Grassroots lawyers also have their day

Chapter 951 Zhou Yuantian

In the competition with larger firms, Yuanfang Law Firm once again lost out, which frustrated Wang Chuan.

At the end of June, Zhou Yiqiang called Wang Chuan and invited him to dinner on Friday night, saying he wanted to introduce him to a friend. Wang Chuan was suspicious, wondering what Teacher Zhou was up to.

On Friday evening, Wang Chuan was invited to Fengzeyuan. When he entered the private room, he saw Teacher Zhou chatting with a man in his fifties.

"Wang Chuan, come here quickly. This is President Zhou, and this is Wang Chuan, whom I mentioned to you. He is my student," Zhou Yiqiang introduced.

"Hello, Mr. Zhou." Wang Chuan hurriedly walked over and shook hands with the other party.

"Hmm, young and promising! I heard from Lao Zhou that your law firm is now doing both domestic and international business, quite a big operation!" President Zhou looked Wang Chuan up and down and said with a smile.

"It's all thanks to the trust of our clients and the help of our friends that Yuanfang Law Firm has achieved its modest success today," Wang Chuan said modestly.

The man in front of him, Mr. Zhou, was not tall, dressed very plainly, was balding, slightly overweight, and had dark reddish skin (it was obvious that this was the result of sun exposure; Wang Chuan had only seen this color on farmers in the village, and it was definitely not the wheat color that comes from sun exposure on the beach).

He had an honest and simple face, and his eyes lacked the cunning of a businessman, instead revealing a subtle wisdom. If you saw him on the street, you would definitely mistake him for a villager visiting relatives in the big city.

"Wang Chuan, President Zhou is from the same county as me. He was the top scorer in the college entrance examination back then. He's famous throughout our county," Zhou Yiqiang said after ordering the food.

"A true hero doesn't dwell on past glories; it's all in the past. Let's not talk about it!" President Zhou smiled slightly. "I heard from Old Zhou that your law firm is providing legal services to two farms. What are your thoughts on the development of these farms?"

Wang Chuan glanced at Zhou Yiqiang, who was smiling at him with a look of encouragement in his eyes.

"Mr. Zhou, I studied law, not agriculture. Please forgive me if I said anything inappropriate," Wang Chuan said with a smile.

"Don't worry, I didn't study agriculture in college. Just treat this as a casual chat. Don't worry too much, just say whatever comes to mind!" President Zhou said with a smile.

"We are currently providing legal services to a farm in Beijing and a farm in Shijiazhuang, both of which I was involved in establishing."

From a legal perspective, I think the main risks are related to land ownership and transactions. Labor risks also exist, but most farms rely heavily on seasonal workers, recruiting from surrounding villages; long-term employment is relatively rare. Many farms with the resources use mechanized operations, saving costs and increasing efficiency.

From a business perspective, if production is the only focus and the upstream and downstream supply chains aren't connected, the goods will be lost at the delivery point. The receiving party will negotiate prices on the spot, and previously agreed-upon prices will be void, making it difficult for the delivery party to make a profit. Moreover, vegetable cultivation requires technology; traditional farming methods have limited yields, rely heavily on the weather, and are quite risky…

Wang Chuan summarized the information he had gathered from Dr. Huang, vegetable farmers, and farm operators over the past two years and spoke eloquently about it.

Since Mr. Zhou asked about the farm, Wang Chuan guessed that Mr. Zhou must be interested in agriculture and wanted to invest in it. Judging from Mr. Zhou's skin color, he could conclude that Mr. Zhou was probably in the agricultural business. However, he couldn't understand why Zhou Yiqiang would introduce Mr. Zhou to him. It wasn't their business. Was he trying to develop regular clients for himself? It didn't seem like it!

"You just mentioned Shijiazhuang Ecological Farm. Do they have sales channels?" General Manager Zhou asked.

"Yes, in Shijiazhuang, our clients control everything from research and development, planting to transportation and sales. Their goal is clear: to streamline the upstream and downstream processes and maximize profits."

"Of course, there are people doing sales in other regions as well. One of my clients is in charge of selling farm products in the capital market," Wang Chuan said.

"Oh! It seems the Shijiazhuang market is well-organized, but the Shijiazhuang market is still small, with a relatively small population base. If we could enter a larger market, such as the capital, sales would double. How is the capital market? Do you know anything about it?" General Manager Zhou asked.

"I'm not entirely sure, but judging from the number of vegetable markets around Beijing and the vegetable basket project in previous years, the demand for vegetables and fruits in Beijing is definitely not small, mainly due to the large population base."

According to the census results, the permanent population of the capital city is over 20 million, but the actual number of people making a living in the capital city is definitely over 50 million. So the capital city is absolutely a supermarket! "Wang Chuan said.

"Yes, I agree with you. To be honest, my company owns a large farm with nearly 10,000 acres of land, but it's located in Xinjiang. Our main products include watermelons, cantaloupes, raisins, cotton, and dates."

"I came to the capital this time to expand the sales channels for my farm products. If there is an opportunity, I would like to ask you to help me connect with distributors in the capital and Shijiazhuang to discuss cooperation." Mr. Zhou said with a smile.

"Well, I can help you with this. Are you in a hurry to get back?" Wang Chuan asked after thinking for a moment.

"No rush, I'll be staying in the capital for a while longer. Just let me know when you've made the appointment. Here's my business card," said President Zhou.

Wang Chuan put away the business card and gave his own business card to the other party.

The three chatted and ate. After the meal, Mr. Zhou took a taxi back to the hotel, while Wang Chuan drove Zhou Yiqiang home and asked the question that had been on his mind.

"Teacher Zhou, I've never heard you mention this Mr. Zhou before!" Wang Chuan looked at Zhou Yiqiang with suspicion.

Normally, Zhou Yiqiang would introduce clients to Wang Chuan, but this time he wanted Wang Chuan's help. Wang Chuan found it strange, thinking that this President Zhou must have a close relationship with Zhou Yiqiang.

"Speaking of President Zhou, he's no ordinary person. There's a teahouse near my house. If you're not in a hurry to go back, how about we go sit down for a bit?" Zhou Yiqiang said.

Actually, Zhou Yiqiang had no choice. Boss Zhou asked him for help, but he didn't know anyone in agriculture or sales. Everyone around him was in law. After thinking it over, the only person who could be related to agriculture was Wang Chuan, because Wang Chuan had told him that Yuanfang Law Firm was the legal counsel for two farms.

"Okay!" Wang Chuan was very interested in President Zhou. He glanced at his phone and saw that it was only 9:30, so he agreed to Zhou Yiqiang's request.

Inside the teahouse, Teacher Zhou poured Wang Chuan a cup of tea, and Wang Chuan listened to Teacher Zhou's story while drinking the tea.

The CEO's name is Zhou Yuantian. He and Zhou Yiqiang are from the same county and attended the same high school. Zhou Yiqiang was one year ahead of Zhou Yuantian.

Zhou Yuantian was bright from a young age, consistently ranking at the top of his class. He later entered Peking University with the highest score in the province, majoring in economics. After graduating, he went directly to a national ministry, where he worked for two years before being transferred to a local government position in Guangdong Province for further training.

(End of this chapter)