"Holy crap, they actually drew; damn, they really have a chance to make it to the finals, this is crazy."
In the early hours of April 27th, Zhang Xupeng sat on the bed in Yangcheng Hotel, staring wide-eyed at the TV screen, which showed the first leg of the Champions League semi-final between Liverpool and Chelsea.
Chelsea, playing at home, was actually held to a 0:0 draw by visiting Liverpool.
In the next leg, Liverpool will have the advantage back at home; Anfield is not that easy to conquer.
Milan has already advanced, leaving only the final qualifying match.
If Liverpool really defeats Chelsea at home, wouldn't that mean Xiaotan guessed the champion and runner-up correctly?
Whether Milan wins or Liverpool wins, Xiaotan bet right on both!
"How does it feel like the world changed in the blink of an eye?"
Zhang Xupeng was completely bewildered.
Fortunately, I didn't speak too quickly back then.
When Xiaotan bet on Liverpool to win the championship, I originally wanted to say I'd eat shit if Liverpool won.
Luckily, I held back, otherwise, there really was a chance of that happening.
Hehe, it seems Xiaotan's saying "think for three seconds before speaking, then decide whether to say it" does hold some truth.
Xiaotan's luck is unparalleled; no, I can't let him sleep so comfortably, I need to call him to wake up and pee.
I don't envy him making money, but AC Milan winning is unacceptable!
"You're a bit sick in the head. I'll get you tomorrow after I'm done with my work!"
Tan Jincheng, woken up by Zhang Xupeng in the middle of the night, was speechless after learning the reason.
However, it also reminded him that the Milan vs. Inter Milan score he bet on before his last trip to Yangcheng hadn't been redeemed yet.
He could go redeem the prize during the day today. He remembered there was tax to pay, and it seemed he had to go to the city for it?
Never mind, sleep, sleep.
I'll ask at the lottery shop tomorrow.
Zhang Xupeng is such a lunatic.
The next day, after Tan Jincheng got up, he first went to Zhang Haiping's factory.
Zhang Haiping had faxed the quotation contract after work yesterday, and today he was going to sign the contract with him.
The total price was 3.05 million yuan, for the supply in May.
"I'll transfer the advance payment to you next Monday, May 2nd."
After both parties signed and stamped the document, Tan Jincheng said to Zhang Haiping.
The advance payment was still 40% of the total amount.
Situations like during the New Year were special cases.
As for reducing the advance payment, Tan Jincheng hadn't considered that.
Business shouldn't be conducted that way; one can negotiate prices when orders are plentiful, but not withhold advance payments.
"Exactly, exactly. I've been in business for so long, and Boss Tan is the most straightforward and trustworthy,"
Zhang Haiping said with a smile.
While his words were a bit flattering, in Zhang Haiping's view, doing business with Tan Jincheng was indeed very pleasant.
Although there were more rules than with some other clients, he strictly adhered to the contract requirements.
He'd transfer the money exactly when he said he would, with only a difference of a working day or holiday.
Like at the end of last year when things were tough, if you told him you were struggling, he would understand.
Timely payment of advance and final installments for goods is fundamental to the survival of all factory owners.
If the final payment for an order is delayed for several months, frankly speaking, it's as good as not making any money.
Many small and medium-sized enterprises even experience cash flow disruptions and operational changes due to delayed receipt of accounts receivable.
After discussing work matters, Zhang Haiping asked Tan Jincheng,
"Want to go sit at Old Zhang's place?"
"Not today, I have other things to do later. I came specifically to sign the contract with you today."
"Alright then, when are you going to Yangcheng?"
"Tomorrow. There might be new orders, so keep an eye out."
It had been a few days since he returned; Zhang Xupeng and the other two couldn't have achieved nothing, there should be some new orders.
"Okay, I'll pay attention, I guarantee I won't mess up your business."
Zhang Haiping realized that maintaining a good relationship with Tan Jincheng was far more important than developing new clients at this stage.
His factory's capacity should prioritize Tan Jincheng's orders.
Should he prompt Old Zhang again to see if he had helped Tan Jincheng inquire about equipment and factory buildings?
From that night, it seemed Boss Tan took this matter quite seriously and inquired about it very carefully.
Who else was in this line of work?
"I'm leaving now. For order-related issues, contact me. For construction schedule issues, contact the girl I brought over yesterday for introductions."
"Okay, you go then. Have a safe trip, and remember to bring some Yangcheng specialties back for your elder brother."
"I really don't know what specialties Yangcheng has. How about I buy you a fake watch? Fake watches should count as Yangcheng specialties."
"Your mouth! Good thing you're saying this in Beicang. Say that in Yangcheng and you're guaranteed to get beaten up."
Tan Jincheng smiled and waved goodbye.
He really didn't know what specialties Yangcheng had.
Living a routine two-point-a-line life, it seemed that electronic products were indeed the most suitable gifts to bring back from Guangdong Province in this era.
He found a sports lottery shop in Xiapu Town and asked; indeed, he had to go to the city to redeem the prize.
Since there was nothing particularly important today, he decided to take a stroll around the city center.
But before going, he had to make a trip to the construction site to tell his uncle that he was going to Yangcheng tomorrow.
Speaking of which, Tan Jincheng wasn't very accustomed to interacting with older relatives these days.
Since returning, apart from having dinner with his uncle on the first evening and going to the construction site and picking up the car for a morning on the second day, they hadn't met again.
His mental age was similar to theirs.
It was fine to act young or childish occasionally, but maintaining it for a long time was truly uncomfortable.
Although he had been busy these past few days, it wasn't to the extent of not having time to meet.
It was more about a subtle desire to avoid them.
If it weren't for wanting to prevent Zhang Qingliang's accident in his previous life, he wouldn't have gotten involved in so many things.
In the eyes of his parents, no matter how old he was, he was still their son, and Tan Jincheng could be carefree.
For the generation above, there would be genuine respect due to age.
As for peers, it went without saying; among his cousins, he was the eldest.
He didn't need to deliberately hide his thoughts or change his way of interacting with these people, so it was relatively comfortable to be around them.
"No wonder there are so many members in the Qidian Orphanage, perhaps this is also a reason?"
Beicang wasn't very big, and it was a workday today.
In less than half an hour, Tan Jincheng arrived downstairs at the construction site, carrying several bottles of water upstairs.
The workers were assembling cubicles; since the "dabai" (white paint/plaster) wasn't open yet, they could only do this type of work first.
Zhang Qingliang, wearing a hat made of folded newspaper on his head, was sitting on a step stool applying some "dabai" to the office ceiling.
Seeing Tan Jincheng, he didn't come down, casually asking,
"Why are you here today?"
"Just passing by, brought you some water. Come down and rest for a bit."
Tan Jincheng handed out water and cigarettes to the workers one by one.
These workers were all fellow villagers from Zhang Qingliang's hometown, contacted through his connections.
You had to be polite to them, otherwise, if one felt slighted, they would badmouth you back home.
After all, Tan Jincheng's safety requirements were a bit excessive.
Workers liked to have a bottle of iced beer at noon while working, which was their habit.
Now they couldn't drink it, which seemed somewhat preposterous to them.
"Why are you wearing a newspaper hat? Didn't you buy safety helmets?"
"That one's uncomfortable on my head; don't worry, I'm just touching up some 'dabai', I don't usually need to do this work,"
Zhang Qingliang said as he took the cigarette.
"Right, safety first."
Zhang Qingliang rolled his eyes at Tan Jincheng.
The other workers also laughed at the sight; this young man was quite interesting.
Everything else was good, except that he was afraid of death.
"I'm going to Yangcheng tomorrow. Is there anything you need to buy? If so, I can bring it back for you today?"
Zhang Qingliang waved his hands repeatedly, saying,
"No need, no need. That's your new car; I'd feel bad using it to haul construction materials, even if you wouldn't."
"Then I'm off."
Seeing that there was nothing important here, Tan Jincheng didn't intend to stay long.
"Okay, be careful on your way. Being a boss like you isn't easy, constantly running to processing factories and going on business trips."
"That's how it is when you're making money."
——
April 28th, Thursday.
Landing at Baiyun International Airport once again, unlike the apprehension of the previous two times, Tan Jincheng was calm and composed this time.
He didn't have to worry about the year's order volume anymore.
With a few more small apparel exhibitions and the traffic from international e-commerce platforms, Jinpeng Trading's annual performance was basically guaranteed to exceed expectations.
Some operations and clients could gradually be handed over to Zhang Xupeng.
After the May orders were dispatched, the main focus would shift to Jinyi Industrial.
He had to strive to complete the two-wheeled electric vehicle production line after this year.
If he delayed any further, those famous brand competitors from later generations would all enter the market.
Perhaps they had already entered the market, just without prominent names for now.
To become nationally renowned in a physical industry, one's rise to prominence cannot be as rapid as in the internet sector; it's always built up over years.
For example, the person from Xinri also started by leaving his hometown and accumulating his first pot of gold through small businesses.
Even internet companies that consistently appear in the news media have developed over a long period.
Taobao, which has developed well in the past two years, has also been established for quite some time, and its founder started his venture in the late 1990s.
This guy liked to brag in the media.
What left a deeper impression, besides his bragging later getting him into trouble, was his statement "only five months away from bankruptcy."
It shows that doing business is not that simple.
Even if your business model and investment model are correct, significant changes can still occur during the actual implementation process.
By the way, when I looked up news online before, why didn't I see any news about Pony Ma selling QQ?
Did I not pay attention, or was the timing wrong? I recall it could be bought for a few million.
I could afford a few million, but it seemed useless for me to buy it; I wouldn't know how to run it.
Besides, not everyone can buy it.
What people lack isn't these few million, but resources and ideas.
A few million could start a factory and support hundreds of families, but the internet burns through money and might be gone in less than a month.
(End of this chapter)
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