Volume 5: The Age of Storms Chapter 0632 Willingness and Trust
"When did Meng Tejiao come in?"
"In the second half of last year, a Hong Kong guy opened a store near the Friendship Store, selling them for a few hundred dollars each. I bought one and I would change into it when I went to meet clients."
"Oh." Nan Yi put down the T-shirt in his hand thoughtfully, "Has anyone recognized this brand?"
Businessmen have to rely on clothes to save face, so of course they have to wear a brand that most people know is expensive. Wearing a top-notch custom-made piece is useless even if it costs millions.
If others don't understand, isn't that like throwing a wink to a blind person?
If you don’t have money, you can buy a Mercedes-Benz or BMW in installments. If you have money, you can buy a Rolls-Royce. If you drive a F1 racing car, do you hang a sign on the hood of the car that says - This car cost 16 million US dollars to develop?
"Many business people in Yangcheng recognize it," said Lin Guangwei.
Nan Yi grabbed the T-shirt he was wearing and shook it, then said, "Then buy one. The original one is made of polyester and has poor air permeability. This one has cotton mixed in it, so it's more comfortable to wear."
Lin Guangwei walked forward and touched the clothes. "The fabric is not good. It really feels like silk, crisp and drapey. This one is baggy. People will laugh at me if I wear it outside."
"Fuck, you even know such a professional term as drape. Have you switched to textiles?" Nan Yi said with a smile.
"Pull down the street, and let you laugh at me."
Lin Guangwei stepped on the surface of Nan Yibai's bright white sneakers, leaving behind a footprint with crooked lines.
Nan Yi looked down at the annoying footprints and said without interruption, "Pay compensation. Half a bar of soap, a ton of water, a stick of white sneaker powder, and a pack of toilet paper."
"Are you Nan Wencai or Nan Baopi? Do you think you can use half a piece of soap to wash a pair of sneakers?"
"Nonsense, the last time I washed my shoes I used Phoenix soap. Do you know what a famous brand is?" Nan Yi raised his foot and patted the dust off the shoe surface with his hand to fade the shoe print a little.
"Okay, it's a brand name, go to the front and take a look, I'll buy you a new pair."
"Stop talking nonsense. I'm a country bumpkin who came to your big city. I have to go shopping in your big night market. One piece of clothing here costs me a month's salary. You are worthy of being a big city. You must be rich. There are definitely no poor peasants here, only big capitalists."
"There's a toilet up ahead. I'll take you there first. Is it clean?"
"Southern Barbarian."
"Yankee."
"My grandson."
"Mauri."
Nan Yi and the other person exchanged a few words, then returned to normal.
Walking along the stalls one after another, Nan Yi became the person that the stall owners hated the most, only asking the price but not buying anything.
After visiting the night market, Lin Guangwei took Nan Yi to a "very fun" place.
After going there, Nan Yi knew he had been fooled. What a fun place it was; it was just a music teahouse, except that this music teahouse had the title of "No. 1".
In 1980, many foreign businessmen who came to attend the Canton Fair complained that there was no place to play in Guangzhou at night and they could only sit in the hotel and stare blankly. So in 1981, in order to serve foreign businessmen well, after investigation and consideration, the Oriental Hotel opened the first music teahouse in China, playing some English country songs and covers of Hong Kong and Taiwan pop music.
At the beginning, only foreign businessmen were allowed to enter with foreign exchange coupons. Even compatriots from Taiwan were refused entry. If you wanted to enter, you had to buy a ticket, which cost 7 foreign exchange coupons each, and you had to show your passport to buy it.
Because the music teahouse was established based on the Canton Fair, its opening hours are the same as the Canton Fair, twice a year in spring and autumn, each time for a month. People drink tea and beverages, crack melon seeds, and listen quietly to the singers on the stage.
This novel and fashionable music teahouse attracted the curiosity of countless people as soon as it appeared, and the whole city of Guangzhou was shocked by it. In order to experience a music teahouse similar to the current bars, many people used their connections and found ways to get an admission ticket.
Of course, this happened in 1981. By 1982, several music teahouses had sprung up in Guangzhou, and the Oriental Hotel was no longer so attractive. By 1985, there were already dozens of music teahouses in Guangzhou.
"Do you believe I will kill you? Musical teahouses have been around in the north for more than two years. There are even nightclubs in Shenzhen. Why are you bringing me to see something so rare?"
Listening to the singer on the stage singing the sentimental song "Story of a Small Town" with heroic momentum, Nan Yi wished he could strangle Lin Guangwei to death.
Lin Guangwei said nonchalantly: "Why rush? The one who will be on stage soon is my girlfriend. I just want to bring you here to see her today."
"A serious girl?" Nan Yi asked in surprise.
"We'll talk about whether it's serious or not later. Anyway, she's my girlfriend now."
"What's your name?"
"Qu Li."
As soon as he heard the name, Nan Yi frowned and asked, "Do you have a grudge against the Qu family?"
"Come on, I know what you are worried about. It has nothing to do with me looking for Qu Li and Qu Jing. Qu Li is from Guangxi and she just happens to have the same surname as Qu Jing." Lin Guangwei explained.
Nan Yi found it hard to believe Lin Guangwei's explanation, but he didn't dwell on it.
"You came here to see your girlfriend, why did you drag me here? There will be plenty of opportunities to meet people in the future, why do you have to come here and delay other people's work."
"Boss, there must be something good about calling you here." Lin Guangwei moved closer to Nan Yi, "Qu Li has a fellow villager named Wei Shan. In the vernacular, there is a saying called 'Shuang Wa Jing', do you know that?"
"You can be more exaggerated. What's more, Shuang Wa Jing, why don't you say that she looks like Chang'e?" Nan Yi said disdainfully.
"I'm not exaggerating, it's really stunning."
"Keep talking. Since Wei Shan is so pretty, why did you choose Qu Li?"
"It's because you're so beautiful that I know I can't hold you and I don't dare to be tempted. But you're different..."
Nan Yi said playfully, "Do you think Liu Zhen is easy to talk to, or do you think she can't handle you? If she hates you, you won't be able to get a loan in the future."
"I miscalculated. I forgot about this. Okay, just pretend I didn't say anything." Lin Guangwei waved his hand and said.
Nan Yi picked up the teacup, took a sip, then turned to look at the stage.
On the stage, the one who was singing with great vigor just finished the last line and turned to walk down the stage. Before she left the stage, another figure in white had already passed her.
"This is Wei Shan." Lin Guangwei's voice rang out.
Hearing the voice, Nan Yi focused his gaze through the white shadow and stayed on Wei Shan's face, caressing it for a while. She was quite good-looking, with a pretty face and a good figure. She was also of decent height, about 174 cm tall when wearing high heels. However, Nan Yi felt that Wei Shan was boring. At first glance, she was stunning; at second, she was vulgar; at third, she was disgusting.
After looking at her five, six, seven or eight times, Nan Yi didn't look away until he felt so disgusted with her.
As Nan Yi withdrew his gaze, the band on the stage played a familiar accompaniment. At first, Nan Yi couldn't tell which song it was, but as soon as Wei Shan opened his mouth, he knew it was Don Williams' "To Be Your Man".
Wei Shan's singing voice, like her appearance, is too greasy for Nan Yi. She has more technique but less emotion.
"Wei Shan is very popular here. The table on the right in front is filled with Guang Zhai (Guangdong and Hong Kong flag soldiers). The two tables on the left are all young men, but their families are not simple. They are either rich or powerful. They are all here to support Wei Shan."
"I say, Guangwei, how much do you want me to die? The rich, the powerful, the provincial and Hong Kong flag soldiers are all here, and you still want me to pick her up?"
"Can't you handle it?"
"So what if I can handle it? Don't say I don't like this Wei Shan. Even if I like her a little, what kind of woman is worth me offending all three of them?"
"What if it was Liu Zhen instead?"
"Why change your ass..."
Before Nan Yi finished speaking, the soldiers from the three tables that Lin Guangwei had just introduced had already stood up and were approaching the table that was not sure whether it was the table that represented power or money. One of the soldiers was holding a Coke bottle in his hand, and when he got close to someone, he raised the bottle and smashed it on the person's head.
"Fuck off, Nan Yi, we should get out of here. The guy who got hit is from the joint defense team." Lin Guangwei stood up in a panic and said, "When the reinforcements arrive, we will be in trouble too."
"Oh, let's go."
Nan Yi and Lin Guangwei left the Oriental Hotel and went to the Pearl River for a midnight snack.
Have some fried snails, order two bottles of beer, and set up a charcoal stove while enjoying the soft river breeze. It's very relaxing.
"I know the joint defense bastard who was beaten just now. He's from the industrial zone of my factory. He's not a good person and often comes to the factory to extort money." Lin Guangwei took a sip of wine, paused, and continued: "It's nothing, but these bastards don't do anything at all. Things in the factory are often lost, and they can't catch the thieves."
"From the nearby village?"
"yes."
"If you don't have much money, just bear with it. This is how running a business works. You have to respect the King of Hell and coax the little devils. It's still good in China. You will encounter more difficult ones when you go abroad." Nan Yi raised his glass and said, "Don't talk about your troubles. Let's drink. Finish drinking early and go back to rest early."
"Drink to win."
Nan Yi asked Lin Guangwei to hold back his grievances. There was no point in speaking out his grievances, and speaking too much would be taboo.
After drinking a few bottles of wine, Nan Yi sent Lin Guangwei, who was drunk even though he was not drunk, back home, and went to Sheyu overnight.
After staying at the Xuyu Hotel for one night, Nan Yi went to Yifa Street the next day.
Accompanied by Chen Guowen, who was in charge of the Yifa Street Wholesale Market in Nanchen Village, Nanyi's investigation into the wholesale prices of best-selling clothing went very smoothly, and a statistical report was produced in half a day.
Then, Nan Yi did three backflips and boarded a flight to Beijing at Kai Tak Airport.
During the rest of August, Nan Yi spent three days accompanying Fang Mengyin back to Wugou Village. The rest of the time, Nan Yi was busy working at Yaqing Company.
On September 2, Asia Mall and Qinghe International were delivered. There was no time to stop and rest. All employees of the company were mobilized to clean up Asia Mall inside and out. Then, restaurants and merchants were allowed to enter and goods were put on display.
"Back, back, back, back up... Stop, turn right, go, go, stop, back, back, back up..."
On the first floor of Asia Mall, staff were directing the driver to park a Cherokee produced by Beijing Jeep Automobile Company at its proper display position.
Next to the Cherokee display booth, there was a Guangzhou Peugeot 505SW8 parked on another display booth.
Yangcheng Peugeot was just established in March this year, and the first batch of cars have not yet officially rolled off the production line. The car parked here was specially produced by Yangcheng Peugeot and displayed here.
The two display booths next to Yangcheng Peugeot display Tiangang Daihatsu and Changhe vans respectively.
According to Nan Yi's original idea, there should be six display booths, and the other two will display the 200 and 230E models of the Mercedes-Benz W123 series respectively .
However, Nan Yi's attempt to contact FAW, which assembles the "domestic" Mercedes-Benz, was not smooth, and the other party's response was not enthusiastic. Later, he made inquiries in a roundabout way, but both FAW and Mercedes remained silent on the fact of the cooperation between the two parties and were unwilling to mention it.
Nan Yi had no time to delve into it, nor was there any need to do so. As long as there were car display booths, four or six, it would not have much impact on the Asia Mall.
Holding a walkie-talkie in his hand, Nan Yi took Yang Kaiyan around the Asia Shopping Mall. Whenever he saw a problem, he would call someone to deal with it.
"The trash can at the elevator entrance on the second floor is crooked. Come and fix it. Over."
Nan Yi put down the intercom, turned around and said to Yang Kaiyan: "Carry out a fire drill at least once every quarter. The security department must check the fire protection facilities every day. Elevators must be regularly maintained, and the strength of the load-bearing columns must be regularly checked. Be careful at the elevator entrance and staircase entrance to prevent children from falling..."
Blah blah blah, no matter how big or small the matter is, Nan Yi told Yang Kaiyan all the precautions he could think of.
“Food products must be checked every day. There must be no expired or spoiled products in Asia. Once expired, they must be destroyed in batches. They are not allowed to be sold at a discount, distributed to employees as welfare, or given to others for free. Welfare and kindness should not be distributed or promoted here. If anyone has problems eating them, it will be endless trouble.
The restaurant's raw materials and kitchen should be subject to surprise inspections from time to time. If there is a problem once, a yellow card warning will be given, and if it is found twice, a red card will be shown to tell them to leave. The restaurant's staff should undergo a physical examination every quarter, and once a month during the peak period of infectious diseases.
Whether it is a restaurant we operate ourselves or one we bring in, we must follow the same standards. Anyone who is unwilling to accept the rules we set can just leave.”
…
"The requirements for employees are: first, three things are not allowed: no overtime work, no shift change, no substitute work. No matter whether it is overtime, shift change, or substitute work, it must be arranged by the direct supervisor;
Second, three things you are not allowed to do to external parties: you are not allowed to talk about customers behind their backs, you are not allowed to argue or fight with customers, and you are not allowed to have improper transactions with customers;
Customers are God. For shopping guides, tellers, cashiers, and invoice clerks, customers are always right. All they need to do is keep smiling at customers. If customers are wrong, other departments will naturally investigate.
three……"
"The business hours of Asia Mall are from 9am to 9pm, and the working hours of frontline employees are from 8:30am to 9:30pm, 13 hours a day, three shifts, one day on and two days off, regardless of the month, 30 days a month, 130 hours of normal working hours a month, and no . Overtime pay is three times the normal pay, regardless of holidays;
Inform every employee that overtime pay is not allowed to be disclosed to outsiders, and that they should be happy with the benefits secretly and not show off to others to avoid envy. If external pressure is too great and benefits are forced to be cancelled, let them cry on their own.
There must be senior management on duty here every day and they are not allowed to leave their posts without reason. If something happens and no one can be found, half a year's bonus will be deducted if it happens once, two years' bonus will be deducted if it happens twice, and the person will be fired if it happens three times.
..."
Since eight o'clock in the morning, Nan Yi has never stopped talking, and Yang Kaiyan's hands have never stopped either, one talking and the other taking notes.
By lunchtime, Nan Yi had already explained everything he needed to say regarding the internal work arrangements.
"Congratulations, from today on, you are the general manager of Yaqing Company." Nan Yi stretched out his hand and shook hands with Yang Kaiyan. "The new person replaces the old one, and the old one should help the new one get on the horse and send him off. I will leave Yaqing Company completely after the opening of Asia Mall. If there is anything after that, please let me know, President Yang."
After Nan Yi finished speaking, he handed the walkie-talkie in his hand to Yang Kaiyan.
"Boss Nan, can you keep Leng Yan?"
"No, I called her here to help out temporarily. There are more important things waiting for her. Except for Shen Zhehua, all my people will leave. They will cooperate with you to place your own people. You place one, and I will call one away."
"What about Ma Jiayan?" Yang Kaiyan said.
"She is not mine yet. I plan to keep her in Yaqing for training. I'll have to trouble you to take care of her."
"Definitely." Yang Kaiyan said seriously.
Nan Yi turned around, looking at everything around him, feeling deeply moved.
He built Yaqing Company from scratch with his own hands. It was the industry in which he was most involved. Now that he is about to leave, he feels a little lost.
"Mr. Yang, I have handed over my development plan and ideas for Yaqing to you. If you think it is suitable, you can inherit it. If you think it is not suitable, you can follow your own ideas. As long as Yaqing can develop healthily, I don't care whether it has my mark on it."
“Boss Nan, I will inherit everything you leave behind. I don’t have the confidence that I can come up with a better plan than you.” Yang Kaiyan sighed and said, “I used to think highly of myself and thought that there were not many people of my age who could do better than me, but now it seems that the gap between you and me is huge, huge.”
"Haha, don't underestimate yourself. I've said it before, you just lack integration, getting closer, understanding, tolerance, and seeking common ground while reserving differences. You have made a lot of progress now, keep up the good work."
Nan Yi stretched his body and did some chest expansion exercises.
"Tomorrow I will take you to meet those small shareholders and introduce you to them. These people must be protected. Their role is crucial to whether Yaqing can develop safely and steadily."
"I understand." Yang Kaiyan nodded.
Yang Kaiyan was very grateful to Nan Yi. If it were her, she would never be able to hand over the solid foundation she had worked so hard to lay to others and let others reap the fruits of victory that she had planted.
At this moment, Yang Kaiyan felt a sense of "a man will die for his friend". In her opinion, this might be the personal charm of Nan Yi - willingness to give and trust!
