Chapter 32 True Colors
The amount of freedom and affection that Yu Mingyuan had given to Su Tianyu in his work and personal life had already exceeded that of a normal boss, which made Su Tianyu somewhat uncertain.
If this job had nothing to do with the Su family, Su Tianyu could patiently wait for Yu Mingyuan to reveal his true intentions and express his demands. But the situation was different now. Su Tianyu was just a small bachelor with some skills but no place to show them in the company. His value was too small, so Yu Mingyuan's kindness towards him must be related to the Su family.
Su Tianyu couldn't just take advantage of the Su family's value and eat and drink with Yu Mingyuan all day long. This would result in a large debt of gratitude and it would be difficult to repay in the future.
With no other choice, Su Tianyu came up with a plan: complete surrender.
If Yu Mingyuan was going to treat him so well, then he might as well take advantage of it!
For five consecutive days, Su Tianyu not only arrived late and left early, but also frequently skipped work. During the day, he was rarely in the office, and either his phone was turned off or no one answered. Even Yu Mingyuan couldn't find him.
This approach worked surprisingly well. Yu Mingyuan thought that Su Tianyu didn't want to work anymore and was considering quitting, so he sent him a text message asking him to come to the company the next day to talk.
...
The next day, Su Tianyu arrived at the company at the usual time and walked into Yu Mingyuan's office with a smirk. "Brother Yuan."
"Heh, it's rare to see you these days." Yu Mingyuan glanced at him and motioned for him to sit down. "Come on, have a seat."
"Alright." Su Tianyu sat down casually.
"What have you been busy with these past few days? I couldn't find you anywhere." Yu Mingyuan sat behind his desk and asked in a soft voice.
"I didn't have much to do in the company, and some of my buddies from the army came back to Longcheng, so we've been hanging out these days." Su Tianyu casually came up with an excuse.
"Xiaosu, the company has just been established..." Yu Mingyuan wanted to have a vague conversation with this fox.
"Yuan Ge, I've been thinking these past few days, and I feel like I'm the only one in the whole company who's not busy. It's really uncomfortable for me to stay here. My comrades have just come back and they want to do something, so... maybe I should quit?" Su Tianyu said with a look of distress.
The two looked at each other, and suddenly Yu Mingyuan grinned, "Hehe, are you playing games with me?"
"Yuan Ge, who's playing games with who here?!" Su Tianyu retorted.
Yu Mingyuan paused for a moment and then pointed at Su Tianyu, "Hey, I was planning to wait for the company to stabilize before talking to you, but you, my boy... you're just too impatient."
"It's not that I'm impatient, it's just that you've left me with too little to work with," Su Tianyu replied with a smile. "I thought you wanted to sleep with me at one point."
"Hahaha!" Yu Mingyuan laughed, "You couldn't handle me with your physique alone."
"So what's the real reason?" Su Tianyu asked.
Yu Mingyuan lifted his teacup and pondered for a while before saying, "Actually, I made you my assistant general manager because I saw your abilities..."
"Cut the crap, just tell me what you want me to do. I'm just drinking tea and sleeping here every day. What kind of abilities can I show?" Su Tianyu waved his hand. "Let's just talk about the job."
Yu Mingyuan looked at Su Tianyu and suddenly pulled open the drawer of his desk, taking out two boxes of cigarettes, "Do you recognize these?"
"Yeah, they're Da Jiu cigarettes, an old brand from the Ninth District," Su Tianyu replied with suspicion. "What about them?"
"Do you know how much they sell for in Long City?" Yu Mingyuan asked.
"It's around 11 yuan a box, right?"
"What about in Hua District? Do you know how much they sell for there?" Yu Mingyuan asked again.
"I have no idea. I've never been to Hua District since I can remember," Su Tianyu shook his head.
"They sell for 3.5 yuan a box there."
"...!" Su Tianyu didn't respond immediately upon hearing this.
Yu Mingyuan held a cigarette box and said softly, "For a cigarette that costs more than fifty yuan, in addition to import tariffs and consumption taxes, there's a fixed tax that's about fifty percent of the purchase price. Plus, after several layers of transportation, wholesale, and retail, the cost of this cigarette to be sold at the counter is nearly three times higher than in the domestic market."
Su Tianyu listened quietly.
"The majority of people in Longcheng are of Chinese descent, and many of our habits are difficult to change, especially when it comes to smoking and drinking. We prefer the taste of our hometown," Yu Mingyuan continued patiently. "You also know that overseas cigarettes are mostly blended, while we prefer roasted cigarettes. The same goes for alcohol, where Western-style liquor, red wine, and grape wine are more popular here, which doesn't quite match our taste."
Su Tianyu already guessed what Yu Mingyuan was going to say next and asked immediately, "If the taste is different, why not produce it ourselves?"
Yu Mingyuan looked at Su Tianyu, and his eyes lit up. "You're really smart."
"Hehe, don't always flatter me," Su Tianyu said softly. "Longcheng's land area is not small, and producing for ourselves should be no problem, right?"
"Producing for ourselves is not a problem, but taxes are," Yu Mingyuan got straight to the point. "Whether it's before or now, the import tax revenue for cigarettes and alcohol is significant, and since our tastes are very Eastern, the tax revenue generated from this type of trade far exceeds your imagination. Let's not talk about now, even in ancient times, which tobacco didn't have a tax revenue of trillions? It can even compete with military spending! If you produce for ourselves, Longcheng and District 1 won't be able to collect import taxes for this type of product. Do you understand what I mean?"
Su Tianyu quickly understood: "I understand."
"Longcheng has its own tobacco company, but it's only for official operations. With our current capacity, we can't get a piece of that big pie. Besides, their products are lousy, so their competitiveness is weak. Currently, Longcheng's tobacco and alcohol are still mostly imported," said Yu Mingyuan excitedly, looking at Su Tianyu. "I have channels to import goods, and your Su family's gang is all over Zhanan, so they can serve as foot soldiers and salespeople. If you're willing, the goods will arrive by sea and be dispersed on arrival. Just think about what kind of future that would be."
Su Tianyu blinked his eyes, "My second uncle is capable enough to do it, but this matter...!"
"Don't rush to make a judgment," Yu Mingyuan looked at his watch and said, "Let's go out and meet a few people. You'll understand."
"Okay," Su Tianyu nodded.
...
About half an hour later, in a quiet teahouse in Zhanan District.
Yu Mingyuan sat in the main seat and waited for a while before smiling at Su Tianyu, "You have an acquaintance who will be here soon."
Su Tianyu was startled for a moment, then immediately guessed who it was.
Sure enough, less than ten minutes later, the door to the private room opened and a familiar figure walked in.
Chapter 32 True Colors
The amount of freedom and affection that Yu Mingyuan had given to Su Tianyu in his work and personal life had already exceeded that of a normal boss, which made Su Tianyu somewhat uncertain.
If this job had nothing to do with the Su family, Su Tianyu could patiently wait for Yu Mingyuan to reveal his true intentions and express his demands. But the situation was different now. Su Tianyu was just a small bachelor with some skills but no place to show them in the company. His value was too small, so Yu Mingyuan's kindness towards him must be related to the Su family.
Su Tianyu couldn't just take advantage of the Su family's value and eat and drink with Yu Mingyuan all day long. This would result in a large debt of gratitude and it would be difficult to repay in the future.
With no other choice, Su Tianyu came up with a plan: complete surrender.
If Yu Mingyuan was going to treat him so well, then he might as well take advantage of it!
For five consecutive days, Su Tianyu not only arrived late and left early, but also frequently skipped work. During the day, he was rarely in the office, and either his phone was turned off or no one answered. Even Yu Mingyuan couldn't find him.
This approach worked surprisingly well. Yu Mingyuan thought that Su Tianyu didn't want to work anymore and was considering quitting, so he sent him a text message asking him to come to the company the next day to talk.
...
The next day, Su Tianyu arrived at the company at the usual time and walked into Yu Mingyuan's office with a smirk. "Brother Yuan."
"Heh, it's rare to see you these days." Yu Mingyuan glanced at him and motioned for him to sit down. "Come on, have a seat."
"Alright." Su Tianyu sat down casually.
"What have you been busy with these past few days? I couldn't find you anywhere." Yu Mingyuan sat behind his desk and asked in a soft voice.
"I didn't have much to do in the company, and some of my buddies from the army came back to Longcheng, so we've been hanging out these days." Su Tianyu casually came up with an excuse.
"Xiaosu, the company has just been established..." Yu Mingyuan wanted to have a vague conversation with this fox.
"Yuan Ge, I've been thinking these past few days, and I feel like I'm the only one in the whole company who's not busy. It's really uncomfortable for me to stay here. My comrades have just come back and they want to do something, so... maybe I should quit?" Su Tianyu said with a look of distress.
The two looked at each other, and suddenly Yu Mingyuan grinned, "Hehe, are you playing games with me?"
"Yuan Ge, who's playing games with who here?!" Su Tianyu retorted.
Yu Mingyuan paused for a moment and then pointed at Su Tianyu, "Hey, I was planning to wait for the company to stabilize before talking to you, but you, my boy... you're just too impatient."
"It's not that I'm impatient, it's just that you've left me with too little to work with," Su Tianyu replied with a smile. "I thought you wanted to sleep with me at one point."
"Hahaha!" Yu Mingyuan laughed, "You couldn't handle me with your physique alone."
"So what's the real reason?" Su Tianyu asked.
Yu Mingyuan lifted his teacup and pondered for a while before saying, "Actually, I made you my assistant general manager because I saw your abilities..."
"Cut the crap, just tell me what you want me to do. I'm just drinking tea and sleeping here every day. What kind of abilities can I show?" Su Tianyu waved his hand. "Let's just talk about the job."
Yu Mingyuan looked at Su Tianyu and suddenly pulled open the drawer of his desk, taking out two boxes of cigarettes, "Do you recognize these?"
"Yeah, they're Da Jiu cigarettes, an old brand from the Ninth District," Su Tianyu replied with suspicion. "What about them?"
"Do you know how much they sell for in Long City?" Yu Mingyuan asked.
"It's around 11 yuan a box, right?"
"What about in Hua District? Do you know how much they sell for there?" Yu Mingyuan asked again.
"I have no idea. I've never been to Hua District since I can remember," Su Tianyu shook his head.
"They sell for 3.5 yuan a box there."
"...!" Su Tianyu didn't respond immediately upon hearing this.
Yu Mingyuan held a cigarette box and said softly, "For a cigarette that costs more than fifty yuan, in addition to import tariffs and consumption taxes, there's a fixed tax that's about fifty percent of the purchase price. Plus, after several layers of transportation, wholesale, and retail, the cost of this cigarette to be sold at the counter is nearly three times higher than in the domestic market."
Su Tianyu listened quietly.
"The majority of people in Longcheng are of Chinese descent, and many of our habits are difficult to change, especially when it comes to smoking and drinking. We prefer the taste of our hometown," Yu Mingyuan continued patiently. "You also know that overseas cigarettes are mostly blended, while we prefer roasted cigarettes. The same goes for alcohol, where Western-style liquor, red wine, and grape wine are more popular here, which doesn't quite match our taste."
Su Tianyu already guessed what Yu Mingyuan was going to say next and asked immediately, "If the taste is different, why not produce it ourselves?"
Yu Mingyuan looked at Su Tianyu, and his eyes lit up. "You're really smart."
"Hehe, don't always flatter me," Su Tianyu said softly. "Longcheng's land area is not small, and producing for ourselves should be no problem, right?"
"Producing for ourselves is not a problem, but taxes are," Yu Mingyuan got straight to the point. "Whether it's before or now, the import tax revenue for cigarettes and alcohol is significant, and since our tastes are very Eastern, the tax revenue generated from this type of trade far exceeds your imagination. Let's not talk about now, even in ancient times, which tobacco didn't have a tax revenue of trillions? It can even compete with military spending! If you produce for ourselves, Longcheng and District 1 won't be able to collect import taxes for this type of product. Do you understand what I mean?"
Su Tianyu quickly understood: "I understand."
"Longcheng has its own tobacco company, but it's only for official operations. With our current capacity, we can't get a piece of that big pie. Besides, their products are lousy, so their competitiveness is weak. Currently, Longcheng's tobacco and alcohol are still mostly imported," said Yu Mingyuan excitedly, looking at Su Tianyu. "I have channels to import goods, and your Su family's gang is all over Zhanan, so they can serve as foot soldiers and salespeople. If you're willing, the goods will arrive by sea and be dispersed on arrival. Just think about what kind of future that would be."
Su Tianyu blinked his eyes, "My second uncle is capable enough to do it, but this matter...!"
"Don't rush to make a judgment," Yu Mingyuan looked at his watch and said, "Let's go out and meet a few people. You'll understand."
"Okay," Su Tianyu nodded.
...
About half an hour later, in a quiet teahouse in Zhanan District.
Yu Mingyuan sat in the main seat and waited for a while before smiling at Su Tianyu, "You have an acquaintance who will be here soon."
Su Tianyu was startled for a moment, then immediately guessed who it was.
Sure enough, less than ten minutes later, the door to the private room opened and a familiar figure walked in.
