Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 223 The Second Son's Money
My brother-in-law visited Jianye once last year. At that time, he discussed some business matters with Yan Hui, but Yan Hui pretended not to listen.

He succeeded on his own path, so why should he listen to others?
When he heard his brother-in-law explain these principles again, he thought everything he heard made sense.

That's just how the culture in Shandong Province is: once you're here, you make the best of it; you need to adapt to it, and you have to be better than most people.

"In short, it's very difficult to make others feel that you are reliable," my brother-in-law advised in his final words.

After dropping his brother-in-law off at home, Yan Hui went straight back to the warehouse.

After taking a nap, he had nothing to do in the evening, so he strolled around the streets.

My brother-in-law gave him a map before, but he couldn't understand it at first. Now that he's been here for two months, he can finally understand the area.

In January of this year, two towns in Licheng were transferred to Shizhong District, and two towns and one township were transferred to Tianqiao District, marking the beginning of a major construction period in the urban area.

The warehouse where Yan Hui lives is located in Shilihe, which originally belonged to Licheng District, but now belongs to the city center.

This area now resembles an urban village, with some surrounding buildings being four or five stories high. However, to the north of this area, many high-rise buildings are under construction, and the construction sites Yan Hui visited were mostly located to the north of his residence.

To the southeast of here, there is a timber market. Judging from the markings on the map, it should be quite large, as there is a railway line there.

To learn about these things, Yan Hui needed to buy a motorcycle.

The next morning, Yan Hui didn't go to work at the construction site, but instead looked for used motorcycles in the surrounding market.

Yan Hui's driver's license allows him to ride both motorcycles and cars, but he couldn't afford a used car. Motorcycles have become very cheap in the last two years, so Yan Hui searched all morning and finally chose a used Jialing motorcycle. It had three gears, no clutch, and looked very worn, but it only cost him 1300 yuan.

With a motorcycle, Yan Hui could go anywhere easily. He first went to the local timber market.

Returning to the timber market, Yan Hui was overwhelmed with mixed emotions.

He didn't recognize any of the people in front of him, but they all seemed very familiar.

He entered the timber market as if he were at home; there was no difference between the timber markets in the two places.

He visited several companies that had large storefronts and looked very reputable, and went in for a chat.

He could barely speak three sentences before the other party brought him fine tea and cigarettes, because insiders knew that Yan Hui was a big businessman, and his speaking style and manner were unmistakable.

Quancheng is much further north than Jianye and closer to Fengtian. In addition to railway transportation, a small number of people here also choose road transportation.

The highway from Fengtian to Quancheng is exactly 1000 kilometers long, and trucks can arrive on the same day, with relatively controllable costs.

If there's no rush, rail transport is fine, and the freight is cheap. Transporting a whole train car of timber from Fengtian here only costs a little over 3000 yuan. If transported from Yichun, the price would be around 5000 yuan, but Yan Hui didn't ask the exact figure, and most people here don't know either.

Yan Hui spent a day visiting various places and basically got a grasp of the timber prices in the area.

It's generally a bit cheaper than Jianye, and it also has a wider variety of products.

"Boss, just let me know if you need anything." A boss named Geng Zhongxing handed Yan Hui his business card.

This boss is quite honest. He could tell that Yan Hui was an expert, so he spoke very directly, and the quotes and shipping costs he gave were quite reasonable.

"Mr. Geng, how much stock do you usually have on hand?" Yan Hui asked.

"Mr. Yan, don't worry about that. I've been in this market for ten years. If you need stock, I can offer you a very favorable price. As for quantity and quality, don't worry either. I have many friends who can always guarantee the quantity and quality," Geng Zhongxing said with a smile, as if it were a trivial matter. "It seems Mr. Geng is indeed confident. I look forward to our cooperation. I might need 10 cubic meters of timber soon. I'll order a batch from you first to check the quality," Yan Hui said with a smile.

“No problem, I’ll give you the wholesale price!” Geng Zhongxing thought Yan Hui was a reliable person and immediately made a promise.

An expert's skill is immediately apparent. Yan Hui chatted with him for about half an hour and discovered that Yan Hui's knowledge in many areas actually surpassed his own. It's difficult for people to understand things on other levels. For example, Yan Hui can understand the transportation, ordering, and sales of 1,000 cubic meters of timber, but if you ask him how to handle 10,000 cubic meters of timber, he would definitely stumble and hesitate, since he hasn't experienced it firsthand.

Similarly, small businessmen couldn't possibly understand how to handle dozens of train cars of timber, but Yan Hui could talk about it fluently.

Geng Zhongxing's transaction volume was also considerable. The market in Jinan was competitive in terms of price, service, and quality. After discovering Yan Hui as a customer, he treated him with more courtesy than anyone else.

After talking for a while, Yan Hui left with his business card.

For the next two days, Yan Hui went back to work at the construction site.

High-altitude material painting is the highest-paying job Yan Hui can find right now. As long as he has work every day, his monthly income can exceed 3000 yuan. With the wages from his brother-in-law, his monthly income can reach an astonishing 4000 yuan.

Ten days later, General Manager Yin called Yan Hui, saying that the construction site needed 15 cubic meters of material and mentioned the specific requirements.

Don't be fooled by the small quantity; there are quite a few different types. This community has hundreds of trees that need to be reinforced with wooden poles, which will require several cubic meters of poles, as well as some wooden strips, timber, and so on.

Yan Hui arranged a time to communicate with the person introduced by General Manager Yin, and quickly finalized the price.

This order was essentially a gift, entirely thanks to my brother-in-law's influence, but it was quite special for Yan Hui.

Customers are always the top priority, and acquiring customers is the most difficult thing. Without customers, Yan Hui can't rely solely on suppliers like Wang Hongjun.

It's fair to say that Yan Hui's success in Jianye was primarily thanks to President Teng. He was both the reason for his success and his downfall; everything seemed preordained.

The total price of these 15 cubic meters of timber is approximately 19,000 yuan, and Yan Hui's profit is around 3000 yuan, which is much higher than Yan Hui had imagined.

From the perspective of the construction site, Yan Hui wasn't making any money at all. It was such a small business that even Boss Yin's subordinates weren't interested in getting kickbacks. They just talked about the delivery time and left.

Yan Hui needs to bring the goods over and inspect them before he can get paid.

It would require about 20,000 yuan in capital. After thinking about it, Yan Hui decided not to borrow money from his brother-in-law, as he couldn't rely on his brother-in-law for everything.

He chose to call his second son.

His mobile phone number belonged to Jianye, and in order to cover the travel expenses for the high-ranking official, he contacted the second brother via landline.

"You need money? How much? If you're in a hurry, besides your 23,000, I can help you raise some more," the second brother said.

"No need, 20,000 is enough. I'll send you my bank card number." Yan Hui felt much better immediately.

"Okay, I see."

That evening, Yan Hui received 25000 yuan wired from his second son.

When he borrowed the money, he never imagined that this small sum, which he had initially looked down upon, would play a crucial role at a critical moment.

(End of this chapter)