Chapter 256: Afraid of getting angry, drink Wanglaoji
...............

The beginning of September.

On Saturday, Liu Zhicheng and Guan Jiahui were shopping together. Guan Jiahui seemed to cherish this opportunity to be alone very much and hardly went shopping.

Liu Zhicheng said with a smile: "If you don't go shopping, it's just like walking on the street!"

Guan Jiahui was stunned for a moment, then her face turned slightly red, and she whispered, "Brother Cheng, do you mean that I have gained weight?"

Now it was Liu Zhicheng's turn to be confused, then he smiled generously and said, "You are not fat, you are fleshy! Don't ask me to lose weight, follow my aesthetic standards."

Guan Jiahui's appearance is characterized by big eyes, long legs, big hair and big waves. No matter whether it is pure, cute, sexy or even cool style, she can control it convincingly.

Guan Jiahui happily took Liu Zhicheng's arm and said, "Don't lie to me!"

Liu Zhicheng nodded. Who said it wasn't true? Guan Jiahui was not fat at all, she was just a flesh bomb.

By chance, Liu Zhicheng saw a herbal tea shop that looked very familiar, yet strange.

So, Liu Zhicheng took Guan Jiahui to the herbal tea shop.

"Brother Cheng, would you like some herbal tea?"

Liu Zhicheng nodded, and Guan Jiahui immediately took out money because Liu Zhicheng had no money on him.

Of course, even if he didn't bring a woman, the bodyguard would have his wallet on him.

This herbal tea shop is actually called Wanglaoji. Liu Zhicheng has been in Hong Kong for six years but had never noticed it.

In other words, he recently wanted to work in the beverage industry, and he only paid attention to it today.

At HK$5 a cup, it’s almost equivalent to a bottle of drink.

At this time, Hong Kong's per capita wage has been compared with that of the mainland in 2022 in the previous life, and even the per capita GDP has reached 9.8 Hong Kong dollars (real data), which is 30 years ahead of the mainland!
After taking a sip, Liu Zhicheng savored it carefully. It wasn't as sweet as the canned ones in his previous life!
No, compared with Jiaduobao, it is a bit similar, but it still has a stronger medicinal taste.

"Mr. Liu, how does it taste?" asked a woman in her thirties.

At this time, several people in the store gathered around and looked at Liu Zhicheng excitedly. He was a wealthy man in Hong Kong.

Liu Zhicheng nodded and said, "Are any of you descendants of Wang Laoji?"

The woman who asked the question quickly said, "I am the descendant of the Wang family, Wang Jianyi, the fifth-generation great-great-grandson of the Wang Laoji Herbal Tea Shop!"

Liu Zhicheng immediately became interested and asked, "Is there a place to sit? I want to talk to you about something!"

Wang Jianyi quickly made a gesture of invitation and led Liu Zhicheng and Guan Jiahui into the small shop.

Several people sat around a table and someone brought them Wanglaoji herbal tea again.

Liu Zhicheng thanked her and then said to Wang Jianyi, "How long has this Wanglaoji Herbal Tea Shop been around?"

Wang Jianyi immediately became excited and gave a detailed introduction: "It has a history of more than 160 years. Later, my grandfather Wang Hengyu wanted to open up the market.

In 1889, the whole family came to Hong Kong and opened the Hong Kong Wong Lo Kat Herbal Tea Shop.

At that time, almost everyone knew about Wang Laoji herbal tea. Liang Qichao even said that Wang Laoji signs could be seen in the United States.

One brand in mainland China and one brand overseas, divided into two rooms.

Liu Zhicheng immediately asked, "So you have registered copyrights overseas?"

Wang Jianyi nodded and said, "Except for the mainland, all overseas copyrights are in our hands!"

The copyright registered overseas seemed to mean that Wanglaoji from the mainland could not be exported. Liu Zhicheng was confused about the details.

But it doesn’t matter. If he wants to do it, he will definitely rent the mainland brand for more than 30 years.

As expected, Guangdong Pharmaceutical had probably not yet been restructured at that time, and the Wanglaoji brand was still buried in history.

Considering that G has assets that cannot be sold, it may be difficult to buy the brand and it can only lease it. However, the rent is for more than 30 years, which is not a problem for Liu Zhicheng.

Just like the brand of China Toothpaste, it is leased to foreign companies.

Liu Zhicheng took a sip of the herbal tea and confirmed that it tasted about the same. Then he said, "A herbal tea shop like yours, with the impact of beverages, is not doing as well as before, right?"

Wang Jianyi hesitated for a moment, but still nodded. He couldn't lie. He couldn't deceive this person.

Liu Zhicheng then expressed his idea: "I want to buy your formula, rent your brand, develop and package Wanglaoji, and vigorously promote the Wanglaoji brand, and strive to make it a big brand beverage."

Wang Jianyi immediately thought about it, and after a few seconds asked again: "Can we still continue to run our herbal tea shop?"

"Of course, we just need the packaging authorization!"

Wang Jianyi said: "Then how much will you pay?"

Liu Zhicheng didn't know much about the market, so he said, "I'll have someone from the company come and talk to you later!"

Wang Jianyi immediately said: "I will talk to you!"

Isn't this very clear? Talking to this boss's subordinates will definitely not be a pleasant experience.

Liu Zhicheng said helplessly: "I don't care about this matter, why don't you give me a price first!"

He really doesn't understand the market. He is an expert in real estate, but he really doesn't understand this industry.

Moreover, the market for Wanglaoji in Hong Kong and overseas is not large, and Liu Zhicheng doesn't know how much he has sold.

Wang Jianyi said: "Actually, I'm not greedy. Give me 800 million Hong Kong dollars and I will give you the formula and allow you to use our brand!"

It doesn't seem expensive. In 1995, Jiaduobao rented the signboard and red can packaging of Yueyao for 450 million a year.

However, at that time, Wanglaoji’s red can packaging had already been registered, so it was naturally expensive.

Liu Zhicheng nodded and said, "We can afford this price, but the signboard should be exclusively authorized to us. You only have the right to sell this kind of herbal tea shop in small quantities."

"Permanent authorization? You also have a brand in the mainland, but it was confiscated by the government. If they use this brand to sell overseas in the future, these will be hidden dangers. As the saying goes, people should not fight against officials. So, I want you to give me permanent authorization, which is actually just an extra preparation."

Wang Jianyi said: "You have established your brand, so we can't snatch it away. However, the permanent license is also worth something. You have to give us 1000 million Hong Kong dollars!"

Liu Zhicheng did not react too much to Wang Jianyi's asking price. He just said seriously: "We will give you 1000 million Hong Kong dollars. I will find someone to discuss the specific cooperation later, but I don't want you to raise the price again!"

"No, no!"

"Okay, it's settled!"

In Liu Zhicheng's opinion, the reason why Wanglaoji was able to gain popularity in its previous life was actually an advertising issue.

The slogan "Drink Wanglaoji if you are afraid of getting a sore throat" is very classic. The design of the red can also has some influence. The last thing is the scale of the promotion.

In the past, the net profits of Wanglaoji and Jiaduobao were not high because of the malicious competition between the two companies.

If Liu Zhicheng rents the brand in the mainland for 50 years, he can save half of the advertising costs and also save on personnel operating costs.

Thus, a trillion-dollar brand was born.

In terms of sales volume, Red Bull is inferior to Wanglaoji. The reason why Red Bull makes money is that there are no two Red Bulls in the market.

By the way, you can also purchase the mainland operating rights of Red Bull.

All of a sudden, Liu Zhicheng came up with two good ideas.

After walking out of the Wanglaoji Herbal Tea Shop, Liu Zhicheng was in a good mood and took the initiative to take Guan Jiahui to go shopping in the store.

Guan Jiahui was naturally in a good mood and quietly told Liu Zhicheng that she would perform an underwear model show for him in the evening.

Suddenly, Liu Zhicheng felt hot in his heart.

…………

Sailboat Building.

A few days later, Yuan Tianfan, Hao Qingwen and others came to Liu Zhicheng's office.

After sitting down, Liu Zhicheng waited for his assistant to make tea and leave the office before he said, "Tianfan, what do you think of the mainland?"

Yuan Tianfan thought about it for a while and then expressed many of his opinions, most of which were negative.

Liu Zhicheng listened with a smile, then sighed: "What you said is true! But you didn't take into account that such a huge country may be changing all the time. The 1980s were more advanced than the 1970s, so the 1990s will definitely be more open."

"I often visit the mainland and have some understanding of the policies there. So I want to tell you that the rate of return on overseas investment is too low. Those companies that choose to vigorously develop overseas will return sooner or later."

"Now, the mainland only needs an opportunity, and the huge market will immediately open its arms to us."

Yuan Tianfan was shocked when he heard this. He had no doubt that Liu Zhicheng was lying and trusting blindly.

Because of his boss's legendary experience, and he knew that his boss had anticipated the 1987, 1989, and 1990 stock market crashes (Iraq's invasion of Kuwait), and made a fortune in the stock market.

Moreover, the boss is so foresighted, I wonder how much money he has made from international financial investments.

This speculation has become a persuasive argument in Hong Kong's upper class. After all, Liu Zhicheng has not received much dividends from his listed companies over the years, but has paid back tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars.

Where does his money come from?
He is not a second-generation rich man with a family background, so the only possibility is financial profit, so Liu Zhicheng has the title of "stock god".

"The boss's analysis is correct. I will re-examine my views and seriously consider the importance of the mainland market to CLP!"

"Tian Fan, I have a Wang Laoji brand in my hands. I plan to set up a food trading company and then build a factory in the mainland. I want you to leave China Electronics and be in charge of this new enterprise."

Yuan Tianfan thought about it for a while, then nodded and said, "I understand!"

Seeing this scene, Liu Zhicheng was very satisfied. His greatest hope was that Shanfeng Investment Group could become one of the Fortune 500 companies.

Guangdong Province.

Liu Zhicheng was received by provincial officials, and the three major investments formulated at the beginning of the year have been implemented.

Especially for the most difficult 'Yangcheng Circular Expressway', after a series of preparatory work including survey, site selection, design, project establishment, financing, etc., Liu Zhicheng just happened to arrive to participate in the groundbreaking ceremony.

As the saying goes, 'If you want to be rich, build roads first', this is absolutely true.

He knew that Hong Kong capital had invested in many infrastructure projects in the mainland in recent years with the aim of supporting the construction of the motherland.

In terms of rate of return, it is even lower than the rate of return on investment in hotels. Although it is an investment to make friends, it is still much better than those Chinese who are busy selling assets and emigrating.

In the cool and refreshing autumn weather, the groundbreaking ceremony of the "Yangcheng Circular Expressway" was officially held.

Senior executives of China Power Corporation and Yangcheng officials jointly used shovels to dig soil towards the foundation stone, witnessing the start of another infrastructure investment.

The next day.

Accompanied by Yangcheng officials, Liu Zhicheng visited the Yangcheng Pharmaceutical Factory (the predecessor of Guangdong Pharmaceutical Group Wanglaoji Pharmaceutical Company).

The current operation of Yangcheng Pharmaceutical Factory is very unsatisfactory, and it can even be said to be in a half-dead state. It seems that it is only after the public-private restructuring that it has gradually been able to get rid of the current situation.

So, Liu Zhicheng came to the conference room of Yangcheng Pharmaceutical Factory and expressed his ideas in the presence of Yangcheng officials.

"Dear leaders, I am here to inspect Yangcheng Pharmaceutical and I want to lease the 'Wanglaoji Herbal Tea' brand under Yangcheng Pharmaceutical!
After I lease this brand, I plan to invest 2 million yuan to create a domestic beverage brand.”

Everyone was stunned. They didn't expect that a sign placed in the "warehouse" and no one cared about it would be valued so much.

The director of Yangcheng Pharmaceutical said: "But the 'Wanglaoji Herbal Tea' brand is G's private asset."

These are Guangdong officials whose minds are not yet open, Liu Zhicheng commented in his heart.

Fortunately, he brought officials from Guangzhou specifically so he wouldn't talk directly to these small officials.

Liu Zhicheng immediately said: "China Toothpaste was leased to the American company Procter & Gamble in 1988. I don't think this is a problem!"

The Yangcheng official immediately said, "Of course it's not a problem, Director Xu, your idea is wrong. What Mr. Liu proposed is 'renting', not buying, which is in line with existing policies."

Director Xu stopped being stubborn and asked, "How much rent does Mr. Liu plan to pay?"

He thought that these Hong Kong businessmen were all rich people, so they should at least give 1000 million!

Liu Zhicheng said in front of officials from Guangdong Province, Yangcheng and Yangcheng Pharmaceutical: "We are creating the 'Wang Laoji Herbal Tea' brand. Once it is successful, Yangcheng Pharmaceutical's Wang Laoji brand will also become famous, and other Wang Laoji products will also benefit. So, in fact, this is a win-win cooperation!"

Director Xu was a little disappointed when he saw that Liu Zhicheng didn't mention money. He knew that Liu Zhicheng was highly valued in Beijing and had spent more than hundreds of millions on charity recently.

If the 'Wanglaoji Herbal Tea' brand was really rented at a low price, the Yangcheng officials would definitely agree. As a factory director, he doesn't have much to do.

Sure enough, the Yangcheng official said happily: "Mr. Liu is right. This is indeed a win-win situation. Mr. Liu also agreed to invest 2 million Hong Kong dollars."

He would not say that he would directly rent the brand to Liu Zhicheng at a low price because that would mean he would have to take responsibility.

Liu Zhicheng continued, "Well, I'm willing to offer 5000 million RMB for the right to use it for 50 years."

5000?
Now everyone was shocked. They thought that Liu Zhicheng would only give a few million or ten million after saying so much, but they didn't expect that others would directly give 5000 million.

As for that 50th anniversary, everyone seemed to have chosen to forget it.

After all, what was rented was just a "Wanglaoji Herbal Tea" brand, not Wanglaoji Pharmaceutical, so everyone felt that this business was very cost-effective.

No one could have imagined that this brand would be worth 1000 billion in the future!

Liu Zhicheng felt that the 50-year lease was enough and he would take the property back after the contract expired. He would have made enough money anyway.

What's more, the recovered materials can be used to make herbal tea.

He is not worried that Guangdong Pharmaceutical still dares to challenge him even though he has signed a 50-year contract. His position determines that if you do not abide by the contract, you will be boycotted by the world.

To put it bluntly, he is picking on the weak. With his status, it is impossible for him to encounter such a situation.

What's more, there was no problem with the contract he signed. It was witnessed by Yangcheng officials and there was no violation of the law at all.

As for spending 5000 million to buy a sign to be placed in a warehouse, is it cost-effective?
In fact, he spent 5000 million to buy the market, not just the brand.

The markets in Hong Kong and overseas are small, so he was only willing to give Wang Jianyi HK$800 million.

The tone was more or less set that day, and the next task naturally fell to the subordinates.

After returning to the hotel, Liu Zhicheng held talks with Yuan Tianfan, the head of Times Beverage and Food Company under Shanfeng Investment.

After several months of preparation, the management of Times Beverage & Food Company is in place and is ready to get to work.

The first is Wanglaoji, the second is Red Bull (purchase rights), the third is Nongfu Spring, and the fourth is instant noodles.

These are all industries with low barriers to entry and high profits.

Brand, advertising slogans and marketing sponsorship account for 40% of the credit, and the rest is management, channels and quality, so there is great hope of success.

Liu Zhicheng said: "I don't like to start small, because I think small businesses have many shortcomings. Management and quality cannot satisfy people at the first time, and then they will get worse and worse.

You see, it is very easy for big companies to succeed when they launch a brand; but for companies that start out as small companies, it is already good if three out of ten can survive.

I like big industries and big investments, do you understand what I mean?"

Yuan Tianfan nodded and said, "Boss, what you mean is that when we start making beverages and food, we need to have a modern factory comparable to those in Europe, America, and Japan, and modern management, quality, and marketing, etc. We must position ourselves as a large enterprise."

Although Times Food Industries is entering the beverage and food sector for the first time, it is a large company after all, not to mention that there is Shanfeng Investment Group above it.

Before the factory construction started, 5800 million yuan in branding expenses had already been spent, which shows that the boss really intends to make herbal tea seriously.

Liu Zhicheng nodded and said, "That's right! I have already thought about the marketing method and packaging design of Wanglaoji. You don't have to worry about it not having a market. But the company must be clear about the positioning of Wanglaoji - it is a beverage, not a medicine."

In the past, the mainland had already started selling green-box and red-can Wanglaoji in 1992, but sales were still poor until 1995, so there was no choice but to lease it to Jiaduobao for 1995 million yuan a year in 450.

The reason for the failure of Wanglaoji in mainland China was that it did not have a good positioning, and the market did not know whether it was a medicine or a beverage.

Yuan Tianfan nodded. He knew that his boss was very confident in this product, so his initial pessimistic attitude was gradually influenced by his boss.

"Well, it's positioned as a beverage, so we have to add some sweetness to the product so that it tastes better!"

Liu Zhicheng said with satisfaction: "Yes, anyway, after the product is developed, it will be handed over to me for tasting. Only when I approve it, it will be qualified!"

He can definitely taste the same Jiaduobao as in his previous life.

Liu Zhicheng handed over the next task to Yuan Tianfan's team. In the next year and a half, they will invest in building factories, conducting market research, and conducting channel surveys in the mainland.

As for Hong Kong, there is no plan to build a factory, only to do simple research and development.

He is in no hurry to launch the product into the market, as it will take several years to establish a certain market anyway.

Moreover, the first ten years were a period of growth, and sales did not increase suddenly.

The next day.

Liu Zhicheng also signed a letter of intent with Renhe Yangcheng to invest 2 million yuan to build a factory, and enclosed a full 300 acres of land (to be built in three phases).

In fact, the so-called investment of billions is not a one-time investment.

It is like investing in a 90 billion project, which looks impressive, but in fact, half of the joint venture is only 45 billion.

If another 10% of the loan is taken out, a total of 90 billion will be needed to declare an investment of billion.

Wanglaoji also obtained a 2 million yuan loan for factory construction in addition to its 5000 million yuan investment (loans can be provided by both mainland banks and overseas consortiums).

Moreover, the payment is not made in one year, so it is not a big burden for Times Food Company.

Even the 5000 million RMB for leasing Wanglaoji was paid over two years, with 2500 million being paid in one installment.

Therefore, this investment does not have a big impact on Shanfeng Investment and does not pose much of a burden.

As for the time it takes for Wanglaoji to make money, Liu Zhicheng puts it at 10 to 15 years. The early stage will mainly focus on operations, investment, increasing brand awareness, and global promotion.

(End of this chapter)