Chapter 195: Boss Zhou, don't brag

In the morning, a black Santana drove into the family area of Nancheng Middle School and finally stopped at the entrance of Building 5. Li Qingyuan and Zuo Huizhen lived in this building. At this time, they were waiting at the entrance of the unit. When they saw the car driving over, Li Qingyuan came up to meet them with Zuo Huizhen.

Zhou Ming got out of the car. Li Qingyuan introduced to Zuo Huizhen, 'This is the boss Zhou Ming I often told you about. He is the youngest, most discerning and most business-savvy person in our country!'

Facing Li Qingyuan's introduction, Zhou Ming smiled and said thank you. Zuo Huizhen stared at Zhou Ming in amazement. Although she had known that Zhou Ming was very young due to Li Qingyuan's relationship, she had never expected that Zhou Ming would be so young. He looked at most in his early twenties. How could he have led a super enterprise like Linyang Babao Congee, which had sold over 100 million yuan? What kind of ability does he have? And last night, I heard Li Qingyuan say that the eight-treasure porridge was just a part of his huge business empire. Then this young man must be very rich!

'Mr. Zhou, are you really Mr. Zhou? I am very happy to meet you, and I really thank you for coming to pick up Qingyuan!'

Zuo Huizhen said to Zhou Ming, her words were a bit stuttered, and she looked at a loss.

'I am Zhou Ming, I am also very happy to meet you, and it was agreed before that I would come and pick up Director Li today.'

Zhou Ming answered Zou Huizhen sentence by sentence, saying that, like Li Qingyuan, Zhou Ming had also met Zou Huizhen in a previous life, and he still remembered that in that previous life, Zou Huizhen was the proprietress of the Doll Smile Group. As the wife of the richest man in the country, she had a wealth that was ten thousand times greater than his, but now this wealthy woman from his previous life was so uneasy and uncomfortable in his presence, and it made one feel the uncertainty of fate.

After getting to know Zuo Huizhen, Zhou Ming picked up Li Qingyuan and drove directly to the Doll Laugh company.

It was in an alley next to Nancheng Middle School, a row of very ordinary bungalows, with only a sign for the Doll Laugh company hanging inconspicuously at the entrance to the alley. In this era, there was not yet the kind of standardized urban management that exists in later generations, so it was a mess everywhere, and one could even smell a pungent smell of urine. God knows who had urinated or defecated here.

'Mr Zhou, I'm sorry, the company is a bit shabby,' Li Qingyuan said apologetically to Zhou Ming.

Zhou Ming waved his hand and said, "It's fine, this is the environment here, it was like this before the renovation, and you are also at the beginning of your business, so you don't have a choice.'

Zhou Ming looked around and said, "I just didn't expect that the nationally famous Doll's Smile oral liquid is actually produced in such an environment. If the parents who bought Doll's Smile came here, I'm afraid they would never dare to buy your products again.'

Li Qingyuan felt embarrassed by these words, but he did not avoid them. He just nodded and said, 'It is true that our environment is a bit poor, but the hygiene standards of our oral liquid have still been met.'

'That's good. Li Dong, you must remember that while the first rule of doing business is to make money, you must also keep your conscience. You cannot blindly save costs and ignore the hygiene environment just to make money. The result of that will be losing the trust of consumers. We are not a black workshop that shoots one shot and changes places, but rather we are building a large group.' Zhou Ming said, and Li Qingyuan nodded and said he had remembered.

Zhou Ming and Li Qingyuan then walked into the company and came to the office. At present, this Doll Laugh Company is just a small company that has just started, so there is only one leadership office. Pushing open the office door, they saw two middle-aged men gathered around the desk. Zhou Ming learned through Li Qingyuan that they were the other two partners of the Doll Laugh Company, Ye Jianlin and Wu Zheng.

Seeing Li Qingyuan bring a stranger in, Ye Jianlin immediately glared unhappily: 'Qingyuan, how can you just bring people in here? Don't you know this is a company restricted area? You're the chairman of the company, how can you not even follow the rules you set yourself?'

'Of course I can follow them, but today is a special situation. The person next to me is Mr. Zhou Ming. He's here to talk about acquiring Doll Laugh Company,' Li Qingyuan said.

'Negotiating an acquisition?' Ye Jianlin's face darkened. 'Li Qingyuan, you really are getting out of line. Our company, Baby Smile, is doing so well right now. When did you say you were going to sell it? And this company, Baby Smile, isn't just yours, Li Qingyuan. It belongs to all three of us. How could you just bring someone here to negotiate an acquisition without our consent? Have you no conscience?'

'I didn't!' Li Qingyuan retorted immediately. 'This is Mr Zhou Ming, the owner of Linyang Babao Congee. He is an expert in beverage and food companies. Since you don't know how to do it, let someone who knows how do it!'

Ye Jianlin shrugged with disdain, obviously Li Qingyuan's explanation meant nothing to him: 'Li Qingyuan, I think you're really crazy about wanting to get into the food business. You're fine if you just mess around on your own, but now you've gone and found some small business owner from nowhere to come here and lie to us. Do you think we're all idiots and will believe this stuff you're selling?'

'Take a good look, he is the owner of Lin Yang Ba Bao Congee, Lin Yang Ba Bao Congee is that big food company that sold over 100 million yuan, I told you about it...'

Before Li Qingyuan could finish speaking, Ye Jianlin waved his hand and said, 'I've heard of it, isn't it that Lin Yang Ba Bao Congee you always talk about in front of us? What's so great about it? I thought you had found some great backing! It's just a broken congee seller!'

Li Qingyuan was about to speak when Zhou Ming pulled him back, then stepped forward himself and said, 'A broken congee seller is indeed nothing special, but it is still very easy to buy your company, Laughing Baby.

Ye Jianlin frowned when he saw Zhou Ming speak first. He looked up and down Zhou Ming and then put on a smile on his face and said, 'Hello, Mr. Zhou, I'm very happy to meet you here. I've heard of you. It's really not easy for someone so young to start up such a business. I admire that. You want to expand your business, and I can understand that, but please don't do anything blindly. Think about it more.'

'Our doll company is a state-owned unit affiliated with the Education Bureau, so not just anyone can sell it. So I'm afraid you've been deceived by Li Qingyuan.'

Ye Jianlin thought for a moment and then said, 'In that case, I won't let you go on an empty-handed trip, Boss Zhou. I'll host a lunch, and I'll treat you to dinner at a restaurant. I'll apologise to you at the table, and we can consider it a chance meeting. We can still do business in the future!'

Ye Jianlin was very polite, because he did not know Zhou Ming's real identity. However, based on his common sense, a young man who could lead a billion-dollar enterprise at such a young age must have an extraordinary background. Therefore, he should still be treated with caution. Even if he admitted his mistake, it would only be a meal, and the money would be returned by selling a few dozen more bottles of oral liquid.

If Zhou Ming really was fooled by Li Qingyuan and really gave up after hearing Ye Jianlin's words, but Zhou Ming is someone who understands the future and also guesses what the situation may be today, so he shook his head and said, 'If Mr. Ye really wants to have dinner, I'm not unable to accompany you, but I still hope that we can talk about the acquisition of the Baby Smile company.'

'Boss Zhou, I think I've made it clear just now that our company, Baby Smile, has no intention of selling, nor can it be sold!' Ye Jianlin said, his tone a little cold.

Zhou Ming didn't care: 'That's fine. Very often plans can't keep up with changes. Mr Ye might as well make an offer first, or I might as well make an offer. Perhaps Mr Ye will change his mind after hearing the offer?'

'Mr. Zhou, you really won't give up! I've already said that Baby Smile will not be sold, and it will never be acquired by a company that makes congee.'

Ye Jianlin sighed and continued, 'I was going to spare your face, and let's part on good terms. It's not easy to meet, and now I'll be honest with you. Baby Smile is already in talks with a Hong Kong businessman about a joint venture.'

'A Hong Kong businessman?' Zhou Ming was a little surprised. This really came as a surprise to him.

Seeing Zhou Ming's surprise, Ye Jianlin instantly felt like he had the upper hand: 'Yes, it is a Hong Kong businessman. He is a Mr. Solni from the Hong Kong City Siming Investment Company. He said that his company is very optimistic about the future prospects of the Doll Smile oral liquid and can invest in our development.'

Ye Jianlin paused for a moment and then added, 'Perhaps Boss Zhou has not heard of this Siming Investment Company. It is a subsidiary of the Hong Kong City United Investment Fund, which is in turn a super fund company jointly invested in by all the tycoons in Hong Kong City. It can invest in the international market, and as Mr. Solny also said, as long as the conditions are satisfactory, any amount of investment can be negotiated. These are things Boss Zhou cannot do, right?'

Zhou Ming felt a little helpless at Ye Jianlin's words. It wasn't that he hadn't heard of this company, on the contrary, he was very familiar with it, because the chairman of this Hong Kong City United Investment Fund was Lin Muqing, and that Siming Investment Company was also Lin Muqing's company, and even the name was related to him.

Ye Jianlin looked at Zhou Ming's expression and continued, 'This is the foundation of those big companies in Gangcheng. Of course, it's also very impressive that you, Boss Zhou, are so young and have been able to achieve what you have now, but compared to those big companies in Gangcheng, you are still very much inferior. This is especially true for those that play in the financial sector, which can make hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in the international market in just a few minutes. That's real business, and Dollface Smile will only cooperate with this kind of company!'

Zhou Ming laughed: 'Mr Ye, I think if it really is this Siming Investment Company, I think I can talk to them and convince them to give me this opportunity.'

After Zhou Ming finished speaking, Ye Jianlin immediately burst out laughing: 'Boss Zhou, I originally respected you as a businessman, but you've gone a bit too far bragging to me like this. You even know foreign businessmen and have dealings with the big fund companies in Gangcheng. Do you even know what a fund is?'

'Mr Ye, I don't need to brag about this to you. I really know this company well, and I can...'

Zhou Ming's words were interrupted by Ye Jianlin: 'Okay, Mr Zhou, I get it. You're a very capable person, and you even know the big fund company in Gangcheng. But a capable person like you is too good for our company, so please leave.'

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