Chapter 54 The Soaring Airlines (Bug Fix): International Grand Bazaar
The boss obviously doesn't have time to pay attention to her subordinate's sad little heart; she's already too busy to care.
Why?
Because her international transportation business is progressing faster than she imagined.
The first issue is the flight route.
Previously, various departments that had been arguing endlessly, claiming it wasn't their responsibility or had nothing to do with them, suddenly and inexplicably reached a consensus.
Hundreds of stamps were stamped all the way down the road.
The lieutenant in the Air Force, who was specifically responsible for running errands, stamping, and signing documents, was dumbfounded and couldn't believe his good luck.
Seriously, he was willing to risk everything and spend the rest of 1991 on this matter.
The surprise came so quickly.
Wang Xiao and the others were stunned. She thought that no matter how fast it was, it would take at least a month or two.
Going through procedures naturally takes time.
I heard that a high-ranking leader attached great importance to this matter and gave special instructions, which is why it was handled as a special case.
Wang Xiao quickly told her mother to go to the temple to burn incense and thank God for his blessing.
Well, for her, such a powerful hand was practically God himself.
She didn't go herself because she was really too busy.
Before taking on this route, Wang Xiao had to complete the necessary affiliation procedures.
The Five Continents Air Transport Company that she and Ivanov started had a somewhat awkward position, and the leadership had held several meetings and decided that it was best to play it safe.
Let's just register it under the name of the military's third-party industrial company to avoid any negative impact.
Wang Xiao readily agreed and cooperated fully.
This is also a characteristic of our times.
For example, since the Asian Games, the government has realized that there is a serious shortage of taxis in big cities. Beijing has allowed private taxi companies to operate, but they still have to be registered under the name of a bureau-level unit, ostensibly for the purpose of strict management.
There are some things you can't do without this hat.
Of course, you have to pay to register under someone else's name; 500,000 yuan a year is really cheap.
If someone is capable enough to secure the flight route for her, she wouldn't hesitate to pay them five million a year.
Of course, if the other party didn't make that request, she wouldn't willingly step forward to be a sucker.
So that people won't think her money comes from thin air and treat her like a bloodsucker.
Having obtained the route operating rights, the next step is to apply for flight slots.
This process did encounter some trouble; the report was submitted, and the response received twice was that we would need to study it further.
It wasn't until Wang Xiao offered a bottle of whiskey and a Swiss watch he'd brought back from Moscow as a token of appreciation that he finally managed to get his flight slot.
In the following time, Wang Xiao rolled up his sleeves and transformed himself into an eight-legged octopus.
While keeping an eye on things, she contacted various manufacturers on the east side to inspect, verify, and photograph the goods, and prepared the first phase of the International Trade City catalog.
On one hand, he personally started the recruitment process, hiring employees for airport ground staff, international trade city, and resort. He recruited department heads and more than 300 employees, and then packed them all up for pre-job training.
Wang Xiao herself made the training manual. She drafted it on her flight back to China from Moscow, revised it on the computer after landing, and finally printed it out.
Tang Yicheng was truly impressed.
How come she knows everything and is capable of everything?
Even if someone else wanted to work hard and strive to become a human pencil sharpener, they wouldn't know how to do it.
Little did he know that Wang Xiao herself had previously led a team as a major internet celebrity, and that was a complete group of people.
For her now, it's simply a matter of changing the online system to an offline one; if there's no internet, she can build her own platform.
It can only be said that what is difficult for some is not difficult for others.
In short, aside from feeling the need to quickly train professional talent so she could let go, Wang Xiao didn't feel completely lost or at a loss.
Ultimately, it's just about going through the whole process, figuring out which people are needed at each stage and what tasks they should be doing. Once the job responsibilities are defined, everything is fine.
Alas, when it comes to cultivating talent, man proposes, God disposes.
When she first started organizing the Women's Street self-service clothing supermarket, she was quite pleased to have acquired a capable subordinate like Xiang Dong, which gave her time to gradually build her own team.
As a result, there were just too many opportunities in this era, it was like a windfall of 10 billion dollars. If she didn't reach out and take them, she would definitely regret it so much that she wouldn't be able to sleep at night.
So what can we do? We can only ignore everything else and reach out our hands first. We'll take as much of this incredible wealth as we can.
In order to take on as many jobs as possible, she brandished her whip and urged the construction companies under the military to speed up their work.
She didn't expect to reach the speed of building a floor every two days in Shenzhen, but at least you have to get my international trade city and airport warehouse ready before the rainy season arrives.
Otherwise, we'll be losing money every single day.
Tang Yicheng thought she was exaggerating, because she hadn't just been waiting around at all.
The truth is that on the day the flight route was secured, the plane took off directly from Russian territory and landed at Jiangzhimen Airport the next day.
So, will the plane just sit obediently at the airport and collect dust?
How could that be!
Ivanov's order for twenty-two aircraft caused a sensation in the light industry sector of Jiangdong Province.
Good heavens! Boxes upon boxes of shirts, jeans, t-shirts, sneakers, athletic shoes, rain boots, umbrellas, bed sheets, duvet covers, pillows, and so on. Even windproof lighters, thermos flasks, and rice cookers were shipped onto the plane.
The vice governor of Jiangdong Province, who was in charge of industry, was alarmed and personally visited the international friends to give them a cordial meeting.
The vice governor shook hands with Ivanov and talked for a long time about the bright prospects for Sino-Soviet people-to-people trade.
Wang Xiao took a lot of photos on the side, undoubtedly to promote their still-unfinished commercial city.
After that incident, Ivanov chartered planes to transport goods one after another, seemingly aiming to clear out the entire light industrial inventory of Jiangdong Province.
The delivery trucks sped by, kicking up clouds of dust.
The plane suddenly shot through the air, leaving trails of white smoke in the sky.
Tsk tsk tsk.
As expected of the Soviet Union, they were truly generous.
Ivanov's lavish spending made Wang Xiao, who already held a prominent position in the province's business community, even more sought-after. Almost every factory director and manager wanted to curry favor with her, this "goddess of wealth."
People even joked that she should be the local Minister of Commerce, and that she could go directly to the City God Temple and govern the area without any problem.
Tang Yicheng was born in the 1960s. He was a child when the "Four Olds" were destroyed, so he didn't understand the scope of these gods' work.
But as someone with eyes, he has to say, in such a blazing scene, how could Wang Xiao still have the nerve to say that she's losing money every day?
She's clearly making money every day!
Airplanes are indeed golden goose, the kind that lays golden eggs.
Wang Xiao was itching to see Tang Yicheng's worthless, excited display. If she had anyone else readily available, she would have rolled her eyes and knocked him over.
Can you even call that thing on your neck a head?
How could someone say something like that, that intelligence is a fatal flaw!
Even if Ivanov were split into ten, he still couldn't support a business of twenty-two aircraft.
Comrade, please use your brain. Even if Ivanov is one of the most prominent black marketeers in Moscow, he is still just one person.
The light industrial products from the initial twenty-two aircraft did indeed make him a fortune, making him the top player in the entire reseller market almost overnight.
However, he was all alone.
An individual's sales channels are limited, and so is their market share.
The cargo for the 22 aircraft also needed time for his secondary wholesalers to ship it out.
A direct flight from Jiangdong to Moscow takes about eight hours. If there were only one flight a day, Ivanov simply wouldn't be able to ship that many goods.
If he doesn't want a clearance sale, his only option under such high-frequency purchasing is to hold onto inventory.
However, a plane full of cargo is worth about $500,000, and if a batch of cargo is held up, that's $11 million.
How much wealth could he possibly have? How could he possibly afford to take it all?
Even if he had a way to suppress it, he couldn't suppress it.
Having such a large quantity of goods in his hands is like hoarding half a city's worth of grain during a famine, meaning he has the ability to completely change the market landscape.
His peers can tolerate his growing power, because every industry has big fish and small fry; but they will never allow him to dominate, control everything, and cut off other people's source of income.
If that were the case, he would definitely have the life to earn money but not the life to spend it.
The Soviet Union has not yet collapsed, but there are organized crime groups in Moscow right now.
The world of resellers and speculators straddles the line between the legitimate and criminal worlds.
So, besides making money on the side, Ivanov's initial big spending was actually a way to advertise their Five Continents Air Cargo Company.
He cannot and will not monopolize the cargo transported by the twenty-two planes indefinitely.
only--
Neither Ivanov nor Wang Xiao expected their advertising to be so effective.
When Ivanov had just begun shipping his second shipment, someone approached him wanting to charter the plane, offering $150,000. Considering the high tariffs on imported goods in the Soviet Union, this was practically giving up half of their profits, demonstrating their sincerity.
By the time Ivanov started ordering the third batch of goods, the number of customers who came to his door had reached twenty or thirty.
After Wang Xiao and Ivanov finished communicating, they both agreed that they couldn't let things drag on any longer.
On the one hand, Ivanov himself was under too much pressure to ship the goods, and on the other hand, he angered these international traders who had the financial resources to charter planes. Their joint efforts to cause trouble were also a very serious matter.
The problem is that Wang Xiao's commercial city hasn't been topped out yet.
She was able to ship directly to Ivanov because the two had already established a close partnership. Wang Xiao shipped the goods as requested, and Ivanov trusted her judgment and character, so he had no objections and simply accepted the goods.
But if it were other customers, with a planeload of goods worth hundreds of thousands of US dollars, how could they possibly trust Wang Xiao, whom they had never dealt with before?
They have to fly to Jiangdong themselves to inspect the goods.
Wang Xiao went completely mad. Her international trade city wasn't even finished yet, how could she show the goods to people?
In the end, Ivanov was the one who took the fall. He showed the underwear he had just received to the customer and promised that the next batch would be the same. If the customer was not satisfied, he would consider it as if the customer had ordered it himself and he would cover the cost.
Ahem, why choose women's underwear?
Because the Soviet Union also implemented a rationing system, women's underwear was a type of commodity that was supplied with ration coupons.
This also explains why underwear is among the popular items that resellers trade.
After Ivanov made that announcement, seven or eight middlemen and dealers successively ordered clothing, shoes, rain gear, and other goods.
But Wang Xiao also knew that this was not a long-term solution and that the risks were too great.
In case these people suddenly turn on us, or deliberately collude to cause trouble, once the plane arrives in Moscow, they can make an excuse to say they don't want it anymore.
If Ivanov can't ship such a large quantity of goods in a short time, his cash flow will be completely cut off.
Wang Xiao was also unable to provide support, as all her money was invested in infrastructure projects, whether it was airport warehouses, international trade cities, or resorts. Before they generated profits, they were all money-devouring beasts.
Therefore, the company's top priority right now is to get the international trade city up and running.
Unfortunately, no matter how much Wang Xiao urged her, the construction company couldn't magically conjure up a skyscraper from scratch for her.
Their manager was driven to the brink of collapse by Wang Xiao's relentless pursuit.
In all honesty, while they may not be considered the speed of Pengcheng, they are definitely at the pinnacle of Jiangdong.
How long has it been? Less than a month from beginning to end.
Exploration, foundation laying, bricklaying—this massive undertaking is unfolding on three fronts. It's not just the families of the air force base workers; every able-bodied villager from the two nearby villages, except for the frail elderly and school children, has been recruited as construction laborers.
You tell me, how else can we speed things up?
Wang Xiao didn't care. As the client who was paying the bill, she would only widen her eyes and emphasize: 22 aircraft, with a daily shipment volume of more than 10 million US dollars.
The loss is so great if it's delayed by even one day; you can decide for yourself what to do.
So many factories across the province are desperately in need of workers, and every worker is struggling in the mire.
Every household is waiting for rice to be cooked.
Can you bear to watch this? Please, can you bear to watch this?
What happened to the close bond between the military and the people?
The construction company boss was about to slam his fist on the table, but what could he do?
They've done their best; they're not gods.
Where in the world is there such a thing as moral blackmail?
That's utterly immoral!
The Air Force office director quickly stepped in to smooth things over: "Hey, hey, hey, don't argue, everyone just wants to solve the problem. How about this, since the building can't be used for the time being, let's just set up a big bazaar instead."
The construction company boss looked completely bewildered. What is the Grand Bazaar?
“Bazaar is a Uyghur word that means market.” Wang Xiao frowned. “There are no large tents.”
Around the Chinese New Year, she originally planned to set up a large tent outside the People's Department Store to sell suits.
But after making a round of phone calls, she found that there were no manufacturers in Jiangdong that produced such large tents.
The office director clapped his hands and declared confidently, "We don't have them here, but we do in Xinjiang. They do business in big tents, and I think it's very promising."
When it comes to border trade, Xinjiang is quite bustling.
Wow, on Bazaar Day, the people playing the raft and singing are just like in "The Story of Afanti," it's really interesting.
Wang Xiao knew that the construction company wasn't deliberately slacking off. Since their leader had come out to help and offer suggestions, then let's set up a big tent and create a grand bazaar.
What else can we do? We can't just sit around waiting day after day.
Seeing that the construction company boss visibly relaxed, Wang Xiao quickly added pressure: "We can't be lax about the construction. They can build grand bazaars in Xinjiang and Central Asia because they have long hours of sunshine and little rain. Can we do that here? In the summer, it rains heavily, and the tents can be soaked in water."
"Okay, okay."
The construction company was also impressed by her and could only repeatedly assure her that there would be absolutely no slackening for even a minute.
Wang Xiao snorted. She was watching closely. No one could stop her from making money!
This time, Ivanov's earlier big move came in handy. Originally, Wang Xiao hadn't planned to wait for someone to bring tents from Xinjiang, but now she didn't even need to look for tents from Xinjiang anymore. She spread the word in her circle, and the middleman who had previously asked Wang Xiao for Soviet cameras and watches made the connection for her.
Why go to Xinjiang? It's just tents, big tents. One phone call and we can bring you a big tent today.
Speaking of this tent, the manufacturer has a lot of bitter experiences to share.
It was custom-made by an overseas Chinese man for the groundbreaking ceremony of his restaurant. He even personally instructed the man on how to make it.
As a result, a misunderstanding occurred during communication between the two parties. The manufacturer thought the overseas Chinese wanted to buy the tent, but they actually wanted to rent it. When the manufacturer finally finished making the huge inflatable tent and looked back at the contract, lo and behold, it really was a rental.
The rental fee wasn't cheap; the overseas Chinese paid 5,000 yuan for just one day. But compared to the tent's cost of 1 million yuan, that was only one two-hundredth.
The overseas Chinese also comforted the manufacturers, saying that if they rented it two hundred times, they would make a profit after that.
But the manufacturer is really angry. Who would they rent it to? Who would want to rent a big tent for no reason?
That's not how you play with a yurt!
Wang Xiao felt it was a pity. If she had known about the tent back then, she might have rented it when she was selling suits during the Chinese New Year.
But when she learned the size of the tent, she wisely kept quiet.
Honestly, she never expected the tent to be so big!
It is 350 meters long and 180 meters wide.
Hehe, Wang Xiao counted on his fingers, this is more than 60,000 square meters, almost 100 acres.
She's not worried about the tent not being big enough; she's just worried about not having enough space!
Thank goodness, the air force base has enough open space.
When the construction company saw that a lifeline had arrived, they immediately spoke up for her and managed to clear the site and set up camp within three days.
Looking at the huge tent, Wang Xiao finally felt a huge weight lifted from his heart.
Ah ha, nothing else, just this big tent is enough for her to dominate the world!
The middleman who helped connect the dots (that's what he called himself) chuckled and asked from the side, "So, Mr. Wang, I wasn't lying to you, was I?"
Wang Xiao nodded: "No, no, thank you, thank you. Um, how many cameras and watches do you want? Don't worry, whatever you need in the future, I'll give you priority consideration."
The middleman, known as Xiao Mao, was delighted: "Alright, from now on I'll follow Boss Wang and make my fortune."
Wang Xiao made no attempt to hide his excitement: "It should be me making money by following you guys."
Ha, her career is finally really taking off!
On June 1, 1991, International Children's Day, the first Jiangdong International Light Industry Products Fair was grandly opened.
On this day, the sky was azure, a gentle breeze caressed our faces, and wispy clouds drifted by. Most importantly, not a drop of rain fell; the weather forecast predicted a sunny day.
With the sky so kind, it's only right that my door is wide open, and wealth from all directions flows in.
Look, the Lesser Fullness of Grain has passed, the Grain in Ear has not yet arrived, and the Summer Solstice has not yet come. In this beautiful early summer season, under the gentle breeze and bright sunshine, the huge light blue tent looks like a giant ship sailing against the wind and waves, about to hoist its sails and cross the vast ocean.
Who dares say it's rudimentary? This is a huge tent worth a million!
Look at this huge market! It's divided into nine sections, including clothing, shoes, bedding, and more. Each section has long tables neatly arranged, with a dazzling array of goods displayed on the tables and hanging behind them.
Even those who weren't foreign businessmen, but were used to shopping in large department stores, were dazzled by the sight of this shopping mall, and some even wanted to buy.
Unfortunately, this is a wholesale market; the minimum order is 100 pieces. They don't do retail.
There is a stage inside the tent, where people can sing, dance, and perform artistic shows.
The performers are local elementary school students from the provincial capital and a local acrobatic troupe; they can breathe fire and change faces.
Don't ask Wang Xiao why she can do theatrical face-changing; even she doesn't know, but she just can, and it's kind of funny.
Previously, the province wanted to bring over the song and dance troupe to perform something like "Red Plum Blossoms," but Wang Xiao stopped it.
No, that's a big deal. Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union are currently experiencing intense political and ideological tensions. Just avoid inciting ethnic conflict and focus on presenting a positive image.
Besides, children are so cute! Human babies are adorable and easy to care for.
With Children's Day on June 1st added to the festive atmosphere, celebrating here and singing "Our Motherland is a Garden" is especially meaningful!
Every twenty or thirty meters inside the tent, there was a large water bucket filled with mung bean soup, plum juice, and sugar-salt water with ice cubes, so that people could replenish their water and salt in time.
These drinks are free, and disposable cups are provided for easy access.
Wow, that's incredibly extravagant!
Thank goodness they don't offer free food, otherwise everyone would have eaten them into bankruptcy!
Chen Jingjing followed behind her cousin, feeling like there wasn't enough of a view to be had.
Good heavens! There's such a place, it's amazing!
Compared to such a large and beautiful tent, nothing in People's Park is particularly special.
However, those sales managers from various factories standing behind the booths all seem so dull; they're not even as good as the vendors at the fair.
They neither shout nor attract customers, they just stand there like idiots, smiling foolishly. When they get tired of standing, they sit down. Don't they feel embarrassed?
Oh, you're asking why Chen Jingjing, a junior high school student, could come all the way to the provincial capital on Children's Day?
Because she participated in the Jiangdong Food Festival, her articles were published in the city newspaper, and she became a special student correspondent.
Wang Xiao didn't know what use this correspondent position was, but it's always good to have more titles. Maybe the student correspondent status would be helpful when Chen Jingjing takes the high school entrance exam next year.
She vaguely remembered that some schools recruited students with special talents, and writing was one of those talents.
However, she was too busy and didn't know anyone in the education sector, so she naturally couldn't help inquire.
All she, as the older cousin, can do now is take her younger cousin along and let her experience firsthand what it's like to run an international bazaar that's been created by a makeshift team.
The salespeople standing behind the stalls really don't need to shout to attract customers, because those international traders already have a map and brochure of the Grand Bazaar when they board the plane in Moscow.
The goods are divided into different areas, and each stall has a list of what goods are available and what their ingredients are, all clearly written in Chinese, English, and Russian, along with pictures.
When resellers spot a particular item, they simply mark it on the label, and then hand it to a sales assistant at the entrance of the Grand Bazaar after their flight.
Then the representatives of the Chinese children presented them with flowers, which were not bought from a florist but picked directly from the nearby fields.
Summer flowers are in full bloom. June is a time of abundant blossoms, beautiful enough to make a poster.
Originally, according to the leader's plan, there was also a segment where elementary school students presented red scarves to foreign guests, but Wang Xiao directly skipped it.
What a joke! His financial backers were mostly from the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
At present, the number of people in front of Lenin's Mausoleum is gradually decreasing, and the red flag has been lowered at the other site.
You're just asking for trouble by trying to tie red scarves for people right now.
Alright, alright. International traders and middlemen are all in the business of economics. If you can avoid getting involved in politics, then don't, or you'll miss out on making money.
The resellers, holding bouquets of flowers, seemed quite happy. They followed behind sales assistants who had undergone intensive training and could speak basic Russian or English, to the stage to participate in the opening ceremony.
Well, to be honest, Wang Xiao wasn't interested in this part of the process. Even though she was scheduled to speak before the provincial deputy secretary and vice governor who had come specifically to attend the event, she felt it was a waste of time.
It's obvious that her customers fly in to buy up all the goods so they can quickly go back and resell them for profit.
However, the necessary procedures must be followed, as this is crucial for the future development of the International Trade City and Wuzhou Air Freight Company.
It also conveys an important message: the Jiangdong government strongly supports this kind of activity.
Don't underestimate the second point. In 1991, when the international political atmosphere was tense, the official attitude and policies played a decisive role, directly affecting the direction of action of international speculators.
After all, these smugglers and dealers, in a sense, exploit policy loopholes and even break the law. Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union both cracked down hard on "tourist smuggling." Their biggest fear was being caught by the authorities and losing both their money and their lives.
Fortunately, the leaders were aware that businessmen value profit, so they spoke very restrainedly and did not elaborate much. The opening ceremony lasted only half an hour before the trade fair was officially declared open.
Wang Xiao hadn't even seen his boss off yet when the middlemen and women on the other side started running wild and rushed forward.
The female leader from the province shook hands with Wang Xiao and said earnestly, "The future depends on you young people; it's up to you to make great strides."
this--
Chen Jingjing excitedly wrote an 800-word essay in her mind.
Wang Xiao could only maintain a smile on her face, finding it difficult to enter that state of being anticipated.
What she was thinking was, "Thank you, boss, but now I want to go back and keep an eye on the trade fair."
She maintained a smile and repeatedly expressed her gratitude to the leaders for taking time out of their busy schedules to attend the trade fair and support the non-governmental trade between China and the Soviet Union and between China and Europe.
It was precisely because of the support, affirmation, and encouragement from their leaders that they dared to take this step and open up a new path.
She and her colleagues will certainly work hard in the future to bring together all the factors of social production to form new economic cells and create new productive forces. They will give full play to the advantages of all participants, leverage their strengths and avoid their weaknesses, and expand and strengthen private foreign trade.
Don't ask Wang Xiao what "economic cells" actually means. She copied several sentences from the newspaper, mainly because it sounded very reasonable. As for whether it actually made sense, she didn't have time to think about it carefully.
After the leader finished giving his speech, the car finally drove off. Wang Xiao waved and watched the car disappear from sight before quickly turning around and running back into the tent.
Foreign buyers have already gone directly to their preferred stalls to look at the products they had previously selected.
Of course, they can also choose other goods during this process. As long as they decide on the quantity, they can fill out the order form, pay at the cashier, and then hand the delivery slip to the warehouse for unified distribution. The goods can then be loaded onto a plane and flown directly back to Moscow on the same day.
etc.
Chen Jingjing asked with a puzzled look, "Cousin, aren't cargo planes for transporting goods? Can people sit on them too? Where do they sit? On the ground?"
Qian Xuemei felt her daughter was a bit embarrassed, and seriously lectured the child: "What do you know? What's wrong with sitting on the ground? It's perfectly normal."
Back when the Great Journey Through the Countryside took place, she was still young and happened to be playing at her aunt's house in the county town. As a result, she went to the Great Journey Through the Countryside with her older cousins.
They've ridden quite a few boxcar trains, and even shared a carriage with a flock of sheep once.
That taste, I'll never forget it in my life.
Qian Xuemei came to the provincial capital today because she benefited from her niece's connections and became a sales representative for the clothing factory in their town.
Hey! She'll get a commission on the goods sold to the Russians this time.
Anyway, the braised food business is now on track. Their town is so small, it's not easy to expand the business.
She handed over the task of making braised dishes to her parents, and then she ran her clothing export business.
Wang Xiao had no choice but to clear his throat: "There are passenger planes; they came by passenger plane."
That was close; those two passenger planes were indeed newly leased.
Human nature is truly cruel.
Previously, when she and Ivanov discussed chartering cargo planes, they had completely abandoned the idea of using manpower to carry goods and were only thinking about chartering planes. As a result, neither of them had considered where the middlemen would sit.
Capitalists really only care about money and don't treat people like human beings.
It wasn't until Ivanov chartered twenty-two planes of cargo for the second time that some middlemen came to him, asking if their planes also allowed each person to carry five thousand US dollars worth of goods for free, that he suddenly realized what was going on.
Yes, we need airplanes to transport people.
If a reseller or broker charters an entire plane, he or she can simply follow the cargo plane without much trouble.
However, if anyone wants to use human-powered cargo transportation, they must arrange dedicated passenger planes.
Then why are there so many cargo planes? Are the majority of people willing to pay taxes and not want to rely on manual labor to transport goods?
Well, let's say it's about half and half.
Some people aim for high shipment volumes and total profits, so they charter planes, bringing in $500,000 and shipping out $1 million, even if it means paying taxes. Chartering planes is simple, convenient, involves few people, and allows for rapid action.
Some people want to save money wherever possible, without that much capital or for the sake of stability, so they continue with manual labor to transport goods, with the goods following the people. However, this method of organizing manpower is slow, and since cargo follows the people, one passenger plane corresponds to one cargo plane. Two passenger planes certainly cannot meet the demand of 22 cargo planes, and if chartering planes is required, one would have to wait.
Most importantly, even if everyone takes the route of human-powered sales, a large number of cargo planes still need to be arranged.
Why?
Because airplanes have limited carrying capacity.
Let me give you an example.
Before Wang Xiao transmigrated into the book, China had a domestically developed large passenger aircraft called the C919, which was quite popular. It could transport up to 174 passengers and carry up to 21 tons of cargo, making it a rather impressive aircraft and favored by many express delivery companies.
But if it's that kind of thing, it simply can't meet the needs of international traders.
Take jeans as an example. If resellers buy jeans in China for $5 a pair, then the $5,000 tax-free allowance is equivalent to buying 1,000 pairs of jeans.
How much does a pair of jeans weigh? Depending on the fabric used, it's about one to two pounds. A thousand pairs would weigh between one thousand and two thousand pounds.
If the passengers on the C919 are all traders, totaling 174 people, then it would need to carry 87 to 174 tons of cargo. Obviously, the aircraft cannot meet such a large cargo demand.
Given this situation, Wang Xiao and Ivanov fully demonstrated the shamelessness of capitalists and actually came up with a clever trick to exploit a loophole.
They used passenger planes to transport passengers, and loaded the excess goods within the duty-free allowance onto cargo planes, reporting it to the Soviet side as baggage planes.
The reason given was that, according to official regulations, passengers can indeed bring $5,000 worth of duty-free goods into the country, but due to capacity limitations of their aircraft, they were unable to accommodate the passengers' needs. To avoid infringing on passengers' rights, they arranged for a separate plane to carry the baggage.
They are wholeheartedly serving the passengers with a heart dedicated to serving the people.
When they came up with this idea, Wang Xiao and Ivanov fell silent, as if by unspoken agreement, they were certain that with their shamelessness, they would make a fortune in the future.
After all, being despicable is the passport of the despicable; those with high moral standards can never become big shots.
They were lucky; their blatant attempt to exploit loopholes was actually approved by the Soviet authorities.
Because they reviewed the relevant regulations and found that none of them stated that this was not allowed.
Anything not expressly permitted by law may be done.
Let's make it a baggage carousel.
Of course, even Ivanov himself believed that this was because his homeland had fallen into economic collapse.
The government is simply unable to provide enough daily necessities for the people and has to turn a blind eye to the activities of speculators.
Otherwise, if ordinary people have no way to obtain necessities and are driven to desperation, a violent revolution will inevitably break out.
Don't forget that the Soviet Union was born from a violent revolution.
Any state power where the people are the masters is the result of violent revolution.
Those who have vested interests will never voluntarily relinquish them.
Ahem, I digress. The key point is that even if the Soviet government collected taxes from these speculators, they wouldn't suffer any economic loss.
Ultimately, the cost of taxes is passed on to ordinary people who are forced to buy foreign goods at high prices. And the people have no choice but to accept it.
It's because they can't supply it domestically.
Wang Xiao suspected that the Soviet government was also using this method to allow more foreign light industrial products to enter the Soviet Union.
The saying goes that scarcity drives up prices. If enough imported goods are brought in, they will naturally compete with each other, which will actually drive down prices.
This way, the daily needs of ordinary people can be met.
However, doing so would mean that the Soviet Union had completely abandoned the development of light industry.
Given the current state of the Soviet Union's light industry, without the protection of state policies, it absolutely could not compete with foreign goods, especially Chinese goods.
Actually, there's nothing wrong with this "lying down" mentality.
After all, until Wang Xiao transmigrated into the book, she didn't realize how far Russia, which had inherited most of the Soviet Union's legacy, had developed its light industry.
With her narrow-minded business mindset, rather than spending half her life in the business only to return as an ordinary person, she would rather directly export oil and natural gas to exchange for light industrial products.
After all, it's the norm to live off the land and water.
Everyone has their own strengths.
Only by using one's strengths to attack another's weaknesses can one achieve twice the result with half the effort.
For example, Wang Xiao is now making full use of the language advantage of the rudimentary International Grand Bazaar.
Each stall had a large display board in front of it, which provided detailed information about the products and their prices in Chinese, English, and Russian.
Sorry, this isn't a free market; bargaining isn't allowed here.
So you don't need to worry about overpaying, because everyone pays at the cashier before they can take their goods, so there's no situation where you pay more than others.
If you really did pay more than others, it's definitely because you bought less. According to regulations, discounts are available for purchases exceeding a certain amount.
For example, if you buy 10,000 pairs of slippers, you can get a 5% discount; if you buy 20,000 pairs, you get a 10% discount.
All of this is clearly written on the display board, so you don't need to worry about not understanding.
Don't worry, we use electronic cashier and computer-based accounting, so we won't make any mistakes.
How are the fees calculated?
US dollars and RMB are both acceptable, but I'm sorry, we really can't accept other currencies here.
We will try to get the German mark, and we will notify you as soon as we have any news.
You want to sell your goods here, sell your binoculars and compasses, and then use the money to buy other things? Sure, come with me, we have people here who specialize in buying and selling goods.
As for the price, to be honest, it's probably not as high as the price you'd get if you sold it at your own stall.
But it will definitely be more expensive than what you bring from Moscow, almost doubling your profit.
Our biggest advantage is our large volume of shipments. We can accept a whole suitcase full of your goods, saving you a lot of time.
Of course, this kind of thing is based on mutual consent. If you want to set up a stall, that's fine too. Go over there; you can set up a stall there and just pay a $20 stall fee.
By the way, if you don't have time to leave today, it's fine to stay overnight in Jiangdong.
We have a high-end hotel catering to foreign guests; you can take a car directly there.
We also have relatively inexpensive guesthouses, which have limited facilities but offer hot water.
Don't worry about meals; the hotel has a dining hall, and the guesthouse has a canteen. Rice and steamed buns are fine, and we also have bread and milk.
Want some roasted potatoes? No problem. I'll dig some up from the field right away and roast them right in the stove for you, emphasizing that they're all-natural and pollution-free.
Come on, come on, pay here after you've bought your things.
Chen Jingjing followed the two light-haired aunties with great interest and curiosity to the cashier.
Hmm, who's sitting next to me?
“It’s from the post office,” Wang Xiao explained to her younger cousin. “The bank has set up a branch here, so you can deposit cash directly into the bank.”
Chen Jingjing was stunned. "Cousin, you're amazing! You can even get the bank to work for you!"
This flattery really backfired, leaving Wang Xiao feeling both amused and exasperated.
The banks were naturally eager to participate.
Currently, the annual interest rate for bank demand deposits is 1.8%. For fixed-term deposits, the annual interest rate is 3.24% for three months, 5.40% for six months, 7.56% for one year, 7.92% for two years, 8.28% for three years, and 9.0% for five years.
Surprised? Unexpected? Exciting?
Special forces soldiers' savings are completely useless here.
Wang Xiao, who had transmigrated into the book, was practically drooling when he read it.
What does such a high interest rate mean? It means that banks want to attract deposits.
The International Grand Bazaar has over twenty planes and hundreds of foreign businessmen. What does that mean? It means a huge influx of cash flow.
Why would a bank refuse such a large amount of business?
As long as this grand bazaar continues, their annual deposit-taking target will not be a problem at all.
So when Wang Xiao approached them, the post office immediately agreed and promptly dispatched a dedicated working group.
Of course, Wang Xiao did this for the sake of the safety of the money.
After all, the area around Zhimen was quite desolate, and there wasn't a single bank branch there originally.
If someone steals the safe and leaves the cash inside at night, that would be disastrous.
Therefore, she specially invited Postal Savings Bank staff to oversee the cash registers, believing that if the situation lasted a little longer, Postal Savings Bank would take the initiative to set up a branch here.
This is practically her giving out benefits to the Postal Savings Bank.
When the International Trade City opens, the number of visitors here will definitely explode. Bringing your bankbook will be much safer than cash.
Chen Jingjing stood on tiptoe to look at the US dollar bills curiously. Sure enough, they were green, just like the ones shown on TV.
After receiving the shipping receipt, the customer followed the sales assistant to the warehouse to check the goods.
Someone had already ordered the goods and watched as they were packed and loaded onto the "Mazda"-style mobility scooter, which is known as a "Mazda" in Jiangdong. Then, the person got on the scooter and headed to the airport.
If you have less cargo and don't need a wheelchair, you can take a tricycle and ride it directly to the airport. It's not far, less than two kilometers.
If there were more goods, well, Chen Jingjing's eyes widened.
Look, what did she see?
Aren't tractors something only found in their rural areas?
Tractors can transport goods?!
No, no, no. As a child from the countryside, she certainly knew that tractors could transport both people and goods.
But these are all foreign businessmen, foreign businessmen with high noses.
They were even sitting on the tractor, supporting their cargo.
Wang Xiao watched helplessly as a reporter from the provincial television station recorded the scene with a video camera, and could only wail inwardly.
She was such a trendsetter, even choosing a million-dollar luxury tent, yet she was trapped by reality and forced to choose a tractor as her means of transportation.
There's really no other way. Zhimen is a typical rural area, and the most common means of transportation right now are bicycles and tractors.
Tractors may seem like low-class vehicles, but they are excellent for transporting goods on country roads, and there are many people who know how to drive them.
In addition, the International Trade City was forced to open in the form of an international grand bazaar, leaving a multitude of issues to be resolved.
Wang Xiao couldn't find a more suitable means of transportation in a short time, so he simply used the tractor.
Haha, let's just say it's down-to-earth.
As long as I can make money, that's fine.
Please ignore my expressionless face; I'm just unfazed by praise or criticism.
My sister is doing this purely for the sake of harmonious relations with the local community. The people transporting the goods are mostly farmers from the surrounding area. If we don't let them make money on their turf, something bad will happen.
Common prosperity is still the safest option.
Anyway, this road is busy with people coming and going, and there are air force personnel patrolling it, so it's unlikely that murder or robbery will happen.
The price for shipping is clearly marked, and price gouging is not allowed.
It doesn't matter who does the work, it's just troublesome to bring in people from outside.
Chen Jingjing wanted to go to the airport again, because she heard that there were stalls outside that sold fruits and snacks, which were convenient for foreign businessmen to take with them on the road.
She also wanted to check on how the business was doing.
Unfortunately, Tang Yicheng came looking for someone: "Quick, quick, come over and help translate."
It turns out that the Romanian woman had heard that the patterns on bed sheets and duvet covers could be customized and wanted to make a request.
The problem is that she refuses to speak Russian and her English is also quite poor, so even with two professional foreign language teachers, they can't communicate with her effectively.
When Wang Xiao arrived, the Romanian woman, who had initially seemed particularly taciturn, turned red with anxiety. However, she refused to speak Russian and insisted on using broken English words along with gestures.
If the Russian language teacher weren't a role model for students and also quite old, she would definitely roll her eyes.
Can't you just speak normally? Why do you have to torture yourself like this?
Wang Xiao has always respected her clients' preferences. Even if someone adds salt to Sprite, as long as it helps her make money, she will applaud and praise their creativity.
These are all her big spenders; 20% to 30% of what they pay is commission taken by the International Trade City.
It's not that she's heartless; the price of light industrial products, from the factory price to the market wholesale price, is roughly that figure, and the profit can even be higher.
Some popular clothing items have already doubled in price when they reach the wholesale market.
Therefore, as a former live-streaming e-commerce influencer with a conscience, she felt that she had earned her money very cleanly.
If they're making so much money, isn't it reasonable for the investors to have some demands?
Wang Xiao gestured for the after-sales service staff sitting in front of the computer to make room for him. He then opened the computer's image library, selected the Romania folder, opened the images inside, and showed them to his mother: "This one, or this one?"
The woman, who was in her thirties or forties, looked at several pictures in a row and finally got excited. She started ordering, picking out three pictures in a row, and then asked them to darken the background color.
Wang Xiao readily agreed: "Sure, minimum order is 10,000 pieces. If you don't need that many, you can ask your friends to place an order together."
The woman nodded excitedly in agreement and prepared to go find her friend.
Just as she was about to leave, someone from the after-sales service department reminded her, "You didn't take your change."
She blurted out, "Thank you, you are such kind people."
Those present were stunned.
Tang Yicheng blurted out instinctively, "She was speaking Russian just now, wasn't she? Don't they not speak Russian?"
Well, how do I put it?
Well, there's not much to say.
The after-sales service staff looked at the computer in surprise: "Mr. Wang, there are so many pictures!"
Wang Xiao quickly apologized: "I forgot to tell you before, there are image libraries on several computers. The folders with different country names contain their classic pattern preferences and colors."
The middlemen who can travel to China to source goods are all engaged in large-scale wholesale business, and the goods they want must conform to the mainstream aesthetic preferences of their local area.
When Wang Xiao was in Moscow, he tried to collect these example images to make it easier to choose for customization.
After all, when there is a language barrier, pictures are more direct.
She didn't print it out because she wanted the market to appear more upscale, and also because she was afraid someone would steal the image.
Chen Jingjing followed and watched the whole scene, her eyes sparkling as she looked at her sister.
Not daring to bother her sister, she could only grab the only person she knew for validation: "Isn't my sister amazing?"
Tang Yicheng was baffled. Why did an affirmative sentence have to be turned into a question?
Of course she's amazing! Anyone with eyes can see that.
This conclusion was accepted by everyone present when the Grand Bazaar closed in the evening and the day's sales figures were released.
$7.3 million—that's just the daily cargo volume of one airplane's passengers.
More guests will be coming tomorrow.
At first, everyone was stunned, and then a huge wave of exclamations erupted from the scene.
7.3 million US dollars, all of which is valuable foreign exchange.
Xiang Dong couldn't help but curse, "Holy shit!"
$7.3 million! He'd never seen so much money in his life!
Look, even Wang Xiao isn't saying anything. She must be dumbfounded and doesn't know how to react!
Her cousin was jumping and hopping around on her arm, but she remained expressionless.
There is absolutely no other explanation than being so excited that you can't even find your tongue.
Yeah?
Was Wang Xiao excited?
Well... actually, she had seen the $7.3 million before.
Don't forget, before the International Grand Bazaar started, the planes had already made three flights, each time with all 22 cargo planes fully loaded.
But did she really not react?
How could that be!
Previously, it was just her and Ivanov trading among themselves, but now real international trade has begun.
$7.3 million is just the beginning!
That's $219 million a month!
That's $26,218 million a year!
What are a few Shuang and Wei? With a little more effort, even a single seal is not a problem!
My God! Fireworks were exploding in her heart. The 63,000-square-meter tent was too small, and the people around her were too noisy. It was completely unable to contain her immense joy.
She wants to build her own commercial city, a real commercial city, a commercial city with convenient access in all directions.
She wants to sell her products to every corner of the world, just like she did before she transmigrated into the book.
Hehehehe, thanks to the great 1990s, in less than a year after she transmigrated into the book, her net worth has already surpassed what it was before she transmigrated.
Calm down, calm down, don't put your hands on your hips and laugh wildly: I'm just that awesome!
I'm a worldly woman.
I'm a calm and collected woman!
The provincial television reporter kept the video camera on, recording this exciting moment.
On June 1, 1991, International Children's Day, Jiangdong's private foreign trade began to take off with the development of Jiangzhimen Airport and Wuzhou Air Cargo Company.
————————
I want to say something but don't know how, so I'll just wish everyone could get rich like Wang Xiao.
Haha, she's the most money-making female protagonist Ah Jin has ever written. She's the kind of person who, even if you put her in a different era, would still find opportunities to get rich.
Charter flight trade was booming in the 1990s, and many people made a fortune in this industry, but many were also arrested for bribery. At that time, the rights to operate flight routes were virtually impossible to obtain without connections.
At that time, the China-Russia air routes primarily used Russian aircraft because they were cheaper. Before 1994, charter fees were generally around US$100,000. The US$150,000 mentioned in the text is clearly high, but it was quite normal in the early stages. The market was just starting out, and supply and demand were unbalanced; everyone was figuring out how to price their flights. Once the market stabilized, prices would naturally stabilize gradually.
I suspect this is one of the reasons why historical fiction often gives female protagonists male protagonists with powerful backgrounds; otherwise, ordinary people who rise to wealth are basically all burdened with original sin.
For example, when Feng Lun was working for the Hainan Provincial Party Committee in 1988, he began to establish the Hainan Provincial Institute for Economic System Reform. This institution received no government funding or start-up capital; it only obtained a batch of approvals for color televisions.
Reselling permits is a classic example of official profiteering. Try doing that to an ordinary person.
There were far too many irregular and illegal practices in that era.
However, this story doesn't have a powerful male lead, but you can pretend there isn't one. Wang Xiao is very independent.
Furthermore, the tent mentioned in the article is a reference to the giant inflatable tent custom-made in 1993 for the groundbreaking ceremony of Guangzhou's tallest building—Zhongtian Plaza (now renamed CITIC Plaza). Underneath the tent were three extended VIP tables, a stage for an orchestra, a place to store hotel items, a space large enough for many guests to bury the foundation stone together, 300 chairs and a wide walkway, two large tables for drinks, beverages and food, and an open space for free walking—this was a giant tent measuring 338 meters long and 180 meters wide!
Therefore, there were tent-making technologies and manufacturers at that time.
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 10:42:36 and 23:25:36 on November 12, 2023!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: October 10 bottles; Little Dough Prince 5 bottles; Nie Ningning and Fangyi Annoying 1 bottle each;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
