Chapter 244
Ye Manzhi's proposal was a bit tricky for the Commerce Bureau.
Under the planned economy, which implemented unified purchase and sale policies, the retail prices of goods on the counter rarely changed significantly, and some prices remained unchanged for several years.
There's no precedent for special wedding products.
It is a retail product, but it is sold at wholesale price. Isn't that a mess?
Director Chen picked up the cup and drank tea, glancing across the table through the cover of the cup.
This branch is full of leaves!
Why do you always do what you want?
Ye Manzhi, unashamed, said sternly, "Director Chen, when we serve the people, we must also consider their needs. Have you ever paid attention to the wedding process for newlyweds these days?"
Director Chen: “…”
He can't pay attention to it either!
"I knew gay men wouldn't care about this!" Ye Manzhi gave a predictable expression. "Here in Binjiang, newlyweds who get their marriage certificates at the commune get a set of coupons to buy wedding supplies, like washbasins, towels, teacups, toothpaste and toothbrushes, cloth coupons, and candy coupons..."
Director Chen was speechless and said, "I know that. Those tickets were issued by the Commerce Bureau."
"Yes, newlyweds can use these tickets to purchase the necessary items, but we can also offer everyone another option, which is to collect all the items and let everyone take them away. This saves the time of searching everywhere, which is very attractive to some busy young couples."
“…”
Seeing that he was unmoved, Ye Manzhi decided to say something practical.
"We can't always focus on our own interests when doing our work. If the Commerce Bureau is willing to launch special products for newlyweds, we can work with the local communes and the Light Industry Bureau to jointly promote this convenient and beneficial service. Regardless of the reaction of the local communes, we at the Light Industry Bureau will definitely send a banner to the Commerce Bureau!"
"This measure will save young people money on marriage and help businesses clear inventory and upgrade their products. Isn't this a prime example of how, under the guidance of Chairman Mao's thought, multiple parties are working together to serve the people?" Ye Manzhi said cheerfully. "Director Chen, please arrange for reporters and correspondents to interview me at the Light Industry Bureau. I'll definitely praise our commercial department's service spirit."
Director Chen: “…”
I've been caught by Ye Manzhi again!
He suspected that Ye Manzhi did it on purpose!
The four words "service spirit" accurately touched his sensitive nerves.
A while ago, the Binjiang Daily suddenly published a commentary article that directly targeted department store sales clerks.
It is said that some people have reported that the salesperson has a bad service attitude. He is often impatient with customers, treats customers differently based on their needs, and ignores rural members. In short, there is nothing good to say about him throughout the criticism.
After seeing the news, the Commerce Bureau and the department store immediately carried out rectification on the two department stores mentioned in the article.
However, as the problem over there has not been solved, another one arises. The provincial newspaper quoted an article from the Binjiang Daily to criticize the problems in the business sector.
The former would only make them lose face within Binjiang for two days, while the latter would make the Binjiang business system lose face in the entire province.
When Ye Manzhi mentioned "service spirit" at this time, there was a hint of veiled meaning.
Director Chen pondered her words. If they could really take the opportunity to clear the name of the business department and reverse its image, it would actually be something to consider.
"Stores have never tried this sales method before. If we promote it on a large scale, it might cause a lot of trouble. I'll have to hold a meeting at the bureau to discuss it," Director Chen said, looking at her. "However, even if it's approved, it can't be promoted on a large scale. At most, we can find one or two stores as pilot stores to see how the public responds."
Ye Manzhi nodded readily: "No problem, then let's find two stores to try first. I'll go back and ask the company to stock up..."
…
The Commerce Bureau finally decided to let Binjiang Third Department Store and Seventh Department Store serve as pilot stores to sell special products for newlyweds.
In addition, ten grassroots communes were selected around the two stores to issue a new version of the wedding ticket.
The newlyweds can use the tickets to purchase daily necessities for their wedding individually, or they can buy all the items on the tickets at wholesale prices in two department stores.
Ye Manzhi was a little curious about the sales effect of this method, so she went to the Seventh Department Store to check the sales situation on the weekend.
When she and Youyan arrived at the daily necessities area, there were a lot of young people gathered in front of a counter.
The salesperson is patiently explaining to everyone.
Wu Yuzhuo whispered, "The store must have put the salesperson with the best service attitude at this counter."
"Judging by the actions, not the heart," Ye Manzhi whispered back, "It's great that the store is aware of the problem and making changes."
Arranging a salesperson with a good temper is also beneficial to product sales.
As they walked to the counter, they heard a newlywed couple arguing about which product to buy.
According to the comrade's suggestion, I bought all the products at wholesale price.
But the man felt that some things were useless, such as thermos and mirrors, as both sets of parents had already prepared them in advance, so buying another one would be duplication.
The saleswoman was very good at speaking. She smiled and said, "This is a new service we've launched for newlyweds. Buying them together is over six yuan cheaper than buying them individually. If you don't want the mirror and thermos, you'll only save three yuan. Three yuan for a thermos and a mirror—what a deal! Even if you don't use them yourself, you can give them to relatives and friends."
"Look!" the women discussed. "Let's buy them all! We'll need these things sooner or later. This will save us over six yuan, enough to buy seven or eight pounds of pork!"
The man sighed, "Then buy them all!"
Ye Manzhi and Wu Yuzhuo stood by the counter, watching with relish as the salesperson helped the young couple put together the goods.
After watching the couple go to the cashier opposite to pay, we welcomed the next couple.
The mother and daughter watched the shopping process of seven young couples.
Only one couple was particularly rational. No matter what the salesperson suggested, they remained unmoved and only chose the fashionable patterns that they liked.
The other six pairs, without exception, all chose to purchase in packages.
Wu Yuzhuo held his mother's arm and said, "The patterns on the thermos and washbasin aren't very pretty, but they're cheap, so it doesn't matter."
"The purpose of marriage is to celebrate, and Double Happiness has been a classic pattern for 20 years," Ye Manzhi said confidently. "When they take those products home, their elders will definitely praise them for their good purchases!"
Speaking of elders, Ye Manzhi had another idea in his mind.
After shopping with her daughter and watching a movie on the weekend, she called the Commerce Bureau as soon as she got to work on Monday.
"Director Chen, the wedding specials are having a great response in the stores and are very popular with newlyweds. I think you're doing a good job. Let's talk to the comrades at the newspaper and help promote them for the Commerce Bureau."
Director Chen said modestly, "This is what we should do. There's no need to publicize it."
Ye Manzhi secretly laughed at the other party's pretense and said sympathetically, "Director Chen, since it's inconvenient for you to come forward on this matter, then our Light Industry Bureau's publicity team will handle it for you. We'll give you the finished draft for your review when the time comes. If there are no problems, we'll publish it in the newspaper."
"Director Ye, look at you! We've only just started working, and you're so impatient!"
Ye Manzhi said seriously, "It's not just for the sake of promoting the store. If we spread the news early, we can also attract other customers as soon as possible."
Her words seemed like an excuse to promote the store. Director Chen thanked her "helplessly" over the phone and asked the Light Industry Bureau for help.
But Ye Manzhi was not being careless. She really admired the purchasing power of her elders.
She asked Chang Yue'e in advance if she wanted to buy special wedding products.
Chang Yue'e said firmly, "Of course I will buy it. If we don't have enough for our family, we can give it to your third aunt and the others."
The prices of daily necessities have remained almost unchanged for more than ten years. If she could buy so many things at wholesale prices, she would definitely buy them!
Ye Manzhi arranged for someone to issue a press release, which occupied a good space in the Binjiang Daily.
After the article was published, the department store welcomed a large number of customers purchasing sets.
After seeing the effect, Director Chen took the initiative to let the eight county department stores around the city use this sales method.
As a result, the special products for newlyweds were widely welcomed by consumers in the suburbs and rural areas, with sales volume much greater than that of the two stores in the city, and they unexpectedly opened up the rural market.
In early March, Director Wen of the city's thermos factory came to the Light Industry Bureau to report to Ye Manzhi.
"We've already cleared one-third of our backlog of inventory, and we just received some cash back yesterday. Our factory plans to switch to producing pressure-discharge thermoses starting this month."
Ye Manzhi was very happy and said with a smile: "That's great. The pressure thermos bottles on the Binjiang market are all imported from other provinces and the price is relatively high. If you can produce new products, it will be good news for the people of Binjiang!"
"Haha," Director Wen complimented, "The Light Industry Bureau's guidance is excellent, and Director Ye's leadership is sound."
It would be even better if we could invest some more money in them.
However, Ye Manzhi's reputation as a stingy person has spread throughout the system, and he doesn't dare to hope that the other party will invest in the thermos factory.
Ye Manzhi did not mention the money. After listening to his report, he personally escorted the man out the door.
Xi Yingchun followed up and said, "Director, a reporter from News Front would like to arrange an interview with you."
"What's the interview?"
Ye Manzhi had never watched "News Front" and really didn't know what she could interview.
"They want to select a few role models from this year's provincial March 8th Red Banner winners and report on their outstanding deeds."
On this year's International Women's Day, Ye Manzhi was selected as the provincial "March 8th Red Flag Bearer".
I just went to the province to attend a commendation meeting the day before yesterday.
But this year, the province commended more than 300 "March 8th Red Flag Bearers" and more than 100 "March 8th Red Flag Collectives".
As one of the three hundred, Ye Manzhi is actually nothing special.
She was of course delighted to receive the award, as it was a sign of recognition from the organization. However, after receiving the certificate and award, she didn't celebrate in a big way. She simply went home and had a few drinks with Wu Zhengrong.
Ye Manzhi hesitated for a moment and said, "Forget about the interview. If you want to interview the March 8th Red Flag Bearers on the industrial front, you can go to the factory and interview the female workers. I don't have anything to interview here, so forget it."
Xi Yingchun asked in surprise, "You really don't accept it?"
Some time ago, Director Ye paid close attention to the newspaper publicity and kept an eye on the press releases about special products for newlyweds.
This time a reporter from a provincial magazine came to interview her, and she thought Director Ye would agree!
Ye Manzhi indeed attaches great importance to news interviews.
To be precise, she has been closely connected with newspapers and magazines since she started working.
She took the initiative to submit many articles for publication.
She used to work in a company, so when the newspaper reported on her personally, it could also indirectly promote her company, killing two birds with one stone.
But now she has been transferred to work in the government, and the interview with the "March 8th Red Flag Bearer" is to promote her personally, so she feels it is unnecessary.
What can you say in an interview? It will definitely be official jargon.
Ye Manzhi had just been at the Light Industry Bureau for a year, and his daily work was already high-profile enough. If he were to be promoted as a typical representative, it would be too conspicuous.
So, she did not plan to accept the interview. She wrote down the names of several corporate March 8th Red Flag Bearers on the manuscript paper, paused for a while, and then wrote down the name of the Guangming Street March 8th Convenience Service Station and handed it to Xi Yingchun.
"Please tell this to the journalists. These are the candidates I recommend. They all have qualities worth promoting."
…
Ye Manzhi made the recommendation and then dropped the matter.
As a result, when she went to her mother's house for dinner on the weekend, her fourth sister-in-law, who was crying and sobbing, grabbed her hand.
"Laiya, what can I say?" Shen Liangmei sobbed, "I've been working for twenty years, and I never thought I'd have such a good thing happen!"
Chen Liangmei used to be illiterate and could barely read or write. Later, the street opened a March 8th convenience service station, and she went to the service station to work as a pastry chef.
This has been going on for twenty years.
She is just a dough kneader, but she didn't expect that their service station would be rated as a provincial-level "March 8th Red Flag Collective" this year.
As the most senior employee, she accompanied the stationmaster to the provincial government to attend a commendation meeting. She also had lunch in the provincial government cafeteria and watched a drama in the auditorium!
These days, she felt like she was dreaming. Who could have expected that a pastry chef like her would be able to attend a meeting and receive an award in the same venue with her sister-in-law?
Even her Ye Mangui was outshined by her!
However, this is not the end. Yesterday, two reporters from the province came to report on the deeds of their convenience service station.
Both she and the webmaster were interviewed and photographed by the reporters!
Ye Manzhi smiled and said, "Your service station has performed well, serving residents day in and day out for twenty years. You also work diligently, going to work before dawn and preparing breakfast. Isn't it right to be commended and reported?"
Shen Liangmei's eyes were red with excitement. She pulled her aside and said, "We're not the only group affiliated with the March 8th Red Flag Collective. The reporter said Director Ye from the Light Industry Bureau recommended us. As soon as I heard that, I knew you were the one who got us in through the back door!"
"..." Ye Manzhi said with a smile, "Reporters are not my responsibility, so how can I use any backdoor? Okay, sister-in-law, stop crying. I finally got to go back to my parents' home, shouldn't you show your appreciation by making me something delicious?"
Shen Liangmei nodded quickly and said, "Wait a minute, I bought a piece of large intestine at the market today, I'll make braised large intestine for you!"
Ye Manzhi: “…”
Okay, fried pork intestines are also delicious.
*
The March 8th Red Flag Bearer is an honor. Ye Manyi thought that after this month, when this trend has passed, no one will pay attention to the winners anymore.
However, more than half a month after the commendation meeting, she welcomed Teacher Ouyang from the Provincial University to her workplace.
Teacher Ouyang wants to invite her back to her alma mater to give a lecture to her classmates.
Ye Manzhi refused repeatedly: "Teacher, when I was in college, my academic performance was never among the best. Apart from Russian, I didn't have any particularly outstanding subjects. What can I tell my classmates when I go back?"
When she was studying at the provincial university, she attended many lectures in the school auditorium.
But they are all big shots, and she is still far from them.
"Didn't you just win the provincial title of March 8th Red Flag Bearer?" Ouyang Jin said, "This year is the anniversary of the provincial university, and all departments are organizing activities. Coincidentally, this month is Women's Day, so Director Sun from the Economics Department and I wanted to organize a lecture for the female students. Now that you've made it to the director level, why don't you share some of your success stories with the younger students?"
Ouyang Jin is now the head of the Department of Industrial Economics, and she still wants to make this event a success.
Ye Manzhi still shook her head. She felt that she was not qualified to give lectures at the provincial university.
Seeing that she was adamant about not wanting to do it, Ouyang Jin whispered, "The students here are all workers, peasants, and soldiers. The situation is very different from your time. The progress and quality of their studies are far worse than before. You're a graduate of our provincial university and have a lot of successful work experience. I want you to go back and inspire the female students."
Ouyang Jin persuaded her for a long time, and Ye Manzhi couldn't refuse anymore, so she had to agree with a thick face.
Although she agreed, she was still worried and complained to Wu Zhengrong when she got home.
"Those workers, peasants and soldiers are not just students. They have work experience and are very mature in their thinking. They may not listen to what I say!"
Wu Zhengrong said, "You're not just any provincial university graduate. You're the director of the Binjiang City Light Industry Bureau. At least half of those graduates will go into industrial work after graduation. The provincial university probably invited you with this in mind. I think the students will listen to what you have to say."
"Then I have to prepare well!"
Of course, Ye Manzhi secretly wanted to go back to his alma mater to share his experience!
Being able to give a speech on a university campus is like returning home in glory, which is the highest honor for her.
How glorious!
Therefore, she had to pay great attention and prepare the speech carefully.
The lecture was scheduled for this Sunday morning. Knowing in advance that it was an event specially organized for female students, she declined Dr. Wu's offer to appreciate her highlight moment and returned to the provincial university campus with her daughter.
Wu Yuzhuo looked at the red banner at the gate and couldn't help but exclaimed "Wow".
——"Welcome Comrade Ye Manzhi back to his alma mater."
"Mom, look!"
"I see, I see!" Ye Manzhi's eyes felt a little sore, and he couldn't help but mutter, "Who put this up there? How can this be considered a glorious return?"
The Provincial University is the earliest key university with countless famous alumni. A small director like her is not worthy of being in front of the big guys.
When she walked into the school gate with her daughter, she saw Teacher Ouyang and Director Sun waiting there.
After just a brief greeting, I was led to the school auditorium.
The auditorium was packed. At a glance, it was all filled with female students. There was not a single male student.
On the blackboard in front, a few big words were written in colored chalk - Warmly welcome Comrade Ye Manzhi.
As soon as a few people appeared at the door, thunderous applause broke out in the venue.
This was not the first time Ye Manzhi spoke to someone. In her job, she had to speak a few words almost every day.
However, faced with so many young faces and curious eyes, she inevitably felt some indescribable nervousness in her heart.
Wu Yuzhuo said "Come on" to her mother and ran to the edge of the aisle, standing with other female classmates who had no seats.
Ouyang Jin took the stage first and introduced Ye Manzhi's identity to the female classmates.
"To organize today's lecture, the school has invited Comrade Ye Manzhi, Director of the Binjiang City Light Industry Bureau. Comrade Ye Manzhi is also an alumnus of our provincial university. She studied in the Department of Industrial Economics and also served as Deputy Director of our school's Hua'an Machinery Factory. She is a very outstanding female comrade with strong political qualities and outstanding academic performance. This month, she was awarded the provincial title of March 8th Red Flag Bearer. Now, please allow Sister Ye Manzhi to share her successful revolutionary experience with the students!"
Thunderous applause suddenly broke out in the auditorium.
Ye Manzhi walked up to the podium with a relaxed pace and said, "Director Ouyang, you're overly kind. I've only prepared some work and study experiences, which are far from being considered successful experiences."
The female classmates all looked at her curiously, waiting for what to say next.
Ye Manzhi also looked at the audience and said with a smile, "When I received Director Ouyang's invitation, I was very nervous. I was afraid that I wouldn't speak well and would disappoint my classmates. I was admitted to the Department of Industrial Economics in 1958. I was exactly 20 years old at the time, the same age as many of the students here, but my situation was far worse than theirs."
"All of you were university graduates from the Worker-Peasant-Soldier class recommended by your respective units. This shows that you all performed exceptionally well in your units and were the best in your respective units. At the time, I was working at the Guangming Subdistrict Office in Binjiang City. I applied for a transfer student position for two consecutive years, but was rejected each time due to insufficient years of work experience."
A girl asked: "How did you end up going to college?"
"I had no choice but to take the college entrance examination. Fortunately, the examination subjects for transfer students were relatively few. I gritted my teeth and studied hard for a year, and luckily I was admitted to the Industrial Economics Department of the Provincial University."
“…”
No one in the audience responded for a moment.
In fact, most of the workers, peasants and soldiers college students know in their hearts that they are different from those college students taking the college entrance examination.
Therefore, when the school invited alumni and experts to come to the campus to share their experiences, two alumni were criticized in public by students.
As a result, similar lectures have been reduced a lot.
Today's event was organized to celebrate the school anniversary and International Women's Day. All the people present were female students, and no one has taken the lead to say anything yet.
Ye Manzhi glanced around the auditorium and asked with a smile, "Are all of you from the Department of Industrial Economics and the Department of Economics?"
A senior girl in the first row said, "Yes, all the girls from four grades are here."
Ye Manzhi looked at the audience and asked, "There are so many students here. Which ones are from the production team? Please raise your hands so I can see."
There was a moment of silence in the meeting hall, and then dozens of hands were raised one after another.
"My hometown is in the countryside of Tonglan County, Binjiang. I'm also from a production team. I'm like one of you, right?" Ye Manzhi continued, "Which classmates were recommended by the factory?"
This time the response was quicker, with hundreds of hands raised.
"Haha, my father and brother are both working class, and I've worked in four factories, so we should be considered family." She looked at the audience again, "Are there any comrades from the army among the students here?"
Upon hearing this, someone else raised their hand soon.
Ye Manzhi nodded and said, "My husband is a soldier, and I've been a military family member for nearly twenty years. So I'm kind of family to you all, right?"
Classmates: “…”
By this calculation, you and all the workers, peasants, and soldiers who were college students are one family.
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