Material Empire

Su Yabo's analogy made Qin Hai and Heizi, who were new to this trip, feel baffled. Su Yabo was obviously very satisfied with the effect he had created. He sat on the edge of the bed, took the cigarette Qin Hai gave him just now from his ear, lit it, took a puff comfortably, and then began to tell Qin Hai and the others. up:

The people living in this room numbered 203 are all coal purchasers from all over the country, and without exception, they have not yet found a relationship and are busy in the stage of making connections. Su Yabo is from Hongyuan Province. He is a salesman in a tertiary industry company called Red Sea Industry under the Provincial Materials Bureau. He has been here for half a month.

Before coming to Quwu, the manager of the company, Chen Hongcheng, wrote seven or eight letters to Su Yabo, and handed them to the relevant personnel in the major coal mines. Those people were Chen Hongcheng's old connections. After Su Yabo came, he sent out these letters one by one, but it was of no use at all. Some people pretended to be deaf and dumb after receiving the letter. Although some people had a few polite words with Su Yabo on the surface, when it came to substantive issues, they just hummed and talked about him.

After Su Yabo distributed the letter, he failed to achieve the expected results, so he sent a telegram to Chen Hongcheng, asking for instructions on the next step. Chen Hongcheng sent a telegram telling him to stick to it, saying that he was actively looking for other relationships and asking him to wait patiently. So, he stayed steadfast, waiting for new instructions from the company. Everyone else was racking their brains to get in touch with people in the mine, but he was the only one who was waiting for the company to help him find a good relationship, so he could lie in his room every day and read novels as a job.

It is also quite interesting to talk about the Red Sea Industrial Company where Su Yabo works. The central government proposed to develop a commodity economy and called on all departments to innovate their business models. Chen Hongcheng was originally a director of the Hongyuan Provincial Materials Bureau. He belonged to the type of person with a very active mind. The tertiary industry company under the Materials Bureau hopes to make a fortune by buying and selling some scarce materials.

Chen Hongcheng's contacts are very rich, and he has acquaintances in the national material system. Through these acquaintances, he successfully made dozens of transactions and earned millions of profits. Recently, the supply of coal in Hongyuan Province is tight, and the price of coal on the black market keeps rising. Chen Hongcheng sensed a good business opportunity, so he sent Su Yabo to Quwu, asking him to try to get hundreds of thousands of tons of coal and transport it back to Hongyuan. It turned out to be a lot of money.

When Chen Hongcheng worked in the material system in the past, he had some contacts with the cadres of several large state-owned mines in Quwu, so he prepared seven or eight letters for Su Yabo and asked him to take the letters to find these old connections. Little did he know that time had passed and the coal became scarce, so the old relationship became unreliable. Su Yabo hit a wall everywhere. In his own words, he had already sacrificed more than a dozen times.

Are you also a cadre of the Materials Bureau? Qin Hai asked curiously.

Isn't it? Su Yabo said with pouted lips, I'm also obsessed with ghosts. I was moved by Director Chen's nonsense, so I took a leave of absence at the unit and came to Honghai Industrial to work as a salesman. You see, now I can only live in a guest house that costs 20 cents a night, and there is no travel allowance, what kind of thing is this?

Then what are you planning? Qin Hai asked with a smile.

Su Yabo sighed and said: Well, people live a lifetime, and they have to make a big splash. In the agency, I know what the next 50 years will be like. The old directors of our unit, and those who have retired The old comrades are my role models. Their today is my tomorrow. I don’t want to be like them in the future, so when Director Chen told me, I gritted my teeth and followed him into the sea.”

Qin Hai asked: Why, do you regret it now?

That's not true. Su Yabo said, If you say Director Chen is really good to us, the salary is twice that of the office, and various things are given out during the holidays, which is much more than the office. This time, he arranged for me to come to Quwu to do business. He paved the way. If I succeed, I can get a commission when I go back. If I fail, he will not blame me. We follow the director The people who went to the sea together chatted in private, saying that the director is supporting us now, and we haven’t created any profits for the director.”

Qin Hai laughed secretly. At the beginning of countless companies, the bosses basically earned money to support their employees. Let alone the mid-1980s, even in the new century, many companies are still in this situation. The real core resource of the company Su Yabo works in is the personal connections of the manager Chen Hongcheng. Su Yabo and the others are only responsible for carrying bags and running errands. It is not an exaggeration to say that Chen Hongcheng has supported them.

As for the future development of civil servants like Chen Hongcheng and Su Yabo, Qin Hai also knows very well. As the first group of people to go to sea, as long as they can persevere, when the market economy develops in the 1990s, they will achieve a great career, and some people can even establish large companies that are incomparably rich. Of course, they still belong to the people who are called crab eaters, and they are at the stage where opportunities and risks coexist.

Hey, it's better for you cadres in the government. You have so many resources available even when you go to sea to set up a company. Those of us in the company are suffering, and there is no way to do something. Qin Hai pretended to compliment Su Yabo, since everyone Living in the same house, we must have a good relationship.

When Su Yabo heard Qin Hai's compliment, a smile appeared on his face, and the previously dejected expression was gone. He patted Qin Hai on the shoulder and said: What kind of government agency? Now we are also in the company. It's just a private company. It may be more flexible than you. It's fate that everyone meets by chance. If there is any difficulty here, you can just Tell me, maybe I can help you a little bit.”

The two were talking and laughing, and the people in the same room came back one after another. Su Yabo introduced Qin Hai one by one:

Zhang Wei, who works in a steel factory in Sandin Province, is a small man who smiles all day long. He is very friendly with everyone and calls everyone his brother, but his brothers have not sold coal to him so far. Don't look at Zhang Wei's yelling in the coal mine is very sweet, and the scolding words in the room are also unsavory.

Li Xiaopeng, who works in a power plant in Songshi Province, has a quick temper and fights with anyone who doesn’t give him coal. He has quarreled with people from five coal mines so far. Whenever he offends people from the sixth coal mine, he will It's time to go home.

Liu Ziwen, a hard-working man from a certain cement factory in Hechuan Province, the factory manager ordered him not to go back if he couldn’t get coal. Now he is so tired of the planning section chief of Shengli Coal Mine that he almost calls him his father.

Wanhuadong, a private steel factory in Hongyuan Province, is said to be the owner of the steel factory. However, there are more than 300 small private iron and steel factories in Hongyuan Province alone, ranging in size. The smallest boss has no other employees except his wife, children and brother-in-law. Wanhua Donggui is the boss, but he has to live with them in a small guest house that costs 20 cents a day.

The most mysterious one is Xie Qijin, who is from Wuyang Province and never reveals his occupation to others. However, according to Su Yabo's analysis, he is probably a professional loser. Others buy coal for their own unit, but Xie Qijin buys coal for reselling. As for how much he can earn after changing hands, it is beyond Su Yabo's imagination, and it is impossible to guess.

The people in this house have lived together for a long time and are very familiar with each other. When people meet each other, they greet each other by asking Are you on an appointment, just like ordinary people ask each other Have you eaten?

Hey, here's a newcomer, what? Everyone said when they saw Qin Hai and Heizi.

We belong to Anhe. Qin Hai replied.

Are you also here to engage in coal? This is often the second question these people ask, and Qin Hai and the others basically don't need to answer it. As Su Yabo said, in a place like Quwu, apart from coal miners, Who else will come?

My little brother is new here, and I don't know the rules. In the future, I have to rely on the help and guidance of the big brothers. Tonight, I will be the host of the little brother. How about having a few drinks with the big brothers?

After everyone came back, Qin Hai extended an invitation to everyone. He found that procurement is a very interesting subject, and from these buyers, one can see the microcosm of the entire Chinese economy. He planned to stay in Quwu for a few days to seriously study the current market.

Hearing Qin Hai's invitation, everyone was astonished. Although they have a good relationship, they don't have many opportunities to eat together, because everyone's family is full of family members and they don't have a lot of money. Occasionally, when someone proposes a dinner, it must be AA system, and each will pay a share. Someone like Qin Hai who threatened to treat guests as soon as he came here is indeed a bit unusual.

Little brother, please forgive me. It's not easy to earn two dollars. You really have a heart. It's enough to distribute two cigarettes to everyone. Li Xiaopeng persuaded Qin Hai as the big brother.

Yes, yes, we've already smoked your peony cigarettes, so let's forget about drinking or something. Zhang Wei echoed.

Lord Xie Qijin was already lying down, but when he heard Qin Hai's words, he sat up from the bed, looked at Qin Hai, and said, It's rare that little brother has such a heart, why don't we all go have a few drinks together. As for being a host, don't let Xiaonian pay for it alone, he and I are half of each other, and we all eat for free, how about it?

When Xie Qijin said this, it was hard for everyone to refuse. People who are buyers are already active and sociable, but usually no one offers to treat them. A group of people half-pushed and dropped the things in their hands, surrounded Qin Hai and Heizi out of the room, and went downstairs to a nearby restaurant.

Everyone walked in twos and threes according to the usual degree of communication, only Liu Ziwen followed behind the crowd with a sad face, but his pace was not slow at all.

Accidentally, I dug a huge hole. From yesterday to today, I have been thinking about how to fill this hole. There are too many characters, too many events, and some sensitive topics are not easy to write. Sorry for the delayed update.

In addition, I wrote a sentence Niaoyu in the South yesterday, and some students in the south felt uncomfortable. In fact, this is just a joke, please don't mind. Chengzi herself was born in southern Guangdong, and she spoke Chaoshan dialect when she was a child, and she did not discriminate against the southern dialect at all.