The red Jaguar convertible was in the parking lot next to the airport. After paying the parking fee, we drove all the way back to Los Angeles.
While Zhou Nan was having fun, Han Chudong sat in the passenger seat and read the newspaper.
Without a computer or mobile phone to play with, reading newspapers became one of the few ways for him to understand the world situation. The San Francisco Chronicle stated on the front page how happy the residents on the other side of the Pacific Ocean were now.
As mentioned before, the relationship is still in its honeymoon phase, but Han Chudong finds it a little funny because it is rare to see mainstream American newspapers singing praises like this.
In addition, the economic page indicated that the price of oil had risen to US$11 a barrel, compared to just over US$1 a few years ago.
A professor at Harvard University wrote an article saying that the United States has once again fallen into a stage of economic stagflation and has begun to question the correctness of Keynesianism.
It has to be admitted that the competitiveness of American products is declining with the emergence of competitors such as Japan and Germany. After experiencing the golden age of low inflation and high growth in the 1960s, people can no longer find the next economic growth point. Han Chudong is very clear that the next bright spot is emerging in areas represented by Silicon Valley, but others are not clear.
Prices are rising, unemployment and residents' income are shrinking, and the purchasing power of the US dollar is declining, so much so that people are complaining about the people in the white house.
Han Chudong learned all this from the newspaper.
As a businessman, it is a compulsory course to pay attention to the economic situation. It has something to do with him, but not big at the moment. I just hope that the next president will come to power soon and pay less tax through tax reduction policies.
The newspaper also wrote about another thing, which was related to Paul Getty, who has been the world's richest man since his net worth exceeded one billion US dollars in 1957.
Recently, the old man made a fortune through Getty Oil Company due to the rise in oil prices, but he was unwilling to pay the kidnappers millions of dollars in ransom and even bargained with the kidnappers. Since his grandson was kidnapped in July, he has not been rescued.
If the kidnappers had not cut off one of his grandson's ears and mailed it to him on the 5th of this month, the old man would not even be willing to bargain.
Han Chudong remembers that this incident was made into a movie in the future.
No intention to laugh at anyone.
As Paul Getty said, if he paid the ransom, his other children would also be in danger, which actually makes sense.
Although it makes sense intellectually, it is still a bit inhumane from an emotional point of view. Considering that the old man has many descendants, he probably doesn't care if one or two of them are in danger.
In addition, Warren Buffett made another move and recently purchased shares of The Washington Post. There was a small mention of it in the economic section, but Han Chudong read it very seriously, after all, he was an "acquaintance".
He knows the other person, but the other person doesn't know him.
Considering the recent stock market crash, it is indeed a good time to enter the market.
Mr. Getty has a fortune of more than 3 billion US dollars, and even a single hair of his is thicker than Han Chudong's thigh. The future "stock god" now also has a fortune of over 100 million US dollars, which is not as good as Wang An, the richest Chinese American who has been in the limelight recently. The founder of Wang An Computer Company is worth more than 400 million US dollars.
I originally thought that earning more than 3 million US dollars was already very successful, but when compared with these frequent visitors to the financial pages, it seemed so insignificant.
We have to keep working hard...
There's no one at home, so there's no point in going back.
Han Chudong first stopped by the Baofeng Electric Appliance Store with the sign that read "NO.2" and asked about the sales situation after he left.
Only about fifty hours had passed since he boarded the plane to Chicago. How could he sell much merchandise? The turnover of more than six thousand US dollars could only be considered pretty good. After deducting various costs, he could earn about four hundred US dollars.
I was too lazy to check the bill, so after chatting with the clerk for a few words, I drove to the Meng Ou Zhi Feng plaque.
The weather is nice today, suitable for driving a convertible without having to wear a thick coat. It feels like returning from winter to autumn. Compared to the inland city of Chicago to the north, the climate here in Los Angeles is indeed more nourishing.
I bought a few sesame cakes and took them to the company to eat.
Zhao Dajun was exhausted some time ago, so these two days were just a chance for him to rest and help Han Chudong keep an eye on the financial transactions of Mango Toy Company.
After seeing Han Chudong, Da Jun stretched and said, "I just came back. Someone called you more than ten minutes ago and said he was a reporter from the New York Daily News. I wrote down the phone number. Please call him back."
"Thanks. I'll call you later. We're still selling yo-yos wholesale, but we'll probably stop that soon. Talk to Watermelon Head and see how many goods you need. I'll first transfer them from the warehouse to you, and prepare to ship the rest."
Hearing Han Chudong's words, Zhao Dajun was puzzled.
Just as he was about to ask, Watermelon Head said to him, "Brother Dong gave the California agency to both of us. Do you want the south or the north? Let's go out and talk. Don't let it affect the phone call..."
If the agency system is adopted, the previous salesmen will need to be settled.
Mango Company is short of manpower to help, and they need jobs that pay a fixed salary and bonuses. Han Chudong's two friends also need salesmen, so it shouldn't be a big problem. We can let those people make their own choices when the time comes.
He first called the New York Daily News back, told them his name, and asked if it was about the toy fair.
They were just some normal little questions, not some heavyweight exclusive interview. He took the opportunity to advertise his company and those products, and hung up the phone after a few minutes.
I walked to Secretary Wang and asked him if anyone from the headhunting company had called to inquire. When I learned that no one had, I raised my arm and looked at my watch. It was just past three o'clock. The agreed meeting time was five o'clock, so I still had time to go to Boss Yang.
It's not clear why.
There is no wrong version in the 1619 book forum!
Anyway, Han Chudong always felt that the secretary looked at him in a strange way. Little did he know that the other party admired him. He thought that the other party was guilty and wondered whether he should check the accounts.
Everything that needed to be said had been said before on the phone. After rushing to the production workshop, I just sat down with Boss Yang Guangnian to continue discussing the details.
Last night, Han Chudong roughly estimated the cost of various toys. Now he handed the purchase quotation with a little profit added to it to the other party. It doesn't have much technical content and the price is relatively low.
However, the number is huge. Take those types of bamboo dragonflies for example, a total of millions of pieces need to be customized. Therefore, Boss Yang thinks it is acceptable. After calculation, he thinks he should be able to make some money.
We hit it off immediately and started producing the simple ones first, and then the more complicated ones would wait. We wanted to give the agents something to do as soon as possible.
The yo-yos are produced here and then outsourced to Chinatown for assembly. As a result, Han Chudong can be said to have boosted local employment.
Before, his grandmother helped people assemble cleaning steel wool, and at that time she said those greedy businessmen were exploiting the elderly. Now she has been slapped in the face. Han Chudong himself has made a lot of money, while those who assemble two yo-yos can only earn one cent, but even so, there are still people rushing to do it.
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When I returned to the company at around four o'clock, the people from the headhunting company had already arrived.
It was a small business and didn't make much money, so they sent a white intern over. When they handed the information to Han Chudong, they said, "I'll let you know before we look at it. Even if we don't find the right person, you have to pay two hundred dollars, which is for finding a candidate and also covers the cost of my taxi. If you find someone you like, you have to pay another three hundred dollars to arrange an interview and I'll give you the contact information.
In addition, some of them already have jobs, so the negotiation fee for poaching them will be paid separately. You can pay a deposit first, and the rest will be paid if you succeed. And if you want them to change jobs, the salary may be slightly higher, so you should be mentally prepared. "
It is obvious that he is a little arrogant because he sees that Mango Toys Company is small and the office environment is simple.
He is just an ignorant little guy. Han Chudong nodded and said, "I accept. Let me take a look at their information first to make sure they are all elites, right? My business has been growing recently, and I don't want ordinary people to come. If you don't have the ability, get out as soon as possible."
"Some of them are job seekers in our company. If there is a legitimate big... business, try to pay a little price and go to well-known companies to poach people, such as Disney's middle management. If the salary is higher, I think they may be willing to come to you."
Obviously he doesn't believe how strong this company is.
The intern from the headhunting company had a bit of an attitude towards this and spoke in a slightly strange tone.
Han Chudong spent money but still couldn't become a big shot, so he didn't care. After taking the folder and looking through it, he found that some of them were even employment applications with relatively comprehensive work information.
This shows that some companies' human resources departments are likely to have internal traitors who leaked employee information...