Chapter 996 Scheming
In terms of professionalism, no one can compare with Schneider in business matters. Even for the Panyu New City project that Luo Shengdong inquired about, Schneider must have been one of the leaders involved in the planning. If you are looking for professionals to give Luo Shengdong some advice, then Schneider is undoubtedly the best choice. Even if you only reveal a little inside information, it will be a huge business opportunity for outsiders. Luo Shengdong immediately figured out the key and quickly thanked Ning Qi.
Not long after, Schneider arrived as expected, and Luo Shengdong quickly stood up to greet him. Schneider smiled and said: "General Luo is a rare visitor, long time no see! Are you talking about official business?"
"It's both a business matter and a private matter." Ning Qi asked Schneider to take a seat, and then briefly recounted what Luo Shengdong just said.
After hearing this, Schneider said to Luo Shengdong: "Mr. Luo, you may have misunderstood what Director Ma said. The Panyu New City we are planning to build is not a city like Guangzhou, but a city mainly for trade. To put it simply, it is to expand the business scale of these commercial institutions in Panyu County and make the business functions more complete. Of course, when this place is completed, there will definitely be a lot of business opportunities.”
Luo Shengdong answered eagerly: "Please give me some guidance, Mr. Shi!"
Schneider said: "With all due respect, in the existing commercial trade industry in Guangdong and Guangxi, we basically have fixed partners, just like Mr. Luo acts as our agent for the salt business. If Mr. Luo wants to try other businesses across industries, This is no problem. We are all old friends, and we can provide you with relevant qualifications and technical support, but we can only treat everyone equally in terms of policy, otherwise it will be very unfair to other partners. "< br>
Luo Shengdong said: "Of course I understand what Mr. Shi said. In fact, I'm not talking about how much money I want to make from it. It's just that this private salt business is not a long-term solution after all. Even if it is for the sake of future generations, I have to think about it. Thinking about how to change careers in the future.”
Schneider smiled and said: "I didn't expect Mr. Luo to think long term!"
Luo Shengdong said: "Mr. Shi is joking. I just don't understand the future development direction, so I came to the leaders for advice."
Although Luo Shengdong is a rough man, he has been in contact with Haihan for so many years and can often get advice from these time travellers. His vision and knowledge have also gradually improved. I dare not say that he is too old, but at least he is far better. The level of general local officials or gentry. As for the prospect of smuggling salt, he had not only considered it himself early on, but he had also tried every means to inquire about it from Anxi and others. Generally speaking, the prospect was not promising.
The purpose of Haihan's private salt business with Ming Dynasty was to open trade channels and gradually control the supply of salt, a strategic material, in Guangdong and Guangxi. Although in the market opening stage, it mainly relied on the activities of private salt dealers like Luo Shengdong, But when these areas are gradually brought under the rule of Haihan, the supply and sale of salt will be taken back by the authorities. Luo Shengdong made his fortune in the early days by trafficking illegal salt from Victory Port to Fucheng and Danzhou City in Qiongbei. After Haihan captured Qiongbei, the salt markets in these areas were taken over by the public. Nowadays, there is no such thing as private salt on the entire Hainan Island. The Salt Industry Department under the Ministry of Industry of Hainan controls the market. Luo Shengdong can only transfer the scope of his activities to the mainland.
But even if Haihan will not take action against Guangdong and Guangxi in the short term, Luo Shengdong is not optimistic that his private salt business can continue so smoothly. As various departments in Haihan gradually become standardized, the rules for private salt trade are slowly tightening. Although this trend is not obvious, Luo Shengdong, a practitioner, can clearly feel it.
In the past, when Luo Shengdong purchased salt from the Salt Industry Department, he only had to report the quantity. As for where it was going, Haihan didn't ask too much. Sometimes Luo Shengdong had trouble with his cash flow, and he could even temporarily borrow the money for the goods, and then wait. Sell it, get the money back and fill in the holes. But now if you want to buy salt from the Salt Industry Department, you have to make a sales plan first. You have to come up with a clear plan for where and how much salt you plan to sell in order to get Anxi's approval. After that, you can go to the salt field with the approval document to get the salt you need, and the payment for the transaction must be settled before the goods are loaded and left. Regions like Panyu and Hong Kong that have fallen under the control of Haihan will no longer be in the sales area that Luo Shengdong is responsible for.
After Luo Shengdong realized this trend, he began to think about how to deal with it. It was obviously impossible to change Haihan's salt sales policy on his own, and it was also impossible to use money to bribe the Haihan officials in charge of this matter. Luo Shengdong did not think too much about these unrealistic methods. I quickly shifted my thinking to opening up new business. Haihan has so many businesses, and it is not only the trafficking of illegal salt that can make big money.
However, as Schneider said, the pits Haihan dug now are basically occupied by people, ranging from sailboats to matches. Haihan's products in various industries have entered Daming's sales channels, and almost all have dedicated sales channels. Agents and dealers are responsible. Luo Shengdong now wants to switch to other industries. Unless his sales market is an unfamiliar area that Haihan Business Network has not yet touched, it will easily compete with existing sellers. Without the special care provided by Haihan, it would be difficult for such late entrants to gain any advantage in the competition.
Schneider thought for a moment before speaking again: "Actually, there are many ways to get rich. It just depends on whether you want to make big money or stable money."
When Luo Shengdong heard that there was something going on, he quickly responded: "I would like to hear the details, and I would like to ask Mr. Shi to make it clear."
Schneider said: "If you want to make a lot of money, you have to go further and do business outside Haihan's control. Going north or south are both good choices. If you want to make stable money, then leave all your money with us. In the bank, just live on the interest.”
Luo Shengdong complained bitterly: "I was able to do this private salt business only because I had an official position in the Ming Dynasty. But after leaving Guangdong and Guangxi, my official position as the general soldier of the government was useless, and I was no longer good at doing business. It's not helpful. The maritime merchants in Fujian, Jiangsu and Zhejiang are more or less related to people in the officialdom, and their official positions in Qiongzhou are of no use. The south is a land of other countries, let alone survival. Money makes money, and if you only have a few family members, that would be enough, but now there are hundreds of people under you to feed, and you have to give them work to make a living. " Luo Shengdong said about the current situation. The understanding is still very clear, and I have not become complacent just because I have made a lot of money in the past few years. He knew very well what capital he used to make his fortune. Outside this area, few people actually knew who he was, Luo Shengdong. There are indeed many business opportunities in the unfamiliar areas outside Haihan's control area, but they are only suitable for bold adventurers to explore. There is really no need for people like him with a certain wealth to take such risks.
Schneider said: "There is not nowhere to go in the south. There are several ports on the Annan coast that are operated by us. Further south, there is Ampurna Island, which is preparing for tourism, Belitung Island, which is preparing for mining, and Malacca. The Star Island at the eastern end of the strait will be a key development area in the next few years. There are many infrastructure projects that can be invested in. It is hard to say how much you can make, but you will definitely not lose money. Go back and study the map first. , find the location of these places, if you have any ideas, go back to the Ministry of Commerce and see Ruan Jinggui and ask him to arrange it for you.”
Nguyen Ching Gui was a leader who had defected from the South Vietnamese regime, and his brother Ruan Ching Gui worked in the Police Department. Luo Shengdong recognized these two brothers. Schneider said this, Luo Shengdong naturally understood, quickly stood up, thanked him, and left.
"Although Luo Shengdong is a rough guy, he still has a good brain." Schneider praised with difficulty: "He can understand the situation, he is quite measured in his actions, and he actually knows how to show his loyalty in roundabout ways."
Ning Qi asked in confusion: "What kind of loyalty do you show?"
"Luo Shengdong has seen that we will gradually take back the salt industry monopoly, and he took this opportunity to specifically mention that he is planning to change his career. This means that he will obey our arrangements and will not engage in confrontation below. "Schneider smiled and analyzed Ning Qi: "He is now rich and powerful, and he can't do any business. Isn't it just to show his loyalty that he comes here to ask for instructions? Of course it is best for us to arrange things for him. Even if there is no arrangement, then It also gives me a sense of presence, which is not a loss.”
Ning Qi wondered: "Is this guy Luo Shengdong so thoughtful?"
"It's not too thoughtful. After all, I've been with us for so many years, and I know our habits to some extent. It's a targeted preventive measure. After all, I'm someone who has been in the officialdom, so I'm quite careful in doing things." Schneider's impression of Luo Shengdong was not affected by this. In fact, he quite admired Luo Shengdong's knowledge and interest. Among the officials of the Ming Dynasty who cooperated with Haihan, not all of them could understand things as clearly as Luo Shengdong. of.
Many officials who were promoted and made a fortune with the help of Haihan became more obsessed with power and money after they rose to power. In the past few years, the high-ranking Ming Dynasty officials who had taken refuge with Haihan were secretly dealt with by Haihan for corruption and perversion of the law. Officials, there are already double digits. After all, greed is not enough. Human greed is difficult to control. There are only a few people who can know how to advance and retreat like Luo Shengdong. If someone else was in charge of the agency rights of Haihan Salt in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions of mainland China, and handled such a large amount every year, it would be difficult to calmly hand over a project with such huge dividends to the competent authorities of Haihan.
After listening to Schneider's analysis, Ning Qi realized that there was something deeper behind Luo Shengdong's so-called "asking for advice". At the moment, he could only shake his head and sighed: "You still have many tricks in doing business. I I really didn’t expect it to be that deep. Forget it, business matters are not my responsibility. Your Commerce Department is responsible for that. Let’s get back to business. The preparations for the ceremony are basically in place and the guests have almost arrived. , the ceremony venue will be completed tomorrow, how is your work there?”
Schneider said: "I still have a little problem to communicate with you. The guests invited by the Ministry of Commerce to attend the ceremony were originally arranged to sit together with the guests from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, after discussing with Mr. Tao yesterday, I felt that it would be more appropriate to arrange them separately. After all, this is the founding celebration, not the previous investment fair. The political significance should be more prominent, so Mr. Tao asked me to discuss it with you and see how to make it better."
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In the various large-scale celebrations and international events held by Haihan in the past few years, including anniversary celebrations, a considerable number of guests invited by the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs actually overlapped with each other. Most of the foreign politicians attending these events also They all came with the mission of negotiating trade with Haihan, and among the foreign businessmen invited, many came with the political intentions of their backers. The boundaries between political and economic and trade activities are not clear, and it is common for officials and businessmen from various countries to sit at the same table during these activities.
However, this ceremony is of great political significance. If it is arranged in the same way as usual celebrations, it seems difficult to highlight Haihan's political considerations. Therefore, Tao Donglai suggested that the original venue and banquet seating arrangements should be adjusted. The dignitaries sent by various countries to watch the ceremony should be listed as the first level of VIPs, while businessmen, scholars, and social figures should be listed as the second level, with separate seating positions. arrange. Although this adjustment was very subtle and did not require major changes to the existing venue, out of caution, Schneider made a special trip to Ning Qi, who was in charge of the ceremony reception, to discuss it again.
Ning Qi immediately asked his secretary to find the guest list, and while checking it, he discussed with Schneider the identity of the guests. Regarding this largest celebration in the history of Haihan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been sending invitations to the invitees one after another three months ago. There are more than 400 guests invited this time, from more than ten countries. If all of them are present, including their family members, attendants, guards, and crew members, there will probably be at least two to three thousand people. Countries such as Annan and Portugal that have close relations with Haihan will not only invite the leading figures, but also a large number of businessmen to accompany them so that they can participate in the annual trade fair immediately after the celebration.
The foreign affairs department's initial estimate was that the number of foreign visitors that would need to be received during the celebrations might exceed 4,000, but judging from the current situation, this estimate is still conservative. Around March 20, the port authorities registered information on foreigners arriving in Sanya this month, and the number expected to stay until after the celebration had exceeded 4,000. As the conference date approaches, the number of foreigners arriving in Sanya to attend the celebration after March 20 is still rising, and is expected to exceed 6,000 before April 1. This will be a problem for Haihan's reception and security work. A small test.
(End of chapter)