Chapter 89
It was Zhang Cuihua and Gou Zi's first time in Beijing and they were so happy that they couldn't sleep.
People of this generation have a special attachment to Beijing. Coming to Beijing now is like realizing a dream.
The three of them chatted all over the place that night and didn't fall asleep until almost midnight.
The next day, Zhang Cuihua and Gou Zi's mother woke up at six o'clock. The sound of washing woke Zhen Zhen up. She leaned over to look, "Why are you up so early?"
"The driver will pick us up at around 7 o'clock, so we have to treat him to breakfast."
I was still a little worried that Zhen Zhen didn't follow me.
"Don't be too frugal, spend when you need to, and don't worry about not having enough money. I brought my passbook with me."
"Okay, we'll remember that."
"But don't buy jade, antiques, health products, etc. recommended by tourists or on the roadside. You can easily be cheated."
Zhang Cuihua was thinking, she didn't even know what health supplements were, what were they used for? For health care?
"You can rest assured. The commander has specially sent a driver to follow us. How can the liar dare to lie to us when he sees the military vehicle?" Zhang Guihua waved her hands.
Zhen Zhen smiled and reminded him, "There are many thieves out there, don't show off your wealth, go to regular restaurants to eat, don't let others rip you off just to save money."
The two agreed.
Zhen Zhen has the habit of reading newspapers. In order to deal with the accumulated materials, Beijing City held several trade fairs in the past two years. The supplies did not require tickets, which attracted many ordinary people.
In the 1980s, many high-end and expensive goods were sold at trade fairs. Tickets were hard to get at the fairs, and some outsiders even asked others to buy on their behalf at the fairs. This shows how profitable trade fairs were.
Zhen Zhen wanted to hold a trade fair, but she had no way. This time when she came to Beijing, in addition to wanting to cooperate with Ai Li on clothing, she also wanted to take the opportunity to promote instant noodles at the trade fair.
The booth that Manager Qiu built for the trade fair is right in front of the entrance of the Aili Clothing Store.
Aili is a border shop converted from an old factory building. The shop is large in area and in a good location, facing a four-way intersection and bordered by streets on both sides, so it has a very large customer flow.
Zhen Zhen walked around the area and then put his mind at ease.
This trade fair will definitely make a lot of money.
Manager Qiu was already waiting for Ellie at the door. Above his head hung a red banner that read:
Focus on women's clothing trade show! Down jackets, skirts, pants and more!
Customers passing by always stopped and stared at the banner for a while. Several shop assistants were handing out tickets on the street, and everyone who got a ticket treasured it and put it in their bag.
When Manager Qiu saw her, his eyes lit up, "Boss Zhen!"
Zhen Zhen carried her handbag and smiled, "Manager Qiu, long time no see."
"Long time no see, Boss Zhen, you have no idea how many people I asked for help and how many connections I used for this trade fair! You guys at Focus Women's Wear must fight for me, otherwise I won't be able to report to my superiors!"
Manager Qiu was under a lot of pressure. His mouth was full of blisters and he had difficulty eating. He lost almost ten pounds in the past half month and his hair was falling out in clumps. He was worried that something might go wrong with the exhibition.
"Manager Qiu, don't worry, we will definitely do a good job at this trade fair!"
After Zhen Zhen finished speaking, he pulled Manager Qiu into the office. The salesperson in the store poured them some tea. Zhen Zhen took a sip before opening her purse and taking out a stack of money and putting it in front of Manager Qiu.
Manager Qiu's eyes widened, and his hands trembled. "Zhen Zhen Zhen... Boss, this is not allowed! This is against the rules!"
Zhen Zhen knew that Manager Qiu was sincere in saying this. The fighting was fierce in the past few years, so it was normal that the state-owned enterprise leaders did not dare to accept money.
But she had something to ask Manager Qiu, and it would be difficult to talk without money.
"Manager Qiu, let me be frank. The location of the Aili clothing store is good, and our snack brand needs a storefront. I would like to ask Aili to allocate a piece of land for me at the door, and reserve a counter for us at the trade show."
Manager Qiu was timid and didn't dare to take the money. "Boss Zhen, if you want a good reputation, I'll just go through the procedures for you. There's really no need for this."
Zhen Zhen smiled, "It's hard to repay a favor. We are not related, and I feel bad that you are helping us like this. Besides, this money is not for you, but for you to use your connections. I hope Manager Qiu will pay more attention to our business. There will be many opportunities for cooperation in the future. I will make money, and you will not lose out."
Manager Qiu naturally understood what she meant. Boss Zhen was a man with a sharp eye.
Who doesn't like money? He would be lying if he said he wasn't tempted, but he didn't dare to take it casually, for fear that something might go wrong and he would lose his stable job.
"How about this, Boss Zhen? I'll go and do it first. If I can get it done, I'll take the money."
"Okay, then I'd like to thank Manager Qiu first."
Manager Qiu said it was not necessary. He was particularly moved. Many men were not as aggressive as Boss Zhen. Who dared to say that the business world was a man's world?
Mr. Zhen runs a snack brand, instant noodles, clothing, and trade shows, and now he wants to do a model show...
"By the way, I've already set up the booth. When will your model be here?"
Zhen Zhen smiled and said, "Don't worry, there will be several girls coming to apply for modeling today. Please prepare a table for me so that I can do a simple application."
Manager Qiu didn't understand. "Why are these models here? They can't dance on the stage, can they?"
"It's not dancing, it's model walking!"
Zhen Zhen took a sip of tea and broke it down into pieces before telling him:
"Although the trade fair is popular, we have a large inventory. If we want to sell clothes well, we have to hype them up. I plan to find a few girls and let them wear our clothes for demonstration. The girls are pretty, have good figures, and wear fashionable clothes. When ordinary people see them, they will think that these clothes will look beautiful on them, and more people will buy clothes!"
Manager Qiu never figured out what was going on.
Boss Zhen was calm and confident in her work, so Manager Qiu trusted her for some reason.
"Okay, I'll have someone bring two tables over."
Zhen Zhen pondered again:
"By the way, Manager Qiu, could you please get me a few wooden boxes? I want to hold a lucky draw on the spot. First prize: bicycle, second prize: sewing machine, third prize: peanut oil, participation prize: sincere instant noodles."
The lucky draw was fake, but the promotion of the Zhenxin instant noodles brand was real. After all, in a few days, everyone would see the instant noodles on the platform.
People who want to buy instant noodles fill out their information and place an order. The store then delivers the goods door to door after they approve the order.
Although the initial cost is high, it can open up the market as soon as possible and also make money for bucket instant noodles.
Zhen Zhen did one thing after another, and Manager Qiu was convinced. He worked hard to move the table. As soon as the table was moved, three girls came over.
These three girls are all about 170cm tall, look Western, and dress in an artistic way.
Zhen Zhen registered the names of the three girls and gave them codes.
The three girls looked at each other. Although it was their first time to be a model, Zhen Zhen paid them 10 yuan a day as part-time salary, so they were all willing to give it a try.
"Boss Zhen, none of us can walk like a model."
Zhen Zhen smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. You don't need to be particularly professional. Our purpose is to showcase fashion. As long as you are stylish and confident enough to show our clothes to customers, that's enough."
With her comfort, the three girls felt relieved.
After a while, a girl with long curly hair came. Her name was Wang Fen, and she was a fan of the model walk. According to her, she often taught herself the model walk at home.
"Although I'm not a professional, I'm tall, which gives me an advantage in wearing pants."
Zhen Zhen looked at her figure. This girl had a particularly good head and body, and her facial features were three-dimensional. She should be very suitable for the big screen.
"Wang Fen, right? Please go in and change your clothes, and walk a few steps so I can see you."
Wang Fen agreed immediately. Zhen Zhen picked out a long black coat for her. She was tall and looked very impressive in the long coat.
Wang Fen changed her clothes and walked in front of Zhen Zhen with her head held high. Her model steps were just imitations, but Zhen Zhen thought it was enough.
"Not bad, Wang Fen, could you please give me some training? Teach them how to walk like a model and how to display the clothes."
Are you going to use her?
Wang Fen responded and nodded happily, "I'll teach them now."
Zhen Zhen selected 12 models in total. The models would demonstrate the clothes in front. Each piece of clothing had a code on it. Customers could rush to the store to buy the clothes they liked, which saved a lot of time.
On the official opening day, Manager Qiu arrived at six in the morning and set up the exhibition table early, placing sewing machines, bicycles and instant noodles in the most conspicuous positions.
There are the largest number of instant noodles, piled up into a small mountain and hung on the background board. This string of orange and red noodles is particularly eye-catching.
Many people get up early these days, and during the morning rush hour many people ride by on bicycles. When they honk their horns, many people come over.
People could still control it in the morning, but at noon, the streets were crowded with people. Many people couldn't ride their bikes and had to get off and push their bikes.
"Hey, what's going on in front? Why are there so many people?"
"They're selling clothes like models! Just go into the store and buy whatever you like. They also have down jackets for sale, no tickets required!"
"Is there such a good thing? What about the participation award?"
"There will be a lottery on site. If you buy clothes, you can win a prize. If you are lucky, you can win a bicycle or a sewing machine. If you are unlucky, you can win a bottle of instant noodles! Anyway, everyone can win a prize."
"Instant noodles? In a bucket? That's really strange. I'll go over and take a look!"
Nowadays, information is spread by calling each other. When a neighbor passes by, he or she will go home and spread the news, and dozens of people may come out to join in the fun.
Seeing that there were so many people, Zhen Zhen simply added that the grand prize was a TV, and even asked Meng Hua to get her an industrial voucher so that she could buy a large color TV!
As soon as this color TV was placed on the exhibition table, the scene became lively!
Such a pretty girl, when she puts on the clothes, she looks confident and fashionable! Who wouldn't want to buy them?
You don’t even need cloth coupons to buy clothes at the trade show. There are clothes for all seasons, including spring, summer, autumn and winter, and even thick pajamas sets.
The Aili Clothing Store was packed with people and the waiters were overwhelmed, so Zhen Zhen had to call Zhang Cuihua and Gou Zi's mother to help pick up the goods.
When Zhang Cuihua and Gou Zi's mother saw the situation, they were so surprised that they kept shouting "Mom!"
"Wow, I've never seen so many people in my life!" Zhang Cuihua was amazed.
Gouzi's mother also felt horrible, "Daguo, how many clothes would they have to sell? Tens of thousands of pieces wouldn't be enough, right?"
Zhen Zhen was not worried about these. If there really was not enough to sell, she had the phone numbers of clothing manufacturers in Vancouver and Guangzhou and could ask them to deliver the goods. Although the journey was far, they could be delivered by train in one or two days.
If all else fails, just use a truck to transport instant noodles and snacks from home to make up the number!
Anyway, selling clothes or snacks is selling, and you can make money!
Zhen Zhen handed the key to the warehouse to the two of them and said, "You two must take good care of my goods. Don't let anyone steal them."
Gou Zi Niang and Zhang Cuihua nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry, I'll patrol for you at night and keep it under your care!"
Both of them were rural women who valued money the most. They did not want such good goods to be stolen by thieves.
With their guarantee, Zhen Zhen felt relieved.
The on-site activities were lively, especially the raffle, which may not seem unusual in later generations, but this was the early 1980s and ordinary people had never seen a raffle.
I've never seen anyone draw a large color TV!
Who wouldn't want to take such a big TV home? Maybe they'll win the prize!
If they wanted to participate in the lottery, they had to buy clothes. They rushed into the store, picked out the good ones, and went to participate in the lottery after getting the lottery tickets. Even if they didn’t win a color TV, they could get instant noodles as a consolation prize. It was buy one, get one free, and everyone felt it was a good deal.
Manager Qiu went out to have lunch at noon and was scared when he came back.
My goodness, this is not a trade fair! This is a robbery!
There are so many people!
Manager Qiu finally put his mind at ease. Under the pretext of selling the factory's inventory, he finally applied for a spot to hold the trade fair.
If he messed up, he wouldn't be able to explain to his leaders.
If he succeeds this time, he will not only get the money from Boss Zhen, but also the bonus from the factory. He will have hope of promotion and salary increase. Manager Qiu is so happy!
The trade fair was a great success, and Manager Qiu had the opportunity to talk to his leader about allocating a storefront for Zhenxin Instant Noodles. Zhenxin Instant Noodles was paid, and the amount was not small. The leader felt there was no loss, so he nodded in agreement.
Manager Qiu immediately arranged a display cabinet for Zhenxin so that people who wanted instant noodles could make reservations.
Look, it has brought another wave of popularity.
Zhen Zhen noticed that the best-selling items at the trade fair were winter clothes. It was no wonder, as you could just put on a winter coat and try it on, whereas you had to go to a fitting room for skirts and the like.
But there are only a few fitting rooms, and many people can’t queue up, so the speed is slow.
Moreover, everyone has a problem, thinking that it is cheaper to buy clothes out of season. Zhenzhen’s winter clothes are priced a little lower than in winter, but not much cheaper, after all, the materials are good.
But customers are willing to pay for quality!
In an era of material scarcity, Zhen Zhen was dumbfounded by the popularity of the trade fair, which was comparable to the live broadcast in later generations.
After a busy day, everyone is exhausted.
Zhen Zhen checked the accounts with the accountant.
Manager Qiu swallowed his saliva for no apparent reason. "How much? How much did you sell today?"
"39,350 yuan!"
"How much?" Manager Qiu's eyes widened, thinking he had misheard. "How much did you say?"
Zhen Zhen smiled, sorted the money, and tied it up with a rubber band, "Less than 40,000 yuan. We agreed at the beginning that we would give you one-fifth of the selling price, which is 7,870 yuan!"
Manager Qiu was shocked. This was too much profit! They only sold more than a thousand pieces of clothing on the first day, and they made so much money. If they sold all the inventory, how much money would they make!
"Manager Qiu, we have a lot of inventory and there is a lot of traffic today, but our progress is still too slow. I'm thinking of setting up another stand at the door tomorrow to hang out the clothes to disperse the flow of people."
"Okay, we have to be careful too, don't let anyone steal the money."
"Don't worry, I've already talked to my son about sending a few people from his store to help us, and the accountant will also come to help us with the accounting."
"That's great! There won't be chaos with more people," said Manager Qiu, sweating anxiously. "To be honest, Boss Zhen, there are too many people today. This is my first time organizing this kind of event, and I really have no experience. I'm afraid something might go wrong and cause trouble."
Zhen Zhen also had no experience, "Manager Qiu, let's take it slow."
"You're right! Everything is difficult at the beginning!"
The next day, more than ten people came to Meng Hua's store to help. With his help and the experience from the first day, nearly 3,000 pieces of clothing were sold the next day.
I make a lot of money, but it's troublesome to keep accounts, and I'm also afraid of being robbed.
Fortunately, Tan Wenyin helped and asked Tan Zheng to send a car over with a driver. Zhen Zhen went to the bank to deposit money and was finally not so scared.
After three days, Zhen Zhen deposited 120,000 yuan into the bank. Although the Zhenxin instant noodle factory was quite large, they still owed money to the bank and currently had to rely on clothing to supplement the instant noodles.
If this trade fair goes well, Zhen Zhen can pay back at least half of the loan.
Victory is just ahead.
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