He who does not plan ahead will soon have troubles.
How to do business, or how much capital to invest, Tan Lihua couldn't help with these things, but Tan Lihua believed he knew a thing or two about certain social situations.
When you go home for Chinese New Year and encounter certain people who use various reasons to ask you to invest in your hometown, how should you respond?
You don't have the strength for a factory worth tens of millions for now?
What about one worth millions?
You're so rich, taking out a million or so to contribute to employment in your hometown shouldn't be difficult, right?
Clearly, Tan Jincheng, and even Zhang Xupeng, will encounter these issues as early as this Chinese New Year, or early next year.
There's no escaping them, so they should figure out how to solve them now.
Emotionally, Tan Lihua hoped his son could contribute to the construction of their hometown, which would not only solve some employment problems for fellow villagers but also bring him honor.
However, rationally, Tan Lihua did not want such things to happen.
Linong, his cousin, had endured many hardships doing business over the years, and Tan Lihua knew it.
Even he himself had stepped in to help him pull many strings and suffered many cold stares.
If his son truly had a net worth of several hundred million, throwing a few million to open a factory wouldn't matter.
But the problem is that it's currently just the initial stage.
If he encounters this, and the young man gets tricked and acts on impulse, it would be over.
"This is simple. Either I don't have time to go home for New Year's, or I'll just build two roads when the time comes,"
Tan Jincheng said with a smile.
Being busy with business and having no time to go home means they won't find him, but then his parents would suffer.
That's just talk; you can't never go back to your hometown, so building roads, as Tan Jincheng suggested, is the best way.
This is a common tactic used by successful rural entrepreneurs returning to their hometowns: to get rich, you first build roads.
How can I invest if the roads aren't even built?
First, contribute one or two hundred thousand yuan to build a cement road for the hometown, and you all can chip in for the rest.
You'll also be using this road regularly, so it wouldn't make sense for me to pay for it all myself, right?
Everyone contributes a little, so there's a sense of involvement, that's very reasonable, isn't it?
"Hmm? Build roads?"
Tan Lihua stared at his son with a hint of surprise.
Seeing his father's expression, Tan Jincheng also smiled,
"Dad, I know what you're worried about. You're just worried that I might get carried away by some achievements, then be tricked into expanding investments everywhere without considering the investment environment, and finally get dragged down, right?"
Don't worry, that definitely won't happen.
I know more about the investment environment in our hometown than you do.
Before Shanchi Auto's first five-year plan is completed, Tan Jincheng is determined to focus deeply on Yongcheng and go nowhere else.
And once I've established a firm footing in Yongcheng and production capacity reaches the top of the industry, there will be no need to fear.
"Where did you learn all this?"
Tan Lihua said, somewhat surprised.
This method is good; it saves face without being too passive, and it brings honor.
"Many business people do it this way. You'll know if you listen to what they say more often."
Of course, I wouldn't tell you that I learned it from my uncle Linong, because a few years later, his steel business grew bigger and bigger, and the village asked him to come back and build a factory.
He didn't want to then, so he did just that: paid for road construction and funded the repair of the ancestral temple.
I remember he contributed 100,000 yuan or so back then?
Tan Jincheng, who already had some family wealth, also "voluntarily" contributed 10,000 yuan in Tan Lihua's name at the time.
After the road construction began, no one approached him about building a factory again.
As for the next level, I can't deal with that for now.
These days, the county where my hometown is located is still known as a poverty-stricken county, and they aren't very proactive about attracting investment; it's more like you'd have to seek them out.
"Hmm, that makes some sense. Then you don't need to worry about this. I don't have much to teach you. Manage your business affairs yourself. Having ambitions is good, but don't expand blindly."
It's not surprising that Tan Lihua didn't know about building roads.
In fact, in recent years, the conditions of various households have improved significantly compared to before the millennium, but they aren't rich enough for any family to be willing to pay for road construction in the village.
It's understandable that Tan Lihua wouldn't know about this.
It would be several years later when this trend gradually emerged, whether actively or passively; but no matter what, it did greatly improve the living conditions in the village.
Night fell, but the conversation between father and son continued.
Tan Lihua asked more questions about loans and the positioning of electric scooters.
When Tan Jincheng showed him his account and explained his current financial situation, Old Tan finally felt completely at ease.
"So, your current financial resources are enough to last until the end of the year, even without taking out a loan?"
"Relying entirely on my own financial resources to last until the end of the year might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it's fine to last until the first batch of electric scooters goes into production. The dividends from Jinpeng Trade can't be easily touched, but we can lend and borrow between the two companies through their relationship."
"Also, once it's officially launched on the market, getting loans will be much easier, and then I won't need to spend my own money."
"So Dad, you don't need to worry about me owing a lot of money if I go bankrupt. Even if I really do go bankrupt, it's a limited liability company, so my personal assets won't be affected much."
"And those Taobao stores of mine, aren't they under your and Mom's names? Now that the Taobao stores are making money, you don't doubt it, right? Even if I go bankrupt, our family won't be too badly off, so don't worry."
Tan Lihua couldn't help but smile.
So young, yet so cunning.
This was probably like a cunning rabbit having three burrows.
The house in Yicheng was in his parents' names, the four Taobao stores were also in his parents' names, and the car was in the company's name.
Don't let this kid's usual trips in and out of BMWs and fancy restaurants fool you; it seems the only property truly under his name is an apartment in Beicang.
Tan Jincheng hadn't mentioned the stock market to his parents.
Currently, apart from Tan Jincheng himself, only Mr. Lin from Hong Kong, who helped introduce the stockbroker, knew about the stock purchases.
Parents usually couldn't truly accept such things.
In any era, in the eyes of ordinary people, stock speculation was not considered a good thing.
"By the way, speaking of Taobao stores, why are you selling QQ underwear? How tacky is that? This store is still under my name, how am I supposed to face people in the future?"
"What's wrong with that? What's tacky about making money? I'm doing a legitimate business, Dad, don't underestimate this store. If a store selling men's and women's clothing can last 5 years, this one can last at least 15 years."
"What do you mean?"
"You'll know what I mean later. If you have time, you can also pay attention to these three Taobao stores. I don't have the time to manage them. If one day you take early retirement, you can manage these three stores, and you'll earn quite a bit."
Old Tan is 45 this year.
Normally, he could retire in 2020.
But if I develop fast enough and strong enough, arranging an early retirement for Old Tan after he turns 50 would be very easy.
At the slowest, he could reach this threshold by 55.
Leaving this QQ underwear store for him to manage would be a way for him to put his remaining energy to use.
It's just unclear if he could accept it, as it's somewhat unlike something someone his age would do.
"What are you planning to do next?"
"Next? Next, of course, is to set up a technical R&D team for electric scooter exterior parts. And for Jinyi Industry, I also need to build some networks to prepare for exporting electronic products."
"Is there anything I can help you with?"
"If you know any skilled sales personnel, Dad, you could help me try to poach them. I'm going to assemble a sales team. Initially, they'll gain experience with Jinyi Industry's electronic products, and once they're ready, I'll have them promote electric scooters with me."
In the era before the internet was widespread, channels were king.
Especially for products like electric scooters, which primarily rely on offline sales, a good sales team can hold up half the sky.
Both technology and sales are two legs that cannot be ignored.
Assembling the technical team is the top priority.
Next, Tan Jincheng plans to make a trip to Wencheng, directly to Xintian's hometown, to poach people!
Top-tier salespeople are hard to poach, but technical personnel are not necessarily so.
Many technical personnel are actually not highly valued; as long as you offer them compensation beyond their expectations, the chances of securing them are very high.
Recruitment is also needed in Yongcheng.
In this regard, I plan to cooperate with the district human resources department and Ningzhi Vocational College.
Additionally, I'll poach a few technical supervisors from Xintian.
With this, a technical team should basically be able to handle Shanchi Auto's initial phase.
As for channels, it's naturally good to poach top talents, but ordinary sales personnel will also do.
At worst, I'll lead the way myself and conquer electric scooter dealers one by one.
From production to technology, then to sales, and preliminary capital preparation, Tan Jincheng had given all these thorough consideration.
What remained was to perfect the factory's personnel structure, establish purchasing connections with suppliers, and subsequent production.
It's a bit regrettable that Tan Jincheng currently doesn't have anyone he can fully trust.
Sun Yuming is the only usable person, but even he can't be completely trusted.
Entrusting the procurement to him wouldn't work, as electric scooter parts require a certain level of technical knowledge, and he doesn't understand these things.
As for Zhang Xupeng, he has his own things to do.
It's fine to ask him for help occasionally, but it's not possible for him to be here long-term.
"Where can I find a procurement manager who is both trustworthy and knowledgeable about accessory standards?"
Seeing his son's furrowed brow, Tan Lihua also felt a pang of sympathy.
Setting up a factory wasn't as simple as he made it sound; he was only speaking so lightly to keep his father from worrying.
"Alright, stop thinking about it; go to sleep. Didn't you say you'd drive us back tomorrow? Then get some rest early."
Sales personnel, hmm, I can ask around when I go back.
There are quite a few talented people in state-owned enterprises, some of whom are frustrated and underappreciated.
It wouldn't be impossible to poach them.
Also, it's good for my son to go back for a visit, let his mother see him.
Some things are better said in person by him than by me.
The next morning, after greeting Zhang Qingliang, Tan Lihua and Zhang Guolong took their luggage and got into Tan Jincheng's car.
Both of them were quite open-minded; having someone drive them was much better than squeezing into a minibus and eating 30 yuan a bucket of knockoff instant noodles halfway.
"Here, the gift I told you about yesterday."
Through the car window, Tan Jincheng handed a tote bag to Zhang Xupeng.
"Whoa, you actually bought it? I thought you were joking."
Zhang Xupeng took it and looked:
"Holy crap, a watch? You didn't buy it in Yangcheng, did you?"
"Bullshit, I bought it for you in Hong Kong. It's genuine, from a boutique, okay?"
Then, Tan Jincheng shook his wrist and said,
"Look, I have one too."
"Longines, right? What model is this? It looks pretty good."
Zhang Xupeng asked, curiously eyeing the watch on Tan Jincheng's wrist while unwrapping his own.
"It's this year's new Master Collection. It looks quite good. I bought one for myself and brought one for you too. Pretty good buddy, right? My dad doesn't even have one."
"How much? It must be expensive, right? Should I give it to Uncle Tan first, and you can buy me one next time?"
Zhang Xupeng chuckled, glancing at Tan Lihua and Zhang Guolong in the back seat.
"Whether it's expensive or not, you can check it yourself when you get back. We're leaving now; we're rushing home for lunch."
"Okay, have a safe trip. Oh, and remember to bring me some of Aunt Zhang's pickled long beans."
"My BMW to haul pickled long beans for you? You're dreaming."
"Come on, what's wrong with a BMW? You've hauled plenty of lime and cement in it."
(End of this chapter)
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