Our Rise Era

Chapter 2: ZY Group’s toilet water is drinkable!
In every era, a group of people are born.

They are unwilling to be ordinary, and rush into the tide of the times to fight, wanting to become the trendsetters of the times and the protagonists!
Looking back on most of Zhang Yang’s life in his original world, he felt like he was born at the wrong time.

Born in the countryside, I studied hard for ten years and went to a good university, where I met a lot of nice people and also witnessed the prosperity of the big city.

I worked and studied until I graduated in 08, and finally found a job in Shanghai, but was hit by the financial crisis and a wave of unemployment.

After finally making it to 11 years, I ambitiously wanted to start a business. After entering the Internet field, I realized that the Internet's opportunities were becoming increasingly narrow.

The two Mas compete, PDD rises, big capital devours small capital, and it becomes increasingly difficult for ordinary people to start a business...

However, I am never willing to be a screw at the bottom!

So, he pulled a group of people together and rushed into the tide of the times like a gambler to fight.

That year, he had fought with a certain group. With his great ambition, he once had the upper hand, but in the end he made one mistake and was ruthlessly abandoned by the capital, becoming a stepping stone for the group!

That year, he competed with Ele. Waimai for investment, but was betrayed and kicked out early. The users he had accumulated with great difficulty were completely swallowed up by Ele. Waimai...

That year, a company similar to PDD was established. It made a small fortune in the early stages, but was eventually strangled by capital and eventually went bankrupt, leaving nothing.

That year...

……

In the torrent of the times, he has always been fighting, but he has failed again and again, and stood up again and again, still refusing to bow to capital.

After 23 years, Zhang Yang sold his last company, gave his tearful employees the last bonus, and finally left in disgrace.

Although he was unwilling, he knew very well that in this era, the only way to survive was to sell one's dignity and act like a dog!

He knew even more clearly that in that era of capital dominance, it was impossible to have another myth of rising up and breaking the blockade.

..........................................

"Sister Xu is the last buyer I'm trying to get. Brother Zhang, we have no money left now, not a single cent. Soon, we won't be able to repay our bank loan, and we're going to be blacklisted..."

"After being blocked, we can't do anything!"

The moonlight is bright and clear.

inside the house.

Fatty Yuan smoked one cigarette after another, repeating the same words over and over again.

Zhang Yang drank tea while reading several articles in the magazine "Reader's Digest" with great interest, turning a deaf ear to Fatty Yuan's complaints.

In the era when the Internet was not yet truly popular, Reader's Digest was extremely popular throughout China.

If you walk down the street and take a look, you can see that all sizes of bookstores and newsstands are filled with magazines such as Reader's Digest, Story Club, and Art Forest.

A set of data shows that the average monthly sales of Reader's Digest in the first four months of 07 reached an astonishing figure of 1500 million copies per month!
Well, it’s available in Zhang Yang and Fatty Yuan’s grocery store.

Zhang Yang was flipping through Reader's Digest.

The content of Reader's Digest is diverse, and there are countless attractive and thought-provoking stories.

Since the reform and opening up, the impoverished Chinese land after the war has been impacted by Western culture and a variety of products. After suddenly realizing the gap, people's hearts are inevitably unbalanced and inferior.

Driven by this emotion, many people can't help but yearn for the lighthouse on the other side of the ocean.

In recent years, there has been a surge in immigration, and countless people have tried every possible means to get a job on the other side of the ocean, even if it means being a dog.

Zhang Yang put down the magazine, looked at Fatty Yuan in front of him, and said with a smile: "Sometimes selling things is all about telling stories. If the story is told well, the product will sell well."

"Brother Zhang, it's already this time, can we please stop doing these literary things? We still have half a month left, and the 300,000 yuan loan from the bank has to be repaid. Also, we really have to pay back my sister's betrothal money..." Fatty Yuan sat opposite Zhang Yang with a sad face and kept telling him about the debts they had owed over the past year. The more he spoke, the more desperate he became, and he finally became speechless.

Zhang Yang listened carefully, nodded, and poured another cup of tea for Fatty Yuan: "Adjust your mood, and be calm when doing anything!"

"Brother Zhang, I can't do anything. We really can't do anything. We still have nearly 130,000 goods here..." Fatty Yuan stood up and pointed at a batch of goods on the shelf: "These toys, these things, these groceries, we could sell them slowly in the past, but the hole we owe on the stock is too big. We can only fill the hole with our losses. We..."

"We have to change the name of the grocery store..." Zhang Yang stood up, walked to the door step by step, looked at the name on the grocery store, and narrowed his eyes.

"Brother Zhang, what should we do with the batch of goods I told you about? Can we..."

"I'm talking about what to do with this batch of goods!" Zhang Yang looked at the Reader's Digest next to him, and then at Fatty Yuan: "Tonight, we will change all the "Made in China" on this batch of goods into English, and change the "made in china" in English to "made in PRC..."

When Fatty Yuan heard this, he was a little confused.

What a niche word!

As a high school graduate with very poor English, he could understand the meaning of "made in China", but was confused by "made in PRC"!
I have no idea what it means!
"Which country is this?"

"They are all made in China. The only difference is the way they are expressed. PRC stands for the People's Republic of China..."

"Brother Zhang, isn't that just taking off your pants to fart? It means the same thing, we..."

"But most people are like you, they don't know which country PRC is..." Zhang Yang looked at Fatty Yuan with a smile, then pointed to the grocery store sign and said, "I'll redesign the sign for [Zhang Yang Toys and Daily Necessities Store]. Go to the advertising company tonight and replace them immediately. In addition, I will also design some English slogans, you can also replace them and double the price. Oh, and replace the shelves with Chinese labels. Prepare a suit for me..."

"..." Fatty Yuan was confused and couldn't say a word for a long time: "Brother Zhang, what are we going to do?"

"I don't have time to explain to you. If you want to revive this store and make some money, just do this!"

"Well, that's fine..."

Fatty Yuan nodded, and a moment later, he saw Zhang Yang holding a pen and paper and entering the grocery store's lounge.

Fatty Yuan followed him in subconsciously and found that Zhang Yang quickly designed a pure white sign on an A4 paper. There were only two English letters [ZY] on the sign. In addition, at the bottom right of the sign, there was a string of incomprehensible English [From 1882]. After Fatty Yuan asked Zhang Yang, he realized that this meant [Starting from 1882]...

After designing these, Zhang Yang drew a LOGO that looked quite high-end, very much like the Eiffel Tower in France in the picture. At first glance, the level of the logo suddenly became much higher.

"Brother Zhang, this is..."

"Just wrap up the storefront! While some advertising companies are still open, tell the bosses that money is not a problem, but it must be done in the evening, the sooner the better."

"Brother Zhang, we don't have a penny now, we..."

"You need to be thick-skinned to do business. We used to settle accounts in cash, and we have credibility among advertising companies. Just tell them that we have received a large order from France and that we will be paid in about ten days. When the time comes, give them double the amount... a few hundred yuan, a thousand yuan. They won't be so stingy..."

"France? We don't have France, Brother Zhang, we..."

“It didn’t happen before, but it will happen in the future…”

"Ah, isn't that a lie?"

"What kind of lie? We are just telling you about the future in advance..."

"But……"

Fatty Yuan hesitated for a moment.

But unexpectedly, at this moment, Zhang Yang stood up with a serious look.

"In this era, we can only make money if we give up our so-called dignity and face!"

"..."

"We have no choice now. Selling the grocery store will only lead to death. Rather than dying, we might as well give it a try!"

"..."

Fatty Yuan looked at Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang patted Fatty Yuan on the shoulder, his voice very infectious: "Give me ten days. If I fail, I am willing to bear all the consequences. If we succeed, we will come back to life. Trust me one last time!"

Fatty Yuan stared at Zhang Yang blankly, and felt that Zhang Yang in front of him was becoming more and more unfamiliar!
But after a moment, he nodded and gritted his teeth: "Okay, I'll do it, I'll borrow some money from my family, and I'll fight you again!"

"..."

Zhang Yang looked at Fatty Yuan's back.

His eyes were slightly moved.

As far as I can remember, Fatty Yuan has been following Zhang Yang since he was a kid...

From childhood to adulthood, he followed whatever Zhang Yang said, including starting a business and opening this grocery store, and also speculating in stocks...

Although he was somewhat devastated by the final failure, he never felt too much resentment towards Zhang Yang.

"Fat!"

"Brother Zhang?"

"You won't regret your choices today!"

"..."

Fatty Yuan waved his hand: "Brother Zhang, I have never been smart since I was a child. I have been muddled along with you anyway... You said that as long as I am not dead, I will always be able to make it..."

After saying that, he walked out of the grocery store.

Zhang Yang lowered his head after watching Fatty Yuan disappear.

After a brief contemplation, he took out the "Reader's Digest", then looked at the online submission address on it, and then he got the covers of "Story Club", "Magic City Story", "Art Forest" and so on.

After a little thought, he turned on the computer, and then typed line of titles after line in front of the computer.

"The craftsmanship spirit of [ZY] from France began in 1882..."

"The toilet water in the French [ZY] headquarters is drinkable..."

"..."

(End of this chapter)