Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 242 Price reduction
Geng Zhongxing is a trustworthy business partner, but unfortunately, the price is still unacceptable.

After negotiating with this company, Yan Hui went to inquire with several others, but their prices were all higher than Geng Zhongxing's.

The only one with a lower price than Geng Zhongxing's was one that Yan Hui went to check out, and it had obvious quality problems.

It's difficult to spot quality issues with plywood just by looking at it. Many inferior materials may appear fine initially and work without problems, but strength issues will surface later. By then, it's difficult to seek redress from the seller.

No construction site can claim that there's nothing fishy about their plywood.

The lowest price quoted by this company is for products with visibly poor quality; it's really outrageous.

Fortunately, Yan Hui was only there to compare prices. He also knew where there were processing plants nearby, so he quickly rode his motorcycle there.

After visiting two or three processing plants, none of them had gluing business, and Yan Hui didn't know who to contact for a while.

You can definitely find someone through connections, but it's easy to get ripped off. Sometimes, the closer you are to someone, the easier it is for them to take a cut. After all, Yan Hui himself started out taking cuts, so he knows all too well the ways of the game.

What should we do then? Go to Fengtian?
Fengtian is definitely a good option. Fengtian is very strong in mechanical processing and other fields, so I'm sure I can get a good price there. However, transportation is a major problem.

Yan Hui's current funds are completely insufficient to support inventory stockpiling, let alone railway transportation.

If he had 50, this matter would be much simpler.

After much thought, Yan Hui still felt that he should try to find a solution from Fengtian.

That evening, Yan Hui returned to the warehouse, picked up his phone, and called his fourth uncle.

He and his fourth uncle weren't on very good terms, but his fourth uncle would probably still help him with this favor.

"You want me to help you find a hot pressing plant in Jinan?" Uncle Si was silent for a while after receiving Yan Hui's call. "I know very well what happened to you last year. Anyway, it's really not easy for you to be able to start over now. For both personal and professional reasons, I have to help you with this."

"Uncle, of all the people I know in the timber processing industry, you are the closest to me. Now that I'm starting over, I really need your help," Yan Hui said earnestly.

"Trouble? Why are you saying that! Here's what we'll do: wait for my call tomorrow." Uncle Si was somewhat displeased.

After Yan Hui was scammed, he lost a lot of money. Other family members didn't know, but his fourth uncle and eldest uncle knew the most.

The person most willing to help me was my eldest uncle. He sent my second cousin to find me, saying, "I'll pay off any high-interest loans you have first, and you can pay me back later." What a huge favor that was! You know, my cousin didn't even ask how much I had lost!

In short, when a family member is in trouble, everyone should lend a hand, however little. When Uncle Si received a call from Yan Hui, who wanted to borrow money, he felt obligated to lend it within reasonable limits, otherwise he would lose face when he went home for the New Year.

He was determined to help Yan Hui with this request, no matter what!
That night, Uncle Si made several phone calls to friends to inquire about the plywood market and prices in Fengtian. He then contacted several friends and used some personal connections to get in touch with several reputable plywood factories in Jinan.

The next morning, Yan Hui had just finished his work with President Han and had barely left home when he received a call from his fourth uncle.

“Yesterday I contacted four processing plants in Jinan for you. Two of them are okay. You can go and see for yourself later. I had to go through a lot of favors to get this done. These two are the best value for money in Jinan,” Uncle Si emphasized.

"Thank you, Fourth Uncle, you've really helped me a lot!" Yan Hui said gratefully.

"Well, I have to help you out, so do your best!" Uncle Si then gave Yan Hui his phone number and address, which Yan Hui noted down. After hanging up, Uncle Si breathed a sigh of relief. Actually, what happened to Yan Hui during this holiday season had shocked him as well. He never expected that Yan Hui could develop so well in just two or three years, and also suffer such a huge loss.

Business people, upon hearing that relatives or friends have suffered losses, will usually inquire and find out the details to avoid making the same mistake themselves. It was only when Uncle Si learned about this "loss" that he realized Yan Hui's business was very large, even surpassing his own in cash flow!

In short, by helping Yan Hui with this favor, he can speak more confidently in the family and use it as a starting point when talking to his older brother.

that's enough.

Yan Hui didn't expect his fourth uncle to be of much help, but he would remember this favor and make sure to visit his fourth uncle's family more often during holidays once his business was established.

In short, the two processing plants that Uncle Si found are definitely trustworthy.

Yan Hui didn't rush to make a phone call, but instead rode his motorcycle to one of the companies first.

The processing plant was a full 30 kilometers away from Yan Hui. He asked for directions for a long time before finally finding it around noon.

He carefully looked around, observing the factory's size, the number of vehicles entering and leaving, the quality of the stacked logs, and the professionalism of the workers.
After watching for an entire afternoon, Yan Hui didn't go inside to look for anything. When the workers finished their shift in the evening, he watched them come out to eat, and he followed them to the same restaurant.

The workers chatted, joked, and drank, while he ate his meal leisurely and drank a bottle of soda with them.

At 8 p.m., Yan Hui quietly paid the bill and left.

The next day, after cleaning up, Yan Hui rode his motorcycle to the second house.

This one was in a better location, closer to the city center, and the factory was more advanced. Yan Hui looked around carefully, and when it was lunchtime, he watched the workers and waited for another group of people to come out for lunch.

They went to a small restaurant together. Just like yesterday, Yan Hui ate his meal and drank his beverage slowly at the next table.

He wasn't interested in hearing any intelligence; he mainly wanted to see what the cost control levels were in those two places.

After making a rough assessment, Yan Hui came to a conclusion: the one in the suburbs had better cost control, which meant that a lower price could be negotiated.

With that in mind, Yan Hui got on his motorcycle and headed straight for the house in the suburbs.

Upon arriving at this familiar place, Yan Hui informed the security guard at the gate and soon met the factory manager.

Seeing the factory manager personally taking charge and staying at the factory all the time, Yan Hui felt much more at ease.

The factory manager was a typical local from Shandong Province. He was very pleased to hear about Yan Hui's needs and called Yan Hui into his office for a detailed discussion.

“I can’t give you the price you’re asking for,” the factory manager said honestly. “Let’s not talk about nice things. You can come and check the quality anytime. In short, 74 yuan is my limit.”

"What if I want 100,000 copies?" Yan Hui asked again.

(End of this chapter)