The Brothers No. 3 store was packed with people; you even had to queue to use the restroom.
Wang Peng and Li Mingzhu strolled around the store, and Li Mingzhu couldn't stop smiling at the booming business.
In the liquor section, a couple speaking with accents from other regions caught Wang Peng's attention.
Their speech clearly indicated they weren't from the provincial capital, or even from this province.
The couple noticed Wang Peng peeking at them, so they went up to him and greeted him openly.
"Hello, comrades," the man said with a smile.
"Hello comrade, I'm the person in charge here." Wang Peng shook hands with him and introduced himself.
The woman looked at Li Mingzhu and exclaimed excitedly, "You must be the painter Li?"
Li Mingzhu nodded gently, extended her hand and said, "Hello, elder sister, I am Li Mingzhu."
The woman shook hands with her, took out a One Piece manga from her bag, and said eagerly, "Can you sign this for me?"
Li Mingzhu took the comic book from the publisher and saw that it was the latest edition.
She smiled and nodded, took out a pen from her pocket, and signed her name on the title page of the comic.
"Thank you, artist Li." The woman said happily, putting the comic book into her bag.
They were tourists from Beijing; the man's name was Qian Da, and the woman's name was Zhang Tingting.
After exchanging a few words, Wang Peng sensed something was amiss and said with a smile, "Mr. Qian, you're also in the retail business, right?"
Qian Da was taken aback, then readily pulled out his business card.
Qian Da, General Manager of Sijiucheng Jinqian Gui Supermarket.
Wang Peng had heard of it; it was a large supermarket chain with more than twenty stores.
He smiled and said, "So you're from a competitor. Would you like to come to my office for a cup of tea?"
Qian Da smiled and said, "Brother Peng, we're here to learn. Do you have time to show us around?"
"It's an honor." Wang Peng laughed and led them for a stroll in the supermarket.
Li Mingzhu and Zhang Tingting walked behind, discussing comics.
Zhang Tingting said, "Mingzhu, my daughter loves One Piece the most, and this autograph is for her."
"Please tell her thank you for me; it would be my honor." Li Mingzhu was in a great mood.
“She has written you several letters, but you’re probably too busy,” Zhang Tingting said with a smile.
"Excuse me, what's her name? I'll reply to her," Li Mingzhu said.
Wang Peng and Qian Da walked ahead, chatting as they went.
After making a round, he led the guest back to his office and brewed a pot of hot tea.
Qian Da said, "Boss Peng, our supermarkets are about the same size, so why is yours so much better?"
Wang Peng was taken aback and asked, "What aspect are you referring to when you say 'almost'?"
Qian Da replied, "The business model, cleanliness, service attitude, etc., are basically exactly the same."
"Mr. Wang, to be honest, I'm here to learn from your advanced experience," he added.
The air fell silent.
Zhang Tingting hurriedly explained, "Boss Wang, our two houses are far apart, we won't steal your business."
Wang Peng chuckled and waved his hand, saying, "This is my advanced experience."
He pointed to the cross-stitch on the wall.
This was embroidered by Li Mingzhu, depicting the Brothers Supermarket's business philosophy: "Genuine products for genuine customers."
"Genuine products for genuine sincerity, genuine products for genuine sincerity," Qian Da repeated.
After a long while, he gently shook his head.
His supermarket also has many counterfeit and shoddy products, and the profits are too high, so he is reluctant to remove them from the shelves.
He frowned slightly and asked doubtfully, "Mr. Wang, if I only sell genuine products, can I have such a good business like you?"
Wang Peng smiled and said, "As long as we establish a reputation for not selling counterfeit goods, business will definitely improve."
"As for whether we can get as close as brothers, I'm really not sure," he added.
"Boss Wang, I heard you give half of your net profit to your employees?" Qian Da asked softly.
"That's right." Wang Peng nodded.
Qian Da was stunned for a moment, then gave a thumbs up.
Zhang Tingting couldn't believe it and pressed, "Boss Wang, you're not kidding, are you? You're really going to give half the profits to your employees?"
Wang Peng nodded and said seriously, "To be honest, the real secret to how well I've gotten to where I am today is this."
"The average salary in the provincial capital has risen to 500, while my employees can earn more than 2,000 a month."
"Even cleaners earn more than two thousand yuan a month."
Qian Da was stunned.
His cleaning lady only earns 200 yuan a month and can only rest one day a month.
He thought and thought, but he still couldn't understand why Wang Peng paid the cleaners such high wages.
He was strolling around the supermarket when he noticed that all the cleaning staff were young women, no older than forty.
Wang Peng said, "If employees are paid high salaries, they will wholeheartedly consider the supermarket's interests. They are more afraid of the supermarket going bankrupt than I am."
"So their service is super good, and I fired anyone with a bad attitude."
Qian Da nodded without saying anything, picked up his wine glass and began to drink tea.
Wang Peng didn't disturb him and just watched him quietly.
"Mingzhu, shall we go outside and talk?" Zhang Tingting said.
"Let's go to my bedroom." Li Mingzhu stood up, supporting her back, and led her to the bedroom next door.
There were only two people left in the office.
Qian Da gave a wry smile and tentatively asked, "Boss Wang, is your secret high welfare benefits?"
Wang Peng nodded and said, "Not selling counterfeit goods and caring for employees have always been my business strategies."
"I can't do it." Qian Da waved his hand.
After a moment, he added, "I can manage not to sell counterfeit goods, but I can't manage to share half of the profits."
Wang Peng sat up straight and said seriously, "I gave my employees high benefits, and I thought I would lose money, but I didn't expect to make a huge profit."
“That’s true!” Wang Peng said. “Don’t you have more than twenty stores? You can start a pilot program.”
Qian Da understood what Wang Peng meant.
It's about replicating the model of a sister store with a branch and testing it for a few months.
If profits surge, it indicates that Brother Supermarket's business model is effective.
Qian Da wanted to give it a try, but the thought of giving half the profits to his employees made his heart ache.
After a long silence, he shook his head: "I'll try to make sure it's genuine first."
Wang Peng chuckled and asked, "Don't you want to offer your employees generous benefits?"
Qian Da nodded and smiled wryly, "Yes, I'm reluctant to part with it. I'm sorry you had to see this."
“That’s normal,” Wang Peng waved his hand and said, “All the supermarkets here are studying Brother Supermarket; they all understand Brother’s business model very well.”
“However, there is no other Brother Supermarket in the provincial capital,” Wang Peng added.
The two stopped talking about business and started chatting happily about the customs and traditions of the provincial capital, and the atmosphere gradually became harmonious.
Half an hour later, Zhang Tingting and Li Mingzhu came out of the bedroom.
Qian Da got up to say goodbye, and Wang Peng saw the couple off.
"Honey, how did your chat go?" Li Mingzhu asked.
Wang Peng shook his head and said, "Like other bosses who came to conduct research, Mr. Qian is reluctant to provide his employees with high welfare benefits."
Li Mingzhu chuckled and said, "That's really boring. Don't entertain people like that again."
Wang Peng said, "Okay, that's what I think too."
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