Chapter 237 Insights

Chapter 237 Insights

Chapter 237 Insights
Coming out of Wansheng Knitting Factory on Tengfei Road.

Opposite is the bus company’s Tengfei Road hub station, which is also the bus company’s new headquarters.

After several months of renovation, the bus hub is now covered with solar panels.

Jiang Miao and Shu Ya came over from across the street.

Wang Hanbo, the general manager of the bus company, who received the notice, greeted the two at the door.

"Chairman, Mr. Lin, welcome to our office for guidance."

“How did the bus company perform in May?”

The group walked into the hub station.

"Chairman, the bus company is doing very well. In May, we carried 1371 million passengers, with passenger transport fees of 4257 million yuan. The sales of various products totaled 3511 million yuan, and the sales of charging services totaled 85 yuan."

Jiang Miao was not surprised to hear Wang Hanbo's answer.

After all, tourism in Shantou and Meishan was very popular in May, with the number of tourists received alone reaching nearly 1700 million. Excluding the duplicated part, it is estimated that about 700 to 800 million people entered Shantou and Meishan in May.

Among these tourists, quite a few will take special tourist buses, and together with the number of local people from Shantou and Meishan, the number of rides is so huge.

“Are there enough drivers at the moment?”

"It's enough for now, and I'd like to thank the head office for their help." Wang Hanbo said with a smile.

Previously, nearly 600 buses needed to be quickly restarted, but only more than 100 bus drivers were recruited. In order not to affect the development of tourism, Wang Hanbo borrowed more than 100 drivers who were in the induction training stage from the logistics division.

“How many employees does the bus company have at present?”

"Now there are about 1273 people, including 925 drivers, 51 maintenance and technical personnel, 157 logistics staff, and the rest are management personnel."

Jiang Miao looked up at the roof of the parking lot: "How many square meters of solar panels does this hub have?"

"It's about 5 square meters. It's summer now, and the sunshine time is relatively long. As long as it's not cloudy, we can generate about 8 kilowatt-hours of electricity every day."

“Is the power storage center sufficient?”

"Enough."

After visiting the bus company, Jiang Miao and his wife's convoy arrived at Shakeng Village, Jiesheng Town, in the eastern part of the city in a low-key manner.

This is also one of the first villages to be included in tourism assistance.

Jiang Miao had been here once before.

The tourism content of Shakeng Village is not agricultural-oriented like other villages, but museum-oriented.

"This is the ancient human site that we accidentally discovered when our company was developing a durian plantation." Jiang Miao introduced it to Shuya.

Jiang Miao, who possesses the identification panel, also has a huge effect in archaeology.

In addition to the previously discovered part of the sand pit ruins, there is another part hidden underground. He had been here once before and knew the core distribution area of ​​these ruins and how many things there were.

Therefore, he developed a specific area under the pretext of developing a durian plantation. In the process of transforming the terraces, he excavated these ancient human sites. Then, in cooperation with the city’s cultural heritage protection department, he transformed the area into a sand pit site museum.

The distribution of the sand pit sites is somewhat counter-intuitive.

These sites are distributed on terraces and hillsides, rather than in river valleys, lakesides or riverside plains as people imagine.

Shuya was taking pictures with her mobile phone. In the glass display case in front of her were more than a dozen ivory tusks.

“Is this the tusk of an ancient Asian elephant?”

"Yes." Jiang Miao nodded: "This site was a tribal settlement from 2460 to 2800 years ago. Since the development level of the southern region was relatively low at that time, there were not many bronze artifacts here."

A total of 29 bronze artifacts were unearthed from the entire Shakeng site, and most of them were small pieces.

There are three bronze artifacts that are of relatively high value because they have texts from the Chu and Yue countries on them. One of the bronze artifacts records the process of this tribe surrendering to the Chu State and being bestowed with bronze artifacts by the King of Chu.

In addition, there are more than fifty oracle bone inscriptions made from turtle shells, as well as many shells, stone tools and wooden objects.

This was a southern barbarian tribe in the late Neolithic period, and they acquired some bronze artifacts through exchanges with the Chu and Yue states in the north.

Arrived at the west side of the museum.

This is a burial area with many human skeletons, and even skeletons of South China tigers, Asian elephants, ancient East Asian rhinos, and ancient Lingnan crocodiles.

"This should be the sacrificial pit and burial area of ​​the ancients."

Shuya joked as she took photos: "They are all animal bones. It seems that this ancient tribe is much poorer than the tribe at the Sanxingdui ruins."

"It is definitely not as good as Sanxingdui. The main reason is that there are not many copper and tin resources in Lingnan. In addition, in ancient times, this area had a subtropical monsoon forest climate, and the level of human development was definitely lower than that of the Yangtze River Basin and the Yellow River Basin."

Jiang Miao has traveled along several major transportation routes in the country and discovered quite a few ancient relics along the way, so he is very familiar with the distribution of ancient sites in the country.

For example, in the North China Plain, the underground ruins are extremely densely packed; the scale of ruins in the Yangtze River Basin and the Northeast region is second only to the North China Plain; and the scale of ruins in the Pearl River Basin is the smallest.

However, the Shakeng site at least has something interesting. Jiang Miao has no intention of developing the other ancient sites in Shanmei, mainly because they are not of great value.

The value of an ancient site is mainly determined by its scale and unearthed cultural relics.

There are bronze artifacts at the Shakeng site, and these are bronze artifacts with inscriptions, which are directly related to the Chu and Yue states, as well as a large number of ivory, rhinoceros horns, tiger bones, crocodile skins, corals, shells, conchs, stone tools and wooden objects.

Only such a site can be developed into a museum.

Otherwise, how can we develop those sites with only a few earth pits and a few stone tools? Can we let tourists see the earth pits? The ticket money is not enough to cover the maintenance costs of the museum.

The two came out of the museum, and at the entrance of the museum was a seafood stall and souvenir shop run by the Shakeng Cooperative.

Shuya entered the souvenir shop.

"This is the conch I saw in the museum just now!"

The lady boss introduced it with a smile: "Pretty girl, this conch can be blown, you see..."

As she spoke, the proprietress picked up one of the conches with a small piece of the tail sawed off, and blew it up.

Bu bu bu…

In addition to conch shells, there are also one-to-one replicas of bronze artifacts, such as the bronze mirror engraved with the content of the rewards from the State of Chu, which line up in a row in the souvenir shop.

Then there are all kinds of small gadgets and various cheap jewelry purchased from Taohe Town.

Shuya bought a conch.

Jiang Miao bought a set of one-to-one replica crocodile leather armor, which cost more than 8,000 yuan and was made of crocodile skins raised locally in Lingnan.

In fact, in the burial area of ​​the Shakeng site, in addition to 5 relatively complete sets of crocodile leather armor, 8 relatively complete sets of rhinoceros leather armor were also excavated.

However, rhinos are now protected animals, so we can only develop crocodile leather armor as souvenirs.

Bought souvenirs.

The two came to the "Caibei Tribe" next door.

The so-called Caibei Tribe is the name of this tribe. It was named by the official Chu State because after this tribe surrendered to the Chu State, it presented a lot of giant clams, pearls and red corals to the Chu State, so it was named Caibei Tribe. This is one of the contents described in the 27-character inscription on the back of the bronze mirror.

And this "Caibei Tribe" is actually a food stall.

When Jiang Miao and his wife arrived, many tourists were kiln-baking sweet potatoes and making beggar's chicken.

In addition to these common local cooking methods, there are also reproductions of the ancient cooking methods of the Caibei tribe, namely "slate roasting", "stone pot fish", "big shell pot fish", etc. This is the cooking mode of the ancients inferred from the stone tools unearthed by archaeologists.

However, the big shell fish of the colorful shell department is obviously impossible to replicate, because the big shells used by these ancient people are the shells of giant clams, which are now endangered animals. Even importing giant clams from South Pacific island countries is illegal.

Today's Dabei pot is imitated from a specially customized ceramic pot.

"This store is doing good business!" Shuya sat next to the electric fan and looked at the almost full venue, with about one or two hundred people.

Jiang Miao saw that many tourists came with their families, young and old. Obviously, this mode of travel is more suitable for families with children. They can not only travel, but also learn about the lifestyle of ancient humans.

"Mr. Jiang?"

Hearing the voice, Jiang Miao turned around and found that it was Gu Haijing and his wife, with a little girl.

"Mr. Gu, long time no see. Is this your granddaughter?"

Gu Haijing sat aside with a smile: "Boss Jiang's eyes are sharp. This is Baiming's eldest daughter. I handed over the management of the company to her this year. Now she is traveling with her wife and taking care of her grandchildren."

"I see. It's good to take a break. After all, the company will be handed over to young people in the end."

"Boss Jiang and his wife are also out for fun?"

"Yes! I just happened to have some time these days, so I took Shuya out for a walk."

Gu Haijing smiled and said, "Mr. Jiang's business is getting bigger and bigger. Your company's salmon is very popular now, but the investment cost is relatively high. Otherwise, I would like to build a low-temperature indoor breeding farm."

"Haha, this investment is very likely to be a loss-making business for a company without technology."

"Oh? I analyzed it a few days ago. There is indeed a considerable risk of loss. I wonder how Mr. Jiang will solve it?"

Jiang Miao explained: "The current wholesale price of our salmon is 80-90 yuan per kilogram. The water in the low-temperature farm needs to be kept at a low temperature. Each cubic meter of water requires about 30 degrees of electricity per month. The breeding density of our farm is 30 kilograms per cubic meter. Adding other expenses, the average comprehensive investment for each salmon is 4.5 to 6.5 yuan per month."

"It takes six months to raise a pink salmon to two kilograms, and the cumulative cost is about 15 yuan per kilogram. When it leaves the factory, the gross profit per kilogram of pink salmon is about 70 yuan."

Gu Haijing immediately understood the key point: "Is it the breeding cycle?"

"That's right. For every additional month of the breeding cycle, the overall breeding cost increases by about 4.5 to 9.5 yuan. Especially in the later stages, as the body size increases, the space required for activities and the amount of food consumed also increase, which will gradually push up the breeding cost."

Gu Haijing, who had learned about the relevant situation, nodded slightly. "With Norway's land-based farming model, it takes at least 20 months, and it can only grow to a little over three kilograms in 20 months. The cost of Atlantic salmon per kilogram is 35 to 40 yuan. Once the market price falls below 40 yuan per kilogram, this farming model will become unprofitable and may even lose money."

"Our company achieves profitability by shortening the breeding cycle. Currently, the breeding cycle for pink salmon is about six months, for sockeye salmon it is eight months, for chub and silver salmon it is twelve months, and for king salmon it is eighteen months."

“Can you meet the physical requirements?”

"Of course, for example, under our company's breeding model, king salmon can basically grow to 12 to 13 kilograms in 17 months. The breeding cost is about yuan per kilogram, so the profit is quite considerable."

Gu Haijing was envious: "This cost can crush the imported king salmon!"

"In terms of site expenditure, our costs are actually slightly higher than those of Norwegian companies. Our only advantages are feed costs and breeding cycles, plus the advantages of local transportation."

Gu Haijing thought of something: "Boss Jiang, I heard that a Norwegian company invested in a large land-based salmon farming base in Xiangshan, Zhejiang Province. Their costs should be relatively low, right?"

Jiang Miao nodded slightly: "Yes, the current cost of salmon per kilogram in Xiangshan breeding base is about 35 yuan. They breed it in Norway, and the cost per kilogram is about 45 to 50 yuan."

Hearing this, Gu Haijing knew the future trend of salmon: "It seems that imported salmon has no future."

Just as Gu Haijing expected.

The import of salmon will definitely collapse in the future.

The breeding costs in the Nordic, South American and New Zealand production areas are similar, at around 40 to 45 yuan per kilogram.

If air transport is used, the transportation cost per kilogram is about 30 yuan; if sea transport is used, the transportation cost per kilogram is between 10 and 20 yuan.

Plus a 7% tariff on imported salmon.

How does imported salmon compete with domestic salmon?
Even Norwegian companies have chosen to build breeding bases in China, and with Hailufeng Company's new technology for breeding salmon, imported salmon will definitely fail in the future.

Although he was very envious of the profits from salmon farming, Gu Haijing did not say anything, because whether Hailufeng Company had plans to authorize external parties could be found out by checking the official website.

Since Hailufeng Company’s official website did not have any notice regarding external authorization, if he asked now, he would still be rejected, which would put him in an awkward position.

The two chatted for half an hour and ate some cooked sweet potatoes and beggar's chicken.

During this time, Jiang Miao saw many delivery men in red uniforms coming to pick up kiln chicken and other products.

These deliverymen in red uniforms are actually deliverymen from Fengmei Takeaway, a subsidiary of the logistics division of Hailufeng Company.

Fengmei Takeout currently operates mainly in Shanmei and does not conduct business in other places.

The reason why it only operates in Shanmei is that, on the one hand, this is the headquarters of Hailufeng Company, and on the other hand, it is because Hailufeng Company has a large number of contracted cooperative catering stores locally, which can form a local takeaway supply chain with relatively rich products.

In other places, Fengmei Takeout does not have a complete supply chain system. Without a complete supply chain system, Hailufeng Company will not engage in takeout business locally.

After all, unlike other food delivery platforms, Fengmei Takeaway is responsible to consumers and must strictly control the quality of its food delivery products. Restaurants are not allowed to enter Fengmei Takeaway casually.

Currently in the Shantou-Meizhou area, except for Jianghai Restaurant, Magong Cold Meals and physical specialty stores directly owned by Hailufeng Company, a total of 349 other restaurants have obtained market access qualifications.

If the store is unwilling to accept the quality control of Hailufeng Company, Fengmei Takeout will not put any products of this store on the shelves.

Another difference between Fengmei Takeout and other food delivery platforms is the treatment and status of the deliverymen. These deliverymen are all formal employees of the company, and there is no such thing as labor dispatch.

After Fengmei Takeaway was officially launched in various places in Shantou and Meishan in May, more than half of the local Kangaroo Takeaway deliverymen were recruited almost overnight.

In order to compete with Fengmei Takeaway, Kangaroo Takeaway had to frantically distribute discount coupons locally and dispatch deliverymen from other places to provide support.

Unfortunately, it's useless.

It is useless for Kangaroo Takeaway to give out discount coupons, because all the restaurants that have connected to Fengmei Takeaway have severed their cooperative relationship with Kangaroo Takeaway.

The main reason is that Fengmei Takeout chose to make concessions. For each takeout order, only a technical service fee is left, and the charging standard is 5% of the unit price.

However, the store has to pay another fee, which is the store's insurance deposit. This is to prepare for any unexpected events. If the store has serious product problems, it will not only be kicked out of the supply chain, but all insurance deposits will also be deducted. This fee is only charged once, and it is basically 5 to 20.

In fact, this fee not only involves Fengmei takeaway, but also involves physical consumption. As long as there is a problem, this money will basically be deducted by Hailufeng Company.

If the store does not want to open and no major food safety issues occur during the period, the insurance deposit can be fully refunded.

In terms of delivery costs, customers’ delivery costs are only about 50% of Kangaroo’s.

Adding up all these charges, minus the delivery staff's salary and performance, five social insurances and one housing fund, Fengmei only makes about one dollar from each delivery order.

It drives expenses and profits down so low.

This made Kangaroo Takeaway very frightened. In order to kill Fengmei Takeaway, they almost tried their best. They frantically distributed coupons in Shanmei and at the same time reduced the commission of local stores and increased the proportion of deliverymen's income, trying to suppress Fengmei Takeaway through this means.

It’s a pity that they seem to have forgotten the huge monster behind the beauty.

Kangaroo Takeaway is just an Internet platform and essentially does not have its own industrial chain. If they want to compete with Fengmei Takeaway, which has the home advantage, they must be willing to give up most of their profits and adopt the same low-price, low-profit model as Fengmei Takeaway.

At least in Shanmei, Kangaroo Takeaway can only survive by relying on discount coupons.

After all, Fengmei Takeaway's supply chain system relies on safety and high quality to attract customers. When prices are similar, many customers now actually prefer food with higher safety.

Hailufeng Company and its cooperating enterprises and restaurants dare to allow guests to visit the kitchen and production sites, and also welcome counterfeiters to purchase products for testing. This is where their confidence comes from.

Without a strict supply chain system, Kangaroo Takeaway would certainly not be able to guarantee the quality of its takeaway. In this regard, Fengmei Takeaway is absolutely leading.

Now Kangaroo Takeaway can still rely on its nationwide profits to compete with Fengmei Takeaway. Once Hailufeng Company completes its layout across the country, they will definitely not be able to withstand the offensive of Hailufeng Company.

(End of this chapter)