Chapter 1 Electric Fan
Xie Baoshan arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative in the afternoon. He planned to take the train to the provincial capital at 6 p.m. Before leaving, he thought about the promise he made yesterday. He got off at the supply and marketing cooperative and went up to the second floor to see the counters that had been set up.
To be honest, although he was asked to set aside a counter specifically for selling Xingfeng clothing, Xie Baoshan had no idea what a dedicated counter would look like, and hadn't considered how he would feel upon seeing it. Therefore, when Xie Baoshan went up to the second floor and saw the brand-new counter, and the customers asking questions outside, he was momentarily speechless.
A moment later, he raised his hand and pressed the back of his hand against the corner of his eye.
After the customer bought a dress and left, Xie Baoshan walked up to the counter and asked, "How was it?"
Lin Qingqing called out "Big Brother" and then said, "From ten o'clock this morning until now, we've sold two dresses."
Xingfeng Garment Factory has already established sales channels in Shicheng. The commune's supply and marketing cooperative alone sells more than a dozen Xingfeng skirts a day. Now, people in Yutian Commune are proud to wear clothes from Xingfeng Garment Factory. Therefore, judging from the data, Qingshan Supply and Marketing Cooperative's sales volume is not only lower than that of the commune's supply and marketing cooperative, but it is even lower than that of Xingfeng Brigade's supply and marketing cooperative.
However, Yutian Commune is their home base, and Xingfeng's clothing has been selling at the commune's supply and marketing cooperative for several months, so good sales are normal. Jinshi, on the other hand, is a completely unfamiliar place; today is only the first day of stocking up, and selling two skirts in half a day is already quite good.
Moreover, this was the first counter dedicated to Xingfeng Clothing, so my mood was naturally different from before.
With this in mind, Xie Baoshan came to Jinshi City on his own.
When Lin Qingqing called back to discuss cooperation, Secretary Zhao firmly opposed Xingfeng's cooperation with Qingshan Supply and Marketing Cooperative, arguing that Xingfeng's expansion into Jinshi before establishing itself in Shicheng was like a child running before learning to walk, and that the cooperation model was just some kind of agency sales.
At the time, both the brigade and the garment factory had doubts about this cooperation. They felt that although Lin Qingqing was someone who had left Xingfeng, she was no longer a Xingfeng native. Who knew what she was thinking?
It was he who persuaded most people and finally made the decision to cooperate, which led to this trip to Jinshi.
Before coming, Xie Baoshan hadn't had high expectations, thinking this collaboration would be no different from previous ones. But now, looking at this counter that belonged exclusively to Xingfeng, Xie Baoshan thought:
They could use this consignment model to open exclusive counters in other cities, counties, and even communes. They could even send their own sales staff to the supply and marketing cooperatives or department stores where they opened counters, specifically to sell Xingfeng clothing, thereby increasing brand awareness. If successful, they could even open their own clothing business.
Perhaps, through this expansion model, Xingfeng can forge its own unique development path.
...
After checking the counter, Lin Qingqing saw Xie Baoshan off to catch his ride. On the way, she asked, "Don't you want to stay a couple more days?"
Although she knew Xie Baoshan had already made up his mind, Lin Qingqing still wanted to ask again. Xie Wei would be back tomorrow night, so at least the two brothers could see each other one more time.
But Xie Baoshan now had a great idea and needed to go back and have a meeting with everyone to come up with an implementation plan. Moreover, he felt that he could see his brothers anytime, so he said, "I won't stay any longer. There are a lot of things to do at the brigade and the garment factory. Please tell Xie Wei for me."
As soon as he finished speaking, the shuttle bus arrived. Xie Baoshan waved and said, "Go back."
Xie Baoshan jumped onto the bus, bent over and went to the back of the bus, sat down in a window seat, opened the window and said to Lin Qingqing, "See you at the New Year."
Lin Qingqing waved and smiled, saying "okay," before returning to the supply and marketing cooperative after watching the bus drive away.
As soon as I entered the supply and marketing cooperative, I heard Zhou Xiaofang ask, "Your older brother went back? Why didn't he stay a few more days?"
"I'm going back home, something's come up," Lin Qingqing said, going up the stairs to the second floor.
Before leaving get off work, Lin Qingqing served two more groups of customers. Both groups had dresses they liked, but one group couldn't buy one because it was an unknown brand, and the other group liked a dress but thought it was too expensive.
When Lin Qingqing sold two dresses, Miao Hui sat behind the counter sulking. But now, seeing that two groups of people hadn't bought anything, she cheered up. She thought, "So what if she's in charge of the new counter and has a good attitude? The clothes still won't sell!"
But Miao Hui has figured it out now. Everyone else on the second floor has already been bribed by Lin Qingqing, so even if she speaks out, it won't make a difference. She can only watch coldly from the sidelines.
It wasn't until almost the end of the workday that Xu Fangfang from the logistics department came over to announce a meeting.
So the supply and marketing cooperative closed early, and everyone gathered at the store on the first floor. Even the people in the offices on the third floor came down.
Upon seeing the town mayor, some people were nervous and others were uneasy. Finally, Sister He asked, "Comrade Xu, what do you want to say to us?"
"You'll find out soon," Xu Fangfang said, looking towards the stairs.
A moment later, Director Gao came down the stairs. Upon seeing her, the people who had been whispering to each other stood up straight. But contrary to their expectations, Director Gao didn't speak after coming down. Instead, he stood to the side, pretending to listen, and let Xu Fangfang speak.
Although most of the people attending the meeting were older than Xu Fangfang, she was composed and calm, and said with a serious expression, "I called everyone to the meeting today mainly for two things."
"First, our supply and marketing cooperative will add a store manager position to be in charge of all matters, big and small, of the store."
After Director Gao made those remarks yesterday, everyone at the supply and marketing cooperative discussed it. Combining what Director Gao and Lin Qingqing said, they guessed that Director Gao might promote someone. But at that time, everyone thought that the promotion would at most be a transfer from the store to the third-floor office as a junior staff member.
Who knew that during today's meeting, Xu Fangfang would throw out a bombshell, leaving everyone stunned.
Even with Director Gao watching from the side, the staff in the store could no longer remain calm and began to discuss among themselves:
"Store manager? The one who manages us guys?"
"Was the manager transferred from outside, or appointed internally?"
Seeing that everyone was talking nonstop, Director Gao coughed twice and said, "Quiet down."
Everyone immediately shut up, listening to Xu Fangfang continue: "The store manager will be selected through internal competition—"
Xu Fangfang stopped halfway through her sentence, looked up at everyone, and they, who were already breathless from being dragged along by her, urged, "What method? Tell us quickly!"
Seeing everyone listening intently, Xu Fangfang finished the second half of her sentence: "Whoever's sales volume triples within the next three months will become the manager of the Qingshan Supply and Marketing Cooperative's store department."
The crowd was in an uproar:
"Three times? How is that possible!"
"Let alone tripling it, even doubling it would be difficult!"
Upon hearing Xu Fangfang's words, Miao Hui's first reaction was also that it was impossible.
She's been working at the supply and marketing cooperative for a year, and the monthly turnover of her wardrobe section hasn't changed much. If you had to pick a time when business is better, it's around the Lunar New Year, when turnover is about 1.5 times the usual amount. Now, with several months until the Lunar New Year, without any holiday boosts, tripling the turnover? Impossible!
But when Miao Hui turned to look at Lin Qingqing, everyone else looked dejected, while Lin Qingqing remained calm. Miao Hui felt that Lin Qingqing must know about this, and she felt very resentful. She thought that Director Gao was biased towards her, and that if no one could triple the sales, the position of store manager would probably fall to Lin Qingqing.
Thinking of this, Miao Hui couldn't help but speak up: "We can all talk about it, but Comrade Lin Qingqing is in charge of the new counter, so how will she calculate the turnover?"
Xu Fangfang was prepared for this question and replied, "Based on past experience, the sales volume of the wardrobe counter has tripled."
This answer made Miao Hui feel a little better, but then she thought again. Lin Qingqing sold two dresses today. If every day could be this good, it wouldn't be difficult for her to triple her usual sales. Although Miao Hui felt that she had just gotten lucky today and wouldn't be so lucky tomorrow, she didn't want Lin Qingqing to have the opportunity to become the store manager, so this wasn't enough.
Then Miao Hui said, "Comrade Lin Qingqing's counter has a wide variety of clothes, and the prices are not cheap. It wouldn't be difficult to triple the price of the previous wardrobe counter."
Hearing Miao Hui say this, those who were vying for the store manager position started to clamor: "That's right, Comrade Lin is in charge of the new counters, so of course he has an advantage over us."
This is utter nonsense. Putting aside the fact that new products are difficult to launch, just the fact that the person speaking is in charge of the most popular pastry and candy counter in the store shows how dishonest he is.
But those who were eager to compete for the position disagreed, echoing, "Yes, this is so unfair."
Xu Fangfang knew there was something fishy going on, but with so many people making a fuss, she was at a loss and could only look to Director Gao.
Director Gao stepped out from the corner and asked Miao Hui, "What do you want to do?"
When Director Gao called her out for questioning, Miao Hui felt a little timid. However, she felt that she had only been with the supply and marketing cooperative for a short time, so it was fine if she wasn't eligible for a promotion. But she absolutely couldn't let this opportunity fall into Lin Qingqing's lap. So, Miao Hui mustered her courage and said, "At least it should be three times the turnover of the wardrobe counter that I manage, right?"
She plans to encourage all her relatives to buy more clothes from her counter in the next few months. This will not only boost her sales but also cause trouble for Lin Qingqing, killing two birds with one stone.
However, Miao Hui didn't know that her carefully laid plans were nothing short of utterly foolish in Director Gao's eyes!
Miao Hui thought that by finding someone to boost the sales volume, she could trip up Lin Qingqing. However, she did not expect that the supply and marketing cooperative used to only have one wardrobe counter, so everyone had no choice. The monthly sales volume was naturally stable, and it could even increase a little during holidays.
But now the supply and marketing cooperative has added a ready-made clothing counter. Although Miao Hui is still selling the same amount of clothes, Lin Qingqing will definitely steal her customers. What's more, the Xingfeng women's clothing sold by Lin Qingqing is newer, more fashionable, and cheaper than the ones sold at Miao Hui's counter. She might be able to take away all the women's clothing business from Miao Hui's ready-made clothing counter.
As a result, let alone trying to double her business, Miao Hui would find it difficult to even stabilize her turnover.
Her suggestion seemed like she was trying to trip up Lin Qingqing, but inadvertently she was helping her out, though Lin Qingqing couldn't see that.
Although Director Gao was fully aware of this, she did not point it out. Instead, she asked Lin Qingqing, "Comrade Lin Qingqing, what are your opinions on what Comrade Miao Hui said?"
Before Lin Qingqing could speak, Sister He exclaimed, "Director Gao, isn't this a bit unfair to Xiao Lin?"
“What’s unfair about this? Xiaolin is managing the new counter, and we don’t know how the business is doing. It’s unfair to compare her sales with the old sales of the pastry counter!” the lady at the pastry counter immediately said.
Sister He was furious and blurted out, "I think you're just hoping Xiao Lin's test gets harder so you can fail and get promoted to manager!"
Seeing that the two were about to start arguing, Director Gao said with a stern face, "Enough! Comrade Lin Qingqing, what are your thoughts?"
"I have no objection," Lin Qingqing said.
He couldn't help but lower her voice and advise Lin Qingqing, "Listen to my advice, don't be a show-off!"
Sister He had worked as a sales clerk for ten years and knew the fabric counter very well. The possibility of tripling the sales volume within three months was extremely slim. However, because Lin Qingqing had given her a heads-up beforehand, Sister He thought she had good character and hoped that she could become the department manager.
Sister He had seen all the efforts Lin Qingqing had made for this matter, and she really didn't want Lin Qingqing to end up with nothing because of a moment of anger.
But Lin Qingqing remained calm: "I know what I'm doing."
Seeing that Lin Qingqing agreed, Director Gao asked, "What about the others? Any objections?"
Lin Qingqing herself said she had no objections, so no one else would have any either. So Director Gao said, "The performance evaluation criteria for the store manager position is that the counter's sales revenue must triple within three months. Comrade Lin Qingqing's performance evaluation will be based on the sales volume of the wardrobe counter managed by Comrade Miao Hui in the next three months."
After he finished speaking, Director Gao gestured for Xu Fangfang to continue.
With the explosive news of the increase in department manager positions, the impact of the second piece of news was not as strong.
But after the initial excitement subsided, everyone was even more eager for the reward in the second piece of news. It's not easy to triple the sales volume, but ranking in the top three in sales volume is within reach. For a moment, the sales staff at the daily necessities, pastries and candies, and fabric counters all showed joy.
The first place prize is eight yuan!
It's almost a third of a month's salary.
Xu Fangfang also mentioned that in addition to the monthly bonus, there's also a bonus for the highest quarterly sales, with the top earner receiving 15 yuan. If you consistently rank first in monthly sales, you can earn an extra 39 yuan per quarter, which is more than a month's salary!
Even if you don't get first place, the monthly reward for second place is five yuan, and for third place it's three yuan. The quarterly rewards are higher: ten yuan for second place and five yuan for third place.
For a time, everyone was overjoyed.
...
After the new reward system was announced, the employees of Qingshan Supply and Marketing Cooperative underwent a complete transformation, just as Lin Qingqing had imagined.
Everyone greets customers with a smile, and the previous practices of ignoring customers, giving them the cold shoulder, or throwing tantrums have ceased. The benefits are obvious: firstly, the number of customers has increased, and secondly, the order rate is significantly higher than before.
The most eye-catching of them all was the Xingfeng women's clothing counter that Lin Qingqing was in charge of. In less than half a month, the counter's sales exceeded the monthly sales of the previous wardrobe counter. Xingfeng women's clothing's reputation for novel styles and good fit gradually spread to the suburbs, and for a time, everyone was proud to wear Xingfeng women's clothing.
As Lin Qingqing's career flourished, her and Xie Wei's home also underwent many changes.
First, there were more pots and pans in the kitchen; second, there were more cushions on the sofa in the living room; and finally, Xie Wei brought back an electric fan.
Oh no, it should be called a "hair dryer".
Lin Qingqing: "...囧"
Author's Note: Second update.
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