Chapter 75
Section Chief Wang’s suggestion will be adopted, and the Friendship Store’s approach must be followed. No matter which one succeeds, for them, that rural sideline business is like a layer of gold plating.
But relatively speaking, there is no need to rush to negotiate cooperation with foreign trade companies. They do not have such great productivity, so it is better to try to enter the Friendship Store first. Foreigners buy in small quantities, and the quantity will not be too large, which can also allow them to have multiple reputations.
In fact, even if the Friendship Store is not open, as long as I can deliver it there, I will definitely borrow this business card.
Out of admiration for Zhou Jiani's idea, Section Chief Wang expressed great enthusiasm and was willing to help find someone to ask. If successful, he would also be proud as the person who had acted as the matchmaker.
But he still prefaced it with, "I've never been to the Friendship Store. I don't know the layout or customer flow, so I can't judge the feasibility of your proposal. Is your plan... a fixed number, or one or two in front of each counter?"
Zhou Jiani said, "We'll have a fixed number, like three to five seats in the main aisles, or...if there's a dedicated rest area in the store, we'll add a few of these stools as a bonus."
She really had no idea about the interior layout of the Friendship Store, and just imagined it based on the chairs placed in the aisles of large supermarkets in later generations.
If the quantity is too large, they will not agree. The cost of three or five is not low.
Section Chief Wang nodded. "Now I have an idea." He said, "I'll ask someone to help me ask around and let you know when I have some news."
Zhou Jiani thanked him and left, then strolled around the department store, went to the stationery section and bought ten compasses and ten ballpoint pens, then went to the section that sold enamel products and bought a few tea mugs and three enamel basins, and left with them.
She didn't buy any more handkerchiefs. After giving the cloth coupons to Liu Tong to help buy green cotton cloth, she didn't have many coupons left, so she kept them for emergency use and waited to find someone to get new ones.
She also bought a lot of handkerchiefs in the past two days. Together with the ones she bought after sending her to the station yesterday, she counted them and found that there were 18 in total; the enamel pots plus the ones bought today made a total of 21, the enamel basins plus the three new ones made a total of 12, the hand-woven brooms 17, the baskets 7 in total, and ten pairs of cloth shoes.
I went out and found a deserted place, took out some high-definition detailed pictures of my shoes, took some pictures of the compass and the ballpoint pen, put them away, and went to a nearby state-owned restaurant. I ordered a piece of fried meat, a stir-fried vegetable and a bowl of rice. While waiting for the food to be served, I started editing the information of the items to be group-ordered.
For handkerchiefs, teacups, enamel basins, kang sweeping brooms, and baskets, just use the previous data and add the sales quantity.
Cloth shoes, compasses and ballpoint pens need to be edited now.
[Old-fashioned, 1,000-layer cotton shoes, purely handmade, with eight thick layers of soles, sewn one by one with awls. Absolutely great for your feet. Today's group buy is at a special price of 88.8 per pair. Limited to five pairs each for men and women. If you miss out, you're not sure when the next sale will be.]
[A stock of compasses from the 1970s, in excellent quality, brand new, but with a nostalgic feel. Limited quantity, group price: 3.9/piece.]
Continuing the retro theme, we have a stock of ballpoint pens from the 1970s, even the refills are from that era. They're brand new and usable, with excellent quality. Limited quantities are available for sale at 1.99 each, courtesy of our nostalgic group.
After editing, I started sending out red envelopes. The first red envelope was marked: Handkerchief and Broom Group; the second one was marked: New Products Arriving.
The first items to be sent out are the small handkerchiefs and enamel pots, and the cloth shoes, compasses and ballpoint pens are sent out last.
After she was done, she pressed OK, and her dish was ready. She went to the window and brought it to her, eating while reading the messages in the group.
What is circulating in the group now is a sunscreen spray and a bear brick, and occasionally there will be a message about kitchen paper.
After waiting for a while, her group joined in, and the small handkerchief that was first in line sold out very quickly. The small handkerchief was so popular that Zhou Jiani couldn't help but mutter a few times, wondering if she had priced it too low.
In her later life, she never bought a handkerchief and didn't know how much one cost. However, one time a store held a raffle and she won a handkerchief. It was very thin and when she washed it, she could tear out small squares with a slight rub. She could tell it was not pure cotton when she touched it and it didn't absorb sweat.
The small handkerchiefs she sells now are made of absolutely pure cotton, not that thin, soft and sweat-absorbent, and really easy to use.
So after muttering, she thought it was probably because of the good quality. Other group members who had never bought it were stimulated to buy it after seeing everyone repeatedly asking for it, so this product should be popular for a while.
Enamel products are as popular as ever. This is something that has become popular again in later generations and should continue to sell well for a while, probably longer than the popularity of handkerchiefs.
Someone created a new group and sent out a red envelope with the caption: Requesting panda stamps.
After Zhou Jiani grabbed her red envelope, she watched silently. A moment later, the group leader interrupted with a group message: [Authentic ginger hair conditioner... (4200 yuan for the complete set of Panda stamps from the 63rd edition, 700 yuan for the complete set of Panda stamps from the 73rd edition). The hair conditioner, originally priced at 49 yuan a bottle, is now open for a special discount...]
Very good, people are starting to insert weird things into product introductions.
Zhou Jiani tried her best to suppress her smile, worried that the customers around her would see her staring at her hands and laughing and think she was crazy.
He gritted his teeth and closed his palms to block the temptation coming from his palms.
The 1963 edition is hard to come by, and the 1973 edition...wasn't that from last year? Living in the 1970s, collecting a set of stamps from last year isn't as easy as pie, but it's certainly not that difficult.
A set costs 700 yuan, but if she sells it separately, she can only charge a dozen yuan at most. It's different.
It's hard not to be tempted.
The fried meat no longer tasted good, and there was still a hint of excitement amidst the hesitation and entanglement.
The minimum required to start a group is five sets, and based on five sets, the total price is 3,500 yuan.
Zhou Jiani finished her last bite, threw down her chopsticks, and said angrily, "Look at how little you can do."
She could hardly hold her chopsticks after paying 3,500.
However, if she really starts a group sale, she definitely cannot have all five sets of panda stamps, she will mix in some other things.
However, we still need to slowly gather information to find out whether the prices of other stamps are high or low.
Regardless of whether to reopen the stamp group or not, Zhou Jiani decided to collect a few sets. If she doesn't open a group, she will keep them for herself, either as a souvenir or to sell the whole set in the future. Anyway, she can afford it now.
After leaving the state-owned hotel, I went to the post office in this area.
There are a lot of people in the post office today. The counter is full of people. The people behind the counter are packing and collecting money skillfully, and casually giving quotes to the customers next to them.
Or give customers stamps, envelopes, etc.
Zhou Jiani watched for a while, then took a moment to walk over and ask with a smile, "Hey, do you still have the panda stamps from last year?"
The teller glanced at her and said, "Why do you have to use last year's stamps? Can't you use other stamps from this year? How much do you want?"
Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "No, I like collecting candy wrappers and stamps. The panda stamps I bought before were damaged by mice, so they are no longer a complete set. I want to replace them."
The teller didn't respond to her again, neither saying yes nor no. He was busy answering questions from the customer next to him, his hands constantly busy. Just when Zhou Jiani thought there was no result and was about to turn around and leave, the teller bent down and rummaged through the counter, took out several stacks of stamps of different denominations, and expertly announced the remaining number: "There are three and a half sets left. You can tear them up yourself if you want."
There are six pieces in a set, making a total of twenty-one pieces.
Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "Comrade, I'll take them all. I'll write a letter for the rest."
Take out the money quickly.
The price of a whole set was 93 cents, with the lowest denomination being 4 cents and the highest being 43 cents. She calculated the whole and small amounts herself and handed them over without causing the teller the trouble of making change.
I was a little excited when I came out with the stamps.
This is not the first time she has lived through this era, but in her previous life she never paid attention to this and did not discover the beauty of stamps. Today, looking at the panda stamp in her hand, she found it was really beautiful.
Put the panda stamps away and look for something else when you have the chance.
When I got home, I didn't even have time to see how her goods were selling. I just heard my grandmother say that the factory had her phone number, which was at the Xihe Town Post Office, and she could call back whenever she came back.
Zhou Jiani didn't go to the factory to answer the call. She went to the post office in the area so that she could look at the stamps after making the call.
The call was transferred to the Xihe Town Post Office. After two rings, the other end picked up the phone. A slightly distorted, yet still familiar, voice came through the receiver. "Is this Comrade Xiao Zhou?"
Zhou Jiani raised her eyebrows: "Comrade Xiao Qiu?"
Qiu Zeming's voice was filled with laughter as he said, "It's me." He continued, "Comrade Xiao Zhou, I heard you encountered danger the night you went to the provincial capital. I came here specially to express my condolences. I hope you weren't frightened, Comrade Xiao Zhou?"
Unexpectedly, Qiu Zeming called specifically for this matter. Zhou Jiani was a little touched and replied, "I'm fine, everyone is fine too. The jujube wood stick that Accountant Liu brought was over before it was used."
"Well, I'm glad you didn't scare me." Qiu Zeming said seriously, "The team held a meeting this morning and decided that from now on, when shipping, people won't follow the goods. They'll take the train if necessary, and the goods will follow the transport team's trucks."
Although nothing happened this time, I still feel scared when I think about it carefully. Zhou Jiani also agrees with this arrangement.
The two chatted for a while, and Zhou Jiani mentioned the storage stool and said casually, "Please help urge the team to send over the storage stool sample I requested last time as soon as possible."
Qiu Zeming knew that she stayed in the provincial capital to find a way out for the storage stools, so he asked, "Any ideas?"
Zhou Jiani kept it a secret, saying that the samples she was asking for were the ones she wanted herself, and she would definitely use the excuse of selling them retail when the time came. She would wait for news from Section Chief Wang before talking about the goods being sent to the Friendship Store.
At this time, he said mysteriously: "Let's keep it a secret for now, maybe it will work."
Qiu Zeming laughed and didn't ask any more questions. The two chatted for a few more words and then hung up the phone.
Zhou Jiani went to the teller here to ask about stamps.
In Xihe Town, Qiu Zeming left the post office in a good mood and rode his bike back to the brigade.
The weather is no longer hot now, and the cool breeze is very comfortable, just like Comrade Xiao Qiu's mood, which is indescribably happy.
After waiting for a day, I finally received a call from Comrade Xiao Zhou.
Liu Ailing was walking towards the team when she heard the bumpy sound of a bicycle behind her on the rugged road. She turned her head and saw Qiu Zeming riding his bicycle past with a smile on his eyes and a slight curl of his lips, looking straight ahead.
"Hey, Qiu——"
Liu Ailing hesitated for a moment with a complicated look in her eyes, but swallowed the rest of her cry.
Qiu Zeming returned to the brigade and went directly to the processing workshop to find Zhang Laosi and conveyed Comrade Zhou Jiani's instructions.
Zhang Laosi nodded and said, "Don't worry, we're already working on it."
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