Chapter 72: The Scam

  The Jianghuai Hotel, as one of the largest five-star hotels in Zhongjiang, is luxurious beyond words. Such a hotel is not something that ordinary people can afford to open. Wang Yimin was very puzzled - Wang Xu had only been in Jiangzhou for less than two months, how could he know such friends?

  Just as Wang Xu thought, he was originally going to give Wang Yimin a boost, but it's clear that this has gone a bit overboard. Wang Yimin had been in business for many years and although he hadn't become extremely wealthy, he had still experienced some small successes, made a small fortune, and after traveling around the country for many years, was very aware of the current state of society.

  Fortunately, Tan Yun-teng was by his side, and Wang Yi-min didn't want to keep asking questions either. After all, there were outsiders present, and he also wanted to give Wang Xu some face. He asked a few more questions but couldn't get any results, so he had no choice but to temporarily give up.

  Wang Yimin didn't ask any more questions, but Wang Xu spoke up and asked, "Dad, what business did you and Uncle Tan come to Zhongjiang to discuss?"

  "I and your dad heard from someone that there is a factory workshop on the Zhongjiang side that has been contracted out, which produces communication optical cables, so we came to take a look." Tan Yunteng said.

  "The workshop is contracted out." Wang Xu asked in surprise, he also knew that Wang Yimin had been involved in the communication optical cable a few years ago, but this external contracting of workshops was not so easy to operate.

  Wang Xu, although not a businessman, also understood what was going on with this foreign-contracted workshop. In recent years, economic development has led to the retreat of state-owned enterprises and the advancement of private and foreign-funded enterprises, which have developed rapidly. On the other hand, some state-owned factories have fallen behind in technology and management, starting to decline and face a desperate situation.

  In this case, many factories have started to think of ways out. Some attract foreign investment and merge with private or foreign-funded enterprises. Others contract out some workshops to private management. In fact, all these are due to the lack of their own funds and heavy burdens, which is a helpless measure.

  Although this is indeed the case, such things are not something that anyone can easily handle. A camel that has died of starvation is still larger than a horse. These state-owned factories have been losing money for years, but they also have some underlying resources. Some people without background who contracted workshops ultimately ended up with nothing to show for it.

  "I and Uncle Tan just came to understand, specifically still have to wait until we see the workshop again." Wang Yimin said.

  "How did you think of Zhongjiang's contracted car interval?" Wang Xu asked in confusion.

  "You stinky brat, how dare you speak like that? In these times, whatever makes money is what people do." Wang Yimin said with a bad tone.

  "This matter was introduced by your Uncle Yang. He has contracted a tin welding workshop in Zhongjiang, and the business has been going well for the past two years." Tan Yunteng explained.

  Yang Baisheng, the Yang uncle in Tan Yunteng's mouth, was also an old partner who had been struggling with Wang Yimin before. At first, the three of them contracted a work team together, then turned to deal with square wood, and finally turned to optical cables. They did a lot of business indeed. Wang Xu had seen him before, but Yang Baisheng hadn't contacted Wang Yimin for three or four years. Why was he so kind all of a sudden?

  "How much does it take to contract this workshop?" Wang Xu muttered to himself as he asked aloud.

  "What are you asking this for? Are you still thinking of helping me?" Wang Yimin said irritably.

  "It's not a lot of money, just over 10 million, your Uncle Yang agreed to lend 3 million, and I'll make up for the rest with your dad, it's almost enough to open." Tan Yun Teng explained with a smile.

  "Over a million." Wang Xu nodded, but still felt that something was off about this whole thing. These days, over a million wasn't even considered a lot of money. With just this little bit of money to take on a workshop, not to mention anything else, it was questionable whether they could even make a profit.

  Moreover, Yang Baisheng and Wang Yimin had not seen each other for three or four years, but he readily lent him 300,000 yuan. In Wang Xu's memory, Yang Baisheng didn't seem so generous before.

  Although he had doubts in his heart, Wang Xu didn't dare to pour cold water on Wang Yimin's face. Wang Yimin was proud and had been unlucky for several years. If he questioned him directly, he would inevitably be scolded, so he could only worry more to prevent his father from being deceived.

  Several people were talking when Wang Yimin's phone rang, it was Yang Baisheng calling to ask where Wang Yimin and Tan Yunteng were, Wang Yimin told him the address.

  About half an hour later, Yang Baisheng arrived and entered the business suite. Seeing Wang Yimin and others sitting in the living room, he laughed loudly: "Old Wang, you're doing pretty well now, actually staying at the Jianghuai Hotel, a place I've never stayed before."

  "This little scoundrel has arranged for us to be ripped off, I and Old Tan are not willing to spend this unjust money." Wang Yimin said with a smile, as he and Tan Yunfeng both stood up.

  "Lao Yang, you've finally made it big now. Just look at this style, one glance and you can tell he's a big boss." Tan Yun Teng said with a smile.

  "How could I not see where the air is?" Wang Xu muttered in his heart, this Yang Baisheng wore a deep blue Western-style pants, with a floral short-sleeved shirt on top, and a thick gold chain around his neck, with a black leather bag tucked under his arm, looking like either a nouveau riche or a big swindler.

  "Uncle Yang is good." Although he was sincere in his heart, Wang Xu also stood up and smiled to greet the other person.

  "Xiao Xue has grown up so much, is he also in Zhongjiang?" Yang Baisheng said with a smile.

  "This kid works at some affiliated hospital in Yun City." Wang Yimin said, as several people sat down on the sofa one after another.

  "The affiliated hospital of Yun City is a big hospital, and the treatment is said to be good. No wonder your dad was given such a nice room." Yang Baisheng sat down and praised Wang Xu.

  He had originally heard that Wang Yimin was staying at the Jianghuai Hotel, and he still felt a bit uneasy in his heart. When he saw Wang Xu's attire, he finally relaxed, probably because this kid was trying to save face in front of Wang Yimin.

  "The treatment is good, what's the matter? As long as he can make a living, I'll be at ease." Wang Yimin waved his hand and changed the subject, asking: "Old Yang, when will you take me and Old Tan to the factory?"

  "I'll go this afternoon and welcome you all tonight." Yang Baisheng said as he put his leather bag on the tea table in the middle.

  "Hey! Old Yang, this bag of yours isn't bad!" Tan Yun Teng looked at Yang Bai Sheng's leather bag and smacked his lips in praise.

  "There's no comparison, a bag worth only 20 or 30 thousand can't even be put on the table." Yang Baisheng said with a big smile.

  "Two or three hundred thousand." Tan Yunten took a deep breath, and said in surprise: "Old Yang, you're really generous, one package is worth two or three hundred thousand."

  "No choice, I'm dealing with people all day, if I don't carry a good bag, they'll look down on me. I'm also putting on a show." Yang Baisheng said with a wry smile.

  A few people chatted for a while, and it was already 12 o'clock at noon. Originally, Wang Xu planned to let everyone eat at the Jianghuai Hotel, but before he could speak, Yang Baisheng waved his hand and said that there was a good restaurant in Zhongjiang, inviting Wang Yimin and others to go and try it out.

  Several elders discussed matters, and Wang Yimin originally did not plan to let Wang Xu follow, but Wang Xu was worried about this Yang Baisheng, and insisted on following him.

  Yang Baisheng invited guests to this restaurant, the grade is not low, a meal cost more than 2,000 yuan, when settling the bill, Yang Baisheng opened his leather bag, inside there were many bank cards, Wang Yimin and Tan Yunteng couldn't help but feel envious, they had been struggling together, now Yang Baisheng has made it.

  After dinner, Yang Baisheng found a good teahouse and took Wang Yimin and others in to drink tea for a while. He made several phone calls before taking Wang Yimin and others to the factory they were going to inspect this time.

  The factory was called Red Star Communication Equipment, and it was very large with many workshops inside. Yang Baisheng led Wang Yimin and several others to the entrance of the factory, where they registered and were given a name tag by the security guard at the door before entering the factory area.

  Yang Baisheng was clearly familiar with the factory and led Wang Yimin and others into the office area of the plant, coming to a deputy factory director's office.

  "Haha, Director Yang, what wind brought you here?" A middle-aged man with a bald head in the office stood up and came over to greet him with a smile when he saw Yang Baisheng enter.

  "Director Cheng, I've brought two gods of wealth for you." Yang Baisheng smiled and extended his hand to shake hands with the other party, then introduced Wang Yimin to both sides.

  The bald middle-aged man was the deputy director of Red Star, named Cheng Bizhong, who was in charge of outsourcing workshops. Wang Yimin and Tan Yunteng shook hands with him politely. Cheng Bizhong enthusiastically invited several people to sit down on the sofa next to his office, ordered someone to make tea, and then looked at Yang Baisheng and said: "Director Yang, I'm afraid we can't accommodate you, Red Star's reputation is well-known, and many people have come to bid for the workshop..."

  "Director Cheng, this is not what we agreed on. My two friends have come all the way from Changzhou Province, and just a few days ago we had an understanding." Yang Baisheng interrupted before Cheng Biming could speak.

  "Director Yang, since you put it that way, I also can't not give you face, but there really are a lot of people coming for this, and my pressure is also very great. After examining it, you must quickly give me an answer." Cheng Bichong hesitated for a moment, his face showing difficulty as he said.

  "This is natural, can't Director Cheng still trust me?" Yang Baisheng smiled and said.

  "Alright, I'll take a few of you to see the workshop." Cheng Bichong stood up and said, Wang Yimin and several others also stood up and followed Cheng Bichong out of the office, going together to the factory's workshop.

  "Now there are only two workshops left for outsourcing, one is the dyeing workshop and the other is the sleeve workshop." Cheng Zhong introduced while leading several people to visit.

  "What you are contracted to do is only part of the workshop's process, the core part is still produced by the factory itself, and the sales at that time will also be handled by the factory. However, the personnel arrangement and management of the workshop will be decided by you, and the salary and benefits will also be paid directly by you to the workers, who will sign a contract with you."

  "What do we rely on for profit?" Tan Yunteng asked.

  "The finished products you produce will be priced by the piece in the factory, so don't worry about profits." Cheng Bichong said with a smile, and then gave a detailed introduction.

  According to Cheng Zhong, if Wang Yimin and his partner contracted this workshop, for example, the semi-finished products sent over from the previous process would cost one yuan per piece, while the finished product would be around 1.5 yuan. The factory would buy them back, so they wouldn't have to worry about sales. All the profit in between would belong to Wang Yimin and his partner, who only needed to bear the workers' wages and utility bills.

  "So it seems like this workshop is making a lot of money, why are you outsourcing?" Wang Xu asked in confusion.

  "The factory is under financial strain, and outsourcing is also a helpless move." Cheng Bizhong sighed.

  "I don't know where General Cheng is from, his accent doesn't sound like he's from Jiangzhou." Taking this opportunity, Wang Xu asked another unrelated question.

  "I'm from Nanhu, I've been in Jiangzhou for many years, but the local accent is hard to change." Cheng Bizhong also didn't mind, and replied with a smile.

  "Southern Lake people!" Wang Xu snorted coldly in his heart, finally able to confirm that this was probably a trap set by Yang Baisheng and Cheng Bizhong. Although Cheng Bizhong's tone carried the accent of Southern Lake, it was clear that he was from the north, with a slightly curved back, not even telling the truth about where he was from, definitely hiding something in his heart.