"What's there to be afraid of?" Wu Jianwei tossed his head nonchalantly, exchanging a glance with Wen Youmin next to him for encouragement. Wen Youmin gave him a straight face, so Wu Jianwei had to cheer himself up. "I've earned enough money in my life, and I don't need to leave much for my kids. They can work hard in the future. I'm not young anymore, and it's more important to do what I want to do. That's why I want to invest in Minhong."
Seeing everyone's attention focused on him, Wu Jianwei leaned closer to Lin Yao and whispered, "Nephew, you don't know, Uncle Wu used to feel resentful when he had to socialize, drink, and entertain others. Although he could make money, he wasn't comfortable. Now, when I'm socializing for Minhong's sake, I feel much better. When I think about how I was indirectly helping ordinary people when I did bad things, I don't feel guilty at all, haha."
"Alright, Uncle Wu, you don't need to invest anymore. You can become a distributor for Minhong, and we'll train you to become a nationally renowned major distributor, so you can make money and live comfortably." Lin Yao made a serious promise, thinking that there wasn't much money to be made as a distributor for Minhong, but the general distributor of Longcheng Group was rich. Long Yihun needed a capable person to help him expand the market. After all, he wasn't familiar with the pharmaceutical industry, and he wasn't comfortable hiring experienced people. These days, there's no shortage of talent, but trustworthy talent is really hard to find.
Upon hearing Lin Yao's words, Luo Jimin and Lin Hongmei were both taken aback. The couple exchanged a glance and quickly communicated without speaking. They instantly reached a consensus: let their son decide. After all, the company would be his in the future, and besides, their son's abilities had already surpassed those of the couple during this period.
"Alright, I'll follow my nephew's arrangements. From now on, I'll be working with Minhong." Wu Jianwei laughed heartily, his voice bright and cheerful.
Wu Jianwei was well aware of Lin Yao's capabilities. The more he learned about Minhong, the more he felt that his nephew was capable. A company with products ahead of its time could not find a matching R&D team. All the doubts were focused on Lin Yao. Wu Jianwei, who had become a shrewd person, naturally figured out the key figure in Minhong. Hearing Lin Yao's solemn promise, he was overjoyed. He felt that he was about to get rich, really rich.
"Uncle Wen will also invest, and Uncle Zhong will invest too." Lin Yao quickly made a decision. People who selflessly helped Min Hong during her most difficult time must be rewarded. Putting aside the difference between helping in times of need and adding flowers to brocade, the idea that "good people should be rewarded" is enough for the three of them to be gratefully repaid by Min Hong.
“I don’t have any money to invest. My wife used all of my salary to buy houses. She took out mortgages on two houses and paid the down payment for both, saying that she would give one house to each of the kids.” Wen Youmin waved his hand in refusal. He knew that the thing Lin Yao proposed must have great benefits, but unfortunately he really couldn’t come up with the money.
"That's alright, it's consignment sales. Payment is only made after the goods are sold. Minhong will distribute the goods." Lin Yao's words were clear and transparent, and everyone present immediately understood his intention.
This is clearly a way of giving benefits. Although it hasn't been revealed which medicine they're distributing, just looking at the booming sales of "children's cold medicine" these days, you know the profits are definitely not low. Even if they can't find distributors nationwide, the new company will still make a lot of money just by doing online sales. The three shareholders can easily earn millions, and maybe even become billionaires.
“Um…” Wen Youmin still hesitated. He couldn’t bring himself to do something like getting money for nothing. He mentally prepared his words to refuse, but he felt it wouldn’t be appropriate to refuse Lin Yao directly, as it would be too disrespectful.
“Youmin, well, it’s settled then. Anyway, you’ll still be the factory manager at Minhong, and they’ll just be shareholders. You’ll be a shareholder in the sales company, and you’ll be more strict with production management from now on. My Yao’er is trying to tie you down.” Luo Jimin stepped forward and patted Wen Youmin’s shoulder hard, then placed his right hand on it.
“Youmin, it’s not like you’re the only one who benefits. You’re not going to quit, are you? If you’re delaying my money-making, I’ll never forgive you!” Wu Jianwei pretended to be angry and approached Wen Youmin, punching him.
He was good at judging people and analyzing situations, and he knew that Minhong had big goals. Although the sales salary would earn a lot of money in the future, it was nothing compared to Minhong. What Minhong lacked was not money, but capable people. He would do his best to help her expand the market channels in the future.
"By the way, Yao'er," Lin Hongmei interjected. She thought her son's plan was excellent, and they should have thanked Wen Youmin and the other two. "I called you back today to attend a banquet hosted by the Drug Administration. They said it was to celebrate the successful completion of the last Western Pharmaceutical Trade Fair and to thank the pharmaceutical factories in Sichuan for their support. Your father said he wanted you to attend and help him make decisions. He's been so preoccupied with sales channels lately that he can't eat or sleep, always thinking about selling the medicines nationwide."
"Oh." Lin Yao agreed casually, immediately making a judgment in his mind: This is a trap!
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Chapter 201 The Feast at Hongmen
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The banquet was held in the banquet hall on the top floor of the Jinjiang Hotel. Although the hotel is no longer considered the most luxurious and upscale place in Chengdu, its cultural heritage remains. It would be quite surprising if prominent figures didn't choose the Jinjiang Hotel for their important events and banquets. This is perhaps a kind of fixed mindset; as time goes by and society progresses, things with more history become more valuable, and this is also true in the catering industry.
Regardless of the taste of the dishes at Jinjiang Hotel, the food in most big hotels and inns tastes pretty much the same. They have the same common taste and no special features. They only put effort into the color, aroma and flavor of the dishes. Each dish is ingeniously paired, but if you want to eat the specialty dishes in a big hotel, you are destined not to enjoy the authentic taste. This is true not only in Chengdu, but also in any place in the country.
When Lin Yao arrived at the banquet hall on the top floor with his parents, the banquet was about to begin. The small banquet hall, decorated in an antique style, exuded a sense of culture and a kind of luxury without dazzling gold.
The man who came up to them was Yu Guangjin, the director of the Drug Circulation Supervision Division of the Provincial Drug Administration. He was the middle-aged man who had accompanied Section Chief Li of the Provincial Price Bureau (I've got the administrative rank wrong, but please bear with me) to Minhong Pharmaceutical Factory to discuss pricing issues last time. Lin Yao remembered that he hadn't spoken then.
"General Manager Luo, General Manager Lin, welcome, welcome." Director Yu warmly stepped forward to shake hands, then turned to introduce another young man who was accompanying him to greet the guests, "This is Section Chief Zhang Fan of the Drug Market Supervision Section of the Municipal Drug Administration. If you need any services in the future, please contact Section Chief Zhang for local matters, and I will handle matters outside of Chengdu."
"Thank you, Director Yu. You are truly a good public servant." Luo Jimin returned the greeting warmly and took the initiative to shake hands with Zhang Fan, whom he had just met. He thought to himself that Min Hong had indeed been negligent, not even visiting the relevant leaders in the city. He had been too busy and hadn't noticed. It seemed that he needed to have the office sort out these relationships. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Section Chief Zhang is a very promising young man."
Lin Yao stood aside, observing his father Luo Jimin's social interactions without making a sound. He felt that his father's interpersonal skills had improved a lot. He was no longer the straightforward and inflexible man he used to be. That kind of military-style communication was indeed not working in civilian life. It seemed that his father Luo Jimin had gone through a lot of trials during this period, and he had become much more tactful, both in his attitude and behavior.
This young Section Chief Zhang is no ordinary person. Although he and Director Yu are in the same department at the provincial and municipal levels, generally speaking, provincial-level department heads only deal with the top leaders of municipal units. Zhang Fan must have some powerful backing. Lin Yao, bored, began to research these things he hadn't cared about before.
"President Luo, please take a seat." Director Yu continued to warmly pull Luo Jimin toward the seat arranged on the stage, explaining in a low voice as they walked, "Inviting President Luo here this time was also the bureau's decision. President Luo, your actions have had a great impact. I can't handle it here. Section Chief Li from the Price Bureau is also here. Chairman Chen is unwell and cannot attend this time."
Lin Yao, with his keen hearing, overheard the conversation in front of him without missing a word. He thought to himself that Director Yu was an honest man and probably didn't advocate for Minhong to raise prices. He was only forced to host the banquet due to pressure from various parties. He guessed that was the same reason when Minhong asked for a price increase last time.
What a kind old man! He doesn't offend either side. With just one sentence, Minhong will have to repay his kindness in the future. Lin Yao didn't think Director Yu was hypocritical. In his opinion, it was already quite good that he could do this much. He liked anyone who didn't hinder Minhong's development.
"They're here." A whisper came from a table in the distance. "I wonder if we can get them to submit this time."
Lin Yao glanced casually at the table and saw two middle-aged men huddled together, glancing at them. One of them was Ma Yibiao, whom Min Hong collectively disliked.
"This is their last chance. Do they dare not comply?" Ma Yibiao squeezed out the words through gritted teeth, his trembling chin causing the fat on his face to quiver like the lapdog in "Tom and Jerry." "This time, the Provincial Drug Administration is leading the effort, and the price bureaus, industry and commerce bureaus, tax bureaus, and health bureaus from both the province and the city are all here. If they still dare to be so shameless, they'll be in for a world of hurt!"
Hearing this, Lin Yao suppressed his anger and gave the pot-bellied Ma Yibiao a cold glare. He thought to himself, "Just as I thought. Tonight's banquet is no fun at all. Its purpose is to force Min Hong to comply and cooperate with these people to gain benefits. Just by looking at Ma Yibiao's performance, I know that the whole banquet was initiated by these pharmaceutical companies and businessmen. They just had the functional departments take the lead, and the excuse was very lame. The Western Pharmaceutical Trade Fair has been over for a long time. It's too slow to celebrate now."
"Oh dear, this is not appropriate." Luo Jimin, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped and bowed repeatedly to Director Yu beside him with his hands clasped. "Director, this is really not appropriate. There are leaders at the table. I am just an ordinary person from a small factory. I cannot sit here. There are too many important people here. Please do not flatter me. I will fall."
One tried to persuade, the other politely declined. Director Yu and Luo Jimin stood three meters away from the chairman's table, locked in a tug-of-war. Lin Hongmei simply stepped back and went to her son Lin Yao's side to fix his hair, putting on a loving motherly image. In reality, she was just bored. She didn't know anyone in the room, and there was no one she wanted to get to know. She thought she should also pretend to be sick and not come today, and instead learn from Chairman Chen.
"Mom, there's no good news today," Lin Yao said in a low voice. "Look, Chairman Chen is pretending to be sick and didn't come. Mayor Duan, who you've always said strongly supports Minhong, also didn't come. But look, there's a vice mayor in charge of industry and commerce among those people. I've seen his picture on the government website."
"Hmm, nothing good." Lin Hongmei's tone was quite contemptuous. "It's all about money. One after another, they're all trying to take advantage of us. Your dad is smart. Look at how he refuses to sit at that table. They're all leaders from functional departments. If we sit there, we'll have the theme of today's banquet confirmed: a criticism meeting for Minhong."
Lin Yao sensed something from his mother's tone. Besides contempt, there was also a deep sense of helplessness. It seemed that his parents hadn't been living a peaceful life lately. On one hand, they were trying to figure out how to manage production and sales, and on the other hand, they had to deal with these wolves who had formed an alliance. These people were very powerful; they could even gather very influential government departments to coerce Minhong.
A surge of resentment arose spontaneously, and Lin Yao felt as if his chest was about to erupt like a volcano. Perhaps it was because of his cultivation that his abilities had improved, and his vision and realm were different from before. The worldly cultivation that Xiao Cao talked about made Lin Yao often think about how to adjust his attitude and principles of conduct. With so many self-suggestions, he couldn't help but feel a strong sense of rebellion.
Who do you think you are? My family wants to do some good deeds and you try to stop us. You've set up obstacles and played dirty tricks on us once or twice. I'm not playing with you anymore. If you want to do something bad, go ahead and try. I'll make sure you're all destroyed!
Lin Hongmei noticed Lin Yao's unusual behavior and held his shoulder with concern, "Yao'er, what's wrong? Are you angry?"
After a brief pause, Lin Hongmei immediately added, "Don't worry about these things. The business world is like a battlefield. Everyone goes through this. Our family is relatively well off. The experiences your Uncle Wu described are truly heartbreaking. Don't pay attention to these people. Your dad and I are holding on."
Lin Yao was moved and his expression softened instantly. "Mom, it's okay. I agree with Dad's plan. We'll start the nationwide online shopping service right away. If we're going to play this game, let's play it well with these people. If Minhong doesn't have a good life, they won't have a good life either."
"Yes, Mom will always support you. My son is the most capable." Lin Hongmei smiled contentedly, her radiance shining brightly.
The tug-of-war finally ended in Luo Jimin's victory. Perhaps because Director Yu himself did not have any ill feelings towards Min Hong, after the two sides clashed for a while, Director Yu led Luo Jimin to the table of the pot-bellied Ma Yibiao, where there were three empty seats.
After the banquet began and a few leaders exchanged a few perfunctory remarks, they immediately began toasting and drinking.
"Come, Mr. Luo, let me introduce you to a friend, Mr. Kong Xiangde, Chairman of Dujiangyan Pharmaceutical Factory." Ma Yibiao stood up enthusiastically, extended his right hand to Luo Jimin, and turned to a man next to him, saying, "Chairman Kong, this is Mr. Luo Jimin, General Manager of Minhong Pharmaceutical, and the most beautiful lady next to him today is his wife, Ms. Lin. You are in the same industry, so you should get to know each other better."
"Mr. Luo, hello." Kong Xiangde stood up and extended his right hand. "Minhong is really something else. They're almost making it so I can't afford to eat. Mr. Luo, please be lenient, haha."
Lin Yao looked up and saw that Kong Xiangde was about forty years old, thin, with a pointed chin, prominent cheekbones, and a pair of small eyes that were always half-closed. Occasionally, when his eyes opened wide, a hint of sinister intent would be revealed. His eyebrows were not thick, but thin and messy. According to physiognomy, such a person belongs to the category of having a sinister personality and is not suitable for being trusted.