Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 938 - 511: A Big Belly Can Drink and Brings Wealth Luck

Chapter 938: Chapter 511: A Big Belly Can Drink and Brings Wealth Luck

When Yan Fei said he couldn’t guess, Old Niu chuckled with a smile, his words carrying a profound meaning, "Ordinary people really can’t guess, heh heh, it’s the boss of our county’s steel plant!"

This "profound meaning" was something Yan Fei, even as naive as he could be, could detect. He knew the steel plant; he had even gone there with Xu Xiaoyan to buy scrap metal, and the large sledgehammer that he used to carry like a carrying pole was still in use!

Without thinking, it was clear that the plant must be even more dilapidated than before, yet seeing this ’ascetic’ dressed leader, who drove a three to four hundred thousand RMB car, there was really nothing to say.

Soon, Yan Fei understood why Old Niu sidled up to him—it was because the man loved to talk. If it had been someone else who was informed, Old Niu wouldn’t have had the chance to show off his talkativeness. But Yan Fei was new here, so listening to Old Niu not only would make him grateful but also satisfy the ’sense of achievement’ Old Niu had as an entrepreneurial predecessor, guiding his juniors.

In the entire venue, with over a hundred people present, Old Niu could talk about most of their backgrounds, and from his tone, Yan Fei could generally discern what kind of character each person was.

Those who Old Niu introduced with that ’profound’ tone were mostly leaders with ’iron rice bowl’ jobs, who still put on airs and played stand-offish, just like with small mother cows.

Some plants might not be doing well, but as long as the person in charge could let go of their pretense and try to revive the plant, regardless of whether their efforts were fruitful, Old Niu wouldn’t speak in that tone.

On the other hand, those whom Old Niu spoke of with extreme admiration were generally those who ’started from scratch’ and built up a substantial family business.

In this regard, Yan Fei did fit the bill, although he was younger. Old Niu had his own cement plant that he’d started up, and even if its profits might not compare to Yan Fei’s enterprise, he’d been at it longer and, in some ways, was considered his predecessor.

Yan Fei also learned incidentally why Old Niu knew so many people. Running his cement plant meant regularly seeking out business. Any plant that needed cement for construction fell within his purview.

Furthermore, having attended this half-day meeting, Yan Fei really felt he’d gained a lot of insights. At the very least, he knew whom to approach if he wanted to provide his workers with beef jerky as a New Year’s benefit.

And in his enthusiasm, Old Niu even shared his ultimate trick with him: kickbacks.

This term, according to Old Niu, was "deep waters."

For example, how to make a quotation, how to cleverly frame kickbacks as something natural and unobjectionable. Of course, these tactics weren’t applicable to someone like Old Niu, who had built his own private enterprise from the ground up.

For someone like Yan Fei, if he wanted to provide his workers with benefits, would he need to resort to "kickbacks"?

So these tactics had their specific targets, and as for which kind of person was the right target, everyone was well aware, although it was something understood but not openly discussed.

Heizi, who was beside them, was very interested in these shady dealings, giving a thumbs-up as he leaned in, "Uncle Niu, you’re really something! Tell us more, please! The bit we’ve learned from you in this short time beats twenty years of hard work back home!"

While Yan Fei was somewhat disapproving of these practices, he also knew he couldn’t change anything. Thus, regarding Heizi’s behavior, he simply let it slide.

If it were him, not to mention other things, he simply couldn’t bring himself to utter such sycophantic words to a Boss Niu whom he had just met less than three hours ago.

But Heizi managed it with such natural ease, making Boss Niu feel immensely satisfied—after all, Boss Niu himself had acknowledged coming from humble rural beginnings. If you were to address him with an affected phrase like "Listening to you is better than ten years of study," he might not be receptive; instead, Heizi’s somewhat blunt flattery pleased him greatly.

There’s a saying, "A hooligan is not scary; what’s scary is a hooligan with knowledge."

Now Heizi was someone who often read and learned, and even though he didn’t hold any diplomas, saying he had some culture wasn’t an overstatement. This bit of culture, applied to flattery, didn’t take much effort before Heizi had Boss Niu leaving Yan Fei hanging, eagerly imparting his "experience" to Heizi instead.

Listening to Heizi’s sometimes blatant, sometimes subtle flattery, Yan Fei deeply felt: reading is indeed beneficial.

It was time to start the meal, and Old Niu continued imparting his wisdom, "Come on, Heizi, let’s go toast a few too. I’ll tell you, there’s an art to toasting—it’s not about saying much, just about stepping up and offering a drink, getting your face known first. Even if they can’t recall us later, it’s no big deal, next time you can just remind them, right?"

Heizi hesitated for a moment, "Don’t we need to call for Brother Fei?"

Old Niu also hesitated, "Shall we go together? I could tell right away that Heizi can drink, but Xiao Fei, what about you? Can you hold your liquor?"

"Can you hold your liquor?" Before Yan Fei could respond, Heizi feigned a look of exaggerated surprise, "Uncle Niu, then you really don’t know. I won’t say much, but looking at this hall with over a hundred people, if I say Brother Fei could outdrink them all, you’d definitely think I’m boasting. If I say he could outdrink half of them, that’s just me being modest on his behalf. Shall we just see how it goes?"

How well a chat goes can be judged by looking at these three. In just a short time, to those unaware, one might think by their calling each other’s titles, they were already as close as family!