Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 240 Relying on Your Help
If we consider the shopping mall as a battlefield, then we need to analyze it carefully.

Yan Hui has been reading the Selected Works of a Great Man to see how he dealt with difficulties and has summarized the main problems that business people face.

First, understand who your enemies are. Colleagues are often rivals; almost all of them are competitors. To enter any industry, you must know the strength and relationships of your enemies. A powerful enemy isn't scary; you must understand that enemies are not monolithic. Competition, internal strife, and conflicts among companies create gaps and new spaces for survival.

Secondly, it is necessary to have a mass base, that is, to establish a reputation and trust, which goes without saying.

Third, it is essential to have a clear understanding of the situation, to grasp the issues of the times and development, and to have a full understanding of the future of one's industry.

Fourth, you must have your own territory and your own strength. You must clearly understand that in the battlefield of business, your own strength is the most important. You must always maintain your advantages and always reserve enough strength for yourself.

Fifth, the plan. Yan Hui summarized a plan, which consists of five steps: analysis, judgment, coordination, decision-making, and execution.

Once a decision is made, it must be implemented quickly. However, to arrive at a decision, one must analyze and judge all the information presented so far.

If analysis and judgment are not enough, we need to try to coordinate some resources to "give it a shot" in order to make a more reliable decision, and then we can execute it!

Having come this far, experiencing both success and failure, Yan Hui wrote down the above, intending to constantly spur himself on, to reflect more and think more.

Time flies and it's already September 13th. The weather is still unbearably hot. Yan Hui really doesn't understand why Jinan, which is clearly in the north, is like a steamer in the summer.

In the morning, Yan Hui arrived at General Manager Han's office early to clean. He was already very familiar with the place; having been there for more than half a month, he could say he knew all the pens in General Manager Han's office.

At 7:30, Yan Hui finished cleaning the office and heard laughter and chatter outside. He glanced over and saw that it was President Han arriving with two children. Judging from their appearance, these should be President Han's children.

The older one was a boy, about fourteen or fifteen years old, and the younger one was a girl, who looked about ten years old.

“Call this guy ‘brother’,” Mr. Han told the children. “Call him Brother Yan.”

"Hello, Brother Yan!" the two children said in unison, and bowed to Yan Hui.

"Oh? Hello, don't be so polite," Yan Hui said, a little embarrassed.

"These two kids have a lot to learn from you in terms of how to conduct themselves and how to do things. They should be more polite," President Han said with a smile. "I've been busy elsewhere lately and haven't been here much, but I didn't expect you to still be so conscientious in your work."

"After all, I promised you." Yan Hui nodded.

In fact, President Han comes every day, but Yan Hui just hasn't run into him. As the cleaning staff, Yan Hui knows better than anyone whether President Han has come or not.

"Okay, do a good job." President Han looked at the two children, "You two go to the conference room for a while, I need to take care of some things, then I'll find someone to take you to school. It's just Teacher's Day, remember to say hello to your teacher."

Hearing the noise, the two children went next door. President Han called out to Yan Hui and went into his office.

“I have some free time today, could you tell me more about your timber business?” Mr. Han asked. “I heard you mention last time that you’ve dealt in logs, lumber, and timber. Do you know anything about plywood?” “Are you talking about the boards used to hold concrete in place on construction sites?” Yan Hui countered.

"Hmm, it seems you've had some contact with them before. What's your approximate price for a standard 1.2-meter board?" Mr. Han asked with interest.

"The price isn't actually stable; it mainly depends on the quality, and the quality difference can be huge. The plywood used on construction sites is usually 1.22 meters by 2.44 meters, with a thickness ranging from 10 to 15 millimeters. Some are made of birch, and some are made of poplar. Generally speaking, construction sites only need grade II and grade III plywood; grade I and higher are unnecessary. The most commonly used grade II poplar plywood should be available for under 80 yuan." Yan Hui gave a brief answer to Mr. Han's question.

In the later stages of his timber business in Jianye, his business scope had become very broad, and he had come into contact with a lot of plywood. Many of his scraps were used to make plywood.

"Hmm, how is this processed? You said last time you knew about processing?" Mr. Han nodded and continued to ask.

"The logs and boards of suitable length are rotary-cut and planed into wood chips, which are then dried, ideally maintaining a moisture content of around 15% to become veneers. Next, they are cut and glued, with adjacent layers arranged perpendicularly. After this, they are placed in a hot press to be pressed and cured, and finally, the edges are trimmed. In the entire process, the first step of cutting is the most crucial; the strength of the plywood depends mainly on the quality of the logs and the level of cutting. Besides that, the final hot-pressing process is very important; the pressure and temperature of this machine must be carefully controlled."

Yan Hui was afraid that President Han wouldn't ask.

"So, how much plywood do you think we need for this construction site, with a building area of ​​20 square meters? And approximately how much would it cost?"

“This kind of super-large building project… let me do the math.” Yan Hui thought carefully, “I estimate it will require around 15,000 sheets.”

"It seems you really do know a thing or two," President Han said, somewhat surprised.

He really didn't expect that Yan Hui, a person whose main business is logs and lumber, would know so much about plywood.

"Mr. Han, to be honest, plywood is indeed an area I'm not very familiar with. The reason I know about it is because I've lived in a forest farm, worked with timber workers, and lived in a processing plant. I've been involved in the entire process from logging to furniture making for over five years, without any experience outside of the timber industry. Although I'm not very old, I'm diligent. I read and study every day and take notes." Yan Hui began promoting himself to Mr. Han.

“I definitely believe what you told me about your past experiences. But, with the funds you have now, I remember it's 1. Is that enough to do this project? You know, I need at least 5 sheets of plywood just for this one construction site. How are you going to supply them?” Boss Han passed the question to Yan Hui.

"I can't supply that many goods, so I can only rely on your help!" Yan Hui straightened up and bowed. "If you are willing to help me."

Mr. Han hesitated for a few seconds: "Can you drive?"

"Yes, I have a driver's license." Yan Hui nodded.

Can you drive an Audi?

"Yes, I've driven an Audi several times."

"Okay, I have something to do in a bit. Could you take my two kids to school? They know where it is. The car's downstairs. Bring it back when you're done. Um, there's a meeting here next Monday at 10 a.m. Don't rush off then, attend it." Mr. Han said, tossing the car keys to Yan Hui.

(End of this chapter)