Chapter 114 Food, Clothing, Housing and Transportation
"Food, clothing, housing and transportation are what the common people care about most." Song Yuanchao spoke eloquently and leisurely.
"Everyone can't live without these four things. Without them, I'm afraid ordinary people won't be able to survive."
Song Yuanchao pointed at the food on the table and said, "Let's talk about food first. Food, in layman's terms, is about eating. People need to eat to survive, and if they don't eat, they will starve to death. Of course, eating is not just about filling your stomach. If conditions permit, everyone hopes to eat better and feel more comfortable."
"Food and sex are also part of human nature! You must have heard this before."
"Brother Yuanchao, I know, I know. This sentence was said by Confucius, and it refers to perverts! This is actually hooliganism!" Li Xiaoyun on the side couldn't help but interrupt. Song Yuanchao turned around and hit her little head with the chopsticks in his hand without any hesitation.
"What do you mean by being a hooligan? And a pervert? You are already a college student. Remember to read more books and use your brain before you speak. Is this what Confucius meant?"
"Ouch, my head is swollen because of you, Brother Yuanchao, why did you hit me? I didn't say anything wrong! Isn't it just about food and sex? Doesn't food and sex mean greed and lust? If you are greedy and lustful, aren't you a pervert or something else? If you are a pervert, aren't you a hooligan?" Li Xiaoyun covered her head and tried her best to explain.
Song Yuanchao didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Confucius' words should be understood separately. How can you interpret it like that? It's clearly misleading the students."
"Shise means food and sex! In other words, eating and the pursuit of beautiful things. What Confucius really meant by this sentence is that having a full stomach and the pursuit of beautiful things are human nature. How can you misunderstand it like this?"
To be honest, not only Li Xiaoyun, but even Luo Yang and Xiao Qiao did not know the true meaning of Confucius' words. After all, their generation knew very little about such things, and they had never learned them in school. Luo Yang was somewhat grateful to Li Xiaoyun for interrupting him, otherwise he might have been embarrassed.
Getting back to the point, Song Yuanchao continued, "The restaurant you mentioned before actually refers to food, including dim sum restaurants, rice shops, non-staple food shops, grain and oil shops, etc. Even many things in grocery stores are related to food. Therefore, it is not wrong to start a business in this direction. There is an old saying that goes, "Food is the first priority for a person." People always have to eat, so restaurants and hotels have always existed since ancient times."
"But then again, starting with food requires a certain threshold, such as technology is the most critical step, or the channel of materials, this channel must be long-term and stable. If this requirement cannot be met, then it is better not to touch it."
Luo Yang nodded and had to admit that what Song Yuanchao said made sense. He had also thought about the hotel issue before, so he had already ruled out this option.
"What about the others?" Unconsciously, Luo Yang moved closer to Song Yuanchao, and seeing Song Yuanchao picked up another cigarette, he quickly struck a match to help him light it, and asked anxiously.
"Living is very simple, it's just living." Song Yuanchao took a puff of his cigarette and said, "Nowadays, the living conditions of ordinary people are good and bad. I think everyone understands this. Some time ago, Yan Zi and I went to some old alleys to have a look. The living conditions in some large courtyards are really not very good. There are many people and small places. Several people in a family are squeezed into one room, and there is not even enough space for a bed. So housing is also an urgent need of ordinary people."
"That won't work." Luo Yang shook his head. "The housing issue is too big. It needs to be solved by the state and the company. It's impossible for a private individual to get involved in this matter."
"Yes! So there is no need to consider this." Song Yuanchao said so, but he was thinking about another thing in his heart, that is, to cancel the housing distribution policy in more than ten years and fully open the real estate market, thus starting the rise of China's real estate industry.
Although many ordinary people in later generations hated real estate, in the eyes of many people it was the opening up of the real estate market and the speculation in housing prices that caused housing prices to continue to rise, to the point where one needed the savings of several generations to own a house.
But the problem cannot be viewed in this way. Although the opening of China's real estate market has many drawbacks, one thing cannot be denied. That is, after two or three decades of opening of the real estate market, the living conditions of ordinary people have been greatly improved. Many people no longer have to squeeze in a pigeon cage-sized house with their parents and grandparents. Even newlyweds have to find an excuse to invite their parents, brothers and sisters to walk around the street for half a day before they can have sex.
"As for travel, it generally refers to transportation." Song Yuanchao finished talking about housing and then went on to talk about travel: "Transportation is a big issue, which includes roads , railways, airplanes, cars, etc. It includes not only the travel of people, but also the travel of things. However, this topic is too big. Just like housing, I cannot intervene for the time being. I think it is better to put it aside for now."
Luo Yang nodded silently. Song Yuanchao was right. This topic was too big. Moreover, all the resources were in the hands of the country. Although Luo Yang was not an ordinary person, it was impossible for him to enter this industry, so he rejected it without thinking too much.
Of course, Luo Yang did not expect the speed of social development, because soon with the opening of the market, the issue of "travel" also began to change. The first thing to change was logistics and transportation. Some private truck transportation began to emerge, thus forming a primary logistics model. Then in some cities in the south, due to the expansion and development of the city, public transportation could not keep up with the speed, and the industry of private vehicle passenger transportation was born. Even in Yanjing and Shanghai, it was the same. Just a few years later, yellow taxis would run on the streets of Yanjing, and the taxi industry was born.
"So the only thing we can do is clothing?" Luo Yang was very smart. Song Yuanchao mentioned the four words "food, clothing, housing and transportation", but he only started from food and went on to transportation, but did not mention the issue of clothing.
"That's right." Song Yuanchao stopped keeping the secret and said directly, "The most feasible approach at present is to start from the perspective of clothing. Clothing comes before food. In this sentence, clothing comes before food. With the improvement of living standards, people's demand for material things will continue to increase, and clothing, or everything you wear, belongs to this category."
Song Yuanchao stretched out his hand, drew a circle around him, and asked Luo Yang: "What is the best advantage of Dashilan? Isn't it the dense population and the large flow of people? In such a commercial district, opening a store that focuses on this is the best choice. Moreover, clothes and other wearable goods are different from food. First, these things will not go bad if left alone, and second, you don't need any cooking skills. As long as you have a good eye and sell good things, people will naturally come to buy them."
"In addition, there is another key point. The profit of these products is not low. As long as the business is good, the rent and labor costs are nothing. What do you think?"
When Song Yuanchao said this, Luo Yang immediately became interested. The more he thought about it carefully, the more he felt that Song Yuanchao's words made sense. As he said, people always have to wear clothes, and the thing that is least lacking in Dashilan is people. If he opened a clothing store with good styles of clothes and pants, maybe this business could really be successful.
But Luo Yang thought of another problem, where to get the goods? Although he could find several state-owned clothing factories in Yanjing through his connections, the problem was that the quantity of goods purchased by these clothing factories was too large, and he could not buy a lot of goods at once and put his limited funds on it. Secondly, Luo Yang knew what kind of clothes and pants these clothing factories in Yanjing produced. They were nothing more than ordinary blue, gray or black, and the styles had not changed for decades. Even Luo Yang disliked such clothes. How could they be sold in the store?
Luo Yang asked himself this question with a frown. Song Yuanchao laughed loudly and patted Luo Yang on the shoulder, saying, "You are smart all your life but you are foolish for a moment. Who says that you have to buy goods from these state-owned factories? Do you think their products can be sold? Even if they can be sold, there are many stores selling these clothes in Yanjing. Why do people choose to buy from you?"
At this time, Luo Yang had no time to explain that this store belonged to his "friend" and not him, and he was a little confused for a moment.
"We should have a broader vision. Our country is vast from north to south." Song Yuanchao said with a smile, "If you can't find it in Yanjing, you can look for it somewhere else. As long as you are determined, you can always find it, don't you think?"
After saying this, Song Yuanchao put out the cigarette in his hand and stood up: "Okay, we've almost finished our meal and finished talking. Xiaoyun and I have to go shopping in the afternoon so we won't stay any longer. Let's go. Thank you for the meal."
Patting Luo Yang on the shoulder, Song Yuanchao greeted Li Xiaoyun with a smile and left. After Song Yuanchao and the others left, Luo Yang still frowned and thought about what Song Yuanchao said before he left.
"Brother Yang! Brother Yang! What are you thinking about? Are you possessed?" Xiao Qiao, who was standing by, saw that Luo Yang had been silent for a long time, and waved her hand in front of him worriedly.
"Oh, it's okay. I'm just thinking about what Song Yuanchao just said." Luo Yang came back to his senses and lit a cigarette.
"This person is Song Yuanchao. I was confused when I heard you call him that earlier. Isn't he the one my cousin was talking about?"
"That's right. Haha, isn't this guy annoying? He looks like he deserves a beating." Luo Yang asked back with a smile, but his expression no longer had the initial anger.
Thinking of what Song Yuanchao and Li Xiaoyun had done just now, Xiao Qiao couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Yes, a little bit, but I think this guy and that girl are quite interesting."
"Haha, it's quite interesting." Luo Yang laughed and shook his head. He looked at the time and it was almost time. He had already made an appointment with Dabing and Junzi. They must have been waiting impatiently for the meal.
Thinking of this, Luo Yang called Xiao Qiao to go together, but when it was time to pay the bill, Luo Yang didn't expect the waiter to tell him that Song Yuanchao had already paid the bill before he left. Hearing this, Luo Yang was stunned, and then he laughed.
"This guy is really interesting..."
