After unlocking the material space, I raised my younger siblings in a farmhouse.

Chapter 351: Build Roads First if You Want to Get Rich

Lin Chuyi originally planned to go home as soon as possible to check the accounts with Qian Laiye so that he could have a relaxing New Year, but man proposes, God disposes. Who could have expected that she would stay at the door of her house for so long.

Fortunately, the matter was finally resolved satisfactorily. It should still be in time to go back now.

Ping An also went back to Lanzhou with her this time. Lin Chuyi remembered that Ping An had expressed his interest in doing business in front of him before.

She planned to leave Ping An with Qian Laiye after returning to Lanzhou and let him be Qian Laiye's assistant. In this way, Ping An would get more training opportunities in the future, increase his experience and handle affairs, and prepare in advance for independent execution of tasks after the new year.

A lot of changes have taken place in Lanzhou over the past year. A large amount of peppers were shipped into Lanzhou, and under Qian Laiye's arrangement, Yipin Guo launched several new spicy soup bases, which greatly increased the supply of soup bases.

It not only satisfies the taste buds of many diners, but also wins Yippin Pot a higher reputation. Yippin Pot's development prospects are very good.

As a result, in the third month after Yippin Pot gained a foothold in the Lanzhou catering industry with its various spicy hot pot bases, Qian Lai made a decision that seemed incredible to others.

Qian Lai not only used the large amount of chili peppers he had on hand to make hot pot base, but also established cooperative relationships with other merchants and vendors engaged in the catering industry in Lanzhou City.

He provided these people with the various uses of chili peppers and promised that any customer who bought instructions on how to use chili peppers from him would have the privilege of purchasing chili peppers first.

Colleagues in the catering industry in Lanzhou all know that the spicy and spicy hot pot bases are Yipintang's signature flavors, and are the magic weapon that made it famous.

Everyone has been coveting the secret recipe of these two spicy hot pots for a long time, but has never been able to find out the secret. It is really surprising that Qian Lai is willing to take the initiative to disclose the secret of the signature hot pot and open up a way for them to purchase it.

Although no one knew what Qian Laiye's intention was behind this move, no one wanted to miss such a rare opportunity, and they were all ready to take advantage of it to get a piece of the pie.

Since Qian Laiye spread the news, there has been an endless stream of people coming to seek cooperation every day. In order to prevent these people from over-purchasing peppers and causing market monopoly, Qian Laiye specially posted a purchase restriction notice, which clearly restricted the number of peppers that merchants could buy.

However, this regulation did not dampen the enthusiasm of merchants. After they successfully obtained the peppers and the recipe, many restaurants in Lanzhou launched dishes cooked with peppers, and even street vendors began to supply various snacks with peppers as seasoning.

The blending of chili peppers and other ingredients creates an unprecedented wonderful flavor, which makes Lanzhou citizens who have tasted chili pepper dishes intoxicated and unable to extricate themselves.

For a while, all the shops and stalls that offered chili dishes were crowded with customers and business was booming.

Although Qian Laiye's move had a certain impact on the Yipin Pot business, which was originally the only one in Lanzhou City, it effectively promoted the vigorous development of the city's food culture.

Qian Lai would also make such a decision, not on impulse, but after careful consideration. He knew very well that with the Qingshan Village peppers flooding the market, the key information about where these peppers were produced would not take long to be found out by those with ulterior motives.

Instead of sitting back and waiting passively for others to come to you and buy a large amount of peppers to compete with your Yipin Guo for business, it is better to take the initiative.

In this way, not only can he keep the initiative firmly in his own hands and do a big favor to his peers, but it will also help promote the vigorous development of the catering industry in the entire Lanzhou area and leave a good impression on the Lanzhou prefect.

And everything that happened afterwards fully proved that the decision Qian Laiye made at the time was undoubtedly very wise and correct.

It was precisely because of his approach that the previously unknown city of Lanzhou suddenly became famous and transformed into a well-known food capital.

Every foreign businessman who sets foot in Lanzhou for the first time will deeply feel the unique charm of this city and its obvious differences from other cities. This feeling completely overturns their original stereotype of Lanzhou.

While the local food culture continues to make progress and breakthroughs, it has also indirectly driven the economic development of Lanzhou City and its surrounding areas.

Qian Lai was also well aware of the truth that "if you want to get rich, you must first build roads". In order to further expand the commercial competitiveness of Lanzhou City, attract more outsiders to settle in Lanzhou City, and further develop the brand in his hands, after thinking about it, he made an appointment with Lin Wu to go to the government office to meet with Lanzhou Prefect Liu Changhe.

Qian Laiye and Lin Wu were high-quality merchants in Lanzhou City and major taxpayers. Liu Changhe had a very good impression of them. Upon hearing that the two had come together, although he did not know what their intentions were, Liu Changhe still took the time to meet with them.

After the meeting, Qian Lai told Liu Changhe the purpose of their trip. He proposed to Liu Changhe that he was willing to take the lead in investing in the renovation and repair of the main roads in the city to facilitate the entry and exit of the people and the transportation of goods.

Liu Changhe was overjoyed when he heard this. Building a road is a big deal and it cannot be accomplished just by talking. It requires a lot of manpower and material resources.

The last time Lanzhou City repaired its roads was several decades ago. Today's roads are either dilapidated or bumpy. For the people who have lived in Lanzhou City for a long time, the impact may not be significant, but for cargo transportation, it is a big problem, because many commodities cannot withstand bumps, and the difference in damage caused by traveling on a flat road and a bumpy road is huge.

Merchants are profit-driven and are concerned about how to maximize the profits of goods. None of them want to do business at a loss. It is a fact that the roads in and outside Lanzhou city are not good. This alone has eliminated the possibility for many foreign merchants to cooperate with local merchants.

Liu Changhe was worried about missing out on good development opportunities during this period, and Qian Laiye and his friends came to him on their own initiative. Their proposal was exactly what Liu Changhe wanted.

Once the road construction is implemented, not only will the business prospects in Lanzhou City improve, but the road construction itself will also become his personal political achievement.

Although he did not take the initiative to ask the merchants to contribute money to build the road, the fact that the merchants were able to contribute to the development of Lanzhou City voluntarily also proved from the side that he, the prefect, was popular among the people, didn't he?

The more Liu Changhe thought about it, the more he felt that this was feasible, but he was not a person who would be easily blinded by the immediate benefits. As the saying goes, businessmen value profit, and they will not do anything that has no benefit, especially when this kind of thing is delivered to their door, they will only ask for more.

Liu Changhe did not agree to this matter directly, but asked them directly what benefits they wanted to get from this matter.

Seeing that Liu Changhe was so direct, Qian Laiye did not beat around the bush and stated their respective needs straight away. What Lin Wu wanted was the right of passage for Lulutong at all checkpoints in Lanzhou, while what Qian Laiye wanted was the right to name the road being built.

Liu Changhe knew that Lulutong was engaged in the business of transportation. With the right of passage, people from Lulutong did not need to pay entry fees when entering and leaving various checkpoints. The entry fee was not high, but people from Lulutong traveled frequently, and over time, the fees in this regard would add up to a considerable amount.

Road construction costs a lot, and spending money on road construction to offset the cost of entering the city does not sound cost-effective for Lulutong. However, after the road is built, Lulutong's transportation losses will be greatly reduced, transportation efficiency will be improved, and it can also gain a good reputation for donating money to build roads. It can be said that it is a hundred benefits for Lulutong.