Chapter 353

"Big godfather, this is the sesame candy my mom made by hand—it's delicious, even better than White Rabbit."

"Mm-hmm, Cuicui, you're right, it tastes just like White Rabbit."

"Second godfather, I'll give you an extra handful."

In the Sihe Academy of Zaojunmiao, Hao Jian's daughter Hao Cuicui was handing out a small bag filled with candy, one by one, to her several godfathers.

Jin Peng was the eldest, Li Ye the second, Li Dayong and Wang Qiang ranked third and fourth, so by the time Hao Cuicui finished her offerings, the little bag was completely empty.

After eating a few pieces and savoring his goddaughter's thoughtfulness, Jin Peng smiled and returned the candy to Hao Cuicui, lest the child drool uncontrollably.

"Big godfather, don't give me any—I've already eaten."

"Hey, your godfather's teeth are weak; too much sugar gives me toothache. Better give it to you!"

"Mm-hmm, I had a toothache a few days ago, but it doesn't hurt anymore."

Hao Cuicui sucked in her saliva while glancing toward her father not far away.

She was at the age of losing baby teeth; eating too much candy would surely cause toothache, and her mother An Xiaolian strictly forbade her from eating candy, while her father sometimes enforced the rule and sometimes didn't.

But at this moment, Hao Jian had no time to mind his daughter's candy-eating—he was deep in secret discussion with Li Ye.

"Li Ye, pooling funds to make drinks isn't hard—there are dozens of beverage factories in Pengcheng and Yangcheng; starting our own won't draw any attention."

"But if, as you suggest, the brand is entirely owned by a foreign enterprise, then the mainland's equity must be at least thirty percent, or approval won't be granted—we're famous for the Fenghua brand."

"At this year's Spring Canton Fair, we earned over twenty million U. . dollars in foreign exchange; the higher-ups asked me if I could buy back the Fenghua trademark. I barely managed to dodge the question."

The Fenghua brand clothing from Pengcheng Factory Seven was now a bestseller both domestically and abroad; countless people were envious.

But because the brand patent was held in Hong Kong, it shielded Hao Jian from immense pressure and secured his position as factory director of Factory Seven.

So when Li Ye mentioned the upcoming beverage joint venture, Hao Jian immediately voiced his opinion.

"Thirty percent is fine! If we're making money on the mainland, how can we not give mainland enterprises their share?"

Li Ye said calmly: "I've always said we can't just enrich ourselves. If you hadn't consistently paid your full taxes over the years, could you have gone from vice director to full director?"

Not long ago, Hao Jian's title as "Vice Director" was officially upgraded to Director, shedding the shackles on his head and becoming the top leader of Factory Seven—thanks partly to the Fenghua brand and partly to his adherence to the law.

"You're right, godfather. In the past two years, I've seen many people hoard money obsessively—I'd feel uneasy sleeping at night if I were like them."

Hao Jian continued: "But this year, I've seen private private enterprises spring up in Pengcheng. We're still attached to a state entity—shouldn't we start making moves?"

Li Ye said: "You handle it. But don't rush. Money isn't made overnight."

In 1984, a large number of future business titans began their rise, but many started out "attached" to state entities—like Some-Xiang, Some-Ke, Some-Xiang, and so on.

Their property rights reforms still needed years to mature, until the "State Retreat, Private Advance" movement began, allowing operators to acquire enterprise assets through various means, completing the transformation.

Pengcheng Factory Seven may appear "attached," but it truly grew from nothing to strength on its own—so the boundaries here require careful exploration.

Moreover, soon the mainland and Britain will conclude negotiations and issue a joint declaration, after which foreign capital will flood into Pengcheng, giving Li Ye multiple options.

Anyway, Li Ye had already informed Hao Jian and Jin Peng: if needed, they could simply restart from scratch with their workers.

Overall, the advantage is ours.

After waiting two days in Jingcheng, Pei Wencong flew in from Southeast Asia.

The two of them visited the sports industry's big boss together and swiftly finalized the sponsorship deal.

When Li Ye confirmed it again and again, he still felt it was "too easy."

"You're sure you signed a ten-year exclusive sponsorship contract with the mainland women's volleyball team?"

In 1984, the mainland women's volleyball team was at its peak—every move stirred the emotions of the entire population.

And this popularity would last for a long time, so Li Ye had instructed Pei Wencong to propose a ten-year, five-million-dollar sponsorship for both the Fenghua brand and sports drinks, which he felt was well worth it.

Though it seemed expensive at first glance, it would block many future competitors, leaving room to maneuver with other national team projects.

Like the upcoming Gymnastics Prince, for instance.

"Of course," Pei Wencong smiled. "Mr. Li's strategy is always ahead of its time. When we presented our sponsorship terms, the big boss not only agreed but also helped us smooth the joint venture procedures—everything went smoothly, saving us great trouble."

"We went at just the right time," Hao Jian added. "The person handling our case told us that others had also tried to sponsor the women's volleyball team, but they were too stingy."

"Besides, Old Pei's identity helped—he's an overseas compatriot devoted to the motherland's sports, far more meaningful than ordinary businesses."

"Huh~"

Li Ye smiled, knowing he had intercepted the opportunity.

Oriental Magic Water also sponsored the mainland women's volleyball team at this exact time, then leveraged it to sponsor the Olympic team five months later.

Its founder Li Jingwei, before becoming head of Sanshui Brewery, was deputy director of the sports committee in a district under Yangcheng, so he had long bet on sports sponsorship, propelling Oriental Magic Water to spectacular success.

Li Jingwei was indeed a formidable figure: lacking domestic production capacity, he found Pengcheng's Pepsi to manufacture for him, then rapidly seized half the mainland market.

Had mainland authorities not barred Oriental Magic Water's management from buying original shares in Hong Kong in 1997, and had Li Jingwei not angrily abandoned the approved Hong Kong listing, who knows how far Oriental Magic Water might have grown?

Later, it was said he tried to buy the company's equity with future profits; when negotiations failed, he attempted to relocate Oriental Magic Water out of the region to deprive it of tax revenue, triggering a series of conflicts that ultimately ended its glory.

Now that Li Ye had intercepted it, would the name "Oriental Magic Water" ever appear?

After finalizing the sponsorship, Hao Jian and Pei Wencong gave Li Ye a "surprise" in just half a month.

Before the joint venture was even fully approved, they had already designed the "samples."

"Mr. Li, this is the Pengcheng Red Bull we trial-produced according to your requirements—taste it and tell us how it is."

"Have you tried it?"

Li Ye looked at the familiar-looking can and asked Pei Wencong and Hao Jian.

"We think it's good—flavor is excellent, and it has a stimulating effect."

"Pops~"

Li Ye opened a can, took a small sip; the familiar taste stimulated his taste buds, bringing back memories of all-nighters from his past life.

This was the exact flavor.

In the future, due to brand disputes, Red Bull developed many flavors, making it hard to distinguish the real from the fake—but everyone still preferred the original taste.

"Immediately register the trademark, shoot the commercial, and arrange sales channels."

Li Ye laid out a series of arrangements.

At this point, Jin Peng's sales network and hundreds of sales staff came into play.

Fenghua brand clothing from Pengcheng Factory Seven was a bestseller in every mall across the mainland—so if we bundle it with drinks, you can't refuse, can you?

Besides, we're not losing money—who turns down profit?

But an unexpected incident occurred during the commercial shoot.

His brother-in-law Wen Guohua suddenly invited Li Ye to dinner and poured him a glass of wine as soon as they sat down.

Li Ye was taken aback and quickly asked: "Brother, you've got something to say, right?"

"Yes~"

"Ning Pingping came back from Chang'an half a month ago. I didn't want to meddle in her affairs anymore, but..."

Wen Guohua sighed, looked at Li Ye, and hesitated.

Li Ye understood perfectly—it was just the usual man's business.

But why had Ning Pingping come back from Chang'an?

Li Ye asked: "Brother, wasn't Ning Pingping supposed to be in Chang'an preparing for the filming of 'North Wind Soaring'?"

Wen Guohua shook his head: "She couldn't keep up, felt ashamed, and came back."

Li Ye froze, guessing what had happened.

Ning Pingping was a fashion model, not a real actress—mixing with professional film actors must have crushed her confidence.