Chapter 381: Chapter 381: Growing Pains
In fact, ever since Feng Yiping's family set up a factory in the town, helped the village build a road along the way, and donated money to Liangjiahe Middle School, things like this have been very common, especially during the annual New Year's family reunion, when many people come to ask for their help.
However, because of Feng Yiping's persistence and arrangements, whether it was the uncles on his father's side or the four uncles on his mother's side, these close relatives all had things to do at home and earned money, so they didn't need to ask their family for help.
Those people in the village were also the first time they went out to open a noodle shop, but they didn't have enough capital, so they asked their family for help. Some of them were similar to Feng Yiping's family in the past, with adults in poor health and children still in school. During the New Year, the family had a hard time and would come to the door to borrow some money, of course, the amount was not large.
However, the village has changed a lot in the past year or two. More and more people have gone out to open their own businesses, and those who push a small cart selling fried chestnuts have also gone further and further afield, to the town, the city, the provincial capital, and even the factories in Shenzhen. There are actually very few people who are having a hard time, just like Feng Yiping's family used to be.
So, although Feng Yiping's family has been making more and more money in recent years, there are actually fewer people coming to borrow money than before. The money that was lent out in those previous years has all been collected back.
Moreover, even if there are people who want to borrow money, they will all go to Feng Zhenchang. Feng Yiping is now an adult, but he is still studying, and even after graduating from university, these matters will not come to him.
In their hometown, he would only be considered an adult after he got married and started a family. Before then, these matters would naturally be handled by his parents. This was the first time someone had directly approached Feng Yiping, and it was also the largest amount of money.
However, Feng Yiping was not worried about the amount of 300,000 yuan. He was worried about other issues. He had contacted a registered agency and had some understanding of it.
'Lin Hui, Cheng Lin, money, not a problem, I can squeeze it out, I can even give it to you today.' This is something that must be said first. It's actually not easy to ask someone for a loan. If you start off by talking a lot, it's a way of saying no.
After listening to his words, Lin Hui, after explaining the reason for her visit, patted Cheng Lin, who was a little embarrassed, and said, 'I told you, there is definitely no problem with asking Yiping. Thank you, Yiping.'
'I just have a few questions. Since you are considering opening a registered agent company, and since you originally worked in finance at a large company in the south, you definitely have a thorough understanding of this industry. Just consider me an outsider and ask a few questions.'
'Sure, go ahead and ask. We've also done a lot of preparation work.'
'A registered agent company generally needs to have good relationships with the local industry and commerce bureau, banks, accounting firms, quality and technology supervision bureaus, and tax bureaus in order to have a high success rate and be efficient. Do you have such relationships? It is especially important to have good relationships with those authorities,'
'We have a good relationship with a deputy director of the Administration for Industry and Commerce. We had dinner together two days ago, and we have also made contact with the person in charge of the registration office in the Administration for Industry and Commerce. We have also contacted a director in the tax bureau. We have some connections with the accounting firm and the Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision. His parents have some connections, but we don't have any connections with the banks. However, as long as our company is established and the funds are in place, it will naturally be easier to get along with the banks.'
These words were all said by Lin Hui, and Feng Yiping could also guess their division of labour. He guessed that Lin Hui was the one running and maintaining these relationships, while Wang Chenglin was in charge of some professional matters.
However, Lin Hui's words were quite general. If these relationships were not strong enough, or if the person handling the business did not get along well with the people, things would still not go smoothly. Moreover, it was actually not very convenient for Lin Hui, a girl who was just getting by in every way, to navigate among a crowd of men. Of course, Feng Yiping believed that she could definitely handle it well, but it certainly could not be said to be easy.
However, Feng Yiping did not need to delve into this now.
'I haven't done any market research either, but I think the city is definitely different from the south where Chenglin works. On the one hand, there are definitely not as many companies registered in the city as there are in the south, right? So that may also be the reason why there are only a few registered agencies in the city, because the market is not big.
Second, in the south, many of those who choose to register with an agency are not local people who don't know the area well, so it's better to find a professional company to act on their behalf. But in the city, the majority of registered companies are definitely local people who have some connections, don't you think so?'
'Yes, you're right. We also understand that many people in the city also use agencies to register companies, mainly because it's easier and doesn't cost much,' said Wang Chenglin.
'So, do you have any specific data, such as how many companies were registered in the city last year, and how many of them were handled through an agency?'
Even Lin Hui couldn't answer this question. Many people starting a business for the first time are too optimistic about their market estimates. They just think that the industry is viable, but they don't have any specific data.
Nowadays, entrepreneurs, like Feng Yiping, who are prepared to open a convenience store in the city, ride their bikes to so many places and collect so much data before doing so, should be rare.
'There is also one more important point. As you know, when you set up a company, you often have to advance funds for your clients. This is actually a loophole in current law. Normally speaking, whether the company you register as an agent has the crime of falsely reporting registered capital or the crime of withdrawing funds, it has nothing to do with you, as you are only an agent.
However, in specific legal practices, the public security department does not regard your legitimate income in the same way. Some regard it as normal agency fees, while others regard it as receiving bribes, which is actually risky.'
'That shouldn't happen,' Lin Hui said. No one would be happy to hear that they would get into trouble for doing business.
'It's entirely possible. For example, you helped me register a company with a registered capital of 10 million yuan, but I only really invested 1 million. Then, through this company, I incurred several million yuan in debt. In the end, the creditors used judicial channels to resolve the problem, and the judicial department pursued responsibility. It's entirely possible that they will come after you.'
Hearing this, Wang Chenglin was a little unhappy. He was the one who came up with the idea, and after persuading Lin Hui, Lin Hui also felt that it was a good idea after getting to know it over time. However, now that Feng Yiping had said so, there were problems everywhere. On the one hand, he didn't feel happy that Feng Yiping had negated the idea that he himself thought was good.
On the other hand, he felt that Feng Yiping had been quick to agree at first, but then came up with so many reasons, all of which were excuses. He simply didn't want to lend the money. If he really did what he said, there would be risks in running any company.
He glanced at Lin Hui, who was also a little upset. She was mainly upset because she felt that a direction that had originally seemed very promising seemed really not optimistic after hearing Feng Yiping's words.
'These are just my personal, superficial views. But if you still insist, that's fine. I'll give you the money, because of our relationship, it's no problem.'
Having said that, he thought that Lin Hui, being so astute, would understand the pros and cons.
'Yiping, you're right. We haven't done enough detailed preparatory work. I really need to ask about those figures you mentioned, especially how much business there is in the city.'
If Feng Yiping hadn't said this last sentence, Lin Hui would definitely have had some thoughts, but Feng Yiping emphasised it again, and she understood that he was thinking of their situation.
'I actually have some thoughts too,' Feng Yiping said. He didn't really care about Wang Chenglin, they had only met for the first time that day, and they didn't even know each other well enough to have an opinion.
'What's Brother Chenglin's current title?'
'He should be able to get an intermediate title next year,' Wang Chenglin said.
'Then I personally think that you can continue to take the advanced professional title exam and the certified public accountant exam. With such a title in hand, your income will definitely be higher than running a company like yours, and it's also stable and risk-free.'
For example, certified public accountants. Before Feng Yiping was reborn, in such a big country of ours, there were not as many people with CPA qualifications as there were in their county.
Moreover, just as many countries' leaders are lawyers by training, more and more CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are finance graduates. This is a career with a very promising future and earning potential.
Of course, Wang Chenglin is also well aware of this, but there must be a reason why there are so few CPAs. The main reason is that it is difficult to pass the exam, and he is not sure he can pass.
Lin Hui was also well aware of this, so she asked, 'Yiping, do you have any other ideas?'
'I do. We currently have a cabinet factory and two furniture factories, and the products we produce sell like hotcakes. You can also consider opening a store like this. This business is very long-lasting, the income won't be bad, and it's also very relaxing. If you're interested, I can take you to see the two flagship stores in the provincial capital right now.'
'Then let's go back and think about it first,' Wang Chenglin said, preempting the conversation.
Lin Hui looked at him and softened her words, "These days, I guess your store will be busy too, so it can wait until after the New Year. Let's go back and do some research.'
'You can take the money back with you today, I'll write you a cheque right away.'
'No, let's wait until we're ready, otherwise if we have the money in our hands, we'll definitely be unable to resist opening the company," Lin Hui said with a smile.
As they were walking out the door, Lin Hui fell behind and whispered to Feng Yiping, 'Don't mind him. He's not very good at talking. You were right about everything. I know you're thinking of me.'
'As long as he treats you well,'
'he'll definitely treat me well!' It's true. Someone like Lin Hui would definitely find a husband who is obedient to her.
'Just don't take my words as an excuse. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't say so much. Now you have both the old and the young to take care of, and you have your own business to run. You must think things through thoroughly, and it's best to put it in writing. If you go back and after researching, you think this is still something you can do, give me a call and I'll send the money over.'
'Thank you, Yiping. This trip has been more rewarding than just getting the money. And about the shop you mentioned, I'd like to go take a look after the New Year.'
'No problem, if I'm not here, I'll ask my brother-in-law to show you around.'
Wang Chenglin had already driven the car up to the office building. Seeing them get off, he greeted Feng Yiping with a forced smile. Lin Hui grabbed Feng Yiping's shoulder and said, 'We probably won't see each other often, but during the first month of the lunar year, I'll go back to my parents' house, so I'll go to your house to pay New Year's visits.'
As he watched them walk away, Feng Yiping felt very tired. It wasn't because of the money, but mainly because this kind of dry cleaning was difficult to handle.
In fact, the most difficult thing about this kind of relationship is that it is neither close nor distant.
If the relationship is really close, such as an uncle's home or an aunt's home, he can completely make decisions for them. This kind of business is not very good.
If the relationship is too distant, a simple excuse of not having any money will do.
Although Lin Hui and her husband came today mainly to borrow money, they had also sought Feng Yiping's advice. In case the company subsequently fails to continue, Feng Yiping might be blamed. You have been successful in every business, and we came to you for help, but you didn't even try to help.
This is some of the trouble that people inevitably have to go through when they grow up, and no one can avoid it.