Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 323 A desperate move

Li Pengfei came to operate the crane, and Liu Jianlei came to supervise the construction site. The two brothers returned to their previous cooperative relationship, only this time without the superior-subordinate relationship.

Li Pengfei was the site foreman and was very familiar with these things. He took the initiative to inspect the cranes, selected the one in the best condition from the row of cranes, and then test-drove it.

"Mr. Yan, you can drive back yourself. I'll take this crane directly to the construction site," Li Pengfei said from the driver's seat.

"Okay, you can drive." Yan Hui gave a few instructions and then got into his car.

He wants to complete the foundation construction before the Chinese New Year this year, and begin pouring concrete for construction after the spring of next year. He should have enough money this year, and next year...
The steel formwork company now has assets of 500 million yuan. He wants to use the steel formwork company as collateral for a loan to build a factory, but he has not been able to reach an agreement with the bank after several talks. The bank does not recognize such dispersed and unregisterable collateral.

Those in the know understand that Yan Hui's steel formwork weighs over 2000 tons and is worth over five million yuan, and that it is quite profitable, but the bank doesn't believe it.

Yan Hui had several drinks with the bank president last night, and the main topic of their conversation was this issue. The president assured him that there was no problem, but Yan Hui himself didn't quite believe it.

Really can't do
Yan Hui thought about this question as he drove back.

If all else fails, we'll have to sell the steel formwork company early next year. There are quite a few people willing to take it over, and it should fetch at least 500 million yuan.

If the company is sold, then the initial costs of building the factory will definitely be covered.

As for the equipment, the factory building can be used as collateral for a loan.

This path is feasible, as Yan Hui had considered long ago, but in doing so, he would essentially lose all his other businesses, leaving only his plywood business.

The steel formwork business and the plywood business are now a powerful alliance, complementing each other and creating a win-win situation. Most of the time, they can completely secure the fixed plywood business for a construction site, making it difficult for outsiders to compete. If the steel formwork company is sold, it will inevitably affect the sales of plywood.

His previous business plan was to form a construction site supply chain that integrates processing plants, plywood, and steel formwork rental. In the past few years, this has been effective, and he has formed a regional moat.

Now, for the sake of the chemical company, he has to dismantle his own processing plant and leasing company, bringing all his years of hard work back to the beginning – plywood leasing.

It is certain that the plywood business will not shrink on a large scale, but a small shrinkage is inevitable, and expansion will be extremely difficult.

Therefore, Yan Hui is reluctant to sell his steel formwork rental company unless absolutely necessary.

Back at the construction site, Yan Hui spotted Liu Jianlei immediately.

After a brief chat, Yan Hui learned that Liu Jianlei had cleaned up what he had vomited the day before.

"The construction site isn't getting enough funding, and Team Leader Li has recently taken over operating the crane. You guys need to cooperate well," Yan Hui said to Liu Jianlei.

"Captain Li is here?" Liu Jianlei was delighted. "Then let him be in charge. I'll listen to him."

"Can Team Leader Li still be the subcontractor supervisor?" Yan Hui asked curiously. "No, but Team Leader Li is a very good person, and he's always been very kind to us. However, Team Leader Li still operates the tower crane more often. By the way, when are we going to build the tower crane here? I can operate tower cranes too," Liu Jianlei said.

"Huh? You can operate a tower crane?" Yan Hui was truly astonished.

"This is very simple if you're not afraid of heights. It looks difficult, but anyone can learn it. I recently got my driver's license, so operating a tower crane will be even easier."

"Then forget it. You don't have the necessary permits for the tower crane. You should just supervise the construction." Yan Hui still refused. He couldn't possibly engage in dangerous construction just to save costs; he had always been against it.

"Anyway, I feel much more at ease now that Captain Li is here!" Liu Jianlei was very happy. He was really not good at commanding, but he felt more at ease doing things himself.

"Okay, you go ahead and do your work. I'll go check on the foundation plan." Yan Hui said as he went to the area where the excavator was located.

He wants to finish the foundation pit before it freezes, and if the progress is faster, he also wants to finish the foundation piles. He'll skip the concrete work for now; funds are a bit tight, he'll figure something out next year.

Think of a way.
Yan Hui has to find a way to do everything now.

As time passed day by day, construction continued to progress. By the end of November, Yan Hui's funds were running out. Fortunately, despite the extreme cost-cutting measures, construction was proceeding smoothly; the foundation piles had been driven and part of the foundation had been filled.

Construction equipment has begun to leave the site, and the foundation piles for the tower crane have been driven in. The tower crane will be erected next spring, and full-scale construction will begin on the site.

On December 23, the weather was nice, and Yan Hui called Zhou Ping to the construction site, where the two settled their accounts.

“Boss, I went to the bank again today, but I still can’t get the loan sorted out.” Zhou Ping sighed. “It’s not that the bank is completely ungrateful. The branch manager said they could lend us 100 million, but that’s far from what we need.”

“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time these past few days,” Yan Hui said, looking at the construction site. “I’m planning to sell the steel formwork company next spring. I should be able to get a good price.”

"Are you really planning to sell it?" Zhou Ping was taken aback. "This is no small matter!"

"Don't worry, I'll sell the company, but I won't sell you. Once Heng Hui Chemical is built, you'll come and be my accountant. According to my plan, it will be in production by this time next year." Yan Hui had already made up his mind.

At this point, with no other options available, they had no choice but to take a desperate gamble and sell the company.

Once the steel formwork company is sold, at the very least, the money to build a workshop will be available immediately.

According to the design institute's plan, the construction cost of the workshop will be about 480 million yuan, while the steel formwork company can sell it for about 500 million yuan. With the cash flow from plywood next year, the workshop will definitely be completed. Moreover, considering the money earned next year, some equipment can also be acquired.

"The problem now is that if the plywood business shrinks next year, the decline in profits will be very severe, and we can't estimate it right now." Zhou Ping calculated, "I estimate that monthly profits could drop to around 15."

"Once the factory is built next year and we get the relevant qualifications, we'll immediately start producing and selling polyurethane. Our lab equipment is industrial production equipment, so we can't wait any longer." Yan Hui remained undeterred. "Having come this far, the sale of the steel formwork company is a done deal. Nothing can shake my resolve now; I'm willing to take the plunge. After the factory is built, we'll see how much we can borrow for it, keep about a million for materials, and use the rest to buy equipment."

(End of this chapter)