Chapter 240: Chapter 240: Uninvited Guests
Feng Yiping set the tone, and Mayor Fang's feedback was also very positive. The next step fell to Zhou Xinyu, who took the lead and was assisted by Gao Zhiyi. They picked people from several companies to form a team and started working on it.
Zhou Xinyu actually had a lot of work on his hands. Jia's expansion in the provincial capital was in full swing. This month, at least ten new stores had to be opened. He had to make decisions on all kinds of things, and he couldn't find anyone to take over from him even if he wanted to. At the same time, to be honest, he didn't want to hand over either.
He was now in his thirties, in the prime of his life and at the peak of his powers. In his previous company, although it was easier to advance than in the average government department, if you wanted to reach the top, you would definitely have to deal with seniority issues.
When he was at his previous company, he optimistically made plans that if everything went well for him and the company didn't often get senior executives parachuting in, he estimated that in another ten to fifteen years, when he was almost fifty, he could move to the top floor of the company headquarters. But dreams of seeing his photo and resume hanging in the leadership section of the group's official website can only be occasionally indulged in when he falls asleep.
But now it's different. If nothing goes wrong, the top job at Youjia is definitely going to be his. Judging from Feng Yiping's plans and the current level of execution, Youjia is definitely not going to be a small operation in the future.
Youjia is now focusing on the whole country and seeking to expand overseas, while his old boss is still thinking about how to become the local tyrant. It is easy to see who is better. Given time, it will not be difficult for Youjia to leave his old boss behind.
Sometimes he wonders how he will return to his hometown in a few years in style. Or what he will say when he runs into the former boss of the original group at an industry conference in a few years, who didn't even give him the opportunity to open the door.
People who are ambitious about their careers don't mind if their boss gives them a lot of work to do. On the contrary, they are afraid that there will be a lot of work, but none of it will be their responsibility. If that happens, they are afraid that they will have to prepare their resignation report on their own.
Like him, Gao Zhiyi also had to be involved in everything at several companies. Before returning to the provincial capital, he handed Feng Yiping a report on a research report on the overview of office buildings and hotels in the provincial capital.
His conclusion was that the existing office buildings in the provincial capital were somewhat scarce, but there were also quite a few under construction. Moreover, if an office building was to be built, it would definitely have to be in the central area, and it could not be small. It would have to be at least 20 floors or more, with a floor area of more than 40,000 square meters, otherwise it would be a problem to rent out the space in due course, because both domestic and foreign companies would of course want the more imposing the better.
Tourist real estate such as hotels is also scarce, and there are not many high-end, four-star or higher hotels. Drawing on foreign experience, in the foreseeable future, this demand will definitely continue to grow. At the same time, hotels do not necessarily require a central location with cheap land prices. In addition, hotels are a comprehensive commercial building that can be integrated into shopping malls, restaurants, entertainment and other facilities, which is relatively less risky.
Feng Yiping read the thick report with illustrations and thought to himself, 'Could it be that this fat guy has the same dream as me?'
So he readily agreed to settle on the idea of building a hotel first. He wanted his brother-in-law to take the lead in the preliminary work. In the process of investing tens of millions of yuan, he would definitely accumulate some political and business contacts in the provincial capital.
Of course, it seems that only his brother-in-law can do this at the moment, and it would be unreasonable to pass it on to Zhou Xinyu.
Zhou Xinyu, who is extremely busy, has just finished a phone call with the person in charge of staff training. This time, Jia is training a new batch of 100 students at Feng Yiping's technical school in their county. At present, work is progressing smoothly in all areas, barely keeping up with the pace of branch expansion.
However, there is a hidden danger in this. It doesn't seem appropriate for all the frontline store staff to come from the same place. He should still mention to Feng Yiping the need to expand the recruitment area.
He was organising the language when his phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number. 'Is this Mr Zhou?' a man asked over the phone.
'Yes, speaking. Who's calling?'
'Hello, Mr Zhou. My name is Lv. I've heard a lot about you, but never had the chance to meet you. I was wondering if you have time to meet and talk?'
'Sorry, I still can't remember who you are.'
'It's normal that you don't know me, Mr. Zhou. Let me introduce myself. I'm the one who has been negotiating with the director of the aluminium products factory, Liu.
Zhou Xingyu understood now. It was the Wenzhou boss. 'I don't think we have anything to talk about.' The fact that the other party was approaching him at this time meant that it was definitely not a good thing.
Feng Yiping received a call from Zhou Xingyu during dinner. 'What, the other party approached you?' Damn, these people really have good information. 'Yes, I think you handled it correctly. Just ignore him.'
Frankly, Feng Yiping deeply resented this kind of behaviour, which went to great lengths to put the collective property into his own pocket. He didn't think there was any point in taking this opportunity to take advantage of the city, so he didn't think there was anything to talk about.
Unexpectedly, soon after work the next day, the businessman surnamed Lv found his way to the office of Youjia Company on his own, asking to see Zhou Xinyu by name.
Mr. Lv was in his forties, slightly dark, but oily-looking, with a crew cut and a sizable pot belly. He was wearing a yellow jacket with a red T-shirt and a small chain around his neck. He looked shrewd, but kept smiling, and felt quite kind.
Moreover, he didn't come alone, with an enchanting female secretary carrying his bag.
'Mr Zhou, I can see that your company is very busy. Shall we go somewhere else to talk?'
The newly rented office building was not very big, and like the old one, the meeting room was full of people working. It was better to go outside. Zhou Xinyu waved to Gao Zhiyi, 'Gao, come with me for a while.'
Boss Lu drove a locally registered Mercedes-Benz in front of them, while they two drove a van and followed them to a teahouse. Halfway there, Boss Lu and the others stopped at a bank.
Once inside the private room, Boss Lu shook Zhou Xingyu's hand enthusiastically a few times, and took a business card from his secretary. 'Let's formally get acquainted. My surname is Lu, Lu Youfu.'
Zhou Xingyu took the card and looked at it. There were four or five lines of titles densely written on it, and the top one was, Chairman of Zhuanghao Group.
'Lu Dong, in theory, we are now competitors, so I don't understand what we have to talk about.'
'I don't know who this is?' Boss Lu asked, looking at Gao Zhiyi.
'This is my assistant. You can speak freely,' Zhou Xinyu demoted Gao Zhiyi a few ranks.
'That's good,' Boss Lu nodded towards Gao Zhiyi, 'I'll be frank and call you Brother Zhou. It is precisely because we are rivals that we have something to talk about.'
'Boss Lu, I'm really quite busy right now, so just get to the point, okay?' Zhou Xinyu really had no patience to waste time with him, as he had a pile of work to attend to.
'Brother Zhou, if you're so keen, I won't beat around the bush. The aluminium products factory was first eyed by me, Lu, and we've almost settled everything. It's a bit irregular for you to jump in halfway through.'
'Boss Lu, I don't understand what you mean. As far as I know, the aluminium products factory is a state-owned enterprise, so there's no question of anyone eyeing it up or not. Besides, the restructuring hasn't been finalised yet. This is just normal business behaviour on our part, and there's no hard feelings.'
'Mr Zhou, your main business is convenience stores, isn't it a bit out of your league to get involved in manufacturing?' This was the response from Boss Lv's secretary.
'I don't think I need to explain our business plan to you. I just want to reiterate that we are not acting on a whim, nor are we just interested in the idea.'
'I won't hide the fact from you, Mr Zhou, that I have my eye on the aluminium products factory. We have already invested a lot of money in the project, and I am determined to win. Your involvement has caused me a lot of trouble.'
Hearing the meaning in Zhou Xinyu's words, Boss Lv simply opened up and said, 'To be honest, here, you and I can be considered half-countrymen. I know that you, too, are working for someone else, and you are both away from home, seeking wealth. So this time, I hope that you can lend a hand, and there will be a generous reward afterwards. Of course, this young man Gao will also get a share.'
Mr Lu's secretary immediately took out two envelopes, one thick and one thin, from her handbag and placed them in front of them. 'This is a small token of our appreciation. Please accept it.'
Zhou Xinyu smiled and held the envelope in his hands, weighing it in his hands. Mr Lu looked at it and relaxed, calmly lifting up his teacup.
'Mr Lu is really generous, almost as much as my monthly salary,' Zhou Xinyu said to Gao Zhiyi with a smile.
'This one should be more than my monthly salary,' Gao Zhiyi also laughed.
So Boss Lu almost choked on a mouthful of tea. He was a little flustered and failed to remain calm. Who would have thought that Jia would pay Zhou Xinyu such a high salary? 'Zhou, it's fine. This is just a little gift. I will definitely thank you in the future. Liang, go to the bank again immediately.' he said to the secretary, who looked a little surprised.
'No need, Boss Lv, I understand what you mean. I don't think we need to talk anymore. Gao, let's go.'
Boss Lv came over and stopped at the door. 'Little Zhou, you can ask for anything. When you're away from home, having more friends means more opportunities, right?'
'Please move aside,' Zhou Xinyu ignored him and led Gao Zhiyi out the door without looking back.
The face of Boss Lv, who had previously been smiling, also turned cold. "Refusing to drink a toast means having to drink a penalty wine.'
'Boss, what should we do next?" Secretary Liang asked him.
'Contact Vice-District Chief Jiang of Donghua District immediately and ask him to find out which of their stores are in the city.' The aluminium products factory was under the jurisdiction of Donghua District, and Boss Lv had cultivated many relationships over more than a year.