2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 157 I have a dream

How can you best tell whether you live in 2005 or 2023? The best way is to go back to your familiar city and look at its iconic buildings.

The changes of the times are often reflected in these iconic buildings. Tianyi Square, located on the south side of Zhongshan East Road, a bustling commercial street in the center of Ningbo, and the nearby City God Temple are among the representative buildings.

The main buildings of Tianyi Square's commercial district consist of a church, fountain, central square, food area, Yaohuang Hall, and shopping area. In 2005, there was no luxury goods street or Yi Avenue.

Today is Saturday, and there are quite a few people in Tianyi Square. There are also some performances in the pool area, which have attracted a lot of onlookers.

Gu Qingqing and I each held a drink and strolled in the square, feeling incredibly relaxed at that moment.

Having put aside his work and temporarily left his usual place of residence, he is neither a company CEO nor a junior today; it's as if he has truly returned to his 20-year-old self.

What was I doing this Mid-Autumn Festival in my previous life? I think I wasn't setting up a stall and was just lying in my rented room playing games?

Watching the young couples walking hand in hand past him, Tan Jincheng couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Being young is fucking wonderful!"

At 20, one should do things appropriate for their age. Without being reborn, Tan Jincheng's 20s wouldn't have been perfect. Apart from Zhang Xupeng, he had no other relatives or friends, let alone any women.

The reason I married late in my past life was largely because of my experience selling boxed lunches. We were all at the same age, and few people would respect someone who sells boxed lunches, even if you could make money.

In a society that is not yet fully materialistic, education and a decent job are often more effective than money, unless you have a lot of money to change society's perspective.

Couples walked by, and Tan Jincheng suddenly smiled and said, "Would you say this counts as our first date?"

In an instant, Gu Qingqing felt as if the air had stopped moving. Passersby didn't even bother to make way for her. What did he mean by this? Was he going to confess his feelings to her? Weren't there too many people here? Was this a rather inappropriate setting?

Smoothing her hair, Gu Qingqing forced herself to remain calm and said, "You can't say that, can you? The word 'dating' should be used for boyfriends and girlfriends."

"Can't we use this term if we're not boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"Not boyfriend and girlfriend, using that term is a bit inappropriate."

With a smile, Tan Jincheng said to Gu Qingqing, "Let's go find a place to sit down."

In the central square area, there are many benches for tourists to rest when they get tired. However, there were many tourists today, and most of the benches were full. After walking for a while, I finally found an empty bench in a relatively secluded area.

During this process, neither of them spoke. After they were seated, Tan Jincheng finally spoke, asking, "What do you want to do in the future?"

Gu Qingqing was taken aback: "Huh? What do you want to do in the future? I haven't thought about that yet. I just want to learn more things that I might be able to use when I enter the workforce."

Why are you suddenly bringing this up? Weren't we just talking about dating?

However, Gu Qingqing really hadn't thought about what she wanted to do in the future. She was only a sophomore this semester and had two years left before graduation. Taking the postgraduate entrance exam wasn't very popular in this era, and most college students didn't have any plans to take it after graduation. Gu Qingqing was no exception.

When Tan Jincheng suddenly asked her the question, Gu Qingqing really didn't know how to answer. She now knew that Business English was not a good major and that the job market might be very competitive. So what could she do in the future?

Go home and start an e-commerce business? Inherit your parents' shop and collect rent? Or start your own business like him?
It must be said that jumping from one topic to another eased the awkward atmosphere considerably.

"You can think about it. You still have two years until graduation. Two years will pass in the blink of an eye. Besides, after junior year, it's basically the internship period."

Gu Qingqing nodded and said, "That's true, but I haven't really thought about it yet. Do you have any opinions?"

"Think about it first. Once you have an idea, I can give you some advice, but I can't tell you what you want to do. Just like when you wanted to open an online store to sell small accessories, you need to have an idea first."

When the topic of opening an online store to sell small accessories came up, Gu Qingqing blushed. She had been thinking about how to fool him, but he saw through her immediately. Fortunately, she had listened to his analysis and didn't continue.

In fact, Gu Qingqing did some research later. If she really went to sell small accessories, she might not even be able to make back the shipping costs. Online shoppers wouldn't buy these things in bulk unless she went into wholesale business.

"You previously said that the industries with the best future development are import and export, real estate, and the internet, but among these three industries, you are more optimistic about real estate and the internet, right?"

Tan Jincheng asked in surprise, "Hmm? Why do you say that?" "It's simple. The fact that you're making electric scooters now means you're transitioning to a new business. It also means that the import business can indeed make money, but it certainly doesn't have a good sustainable future. An industry that ordinary people can easily enter is bound to be highly competitive."

After a moment of surprise, Tan Jincheng laughed and said, "You're so smart. It's true what you said. The import and export industry is currently a highly profitable industry. First, the information gap means that the number of participants has not yet reached saturation. Second, there are changes in exchange rates, tariffs, and policies. Once everyone realizes what's going on, it won't be so easy to make money."

In an interview, Dong Ge once said that once a Chinese person opens a series of gas stations and makes money, countless gas shops will appear next to him instead of other industries, eventually leading to everyone running out of money.

Such examples abound on any commercial street in China. If a restaurant makes money, several or even a dozen more will appear next to it within a few months.

This year is a year of booming development for the Internet. With the acceleration of informatization, information about making money through foreign trade will spread to countless people in the mainland in the future. At that time, countless trading companies will emerge, and even some OEM factories will get involved.

With more people vying for a piece of the pie, market chaos is inevitable, profit margins will decline, and there is also the risk of dumping. On the other hand, in addition to the 2008 financial crisis, the exchange rate will decline year by year, which will also compress some profit margins.

Gu Qingqing's ability to see this from her own experience of going from foreign trade to electric scooter shows that she is really smart and good at thinking.

"So, according to you, the future will either involve real estate or the internet, right?"

"You could say that. Real estate costs are too high, while the internet offers more opportunities. If you really haven't decided yet, I suggest you learn more about this field, attend classes in other departments, and then make a decision."

"Can you do these things?" Gu Qingqing asked, her eyes sparkling.

Taking a sip of his drink, Tan Jincheng looked up at the sky and said, "I... well, I can't say for sure."

If you're going to make cars, that's not an independent industry. It involves many aspects, like factories and employee dormitories, which require land, right? Wouldn't that be considered real estate?

Take Shenzhou International, the largest enterprise in Beicang and a leading textile company in China, for example. It also has a subsidiary called Shenzhou Real Estate. In addition to building employee dormitories, it has also developed many residential communities for sale. Does this count as doing real estate?
Furthermore, new energy vehicles also involve autonomous driving, artificial intelligence, vehicle networking, and so on. Does that count as working in the internet industry? So simply saying which industry you work in seems a bit inappropriate; it's more accurate to say that your main business isn't in this area.

Leaving aside automobiles, even just considering the electric scooter industry, it has become increasingly intelligent in its later stages, inseparable from the internet. Setting up factories also requires a large amount of land, so it is no longer an independent industry.

"What do you mean 'it's hard to say'? Do you mean you haven't made up your mind yet?"

With a smile, Tan Jincheng looked at Gu Qingqing and said, "Do you know? I have a dream."

Feeling a little embarrassed by the oppressive gaze, Gu Qingqing lowered her head and asked, "What dream?"

From Tan Jincheng's perspective, asking if it was their first date was a test, and Gu Qingqing didn't show any resistance after the test, which is a good sign.

However, older men are really not good at dating. They've never even confessed their feelings directly in their past lives. They always feel that it's a bit too deliberate. Compared to a direct confession, Tan Jincheng still prefers things to happen naturally.

"Next year, Flash's annual production capacity will exceed 10 million units. My dream is to increase Flash's annual production capacity to 1 billion units within five years. Acquiring land, building factories, and expanding are all inevitable. We will naturally be involved in real estate. As for the Internet, we should also get involved when the time is right in the future."

Tan Jincheng gave a general overview of his five-year plan, from the electric scooter industry chain to acquiring land and building factories, and then to expanding production lines. These business plans inevitably involve some relatively confidential information.

But Tan Jincheng still said that, besides laying the groundwork for what was to come, there was another reason: Tan Jincheng desperately wanted to find someone to confide in. Reborn people are, to some extent, a particularly lonely group of people.

A person may have unspeakable secrets deep inside, making it difficult to form close relationships with others, always afraid of accidentally revealing their secret of rebirth. Although no one would say it out loud, what if they did?
Having someone you can trust to confide in reasonably is certainly a good thing, especially in today's circumstances.

Gu Qingqing listened quietly. Although no message was broadcast, his eyes grew brighter and brighter. Although he didn't understand much of the information, it didn't diminish his admiration for Tan Jincheng at that moment.

A talented and idealistic man is right in front of me.

Gu Qingqing raised her drink cup, gesturing for Tan Jincheng to clink glasses: "You're amazing. Although I can't help you much, I will definitely support you. I hope you can achieve your dream in five years."

“Who said you can’t help? You can help,” Tan Jincheng said with a smile.

"Huh? I don't understand any of this, what can I do?"

"Be my girlfriend."

(End of this chapter)