Chapter 406: We Started Three Years Early

After Li Ye spoke, not only Hao Jian, but also Jin Peng and Li Dayong were momentarily stunned.

Wang Qiang muttered softly: "Qualify to attend the Great Hall meeting? That means he's a national delegate?"

"Clang."

Hao Jian shot to his feet, knocking the heavy solid wood coffee table several centimeters off-kilter, spilling tea onto his pants.

But Hao Jian felt no heat—he rose from his chair and began pacing in a circle with a two-meter diameter.

"National delegate… national delegate… if our Hao family produces a national delegate… this is insane."

Jin Peng couldn't help laughing: "Old Hao, sit down and calm down, will you?"

Hao Jian kept walking: "Let me cool off… let me collect myself."

"Can't you calm down by sitting? Why are you spinning like a grinding wheel?"

But Hao Jian only waved his hand, refusing to reply to Jin Peng; his face flickered with shifting emotions, clearly overwhelmed with excitement.

Wang Qiang muttered: "Jin Peng, ignore him—he always acts like this when he's flustered. We've seen it before."

"Hahahahahaha."

The others burst into laughter.

In fact, everyone knew Hao Jian's habit of "pacing in circles"—it was said that back when he first started selling sesame candy, it was winter,

the candy wouldn't sell in the freezing cold, and he was too shy to shout, so he'd stamp his feet and pace in circles; when others asked what he was doing, he'd say he was warming his feet, but really he was anxious about how to earn the few yuan each month for his daughter's medicine.

And when Wang Qiang said "we've seen it before," he meant the time Hao Jian and Jin Peng returned from Yangcheng for the first time.

Back then, they'd made nearly half a million in one go; Hao Jian thought he might become a millionaire, but Li Ye told him to think long-term—if they expanded their clothing business to the five neighboring provinces, even nationwide, how much could they earn?

At the time, Hao Jian had paced in circles while holding a beer bottle, unaware he'd spilled foam all over his crotch.

Because Hao Jian could do basic math—he roughly calculated that he might become a billionaire.

A billionaire! Zhu Shimao's foreign father in "The Herdsman" was a billionaire.

Back then, Hao Jian believed that if he ever became a billionaire, not only would his daughter's monthly medicine cost be covered—he could build her a golden house.

But now, only three years later, a billionaire was within reach.

Last year they made tens of millions; Hao Jian's share alone was over ten million; this year's projected profits would multiply several times over—if this continued for another year or two, Hao Jian would be a genuine billionaire.

But now, the sudden mention of "national delegate" made Hao Jian feel that being a billionaire suddenly meant nothing.

I've attended meetings in the Great Hall,

what kind of honor is that? No need to pretend—it radiates prestige on its own.

Take this example: after Hao Jian dies, his family genealogy might record: Hao Jian, wealthy merchant, benevolent to the village, died at 88—after a few decades, no one in the Hao clan will remember him.

But if it reads: Hao Jian, National Delegate, submitted Proposal XX to the people on such-and-such date,

sorry, ancestors, please move aside—first incense is mine, Hao Jian's.

In China, merchants have never held the status of merchants in the Lantern Tower; it's like Xue Baochai isn't even in the same league as Lin Daiyu.

As for why Jia Baoyu married Xue Baochai—it's because if Bao Er didn't pass the imperial exams as a top-rank jinshi, he wasn't worthy of Lin Daiyu.

Because he was the second son; family wealth, titles, status—they had nothing to do with him. At best, he'd be a lifetime idle playboy.

In the three years Hao Jian spent in Pengcheng, constantly drinking and socializing, he knew well the difference between an ordinary wealthy merchant and one bearing the title of National Delegate.

So after circling eighteen small loops, he returned to sit near Cha, his eyes blazing as he looked at Li Ye: "Little Ye, tell me—what should I do?"

Li Ye said solemnly: "Strengthen your foundation. Never forget your roots."

Seeing Hao Jian didn't understand, Li Ye glanced at the others, then said coldly: "We've grown too fast these past three years—we've forgotten where our foundation lies.

Everyone's making more money, feeling like it's blown in by the wind, as easy as raking fallen leaves—

but is money really this easy to make? Will it always be this easy?"

Li Dayong, Jin Peng, and the others immediately grew serious; even quiet Wang Qiang pulled out a leather-bound notebook to take meeting notes.

In their minds, Li Ye had never been wrong—if Li Ye said this money wouldn't always be easy to make, it wasn't just a matter of caution—it was time to organize and fight.

Seeing Hao Jian and the others' attitudes, Li Ye felt this team still retained enough drive and cohesion.

"Our foundation is our customers—the people who buy our products."

Li Ye said seriously: "From our start in 1981 until now, the mainland has always been a seller's market; as long as we didn't cheat or deceive, even if customers weren't fully satisfied, they'd still accept our products with generosity.

But just as eating meat every day eventually makes your palate picky, one day this seller's market will become a buyer's market.

Then there won't be customers lining up all night to buy—only merchants shouting desperately, trying to pull customers to their counters."

Everyone froze, then Li Dayong blurted: "Brother, if you're saying that, won't customers become the bosses?"

Li Ye nodded: "You're right—and that day may not be far off. When customers become bosses, if your product quality is poor, your prices aren't low, and you can't be top-tier in the industry, you'll be crushed."

"Making goods that are both high-quality and cheap isn't simple—it requires our management to rise to top-tier standards."

Li Ye spoke with grave seriousness; everyone listened in shock, for they simply couldn't imagine how anyone could crush Fenghua Clothing, which was wildly popular both domestically and abroad.

"Don't believe me?"

Li Ye saw their expressions—he knew they were skeptical.

He pointed at Hao Jian: "Hao Jian, you should know best—how has the dual-price system, implemented this year, affected our company?"

Hao Jian nodded: "It's had a big impact. Before, to buy raw materials, we had to submit plans and wait for approval, but since we were an export-earning enterprise, the authorities always supported us.

But since June, people have started approaching me, asking if I want raw materials—fabric, thread, that sort of thing—

since the prices were slightly higher than planned quotas, I mostly declined, and after that, no one came to me again."

"That's because they sold them to others—those goods sold out instantly."

Li Ye said: "Hao Jian, think—if you'd started your own small business this year, would you still need me, Jin Peng, Dayong, or Qiangzi to help you? Could you have built it yourself?"

Back then, when Hao Jian wanted to expand his business, he lacked capital and couldn't buy enough affordable grain.

Li Ye helped him secure the paperwork for agricultural processing households; Jin Peng helped him buy vast quantities of raw materials;

later, going to Yangcheng relied on Guo Donglun's connections to solve a series of problems.

But now?

Private business licenses are open—you pay a little more and you can buy raw materials. In this golden seller's market, isn't becoming rich easy?

"Little Ye, if I'd started on my own this year, maybe I'd have become a ten-thousand-yuan household, but I'd never have reached this scale—

so I, Hao Jian, would never do something selfish. I'm not ungrateful. Without you, my godfather, my daughter Cuicui might not have…"

Hao Jian had understood these things, but Li Ye kept using him as an example—he felt hurt and choked up, so he blurted out many hidden thoughts, tears blurring his voice into a sob.

"Enough. I'm not saying this to make you, Hao Jian, remember any debt—I'm warning you: our opponents are coming."

Li Ye tapped the coffee table, firmly: "If you've paid attention to the streets these past days, you've seen many new individual stalls.

If you've listened to industry rumors, you know many state-owned and collective factories have begun contracting or affiliating—and none of these people are soft, none are fools."

It's September 1984. Liu has used a 200, 00-yuan investment from the Computer Institute to found Lenovo.

Wang has already founded the predecessor of Vanke; talents from all corners are stepping forward, launching the forty-year battle for supremacy.

Hao Jian said gravely: "Little Ye's right. A few days ago, I heard Guo Donglun founded a company called Three Sheep Clothing, formed by merging three Yangcheng garment factories.

Guo Donglun is a deputy, but like I was back then, the boss doesn't interfere—he's the one in charge.

Guo Donglun has connections, has capital, and most importantly—he doesn't need to train workers or select cadres; the veteran staff and frontline managers from the three factories are already there."

Wang Qiang muttered: "Since summer, I've noticed many out-of-town garment factories coming to Beijing, trying to enter our malls.

I had Huang Gang investigate—they're all state-owned and contracted. Looking at them now, I think of our early days—but they're far stronger than we were; their factories already have strong reputations. We were just a handful of people back then…"

Li Ye nodded: "For garment factories, the gap is still small. We can recruit workers from the southwest, train them half a year, and in a year they'll reach skilled export production levels. But for Dayong's machinery industry, the barrier is much higher."

Li Ye looked at Li Dayong: "You started later than Factory Seven, and training workers is harder—so your future competition will be fiercer. Prepare mentally—don't obsess over short-term wins or losses."

Li Dayong nodded vigorously: "Brother, don't worry. I might not be good at other things, but if it comes to grit, I'll never give up—not even in death."

Li Dayong's declaration sounded awkward, but undeniably brimmed with determination.

Hao Jian and Jin Peng pondered, then said hesitantly: "Little Ye, how should we respond?"

"Yeah, Little Ye, how do we beat them?"

Li Ye looked at Hao Jian and Jin Peng—they reminded him of Sun Wukong on his pilgrimage, cornered by demons, begging Guanyin for help.

A surge of anger rose in Li Ye—he snapped: "I've laid it all out for you—do you still need me to tell you whether to throw a left punch or kick with your right foot?

Do you think I'm Principal Chang? Do you expect me to position every machine gun on the battlefield for you? If I had to do that, we'd already be losing!"

Hao Jian and Jin Peng exchanged glances, unable to hide their shame.

Both were now independent leaders—but after so many years of relying on Li Ye's "miracle strategies," they'd simply grown lazy, hoping to cut corners.

After scolding them, Li Ye felt a little better, then said: "Our advantage is we started three years early—we've spent three years accumulating experience, learning management, and securing markets.

Now we have capital, the Fenghua brand is established, and our market channels span the eastern provinces. Do you still ask me how to fight them? Just face them head-on and fight!"

"We've prepared for three years—we each have tens of millions in working capital.

I could just go back to my wife's workplace, do my job, you guys keep some capital, go home, get married, raise kids, sip wine, and live a cozy life."

Hao Jian and Jin Peng couldn't help laughing—not from shame, but from relief.

That's right! I've got people, I've got money—just go fight.

Jin Peng and Hao Jian aren't geniuses; they can't compare with the talents of this era.

But thanks to Li Ye's godlike support, they started three years early—and those three years were smooth sailing.

Three years ago, most smart people were too fearful to act—so now, they're just chasing behind.

Unfortunately, the Pengcheng Seventh Factory has already been fitted with four wheels by Li Ye—those behind would need to hand-craft rockets just to catch up.

(End of Chapter)

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