Chapter 585: Anti-dumping Act
Shi Jinhua said: "I just went to Dianguang Auto and unexpectedly met Mr. Lu. I discussed the current situation of Wangpai with Mr. Lu. Mr. Lu also told me that it is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish. Wangpai's products are not selling well in China, but they can be exported to earn foreign exchange."
Hearing that it was Lu Yiming who said this, Li Dongsheng's expression eased a lot. He thought of Lu Yiming's powerful actions in America, and asked impatiently, "Why? Did the richest man Lu agree to help us sell TV sets to America?"
At that time, America was the world's largest consumer market, and televisions sold very well in America. Who wouldn't want such a big piece of fat meat?
Wangpai had no connections before, and in fact, he was almost crying with envy.
However, Shi Jinhua's words once again shattered Li Dongsheng's fantasy: "It is exported, yes, but it is not sold to America, but to America's neighbor Mexico."
"What the hell? Mexico?"
To be honest, if Li Dongsheng didn't know Shi Jinhua, he would have thought that Shi Jinhua was impersonated and came here to make fun of him.
In his impression, Mexico is full of deserts and cacti. That shabby place is even poorer than Xia. Can Wangpai's TV really be sold?
Li Dongsheng's reaction was exactly what Shi Jinhua expected, because when he heard about this from Lu Yiming, his reaction was exactly the same as Li Dongsheng's current reaction.
Shi Jinhua patiently explained to Li Dongsheng: "Listen to me first. Mr. Lu told me that the United States has a dumping law. If you sell your TVs directly there, you will be violating their law. Not only will you not get the money, but you may also be arrested and put in jail."
Li Dongsheng's blood pressure rose after hearing this and he shouted, "Isn't this nonsense? How can you do business like this?"
Shi Jinhua waved his hand, signaling Li Dongsheng to calm down, and then continued: "Don't be anxious and angry, listen to me. Your TV will eventually enter the American market. It's just that you have to use Mexico as a transit point first, and then enter the American market from Mexico."
"According to Mr. Lu's analysis, it is impossible for Wangpai to enter the American market through formal channels. Not to mention the bill I just mentioned, our country has not yet officially joined the WTO. If you sell this TV directly to the United States, the money you earn may not be enough to pay the fine. So we have to take this compromise. In short, it is smuggling."
Ship the goods to Mexico, take the money and leave, then let the "local residents" there sell the products to America. Even if America is unreasonable, it is impossible for it to directly take action against Ace - the Mexicans are smuggling, what does it have to do with me, Ace?
After hearing this idea, Li Dongsheng was completely numb. He sighed and said, "Mr. Lu is the best at playing. No wonder he is worth billions at such a young age. With this kind of thinking, he is destined to make a lot of money."
It must be said that this routine was so tempting that Li Dongsheng was very tempted. Anyway, his need was to sell the TVs and not let the company lose money. As for who to sell to, it didn't really matter. As a qualified businessman, he was only responsible for money.
Seeing that Li Dongsheng seemed to understand what he said, Shi Jinhua said, "You can contact Mr. Lu yourself about this matter. This matter involves diplomacy, so it is inconvenient for the official to get involved. I came here today just to pass on a message, so don't tell anyone else."
Li Dongsheng was not a fool. Shi Jinhua had already said this, so he certainly knew what he could and could not do. The worry on his face had disappeared, replaced by a smile. He said to Shi Jinhua sincerely: "Secretary Shi, you have worked so hard, running around for the Ace. Don't worry, this matter is known to heaven, earth, you and me."
Li Dongsheng personally saw Shi Jinhua off from the office, but he didn't expect that as soon as he walked out the door, he ran into the company's vice president Yang Xiaopeng at the corner of the corridor.
"Hey, Secretary Shi? Why are you here? Did our loan application get approved?"
For the current ace, nothing is more important than getting an official loan to survive.
Li Dongsheng saw Shi Jinhua's depressed expression and guessed that Shi Jinhua must be unhappy about bumping into Yang Xiaopeng. He immediately said, "Forget about the loan. You know what happened in the past two years. The bank is very strict now. In our situation, there is no hope. I asked Secretary Shi to find some books for me before, and he brought them to me today."
Shi Jinhua said helplessly: "Yes, the financial situation is indeed difficult now. We are all supporting construction in various places and can't come up with much money. You can only think of ways to save yourselves."
What he was talking about was the technical bankruptcy of the Big Four banks in 1998. Because there were too many bad debts, the banks did not have enough money and naturally could no longer lend to enterprises as easily as before.
Coupled with the fact that the entire color TV manufacturing industry is suffering losses, under such circumstances, the financial vampires who give out umbrellas in sunny days and take them away in rainy days are even less likely to give blood transfusions to Ace to prolong its life.
When he heard that the money was not sent to him, Yang Xiaopeng immediately became indignant and muttered, "Those of us who run businesses seriously can't get the money, but those..."
Li Dongsheng said quickly: "What are you talking about? The country has its own considerations. We have to consider the overall situation. Do you understand? Okay, go back to the office first. I'll talk to you after I send Secretary Shi down."
After Li Dongsheng sent Shi Jinhua away, he found Yang Xiaopeng and said, "Get ready. We will go to Baiyun City later."
Yang Xiaopeng felt strange and asked, "What are you going to do in Baiyun City?"
Li Dongsheng smiled and said, "Of course I'm going to meet some important people."
"Who is it?"
"Lu is the richest man."
On this day, Lu Yiming planned to go to school in the afternoon, so Ning Xuehua bought a lot of vegetables in the morning and prepared to make more delicious food for Lu Yiming at noon. As a result, at around ten o'clock in the morning, Duan Letian's family of four came to the door carrying large and small bags of gifts.
"Hey, aunt, uncle, why are you here?"
Luo Rujun smiled and said, "Of course I came here to thank you. Your cousin's husband is now the vice president of the bank."
Duan Xulin, the cousin's husband, looked at Lu Yiming with gratitude: "Thanks to the information you gave me."
Of course, what he was talking about was the incident in which Ning Xuehua was defrauded of money.
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "Congratulations, uncle."
Duan Letian has grown a lot taller and doesn't look as fat as before. It is obvious that he has not had a good time at home during this period.
When he heard Lu Yiming say that there would be a lot of dishes for lunch, his eyes lit up and he shouted, "Ahhh, I want to eat shrimp, I want to eat oysters, I want to eat..."
Duan Hongxin interrupted her brother's spell with a big punch and said, "You haven't even lost any weight yet, and you're already thinking about eating!"
Duan Letian covered his head with a look of grievance, and said to Lu Yiming with a sad face: "Cousin, I haven't eaten meat for three months. Three months! I'm going to die!"
Duan Hongxin said disdainfully: "You died after not eating meat for three months? Look at those monks on TV, they didn't eat meat for thirty years and they didn't die, did they?"
Duan Letian retorted: "They are fatter than me."
Just at this moment, the doorbell rang again. Duan Xulin was right next to them and opened the door.
"Hello, is this Mr. Lu's family? I am Li Dongsheng, the chairman of the Ace Group. This is Yang Xiaopeng, the vice president of our company."
Duan Xulin was stunned to see the man in front of him claiming to be the chairman of the Ace Group. Ace is a well-known enterprise in Guangdong Province, and Li Dongsheng, the CEO of Ace, actually came to meet Lu Yiming in person?
Although he had known for a long time that Lu Yiming was the richest man, it was not until now that Duan Xulin realized how important the title of richest man was.
"Hello, hello."
Duan Xulin had just become the president of a bank. Although it was only a branch, it was not easy for an ordinary family like him. At this time, the CEO of Wangpai was standing in front of him, and his mind suddenly became active.
This is a potential big customer.
"I am the uncle of Mr. Lu, my name is Duan Xulin, and I am currently the president of a bank branch."
To be honest, a small branch manager was someone that Li Dongsheng didn't even look at. If they wanted to negotiate with the bank for a task, they had to be the president of a regional branch at least.
However, the identity of "the uncle of Mr. Lu," made Li Dongsheng dare not act rashly. He took the initiative to shake hands with Duan Xulin and greeted him with a smile: "You have become the branch president at such a young age. Your future is limitless."
When Duan Xulin saw Li Dongsheng take the initiative to shake hands with him, he was so excited that his whole body was shaking.
After shaking hands, Duan Xulin quickly called into the room: "Xiao Ming, Chairman Li of Wangpai Group is here with Vice President Yang."
Lu Yiming walked over, shook hands with the two, smiled slightly, and said, "Welcome, welcome. Let's chat in my study."
"good."
Seeing Lu Yiming leading the two into the study, Duan Xulin's eyes lit up, and he rubbed his hands excitedly, saying to Luo Rujun, "I have a feeling that I'm going to be rich again this time."
In the study, Li Dongsheng said straight to the point: "Boss Lu, thank you for pointing out a clear path for Ace."
Although this path is very risky, the rewards are equally huge.
Selling televisions to Mexicans also earns dollars, and for Trump, it is no different from selling directly to the United States.
Lu Yiming smiled slightly and said, "Supporting the country's manufacturing industry has always been my purpose. Mr. Li doesn't need to praise me too much."
On the way here, Li Dongsheng revealed to Yang Xiaopeng that he had consulted Lu Yiming, who asked them to export Wangpai's products to Mexico, and then hinted that he could smuggle them to the United States.
Yang Xiaopeng couldn't help but ask: "Won't this offend the US government? They are not stupid, aren't they still engaging in dumping in essence?"
When Lu Yiming heard this, he immediately laughed: "Who has grudges against whom in this world? To put it bluntly, it's all about interests. The world is bustling with people for profit. In America, the interests of politicians and the interests of the country are often two different things."
Li Dongsheng was a little puzzled and asked, "Mr. Lu, what do you mean?"
After all, this is related to the future development of Wangpai, Li Dongsheng dare not take it lightly, and of course he hopes to understand it as clearly as possible. He does not want to be on the American blacklist without knowing it.
Lu Yiming directly pointed out: "When Wangpai's products enter the American market, only some commercial companies will suffer losses, but it will not matter to politicians."
Yang Xiaopeng had never been abroad, and didn’t know the political environment of these countries, so he asked, “Is that so?”
Lu Yiming said: "The American TV industry has long been defeated. The products sold in the domestic market are either Sony from Japan or Philips from Europe. Anyway, they are all foreign brands. Does it make any difference to America?"
Li Dongsheng was stunned. He was even more confused and couldn't help asking, "If that's the case, then why did Mr. Lu think that the U.S. Department of Commerce would definitely issue a fine for our flagship product?"
Products from other countries can be sold, but our country Xia’s products have to be sold to Mexico first and then smuggled into the United States. Is Xia inferior?
Lu Yiming said seriously: "Mr. Li, European and island companies have paid bribes, and they also have special teams to lobby American politicians. Have you, Ace, paid?"
These words directly refreshed Li Dongsheng's three views. After all, he had been working hard in China, and his understanding of America came entirely from newspapers and media.
He had always believed that America had a clean political system and its officials were honest and dedicated to their duties, but after hearing what Lu Yiming said, he was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
"Are American politicians so greedy? Where are the promised integrity? Tolls? Why do I feel like they are like the bandits in martial arts novels? I built this road and planted these trees. If you want to pass through here, you have to pay me for the toll?"
Lu Yiming warned them, "You don't have to worry about the bad reputation of smuggling. If Ace wants to truly enter the American market, it must be familiar with the rules of the game there. As for now, making money is more important. American politicians change every few years, and Ace can make the money first and then launder it slowly later."
Li Donglai understood what Lu Yiming meant. It didn't matter if he offended America. Once he made money, Trump could spend money to "lobby" politicians and turn black into white.
In America, as long as the money is in place, there is nothing that cannot be solved.
Hearing this, Li Donglai was deeply touched and gave a thumbs up to the American system, thinking that it was very capitalist.
"Okay, I'll listen to you then."
Afterwards , the three of them chatted in the study for a while, and Lu Yiming even promised to help Li Donglai open up sales channels in Mexico.
Coming out of the study, the kitchen was already bustling with activity. Lu Yiming said to Li Dongsheng and Yang Xiaopeng, "You two, it's almost time for dinner. Why don't you eat before leaving?"
Li Dongsheng couldn't wait to go back to the company to implement the plan. He couldn't sit still and immediately declined, "We won't eat. We have to go back to the meeting to discuss. You guys eat and drink well."
Lu Ding, who was helping in the kitchen, stuck his head out and said, "There's no need to be so anxious. Eat before leaving. It won't take much time. The food will be on the table soon."
Li Dongsheng said, "No, no, you guys just have a few more drinks. I'll come over and treat you guys to a drink after this is resolved."
Seeing that the ace who had been so successful before had fallen to this point, Lu Ding recalled that the mold factory he had worked hard for half his life also ended in failure. He sighed: "It's not easy to do business these days. If you do it well, you can make a lot of money, but if you don't do it well, losing money and going bankrupt are the least of the problems. Some people even have to go to jail. You know Hu Zhibiao from Aiduo, right?"
Although in the late 1990s and early 21st century there were business opportunities aplenty in Xia Country, with huge gold mines waiting for lucky people to dig, in reality doing business was still a very high-risk industry.
Lu Yiming said: "I watched the news."
Aido's case was sentenced in June. Hu Zhibiao, the once-prominent founder of Aido VCD, was detained by Shantou police. On June 19, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison and a fine of 650,000 yuan for the crimes of bill fraud, misappropriation of funds, and false registered capital.
This case caused an uproar in the entire Xia country's business community.
Who is Hu Zhibiao?
A poor boy who made a living by repairing televisions and making transformers after graduating from high school, then started from scratch and transformed himself. At the age of 27, he led Aido VCD to create a production value of 2.7 billion. He was interviewed by American reporters in the United States. The stock price soared from 6 dollars the first day to 68 dollars the next day.
He even received the highest level of reception at Philips headquarters in the Netherlands - a red carpet and a private jet!
At the end of 1997, Hu Zhibiao became CCTV's "bid king" in 1998 with a bid of 210 million yuan. He pioneered the first suspense marketing and the first giant outdoor advertising in China. He created the "Aido myth" in the shortest time, dominated the "Aido" brand in the shortest time, and led to major changes in the marketing model of China's home appliance industry.
It was such an entrepreneur who was eventually sued for fraud and lost the case.
Even Hu Zhibiao's competitors thought that this sentence was outrageous. Lu Yiming knew that a few years later, the Guangdong Provincial High Court's second-instance meeting ruled that "Aido" was not guilty of fraud, and sentenced Hu Zhibiao to eight years in prison and a fine of 250,000 yuan. He was granted parole and released from prison in 2006.
In fact, Hu Zhibiao was charged with embezzlement of funds, which is a common mistake made by many entrepreneurs. They treated the company's money as their own money. Many founders have been imprisoned for this crime. Of course, the fundamental reason for the incident was the disagreement within the company.
The more shareholders a company has, the more vulnerable its founders are to similar backstabbing.
Lu Yiming knew very well that Lu Ding suddenly mentioned the matter of Aido to make Lu Yiming be on guard. After all, Wangpai is not an ordinary enterprise. It has a very complicated background. With Lu Yiming's current popularity, it is easy for him to be targeted by "other" shareholders. By then, his fate will probably be worse than Hu Zhibiao's.
"Don't worry, Dad. I haven't invested in Ace, and I won't get involved. I'm just someone who gives advice and provides support."
