Zhao Hong felt a bit embarrassed by his words. She subconsciously lowered her head to look herself over. The clothes she was wearing were made with money she had saved when she was a young girl. Because she had worn them for so many years, her elbows and knees had become thin and prominent.
"I, I'm fine. I just have the day off and wanted to ask what you wanted for dinner after work."
"It's always the same two things. Don't come to the factory for such small matters in the future. Isn't it a hassle?"
"Yes, yes," Zhao Hong mumbled, watching Lu Chengming enter the factory gate with her own eyes.
Although she believed that couples should trust each other, the thought of Chen Lishu's words made Zhao Hong feel uneasy. She hesitated and walked to the entrance of the guardhouse. "Uncle, can you tell me if there's an employee surnamed Bai in our factory's first workshop?"
...
After dealing with Zhao Hong's matter, Chen Lishu had just turned out from behind the thermal power plant when she saw Wang Aixiang pedaling a three-wheeled cart, sweating profusely, and rushing over.
"Sister, how are you? Were you bullied?"
As she got closer, Wang Aixiang applied the brakes and hurriedly got off the cart.
"I'm fine," Chen Lishu shook her head. "Didn't I tell you to go home? Sister Aixiang, why did you come back?"
Wang Aixiang wiped the sweat from her forehead. "I was just afraid you'd be bullied. After delivering the fabric, I rushed over."
"I'm fine. Let's talk when we get back."
Soon, the two arrived at Wang Aixiang's home together.
Wang Aixiang's mother-in-law was making shoe soles at home. Seeing them return, she put down her needlework and quietly went out. A short while later, she returned with a plate of sliced watermelon, followed by Wang Xiaopeng, who had run back after seeing the situation.
Chen Lishu and Wang Aixiang washed their faces briefly before sitting together at the table by the window.
"Go play elsewhere. Your Aunt Chen and I have something to discuss. Hurry up and go play."
Wang Aixiang frowned as she saw her son staring intently at the watermelon on the table and urged him away.
"If the child wants to eat, let him eat," Chen Lishu said, picking up two pieces of watermelon and handing them to Wang Xiaopeng, then smiling as she stroked his head. "Go play."
"Thank you, Aunt Chen." Wang Xiaopeng, having received the watermelon, jumped three feet high on the spot and quickly ran away.
"You spoil him too much," Wang Aixiang complained helplessly. "He's already a big boy, yet he's still so shortsighted. Especially boys, you can't spoil them."
The city was not like the countryside; it was very difficult to get a watermelon. Everyone ate it carefully. If it wasn't reserved for guests, it wouldn't be given to children to eat as much as they wanted.
Chen Lishu smiled and didn't reply, picking up a piece of watermelon and taking a bite.
The watermelon must have been chilled in well water. It was cool and very juicy when she ate it, and one bite felt like it dispelled a lot of the heat from her body.
"Sister Aixiang, after the incident with Zhao Hong, I've thought about it carefully. After all, our manpower is limited. To avoid similar situations in the future and to reduce risk, I want to recruit agents."
"Agents?" Wang Aixiang asked, confused. "What are agents?"
"Simply put, they take goods from us, and we give them certain profits and rights within a certain area."
Seeing that she was still confused, Chen Lishu gave an example. "For instance, with our fabric, if someone can purchase two hundred pieces of fabric at once, I can give them a discount of one jiao per piece, making the unit price one yuan and three jiao."
"Because she buys a large quantity at once, she should enjoy this advantage. At the same time, to make it convenient for her to sell, we will not sell to anyone else within a three-block radius of where she sells. If others want to place orders, they can only sell outside the area covered by the first person. If they cross the boundary, their agency qualification will be revoked."
After her explanation, Wang Aixiang suddenly understood. "I get it. You mean we draw a circle for her to sell in?"
Chen Lishu was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "You can understand it that way."
"I think your idea is good, sister. You don't know, but they've actually had fights among themselves over who occupies whose territory. If we set the area for them, this kind of thing won't happen again."
Although it was still a time of insufficient supply, to avoid what happened at the supply and marketing cooperative before, Chen Lishu felt that she should cultivate more of her own salespeople, which would be more beneficial for future development.
Unfortunately, at this time, everyone was proud to be a state-owned enterprise employee, and very few people were willing to work for individuals. Even if they earned a lot of money, they still thought that private business was not respectable.
However, her current inventory was limited, so she wasn't in a hurry to recruit. She would see if she could find suitable people slowly.
After the two quickly finalized the matter, Chen Lishu went home to draft an agency contract, and Wang Aixiang also invited a few acquaintances she trusted to her home and held a simple meeting.
"Everyone, please take a look at this contract. If you purchase more than five hundred yuan of goods at once and sell them within the specified area, then in the future, whether it's fabric or clothing, as long as you purchase from me, you will have absolute priority and will also enjoy corresponding discounts. And I guarantee it will be the lowest price."
Chen Lishu said, handing several drafted contracts to the people present.
"Five hundred yuan, to have us purchase so much at once, we don't have that much money," one of the women said.
"Besides, if we buy so many goods and can't sell them, we'll have nowhere to cry."
Normally, purchasing a hundred or fifty yuan worth of goods was not a big deal. Now, suddenly it became five hundred yuan, which was like betting all their life savings.
"As the saying goes, the bold get rich, the timid starve. Didn't you hear my sister say that the more you buy, the more discounts you get? The fabric we are giving you now is one yuan and four jiao per chi. If you order more, we will calculate it at one yuan and three jiao. And it's not just fabric. In a couple of days, there will be clothes arriving from Shanghai. Haven't you always been complaining that there aren't enough goods? Then, not only will the price be much cheaper than selling to others, but we will also supply you with plenty."
Wang Aixiang finished speaking and looked at Chen Lishu, as if asking if she had said it correctly. Chen Lishu smiled and nodded. "Sister Aixiang is right. If our wholesale price is fifteen yuan per piece, then if someone is our agent, we will give them an additional discount of fifty cents per piece."
Fifty cents? Then how much would ten pieces be?
What about a hundred pieces? The key was that this business was a sure profit! Everyone was a little tempted.
But it was still five hundred yuan, and taking it out all at once made some people still hesitant.
"Actually, everyone doesn't need to be too concerned. If you don't want to spend too much money at once, you can buy goods from the agents. The price will be the same as when you bought from me before."
When everyone heard this, they felt relieved. As long as they could still buy goods, they weren't greedy about making a lot of profit; making some profit was enough.
Two people with shrewd minds felt this was an opportunity. Although they had to stock five hundred yuan worth of goods, even if they didn't sell them retail, they could make a good profit by reselling them to people who were buying from them. This was a profitable business.