Contacting Little Friends

Zhou Qi had no intention of limiting supply and raising prices; such tactics were too crude.

Moreover, if the medicine were too expensive, the World Government had Vegapunk. He didn't believe for a second that if the medicine reached the Marines, it wouldn't be sent to Vegapunk for research.

With Vegapunk's capabilities, deducing the ingredients and cost of such a medicine shouldn't be difficult.

And this world had no patent protection laws. If the World Government truly threw all shame aside, waited for him to reverse-engineer the medicine, and then started producing it to compete with Zhou Qi, Zhou Qi would be truly helpless.

Therefore, Zhou Qi couldn't just limit supply; he also couldn't set the price too high. His goal was to make the World Government think it was better to buy than to produce.

Fortunately, Huaxia had the most complete industrial system. When it came to controlling costs, ten World Governments couldn't compare to one Huaxia.

The cost of the medicine calculated by Vegapunk based on the World Government's production capacity would likely be three to five times, or even more than ten times, the actual cost.

Even if he lowered the price, he could still sell it for much more than the price on Earth.

There would definitely be no shortage of profit.

"Hmm, it would be great if I had a chance to meet Vegapunk. I could arrange a price with him, and then we could work together from the inside and outside to fleece the World Government..."

Given that Vegapunk hadn't reported Kuma's true identity to the World Government, Zhou Qi didn't think Vegapunk was particularly loyal to them.

"Mom, what's my third brother doing now? Is he still in the military?" Zhou Qi asked after returning home and contacting his family.

"Yes, are you looking for him for something?" Sun Yanping asked.

"Uh, is there any chance he could retire from the military?" Zhou Qi asked.

"How could that be possible? He's already a battalion commander now. Why would he retire when he's doing so well?" Sun Yanping asked.

"Oh..." Zhou Qi nodded.

His third brother wasn't his biological brother; he only had one younger brother.

His grandmother had given birth to five sons and two daughters.

His eldest brother and third brother were the sons of his paternal uncle, his second brother was the son of his second paternal uncle. His third and fourth paternal uncles both had two daughters, and his father was the youngest.

Not many from the Zhou family became university students, but many enlisted in the army.

His eldest brother, second brother, and third brother had all served in the military. As for Zhou Qi himself, if he hadn't gotten into high school back then, he would have been sent to enlist.

His eldest and second brothers had already retired.

His eldest brother, Zhou Guodong, was at home growing peaches. His second brother, Zhou Huaqiang, was a store manager at a well-known supermarket chain in Zhongyuan.

His third brother had been commended for his meritorious service in disaster relief during a catastrophe in 2008 and was recommended to attend military academy. Zhou Qi didn't understand the rules of the military, but somehow his third brother stayed in the forces, and he'd been there for 14 years.

He wanted his third brother to retire because the Zhou family lacked talent. If he were to open a pharmaceutical factory, someone would need to manage it.

His father definitely wouldn't be suitable; he was a traditional farmer, hot-tempered and narrow-minded, only good enough to be a doorman.

"Are there any other retired individuals from the Zhou family, or those who went to university?" Zhou Qi asked again.

"Why are you suddenly asking this?" Sun Yanping asked.

"I'm collaborating with someone on trade, and I figured instead of buying goods from other merchants, it would be better to produce them myself. It would lower costs and allow my own family members to earn some money..." Zhou Qi said.

When it involved cross-world industries, a family business was naturally more reassuring. Their Zhou family didn't have those strange relatives.

When he was in college, his family was building a house, and relatives provided financial assistance. Even though he wasn't doing particularly well later on, relatives still kept him in mind, wanting to help him out!

Moreover, regardless of what other novels depicted about professional managers, based on Zhou Qi's observations from his own working life, most small and medium-sized enterprises were run by the father as the factory director, the wife as the accountant, and the son in charge of human resources.

If the son wasn't in HR, it might be because he was too young, so they would have their nephews or other relatives fill those roles.

When Zhou Qi worked at companies, he encountered many such superiors. Whether they were capable or not was another matter, but their loyalty was certainly unquestionable.

If they could do it this way, Zhou Qi naturally could too.

In fact, even if he wanted to find professionals, he wouldn't be able to recruit them. And even if he did, he wouldn't dare to use them for many business dealings that involved cross-world matters.

"There are quite a few retired people. As for university students, there are indeed a few..." Sun Yanping thought for a moment and said, "Do you remember Zhou Yibing? He was your classmate. He also got into university, Xianyang Foreign Language University. Zhou Yining got in even better, at Shanghai Jiaotong University. You probably don't know Zhou Xiaobo; he's your eleventh grandfather's grandson, almost ten years younger than you. Last year, he got into Guilin Normal University..."

"Zhou Yining?" Zhou Qi was stunned. A young girl, snotty-nosed and always trailing behind him, immediately flashed in his mind. A few years later, the little girl had transformed into a beautiful, graceful, and poised young woman.

Zhou Yibing was his good buddy when they were kids. Their academic performance was similar back then, but they didn't get into the same high school, and they gradually lost touch.

Zhou Yining was Zhou Yibing's sister. In reality, Zhou Qi didn't interact with her much, but she left a deep impression on him.

The main reason was that Zhou Yining was exceptionally beautiful; calling her the most beautiful girl in the Zhou family wouldn't be an exaggeration.

However, the last time he saw her was six or seven years ago. A senior relative had passed away, and a group of them, the kids, gathered to play table tennis. Zhou Yining's skills were quite good back then.

He hadn't expected that she was not only good at table tennis but also academically strong?

"Can you help me ask? Or get their contact information!" Zhou Qi said. "I'll talk to them myself!"

"Okay!" Sun Yanping hung up the phone, then clicked into the "Loving Family Group" and started gathering intelligence.

Zhou Yibing and Zhou Yining naturally wouldn't be in the group because they didn't belong to Zhou Qi's grandfather's lineage.

Thinking of this, Zhou Qi felt inexplicably grateful to Chairman Mao, because his proposal of "great strength in numbers" led to his grandfather's generation having a total of eleven brothers!

These eleven brothers, in turn, had 43 sons, and their sons continued to have children. This accumulation had created a not-so-small Zhou clan.

And this clan could provide Zhou Qi with a considerable number of management personnel!

If they also included the married-out daughters and their sons-in-law, they could easily gather one to two thousand people!

Even though they no longer lived in the same place due to their respective jobs and developments, their relationship had gradually faded.

But Zhou Qi believed that with his own development, it was only a matter of time before the Zhou clan became the Zhou family, or even the Zhou immortal clan.

Based on the experiences of Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Bang, it only took the talent of a village to conquer a vast country. With so many people surnamed Zhou, managing a super conglomerate would be more than enough.

Not long after, with a ding, a friend request appeared on WeChat.

Looking at the remark, it was Zhou Yibing.

He clicked accept, and soon, a message came from the other side.

"Is it Hukou?"

"Why do you call me Hukou too?" Zhou Qi was speechless. Wasn't this nickname only popular in the last two years?

"The Wandering Earth!" Zhou Yibing said, "It seems many people are thinking the same as me..."

Zhou Qi was speechless, but then Zhou Yibing sent another message: "Why are you looking for me all of a sudden? What's up, are you borrowing money?"

"Actually, I understand. You've encountered difficulties and don't want to trouble your family, but you can't borrow from friends. However, I'm also in a difficult situation. I just got a girlfriend. The betrothal gift isn't much, but the wedding house is a hassle..."

Zhou Qi's gaze flickered slightly.

Another line of text appeared: "I can only spare 20,000..."

Zhou Qi fell silent, his eyes even tearing up for a moment.

"I haven't contacted you in so many years, and the first time I reach out is to borrow money, yet you're still willing to give it?"

"What's there to be unwilling about..." Zhou Yibing said, "Who told us we're brothers? I don't know if you remember, 'Moon sets, crows cry, frost fills the sky; river maples, fishing fires, facing sorrowful sleep...' "

" 'Outside Gusu city, Cold Mountain Temple; midnight bell chimes reach the traveler's boat...' "

Zhou Qi let out a long sigh. This poem was mandatory for third graders, but in second grade, his family had already bought a copy of "Three Hundred Tang Poems," which included this poem.

He brought the book to school, and the Chinese teacher saw it. The teacher said that he could recite this poem now, and he wouldn't have to memorize it next year.

Then Zhou Yibing snatched the book and recited this poem first, making the then Zhou Qi extremely wronged. It was clearly me first...

He was still thinking about getting his face back with the next poem, but who knew that the next day his father, due to work, took him and moved.

This was his last memory with Zhou Yibing, but he never expected that Zhou Yibing would still remember after so long.

"Of course, I remember. That book is still with you!" Zhou Qi said.

"No, I gave it to my sister..." Zhou Yibing said, "If you want it, you'll have to ask her..."

Zhou Qi smiled and said, "That's perfect, I was just about to look for her. Can you create a group chat, just the three of us..."

"Isn't twenty thousand enough?" Zhou Yibing asked, "My sister, Yining, just graduated last year and her job isn't stable yet. You won't be able to borrow money from her..."

"No, I'm not borrowing money, I have something else..." Zhou Qi quickly said. He could talk to Zhou Yibing about borrowing money, but talking to Zhou Yining, he couldn't bring himself to do it!

Although he didn't have any intentions towards Zhou Yining, facing a beautiful girl, one's self-esteem was still important!

"Not borrowing money?" Zhou Yibing was stunned for a moment, then thought of his increasingly beautiful sister.

"Wait, don't tell me... you scoundrel Zhou Hukou, I treat you as a brother, and you want to be my brother-in-law?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? How could your sister and I... this is incest!" Zhou Qi was speechless. "I really have something to discuss, a serious matter!"

"..."

A moment later, he jumped into a WeChat group chat.

"Great Demon King has joined the chat group..."

"Great Demon King?" Zhou Qi was stunned. He looked at the avatar again, and it was indeed the Great Demon King from the women's table tennis team.

Oh, right, Yining, Yi Ning, the names are quite similar.

"Brother Qi?" Zhou Yining asked, "Haven't we seen each other in a while? Why are you suddenly thinking of me? Are you borrowing money?"

"As expected of siblings..." Zhou Qi was speechless, and then he sent a file to the group chat: "You guys take a look at this..."

" 'Amoxicillin Production Process Regulations'?" Zhou Yining read out the file name, looking a bit dazed, "Brother Qi, you want to produce Amoxicillin? That stuff isn't easy to sell, is it..."

"Do you have a way?" Zhou Yibing had a different opinion. After all, he knew his friend's intelligence, which was probably the second highest among all the peers in the village.

As for the first?

It was obviously me, Zhou Yibing.

Since he wasn't an idiot, he wouldn't have pulled out such a document without reason.

"I indeed have a way!" Zhou Qi replied, "And it's in Africa. You guys know how chaotic the situation is there, so as long as Amoxicillin can be produced, they'll want as much as they can get!"

"This..." Zhou Yibing was stunned for a moment and asked, "Is it reliable?"

Zhou Qi sent a screenshot of his previous transfer record of 460,000.

"The first batch of investment has arrived, and I've also bought two production lines. Once the procedures, qualifications, factory, and raw materials are in place, we can start production!"

He wanted to buy more production lines, but buying guns alone cost 150,000. He negotiated the price for the two production lines for a long time, from 130,000 down to 110,000...

Including other miscellaneous items he bought, he only had a little over 20,000 yuan left in his account.

"This…" Zhou Yibing thought Zhou Qi had contacted him not to borrow money, but for an investment or something. He hadn't expected Zhou Qi to have already secured the funds.

"You don't lack money, so why are you looking for us two…"

"I don't lack money, I lack people to manage it!" Zhou Qi said. "I don't trust outsiders to manage the factory. I asked my mom, and there are only the three of us who graduated from university in the Zhou Family. Who else would I look for if not you two?"

"Uh…" Zhou Yibing scratched his head, never imagining that Zhou Qi had contacted him for this reason.

"But I have a job right now!" Zhou Yibing said.

"Where, doing what, and what's the salary?" Zhou Qi asked.

"Uh, a programmer, 24,000 a month…" Zhou Yibing replied. "I'm in Nanhai City right now…"

What a coincidence, I'm in Nanhai too…

"How about this, I'll give you 50,000 a month, and you'll be the factory manager!" Zhou Qi said. "15 months' salary annually, eight hours a day, five days a week. Seven days for May Day and National Day, 30 days for Spring Festival, and three days for other holidays, without making up for the days off…"

"Brother, don't joke with me. Are you running a factory or doing charity? You'll go bankrupt like this!" Zhou Yibing said. "Besides, I've never seen a factory with eight-hour workdays. Even if you don't do two shifts, it should be three shifts, right!"

"The market isn't that big yet in the early stages, and demand is low, but the profit is substantial!" Zhou Qi said. "Once demand picks up, we can expand the scale. Anyway, I'm determined to stick to five days and eight hours. Or, do you really like 996?"

"..." I really don't like it. Who would like 996?

Is his 24,000 a month a lot?

It is a lot, but in reality, his base salary is only a little over 7,000. The 24,000 is all earned through late-night overtime.

When I was younger, I could still do this. Now I'm 27, and I'm already feeling the strain.

I've been living like this for over four years.

If I had a choice, I wouldn't want to do this, but what else can I do besides this?

I majored in English, but who doesn't know English these days? I can't find a job with my major!

If my brother really has a good opportunity, it's not impossible to go, but the salary you're offering…

It's too high, to the point where I can't believe it.

After thinking for a moment, he sent a few private messages to his sister, then replied, "How about this, I'll discuss it with my girlfriend first…"

"Okay!" Zhou Qi nodded, then asked, "Yining, what about you? What are you doing now?"

"Me? I'm a kindergarten teacher!" Zhou Yining said. "My monthly salary is 3,500…"

"You're from Shanghai Jiaotong University, and you became a kindergarten teacher after graduation?"

"I'd like to teach at an elementary school, but elementary schools require a master's degree…" Zhou Yining said.

"Brother Qi, if I come to join you, what kind of treatment will I get?" Zhou Yining asked.

"You can be in charge of human resources…" Zhou Qi said. "As for the treatment, it will be the same as your brother, how about that?"

"Okay, I'll come over now!" Zhou Yining immediately said.

"Huh?" Zhou Qi was stunned. "Aren't you going to consider it further?"

"What's there to consider? My colleagues here are disgusting, and so are those disgusting parents. I've wanted to quit for a long time!" Zhou Yining said hurriedly. "Where are you? I'll resign in the next two days and come over!"

"Uh, you don't have to come over. I plan to set up the factory in our hometown…" Zhou Qi said. "If you're willing to come, then go home. When I get the factory set up, you can report for duty!"

"Go home?" Zhou Yining was stunned, and quickly messaged her brother privately. It doesn't seem like a pyramid scheme. It's not popular in our hometown either…

Could it be that he's serious? Zhou Yibing was also stunned. He didn't believe Zhou Qi's words at all. Zhou Yining didn't believe him either. She had just been probing to see if Zhou Qi had been tricked by a pyramid scheme or if he was trying to recruit them for organ harvesting or something.

"How about this, since you're going to resign anyway, go back and see if it's real or not. Consider it a vacation. If it's real, even if the salary isn't that high, you can still work for 5,000 yuan for now…"

"Okay…" Zhou Yining nodded. Her hometown was much safer than here, especially with so many relatives. Her family also had members who had served in the military, just like Zhou Qi's lineage. They were all the type to be strong and capable, and she wasn't afraid of being taken advantage of.

"I'll resign and go back in the next two days. Hurry up with the factory, I'm waiting to start working!"

"No problem!" Zhou Qi nodded. "I'll get it done as soon as possible!"

Putting down WeChat, he had not only secured the factory's management personnel but also reconnected with old friends he had lost touch with. Zhou Qi was in a great mood.

When one is poor, one cultivates oneself; when one is successful, one helps the world.

He didn't have that much ability yet, but he could start with the people around him and change things little by little.