2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 231 Car License Acquired
The moment Tao Qinian saw Tan Jincheng rush into the office, he felt as if he were seeing his younger self, just as spirited and radiant.

Tao Qinian, born in 1962, is from Tongcheng, but he has spent most of his life in Wangjiang.

In 1981, after graduating from Yicheng Agricultural School with a major in agriculture at the age of 19, he was assigned to Wuchang Township as a youth league cadre.

Having worked in various positions, he is now over forty years old and has spent 25 years in Wangjiang, dedicating almost all of the best years of his life to this impoverished county.

When it comes to feelings for Wangjiang, he is no less than the locals, and perhaps even more so because of his position.

If possible, he would very much like to bring a few factories and businesses to this small county with hundreds of thousands of people, so that some people would not have to worry about where to work after the Spring Festival every year.

Both of us started working at eighteen or nineteen, but this young man with long hair and striking features is even more outstanding than I was when I first graduated. He has built his success step by step through his own hard work.

Whether or not, as his father said, he boarded the ship and went to sea to work without really knowing what was going on, his spirit of daring to go out and make his own way at the age of seventeen or eighteen is commendable.

After returning home, he dared to use all the money he had saved from working, without asking his parents for a single penny, to start a company doing foreign trade. His vision was truly remarkable.

I haven't been able to find out the foreign trade company's financial data, but it must be quite substantial, otherwise it wouldn't be enough to support the early-stage construction of FlashTech. According to recent information, only a very small portion of FlashTech's initial investment came from loans; the rest was paid out by the company itself.

"Why is your hair so long? What kind of look is this? You don't even bother to get it cut," Tan Lihua suddenly said after staring at her son for a while.

"Let's talk about it in a few days, it's not even the end of the first month yet," Tan Jincheng chuckled.

Tan Jincheng's hair has indeed grown quite long, and to be honest, he's feeling uncomfortable, as his head feels very heavy. However, today is only the 27th of the first lunar month, so he has to endure it for a few more days.

"What, Comrade Tan, you still believe in this?" Tao Qihua asked Tan Jincheng with a smile.

The saying that shaving one's head in the first month of the lunar calendar brings bad luck to one's maternal uncle is a common belief in many regions. Moreover, since everyone is in the same large urban area of ​​Yicheng, they naturally understand what Tan Jincheng meant.

It's quite interesting, actually. Although we're all from Yicheng, we all come from different counties and districts, and we all speak different dialects!
If it's just casual conversation, it's fine if everyone can barely understand, but since it involves serious matters, we can't just listen halfway and guess.

Therefore, from the moment Tan Jincheng entered the room, he communicated in Mandarin.

Incidentally, even when Tan Lihua asked Tan Jincheng questions from a father's perspective, he did so in Mandarin, just to avoid causing unnecessary discomfort to everyone.

"When it comes to relatives, even if it's superstition, it's better to believe it exists than to believe it doesn't."

After Zhang Qingliang's incident in his previous life, Tan Jincheng never got a haircut during the first month of the lunar year, and he only ate until he was seven or eight tenths full at each meal, just so he wouldn't have to loosen his belt if he ate too much.

"Haha, that makes some sense. It seems that Comrade Xiao Tan is a good comrade who values ​​family ties. This makes me even more excited for the cooperation negotiations later."

After saying that, he glanced at Tan Lihua.

Since his son left home on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, more than 20 days have passed. Apart from occasionally getting a phone call from his wife to chat with his son, the two father and son haven't had much communication.

I never expected that my son hadn't cut his hair for this reason. It seems that Qingliang's car accident last year left him with some psychological trauma.

"Um, boss, may I have a quick chat with my dad about some personal matters first?"

"It's alright. You and your son haven't seen each other for quite a while. Just tell us, we're not in a hurry," Tao Qinian said with a smile.

This young man is quite remarkable. He made his request in a poised and generous manner, without being impolite, and while showing great self-assurance.

"I also want to thank the leaders for giving my father and me this opportunity, but it's just a few words." Then Tan Jincheng said to Tan Lihua in dialect, "Dad, I just talked to Pengya and asked him to go with you to pick out a couple of outfits. He'll probably come to the factory to pick you up in a little while."

"Why buy clothes?" Tan Lihua was a little confused.

"Firstly, it's my way of showing my respect to you. Secondly, Qingqing should be coming over tomorrow, so you two can meet up. I reckon you came in a hurry and probably didn't bring any clothes. By the way, where are you staying now?"

Only he and Gu Qingqing have the key to the new house. Tan Lihua came over yesterday, but Tan Jincheng doesn't know where he lives now.

“I’m living in the apartment you used to rent. I heard from Pengya that you bought that apartment, and he gave me the key.”

Tao Qinian did invite him to stay at the guesthouse, but Tan Lihua declined in order not to cause his son any more trouble. There was no need to take advantage of public resources, and it wasn't like they had nowhere else to stay.

"Oh, alright then, you can stay there. It has everything you need." Tan Jincheng nodded.

He had indeed bought the house from the landlord. It would be vacant after Zhang Xupeng moved out in two months. However, Tan Jincheng didn't plan to continue renting it out. He would maintain it regularly and keep it as his first place in Beicang as a memento.

Upon hearing that he was to meet with Gu Qingqing, Tan Lihua didn't care about anything else. This matter was obviously more important than discussing cooperation.

Before we came, my wife said that if we had the chance, we should definitely meet the girl. She even brought some local specialties from home just in case.

"Then I'll go downstairs and wait for Pengya," Tan Lihua said quickly.

"Yes, your uncle works in the paint shop. You should go and chat with him sometime."

"No, I'll wait at the gate. I'll see Pengya as soon as he comes in."

After saying goodbye to Tao Qinian and the others, Tan Lihua hurriedly went out. Tao Qinian couldn't help but look at Tan Jincheng with curiosity: "Who is Qingqing?" The accent in the city was somewhat similar to that in Tongcheng, so Tao Qinian could understand what the two were saying.

"My girlfriend, my dad hasn't met her yet, please excuse the rudeness of the leader," Tan Jincheng said with a smile.

He then explained, “Pengya is my former business partner, Zhang Xupeng. We grew up together. He is now the owner of our first company, Jinpeng Trading, which he manages.”

"Your dad has talked about the two of you. It's rare to have a like-minded friend, and it's even rarer that you two can still have such a good relationship after you've become successful."

A single phone call is all it takes to get a close friend to accompany your father shopping for clothes. And that friend is the owner of a company, which shows their relationship is quite special. In ancient terms, this is considered the closest of family ties.

"We wouldn't call it developed, but we've always had a good relationship. When we first came to Beicang, we rented a place together and worked hard to get the trading company up and running."

"Jinpeng Trading is a garment export business, right? Comrade Xiao Tan, if you don't mind, could you tell us about your current business?"

“Okay, let’s start with Jinpeng Trading. Jinpeng Trading was founded by Zhang Xupeng and me in October 2004. It was a clothing export business. Last year, after I shifted my focus to Shanchi Technology, the company changed its actual controller through a share transfer.”

I was the actual controller before, but now it's Zhang Xupeng. I'm not too sure how business is this year, but last year was pretty good, with an export volume of around 2000 million US dollars.

In addition to establishing Flash Technology last year, I also founded another trading company, Jinyi Industrial.

Jin Yi Industrial deals in the import and export of electronic products, and their current performance is decent. In the future, this company will also do some electric vehicle export business; let's see if we can sell our electric vehicles overseas and earn some money from foreigners.

Flash and its Windspeed series will also participate in this year's Spring Canton Fair. The results are yet to be seen, but we should give it a try. If we can open up an overseas sales channel, it will be a great help to Flash Technology.

“That makes sense. It’s better to export if we can. Besides increasing the company’s profits, it can also contribute to the country’s foreign exchange reserves,” Tao Qihua nodded.

The first of the three companies is incredibly successful, achieving an annual export volume of $2000 million. It's unbelievable, considering that Wangjiang County's export volume last year didn't even reach $400 million. This comparison is truly astonishing.

He didn't mention Jin Yi Industrial's export volume, but he figured it must be pretty good; in foreign trade, business ability is more important than sales skills, and being able to bring the export volume of a trading company that had only been established for a year and a half to 2000 million US dollars is quite impressive.

From this perspective, both Comrade Xiao Tan and Comrade Xiao Zhang are remarkable young people. It would be worthwhile to get to know Comrade Xiao Zhang if the opportunity arises.

Jinpeng Trading is a garment business, which is a labor-intensive enterprise. If their export volume increases further this year, we might be able to discuss cooperation on labor export.

But for now, let's get this Comrade Xiao Tan under our control as soon as possible.

"Is Comrade Xiao Tan interested in Andar Automobile's production qualifications?" Tao Qinian suddenly asked.

Tan Jincheng, who was carefully considering his words and thinking about how to start a serious conversation, was taken aback by what he heard.

Unexpectedly, the other party got straight to the point, which was a good thing: "Yes, I am indeed interested in Andar's automobile production qualifications."

"Automobile production qualifications are indeed rare, but as far as I know, they don't have much overlap with your company's business, and you don't have any plans to manufacture cars for the time being. Are you waiting for them to appreciate in value?"

"We have indeed considered this. In addition, having an automobile production license is a great supplement to the company's business. Perhaps in the future, when our company has developed to a certain extent, we can also get involved in the car manufacturing business."

Tao Qihua pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "I see. Comrade Xiao Tan is making plans for the future. I understand now."

Then, Tao Qihua said seriously, "In that case, the production qualification of Andar will be given to you, Comrade Xiao Tan. We can accept the conditions you mentioned. The leaf spring factory and the county can both agree on the acquisition price of 500 million yuan. However, I have one additional request."

Tan Jincheng also said seriously, "Please speak, leader. Anything within our capabilities is negotiable."

I recommend a new book by one of the authors in the same group; you might want to check it out if you're interested!
Book Title: Chinese Entertainment: The Laying-Down Superstars and the Rising White Moonlight

Synopsis: A sweet, single-female-lead entertainment and slice-of-life romance novel; no angst or unwarranted criticism of the main character.

Li Yi'an time-traveled to 2002, a time of great opportunity.

Seizing the opportunity means a life of peace and tranquility.

Ahem, I misspoke. It should be about becoming a connoisseur of life.

Li Yi'an enjoys many things, including Kunqu Opera, the guqin (a seven-stringed zither), the guzheng (a seven-stringed zither), skiing, and diving.
But they are lost and confused, unable to find what they love.

At the same time, another person was holding a thick stack of papers covered with writing.

My heart is resolute.

This time, I want to become an actress like Audrey Hepburn!
Oh no, I've been tricked into the entertainment industry, what should I do?
Meanwhile, the fairy godmother Li Yi'an, who aspires to be like Audrey Hepburn, teaches acting.

On the other hand, there's the story of Li Yi'an desperately trying to persuade the celestial being to retire from the entertainment industry and settle down.

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(End of this chapter)