Both of Liu Jian's maternal uncles are ordinary workers, living in Shizui County, a small county under Panshi City. The elder uncle has three sons, the youngest of whom is five or six years older than Liu Jian, and they are all working. Only the third oldest hasn't gotten married yet. The younger uncle has only one son, who joined the army and hasn't returned to civilian life yet.
As for the two maternal aunts, they both married far away to Heilongjiang Province. Liu Jian has never visited his aunts' homes. It is said that the winter there is forty degrees below zero. Panshi, with thirty degrees below zero, is cold enough, and Liu Jian really has no interest in going to a place that is forty degrees below zero. Liu Jian's eldest and second aunts are both very old, and they don't interact much. Only the third older female cousin from the eldest aunt's family came to live at Liu Jian's house for a while, found someone in Panshi to marry, and made up for his mother's regret of not having a daughter.
After hearing what Liu Jian said, Liu Fu calculated for a while and realized that he could indeed find some people to help. At least the eldest daughter from the eldest paternal aunt's family, the youngest daughter from the second paternal aunt's family, and his third uncle, all three of them are very capable. Calling them over is not only reassuring, but can also play a big role. Compared to outsiders, family members are more trustworthy.
Liu Fu said, "It's easy to talk about your third uncle and miss, they're both unmarried, it's no problem for them to come and help me, but your eldest sister is married, and she's in Dalian, which is much better than our small place. Will she come? We can't have them living in two separate places. Your eldest uncle's cousin is fine, but they don't have much education and don't know much, will that work? How do we arrange for so many relatives all at once? I don't want to ruin the business and the family relationships!"
Liu Jian thought for a moment and said, "Eldest sister is a problem. If not, let's have eldest sister's husband come over too. I remember aunt saying that eldest sister's husband works in sales. We can let him take over the sales of the Sanbao Winery and give him a job as sales manager. I think eldest sister's husband will agree. We can arrange for eldest sister to go to the printing factory and have her take over the finances. It's better to have the money in our own hands. Third uncle knows a lot, if he's willing to work hard, I think he's fully capable of being a factory director. We can have third uncle at the winery and Dad, you go to the printing factory. Miss is eloquent and good at socializing, it's no problem to have her go to the printing factory to discuss business. As for the cousins from uncle's side, although they don't have much education or ability, we can arrange for them to be a small team leader or group leader."
Liu Fu frowned: "Aren't there a few too many relatives from home?"
Liu Jian disagreed, saying, "It's not that we're being nepotistic, but these two factories have a history of causing trouble. If we don't arrange for a few people to go to the grassroots level, we won't know a lot of things. If there's trouble again, we're the ones who will suffer. Dad, talent can be cultivated. Instead of cultivating people who we don't know if they'll be on our side, it's better to cultivate our own family."
Liu Jian knew that if this continued, his enterprise would become a family business, which, in principle, was not good. If relatives are on your side, that's fine, but if they turn against you, you'll suffer a great loss. Family businesses are very likely to harbor some freeloaders who don't do anything but take advantage. Moreover, it's inconvenient to manage relatives, and you're afraid that you'll end up not even being relatives anymore.
Liu Jian felt that these were minor problems. If relatives take advantage, wouldn't outsiders also do so? Whether it's a relative or an outsider as the head of the purchasing department, they will both take advantage. It's just that after a relative takes advantage, they will still be on your side, while outsiders won't. They may take even more and still not be on your side. If these things are unavoidable, it's better to let relatives take advantage. At least their hearts are together. No matter what, relatives will think about your well-being, and only then will they be well. Outsiders are different; they can just change jobs. Comparing the advantages and disadvantages, Liu Jian felt it was better to have family relatives help.
Liu Jian also told Liu Fu a bottom line: no matter who comes to work, they will be paid, and the salary will be the same as others, but they will get more bonuses at the end of the year. This must be made clear to them in advance. The bonus will vary depending on the size of each person's contribution, but it will be at least 10,000 yuan. No one will be given shares in the factory; they will only be held by the family of three, and there will be no dividends. This needs to be established at the outset to establish the primary and secondary relationship. Although they are relatives, they are workers coming to work, not the owners of the company, so they won't, and can't, do anything that could seriously harm the factory.
After returning to the distillery, Liu Fu hurried to find his mother. Liu Fu was a little tempted, but this was a family matter and could not be hidden from his mother. After hearing the plans of the father and son, Liu's mother was speechless and just said, "Do whatever you two want, just don't squander all the family's wealth."
Seeing that Liu's mother had no objections, Liu Fu followed the planned course and went to the Volkswagen dealership to buy an Audi A6. Several hundred thousand went in at once, but it was really worth it. At this time, the Audi was still completely imported, and the quality, configuration, and comfort were top-notch, of course, this was in comparison with mid-range cars.
Driving this new Audi, Liu Jian was very happy, knowing that in his previous life his father's car had never been replaced, and was later sold to pay off debts. Now, only two months after his rebirth, his family has undergone tremendous changes.
After buying the car, the next step was the loan. Just as Liu Jian said, Liu Fu, sitting in the new Audi, caused another sensation after returning to the distillery, it's not only the city government that has a car this nice in Panshi these days, even ordinary government departments drive Santanas. You can imagine the stir Liu Fu caused by sitting in a new Audi.
Liu Fu used to get loans from the Agricultural Bank, and this time was no exception. He called Section Chief Zhang of the credit department, and following Liu Jian's advice, asked Section Chief Zhang to help him make an appointment with the bank president. The bank president usually doesn't show up, and it's extremely difficult to make an appointment with them. Liu Fu was just trying his luck, but unexpectedly, he quickly received a call, and President Xu of the bank agreed to dinner that evening.
Hanging up the phone, Liu Fu still asked curiously, "Xiaojian, how did you guess that Director Xu would step in?" Before making the call, Liu Jian had said that the bank director would agree, but Liu Fu didn't quite believe it.
Liu Jian smiled and said, "Dad, you have to change your perspective. You're not a contractor anymore, but the big boss of a company. How big is Panshi? We've done so much, people with good intentions will know. When you go to talk about a loan at this time, I estimate Section Chief Zhang won't even know what's going on. You just spent hundreds of thousands buying a new car, the loan must be a huge amount. Do you think he dares to make the decision? Even if you didn't make an appointment with the director, he would report it. It's better for us to talk directly to the director, they must also be thinking the same thing."
Liu Fu said somewhat blankly, "Just like that, I've become a big boss? But after acquiring the winery a few days ago, I didn't notice any changes? Oh, I understand, this is the benefit of buying a car that you were talking about."
Liu Jian nodded and said, "Right, that's the importance of appearances. No one knows how much money we actually have, everyone only looks at the surface. We changed to a new car, which looks like it cost hundreds of thousands, but the effect is huge. In the future, no matter what we do, this car will be a stepping stone. When we are well-developed, Dad will get a Mercedes."
Liu Fu also laughed, thinking his son was joking. But a year later, sitting in a Mercedes, he recalled his conversation with his son and couldn't help but smile knowingly, feeling that his son's outlook was much more far-reaching than his own.
The evening's dinner was arranged at Shanshui Renjia, the most expensive hotel in Panshi. It's located more than ten kilometers away from the city, nestled among the mountains and rivers. The food is either wild animals or various seafood, and of course, Songhua River fish, which is a local specialty. As for abalone, bird's nest, shark fin, and other uncommon items, only Shanshui Renjia has them. Individuals rarely come here to eat, as they can't afford it. A meal here costs five or six thousand yuan, which is very common. If you order something good, it will cost ten thousand yuan or more, which is still quite frightening these days. Only government departments and other organizations that receive and send off guests come here, but as people become wealthier, the flow of customers here is increasing. Now, it can only be said that it is still a very mysterious and high-end place.
When Liu Fu heard that his son had booked Shanshui Renjia, he was also taken aback. Liu Fu had been frugal for the first half of his life, and he couldn't quite accept spending so much money on a meal.
Liu Jian persuaded him, "Dad, you need to adapt to the change in your status. You're a big boss now, whether it's eating or traveling, you have to have the presence of a boss. Now when you're hosting guests, you can't go to Wumingju anymore; its standard isn't high enough, people will laugh at you if you go there. Currently, the best hotel in Pan Shi is Shanshui Renjia, so that's the only place to go when we're hosting guests. In the future, we may even have to host guests in the provincial capital."
Liu Fu smiled wryly, shook his head, and seemed to want to say something.
Liu Jian said, "Dad, I know you think it's too expensive, but you have to put on this air now, it's the price of entering high society. Besides, aren't we spending a little money to make a lot of money?"
Liu Fu thought about it and realized it was true, but he still felt a little heartache at the thought of a dinner costing several thousand yuan. When he arrived at Shangshui Renjia, Liu Fu didn't feel so bad. As expected of the most expensive hotel in Panshi, the environment was excellent. There was no lobby, only private rooms. The soundproofing was very good, and each room had a dedicated waiter to serve.
Director Xu and Section Chief Zhang arrived quickly. It was the first time Liu Fu had met Director Xu. Section Chief Zhang introduced the two of them. As for Liu Jian, when they heard he was Liu Fu's son, the two didn't pay much attention, thinking that Liu Fu was bringing his son out to see the world.
Director Xu is almost fifty this year and has worked in the banking system for decades to finally reach the position of director. He had heard of Liu Fu before, who borrowed hundreds of thousands of yuan every year. He was a notable figure in the bank, although he didn't bring in as much as some companies, it was still rare for an individual to borrow so much. However, Xu didn't pay much attention to it. It wasn't until the Three Treasures Winery was acquired a few days ago that it caught Director Xu's attention. Although no one knows the exact acquisition price, everyone estimates it to be around one million yuan. In addition, the Three Treasures Winery has been quite active recently, with truckloads of raw materials constantly being hauled into the winery. It's said that they even went down south to get the wine bottles, all of which requires money. Many people estimated that Liu Fu was close to running out of funds and were waiting to laugh at him. The Three Treasures Winery, although a mess, was also a lucrative piece of meat. No one had touched it for so many years because the investment was too large. If they had that much money, they would have done something else long ago. After Liu Fu acquired it, everyone was shocked to see how much money he was pouring into it. They wondered how much money he had. They originally thought he was running out, but a few days ago, Liu Fu bought a new car, an Audi A6, which is considered a good car. No one in Panshi had bought a Mercedes-Benz or BMW, so it can be said that Audi is the most high-end car. Now, no one dares to underestimate Liu Fu, and as for how much money Liu Fu has, it is anyone's guess.
When Zhang, the section chief, heard that Liu Fu wanted a loan, although he had been dealing with Liu Fu for several years, he knew that the amount Liu Fu was asking for now was definitely not just a few hundred thousand yuan. He couldn't make the decision and had to report it to the director. Director Xu, after hearing about it, wasn't sure how big Liu Fu's appetite was. If the Agricultural Bank didn't want this piece of lucrative meat, many other banks would be fighting over it, which is why Director Xu showed up today.
However, Section Chief Zhang was very good at setting the mood. After a few drinks, the group became familiar. Liu Jian adhered to his principle of not saying a word, just focusing on eating his food. There were many things he had never eaten before, and he didn't want to waste them.