Chapter 87 Self-Inflicted Misfortune
There are two reasons for targeting cosmetics and skincare products. First, regardless of the era, women's money is always easier to earn. Second, Xingfeng counters have already achieved success, and Qingshan Supply and Marketing Cooperative's customer base is mainly female, so selling cosmetics and skincare products can better leverage existing advantages.
But Lin Qingqing also knew that Director Gao didn't pay much attention to cosmetics and skincare products.
This can be seen from the fact that Qingshan Supply and Marketing Cooperative did not set up a separate cosmetics and skincare counter, but instead placed it in the daily necessities category. Moreover, even in the daily necessities counter, the main products were skincare products such as snow cream and clam oil, with cosmetics consisting of only a couple of eyebrow pencils and lipsticks to enrich the variety.
So when Lin Qingqing went to work that day, she put on a full face of makeup.
Because she had been preparing for this, Lin Qingqing had exchanged several vouchers for daily chemical products with others during this period. In addition, with the welfare vouchers issued by the supply and marketing cooperative on New Year's Day, Lin Qingqing bought all the basic makeup products such as foundation, lipstick, and eyeshadow.
When Lin Qingqing walked into the supply and marketing cooperative, the sales clerks at the first-floor counter were all stunned when they saw her. Zhou Xiaofang was the first to react: "Manager Lin, you... you look a little different than usual?"
"What's different?" Lin Qingqing asked.
When asked to pinpoint the exact difference, Zhou Xiaofang couldn't quite put her finger on it. She only felt that the person looked more energetic, their features seemed more refined, and their face appeared smaller. But upon closer inspection, however, the face was still the same, and the features remained unchanged.
Deng Lingling asked, "Is Manager Lin wearing makeup?" She was on her turn to come downstairs today.
Lin Qingqing smiled and nodded: "Yes, I'm wearing makeup."
Zhou Xiaofang looked puzzled; "But it's not very noticeable from this angle." She wasn't unfamiliar with people who wore makeup; most of them had their faces painted white and their lips drawn bright red. However, given the poor economic climate these past few years, very few people dared to be so ostentatious.
Lin Qingqing is usually fair-skinned, and this didn't make her face much fairer than usual. Her lips were rosy, but not a bright red; in fact, they were a natural color, almost like her own lips.
Lin Qingqing explained, "The paint is quite light, so it's not very noticeable."
"Manager Lin's makeup looks so good, how did you do it?" Deng Lingling asked with envy. Girls all love to look pretty, especially girls like her who are eighteen or nineteen years old. Which one doesn't want to make themselves look beautiful?
"That's hard to say. I'll teach you when there's a chance," Lin Qingqing said. If the cosmetics counter really takes off, the sales clerks will definitely need to learn makeup. Then she asked, "Has Director Gao arrived?"
"Director Gao arrived early today, before the supply and marketing cooperative even opened," Zhou Xiaofang said.
Lin Qingqing hummed in agreement and went upstairs to her office first. After her promotion, Director Gao had Xu Fangfang arrange a desk for her in the finance department. The reason she was placed in the finance office was mainly because there wasn't enough space in the main office, and the finance department only had Accountant Sun.
When Lin Qingqing entered the office, Accountant Sun had not yet arrived. She sat down behind her desk, took out the plan she had finished writing in the past two days, and went out to knock on Director Gao's door.
Soon, Director Gao's voice came from inside: "Please come in."
Lin Qingqing pushed open the door and went in. Director Gao was looking at documents. He casually pointed to the seat in front of him and said, "Sit down."
After reviewing and signing the documents, Director Gao finally looked up at Lin Qingqing.
Upon seeing this, Director Gao was stunned: "What is this...?"
"Do you think I look any different today?" Lin Qingqing asked with a smile.
"It does look a little different." Director Gao scrutinized Lin Qingqing for a moment, then asked, "Did you put on makeup?"
"It's melted," Lin Qingqing said with a smile.
"It looks pretty good," Director Gao said. Although she was not young, she was very open to new things. Unlike some people who thought that women wearing makeup was corrupting social morals, she didn't talk much about it with Lin Qingqing. Instead, she asked, "Did you come here for something?"
"Yes, let me show you my new makeup today," Lin Qingqing said half-jokingly.
Director Gao didn't think she was joking at all, and looked at her even more seriously: "You told me a couple of days ago about a new plan, is this related?"
"Director Gao is truly wise." Lin Qingqing smiled and handed the completed plan to Director Gao.
When writing business plans, Lin Qingqing likes to use case studies as a starting point because it's the most direct approach. Previously, when she was working on the clothing counter, she used the Xingfeng Clothing Factory case study; this time, she used the cosmetics counter case study from a department store. To prepare, Lin Qingqing took advantage of her break to spend a whole day observing the cosmetics counter on that floor of the department store, until finally, people started giving her strange looks.
In the case study, Lin Qingqing listed the total number of people served at the cosmetics counter that day, the approximate amount of goods sold, the estimated sales revenue for that day, and the total sales revenue for the entire month.
After reviewing the document, Director Gao pondered for a moment and said, "Compared to the department store, we have no advantage."
"We didn't have any advantages when we were making women's clothing, but we still succeeded, didn't we?"
"But can you find another Xingfeng?" While Lin Qingqing certainly played a part in the success of Xingfeng's counter, the high quality and attractive styles of Xingfeng women's clothing also contributed significantly.
But cosmetics are different from clothing; they require long-term R&D investment and cannot be done by small workshops. Currently, most cosmetic and skincare product manufacturers on the market are either long-established brands founded over a century ago or large state-owned enterprises. There isn't a single dark horse company like Xingfeng.
If they source their goods from these companies, how can they compete head-on with department stores? And if they don't source from these companies, how will they do business?
Lin Qingqing had of course considered these things, and she said, "Please turn to the next page."
Director Gao flipped through the plan and quickly saw the advantages listed by Lin Qingqing.
First, there's the customer base. This primarily refers to the customers at Xingfeng Women's Clothing counters. In an era when most people still rely on tailors to make their clothes, women who can afford ready-made clothing generally come from well-off families. This group is the main consumer group for cosmetics. Lin Qingqing also listed that in the past seven days, half of the customers had either drawn their eyebrows or applied face powder.
Secondly, there's makeup technique. This term was a bit new to Director Gao. She thought makeup was just putting things on the face, so how could it be a technical job?
In response, Lin Qingqing pointed to herself and asked, "What do you think of my makeup?"
"nice."
Do you think everyone looks good with makeup?
Director Gao thought for a moment and shook his head: "No."
“I call this makeup technique,” Lin Qingqing said. “Every woman loves beauty, but not everyone knows how to do makeup. Why? It’s not just because they can’t afford cosmetics, but because they are afraid of not doing it well, and also because they have never done makeup before and don’t know if they look good with makeup.”
Therefore, in Lin Qingqing's plan, they could hold a free makeup event when the cosmetics counter first opened. This wouldn't cost much, but it would attract enough foot traffic, which would then translate into sales.
When they don't know something, they won't have any thoughts about it. But when they know how beautiful they can become after putting on makeup, can they still remain unmoved when they see cosmetics?
Lin Qingqing thought it was impossible.
So from the very beginning, she never intended to compete with department stores by offering a wider range of products and stealing customers; what she wanted was to expand her customer base.
Worried your makeup won't look good? No problem, I'll do your makeup.
Worried about not being good at makeup? No problem, I'll teach you.
Worried about attracting trouble by wearing too much makeup? No problem, we have the "no-makeup" makeup look.
She refused to believe that with so many temptations, they still couldn't make a breakthrough.
After listening to Lin Qingqing's words, Director Gao also began to seriously consider the feasibility of this matter.
As the head of the supply and marketing cooperative, she couldn't be as daring as Lin Qingqing; she had to carefully consider the success rate and the extent of the risks involved.
Unlike their previous experience in the clothing industry, where Xingfeng was a new brand and they easily secured a distributorship agreement, this time they were dealing with a large corporation, making distributorship impossible... This meant higher expenses and greater risks.
But according to Lin Qingqing's plan, if things go smoothly, the profits will be huge. And even if it fails, cosmetics have a long shelf life and shouldn't be unsold. Even if they are unsold, there's always the women's clothing to fall back on.
After considering it, Director Gao asked, "What are your thoughts on the product?"
"When it comes to products, quality is more important than quantity," Lin Qingqing said. Since they can't compete with department stores, they'll focus on one product, plus things like face cream and clam oil, which is enough to fill a counter.
Lin Qingqing's top recommendation for the product was Xie Fuchun, a century-old brand most famous for its face powder. Face powder is similar to foundation, and Lin Qingqing specifically bought Xie Fuchun's duck egg powder. In addition to face powder, Xie Fuchun also produces eyeshadow, lip gloss, blush, and other high-quality products with a complete product range.
After hearing this, Director Gao said, "Then I'll have to go on a business trip?"
Xie Fuchun isn't in Jin City, and if she wants to discuss cooperation with the manufacturers, she'll definitely have to go on a business trip. Lin Qingqing nodded and said, "Yes, she will have to go."
"Are you confident that you can secure this cooperation?" Director Gao asked.
Lin Qingqing nodded: "I have confidence."
Director Gao said, "Then I'll leave this matter to you."
...
When Xie Wei returned on Friday, he learned from Lin Qingqing that she was going on a business trip.
Xie Wei was washing his feet at the time. He paused as he bent down to scoop a towel from the foot basin, then turned to ask, "When are you leaving? How many days will you be gone?"
"I'll leave next Monday, and it's expected to take five days. I'll come back once I've finished my business." At this time, transportation is inconvenient. It takes a day and a half to travel from Jinshi to Yangzhou. If all goes well, I can return in four or five days, but if things don't go smoothly, it may take a week.
Xie Wei didn't not want his wife to go on the business trip, he was just worried about her traveling far away alone.
In Xie Wei's mind, Lin Qingqing's arrival to join the army was probably the first time she had left her hometown. After joining the army, the farthest she had ever gone was to take a bus to the steel mill for an exam. Hearing that she was going on a business trip, Xie Wei couldn't help but feel a little worried.
Xie Wei asked, "Are you going alone?"
"Okay." Lin Qingqing nodded. Tickets and accommodations weren't cheap, and more people meant more expenses. She said, "Don't worry, I'll call back when I get there. If anything happens, Director Gao will definitely let you know."
“Call me,” Xie Wei said, frowning.
Lin Qingqing was taken aback and asked, "Is it convenient?"
"There's nothing inconvenient about it."
Lin Qingqing smiled and said, "Okay, I'll call you when I arrive."
Because Lin Qingqing was going on a business trip in a few days and wouldn't be back until next Wednesday, Xie Wei was unusually enthusiastic that evening. Only because there were two layers of blankets, making it less likely for drafts to get in, did Lin Qingqing let him be. But towards the end, she couldn't take it anymore. Afterwards, Xie Wei wanted to continue, but she pushed him away, glaring at him and saying, "That's enough!"
“That’s not enough. You’re going on a business trip in a few days,” Xie Wei said.
Lin Qingqing said, "You'll be home tomorrow anyway."
"Can we do it tomorrow?" Xie Wei asked with a low laugh.
Lin Qingqing wanted to say no, but seeing that he wouldn't stop, she said helplessly, "Can't you think of something serious?"
"This is a major life event," Xie Wei said, pulling her into his arms and kissing the back of her ear, "so you won't accuse me of having a problem again."
Ever since she last talked to Xie Wei about the child, he's been using Lin Qingqing as a pretext to justify their actions every time they do it.
Lin Qingqing sighed. She now understood what it meant to have trouble coming from one's mouth, and what it meant to reap what one sows.
...
Lin Qingqing planned to return in five days, but something came up after she arrived, and it ultimately took her seven days. Despite the setbacks, the result was good; she returned with her first batch of goods.
Because she was carrying goods, Lin Qingqing did not go home after arriving in Jinshi, but went directly to the supply and marketing cooperative.
Before she returned, she called Director Gao, who waited for her in his office. When he saw her carrying bags in, he rushed out from behind his desk to greet her and asked, "Is this the first batch of goods?"
"Okay, please check." Lin Qingqing took a list out of her bag and handed it to Director Gao. The two of them began to check the goods.
After checking and confirming that everything was correct, Lin Qingqing carried the items downstairs and placed the products on the newly arranged cosmetics counter.
The cosmetics counter was located on the second floor, partly to capitalize on the customer traffic from the Xingfeng women's clothing counter, and partly because the second floor was spacious. Before Lin Qingqing returned, Director Gao had already had skincare products such as snow cream and clam oil moved upstairs, so two floors were used for the counter, leaving the top two floors empty.
Lin Qingqing and Deng Lingling filled the two empty shelves, then placed one of each product on the counter. In addition to cosmetics, there were also glass bottles of handmade face cream and a mirror on the counter.
The mirror was prepared according to Lin Qingqing's request. The mirror surface was only the size of two palms, but it reflected the image fairly clearly.
In Lin Qingqing's opinion, it would be best to have a large full-length mirror on the second floor, making it more convenient for customers to try on clothes, shoes, and hats. However, mirrors were still quite rare at that time. Small mirrors were fine; they could be bought at the supply and marketing cooperative. Large makeup mirrors or full-length mirrors were usually embedded in dressing tables or wardrobes, and these were only available in department stores. As for standalone full-length mirrors, Lin Qingqing had never seen one before.
Helpless, Lin Qingqing had no choice but to postpone the matter of the dressing mirror for the time being.
When they were setting up the cosmetics counter, a customer asked Su Rong, "Is your cosmetics counter about to open for business?"
Lin Qingqing had previously instructed the sales staff at each counter to inform customers that a new cosmetics counter had been set up on the second floor and would open next Monday, with new and returning customers getting one free makeup session for the first seven days.
Hearing that it was free makeup, many people expressed interest and planned to come and check it out with their friends and family. Therefore, the news spread quickly, and this customer had obviously heard about it as well, asking Su Rong to confirm if it was true.
Su Rong smiled and said, "That's right. The cosmetics counter will open tomorrow. For the first seven days, both new and returning customers will enjoy free makeup services. If you're interested, you can come and give it a try."
After hearing this, Ding Qin said, "Okay, I'll make time to come and take a look in a few days."
Although she said that, Ding Qin didn't take it too seriously. She felt her makeup skills were good enough, and she had enough cosmetics at home, so there was no need to buy new ones. Of course, more importantly, she had been to the Qingshan Supply and Marketing Cooperative more than once or twice, and she had seen every saleswoman there. They were all without makeup, and their makeup skills might not even be as good as hers, so there was really no need to travel halfway across the city to join in the fun.
So after returning home, Ding Qin quickly forgot about the incident, and by the time she remembered it, the seven days were almost over.
That day, her cousin came to visit and, seeing how much she liked her new clothes, subtly inquired where she had bought them. Ding Qin remembered the Qingshan Supply and Marketing Cooperative and recalled the event Su Rong had mentioned to her a week earlier, so she suggested to her cousin that they go shopping there.
Ding Qin was several years older than her cousin, and the two weren't close. So when Ding Qin offered to take her shopping, her cousin was a little surprised, but then touched, and said from the bottom of her heart, "Cousin, you're so kind!"
Although she decided to join in the fun, Ding Qin didn't have high hopes for the cosmetics counter at Qingshan Supply and Marketing Cooperative. She'd glanced at it that day and it seemed like all the cosmetics were from the same brand, with limited variety. So, on the way, Ding Qin didn't mention the free makeup trial at the counter to her cousin, only telling her about Xingfeng Women's Clothing.
Although Ding's cousin is in school, she knows about Xingfeng Women's Clothing because someone in their residential compound bought a Xingfeng coat a while ago and bragged about it for days, saying that this brand of clothing is very popular now, as if a woman is a country bumpkin if she doesn't have a piece of Xingfeng women's clothing in her wardrobe.
When Ding's cousin first heard this, she was quite dissatisfied, but after seeing the person's clothes, she thought they were indeed nice. Now, hearing that her older cousin was wearing clothes from Xingfeng, she felt both excited and troubled about the trip.
She longs to see nice clothes, but is worried because she's just a student and even if she likes a piece, her mom probably won't buy it for her.
Thinking of this, Cousin Ding looked at her older cousin with envy.
If only she had a job too.
The two arrived at the Qingshan Supply and Marketing Cooperative with their own thoughts. They first looked at the storefront, and to be honest, Cousin Ding was somewhat disappointed.
She had been to the department store in the city center, which was four stories high and very grand. But this supply and marketing cooperative... was similar to the one in their neighborhood, making her wonder if her cousin had gone to the wrong place.
But that was only how it felt from the outside. Once inside, seeing the bustling crowd and the long line stretching all the way up the stairs from the entrance, Ding's cousin was dumbfounded and asked, "Are all these people here to buy clothes?"
Ding Qin shook her head. When she came before, there weren't so many people in the supply and marketing cooperative. She said, "Let's go up and take a look."
Once on the second floor, Ding Qin quickly saw the newly opened cosmetics counter at the end of the queue. However, the queue had circled around several times and was difficult to reach. So she asked a woman in the queue next to her, "Sister, why are you all queuing here?"
Upon hearing this, the older woman immediately asked, "You're not from this suburb, are you?"
"No," Ding Qin said, explaining her neighborhood. "I brought my cousin here to look at clothes today, but there was a really long line downstairs. Do you know why?"
"I didn't know I was in line here?" the older woman asked rhetorically. Seeing Ding Qin's embarrassed expression, she didn't hide anything and said, "Didn't their supply and marketing cooperative just open a cosmetics counter? They said the first seven days would be free makeup. Look, everyone's here to get free makeup."
"It's just free makeup, it's not worth queuing for so long, is it?" Ding Qin said.
“If it didn’t look good, it wouldn’t be worth queuing for so long. But not only does Manager Lin’s makeup look good, you can’t even tell at first glance that she’s wearing makeup.” As she spoke, the queue moved, and she quickly pointed to someone who came out and said, “Look, this is someone who just finished getting their makeup done.”
When the betrothed woman looked up, she was indeed as her elder sister had described—stunningly beautiful at first glance, yet it was impossible to tell where she was wearing makeup.
"Actually, when I came to buy things before, I heard the people from the supply and marketing cooperative mention the free makeup service. At the time, I thought I was too old to bother with makeup, so I never came. But yesterday, my neighbor came over and got her makeup done. Oh my, I almost didn't recognize her! So I came over today when I had some free time."
The older woman spoke with a sense of regret, saying that she had heard the cosmetics counter wasn't very popular when it first opened, but its reputation had spread in the last couple of days, and the number of customers had gradually increased. She thought to herself that if she had known there would be so many people, she would have crawled over on the first day of opening.
As they were talking, the line moved again, and a young woman in her late twenties stepped out. She had a round face, was slightly plump, but had large, bright eyes that were very endearing. Upon closer inspection, it was clear that she had applied powder to her face, drawn her eyebrows, and slightly curved the corners of her eyes; she was obviously wearing makeup.
Then look in her hand; she's still holding Xie Fuchun's face powder.
Cousin Ding was somewhat tempted and asked in a low voice, "Cousin, should we give it a try too?"
Hearing what Ding's cousin said, the person behind the eldest sister quickly said, "You have to go to the back of the line!" She had been waiting in line for almost an hour, and she wouldn't allow anyone to cut in line.
Ding Qin considered herself to have good taste and was willing to spend money, so the cosmetics she used were not cheap. However, no matter how much makeup she did, she couldn't achieve the same effect. So, although she hadn't taken this free makeup trial seriously at first, she was tempted after seeing the makeup looks of the two people in the end.
After thinking it over, Ding Qin nodded and said, "Let's go to the back and line up."
...
Although she knew the free makeup trial would attract many people, Lin Qingqing hadn't expected the event to be so popular. For the last three days of the event, she had to send someone downstairs around 2 or 3 pm each day to tell people not to continue queuing.
A successful event means hard work. Makeup is supposed to be a joyful experience, but by the end, Lin Qingqing's movements had become mechanical. Every morning when she woke up, Lin Qingqing felt like her arms were going to break.
However, her hard work paid off. The cosmetics counter's sales have been steadily increasing over the past few days. Today, on average, one out of every three people she does makeup for makes a purchase. Moreover, these people who come for free makeup trials not only look at the cosmetics counter but also browse other counters on their way out. As a result, the entire supply and marketing cooperative's sales have increased significantly in the past few days.
With this in mind, Lin Qingqing was full of energy.
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