In 1992, a small village owner became the richest man in the village by owning a car.

Chapter 417 Cooperation? Difficult

"Please come in." The old man led Yu Dawei to the outside of an antique-style teahouse, opened the door and gestured for him to enter. Only after seeing Yu Dawei step inside did he close the door and turn to leave.

As soon as Yu Dawei entered, he saw a fair-skinned man sitting quietly in a wooden chair. To his left was a whole wall of bookshelves, displaying all kinds of books from ancient and modern times, both Chinese and foreign.

The man, who appeared to be in his thirties, put down his thread-bound copy of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" upon seeing Yu Dawei, stood up, and gave Yu Dawei a faint smile: "Hello, my name is Ye Qian. I heard you've been asking about me at the auto parts market."

“This…” Yu Dawei walked over, speechless. He had not only inquired about this Boss Ye, but the owners of the other two major channels had also been inquiring about him a few days ago. However, he did not expect this person to be so well-informed.

"What kind of tea do you want? I have teas from both domestic and international sources. I'm from Hunan and Hubei, so I have more Maojian tea." The man turned and walked to the tea table by the window, rummaging through the cabinet below. Halfway through, he suddenly looked up at Yu Dawei and smiled again, "Would you like to try some?"

“Sure! I’ve never tried Maojian tea before.” Yu Dawei walked over and sat down opposite him. He then explained with a smile, “I’m from Northeast China. My family runs a repair shop, but there’s a big distributor there who has some business conflicts with me, so they’ve been holding up my orders.”

"I had no choice but to turn to the south to see if I could find a suitable distributor. That's why I was busy asking about you big bosses as soon as I arrived in Shenzhen."

According to the eldest brother, Yu Daren, although he was not the first to make mechanical parts in Shenzhen, he was the one with the greatest potential. In just a few years, he was able to rival Mr. Zhang, the largest distributor of mechanical parts in Shenzhen.

Boss Zhang is naturally the one with a godmother backing him up.

"Yes, your older brother mentioned it. I quite enjoy dealing with people from Northeast China. They're very straightforward and don't beat around the bush. If we were to cooperate, their efficiency would be extremely high." Ye Qian took out a porcelain jar and used a small metal spoon to scoop out some needle-shaped green tea leaves and put them into a deep red teacup. "So, to be frank, I've always wanted to make parts available in the North, and the Northeast is definitely not on my radar."

“My trading network has always been in the southern region, with provincial agents in various southern provinces. As for how these provincial agents develop the northern market, that’s none of my business.”

"Why?" Yu Dawei asked, puzzled. He was asking why they weren't developing the northern market.

Ye Qian paused for a moment while holding the kettle: "Because we're poor. If you ask why, the main reason is simply that we're poor."

"About five or six years ago, my younger brother and I went to the north to investigate the market, including the Northeast. But the results were not ideal. Many times, people were struggling to make ends meet. It was relatively better in the city. After all, as long as you go to get off work regularly, you won't starve, but you won't get rich either."

"But at that time my business was overseas, so I didn't pay attention to the situation in China. It wasn't until I settled down in Shenzhen and made parts that I had a clear market positioning: focus on first-tier cities and the southern market."

Ye Qian poured the hot water from the kettle into the teacup. "Dawei, I think you've noticed along the way that infrastructure development in the South is much more vibrant than in the North, not just because of economic reasons, but also because of the climate."

“Work is done all year round in the south, so whether it’s cars or construction machinery, the wear and tear on parts is greater.”

"The North is different. And because it's poor, the road maintenance and consumption levels in the northern provinces are not as good as in the South. Maybe the future will be better, but not now."

Ye Qian got straight to the point this time, but it all boiled down to one sentence: he didn't want to do business in the northern market, as it would be a thankless and arduous task.

Businessmen are in it for the business, not for charity. If things go wrong, they could lose a lot of money.

As the tea leaves are steeped in hot water, a delicate aroma begins to fill the room.

"Furthermore, I also heard from your brother that you run a factory in your hometown town. The daily turnover of selling spare parts like this is really not impressive." Ye Qian poured Yu Dawei a cup of Maojian tea. "So, if you really need spare parts, I can introduce you to some second- or third-tier provincial and municipal channels later. I believe they will be willing to cooperate with you."

Yu Dawei picked up the teacup, took a small sip, and to be honest, the tea was a bit bitter.

"Mr. Ye, what would the approximate fees be if I wanted to become a regional distributor for your products?" Yu Dawei put down his teacup, looked up, and stared directly at the other man.

Boss Ye also put down his teacup and glanced at Yu Dawei across from him before speaking calmly: "You need to have your own warehouse reserves. Provincial agents should start with at least one million in spare parts reserves, and city-level agents should have around five hundred thousand. This is because the market for agents at all levels in the south is relatively mature, so the prices are more acceptable to people."

Yu Dawei understood that the amount of money was not much. Putting aside auto parts, imported construction machinery parts could easily cost tens of thousands of yuan, or even more. Relatively speaking, the stock of parts was not unreasonable.

After all, they are not everyday necessities, so the stock of mechanical parts is generally not too large, unless they are consumable parts.

"You want to target the northern market?" Ye Qian looked at Yu Dawei with curiosity, a hint of admiration in his eyes.

He likes people who are unyielding and ambitious. Many people might give up after hearing what he just said, since they are not on the same level and there is no possibility of cooperation.

He called Yu Dawei over hoping to offer him a small favor and, incidentally, get him to do him a favor—not a big deal, but not insignificant. Afterwards, he might even offer him some free spare parts from his inventory.

But Ye Qian's gaze towards Yu Dawei had changed slightly, becoming a little more formal.

"I have some ideas." Yu Dawei nodded.

Perhaps his old habit of "wanting to do big things" has resurfaced; Yu Dawei wants to have a deeper conversation with the other party, but of course, not about the northern market.

City agents are the best, followed by provincial agents, and lastly, if none of those work, then they're out of the question.

During the brief exchange, Yu Dawei discovered that the other party's judgment of the market was quite accurate, and most importantly, the other party had a great advantage in import and export trade.

This involves his plans for the next few years. He wanted to establish some kind of interest relationship with the other party, which could be considered as laying the groundwork for his future.

"Your courage is commendable, but do you know how much it would cost to transport the goods from Shenzhen to Northeast China even if I gave you the lowest price?" Ye Qian held up two fingers to Yu Dawei. "You can't afford the transportation costs and time alone, let alone develop the market."

“Mr. Ye, everything takes time.” Yu Dawei placed the empty teacup in front of him. “There’s a saying, ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’”

Just as Boss Ye finished brewing the second cup of tea, he filled Yu Dawei's empty cup with it, saying, "Many small streams make a mighty river."

Mr. Ye probably understood what the other party was thinking, and while pouring himself some tea, he pondered the feasibility of the matter.

Then he thought again that once he finished dealing with things in China, he would be going back abroad, where there were still many things waiting for him to do. It didn't seem like much difference to do something as small as Yu Dawei.

"You want to be a city agent first?" Ye Qian frowned slightly when he saw that the other party was silent. "You don't mean you want to be a county agent, do you? If so, then we really can't talk about this."

“It’s a city agent.” Yu Dawei quickly regained his composure and suppressed his rapidly beating heart. He hadn’t expected the other party to mention city agent first. If it had been a provincial agent, he would have had to negotiate more.

It seems unnecessary now; things are going more smoothly than expected.

"Your city is..."

“Sui City is right next to the oil city.” Yu Dawei could tell from the other person’s confused look that he had never heard of it, so he explained, “Sui City is mainly engaged in animal husbandry and forestry, and agriculture. Its industry is indeed not as good as the other cities.”

"Fortunately, China has been vigorously developing infrastructure in recent years, and there is a lot of traffic on the highways, so it will not affect the initial development of parts."

"Let me think about it." Ye Qian took a sip of tea and turned to look at the scenery outside the window. "If you insist on doing it this way, it's not impossible."

"I'm only responsible for supplying you with goods. I don't handle the transportation or returns. You have to ship the returned goods back yourself."

Ye Qian leaned back in his chair, tapping his index finger on the table. "Besides that, I know the northern market is difficult to operate, so I won't set any limits for you. It's up to you how much stock you order."

Yu Dawei was startled again. Was this Boss Ye being too considerate of him? He suddenly had no idea what the other party was thinking.

Not setting limits for yourself means that you can spend 100 yuan on accessories, even at wholesale prices, but you definitely can't do that, otherwise you'll lose everything, even your underwear.

"Thank you, Mr. Ye." Yu Dawei nodded, preparing to offer tea instead of wine. If he could become a city agent, he could gradually work on the rest, ensuring that he wouldn't be held hostage by others in terms of parts for many years to come.

"Don't thank me yet. There's something I need your help with." Ye Qian took a file folder from under the bookshelf behind him and handed it to Yu Dawei. "It's not exactly helping, but I heard you're dealing with the Jierun Group. It just so happens that our interests don't conflict, and we even have the same goal."

Yu Dawei took the file bag with both hands, his mind slightly heavy. When he looked at Boss Ye again, his eyes were filled with a hint of wariness.

"Don't be nervous. In cooperation, mutual trust is very important." Ye Qian still had a sincere smile on his face. "Jiang Shang and I are the same kind of people. We are both victims."

(End of this chapter)