2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 123 In Progress

After leaving the office, Sun Yuming didn't go directly to the market. He had to go to the finance office first to get an advance. His boss wanted to buy five electric scooters of various brands, including some off-brand ones.

In addition, some batteries, motors, and controllers need to be purchased, which will cost at least 2 yuan. Sun Yuming does not have that much money to cover the cost.

The boss just wrote me a note that I can get an advance of 50,000 yuan from the finance department as the initial funding for this test.

Since returning from the Canton Fair and accepting Tan Jincheng's invitation to become his assistant, Sun Yuming has been leading a busy life. If we were to talk about who is the busiest person in Flash Auto Industry right now, it would undoubtedly be Sun Yuming.

Sun Yuming is like a brick, always ready to be moved wherever needed. Shanchi Auto previously provided a pickup truck without hiring a driver, but now this pickup truck is like Sun Yuming's personal car. He goes out several times a day, driving this pickup truck almost all over the Beicang area.

Sun Yuming is busy every day, but his salary is not high. His basic salary is only 5000 yuan, and even with subsidies for phone bills and housing, it's not much. But he is very happy with his work.

Participating in the creation of a company was something he had never imagined before. Watching a factory area grow from nothing to something, gradually filled with equipment and with more and more employees, Sun Yuming was filled with pride.

He deserves credit for this. Although his income is not high now, Sun Yuming believes that this is only temporary. Once Shanchi Motors officially enters the production stage and the electric scooters are put on the market, Boss Tan will definitely not treat him unfairly.

In fact, even with some current procurement practices, Boss Tan already tacitly agreed that he could take a small cut to subsidize him. It's considered an industry norm for small business owners to give procurement staff a kickback, a fact that Boss Tan himself told him.

However, Sun Yuming has never accepted money. If it's mealtime, he won't refuse a meal or a cigarette. If you don't take anything, people might not be happy. But there's no need to accept money.

Money is good, but it's not so easy to get. If something happens to you in the future, you won't be able to get rid of it. All your hard work will be for nothing. Sun Yuming firmly believes that he can earn more in the future, and it will be done honestly and legitimately.

Judging from recent work, there are two main issues troubling my boss: the progress of technology development and the procurement of components. I have neither the opportunity nor the ability to participate in the technology aspect.

But parts procurement is an option. With the test data, I can help the boss find excellent parts suppliers and secure them at the most suitable prices. Wouldn't my commission be low then?

Indeed, as the person closest to Tan Jincheng at Flash Automotive, Sun Yuming also had some ambitions, namely, to fully participate in parts procurement, learn the tricks of the trade, and in the future, when the boss is too busy, he can help him take over the procurement department.

As one of the boss's earliest confidants, taking over the purchasing department makes perfect sense, right? He can earn money honestly and legitimately without having to resort to underhanded tactics—isn't that much better than just collecting small sums now?

Sun Yuming, who was dreaming of making a lot of money, received an advance of 50,000 yuan from the finance office and went to buy a small electric scooter and spare parts.

Meanwhile, Tan Jincheng began preparing for the interviews with new employees. Several more employees from the R&D department would be interviewing today. With the current personnel structure, there were still too few available talents. Technical skills cannot be faked; if you're good, you're good, and if you're not, you're not.

Anyone with a little knowledge can quickly see that without increasing technical reserves, it will be difficult to complete the project within the required timeframe. That's why the R&D department has been constantly issuing recruitment requests recently.

As for whether there will be an overstaffed workforce, there is no need to worry about that for the time being. There will be a Fengchi series in the future, and even a new series. In addition, we will also do some extended development of electric vehicles, such as three-wheeled electric vehicles, etc.

The factory's recruitment process is very simple. Even ordinary workers like Tan Jincheng don't need to show up. They are recruited in batches, with a one-month probationary period. If they are not suitable, they are replaced. During the probationary period, there is nothing except basic salary, and no contract needs to be signed.

Recruiting for the R&D department is also very simple. Wang Chao checks the technical skills, and Tan Jincheng checks the character. If they are good enough, they will be hired. There is also a probationary period.

These days, technical personnel are quite reckless. After successfully applying for a job and working for a few days, many feel they are not suited to the job, are dissatisfied with the pay, or have found a better job, and then run away without a word.

There's no need to pay these kinds of people; it's like they got a few days for free. I heard Zhang Mingcan say before that the most outrageous person they encountered in their factory was someone who worked for half a month and then stopped coming to collect their wages. It was quite interesting.

Although Flash Automotive has only been established for a short time, there are quite a few employees who quit after working for two or three days. However, most of them are in the general worker category, and the R&D department has not encountered such a situation yet.

In his past life, Tan Jincheng would occasionally come across short videos of people running away with buckets, which he always treated as jokes. Now, however, it was happening right next to him, making him realize that there are all kinds of people in the world.
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Flash Automotive is racing against time, but it can't rush things. At this point, the factory has actually entered a quiet period. The equipment in the workshop has been basically debugged, and the workers' daily task is training.

The R&D department was also making steady progress, and the recruitment of employees did not stop. On June 17, Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping also resolved their personal issues and set off from Yicheng on their adventure.

For a middle-aged person to step out of the comfort zone of a state-owned enterprise and start a business with a 20-year-old kid seems a bit outrageous to everyone at Yicheng Petrochemical who knows them.

But this absurd thing really happened, and even Tan Lihua, who is far away in Yicheng, has recently noticed that his colleagues are looking at him differently at work.

What method did Old Tan's son use to trick Xiao Zhang and Xiao Wu into giving up their jobs at the state-owned enterprise and becoming salespeople at his lousy company? Although last time I came back, a neighbor noticed that their son had changed his car from a Passat before the new year to a BMW.

But how could they possibly make such a decision? It just goes to show how crazy this world is!
The reasons that drive men to madness are nothing more than money and power. The prospect of a monthly income of no less than 10,000 yuan, along with the allure of establishing the marketing department of Flash Automotive, perfectly fulfilled the prerequisites for the two to go crazy in the future.

"Uncle Lin, Uncle Wu, welcome! Is everything settled at home?" Tan Jincheng asked with a smile after picking them up from the bus. "Everything's settled. Now we'll leave the old man to you, Mr. Tan," Lin Yumin quickly adapted to his role.

"Yes, I hope Mr. Tan will take good care of me in the future," Wu Zhenping said, continuing Lin Yumin's line of thought.

The two were well aware that ever since they boarded the minibus to Ningbo again, their relationship with the young man in front of them had undergone a qualitative change. No matter what they did in the future, it would all be decided by the young man in front of them.

"Uncle Lin and Uncle Wu, you're too kind. Just call me Xiao Tan. Let me take you to your accommodations first. If you need anything, just let me know," Tan Jincheng said with a smile.

Lin and Wu just smiled and didn't say anything; they could just listen to such rhetoric and leave it at that. If they actually called her Xiao Tan again, then they would have wasted all the years they had spent working in the state-owned enterprise.

The apartment is located in the same neighborhood as Tan Jincheng's current apartment, just across the street. This arrangement allows for mutual support while also effectively protecting the privacy of both parties. The two-bedroom, one-living-room layout is similar to Tan Jincheng's current apartment, but it is relatively larger.

"It's a temporary rental, and this is all we can find for now. Uncle Lin and Uncle Wu, you can make do with it for now. We'll improve it when the company's conditions improve in the future."

"No, it's already very good. This house is quite big and has good natural light."

"It's really nice, even bigger than my house in Yicheng. Mr. Tan, you're very kind."

Tan Jincheng smiled. As expected of someone from a state-owned enterprise, he speaks very well. Although these two are limited by their seniority and background, they can't get good apartments in the petrochemical family area, but surely they shouldn't be worse off than this temporary rental.
Tan Jincheng looked around. Sun Yuming had already furnished the house with all the rice, flour, pots, pans, and other necessities he could think of. They could start cooking tonight. Unless there were any special requirements, it was truly a move-in ready place.

These conditions are much better than when I rented a place with Zhang Xupeng.

Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping looked around, their eyes revealing satisfaction. All the necessary furniture was there, and they could start cooking that night. The most thoughtful touch was the desktop computer placed in the living room, which was clearly newly provided.

That's great, now I can sometimes video chat with my kids at home, but I don't know if I'm connected to the internet.

"The internet cable has been installed. Considering that the two uncles are coming alone, they can chat with their families when they have free time, and play games occasionally."

“What are we doing playing games at our age? But chatting with family is fine, Mr. Tan, thank you for your thoughtfulness.”

"Uncle Wu is joking. You are only in your thirties, in the prime of your lives. You have a long life ahead of you."

"Haha, I love to hear you say that, Mr. Tan. You're in your prime."

Tan Jincheng took three bottles of mineral water from the refrigerator and walked to the coffee table. Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping saw that he had something to say, so they quickly went over as well.

"Uncle Lin, Uncle Wu, please sit down. Let me tell you about your upcoming work arrangements first," Tan Jincheng said with a smile as he sat down.

"Please speak, Mr. Tan," the two said in unison as they sat down.

But what I was really thinking was, is this just Xiao Tan's style? She's barely arrived at Beicang, and before she's even settled in, she's already talking about work.

"First, let me tell Uncle Lin and Uncle Wu that I'll pay you your full salaries this month, plus a settlement allowance. It's not much, but it should be enough to meet your basic needs." Tan Jincheng took two envelopes out of his pants pocket.

This was prepared in advance. Since the two wanted to venture out and try their luck, they must be dissatisfied with their current financial situation. Although there is a saying in Yicheng that "a poor family should travel with plenty of money," the two of them have families to support, so they probably wouldn't be carrying too much money with them when they go out.

I was chatting with the construction workers my uncle was working with, and they said that when they went out to work, they only carried enough for the journey and about a month's living expenses. Some of them even only carried a few hundred yuan for the journey.

Although Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping were not in such dire straits, they certainly didn't have much money with them, and they would be going on business trips soon, with many other expenses to cover.

Looking at the envelope handed over by Tan Jincheng, the two exchanged glances, their eyes lighting up. Judging from the thick stack of paper, it must contain at least 20,000 yuan. This young Tan is really generous.

However, I felt a little embarrassed. I hadn't done any work, so it was a bit unreasonable to receive so much money.

"Take it. It's not easy being away from home. Besides, if you two uncles don't take this money, how can I continue the conversation?" Tan Jincheng said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)