Chapter 136 Chapter 136 Bandit Logic
Jiang Xi and Qian Lili asked along the way and finally found out where the Propaganda Department was.
Li Fengxia's treatment is much worse than Lin Cuiping's, and the difference is huge just in the office.
Lin Cuiping's office is very large, with only two or three people in it, and each person has a desk to themselves.
But Li Fengxia's office was very small. Although she was a minister, she could only share an office desk with others. The room was very dark, with only one dim light and poor lighting. Li Fengxia was lying on the table, looking at something with great difficulty.
Just as Jiang Xi was about to knock on the door, he was bumped by an angry man and almost fell down.
Jiang Xi tried hard to keep steady. The man had already walked into the office and slammed a stack of papers onto Li Fengxia's desk.
"Minister Li, you're a minister, but what kind of manuscript is this? If you send this out, won't people laugh at you?"
The man was the workshop director of the textile factory, named Xie Zhenxing. Originally, he had no control over the Propaganda Department's affairs, but because he was in charge of production and had great power, and the Propaganda Department was not taken seriously by the factory, Xie Zhenxing could directly hold Li Fenglan accountable.
Li Fenglan seemed accustomed to Xie Zhenxing's anger. She picked up the brochure on the table and asked calmly, "Director Xie, what's wrong with this brochure?"
Xie Zhenxing: "Can't you check it yourself? I told you a long time ago not to make such a low-level mistake again. Why don't you listen? With your limited writing skills, you've become the Minister of Propaganda!"
This was a direct questioning of Li Fenglan's ability. Even Li Fenglan, with her good temper, couldn't stand it. She stood up and asked, "This manuscript has been revised three or four times. Our comrades in the Propaganda Department have been busy for several days, interviewing the production department, and revising it over and over again. All of the changes were based on your ideas. What exactly is the problem?"
Xie Zhenxing pointed at Li Fenglan and said, "What do you mean? You mean I told you to revise it! Your original manuscript was rubbish. If I hadn't told you to revise it, would it be worth reading now? You didn't do your job well, and I kindly pointed it out, and you got mad at me. Minister Li, you really have a lot of airs."
Li Fenglan suppressed her anger. It was obvious that Xie Zhenxing was deliberately looking for trouble.
At that time, Li Fenglan and Xie Zhenxing's wife competed for the position of Director of the Propaganda Department. In the end, because Li Fenglan had a higher academic qualification than Xie Zhenxing's wife, she became the Director of the Propaganda Department. Also because of this, Xie Zhenxing always looked for opportunities to make trouble for Li Fenglan. Li Fenglan endured it again and again, but it became more and more serious.
These people treated her as a soft persimmon. Just as Li Fengxia was about to get angry, she heard a voice.
Jiang Xi said exaggeratedly: "Director Li, I finally found you."
Li Fenglan then remembered that she had told Jiang Xi yesterday that she wanted her to come to the factory to discuss cooperation. Li Fenglan was a little embarrassed for a moment, not knowing how much Jiang Xi had heard just now.
Jiang Xi acted as if he hadn't seen Xie Zhenxing and said directly, "Director Li, I've read all the factory newspapers you've published before. They're so well written. Even the professors in the Chinese department praised your writing skills. It's a waste of your talent to be in charge of the factory newspaper."
Qian Lili also quickly said, "Yes, Director Li, my classmate really likes your article. He even cut it out and pasted it in a notebook so that he can read it over and over again."
Li Fenglan did not expect Jiang Xi and Qian Lili to do this, but she immediately understood that these two people were supporting her and their words were meant to refute Xie Zhenxing's words.
Of course Xie Zhenxing also understood what he said, and his face turned pale and blue. What the other person meant was that Chinese professors and college students all thought this article was good. The implication was that you, a person in production, knew nothing.
They are mocking his low education, right? They must be mocking his low education! Where did these two girls come from?
Xie Zhenxing was full of thoughts and was so angry that he almost died, but he couldn't get angry with Jiang Xi and Qian Lili directly, because after all, they didn't point their fingers at him and scold him.
Xie Zhenxing was furious at being accused of something he did not understand. Li Fenglan smiled and said, "Director Xie, we will revise this manuscript according to your requirements and will send it directly to the factory newspaper later. After all, the publication date of the factory newspaper is approaching. Thank you for your support of our work."
It is definitely not possible to change it. If Xie Zhenxing complains again in the future, Li Fenglan decided to report it directly to the leader, otherwise this unlucky guy will think that she is afraid of him. However, she still has to say nice things.
Xie Zhenxing... What else could Xie Zhenxing do? He could only suffer in silence. He snorted, turned around and left angrily.
Li Fenglan held Jiang Xi's hand and said, "Thank you for what you did just now. I know you are standing up for me."
Jiang Xi didn't understand the twists and turns of the textile factory, but he just couldn't stand those who took advantage of their power to bully others. This Xie Zhenxing and the security guard just now were simply cut from the same cloth.
Could it be that Li Fenglan is an isolated case in the textile factory?
Jiang Xi once again had a premonition that this time the business negotiations with the textile factory might not be so smooth, but since he was already there, he had to give it a try.
Li Fenglan did not waste any time and took Jiang Xi directly to the purchasing department.
"Hello, Minister Zou, this is Jiang Xi, the one I mentioned to you before."
Jiang Xi opened the braised pork stew he had brought and said with a smile, "Hello, Minister Zou. I opened a braised pork stew shop in Shanghai and would like to discuss cooperation with you. You can try some of my braised pork stew first."
Zou Cheng was a short man with a rectangular face and eyes as small as a slit. He squinted his eyes and stared at Jiang Xi and Qian Lili with a hint of disdain in his nose: "You are self-employed people who run a bad stew shop."
With just one sentence, Jiang Xi displayed his arrogance to the extreme. He had a premonition and did not get angry. Instead, he directly stated his purpose: "I heard that the textile factory will be purchasing a batch of holiday supplies later. I came here today to ask if you would consider our braised pork."
Zou Cheng didn't answer, but instead asked, "I heard you sponsored over a hundred servings of glutinous rice to the glass factory, and also some Arctic Ocean soda?"
Jiang Xi nodded: "We have cooperated with the glass factory before, and it just so happened that the two places were holding a blind date conference, so we sponsored these things."
Zou Cheng crossed his legs, picked up a piece of braised chicken, took two bites, and smacked his lips as he said, "You all sponsored things for the glass factory, so you can't be partial to our textile factory."
The cooperation hadn't even started yet, and they were already about to start. Jiang Xi asked calmly, "Excuse me, Minister Zou, what do you mean? I don't quite understand."
Zou Cheng said as a matter of course: "If you want us to buy your products, you have to show sincerity. We haven't even tried them, so how can we know if they are good?"
Qian Lili couldn't help but ask: "We brought a few samples today. Didn't you try them all just now?"
Zou Cheng had already finished a piece of braised chicken and put his finger in his mouth to suck on it. "This is just a little bit, not even enough to fill my teeth. Besides, I've tried it, but the factory leaders haven't. We're not like those small factories where everything has to go through the leaders and there are so many procedures. You self-employed people don't even understand this."
Zou Cheng glanced at the glutinous rice on the table and said, "I won't waste my time talking to you. Our textile factory is one of the largest in the country. It's not comparable to those small factories. It's not easy to cooperate with us. After all, there are many people who want to cooperate with us, whether they are small factories or self-employed individuals. Bring a few hundred portions of glutinous rice over first, let us try them, and we'll buy more if you think they're good."
Jiang Xi was so angry that he almost laughed. He could have just snatched it away, but he still found a high-sounding excuse.
The bureaucracy in the textile factories is too serious. If this continues, they will definitely not be able to keep up with the development of the times and will be eliminated. They now feel that no matter what kind of products they make, the supply will not meet the demand. However, when other private factories emerge and the competition becomes fierce, the textile factories will soon be abandoned by the times.
Jiang Xi had already given up the idea of ​​cooperating with the textile factory and directly closed the fermented braised pork on the table. She would rather feed her fermented braised pork to a dog than to such a person.
"I'm sorry, I can't accept your terms. Let's stop here for today."
Zou Cheng didn't expect Jiang Xi to pack up and leave without even talking. He said, "What are you doing? This is a gift for us. How can you take it away? How can you, a self-employed person, be so stingy? Do you still want to cooperate with us?"
Out of consideration for Li Fenglan's reputation, Jiang Xi didn't get angry right away. After packing up his things, he said, "Because I'm a self-employed person, I'm a small business. I can't compare to the big textile factories that charge hundreds of servings of rotten meat right away. I'm not worthy of your kind of business."
Li Fenglan was also a little angry. Zou Cheng said that others were petty and his behavior was shameful. How could he just ask for so many things?
For the first time, Li Fenglan felt that the textile factory was really in trouble. Although the Shanghai textile factory was a large factory in the eyes of outsiders and its profits continued to rise every year, Li Fenglan, as an employee inside the textile factory, could see clearly that according to the current momentum of the textile factory, it was destined to decline in the future.
There are many factions in the factory. Everyone is busy currying favor with the bosses, fighting for power and profit, and not innovating. They just use the previous foundation and live off the resources. There are many people like Zou Cheng in the factory. They rely on the support of others to show off their power and drive away those who work hard. How can we develop production with peace of mind under such circumstances?
After sending Jiang Xi to the door, Li Fenglan felt a little embarrassed. Jiang Xi had just vented her anger, but she had acted as a matchmaker but ended up making Jiang Xi go out in vain: "I'm sorry, Comrade Jiang, I didn't expect it to be like this. They really are, alas." Li Fenglan was helpless.
Jiang Xi said: "It's okay, this is not your problem. I am very grateful to Minister Li for giving me this opportunity."
Li Fenglan lowered her eyes. Jiang Xi was a good comrade, but the cooperation with the textile factory was doomed to fail. Suddenly, she thought of something and said to Jiang Xi, "My sister-in-law works at a pastry factory. I heard that they are also going to purchase some holiday supplies, but their factory is relatively small. Do you mind? If not, I will take you to their factory to ask?"
Of course Jiang Xi didn't mind. After all, they were here to discuss business. Going to one factory was fine, going to three factories was fine. The opportunity was right in front of him, so there was no reason to let it slip away. Failure once was nothing, and success would come with a few more attempts.
"Thank you, Minister Li, but it's still working hours, can you take us there?"
Li Fenglan said, "It's okay. I'll take you there. It's okay if I leave early."
Li Fenglan thought to herself that the Propaganda Department was just a marginal department anyway. If anyone asked her where she was going, she could just say that she went to another factory to study. No one would pay attention. Besides, there were many people like her who had left the factory early. If they really investigated, no one would be able to escape.
There are many factories in Shanghai, large and small, distributed in different areas. Li Fenglan took Jiang Xi and Qian Lili on the bus to the pastry factory.
The pastry factory is much smaller than the glass factory and the textile factory. Li Fenglan must have been here before. She greeted the guard and took Jiang Xi and Qian Lili into the pastry factory.
Li Fenglan arrived at the production workshop and saw a female worker standing at the door. She said to her, "Hello, comrade. I'm here to see Zhou Xia."
The female worker turned around and said to the back, "Zhou Xia! Someone's looking for you at home."
A tall, short-haired woman came over. She was wearing a white factory uniform, a hat, and a mask. When she saw Li Fenglan, she said in surprise, "Sister-in-law, why are you here?"
Li Fenglan and Zhou Xia have a good relationship. She often comes to the factory to find Zhou Xia, and they go shopping together.
Lin Fenglan said: "Do you have time now? Let's talk for a moment."
There are too many people at the entrance of the production room, so it is not a good place to discuss cooperation.
Zhou Xia nodded and said, "I'll take off my factory uniform and we'll talk outside."
Zhou Xia quickly took off her outer coat and hat, said goodbye to others, and went out.
They walked to the back of the factory building, and Zhou Xia said, "Sister-in-law, what's going on? Who are these two beautiful girls?"
Zhou Xia had already spotted Qian Lili and Jiang Xi. Li Fenglan briefly introduced them to each other and said, "I heard earlier that your factory needs to buy some holiday supplies. My friend sells pickled vegetables, and I was wondering if you guys need any?"
Zhou Xia tilted her head and said, "I'm not sure about that, but our factory has always been very stingy. Even when we give out gifts during the holidays, it's because other factories are giving them out, so we give them out. If it's something rotten, they might not want to buy it."
Although he was poured cold water, Jiang Xi was not discouraged and said, "Comrade Zhou, please ask for me. It doesn't matter even if we can't reach a cooperation."
Li Fenglan also said: "I brought them here to try it out. Why don't you take us to ask them? These two comrades are very good."
Zhou Xia said, "Okay, I'll take you to the purchasing department. The person in charge should be there now."
Jiang Xi, Qian Lili and others followed Zhou Xia to the purchasing department of the pastry factory. The pastry factory was very small. In addition to the factory building, there were offices of various departments next to it.
The purchasing department and the logistics department share an office, next to which is the factory director's office.
The head of the purchasing department was frowning and writing and drawing on the table.
A young man nearby was also frowning: "Minister, with this limited budget, what can we buy to distribute the goods to all employees without being laughed at?"
The head of the purchasing department, whose surname was Ma, said angrily, "What are we buying? We might as well sell blood. This little money is enough to buy anything. You're not ashamed of it. It's always like this. Every time there's an event, they allocate such a small amount of money. Look at the factory. Every time there's an event, they still use the same red silk from more than ten years ago. The red silk has faded, but they're reluctant to replace it. I've never seen anyone so stingy."
The young man next to him wanted to cover Minister Ma's mouth, and said anxiously: "Minister Ma, please don't talk nonsense. There are too many people watching. If the factory director hears about this, you will be in trouble again."
Minister Ma glared at him, "If he wants to eat the leftovers, then eat the leftovers. He gave us this little money, isn't it obvious that he wants us to be scolded? Those who know him will say he is stingy, while those who don't will think we are deliberately withholding the money and not buying things properly."
Several people heard this conversation before they even entered the door.
Zhou Xia showed an expression of astonishment and said to Jiang Xi, "Comrade Jiang, look, I was right, wasn't I? I don't think the budget the factory director gave us can even buy a piece of candy. I don't think our factory can afford your braised pork either."
Jiang Xi had a different idea at this moment, so he asked, "Will the pastry factory launch some different pastries during holidays?"
Zhou Xia shook her head. "No, our pastry factory only produces five or six kinds of pastries all year round, and we don't launch anything special for holidays."
Jiang Xi lowered his eyes in thought, then asked after a while, "Comrade Zhou, can I go directly to the factory director?"
Zhou Xia was surprised: "What do you want to do? Our factory director is notorious for being stingy. Even if you go to him, he won't buy your braised pork."
Jiang Xi smiled: "I didn't ask him to buy anything, I gave him some advice."
Advice? Zhou Xia and Li Fenglan looked at each other, neither of them understanding what Jiang Xi was talking about.
Jiang Xi took Qian Lili and knocked on the factory director's door. The director of the pastry factory was a short middle-aged man with sparse hair, which he stubbornly combed into a 2:8 part. He wore a pair of glasses and looked very amiable.
Jiang Xi said, "Hello, Director Zheng."
Zheng Guangrong was confused: "Who are you? What do you want from me?"
Jiang Xi said, "Hello, Director Zheng, my name is Jiang Xi. I run a braised pork stew shop in Shanghai called Wu's Braised Pork Stew. I wonder if you've heard of it. Our braised pork stew shop was even featured in the Shanghai Daily."
Zheng Guangrong, whose Zaolu shop was featured in the Shanghai Daily, sounds quite impressive, but why would the Zaolu seller come to him? Zheng Guangrong's first reaction was that he was there to sell something. Zaolu sounds expensive, so he didn't consider it a hobby.
Jiang Xi: "We would like to discuss cooperation with you."
As expected, they were here to sell him something. Zheng Guangrong was about to refuse when he heard Jiang Xi say, "This cooperation is not about letting you spend money, but about helping you make money."
Making money without spending money? This immediately piqued Zheng Guangrong's interest. The only question was how to cooperate and make money without spending money.
Zheng Guangrong was even more confused: "How can a braised braised food vendor like you discuss cooperation with our bakery?"
Jiang Xi said: "Although we have only been in Shanghai for a short time, we have already reached a cooperation with the Shiquan Hotel. In the future, we will launch a three-piece set of appetizers and a reunion platters of braised pork and pork in the hotel."
Zheng Guangrong had of course heard of the Shiquan Hotel. It was one of the largest hotels in Shanghai. This girl looked young, but she was able to cooperate with the Shiquan Hotel. From this point of view, what she said just now was not bragging.
Zheng Guangrong put away some of his nonchalance and asked, "What do you mean by this?"
Jiang Xi said, "We've actually been selling braised pork gift boxes and platters for a long time. We've also added different platters based on consumer demand. The market feedback has been very good, especially during the Chinese New Year and other holidays. People are more willing to buy several gift boxes. Whether they're for personal consumption or as gifts, it's very prestigious. Our braised pork gift boxes have always sold well."
Jiang Xi paused and continued, "The holidays are coming soon. I heard that several of the cakes in the pastry factory are very popular with the public, but we've never made similar gift boxes. So I'd like to discuss a collaboration with the factory director. How about we launch a combination package during the next holiday? It would be a perfect gift box set. It would contain four cakes produced by your factory and six of our Wu Ji Zao Lu's meat and vegetable stew platters, making a total of ten items. We could only sell it during the holidays to capture the holiday market."
Although the pastry factory has not innovated in recent years, it does not mean that Zheng Guangrong is a conservative person. Now that everyone's life has improved, they have become more picky about the choice of pastries. Although they rely on their previous foundation and their annual performance is still stable, the workers' wages are getting higher and higher, and the costs are getting higher and higher. Stable performance means stagnation.
Zheng Guangrong also wanted to make a breakthrough, but he has always been cautious about investment. Moreover, the pastry factory has a weak foundation. Once it fails, he may not even be able to pay the workers' wages.
Zheng Guangrong was also very worried. It would be great if their factory was as well-established as the textile factory. Then he wouldn't have to bear the name of Zheng Baopi. Zheng Guangrong understood all the talk about him in the factory, but he had no money and could only be frugal.
Hearing Jiang Xi's idea, Zheng Guangrong's eyes lit up. Jiang Xi didn't need to explain in detail how big the holiday market was. Zheng Guangrong also understood that those factories specializing in making mooncakes only needed to make mooncakes for a few months each year to make back their annual earnings.
Zheng Guangrong also wanted to do business in this area, but the market had already been taken over by others. If he wanted to make something new, he would have to invest a lot of manpower and material resources. Ultimately, he had a weak foundation and no money. However, Jiang Xi's proposal was feasible.
Zheng Guangrong asked the question that concerned him most: "Will making gift boxes increase costs?"
Jiang Xi shook his head. "Not really. Although the packaging of the gift box will increase the cost, the price of the product will also go up when it's converted into a gift box. So, in the end, we can make more money. This is all profitable. In addition to making gift boxes and platters, my family's business also sells them individually. In the end, the profit of gift boxes and platters is much higher than selling them individually."
Zheng Guangrong was tempted by the much higher profits and the bright red bills, but he still had some doubts: "The gift set idea is good, but braised pork and pastries don't sound like a good match."
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