Chapter 56: Deputy Mayor Xu

Chen Yang had people tidy up the storefronts in Shuanglin Market. One was used as a temporary office for an agricultural products trading limited company, and the other four were used as warehouses for an agricultural products lifestyle supermarket.

As for the corner storefront facing the street, Chen Yang planned to open a lottery shop. The poorer the place, the more people fantasize about getting rich overnight. Shuanglin Market is located on a transportation artery, with heavy foot traffic, making it very suitable for a lottery business.

Moreover, during major football matches, Chen Yang could also rely on his memory to extract some benefits from the sports lottery director.

After planning the storefronts' uses, Chen Yang began posting notices to recruit people. Most of Lin Feng's friends were only suited for manual labor; clerical work still required people with higher cultural literacy.

However, after interviewing for a day, the results were not very satisfactory. Those who met the conditions lacked experience; those with experience were too conservative in thought, lacking pioneering spirit.

Chen Yang wanted to post recruitment ads on the Xingcheng University campus forum and Qingwang, but he worried about being discovered by Zhang Jun. After all, he and Liu Shijie were setting a trap for that guy. If his involvement in establishing a company in Qingshui were exposed at this time, it would scare the snake.

Having no other options, Chen Yang could only turn to Lin Wei for help. After all, she had served as the student union chairman at Xingcheng University for three years, had extensive personal connections and resources, and might be able to recommend suitable candidates privately for him.

However, Lin Wei told Chen Yang that her direct superior, Deputy Mayor Xu Li, wanted to meet him.

Before his rebirth, Chen Yang had little interaction with Xu Li. One was an ordinary citizen, the other a high-ranking mayor; they belonged to completely different worlds. This time Xu Li suddenly wanted to see him, probably due to Lin Wei's connection. As for whether it was public or private, Lin Wei did not say. She merely asked him to keep an appointment at Qingshui Grand Hotel.

Chen Yang went to Qingshui Grand Hotel with apprehensive feelings, and under Lin Wei's guidance he met that legendary deputy mayor schoolmate.

In his previous life, Chen Yang had seen Xu Li on television; she was also a great beauty. Seeing her in person today, he found not only was she beautiful, but her demeanor was also excellent. When greeting Chen Yang, she did not put on any airs of authority.

Xu Li sized up Chen Yang for a moment, then smiled and joked: "Chen Yang, you look even more handsome in person than in your graduation photo; no wonder Lin Wei likes you. If I were ten or so years younger, I would probably be charmed by you as well."

"Thank you for the praise, schoolmate," Chen Yang dared not joke recklessly with her, and cautiously asked: "Do you have something for me?"

Xu Li nodded and said: "Today I have two matters to discuss with you."

"First, thank you for the skincare product you sent; I really like it. However, this brand's skincare product is quite expensive. To avoid any influence, I think I should reimburse you for the cost."

After saying that, Xu Li took out an envelope from her briefcase and handed it to Chen Yang.

Chen Yang did not accept it, but instead said to her: "This skincare product I bought for Lin Wei, mainly because I was worried that following you on trips to the countryside would damage her skin. As for your share, it should be her thoughtful gesture toward a leader, and has nothing to do with me."

Seeing Chen Yang refuse the money, Xu Li passed the envelope to Lin Wei, but Lin Wei also refused to take it.

"Boss, don't overthink it. I gave you the cosmetics mainly to avoid others misunderstanding. We're on a business trip together; you got tanned black, I stayed fair and clean. Others might think... would they blame me, the secretary, for neglecting my duties? If you think it's inappropriate, I won't use them in the future."

"Saying that makes it my fault?" Xu Li laughed helplessly; Lin Wei's this sideways interpretation made her feel embarrassed to insist on her principle. She herself was not a rigid person, and since it was Lin Wei's goodwill, she no longer pressed the issue.

Lin Wei's background was known to Xu Li, and there was no need for her superior to deliberately look after her. As for Chen Yang, in fact it was she who had a request of him.

"Chen Yang, I heard you've set up an agricultural products trading company; how are the preparations going?"

"The company's operational procedures are still being processed; the office is temporary, and the staff are not yet complete. I estimate it will take at least a month to get on track."

"A month is too slow; you can start with preparatory work. Lin Wei told me you also have a lifestyle supermarket about to open. Have you solved the sourcing problem?"

"I have reached a verbal agreement with local agricultural products wholesalers to supply goods before the company operates normally."

"Oh, have you considered bypassing the wholesalers and purchasing directly from agricultural production bases?"

"That's a bit difficult. Finding suitable production areas, comparing prices, and negotiating all take a process. Then there is the transportation issue to consider. If the volume is large, storage also becomes a concern. Currently, my company does not yet have mature conditions for this."

"If I can coordinate these matters well, how much volume could you take on?"

"That depends on market demand. My preliminary plan is to run a one-month discount promotion for the supermarket, selling two tons per day, which would total about sixty tons."

Xu Li felt a bit disappointed; sixty tons was just a drop in the bucket for Qingshui City's current agricultural product backlog problem. But since Chen Yang intended to invest in agricultural product sales, she was still happy to support him.

"Here is a list of industries for Qingshui City and the surrounding counties; take a look at what interests you, and later have Lin Wei make you a copy."

Chen Yang took the document Lin Wei handed over, skimmed through it roughly, and retained the list of agricultural production bases related to Qingshui County.

"Although the suburbs are close, competition is fierce and resources have basically been divided up, not to mention there is no price advantage. Investing in the county town, his first choice is still his hometown Qingshui County. After all, that is where he grew up. Even if some unpleasant things have happened, they do not affect this sentiment."

Next, Xu Li again asked Chen Yang about his plan to establish the agricultural products trading company.

In order to obtain strong support from this schoolmate mayor, Chen Yang did not hold back his ambition.

"I plan to first establish stable procurement and sales channels in Qingshui City. Once the business stabilizes, I will build a mature logistics system to distribute Qingshui City's agricultural products to every corner of Dongjiang Province."

"Your tone is quite bold; can you also sell agricultural products in the remote mountainous areas of the countryside?"

"Where there is demand, there is a market. Cities have urban demand, rural areas have rural demand. However, at present the transportation conditions in rural areas are poor: roads are narrow, rugged, full of pits and puddles, and some places are still muddy tracks, making travel almost impossible during the rainy season. Such transportation conditions directly lead to a large increase in logistics costs, deterring even those merchants who wish to expand the market."

Xu Li agreed with Chen Yang's viewpoint. If Qingshui City's information infrastructure were better, the current agricultural product backlog problem would certainly be much smaller. However, this is not something that can be solved in a day or two; it requires substantial human, material, and temporal resources.

Her coming to work in Qingshui City bears a heavy responsibility!