Chapter 455 Zhou Banxian

As per Zhou Yi's request, Zhou Jianye told Zhou Yi all the information about the person who cheated him.

Zhou Yi remembered this silently and planned to go back to Wuguang to find a chance to investigate this guy named Feng Kun.

"Uncle San, have you paid off the money you owed to your previous employer? If not, take some from my house first. I'll talk to my mom."

The wife and children have been sent back, which means he must have been threatened.

And even in this situation, Uncle San had no intention of making a profit from the money he earned from reselling the steel coils.

"It's okay. It's a little short, but I have some money on the way. I'll just make up for it when I get it." Zhou Jianye gritted his teeth and said, "If it really doesn't work, I'll sell the house over there and pay it back first."

Zhou Yi was nodding at first, because he thought that in his previous life, his third uncle did not send his wife and children back, and nothing happened afterwards. He should be able to get through this disaster on his own.

But when Zhou Yi heard him say he wanted to sell the house, he got angry.

He quickly stopped her, saying, "Uncle San, please don't! If you're really short of money, just tell my family. We'll help you make up for it even if we have to sell everything we have, but there's just one thing. Please don't sell the house! You'll be crying later if you do."

Zhou Jianye frowned and said with disdain, "You're not exaggerating like that. It's just a house. After I sell it, I'll make some money in a few years and then buy it back."

Seeing that he still hadn't realized the seriousness of the problem, Zhou Yi immediately said earnestly, "Third Uncle, listen to me. Don't sell anything else but the house. The house will be very valuable for at least the next twenty years. So if you make money from your business and have any extra money, use it to buy a house, okay? You may not be able to pass on your business to your brother, but if you leave the house to him, he can become a landlord in the future. Don't even mention how wonderful life will be then."

Zhou Jianye was puzzled by this. There were many commercial houses, especially in the south. But in most parts of the country, housing was still allocated by work units. How could it be that expensive? And he asked me to buy more houses. Was this brat crazy because he thought he was a police officer?

Just one year later, when Zhou Jianye heard that the country was carrying out housing reform and canceling the welfare housing distribution policy, he was shocked.

Is this nephew of mine the part-time fortune teller Zhou Banxian?

…

Zhou Yiding's restaurant has a nice environment but relatively affordable prices.

He knew that if Qian Hongxing was asked to arrange it, it would definitely be a grand banquet, and that kind of occasion would easily remind him of Chen Gengyun.

Zhou Yi and Zhou Jianye arrived at the hotel first, and Zhou Yi booked a small private room for four.

There is a window in the private room, and outside the window is a small river with water and green trees, which is quite unique.

About ten minutes after they arrived, Qian Hongxing also arrived, and Zhou Yi told him the box number on the phone.

After Qian Hongxing arrived, he greeted Zhou Yi warmly and said that this place was nice, quaint and elegant, and a good place.

"Mr. Qian, let me introduce you. This is my third uncle Zhou Jianye, whom I mentioned to you before. He is doing business in the south." Zhou Yi introduced.

"Uncle San, this is Mr. Qian Hongxing, the leading entrepreneur in this city's food industry."

The two immediately shook hands and greeted each other warmly.

"Mr. Qian, I've heard of your name for a long time. I've heard Zhou Yi mention you many times. Today I finally have the chance to meet you. I'm so lucky."

"No, no, I'm the one. Last time, Officer Zhou mentioned that he has a third uncle who's a big businessman in the south. I've admired him for a long time."

Zhou Jianye kept saying "no" guiltily.

Seeing the two of them exchanging business boasts, Zhou Yi quickly said with a smile, "Sit down and talk. There's no need for you two to be so polite. We're all family."

When he heard the word "one of our own", Qian Hongxing was very happy and nodded repeatedly.

"By the way, Uncle San, how old are you? You look quite young." Qian Hongxing asked.

Zhou Jianye smiled and said, "I am thirty-three this year."

"Really? If you're thirty-three, you're a dragon?"

"That's right."

Qian Hongxing said: "I am also a dragon."

Zhou Jianye's eyes widened and he said excitedly, "Really? Mr. Qian is the same age as me."

Zhou Yi was holding up the cup to drink water, and almost spit it on the face of Zhou Jianye opposite him. He told him with his eyes: The play is over, Third Uncle.

Qian Hongxing laughed heartily and said, "Third Uncle, you must be joking. I'm a generation older than you. I'm 45 this year."

"Oh, it's fate, it's fate. Money is always my big brother. I have to toast you later."

Zhou Yi thought, come on, they are brothers now, and I have been demoted again.

So I quickly said, "Order first, and then we can eat and talk."

Then he called the waiter to take the order. When ordering wine, Qian Hongxing also asked Zhou Yi if he could drink. Zhou Yi said it didn't matter when he had no case.

"Then let's drink some, it's a rare treat."

After the wine and dishes arrived, Zhou Yi raised his glass and said, "Mr. Qian, this is what's going on. The reason for today's meal is actually because I won a first-class individual merit for that case, which was just approved two days ago. Also, my third uncle just came back from the south yesterday, so I thought it would be a good idea to introduce you two."

"First-class individual merit! Great, great! We should celebrate! Officer Zhou truly has a bright future."

"Come on, let's do one first." Zhou Jianye said.

The three of them clinked their glasses and drank it all in one gulp.

After three rounds of drinks, Zhou Yi started to get down to business.

"Mr. Qian, have you heard about the recent wave of layoffs at No. 1 and No. 2 Steel?"

Qian Hongxing nodded. "Oh, I heard about it. This happened so suddenly. There are so many unemployed people in society all of a sudden. The number of people looking for work in our factory has increased dozens of times in the past few days."

To those who didn't know, it was indeed quite sudden, but Zhou Yi knew that this was a chronic disease that had existed for a long time.

“Does that affect your business?”

"It's okay now, but a trend has begun to emerge. The purchase demand of some distribution channels has begun to decline. After all, so many people have no money in their pockets, so it's natural to cut back on food and clothing."

Qian Hongxing suddenly seemed to have thought of something and asked, "Officer Zhou, were your parents also laid off? Do you want me to find them a job at my factory?"

Zhou Yi put down his wine glass and quickly waved his hand, saying, "No, they have me, so there's no problem for now."

Qian Hongxing nodded: "Okay, if you need anything, you can always call me."

"Okay. I brought my third uncle here today. Mainly, I want to discuss a matter with you, Mr. Qian."

Upon hearing this, Qian Hongxing said sternly, "Officer Zhou, you go ahead."

"I want my third uncle to do business in Hongcheng." Zhou Yi said.

Zhou Jianye nodded instinctively, but the next second, a question mark immediately filled his head: "Huh?"

Qian Hongxing was such a shrewd businessman that he understood immediately. He immediately waved his hand and said, "Officer Zhou, Brother Jianye, you have to let me invest in this business. How much do you estimate would be appropriate?"

Unexpectedly, Zhou Yi waved his hand. "No, Mr. Qian, I'm not here to invest with you. I'm here to work for you."

"What?" This time, both Qian Hongxing and Zhou Jianye were stunned.

"Zhou Yi, you've confused me. What exactly are you planning to do?" Zhou Jianye asked.

"Yes, Officer Zhou, don't keep me in suspense. Just tell me what you think."

"Okay, I'll be frank then," Zhou Yi said. "You might laugh at me, but I really want to do my part to help the laid-off workers. Honestly, people like my parents, who started working in factories when they were younger than I am now, have always lived in the closed, little world of the steel mill."

"For people like them, layoffs have cut off not only their livelihoods but also their very belief in survival. Perhaps this may sound alarmist, but I have a feeling the impact of this wave of layoffs may be greater and more far-reaching than anyone imagines."

“It’s not just that you don’t have a job and you don’t make money.”

Zhou Yi's thoughts seemed to fly to Hongcheng in his previous life.

Around this time, many unemployed workers appeared on the streets, but the real impact had not yet appeared because many people could barely make ends meet.

Various tragedies began to emerge gradually from the end of the year, because by that time, many people could no longer bear it.

Some people steal scrap metal, others pick up trash. In a previous life, Zhou Yi had been on a police call with Zhang Ning. Two scavengers had gotten into a fistfight over a trash can. When they were brought back for questioning, they learned that one was a steel scavenger, the other a second-hand steel scavenger. Both were laid-off workers, and the scrap they'd fought over, bloodied and bruised, was worth only three or four yuan.

More people would choose to sell blood on the black market in other places for a living, just like Xu Sanguan in Yu Hua's works.

Every time he sold his blood, he could earn 20 yuan, which was enough to buy rice for a family of three for a week.

Zhou Yi had personally seen those who made a living by selling blood. Their faces were pale, even paler than those of a dead person.

In addition, there are those who commit crimes, sell their bodies, and even those who eat dumplings together as a family for the last time and then leave.

There are many things that cannot be said or thought about at all.

Fortunately, Zhou Yi had a job in the previous life, so their family's life was not too difficult and they managed to get through it.

In this life, Zhou Yi is getting better and better, so naturally he doesn't have to worry anymore.

But what about others?

Zhou Yi knew that his thoughts were very saintly, but after seeing such a human tragedy, he couldn't help but be moved.

There were tens of thousands of people working at Yigang and Ergang, and the same was true for other state-owned enterprises in other cities. He was completely powerless. But he could help as many people as he could, just like when he was a policeman. He couldn't prevent crime, but he could save as many people as he could.

After listening to all of Zhou Yi's "speculations," Qian Hongxing said solemnly, "Officer Zhou, I understand. You want to mobilize some of the laid-off workers so they can have something to eat, right?"

Zhou Yi nodded.

"I don't object to this. The city even awarded me one of the Top Ten Outstanding Young People, so it's only right that I give back to society. But to be honest, my current business can't accommodate so many people. If I expand employment and solve the employment problems of some people, production costs will increase significantly. If the downstream market doesn't expand, the survival of my business will be affected. Then my workers, as well as those upstream and downstream, will all be affected."

"Mr. Qian, I understand. So what I mean is not that you expand your workforce, or that Red Star Foods solve this problem, but that we build a new factory."

"What are we going to do with this new factory?"

Zhou Jianye couldn't help but say, "Zhou Yi, you've never done business before, so don't try to cheat Mr. Qian with your blind advice. We have to be honest."

Qian Hongxing waved his hand, motioning Zhou Yi to continue.

Zhou Yi took a deep breath. He had been thinking about this matter for a long time. He had been wondering what he could do.

Initially, he considered setting up a small-scale electronics factory with assembly line processing, as technological advancements would lead to an increasing demand for digital products. However, after careful consideration, he decided that this wasn't feasible. It's the characteristics of the southern coastal region, with its abundant young workforce, favorable policies, and convenient import and export facilities, that have fostered companies like Moukang.

Hongcheng can't do it. Even if the order or equipment problems are solved, the logistics costs are too high and it is easy to run out of money.

The last time he went to Anyuan, he was given some inspiration.

We still need to adapt to local conditions and have the right time, place and people.

"I'd rather work in the food industry," said Zhou Yi.

Qian Hongxing was stunned: "Still making food?"

"Yes, but it's quite different from the food you're making now. To be more precise, we're going to build a soybean deep-processing cluster, introduce advanced low-temperature desolventizing technology from overseas, and establish an industrial chain encompassing oil pressing, protein extraction, and feed processing."

Zhou Jianye was stunned. Soybean processing? He didn't know anything about agriculture, so he had nothing to do with it.

Qian Hongxing asked thoughtfully, "Anything else?"

When Zhou Yi heard these three words, he knew that Qian Hongxing was indeed a formidable businessman. He said, "Yes, the processing industry chain is only the first step. The second step is the key. We are not focusing on the domestic market, but the overseas market."

"Overseas?" Zhou Jianye became excited when he heard these two words.

"Yes, our primary products are organic soybeans and non-GMO soybean oil. Uncle San, find out how to apply for something called ECOCERT certification. With this, we can enter high-end overseas markets. Once the industry chain and market are stable, we can move into further processed products and extract soy peptide powder. This is the raw material for many health products and has a huge market."

Zhou Yi laid out all his thoughts, except for information about the future, of course.

The timing for this event was naturally the development of the times. This year, Hong Kong returned to China, Hong Kong capital was introduced, and import and export trade gradually developed. Four years later, China joined the WTO, and the international trade industry officially began to take off. Opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared.

In terms of geographical advantages, Hongcheng encompasses three counties, and most of the land is primarily agricultural. Areas like Xinbei Town, where underground coal mines once existed, are rare. Beyond Hongcheng, the surrounding areas are also home to a large number of farmers who make a living from farming, with soybeans being one of their primary crops.

As for the people involved, Qian Hongxing was originally involved in food processing, which he was most familiar with. Third Uncle, having been in the south for so many years, was best at market development and sales. Without him, even if Third Uncle Kong had really arrived at the factory director's door, there would have been nothing he could do about the last batch of steel coils.

"You two, overseas is a huge blue ocean market. Countries with mature industries have high labor costs, like the United States. However, countries with low labor costs, like India, can't develop large-scale manufacturing and complete supply chains. But these problems can be solved in my country, and that's our advantage. High-quality and low-priced products are the stepping stone to unlocking that blue ocean market."

Qian Hongxing's eyes became particularly bright. He was a businessman with a keen business sense.

He also felt the constraints of his current business. The Hongcheng market was so small, and the pace of expansion across the province, let alone the country, wasn't as fast as he'd imagined. This was because of competition, and the local government's protection of local businesses, just as the Hongcheng government was protecting him.

He naturally wanted to expand his business. It was not that he had not thought about developing overseas, but he did not understand the overseas situation. In the 1990s, the inland economy was still in the internal circulation, and import and export-related businesses were still mainly concentrated in the southern coastal areas. He lacked a suitable expansion

So what Zhou Yi said touched him immediately, but he also had some concerns.

"Officer Zhou, to be honest, your business plan is very good. My only worry is whether overseas business is easy to do. Organic soybeans, non-GMO soybean oil, and soybean peptide powder raw materials, these products are currently difficult to open up the domestic market. If we can't handle the high-end overseas market, I'm afraid there will be problems with the capital chain." Qian Hongxing spoke the truth, because the investment would not be small.

Zhou Yi pointed at his uncle and said, "He can handle the overseas market."

"Uncle San, if you can find overseas sales channels, our business will be successful. If not, then it will fail."

Zhou Jianye said with some embarrassment: "It's not difficult to find foreigners. There are quite a lot of foreigners in the south now. But I can't just tell them without any evidence, right? They won't believe me."

Zhou Yi smiled mysteriously and said, "This is simple. It can be solved with just three words."

"What?"

“PPT!”

Zhou Jianye and Qian Hongxing were both stunned: "Butt kick?"