Chen Zongqing ate the noodles with chopsticks one by one, and had no intention of chatting with Nan Yi while eating.
"Uncle Zong Qing, the noodles smell delicious."
In order to break the awkward atmosphere, Nan Yi had to chat awkwardly.
After hearing Nan Yi's words, Chen Zongqing still ignored him. He quickly picked up a few chopsticks to finish the noodles in the bowl, raised the bowl and drank a few sips of noodle soup. Then, he took two pieces of paper from the table to wipe his mouth, picked up the cigarette, lit it, took a puff of smoke and exhaled, holding the cigarette in his hand, and his tongue moved around in his mouth to lick the food that was originally intended to be saved for the night.
When his mouth felt comfortable, Chen Zongqing took a sip from the teacup. With a gurgling sound, he walked to the patio and spit out the water. Then he returned to the table and saw that Nan Yi still had half of the bread in his hand. He said something very harsh as soon as he opened his mouth, "Is it enough? We still have a lot at home."
"No, no, I'm full with this one." Nan Yi waved his hand and said, "Uncle Zong Qing, there are still old people and children in the village. Although we should respect the elderly and love the young, cooking for them cannot be considered abuse."
"I am the only one in my family."
"How about I find you a nanny?" Nan Yi said with a shy smile, "How about a 28-year-old? If you don't like it, a 38-year-old or an 18-year-old will also be fine."
Chen Zongqing did not respond, but said slowly: "When you came here before, your aunt would cook a large table of dishes, but now the pot on the stove is rusty."
"Uncle Zong Qing, this is your fault. In my family, I am the one who cooks. After cooking, I cannot eat at the table. I have to hide in the kitchen and eat secretly. This is the family tradition of my Nan family. As the head of the family, we must be able to go into the kitchen and go out to the living room."
"Oh, just keep talking nonsense." Chen Zongqing chuckled and complained, "Your aunt went to Yangcheng for half a year, and I ate noodles for half a year. My face turned blue. There are many people in the village like me. Don't hang around in the village later. I'm afraid someone will shoot you in the back."
"Uncle Zong Qing, I'm timid, don't scare me."
"Scaring you is the least of my worries. I even want to hit you." Chen Zongqing shook his head and smiled. "If you can't eat, don't eat. There's a restaurant in the village. I'll call and have someone send some food over."
"Well, there is a restaurant in the village. Uncle Zong Qing, you are still eating instant noodles. Are you eating it on purpose to show me?" Nan Yi put the bread on the table and said.
“Does it matter what you eat?”
"unimportant."
Nan Yi understood that Chen Zongqing’s pain point was that Cai Shufen was not around, and he felt empty inside. Not being able to have ready-made hot meals was not the point.
Nan Yi was well aware that most people would not understand and a few would even hold a grudge against him when he encouraged the women of Nanchen Village to start their own businesses. But he still wanted to do it. The superficial reason was to prevent the behavior of abandoning his wife, and the deeper reason was to maintain stability.
A fortress often begins to collapse from within. The most powerful wind in the world is pillow talk. The important figures in Nanchen Village are scattered outside to manage industries. Their wives have stayed in the village to do auxiliary work and are not by their side. Things like flirting and keeping mistresses will still happen, and will not change because of changes in their wives' dependence or social status.
A wife is not as good as a concubine, and a concubine is not as good as a mistress. This is the true psychological portrayal of many men. It cannot be prevented by strict defense. Nan Yi does not need an important figure in Nanchen Village to be a good husband. Family responsibility does not have much to do with the ability to do things.
Nan Yi hopes that the families of every important person in Nanchen Village are harmonious, even if it is only superficial harmony. The first step is to allow the wives to improve themselves. The next step is to introduce the best among them into the highest management system of Nanchen Village's industries, so that in addition to Nan and Chen, there will be other voices in the Nanchen meeting.
The cohesion of the clan hall in Nanchen Village is too strong. Although Nan Yi’s position as the great master is very stable at the moment, in the long run, there are many crises waiting for him.
Nanchen Village's business empire is now in a period of wild expansion and growth. Everyone is pushing Nanchen Village forward with all their strength. Making money is addictive, and so is the sense of accomplishment. Today you have 10 yuan in your pocket, which becomes 20 yuan tomorrow, and 40 yuan the day after tomorrow. You manage 10 people today, 20 tomorrow, and 40 the day after tomorrow. The dividends are increasing, and the sense of accomplishment is growing. It is difficult to describe the psychological satisfaction in words.
Expectations are rising little by little, and everyone is tired but happy!
But one day, when the chariot of Nanchen Village could no longer maintain high speed and the expansion of its territory hit a bottleneck, after a few strong attacks, it found that it could not break through this barrier. The energy in its heart, or the entrepreneurial passion, would quickly diminish, and the strength in its body seemed to be drained away, and the whole person became listless. This is what is called a burst of strength, followed by decline, and finally exhaustion.
Some people can adjust their mindset and transfer the energy of climbing to other things, such as women, yachts, fishing, gambling, etc.; some people cannot adjust their mindset well, and can no longer climb the outside peaks, so they turn their guns around and push down the mountain that is pressing on their heads.
When you are sailing against the current, if you don't move forward, you will move backward. Once the entrepreneurial passion is gone and the mindset turns to preserving the business, it means the beginning of decline. When this situation occurs, Shuangnan Holdings will have to undergo a major reshuffle, with those who should retire and those who should be removed.
If Nan Yi had not started planning to weaken the influence of the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall early on, and had not added sand in the sand early on, when the bottleneck period came, he could guarantee that the person who replaced "Nan" would still be a talented person, but could "Chen" guarantee that?
If the people in Nanchen Village want to force the Chen family to take power, Nan Yi will inevitably have to go to war with them, causing a bloody storm.
Once internal friction occurs, it goes without saying that the losses will be huge. Nan Yi does not want to see this happen, nor does he want to kick out the partners who once fought side by side with him. For the sake of the century-old friendship between the Nan and Chen families, he can only guide the Nan Chen village to pay attention to the cultivation of future generations, and at the same time expand the team of "their own people". Their own people are not only the Chen family's in-laws, but also the natal family .
When a family business faces the problem of having no successors, the wisest approach is not to introduce professional managers or hand over the family property to the son-in-law, but to sell the business directly, keep the hard currency in hand, and wait for the arrival of a new star in the family so that the family can make a comeback and create greater glory.
Nan Yi has feelings for Nanchen Village and would not do anything to swallow up Nanchen Village’s shares. However, it will be hard to say when Nan Youqiong comes to power. If Nanchen Village has no successor by then, the Nan family will serve as professional managers in Shuangnan Holdings. A professional manager facing an incompetent boss will not be able to be a professional manager if he does not want to make the company his own.
Precisely because of concerns about morality and interests, Nan Yi took action on the source of his wife. Protecting his wife is not only to strangle the source of the deterioration of Nanchen Village and subtly influence everyone's ancestral hall ideology, but also to expand the team of "his own people".
…
Chen Zongqing made a phone call, and in less than ten minutes someone came over with a food box. When it was opened, three plates of hot dishes were served on the table. Nan Yi estimated the time and looked at the color of the dishes and knew that they were re-cooked dishes.
But eating twice-cooked dishes is better than eating bread, so they picked up their chopsticks, filled their stomachs, strolled around the village to digest the food, and then went to the ancestral hall.
As soon as he entered the ancestral hall, Chen Zongqing took out a satellite phone from the cabinet in the corner and assembled the signal board and loudspeaker with some operations.
Nan Yi came to Nanchen Village just for a visit this time. He did not notify the meeting in advance. Except for Chen Zongqing who stayed at home, all other important figures in the village stayed at their posts and did not come back.
Although it was just a visit, Nan Yi also wanted the people of Nanchen to listen to the Nan Yi Voice broadcast, so that everyone would not forget him as the old anchor.
From far to near, the first to take the stage was Chen Zongjie, president of Shuangnan Holdings, who was far away in San Francisco.
"Uncle Zongjie, have you had breakfast?"
"I ate it, and there was also Xiaomi and beef pie soup."
"Oh, you are happier than Uncle Zong Qing. You traveled across the ocean and still eat the flavors of your hometown. Since you have already had breakfast, let's do two things. First, register an investment company under Shuangnan Holdings, an American company; second, Dustless Workshop, which means dust-free workshop in Chinese. Go and understand what it means. When you feel you can talk to me about this, call me."
"good."
"Uncle Zong Qing, do you want to have a chat with Uncle Zong Jie?" Nan Yi turned around and said.
Chen Zongqing waved his hand and said, "No need, Zongjie and I talk on the phone often."
Since Chen Zongqing said no, Nan Yi didn't bother to be polite with him. He hung up the call and called Chen Weiqiao again.
As soon as the call was connected, I heard gunshots from the other side, some distance away.
"Are you watching the fun?"
"We have to take a look. An armed group attacked the caravan just 700 meters away from the mine, and..." Chen Weiqiao was hesitant to speak.
"And what?"
"I saw the three-three play."
"Which side?"
"caravan."
Nan Yi sneered, "Then let them die."
The squad is divided into three combat teams, each with three people. In order to facilitate mutual support, they are generally arranged in three echelons. The three-person combat team is in a triangular attack formation, and each soldier has a clear division of labor: attack, cover, and support. The squad leader, deputy squad leader, and group leader each lead a combat team.
When the combat team attacks, two soldiers are in front and the team leader is behind, forming a triangle formation. Three combat teams form a combat squad, and three combat squads form a combat group. When attacking, they deploy in a "skirmish line" formation.
When the combat squad is deployed, soldiers can change the combat formation at any time according to the instructions of the team leader or squad leader. After the combat group is deployed, tactical commands are conveyed through oral, sign language, bugle or radio. A combat group with a total of 27 people can cover a battle line 800 meters wide when fully deployed.
This is the so-called three-three tactic, which is used on a large scale in our army. The three-three tactic is adopted during the battle. The members of the caravan are likely to be veterans of the country, and they may also have served in the militia.
No matter what kind of soldiers they are, the caravans that appear in the Jinghong Copper Mine area are 100% transporting drugs, so their death does not deserve a pity.
"I don't want to care. They are retreating towards the mine."
Nan Yi frowned and said, "Isn't this the first time you've encountered this kind of problem?"
"Nonsense, I can see it two or three times a month."
"Then why are you so worried? According to the old rules, they are not allowed to enter the mining area within 150 meters. If they dare to step in, they will be beaten."
"But……"
"No buts, we treat everyone equally."
"Understood."
"Don't hang up. When you're done, we'll talk business."
Nan Yi was glad that today's call came at the right time. If Chen Weiqiao had been too soft-hearted and helped the caravan, the transcendent status of Jinghong Copper Mine would have been broken.
The reason why Jinghong Copper Mine can stand on the drug transportation line without any accidents is that it has guns and cannons, strong soldiers and horses, and it maintains absolute neutrality and never gets involved in drug affairs. On one side are drug dealers and on the other side are miners. There is no conflict of interest, so the drug dealers have no need to send people to attack the mining area.
Although controlling the mining area would strangle the throat of drug transportation and collect tolls from other drug dealers, the drug dealers were able to see the three barbed wire fences outside the mining area, the cleared shooting range, the towering concrete and steel machine gun bunkers, and the interesting craters arranged on the ground, all of which told them that the Jinghong Copper Mine was not to be trifled with.
In fact, the Jinghong Copper Mine is indeed easy to defend but difficult to attack. Geographically, it is located on a hilltop, a commanding height within a radius of three kilometers. It is wishful thinking to want to shoot it down without heavy firepower, and it is not very useful even with firepower. Helicopters can be seen flying towards the mining area every now and then, and there are always two of them at a time. They are very cautious and will not land at the same time. Every time, one of them will hover in the air for cover, and the Vulcan cannon hanging in the cabin is creepy to look at.
That’s not all. Jinghong Copper Mine is engaged in legal business and its actions comply with Laotian laws. It is also a major taxpayer. If you make a call for help, the Laotian military and police will at least come out to deal with it.
They are like hedgehogs, they don't know where to start, they don't understand the details, and they don't know what forces are behind them. There are no idiots who can stand in the Golden Triangle. They can naturally make a correct assessment of what forces they can mess with.
Having said that, if you really go up to them and provoke them, shouting "Daddy, hit me", with guns and cannons in your hands, it seems a little difficult to make them behave like turtles.
Intervening in the fight against drug dealers is a provocation. It would be strange if the cat didn't bite the dog when the dog is catching the mouse.
Nan Yi pricked up his ears, listening to the gunshots on the phone getting closer and closer. The latest gunshot seemed to be the sound of a bolt being pulled back into place. Just when he couldn't help but remind them, a voice shouted from the phone: "Warning, warning, Jinghong Copper Mine is a neutral zone. We will not intervene in any power struggle. 150 meters is a buffer distance. Anyone entering is considered to be actively attacking us. We will counterattack and kill without mercy."
In Jinghong area, people can communicate in three languages: Lao, Burmese and Chinese. If someone cannot understand any of them, he is just pretending to be ignorant.
After three warnings, Nan Yi could still hear the gunshots approaching .
Chen Weiqiao looked at the caravan members who were still fighting and retreating towards the mining area. He was furious in his heart, "Damn it, I gave you face."
He picked up the intercom and warned again. Seeing that the other party was still the same, Chen Weiqiao's eyes narrowed and he shouted into the intercom: "10-meter warning."
On the other side of the caravan, a man holding a Remington 870 shotgun shouted to another man, "Brother, what should we do? It doesn't look fake."
The shooting range in the jungle is limited, with an effective range of nearly 100 meters. A shotgun that can switch between single-shot bullets and shotgun shells at any time can often work wonders. However, when you run to the mining area, you can see everything at a glance, and the outskirts where all the weeds have been pulled out are blind. A shotgun is almost equivalent to a fire stick.
The person being called fired rapidly at three positions before shouting, "What else can we do? The enemy has more people and we can't run away. Second brother, we can only take a gamble. This is the last warning from the mine. We lie down and fight back."
"Yes, I listen to my brother."
Boss: "Live and die together."
The second child: "Live and die together."
The attackers were getting closer, and after an unlucky guy was shot dead, the second brother finally got a chance, rolled on the ground, picked up the AK next to the body, and wiped his hand on the chest of the corpse, and two magazines were in his hands.
After getting the AK, the second boss, the eldest boss and another person formed a triangle cover, fighting and retreating.
"1 meter warning."
"Get down."
Hearing Chen Weiqiao's warning, the boss shouted.
Swish, swish, swish, the three men lay down on the spot and continued to fire back calmly.
"Fuck." Chen Wei, who saw everything, couldn't help but curse: "Fuck, are you kidding me?"
Chen Weiqiao wanted to use the searchlight on the machine gun bunker to illuminate the position of the three bastards, but then he changed his mind and gave up. He was now certain that the three bastards were Chinese, and he didn't want to add insult to injury if he didn't help.
Continuing to hold the low-light telescope, Chen Weiqiao saw that some of the attackers had already moved to the side. He knew that the three people on the ground would not be able to hold out for long.
"What a pity. If they had just thrown the goods away at the beginning, they could have just run away."
The jungle is the easiest place to win with a smaller force. One person destroying an entire platoon is a myth in other places, but not necessarily in the jungle. There are places to hide everywhere, and sneak attacks and assassinations one after another can create a dramatic effect.
"Don't mutter. When everyone is dead, remember to take a photo of them and send it to our border post."
"Isn't this necessary? We're almost dead."
"It's necessary. Who knows if all of them died in your place? Who knows where their drugs were going to be shipped? If there are any remnants, it can be regarded as providing some clues to the anti-drug fighters. Damn it, they deserved to die for selling drugs at their doorstep. I tell you, you are not allowed to bury them. Just let them lie exposed."
"Brother, if you don't bury it, it will stink. The stench of a corpse won't go away for half a month."
"Forget it, forget it. You can handle it yourself. Are they all dead? I'm waiting for you to have a conference call."
"There are two more... Damn, they dared to come in, Fire!"
As soon as Chen Weiqiao finished speaking, Nan Yi immediately heard the roar of the M2 Browning machine gun. Boom, boom, boom, boom, after four sounds, the whole world fell into silence in an instant.
Five seconds later, Nan Yi heard Chen Weiqiao's retching again, "Machine gun position, who told you to shoot? Damn, it's all broken, are you going to clean it up?"
After some shouting, Chen Weiqiao said to the phone: "Wait, I 'll go negotiate."
"Go ahead and be careful."
"Nan Yi, why don't you just call Wei Qiao back? It's too dangerous." After hearing the sound of the phone being hung up, Chen Zongqing said worriedly.
"The biggest drug dealer in the Golden Triangle is about to go bankrupt. During this period, there is a fight for territory over there. All forces are increasing their shipments to make money to buy weapons. We just need to wait for them to decide the winner. Uncle Zong Qing, don't worry, Wei Kuang will be fine. A way out has already been arranged for him."
"Is that really okay?"
"no problem."
"That's good. If anything happens to Wei Qiao, it will be hard to explain to his family."
Nan Yi and the other person waited in silence for twenty minutes before Chen Weiqiao called back.
"Negotiations are done."
"Is everything alright?"
"No, the other party wanted to give me a horse, but I declined."
"The horse or the load it carries?"
"Together."
"Want to win you over?" Nan Yi said after a little thought.
"That's what I mean."
"Oh, let's get down to business. Is there any room for improvement in the mining capacity of the mine?"
"Yes, we just need to add more manpower, and the No. 2 reserve mine can be mined at the same time."
"What is the current recruitment situation?"
"The Lao people working in the mines get 8-12 yuan, and those from northern Myanmar get 4 yuan. If we go to northern Myanmar to recruit people now, we should be able to recruit quite a few with 3 yuan."
"Don't go yourself. Ask the people from northern Myanmar working in the mine to go back and recruit them. Give them one month's salary per person and they will probably be happy to do it."
"It's hard to say. They also know that there is chaos in northern Myanmar." Chen Weiqiao hesitated.
"Oh, you decide the price yourself. If one month doesn't work, then two months. If that doesn't work, you'll be tempted by a year's salary, right? It's just 50 yuan, don't worry too much about it."
"I'm afraid they might bring in drug addicts."
"Just explain it to them . Not only will they not pay you if you bring them back, but they will also deduct money. If the people in northern Myanmar can't tell who is taking drugs and who is not, then there must be something fishy going on. I won't waste time on this little thing. Let me tell you, there are signs of a boom in domestic real estate. In the coming period, our electrolytic copper plant's business will definitely increase sharply. Hurry up. If you can't supply copper ore, you won't be able to increase production."
"Short term or long term? If it's long term, I can arrange to open a new mine."
"Let's arrange it. The mining speed can be as fast as possible. It's okay if we can't use it. We can mine it and stockpile it. It's too dangerous over there. Get the copper mine back on track as soon as possible, and you can come back earlier."
"Okay, I'll arrange it as soon as possible."
Since 1986, when copper prices were high, international copper prices have shown a downward trend. Especially since the beginning of this year, the decline in copper prices has accelerated and is rapidly approaching US$1 per pound. Compared with the price in 1989, it has dropped by nearly 18%, and is only slightly more than 21% of the copper price in 1986.
Last year, the copper mine was able to break even, but this year there are signs of losses. The mining and processing costs of one ton of copper are likely to exceed the selling price, and when combined with transportation costs, it is a direct loss.
Of course, this is a statistic after converting the exchange rates of various currencies, and does not take into account the real value differences between currencies.
Obviously, copper prices are falling, but several countries have increased their mining, such as South Africa, Chile, Peru, Papua New Guinea, etc. These countries have a common feature, that is, they have severely over-issued their currencies in the past two years. So these countries are losing their own currencies and earning dollars, and it is hard to say whether the losses are real or fake.
The inventory volume of the London Stock Exchange has increased from 179,000 tons at the end of last year to 243,000 tons. The total copper inventory has remained at around 355,000 tons since the beginning of this year, but according to Bat statistics, the total inventory volume in the hands of producers, consumers and merchants has now exceeded 1 million tons, which is more than six weeks of global consumption.
This year, the decline in copper prices is basically a foregone conclusion, and the copper prices in the next few years will not be too optimistic. They will show an overall downward trend, and the price curve will fluctuate greatly. This is a good opportunity for Nan to trade copper futures.
If you want to trade, you have to stock up on copper spot. Now, Scarlett Mining Group is placing orders everywhere.
This is the trend of international copper prices, but the domestic copper price trend may be just the opposite, especially the prices of some terminal products, such as the prices of electrical wires. Nan Yi is bullish because the country has been short of copper for a long time, but is about to usher in a large-scale construction wave, and the demand for electrical wires will further increase.
For Nanchen Village, what Nan Yi wants to do now is to bring back more copper as soon as possible and stockpile it, so that he can increase the shipment volume while the price of electric wires is high.
As for why they do not purchase from outside but instead increase the mining volume, it is very simple. Jinghong Copper Mine has very little investment in machinery and mainly uses manpower for mining. The miners receive a monthly salary of a few yuan, plus the cost of food, the average monthly expenditure per person is about 15 yuan [hard work, the food must keep up]. The mining cost is extremely low, and the distance is short, so the freight cost is also low. In addition, it is their own mine, and Laos also recognizes RMB. The electrolytic copper plant can pay in RMB when purchasing from Jinghong Copper Mine.
After hanging up the phone with Chen Weiqiao, Nan Yi continued to call someone else. While he was talking on the phone, Chen Weiqiao encountered some trouble.
When Chen Weiqiao first went to Laos, he brought with him several talents from China who were proficient in different aspects of copper mining. When they arrived at Jinghong Copper Mine, they were promoted to higher positions and received salaries that they had never dared to dream of before. They could also frequently participate in activities where they shouted slogans such as "I will never reconcile with gambling and drugs." All these made them very satisfied with their current situation.
Before, they knew very well that Jinghong Copper Mine was located at the throat of a drug trafficking route, but they only heard gunshots but never saw any danger or fighting scenes, and they felt quite disappointed.
Today, there was finally a war going on right under their noses. They were so excited. In the beginning, they were fighting for the telescopes, and everyone wanted to watch for a while longer. But in the end, four gunshots were heard that could be seen without the telescopes. It was over, and most people were scared silly. There was a guy named Duan who was so scared that he peed his pants.
After Chen Weiqiao and Nan Yi finished their phone call, Duan, who had changed into new pants in a state of shyness and fear, went straight to Chen Weiqiao.
"Director Chen, I want to resign and return to my country, right away."
Chen Weiqiao said calmly, "Were you frightened by the scene just now?"
"Yes, it's too scary. I don't want to stay in this place for even a minute. I'm afraid that I will die like that one day." Duan said fearfully.
"Lao Du, we came to Laos together several years ago. It's only today that we have seen such a scene. It's a bit bloody. It's normal for you to be scared for a while. I'll give you a few days off. Go to Bokeo and play for a few days. Come back to work when you feel better."
"No, no, no, I don't want to stay in this damn place any longer. I want to leave. I want to leave right away."
Chen Weiqiao, who was already hot-tempered, was even more furious. He slammed the table and said, "Okay, if you want to resign, you can pack up and leave now. According to the old rules, someone in China will deliver your salary to your wife. Go to the accountant to get 100 yuan for travel expenses. This is an extra gift from me. Go, leave now."
"Ah? You won't send anyone to send me back to the country?" Duan said in surprise.
"Why should we send you back? Our contract is signed for one year, and it is agreed that renewal is entirely voluntary. Anyway, we all have to go back for the New Year, so if we go back together, we can take care of each other, and the mine can also arrange someone to escort us.
It's not even March yet, and you still have nine months left on your contract. I didn't make it difficult for you if you wanted to resign. I'll still pay you. But you still want me to send someone to escort you. That's too much. We have to pay people for our security every time we go out, don't you know?"
Chen Weiqiao did not lie. Strictly speaking, the security guards at the mine were private soldiers. Although Laos was a chaotic country, it was also a place with laws. If one wanted to enjoy privileges, one naturally had to get "special approval." Not only did one have to pay money openly, but one also had to give bribes to certain people in private.
There's nothing wrong with staying in the mine. You get paid annually and no one cares whether you live or die. But if you want to go out, you have to apply for a "pass". If you don't apply for it actively and are discovered going out secretly, you will have to pay a huge fine, and there will be no invoice.
Duan's fear and anxiety made him tough, and he said to Chen Weiqiao directly: "I will pay for it myself."
"You can't afford it, so go if you want. There will be a truck carrying goods out in half an hour, and you can follow it to Bojiao." Chen Weiqiao didn't have Nan Yi's patience. He was too lazy to explain too much to Duan, so he just waved his hand and said, "Get out."
Nan Yi finished another phone call and turned to ask Chen Zongqing, "Uncle Zongqing, where is Uncle Guowen now?"
"We're in Beijing, so we may not be able to get through to him right now. It's best to call him tomorrow morning."
"Okay, I'll go to Yangcheng tomorrow morning after I finish talking to him on the phone."