Volume 1 Chapter 66: Drinking at Night

  Tan Qiping's first day at Donghua was also a tiring journey by horse and carriage. After dinner, Shen Huai, Xiong Wenbin, and Kan Xuetao bid farewell and left.

  Zhou Mingxing was quite optimistic:

  Xiong Wenbin's appointment as deputy secretary of the municipal party committee and director of the municipal party committee office is almost settled.

  His father-in-law was promoted, and the promotion was to a key position closest to the power core of Donghua at the county level, and Zhou Ming, who had been grinding his buttocks on the cold bench in the organ for many years, had no reason not to be excited.

  Tan Qiping also said at the meeting that he would promote and use young cadres, giving more opportunities for young cadres to develop. Zhou Ming thought Tan Qiping was saying this for him to hear, which made him extra excited.

  It was not yet nine o'clock when they came out of the Beigong community, after sending off Xiong Wenbin and Kan Xuetao. Zhou Ming pulled Shen Huai and said: "It's still early, if we didn't ask Hai Peng and Zhao Dong to come out for a drink?"

  Xiong Danni is also a newlywed, and her childlike temperament has not completely dissipated. She too wants to experience the wonderful nightlife of men.

  Shen Huai didn't bother to sweep away Zhou Ming's enthusiasm, so he called Yang Haipeng to ask where he was.

  It just so happened that Yang Haipeng was hosting a dinner today, inviting Zhao Dong and several building materials merchants who were interested in steel sales to eat together. After receiving Shen Hua's call, they rushed over to join forces.

  Shen Hua didn't have the mind to socialize, and seeing Zhou Ming's eager-to-please appearance, he also didn't want to reveal his relationship with Tan Qiping in front of unrelated people, so he made an appointment to casually chat at a newly opened coffee shop on Xinjian Road.

  In ninety-three, the leisure venues in Donghua City were still mainly tea houses, but from the afternoon on, the tea houses were all crowded with gamblers; and with Xiong Daini around, it wasn't convenient to go to those nightclubs that were full of prostitutes.

  A newly opened coffee shop on Xinjian Road was quite deserted, but Shen Hua happened to like quiet places, so it wouldn't be too strange to drink there.

  They agreed to meet at a coffee shop called Yudian. Shen Hua drove there and found that Yang Haipeng and Zhao Dong had already arrived. They had eaten nearby and were eager to hear about Shen Hua's meeting with the newly appointed municipal party secretary.

  "Lao Xiong's errand is settled, Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee and Director of the Municipal Party Committee Office," Shen Huai looked at Zhou Ming's slightly uncomfortable expression and took the initiative to help him finish his sentence. He also joked, "From now on, we'll all have to rely on Lao Xiong's breath to make a living..."

  "Hey," Yang Haipeng and Zhao Dong, who were close to Xiong Wenbin, were genuinely happy for him. Yang Haipeng patted Zhou Ming's shoulder and said with a smile, "Old Xiong has succeeded, you little guy is going to prosper along with him, but don't forget about us old brothers..."

  "Are you scolding me? But to be honest, this matter still has a lot to do with Shen Hua," Zhou Ming also knew that Shen Hua had introduced his father-in-law to Tan Qiping, and his father-in-law was able to get such an important position, which couldn't erase Shen Hua's credit. He then asked Shen Hua, "By the way, what is your relationship with Secretary Tan? You seem both familiar and unfamiliar?"

  "When Vice Mayor Chen was around, he had a good relationship with Secretary Tan, and I also relied on this connection to get Secretary Tan's care." Shen Hua lightly glossed over his relationship with Tan Qiping, not wanting to bring up the sign of Song Huasun in front of Zhao Dong and Yang Haipeng.

  Shen Hua's explanation was quite consistent with Zhou Ming's speculation, and he even felt lucky for Shen Hua, saying: "You are really lucky, Vice Mayor Chen died suddenly due to illness, and Secretary Tan rushed to Donghua to take office. Otherwise, sitting on a cold bench like me for several years would be unbearable."

  Thinking that the days of sitting on a cold bench were finally over, Zhou Ming was also exceptionally excited. When the waiter brought the menu, he directly asked what good wine they had and excitedly ran to the front desk wine cabinet to select wine. Xiong Danni rarely went to cafes before, but as a 25-year-old newlywed bride, she looked very curious.

  Shen Huai also followed Zhou Ming and asked Zhao Dong about his meeting with the dealer over lunch.

  "They are all downstream distributors of the Meikou steel market, mainly taking goods from Wanhao Company before, with a layer of profit being squeezed in between, and the profit is not high. At this time, they saw that the steel products coming out of our steel plant were not suppressed by Wanhao Company in the market, so they also moved their hearts," Zhao Dong reported to Shen Hua about the situation during dinner, "However, their business scale is relatively small, but they are very trusting of Haipeng and have a good relationship with him. There are two people who are from the municipal steel plant, thinking of joining forces..."

  "How much money can you raise?" Shen Hua asked Yang Haipeng.

  "About two million yuan should be enough, can the steel factory give more discounts?" Yang Haipeng leaned in.

  "With such a small amount of goods, you have the nerve to ask me for discounts?" Shen Huan lit a cigarette and said, "I plan to provide different treatment standards for different distributors based on their funding scale and inventory turnover rate. I will also provide corresponding market support. You can only come up with 2 million in funds, which is really too low. To be honest, you should at least put out 5 million in funds, and I can give you the most preferential market treatment..."

  "The difference is 30 million, where do you want me to steal it from? Another thing, the price of rebar has been falling since mid-year. Even if there was no Wanhu Company, at this time, there are not many building materials merchants who dare to do steel business." Yang Haipeng said.

  The price of rebar has been falling continuously for half a year. Firstly, the State Council issued "Guo 16" in late June, strictly prohibiting and cracking down on real estate bubbles that appeared in Hainan and other places, which had a significant impact on the building materials market in various provinces and cities. Secondly, many small and medium-sized steel enterprises in various towns have rushed to launch rebar projects in recent years, resulting in a large amount of low-quality rebar flooding the market, causing market prices to slide successively.

  However, Meixi Steel Plant did not have the technical funds and could not introduce new equipment to transform production into high value-added plates.

  Currently, Shenhuai needs to eliminate the window steel products that have fallen behind the times. The most convenient way is to switch to producing threaded steel for construction purposes. Therefore, the steel plant will still face the impact of a continuous decline in market prices.

  Shen Huai smiled and said to Yang Haipeng:

  "Don't try to fool me with that nonsense. Now, there are many companies producing rebar, they have simple production conditions and low costs, even if the quality of the steel is poor, they can still make a profit by lowering the price. The current market is not favorable for regular steel enterprises like Shanghai Steel Factory and Meishan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. However, the domestic building materials market will only expand in the future, not shrink, and the overall environment will get better and better. Although there are many people cutting corners everywhere, high-quality rebar at a good price will still have a way to survive. In addition, I can adjust the ex-factory price of steel every 15 days. As long as you don't hoard goods, the risk of market fluctuations will be borne by the steel factory instead of you. Can you say that I haven't given you any benefits?"

  Domestic steel prices have only gradually loosened up this year, and major steel companies adjust the ex-factory price of steel products every two or three months, or even longer.

  The price fluctuations in the steel market are usually large and frequent.

  For small and medium-sized distributors, steel companies adjust their ex-factory prices only once every two or three months, or even longer, so they have to bear the risk of market fluctuations, which is a bit unbearable.

  Shen Hua agreed to shorten the price adjustment period to 15 days, which is very beneficial for small and medium-sized distributors. As long as they have a fast enough inventory turnover rate, they can obtain relatively stable profits and be less affected by market fluctuations. Only those distributors with ample funds would think of hoarding goods in large quantities to engage in market speculation.

  "The benefits are there, but it's not easy to come up with an extra 30 million, it's really not an easy thing." Yang Haipeng said.

  "Can we get a loan?" Shen Hua asked. Given the financial situation of Mei Xi Steel Factory, even if Tan Qiping put pressure on the bank, it's unlikely that they would lend much more money to the factory. In fact, since the distributors have money and the steel is selling quickly, it's equivalent to having sufficient production funds for the factory.

  Of course, the whole process needs production, procurement of raw materials and other links to cooperate.

  Shen Hua said that he had solved the problem of 30 million funds through loans, Yang Haipeng smiled bitterly and said: "Except for Gao Tianhe and Wu Haifeng's son, who can get 30 million from the bank with empty hands?"

  What Yang Haipeng said is also true.

  Currently, domestically, the policy support for private enterprises is very weak. Especially after the tightening of monetary policy in mid-year, people like Yang Haipeng have no other means, even if they have sufficient collateral, it's still very difficult to borrow 3 million from banks this year.

  Shen Hua thought for a moment and said, "Alright, you register the company in Meixi Town, promise me that all business taxes will be paid to Meixi Town, and I'll see if there's any way to help solve your department's funding problem..."

  "Really?" Yang Haipeng was also worried about the funding issue, and when Shen Hua agreed to help with this too, he couldn't help but feel a little overjoyed, and looked at Shen Hua suspiciously, "You're not going to take advantage of me, are you?"

  "Believe it or not," Shen Hua said with a smile, "come to the town tomorrow and find me. I'll discuss this matter with He Qing She to see if the credit union in the town can lend you some money."

  "The credit union in town has money, but won't lend it to the steel factory?" Yang Haipeng asked.

  "As long as you ensure that the borrowed funds are used for our steel sales, whether the loan is given to you or the steel factory, it's all the same. The difference is that the steel factory can alleviate its debt pressure, secondly, you can take this opportunity to expand your business, and thirdly, Meixi Town will also gain an additional source of tax revenue. And one more thing, you must not let me down..." Shen Huai said.

  Yang Haipeng snapped his fingers at the meaning of Shen Huai's words, and patted his thigh, saying: "Just because of this sentence, I'll risk my life to make sure this thing doesn't get messed up..."