At noon, Chen Er Gou accompanied Fang Jie to handle various group business. It was either a meeting or the dog's favorite pastime of observing the crowd at the board meeting. He thought that in the future when he became successful and had his own company, no matter whether his children were boys or girls, they should be brought along from a young age to sit by his side, learning the ins and outs of business through osmosis.

  Lunch was held in the canteen of Qinghe Industrial, Fang Jie had to go to Tianjin on a trip, the primary task was to urge a large amount of debt, and also to inspect the investment atmosphere of the Beijing-Tianjin commercial circle. Chen Er Gou called Chen Qingzhi to follow along, Fang Jie did not refuse, although the company owed Qinghe nearly 1.4 billion yuan is a regular group, it's unlikely to do anything underhanded, but as a woman traveling alone was still not proper, so she met up with the taciturn Chen Qingzhi at Lukou Airport.

  Qinghe's canteen is famous for its abundance, like Huawei, Qinghe is one of the earliest companies in China to advocate wolf-like corporate culture, semi-militarized management, half of which is attributed to Wei Dangong's strategic vision, and the other half is attributed to a general manager from a military background at the beginning of Qinghe's establishment. Unlike Huawei, Mr. Wei introduced CFO-like management concepts very early on, so the health status of Qinghe employees has always been stable.

  Chen Ergou was very pleased with the food in the cafeteria. As soon as he sat down, Shen Hai brought over a dish and sat down beside him. The two of them chatted about current events, and somehow ended up discussing the coal bosses and the reforms in Shanxi's coal mines. Chen Ergou had recently brushed up on his knowledge of coal and petroleum under Cao Qiu's suggestion, so he was able to contribute to the conversation, although Shen Hai still dominated it. Occasionally, Chen Ergou would interject a comment or two. When Shen Hai mentioned the newly released Shanxi Document No. 1, he sighed and said: "Unlike previous government actions, this document leaves very little room for maneuvering. I know many coal bosses in Shanxi who bought mines around 2000 or even earlier and made a fortune. Even if they have to restructure and take a loss, it won't be fatal for them. The unluckiest ones are those coal bosses who entered the industry five years ago or later. They probably just managed to secure financing and loans and were just starting to build their mines when they were forced to shut down. Forget about making a profit - they're lucky if they can even recover their investment. Nowadays, coal bosses aren't the overnight sensations they used to be. Many of them are struggling to stay alive, or are already half-dead."

  "Don't blame society for your own shortcomings, it's a matter of perspective."

  Chen Ergou's expression was neither hot nor cold, and he had an increasingly high-profile demeanor. After eating a mouthful of food and chewing slowly, he said slowly: "The government hasn't completely closed the door, after all, it still depends on Coal Boss's own ability. There are actually many ways to go about it. If you can get the appraisal company to come up with a good price, or if you can negotiate with foreign investors and get a protective token in your hand, then even though the government is not as blindly supportive of foreign investment as it was in previous years, it shouldn't be too difficult to escape this disaster. If all else fails, just pull together a few *** party members, integrate resources, increase production capacity to 900,000 tons, and then you'll have nothing to worry about."

  Shen Hai seemed to sense something and said calmly, "It's easy to talk about it, but it's not that simple to do. Many coal bosses have shallow backgrounds and are betting their lives on it. Even if they have some influence in certain provinces or cities, such as Zhejiang, Fujian, or Hainan, the authorities are too far away to care. The most important thing is that the anti-corruption efforts in the coke industry are very strong now, and officials dare not speak up for coal bosses anymore, let alone clear their relationships."

  Chen Erdou nodded, still expressionless on the surface, but Shen Hai's three sentences made him realize that there was no need for a high-ranking official of Qinghe to complain to him, and it was clear why this was so obvious. It was probably due to the chemical reaction caused by his "benevolence" towards Wang Quande at Maso last time.

  "Last time Wang Quan said he wanted to thank you, thinking of gathering a few friends to go to Tangshan for a hot spring, are you free?" Shen Hai asked tentatively.

  "I'll let you know after I've got some time." Chen Ergou was neither slow nor hurried, as if he had caught a wild carp of over a kilogram and wasn't in a hurry to pull it ashore.

  The next day, an Audi and two BMW X5s drove from Nanjing city to Tangshan Yishang Hot Spring Resort. Shen Hai brought Jiangsu Zhongyan's Chunfeng Deyi Wang Quan and Wu Liang, the coal boss who was as cautious as walking on thin ice. Because Chen Qingzhi was sent to protect Fang Jie. Chen Erdou followed Wang Jiefang, who had become more stable in character after learning from Wei Gongde. At that time, due to the dim lighting at Maso Bar, Shen Hai and others could only vaguely feel the extraordinary aura of Baima Tanhua. Now it was daytime, Wang Jiefang's demeanor was majestic, his pace was steady, and his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's. This kind of bodyguard was quite eye-catching and matched the identity and aura of his master.

  Although it's said that Wang Quan should thank Chen Ergou, it's just a pretence. The real highlight is Wu Liangdi's road. But Shen Hai is the host, and he doesn't mind spending this money. So he booked the only remaining characteristic luxury suite plus a luxury standard room at Tangshan Yishang. The worst one can only be left for Shen Hai himself. Shen Hai still has some interpersonal wisdom in this regard. After changing into bath towels, the men walked directly to the relatively secluded private hot spring house together. Although it requires extra payment, the price is not low. But unlike other areas where fish and dragons are mixed, as long as Chen Ergou doesn't spend his own money, he won't mind no matter how much more it costs. Chen Ergou strolled along at the end, enjoying the sunshine here, which seems to be brighter and warmer than the gloomy Nanjing city. Wang Jiefang didn't plan to soak...

  Still dressed properly, following Chen Ergou's side to prevent accidents. In case of true will not hesitate to use the body to block. After all, even if Wang Hu is left out, Chen Ergou helped him find a master, this adult favor must be repaid.

  The hardware facilities in this room are not good. However, the service is still okay. I originally wanted to go to Xiangxiang Huaping, but I'm not familiar with that place. If you have some special requirements, I couldn't possibly let them run from Nanjing city center all the way to Xiaotangshan just to serve you guys.

  Shen Hai smiled softly and intentionally slowed down his pace to walk alongside Chen Er Gou. They chatted freely, while the leading waiter's pretty face turned red as she quietly quickened her steps. Although they had already taken off all their external decorations, clothes, watches, and leather shoes were all stored away, these men had spent over 80,000 yuan at Yi Shang on a whim, so they probably weren't ordinary rich people.

  "Floating life. Can you swim? If you can, next time we'll go to Zhongshan Scenic Area's Zijin Mountain Villa. We'll stay in a separate villa. The environment there is better than here." Bald-headed Wang Quan said with a big belly and a generous tone. Although he was just an idle official at Jiangsu Tobacco, he had made a lot of money before the merger. He had stayed at Zijin Mountain Villa for several nights. Now he was thinking about how to get close to a young friend who had connections in the tobacco monopoly bureau and what benefits it could bring. Thinking about his bright future, even Wang Quan, who was known for being stingy, was willing to splurge. A night's stay at Zijin Mountain Villa cost at least 7,000 or 8,000 yuan, which wasn't cheap. It was enough to buy half a bottle of Louis XIII.

  "That place is indeed good and also close to Zhongshan Golf, two places facing each other." Shen Hai nodded.

  "I know." Chen Ergou smiled and said, of course, he was clearer than anyone else about the former proximity to the Zijin Mountain Villa.

  Matchmaker Shen Hai has not yet made a clear statement, and Wu Liang also doesn't think it's good to bring up the topic with a man she just met three hours ago in the hot spring.

  Four men chatted about everything under the sun, just to build a rapport.

  Chen Ergou had never been to the ancient Naga River in Zhangjiashan during the harsh winter, but this was his first time soaking in a hot spring. At first, he felt a bit uncomfortable and thought it was too hot, but as time passed, he got used to it. When Shen Hai mentioned that Xiangxiang Huaping's private hot spring was even better than this one, Chen Ergou wondered if he should also take his wife there once.

  After soaking in the hot spring for a while, Shen Hai got out of the pool and went to the public Turkish bath with an air of majesty. He left the space for Chen Er Gou and Wu Liang. Wu Liang asked the beautiful waitress beside him to take out the smoking set that had been prepared long ago. The cigarette was Zhonghua, which was not surprising. What was surprising was that there was a small piece of agarwood, Wu Liang broke off a few pieces of agarwood and embedded them in a Zhonghua cigarette, handed it to Chen Er Gou who had just wiped his hands dry, and then lit the match for Chen Er Gou to light up. A fragrance different from the smell of smoke wafted around, not too thick, Wu Liang also lit one for himself, waved his hand to signal the curious waitress to leave, and then smiled wryly at Chen Er Gou: "This thing can calm your mind, sleeping pills don't work for me anymore, even taking half a bottle of sleeping pills doesn't work, and I'm not dare to touch drugs, afraid of getting hooked."

  Chen Erdog took a deep drag, didn't feel anything special, lay on the chair with a bit of a local tyrant's taste, turned his body and glanced at Wu Liang: "Brother Wu has some trouble?"

  "It wasn't recently that Shanxi caused trouble, I suppose you've also heard about it, alas, the divine state has no more coal bosses. This is the consistent tone of all media and magazines, not alarmist talk. Among over 2,000 coal mines in Shanxi, only about 20 can survive, and I'm one of those unlucky ones." Wu Liang sighed, not forgetting to secretly observe Chen Er Gou's expression changes, but the latter was expressionless, with a nonchalant attitude that made Wu Liang also unsure of his thoughts and bottom line.

  "Let's take a look at the situation." Chen Ergou said slowly as he smoked.

  The mining rights reform gave us a chance to take over smoothly, and I spent over 70 million yuan in Shanxi Province to buy six small coal mines. I'm not the kind of boss who only cares about money and doesn't care about lives. I know that doing this business requires understanding policies and trends, so I sealed up several small mines and rebuilt them into a large mine with an annual output of 35 tons. This was not easy at the time, and not every coal boss has my courage.

  As he spoke, Wu Liang showed off his style, which was rare for Chen Er Dog to see him in such high spirits. But soon, he became disheartened again. "After paying the 30 million yuan fee and getting the coal mine index, I started running errands. My base-building mine required four certificates, but it took me over three years to get them. I ran around every temple in Shanxi Province seeking help, spent hundreds of thousands of yuan on planning maps, and gave out countless red envelopes to those who came to inspect the work. Finally, I got my hands on the re-work permit at the end of 2008. At that time, my entire family had put up all our assets, and we even borrowed a large sum from relatives and friends in the countryside. After meeting the production requirements and equipping the mine with matching facilities, I spent nearly another 100 million yuan. By then, my total investment had exceeded 1.8 billion yuan. I really had no way to retreat."

  "Then he ran into the muzzle of a gun?" Chen Ergou frowned and said.

  Wu Liang let out a long sigh, exhaled a ring of smoke, gazed at the clear sky, his eyes unfocused, dejected.

  "How can the government be like this? Policies can change overnight, and they let us say whatever they want."

  "You can fight against heaven and earth, but don't fight against the government."

  Chen Ergou said a sentence in a very system-internal tone, without rushing to comfort the disheartened Wu Liang, but instead asked: "What have you been doing since then? You can't just wait for death, can you?"

  "How can I just wait for death? I've been talking from the office to the conference hall, and then from the wine table to the ktv private room. I've asked everyone from my grandfather to my grandmother, every one of them is my ancestor. The appraisal company's group of animals, I couldn't invite them. I'm a Shandong person, not like those from Wenzhou, Zhejiang, who have no connections with foreign capital. And I don't dare to instigate the villagers to make trouble with the state-owned coal mine. Plus, in Shanxi, that *** is just a junior, neither has the qualifications nor the backing. Life is tough! Honestly, I've got two money boxes in my Honda car at all times, whoever can help me out, I'll give them money, not US dollars, but Euros. But it's useless, those who can make decisions are not willing to help, and those who actively seek me out are just some Beijing thugs. Today one says he's the son-in-law of a political committee member, tomorrow another claims to be the nephew of a minister. I'm not stupid, with a box of Euros, I can buy a villa anywhere. I'm carrying a pig's head but can't find a temple to put it down. Do you think I'm anxious?"

  Chen Ergou stroked his chin and said, "Can't we acquire a few small coal mines that are smaller than yours, package them together, and then sell them to the main consolidator or other large coal mine owners who have this idea?"

  Wu Liang shook his head in despair: "Even if I can sell it at a relatively good price, I still can't afford it. This method will cost me at least 900 million to 1 billion yuan, and the unified compensation standard set by Shanxi Provincial Land Bureau is too harsh."

  "I'd rather die than hold on now, if I don't resume production for one day, it's a loss of 200,000 yuan, and if I stop for a year, it's only 70 or 80 million yuan. But if I sign the contract, there will be no turning back, my entire family will be dragged down by me. If dying could solve everything, I would have jumped off a building long ago."

  In China, apart from oil, coal is also black gold.

  Money isn't everything.

  This is Chen Ergou's greatest feeling about this industry, with tens of millions or even hundreds of millions, these astronomical figures, he doesn't even have a little concept.

  "So, can I understand it this way: your two best possible outcomes now are either to sign a win-win agreement with the main body of the merger before the acquisition, and resume coal mining in advance to make up for the losses caused by low compensation; or quickly acquire as many good coal mines as possible to reach a scale of 900,000 tons. If not, you're doomed. There are only three paths ahead of you, but the first two are difficult for you to take. Is that a correct summary?"

  Wu Liang nodded desperately, almost to the point of tears and snot. It's not easy for life to drive an originally successful economics Ph.D. to this extent.

  Knowing that he would need to use the coal mine industry insider information, Chen Ergou had Cao Jingxuan help him review it yesterday. When they arrived at Tangshan Yishang, Wang Jiefang was driving. He was still studying the Shanxi No. 1 document and a series of coal industry trend data. Combining this with Wu Liang's inside information, Chen Ergou was certain that this was an opportunity to make a profit without any risk, but the key was finding the right connections. Chen Ergou fell into deep thought, and he had to consult with his sister-in-law Chen Yuanshu first. He couldn't ignore Qian Zixiang either. If they could both win, it might be possible to persuade Old Man Qian to allocate resources, but the prerequisite for all this was that Wu Liang was a trustworthy partner, which was crucial.

  Chen Ergou did not casually hand over a blank check to Wang Quan this time, but instead said seriously: "Old Wu, give me a set of your company's materials, the thicker the better, and how detailed and comprehensive it can be, you decide for yourself."

  "I'll give it all to you, everything." Wu Liang exclaimed excitedly.

  From start to finish, Chen Erdog didn't make any promises or boastful claims, but it was the most comforting conversation Wu Liang had since his troubles began. As he said, this is almost a tragedy with a debt of over 90 million yuan, and if Wu Liang wanted to die, he would have written his will already. But unable to die, what could be more miserable than this? Before Wu Liang left Shanxi, he weighed over 160 jin, now he's around 130, and his hair is falling out in clumps. This kind of torment, where you can't find anyone to cry to, ordinary people may not be able to understand.

  "Old Wu, a man can't be suffocated by life, especially us men. Even if it means dragging our wives and children along to drink porridge and eat pickled vegetables, it's better than leaving them as orphans and widows."

  Wu Liang, who had endured hardships and struggled alone until today, was overcome with emotion at that moment, his eyes no longer numb.

  Chen Ergou may not be able to rely on luck this time, and he can't save the entire Wu Liang family, but at least he saved a small family that was in danger.

  "Wu Liang said in a low voice: 'Floating life, if the old heaven really can't let me pass this hurdle, I won't abandon my wife and children. If I get through this, Wu Liang, I'll be your servant for the rest of my life!'"

  Complete book