I'm reborn and I'm an international student again?

Soon, Chen Xi sent Jiang Yu to gather materials, while he went back to find Fan Hongyuan.

Fan Hongyuan simply responded with a nod, then asked him in return, "So what do you want to do?"

Fan Hongyuan didn't actually have a solution to this problem. The relationship between the supply and marketing cooperatives and village management is one of collaboration and mutual support. It can be understood as a complementary system of governance and services at the grassroots level: village management organizes villagers and coordinates resources, while the supply and marketing cooperatives provide market-based services, jointly promoting rural development.

Moreover, their organizational nature is completely different, so the supply and marketing cooperative has no way to deal with them.

Chen Xi naturally understood this; he came to Fan Hongyuan not to ask him to investigate anything, nor to complain.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Xi said, "Regarding the village management issues that may arise in agricultural projects, these are essentially the result of a combination of rent-seeking, ineffective supervision, and institutional loopholes. To solve them systematically, the key is to build a closed-loop management system covering the entire chain of prevention, supervision, investigation, and rectification. Supply and marketing cooperatives in many places can use transparent rules to reduce the space for backroom deals, use collaborative supervision to keep an eye on key links, and use public supervision to create a deterrent effect."

"You mean..." Fan Hongyuan's face darkened when he heard that the supply and marketing cooperative was going to actually participate in these areas of work.

Honestly, if they do it this way, who would dare to cooperate with their department in the future?
Chen Xi's idea is to build a full-process supervision network, with Huahetong, the supply and marketing cooperative, and farmers working together to supervise the project.

This sounds like a good idea, but in reality it's not that simple.

What the management situation is like in most villages is unknown to others, but the people in the supply and marketing cooperative know it better than anyone else.

This intractable problem has existed for so many years without being eradicated, and they...

After thinking for a long time, Fan Hongyuan couldn't think of anything to say, so he could only awkwardly pick up his cup and take a sip of tea.

Seeing this, Chen Xi understood and said, "Since Huahetong was established, the investment amount has exceeded 100 billion. Although the basic framework of the project has been completed and each project has been launched and is in operation, there are still many problems, and subsequent funding cannot be guaranteed. The supervision plan I just mentioned is also in line with the current crackdown..."

Fan Hongyuan frowned even more after hearing this, and it took him a long time to relax.

The Huahetong project couldn't be completed during his term; it was a long-term project for the people's livelihood. Chen Xi's words enlightened him: as long as he ensured no major problems arose while in office, and that the project could continue operating upon his retirement, that would be sufficient.

As for the relationship between the village and the supply and marketing cooperative, let's leave that for the next person to consider.

Moreover, this is also his active response to the rectification...

With that in mind, Fan Hongyuan nodded without hesitation: "Okay, let's call it Project Sunshine!"

After leaving the supply and marketing cooperative, Chen Xi went straight to the Overseas Returnees Association.

As soon as I entered, Qian Jiajia pulled me into the lounge.

"Vice President, why are you still so relaxed? Have you forgotten about the competition?" Qian Jiajia handed over a cup of coffee, her tone a little anxious.

Chen Xi took the drink and sipped it: "What do you mean I'm taking it easy? I've been incredibly busy lately. So, have those two already made their move?"

"The secretary-general led a team to South Korea, and the chairman also flew to Hong Kong."

"Ah."

"Just a 'hmm'? Aren't you worried? They've already taken action." Qian Jiajia held her head, her baby face filled with disbelief.

“I know what they’re planning to do.” Chen Xi touched his nose.

"You know? So what are your plans?" Qian Jiajia perked up.

"Choose your people, pay up." Chen Xi smiled.

The competition funds are allocated by the association, and profits must ultimately be returned to the association. Of course, the three can also raise funds themselves, or even mix in private funds. However, all profits reported at the end must be handed over, so theoretically it's possible to directly buy results, but none of them would do that. Paying out of their own pockets for the position of president, and then having to win three consecutive matches—no one wants to be a sucker.

"What kind of person should we choose?" Qian Jiajia pressed.

"Needs to be good with numbers, have a financial background, know computers, and be able to do some data analysis. The requirements aren't high." Chen Xi touched his nose again.

"That's all? How can we choose? It seems like everyone fits the bill." Qian Jiajia was somewhat suspicious.

Eighty percent of international students have business backgrounds, and their courses already cover these topics. Most members of the association do indeed meet the requirements.

"Simple? The person has to be one of my people, on my side. I'll leave this to you." Chen Xi smiled.

Should I handle this?
Your people?
Qian Jiajia was taken aback, and her face suddenly turned slightly red.

"Alright, I need to go withdraw the money first." Chen Xi waved his hand, got up and left.

Upon entering the finance office, he directly addressed the accountant in charge of the books, saying, "Withdraw the money, and also show me the most recent accounts."

The finance officer is an old hand who was there when the association was founded.

When Lin Xi was in charge, it was incredibly difficult for Chen Xi to audit the accounts.

After Xu Yun took over temporarily, she brought in several people, and the person in front of her was gradually marginalized. Lin Xi's subsequent indifference made her quite resentful, and now that she saw Chen Xi wanting both money and to see the accounts, she hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

"Wow, the association's cross-border e-commerce revenue is so high?" Chen Xi flipped through the accounts, feigning surprise.

“The association has invested heavily in this area, building warehouses in major regions around the world. On the one hand, it integrates overseas students doing purchasing agents in various places, providing them with support for bulk shipments. On the other hand, it also serves domestic cross-border e-commerce companies. Now, businesses like Amazon all need overseas warehouses, and we rent and sublet warehouses, so the income is indeed considerable…” the woman explained. Chen Xi listened and nodded.

In his past life, he knew many friends who were involved in cross-border e-commerce, including some who made their fortunes as secondhand warehouse landlords. They rented idle warehouses around the world and then sublet them to small and medium-sized sellers in need.

Although the woman spoke clearly and logically, Chen Xi still felt that the number was unusually high.

"Money in US dollars? Where?" The woman's question interrupted his thoughts.

“Dollar, new mother-in-law,” Chen Xi replied.

A week later...

Inside a conference room.

"Investigate, investigate, investigate, how long are we going to keep this up? Continuing like this is just self-destructive." A man with pockmarked features said irritably.

Since the last incident, some companies have been embroiled in investigations, with frequent changes in management, causing some groups to operate at near standstill.

The reasons for the delay are complex.

That is, some people want to investigate further, some want to stop it, and some believe that the investigation will never be completed.

“Some time ago, someone reported…that there were improper dealings between local officials and partner companies, resulting in losses for others,” a middle-aged woman said coldly.

"What does this have to do with what I just said?" the man retorted.

“Some companies are involved in the case, and as more and more evidence accumulates, the need to investigate further becomes increasingly urgent!” the woman said, pushing a document onto the table.

Soon, the documents were distributed to the attendees by the assistant.

After everyone read it, their brows furrowed.

Even the arrogant man from before fell silent.

The document was densely packed with a series of alarming questions.

For example, a certain group's e-commerce platform... an online sales channel for agricultural products lost more than 3 billion yuan in just six months.

If this were a large, comprehensive platform, burning through cash would be understandable, but for a vertical agricultural product platform to lose such an astronomical amount of money is truly baffling.

For example, a certain group's subsidiary... used its import corn tariff quota... to illegally resell low-priced imported corn to other companies, thereby making a huge profit from the difference.

Furthermore, some feed mills, oil mills, and other production units have repeatedly experienced safety accidents such as dust explosions and fires. Superficially, this is due to inadequate safety management, but in reality, everyone in the industry knows the truth.

This fire is often a means of settling accounts or covering up problems...

Furthermore, some subsidiaries of certain groups engaged in illegal operations such as using Chen Dingxin and low-price acquisition with high-price transfer to obtain price differences, resulting in the loss of huge subsidies...

"Ahem, let me say a few words. Regarding the online entertainment we discussed last time, it has now been approved for a special crackdown. This time it's different from before; the target is the controlling group, and we must take them down." A bespectacled man cleared his throat, breaking the silence.

Upon hearing this, many people present secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The cloud storage services behind online entertainment are intricately intertwined and involve far-reaching interests. Now that the target is clear, the implications are self-evident.

"Furthermore, I'd like to add something. The current investigation into a certain company may not necessarily be a bad thing. The slow progress of agricultural projects stems from the fact that some past practices are out of touch with market economy principles. Introducing private enterprises for cooperation may be an opportunity—an opportunity to break the long-standing monopoly and systematically solve the deep-seated problems in rural areas," the bespectacled man continued.

Office in an office building in Shenzhen.

Yang Dan leaned back in the large executive chair, her feet propped up on the table, a cigarette dangling from her lips, her eyes unfocused.

Several men in front of him were giving a long and detailed presentation about the project, but he didn't hear a single word they said.

He has been hiding here ever since he was asked to leave the Australian region.

His underling, Gao Jiyuan, was arrested, but thanks to the mediation of the Great Sun Group and other forces, he was only deported and avoided imprisonment. He knew this outcome was already a sign of leniency. Anyone else would likely have been made an example of and sentenced to at least ten years in prison.

But I still feel suffocated.

He didn't instigate this. With so many henchmen under his command, he wouldn't even remember who Gao Jiyuan was if he hadn't seen the photo.

After being sent back to the mainland, he didn't dare tell his family.

His father, Yang Dingtian, had never allowed him to return, let alone in such a humiliating way. So, he simply lay low in Shenzhen, the closest city to Hong Kong.

He couldn't just sit around doing nothing. So, he registered an investment company. Soon, several people who had connections approached him and began taking turns recommending projects to him.

"Mr. Yang, our project is absolutely reliable! It's a legitimate, licensed international trading platform, unlike those shady schemes." A young man leaned forward, holding up his phone screen, which displayed colorful charts and an English interface. (End of Chapter)