Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 104 Cousin in Shock (Bonus Chapter for Alliance Leader Butterfly Blue)
“The situation here is quite complicated. Let me tell you something; it will be helpful to you.” In the afternoon, Yan Hui and his cousin ate something and then went into the timber market.

The timber market here is primarily wholesale; simply put, there's a freight train line here. All the merchants rely on this railway line.

Because there's only one line, transport capacity is quite limited, and all the timber here is loaded and unloaded using cranes. To be precise, it's all unloading, not loading.

The cranes unloaded the timber very quickly. Every time a train entered this line, several cranes would rush over to lift the timber off the wagons as soon as possible, clearing the track so that the next freight car could drive over from the station.

The unloaded timber is stacked separately according to the railcars, each pile marked with a label and guarded by designated personnel. These personnel, who work on the railway line, hold a ticket for each railcar. The person receiving the goods can then retrieve the timber from that railcar by presenting the ticket and their identification information.

Because the timber is lifted down and stacked by crane, there are always many flatbed trucks and small trucks shuttling back and forth in the market.

"At least two-thirds of the people in the timber business here are from Putian. If you need to deal with them, try to contact me; I can speak their dialect. Besides the Putian people who ship nationwide, most other merchants ship to their hometown. The crane operators are mostly locals. Don't offend them easily, but it's not a big deal if you do; they don't know which truckload of your goods is on. In short, be careful. Most of the people pulling carts and doing manual labor here are from Anhui province; they call Jianye the provincial capital." My cousin briefly explained the "power" here.

"Among the people I know," my cousin pointed to the busy crowd, "most are from Anhui Province. They are divided into several different factions, and I always contact the same few people. I'll tell you about it later. In short, don't offend anyone here, but we don't need to be afraid of anyone either."

The two chatted until they arrived at the cousin's shop. The cousin lived alone and didn't employ anyone. His shop had his pager contact information posted on the door, and a sign that read "Consignment for Timber Nationwide," among other things.

The largest area of ​​the timber market is where the timber is stored. Apart from that, there are rows and rows of tin shacks and wooden shacks, each numbered.

“Don’t underestimate these little rooms,” my cousin said, taking out his key to open the door and pointing inside. “It’s only ten square meters, but it’s a proper office space. If you want to set up a company, you’ll need a room like this. The rent isn’t expensive, only 150 a month. You just need to rent it for a year, and then you can use this lease to set up your company. You don’t even need to pay the full 1800 in rent; you just need to sign the lease for one year.” My cousin went inside and pulled out a chair for Yan Hui to sit down.

"Does it cost a lot of money to set up a company?" Yan Hui asked.

"Actually, it's not too bad. You can just find someone to handle it for you. A thousand yuan is enough from start to finish. But it's okay if you don't have a company now. You can still do it on your own. There's only one advantage to having a company: it makes you look more respectable!" In this day and age, few people look down on "shell companies." As long as it's a company, it gives people a sense of reliability.

"Okay, I can give it a try then. Brother, do you need my help on this side?" Yan Hui asked.

He's new here, and although he has money, it would be best if he could find a way to earn some income while learning on the job.

"Didn't I tell you before I came? You'll work for me first. I have a lot of friends here. If you help me, I'll give you a share of the profits. Just don't think it's too little."

"How could that be!" Yan Hui shook his head repeatedly.

I was really touched. In the previous two years, my fourth uncle had never seriously helped me do business.

“Okay, I just negotiated one this morning, ten cubic meters of timber,” my cousin laughed heartily. “I’m really lucky. I picked the timber out of the pile, and someone will come to pick it up tonight.”

"Shifang!" Yan Hui's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

"Guess how much money I'll make on this deal?" my cousin whispered, glancing around as he did so.

This tin shack isn't soundproof; if you make a loud noise, the neighbors will definitely hear you. "What kind of wood? What's the purchase price?" Yan Hui asked.

"I bought thick larch planks for 970 yuan per cubic meter," Yan Hui's cousin said without hiding anything from him.

"Larch of the Greater Khingan Mountains or larch of the Lesser Khingan Mountains?" Yan Hui asked again.

"You know this too!" my cousin exclaimed in surprise.

"I guess it's larch from the Lesser Khingan Mountains, because larch from the Lesser Khingan Mountains is cheap," Yan Hui said.

“It is indeed a larch from the Lesser Khingan Mountains. The question is, how did you know?” My cousin was genuinely surprised.

“The larch trees of the Greater Khingan Mountains have good quality and few knots, making them suitable for standard boards and timber, but they are also more expensive; the larch trees of the Lesser Khingan Mountains have more knots, so if you cut standard boards, they are easy to break at the knots, so they are more suitable for logs or thick boards, right?” Yan Hui asked.

"Is that so? You're quite knowledgeable!" My cousin was quite pleased; he knew all of what Yan Hui was saying.

"The price there is a bit high. Logically speaking, the transportation cost of timber from Jilin Province to Jianye, which is also a plank, should not exceed 100 yuan per cubic meter. The planks there are only around 750 yuan. Why are you charging 970 yuan?" Yan Hui asked rhetorically.

“I don’t charter the wagons. Besides, loading, unloading, and distribution—every step of this involves money,” my cousin retorted.

"Okay, I understand. You said the buyer wants 10 cubic meters of thick slabs. These thick slabs are mainly used for scaffolding on construction sites. The person who contacts you to pick up the goods at night must know you and be a local. You can't charge this kind of customer too much. I estimate around 1050 yuan per cubic meter, which means you can make 800 yuan per 10 cubic meters. But seeing how happy you are, it's obviously not about making 800 yuan. If you're going to say that, then there's a kickback on this order. You quoted a high price, and then you'll get a kickback from the purchasing agent at the construction site. I estimate you can make more than 2500 yuan. You'll have to give at least 1000 yuan as a kickback, so you'll make about 1500 yuan." Yan Hui analyzed seriously.

"Huh?" My cousin was completely stunned. "No, keep your voice down."

"Huh? What's wrong?" Yan Hui didn't think anything of it. This was normal; he'd seen it a lot in the past two years.

"What...what's wrong? How come your aunt never told me you were this capable? Wait, you haven't done any business in Fengtian these past two years, have you?" The cousin was completely bewildered. Yan Hui's words weren't exactly accurate, but they were pretty close!

“I’ve never run a business, but I’ve been involved in everything from logging to retailing timber.”

"You've only had contact with them, how could you know so much?"

"I've already filled two or three notebooks with notes. There's no way around it, the early bird catches the worm, it's always good to do more."

"You're such a stupid bird?" My cousin cried. What have I accomplished in the past few years?

(I just finished writing it and posted it directly. There are so many things I want to write about now.)

(End of this chapter)