Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 284 Finance
Yan Hui originally planned to go to Fengtian for an inspection trip by himself, but Zhou Ping happened to be free and wanted to go with him when he heard that Yan Hui was going to Fengtian. Zhou Ping himself was a graduate of Fengtian University and had many classmates there.

Yan Hui had no objection, but he planned to fly there, which Zhou Ping was reluctant to do, so in the end Zhou Ping could only leave a day earlier.

"You really have free time. I don't think your uncle's financial problems really need you," Yan Hui said meaningfully.

"The ceramics industry is tough right now, and our factory's business in Jinan isn't doing well either. We've been relatively quiet lately," Zhou Ping sighed.

"Ultimately, it's still a product issue. If your uncle could spend another two or three million to import an advanced tile production line from Foshan or other places and improve the quality, the business would be much easier to develop," Yan Hui suggested.

To put it bluntly, we are indeed in an era of large-scale infrastructure construction now, but the entry threshold for basic industrial products is really low. Many small workshops can start with just tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of yuan. If these people spend their first pot of gold recklessly or fail to improve their production lines, they will inevitably be eliminated.

Many village brick factories, in this era, could earn 200,000 to 300,000 yuan a year with an investment of 100,000 to 200,000 yuan, and then the factory owners would spend it all and go bankrupt after this period. Anyone who has lived in the countryside should have seen similar abandoned brick factories.

Yan Hui and Wang Zongbo both visited Mr. Zhou's factory. It has a relatively advanced tile production line, which is much more advanced than the surrounding brick and ceramic factories, but that's about it.

Industrial production is either progress or decline; it must continuously invest in research and development and constantly acquire newer and better equipment in order to survive.

"Two or three million. My uncle's cash flow is all tied up in the Jian'an Group's storefront, as you know. The factory still has a lot of loans, so how easy is it to get any business now?" Zhou Ping looked at Yan Hui. "To be honest, not everyone has your luck."

"Maybe," Yan Hui said noncommittally.

Aside from Yan Hui and President Han, no one knows how their relationship grew stronger and stronger.

To outsiders, Yan Hui's success is largely attributed to good luck, and some even have rumors that he is Han's illegitimate son from his youth.
Yan Hui didn't care about these rumors, as they wouldn't harm him anyway. If President Han was willing to accept him, he'd be happy to have a godfather; it's still quite common these days.

Of course, that kind of relationship would only complicate things further.

It is very difficult to do business well. The people Yan Hui has met now, such as his brother-in-law and President Zhou, are already the best at this level, but they still face many problems.

Sometimes, success still depends on opportunity; few people can truly rise up step by step through their own abilities.

"Old Yan, do you think my uncle has any good solutions to break this deadlock?" Zhou Ping asked.

"In my opinion, the storefront he bought is almost finished, so he should hurry up and mortgage it to get money to continue improving the production line." Yan Hui calculated the time, "His house should be ready for the certificate soon, right?"

"You already have a lot of loans, and you still want to take out more?" Zhou Ping was a little surprised. "Old Yan, how much debt do you have? Is it convenient for you to tell me?"

"Huh? Me?" Yan Hui thought for a moment, "I don't have a loan."

"Huh? You didn't take out a single loan?" Zhou Ping was a little confused.

“I don’t have any physical business right now, I’m just an ordinary vendor, so I don’t really need a loan, and the bank won’t lend me one anyway! But this time I’m going to get some machinery, and I’ll open a processing plant when I get back. Once the processing plant is up and running, we’ll see how things go. If I need one, of course I’ll need a loan,” Yan Hui explained.

“That’s true. But how much does a timber processing plant cost? This production line is simple, around 100,000 should be enough.” “Including the factory and equipment, it’ll probably cost close to a million. I need to get a more advanced one. That way I won’t lack orders.” Yan Hui looked at Zhou Ping, “If your uncle has nothing to do, why don’t you come and work with me? I need a reliable accountant.”

"You're trying to poach people from me?" Zhou Ping laughed and cursed a few times, not saying much more, but he was indeed somewhat tempted.

That's how business is sometimes; if you're quick on one step, you're quick on every step. As for his uncle, he didn't have much of a chance. The old accountant was young and energetic, and firmly held the reins.

"You can see for yourself. Anyway, I trust you."

Zhou Ping is President Zhou's nephew, a college graduate, and has worked in finance at a large factory. He would never ruin his future like the third brother. Yan Hui's judgment of people is now infinitely better than it was a few years ago; in his eyes, Zhou Ping is still reliable.

Two and a half years later, Yan Hui finally established new trust and began considering hiring an accountant.

"Uh..." Zhou Ping saw that Yan Hui didn't seem to be joking, and didn't know what to say.

"After you come back from Fengtian, think it over yourself. If it's okay, I'll talk to your uncle. I'm doing alright this year, mainly managing the processing plant, so I can just find someone to do the accounting. But next year I'm planning to set up a company, and then we'll need a financial manager. If you come, this position is yours." Yan Hui extended an olive branch.

"Huh?" Zhou Ping also became serious. "I will seriously consider it."

...

Whether it was Yan Hui's recruitment that worked or not, Zhou Ping only spent one day with his classmate on this trip to Fengtian, and followed Yan Hui the whole way.

Yan Hui understands machinery, but he may not understand finance or pricing. Some manufacturers, in order to sell equipment, would show Yan Hui some financial statements, which Yan Hui would then casually show to Zhou Ping. After a few days, no one could fool the two of them.

Sometimes, contacting someone is pointless. Experts are better off going directly to the customer's location, since they are the customers themselves and the core issue is how much money they are spending and what they are buying.

The two worked for almost half a month, acquiring most of the equipment. With Zhou Ping around, Yan Hui realized that many of his previous financial common sense were wrong, and that many of his transactions were risky, but he had never paid attention to it.

Plans can't keep up with changes. During the equipment purchase process, Yan Hui called General Manager Zhou to talk about Zhou Ping. To Yan Hui's surprise, General Manager Zhou was very willing and even told Zhou Ping to perform well, which made Yan Hui initially think it was sarcasm.

Later, Yan Hui realized that he was Han's favorite, and Zhou was eager to have a close relationship with him. Now, mentioning Yan Hui's name was effective in many places. If Zhou casually mentioned, "My nephew is in charge of finances for Yan," many construction sites would give him special treatment!

For President Zhou, what does losing one accountant matter?

...

Zhou Ping originally came to Fengtian just for fun, but he ended up changing jobs. Opportunities are hard to predict.

(That's all for today. I've tried my best. I'll make up for any missing parts.)

(End of this chapter)