Chapter 192: How about I make you the CEO?

'I didn't think Mr Li Qingyuan actually knew me?'

Zhou Ming felt a little surprised. Not only him, but also Su Han and the bodyguard who came with him were a little surprised. He created the Linyang Eight Treasures Congee and built the Township Industrial Park. He even single-handedly brought up the stock market in Nanjiang. Although in these ways, Zhou Ming is considered a celebrity, due to his usual low-key demeanour, if one is not deliberately paying attention, one may not get to know him very well. ≧,

just as when Zhou Ming went to the finance class on the first day, he was directly treated as a new student by his classmates. These were all financial elites that the country was focusing on cultivating, and if they were like this, others were even less of a surprise. And now Li Qingyuan actually recognised him at first glance, which was surprising.

But this also made Zhou Ming feel that the success of a person is not accidental, especially for someone like Li Qingyuan who can become the richest person in the country. At first glance, it may seem that his paying so much attention to Zhou Ming is useless, but he can do it, and that is what makes him better than others.

Everyone is waiting for their chance to succeed, but opportunities are always for those who are prepared. If you are not prepared, then even if the opportunity comes, you will not be able to seize it.

Facing Zhou Ming's question, Li Qingyuan nodded with some excitement: 'Boss Zhou is the founder of Linyang Babao Congee. It's only been a few months since he turned a bankrupt state-owned cannery into a best-selling national brand. Boss Zhou's business acumen is truly admirable. I have always looked up to you, Boss Zhou, and that's why I read all the news about you.

Li Qingyuan paused for a moment before continuing, 'I always knew that you were young, but I never imagined that you would be this young. You have created such a large business empire at such a young age, and you will definitely become an incredible business tycoon in the future!'

Zhou Ming nodded slightly. In theory, since being reborn, with the help of his past life memories and experiences, he has already received countless such praises from people, and should have developed a very thick skin. However, now listening to Li Qingyuan praise him so much, it still made Zhou Ming feel a little embarrassed. The reason was none other than Li Qingyuan was too famous. He single-handedly brought out the brand Baby Smile and became the richest man in the country with this brand.

He remembered that in his previous life, Zhou Ming had never seen him up close. He had only seen him once from a distance at a banquet, through a crowd of people.

At that time, he was not only the richest man in the country, his wealth was even ranked among the best in the world, admired by thousands of people, while he was just a small and unpromising business manager.

But now, although he has been reborn and is no longer the same person as he was in his previous life, Li Qingyuan is still the same Li Qingyuan. He is still working on his doll and laughing brand, still insisting on his idea of building a beverage and food empire, and he is still the richest man in the country. This is the kind of person he is, and he actually praised himself like this in front of me, so how could Zhou Ming not be secretly delighted?

A few months ago, Zhou Ming would have been grinning from ear to ear at this. But now Zhou Ming has long since been tempered, and his face shows no expression. He just gives a reserved, faint smile and says, 'Thank you very much for the praise, Chairman Li. In my opinion, you are also a very remarkable businessman. I wonder if you have time now. Shall we find somewhere to sit down and have a good chat?'

Li Qingyuan nodded eagerly and said yes, and then Zhou Ming took him to a teahouse next door and asked for a private room. The waiter brought a pot of tea, and Su Han offered to help brew it. Zhou Ming picked up a cup of tea and handed it to Li Qingyuan while saying, 'This is the most famous Longjing in your Hangzhou City. Of course, I don't know what Qiantang Longjing or West Lake Longjing is, and I don't understand the difference between Meiyu Longjing and Hupao Longjing. I just know that Longjing is Longjing.'

Li Qingyuan just laughed in response to Zhou Ming's words, not knowing how to respond. Zhou Ming also understood that Li Qingyuan was not yet the national richest man who dominated the world in later generations, but just an ordinary entrepreneur who was older than the average in this era. So Zhou Ming didn't say much and got straight to the point, asking, 'You just said that if you were given a chance, you could increase the sales of my eight-treasure porridge tenfold to one billion cans?'

'Mr. Zhou, I was just... just saying that casually, don't take it personally, I didn't mean anything by it.'

Li Qingyuan scratched his head, feeling very embarrassed, like a primary school student who had made a mistake and been caught red-handed by the teacher.

However, Zhou Ming did not want this answer. After taking a sip of tea, he repeated the question: 'Comrade Li Qingyuan, I was asking you, just now you said that if you were given a chance, you could sell one billion cans of eight-treasure porridge, is that right?'

Zhou Ming's serious tone made Li Qingyuan freeze for a moment. He never expected Zhou Ming to ask him this question so seriously.

However, he was only stunned for a moment, and then nodded very vigorously and replied, 'Yes, if I'm given the opportunity, I can sell one billion cans of eight-treasure porridge!'

On hearing Li Qingyuan's answer, Su Han chuckled and said, 'It's really easy to talk when you're not the one doing the work. We're talking about one billion cans, not eleven. You think you can just sell them? I know you're the chairman of Baby Smile Company, and your company makes oral liquids, but it seems that you haven't even sold a million bottles? That's less than one thousandth of what you've promised. You're really blowing your own horn a bit too much, aren't you?'

'I'm not bragging, I'm really confident. As long as you give me the opportunity, I can definitely make it!' Li Qingyuan said immediately, as if he was a little annoyed by Su Han's questioning.

Zhou Ming also smiled. He wasn't in a hurry to answer, but instead took a sip of tea before saying, 'Mr. Li Qingyuan, this is not just about blowing hot air when doing business. You say you can do it, but what makes you say that?'

Zhou Ming saw that Li Qingyuan was hesitating a little, so he added, 'Can't say it? It seems that's all you're capable of.'

This sentence immediately ignited the anger in Li Qingyuan's heart, and he immediately spoke rapidly, 'No, I really can do it, because I have investigated the current market situation and found that food is still a market gap. If we can be the first to enter and seize this market, we will be able to make a lot of money. A billion cans may seem like a lot, but if we put it out across the country, it will be one can per person.'

'Investigate? How did you investigate?' Zhou Ming asked curiously.

'I'm from Hangzhou. Although our Hangzhou is not comparable to Binhai and Yanjing, it is also very representative in the whole country. However, there are very few food products on the market, especially those that can be eaten as soon as they are opened and that pay attention to taste. I still remember my daughter's birthday last year. At that time, there was no eight-treasure porridge yet. I ran all over Hangzhou City, but I didn't know what to buy, just because there was none, because there were so few of these things on the market.'

Li Qingyuan said, turning his attention back to Zhou Ming: 'So, Mr. Zhou, you later launched the eight-treasure porridge, which filled this market gap, and it became an instant hit. Of course, if you, Mr. Zhou, could lean more towards beverages, you would definitely be able to create a large business empire with beverages and food as the mainstay. If you could start now and do it properly, in the future he would be number one in the country!'

Li Qingyuan became more and more enthusiastic as he spoke, his eyes shining with excitement: 'Boss Zhou, I think you must know the Lingnan brand jlb. It became a household name in a few years. Why? Because its sparkling water filled a market gap. Of course, his business tactics were very impressive. He knew how to use the Olympics to promote himself, and he also advertised it as a sports drink, which also added a lot of points for him. But in the final analysis, it was the market that needed it!

'Although JLB has already become successful, in my opinion they are not doing well, because their product is too single-minded and will be replaced sooner or later. If you, Mr. Zhou, can make another one, I believe in three years...no, not even three years, if you leave it to me, in a year at most, I can make sales break through one billion cans, not just for the eight-treasure porridge, but also for other products!' Li Qingyuan waved his fist with confidence and made his final declaration to Zhou Ming.

'Well said!' Zhou Ming applauded Li Qingyuan, "So Comrade Li Qingyuan, I'll give you this opportunity. How about you come be the president of Lin Yang's Congee Company? I'll see how you sell a billion cans for me.'

'No problem, Boss Zhou, just leave it to me...'

Li Qingyuan said excitedly, but he couldn't continue after just saying the beginning of his sentence, staring blankly at Zhou Ming, "What did you say, Boss Zhou?'

'What did I say? Of course I'm inviting you, Li Qingyuan, to come and be the CEO of my company, responsible for the overall internal management of the company and setting the direction of the company's development. I need you to help me sell a billion cans.' Zhou Ming repeated his words in detail.

'Mr. Zhou, are you really going to let me develop your company?'

Li Qingyuan asked in disbelief. He was filled with shock, and couldn't believe his ears. He thought that this kind of thing could only happen in a dream, and still a very absurd and bizarre dream. But now it was right in front of him, and this Mr. Zhou had really done it: it seemed like he had just met him for the first time today, and he was saying these words to him for the first time.

Zhou Ming shrugged and said, 'Why not? Right now, I've only sold 100 million cans of my eight-treasure porridge. You say you can help him increase sales tenfold, so why wouldn't I do it?'

Zhou Ming saw that Li Qingyuan was hesitating, so he asked him, 'Are you trying to ask why I would so easily believe you, when we have never met before?'

Li Qingyuan nodded and said yes, and Zhou Ming smiled and told him, 'It's very simple, because we haven't really never met before.'

If Zhou Ming's decision earlier had shocked him, then his words at the moment left him feeling confused: they hadn't really never met before? What did that mean? Did it mean that they had met before? But that's impossible. Since the Baobao porridge became popular, I've been following him. There's no reason that I wouldn't know if he came to Hangzhou City for publicity, or if he came secretly without telling the reporters.

'It's very simple, Li Dong. You are the chairman of the board of directors of Baby Smile oral liquid. I've read your information and learned about you through it,' said Zhou Ming.