Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 136 Money and Sand

The meeting continues.

There is another most critical question.

"Mr. Chen, about the money..."

Ren Ying looked up, subconsciously adjusting her nose bridge, preparing to speak, but then realized she was no longer wearing her glasses. Chen Xuebing, no longer the small business owner he once was, couldn't be as straightforward as before. So she reorganized her thoughts and said:

"Mr. Chen, judging from the structural expenses alone, our current monthly salary expenses for contracted staff already exceed 250,000 yuan. Adding rent, utilities, management benefits, and various miscellaneous expenses, the total is no less than 500,000 yuan. If we improve the administrative structure as you suggested, our salary expenses will double, and other corresponding expenses will also increase. Monthly fixed expenses may reach 800,000 yuan. Considering the nature of our three subsidiaries and recent profit income, profits will not increase... We should keep at least six months' worth of corporate reserves in our accounts to ensure operational safety."

Ren Ying's words silenced everyone.

The cost of the light structure alone is 80.

It also needs to be managed.

"80 isn't enough." Chen Xuebing shook his head and smiled, counting on his fingers:

“You’ve overlooked a major expense. Recruiting for the R&D team in Shenzhen will begin soon. I’m looking for high-salary talent, and with R&D costs included, it will cost at least 100 million per month.”

"In addition, Shenzhen needs to start expanding its factory. Research and development and the construction of production lines both require a lot of time, and we don't have time to wait."

“Once this work begins, the monthly accounts will be beyond your ability to calculate, and our accounting team will need to be assembled.”

After Chen Xuebing finished speaking, he thought of someone.

"By the way, how's Zhang Hang? How's his studies going lately?"

Starting from the college entrance examination holiday, Chen Xuebing enrolled Zhang Hang in a class to study accounting, and Ren Ying also provided guidance to him.

The finance department needs a caring person who is also obedient and compliant. Otherwise, when the financial pressure gets too great, they will become like Ren Ying now, talking a lot of nonsense.

Finance professionals don't see their pronouncements as nonsense, especially those who are highly skilled in the field; they perceive risks everywhere, and very serious ones at that.

But in the eyes of an ambitious boss, this is just nonsense.

Chen Xuebing understood this perfectly. His rapid expansion would definitely frighten many finance professionals, so he chose Zhang Hang, an obedient subordinate, as an intermediary to oversee the finances. No matter how professional the future finance manager was, he would only communicate with Zhang Hang, the deputy manager.

"I've almost finished learning the basic accounting system, and now I'm learning about revenue and expenditure and budget preparation."

Ren Ying realized that Chen Xuebing was intentionally avoiding talking about the finance team and Zhang Hang when he mentioned them, and that he didn't want to hear about these risks. So she pursed her lips and said nothing more.

Lu Yiwen, on the other hand, said with some hesitation, "Boss, now that the factory in Shenzhen has started production, the profit margin has increased, but the sales on Taobao have not been able to pick up... I don't know if the platform doesn't want to allocate more weight to us anymore. From August to September, we tried many methods, but the platform's sales still couldn't reach 200 million. This month's profit is estimated to be less than 80. We can't afford to support such a large team."

Chen Xuebing frowned: "Have you spoken to Ake about her phone number? Try to negotiate with her about spending money to buy some data."

"I've spoken to her, and she said the platform is currently building a new recommendation mechanism, which is difficult to intervene in from the backend."

"Oh, right." Chen Xuebing suddenly laughed and said, "She wasn't lying to you."

Taobao brought in investment and a team from Yahoo two months ago, and now they should be integrating the team and using Yahoo's engine technology to improve Taobao's traffic generation capabilities.

This integration is destined to be a failure and will also bring the trouble of equity disputes to Taobao.

“Business at our counter is pretty good. This month, the net profit attributable to the parent company is at least 60 yuan. If the company needs it, I still have 60 yuan in my account, which I can lend to the company.”

Huo Xiaowen spoke up, his expression somewhat arrogant.

"Oh!" Chen Xuebing laughed. "President Huo, now you're even aware of the phrase 'returning to one's mother'."

Huo Xiaowen clicked her tongue: "Tsk, you've insulted me again!"

Xu Jin listened with some emotion. By this calculation, President Chen's Shenzhen company had a monthly profit of 140 million.

Quite a few.

However, the money was still not enough, so the pressure fell on him.

"Mr. Chen, the fund registration won't be completed until at least after the National Day holiday. After a month-long fundraising period, large-scale operations won't be possible until at least early November. With our current funds of over 30 million yuan... if the market remains unfavorable in October, we might not see much profit. Also, if the upward trend doesn't materialize, it could hinder our fundraising. Should we extend the fundraising period and wait for the market to rise to give investors some confidence?"

“No way.” Chen Xuebing said firmly, “Then let’s not wait. Notify the investors and securities brokerage that the closing date will be moved up to October 31st, and we will officially start operations on November 1st. Let’s raise as much as we can.”

He only had a general idea of ​​the stock market trend. The first small-scale main upward wave started at the end of fiscal year 2005, but he didn't really know whether it was November or December.

With such a large sum of money and so many stocks on the watchlist, it would take one or two weeks just to time the market to buy in at the right time. If we wait until the main upward trend starts before entering the market, we will miss out on a lot of opportunities.

The extra funds raised don't belong to him; only the profits are.

As for current expenses…

Chen Xuebing looked at Liang Hui, who was the most low-key person today.

"President Liang, we're counting on you for the next few months."

Upon hearing this, Liang Hui swallowed hard.

"Boss, I only have less than a million left. I still need to keep the construction site running, I..."

Chen Xuebing grinned.

"There's a prime piece of land on the construction site, but Boss Luo has been holding onto it and won't let us touch it. Now that the experts are here, what reason does he have to hold us back?"

"A geomantically auspicious location..." Liang Hui's eyes lit up: "Dredging?"

"Besides that, there's one more piece."

He smiled and stood up, supporting himself on the table with both hands.

"Alright, everyone has gotten to know each other's comrades under the group today. However, subsidiaries are not branches. Our three major subsidiaries operate independently and there will be no cooperation in the short term. Don't inquire about the operation of other subsidiaries. Focus your energy on your own operation and the establishment of rules and regulations, and on the recruitment of talent. I will find a way if there is not enough money, but if you delay the development of the group, you will be fined at best and dismissed at worst."

……

The next day, it was early in the morning.

When the two experts arrived at the construction site, Zhang Qingzhong only glanced at the sand-enclosed embankment before instructing Tan Hailiang to lead people to mark the lines and excavate according to his instructions, and to dig channels to release water.

What seemed like a momentous event to project manager Luo Jianghui was, in the eyes of this veteran who had worked on numerous large-scale hydropower projects both in China and abroad, a matter that required less than a minute of deliberation.

There were still project supervisors on the construction site. Luo Jianghui was having a meeting with the designers when he received the news and hurriedly brought the designers to the site.

When the people arrived, Chen Xuebing was standing by the riverbank making a phone call.

Luo Jianghui waved and called out:
"Mr. Chen! Didn't I tell you not to touch the cofferdam?! Why are you digging now?!"

Chen Xuebing glanced back at Luo Jianghui, pointed to Zhang Qingzhong not far away, and continued talking on his phone.

"Ok!"

"Hmm, hmm!" "We definitely can't use standard-sized mining, but we can use an excavator drill bit to drill a smaller diameter one for you."

"I'll have a truck take you to the site. You name your price, and it'll definitely be cheaper than at the factory."

"...Add five yuan per truckload, that'll cover the loading and unloading costs."

"it is good."

Chen Xuebing hung up the phone, and Luo Jianghui, standing next to him, turned pale, thinking that Chen Xuebing was selling river sand.

“Mr. Chen, the downstream river channel cannot be touched now. You have already gained an advantage in the dredging part, which is 2.5 kilometers long, longer than the third section. This section can be done last after you finish the other sections. If you do anything reckless, we will notify the Water Resources Bureau.”

Taohuaxi is a first-level tributary of the Three Gorges Reservoir in Chongqing, and its riverbed contains a considerable amount of silt.

River sand has smooth, clean particles and is free from salt corrosion, making it an important material in the construction industry. It has always been in high demand. After being dug out, washed, and separated, it is piled up on the riverbank. A sign that says "River Sand for Sale" is hung on the sand pile, and people will come to contact it. There is no worry about selling it.

Especially in areas outside the city where construction vehicles can freely enter and exit, they sell particularly well.

Only sections two and three of the entire project involved dredging. The original design stipulated that section two would have four kilometers of dredging outside the city, while section three would only have two kilometers. However, after several revisions to the drawings, the dredging for section two has been cut by more than half, leaving only 1.5 kilometers, while the dredging for section three has become longer, reaching 2.5 kilometers.

Based on the designed dredging volume, without over-dredging, an average of 10 cubic meters of river sand can be removed per kilometer of river channel.

River sand is sold by the ton, with a market price of twelve or thirteen yuan. One cubic meter of sand is approximately 1.4 to 1.6 tons. Taking an average price, it is 18 yuan per cubic meter.

Even after deducting the separation costs, there's still a profit of at least 15 yuan.

2.5 kilometers, that's around 400 million.

This is assuming there's no over-digging; if there is, it depends on how unscrupulous the person is.

There are also pebbles in the river, which can be sold, potentially generating at least several hundred thousand in profit.

This was one of the key reasons why Chen Xuebing persuaded his uncle to change the second-tier bid to the third-tier bid.

The project team was naturally envious of this dredging project. Luo Jianghui planned to have Chen Xuebing finish the main project before discussing it with them, so that the project team could also take a part of the work. This way, the net profit attributable to the parent company of the entire project could be increased, and his performance would naturally improve as well.

Having worked in the construction industry for so many years, how could Chen Xuebing not guess Luo Jianghui's mindset?
According to the revised Water Law of 02, river sand is a mineral resource, and it is illegal to sell river sand privately. However, the law has only been in effect for a short time, and most places have not yet included it in the formal supervision. For example, Chongqing has only issued local management regulations. As long as it is not illegal sand mining, river sand excavated for formal projects can be sold and handed over to the treasury at 11 yuan per ton according to the design calculation.

While calculations are possible, there are many reasons that can be fabricated to determine the specific amount to be submitted.

There are connections. Even if they over-excavated and sold a million tons, they only hand over 50 tons, or even 30 tons. They issue an explanation saying that the proportion of river sand was not high or the quality was not high, so the selling price was relatively low, and no one comes to investigate.

However, if someone takes it too seriously and makes a big deal out of it, it will definitely be a big problem.

Luo Jianghui's statement that he would notify the water resources department was clearly a threat.

To resolve this matter, Chen Xuebing either had to give Luo Jianghui a substantial bribe to benefit him personally, or he had to compromise and share a portion of the profits with the project team to boost his performance.

Most people would choose to bribe Luo Jianghui.

Chen Xuebing smiled slightly: "President Luo, I didn't go downstream to dig sand. Aren't you in a hurry for the progress? Luo An has already repaired the road. Now we plan to send people to the factory area to excavate and level the site."

This third section is a treasure trove, and its value extends beyond just the river sand. There is a large factory area within the city, located near the mountain, with a massive amount of excavation. Moreover, the geological survey revealed problems, with a very high proportion of stone.

Rock excavation requires additional measurement.

In addition, the Jiulongpo Port is undergoing expansion, which requires a large amount of earthwork for backfilling. It happens to be not far from the construction site, only a little over two kilometers away.

With the high selling price of stones and the short transportation distance, his excavation costs were not only offset, but he also made a considerable profit.

He just made a phone call to talk to a construction company about selling earth and stone.

This part alone will generate another two to three million in profit.

Adding both sides together, excluding the cost of river sand handed over to the treasury, the project can generate at least six million in profit. If the project is well managed, the 20 million project itself can generate more than 2000% profit, making it four or five million.

Total profit was over ten million, with a profit margin of over 50%.

Chen Xuebing said he could handle all 25 aspects of the project, and he wasn't exaggerating at all.

Luo An simply couldn't see these information gaps, and his management skills were also weak. In his opinion, this project would only make a profit of five or six million at most, and Yu Chunyin would take away three million (15% of the total project amount). Compared with other projects, the profit was not high at all, and the project manager was under a lot of pressure. So Chen Xuebing gave him an extra 20 to get rid of him, and the father and son left without saying a word.

Luo Jianghui, who was standing in front of him, also did not expect that this No. 3 factory area could make so much money. He was focused on the dredging project and breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that Chen Xuebing had not gone to the downstream river outside the city.

But Chen Xuebing's next words made him breathe again.

"I'll arrange for people to go to the riverbank in a couple of days. We'll start construction simultaneously to save time. Don't worry about selling the sand, Mr. Luo. I've already contacted the water conservancy leaders. The sand we dredge will be piled up on the bank and sold in a unified manner. The water conservancy bureau will send someone to calculate the quantity and price. After the project is completed, I will hand it over to the finance department. The leaders are even planning to present me with a banner."

Luo Jianghui couldn't understand the Chinese characters that Chen Xuebing uttered.

Does he not want to make money anymore?

"Mr. Chen, what do you mean?"

Chen Xuebing chuckled, put his hands behind his back, and looked at the busy river construction site without saying a word.

The illegal sale of river sand is an even darker business than civil engineering. Many organized gangs started out doing this, and many of them were later arrested and killed. How could Chen, a future business tycoon, do such shady things and be considered one of them?
He handed over the money from selling the sand before the project ended.

However, the project won't be finished until at least the end of next year, by which time he won't be short of those few million.

I'll just use it for now.

Moreover... this Peach Blossom Creek is very long, 68 kilometers long, and it's located upstream of the Three Gorges, so the task of dredging the river should be quite heavy.

Or, why not take the initiative to help the government solve some of its problems?
As Chen Xuebing was preoccupied with concerns for his country, voices rang out from not far away.

"Dean Zhang! It really is you! I've studied your hydropower project case studies before! It's great to finally meet you in person!"

The design institute leaders who came with Luo Jianghui shook hands with Zhang Qingzhong, expressing their excitement.

Upon hearing this, Luo Jianghui immediately looked over there and saw a sprightly old man who turned to look at Chen Xuebing with a complicated expression.

For such an ordinary project, they actually invited a top expert?

Seeing that Chen Xuebing remained silent, he hesitated for a moment, then turned and went to pay his respects to his senior.

After some mental calculation, Chen Xuebing walked towards Zhang Qingzhong with his hands behind his back and smiled:

"Dean Zhang, this project shouldn't be too difficult for you, right?"

Zhang Qingzhong nodded slowly: "It's not too difficult, it's just that the project has a long timeline. Chief Engineer Tang and I will plan it out, and we should be able to shorten the project schedule by two months."

"Okay, then you guys take care of the details. I'll leave this to General Manager Tang and Engineer Tan. I'm planning to visit the leaders of the Water Resources Bureau in a few days. Would you like to come with me?"

(End of this chapter)