Chapter 21: The Man Who Brings a Variety of Gifts on Winter Days

  It's still that temporary conference room, with personnel lined up neatly.

  Ye Haodong asked: "How many companies are there in our Steel City? How many schools? How many office buildings? Among the trash that these places spend manpower to handle every day, how much of it is raw material we need?"

  Li Weidong: "Hao Dong, what are your plans?"

  Ye Haodong: "I will try to clarify these issues as much as possible, and then I plan to build several waste paper recycling warehouses in key areas of the city. Each station will have one person responsible for contacting the cleaning workers from these units, collecting waste paper directly from them. The above-mentioned places, such as enterprises' various report papers and materials, files, and records, are used in large quantities, with a high rate of elimination every day. They do not have the habit of selling waste paper. Additionally, schools and office buildings are also big users of paper, and I believe that they produce a significant amount of waste paper garbage every day."

  Li Weidong: "At what price are you buying? Do you want to increase the acquisition price?"

  Ye Haodong: "Not only will we not increase the price, but we'll also lower it. We'll make it the same as other purchasing stations. You can contact other households' purchasing stations and tell them that we'll purchase their waste paper at a higher price than what they were previously offered, by the ton."

  Ye Haodong's words were like a ray of sunshine, illuminating the way to solve the biggest difficulty facing the new paper mill. The other three people were all very inspired.

  Zhong Zhimin: "If we can guarantee the supply of raw materials, then the machine's production capacity will be fully released, and daily output of 5-6 tons is no problem."

  Bao Li Gang: "What about the power supply side?"

  Ye Haodong snorted: "Damn it, first cut off the electricity and then notify us. It's a deliberate move to give us a warning shot, letting us know he doesn't care about us and can teach us a lesson at any time. But he forgot to ask what we did before this job. That guy's name is Wei Xinmin, right? Later, you find Ding Dawei and have him bring a few people to have a good chat with Director Wei. Don't take action, just let him see you."

  Zhong Zhimin listened with bated breath, wanting to advise them a couple of sentences, but noticed that both Li Weidong and Bao Lijiang had excitement in their eyes. Apparently, Ye Haodong's idea had scratched the itch they had been trying to scratch, and this seemed to be what they were good at. At this moment, Zhong Zhimin finally understood that he had boarded a pirate ship.

  With money, a suitable old warehouse was quickly found, and personnel were also easy to find. Several people who had close ties with the purchasing station were selected from those who collected waste products on the streets. These people have been running around various places that can collect waste products for many years, and they are truly skilled at this job. In order to transport the waste paper brought by these people to the pulp factory in a timely manner, Ye Haodong also bought a second-hand Liberation truck. Just these items alone had spent more than half of the over 500,000 yuan that Ye Haodong had on hand. What's gratifying is that Ye Haodong's idea was indeed effective, and the raw materials in the courtyard of the purchasing station were increasing day by day under the full load operation of the machine, but instead, the machine's production capacity couldn't keep up with the supply of raw materials.

  The power supply side was resolved very smoothly and thoroughly. After the meeting ended that day, Baoli just found Ding Dawei, and the two of them discussed it.

  Ding Dawei: "Hao Dong's intention is to scare him mainly, but also to make him really afraid, isn't it?"

  Baoli Gang: "Uh-huh, Haodong said we can't hurt people, or else our younger brothers will get in trouble."

  Ding Dawei's face was full of anger: "Anyone who dares to oppose my brother must let him understand that he has a good physique."

  Baoli nodded: "Tomorrow we'll go find him and have a heart-to-heart talk."

  Ding Dawei curled his lip: "What a joke, I heard that Wei Suo Chang is a master of the martial arts world. Let's bring a few brothers to learn from him and find him to test our skills."

  Bao Li Gang: "I'm afraid he's a daredevil, can't be intimidated."

  Ding Dawei: "No big deal, no matter how tough someone is, there's always a way to deal with him. If he doesn't listen, we'll throw dead chickens and dogs into his house. If that still doesn't work, we'll throw gasoline bottles. He's not like us, one person eating their fill means the whole family won't go hungry. In the end, he'll definitely give in."

  Baoli clapped his hands in admiration, and the two brothers made a plan together.

  Three days later, Wei Xinmin's nose was blue and his face was swollen. He personally visited Ye Haodong to apologize and promised that from now on, as long as he was in position for a day, he would never dare to cut off the power without reason.

  Raw materials are supplied in abundance, water and electricity are guaranteed with great strength, products sell well without worry, and the pulp factory has finally entered the right track.

  After getting in touch with Xin Feng factory, Ye Haodong only knew how great the prospects of this project were. Since the 1990s, the international pulp price has been rising all the way, and the domestic price is even higher than the international one. Some experts even predicted that by 1995, the highest international pulp price may reach $1,000 per ton. Hearing these industry rumors, Ye Haodong's morale was boosted, and he finally decided to buy another set of pulping machines. To save time, no one went to Quancheng this time. A telegram was sent to Quancheng Pulping Machine Factory, asking the factory to ship the goods directly, and the person in charge of installation would take the payment back.

  Two sets of equipment were put into operation, and the problem of raw material surplus was solved. The production capacity of the pulp factory stabilized at a daily output of 10 tons two months later. For Xinfeng Factory, which had continuously integrated several state-owned paper mills and had obvious supply shortages, Ye Haodong's new green pulp factory has become a relatively important raw material supplier, and the cooperation between the two parties is becoming increasingly close.

  For the time being, it's just like this in business. After everything is on track, there aren't many places where Ye Haodong can play a role. He now only holds financial power, production is handled by Zhong Zhimin, raw materials are managed by Li Weidong, and other businesses at the purchasing station are taken care of by Bao Ligang. Among these people, Ye Haodong, as the boss, has become the most idle one.

  Having nothing better to do, Ye Haodong decided it was time he did something for his family.

  Ye Haodong has been gradually revealing some things about his own factory over the past two months, and now his mother Wang Lin already knows what her son is up to outside. That day, after Ye Haodong took Wang Lin on a tour of the new Green Dyeing Factory, the mother-son duo had a friendly discussion, but she didn't plan on interfering with Ye Haodong's factory affairs. Those weren't her forte; her son was grown and capable now, so all she needed to do was help him manage his finances well, save up the money he earned, and it would be enough for when he got married in the future.

  The young son has made such a big achievement in just over a year, it's hard to guarantee that Wang Lin can't help but think more. Wang Lin anxiously and nervously asked: "Where did you get the money to open the factory? Did you do something illegal?"

  Ye Haodong's expression was sincere and he answered firmly: "Absolutely no illegal activities." He then recounted the whole incident with the red envelope again.

  Wang Lin still had some worries and asked: "Do you have any foreign debts in opening this factory? Why did you keep it from Mom before?"

  Ye Haodong shook his head: "No, this factory looks lively to you, but it doesn't need much money. I didn't tell you about the stamp business back then because I wanted to buy out this factory. This life, I don't plan on studying too much more, but I'm not willing to be ordinary all my life, so I can only secretly do some things I like."

  Wang Lin was still a bit worried, so Ye Haodong called in Zhong Zhimin. As for the unit's old sister's son, Wang Lin still trusted him very much. When Zhong Zhimin also vouched for Ye Haodong that he had no external debts, Wang Lin's hanging heart finally put down.

  "How much money can you save from this factory in a month?"

  Yeh Hao Dong whispered that it's not good, this sentence needs to be carefully considered and answered with caution. Otherwise, every month's income will have to support the People's Bank's savings business.

  "The factory is now on track, there are many places to spend money, earning a lot but spending more, but I will be more careful."

  A year ago when her little son dropped out of school, Wang Lin would never have thought that a year later he could achieve what he has today. Overjoyed, she couldn't help but feel sad about the fact that her son had grown up and become more independent, no longer listening to her like before. Thinking this, she felt a small sense of loss.

  Ye Haodong noticed the slight disappointment on his mother's face and quickly comforted her, "Actually, there is still some leftover money. I spent it earlier to buy a house, and the property certificate has your name on it. Since my ID wasn't ready yet, I used yours."

  Wang Lin was both surprised and delighted, and after being moved, she didn't forget to ask: "Whose house is it? How big is the area? How much did you buy it for?"

  "Baoyen Temple, 5th district, three rooms and two halls, 90 square meters, less than 100,000 yuan. It was just renovated the day before yesterday, after a few days when the smell is gone, we can move in."

  Women are equally eager for new houses, Wang Lin immediately proposed to see the new house, and Ye Haodong had no choice but to accompany her.

  In the following days, Wang Lin indeed stopped asking about Ye Haodong's factory affairs. She even took a leave from her unit and spent a lot of time browsing furniture markets.

  Finally settled his mother in a new house, Ye Haodong thought of Jiang Wei who had helped him greatly before and must be very happy to see him become what he is today.

  Since he was a kid, Ye Haodong has always felt that the sky in Gangcheng is gray. He once heard a saying about the air quality in Gangcheng, which said that when taking pictures of the earth from space, Gangcheng is the city on the land of China that looks the most unclear.

  Ye Haodong wore his new snow leopard fur coat, with a casual pair of jeans on the bottom. He looked refreshed and rejuvenated as he checked himself out in the mirror, thinking to himself that he was charming and elegant. He picked up the gift he had prepared and headed out the door.

  The old man's leather shoes trudged through the muddy road caused by the melting snow on Guangming Street's shantytown, with one foot sinking deeper than the other, looking a bit comical from behind.

  Jiang Lan was walking home from school when she saw Ye Haodong in front of her, carrying two bottles of wine and several packs of cigarettes. She thought to herself: Who would come to visit this place? But then she realized that the guy in front of her had been asking for directions all along, and had actually found his way to her doorstep.

  "Hey, who are you looking for?" Jiang Lan's clear voice carried a hint of cool wariness on this snowy winter day.

  Ye Haodong turned around and saw Jiang Lan. This was his first time seeing Jiang Lan, this girl wasn't particularly beautiful, but not bad-looking either, with a somewhat cute feeling. Her head seemed a bit large among girls, her facial features were very regular, a pair of big eyes seemed to be speaking, her figure had developed well, she was over 1.65 meters tall, standing there elegantly, leaving Ye Haodong stunned.

  "Hey, who are you looking for?" Jiang Lan scolded.

  Ye Haodong came back to himself, smiled, and revealed two rows of pearly white teeth.

  "I'm looking for Big Brother Jiang Wei."

  "Jiang Lan was on guard: 'What are you looking for my brother?'"

  It turned out that she was Jiang Wei's sister, and at this moment, upon closer inspection, the two of them did bear some resemblance. Ye Haodong: "I'm his friend, he helped me out a lot last time, I came to see him, to express my gratitude, and also to tell him about my recent situation."

  Jiang Lan suddenly realized: "Oh, I get it, you're that little punk who was caught by my brother?"

  This girl is too direct, Ye Haodong smiled awkwardly: "I've been caught by your brother before, but I'm not a little rascal."

  Jiang Lan curled her lip in disdain: "You can keep bragging, but I'll tell you anyway, you've made a wasted trip. My brother isn't home, he's on a business trip."

  Ye Haodong nodded: "Oh, okay then, thank you. Is there an elder at home? I'd like to pay my respects."

  Jiang Lan shook her head: "There's only my mom and me at home, but she's been ill for many years and can't see outsiders."

  "Never mind then, please take back your things. When your brother returns, tell him Ye Haodong came to visit him."

  Jiang Lan said seriously: "Take back what you brought here, I'll let my brother know when he comes back."

  Ye Haodong nodded and turned around to leave.

  Jiang Lan was about to open the door when Ye Hao Dong suddenly shouted loudly from behind: "You're a clever girl, but you lack experience. From your words just now, I've figured out several things. If I were a bad person who wanted to harm your family, I would have taken action by now. Finally, I wish your mother a speedy recovery. Your family are good people, thank them for me and tell your brother thanks."

  Jiang Lan's heart warmed up, turned back to look, and Ye Haodong's figure had already faded into the distance. As if sensing something, he muttered: "This weirdo can actually say some human words, this doesn't seem like a little hooligan."