1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 243 I have no burden to deal with my own people
"Terminator" cost more than 6 million dollars and earned more than 40 million dollars in North America alone.

The Invisible Woman, which was highly praised by housewives, had almost the same production cost, but its North American box office revenue was just over 30 million.

Given the clear gender profile of the audience, male audiences have significantly greater spending power when going to the cinema.

When these two films leave the North American market and are released in theaters around the world, without the blessing of gender confrontation, the box office gap will be even greater.

Pang Chia-Yen made a very professional analysis: "I did a social survey in America. Because of the wars in the past thirty years, the male population there is lower than the female population. However, the education level of women in North America is very low, only 23%. Most of the box office revenue of "Invisible Woman" this time comes from this 23% of the audience. Do you know what this indicates?"

What else can it mean? The higher the knowledge, the better...

Zhai Yuan feels that it is still unknown whether Pang Chia-yen’s directing skills have improved after her trip to America, but she has learned a lot about marketing that she could not learn in Hong Kong.

User portraits, movie-watching groups, various percentage data, and a lot of small words.

Zhai Yuan made a bold statement: "This shows that the other 77% of female viewers live a happy life and do not want to get involved in this gender war."

Peng Jiayan rolled her eyes at him: "Tsk! This shows that only a small number of women are independent and sober!"

"Yes, yes, you are absolutely right."

Zhai Yuan surrendered immediately and didn't want to argue with her about this topic which was still causing fanatical confrontation on the Internet several years later.

Peng Jiayan snorted complacently and crossed her legs on the table in a very ungentlemanly manner, drawing a clear line between herself and being a lady everywhere.

She looked around at the furnishings in Zhai Yuan's office.

Ye Yuqing helped Zhai Yuan decorate the office to look like a movie lover's room. Posters of several blockbuster films produced by Jiuyi Entertainment were posted on the walls. On a solid wooden display cabinet were placed last year's Academy Award trophy, vinyl records and copies, and small gifts from fans.

Pang Ka Yin couldn't help but sighed, "You are now one of the top ten bosses. I heard people discussing movies like "Wushuang" and "God of Gamblers" in Chinatown. When will you become the number one in Hong Kong?"

Huo Yuanjia, when will you become the best in Tianjin?

Zhai Yuan shook his head, throwing the inexplicable lines out of his mind.

He winked at Peng Jiayan and said half-jokingly, "It shouldn't be too late. I don't care about New One City anymore. I'm targeting Jiahe and preparing to make a move."

Pang Ka Yan curled her lips and said something like "big talk": "New One City may still have a chance. I heard that Lei Juekun is now in a state of panic and has no time to take care of his film career. But how can Jiahe compete? They have the iron triangle of Chen Shilong, Hong Xinbao and Yuan Biao. Zou Wenhuai and his group of directors are also experts who understand movies and are willing to spend money. You may have a chance after waiting for ten years."

Zhai Yuan was too disdainful to argue. Their iron triangle would immediately become my junior nephews. I was not happy that these three could only be called Chen Long, Hong Bao and Biao from now on!

Of course, the master-disciple relationship does not have such a strong deterrent effect, but it can serve as a bridge, allowing Zhai Yuan to leverage Jiahe's current situation.

As for capitalists like Zou Wenhuai and He Guanchang...

Zhai Yuan smiled at this and said to Peng Jiayan, "It's just right that you're back, so I don't have to wait ten years. Do me a small favor. In two or three years at most, you will see that Jiuyi Entertainment will be the only film company left in Hong Kong."

"You have a fever and are talking nonsense? Do you want to call your female disciple in to cool you down?"

Peng Jiayan's vulgar words earned her an annoyed glare from Zhai Yuan.

She stared at Zhai Yuan for a few seconds, and seeing that he looked serious, she nodded hesitantly: "I've known you for so long, and this isn't the first time I've been on a pirate ship. What do you want me to help you with?"

Zhai Yuan did not speak directly, but asked her a few questions first: "How much arable land does Xiangjiang have now? How much grain is produced each year? What is the approximate purchase price?"

Peng Jiayan was a little stunned: "What does this have to do with your movie business?"

Zhai Yuan said seriously: "It is very relevant."

Peng Jiayan asked suspiciously, "You are not planning to take action against Xiangjiang's grain and oil business, and are pretending to come to me to get the ingredients?"

Zhai Yuan looked at her with disdain: "Tsk! I don't want to earn that kind of hard-earned money."

Peng Jiayan felt that what he said seemed to make sense. If the grain and oil industry wanted to grow bigger, it had to accumulate word of mouth. It was obvious that Zhai Yuan had been playing short-term since his debut.

She looked at Zhai Yuan with some entanglement, and nodded after a while: "Okay, this kind of thing is not a secret anyway."

Zhai Yuan said unhappily, "Why did you hesitate for so long if it's not a secret?"

Peng Jiayan squinted at him and said, "You are too scheming. I have to be extra careful, otherwise I will fall into your trap."

Zhai Yuan said, "Don't make a fuss. There is no way there is anything going on between us."

Peng Jiayan thought about it carefully, then flew into a rage and grabbed the sofa cushions and threw them at Zhai Yuan: "Trap! Trap! Trap!"

"I'm furious!"

Throwing away the sofa cushion, Peng Jiayan glared at Zhai Yuan who was hiding away and said in a rough voice: "I don't know the specific data of the questions you asked just now. Let me ask the manager of the grain store for you first."

Zhai Yuan said thank you without her noticing, then opened the door and called out to the outside, "Hey, please make me a cup of coffee and fill up my teapot with water."

"You can't even give me a cup of coffee without helping me, haha."

Peng Jiayan sat on the sofa and said something sarcastically, then took out her eldest brother's phone and dialed the number of the family grain store: "Uncle Shou, I have a few questions about grain and oil that I want to ask you. Yes, I am sensible now and I need to help take care of the family business, so I want to learn about it in advance. Remember to praise me in front of my father..."

Zhai Yuan looked at Peng Jiayan who was talking on the phone obediently and nodded with satisfaction: Not bad, your level of shamelessness has reached 50% of my ability.

The daughter of Hengtai Grain Store needs to understand the family business.

Peng Jiayan called home, and several managers on the other end of the phone gave her advice and told her everything she knew.

The information that Zhai Yuan wanted to know was quickly summarized.

The main cultivated land in Hong Kong is rice fields. In the 9500s, the area of rice fields was about hectares, accounting for more than half of the total cultivated land.

Later, the Hong Kong government developed new towns and built water diversion channels to divert water from the rice fields. In addition, the profit from farming was too low. By the 80s, there were less than 30 hectares of rice fields in Hong Kong. Not counting the abandoned farmland, the total area of farmland that still produces crops this year has shrunk to less than 800 hectares. Last year, the output of local rice in Hong Kong was only 2 kilograms. The average price of local rice was yuan, which means that farmers in the New Territories have to share the less than yuan of farming profits each year.

For the rest of the arable land used to grow vegetable crops, Hengtai Grain Store purchased more than 80% of the crops from farmers last year. Even though the price of vegetables was higher than that of rice, Hengtai only spent a total of more than 2 million yuan on the purchase.

The money that all Hong Kong farmers earn in a year is not as much as what the Natural Selection casino boat earns in one night.

"In theory, if Hong Kong had 5000 hectares of farmland for production, it would be able to respond to emergencies and guarantee at least half a month's food supply. Unfortunately, there are not even 50 hectares of rice fields left. If a food crisis occurs in the future, rice prices will definitely rise more sharply than Li Ka-shing's stocks."

After hanging up the phone, Peng Jiayan said with emotion: "Last year, a member of the Flower, Bird, Fish and Insect Committee said that he had been to all parts of the world and found that no place despised agriculture like Hong Kong."

Zhai Yuan asked: "Where is Hong Kong's main source of grain imports now?"

Peng Jiayan said: "Nearby countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, mainly Thailand, 60% to 70% of our food is imported from there every year. Thai fragrant rice is very famous."

Atai is now a grain exporter, especially for customers in developed cities like Hong Kong, and they will always meet their needs. The government has taken the lead in spending decades to improve rice varieties, thus trampling all other competitors under its feet.

Zhai Yuan nodded thoughtfully: "So if I want to stop all the farmland in Xiangjiang from being produced this year, it only costs a few million?"

"In theory, it is possible. You give money to farmers and ask them to stop farming this year..."

Peng Jiayan said with a smile, but suddenly the smile froze on her face: "Stop the farmland production? What do you want to do?"

"It's okay to tell you."

Zhai Yuan stroked the stubble on his chin and said, "I want to buy a piece of land in Yuen Long, of which farmland and Ding rights account for about half each. If farmers are self-sufficient with farmland, they feel qualified to bargain with me and can hold Ding rights and wait for a price. So I want to cut off their economic source, turn their farmland into wasteland, and make the Ding rights that cannot be sold into wasteland. This will make negotiations easier."

Peng Jiayan's mouth was shaped into an O, and she stared at him with a look that said, "Are you still human?" "What if the farmers start to make trouble? Besides, they don't make much money from farming in a year. Stopping production for a year may not be as serious as you think."

"Then we'll stop production for three to five to seven years."

Zhai Yuan smiled indifferently. Peng Jiayan still didn't understand the situation of the farmers in Yuen Long. The people engaged in farming there were all middle-aged and elderly people. It was impossible for them to find another job. The suspension of production for a year was enough to make people panic.

In case these farmers are really wealthy enough that they are not afraid of stopping production, President Zhai still has other ways to empty their assets.

You may not have heard of Yilishen, but have you heard of medicinal herb planting, Ganoderma lucidum cultivation, Cordyceps sinensis and saffron?

Just pay 69,800 yuan for the machine, seeds, fertilizers and training, and we will come to your door to buy it back at double the price after the harvest next year.

Peng Jiayan felt that the person sitting in front of her was not Zhai Yuan, but a devil with bared fangs.

She probably had some guesses in her mind, but she still asked, "So how do you want me to help you?"

"Don't worry, I won't do anything rash. It's unrealistic to stop all farmland in Hong Kong. Farmers will really rush to the Municipal Council to cause trouble, and then the loss will outweigh the gain."

Zhai Yuan smiled and said, "I just want to ask your family's grain store to come forward and find a reason to contact the grain and oil trade association, and ask the grain and oil merchants to notify several villages near Xintian Township in Yuen Long in advance that they will not accept their rice and vegetables this year, especially Xiawan Village in Xintian Township."

Peng Jiayan murmured, "Why Xiawan Village?"

Zhai Yuan thought for a moment and smiled: "There are many people with the surname Zhai in Xiawan Village. I have no psychological burden to deal with people from the same clan."

Peng Jiayan's eyes were conflicted. After hesitating for a while, she shook her head with a strong sense of justice.

She stared at Zhai Yuan with dissatisfaction: "No, I can't help you cheat people."

Zhai Yuan smiled and said, "How can this be called cheating? After I acquire the land, I will build a factory on the spot. Then the villagers nearby can work on the assembly line and earn more than they do by farming. Do you think there is still hope for Hong Kong's agriculture? A city produces tens of thousands of kilograms of rice a year. Pick! Feed the cats?"

Peng Jiayan frowned, feeling that there seemed to be some truth in it.

But she still shook her head and said, "I have no say in this matter. Even if I am willing to help you, my father will definitely not agree. Besides, we have to get other people in the guild to join forces, which is very troublesome."

Zhai Yuan asked with a smile: "Do you want to be a good girl in front of your father, travel around the world without being disciplined, and establish business relations with your idol, Miss Xue Wanen?"

When Peng Jiayan heard this, she immediately became interested: "What other ideas do you have for defeating others?"

"I want you to be respectful to me."

Zhai Yuan glared at her unhappily, and then, in front of Peng Jiayan's expectant eyes, he said, "If you tell your father this when you go back today..."

…………

Heng Tai Hang has been established for three generations and is now Hong Kong's leading grain and oil trading company.

Peng Jiayan's grandfather started the business by running a millet shop, and by the time it was passed on to her father Peng Guangliang, it had already grown to a considerable scale.

Peng Guangliang took over Hengtai in the early 1970s and corporatized the rice shops that were originally scattered across the country. He was one of the first grain traders to personally go to the local agricultural departments in Thailand and Vietnam to negotiate cooperation in import business. At that time, the shrinkage of arable land in Hong Kong was not so serious. Peng Guangliang's foresight approach directly allowed his Hengtai to become a first-tier company in Hong Kong's grain and oil industry in the mid-to-late 1970s, relying on the import rights from neighboring countries.

At that time, the Hong Kong government had a strict quota system for grain and oil merchants.

Grain and oil traders are divided into three categories: importers, wholesalers and retailers.

According to the rules, importers cannot skip wholesalers and do business directly with retailers. As a result, Peng Guangliang took the risk and established Heng Tai branches in Thailand and Vietnam respectively, breaking the three types of merchants stipulated by the Hong Kong government. Heng Tai became the first grain store in Hong Kong to open up the "skipping level" system and had a greater say in the grain and oil industry. Today, he already holds multiple titles including Chairman of the Grain and Oil Trade Association and Vice Chairman of the Food Committee.

"I took over the business from my dad and have been running it for so many years. I can say that I have achieved some success."

In a luxury villa in the Mid-Levels, Peng Guangliang, who is over 50 years old, sighed: "Why is it that Jiayan's generation is idle all day long? Not only is she unwilling to concentrate on work, she doesn't even have a boyfriend in her twenties. After going to America, she has made herself neither male nor female. If this continues, how can any man dare to marry her?"

Peng Jiayan is the eldest daughter in the family. Old Peng obviously does not intend to let her get married and has long had the idea of taking in a son-in-law.

Unfortunately, his daughter is not up to the standard. When Peng Guangliang saw her outfit yesterday, his blood pressure soared.

If things go on like this, even if the family is extremely wealthy, who would dare to become a live-in son-in-law?

(End of this chapter)