Chapter 18 The Seafood Business Is a Pretend Business
After sending Gu Kun away, Section Chief Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief.
To be honest, when Gu Kun told Chen Li not to take pictures just now, she was really nervous.
Although domestic newspapers and TV stations are very positive nowadays and will not broadcast messy private revelations. But they are foreign businessmen after all, and Section Chief Chen is afraid that if he says something wrong and is embarrassed, he will be sent abroad.
This can't be blamed on her not being strong enough.
Because you can’t take the national self-esteem of Chinese people in the 2010s and ask it from an ancient person in the 1990s. The people at that time really survived the era of poverty and fear. When they first saw the degree of development of the outside world, they felt quite desperate inside.
of.
What's more, Gu Kun's identity is now a "Patriotic Overseas Chinese from Nanyang". Strictly speaking, he is the beneficiary of the mainland's courtesy to foreign guests. His butt determines his head, so of course he will not "get angry with them".
After Section Chief Chen clarified the arrangements just now, he decided to report it to his direct leadership.
She knocked lightly on the door and walked into the office of the deputy chief of police in charge of a certain branch: "Chief Lu, there is something I have to do today. This is how I handled it. You see..."
Director Lu patiently listened to her report of the cause and effect, and actually took it seriously: "Oh, this is a good thing, and we should strongly support it. Although Xu Feng is a private company, he is also a well-known person in this circle. You go back and follow
He told him that after he discussed his intention with Gu Kun, he should not rush to make an offer and report it to us.
If his quotation is still not satisfactory to Gu Kun, we can mediate and let the Foreign Economic and Trade Office secretly give Xu Feng some subsidies. If this matter can be won, the comrades of the Foreign Economic and Trade Office and the foreign exchange management will definitely thank us."
Section Chief Chen was a little puzzled: "Chief Commissioner, is it really so important? I think a business of only a few hundred thousand yuan at most requires the cooperation of so many departments?"
The leader picked up the tea cup and took a sip: "Xiao Chen, you are still not aware enough. This is not a matter of hundreds of thousands of RMB business, this is an issue of RMB internationalization. Tell me, since January this year, there have been
Can the customs and foreign trade departments of several provinces maintain foreign importers willing to accept RMB?"
Section Chief Chen sighed softly: "Anyway, our province probably doesn't have one."
The leader nodded: "You are concerned about the situation. In fact, there is no need to belittle yourself, because not only do we not have it, but the whole country has probably heard that Southern Yunnan Province and Liaodong Province have opened, and some Burmese businessmen and North Korean businessmen are willing to accept RMB.
Except for these two, the rest of the provinces are closed to business, and even the old people in the Northeast don't recognize them.
When the country abolished the dual-track exchange rate system, the pain did not go away so quickly. Two months ago, the RMB was still 5.8 yuan to the US dollar. After the merger a month ago, it fell directly to 8.4 yuan. Then within a few days, it was 8.6 yuan to 8.8 yuan -
—If you think about it from my perspective, if you were a foreign businessman, who would be willing to accept RMB at this time?
Today's case of overseas Chinese in Nanyang, although the money is not much, can be used as a model case for the calculation of RMB in our import business. This is a matter of rich people, and we must pay attention to it. Even if we give more subsidies, it actually doesn't matter.
.”
The weird thing about the financial foreign exchange market is that the more something goes up, the more people pursue it, the more it goes down, the more people wait and see in panic.
In January, although the RMB fell to 86 yuan against the U.S. dollar, foreign businessmen were waiting and watching. They generally felt that "the RMB's stability at 86 yuan was only supported by the compulsory settlement of foreign exchange by the Central Government of China."
In other words, the country is restricting the use of U.S. dollar reserves and not allowing too many U.S. dollars to be spent, so the RMB exchange rate is stable.
Foreigners feel that if Chinese companies are allowed to spend US dollars on foreign purchases, the RMB will definitely fall far further.
The more panicked this idea is, the less foreign businessmen will accept RMB.
According to the original history, the transition period basically lasted for nearly a year of panic. It was not until the beginning of 1995 that it was completely stabilized and the central government dared to officially announce that "the dual-track merger was successfully completed."
But Gu Kun knows history, and he knows that the RMB will eventually survive the period of doubt and become stronger. Therefore, he dared to accept RMB settlements one year earlier than other foreign businessmen who could not see the situation clearly.
This hit the typical trend of Gushu in Qianjin City.
Section Chief Chen understood the spirit of the leader and quickly continued to help contact in secret.
…
The words are divided into two parts.
Two hours later, White Swan Hotel.
Xu Feng, who was sitting on a tiger's head and galloping around, letting his secretary carry his eldest brother, hosted a banquet in a private room for Gu Kun, a well-known patriotic overseas Chinese from Nanyang.
The private room is full of dishes, fresh food from the waterway, and famous products. The consumption costs thousands of yuan.
Of course Xu Feng didn't treat him like this just to show off to Gu Kun.
It was entirely because of his keenness as a businessman that he felt that guests who could be endorsed by Section Chief Chen of the Customs Deposit Office were worthy of such hospitality.
Not all the dishes on the table were ordered by Xu Feng. There were several dishes of sea fish that Gu Kun asked his sister to teach the chef of White Swan to cook. The ingredients used were Su Mei and Qing Yi that Gu Kun fished from the Malay Sea.
, stone fish and the like.
Under normal circumstances, the White Swan Hotel, the number one high-end hotel in the country, would definitely not accept guests bringing their own ingredients. However, Xu Feng supplies the White Swan all year round, so the hotel is accommodating.
"Mr. Xu is a busy man. I've heard of you in Lanfang. Being able to talk to me in person about a small business worth hundreds of thousands today is really a great honor to my brother."
As soon as the two parties met, Gu Kun put a high hat on the other person's face.
Xu Feng is a veteran, and would not be confused under normal circumstances. However, he couldn't help but feel proud when he heard that his reputation had spread to Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.
"Brother Gu, you're so polite. I didn't expect you to be so young and formidable. How old is Mr. Gu... in your 20s?"
Gu Kun: "No, 18. I like to be relaxed, so I will tell you directly. Please try these Su Mei and Qing Yi first, so that I can give you a reasonable price."
Of course Xu Feng had eaten these fish before, but he still tasted each dish carefully. As the number one seafood merchant in Guangdong Province, he had very good taste. To do this business, you must first have a strong tongue and eat well.
Find out whether something is good or bad.
"Not bad, it's really fresh. This is top-grade Su Mei and Qing Yi." After tasting it in a decent manner, Xu Feng didn't hesitate to praise it.
There is no need for him to lower the price by belittling the other party's grade, that would be too profitable.
Seeing the cooperation of the other party, Gu Kun continued logically: "These things retail in Malay for fifty or sixty ling per kilogram, and the wholesale price is about forty. According to the official exchange rate, that is 80 to 100 yuan. I
We also have to consider losses. It’s not easy to transport live fish from across the ocean. According to industry regulations, I think Tsing Yi’s price is 150 yuan and Su Mei’s is 200 yuan, which is a more reasonable price.”
Xu Feng grinned: "Your price is more expensive than Eastern Star Spot. Ordinary melon seed spots can eat three or four times the amount. With all due respect, Guangdong has not developed a market for these varieties. If you really want to sell it at a high price,
You can go to those Xiangjiang merchants, they eat more high-end seafood than us and are more particular about it."
Gu Kun: "You mean, there aren't enough rich people in Guangdong to afford this kind of food?"
Xu Feng: “It’s not that I can’t afford it, but I can’t see the value for money.”
Gu Kun smiled: "Brother Xu, I know you are the first person in China to have a mobile phone, and I thought you were knowledgeable. What is the purpose of the high-end, luxury seafood business? Isn't it just that I have something if I don't have it?"
Do people have the same sense of class distinction as I do?
In the final analysis, inviting foreign businessmen is asking for face. As long as what you bring out is not available to others and is superior to others, face will be gained. As for whether it is delicious or not, as long as it is truly unique and can be explained, then it is delicious.
The Canton Fair is coming soon. Before other Malay seafood businessmen realize that "the rich people in China can actually afford sommei", you can monopolize the supply with me for a few months to make a time difference.
, are you afraid that you won’t be able to satisfy your customers?”
Xu Feng nodded: "How could I not know such a simple truth? But fish is different from lobster and king crab. It doesn't look strange enough. People who don't know the goods will think that they all look the same when they are served on the table. They are used for decoration.
It’s definitely not as good as lobster and king crab.”
Gu Kun clapped his hands and asked his younger sister and Chen Li, who were attending the banquet together, to bring over a small fish tank filled with sea water and oxygen. There were several Su Mei and Qing Yi in it.
"Brother Xu, I think this is not difficult. Let the hotel display the fish and show them to the guests while they are alive. It will naturally gain face. This Tsing Yi is turquoise, and the Su Mei is sea blue. They are both
The color and luster of ornamental tropical fish. Even if you don’t eat it, just by looking at it on the display wall of the fish tank, everyone will know that it is a good product that they have never seen before.
You said it’s hard to tell the difference between cooked dead fish and live fish when ordering? People have spent a lot of money and gained experience. If they don’t taste good, they still have to say it tastes good. Otherwise, how can they be worthy of their money?”
What's more, this fish is delicious to begin with, but it's just not so delicious that the Chinese people in 1994 would pay 200 yuan a pound just for the taste alone.
This is the truth.
"This statement is quite reasonable..." Xu Feng also felt that it seemed feasible.
The two varieties brought by Gu Kun are both delicious and beautiful.
He decided to give the other party a price that was acceptable and test the waters first.
The worst thing is that in the future this thing will no longer be scarce, and the value of the pretense will decrease, so you can lower the price yourself.
"I agree in principle with your way of cooperation. Brother Gu, you are really discerning."