Qi Tongwei: Can I be young again?

"Change their minds? What do you mean?" Xu Chunfeng frowned slightly. "Wasn't everything already agreed upon? Why did they change their minds?"

"It's mainly a price issue." The young man called Youqing sighed softly. "The tea merchants in Yuncheng said that the tea harvest was poor today. If you want to buy their tea, you have to raise the price by 20%. And that's for ordinary tea. If it's white tea, the price will have to be raised to 50%! They can only ship the goods after payment is received."

Xu Chunfeng was stunned, somewhat incredulous. "100,000 jin of green tea, with a 20% price increase, that's 120 yuan per jin, totaling 2 million yuan more! 5,000 jin of white tea, with a 50% price increase, that's 300 yuan per jin, a premium of 500,000 yuan! In other words, if I want to purchase this batch of tea from Yuncheng, I'll have to pay an extra 2.7 million yuan!"

"Yes, Mr. Xu, the tea merchants in Yuncheng clearly know that our order is urgent, so they are asking for exorbitant prices. In my opinion, we should try a different tea merchant."

"It's not that easy." Xu Chunfeng shook his head. "We're making premium tea; tea from other places simply can't guarantee the quality!"

"What should we do then?" Youqing asked anxiously. "How about we cancel the order now? Otherwise, even if the deal goes through, it will be a loss-making transaction. Most importantly, the company doesn't have that much advance payment."

"The order definitely cannot be refunded. If it is refunded, we will lose not only the order, but also our reputation."

"What should we do then? We can't just lose money to gain publicity."

Xu Chunfeng took off his glasses, thought for a moment, and asked, "Youqing, how much cash do we have in our company's account?"

"8 million, plus loans and collateral, at most 10 million."

Xu Chunfeng rubbed his silver hair and fell into deep thought.

According to his initial expectations, he was certain to make a profit after the order was completed, and quite a profit at that.

At a critical moment, the Yuncheng Tea Merchants Association disrupted his plans. Even if he managed to scrape together the advance payment and acquire the tea from Yuncheng, he would still have to pay an additional million.

However, if we don't accept tea from Yuncheng, we will lose a customer and damage the company's reputation.

Whether we advance or retreat, we are both worried.

Seeing the boss's worried face, Youqing didn't dare to say anything, and didn't even dare to touch the noodles when they were served.

……

Now Qi Tongwei understood.

So it turns out Xu Chunfeng is in trouble. The Yuncheng Tea Merchants Association suddenly raised prices, turning what should have been a sure-fire way to make money into a hot potato.

Well, this kind of thing was quite common in the 1990s.

At that time, businessmen had a relatively shallow understanding of the law and contracts.

In business dealings, promises are often made verbally.

Moreover, those who can make verbal promises are usually friends within the same circle, so their credibility is generally guaranteed.

But if someone changes their mind, things will go awry.

Clearly, Xu Chunfeng overestimated himself this time.

On the other hand, Xu Chunfeng's careless behavior this time gave Qi Tongwei a good opportunity.

He calmly and slowly sat down.

Then he cleared his throat.

"Hello, Mr. Xu, I am Qi Tongwei!"

Chapter Ninety-Five: Low Grain Prices Hurt Farmers

Upon hearing Qi Tongwei's voice, Xu Chunfeng and Youqing simultaneously raised their heads, their eyes slightly bewildered.

Time was of the essence, so Qi Tongwei didn't mince words and cut straight to the point, "Excuse me, I overheard your conversation. I can resolve your issues!"

"You..." Youqing glanced at Qi Tongwei and laughed, "Dude, stop joking. Do you know how big a deal we're talking about? How are you going to handle this?"

“Let’s resolve this normally!” Qi Tongwei looked at Xu Chunfeng. “Mr. Xu, to be honest, I come from Handong, and I’ve come here to see you.”

"You came all the way from Handong to see me?" Xu Chunfeng was somewhat surprised, but he did not delay and asked politely, "May I ask what business Mr. Qi has with me?"

"I'd like to invite you to Handong!"

"I'm not familiar with Handong."

“You’ll get to know me once you get there.” Qi Tongwei took out his business card and pushed it in front of Xu Chunfeng. “Let me reintroduce myself. My name is Qi Tongwei, the county magistrate of Jinshan County, Yantai City, Handong Province.”

Upon hearing the words "Jinshan County," Xu Chunfeng's eyebrows twitched slightly. "You're the county head of Jinshan County, the hometown of tea?"

"It's me. I've come here to discuss cooperation with Mr. Xu, and I'd also like to invite you to visit Jinshan County."

At this moment, Xu Chunfeng was somewhat flattered. After putting away the business card, he stood up and extended both hands. "County Chief Qi, hello, I am Xu Chunfeng, the chairman of Chunfeng Agricultural Trade Company."

Qi Tongwei held his hand, looked around, and said politely, "This isn't the place to talk. How about we find somewhere else to chat?"

"Listen to you."

……

After half an hour.

The two arrived at the teahouse. Qi Tongwei only ordered two cups and a pot of hot water. He then opened the tea leaves he had brought, brewed a cup for Xu Chunfeng, and brewed a cup for himself.

"Mr. Xu, try some tea from our Jinshan County. In terms of taste, it's definitely no worse than the tea from Yuncheng."

"You came prepared!"

"Of course." Qi Tongwei did not deny it. "I came all the way from Handong to see you, so naturally I came with sincerity. Try this tea first, and then we can talk."

Xu Chunfeng nodded, picked up the teacup, smelled it first, and then took a small sip.

As the tea entered his mouth, Xu Chunfeng closed his eyes, as if savoring it or reminiscing about it.

After a long while, he put down his teacup and stared at the tea leaves in it for a long time.

"It has a refreshing aroma and a sweet, mellow taste; it is indeed a good tea, but..."

"Please speak freely, Mr. Xu."

"The color is a little off; it should be aged tea!"

"Perfect!" Qi Tongwei gave a thumbs up. "Boss Xu is indeed a tea connoisseur. This is indeed aged tea, and its color is lacking! But I can guarantee that when the new tea is on the market, its color will be much better, and its taste will also be improved."

"Actually, I've heard a lot about the tea from Jinshan County, especially the white tea, which is truly exceptional! I had originally planned to visit Jinshan County, but County Chief Qi's visit today is a wonderful surprise!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Qi Tongwei stood up. "Let's go!"

"Where?"

"Jinshan County!" Qi Tongwei said solemnly, "Boss Xu, time waits for no one. The opportunity has come, and I hope we can both seize it!"

Xu Chunfeng looked at Qi Tongwei, a hint of disbelief in his eyes.

What a fiery and passionate county magistrate!

After a moment's thought, he nodded vigorously. "Since County Chief Qi has said so, I will no longer hold back. I'll go back, pack my things, and leave."

"What are you packing?" Qi Tongwei grabbed his shoulder, afraid that Xu Chunfeng would run away. "You're going to Jinshan County, which is giving me, the county magistrate, face. We, Jinshan County, will reimburse your food, drink, lodging, and transportation."

"cocoa……"

"No buts!" Qi Tongwei knew what Xu Chunfeng wanted to say, and said half-jokingly, "I've made you my friend. Even if we don't reach an agreement on business, it's okay. Consider it my treat to a trip!"

And so, half-heartedly, Xu Chunfeng was pushed onto the train.

Once on the bus, Qi Tongwei transformed into a tour guide, introducing his hometown, especially its agriculture.

Xu Chunfeng listened very attentively.

There's a saying that goes, "Hearing is believing, seeing is believing!"

Hearing a lot is not as good as seeing it for yourself.

When Xu Chunfeng arrived in Chunxi and saw the vast tea plantations, he was quite surprised.

"County Chief Qi, are all these tea trees from your village?"

“Yes, all of them!” Qi Tongwei pointed to the lush green tea mountain and took a deep breath. “We not only have a lot of tea here, but it also tastes great. When the tea-picking season comes, all the villagers will go up the mountain to pick tea.”

"That's not right," Xu Chunfeng said, puzzled. "If you have such good tea mountains, you shouldn't have a shortage of tea to sell, so why did you come to me?"

Qi Tongwei laughed, “Because ordinary people only know how to work, not how to produce, let alone how to market! Every year when the spring tea season begins, tea merchants come to buy tea, and the price is not bad. Well-processed tea can sell for twenty or thirty yuan! But after a while, a problem will arise!”

"what is the problem?"

"Involution!"

"Involution?" Xu Chunfeng was puzzled; this was the first time he had heard this term.

"That's right, it's involution!" Qi Tongwei lit a cigarette, somewhat disappointed, and said, "Do you know that low grain prices hurt farmers?"

"know."

"The reason why farmers are hurt by low prices is not because they want to lower prices, but because they are afraid they won't be able to sell their produce. They have no choice but to drive prices down to the lowest possible level! Once prices reach their lowest point, new problems arise. Those who are unwilling to participate will give up! In the end, production capacity cannot be increased, and prices remain ridiculously low! To put it bluntly, ordinary people don't understand business and have gotten themselves into this mess!"

"County Chief Qi, your insight is brilliant!" Xu Chunfeng nodded. "I often come into contact with agriculture and I understand the mentality of farmers. The root cause of low grain prices hurting farmers lies in their mindset."

"Yes, I want to put an end to his hopes!"

At this point, Xu Chunfeng immediately understood.

He gazed at the tea plantation and said softly, "County Chief Qi, tell me, what are you planning to do?"

"What I want to do is very simple." Qi Tongwei exhaled a smoke ring and said meaningfully, "I don't want the situation of low grain prices hurting farmers to happen in Jinshan County! I want the people here to live a prosperous life, and at the same time, I want you, Boss Xu, to make a fortune."

Xu Chunfeng chuckled, his silver hair fluttering in the wind. "The ideal is wonderful, but putting it into practice is not easy!"

“I know that nothing in this world is easy! However, anything is possible with effort. As long as Mr. Xu is willing, I personally and the Jinshan County government will give our full support!”