of satisfaction before.

After driving an Audi for a few days, he really looked down on ordinary cars. His third brother said that Yan Hui was getting a bit arrogant, but his cousin said that if you make money, you should enjoy it. Otherwise, what's the point of making money?
Business has been going very well lately, and based on the current situation, order volume will remain relatively stable until winter.

During the Chinese New Year period, many business people go home for the holidays, so it's normal for orders to decrease during this time.

Yan Hui still wanted to expand into other businesses, but he didn't know anyone in other industries, so he would read the news every day.

One day in September, Yan Hui saw a news report on CCTV-9 saying that starting in 2000, China would reduce its steel imports by 500 million tons.

This news immediately alerted Yan Hui.

What does 5 million tons mean? If one railcar carries 100 tons, then 500 million tons would be 500 railcars. Yan Hui thinks this is a huge number and should affect the price of steel.

So Yan Hui made a plan to learn about the steel market.

He is a straightforward person. After asking around among a few friends, he decided to visit a steel mill. After thinking about it, he chose a steel mill in Sanming.

Without saying hello to anyone, Yan Hui went directly there by himself.

From having this idea to personally going to the steel mill, Yan Hui only took one day.

The steel plant was very large. Yan Hui saw a dense array of cars at the entrance, some carrying ore, some carrying coal, and trucks continuously carrying steel out of the plant.

He made his purchase request to the security guard, and soon someone led him to a reception room.

The steel mill's reception room was very upscale. Two female staff members came over to pour him tea and asked him to wait a few minutes. Then, a man in his forties walked over quickly and shook hands with Yan Hui warmly: "This boss is very young! May I ask what specific needs you have this time?"

"To be honest, I run a timber business in Jianye. I recently saw the news that steel imports will be reduced next year, and I think this industry has a bright future. I'd like to learn more about the situation here. If possible, I'd like to sell steel in Jianye," Yan Hui said directly.

"You're going to reduce steel imports next year? How come I didn't know?" the middle-aged man asked, somewhat puzzled. "By how much?"

“500 million tons,” Yan Hui explained.

"500 million tons?" The middle-aged man's expression was somewhat strange. "What's the point? Last year, domestic steel production was about 1.2 million tons, and our factory's annual output was 300 million tons. Next year, domestic production capacity will definitely increase, so this amount is meaningless!"

Yan Hui began to waver, his confidence wavering. Before coming, he had roughly researched steel prices; it was about 1000 yuan per ton. This factory had an annual production capacity of 300 million tons, and its annual sales revenue was...
30 million.

"Boss, I think you might have some misunderstandings about this industry. Here, we generally schedule production according to customer requirements. If you don't have a wide sales network, you basically can't get into this business," the middle-aged man gently reminded him.

"Futures? I think you also sell spot steel here, right? When I came in, I saw a lot of steel plates and the like." Yan Hui didn't know how to describe it.

"Steel plates? We do have them in stock. But we don't do retail, so we don't know about your area."

“Our company has over 200 million in capital, but we definitely can’t order all the steel at the beginning. We need to do it little by little. Anyway, once we get started, the demand will increase.” Yan Hui said immediately.

"Um, I think you've misunderstood. I've made myself perfectly clear. We don't do retail. A single purchase of 200 million isn't worthwhile. You go ahead with your work; I have other things to do." The middle-aged man shook his head helplessly and turned to leave.

After the man left, Yan Hui remained in the room, his face flushing red and then turning purple. After a few minutes, he slunk away.

In fact, when this person mentioned an annual output of 300 million tons, Yan Hui already felt that he had made a mistake in coming here. He really did not expect that the entry threshold for steel trading would be so high!

Yan Hui certainly didn't want to be a middleman or a third-party reseller; he wanted to be a first-line supplier. But at this moment, he felt like a joke.

Judging from the current situation, even if he wanted to become a second-tier distributor, it would be difficult for him.

At that moment, Yan Hui suddenly felt very poor. The so-called 200 million was like a joke, and he was completely looked down upon.

On the way back, Yan Hui felt extremely frustrated.

For the past year or so, things have gone too smoothly for him, to the point that he's become a bit arrogant. This trip to Sanming has brought him a huge sense of loss.

Back at Jianye, Yan Hui stopped mentioning steel altogether, and prepared to continue expanding his timber sales.

"It seems the steel business is really tough," the third brother said, somewhat puzzled when he heard that Yan Hui had given up on steel. "So what are your plans?"

"Let's continue with the timber business. If possible, we can set up a more advanced timber processing plant in Jianye next year, which can accept custom orders." Yan Hui's trip to the steel mill was worthwhile; he felt that the order-based processing method was still very important.

A good timber processing plant would require an investment of at least a million, and its scale and sophistication would far surpass that of Uncle Si's plant, with a significantly increased production capacity. He could then receive more orders and engage in processing supplied materials.

This is a complicated process. He currently lacks the necessary talent. After the Chinese New Year this year, he might go to Northeast China to recruit some professionals.

"A processing plant? Does that mean you and President Teng are in competition?"

"First of all, our company's development must prioritize our own needs; secondly, their processing is entirely for construction site use, while we are different. We want to create more diverse products, and I don't produce that kind of goods," Yan Hui explained simply.

"Okay, I'll do whatever you say." The third brother nodded.

(End of this chapter)