Chapter 18 Selling Smaller Soaps: Even the Poor Have Their Tricks
Chen Yanqiu was almost driven to death by her own daughter.
It was clearly a trap, yet she jumped in without saying a word.
Wang Xiao comforted his elderly mother, saying, "If I combine technology with production and do well at the soap factory, no one can take credit for my work. It's better than me working hard all day only to have someone else benefit from my efforts."
Chen Yanqiu held back, forcing down the words, "You brought this on yourself. If you had been more sensible back then, things wouldn't have come to this..."
She was so relieved that her daughter had stopped mentioning Ruan Rui; she desperately wanted to prevent her daughter from bringing it up again.
She could only grit her teeth and say, "Fine, don't act on your own in the future. At least let us know first."
What a terrible thing! A debt collector! I must have owed her something in my past life.
The elderly mother grumbled as she packed her daughter's luggage, then took her to the bus station. After watching her daughter get on the bus and sit down, she turned around and went home, feeling utterly dejected.
What? You mean you're sending the girl to the Xinxian Soap Factory? That's impossible.
In 1990, parents mostly raised their children in a laissez-faire manner. Few even sent their children to university, let alone to send their already working children on business trips. If their superiors saw this, they would laugh and say that these were still-weaned children, completely useless.
Before transmigrating into the book, Wang Xiao was used to traveling all over the country. Although she couldn't stand the suffocating smell of buses in this era, she could still hold her nose and endure it. She traveled for almost four hours before finally arriving at the Xin County Bus Station.
When she got off the bus, she felt like all the bones in her body had fallen apart.
Fortunately, the soap factory valued her highly, as an expert from the provincial chemical research institute, and even sent someone to pick her up.
A middle-aged man with a receding hairline and a young man with a buzz cut were holding cardboard signs with Wang Xiao's name written on them.
Thank goodness I didn't write "warm welcome," otherwise it would have been a complete disaster.
Wang Xiao dragged his suitcase over and greeted the people with a smile: "Hello, comrades, I am Wang Xiao, may I ask who you are?"
The Mediterranean man only glanced at her before shaking his head: "We're picking up a senior engineer from the chemical engineering institute, young lady, not you."
Wang Xiao was embarrassed and could only take out the letter of introduction that the institute had given her: "I am Wang Xiao from the Chemical Engineering Institute. The leaders arranged for me to come here."
The balding man's remaining hair around his head was practically standing on end, and he almost threw the letter of introduction on the ground.
What exactly does the provincial chemical research institute mean? Their soap factory sincerely invited experts to guide their work, and they actually sent some little girl to fob them off like a beggar. This is clearly disrespectful to them!
If this were a tech-themed novel about a female protagonist's triumphant rise to power, she would definitely unleash her dazzling skills to slap the face of that ignorant little soap factory.
Unfortunately, Wang Xiao was a terrible student when it came to chemistry.
In the soap-making business, she had to address all the soap factory workers as her mentors.
She sadly discovered that she had forgotten the steps for making soap.
Even though she had done it in high school chemistry class.
So she pretended not to understand the disdainful look in the "Mediterranean" uncle's eyes and maintained her smiling demeanor: "Finally here! Um, where is the factory? The institute heard you were in a hurry and didn't even give me a chance to catch my breath before sending me here. Come on, let's not waste any more time. Time is life, and we can't afford to delay production."
The man with the Mediterranean hair and the man with the buzz cut exchanged a glance. The former pulled a long, donkey-like face and said, "Our factory has poor conditions, so Comrade Wang will have to take the bus."
Wang Xiao greeted everyone with a smile, naturally handing over her luggage to the young man with the buzz cut. An expert, of course, should act like one; surely she wouldn't expect to be respected if she did everything herself?
Ghosts, right? Humans are instinctively drawn to strength.
"Alright, then hurry up and get on the bus." Wang Xiao swung his arm and walked forward, taking the opportunity to kick the soap factory, "You can't even sell soap, and I heard you can't pay wages either? I'm really worried for you!"
So incompetent!
"Mediterranean" was the director of the soap factory's office. These days, the workers had a strong sense of collective honor. After hearing what Comrade Wang said casually, his face turned red, and he subconsciously emphasized: "Now it's all because of triangular debt. Which factory is having an easy time?"
Wang Xiao turned his head, a half-smile on his face: "I heard that the Second Chemical Plant's soap sells very well. I've seen their soap quite often in stores in the provincial capital."
The factory office director's face turned even redder.
Their factory actually has a longer history than the Second Chemical Plant, dating back to the 1960s. In the early 1980s, when the Second Chemical Plant was first established, they even visited their factory to learn about their technology.
Who knew that the apprentices would starve their master to death? These people had no martial ethics; they introduced foreign technology and hired experts, and they managed to snatch up the market completely, leaving the Xinxian Soap Factory with nothing.
Wang Xiao didn't care about the grudges between the soap factories. She got on the bus without hesitation and sat in the seat that the "crew-cut" young man had secured for her. She made sure she received all the benefits that other engineers enjoyed.
When we arrived at the soap factory and were arranging accommodations, the factory administration started causing trouble again.
Originally, their factory had booked a guesthouse for the engineers at the research institute, but now that they saw Wang Xiao, a young woman, they felt that the institute was just going through the motions. So the factory wanted to arrange for Wang Xiao to stay in the women's duty room, which would also save on hospitality expenses.
The factory office director was still racking his brains to come up with reasons, but Wang Xiao impatiently interrupted his nonsense: "Alright, none of that matters. Let's talk about work first."
There are plenty of inhuman partners out there. Before she transmigrated into the book, when she was opening an online store selling sexy lingerie and looking for OEM manufacturers, she had seen all sorts of weirdos.
But did she just turn her back and refuse to cooperate? Absolutely not!
She can tolerate any weirdo as long as she can make money.
Now, Wang Xiao no longer cares about the soap factory's disdain for her, because she has already sensed a business opportunity.
Selling soap, selling soap on a large scale.
Any business that wants to grow big, even high-end weaponry, needs factories. Only industrial production can guarantee a continuous output of products.
With a soap factory right in front of her, it would be strange if she didn't take the opportunity to make money.
Wang Xiao didn't even drink the water that the "Mediterranean" director politely offered her, and went straight to the point: "Director, could you please take me to see the soap produced by your factory? I'd like to see exactly where the problem lies."
The factory director was a bit stunned. For a moment, he didn't know whether to laugh at this young girl for being so arrogant or to suspect that she just had a baby face and looked young, but was actually a senior engineer.
He had no choice but to instruct the crew-cut man: "Xiao Tang, help Engineer Wang carry his luggage to his room. Engineer Wang, shall I show you around our workshop?"
"No need." Wang Xiao was quite honest; she had absolutely no curiosity about the workshop. "Let me see the soap your factory produces."
Goodness, now even the factory director doesn't dare to act arrogantly anymore.
Just listen to their tone; they're clearly experts. They can tell where the problem lies just by looking at the product.
So the factory director quickly led the way, taking Wang Xiao to the warehouse and showing him samples: "Our factory currently produces two kinds of soap. One is stinky soap, which is really good. Back then, all the major supply and marketing cooperatives were scrambling to buy our products, lining up at the door. The other kind is scented soap, which we started producing ten years ago and is also very popular. The factory operates on three shifts, so the machines never stop running."
Wang Xiao let it go in one ear and out the other, showing no admiration whatsoever for the soap factory's glorious history.
After all, its popularity was a product of the planned economy. During the period when the country concentrated its efforts on developing heavy industry, all daily chemical products were treasures, and no one had trouble selling them.
Now that the unified purchase and sales guarantee is gone and market competition is open, other companies can also produce soap and bar soap. They are willing to spend money to buy equipment, upgrade technology, and know how to market. It is only natural that they can catch up and surpass others.
She simply picked up the soap and bar soap, turned them over and over in her hands, and even leaned in to smell them.
Well, the stinky soap lives up to its name; it does have an indescribable stench. It's not unpleasant, but it's definitely not pleasant either.
The soap is much better; it smells a bit like sandalwood and a bit like lotus, anyway, it's light and quite pleasant.
In Wang Xiao's view, there is nothing particularly wrong with these two types of soap; their sluggish sales are simply a result of the times.
Take smelly soap for example. It's mainly used for brushing shoes and washing clothes. But with washing machines becoming commonplace in households, laundry detergent is definitely more convenient to use than soap.
For example, soap and shower gel are fiercely competing for market share, leaving less and less room for its own survival.
To reverse this trend, soap factories must find a new way and refine the types of soap they produce.
Laundry detergent is gradually replacing laundry soap, so what should we do? Produce lingerie soap, of course.
Currently, there aren't dedicated washing machines for underwear, so most people use machines to wash larger clothes, such as underwear and light clothing, and many people still prefer to hand wash them. Producing specialized underwear soap would perfectly address this need, and naturally, there would be a market for it.
Besides lingerie soap, children's soap is also a good choice. The one-child policy had been in effect for almost 10 years since 1990, and the first generation of only children had reached school age. They were pampered by their parents and elders, even described in newspapers as little emperors and princesses. Adults were willing to do everything they could to give them the best, so buying a bar of children's soap was a good idea.
As soon as she explained her plan, the factory manager and deputy production manager, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, lit up and eagerly asked, "Engineer Wang, how do we produce these two types of soap?"
Wang Xiao shook his head: "Your factory's equipment is no good, we have to import it. Hmm, I estimate it will cost around a million."
The truth is, she only knew the concepts of lingerie soap and children's soap, and had no idea about the soap-making process. Since she couldn't just rely on gimmicks to deceive consumers, she could only shift the blame to being poor.
The soap factory leaders' faces fell as expected.
If they had the money, why would they be so eager to get advice from the Chemical Research Institute? They can't import the equipment themselves.
It's true that even a hero can be brought down by a penny. They clearly know how to make money, yet they still can't put their hands to it.
Seeing their dejected looks, Wang Xiao smiled and said, "Don't be discouraged. If one path doesn't work, try another. I've looked at your soaps, and the quality is acceptable, but they're too similar to other products and haven't found a unique selling point. How about this, I'll give it a try and help you sell your soaps."
Everyone was taken aback.
In 1990, almost every factory had a sales department and assigned dedicated salespeople. But they invited this unfamiliar-looking engineer, Mr. Wang, to be a technician and provide technical guidance, not to be a salesperson braving the elements.
"Engineer Wang, we really can't accept this."
Wang Xiao said half-jokingly and half-seriously, "It's okay, just treat me like a salesperson and give me a salesperson's commission. However, I can't just sell them like this. You have to make the soap smaller, um, about this size, and make it round before I take it out to sell."
Seeing the skeptical looks on everyone's faces, she smiled even more, "Don't worry, go ahead and make the samples. I'll buy them, and even if they don't sell, the factory won't lose money."
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