Chapter 568: E-commerce Base Plan

Since Deputy Governor Luo of Guangdong Province is also interested in e-commerce, Chen Yang decided to personally make a trip to Goat City.

Shen Anna, upon hearing that Chen Yang was going to Goat City to see Deputy Governor Luo, also requested to come along. After all, Chen Yang wasn't paying much attention to the affairs of Old Hundreds Agricultural Products Trading Company, so any major matters in Goat City would still need her to step in and handle them.

After making contact with Deputy Governor Luo by phone, Chen Yang and Shen Anna boarded the flight to Goat City.

What surprised him was that, besides Mr. and Mrs. Ouyang Sheng, the person picking them up at White Cloud Airport was also Deputy Governor Luo's secretary.

He was about thirty years old, wore glasses, stood around 1.7 meters tall, and had a solemn expression when speaking.

"Hello, I am Zhou Xueli, Secretary to Deputy Governor Luo, sent by his order to pick up the two bosses."

Chen Yang shook hands with Zhou Xueli, then asked curiously, "Secretary Zhou, how did Deputy Governor Luo know we were coming today?"

Zhou Xueli slightly shook his head and said, "Sorry, Deputy Governor Luo only asked me to pick you two up; he didn't explain why."

Chen Yang guessed it was likely a message passed along by Old Master Chen, so he had Mr. and Mrs. Ouyang Sheng return first, while he and Shen Anna went to the Provincial Government to see Deputy Governor Luo.

On the way, Chen Yang asked Zhou Xueli, "Secretary Zhou, how prevalent is e-commerce here in Goat City?"

"Not many..." Zhou Xueli shook his head and said, "Around here the economy is still primarily based on physical businesses. Many merchants are still unfamiliar with the e-commerce industry."

"However, your company's e-commerce platform is indeed well done. Not only are the prices low and the quality good, but the service is also very thorough. My family all likes shopping on your platform."

Chen Yang immediately thanked him for the support of Old Hundreds E-commerce Platform. This also let him catch an important piece of information: Old Hundreds E-commerce Platform has already accumulated considerable popularity in Goat City.

While they were talking, they arrived at the Provincial Government. Under Zhou Xueli's guidance, Chen Yang and Shen Anna soon met Deputy Governor Luo.

"Chen Yang, Manager Shen, welcome to invest in Guangdong Province!"

Deputy Governor Luo's full name is Luo ZhiJun. According to Shen Anna's investigation, he is from Xin'an City in Dongjiangsheng, and after his term ended in Lianzhou City, he was directly transferred to Guangdong Province.

Coincidentally, Chen Yang has made major contributions to the economic development of both cities.

"Governor Luo, we've just arrived and know nothing; we still need your guidance!"

"I've heard about your matters in Goat City. They're just small issues that can be resolved right away." After discussing with Old Master Chen, Deputy Governor Luo already had a solution.

However, for such matters, if the parties involved don't step forward, he also doesn't like to meddle.

Now that Chen Yang has arrived, Deputy Governor Luo didn't get down to business but instead asked the two questions that had been bothering him: "Chen Yang, I'm curious—why did you think of using the internet to sell vegetables?"

"Also, agricultural products have low profit margins; with such a large investment, can you still be profitable?"

Chen Yang smiled and replied, "Governor Luo, we established the e-commerce platform primarily to maximize the handling of cold storage inventory. After all, we have agricultural product cooperation bases in many areas of Dongjiangsheng. As for profitability, we will definitely lose money at first. Now, because we have developed the e-commerce platform and expanded our sales channels, the pressure is much less."

Deputy Governor Luo nodded in strong agreement after hearing Chen Yang's explanation. Old Hundreds E-commerce Platform has sponsored the Spring Festival Gala for two consecutive years, sparking interest in the e-commerce industry among many people who were previously unfamiliar with it.

Over the past two years, Goat City actually already had some companies venturing into e-commerce. He also went to investigate, but their development was not promising.

Of course, the main factor is that Old Hundreds E-commerce Platform has already seized the market first. It not only has tens of millions of loyal users, but also opened up sales platforms for other merchants.

What's even more astonishing is that the services Old Hundreds E-commerce Platform provides to other merchants are all free of charge.

Since there is a free large market where transactions can take place, who would still seriously go develop a new market?

This is the fundamental reason why e-commerce in Goat City has failed to develop.

Therefore, regarding the troubles that Old Hundreds Agricultural Products Trading Company has encountered in Goat City, Deputy Governor Luo took notice right away.

He actually also strongly dislikes this behavior of neglecting public duties for private interests. However, since Chen Yang hasn't approached him yet, it would be inconvenient for him to intervene directly.

"Chen Yang, besides setting up a branch, do you have any other investment intentions for this trip to Goat City?"

Chen Yang pointed to Shen Anna and said to Deputy Governor Luo, "You should ask Manager Shen about that. I've recently been handling the merger and acquisition restructuring plan for Heavenly Enlightenment Pharmaceutical, and I haven't been paying much attention to the development of Old Hundreds Agricultural Products Trading Company. If it weren't for the problems arising in Goat City, I probably wouldn't have come this early."

Shen Anna immediately took over Chen Yang's words and said, "Governor Luo, we plan to establish a professional e-commerce base in Goat City, dedicated to training e-commerce talent."

"Furthermore, our company's logistics system also needs to be fully extended to every corner of Goat City."

Upon hearing this, Governor Luo was somewhat surprised. As the saying goes, "Teach the apprentice, starve the master." Yet Old Hundreds Agricultural Products Trading Company is not following the conventional path; instead, it is specially setting up a base to train e-commerce talent.

"Manager Shen, aren't you afraid that others will learn your techniques from the e-commerce base and then turn around to compete with you?"

Shen Anna replied confidently, "Governor Luo, competition brings pressure, and pressure brings progress. If someone can find our company's shortcomings, I should be grateful to them."

"Competition brings progress! Manager Shen, I love hearing that!" Deputy Governor Luo nodded satisfactorily. Seeing Shen Anna, he seemed to see a reflection of his younger self.

Shen Anna then looked at Deputy Governor Luo with eyes full of expectation and said, "Governor Luo, could you please grant our company some convenience? Time is money, and our development in Goat City has already been delayed for too long."

Deputy Governor Luo laughed and said, "Before you arrived, I had already given a heads-up to the relevant departments. I believe results will come soon."

"However, regarding the e-commerce base, you need to select the site yourselves. Once you've decided on the location, just give me a call."

Upon hearing that Deputy Governor Luo had already arranged convenience for Old Hundreds Agricultural Products Trading Company in advance, Shen Anna quickly expressed her thanks.

Having a deputy governor backing them makes the issue of building an e-commerce base in Goat City much simpler.

After concluding the talk with Deputy Governor Luo, Chen Yang immediately returned to the company and summoned Mr. and Mrs. Ouyang Sheng for a meeting.

As for Ouyang Sheng, Chen Yang's task is simply to connect all of Old Hundreds Agricultural Products Trading Company's operations in Goat City into a single line, so they can advance and retreat together.

As for Ouyang Sheng's wife, her job is to conduct market research. The task of selecting a site for the e-commerce base can be delegated to her.