Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 160, Business Warfare, right?

"Mr. Yan's goods are as reliable as ever." Mr. Teng looked at the timber and was in a good mood. "When we first met, I felt that you were extraordinary. You not only understand timber, but also business. That's rare. When it comes to timber, I really can't compare to you."

"Everyone has their own expertise," Yan Hui said with a smile. He didn't need to be polite at the moment, because President Teng couldn't tell the difference between this batch of goods and the previous ones.

The difference between different types of timber is not that great. For example, there is no fundamental difference between first-grade and second-grade timber as long as they are not different in grade.

Yan Hui's batch of goods, in his own opinion, was indeed better than usual, about 3% better. This was his rough estimate, but in General Manager Teng's eyes, the difference was not significant; he could only see that it was "still good."

However, others see it differently; it is undoubtedly of "far superior" quality because Yan Hui's timber is already significantly higher than the market average.

After all, he went to Wang Hongjun's forest farm every day, so he could definitely pick the best pieces of timber first.

The crane worked quickly, and soon the truck was fully loaded. The truck driver found Mr. Teng's manager, spoke with him briefly, and then drove off, knowing he would be back later to haul more goods.

A single railcar of goods would require two or three trips to be hauled by a Steyr truck.

After the truck left, the crane went to do other things as well. Mr. Teng had other matters to attend to, so he left first.

He only came today at Yan Hui's invitation; otherwise, he wouldn't have come in person. The Yan Hui of today is not the same Yan Hui he was four months ago.

Yan Hui invited him here, so he had to come; he had no choice but to give him face.

...

Yan Hui often sees similar group photos in Business World magazine.

Basically, it's just one photo with a caption below: who's the first person on the left, who's the second person on the left, and so on.
Not only are names noted, but also background information and identity are.

Yan Hui couldn't understand these kinds of photos before, but after seeing them many times, he did.

Why do so many bigwigs from other companies always show up at company annual meetings and corporate financing events? And why do they specifically take photos with them for publicity?
To put it bluntly, everyone shares resources, supports each other, and their interests are intertwined to strengthen their reputation, thereby enhancing customer trust.

For example, when ordinary people order goods from large companies, they must pay the full amount upfront before receiving the goods; the same applies to online shopping. Why aren't people worried about being scammed? Simply because large companies and platforms have high credibility.

After Mr. Teng left, a lot of people gathered around. Those who knew Yan Hui started chatting with him.

Most of the timber was still piled up in the same spot. Some people who were not familiar with Yan Hui went over to check the timber's moisture content, cracks, and other characteristics.

There were many people, but Yan Hui wasn't worried at all. He talked freely for over an hour over this pile of wood. He answered everyone's questions without holding anything back.

During this period, Yan Hui gave out hundreds of business cards.

It's not that these are all clients, but rather that many people want it. Some people might use Yan Hui's business card to brag, but that has nothing to do with Yan Hui. Being able to use it as a status symbol is itself a form of recognition.

Yan Hui has made up his mind that he must buy his own mobile phone before the Chinese New Year this year.

After they had finished talking, Yan Hui left, and everyone gradually dispersed.

Everything has its advantages and disadvantages.

At noon, Yan Hui was having lunch at a restaurant when several people came to find him. The person in the lead looked like he was from Fujian Province.

"Mr. Yan, would it be convenient to add a seat?" the man asked with a smile.

Yan Hui was simply eating his noodles when he saw the three people. He looked a little puzzled, but still nodded and said, "Please, go ahead." The man nodded and sat down opposite Yan Hui. The two men with him sat down at the table next to him.

Yan Hui stopped eating his noodles and looked at the other person, realizing that the visitor was up to no good.

"You called me, is there something you need?" Yan Hui didn't think the other person was a client who came to discuss business.

"Mr. Yan may not know me. My name is Huang Tianhong. I'm an old friend of Mr. Teng. He mentioned you when we were having dinner a couple of days ago." The other party got straight to the point.

"Hello, Mr. Huang." Yan Hui acknowledged the other party's greeting.

At this moment, Yan Hui couldn't recall the other person's name, only that it sounded familiar. Judging from the accent, the person was from Putian, and since Putian people and Mr. Teng were old friends, there was only one possibility for them to contact him: they were a competitor.

"Mr. Yan, such a big boss, is this all you eat for lunch?" Huang Tianhong asked casually.

"What big boss? They can't compare to a major timber merchant like you." Yan Hui shook his head slightly.

"It seems that President Yan does know me." Huang Tianhong was slightly surprised, but that was to be expected. The fact that he introduced himself meant that his name was well-known.

“You must have something to tell me, so please feel free to speak.” Yan Hui put down his chopsticks.

“It’s nothing serious. A few days ago, I had dinner with President Teng, and he told me that you are quite familiar with my son. But when I asked my son, he said he didn’t know you at all, which surprised me. So I thought I’d come and ask him if there was any misunderstanding.” Huang Tianhong said with a warm expression.

Upon hearing Huang Tianhong's words, Yan Hui suddenly remembered! When Yan Hui first met President Teng, President Teng mentioned several names, including Chen Yong, Sun Qiang, and Huang Tianhong.

Yan Hui knew Chen Yong; he was the father of Chen Dong, a friend of his cousin whom he had eaten with before. Moreover, Chen Yong himself was quite famous; he did business not only in Jianye, but mainly in the Beijing area.

I hadn't heard of Sun Qiangyan Hui at the time, but I talked about him with my cousin later. He said that he was a pretty down-to-earth timber merchant.

As for Huang Tianhong, Yan Hui didn't know him at all. At the time, in order to keep the conversation going with President Teng, he mentioned that he knew President Huang's son, Huang Feiyu.

Huang Feiyu's father was also a timber merchant, but Yan Hui didn't know whether his father was Huang Tianhong or not. He just said that to brag and exaggerate his connections, since President Teng couldn't possibly know what Huang Tianhong's son's name was.

Yan Hui paused, not speaking directly, and pondered for seven or eight seconds before asking, "Did President Huang contact me just for this?"

Huang Tianhong had expected to see Yan Hui panic, but instead only saw Yan Hui's silence. After thinking for a moment, he smiled and said, "Mr. Yan, I only deal in raw timber. The profit margin for raw timber is very low; it's all about volume. I heard that you're also planning to get involved in the raw timber business. I think you should think things through more carefully. After all, things aren't always that simple."

After saying that, Huang Tianhong left with his men.

Watching Huang Tianhong's departing figure, Yan Hui pondered for a while, then snorted.

Yan Hui didn't think there was anything serious about the Huang Feiyu incident he had casually mentioned earlier. If a businessman didn't have this kind of quick thinking, how much courage would he have?
It's impossible for President Teng to remember the name "Huang Feiyu". He only heard that Yan Hui knew President Huang's son. What kind of "connection" is this?
In business, can such words really establish a relationship?
If Yan Hui were to do business under Huang Tianhong's name, he would definitely not survive. But this kind of thing... Yan Hui absolutely refused to believe that his cooperation with Boss Teng had anything to do with that statement from back then!

In short, Yan Hui guessed wrong about Huang Feiyu's father, General Manager Huang's identity, which was indeed incorrect. But for the other party to use this as a pretext to threaten him into withdrawing from log transportation? What gives them the right?!

Do you really think I'm a new business owner?

Thinking of this, Yan Hui didn't wait at all. Could something like this really last overnight?
Thinking it over, Yan Hui stopped eating his noodles, paid the bill, went to the entrance, found a place where he could make a phone call, and called President Teng.

"What is it, Mr. Yan?" Mr. Teng was somewhat surprised to hear Yan Hui's voice.

“I just had a phone call with the forest farm in Yichun and overheard something. They have a batch of larch logs from the Greater Khingan Mountains stuck with them, and they're under a lot of financial pressure because of the inventory. They urgently need to sell a batch of logs in the short term. The price they can get at Jianye can be reduced from 670 yuan per cubic meter to 620 yuan per cubic meter. If all goes well, we can get more than 200 cubic meters. I wonder if Mr. Teng is interested? I'm not making any money myself, so this is just to help a friend solve his financial problems. I'll guarantee the quality.” Yan Hui immediately reduced his profit margin to almost zero.

(The next chapter will be in the evening; I have some things to do this afternoon.)
(End of this chapter)