Volume 4: The World of Great Conflict Chapter 0532 The Luxury of Inferiority
"Then we walk?"
"Of course we have to walk. We have invested so much. My time is very precious." Nan Yi picked up the sparkling wine on the table and poured a quarter of a glass for Ye Yu. "Try the sparkling wine here. It is produced by Lafeng Winery in France and is very famous internationally."
"It's cool. I heard that rich people in Hong Kong all drink this brand." Ye Qi picked up the wine glass, looked into the glass and said.
"Oh? How did you know?"
"I saw it in Hong Kong movies. When rich people have a party, they drink Lafeng 1980, which costs several thousand Hong Kong dollars a bottle. They say, 'Lafeng red wine costs more than 8,000 Hong Kong dollars a bottle, have you ever tried it?' It's so domineering." Ye Qi shook the glass and asked, "How much does it cost to drink this?"
"Low-end product, not expensive, 308 per bottle."
"More than three hundred, this is not expensive, I have never drunk such expensive wine, I have to taste it carefully."
Ye Qian carefully brought the wine glass to his lips, took a sip, smacked his lips, and said, "Good wine is different. This tastes just right."
Nan Yi shook his wine glass and smiled knowingly. He knew too well the Chinese people's perception of luxury goods. For a long time, the meaning of luxury goods to the Chinese people was closely linked to the word "expensive".
It is expensive, and everyone knows it is expensive, and this is the motivation for Chinese people to buy it.
To put it more clearly, the motivation of the group of people who purchase luxury goods is to distinguish themselves from ordinary people and to appear superior. As for the quality, style, and heritage that luxury goods boast, how many people can understand them?
After the reform and opening up, the first batch of self-employed people, most of whom took this path out of necessity. Before that, they were losers in various fields and discriminated against.
Even when they become self-employed and make money, they still have no social status and are still discriminated against.
They have suffered from all kinds of hardships and discrimination. Although they have made money, their social status has not improved. Although the higher-ups encourage the development of individual economy, in reality, it is always extremely difficult for individual business owners to do anything, and they are still not welcomed.
They have money but no status, just like a spring that can be compressed for more than ten years. They desperately want to be affirmed and desperately want to live uprightly and with their heads held high.
What can they do?
They only eat well, drink well, and dress well, and distance themselves from ordinary people in terms of living conditions. Then they can't wait to carve the words "I am a rich man" on their faces to let everyone know that they are rich and let everyone look up to them.
"Wow, the clothes he is wearing cost more than 7,000 yuan," "Wow, that watch he is wearing costs more than 100,000 yuan," and other similar words can be heard from many people. In this way, people who buy luxury goods have achieved their goals.
Everything is just for a face.
When ordinary people can afford luxury goods by gritting their teeth and saving for a month or two, the original group of people who bought luxury goods will become more elevated and start talking about quality of life and personal taste.
For a long time, the most important thing for Lafeng Winery in China was to let everyone know that Lafeng wine was expensive, very expensive.
The sparkling wine, which costs 308 yuan per bottle, is the cheapest and lowest-end wine launched by Lafeng Winery in China. Last year, the average annual income in China was 230 yuan, and the average salary of 110 million employees was 826 yuan.
Judging from the situation this year, the average value will rise significantly, but when it comes to individuals, the actual situation of 900 million farmers has not changed much from last year, and has even gone downhill.
The skill points of the infrastructure maniac have been ignited. In order to build roads, a new charge item has been added to the levies in many places - highway surcharge.
At first glance, a bottle of sparkling wine that costs more than 300 yuan may not seem too expensive, but in fact it is more than ten yuan more than the national average annual income.
Those who understand the average figures will understand that at least six or seven out of ten people burst into tears after seeing them, wailing that they are holding the country back.
As night fell, Nan Yi and Liu Zhen sat on the sofa watching TV. On the other side of the earth, Scarlett landed at Santiago's Nuestra Señora Benitez International Airport on the Adam II.
As soon as Scarlett stepped down the gangway, Jobert, the Minister of Mines of Chile, immediately came to greet her.
"Ms. Taylor, welcome to Chile."
"Minister Joubert, thank you for coming to greet us." Scarlett shook hands with Joubert and smiled.
"We very much welcome Scarlett Mining Group to invest in mining in Chile. Ms. Scarlett, the car is waiting. Let's go there now."
"OK."
Scarlett responded and walked side by side with Joebert to the courtesy car on the tarmac.
This time, Scarlett's schedule will be very tight. She will first negotiate with Joebert about the exploration rights in the Atacama Desert, and then fly to Peru to negotiate the exploration rights in the Capamaca area.
These two regions have two world-class copper mines - Escondida Copper Mine and Las Bambas Copper Mine.
One has the largest reserves in the world, and the other ranks ninth.
These two mines are the last two unexplored mines that Nan Yi can remember and knows the exact location of. He still remembers many names of unexplored mines in his mind, but he has no idea of their exact location, only which country they are located in.
In other words, after performing these two performances of turning stone into gold, Nan Yi will be at a loss from now on. He used to be able to draw a small circle on the map, but from now on he can only draw a big circle.
The big circle doesn’t make much sense, and Scarlett Mining Group’s costs will skyrocket.
After this year, we can no longer resort to shortcuts and can only fight tooth and nail with other mining groups. We must honestly send out exploration teams to explore everywhere and bid with other mining groups at bidding meetings.
"Let me tell you something. Our bank has just held a meeting and is going to appropriately relax the housing loan applications of enterprises. Do you know what this means?" Liu Zhen picked up a piece of Huaniu apple with a toothpick and put it in his mouth. After chewing it for a while, he said to Nan Yi.
"Special project?"
"Yes, we will prepare hundreds of millions of funds to provide special loans, and the funds will be used for special purposes. Nan Yi, you can eat too." Liu Zhen put another slice of apple to Nan Yi's mouth.
Nan Yi turned his head and said, "Eat it yourself. This apple is too expensive. I'm afraid I'll be struck by lightning if I eat it."
"Nonsense, flower cattle are expensive, but they are not outrageously expensive."
"You know nothing. The apples are not yet ripe. These were sold to Xiangkeng from China last year. In order for you to eat them, someone specially flew them here. One apple costs over a hundred yuan."
"Who told you to do this? Why don't you just go to the market and buy some ordinary apples?" Liu Zhen pouted and said, "Okay, stop interrupting and continue our conversation."
"What do you want to say? Do you want me to invest in a brick and tile factory or a prefabricated panel factory?"
"Why are you pretending? Who asked you to invest in this kind of factory? I mean cement factories and electric wire factories."
"Oh, the cement factory is already planned, but I haven't thought about the wire factory."
"Never thought about it?" Liu Zhen turned his head and glanced at Nan Yi, thinking hard, he said, "You want to go straight to the source?"
"Haha, they say pregnancy makes a woman stupid for three years, but it seems like you're not stupid enough yet."
"You're the stupid one." Liu Zhen spat and said, "What arrangements have you made?"
"Laos has rich copper ore belts. I have people exploring in Laos and have found some in the Jinghong area. I will probably invest in copper mines in Laos, but there is one problem."
"What's the trouble?"
"The place that the exploration team was interested in was right on the donkey gang's transportation route. These guys were ignorant and refused to take another route when asked to do so."
"So what are you going to do?"
"Let someone talk to Khun Sa first, and ask him to change his route out of respect. If the talks fail, we can talk about other matters without interfering with each other."
"Not destroying him?"
"Khun Sa's power is too great, and the relationships behind him are too complicated. It is not worth the effort to destroy him. The cost will exceed our copper mine interests in Laos, or even much more."
"Oh, then we can only talk about peaceful coexistence."
"yes."
Liu Zhen moved his position and said, "Go on, there is a plan for the copper mine, but what is the raw material for producing wires called copper?"
"Electrolytic copper."
"Oh, yes, it's electrolytic copper. Do you want to invest in an electrolytic copper plant?"
“I have this idea.”
"Very good, this meets the needs of the market and has a good prospect."
"No, you should say that this is in line with the country's strategic needs. Our country is short of copper. In the short term, electrolytic copper plants can provide the demand for copper for infrastructure wires. In addition, in order to save copper, we must also conduct research on copper iron plating and copper zinc plating technologies.
In the long run, if our country wants to rise, it has to take the path of global strategic layout of energy resources, and we will act as a pioneer."
"Huh?" Liu Zhen said in surprise, "From what you said, you want to own the copper mine in Laos in the name of a domestic company? Wenchangwei? No, it should be Nanchen Village, right?"
"Well, we will first cooperate with Nanchen Village to build an electrolytic copper plant. After a few years, the electrolytic copper plant will be upgraded to Nanchen Nonferrous Metals Group, and then the copper mine in Laos will be acquired under the name of the group."
"Nan Yi, shouldn't you give Nanchen Village a project that can bring immediate benefits? Nanchen Liquor has invested so much, but hasn't seen any return on investment. Aren't you afraid that Nanchen Village can't wait?"
"The five electronics factories in Shencun and Yifa Street in Xiyu are all generating profits. Even though Nanchen Construction is making less money, it is still making money."
"It's too little. I haven't even recovered the investment in Nanchen Wine yet."
Nan Yi hugged Liu Zhen and said, "Don't worry about it. Uncle Zong Qing has the final say in Nanchen Village. Everyone in the village listens to him. He has a far-sighted vision. He understands my plan and supports it very much.
As for making money back, it’s not too difficult to imagine. After I finish the things on hand, I will do some research and come up with a project that can make money in the short term.
Wenchangwei will soon start building a new village. We cannot favor one over the other. Nanchen Village must also follow suit. We need to make some money to get this done.”
"You work so hard all year round. It's time to give yourself a vacation." Liu Zhen murmured, rubbing her face against Nan Yi's neck.
"Yes, in two years, I will take care of the children for a few years, and I can take a good rest. But then again, I am not that tired now. Those women in the countryside are really tired. Let me tell you what rural women do every day."
"You talk, I listen."
"I had to get up at 4:30 in the morning, or at most 5:00 in the morning, to light the stove, cook a big pot of porridge in one pot, and boil pig grass in another pot. When the porridge was ready, I mixed it with the pig grass to feed the pigs.
After feeding the pigs, it was already dawn. I took the bucket to the river to wash the clothes. After washing, I hurriedly ate breakfast and then went to work in the fields.
It's okay if there is a seven or eight-year-old child in the family, as he can help with some work. But if he is only four, five or six years old, don't expect him to help. He just needs to take care of himself and not cause trouble.
I go to the fields in the morning and rush back to cook and feed the pigs at noon.
You can take a nap at noon, and then go to the fields again in the afternoon, then cook dinner. After dinner, you have to find time to do some sewing or manual work to earn some money to add oil, salt, sauce and vinegar to the family.
If it weren't the farming season, I would still have to think about going out to do some work. If I didn't make some money, how would I get the money to buy fertilizers, pesticides, pay for water, electricity, cloth, etc.
You have to know that raising a pig for a year can only be enough to pay for a child’s tuition at most.
If you want to live such a busy and ordinary life, you have to be lucky. Otherwise, if you have a medicine bottle at home, your life will be miserable. "
"This is not so bad. At least we don't have to starve now. It's not as hard as it was when we were kids."
Nan Yi shook his head and said, "It's different. Our lives were a little harder back then, but everyone was suffering, so there's no horizontal comparison. But now, in a village, those who live well can afford to eat meat every day, while those who live poorly still can't eat until the autumn harvest.
One is the dual satisfaction of spirit and material, the other is the double gap. If you put yourself in the position of "living a bad life", how depressed would you be? "
"It's hard for me to relate to you. You've made me super confident now. I'm no longer the ugly duckling with low self-esteem. I've almost forgotten the feeling of being hungry. Look..." Liu Zhen stretched out her hand and turned it over and over. "My hand has become plump, not skinny at all, and no longer looks like a chicken claw."
"You gained weight because of your pregnancy. You will lose weight again after the baby is born. However, you won't have chicken feet anymore. Didn't Zou Yitang say that your body is not lacking in nutrition now? It's not in vain to use so many precious medicinal herbs and food supplements.
The precious things you ate will definitely be worth over 100 million in 20 years."
"Why, are you feeling distressed?"
Nan Yi touched Liu Zhen's belly and said with a smile: "Don't feel bad, as long as one tenth of it is absorbed by my baby, it's fine. As the delivery man, you can take advantage of it."
"Go away, you're saying that again." Liu Zhen ruffled Nan Yi's beard and said, "I forgot to tell you that Wu Kun has already framed the painting, but the owner hasn't come to pick it up yet."
"Oh, then wait for someone to come and pick up the painting."
"Tell me, who is trying to plot against you?"
"How can I guess? It's unlikely that they came for me. They should be going for the picture framing shop. There are many schemes in the antique business, and some use all kinds of despicable means to cheat people. Let's put it this way, all those who have anything to do with the antique business are hooligans. The only difference is how good they are at eating."
"Nan Yi, your words are too absolute. There are good people and bad people in every industry. There must be no good people in the antique business, right?"
"Let's put it this way. Let's take the so-called bargain hunting in the antique business. Bargain hunting means taking advantage of information asymmetry to buy an item at a very low price. From a moral perspective, this is inherently immoral.
This is different from buying a Siheyuan and betting that it will appreciate in value in the future. Whether a Siheyuan will really appreciate in value in the future is full of uncertainty, which means there are risks.
You bought the courtyard house at its current value, at a price acceptable to both parties. This is a fair deal.
It is different for those who pick up bargains. From the very beginning, those who pick up bargains are creating unfairness and using the created unfairness to profit for themselves. This behavior actually shows that the weak deserve to be bullied by the strong. "
"You are full of nonsense. I'm a little sleepy. Xiao Yizi, help me go to bed." Liu Zhen said with a yawn.
"Xiao Yizi, I'm still your sister-in-law. You might as well just call me 'Yan'. If you have something to say, just shout 'Yan, Yan'. I'll run over here as soon as I hear you."
"Promise, promise. Well, I say, you should just promise."
"What are you still promising? I'm here to support you."
"Are you impatient? I'm going to sit on you and shake you to death."
"Stop talking nonsense. It's already past 28 weeks. Even if you want me, you have to hold back."
“Boring.”
…
The next day, early in the morning.
After Qiu Hanmin finished boxing with Nan Yi, he stood there wiping his sweat while saying to Nan Yi, "Nan Yi, what are you busy with recently?"
"I'm not busy with anything." Nan Yi picked up a bottle of Laoshan mineral water from the ground, opened the cap and handed it to Qiu Hanmin, then opened another bottle, took a sip and continued, "I'm planning to open a clothing wholesale market, and I've encountered some troubles."
"Yeah, the clothing wholesale market is quite interesting. Tell me about it." Qiu Hanmin said with interest.
