Chapter 152: Far Away

An Zhixia's question drew the attention of everyone in the supply and marketing cooperative. They couldn't help laughing as if they had heard a good joke, but their smiles were also filled with a hint of sarcasm and helplessness.

"Xiao An, I want to ask you why you are taking inventory?"

"In order to count and check the inventory, replenish the missing ones, and sell out the ones that are about to expire. Well, we can also understand customer demand and adjust the purchase ratio in time," An Zhixia thought for a moment and replied.

Everyone was stunned. The words they wanted to teach the younger generation were stuck in their throats. Was it necessary to be so serious? Besides, wasn't inventory just replenishment? They sold so little every day, so they didn't need to write it down. They could keep track of it. They only needed to replenish it once every ten days or half a month.

How come they became newbies when she said that?

"Oh, yes, that's right, but Xiao An, we only sell some daily necessities every day, and we can finish the accounts in two or three minutes. There is no need to make a big fuss about the New Year's inventory."

"Sister, how are our wages calculated? Is it linked to the number and value of products sold?" An Zhixia asked, changing the subject.

"It's a basic salary based on the level of the worker, plus a uniform living allowance of two yuan, and one percent of the profit for every item sold. The latter item is almost negligible, and we never got it anyway." A male comrade put down the newspaper and explained to her.

"Then what should our supply and marketing cooperative do with the expired products that cannot be sold? Isn't it a waste of national resources to have them in stock?" An Zhixia continued to ask.

"That was the case at the beginning, but later we only stocked up on daily necessities that sold well, and the rest of the allocation quotas were taken away by the Zhenghao Supply and Marketing Cooperative on the main street. It can be said that apart from the samples on the counter, our warehouse only has a few commonly sold items stacked up." One of the warehouse managers with the most say replied patiently.

When we got off work yesterday, the director greeted each of them, saying that An Zhixia had a special identity and asked everyone to cooperate with her, as perhaps their opportunity lay with this little girl.

An Zhixia's spiritual sense simply took note of what happened in the supermarket. Generally speaking, the supply and marketing cooperative had low sales and serious stockpiling of goods. In order to avoid waste, they almost no longer stocked goods. There were only old products of simple styles on the counter. If a customer needed them, they had to go to Zhenghao Supply and Marketing Cooperative to order the goods. It would be better for the customers to go there and buy them directly.

As a result, the supply and marketing cooperative fell into a terrible vicious cycle.

"Then are the prices we sell fixed? Can they fluctuate?"

"That's definitely not possible. The prices of all the supply and marketing cooperatives in Kyoto are the same. It's just that the good supply and marketing cooperatives can get the high-quality products first. We have to wait until they have picked out the rest before we can buy in."

"So I can't contact the source of goods myself?" An Zhixia simply took out a pen and notebook and started recording carefully.

Seeing her serious and upright attitude, everyone couldn't help but straighten their backs and go over the answers in their minds several times before speaking.

"It shouldn't be possible. If I can contact them myself, wouldn't it be a mess? I seem to have heard that we can take the lead with the headquarters, and then the supply and marketing cooperative that takes the lead will have the priority right to purchase goods." said a senior saleswoman.

"Yes, I've heard of it too. The supply and marketing cooperatives with great sales have specially arranged jobs for people to go on business trips to find partners. They're called external procurement specialists, commonly known as 'pioneers'! The pay is great. Tickets, accommodation, and meals are all reimbursed, wages are paid as usual, living allowances are doubled, and there's a lot of overtime pay. If the lead is successful, they can continue to share the profits for half a year." Everyone was a little excited when talking about this.

"Of course, this job is lucrative, but it's hard to get results. The big manufacturers have already cooperated with us, or we only cooperate with the four major shopping malls, or the small manufacturers don't offer enough discounts. The transportation fee is a big problem when the distance is far. Anyway, there are so many things involved..."

An Zhixia picked out the key points of everyone's words and recorded them in a notebook. She originally wanted to live a mediocre life, be a happy commoner, and a landlady with a bulging wallet. But the job here is like being the Buddha of Buddhism. After only being there for half a day, she felt uncomfortable all over and couldn't sit still.

"Little girl, don't worry about it, or you'll end up worrying our boss. This place is shiny and bright," the cashier lady began to pack her bag, pointing at the top of her head, and everyone laughed quietly. "It's time to get off work, let's take turns to go eat."

As soon as he finished speaking, An Zhiqiu came in with a smile, and politely imitated the sister and called each of them brother and sister. Everyone couldn't help laughing, and kept praising the An brothers and sisters for their good looks, good tempers, and understanding.

"Let's go and have dinner with brother," An Zhiqiu said in a low voice after taking the girl's bag.

The two of them left the supply and marketing cooperative, walked past the barber shop and arrived at the state-owned restaurant. It was lunchtime, and there were only three people inside, ordering plain noodles or steamed buns with two kinds of noodles.

"Comrade Xiao An is here, come in quickly and eat while the food is hot," the staff at the state-owned restaurant were quite friendly to her and greeted her especially warmly.

Working in a restaurant, three meals a day is a default benefit. If the restaurant is well run, the allocation target will be high, food will be given priority, and naturally the employees will earn enough.

An Zhixia thanked him with a smile, washed her hands and sat down next to her brother. On the table was a bowl of multigrain noodles, with vermicelli, minced meat and dried beans. Although she didn't do much work in the morning, her stomach was already rumbling in protest, and she felt that she could still eat another bowl of noodles.

The multi-grain noodles were not as chewy as pure wheat noodles, but the soup tasted good. She finished them with great enthusiasm and even found a poached egg at the bottom of the bowl.

"Let's eat. My brother paid for it out of his own pocket. We can both eat it," An Zhiqiu smiled and raised his eyebrows. He reported to her about his work in the morning, which was washing vegetables, chopping wood, fetching water, cleaning, and then listening to everyone's chat.

Since he went to the countryside to participate in the spring ploughing, he has hardly had such a leisurely time. He feels uncomfortable all over, as if a greedy flea is gnawing at him. "Who can't do this kind of work? Even a 10-year-old child can do it very well. I am also paid by the government, and I always feel that I am getting an advantage."

An Zhixia drank a bowl of noodle soup and felt much better all over. After wiping her mouth, she watched her brother clean up the dishes and wash them up before coming back.

"Brother, do you think this life is far from what you imagined it would be like to be a cook?"

He nodded and whispered, "There are very few ingredients here. You say this is a restaurant? We can't even get a pound of meat a day. The money we earn every day may not be enough to pay our employees' salaries. I heard from the chef that if this continues, Baifu may close down."

(End of this chapter)