I'm in the county town, and you say I'm a big shot?

Chapter 431, 430: "I can hardly be considered an elite; at most, I'm just a country bumpkin stuck in a small county town."

Inside the Audi, Fang Qingye and Zhao Wenjun were also discussing this matter.

"President Fang, when peanuts had a bumper harvest last autumn and prices plummeted, I realized the seriousness of the situation. Some farmers with large loans were having difficulty repaying them. I tried to contact some buyers and sellers, including some oil processing companies, but they offered very low prices, and the farmers couldn't sell their produce."

“I also contacted Luhua Group. I have a friend in Laiyang, Shandong Province, so I asked Luhua’s purchasing department through him. They said that Shandong Province also had a bumper peanut harvest this year, and going to Jinghai to purchase peanuts would be going the long way around and the cost would be too high,” Zhao Wenjun said.

"Oh," Fang Qingye nodded, falling into deep thought.

"If all else fails, there's another way," Zhao Wenjun said.

"any solution?"

“We should encourage our bank employees to buy some; if each person buys dozens of kilograms, it will help sell some of the stock,” Zhao Wenjun said.

Fang Qingye smiled and shook her head: "Forget it, there are only more than 80 people in our bank. Even if each person buys 100 catties, it won't be 10,000 catties. It won't solve a big problem. Besides, we can't finish eating too much of this stuff. The employees might even curse us behind our backs."

"That's true."

There was no answer at the moment, so the two of them stopped talking about it.

After getting off work and returning to the nursery, I lay half-reclined in bed at night, thinking about how this matter was indeed quite difficult to handle.

Live-streaming e-commerce hadn't taken off back then. There were people selling agricultural products on Taobao and JD.com, but it wasn't as popular as it is ten years later. Besides, tens of thousands of kilograms of peanuts couldn't be sold out in a short time.

Moreover, Lu Yongbing's family is not facing this predicament.

With nothing to do, I chatted with Xiahe on video, and we talked about what happened during my trip to the countryside that day.

"This is really difficult to handle," Fang Qingye sighed.

After listening, Xia He stared at him blankly in the video.

"What's wrong?" Fang Qingye asked, somewhat puzzled.

"I don't quite understand."

"What don't you understand?" Fang Qingye asked, puzzled.

“A few days ago in Shanghai, Ele.me was raising funds, and you didn’t seem worried at all, even though it was hundreds of millions or billions of yuan. But back in Nanxin, you’re worried about a hundred or so acres of peanuts, which only cost two or three hundred thousand yuan.”

Fang Qingye laughed after hearing this.

"It's actually the same."

"The same?"

"For Lu Yongbing, these two or three hundred thousand yuan are no different from the billions of yuan in financing for Ele.me. But the problem is, I can solve the billions of yuan in financing for Ele.me, but I can't help with these hundred or so acres of peanuts. I can't possibly buy them all by myself, can I?"

Xia He giggled after hearing this.

"Of course not, this isn't about money. Even if you're doing charity, you can't do this."

"Yes, that's why it's difficult."

"Oh, I suddenly remembered, isn't Qiao Yongfeng in the foreign trade business? Can these peanuts be exported? Since you said the quality is so good, maybe they can be sold abroad..." Xia He thought of a solution.

"Looking for Qiao Yongfeng? It's not appropriate to ask him for such a small business, is it? He's a big businessman." Fang Qingye hesitated.

“He might not do this business, but some of his friends might,” Xia He said. “Are you worried about owing him a favor? Then I’ll go find Tian Qian!”

"Alright, alright. Why go through all that trouble? I'll just call him directly tomorrow," Fang Qingye said.

The next morning, Fang Qingye went to work on time as usual. While drinking the tea that Hu Lingling had brewed, she took out her phone and dialed Qiao Yongfeng's number.

The call was quickly connected, and Qiao Yongfeng's voice came from the other end of the line: "Qingye, why didn't you tell your brother about becoming the president of Jinghai Bank? I'll come over to congratulate you!"

“Hey, a small county-level bank, its deposits don’t even equal Bangcheng International’s annual revenue. What’s there to celebrate?” Fang Qingye said.

"That's different. Even a small bank is still a bank. Do you know how many people rack their brains to get a banking license? You got it so easily, without lifting a finger." "Just lucky, just lucky."

After chatting for a few more minutes, the two got down to business. Fang Qingye briefly recounted her trip to the countryside to Qiao Yongfeng and asked if he knew any foreign trade companies that bought peanuts.

"Of course, domestic companies are fine too, as long as they can be sold," Fang Qingye concluded.

On the other end of the phone, Qiao Yongfeng laughed heartily, and after a moment said, "Qingye, do you know what I admire most about you?"

"What point? Trading futures?" Fang Qingye joked.

"You are indeed very good at trading futures, but that's not what I admire most about you. What I admire most is your compassion."

"what?"

“You know, I’ve met many wealthy people, especially the elites who play with capital. Billions and billions are just cold numbers to them. They are ruthless and calculating. Nothing can move their hearts except for profit.”

"And you, you're actually worrying about a mere few hundred thousand, and that's someone else's problem."

After hearing Qiao Yongfeng's words, Fang Qingye said self-deprecatingly, "I can hardly be considered an elite. At most, I'm just a country bumpkin stuck in a small county town."

"Haha, it's this kind of country bumpkin that's admirable." Qiao Yongfeng said with a smile, "I actually know a boss who does grain and oil foreign trade. I'll ask him if he wants peanuts, and I'll call you back later."

"Thank you so much!" Fang Qingye was overjoyed.

"Why are you being so polite with me? Remember, you still owe me a drink."

"Fine, come to Nanxin, I'll accompany you to the death!"

Qiao Yongfeng acted quickly. As soon as he got to work in the afternoon, he called Fang Qingye and said that there was a company in Yanjing called Zhonggu Grain and Oil Group Co., Ltd., and their boss was very interested in this matter.

"Qingye, Zhonggu Grain and Oil Group Co., Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of COFCO Group. Their general manager is Liu Haozhe. I have business dealings with him. I called him about this matter, and he readily agreed, saying that he would come to inspect the company in the next two days and would acquire it if it was suitable."

"President Liu came in person?" Fang Qingye was somewhat surprised.

“Yes, he actually wanted to meet me too,” Qiao Yongfeng said with a smile.

That's it!

It seems I need his help.

Of course, this was a private matter between the two of them, and Fang Qing had no need to interfere.

“Welcome, Brother Qiao. Mr. Liu will call me when he has a time to schedule,” Fang Qingye said.

"Ok."

The two chatted for a few more minutes before hanging up.

Fang Qingye leaned back in his office chair, squinted and thought for a moment, then took out his phone again. This time, he called Liu An, the secretary of Jiangping Town.

"Secretary Liu, I am Fang Qingye."

"Hello, President Fang."

"Secretary Liu, I have something to tell you. Someone wants to buy peanuts." Fang Qingye briefly introduced the situation of Zhonggu Grain and Oil Group Co., Ltd., saying that it was introduced by a friend, but he did not mention Qiao Yongfeng's name.

“My friend said that General Manager Liu is coming to our county to inspect the area in person these past two days. I suggest that your town prepare a few large households, as he will definitely want to visit their homes to see the situation in person,” Fang Qingye said.

"No problem, I'll call a meeting right away and arrange this." Liu An's voice was very excited on the other end of the phone: "Thank you so much, President Fang."

"You're welcome. Everyone hopes things will go smoothly. The farmers will sell their peanuts, our bank will recover its debts, and the town will have one less thing to worry about. Everyone will be happy."

“President Fang, you’re right,” Liu An said. “I’d like to report to County Head Zhu, who is in charge of agriculture, that if President Liu comes, it would be even better if the county could host him.”

"I won't get involved in the administrative matters; I'll just act as a go-between," Fang Qingye said.

(End of this chapter)