Chapter 247 I Want to Make Cutting-Edge Technology a Reality: How to Sell It for a High Price

Wang Xiao chose Zhao Qing to do this for a very simple reason: airlifting fresh flowers, cashews, and cloves from Africa is costly and means that they can only take a niche, high-end route.

Otherwise, with the high FOB prices in Johannesburg of $0.20 per stem for roses, $1.50 per stem for proteas, and $0.50 per stem for lilies, plus tariffs, even using empty cargo planes returning from their voyages would result in a staggering cost.

In the domestic flower wholesale market, they are utterly uncompetitive. After all, a single rose costs only about one yuan in Beijing during winter.

Imported flowers can only achieve sustained profitability by targeting high-end, niche markets such as hotels catering to international guests.

These venues also need imported goods to help them maintain their status.

In mainland China today, the word "imported" signifies far more than just high quality; it represents a status symbol and an invisible barrier to entry.

Isn't that pretty pretentious?

Yes, when has human society ever stopped showing off?

Look how arrogant those luxury brands are. If you want to buy one of their bags, you have to be willing to pay a lot of money to buy other items in order to even have a chance to buy it.

Are rich people foolish and wasteful of their money?

Uh, not necessarily.

It can only be said that every circle has its own threshold.

When Zhao Qing arrived, he brought a girl with him, the young woman who had just been promoted to supervisor, named Zhu Jingjing.

The moment she saw Wang Xiao, her eyes sparkled like her name, like a puppy full of anticipation.

Wang Xiao couldn't help but laugh when he saw her; this girl had a very pleasing face.

Zhao Qing quickly explained, "President Wang, Jingjing wants to learn from you."

To be honest, this whole thing is just Mr. Huang trying to build a good relationship.

After learning that Zhao Qing was going to work for Manager Wang, the young girl secretly expressed her envy.

Knowing that she had been chosen by Boss Wang, General Manager Huang simply packed her up and sent her over to work for Wang Xiao.

She was well aware of the intricacies involved, so she simply accepted it with a smile: "Manager Zhao, this is your job, you can arrange it yourself. Let's get straight to the point, what are your thoughts on the sales of flowers imported from South Africa?"

Zhao Qing quickly reported the plan she had come up with after a day of thinking: "I think we should take a high-quality, distinctive approach. Take this King Protea, for example. It has vibrant colors, exceptionally large stamens, and looks very impressive. It's also the national flower of South Africa, so it's a specialty. The key point is that its name is auspicious, like the King Crab, which better suits the preferences of high-end customers."

"These flowers can be supplied to florists in the embassy district, as well as hotels catering to foreign guests, and also to the annual meetings of foreign companies. They want high-end products and are willing to spend the money."

Wang Xiao nodded, acknowledging her sales strategy, and then added, "Pay attention to the packaging. For example, for high-priced flowers like the King Protea, see if you can pair it with a crystal vase or something. For others, you can make flower baskets or gift boxes, it's up to you. As for the working hours, you can set them yourself, just get the job done."

Zhu Jingjing, eager to try, boldly volunteered, "President Wang, what should I do?"

Wang Xiao was more tolerant of the young girl and wasn't angry: "You should learn from your Manager Zhao."

Seeing the child's somewhat disappointed look, she casually asked, "Then let me ask you, if you were asked to buy up old houses in Beijing now, how would you start? Like, the kind of old houses that people who are going abroad would sell to raise money."

Zhao Qing knew the answer to this question.

House hunters.

What is a real estate speculator? For example, Jin Sanye in the TV series "Four Generations Under One Roof" is a typical real estate speculator, although back then they were called "boat pullers".

Because they not only act as real estate agents, but also handle other intermediary projects.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, these people were severely cracked down on because they were profiting too much from both ends, and they quickly lost their influence. However, in the 1980s, when there was talk of public housing reform, they started to activism again.

As for legitimate real estate agencies, they did indeed appear in Shenzhen in the late 1980s. However, Shenzhen is a new city, selling new homes, unlike the established and culturally rich major cities in the interior. At least for now, Beijing is still dominated by real estate speculators.

Zhu Jingjing skipped this option entirely: "I don't hire real estate agents; they all overcharge."

How do real estate speculators do business these days? They ask the seller for the price, then find a buyer to take over and take a commission.

For example, a row of bungalows, the buyer said I want 100,000 yuan.

The real estate agent asked him/her, "What's the lowest price you can accept?"

The answer was: 90,000 yuan.

Alright, the real estate speculator has delivered 90,000 yuan, so the house is his now.

After that, he found another buyer and sold it for 100,000 yuan.

There's no such thing as buyers and sellers haggling over prices, because the actual buyers and sellers never even meet in person.

Zhu Jingjing is ambitious: "I found the people to go abroad myself. If they want to go, they need to get visas. There are houses to sell, so few people go abroad illegally. Most of them go with their passports."

Wang Xiao was surprised.

This girl is quite clever; she came up with the idea of ​​starting with the visa and passport.

She asked curiously, "How did you come up with this?"

Zhu Jingjing was a little embarrassed, chuckled twice, and honestly admitted, "I heard it from the restaurant guests."

While she was serving tea and water to the guests in the private room, she overheard them talking about Shanghainese people selling houses, saying that Shanghainese people are really shrewd.

That project was a housing development designed for families in Shanghai with children studying abroad, and initially, nobody inquired about it. Because in this era, whether it's government-funded or self-funded, those who can study abroad are a tiny minority.

As it turned out, the shrewd Shanghainese found relevant agencies, obtained the detailed home addresses of the students studying abroad, and then visited each of them one by one, accurately targeting customers and successfully selling the property.

It's important to know that this happened in the second half of last year, after the real estate boom had already passed.

Zhu Jingjing remembered this principle: in sales, you must accurately target customers and focus your efforts on them to achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Wang Xiao laughed and teased her, "So, isn't it good that you stayed in Beijing to run the hotel? You might not have the opportunity to come into contact with these things outside."

In any era, those who can make money ultimately rely on information asymmetry.

In 1994, unless it was in a place like the Beijing Liaison Office Hotel where you could eat fresh seafood, most people wouldn't have had access to such information.

Zhu Jingjing got anxious and quickly emphasized, "I just want to follow along, um, to work with you."

Wang Xiao nodded: "Alright, then you can do this."

As for the subordinates she planned to transfer from Shanghai, they can continue working in Shanghai, specializing in collecting old villas.

Yes, Shanghainese people are quite enthusiastic about going abroad. Beijingers are in New York, Shanghainese are in Tokyo.

Zhu Jingjing's eyes lit up again, making Wang Xiao worry: "I'll find someone for you to go with me."

This girl is rather reckless; she's afraid that when she goes looking for a house, she'll run into real estate swindlers or house rats (the big ones are called house rats, the small ones are called house swindlers).

Throughout history, those who can act as mediators have connections in both the legitimate and criminal worlds, and are not to be trifled with.

Wang Xiao brought in two people at once, and both of them were women. You can imagine the pressure Yang Tao was under.

Almost overnight, several pimples appeared on the side of her nose and chin.

She was really busy; she even contacted a foreign language university to offer a basic English, Zulu, and Swahili course for employees who wanted to go abroad.

But Mr. Wang ignored it, showing no sympathy whatsoever, and simply waved his sleeves, leaving without a trace.

She's leaving; she needs to make some money.

Do you know how much it cost to build the Shenzhen SEG Plaza? It's said to have cost 2.6 billion yuan.

Of course, with a plot ratio of 4.5 for high-rise buildings, the 18 mu of land only results in a building area of ​​72,000 square meters, which is much smaller than the scale of the SEG Plaza.

However, building it, excluding equipment, would cost at least six or seven hundred million.

Adding the construction costs of the logistics center and residential buildings, the total expenditure will easily exceed 1 billion yuan.

Such a large sum of money is something that President Wang, who is busy with business in all directions, really can't come up with all at once, and even if she could, she wouldn't take it.

If the business expands too much, we must be especially wary of a broken cash flow.

So Mr. Wang needs to go out and find money, or in professional terms, he needs to raise funds.

Ivanov looked at the finance book in Wang Xiao's hand and greatly admired his partner's perseverance.

He knew the king; the king wasn't interested in finance.

While smart people all over the world are busy with financial capital, Wang still insists on industrial capital.

However, in order to raise more money to develop her business, she actually started forcing herself to study finance.

Ivanov couldn't concentrate on them; his eyes hurt when he saw the models.

So he focused solely on Wang Xiao and began gossiping: "So, what about cashews from Tanzania? How can Zhao sell cashews for a high price?"

God, he was so curious about how they were going to tell the story of the cashew.

Wang Xiao didn't even look up, turned a page of the book, and continued reading: "Nothing, just refer to the plan for selling bear meat."

Huh? Ivanov couldn't keep up with her train of thought.

One is a nut, the other is the meat of a wild animal; aside from both being edible, he couldn't see any connection between the two.

Wang Xiao remained too lazy to look up and continued reading her book; she was studying the principle of leverage.

Yes, she actually studied it in college, but she's forgotten most of it.

“Look at the shape of the cashew.”

Xiao Gao and Xiao Zhao couldn't hold back any longer, their expressions becoming subtle.

What do cashews look like? Kidneys, I guess.

What is a kidney? It's a kidney.

Haha, what does the kidney correspond to in traditional Chinese medicine?

Well, everyone needs to eat kidneys.

Ivanov then realized: "An aphrodisiac!"

Good heavens! He had thought the king would start with the female consumer market, since he considered cashews, a type of nut, to be a snack.

Women all over the world enjoy snacking more than men.

Unexpectedly, she still set her sights on men, and specifically on wealthy and powerful men.

Cashews delivered to upscale venues are meant for them to eat.

Exactly, China also produces cashews. Is it because imported cashews have a higher status?

Xiao Gao and Xiao Zhao started holding back again, this time holding back their anger.

Ahem, Africans are considered black in China, and well, Tanzania is indeed predominantly black.

Furthermore, it is generally believed that Black people have stronger abilities in that area.

Since the 1950s, many Black students have come to China. And some Black children have stayed behind.

In short, that's how it is.

Ivanov may not be an expert in other areas, but he's incredibly smart when it comes to this kind of thing.

After figuring it out, he quickly tried his best to suppress his laughter, lest he accidentally hurt the self-esteem of his Chinese friend.

Haha, the mentality of Chinese men is really interesting.

Wang Xiao caught a glimpse of his expression out of the corner of his eye—the same expression as a little mouse that had stolen some sesame oil.

Ha, men! That's all the ambition they have left.

Ivanov quickly cleared his throat and asked seriously, "Then what about the lilacs from Tanzania? Your Majesty, are you selling them with the protea?"

“No.” Wang Xiao shook his head. “In the current cultural context of China, lilacs are often associated with young girls.”

What does it mean? "Rainy Alley," a girl as lovely as a lilac.

After the nationwide poetry craze that began in the late 1970s, "Rainy Alley" became a hit once again, at least among college students at the time.

Those college students from the 1970s and 80s have now either taken up leadership positions or become the backbone of the "1992 generation".

Well, cultured people tend to pursue so-called "style." Or, you could interpret it as them being more pretentious.

In this context, it is only natural that the concept of lilacs binding a young girl is defined as the temperature of the girl's fingertips.

Doesn't it seem a bit perverse, with such a strong emphasis on "young girl"?

Haha, just think about it, 40 years later, Moutai is still advertising young girls walking barefoot on the yeast starter. Why do you think that would be?

Product sales always involve sellers guessing the mindset of their target customer group and then developing corresponding sales strategies.

Ivanov wanted to cover his face when he heard this.

Oh, those secret thoughts of men, never to be brought to the forefront, yet always tantalizing.

Wang Xiao laughed and said, "It's not just that, there's also the strong vitality that Africa symbolizes."

It's quite poignant to say that, although everyone knows that the African continent is plagued by war, disease, and epidemics year after year.

But what's truly amazing is that Africa gives off an impression of vibrant, flourishing life. It's as if this land is forever alive, embodying the most primal vitality of nature.

Under this understanding, the mysterious African totem culture finds a market. Using African ebony carved containers to hold cloves immediately evokes that mysterious aroma.

And coincidentally, a young girl's charm is also the opposite of mystery, the two points complementing each other.

Was it difficult to sell luxury goods in the mid-1990s? On the surface, it should have been quite difficult, after all, in a capital city like Beijing, most people only earned five or six hundred yuan a month.

But it was in Beijing that Starbucks launched its first Beijing store in 1995 with a "Yunnan Coffee Gift Box" priced at 258 yuan, which sold out in March.

Don't assume it's because there's no coffee available; in fact, there are plenty of places selling coffee now. How much? It's not cheap, but it's only about 15 yuan a bag.

The premium for luxury goods is such that people are buying not so much the product itself, but the emotional value and the various self-definitions derived from it.

What is the definition of luxury goods? By packaging exotic culture and scarcity, and telling (or fabricating) your story, creating luxury goods in 1990s China was not as difficult as imagined.

Tanzania also has gemstones.

When "Titanic" becomes a huge hit and "Heart of the Ocean" sweeps social media, it will be a great time to make money. Because "Heart of the Ocean" is tanzanite, artificially defined as a unique symbol of love.

Wang Xiao has big ambitions. Just by using empty cargo space on return trips to transport African specialties for sale, she expects to make at least 30 million yuan in annual profit after deducting all expenses.

That's right, she spent 38 million yuan to acquire 40 acres of land. She can't wait to develop it, and she wants to earn back that money this year.

Because there are so many places where you need to spend money.

As they approached the airport, Ivanov started humming and hawing again, blinking his charming eyes at Wang Xiao with affection, saying, "Wang, we're soulmates now, aren't we? Hmm, soulmates."

Wang Xiao politely declined, saying simply, "Speak like a human being."

Ivanov cried and pleaded, "Your Majesty, I don't want to go back to Moscow alone. I don't want to go back to that dark, cold, and inhumane Moscow at all."

Nikolai and the others felt they couldn't bear to watch anymore.

Tsk tsk, Moscow has no humanity? Moscow is just too humane, that's why it raised a rebellious son like you.

That's right, this time Wang Xiao and Ivanov will split up and fly to Romania and Russia respectively.

The reason for this arrangement is that they have too many things to do.

Someone needs to be in charge in Moscow, and someone needs to be in Bucharest as well.

Because the spin-off film of "The Great Swordsman," "Escape from Deadly Island," is about to premiere, and as the financial backer, and the one who provided the story draft, she naturally has to attend the premiere.

Well, of course, the most important thing is that she has to go to Bucharest to raise money.

It would take 1 billion yuan to complete the development of 40 acres of land, so she has to start developing and collecting payments simultaneously.

The initial investment came from other people's pockets, of course.

Haven't you always asked Boss Wang to help you make money? Boss Wang is here now.

Ivanov, sobbing, tried to win people over with his charming eyes: "Your Majesty, I can go to Bucharest with you. Don't worry, life is much better in Romania now, and people don't hate the Muscovites as much."

Aha! That's really going too far.

Back then, all the socialist countries that opposed the Soviet Union, whether they continued on the socialist path or converted to capitalism, fared quite well.

Nikolai and the others looked at him silently again.

Haha, boss, you're overthinking it.

Back then, no country in Eastern Europe was immune to the annoyance of the Soviet Union. Some were simply stubborn, while others endured it.

There aren't many people doing well these days.

Wang Xiao wanted to rub his temples, suppressing his temper and coaxing him: "Ivanov, you'll have to go to Moscow by yourself. You know, your friends, Yura and Major General Punonin, don't like me. If I go to Moscow, they'll easily keep an eye on me, and something could easily happen. It'll be much better if you go. Don't forget, we have important things to do."

They want to transport titanium alloys back to China to sell for money.

"My dear Ivanov, do you have any ambitions? That is, to do what others think is absolutely impossible, but knowing there are tigers in the mountains, you still go into the tiger's den."

"Is your ambition to ensure that all Russians have enough to eat, warm clothes, and a dignified and decent life?"

"In China, this matter is led by the government, so I don't need to worry about it much."

"So what is my ambition? It is to turn Soviet black technology into reality, so that it will not be buried in the dust of history."

"Although half of the history of the People's Republic of China is a history of struggle against the Soviet Union, I have always believed that the Soviet Union is a glory of human history. It is a manifestation of the ultimate development of collective wisdom. Soviet technology is a testament to human wisdom."

"Damn it is the Soviet revisionists, who have never been the glory of the Soviet Union."

"I want to make drones, I want to make smart homes, I want to make them a reality. Then I need a lot of money."

Yes, the more she lived in this era, the more unwilling she felt.

Those Soviet research materials, which were practically bought back as waste paper, were so tedious that they made her eyes hurt.

Goodness, this thing actually existed in the Soviet era. What a waste of so many years!

Her business will also need to be transformed in the future, because her personality makes it impossible for her to stay deeply involved in one industry.

With 100 yuan, she can at most earn 90 yuan, or more likely, 70 yuan at most, before leaving to reap the next wave of profits.

Developing advanced technologies similar to those of the Soviet Union is her next path.

“Smart home,” Wang Xiao sighed. “Our smart home is practically the United Nations. Our flat-screen monitors are made from defective Hitachi screens. Our multi-functional remote controls are modified from the motherboards of Subor learning machines. Our embedded speakers use Yanwu radio-recorder modules. And even our remote controls with earpieces are made from Motorola walkie-talkie parts. Look how far we are from being able to handle all of this ourselves.”

"Not to mention LCD screens and drones."

"My dear Ivanov, there are high mountains ahead, and we must climb them."

"As we said before, Russia has no future in labor-intensive industries. It must combine its superior natural resources, the energy bestowed by God, and brilliant minds to break the deadlock."

"I don't know if the Soviet Union can be revived, but I always believe that true death is being forgotten. As long as it is remembered, it will always live on."

She took Ivanov's hand and looked at him earnestly: "Your eyes are as blue and clear as Lake Baikal. Now, dear Ivanov, can you tell me if you are willing to work with me to achieve this goal?"

Ivanov couldn't resist; in fact, his playboy self-perceived gentlemanly manners made it impossible for him to say "no" to any lady to her face.

So the poor Aquaman could only try a roundabout way to save the day, pleading, "My king, it's my fault for worrying about you. Look, it's not safe for you to go to Romania alone. You need a knight, hmm, let me protect you."

Nikolai and the others collectively adopted a "close your eyes and mind" mode.

Haha, my God, sir, do you want to hear what you're saying?

If you're not here, there probably won't be any danger.

If you go, you'll probably be the one bringing the most danger.

Wang Xiao looked touched, reached out and patted his head, gently refusing, "No, dear Ivanov, I'm more worried about your safety. So—"

She smiled slightly and warned, "When you get back, behave yourself and don't go around flirting with other men. If you fall for a honey trap, I won't pay to bail you out. You'll just have to be a gigolo and sell yourself to pay off your debts."

However, Ivanov was not frightened at all. Instead, he was smug and struck a bodybuilder pose, showing off: "Ha, Your Majesty, you also think I'm top-notch, right? Aha, to die under a peony is to die a romantic death."

Tsk, what a bunch of random things I've learned, I don't even know how to use them.

Wang Xiao nodded, patted him on the shoulder, pointed to Dao Niang who had just dragged her luggage into the waiting hall, and encouraged him, "Keep it up! To become the top salesperson, I think you may still need to work harder."

Upon seeing the burly woman, Ivanov instantly fell silent, no longer daring to boast.

It's not that he discriminates against people based on their body size.

Instead, he also believed Wang Xiao's judgment: given this woman's size, if she sat on his face, she could absolutely crush his head into a pulp.

Being a duck isn't so easy.

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Regarding domestic flower prices in 1994, a Valentine's Day report in the Beijing Evening News stated that red roses cost 2 yuan per stem, with sales increasing by 30% compared to the previous year. This indicates that prices were typically even lower. A 1994 wholesale price record from the Yuquanying Flower Market showed multi-headed lilies at 1.8 yuan per stem, with retail prices increasing by 70%-100%. Under these circumstances, the woman who wanted to make money could only rely on a high-end, niche market strategy.

The case study of selling apartments to overseas students mentioned in the article was handled by Liang Xinjun and Guo Guangchang of Fuxing Real Estate. They were typical members of the "post-92 generation" who resigned from their teaching positions at Fudan University after the Southern Tour speeches to start their own company. However, at the time, they weren't developers; they were helping Shanghai Dahua Group promote suburban apartments. The apartments weren't initially targeted at families of overseas students. Fuxing's team believed these families were wealthy, so they used connections to obtain lists from the Immigration Bureau and then targeted the sales, which resulted in excellent sales. Fuxing later earned 10 million yuan that year through its agency model for the apartments.