August 10, nine o'clock in the morning, Jiahe Assets Shanghai office.
Lu Shen leaned on the back of the chair and tapped his fingers lightly on the table.
Standing opposite is Zhou Huai, holding a document in his hand.
"Mr. Lu, according to your request, we contacted Eagle Group in the name of Jiahe."
Zhou Huai said, "The response from them was very enthusiastic."
Lu Shen's brows moved slightly:
"Hot?"
"Very enthusiastic." Zhou Huai put the file on the table,
"We just expressed our intention, and their secretary Wu Fayi called us back half an hour later, saying that we hoped to arrange a meeting as soon as possible."
Lu Shen was silent for two seconds.
He recalled what happened when he contacted Zhongke and Yunnan Agriculture before - the call was hung up as soon as the call was connected, and he didn't even have a chance to speak.
Now this Eagle is a little unusually enthusiastic.
"What do you think?" he asked Zhou Huai.
Zhou Huai thought for a while:
"Maybe they are really short of money. Which of their plans - banks, Shaxian Snacks, Xiong County projects - does not require a lot of funds?"
Lu Shen nodded.
This explanation is reasonable.
"Then make an appointment." He said, "The sooner the better."
At two o'clock in the afternoon that day, room Video Conference of Eagle Group Zhengzhou headquarters.
The moment the video was connected, Lu Shen saw the person opposite.
The secretaries of Wu Fayi and Eagle Group are in their early teens, wearing suits and leather shoes, and are full of smiles.
Sitting next to him was Finance Director Chen Guihong, about fifty years old, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, smart and capable.
"Mr. Lu, I have admired you for a long time."
Wu Fayi was the first to speak, "I didn't expect Jiahe to be interested in us. I'm really flattered."
Lu Shen nodded:
"Director Wu is very polite. We looked at Eagle's information and thought it had great potential, so we wanted to learn more about it."
Wu Fayi smiles even brighter:
"Mr. Lu has a vision. Our layout at Eagle in recent years is indeed not comparable to that of ordinary companies."
He gestured to Chen Guihong.
Chen Guihong cleared his throat and opened the document in front of him:
"Mr. Lu, let me first briefly introduce the history of our Eagle."
She paused, with a hint of pride in her tone:
"Our Eagle Group was listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2005. At that time, it was known as the 'China pig raising stock'.
From the founder, Mr. Hou Dejian, who started with 1,000 yuan in 1990, it has developed into a modern large-scale breeding enterprise. The accumulation of technology and experience over more than 20 years is not comparable to that of ordinary enterprises."
"Our 'Eagle Model' – company + base + farmers, is a widely studied benchmark in the industry.
Epidemic prevention system, breeding technology, feed formula, these core links, we have our own set of mature methods."
Lu Shen nodded and motioned for her to continue.
Chen Guihong changed the subject:
"But Mr. Lu, as you know, the pig industry is highly cyclical.
The price of pigs has a cycle of three years. When it goes up, you make a lot of money, and when it goes down, you lose everything."
She smiled:
"So we have been diversifying our layout in recent years. Breeding is the foundation, but breeding alone is not enough. We have to smooth out cyclical fluctuations."
Lu Shen's brows moved slightly:
"Smoothing cycle?"
"Yes." Chen Guihong said, "We invested in banks, laid out Shaxian Snacks, and built brand terminals--
These are all so that when pig prices are low, other sectors can take the lead."
She paused:
"Mr. Lu, as far as Live Pigs breeding is concerned, we are actually not short of money.
After so many years of accumulation, the technology and production capacity are all there.
What is short of money is the diversified expansion part - but this is precisely the part with the most room for imagination in the future."
Lu Shen thoughtfully:
"What is your brand terminal... called?"
Chen Guihong's eyes lit up:
"'Eagle Pasture Fragrance', Mr. Lu has heard of it?"
She turned to the next page of information:
"This is a terminal brand we launched in 2010, focusing on high-end products such as ecological pork and special wild boar.
We have an ecological breeding base of 400,000 acres in Sanmenxia and a Tibetan Fragrant Pig breeding base in Nyingchi, Tibet. Our products cover a full range of products from ordinary cold meat to high-end gift boxes."
"The core thing is our traceability system."
Chen Guihong couldn't hide his pride in his tone,
"Each piece of pork has a QR code. By scanning it, you can find out which farm the pig comes from, who the farmer is, what feed it eats, when it was epidemic-proofed, and when it was slaughtered - the whole process is traceable.
We are the earliest and most advanced system in the industry."
She looked at Lu Shen:
"Nowadays, consumers are paying more and more attention to food safety. With this traceability system, our brand's premium ability is more than 30% higher than that of ordinary pork."
Lu Shen nodded.
He digested this information silently in his mind.
The historical accumulation of "China No. 1 Pig Raising Stock".
The brand value of "Eagle Pasture Fragrance".
Full traceability of technical barriers.
Strategic layout for smooth cycles.
These things combined really make Eaglet look more attractive than those simple breeding enterprises.
"Mr. Yang," he asked, "How many stores does 'Eagle Pasture Fragrance' have now?"
Chen Guihong paused:
"Currently, we are mainly in Henan, about 50 companies. But our goal is the whole country. Once the funds are in place, the expansion speed will be very fast."
Wu Fayi added next to it:
"Mr. Lu, branding requires time to accumulate. We are a little slower now, but we have laid a solid foundation.
When the market picks up, whoever can run faster will depend on who has laid out their plans in advance."
Lu Shen nodded.
He remembered the research report leaked from Zhao Chen.
The report also spoke highly of Eagle.
It seems that what Zhao Chen is interested in is indeed not an ordinary product.
"Mr. Yang," he asked, "What do you expect from Strategic Investment? Besides money, what else do you need?"
Chen Guihong and Wu Fayi looked at each other.
Chen Guihong said:
"Mr. Lu asked a good question. What we need is not just money - of course we need money, but more importantly, we need partners who can help us connect resources and open channels.
Your background and contacts in the international market will be of great help to our future overseas expansion."
Lu Shen nodded.
This is beautifully said.
It not only expresses needs, but also elevates the other party.
He smiled:
"Mr. Chen, Director Wu, we had a great time chatting today. Let's go back and discuss it internally and make an appointment to continue."
Wu Yide nodded quickly:
"Okay, okay, Mr. Lu can contact us at any time."
Video hangs up.
Lu Shen leaned on the back of the chair and looked at Zhou Huai:
"What do you think?"
Zhou Huai thought for a while:
"The foundation is indeed good. The first stock, twenty years of experience, private brand, traceability system - these cannot be accumulated overnight."
He paused:
"And the logic they say about smoothing the cycle makes sense to me. It is indeed easy to be killed by the cycle just by relying on breeding."
Lu Shen nodded.
He remembered the expression on Yang Guihong's face when he mentioned "Eagle Pasture Fragrance" just now - that kind of confidence in his own products, which was not just a fake.
Maybe this deal is really worth it.
"Let's make some arrangements," he said, "I'll go to Zhengzhou next week for a face-to-face interview."
Zhou Huai was stunned for a moment:
"Are you going in person?"
"Yes." Lu Shen said, "Since you want to fight, fight to the end. Don't leave any chance to your opponent."