NOVEL NEXT Chapter 265: Buying a Yacht
That afternoon, Li Jing contacted Zhou Shun and met with him.
The meeting place this time was not on land, but on a business yacht docked at Celestial Sea Port.
In the sofa reception area of the business yacht, two men and a woman were sitting on the soft sofas.
Li Jing, wearing a casual windbreaker, leaned back against the sofa, enjoying the sea breeze blowing from outside the boat.
Beside him was the burly Zhou Shun, and across from him sat a beautiful woman in a burgundy formal outfit.
The woman looked young but was dressed exquisitely and maturely, with a dignified and beautiful appearance and a bright, sunny smile. Her long, shapely legs beneath the skirt were particularly eye-catching.
"Brother Li, this is Manager Huang I told you about."
Zhou Shun, although wearing a coat, could not fully hide his burly stature.
Sitting on the sofa, his body was more than twice as wide as the woman beside him.
He was introducing with a smile to Li Jing: "Manager Huang's company is also one of the largest yacht manufacturers in Tianhai. Despite her young age, she is truly an expert in yachts. I have a few friends who bought yachts from Manager Huang and have not heard a single complaint."
"Brother Shun, you're joking. I have to thank you over these years for recommending so many bosses to do business with me."
Huang Lili replied with a smile, then stood up specifically to shake hands with Li Jing as a gesture of goodwill: "Hello President Li, I am the product manager of the company, you can also call me Lili. Normally, our sales team would liaise with you, but Brother Shun mentioned that you're an important client, so to show sincerity and respect, I came here today to introduce our company's yachts to you."
Li Jing symbolically shook her hand lightly, nodding slightly: "Hello."
As the other party only lightly gripped his fingers, Huang Lili felt a bit surprised inside, and her initial impression of Li Jing improved.
Huang Lili was quite impressive in appearance, very much so.
Previously, while liaising with clients, there were those who would hold her hand for a long time without letting go.
Of course, there were also normal handshakes, but someone like Li Jing was the first she had encountered.
It was unclear whether it was due to courtesy towards a woman or he simply didn't care much about her appearance.
Regardless of the reason, Huang Lili's first impression of Li Jing was thus a bit different.
As someone with abundant experience, from the first meeting, she began analyzing the other party's personality and preferences in her mind, consciously steering the conversation, ultimately increasing the likelihood of them purchasing a yacht.
"Manager Huang, I have already told you about President Li's situation, you absolutely don't have to worry about his spending power. Just recently, President Li donated ten million; buying a yacht is simply for his personal enjoyment."
Zhou Shun pointed out Li Jing's financial power intentionally, aiming to keep her from wasting time on unimportant topics and directly recommend suitable and desirable yachts for Li Jing.
"Ten million?"
Huang Lili was a bit surprised inwardly and appropriately displayed a look of shock and admiration on her face.
Subsequently, she intentionally showed a bit of admiration in her eyes: "President Li is truly a socially responsible and loving person, which Lili admires greatly."
"Nothing much to say about these matters."
Li Jing had no intention to elaborate on this matter and said directly: "Introduce the yachts first, how to buy, how much, and what options are available."
Seeing that the other party showed no interest in her rhetoric, Huang Lili felt a touch of surprise, but her smile remained warm and enthusiastic:
"Alright, alright, based on President Li's initial needs, you should be looking to buy a yacht for personal outings at sea, right?"
"Exactly, I'm buying a yacht purely for leisure purposes, not for business use."
Li Jing's main aim in buying a yacht was for enjoyment and experience, so his purpose was clear: "It shouldn't be too big, but not too small either. It should accommodate about a dozen people for entertainment purposes, preferably with a bedroom."
"Got it, we have a few yachts in stock that fit this type."
Huang Lili took out an Apple iPad, found the yacht pictures, and enthusiastically introduced: "You can check out this one, it's 19 meters long and 5 meters wide, categorized as a medium-large yacht. Our yachts are domestically made, and if similar-sized yachts were imported, the price would be at least over ten million, while ours is less than half of that."
"Is there such a big price difference?" Li Jing queried in doubt.
"It's related to tariffs and consumption taxes," Huang Lili laughed as she tucked her hair behind her ear, "Moreover, foreign yacht brands are quite old, and brand premium is part of the reason.
Rest assured, regarding quality and after-sales service, our brand is among the leaders domestically, comparable to imported brands. Besides, we offer better value for money, with design and experience more aligned with local habits and standards."
At this point, Zhou Shun leaned closer to Li Jing and added: "The comprehensive tax rate for imported yachts is around forty percent, not very cost-effective. Also, because the manufacturers of imported yachts are overseas, after-sales service and maintenance can be cumbersome.
Domestic yachts mainly differ in materials and craftsmanship, but the brand Managing Huang works for is among the best in the country, with the craftsmanship gap with imports not being significant anymore."
Upon hearing this, Li Jing nodded, signaling Huang Lili to continue her introduction.
Huang Lili's beautiful eyes curved into crescent moons as she smiled and began speaking again: "This model has a layout divided into three levels: flybridge, deck, and lower deck. The hull is constructed with a fiberglass structure, with the exterior using imported gel coat. It comes standard with two engines with a combined output of over 700 horsepower..."
Listening to the introduction, Li Jing took the iPad from her and browsed through the pictures and information of the yacht.
Seeing Li Jing's interest, Huang Lili introduced the yacht more enthusiastically and passionately:
"President Li, this yacht is considered a rare medium-large yacht at this port.
Yachts are categorized into three types: small yachts below thirty-six feet, medium yachts between thirty-six and sixty feet. This one is a luxurious medium-large yacht at sixty-two feet which will certainly stand out at the port.
You can see most of the yachts parked outside are medium-small yachts."
After understanding the basic style of the yacht, Li Jing asked: "I can't use the yacht frequently, where would I store it and how do I maintain it?"
Completely unfamiliar with yachts, Li Jing pondered the maintenance cost of a car per year isn't small, so a yacht's cost must be even higher.
"Maintaining a yacht is indeed a considerable expense."
Huang Lili nodded: "The most important aspect is the berth fee, calculated at 8 yuan per foot per day according to this port's charging standard.
For this yacht, it's about 180,000 annually, with discounts generally available if kept at the same port each year.
The second aspect is manpower cost, as you likely won't personally manage the yacht, most yacht owners hire a captain and crew or a management company to handle this, costing around 100,000 to 200,000 yuan annually.
The third is insurance, with a premium based on 5 million yuan, this would cost about 30,000 annually. Other maintenance and fuel costs should not exceed 100,000.
Therefore, the estimated annual maintenance cost for this yacht is around 400,000 yuan."
Upon hearing this, Li Jing was surprised inwardly, he anticipated maintenance costs would be high, but not this high.
Even Zhou Shun beside him couldn't help but turn around in surprise, looking at Huang Lili: "Apart from the purchase cost, maintaining a yacht costs another 400,000 annually?"
"Yes."
Huang Lili nodded with a smile, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Li Jing: "Excluding those merchants who buy yachts for operation and rental to make money, those who buy yachts purely for enjoyment are generally wealthy because yachts are purely a consumption item, not like real estate which can be an investment.
Hence, yachts are truly symbols of wealth, especially luxurious medium-large yachts like this one."