2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 114 Father and son’s night talk
Sometimes, you have to admit that wealth can indeed change a person's temperament.

Several months later, when Tan Lihua saw his son again, he found that his son seemed to be a little different.

You can still vaguely see some childishness in his face, his proper attire, his increasingly robust physique, and the aura he exudes, which is quite similar to that of my boss.

Take, for example, the way Tan Lihua observed Xiao Zhang's expression and posture when he came over. Xiao Zhang was in front and he was behind. When Xiao Zhang spoke, he would unconsciously turn his head to the side, while he would nod and smile naturally.

The son certainly didn't intend to treat Xiao Zhang as a subordinate, but having been given orders for various decisions for a long time, he had unconsciously developed a superior's mindset.

From this perspective, his decision to start his own business independently might not be such a bad thing.

If things continue like this, there's no guarantee that my friendship with Xiao Zhang won't run into problems one day. No man wants a childhood friend to always maintain a superior attitude towards him.

You know what, if you put a jacket on him and a pair of glasses to hide his age, he really does look like a leader on an inspection tour when he walks down the street.

“I heard from your uncle that you and Xiao Zhang are having a big affair. Your Uncle Zhang and I are worried, so we came to check it out.” Tan Lihua stood up and extinguished his cigarette.

Zhang Guolong, standing to the side, echoed, "Yeah, I didn't know until I came. I was shocked to see that you two are doing quite well now."

"Uncle Zhang, you're joking. I've only just started. If I go bankrupt one day, I'll still be relying on Pengya's company to support me," Tan Jincheng said with a smile.

Tan Lihua nodded and said, "Pengya has really been good to you. He's been busy these past few days. Without his help with the debugging of those machines, things wouldn't have gone so smoothly."

Tan Jincheng glanced at Zhang Xupeng beside him, who raised an eyebrow smugly.

"That's right, that's why I brought Pengya a gift back, just to thank him properly."

"What is it?" Zhang Xupeng asked quickly upon hearing that there was a gift.

"We'll talk about it when we get back. Uncle Zhang, Dad, let's go eat first. It's not easy for you to come all this way, so it's my treat today."

The airplane meal at noon had long been digested, and he hadn't felt very hungry while he was thinking. But now, Tan Jincheng was starving. He should have accepted Gu Qingqing's suggestion.

Hey, what are you pretending for? Building a factory won't make a difference if you spend a day or two here and there.

Tan Lihua and Zhang Guolong got into their sons' cars. If they hadn't seen Tan Jincheng's car, they would have already gone home.

"Dad, where do you live? Are you living in the apartment we rent?" Tan Jincheng asked after starting the car.

"Well, Xiao Zhang said he would find us a hotel. We thought about it and since you're not here, we can just make do with whatever we can find. We won't be staying for more than a few days anyway."

"What about tonight? Shall I get you two hotels?"

"No need, we've already discussed it. Guolong will stay at Xiao Zhang's place tonight, and I'll stay at yours. We'll make do for one night, and then we'll go back tomorrow."

"Going back so soon? I just got back, shouldn't I stay a couple more days?" Tan Jincheng asked, surprised.

“We also took time off to come here, so we don’t have time to stay any longer. Let’s have a good chat tonight.”

Often, instead of sitting at home and overthinking, it's better to go out and see for yourself. In the few days since arriving in Beicang from Yicheng, Tan Lihua has accompanied Zhang Xupeng whenever he goes out on business. After observing for a few days, Tan Lihua felt much more at ease.

The atmosphere here is indeed different from that at home. Not only is it much more efficient, but there are also fewer people who make things difficult for you. The neighborhood committee will even take the initiative to provide some assistance. So far, it seems that as long as you can work here with peace of mind and don't do anything crooked, there shouldn't be any problems with your assets.

The government's attention is solely based on the idea of ​​win-win cooperation and economic development. This is evident not only in factories but also in Jinpeng Trading, which has made a lot of money in just over six months.

No one will be eyeing your meager earnings. As long as you do business honestly and pay your taxes diligently, you can do business peacefully and steadily.

Tan Lihua knew these things because he and Zhang Guolong had seen Zhang Xupeng review Jinpeng Trading's operating costs. While the expense category could be falsified, the actual expenses could not.

The bulk of Jinpeng Trading's operating costs are in procurement and logistics. Even the travel expenses to the Canton Fair are higher than the entertainment expenses. It can be said that the entertainment expenses are almost negligible. When they saw the accounts, the two of them could hardly believe it.

For this reason, they specifically questioned Xiao Zhang, who assured them that in the past six months, no government employee had come to their door to ask for favors, and that during the few routine inspections, there had been no extortion or bribery.

The business environment was so good that the two elderly fathers could hardly believe it. Back in their hometown, this was a significant business cost, and some small businesses even had to close down because they couldn't afford it.

With these concerns gone, Zhang Guolong felt at ease. In any case, Jinpeng Trading was currently operating with light assets, and on paper, the money it had earned was enough for his foolish son to live a carefree life for the rest of his days.

But Tan Lihua's concerns have not been dispelled. His son is going too far. Building cars is not something anyone can do. Even a small electric scooter involves a lot of technical aspects.

Therefore, Tan Lihua wanted to take this opportunity to have a good talk with his son and understand his plans for the future.

Tan Lihua has been fully aware of his son's ability and skill in making money since arriving in Beicang. However, while he has no say in whether his son can protect this wealth, he hopes to have the right to know.

It's no wonder that Tan Lihua and Zhang Guolong had such thoughts. Having risen from the bottom through education, they had witnessed too much of the dark side of life.

"Sigh, in the end, it's because your old man isn't capable of protecting you." Seeing that his son didn't say anything, Tan Lihua suddenly sighed.

"Huh? Dad, why are you suddenly bringing this up? Everything's fine now." "It's nothing, just a little reflection. We're going back tomorrow. Is there anything you want to bring back for Mom?"

"No need, tomorrow is Sunday, and I can't get what I need to do tomorrow anyway. I'll take you back tomorrow."

"Won't it keep you in a bit?"

"No delay."

Dinner was a small gathering of Yicheng people in Beicang. Tan Lihua and Zhang Guolong were quite adept at social etiquette, having already informed Zhang Qingliang to bring his hometown renovation workers to dinner.

A few drinks and a few words easily dispelled the workers' resentment towards Tan Jincheng's strict demands. The construction site near the office was nearing completion, and the next step was the construction of two houses for Tan and Zhang.

To avoid troubling two people for the same task, this batch of workers will move into the residential building after the office renovation is completed, so the construction schedule is not as tight this time.

However, safety must still be taken very seriously.

Even though my dad doesn't drink, the same request seems more acceptable coming from his mouth than from me. I've learned something new.

This is probably the art of language.
-
In the stillness of the night, in Tan Jincheng's room, the father and son looked at each other.

Tan Lihua wanted to hear his son's plans for the future. In Tan Lihua's view, this conversation was equal. From a father-son perspective, Tan Lihua felt that Tan Jincheng was still a child.

But judging from what he has done in the past six months, he can no longer be regarded as a child. He has planned a factory with an annual output value of nearly 100 million yuan. Tan Lihua simply does not believe that this is just his son's impulsive act. He must have had a long-term plan.

"Then tell me, but some of it involves trade secrets. Dad, just listen to it yourself. No one else knows it yet."

"Then pick something you can talk about, and avoid topics involving trade secrets as much as possible."

Tan Lihua is not going to take the blame. If more than two people know about something, it's no longer a secret. At least with his wife, Tan Lihua is completely unguarded. What if he accidentally lets something slip one day?

This kid is probably trying to use this to cover up his intention not to talk.

"It all started when we went back to our hometown for the Mid-Autumn Festival last year. Dad, do you remember when my eldest uncle took us back to the village in his tricycle?"

"Yes, I remember. I recall you sitting in the car in a daze for a long time."

"Yes, back then I was thinking, if I opened a factory to make these kinds of vehicles, would there be a market? But I didn't have that much money back then. I didn't even have enough money to open a shop selling tricycles or electric scooters, let alone produce these."

Tan Lihua nodded. He had heard Zhang Mingcan, the boss, say that setting up a small electric scooter assembly plant, even a black-market workshop, would cost at least several hundred thousand yuan. Normally, an initial investment of several million yuan would be child's play.

Subsequent expansion will require an investment of tens of millions of yuan, so it's normal for the subdistrict office to attach great importance to it.

“What can we do if we don’t have money? We can only make money first. Pengya and I have been at sea for more than a year and we have earned more than just a salary of 10 or so. Unlike some ocean-going cargo ships, cruise ships have all kinds of people coming and going, so we can hear some news.”

Then Tan Jincheng began to explain his business plan in detail, starting with the clothing export business to accumulate funds, and then to the factory construction plan. Originally, there was no need to rush, but the country's policies changed significantly last year.

The development of any industry is inseparable from policy support. This is true for manufacturing, internet companies, and even stock trading. Since policies have changed, there is no need to wait until full preparation before launching, otherwise, one will lose the opportunity.

Tan Jincheng did not mention any plans to manufacture cars in the future. He felt it was too early and too vague to talk about such things now, and he was not sure whether he could actually achieve that goal.

At present, the biggest ambition is to become a leading manufacturer of electric scooters within a few years. Currently, Xinri is the market leader, but electric vehicles are still a relatively new and developing industry.

In an emerging market, being the current leader does not necessarily mean having a significant advantage. We can see this from the course of history. Why were brands like Hermes and Yadi able to succeed, but brands like Flash and Fengchi failed?

Starting next week, Tan Jincheng is preparing a five-year plan for Shanchi Automotive, aiming to become a leader in the industry within five years and make the brands Shanchi and Fengchi memorable to the public.

The electric scooter market is likely to enter a bottleneck period for quite some time. Once the domestic market becomes saturated, it can be exported.

To realize one's dream of building cars, one must increase brand awareness and production volume to attract capital investment. Building a car is not a simple matter; it is impossible to accomplish it solely through one's own financial resources.

As Tan Jincheng was describing his vision for the future of Flash Automotive, Tan Lihua suddenly interjected, "If you expand your production capacity and build a new production base, what should you do if people from your hometown come looking for you?"

"Um, Dad, isn't it too early for you to be thinking about this?" Suddenly interrupted, Tan Jincheng didn't know how to answer for a moment.

"It's not early. Let's not talk about anything far ahead. Just this year, if you establish yourself, you'll face this problem."

If production starts in June, there will be six months left until the end of the year. If the company can establish a firm foothold, Flash Motors can produce approximately 15000 electric scooters, with a production value of around 4000 million yuan.

A production value of 4000 million yuan in half a year is not to be underestimated in an industrially developed city like Ningbo, let alone in the industrial environment of his hometown. Don't doubt the sources of these people's information. Tan Lihua dares to guarantee that if his son gains a foothold in the electric scooter industry this year...

So, the house will definitely be very lively during the Chinese New Year this year, so it's not too early to think about this issue now.

(End of this chapter)