As he left the district government office, Li Yi was holding a thick stack of documents—profiles of the district’s underperforming enterprises.
Li Yi skimmed through them briefly and noticed there were accessory factories, breweries, woolen mills, small hardware factories, television factories, and so on.
Li Yi had heard of some of the brands, but most were obscure small enterprises.
According to Jiang Longyin, these enterprises were all “troubled cases” under the jurisdiction of the district government. He wanted Li Yi to help him select a few of them to serve as pilot projects for reform.
At the same time, Jiang Longyin also hoped Li Yi could help these enterprises formulate a suitable reform plan, similar to what had been done at State Cotton Mill No. 2.
Normally, Li Yi wasn’t particularly interested in this sort of thing.
For one thing, it had absolutely nothing to do with him. Poor corporate performance, employees unable to receive their wages, and heavy financial pressure on the government—what did any of that have to do with an outsider like him? He certainly didn’t want to get involved in such a troublesome affair.
On the other hand, the stakes were high—one misstep could ruin his reputation.
After all, enterprise reform affects the livelihoods of hundreds or even thousands of workers. If the reform succeeded, everyone would be happy, and Li Yi would be hailed as a savior.
But if it failed, he would become a villain in the eyes of those employees.
For a venture with such high risks, minimal rewards, and no direct personal stake, Li Yi would have to be out of his mind to take it on.
So, at first, Li Yi was firmly against it!
But unable to resist Jiang Longyin’s repeated pleas, Li Yi eventually agreed to do him this favor!
Of course, he’d never admit it was because Jiang Longyin offered too many perks—he simply couldn’t resist the temptation.
A 10% profit share over three years—that offer was indeed very tempting.
That’s right—that was the deal Jiang Longyin offered Li Yi.
If Li Yi could revive these struggling companies, he would receive a 10% share of the factory’s net profits for the next three years.
Although the prerequisite was reviving these companies from the brink of collapse, the 10% share of net profits still tempted Li Yi.
Of course, what Li Yi was after wasn’t just this 10% profit share; more importantly, he wanted to rebuild his public image.
In the eyes of Jiang Longcheng, Jiang Longyin, Wang Anguo, Li Gang, Huang Lixing, and others, Li Yi had only one image: that of a charlatan.
He made bold, definitive predictions, and his words were treated as law…
It was a bit mysterious, but this sort of reputation was a double-edged sword; it could easily backfire at any moment. After all, since the founding of the nation, animals were not allowed to become spirits!
Besides, this wasn’t what Li Yi wanted. He was a businessman; walking around every day with the reputation of a charlatan wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
Plus, the current business climate was indeed tough. Since he couldn’t make his mark on his own just yet, using these struggling state-owned enterprises to gain some experience wasn’t a bad idea.
Not only would he make money, but he could also use this opportunity to earn himself the title of “economic guru”—killing two birds with one stone!
As for whether he could actually revive these companies on the brink of bankruptcy, Li Yi hadn’t given it much thought.
Based on his understanding of these enterprises, the vast majority of state-owned enterprises don’t go under because of poor product quality; rather, the problems usually stem from management issues and misalignment with market demands.
In such cases, as long as the right solutions are applied, there’s a high probability the factories can be pulled out of their predicament.
Of course, the reality might be far more complicated than his analysis suggests.
But that didn’t matter; when it came to business management and entrepreneurship, Li Yi had never been afraid of anyone.
………
By the time he got home, it was already past 3:00 p.m.
As soon as he reached the entrance of the alley, Li Yi noticed a brand-new Hucheng sedan parked there.
It was so shiny and gleaming that Li Yi couldn’t help but take a second look.
These days, only organizations with significant resources could afford such a vehicle.
The reason I say “organizations” rather than “individuals” is that, aside from specific personnel, ordinary people aren’t allowed to own cars these days.
When he reached his front gate, he pulled out his keys and was about to unlock the door when he realized it wasn’t locked.
He pushed the door open and, even from a distance, could hear the sounds of young women chatting and laughing inside.
Once inside, Li Yi noticed that Jiang Longcheng was sitting in the living room, while the sounds of Jiang Xue and Zhang Xinyao whispering to each other drifted from the room.
“Third Brother, you’re here?”
Jiang Longcheng smiled and said, “I heard from my sister that you went to see the Second Brother?”
“Yeah, to ask about that piece of land!”
“How did it go?”
“It’s just the same—still in the works!”
“Haha, those guys at the district office sure take their sweet time. By the time they get things done, the opportunity will have long passed!”
Although Li Yi agreed with Jiang Longcheng, he didn’t dwell on the topic. Instead, he smiled and said, “You’ll get used to it. By the way, what brings you here today?”
“We just went and bought the house, so we thought we’d swing by and see you!” Jiang Longcheng said.
“Where did you buy it?”
“Not far from your other courtyard!”
“How many courtyards does it have? How much did it cost?”
“Just a small, single-courtyard house, about the same size as the one you’re living in now. It cost us thirteen thousand!”
At this point, Jiang Longcheng looked a bit glum and added, “I remember you only paid about 11,000 for this place when you bought it. How come I ended up paying nearly 2,000 more?”
“Didn’t you try to haggle with the seller?”
“I did, but they wouldn’t budge on the price. Take it or leave it!” Jiang Longcheng said with a sigh.
“Come on, you’ve already bought it—why dwell on it?”
Li Yi knew full well that a courtyard like the one they were living in now, once spruced up, could easily fetch over 100 million in the future.
Compared to that, what’s there to fuss over about 2,000 yuan now?
“You’re right. It’s just a shame for my parents. I’d already taken ten thousand from you, which I thought was plenty. Now that I’ve spent an extra two thousand, I’ll have to make them cover the difference!” Jiang Longcheng grinned.
“If you didn’t have enough money, you should’ve just told me. Why dip into your uncle and aunt’s savings? It’s only two thousand yuan, after all!” Li Yi said helplessly.
“Let’s not talk about that!”
Then Jiang Longcheng suddenly pulled a large key out of his pocket and tossed it to Li Yi.
“What’s this for?”
“Car keys. You can drive this car from now on!” Jiang Longcheng said.
“That new car at the end of the alley?”
“Yeah, I specifically requested this for you from higher-ups!”
“You requested it for me?”
“Right. After all, you’re a partner and business consultant for our factory—it’s only fair you get a car!” Jiang Longcheng said.
“You’re driving an old Jeep while I drive a new car—that doesn’t seem quite right, does it?”
“Who says I’m still driving that old Jeep? I requested five cars at once from the higher-ups this time—I’ve even upgraded my own car!” Jiang Longcheng said smugly.
“Five cars? How did the State-owned Assets Department agree to such an unreasonable request?” Li Yi asked curiously.
“Why wouldn’t it be reasonable? How can the marketing department go out and negotiate business deals without cars? Besides, just in the past few months, the profits we’ve turned over to the State-owned Assets Department have exceeded 5 million. What’s the big deal if they provide a few cars?” Jiang Longcheng said with confidence.
“You’re right. In that case, I’ll keep the car!” Li Yi said cheerfully.
Although he didn’t know if the car had actually been approved for him, Li Yi knew that this was Jiang Longcheng returning the favor.
Given this guy’s personality, now that the car has been delivered, there’s no way he’d send it back.
Besides, for Li Yi, not having a car was genuinely inconvenient.
Since Jiang Longcheng had gone out of his way to bring the car over for him, Li Yi saw no reason to be polite. At worst, he’d just give them a few more tips to boost their sales and profits even higher.
Just as they were talking, the curtain shifted slightly, and Jiang Xue and Zhang Xinyao emerged from the inner room, each holding a baby.
Upon seeing Li Yi, Jiang Xue smiled and said, “Can you watch the kids at home this afternoon? Xinyao and I need to run an errand!”
“Watching the kids is no problem, but what are you two going out for?” Li Yi asked with a smile.
“We’re going to pick out some things for the wedding with Xinyao!”
“Sure…”
……..