Chu Tianyao and Lu Qiuyu sat together and looked at Zhong Zhiqiang in front of them.
"Although I don't want to admit it, what you said did make me believe it."
The corner of his mouth was slightly raised, revealing a playful smile. Chu Tianyao stared at Zhong Zhiqiang and said: "Tell me about your work experience. If I am not wrong, you should have just been released from the labor camp, right?"
When Chu Tianyao said these words, Zhong Zhiqiang, who was sitting in front of him, couldn't help but shrink slightly in his eyes.
But only for a moment, Zhong Zhiqiang regained his composure, nodded and said:
"I got involved in it a few years ago because of speculation."
"So you just got out of jail?"
At first hearing Zhong Zhiqiang's answer, Lu Qiuyu was also shocked.
But what puzzled her even more was how Chu Tianyao could see the origin of Zhong Zhiqiang at a glance.
Regarding this, Zhong Zhiqiang also revealed a trace of curiosity when he looked at Chu Tianyao.
"It's not that I'm great, it's just that ordinary people don't have these shoes."
Chu Tianyao smiled, and his eyes fell on a pair of washed white cotton shoes on Zhong Zhiqiang's feet.
"Spring has already begun. People with normal weather like this in Guangdong Province will not wear cotton shoes, especially shoes with green rubber soles and no laces."
Hearing Chu Tianyao's words, the doubts in Lu Qiuyu's eyes continued to increase.
"Just because of these shoes, you conclude that he just came out of prison?"
Lu Qiuyu asked Chu Tianyao about her confusion.
Although it was not good to mention this matter in person, Zhong Zhiqiang seemed to be indifferent, but he was a little surprised because of Chu Tianyao's super observation ability.
"Generally, the shoes distributed in prisons are different from those outside. The main reason is that they don't have laces, most of them have hook-and-loop fasteners, and they are all green-soled and blue-topped, so shoe factories outside rarely produce cotton shoes of this style.
Besides, with the weather in Guangdong Province, let alone the beginning of spring, almost no one is wearing cotton shoes as early as February."
Chu Tianyao explained aloud to Lu Qiuyu, but he repeatedly mentioned the fact that Zhong Zhiqiang had been in prison during his words, and he was observing Zhong Zhiqiang's reaction at this moment with the corner of his eye.
To Chu Tianyao's expectation, people who have just been released from prison are usually very taboo about mentioning such things. On the contrary, Zhong Zhiqiang did not seem to have any extreme reaction.
"Can you tell me specifically why you were arrested?"
Seeing Zhong Zhiqiang's performance, Chu Tianyao became more and more interested in the person in front of him.
In this era, many people have been arrested for speculation, but looking at the early stages of reform and opening up, there are also countless bigwigs who have made their fortune due to speculation.
Wang Shitou, the founder of Vanke who is now well-known in Guangdong Province, did not rely on his first pot of gold from being a businessman to establish the Vanke Group.
"I resold some electrical appliances, and later tampered with the cakes of several large domestic companies. Didn't I get involved?"
Zhong Zhiqiang said with a hint of memory on his face.
When Chu Tianyao heard this, he was not surprised. Reselling electrical appliances was indeed a relatively profitable business in the 1980s and 1990s. But from what Zhong Zhiqiang meant, it seemed that his business was not small.
Several large companies in the country have taken action against him.
"Back then, I partnered with my friends to set up a multinational trading company, and its main business was the refrigeration machinery business."
Zhong Zhiqiang continued to speak.
Hearing this, Chu Tianyao also laughed out loud.
"To put it nicely, it's called refrigeration machinery. In fact, they import their low-capacity refrigerators from Korea, take advantage of policy loopholes, and then package them into refrigerators for sale in China!"
Chu Tianyao had heard of this for a long time. There had been many speculators and losers in the country, and there were quite a few people who had done this kind of business.
“Freezing machinery and refrigerators?
Is there any explanation here?"
On the side, Lu Qiuyu asked with her big eyes open.
Lu Qiuyu seemed not to understand a word of the conversation between the two.
"Previously, there were domestic regulations prohibiting the import of refrigerators. However, according to domestic industry standards, only those with a capacity of more than 360 liters are called refrigerators, and those with a lower capacity are unified as refrigeration machinery, which is the small freezer you often see."
After finishing speaking, Chu Tianyao glanced at Zhong Zhiqiang and said: "If I guessed correctly, you should have made a lot of money by importing Korean refrigeration machinery. It's no wonder that you can force several major domestic companies to take action. You do this
If this continues, their market will probably be robbed by you in a few years."
"You're right. Back then, I was still young and didn't understand the principle of attracting attention by building a big tree. I thought that I could dominate the domestic market by controlling the low-cost supply of goods, so I focused on marketing in the country. My refrigerators were even sold from Northeast China to Guangdong.
Provincial market.”
Recalling the glory of the past, Zhong Zhiqiang's face is not proud at this moment, but only a touch of emotion and sadness.
"A refrigerator costs several thousand dollars, and you can easily cut the price in half. Not to mention those companies, even the higher-ups probably won't be able to sit still."
Chu Tianyao spoke out.
Zhong Zhiqiang has indeed mastered a shortcut to get rich, but sometimes he can't stop the car if he runs too fast.
During that special period, there were many entrepreneurs like Zhong Zhiqiang who got involved because of speculation.
Of course, if the ban on refrigerator imports had been lifted now, Zhong Zhiqiang's business would probably not be characterized as speculation.
However, the lifting of the ban will be followed by the expansion of market competition, and everything has advantages and disadvantages.
"Yes! If I could have suppressed my temper and stayed dormant for a few years, everything would have been very different."
Zhong Zhiqiang also sighed, a look of disappointment flashed across his eyes.
But just for a moment, his eyes became clear again and he raised his head to look at Chu Tianyao sitting in front of him.
"Mr. Chu, that's all about me. Is there anything else you need to know?"
In the room, Lu Qiuyu did not express his position, but just turned to look at Chu Tianyao.
To be honest, at this moment, she had a subversive evaluation of this seemingly inconspicuous Zhong Zhiqiang.
It would be a real pity if such a person who once founded a multinational company and almost sold his own products to the national market could not even be hired as a marketing specialist.
However, after all, Zhong Zhiqiang has been in prison and has no academic qualifications to show off.
In the 1990s, being in jail was definitely a taboo thing for many companies. Even when recruiting people, many companies would automatically eliminate those with criminal records.
Naturally, Lu Qiuyu didn't know how to choose Zhong Zhiqiang.
At this time, Chu Tianyao also seemed a little hesitant.
"They are both selling things. Selling refrigerators and buying mobile phones are two completely different products, and the consumer groups they face are also very different."
Having said this, Chu Tianyao paused and then looked at Zhong Zhiqiang in front of him.
"Let's do this. I will allow you to join the marketing team as an intern, and your salary will be based on intern standards. As for when you will become a full-time employee, it will depend on your performance."