Chapter 219 Steady Progress

Chapter 219 Steady Progress

Chapter 219 Steady Progress
Although New Century Fund has completed the acquisition of New Asia Bank, it does not mean that everything is fine.

Next, after the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission and the China Banking Regulatory Commission have dealt with the Quantum Fund issue, they will definitely investigate the New Century Fund’s acquisition of New Asia Bank.

Although New Century Fund did not have any obvious violations of regulations, just to be on the safe side, Zhong Liwen still had to deal with New Asia Bank as soon as possible, including resuming operations.

However, this time the bank is on the verge of bankruptcy, and New Century Fund has announced that it will privatize and delist New Asia Bank, which will definitely face a series of investigations.

It will probably take at least a year for everything to be settled and for privatization to be successful.

However, Jiang Miao, who was controlling all this behind the scenes, was not in a hurry. Hailufeng Company had not yet developed to the point where it could no longer expand in China, so there was no need to rush into overseas markets.

Moreover, Jiang Miao does not intend to enter the overseas market casually, so as to avoid encountering too many uncertainties. Only after he has made all possible preparations will he allow Hailufeng Company to enter the overseas market.

2027, April 2.

Lantern Festival.

The management of Hailufeng Company, which has completely resumed normal operations, has also begun regional rotation work.

Jiang Haibo went to the Mo'nan branch.

Zhang Xincheng went to Gannan Branch.

Jiang Miao is stationed at the Shanmei headquarters.

After half a month of transformation, the bus company has determined the new management team and approved Jiang Miao's appointment.

Acting General Manager Liu Deming handed over the relevant work to the new General Manager Wang Hanbo and returned to work in the secretariat.

Wang Hanbo came to the hub station on Tengfei Road, which is also the site responsible for bus maintenance and renovation, covering an area of ​​nearly 53 acres.

Considering that this is an important core site of the bus company, Wang Hanbo decided on the spot to move the bus company's headquarters office here, which would facilitate management while also allowing him to keep an eye on the bus renovation work.

Inside the renovation workshop.

A dozen maintenance workers are busy on a K7 bus.

"Director Li, how are the renovations for K7 arranged now?"

Technical Director Li Yuansheng raised his glasses and introduced to Wang Hanbo: "Manager Wang, the situation is like this. Considering the range, we changed the battery specifications. There are currently two specifications. One uses a one-cubic-meter battery cell, plus a matching shell. The overall weight is about 1.8 tons, the storage capacity is 400 degrees, and the range is 600 kilometers."

"400 degrees?"

"The other type is a half-cubic-meter battery cell, which weighs 900 kilograms, has a storage capacity of 200 degrees and a range of 300 kilometers."

Wang Hanbo stroked the stubble on his chin and said, "Our company operates in three shifts, each shift lasts six hours. This amount of electricity is definitely enough."

Li Yuansheng nodded: "Yes, after all, the bus speed in the city is only 20 to 30 kilometers per hour, and it will reach 60 to 70 kilometers per hour in the suburbs. In addition, the boss requires steady driving, so the battery is definitely enough."

In fact, Wang Hanbo also did one thing in the past few days. That is, he transferred all the drivers with bad driving habits to the logistics department of Hailufeng Company to drive large trucks so that they would not harm the buses.

After all, buses require a service attitude. Drivers with bad tempers or bad driving habits can easily lead to customer complaints or them not taking the bus in the future.

In order to revive the bus company, Wang Hanbo must find ways to change some of its previous shortcomings.

"Director Li, how do you replace batteries on a daily basis?"

Li Yuansheng explained: "The K7 replaces the battery from the bottom. We make the batteries into standard boxes. One box contains 20 kWh of cells. When a few are used up, we replace them when we change shifts."

“Is it easy to change?”

"It is convenient. We have borrowed the old equipment and added manual assistance. We can replace one battery in five to ten minutes. We are currently planning to set up 10 to 30 battery replacement rooms at each hub station."

Looking at the vending machine in the bus compartment, Wang Hanbo asked: "Will adding a vending machine cause the center of gravity to change?"

"Yes, so we switched to horizontal vending machines." Li Yuansheng took him to a modified bus compartment.

The two horizontal vending machines are located in the middle of the carriage and can be seen as soon as you get on the bus. They are sandwiched in the middle by the seats and fixed with a stainless steel frame to prevent the vending machines from moving during driving.

Walking over, there are small seats and limiters made from the central column. Customers can sit in a position similar to a long bench and operate the vending machine to buy things.

Wang Hanbo sat down, with his back blocked by a steel pipe and the space in front of him very narrow. After he sat down, it was difficult for him to move his lower body.

"This design is to prevent customers from staying put after buying something."

“How do I purchase?”

"There is a display screen. You can directly click what you need and pay by scanning the code, or directly inserting coins or bus cards."

Seeing that there were popsicles, ice creams, and cones in the vending machine, he tried it with banknotes and bought two vanilla cones produced by Hero Dairy.

While eating, I looked at the seats inside the carriage.

Excluding the three positions occupied by vending machines, there are 13 seats in the high back row, 6 seats in the middle, and 1 seat in the front, for a total of 20 seats.

If the benches are included, there are 23 seats.

In order to increase comfort, Wang Hanbo plans to reduce the number of standing spaces to avoid passengers being crowded together. During the peak passenger flow periods in the morning, noon and evening in the city, more buses can be simply added.

This consideration is mainly to increase the passengers' desire to consume on the bus. If everyone is as crowded as sardines in a can, the passengers will definitely not be in the mood to buy anything.

The two then came into another bus.

The vending machines here are designed to sell fast food. Although they are called fast food, in fact, this fast food is not perfunctory.

The job of making fast food is left to Jianghai Restaurant.

In addition to sandwiches, hot milk, hot coffee, and hot soy milk, there are also local Shanmei steamed buns, meat dumplings, vegetable cakes, radish cakes, and fruits.

This type of bus is specially used to pick up students, office workers and tourists in the morning. It is a special bus and does not accommodate the elderly.

After all, the elderly have problems with their consumption habits. They will not buy food in the car. Plus, they are prone to falling, which will make things even more troublesome.

Therefore, the elderly can only take the ordinary version of the bus.

Arrived at the tourist bus.

The decoration inside is different. There is one vending machine that sells beverages and another that sells local specialties and products from Hailufeng Company.

For example, alfalfa honey, hero cheese, dried mantis shrimp, dried shrimp, fish meal and so on.

In order to avoid quality problems, Hailufeng Company has signed contracts with many individual businesses to specialize in producing the center's specialties.

After all, the production environment of many things sold on the market is really difficult to control. Therefore, for food and the like, Hailufeng Company tries not to purchase them on the market as much as possible. Instead, it signs contracts with individual businesses, provides raw materials, technology upgrades and management training, and supervises them at all times to ensure quality.

For example, when it comes to dried shrimps, the freshness of the shrimps, the drying environment, and how they are stored on a daily basis may all pose food safety risks.

As for the so-called naturally dried seafood products, if you think about it, you will know that this production model is unreliable.

Other dust and the like are actually minor problems. The real big problem is the inability to avoid flies.

It is almost impossible to avoid this problem when drying seafood products in various small workshops.

Hailufeng Company sent a special technical guidance team to provide individual businesses with improved processes and the use of modern indoor drying equipment to fundamentally solve this problem.

Relying on the sun for drying takes too long, and the weather is changeable. These factors limit the output and lead to uneven quality.

Those who cling to traditional craftsmanship and production methods and are unwilling to embrace modernization will sooner or later be eliminated by the market.

After all, many young people are unwilling to learn this old craft that is difficult, tiring and does not make money.

This is the gap between the times.

An invisible barrier.

Many of these self-employed individuals who are willing to accept change have young people in charge of their families, which is why there is such in-depth cooperation in improving technology and production methods.

Some of the workshops are still small workshops run by elderly people. They were very unhappy when they heard that Hailufeng Company wanted them to change their production methods and processes.

They acted like they were the best in the world, and they had been doing this for decades, so why did they need your guidance? Or were they worried that Hailufeng Company would steal their skills?

After encountering such incidents several times, the company's agricultural cooperation department has also gained experience. Before selecting individual business owners to cooperate with, the first screening is to look at the age and educational background of the person in charge.

Generally speaking, the higher the education level and the younger the age, the more likely they are to accept new things. Especially those college students who have studied engineering and science, these people have a good degree of cooperation in improving production processes.

No wonder it is said that the only way to change the overall social concept is to starve the elderly to death.

After looking at the specialty vending machine, Wang Hanbo felt that the specialty product categories were not enough, but they were almost enough. After all, it was just a vending machine and there was not much space.

"Director Li, let's go take a look at the design of the new bus shelter."

"Okay, Mr. Wang, this way please."

The two came to an open space where several simple models of bus shelters for simulation experiments had been built.

These bus shelters are equipped with photovoltaic panels to replace the original sunshades.

“How many square meters are the photovoltaic panels?”

"8 to 16 square meters, with sufficient sunlight every day, can generate about 12.8 to 25.6 degrees of electricity." Li Yuansheng patted the advertising light box of the bus booth: "We installed sponge batteries inside the advertising light box, which can store 200 degrees of electricity."

Wang Hanbo carefully observed the various configurations of the bus shelter.

In addition to the common advertising light boxes, bus route maps and signboards, there are photovoltaic panels that replace sun visors.

A hole was cut in the middle of the advertising light box, and two vertical vending machines were inserted into it. Above the vending machines was an air conditioner that could blow cold air around in summer and hot air around in winter.

One of the vending machines is for purchasing bus cards, giving change and renting power banks, while the other is specifically for selling cold or hot drinks.

There are also four surveillance cameras in the four corners.

“Isn’t the electricity from the photovoltaic panels enough?”

Li Yuansheng did not deny: "It is indeed not enough. The cold drink vending machine requires 8-12 kWh of electricity a day, and another vending machine also requires 2-3 kWh of electricity. In addition to lighting, air conditioning, monitoring and communication control, it may require 30 kWh of electricity in summer, so we use battery replacement to supplement it."

"That's good." Wang Hanbo nodded.

The company has efficient and low-cost batteries, so it can indeed be more bold in its use of electricity.

Moreover, the air conditioning in the bus shelter is not turned on all the time. It is only turned on during the day in summer. If it is not cold in winter, there is no need to turn on the heating.

In addition, the core business of bus booths is actually selling cards.

In addition to bus cards and commemorative postcards, the vending machine can also be used to purchase coupons for Hailufeng specialty stores and Jianghai Restaurant. This machine also allows for lucky draws. If you recharge 1000 yuan, you can participate in the lucky draw once.

At the same time, the physical business department has reached a cooperation agreement with the bus company to promote the one-card business as soon as possible. That is, in addition to taking the bus, the bus card can be recharged directly to the Hailufeng specialty store, Jianghai Restaurant, and vending machines to swipe the card for consumption.

Further increase user stickiness by increasing business relevance.

The reason for promoting bus cards is that scanning codes to pay is sometimes inconvenient, especially when getting on and off the bus. Some people need to open their mobile phones, enter passwords, etc. This set of actions takes at least several minutes.

By swiping the bus card directly and adding facial recognition, you can save the most time when boarding the bus.

This is also to facilitate the elderly and primary school students who do not know how to use QR code payment.

After seeing the design of the new bus shelter, Wang Hanbo was very satisfied. Although it requires a large investment, it is a very necessary upgrade to enhance the bus company's diversified operations.

"Another thing is that in order to adapt to different customer groups, we need to change the appearance of the buses that used to be uniformly painted."

"What do you think, Manager Wang?"

"Ordinary buses are still green, but buses that serve tourists are blue-gray, and buses that serve students and office workers are orange."

"no problem."

"Since we want to promote the use of special vehicles for special purposes, the label reminder should be posted in a conspicuous place."

"I know."

After Wang Hanbo explained some things to Li Yuansheng, he went back to arrange the relocation of the headquarters and the renovation of various hub stations.

Some of the renovated buses have already started trial operation in various places in Shantou and Meishan.

It was around seven in the morning.

A bus was driving slowly on the road.

At a bus stop on Honghai Avenue, several old men were talking and laughing, and several students and two young people were waiting for the bus.

The bus slowly stopped at the side of the bus stop.

One of the old men wanted to go up first.

The driver reminded: "Uncle, this is a special bus for students and commuters, please wait for the next one!"

"There are buses and special cars?" The old man looked confused.

But students and young people have gone up.

Fortunately, another ordinary bus followed closely after a while.

On the bus carrying students and office workers, a young man took a look at the vending machine next to him and found that a middle school student had directly purchased a large bag and a cup of hot soy milk from it.

He looked at the time and found that it was almost eight o'clock. It was too late to go buy something to eat, so he just bought something here.

After entering the stall and sitting down, he casually ordered a serving of meat dumplings and a cup of hot soy milk. Picking up the box of meat dumplings, the young man showed a hint of surprise in his eyes: "Huh? Is this still Aye's meat dumplings?"

"Aye meat dumplings?" His friend was also surprised.

This restaurant is also a partner that was recently included in the list of contracted individual businesses by Hailufeng Company. Its meat dumplings are very famous in the urban area.

The young man opened the box, tore open the sweet and sour sauce packet, and ate a few meat dumplings. He nodded and said, "It is indeed the taste of Aye's house."

"Don't take up the seat, I'll buy one too."

All the way from six o'clock to nine o'clock, the three hours are the morning rush hour, which is also the peak period of breakfast sales.

Due to the good selection, these breakfast products were sold out.

Although the passenger volume was nearly 6% less than usual, the turnover soared a lot. Six buses were converted into buses for students and office workers, and each bus sold an average of 300-400 yuan worth of breakfast in the morning.

The gross profit is about 25%, and each car makes 75-100 yuan.

Hearing the news, Wang Hanbo breathed a sigh of relief and his confidence grew.

Although this kind of sales can only be achieved during the school term, if a bus can sell one or two hundred breakfasts a day, plus lunches and drinks, it can increase its revenue by more than 100,000 yuan. Add in the fares and body advertising, and it's a considerable income.

Of course, Wang Hanbo did not get carried away.

He knew that the bus company could be revived, on the one hand because the battery replacement did not cost too much. If the old battery cost was still the same, even if the bus company's revenue increased, it would not be able to cover the annual battery replacement cost.

At the same time, this is also the support of the group's strength. Without the help of other departments and subsidiaries of Hailufeng Company, the bus company would not be able to control the quality of its products.

The most taboo thing in the food industry is not being able to control the source of production.

Why do many online influencers’ efforts to promote products often end up in a mess?

The reason is that internet celebrities don’t understand production and cannot control production.

Brands can use Grade A products as samples for influencers, and then send Grade B products to consumers.

To achieve something like Hailufeng Company and firmly grasp the source of production, it requires investment of cost and effort.

The bus company is a free-rider.

Therefore, Wang Hanbo is very self-aware and understands that the bus company has shown signs of revival, and he is just benefiting from the head office. If a person with average ability were to manage the position now, the result would be similar.

Being self-aware, he continued with the arrangements for various tasks and also instructed his subordinates to conduct research and be ready to make adjustments at any time.

The changes in the bus company have also attracted the attention of many curious citizens.

Although Pengcheng Bus Company also sells breakfast, it is after all the Internet and news. Seeing it through the screen and experiencing it in person are two different things.

(End of this chapter)