Volume 6: The Great Change Chapter 0866: Become famous
At noon, Nan Yi really only made a dough dumpling. The ingredients were not borrowed but bought from outside. He also bought an extra bitter melon and made a cold bitter melon dish.
While eating, Ye looked at the black, hair-like side dishes in the dish bowl and said, "Lao Nan, just mix bitter melon, why put so much hair algae in it?"
"Oh, it's what we hadn't finished eating last year. I saw there was only a little left, so I mixed it in."
Ye Qi picked up a large handful of fa cai and shouted, "That's only a little, it's almost one or two catties , well, this meal of noodles is not cheap, I bought some during the Chinese New Year, it was really not cheap, 1,000 yuan per catty."
"I'm still paying 2 million per ton. How much can I put into a dish?" Nan Yi said, "Besides, I grew this myself in Mongolia. It's not that expensive."
"Isn't it said that hair algae can't be grown, only wild ones can be grown."
"Can you lift up my house?" Nan Yi picked up the chopsticks and pointed at the wall.
"You're just teasing me. Lift one up for me to see."
"I can't lift it either, but I can ask 500 people to help lift it. If that's not enough, I can ask 5,000 people to come. Sometimes, money can really create miracles. Since I knew about the existence of hair algae, its growing environment and the damage that its harvesting would cause to the ecological structure, I bet that the country would ban the harvesting of hair algae sooner or later.
At that time, I spent a lot of money to hire experts to study the technology of cultivating hair algae. It took tens of millions of dollars to successfully cultivate it. Now I have just recovered half of the cost. "
Ye pointed at the hair moss in the plate and said, "You mean, the hair moss in this plate and the ones sold outside are all grown by you?"
"It's on the plate, but not sold outside. I don't sell it in China because the price is too low. The 1,000 yuan per kilogram you mentioned is not the normal price. It usually sells for 600 or 700 yuan. In Southeast Asia, it can sell for more than 3,000 yuan, but the sales volume is too low. I can't sell many tons a year. I can't sell more. If I sell more, the price will be unstable."
“Is it profitable?”
"It's OK. There's not much competition."
Ye Qi sighed and said with emotion: "The realm is really different. Others, including me, of course, only think about selling things back and forth, but you have already controlled the market and become an exclusive trader. If the country really bans mining one day, you will be able to make more money, right?"
"That's enough. There's no point in being sentimental. My business is not something that most people can do. When you spend money, who can guarantee that the breeding will be successful? What if it's all wasted? You have 15 million US dollars now, right? Do you dare to take out 5 million US dollars to gamble on a business with only a 20% success rate?"
"I dare not. I have enough money to support myself for a lifetime. I won't do any business that is too risky." Ye Qi waved his hand.
"That's it. Don't just think about the thief eating meat and ignore the thief getting beaten. I don't know how many tens of millions I throw into the water every year. I can't make much money in the present, so I have to look forward to the future."
"That's right, doing business is not easy." Ye said, lifting up his T-shirt to reveal a scar on the left side of his stomach. "When I first arrived in Suifenhe, someone stepped on my bag. I refused to give in, so I got into a fight with him and was stabbed. Fortunately, I dodged quickly, otherwise my stomach would have been pierced."
Ye Qi put down his T-shirt and picked up the wine glass. "Come to think of it, I still have to thank you. If it weren't for your people saving me last time, I would have returned home in disgrace, instead of dying in Mongolia."
Nan Yi picked up the wine glass and clinked it with his, then drank half of it. "Don't be so rude. Have you thought about what to do next?"
"Maybe I can open a restaurant. My father is not in good health, so I have to stay in Beijing to take care of him. I can't run around. My aunt runs a restaurant, so I'll go and learn from her some other day."
"Oh, you let my mom teach you how to run a restaurant, and then you open one to compete with her. Do you have manners?"
"Tsk, Beijing is big, I can open a restaurant far away from her." Ye said disdainfully: "Besides, I want to open a high-end restaurant. When people come in, they don't leave without dropping a hundred or so. It's totally different from Auntie ."
Nan Yi spat, "Then you've chosen the wrong temple. If you want to open a high-end restaurant, go abroad and learn the style of their high-end restaurants. This is internal strength. As for external strength, you can spend a lot of money to hire a pair of beautiful foreign twins to be doormen, and then find a modeling company to sign a contract and rotate people to serve dishes.
The clothes are changed in turn, sometimes they are dressed like Western noble ladies, sometimes they are dressed like Oriental cheongsams, until the diners are dazzled. Let’s not talk about the taste of the food, just the fact that you have foreigners serving you will make your business great.”
"I heard that models are very expensive. If I invite them over, will I still be able to make money?" Ye Qi asked excitedly.
"You're talking about famous models. Before they become famous, their expenses are high and their income is low, so their asking price won't be too high. Besides, life in Eastern Europe is tough right now, so it's okay to find some Eastern European girls. Don't find some foreign girls. People won't like them and their price won't be raised."
"You're the one who comes up with a good idea." Ye Qi said excitedly, "If you keep doing this, the business will surely be successful."
Nan Yi laughed, "This is a crooked idea, and it's just superficial work. If you can do it, others can do it too. It will take one or two years at the shortest, and three or four years at the longest. It will definitely be flooded. If you want to keep your business going for a long time, you have to work hard on the dishes."
"Have you read "A Play on Qianlong"?"
“I have.”
"You said, I want to learn from the TV dramas and make the restaurant like the Forbidden City. The people responsible for serving are either Chunxi or Yingying. The older ones who come to eat are called the retired emperor or the empress dowager, and the younger ones are called the emperor, the empress, the princess of the first rank, and the princess of the second rank..."
Nan Yi waved his hand to interrupt Ye Yu, "Alright, alright, no need to say any more. This is the capital, and the Aisin-Gioro family is still here. If you want to do this and keep your business going for a long time, I'll take your surname."
"Haha, I'm just joking. Brother, don't I have any political sensitivity?" Ye Qi laughed, "I'll take some time to fly abroad to have a look. If I do open one, it has to be high-end."
"You can figure it out slowly." Nan Yi picked up the remote control and turned on the TV. "Do you know if there will be a rerun of Little Dragon Man?"
"Well, it's for kids, why should I care? Why are you watching this?"
"My son is watching it, so I have to watch it too, otherwise when he talks about it, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep up with the conversation."
"Oh, there is a Ferrari brand exhibition in the Asian Games Village. Do you want to go and have a look this afternoon?"
Nan Yi thought for a moment and said, "Okay, let's go and see what's going on."
After dinner, Nan Yi posted a note on the gate of the courtyard, explaining his destination, left Ye Wei's number, got in the car and headed for the Asian Games Village.
As soon as you enter the convention and exhibition center of the Asian Games Village, you will see a lot of people, some wearing suits, some wearing Montblanc. Without exception, they all have mobile phones in their hands, and some are holding the arm of or accompanied by a beautiful woman.
By the way, the term “hanging out with a rich man” has become popular. Just this year, in Beijing, it was derived from the term “hanging out with a rich man”.
Compared to these tycoons, Nan Yi and Ye Qi's outfits were a little shabby. Nan Yi wore a short-sleeved shirt with trousers, and a pair of unbranded low-top combat boots designed for urban combat. They were very technically advanced and had a high production cost, like a big brother.
Ye Qi was wearing a white T-shirt with the four words "Nothing" printed on it in red and black. This kind of personalized T-shirt has just become popular this year, and costs between five or six yuan and ten yuan each. Fashionable young people will buy them and wear them every few years. He was wearing a pair of jeans, which were common items, and a pair of hiking shoes, which were also common items. Only the mobile phone in his hand added some points to him.
The huge exhibition center only exhibited one car, the "Ferrari 348", and there was only one red one. There were actually three cars in total. Nan Yi had seen it at the 1989 Paris Auto Show. There was also one in Sophie Marceau's garage, so it was not surprising to him.
The group of rich men were just there to watch the fun. Although there was no price tag next to the car, they all knew that the price would definitely not be cheap. An ordinary car would cost one hundred thousand or two hundred thousand yuan, and this car looked expensive just by its appearance, so it would cost at least five hundred thousand yuan.
Nan Yi guessed that Ferrari did not think that it could sell even one car at this exhibition. It was probably just for the purpose of display, letting potential customers know about the "Ferrari" brand, and hoping for future business.
There will be no market for sports cars in China at present. Those who can afford them don’t like them, and those who like them can’t afford them. The golden age of sports cars will only come when the first generation of “rich second generation” grows up.
Before this, Nan Yi had only seen one sports car in Coconut City, a second-hand Porsche right-hand drive car. It should be smuggled stolen goods from outside. The actual price would not be too high, and he could definitely get it within 200,000.
After taking a few glances at the cars , Nan Yi lost interest and stood aside, complaining that the exhibition was so poorly organized that they didn't even know how to put a bunch of car models together, while waiting for Ye Qi who was still looking at it intently.
At this moment, the crowd suddenly became agitated.
Following the sound, Nan Yi saw a man in a polo shirt and black suit walking in from the gate. Everyone present seemed to know him and surrounded him, greeting him and handing him business cards.
"Mr. Li, I didn't expect you to come here too. I am..."
"Boss Li is here. Looks like we're going to have a great day today!"
"That's a must. Who is Mr. Li?"
After taking a few quick glances, Nan Yi recognized who "Mr. Li" was. He was Li Huada, one of the two Lis in Beijing. He was also the richest man in Beijing today and had a great reputation in the circle of wealthy people.
Li Huada looked very proud and said to the supporting actors, "I just woke up this morning and read the newspaper and found out that Ferrari has a car show in Beijing. I wanted to come and buy a ticket. We can't let those foreigners say that there is no one in Beijing."
"Boss Li is generous. Everyone knows that our boss loves to collect luxury cars!"
"That's right, if we talk about domineering, it has to be Mr. Li..."
The wealthy people around him all complimented him.
“That’s quite high-profile.”
Listening to the noise, Ye Qi came to the side of Nan Yi.
"Not watching anymore?"
"I don't like it very much. I prefer a bigger space so I can sit more comfortably." Ye Qi pouted at Li Huada and said teasingly, "He's the richest man in Beijing. Shall we go over and get to know him?"
"Show some respect, he is a real rich man, worth at least 50 to 60 billion."
Ye Qi was surprised and asked, "There are so many?"
"Yes, two years ago he made a lot of money by investing in real estate in Hong Kong. Later, Malaysia was going to build a highway, and there was inside information saying that there might be oil and gas fields with astonishing reserves near the highway, but they were still being surveyed and had not yet been announced. He took another gamble and spent $900 million to buy all the land that could be bought along the highway. He won the gamble and made back more than $1 billion."
Ye Qi said: "10 plus 9 is almost 20, which is more than 10 billion. How can you say he only has 50 or 60 billion?"
"Most of the capital was borrowed, and the land was purchased and mortgaged at the same time. The loan risk is very high, and the interest rate charged by the bank is of course high. After calculation, the remaining amount is almost the amount I mentioned."
The reason why Nan Yi knew so clearly was because Li Huada also took out a loan from Nan Guo Bank. Before the loan was taken out, the bank's risk control department would naturally conduct an investigation to determine his repayment ability, even if it was a secured loan.
Bank investigations usually have a necessary process, which is to ask borrowers from other banks whether they have loans from them. A lot of information is shared between banks, so being black in one bank means being black in the entire bank.
“That’s real money.”
At this time, the movement from Li Huada attracted the attention of Piero, the vice president of Ferrari and the person in charge of this exhibition. He asked the translator standing next to him, "Who is this person?"
The translator replied, "He is a well-known wealthy man in Beijing. He owns a Xiaohua International Investment Group in Xiangkeng and his net worth is over 1 billion."
Piero said in surprise: "One billion, he is the richest man in China?"
The translator shook his head and said, "I'm not sure, but he is definitely the richest man in Beijing."
Li Huada walked to the side of the Ferrari 348, took a quick look, and asked, "How much is this car?"
After Piero asked the people around him what Li Huada meant, he immediately calculated various data such as taxes in his mind, and walked up to greet him, "Mr. Li, hello, I am Piero, the person in charge of this auto show. I have to admire Mr. Li's vision. The price of this car is 138,880 US dollars. The 348 is the most classic model of Ferrari at present."
Businessmen always show great enthusiasm when facing their potential customers, especially now. If they can sell one, it will be very meaningful for Ferrari to develop the Chinese market. Piero has already made up his mind that if Li really buys one, he will arrange a very grand delivery ceremony.
After listening to the translation, Li Huada nodded and said directly: "Buy it!"
Piero was stunned, thinking: "Buy it now? Without asking about the performance of the car or consulting about after-sales service?"
"What's the matter? Is there any problem?" Li Huada glanced at Piero and asked curiously.
Li Huada doesn't care about the performance of the car, nor does he care about anything else. He came here to buy a car just to become famous.
For a businessman, when everyone thinks he is rich, business will become much easier to do. Not only will business come to him automatically, but he will also get more benefits in terms of payment terms, such as using commercial contracts.
"No, no, we can handle all the formalities for Mr. Li now." Piero had never seen a wealthy Chinese man, and he never knew that wealthy Chinese men could be so capricious in spending money.
Li Huada nodded and said with a smile: "Then go and pay the money."
As soon as Li Huada finished speaking, the exhibition center immediately erupted in warm applause. The wealthy people sighed in their hearts: "This is what a rich man is like. This is what it means to be domineering. When will I be able to be like this?"
"He's so cool and domineering. He just raises his hand and eight hundred thousand goes out." Ye Yi whispered in Nan Yi's ear.
"762,000." Nan Yi said calmly, "This amount of money is nothing to you. You can be a bit domineering for once, but it's a pity that if you buy another one, it will be a second one, and the money spent will not be as worthwhile as this one."
After hearing what Nan Yi said, Ye Yu thought for a moment, "Are you saying that he is deliberately showing off and advertising?"
"That's about right. I guess his future business focus will be in the mainland, and he will expand and invest in multiple fields. Once he makes his debut, he will spend a fortune on horse bones."
The rich man Li Huada is famous only in Beijing. In Hong Kong he is just a small figure in the rich circle, and he is even less famous in other places in the mainland. This time Ferrari will definitely focus on publicity. Not only in the mainland, but even abroad, Li Huada's name will be famous.
"I have a way."
“You can learn it, too.”
"I'll forget it. It's not good to be too high-profile." Ye Qi said, and suddenly his eyes turned straight to the front and called out, "Boss Yang."
"Why are you here?"
Yang Kaiyan's high heels were clattering all the way, and Nan Yi naturally noticed her.
"Come and see the car." Yang Kaiyan said coldly.
Having been in a high position for a long time, Yang Kaiyan's aura has become even stronger, and he has a sense of authority without being angry.
"Look, we're getting ready to leave." Nan Yi made a gesture to leave.
"Don't leave in a hurry. I have something to tell you." Yang Kaiyan spoke to stop Nan Yi who was about to leave.
Nan Yi glanced at the direction of the crowd and found that some people had already noticed him, so he waved his hand and said, "It's not convenient here, let's make another appointment."
Yaqing Company has been established for many years. As the head of the company, Yang Kaiyan is now also a celebrity in Beijing. Many people know her. Nan Yi does not want to stay with her in public.
"dinner?"
"Okay, let's eat at my house at six o'clock."
"good."
Nan Yi and the other two stood together for a short while, but they caught Li Huada's attention. He turned around and asked the wealthy man who had been hanging around him, "Who are those people around Yang Kaiyan?"
The tycoon looked at Nan Yi and the others when he heard the voice. "One is called Ye Qi, he was the manager of Qinghe International, I don't know what he did later. The other one is unfamiliar to me."
"You don't even know him. He was the former CEO of Asia Qing Company, Nan Yi. Now people outside only know Yang Kaiyan. Few people know that Asia and Qinghe International were founded by Nan Yi." Another wealthy man nearby said, "Hello, Mr. Li. I'm Jin Yimin from Jinying Trading."
"Hello, Mr. Jin, do you know this Nan Yi?" Li Huada nodded to Jin Yimin.
"I know him. I used to work at Yaqing Company. President Nan Yinan even trained us personally. His training was very interesting..."
Nan Yi knew nothing about the conversation between them. At this moment, he and Ye Wei were on their way back to the old villa. They stopped by the vegetable market and picked up some vegetables and meat that were left over by others in the morning.
After returning to the old villa and tearing off the strip on the gate, Nan Yi and Ye Qi sat in the yard, listening to storytelling and sipping tea leisurely.
The comfortable time always passes quickly. After two or three cups of tea, Wu Xiaowei, dressed fashionably, appeared in the yard. He had a six or seven centimeter middle-parted hairstyle, a white short-sleeved shirt, blue jeans, white sneakers, and a Plum watch on his left wrist.
"Uncle Nan."
Wu Xiaowei walked up to Nan Yi and called him affectionately.
"Xiaowei, go to the living room and move a stool." Nan Yi pointed in the direction of the living room, picked up a can of chili peppers from the stove, peeled off the cracked shell, picked out the exposed insect meat and stuffed it into his mouth.
Wu Xiaowei moved a stool from the living room, came to the yard, and sat down on it opposite Nan Yi across the stove.
Nan Yi first introduced Ye Yu and Wu Xiaowei to each other. After the two sides exchanged pleasantries, he asked Wu Xiaowei, "Do you have classes in your senior year?"
"Yes, but not many. I heard from the seniors in the previous class that if you are doing an internship outside, you can go or not, and the teacher will not record your absence." Wu Xiaowei answered fluently without any hesitation.
Nan Yi: "When is summer vacation?"
Wu Xiaowei: "The 28th of this month."
Nan Yi: “Did you know that Jack Welch, CEO of General Electric, visited China this year?”
Wu Xiaowei: “I know.”
Nan Yi: "How did you know this?"
After his southern tour, Jack Welch came to China for inspection. Strangely enough, his arrival was not reported by any media in China or other countries.
Wu Xiaowei: "My father."
Nan Yi: "What do you think of the two points in the recent trade agreement between China and the United States, in which China promised to investigate pirated software and protect the patents of agricultural chemical products and drugs?"
Wu Xiaowei thought for a moment and said, "This shows that our country is eager to restore its status as a contracting party to the GATT. Only in this way can we truly join the global free trade cycle, and this will be a journey of globalization with no way out."
As soon as Wu Xiaowei finished speaking, Nan Yi asked, "What do you think of Lawrence Summers' prediction that 'based on the purchasing power parity estimate of China's GNP, China could surpass the United States in total output by 2014'?"
"Uncle Nan, I haven't read any written materials about the prophecy you mentioned."
“I’ll give you one week to answer this question. After one week, you have to hand me a paper about this prophecy. You can copy and quote the content, or even piece together other people’s words. But one thing is that you must be responsible for every number in your paper.
If you quoted from a source, please indicate the source and explain why you think the data is correct. The reasons should be detailed. If you calculated it yourself, please list your calculation formula. Don't be afraid of being tedious and make the steps as clear as possible. If the calculated data cannot be accurate, please indicate the factors that lead to the inaccurate calculation. "
Nan Yi stood up, walked into the living room, took out two stacks of money from his bag, returned to the yard, and slapped the money in front of Wu Xiaowei. "One thousand RMB and one thousand USD. This is the money I give you for writing your thesis. After one week, you must give me a detailed account of how every penny was spent."
Wu Xiaowei looked down at the money, his mouth full of bitterness, not because of the money, but because of the thesis. It was impossible to finish the thesis in a week, and even a year would be a bit difficult as there was too much information to search and count.
Moreover, he didn't understand what Nan Yi meant by giving him money. Was he asking him to use it to buy information or for something else?
Wu Xiaowei fell into deep thought!
Nan Yi did not give Wu Xiaowei any hints. After reminding him to put the money away, he continued to peel the chili peppers and eat them. He had never eaten this thing before. It was only when Ye Yi saw someone selling it at the entrance of the vegetable market just now and told him that it was delicious that Nan Yi bought it.
When the time came to around six o'clock, Nan Yi washed the hot pot and the dishes, set up a new layout in the yard, put the soup base on the table, and waited for Yang Kaiyan to arrive.
