Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 294 Company
Around 11 p.m., Yan Hui had already gone to bed when he received a call from Lao Guo.

"I asked around, and it doesn't involve you. This time, it's all about businessmen connected to that batch of goods at the port. Every single one of them has disappeared." Old Guo sighed. "Let me tell you, I almost got involved too. If I hadn't thought the prices there were too low, I would have bought them!"

"Then," Yan Hui pondered for a moment, "the port has been dealt with, so can you go and buy imported timber now?"

"Huh? Who would dare to go and risk this trouble now?" Old Guo was startled.

“It’s definitely not going to work today or tomorrow, but once this wave passes, won’t it be a new opportunity?” Yan Hui had already thought about this.

Yan Hui wasn't afraid of Wang Hongjun's matter at all; this was nothing compared to what he had experienced back then.

So, Yan Hui had considered this issue before Lao Guo called. In today's terms, a new ecological niche had emerged.

"Old Yan, I was so worried, but you weren't scared at all. You're really amazing!" Old Guo was speechless.

“I’ve been thinking about this since you told me this afternoon. I’ve also consulted my finance department and my friends in foreign trade. There are two suitable routes: one is to import the timber directly from Tangwanghe and transport it to Jinan by rail, and the other is to ship it by sea from Vladivostok to a port in Shandong Province and then transport it here. I’m still calculating the costs.”

"Your execution is truly impressive." Old Guo hadn't thought that far ahead.

"Shipping is much cheaper than rail transport, and the larger the ship, the cheaper it is. The only troublesome part is the last 200 kilometers of road transport, which is really too expensive." Yan Hui looked at his arithmetic paper and even doubted that he had made a mistake.

"If all else fails, let's take the railway and haul it directly from Tangwanghe." Old Guo was also steered into the conversation by Yan Hui.

"Hmm, we can try the railway first. The railway doesn't require a large quantity at once. As for shipping, it's difficult to arrange without several million." Yan Hui had heard that these bulk timber ships start at several thousand cubic meters. He didn't really understand it, but he was just asking around.

"Okay, then I..." Old Guo sighed, "I can only say I'll ask around for you."

"Ask away, don't be afraid." Yan Hui hung up the phone, needing to give Lao Guo some time to consider the matter.

What do businessmen fear most? It's definitely not making a profit.

Guo didn't accept imported goods in the first place because they weren't cheap. But now that the people who were entrenched there have been arrested, the price will definitely be lower.

This is such a simple matter; I'm sure Lao Guo can figure it out.

A few days later, Yan Hui received a call from Lao Guo, who said he had the same idea. Moreover, because of this matter, Lao Guo planned to postpone his return to Fengtian, and at least stay in Yichun until he could successfully navigate this route.

This is good news for Yan Hui, who is still not familiar with Lao Guo's brother.

During this period, the two of them would call each other every few days until Lao Guo returned to Fengtian for the Chinese New Year.

This year's Spring Festival was much better than the first one after he arrived. Yan Hui sensed the thriving market. He was busy running around every day but didn't feel bored at all. With Lingling by his side, he didn't even feel lonely. Yan Hui was too busy. He always preferred to do things personally because he had suffered greatly from his previous laziness. Now, he understood every deal that Wang Yongjun's team negotiated and knew the names of the backers. He visited and extended New Year's greetings to everyone he could during the Spring Festival.

This year, Yan Hui gave everyone a bonus, with Wang Yongjun receiving the most because he was the only one who had worked there for a full year. As the business stabilized, Yan Hui lowered the profit-sharing model for plywood, allowing Wang Yongjun, the person in charge, to earn more than the other salespeople. At the same time, Yan Hui also asked Wang Yongjun to train a deputy.

This year, Wang Yongjun earned a total of about 5 yuan, and he expects to earn even more next year. With the money he's made, Wang Yongjun has become more mature and stable.

After the New Year, Yan Hui asked his father about his driving lessons and found that he hadn't finished yet and would probably come over in April. Winters in Jinan are too cold, and although there's heating, Yan Hui still didn't want his grandmother to come in the winter, so he and his father decided to come together in April. Then he started running around again.

The timber stockpiled over the winter saw a general price increase after spring. Workers returned to work, and the factory immediately began operating. With more workers and vehicles, Yan Hui no longer needed to oversee the timber. He met with Zhou Ping and Wang Yongjun to announce the new company.

“I visited many clients during the Spring Festival. This year’s core business has been determined, which is the steel formwork rental business. After the company is established, I will be responsible for purchasing steel formwork, and you will be responsible for financial statistics and external promotion. I have personally secured about 50 yuan worth of business. The rest will mainly rely on Yongjun.”

"How is this business conducted? What is the pricing?" Wang Yongjun asked.

"The rent is usually set on a monthly basis. The rental cost for one ton of steel pipes, steel formwork, and components is about 50-100 yuan per month, which is basically the market price. I will talk about the specific process later. Right now, we need to focus on setting up the company as soon as possible." This was the first time Yan Hui had made this matter public to the two of them.

"What name do you plan to give the company?" Zhou Ping actually had a general idea, but he didn't know it was steel formwork.

"Keep the name low-key. Since it's steel formwork, let's just call it something like 'Hengqiang' (meaning 'Constant Strength')." Yan Hui shook his head slightly as he thought back to the original company name, "Dazhan Hongtu" (meaning "Great Ambitions").

“Alright, leave the company registration to me.” Zhou Ping nodded.

After that, Yan Hui called all the sales staff over and started to explain some knowledge points about steel formwork and provide training for them.

We're all in the plywood business, so we're not unfamiliar with steel formwork, but we've only ever seen it before.

Steel formwork and plywood are two of the most commonly used concrete formwork materials. Besides steel formwork, there is also aluminum alloy formwork, which is similar to steel formwork.

The plywood provided by Yan Hui can generally be used 5-10 times, while standard combined steel formwork can be used more than 100 times, and large steel formwork can be used more than 300 times.

In addition, steel formwork boasts extremely high flatness and sharp edges, making it essential for high-rise buildings where quality and flatness requirements are stringent. In recent years, construction site mechanization has been advancing, with an increasing number of cranes and steel formwork being used more extensively – making it a continuously growing industry.

Of course, steel formwork also has many disadvantages. The workload of loading and unloading is relatively large, and it is difficult to do it by manpower.

Besides steel formwork, there is another type of large formwork, also known as "large steel formwork". This type of formwork has a fast construction speed and is the mainstream choice for shear wall structures of high-rise buildings. It is a relatively new product in the construction site rental field.

(End of this chapter)