“What made you think of starting a catering company?” Li Yi asked with a smile.
Long Zhanjun said somewhat sheepishly, “Actually, this idea wasn’t mine—it was suggested by a Hong Kong businessman who frequently dines here.”
“According to him, since our restaurant has already established a foothold in both Beijing and Shenzhen, if we want to grow bigger and stronger, we must set up a dedicated catering company to manage it. Otherwise, relying solely on the few of us will only lead to more and more chaos.”
Li Yi asked again, “Did he say exactly how we should go about it?”
“Yes, he did. His idea is that after we set up the company, we’ll focus solely on management—hiring or training store managers ourselves—and have them handle the day-to-day operations of each location, while they report directly to us,” Long Zhanjun replied.
Li Yi immediately took an interest in this Hong Kong businessman—wasn’t this exactly the development model used by a series of restaurant chains like Haidilao and Xibei?
Although this model wasn’t exactly new to Li Yi, in the current era, it was certainly considered cutting-edge and innovative.
“Is that Hong Kong businessman looking to invest?”
“Yes, he wants to invest 10 million Hong Kong dollars in our new company and plans to hold a 49% stake!”
Long Zhanjun continued, “But I know you might not be satisfied with just 10 million, so it’s up to you to decide!”
Li Yi thought for a moment and asked, “What’s this Hong Kong businessman’s name? What does he do?”
“His surname is Liao, and his name is Liao Yingxiang. He’s mainly in the hotel and real estate business on Hong Kong Island, and they say he’s very wealthy!” Long Zhanjun said.
Upon hearing the name Liao Yingxiang, Li Yi knew exactly who he was.
This Mr. Liao was the founder of Tianhe Industries and one of the earliest members of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, with a net worth of around 3 billion Hong Kong dollars.
The reason Li Yi was so impressed by him was mainly because Old Liao was one of the first Hong Kong businessmen to respond to the call for investment in the mainland, and he was a businessman with a strong sense of patriotism.
However, since they weren’t very familiar with each other at the time, Liao Yingxiang didn’t start investing with Li Yi as early as Li Futao, He Dongying, and others did.
Some time ago, after reviewing the list of Hong Kong businessmen investing in the mainland, Li Yi discovered that Liao Yingxiang’s investment had reached a staggering 300 million Hong Kong dollars, so he had someone look into him.
After reviewing his background, Li Yi felt he was someone worth working with and decided to give him a chance.
Unexpectedly, he heard news of him the moment he arrived in Pengcheng!
After a moment’s thought, Li Yi said, “I know Liao Yingxiang. He’s a decent guy; we can build a close relationship.”
“Xiao Yi, so you mean you’re accepting his investment?” Long Zhanjun asked, somewhat surprised.
“No. We can run a restaurant business, but we must do it ourselves!”
Li Yi continued, “For one thing, we’re not short on money—there’s no need to trade equity for capital. For another, we’re not lacking in management talent either; whatever kind of talent we need, I can recruit from Hong Kong or even anywhere in the world.”
“Most importantly, our restaurant isn’t just a business—and our goal isn’t merely to make money!”
Long Zhanjun was a smart man too, and immediately said, “You mean the villagers in Nianzishan Village?”
Li Yi nodded and said, “Exactly. As you know, Third Sister’s Husband, I want to lead our fellow villagers out of poverty and toward prosperity. That’s why I go all the way back to the village to buy the cattle and sheep they raise, and why I’m buying land to build cold storage. These costs are far higher than if we were sourcing beef and lamb locally in Beijing, so this isn’t just a simple business venture.”
“If it’s just among family, doing this means I’ll make a little less profit—no big deal. But if we accept investment from outsiders, that won’t do. We can’t sacrifice our partners’ interests to curry favor; that’s unethical.”
“I understand what you mean. In that case, let’s do it ourselves!” said Long Zhanjun.
“Mm-hmm!”
Li Yi continued, “Here’s what we’ll do: take a quick look and see how much is in the account…”
Before he could finish, Long Zhanjun replied, “I just went over the books with Nana yesterday. Not counting today’s profits, we’ve got about 6.2 million left in the account!”
Li Yi immediately replied, “Alright, then I’ll put up another 3.8 million to make it ten million. Use that money to register a catering company to centrally manage the branches in Beijing and Pengcheng, as well as the ‘Grassland Beef and Lamb’ brand.”
“To avoid any complications, the company will be registered under the mainland branch of Star Investment. Let Xiaoxue serve as the legal representative and hold a 51% stake. You, my older sister, and my brother-in-law will serve as directors, each holding a 15% stake. The remaining 5% will be set aside as employee incentive stock options. I’ll also assign a few professional managers to assist you later. What do you think?”
“I have no objections, but isn’t 30% a bit much for Nana and me?” Long Zhanjun asked.
“We’re family—it doesn’t matter who gets a little more or a little less!”
Li Yi continued, “Focus on this for now. Ideally, get the company up and running before I return from Hong Kong!”
“Alright!”
Li Yi added, “Also, I won’t make any demands regarding the restaurant company’s profits. My only requirement is that our subsidiaries source as much beef and lamb as possible from Qingshan County—especially from Nianzishan Village!”
“Of course, that’s assuming conditions allow it. In a place like Pengcheng, it’s simply not feasible to source grass-fed cattle and sheep from there!”
As for Li Yi’s request, Long Zhanjun naturally wouldn’t refuse: “No problem. I’ll transfer Dongzi and Liu San over in the next few days and have them oversee things here first. Once everything’s settled, I’ll head back to Beijing!”
“Alright. If you run into any problems you can’t solve once you’re back, go find my third brother at the Second State Cotton Mill, or you can go see Xiao Xue too!” Li Yi said.
“Got it. I’ll let Old Liao know,” Long Zhanjun replied.
“If he’s in Pengcheng, just let him know. If he’s not, never mind. Once I get there, I’ll find a chance to meet with him and tell him myself,” Li Yi said.
“Alright!”
“Alright, that’s settled. I’ve got to head over to Hong Kong Island in a bit, so I’ll be on my way!” Li Yi said.
“Alright, I’ll walk you out…”
……..
After stepping out of the shop, Li Yi let out a soft sigh.
When he opened his first hot pot and barbecue restaurant, he’d already thought about starting a restaurant chain, but due to the circumstances, he’d never dared to go all out.
According to his earlier estimates, to truly establish a restaurant company, he would have to wait until at least 1988, when the relevant policy documents were issued.
But he never expected it to happen this quickly.
Fortunately, the company was registered under a Hong Kong-based enterprise, which, given the current situation, would save him a lot of trouble.
Besides, establishing the company now wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. If nothing else, it would at least help him better fulfill his promise to lead the villagers out of poverty and toward prosperity, and it would also be a better way to assist Jiang Longze.
After all, that guy has already taken office in Qingshan County. Given the harsh, barren conditions there, if I don’t lend him a hand, he won’t be able to achieve any notable accomplishments in the short term.
Once the catering company is up and running, it’s bound to expand rapidly. By then, the demand for beef, mutton, and other poultry will grow by the day.
If all these ingredients were sourced from Qing Shan County, it would inevitably drive the rapid development of the local livestock industry.
At that point, if Jiang Longze were to introduce some incentive policies in the government’s name, it would quickly establish an integrated industrial chain spanning from breeding to slaughter to cold-chain transportation. This backwater of Qing Shan County would then have its own pillar industry.
In my previous life, that’s exactly how Qingshan County developed.
However, in their quest to find this suitable path to prosperity, the local government and residents had taken at least twenty years of detours.
In this life, Li Yi decided to use the catering company under his command as a catalyst to guide the people of Qing Shan County onto the broad path of the livestock industry ahead of schedule.
As for the risks involved…
Fuck it—the British Empire has already come knocking on our door. These little things don’t even matter.
Since the path of compromise is a dead end, I’m done with that. I’ll take the righteous path—or even the tyrannical one.
Of course, just to be safe, I’ll keep the reckless stuff on the outside. There are way too many “Old Sixes” back home—I can’t afford to mess with them… I really can’t!