Ways to Make Big Money in the Next Few Years

There was still money to be made in stocks if one invested these days.

Fang Bai remembered that the Old Eight Stocks would begin trading in December this year. But having money did not necessarily mean one could buy them. Most stockholders were unwilling to easily put their shares up for trade, so there were listings but no market.

Besides, before May 1992, the exchange used daily price limits of 0.5% and 1%. Even if prices kept rising, they would not rise much. Making money that way would not be easy.

It was not until January 1992 that Shen City first issued Stock Subscription Certificates. They cost 30 yuan each and were issued without limit. Rumor had it that sales were poor, so the sales period was extended. The plan had been to distribute five million certificates, but only a little over two million were ultimately sold.

After four rounds of drawings, the win rate exceeded three-quarters. Winning Subscription Certificates could be used to purchase original shares with extremely low face values. At their peak, each winning Subscription Certificate could earn 10,000 yuan.

Fang Bai remembered this mainly because quite a few people from Wen City had gone there to try their luck and made a fortune. Chen Xinyi, the private business owner from Jiangnan Province who had bought 10,000 Subscription Certificates and struck gold to the tune of tens of millions of yuan, was one such example. His story was widely circulated in Wen City.

It was just that Fang Bai did not remember the precise timing or details.

If he had spare funds, he could buy some stocks. But he did not have any at the moment, and he would be better off using the money for operations. The returns would probably be far better than stock investments.

Overall, the only opportunity he could still work with in the next two years would be the 1992 Subscription Certificates, though he would have to wait more than a year.

Of course, if Fang Bai, an outside variable, bought a large quantity, he might very well lower the win rate. But it was also possible that sales would no longer be extended. Anything could happen. He himself was an uncertain factor, but he would not affect the value of the Subscription Certificates.

Over the next year or two, he needed to accumulate as much wealth as possible and prepare to acquire Subscription Certificates. This was the best chance to get rich overnight in the next few years.

Other than that, he knew nothing about domestic or foreign stock markets in the years to come.

As for the Internet era, that was still far away. It was not something Fang Bai needed to focus on in the next few years.

Fang Bai did not know much about certain future events, so he would certainly miss some investment opportunities.

Besides, even if he knew about certain investments, that did not mean he would necessarily be able to get involved.

For example, Internet companies like Alibaba, QQ, and JD.com. If he founded them himself, they might develop even better, but they might also turn out terribly and fail to reach the heights they had in his previous life. Fang Bai did not think that being reborn automatically made him more capable than Ma Huateng, Jack Ma, and Richard Liu.

Objectively speaking, perhaps he would be better off as an investor rather than founding companies himself.

Of course, that depended on whether others were willing to accept his investment. Having money without resources did not necessarily mean the other side would welcome his funding.

No matter what, Fang Bai was certain of one thing: with the Golden Finger, he would definitely thrive by developing in fields he was good at.

In truth, once he reached a higher level—say, wealth of ten or twenty billion—money itself would no longer be especially important to him. What mattered was what ideals he wanted to achieve, or whether he could bring changes to the country that had not existed in his previous life.

Fang Bai hoped even more that he could use the Golden Finger to develop high technology, break foreign technological monopolies, and take the road of strengthening the nation through science and technology.

That was his greatest dream.

He did not know whether the Golden Finger could help him reach that point, but he had to try. Even if it could not, it would not matter.

Thinking of this, Fang Bai's thoughts became much clearer.

In the early stages, he needed to make as much money as possible. Only money could support his dreams.

For now, he would not think too much about it. Having a general direction was enough.

He checked the time. It was only ten in the morning, so he planned to visit his father-in-law's workshop.

Fang Bai tidied himself up a little and carried a black leather briefcase bought from a street stall. He looked like a successful man and appeared more mature as well.

He took a rickshaw to an alley lined with a row of tiled houses.

The interior walls of those tiled houses had all been knocked through, creating a space of more than a hundred square meters. The main gate stood open. A Jialing motorcycle was parked outside, while two machine tools stood inside, along with several industrial valve bodies placed on the concrete floor.

This was his father-in-law Qin Donghai's machining workshop: Jiayu Processing Plant.

The name came from the "Jia" in his mother-in-law Chen Jiahui's name and the "Yu" in Qin Shuyu's name. It showed that his father-in-law loved his family dearly, though he could be stubborn about certain things.

In his previous life, Fang Bai had gone into business with his father-in-law. They had disagreed over business direction. Fang Bai had wanted to make branded products of their own, but his father-in-law had been more conservative. He felt that without much technical expertise, making products would be extremely difficult and risky. After failing once, he had not dared to try again. Yet he still longed to have branded products of his own, leaving him rather conflicted.

Looking at the processing plant before him, Fang Bai was filled with mixed emotions and recalled too many old memories.

As far as Fang Bai knew, his father-in-law had already bought this row of tiled houses. But the family did not live here; they lived in the city center.

At the moment, two workers inside were busy operating the machine tools.

One of them had a square face, a crew cut, slightly dark skin, and an average build. He stood around 1.7 meters tall. He was Qin Donghai.

When Fang Bai arrived at the entrance, the people inside noticed him, but they did not pay much attention.

Only after he entered the workshop did Qin Donghai stop what he was doing and wipe his hands. Before he could speak, Fang Bai smiled and said, "Boss, may your business prosper."

When Fang Bai handed him a cigarette and Qin Donghai took another look at his clothes, he felt that the young man before him was no ordinary person. He looked to be in his twenties, yet his every gesture carried the air of a worldly, seasoned man.

Young people entering society early were common in the area, and some even became bosses. Therefore, Fang Bai's youth did not make Qin Donghai particularly suspicious.

Qin Donghai wiped his hands with a rag, accepted the cigarette, and said with a cheerful smile, "Not bad. I'm just not making any money. What's your surname, boss?"

The order volume was decent, but most orders had passed through several middlemen, leaving very little profit by the time they reached him. Some payments were even impossible to recover.

He had also tried finding orders himself, but that was not easy. So most of the orders he handled were ones brought to his door.

Major factories inspected subcontractors before outsourcing work to them, checking whether they had the necessary processing capabilities. They would not agree just because one asked, unless there was a powerful connection involved.

Subcontracting was not easy. When other companies had large order volumes, they bought their own equipment and hired more workers. When their orders were small, they did not outsource. The work he got was all urgent jobs, or work they could not do themselves. They pushed deadlines like they were life-or-death matters, demanded a lot, and after one order was completed, there might not be another.

For some products, the materials cost only a few dozen yuan and the processing fee was merely a dozen or so yuan, yet they sold for several hundred yuan. It was enough to make one jealous.

Only one's own products gave one bargaining power, but that required projects and technology. He had failed before and knew his own limits. He knew he was not cut out for that.

"My surname is Fang. Fang Bai."

Fang Bai handed out cigarettes but did not smoke himself. He casually glanced at the workpieces on the floor and immediately knew what products his father-in-law was currently subcontracting.

The valve bodies from major factories bore their own company logos, and industry insiders could tell which factory they came from.

"Fangzheng's two-inch Gate Valves and Jiangnan's four-inch Globe Valves. Both are pretty good."

When Qin Donghai heard Fang Bai identify the factories at a glance, he realized Fang Bai was in the trade. He asked curiously, "Is Boss Fang also in subcontracting?"

Fang Bai shook his head with a smile. "No, I'm a salesman looking for a machining plant to process valves."

"Of course. I can process both Gate Globe Valves here, and quality won't be a problem. As long as payment is made on time, I can deliver on schedule." Qin Donghai became even more enthusiastic, his face wreathed in smiles.

However, he was also somewhat worried. Generally speaking, salesmen bargained prices down too harshly. As long as the quality was acceptable, they gave subcontracting work to whoever was cheaper, with no concern for personal relationships.

Fang Bai began chatting with his father-in-law. "I see your subcontracting volume isn't high, yet you're working on jobs from major factories. I'm guessing these orders have passed through several hands too."

"Yeah, that's right. They only pass work to me when they can't finish it themselves. I can only drink a little soup." Qin Donghai smiled bitterly.

Fang Bai nodded. He already knew his father-in-law's subcontracting prices, so there was no need to shake hands and probe him.

In fact, machining subcontracting prices were fairly transparent. For instance, once one knew the size of the hole to be drilled, the material, precision requirements, plate thickness, workpiece weight, whether it was easy to clamp, what type of Drilling Machine was needed, and how many pieces could be processed per hour, one could estimate the processing price.

Fang Bai was confident he could secure orders mainly because he possessed an information advantage. He knew the situation of all the sizable Valve Factories in Wen City.

At some of the larger Valve Factories, even workshop directors or supervisors could decide where to subcontract work. Upper management generally did not concern themselves with such details, as long as there were results.

At smaller companies, outsourcing was generally controlled by upper management or the boss. Looking for workshop leaders would not be much use.

To find orders, he had to find the right people. Otherwise, all his efforts would be wasted.

By finding subcontracting work for his father-in-law, Fang Bai could help him on one hand while making money himself on the other. He could also improve his relationship with his father-in-law. It was killing three birds with one stone, so why not?

Once he gained his father-in-law's trust, he could help him break free from the bitter cycle of subcontracting.

Fang Bai chatted with his father-in-law for several minutes. In the end, he mentioned that he might bring the client over to inspect the factory and told him to say that Fang Bai was his partner.

His father-in-law understood as well. Salesmen without factories of their own liked telling clients, "I know this factory well, and I'm also a partner."

They did not discuss subcontracting prices. They would talk about that once there was interest.

Having settled matters with his father-in-law, Fang Bai went to look for orders.