Chapter 754 I Still Want to Do Practical Things
"You have what I don't" has always made people envious, jealous and hateful.
Hatred of the rich is the easiest and most common among them.
Therefore, when the Hurun Rich List was released in 2003, the discussion about Lu Yiming's wealth on the Internet became widespread and outrageous because of the Internet.
The reason for its widespread use is that the Internet is becoming more and more developed, and the Internet is beginning to enter thousands of households. Internet fees in Internet cafes are also beginning to be calculated in "jiao". Surfing the Internet is no longer a high-cost thing, the number of Internet users has greatly increased, and the speed of information dissemination has exploded.
The content of the weird video is that although Lu Yiming's background has long been exposed and all his sources of income are legitimate, there are still many people who rack their brains and try their best to throw dirty water on Lu Yiming.
After searching for a long time, they found out that Lu Yiming had refused charity donations when he was in high school. They started to hype it up and said that Lu Yiming spoke harshly to the poor, had never donated a penny to the Red Lice Society, and was a heartless rich man.
For a time, the topic of wealth attracted a lot of public opinion. With Lu Yiming as the center of the vortex, it spread to other wealthy people. The rich and the poor seemed to form two opposing camps.
On this day, Lu Yiming, based on the principle of using it to the fullest, found Xu Changming again.
"Mr. Xu, someone is messing with me. You have to stand up for me . They say I am rich but unkind and that I don't donate money."
Xu Changming was speechless and said, "Then just give him a little as a token of your appreciation. There's nothing we can do about it."
"Jealousy" is an innate attribute of human beings, or this range can be extended to the entire biosphere. Therefore, it is unsolvable that Lu Yiming's wealth arouses envy.
From an outsider's perspective, Xu Changming could only comfort Lu Yiming, saying, "You are already so awesome, you should allow others to be jealous of you."
If it were an ordinary person, at this time, it would be better to mind his own business. Anyway, he has more than 100 billion yuan in his hands, so he might as well throw out 18 million to shut everyone up. It would be good for you, me, and everyone.
But Lu Yiming is not someone who will be swayed by public opinion, just like he doesn't understand the concept of "cyberbullying". If someone scolds you on the Internet, just scold them. If you are unhappy, just fight back. If you don't want to fight back, just block them. It is really incomprehensible that someone would commit suicide just because of the bad words of some scumbags on the Internet.
Like Lu Yiming, if he is unhappy, he will just beat him up. Faced with Xu Changming's conciliatory attitude, he retorted on the spot: "Mr. Xu, you are wrong again. My money is not blown by the wind. It is all hard-earned money, okay? Why should I donate it just because of a few words from them? We are not discussing the issue of money now."
Xu Changming laughed and scolded: "This is obviously the hard-earned money of American taxpayers. Teng Yu told me so. Don't try to deceive me."
Even though his past was exposed, Lu Yiming was not embarrassed. He continued to argue, "Even if I have money, I can't waste it like this. My money is to contribute to the country, not to donate it to buy luxury cars and mansions for others."
Charity has good intentions, but once the operation is not transparent, it will become worse. Moreover, donating money directly can never solve the problem of poverty, so Lu Yiming does not intend to spend this money in vain.
Xu Changming couldn't help but complain: "Xiao Lu, I've been retired for so long, can't you let me have a few days of peace?"
"Ah? Is that so? All right then."
Lu Yiming sighed and said, "I originally wanted to talk to you about a poverty alleviation project. Since you like quietness, I won't talk about it. Goodbye."
"Wait a moment..."
Seeing Lu Yiming was about to leave, Xu Changming stopped him and said, "Tell me, what poverty alleviation project is it?"
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "Aren't you retired? I'd better go find someone else. If it doesn't work out, then forget it. Anyway, they all scolded me for being rich and unkind."
Xu Changming said: "What are you talking about? Can't I continue to make use of my remaining energy after I retire? Do you understand that even though I am old, my heart is still young? Although I have retired from my position, I still want to do more practical things for the people. You know, people from our generation..."
Although the country's economy is developing rapidly today, Xia is a country with a large population. There are still 900 million farmers and a large number of low-income groups in the country.
Some people in remote mountainous areas are poorer than ordinary people can imagine, and "bare walls" is not enough to describe their hardship.
As Xu Changming said, the patriotism of people who came from that era is not something that these self-righteous people who are gradually brainwashed can understand. They don't care about fame and fortune, and even their own lives, and they all want to do more for this country and its people.
Lu Yiming actually had this plan a long time ago, and he was just teasing Xu Changming. He sat back on the sofa and said clearly: "If you want to help the poor, it is useless to just give money. Most of the poor people don't lack money, but ways to make money. As the saying goes, it is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish."
Xu Changming sighed, "Alas, the country actually knows this. Government departments have thought about poverty alleviation in the past, but the results have not been very good."
There is no way, many people in poor areas have low quality. This does not mean that they are bad, but that they lack long-term planning for life.
You give him a few sheep and ask him to raise them to make money, but he ends up going home and slaughtering the sheep for meat. That's not poverty alleviation at all.
It's the same if you give them money. They will create light for you in a blink of an eye. It's just like living today without a tomorrow. After all, their living conditions have always been like this and they can't be reversed in a short time.
So after the relevant departments tried it a few times, they became discouraged. Who can afford to pay for supporting so many people in vain?
People have a hedonistic nature. To put it simply, they are lazy. Since people will give me money and food even if I give up, why should I still struggle?
Xu Changming looked at Lu Yiming hopefully and asked, "Anyway, you should know this difficulty, so what are you going to do?"
Lu Yiming said: "If you want to be rich, build roads first."
Xu Changming's eyes suddenly lit up: "You want to invest in road construction?"
Lu Yiming's face darkened. "There are so many impoverished counties and towns across the country. Even if I sold myself by the pound, how many roads could I build? The road I'm talking about is the Internet, the information highway."
"The Internet Information Superhighway?"
Xu Changming's face was full of confusion.
How would he know about this thing?
Lu Yiming patiently explained to Xu Changming: "The so-called Internet information highway is actually a high-speed information electronic network. It is a complete network system composed of communication networks, computers, databases and daily electronic products that can provide users with a large amount of information at any time. Xiaguo is vast, but the population is relatively widely distributed. From the map, you can see that it presents three major tiers. The third tier has the lowest altitude, flat terrain, and is close to the ocean. It enjoys the convenience of industry and trade and lives a relatively comfortable life. Most of the poor people live in the second and third tiers. The core problem is that they are located in remote areas, have poor transportation, and find it difficult to revitalize their own economy. In fact, these remote mountainous areas may not be without good things. Some mountain delicacies and precious medicinal materials are very valuable. It's a pity that they can't be sold and it's difficult to realize them."
Xu Changming agreed with Lu Yiming's analysis and nodded repeatedly: "That's indeed the case, so what are you going to do?"
“This is the problem that needs to be solved first.”
Lu Yiming took out a map from his briefcase and said to Xu Changming, "I plan to find someone to count the poor counties and towns across the country, and then find someone to conduct field investigations and collect information to see if there are any valuable local specialties. If there are, I will build a warehouse and a dedicated logistics channel in the local area, and arrange for people to help the local villagers build an online shopping store, using the Internet to help them sell their agricultural products or handicrafts."
Many local specialties may have very small demands and cannot be sold in supermarkets. But the Internet is different. As long as the user base is large enough, even the most niche products can become big businesses, because your customers come from all over the country.
Supermarkets and shopping malls have a maximum coverage area of 10 kilometers, and customers beyond 10 kilometers are basically not served. But the Internet is open to the whole world. Among the six billion people, even if one out of ten million is interested in this product, six hundred copies can be sold.
For those treasures from the poor mountainous areas, being able to sell 600 copies is already quite remarkable.
Xu Changming understood this simple logic immediately and became interested: "Your idea is very good. Indeed, as long as the base is large enough, even the smallest demand can become a big business. And linking this demand with poverty alleviation is simply great."
In Xu Changming's view, this is undoubtedly a very good move. The difficulty of poverty alleviation is not the money, but how to make money. Through online stores, farmers can sell their products, so that they have income, and it is not uncommon for those who are lucky to get rich from then on.
However, Xu Changming also had his own concerns: "Although your method is good, it needs to connect to the Internet and use a computer. Are you sure they can operate it?"
For the Xia country today, computers are definitely high-tech equipment.
Although the Internet is much more developed than a few years ago, and Internet cafes can be found everywhere, it may not be a new species for young people. However, for people in remote mountainous areas, there are many who can't even count the basics of one, two, three, and even without electricity, so naturally they don't know what a computer is.
Lu Yiming said confidently, "I have already thought about the problem you mentioned. There is no electricity in remote mountainous areas, so it is useless to give them computers. So I plan to let Taobao Mall, Luming Mall, Tengyu Logistics and Jianlai Technology jointly launch a special poverty alleviation activity."
"First, we opened a special column for local specialties on the websites of Taobao Mall and Luming Mall, and all the products in it came from poor areas."
"Secondly, Tengyu Logistics and Luming Mall are responsible for the construction of logistics channels, setting up special storage sites in poor areas, collecting goods in a unified manner, and helping local farmers open and manage online stores, such as taking photos and text promotion. Farmers definitely don't understand these professional things."
"Finally, the computers at these sites are all provided by Jianlai Technology. As for the staff operating the computers, we can cooperate with major universities and allocate funds to train a group of students who are good at using computers and go to the countryside to teach."
"As long as the entire industrial chain is scaled up, it will be able to continuously convert farmers' agricultural products or other specialties into cash. Moreover, because of unified management, the quality of the products can be maintained to prevent people from selling inferior products as good ones and damaging the local reputation."
"Once the scale is formed, we can develop planting and breeding, create geographical indication products, further expand channels and expand varieties, so as to achieve the goal of getting rid of poverty and becoming rich."
Lu Yiming said a lot of things like pouring out beans from a bamboo tube, and then said with a smile: "Mr. Xu, do you know why 'bitch' sounds better than 'fool', 'stupid', and 'stupid person'?"
Xu Changming was still immersed in the beautiful blueprint drawn by Lu Yiming. When he suddenly heard Lu Yiming's question, he was unable to react for a moment and asked in a conditioned manner, "Why?"
Lu Yiming said confidently, "Because human nature is mean, they will always retreat if you push them. If you speak to them in a nice way, they will think you are easy to bully. It's the same in the countryside. If you give money and food to the poor, they will think you owe them and take it with a sense of righteousness. They will even scold you if you don't give them more. They don't know how to be grateful at all."
Although Lu Yiming's words were vulgar, Xu Changming had to admit that what Lu Yiming said was true.
Lu Yiming went on to say, "So, I let them earn money through their own labor. Just like how many people scolded me after the Hurun Rich List was released, if you ask them casually, they also want to be as rich as me. Rural people are more competitive and more concerned about their reputation. When they see their neighbors who were as poor as themselves before suddenly become rich and well-fed, can they still sit still? Only at this point can poverty alleviation be said to have truly entered a positive cycle."
Xu Changming laughed and said, "Yes, yes, that's right! Little guy, I didn't expect you to understand human nature to such an extent."
Lu Yiming also smiled slightly and said, "Mr. Xu, the investment here is very large, so I want to apply for a loan. Anyway, I will definitely be able to pay it back after I make money."
Xu Changming saw through his little thoughts at a glance and couldn't help but say, "You, you don't even forget to bring business to your company while helping the poor. Can't you be a little purer and nobler?"
Lu Yiming said seriously, "You can't say that. It's a win-win situation for everyone. Besides, it's not like I didn't contribute money or effort, so what's wrong with asking for some benefits? If doing good things can be reasonably rewarded, then there will definitely be more people willing to do good things. The reason why people talked about dedication before was that the material conditions were not sufficient. There was nothing we could do. Mr. Xu, times have changed. Selfless dedication is not popular now. If we still ask for selfless dedication now, then we have to see if someone is enriching themselves."
What the two were talking about was actually Lu Yiming helping Qian Hongli sell computers by taking advantage of the poverty alleviation project. The most profitable company here was actually Jianlai Technology.
You know, there are so many poor counties and towns across the country. If a site is set up in each place, how many computers will be needed?
There is no doubt that this is a big business, and it is also an emerging market that other computer companies have not discovered or entered.
Once successful, Jianlai Technology will take off immediately and surpass all its domestic peers.
The most amazing thing about Lu Yiming's plan is that once poverty alleviation is successful and local residents have money and need to buy computers, they will definitely give priority to Jianlai Technology, and the same goes for their next generation.
This is equivalent to planning for the future. When other peers come to their senses and want to join the competition, they will despairingly find that they are facing a group of new users who are stubborn in thinking and extremely loyal to the brand of Jianlai Technology.
Should the United States, in all conscience, rely on advertising and various marketing methods to establish a high-end brand image in the minds of the older generation of urban residents?
So much so that when people buy computers, they will subconsciously choose them, thinking that this domestic brand is a big name, with guaranteed quality and advanced technology.
In fact, this brand is just a product assembled on an assembly line, and its cost-effectiveness is so low that it is simply a rip-off.
Although Xu Changming said that Lu Yiming's motives were impure, Xu Changming knew even more clearly that there were very few people in the country with such "impure motives".
Therefore, even if Lu Yiming asked for more, had some ulterior motives, and had many clever ideas, Xu Changming would be happy to help Lu Yiming.
As long as the result is good, the country does not actually mind a certain company making more money. In fact, it is even happy to see it happen and allow such companies that can share the country's worries to grow and develop rapidly.
The rich will help the poor to become rich first. Let some people get rich first, and then lead everyone to common prosperity. Isn’t this what Lu Yiming did?
Therefore, we must not discourage Lu Yiming's enthusiasm, and we should even set an example for him to benefit from. Only in this way will it be possible for more entrepreneurs to get involved.
Capital has no borders, they only care about profits. If you talk to them about dedication, who will pay attention to you?
Xu Changming said: "It seems that you have already planned everything. Even if I don't agree, you will find someone else, right?"
Lu Yiming did not shy away from it and said, "Yes, I think this is a feasible plan. There will always be people willing to do this."
Xu Changming smiled and said, "Then I'm on your side now. If it succeeds, won't I get the good reputation?"
Lu Yiming joked, "Then Mr. Xu will surely be remembered for generations to come and be admired by everyone."
"screw you."
The two chatted for a while, and then Lu Yiming stood up to say goodbye. Before he left, Xu Changming said, "Go ahead and do it. Don't be influenced by those gossipers. They will soon be speechless."
"Um."
Of course Lu Yiming knew.
In the face of the state apparatus, personal emotions mean nothing.
Just as he walked out of the door, Xu Tengyu opened the door and came in. When he saw Lu Yiming, he was immediately surprised: "Huh? Why are you here?"
