2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 255 Trip to Yongkang
Ying Jianren has been in business for over 20 years and has seen his share of ups and downs.

To be honest, this was the first time he had discussed business with people of his "son's" generation, and it was a deal worth hundreds of millions.

The intelligence seems to be wrong. I originally thought that Flash Technology, which has production qualifications, was just an add-on, and that we could just give them some benefits. But now it seems that these people are led by this excessively young boss of Flash Technology.

No wonder I was seeing things! Or is the world changing too fast for me to keep up?

Admittedly, some people may have their age overlooked and their opinions listened to because of their special status, but business is business, especially since this is such a large business as the automotive industry chain, which can even affect an entire city.

This is about cars, not some small business dealing with Tom, Dick, or Harry.

Feeling that the information was wrong, Ying Jianren exchanged a glance with his brother-in-law and decisively abandoned the idea of ​​starting negotiations in the morning. He then led the group on a tour of the Zhongtai factory area, introducing the factory while also clearing his head.

"Has Mr. Tan ever been to Yongkang?" Ying Jianren asked Tan Jincheng while touring the factory.

“I’ve never been here before, but I’ve been to Hengdian and Yiwu. My girlfriend is from Yiwu, so I guess I have some connection with Yongkang?” Tan Jincheng said with a smile.

Hengdian, Yiwu, and Yongkang are all part of the same major city for ham production. However, this kind of historical connection is fine to talk about with people of Yingjian's generation, but if you talk about it with young people, they will probably complain.

The bulk sales of ham in Yiwu are no less than those in Jiangsu Province. People from Yiwu always say they are from Yiwu when they go out, and people from Yongkang do the same.

"Haha, is that so? Well, there is indeed some connection. If you have the chance, Mr. Tan, you can bring your girlfriend to Yongkang as a guest. We will definitely treat you well."

"Thank you in advance, Mr. Ying. I'll definitely take the opportunity to visit you again," Tan Jincheng replied with a smile, while looking around the car factory.

Ying Jianren noticed that the atmosphere in the negotiation team seemed a bit different, so he took the initiative to receive Tan Jincheng, while Wu Jianzhong continued to explain things to the people from the district.

The fact that both the actual controller and the actual manager received them at the same time shows that it was taken very seriously.

"What does Mr. Tan think of our factory?" Ying Jianren asked with pride as he saw Tan Jincheng looking around.

The factories are vastly different from those seen in live streams by BYD, Tesla, and other companies online in later years! But of course, I can't say something so discouraging.

"I don't know much about the automotive industry, but the factory area is so big, it looks very impressive. Also, the equipment looks very advanced. Mr. Ying must have spent a lot of money on it, right?"

Ying Jianren said with great pride, "That's right, this is a production line that we acquired at great expense. Almost all of my wealth is invested in it."

"General Manager Ying has a grand vision!" Tan Jincheng said, giving a thumbs up.

This isn't just flattery. Domestic private entrepreneurs who dare to risk everything to build cars, especially in the gasoline-powered car market dominated by foreign brands, are at least worthy of respect now, no matter how things turn out.

While their initial motivations included making money and achieving fame, they did indeed contribute to the progress of domestic car brands.

The progress of domestically produced new energy vehicles is largely due to the hard work and dedication of this generation. Even if some of them eventually forget their original aspirations, their pioneering spirit in the early stages is commendable.

Take Ying Jianren, for example. He already had a net worth of tens of billions, and his Tieniu Group went public in 2003 through a reverse takeover. He could have enjoyed unlimited success, but he was still willing to invest all his wealth into the car manufacturing business.

The car manufacturing at that time was not the same as that of later generations who used the Internet mindset to develop new energy vehicles. The Internet mindset car manufacturing used investors' money, and whether it made a profit or loss, or went bankrupt or not, did not affect the founder's life.

The current car manufacturing industry is different. Funding is either self-raised or obtained through bank loans. Every penny of funding requires the founder to bear the risk. One wrong move could bankrupt them and wipe out all their wealth.

"President Tan is young and promising, and he's managed to obtain automobile production qualifications. He must also have the idea of ​​building cars, right?" Ying Jianren asked tentatively.

"I have thought about it, but it's just a thought. I don't have the capability to manufacture cars yet. As for the car production qualification, that was just a coincidence. You should be able to tell from my accent that I'm not from Beicang."

"I know that, but what do you mean by coincidence? Can you explain?"

“I’m from Yicheng. Last year when I went home for the Spring Festival, I happened to find that Yicheng was in a hurry to deal with Andar’s assets. After some twists and turns, they came to me and we eventually got the deal. It was a coincidence.”

Ying Jianren was stunned: "Is that so? They came to you directly during the New Year?"

It's only been a little over a month since the Lunar New Year, or two months at most. The acquisition and renaming were completed in less than two months. I've been to many companies and haven't seen this kind of efficiency. Does the company have such a powerful background?

But that doesn't make sense. If they have such a strong background in their hometown, shouldn't they be cooperating in the name of their hometown? Why is it Beicang District?
"That's the truth. I felt quite surprised at the time. How did they find me, a factory that manufactures electric vehicles?" Tan Jincheng said, spreading his hands.

"How much did you spend, Mr. Tan? Can you tell me? Don't worry, even if you didn't spend a single penny, that's your skill and it won't affect our cooperation this time." "There's nothing I can't say. In cash, I spent about 3000 million. In addition, my friend and I each invested in a factory in our county. My friend's is a garment factory, and I also have some shares there."

Ying Jianren nodded. "I see. It seems that Yicheng is attracting investment by giving up its automobile license. That makes sense. Although electric vehicles and clothing are not as good as automobiles, they are both labor-intensive industries that can solve a lot of local employment problems."

Making cars isn't easy either. Since the 90s, major cities across the country have been vigorously developing automobiles, but only a few cities have actually succeeded. Yicheng may have chosen to give up for this reason.

Moreover, with two major brands, JAC and Chery, Anhui Province may not have the capacity to support a third brand.

The price of 30 million yuan is reasonable; it's not too much, but it's not too little either. If it's resold, there will be a premium, ranging from about 3000% to 60%.

It seems that this young boss, Xiao Tan, also saw the potential in the premium and the profit, which is why he chose to cooperate with his hometown. He probably contacted me quickly for the same reason.

If I could make tens of millions in a short period of time, I would be willing to do it.

What people fear most is making assumptions based on information asymmetry. Ying Jianren is an experienced businessman, but precisely because of this, he can fill in the gaps in the transaction's rationality and the interests of both parties based on just a few words.

He had experience dealing with local governments and knew what they wanted, which was nothing more than tax revenue and employment, as well as some other things. For example, when Tan Jincheng mentioned that 3000 million yuan had been spent, he imagined that although it wasn't officially 3000 million yuan, that much had been spent.

Tan Jincheng's profit motive was also imagined by him to be to make more money from the price difference. As for investing in building a factory in his hometown, it was probably because he couldn't bring himself to do it due to his hometown connections. Without the qualifications to produce automobiles, he probably couldn't escape this situation either.

In Ying Jianren's imagination, a business deal became perfectly reasonable, but in reality, Tan Jincheng's acquisition of Andar was just a coincidence, and the 3000 million yuan was just a figure he made up.

Xu Xueming, that old guy, dared to negotiate with people for 80 yuan. I don't know what he was thinking.

If Ying Jianren knew this, he'd probably be furious. This is the flawed thinking caused by information asymmetry.

"I never expected that President Tan would have a clothing business. That's really impressive. The clothing industry is quite profitable these days."

"It's a small-scale operation. I previously partnered with a friend to start a foreign trade company. To reduce costs, I thought about opening my own factory so that I could save on OEM fees and reduce some constraints."

Zhang Xupeng has been in France for some time now, and the progress of his investigation is going quite well. GXG is also interested in cooperating. The rest is just a matter of whether the price and other details can be agreed upon.

Zhang Xupeng did not go alone this time; he also spent a lot of money to hire two lawyers to accompany him. One was very knowledgeable about contracts, and the other was very knowledgeable about international trade law. Tan Jincheng found these lawyers for him.

When doing business with foreigners, the worst thing is that they might tamper with the contract. If you get ripped off, you'll be devastated.

"That's true. Integrated production and sales is the only way to make a long-term business. Foreign trade companies are basically just shell companies, and there will only be more and more of them in the future. Once you're familiar with garment factories, you can do foreign trade yourself. Mr. Tan's idea is correct."

"Small-scale operations, making a little money, can't compare to Boss Ying's."

"It's me who can't compare to President Tan. You've built such a big business at such a young age, while I was still blacksmithing when I was 20. Speaking of which, my child is about the same age as President Tan and is nothing."

"That's not necessarily true. Your child has a rich father, but my father is just an ordinary worker. I can only work hard. There's a saying that goes something like this: what bosses in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are most afraid of is their descendants wanting to prove themselves and start their own businesses."

Ying Jianren looked bewildered and said, "Is that so? I've never heard of it before?"

Yes, but it's been more than a decade since then, so you haven't heard of it.

In reality, the children of wealthy families aren't as bad as people say online. From what Tan Jincheng knows, most of the children of wealthy families in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas are quite down-to-earth. After graduation, those who are capable either start their own small businesses or take over the family business, and many work diligently in factories and workshops.

Some who don't want to take over the family business choose to take the civil service exam and enter the system, leading a more normal lifestyle without the glitz and glamour.

"Just kidding. We all started from different places, and there's also an element of luck involved. I was just lucky."

"Luck is one aspect, but the main thing is ability. The fact that Flash Motors' electric cars are selling so well and were last year's dark horse is definitely not just due to luck. I believe in Mr. Tan's ability. Otherwise, the production qualification that I struggled to obtain for a long time could have been easily obtained by Mr. Tan."

"You can't say it like that. It's already cost tens of millions, and building a factory is quite a pain, so I'm hoping to see if I can get some favors from President Ying."

"No problem, no problem, let's cooperate."

I'm afraid you won't say anything.

(End of this chapter)