Chapter 1 Making a Phone Call
When Lin Qingqing came downstairs, Zhou Xiaofang was still there. Seeing her, she came out from behind the counter and asked in a low voice, "Have you decided where to go?"
It was already after get off work hours, and most of the people in the store had left. As Lin Qingqing walked towards the backyard, she said, "It's confirmed, Cheng Yi store."
"It's a wardrobe counter." Zhou Xiaofang felt a little disappointed.
Lin Qingqing went to the wardrobe counter, so there's no one to fill her position, and her dream of transferring to the fabric counter upstairs is definitely out of the question. But she's also a little confused. She saw Director Gao bring Lin Qingqing here specifically to recognize her, and she thought Director Gao valued Lin Qingqing, so why did he put her in the wardrobe counter?
Thinking this, Zhou Xiaofang asked the question.
Lin Qingqing felt that many people in the store must have the same question, but she didn't reveal Director Gao's plan. She just smiled and said, "How could I understand the leader's arrangements?"
Zhou Xiaofang thought about it and agreed. Lin Qingqing was a military wife from out of town. Although she was arranged by the Revolutionary Committee's Family Placement Office, no one was there to support her. It was only natural that she would be assigned to the Wardrobe Department. Thinking of this, Zhou Xiaofang patted Lin Qingqing on the shoulder and said, "Do a good job."
Lin Qingqing solemnly nodded and said, "Then I'll be going?"
Zhou Xiaofang waved and said goodbye for tomorrow. Standing there watching Lin Qingqing's back, she thought that she really didn't need to pity Lin Qingqing.
Lin Qingqing has only been with the army for a short time, and she's already bought a bicycle. Unlike her, who worked at the supply and marketing cooperative for several years and couldn't even get a bicycle voucher. Even if she did get one, she wouldn't buy a bicycle—they're so expensive!
Before she pities others, she should first feel sorry for herself!
Lin Qingqing, who had already ridden away, was unaware of Zhou Xiaofang's thoughts. She was still pondering how to tell Xie Baoshan about this.
Writing letters back was too slow, and sending telegrams was expensive and unclear... Making a phone call was convenient and, in the end, less expensive than sending a telegram, but Xingfeng Garment Factory didn't have a telephone, so they could only call the commune. But that meant finding someone to deliver a message to Xie Baoshan and arrange a time for him to call. While this made communicating easier, it made it difficult for both sides to get in touch.
It seems we should still advise Xie Baoshan to install a telephone in the factory.
This wasn't Lin Qingqing doing it for her own convenience, but rather because timely communication was necessary during the factory's expansion. Otherwise, if the distance was even slightly greater, the process from order negotiation to contract signing might involve two or three or even more communications. If letters were used, it could take half a month or even two or three months, by which time the deal would be finalized and the deal would be too late.
Lin Qingqing was preoccupied with her thoughts and was somewhat absent-minded when she entered the residential compound. She almost took the wrong turn because of it, and only came to her senses after someone reminded her. She then rode her bicycle home.
Today is Wednesday, and Xie Wei is back.
Lin Qingqing usually comes home earlier than Xie Wei, so it was unusual that he didn't see her today. Xie Wei was a little worried, but when he heard a noise outside, he came out to check. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was her: "Working overtime?"
"I spent some time talking with Director Gao," Lin Qingqing said. "Have you eaten yet?"
"Not yet," Xie Wei said.
Lin Qingqing looked up at her watch and said, "It's getting late. Shall we eat at the cafeteria today?"
Xie Wei nodded, went back inside to get his lunchbox, and came out. Lin Qingqing thought for a moment, then rode her bike into the house and parked it before going out with him.
...
During the meal, Lin Qingqing mentioned that she had placed an order at her counter. Xie Wei knew that this was essentially a trial period for her, so he asked, "How about I go to your place on Saturday to buy some clothes?"
"I don't need you to help me boost sales." Lin Qingqing chuckled after hearing this. "Besides, how much can you buy by yourself? You have money but no cloth coupons."
Xie Wei pondered for a moment and said, "Then I'll talk to my comrades and tell them to buy clothes from you from now on."
"Are you serious?" Lin Qingqing asked, looking surprised.
"Yes, there's strength in numbers." Xie Wei nodded seriously.
Lin Qingqing chuckled and shook her head, saying, "Forget it. Even if I rely on you to boost the sales and become a store manager, it won't make a difference." What she wanted wasn't just to become a store manager of a small supply and marketing cooperative. Xie Wei could help her temporarily, but not forever.
Despite saying that, Lin Qingqing was still quite happy. However, after looking around, she gave up on the idea of kissing Xie Wei and said, "Besides, doesn't the army give you clothes every season? You won't have many opportunities to wear the clothes you buy, so let's not let people waste their money."
"Alright," Xie Wei said, no longer insisting.
Seeing his furrowed brows, Lin Qingqing said, "Don't worry, I already have a plan in mind, but I need to discuss it with my older brother first."
"Should we write back?" Xie Wei asked.
Lin Qingqing shook her head: "Writing letters is too slow. I'll call our commune's revolutionary committee tomorrow and ask someone to pass on a message to my brother."
Xie Wei thought about it and realized that this was the only way, so he nodded and hummed in agreement.
...
The next day at work, Lin Qingqing was officially assigned to the wardrobe counter on the second floor.
Although the wardrobe counter wasn't doing well, it was the largest counter in the store, and it had previously been managed by a saleswoman named Miao Hui.
Miao Hui is twenty-three years old and has been working at the supply and marketing cooperative for just over a year. When she first joined, she knew nothing and thought managing the clothing counter was a great job—it sounded so sophisticated! But after working there for a while, Miao Hui realized why sales clerks didn't want to sell ready-made clothes—there was no money to be made!
The job of a sales clerk sounds respectable, but in reality, the salary is less than that of a factory worker. Apprentices in factories earn between 18 and 22 yuan a month, and after becoming regular employees, they can generally earn 33 yuan. Those promoted to level two workers earn even more, between 36 and 41 yuan. While a sales clerk's starting salary seems high, at 24 yuan a month, the maximum is only 28 yuan a month.
So if you look at wages, sales clerks really don't earn as much as factory workers. Those who go to great lengths to get into the supply and marketing cooperatives aren't just after the wages; they're also after the extra money and kickbacks.
Take Zhou Xiaofang, for example. She manages a counter that sells daily necessities, so her family basically doesn't need to spend extra money on oil and salt. Then there's Sister Zhu, who manages the fabric counter. Occasionally, she'll take home a scrap of fabric, and as long as it's not excessive, no one bothers her.
Of course, since they were all colleagues, and they got along well, Zhou Xiaofang sometimes wouldn't charge her when she was just doing odd jobs. And Sister Zhu would occasionally give her a scrap of cloth—not enough to make a handkerchief, but enough to hem the edges.
But hoping for someone else's kindness is never as good as managing the counter yourself, so over time, Miao Hui would occasionally hope to be transferred to another counter. But since nothing like this had ever happened before, she didn't think much of it until Lin Qingqing rotated between counters this time, and she heard people talking about it, and the thought became strong.
This morning, when she saw Comrade Xu from the logistics department bring Lin Qingqing over, Miao Hui thought she had a chance. Who knew that she would be asked to manage the wardrobe counter with Lin Qingqing?
Miao Hui was utterly disappointed and was no longer as enthusiastic towards Lin Qingqing as she had been the previous two days. She sat in her seat sighing.
Although her colleagues at the counter looked dejected, Lin Qingqing wasn't affected and cheered up as she waited for customers to arrive. However, the second floor mainly sold expensive items that were hard to come by, so although there were people coming to the second floor that morning, most of them were heading to the fabric counter.
The morning passed, and Lin Qingqing had only served three customers. Two of them quickly went to the fabric counter after looking around, while the other person took a fancy to a pair of black pants, but ultimately decided to buy the fabric to make his own due to the price.
Miao Hui watched coldly, and when no one was around, she said to Lin Qingqing, "What's the use of being so nice? Those people won't buy anything even if they see it."
During her rotation, Lin Qingqing heard this phrase from every salesperson.
The professional qualities that are essential for modern service workers are practically useless in this era, even making her seem like an oddball. But Lin Qingqing has no intention of changing her sales approach, saying, "It's just a few words, it's no big deal if I don't make any money."
Hearing her say that, Miao Hui snorted and thought that she would eventually realize that talking nicely was useless; those who wanted to buy would buy no matter what, and those who didn't want to buy wouldn't buy no matter what.
Faced with Miao Hui's cold snort, Lin Qingqing did not argue, but simply maintained a faint smile.
After lunch, Lin Qingqing went to Director Gao's office to borrow the phone to call Yutian Commune. A staff member from Yutian Commune answered the phone, and after confirming her identity and the person she was looking for, said, "Captain Xie from Xingfeng Brigade will be coming to the commune for a meeting this afternoon, which is expected to end at three o'clock."
After hearing this, Lin Qingqing said, "Then I'll call back at 3:30. Could you please tell him for me?"
"Okay," the person on the other end of the phone said.
After hanging up the phone, Lin Qingqing explained the situation to Director Gao. Director Gao said, "I have to go out this afternoon. How about this, I'll give the office keys to Comrade Xiao Xu. You can just ask her for the keys later."
Lin Qingqing agreed and went back downstairs to continue working at the counter.
At 3:20 PM, Lin Qingqing made an excuse to go upstairs, got the key from Comrade Xu in logistics, and entered Director Gao's office. At 3:30 PM, she dialed a number, and the operator transferred her to Xie Baoshan.
After the call connected, Lin Qingqing called out "Big Brother" and began to explain the situation and her plans. For Xingfeng Garment Factory, this was a sure way to make money, so he naturally had no objections. However, Lin Qingqing's next words made him hesitate.
Lin Qingqing wanted to sign a consignment agreement with Xie Baoshan, whereby Xingfeng Garment Factory would release a batch of goods to Qingshan Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and she would be paid for each item sold. Although the previous agents used a similar method, they would only take one to three pieces of clothing at most, with limited losses... Lin Qingqing, however, wanted to get a batch of goods for free.
Lin Qingqing didn't try to appeal to Xie Baoshan's emotions; she simply explained the advantages of cooperating with them.
First, Jinshi is far from the provincial capital, making it a completely untapped market for Xingfeng Garment Factory. Moreover, Jinshi is close to other provinces, so if successful, Xingfeng could use it as a base to expand its brand awareness.
Secondly, Qingshan Supply and Marketing Cooperative focuses on selling Xingfeng Garment Factory's clothing as a key product, vigorously promoting it and building brand awareness among customers, which is beneficial for brand promotion.
Finally, they can stipulate the payment schedule in the contract, such as monthly or bi-weekly settlement. Also, the initial order volume from Qingshan Supply and Marketing Cooperative won't be large, so it won't affect the garment factory's cash flow. And if the garments don't sell, the supply and marketing cooperative will send all the remaining clothes back.
After Lin Qingqing finished speaking, Xie Baoshan said, "I need to discuss this with the other people in the factory."
"Is four days enough? Call me next Monday and tell me the result."
Xie Baoshan nodded and said, "I'll give you an answer next Monday afternoon."
Author's Note: Second update
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