Section Chief Sun couldn't wait to pick up a pair of khaki overalls. The feeling of holding them made him feel relieved. They were thick, crisp, and had the special flexibility of cotton cloth. They were exactly the same as the samples he touched at Feihong Factory last time!

He picked up another work shirt and carefully examined the seams, stitching, and pocket tightness, even tugging at the cuffs and the collar.

The stitching is fine and even, the fabric is strong, and there is no sign of looseness or sparseness.

"My inspection alone is not enough!" Section Chief Sun put down his clothes and picked up the intercom. "Xiao Liu! Go to Workshop 1 and Workshop 3 immediately and ask Team Leader Wang, Team Leader Li, and a few representatives of key workers who are not in good shape to come to my place immediately! Quick!"

Several workers put on new work clothes, and their spirits and outlook were refreshed.

"Then let's come back in a few days and see how the fitting goes."

Five days later, Lu Qingyang visited again as promised.

Section Chief Sun was waiting in the office early with a smile on his face.

The workers tried on the clothes and gave feedback, which he had learned in detail, and all of them were favorable comments!

Comfortable, wear-resistant, easy to move around, and good spirits!

This made him completely relieved about the quality of Feihong Factory, but what followed was the most realistic problem - price.

"Director Lu, please take a seat!" Section Chief Sun greeted him warmly and made tea himself.

"In the past five days, the workers have been wearing your sample clothes in the workshop every day. The response has been enthusiastic. They all say that it is much better than before, especially the breathability and convenience of movement. They are full of praise! Your factory is really good!"

Lu Qingyang smiled modestly and took the teacup: "Thank you for the compliment, Chief Sun. We are relieved to hear that everyone is satisfied."

He changed the subject and got to the point, "Then Chief Sun, what do you think about the price of the subsequent formal order?"

Section Chief Sun's smile faded a little, and he tapped his fingers on the table, revealing a typical "embarrassed" expression of a purchasing staff member when negotiating a price:

"Director Lu, to be honest, the workers are satisfied with the clothes, which is great! It shows that your products are indeed high-quality! But..."

He paused, observing Lu Qingyang's expression, "You also know that we are a large state-owned factory, and the procurement budget is strictly controlled. The price quoted by City No. 1 Clothing before... Although they played tricks and used inferior materials, that price level is the basis of our budget."

"Your work clothes are made of solid materials and have good craftsmanship, especially the new fabric. It is indeed better than the old canvas of the first clothing store in the city, right? With such good quality, your price... I guess it won't be too low, right?"

He raised the core question, his eyes fixed on Lu Qingyang, waiting for his quotation.

Lu Qingyang knew very well what Chief Sun was thinking at the moment: he wanted to provide the best quality to make up for the loss in the city, but he was also worried about over-budgeting.

He put down his teacup, calmly took out a neatly bound document from his briefcase, and pushed it in front of Section Chief Sun.

Lu Qingyang said calmly, "Chief Sun, I understand your concerns. This is our detailed calculation sheet for the tooling order of the Red Star Factory. Please take a look."

Section Chief Sun was a little surprised and picked up the document and looked through it carefully.

It clearly lists:

Fabric description: New blended knitted workwear fabric (with the advantages of breathability, wear resistance and elasticity) details, compared with the traditional canvas.

Accessories: high-quality buttons, reinforced stitching, breathable mesh fabric, etc.

Labor Cost: Based on local average wage and estimated working hours.

Equipment depreciation and management amortization.

Reasonable profit margin: a clearly marked and relatively restrained ratio.

The calculation is very meticulous, the data is detailed and well-reasoned.

Section Chief Sun looked at the old canvas work clothes that were about 25% higher than the city's first-class clothing, and couldn't help frowning.

This is slightly higher than the upper limit of his psychological expectations.

"Xiao Lu, this... this price, to be honest, is a little beyond our budget. Although your quality is good, but it's so much higher all of a sudden, I'm... under a lot of pressure. I'm afraid it won't be easy to pass the factory's financial review." He tried to lower the price.

Lu Qingyang was in no hurry to refute: "Chief Sun, I understand your difficulties, but this accounting is based on real and transparent data. Our factory is a small factory that survives on word of mouth and reputation. We will never falsify data."

He struck while the iron was hot, and his tone became more earnest:

"We sincerely want to establish a long-term and stable cooperative relationship with Hongxing Factory. This cooperation is of great significance to our factory and is an opportunity to prove our ability. Therefore, in terms of profit, we have made the greatest possible concessions, almost to the bottom line we can bear."

He changed the subject and proposed a compromise:

"In order to express our sincerity and to relieve your factory of the one-time payment pressure, I would like to propose that for the first batch of 1,200 sets of orders, we will accept the price approved by you, Chief Sun, which is slightly lower than our calculated price. We can sign a confidentiality agreement for this price and not disclose it to the public."

"However, in exchange, we hope that your factory can promise that after the first batch of orders is successfully delivered and the workers are satisfied with the use, the subsequent regular purchases and supplementary orders of third-party tooling will give priority to our factory and be executed according to our reasonable market price. In this way, part of the profits we have ceded in the early stage can be gradually recovered in the long-term cooperation."

This is a very clever suggestion!

To Section Chief Sun: The budget pressure problem has been solved for the time being. We can get high-quality products that far exceed our expectations at a "relatively reasonable" price, and we can explain this to both our superiors and subordinates.

Moreover, the quality of the first batch of orders is good, so it is only natural to give priority to subsequent purchases.

To Lu Qingyang: Although the profit of the first batch is small, it has secured stable orders from this major customer for the next three years.

This is much more important than making a little more profit at the moment. With the endorsement of the big customer Red Star Factory, Feihong Factory's market development will be unstoppable!

Section Chief Sun fell into deep thought, weighing the pros and cons over and over again.

The reasons Lu Qingyang gave were impeccable, especially the point about workers' safety, which was very hurtful.

The transparent accounting also made it difficult for him to force down the price.

The "slightly lower price for the first batch, long-term priority" plan did perfectly solve his current dilemma and gave the other party a long-term commitment worth looking forward to.

The office was quiet for a moment.

Section Chief Sun raised his head and finally made up his mind.

"Okay, you proposed a plan, and I accept it!"

"It's a pleasure to work with you, Lu Zhi." Section Chief Sun extended his hand again.

"It's a pleasure to work with you, Chief Sun! Our factory will never let you down!"