Chapter 263 Taking over the inland grain transportation business

Chapter 263 Taking over the inland grain transportation business

Chapter 263 Taking over the inland grain transportation business
On February 2th, the annual Spring Festival is here again.

This is the fifth Spring Festival since Yang Wendong traveled across time to Hong Kong. It also has special significance because this year, the Yang family is no longer just three people, but has one more son.

Little Zhiwen is already 8 months old. He has grown a few teeth and can crawl. He is very active.

"Here it is, tomato fish, a dish I created myself. You can try it." Yang Wendong said with a smile.

During this year's Chinese New Year, Su Yiyi suddenly said that she wanted to cook by herself, because she hadn't cooked for a long time since her family became wealthy.

Yang Wendong agreed with this. Burning incense once in a while was a ritual, so he also participated.

However, if he wanted to do it, he had to be creative. After thinking for a long time, he realized that the tomato fish that he liked to eat in his previous life was not available in Hong Kong in this era, so he made a bowl of it himself.

"It smells good, but looks weird." Su Yiyi saw some fish slices and many different vegetables in the tomato soup.

Yang Wendong said with a smile: "Try taking a bite."

"Hmm." Su Yiyi picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of fish and cabbage, and put it into her mouth.

"How is it?" Yang Wendong asked.

Su Yiyi chewed it twice and said, "It tastes really good, Mom, you should have one too."

"Really?" Aunt Guo was a little bit unbelieving. She watched Yang Wendong grow up, and he had only cooked a few times in his life.

When the family was poor in their early years, Yang Wendong was the breadwinner of the family. She had to go out to do heavy physical work every day, and she and her daughter cooked the meals at home. Later, when they became wealthy, she stopped cooking even more.

After taking a bite, Aunt Guo said, "It's really delicious, but I haven't eaten anything like this in Hong Kong."

"It's a kind of food from CQ in mainland China. I just got to know the recipe by chance." Yang Wendong explained with a smile.

Su Yiyi said: "No wonder I haven't eaten it before, it's really delicious."

Aunt Guo also said: "It's just that this dish has too many side dishes. It's suitable for restaurants, but not for home."

Although a wealthy family would not care about a little bit of food, people who have come from poverty basically will not waste food.

"It's OK to eat a little occasionally. Eating it often is just okay." Yang Wendong said, "Let the chef learn from it later."

"Yeah," Su Yiyi nodded.

"Let's eat." Yang Wendong said again.

"Wait, this is the blessing bag I asked for in the temple. You can each get one. May it bless us to live a peaceful life." Aunt Guo took out two cloth purses and handed them to Yang Su and the others.

Su Yiyi saw the image on the purse and asked, "Auntie, did you go to Wong Tai Sin Temple today?"

"Yes, I waited in line for a long time before I got it." Aunt Guo said with a smile.

Yang Wendong said, "Yiyi, take it. We just need peace."

As for the Yang family’s wealth, there is no need to pray for blessings for prosperity. Instead, safety is the top priority.

"Yeah." Su Yiyi put the things away.

"Okay, let's eat." Aunt Guo said with a smile, "Adong, the fifth day of the New Year is for worshipping the God of Wealth. Do you want to come with us? After all, you are also a businessman."

"Then let's go." Yang Wendong thought about it and agreed.

Yang Wendong didn’t believe it in his previous life, but now that he has traveled through time, he thinks it’s either alien technology or it really is these…

People of this era still believe it very much, especially in Hong Kong. There are countless business tycoons who believe in feng shui and fortune-telling, and some even offer feng shui masters higher salaries than company executives.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. There's nothing wrong with going there once. For things like this, it's better to just believe it. Besides, you need to reassure your family.

"Okay, we'll go together then." Aunt Guo said with a smile.

The New Year’s Day passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye it was the fifth day.

Yang Wendong came to Wong Tai Sin Temple with his family and several bodyguard assistants.

This is the most famous place of worship in Hong Kong. It was built in 1921 and is located on the southern foot of Lion Rock in Wong Tai Sin District, Kowloon East. It mainly worships Chisongzi, Confucianism and Buddhism gods, such as Confucius, Guanyin, etc. The integration of three religions is also one of its major features.

After a short while, Yang Wendong and others completed the worship.

"If I had known it was so convenient, I should have brought you along last time." Aunt Guo said with a smile.

"No need~" Yang Wendong said, "Just use my name next time."

Many people come here, but even though it is a ancestral hall for charitable purposes, it also has VIP users. The super-rich in Hong Kong have their own place of worship.

On the way out, Yang Wendong suddenly saw an acquaintance.

"Mr. Huo." Yang Wendong stepped forward and greeted him. This person was none other than Huo Yingdong.

Many wealthy people in Hong Kong believe in Feng Shui. Plus, today is a special day, so it's normal to run into some acquaintances here.

Huo Yingdong had already seen Yang Wendong, and he also said with a smile: "Mr. Yang, hello."

"Has Mr. Huo finished his worship?" Yang Wendong asked again.

Huo Yingdong nodded and said, "Yes, after we just finished praying, Mr. Yang also believes in Feng Shui?"

"I kind of believe it." Yang Wendong replied with a smile.

Huo Yingdong smiled and said: "I believe it more. When I was young, my mother was seriously ill and many doctors said she could not be cured. Later, I prayed to God and she gradually recovered.

Later, when I started my own business, I encountered many difficulties, and it was my mother who prayed to God many times to help me overcome the difficulties. "

"I've heard that Mr. Huo believes in Feng Shui masters very much. So this is the case." Yang Wendong said with a faint smile.

There are several super-rich people in Hong Kong who trust Feng Shui masters very much. Both Huo Yingdong and Li Jiacheng are like this. Some even have their own Feng Shui masters.

Huo Yingdong asked again: "Mr. Yang, are you here to worship your career?"

"Not entirely, mainly I wish for safety and health," said Yang Wendong.

"I have both. Safety is also important." Huo Yingdong said, "But I also prayed to the Dragon King. I hope the weather can be more normal. Too many people are suffering now."

"Mr. Huo, are you worried about the mainland?" Yang Wendong asked back.

Although people in Hong Kong are also very tired due to the long-term drought, the drought has not yet reached its peak and life is not that difficult.

But the domestic economy is not good and is heavily dependent on agriculture, so abnormal weather will cause greater losses.

"Yes, I often go to the mainland, and the situation there is not good now," said Huo Yingdong.

Yang Wendong said: "There is nothing we can do about it. If it doesn't rain, there is nothing anyone can do."

Ordinary Hong Kong people cannot go to the mainland, but Huo Yingdong is an exception, who can go whenever he wants.

Huo Yingdong paused and asked, "Mr. Yang, do you have time? There are some things I need to discuss with you." "Okay, when I came here, I saw a small park nearby. We can go there and sit for a while." Yang Wendong agreed.

"Okay." Huo Yingdong smiled.

……

Afterwards, Yang Wendong asked his family to go back first, and he accompanied Huo Yingdong to a small park nearby and found a bench to sit down.

Huo Yingdong looked around and said, "This is a good place. No one will hear our conversation. It's safer than a hotel."

"Yes, open places are actually the safest." Yang Wendong nodded.

Before the invention of small wireless eavesdropping devices, no hotel was safer than one with no one around.

Huo Yingdong smiled and said, "Okay, actually I was looking for an opportunity to visit Mr. Yang, but I didn't expect to meet him today. There is something I hope Mr. Yang can help with, it's a business cooperation."

"Cooperation? In real estate?" Yang Wendong also became interested.

Huo Yingdong can be regarded as a veteran in the real estate industry in Hong Kong. He was a well-known Chinese tycoon in the industry more than ten years ago. It was also his pioneering of pre-sale and stratified sales that led to the rapid development of the real estate industry in Hong Kong.

It is said that in the 50s, Huo Yingdong only spent 20 Hong Kong dollars to develop a real estate project worth 500 million Hong Kong dollars, and after completion he could earn a profit of more than one million Hong Kong dollars.

After so many years, no one knows how much the Huo family is worth now, but it is definitely at least tens of millions, and it may even be hundreds of millions.

If it had not been suppressed by the Hong Kong government in 67, it would not have been the turn of Li Jiacheng and others in the 80s.

Huo Yingdong shook his head and said, "No, it's about shipping."

"Shipping?" Yang Wendong asked in confusion, "Mr. Huo also wants to enter the shipping industry?"

Huo Yingdong shook his head and said, "Not really. I want to import a batch of grain from overseas. The quantity is quite large, so it will require a lot of cargo ships. I heard that Mr. Yang recently bought nearly 20 ships, so I think we can cooperate."

"Food?" Yang Wendong immediately understood and asked in a low voice, "Does Huo Sheng want to buy food for the mainland?"

"It's not about buying, it's about transporting." Huo Yingdong did not intend to hide it and said, "Mr. Yang, the grain harvest in the mainland has been quite poor recently, so we need to import grain from overseas.

It’s just that the shipping companies near Asia are all short of ships, and you suddenly have 20 cargo ships here, so I have no choice but to come to you for help.”

Yang Wendong nodded and asked, "How much grain is the mainland going to import? Will it all be imported from Hong Kong?"

"I'm not sure how much grain we imported, but last year we imported almost 500 million tons." Huo Yingdong doesn't need to keep it secret, as all of this can be checked.

Then he said: "This year's volume is estimated to be no less than last year, which means there is a high demand for cargo ships. As you know, in the past few years, there were not so many transactions between the mainland and foreign countries, and there were not many ocean-going cargo ships.

Hong Kong will not be the only food importer, but it will become one of the important ports, so ships here will also be needed for transportation.”

Yang Wendong asked again: "Which countries do you import food from?"

"The United States, Canada, South America, Australia, and Europe are all fine. The mainland's policy is not to rely on any one company." Huo Yingdong paused and said:
"I heard that Mr. Yang's cargo ship is also used to transport his own products, and the destination is also the United States and Europe. Wouldn't it be a good idea to bring some food with him on the return trip?"

"Yes, it is indeed possible." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "It is difficult for me to agree to this matter now. I will make an appointment with the senior management of my shipping company to discuss it tomorrow.

If there is no big problem, I will arrange for her to come find your men?"

Huo Yingdong shook his head and said, “You don’t need to come to me for this matter, China Resources is in charge, I am just looking for a suitable partner for them.

I will ask the people from China Resources to negotiate with you, how about that? "

"That's fine." Yang Wendong nodded and asked, "Since the mainland is short of food, does that mean Hong Kong's food is also supplied by the mainland?"

"Yes, the mainland and Hong Kong have a supply agreement." Huo Yingdong added: "Even if the mainland is short of food, it still needs to supply Hong Kong, but perhaps because of the great difficulties, the price of food in Hong Kong has risen a lot recently.

The first step in introducing overseas grain from Hong Kong this time is to use overseas grain to supply the Hong Kong market. In this way, we can indirectly save some snacks for the country and save a lot of transportation losses.

But this is just the basic staple food, vegetables and meat still need to be imported from the mainland."

"Okay." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Once I'm sure everything is settled tomorrow, I'll invite people from China Resources to come and negotiate."

"Okay, Mr. Yang is straightforward." Huo Yingdong added, "You can discuss the specific cooperation price with China Resources."

"Ah."

……

The next morning, Yang Wendong came to Geely Building.

"Mr. Yang." Zheng Yuhua had known for a long time that the boss came to see her today for something, so she came here immediately.

"Sit down." Yang Wendong said, "How is the matter you asked me to investigate yesterday going?"

Yesterday morning, he met Huo Yingdong at the Wong Tai Sin Temple. After they separated, he immediately called Zheng Yuhua and asked her to arrange someone to find out everything within half a day.

"After receiving your call yesterday, I immediately arranged for several people to investigate, and also commissioned Qin Zhiye and Qin Sheng to work with them." Zheng Yuhua said: "From the information I found, the mainland imported nearly 580 million tons of grain last year.

The import trend this year is even greater, indicating that the mainland’s demand for food is increasing.”

Yang Wendong nodded and asked, "So the demand for ships is not enough in the mainland?"

"It shouldn't be enough." Zheng Yuhua said, "The country didn't have a large-scale long-distance fleet before, and there wasn't much business with Western countries. Now that we suddenly need to import so much food, there will inevitably be not enough ships.

I found out that China Resources has commissioned a number of shipping companies to transport imported grain, but many of these shipping companies are overseas and raise prices on the spot. Chinese shipowners are either too small and can only participate in small-scale transportation, or they are not very willing to participate in this matter. "

"What's there to be afraid of when transporting food? These people are too suspicious. Europe and the United States have no restrictions on food trade." Yang Wendong shook his head and said.

Although the two major camps in the world were in serious confrontation and blockaded each other during this era, food was not restricted.

Now the mainland is buying food and Western countries are selling it. Western countries can benefit from it, so how could they refuse?

Zheng Yuhua asked, "Mr. Yang, do you want to take over this grain transportation business?"

"Yes, we mainly go to Europe and the United States, and when we come back we take food orders, which is more efficient." Yang Wendong nodded and said.

Compared with various bulk goods, the transportation of mass commodities is very convenient. Take rice or noodles for example. They are fast to carry in packages and neatly stacked, which can greatly speed up the loading efficiency at the port.

This is also beneficial for Changxing Shipping, which needs to save time.

"Okay." Zheng Yuhua said, "Then I will ask the people from China Resources to come to our place to negotiate the price. Mr. Yang, what is our bottom line for profit?"

Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "It's good enough. Don't kick me when I'm down like other foreign companies. I don't need to make money from this."

If it were any other commodity, he might still consider it a business matter, but this is food. There are so many ways to make money, and there is no need for him to make more money in this way.

You don't even have to make any money, but doing so will easily lead to you being labeled, which is meaningless. Even if you want to help, there are still many indirect ways to do so.

"Okay." Zheng Yuhua agreed.

PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)