I'm reborn and I'm an international student again?

To be honest, if the supply and marketing cooperatives really wanted to cut off China Grain's supply chain, the other side would indeed have a hard time resisting.

However, the current conditions do not allow it, so the two sides can only compete in secret through this method.

"He's ended up dealing with farmers all his life. He went abroad to study and came back, but his class has only gotten lower and lower." Chen Yifeng, who was sulking beside him, made a sarcastic remark as soon as Chen Xi finished his call with Fan Hongyuan.

"Ha, at least I haven't reached the point where the company is about to go bankrupt. You've even neglected the factory now, focusing all your energy on the financial company. How's it going lately?" Chen Xi looked at him with a smile.

"I don't need you to worry about me." Chen Yifeng got angry as soon as the matter was brought up.

He had previously tried to contact the bank manager multiple times, but the manager was either unavailable or had already resigned.

Once the bank manager left, his money seemed to have vanished into thin air; when asked, everyone gave vague and evasive answers.

Later, Chen Yifeng simply took legal action to sue the bank, but the result was even more infuriating.

The bank dismissed him with a simple statement: "This is an employee's personal behavior and has nothing to do with the bank."

Given the enormous sums of money involved and the fact that multiple banks are experiencing similar problems simultaneously, the situation is far from simple.

In the end, the relevant departments only replied that "they are investigating," and there has been no follow-up to this day.

"It doesn't matter, I'm determined to acquire Huade anyway. If things drag on like this, Xinde will eventually become the leader in the domestic machine tool industry, and then we can discuss the acquisition price of Huade." Chen Xi smiled, said this, and turned to leave.

Months later, under the continued pressure from the international coalition, the Islamic League collapsed completely, and the situation in Africa changed dramatically.

Meanwhile, the situation on Jeju Island continues to deteriorate.

Due to the missile deployment, North Korea is on high alert and has conducted multiple nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches, escalating tensions dramatically and becoming a global security crisis.

The island was almost deserted of tourists, and the casinos were empty, which broke Yi Zhihui and Parker's hearts.

They've invested a huge amount of money in this!

Although casinos usually have no shortage of cash flow, their daily maintenance costs are extremely high.

The group's shareholders were already opposed to investing in a casino on the island, and now the dispute has escalated to an even greater point.

However, soon after, exciting news arrived: Chen Xi's Chiayi Investment and Feng Jialun's Huakai Capital planned to invest in and integrate the island's large casino.

The major entertainment groups had long wanted to get rid of this hot potato, so they readily agreed.

Chen Xi had already analyzed that although Jeju Island has a large number of casinos, modeled after Macau, their customer traffic is far less than that of Macau. Multiple competitors would only lead to too many players competing for too few opportunities; it would be better to consolidate resources and retain only one to three.

Although Huakai Capital has made numerous investments globally, it has never ventured into the casino industry. Given the current crisis facing Jeju Island, investing at this time would seem tantamount to suicide.

However, Feng Jialun had great confidence in Chen Xi, knowing that he would not do a losing business, so he gritted his teeth and bought shares in the casino with Chen Xi.

Not long after, a major event that shocked the world occurred in the United States.

A seemingly comical businessman unexpectedly becomes a leader, much to the astonishment of the world.

Some people online ridiculed his absurd words and actions, while others questioned his ability to govern a country.

But Chen Xi knew that this person was definitely not simple.

How could someone who can sit in that position be an idiot?

At the same time, domestic business competition is intensifying.

Yang Xiao's shared electric bikes are engaged in a fierce battle with UFO, a company invested in by Meituan, for market share through massive subsidies and cash burning.

Alibaba and Tencent's market value has skyrocketed, and the two internet giants continue to expand their businesses, penetrating all walks of life, making the duopoly increasingly stable.

But if we're talking about the hottest business news of the year, it has to be Leshi.

LeShi's funding chain completely broke down, and its founder, Mr. Jia, fled to the United States. Its grand ecological transformation strategy failed, becoming the most eye-catching business failure of that year.

"Holy shit!" In the office, Xu Jia was watching the news on TV when he slammed his fist on the table.

"Mr. Xu, you've lost your money. You can't blame me for introducing Mr. Jia to you in the first place, can you?" Chen Xi, sitting on the sofa, exhaled a puff of cigar and said slowly.

The Xu family immediately put on a smiling face: "How could that be? It was just an accident. But I'd like to know, what about that batch of grain from Africa? Why did Mr. Zhang make a profit while I lost money?"

“There was a riot there at the time, and the blacks were looting anything valuable. They took the appliances but found they didn’t work, and some places didn’t even have electricity, so they sold them off. That’s why we can still recycle them. But food is gone once it’s eaten. Am I supposed to go and recycle what they’ve excreted?” Chen Xi spread his hands innocently.

“That makes sense… You came to see me today about the grain and oil war? Huatong and the four major grain traders have been fighting for half a year, and global grain prices have changed dramatically. How long will this war last? I’ve roughly calculated that both sides are burning through cash.”

"That's right. Doesn't Mr. Xu want revenge? Back then, you were dealt with by the four major grain merchants."

At this time, Hengxiao Group was at its peak, with its Hong Kong-listed platform boasting a soaring market value and raising funds through methods such as issuing a large number of dollar bonds, resulting in seemingly abundant cash flow.

“We sold the grain and oil factory a long time ago. What are we going to use to join? Throw in money? It doesn’t seem like there’s any benefit to it.” The Xu family is rich but not stupid. They will never touch anything that is not profitable.

"Hengxiao can act as a funding provider or financing platform, injecting capital into the expansion of supply and marketing cooperatives through direct investment, the establishment of joint ventures, or the provision of guarantees. Of course, the supply and marketing cooperatives themselves are not short of money, so pure capital injection is not very meaningful. As far as I know, Hengxiao has the largest land reserve in the country, spread across more than 280 cities. You can quickly build modern grain warehouses, cold chain warehouses, and logistics transfer stations for the supply and marketing cooperatives on land located near transportation hubs or grain-producing areas. Hengxiao's commercial properties and community shops can give priority to introducing the retail outlets of the supply and marketing cooperatives as direct sales terminals for agricultural products, directly facing consumers. Think about it, Hengxiao has millions of homeowners and a huge employee system, which is itself a huge internal market. You can also promote and sell agricultural products directly supplied by the supply and marketing cooperatives to homeowners through the Hengxiao Property APP or offline stores, realizing a direct supply model from the field to the Hengda community, helping the supply and marketing cooperatives quickly open up sales channels..." Chen Xi explained in detail.

"Hmm, that makes sense. But Hengxiao's core business isn't agriculture. If you want to win this battle, you'll need Hualiang's help. It's a pity, though, that guy seems to be on the other side attacking you." Xu Jia said with a wicked smile.

"Mr. Xu is right. To win this battle, China Grain must stand on our side. But don't worry, everything is going according to plan."

"Oh my, oh my, what mischievous trick are you up to now? Tell me quickly!" Xu Jia, who knew Chen Xi very well, immediately became interested.

After one hour.

Xu Jia was sitting on the sofa, happily smoking a cigar, when the office door was suddenly pushed open.

Xu Yun skipped in and kissed him on the cheek: "Dad, it's been so long, did you miss me?"

"Of course I want to. You're my only precious daughter. Why are you so happy today?" The Xu family was a little curious, as their daughter usually started complaining as soon as she walked in the door.

"Of course I'm happy that your daughter is making money!"

"Oh? Tell me, how did you make that money?"

The Xu family knew their daughter better than anyone.

She has no business sense; if she isn't given money, she can barely make ends meet.

"I met a really good investment broker, and he helped me make a lot of money!" "Where did you meet him? You weren't scammed, were you?" Xu Jia chuckled.

“How could that be! He’s a member of our Overseas Returnees Association. He’s making a phone call outside, he’ll be in a bit.”

Xu Yun had just finished speaking when there was a knock on the office door, and a tall, thin young man walked in.

"Dad, this is Jia Zhenyu, his English name is Thomas, and he is my investment broker."

"Hello, Mr. Xu, I've heard so much about you." Thomas took the initiative to extend his hand to shake hands with the Xu family.

Another one surnamed Jia...

Upon hearing this surname, the Xu family's expression changed slightly.

"Dad, what's wrong with you?"

"No...it's nothing, I was just shocked. The younger generation is truly surpassing the older one; the young people I've met in recent years are all incredibly capable." The Xu family members, being seasoned veterans, quickly regained their composure.

"Mr. Xu, you flatter me," Thomas replied humbly.

"Come, sit down. Tell me, how did he help you make money through investments?" Xu Jia turned to ask his daughter.

"Dad, I gave Thomas some funds, and he helped me with cultural tourism projects overseas. The profits multiplied several times over. Isn't that amazing?" Xu Yun said excitedly.

"Oh, a cultural tourism project..." Xu Jia's interest immediately waned.

With his current appetite, he wouldn't even consider this kind of return on investment.

“Dad, Thomas has a good eye for talent. He has other big projects overseas too,” Xu Yun quickly added, noticing her father’s skepticism.

"Oh? What other good projects are there?"

"Well... I'm currently preparing a financial project, but I have limited funding resources, so I'm afraid it won't make much of a splash. I'd better not say anything, lest Mr. Xu laugh at me."

"It's alright, it's alright, tell me about it." Xu Jia waved his hand with a smile.

"Alright then, actually it's just..." Seeing that the fish had taken the bait, Thomas readily revealed the whole set of excuses he had prepared.

Meanwhile, a series of major events also occurred in the two neighboring countries.

First, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was forced to recall and stop selling the model globally due to a serious battery defect that caused the phone to spontaneously combust. This not only caused huge economic losses but also triggered a serious crisis of brand trust.

While Samsung was busy dealing with battery issues, Huajing Electronics announced that its 6th generation flexible AMOLED production line had achieved mass production, breaking Samsung's monopoly in the field of flexible OLED screens. Apple also included Huajing Electronics in its supplier list for the first time.

Immediately afterwards, the world's seventh-largest and South Korea's largest shipping company suddenly filed for bankruptcy protection, shocking the global shipping industry.

Toshiba is also facing a business crisis. Due to huge losses in its nuclear power business, Westinghouse Electric in America, Toshiba is in serious financial trouble and has to sell its core semiconductor business (flash memory business) to save itself, which has triggered a bidding war among global giants.

However, just as these three large companies were mired in crisis, a Chinese company quietly began to contact them.

A year later, the price of Bitcoin soared from less than $1000 to nearly $20000, sparking a huge wave of attention and investment in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology around the world.

"Hahaha, Bitcoin has already risen to $20,000! Now all the gray market transactions around the world are using it, and I predict it will continue to rise sharply! It will become the only stable currency in the underworld in the future!" Dark excitedly posted this message on the computer screen.

"Don't get too excited yet. Saying it's the only stable currency is too absolute," Chen Xi replied quickly.

"Oh right, you're right, there's also the darknet currency I invented!"

"That's not what I meant."

"What is that? Do you think there will be new high-value stablecoins?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"After you encounter danger sometime in the future."

"Hahaha, in danger? What danger could I possibly be in? Can you predict the future?"

In front of the computer, Dark didn't laugh as the text suggested; instead, he frowned nervously.

Because this statement sounds rather strange.

"Don't worry, you've helped me so much, I never owe anyone favors. When the time comes, I'll show you a way out beforehand."

"..."

"Do me a few favors now. The more you help me, the greater my chance of survival." Chen Xi typed another line.

"..."

Although the grain and oil war has lasted for more than a year, ordinary people have not yet felt a significant change in their lives, but for agricultural product production enterprises, it has been a complete upheaval.

The continued fluctuations in raw material prices have led to the closure of a number of small food processing plants, and even larger enterprises have been impacted.

"Are you kidding me? Why are our raw material purchase prices so high, yet Chen Shubao's products can still be sold so cheaply?" Yang Dingtian sat in the main seat of the conference room, his face solemn.

His food processing plant suffers heavy losses every year, barely making up for the shortfall with profits from other businesses; otherwise, it should have gone bankrupt long ago. But the food plant is the face of the Yang family in Donglin, and Yang Dingtian believes that no matter how much money is spent, it must be kept running.

"They source half of their raw materials from supply and marketing cooperatives, and the other half from overseas. Moreover, none of these overseas suppliers belong to the four major grain traders, as if they had planned this all along. While we and Three Pine Trees also source from supply and marketing cooperatives, our purchase price is much higher than theirs."

"There's a saying circulating among consumers that our products are just designed to rip them off, that aside from the attractive packaging, the taste is just average. In fact, our products taste very good; it's just an excuse consumers use because they think they're too expensive. Nowadays, young people prefer to buy cheaper goods, and the saying 'you get what you pay for' no longer applies," the marketing manager reported, wiping his brow.

"After all that analysis, do you actually have a solution?" Yang Dingtian asked, glancing at him.

"Yes, that is to abandon the existing product line and transform into something else. With the country's relaxation of the two-child policy, there will be more and more newborns. We can launch products covering the entire life cycle of infants and young children, such as rice cakes, teething sticks, baby noodles, and children's sausages."

"In addition, more and more people are keeping pets now, and cat food, dog food and pet snacks are also worth investing in..." The marketing manager quickly presented the plan that had already been prepared.

"Okay, let's transform it then!"

Yang Dingtian felt that continuing the price war on nuts with Chen Shubao was pointless, since their supply of raw materials was already being controlled. The direction of baby food and pet food sounded promising and aligned with policy direction, so he agreed without hesitation.

(Things haven't been going well lately; I've lost a lot of money, and my cash flow has dried up. So the plot will speed up later on because I don't want to leave this book unfinished before I collapse. I'm so desperate to turn things around that I've gone a bit overboard; maybe it's all fate. If I can pull through this time, I plan to find a job, write in my spare time, and then look for another opportunity.) (End of Chapter)