Chapter 3 3. Do business only for your own account, never for others

The night outside was still and dark.Du Linxiang turned on the high beams of the car and drove on the highway like flying.The moths in the night sky following the lights were smashed to pieces and their livers were torn apart by the steel body of the Audi car. When it comes to the marketing of real estate properties, Wan Shunlong is a well-deserved No. 1 brother in Hezhou.Du Linxiang is just a contractor for civil engineering, and he is naturally helpless for a project where even Wan Shunlong is unable to recover.More importantly, to buy the entire building of Beiguo Tianjiao, more than 100 million yuan in cash is needed, and even if Du Linxiang sells everything, he can't get this much money together.The 10 million down payment is almost the entire net worth of Du Linxiang after years of hard work.

Du Linxiang is not crazy!The reason why he dared to discuss this business with Wan Shunlong was because he had received a piece of news in advance.Just over 20 days ago, when Du Linxiang hosted a banquet for Zhou Zhibin in Hezhou, Zhou Zhibin said that the factory where he was the general manager was about to move to Hezhou.Not only the production line will be moved to Hezhou, but also the community where the employees live will also be demolished.Therefore, enterprises are also responsible for purchasing new residences in Hezhou for their employees. The factory sent people to look at many real estate properties in Hezhou, but they were not very satisfied.One of the important reasons is that many of the houses in the real estate that are being sold have been bought by other people.It is almost impossible for an enterprise to buy a relatively complete real estate as an employee community.But if I buy land and build a house by myself, I worry that there will be too little time.

The sales of Beiguo Tianjiao have been poor since its opening. This is a disadvantage in the eyes of outsiders, but it has become a unique advantage when it comes to Zhou Zhibin.Zhou Zhibin, who took over the entire real estate, can completely turn this place into a relatively independent employee community. Beiguo Tianjiao also has a flaw, because it is close to the industrial park, buyers feel that it is too far away from the urban area and the environment is not good.But Zhou Zhibin's new factory is located in the industrial park, and the employees make their homes here, so it is very convenient for them to go to work.

All the things that caused Wan Shunlong a headache are now treasures, how can Du Linxiang not be excited!Coupled with his friendship with Zhou Zhibin for many years, Du Linxiang is confident that he can successfully resell this slow-moving real estate. There is one more critical point, that is, Wan Shunlong promised to give himself a buffer period of three months.Du Linxiang was thinking, first take out all his belongings, pay 10 million to Shunlong Group, and then sell the entire real estate to Zhou Zhibin.When the three-month period expired, and I got the money from Zhou Zhibin, I could send the balance to Wan Shunlong.

On the way, Du Linxiang called Zhou Yujie about his plan.Zhou Yujie was also very excited after hearing this: "Third brother, your trick is amazing. If you can succeed, the money you can make this time will be more than what we have earned over the years combined." After coming to Wenkang, Du Linxiang found a hotel to live in.Early the next morning, he drove to Zhou Zhibin's factory.This factory is located in a small town more than 20 kilometers away from Wenkang City. In the 1960s, the factory moved here from the coast to prepare for war and famine.A few years ago, the enterprise was restructured, and this old state-owned factory was bought by Xu Haocheng at a low price.Xu Haocheng attached great importance to Zhou Zhibin's management ability and work experience in government agencies, so he appointed Zhou Zhibin to take charge of the overall situation in the factory.

Speaking of this, we have to talk about the "unknown" Xu Haocheng.Xu Haocheng, whose ancestral home is Shanxi, was born in Qinghe, a major coal-producing city in Hongxi Province.His father was a cadre who went south and once served as secretary of the party committee of Qinghe Mining Bureau.In the eyes of many people, Xu Haocheng is an out-and-out playboy.His academic performance is a mess, and he fights and fights from time to time, causing trouble. In the early 1980s, when the door of reform and opening up had just opened, Xu Haocheng relied on his father's relationship to bring back many Hong Kong and Taiwan pop song tapes from the coast, and carried a speaker all day long to flaunt in the mining area.

In a rage, his father sent Xu Haocheng, who was still a contract worker at the time, to a coal mine to dig coal.But a safety accident caused Xu Haocheng to be buried underground for two days and two nights.Although the man was rescued in the end, he was left with a permanent disability—Xu Haocheng not only became crippled, but also could not bear children for life.It was also because of this sudden safety accident that Xu Haocheng's father was dismissed.Lao Tzu lost his official position and his son was disabled. It can be said that misfortunes never come singly. At that time, the Mining Bureau gave Xu Haocheng on the hospital bed two choices: either become a regular worker and do some light work of sending and receiving documents in the Mining Bureau for the rest of his life; irresponsible.Everyone advised Xu Haocheng to choose the former method.In those days, an iron rice bowl was a hard-won thing, but Xu Haocheng unexpectedly chose the latter one.For this reason, the dismissed father who was at home was so angry that he almost didn't recognize his son.

After being discharged from the hospital, Xu Haocheng took the compensation and opened a restaurant in Qinghe.The restaurant's business is booming, and Xu Haocheng has gathered around him a lot of cronies.This restaurant even once became an important stronghold for those idle youths in Qinghe City.Gradually, Xu Haocheng's name was forgotten, but there was a big brother nicknamed "Xu Lame" in the world. In Qinghe, Xu Laizi did two earth-shattering events.The first thing is that in a battle of hundreds of people, Xu Laizi took the lead and led a group of brothers to completely wipe out all sects and sects, becoming a ruthless character respected by everyone on the Tao.The second thing was to open and operate the highest-end nightclub in the city at that time in the center of Qinghe. For a while, there was a lot of traffic in front of the door, singing and dancing every night.

In the early 1990s, the Hongxi Provincial Public Security Department launched a special crackdown.Xu Haocheng, who was already wealthy, fled in a hurry and went to Macau.Ordinarily, Xu Haocheng can only be regarded as a low-level local turtle in that eastern gambling city where heroes from all walks of life gather, but he upholds the creed of "hard hands, hard heart", and insists on making a name for himself.Even those gangsters from Xinyi'an in Hong Kong and the Bamboo Union in Taiwan know that there are desperadoes from Hongxi, so it's best not to provoke them.At the peak of his career, Xu Haocheng owned a foreign trade company in Hong Kong, three nightclubs in Macau and Shenzhen, and opened a casino in Myanmar.There was too much cash received from various halls every day, and Xu Haocheng had to kick his hands and feet to close the door of the safe.

Six years ago, the gangster Xu Haocheng suddenly decided to transform.He transferred all his nightclubs and casinos, and established an investment company in Hong Kong.Afterwards, Xu Haocheng returned to the mainland market and aggressively encircled the land.In Hongxi alone, he invested in two five-star hotels and acquired many state-owned factories and mines.At this time, Xu Haocheng seemed to say goodbye to his underworld background. He was polite and courteous in life, never bullied others in business, and even donated money to build a number of Hope Primary Schools. Xu Laizi, a street gangster in the past, now seems to be the guest of many celebrities in Hongxi.When the five-star hotel he invested in opened, a vice-governor cut the ribbon in person.Even government cadres like Zhou Zhibin finally went to the sea and defected, willing to be driven by it.

Perhaps because of his own background, Xu Haocheng deliberately kept a low profile.Not to mention the outside world, even the employees inside the company, except for a few high-level executives like Zhou Zhibin, most people don't know what their boss looks like.There are also hotels, factories, and real estate projects under his banner, each with its own name.At first glance, outsiders have no idea that behind all these industries is actually the same boss. However, a few years ago, a nest case occurred in Hongxi, and several senior officials including the executive deputy director of the Public Security Department were sacked.At that time, Xu Haocheng fled abroad.According to Zhou Zhibin, the handling of the whole matter was quite strange.Xu Haocheng has never been officially wanted by the public security department, and his business in Hongxi has not been affected much.But for some reason, Xu himself just refused to set foot on the land of his hometown.Although Boss Xu is abroad, he has a good relationship with many people in China, and even asks someone to bring gifts back during the holidays. Today, Xu Haocheng's business center of gravity, besides China, is Africa.He acquired several mines in the West African country and co-financed a large smelter with a Dutch company.Most of the mining excavation equipment produced in Zhou Zhibin's factory is also shipped to Africa. Zhou Zhibin once commented at the wine table that if Xu Haocheng made his fortune by fighting for power, now he is a seasoned businessman who is well versed in the world and full of ingenuity.Xu Haocheng has a characteristic, that is, he only cares about the macro and fully authorizes his subordinates for specific matters.For example, in Zhou Zhibin's factory, Xu Haocheng only came once when signing the purchase agreement. After that, Zhou Zhibin took care of all the big and small matters, and he himself rarely intervened. Xu Haocheng's management style of "grasping the big and letting go of the small" is hard for outsiders to comment on.But for Du Linxiang, it is a rare blessing.Because it is much easier to deal with Zhou Zhibin who has friendship than to deal with Xu Haocheng who has never met before! Du Linxiang walked into Zhou Zhibin's office with anxiety and excitement.Of course, Du Linxiang would not say that he was playing empty-handed white wolf tricks. He lit a cigarette and said slowly: "A real estate company owed me construction funds. In the end, I had no choice but to use one of their real estate properties to pay off the debt. At the beginning I'm still worrying about how to sell a real estate in my hand? A few days ago, I remembered Mr. Zhou once said that your factory is looking to buy a community. My real estate happens to be near the industrial park, and it fits your requirements in every way. Request." Although the contract with Wan Shunlong has not yet been signed, in Du Linxiang's mouth, it seems that he has regarded Beiguo Tianjiao as "my real estate". After listening to Du Linxiang's introduction, Zhou Zhibin was also very interested.He asked, "How much is the house there?" Du Linxiang said: "4,500 yuan per square meter is the lowest price in Hezhou." Zhou Zhibin said: "The location there is very remote, and it should have been the lowest price in Hezhou. But the price of 4,500 yuan is still too expensive. To tell you the truth, this time the company relocated, Boss Xu allocated housing for employees. The special fund for the problem is 3,000 yuan per square meter on average. Your price of 4,500 yuan is too expensive!" Du Linxiang said: "Mr. Zhou, you still say it's expensive. You can't find a cheaper one in the world. Boss Xu allocated 3,000 yuan, and he can mobilize employees to raise funds. Employees pay 1,500 yuan per square meter. You can buy a house in Hezhou, which is a good thing." Zhou Zhibin sighed: "Our factory is in a special situation. It is an out-and-out private enterprise and has many old problems of old state-owned enterprises. It is very difficult to let employees pay for it themselves." At this time, Du Linxiang remembered the Audi car that Zhou Zhibin was riding that night, and what Zhou Zhibin said - I don't need to put on airs to earn performance, but seize the opportunity to enjoy it.Du Linxiang realized that if Zhou Zhibin was to facilitate this matter, it would be impossible without some blood. Du Linxiang said in a low voice: "Mr. Zhou, I won't hide it from you. Since I am doing this business, it must be to make money. But I will not forget you when I make money. This business is about to be completed, I will express it in private You are two million. You are not young anymore. Even though you have a high annual salary now, you still need to plan more for your future life. It is risky for you to collect money from unknown sources. Our friendship is not a year Two years, you know who I am. Work with me and things won't mess up." Zhou Zhibin looked up at him, and said with a smile: "You have a lot of bad ideas. How about this, I will report to Boss Xu tomorrow, and at the same time I will send a few vice presidents to inspect your real estate. If all conditions are suitable, Just do as you say." Xu Haocheng, who is abroad, obviously doesn't pay much attention to these small businesses.He still said that, anyway, the subsidy is 3,000 yuan per square meter. If you, Zhou Zhibin, have the ability to mobilize employees to raise funds, that is your own business.The superiors have already nodded, so Zhou Zhibin can safely and boldly do the work of the employees in the factory. Du Linxiang was also very good at handling affairs, so Zhou Yujie not only entertained the vice presidents with delicious food and drinks, but also stuffed each of them with a red envelope of 10,000 yuan when they parted.In addition, the various conditions of Beiguo Tianjiao did meet their requirements, and Zhou Zhibin quickly made a decision to buy the entire real estate at a price of 4,500 yuan per square meter. With Zhou Zhibin's reassurance, Du Linxiang can boldly discuss the details with Shunlong Group.A week later, Du Linxiang had negotiated all the terms with Sun Xingguo, and at the last moment before signing the contract, Wan Shunlong called Du Linxiang to his office. It was the first time Du Linxiang walked into Wan Shunlong's office.The office is about more than 100 square meters, spacious, bright and antique.The huge mahogany tables and chairs majestically set off the identity of the owner.Behind Wan Shunlong's desk is a huge landscape painting, and the bookshelves on both sides are full of thread-bound books.On the east corner of the office, there is a raised table, which is the place where Wan Shunlong usually practices calligraphy.On the wall above the Qiaotou table hangs a running script of "Dragon Soaring and Tiger Leaping", signed "Jushan Calligrapher".A few years later, when Du Linxiang was able to shuttle among high-ranking officials and dignitaries, he realized that the so-called "Jushan scholar" was the powerful Jiangju people in Hongxi Province. Sitting on the expensive mahogany sofa, Du Linxiang couldn't help sighing: "No one in Hezhou can compare to Mr. Wan's office." Wan Shunlong said with a smile: "I don't really care much about the office environment. It's just that Xiaojing told me a story when it was renovated. She said that in the early Western Han Dynasty, Prime Minister Xiao He presided over the construction of Weiyang Palace, and the great ancestor Liu Bang returned to the palace. Afterwards, he was very angry when he saw the magnificent palace. Liu Bang said to Xiao He that the world is in turmoil and chaos, and the battle has been going on for several years. Because the world is not settled, so to build such a palace, it is not luxurious and magnificent, and it is not enough to command the world." "This is also the reason I thought. Now that Shunlong Group is still in the development stage, it is the time to stand up. The office should be more stylish, so that all customers who come to discuss business can feel a kind of shock." Wan Shunlong Not without pride. There is a very peculiar cultural phenomenon in China. Many people with a low level of education are familiar with the stories of the two historical periods of the Chu-Han struggle for hegemony and the Three Kingdoms.Du Linxiang, who was proficient in writing and ink, nodded and agreed: "Boss Wan and Sister Ma's ideas are indeed far-sighted." It's just that Du Linxiang didn't know that just over a hundred years ago, Hong Xiuquan, the king of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom who had just conquered Nanjing City, also used this allusion of Liu Bang and Xiao He to explain his hard work in building the Heavenly King's Mansion.The difference is that Liu Bang succeeded and Hong Xiuquan failed.Hong Xiuquan must have wondered, how could he build a palace for his own enjoyment, how could it become a feat of prestige in the world when he came to Liu Bang, and become an excuse for coveting comfort and not thinking about making progress when he came to me. Many things in history could only be talked about in jokes. Of course there is one more important point.That is the same sentence, spoken from the mouths of winners and losers, the effect is very different.Former Apple CEO Jobs said the famous phrase "Stay hungry, Stay foolish" when he gave a speech at Stanford University.Finally, this English sentence was translated by some Chinese literati as "stupid if you are hungry, and humble if you are stupid".Some people say that if a homeless man on the streets of New York utters the same sentence, the correct translation can only be "stupid and naive". Wan Shunlong started to get to the point: "Lin Xiang, I've read the contract you talked about, are you really going to sign it?" Du Linxiang said, "Of course." Wan Shunlong smiled: "Think about it, if you can't pay the balance within three months, the ten million will be mine for nothing." Du Linxiang said: "President Wan, don't worry, since I dare to sign the contract, I must have a way to pay and I won't renege on my debt." Wan Shunlong said: "After the talk that night, I asked someone to find out about your situation. You have indeed made some money doing projects in Hezhou these years, but the 10 million down payment is probably nothing. It's all your net worth. The total price of the real estate is about 170 million, that is to say, you can't pay the rest of the money at all." Du Linxiang seemed a little flustered: "Don't worry about Mr. Wan, I can go outside and borrow money." "Really?" Wan Shunlong said, "They are all businessmen, and it is clear how much each of them has. You are engaged in civil engineering, and there is no collateral in the enterprise, so the bank will not give you a loan. The rest The only way is private lending, which is commonly known as usury. To borrow more than 100 million cash from outside in such a short period of time, I, Wan Shunlong, can do it if I work hard, but Lin Xiang, I’m afraid it’s too much. Take a step back Said, even if you have borrowed money, the interest of this usury is quite a lot. The price I sold you at 3,500 per square meter is not low, and with the interest pressure of usury, how can you make money? " Du Linxiang said, "Mr. Wan, aren't you planning to go back on your word?" Wan Shunlong lit a cigarette, and said slowly: "I was surprised at the beginning, even I, Wan Shunlong, couldn't do a real estate project well. Is there any expert in Hezhou who can turn defeat into victory? Now I can come up with a Conclusion, according to the conventional operation method, you will definitely die. You are not a fool, and now you want to swallow this real estate in a hurry, then there is only one possibility, you have already found the next home, and it is a big group buying order. You take 1,000 first Wan took my real estate into his hands, and then sold it immediately, and after three months, you can use the money from the house sale to pay back my balance." Just as Du Linxiang wanted to argue, Wan Shunlong stopped him with a wave of his hand: "Don't worry that I will steal your business! I have a principle that I only calculate my own account when doing business, and never account for other people's accounts. Let's say that Tianjiao of the North Kingdom Let’s sell this real estate at a price of 3,500. I’ve already made money, and at the same time I can spend a lot of money, so I’m only happy to see it. As for how much money you can make, that’s up to you. I'm not jealous of my own abilities." Wan Shunlong continued: "But we are friends after all, and you have helped my family, so for you, I want to change the contract." Du Linxiang was very nervous: "How to change it?" Wan Shunlong smiled and said: "It turns out that the contract says that if you fail to pay the balance within three months, the 10 million down payment will go to Shunlong Group. I want to change it. If you fail to pay the balance by the due date, I will Two million liquidated damages will be collected, and the remaining eight million will be refunded to you." Du Linxiang couldn't believe his ears: "Mr. Wan, what are you?" Wan Shunlong said: "I have done the empty-handed white wolf thing before. So I know that this is both a risk and a gamble, and there is a lot of uncertainty in it. I hope you can win the gamble, but if you If you lose the bet, I don't want you to lose all your property. Besides, even if it's the worst outcome, I won't lose anything. The real estate is still in my hands, so there's no need to keep the 10 million for myself. Of course, in business and business, I won’t be able to sell the house for the next three months because of your ups and downs. If you really fall short, you will naturally have to compensate me for the loss. In my opinion, two million is about the same. " Du Linxiang said gratefully: "Mr. Wan, you are really the most righteous businessman I have ever met!" Wan Shunlong said: "It's overrated. One more thing, let's not sign a real estate sales contract, but an equity transfer contract." Du Linxiang asked puzzledly, "Why?" Wan Shunlong said: "Everyone who does business in China has tax planning. Tax planning is different from tax evasion. It refers to the use of various financial means to enjoy preferential policies as much as possible without violating policies and laws. corporate burden." "If it's an equity transaction, it's equivalent to buying the company directly, and the tax will be much lower." Wan Shunlong continued, "When I was developing Tianjiao in the North Country, I registered an overseas company in Samoa, a small country in the Pacific Islands. It is also operating in the name of this company to the outside world. Lin Xiang, you can also quickly go overseas to establish a company. Then use the name of this company to buy my company. " The tricks here are indeed something that Du Linxiang in the past never knew.He asked: "I am in China, how do I go to set up a company abroad?" Wan Shunlong said with a smile: "It's very simple to set up an overseas company. You don't need to go there yourself. I'll let Xingguo help you handle these matters, and it will be done soon." Walking out of Wan Shunlong's office, Du Linxiang felt mixed feelings.The family's billions of dollars is not for nothing, and Wan Shunlong has seen clearly the little Jiujiu in his stomach.Wan Shunlong also taught himself a lesson by replacing the real estate sales contract with an equity transfer contract, which easily avoided huge taxes.Those small bosses who have come into contact with in the past don't know how to use these methods. Wan Shunlong's phrase "doing business only calculates his own account, never other people's account", made Du Linxiang even more enlightened.If it is said that the means of reasonable tax avoidance can only be regarded as business tactics, this sentence is undoubtedly called business ethics. Du Linxiang was also grateful for Wan Shunlong's straightforwardness.Because he was worried that Du Linxiang's empty-handed white wolf trick would go awry, he actually proposed that only a deposit of two million was required, which greatly reduced his pressure.After thinking about it, Wan Shunlong's uprightness is different from those heroes in the book who donate money.Wan Shunlong is indeed righteous, but he never spares money.Regardless of the final success or failure, Wanshunlong can guarantee a reasonable profit and at the same time leave room for partners-this is the honesty that a shrewd businessman should have! However, deep down in his heart, Du Linxiang also had a trace of rebelliousness.The luxurious private room on the top floor of Shunlong Group, Wan Shunlong's spacious and magnificent office, and the condescending tone of the other party all stimulated this ambitious man.Du Linxiang has no culture, and he couldn't find the right words to describe his inner feelings.It wasn't until later, when Du Linxiang was free to flip through the book, that he realized that his mentality at that time was very similar to the sentence Liu Bang blurted out when he saw Qin Shihuang's guard of honor: "A man should be like this!"