Chapter 203
"On my way here just now, I saw your workshop. The finished furniture inside was very similar to the one I designed," said Ye Fuyue.
"I really admire the furniture you designed, and I asked the people below to refer to it." said the middle-aged man.
"That's not called a reference, it's basically the same." Ye Fuyue said: "You want me to bring other furniture drawings, it's also for 'reference'."
Ye Fuyue thought she had been very polite. She didn't even use words like "steal", "plagiarize" or "freeload", but the other party was caught off guard.
"What's your attitude?" the middle-aged man said angrily, "With this attitude, do you really want to cooperate with our factory?"
Ye Fuyue responded coldly: "I don't think your company is suitable to cooperate with me. I'm sorry to waste your time."
After she finished speaking, she turned around and left, leaving the other party to jump up and down in anger behind her, scolding her for her attitude, saying that she deserved that the No. 1 Furniture Factory would not cooperate with her, and even saying that their factory didn't want people like her!
The more petty the other party was, the more Ye Fuyue felt it was right for her to leave now.
Ye Fuyue went directly to the second and only remaining furniture factory - Xiangyang Furniture Factory.
The Xiangyang Furniture Factory was smaller than the other two. Standing at the factory's gate, Ye Fuyue saw the small, even somewhat worn-out, door and could tell how poorly the company was performing.
It was still the security guard who took her to see the relevant person in charge.
Along the way, Ye Fuyue met far fewer workers than in the previous furniture factory.
"You don't have many workers here!" Ye Fuyue said deliberately.
"The factory hasn't been doing well in the past two years, and a lot of people have left," said the guard.
Ye Fuyue nodded.
When she passed by the workshop, she took a special look at the finished furniture inside.
The furniture styles are relatively old and lack aesthetic taste. There are also some furniture designed by her, but the styles have been slightly changed.
When we met the person in charge, the guard introduced us: "This is Director Cai, who is in charge of furniture production."
Ye Fuyue introduced herself and explained her purpose.
Director Cai said, "I know you. You're quite famous in our industry. Many of the better-selling pieces at the First Furniture Factory in the past year were based on designs you provided. I heard the First Furniture Factory recently changed leadership and stopped cooperating with you, saying you were asking for too much money."
Ye Fuyue was speechless.
She really didn't expect that the First Furniture Factory would slander her like this outside.
She explained: "The money I get is linked to their sales. If they sell well, I get more money. If they don't sell well, I don't get any money."
"So that's how it is." Director Cai understood. "No wonder they feel like they're losing out. Now, every factory's furniture is copied from each other. The No. 1 Furniture Factory paid you so much money, but other factories copied your furniture without spending a penny."
"When I passed by the workshop just now, I saw some finished furniture that looked very similar to my designs," said Ye Fuyue.
Director Cai admitted, "Those were copies of the furniture you designed for the First Furniture Factory. Not only did our factory copy it, but other factories copied it too. If our factory had a furniture style that sold well, the other two factories would copy it."
There is no copyright awareness at all in this era, and no relevant intellectual property department has been established. Everyone copies each other.
But Director Cai's frank admission made Ye Fuyue feel a little more favorable towards him.
"Let me be honest with you," Director Cai continued, "although I admire your designs, our factory can't afford you. You've worked with the First Furniture Factory and seen its scale, so you should be able to tell that our factory is far inferior to it. Furthermore, even if we could afford you, even if you provided excellent furniture drawings, they would quickly be copied by the other two factories. The other two factories are larger than ours and can produce furniture faster than we do. By then, our factory would be making things easier for the other two factories."
Ye Fuyue understood Director Cai's concerns.
If she simply copied the cooperation model with the First Furniture Factory to her cooperation with Xiangyang Furniture Factory, she would definitely not get the cooperation.
Before coming, she had already thought of other ways of cooperation.
"Director Cai, have you ever thought about selling our factory's furniture to foreigners?" Ye Fuyue asked.
Director Cai was stunned: "Sell it to foreigners?"
It’s not that he hasn’t thought about it, but he is very clear that the furniture made by their factory does not sell well in China, so how can it attract foreigners?
These days, while everyone is terrified of foreigners, they also desperately want to collaborate with them and earn foreign exchange. Earning foreign exchange is a matter of great pride for any factory.
"I do think so," Director Cai said with a wry smile. "Foreigners don't even like the furniture made by the First Furniture Factory, let alone ours. The First Furniture Factory is the most profitable furniture factory in our city."
Ye Fuyue said, "The furniture of the First Furniture Factory sells well in the city, but foreigners don't like it. This is because the furniture made by the First Furniture Factory meets the aesthetic tastes of Chinese people, but not foreigners. If our factory wants to sell furniture to foreigners, then the furniture we make must meet their aesthetic tastes."
Director Cai became interested and asked, "Are you sure foreigners will like the furniture you designed?"
Ye Fuyue nodded. "I'm confident. Besides, selling furniture exclusively to foreigners can prevent the other two furniture factories from copying ours. It's useless if they do, and Chinese people don't like such furniture. Furthermore, once our furniture becomes well-known among foreigners, they won't be able to copy it exactly. Foreigners are very particular about this."
Director Cai seemed to be thinking: "If you can really design furniture that foreigners like, then our factory will still consider cooperating with you."
Ye Fuyue smiled, becoming more confident. "I saw in the newspaper that there will be a bamboo trade fair in our city next month. We can design a few pieces of furniture and take them to the fair to see if foreigners like them."
The Bamboo Fair is mainly for export trade. Factories in the city can display their products at the fair to attract foreign businessmen, facilitate transactions and earn foreign exchange.
Director Cai was completely moved by what Ye Fuyue said.
Their factory had previously participated in the Bamboo Fair twice, but the results were disappointing—no one was interested, and naturally, no sales were made. Later, as their performance declined, they saw that the First Furniture Factory had also consistently failed to sell any furniture at the Bamboo Fair. They realized that perhaps foreigners simply didn't like their furniture, so they stopped attending the Bamboo Fair.
If Ye Fuyue could really design furniture that foreigners would like and make their factory a big hit at the Bamboo Fair, then maybe their factory could turn things around!
Soon, Director Cai calmed down and thought of another problem.
"How much is the fee?"
Their factory was truly running out of money. Many workers had left because they frequently couldn't pay their wages. If Ye Fuyue had asked for a larger sum, or wanted to continue her partnership with the first furniture factory, the factory wouldn't necessarily agree—after all, they'd still worry that the other two factories would copy Ye Fuyue's designs, effectively making them their own scapegoats.
Ye Fuyue had already considered that if she wanted to sell her designed furniture to foreigners, she would not use the commission-based cooperation model with Xiangyang Furniture Factory. Because each order would be large, she was afraid that taking too much commission would attract too much attention and cause trouble for herself.
"I don't want money for now. Once the furniture is designed and sold, you can pay me according to the design draft. However, I need to sign a contract with you and guarantee that the design draft of each furniture will be no less than one hundred yuan." Ye Fuyue said.
Although she had a good impression of Director Cai and thought he was an open-minded person, she still had to be on guard. Some things were better put on paper as evidence.
Director Cai breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that Ye Fuyue didn't want money first, and at the same time he also looked at Ye Fuyue with a new respect.
"No problem! If we can really sell furniture to foreigners, your requirements are not high." Director Cai said truthfully.
Ye Fuyue happily reached an agreement with Director Cai and signed a contract, agreeing that she would deliver at least five furniture design drafts in two weeks.
With half of her important task completed, Ye Fuyue suddenly felt a lot more relaxed.
Before going home, she went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy vegetables and chatted with Yu Tong.
"Is Brother Shen's girlfriend still looking for him?" Yu Tong asked in a low voice.
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