Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 290 Current Situation
"I have to say, you're really something... You've survived so many years and so much." Old Guo sighed, then glanced at Yan Hui's arm. "You're still wearing that bracelet?"

“Even during my most difficult times, I never thought of selling this string of beads.” Yan Hui touched the beads, finding them increasingly profound.

"Why did you keep it from me back then? If you had asked me for money, I would definitely have helped you... Let me tell you, I'm not saying this now that I see you've succeeded. I wouldn't dare say more back then, but I could have come up with 100,000 or 200,000! You're just too stubborn!" Old Guo said helplessly.

“At that time… I really didn’t want to live anymore. I sat on the mountaintop for a whole day, constantly thinking about whether to jump… But at that time, my grandfather had just passed away less than a year ago, and I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to face him if I died… So let alone you… I lost so much because of the Jianye incident, none of you can understand it.” Yan Hui spoke quite lightly, as if this had happened to someone else.

"You..." Old Guo was somewhat surprised, "Is it really that serious...?"

“You can’t understand this kind of thing unless you experience it yourself. Lao Guo, we should be more careful in our actions. I hope you never have the chance to experience something like this in your life.” As he spoke, Yan Hui talked about Jianye’s situation, giving a brief overview.

Old Guo wasn't an outsider. After listening, he remained silent for a moment, and finally said, "Someone like me who relies on his parents, seeing someone like you... is like seeing a god... If it were me... I probably would have jumped right then and there."

"Let's not talk about that. Let's talk about timber. By the way, what's the status of the logging ban in the Tangwang River area? I heard it's already being enforced."

"It's been implemented for a while now, but it's not a complete ban on logging, just a restriction... But you know the environment here, people are secretly logging anyway, and they're sure they can reach the required quantity. The government's management of this matter is still far from adequate." Old Guo was, of course, an expert.

The formal logging ban in Tangwanghe took place about 10 years later. This policy was indeed difficult to implement, so by 2014, Yichun, which was known as the "City of Korean Pines," had seen its area of ​​Korean pines of sufficient size decrease by more than 90%. Only then did a protected area begin to be established, and the area gradually recovered.

“That won’t affect anything. I mainly need larch and red pine. This time I’ll need about 500 cubic meters,” Yan Hui said. “You set the price. I won’t haggle. Just guarantee the quality.”

"Alright, I won't waste any more words with you. I'll arrange the shipment tomorrow. Just give me the deposit first."

"Just follow the normal procedures." Yan Hui patted his fanny pack. "Full payment is also possible."

"Okay, okay, you're awesome." Old Guo didn't argue with Yan Hui about this.

The better the relationship, the more important it is to be clear about things; it's always right to be business-minded.

"Don't be fooled by the fact that you're buying 500 cubic meters. If you want raw timber, I estimate I'll only make 10,000 yuan profit on the price I give you. Anyway, even though you're a big customer, I don't care about these things..." Old Guo muttered, seemingly trying to prove something.

"Has anything interesting happened here in the past few years?" Yan Hui didn't respond to Lao Guo's question.

"Didn't I tell you last time that Taozi went to Jianye to look for you? She didn't find you and eventually gave up. She's married now. I was originally thinking of taking you to revisit the old hotel, but I thought about it and decided against it. I'm afraid it would make you feel awkward."

"Then you really shouldn't go, they're already married. Hmm, is there anything else?"

“There are plenty of cases. Two of the forest farms I used to work with have had their managers arrested. They started cracking down here last year. You probably already know the reasons for the cases. Anyway, the forest farms are different now than before. They're all maintaining a facade of normalcy. We old customers are okay, but the newcomers are having a harder time. The rules are nowhere to be seen.” “As long as it doesn't involve you,” Yan Hui said indifferently.

"How could I not be implicated? I'm making a good living too. In the first half of this year, I was summoned by the authorities twice, but my uncle came to help me out, and that's how I ended up in the situation. You know how things are here."

"Yeah, I understand. Anyway, it's right that you're being careful. In other words, I made the right choice in coming to you; coming to someone else would have been more troublesome." Yan Hui hadn't expected there to be so many new stories behind this.

“Definitely. You know that the supply price has started to rise because of the instability at the forest farm. We’ve been doing this for so many years and we all understand one thing: timber is actually cheapest when it’s close to the logging season. I’ve started stockpiling timber now,” Lao Guo said. “Buying logs now is the right thing to do. If you have money, I suggest you take advantage of this time to stockpile some.”

"Hmm, that makes sense. I'll gather the funds when I get back and then send you the orders." Yan Hui agreed with Lao Guo's words.

This is actually easy to understand. In business, there's something called "expectation."

For example, if a subway is to be built near a residential area, the property prices will rise the moment the news breaks. However, once the subway opens, prices won't continue to rise because the positive effect has already ended the moment the news broke.

The same applies to timber. At this time of year, because the logging season is approaching, everyone thinks there will be plenty of timber soon and tries to sell off their stock at low prices. However, based on long-term experience, the price of newly felled timber is not actually that low; timber prices rise every year. Once the logging season begins, prices don't actually drop.

"Okay, we'll talk about that later. First, hurry up and take these logs back to exchange them for cash. You only want logs right now, so it seems your processing plant is doing quite well?"

"Yes, my investment in personnel, housing, equipment, and the like has totaled nearly 100 million." Yan Hui nodded.

"You mean, for the past two years or so..." Old Guo said halfway through, then suddenly felt bored.

What have I been doing all these years?
"I'll keep a low profile this time. There's no one I really want to see except you, and the person you mentioned who will take over your position. So, I won't be showing my face much."

"Okay, my brother will be taking over my job. He's a very reliable person. You'll see when you meet him."

"You're really something, running your own processing plant and now having your brother come and take your place?"

"It's still because of what happened last time. I'm in a bit of a passive position here. Sometimes I get called in for tea, and if I go, I have to offer my brother a bribe so that everything will be fine. He's clean and didn't get involved in anything, so I don't have to worry about these issues," Lao Guo said, expressing some of his helplessness.

There are some things that are inconvenient to say in books, but those who lived through that era understand that having ability does not guarantee success.

(End of this chapter)