Back to the prime of life

Chapter 177 Specialist
In November, a light, chilly drizzle began to fall in Jiangzhou.

This is the season that Lu Changge hates the most every year. The air here is already humid, and it becomes sticky and mushy after it rains. Moreover, it is late autumn and early winter, and the temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius. This damp and cold weather makes people feel extremely uncomfortable.

What I hate most is that this kind of rain falls continuously every time the seasons change. Based on my experience of living here for nearly 20 years, it can last from four or five days to more than 10 days.

But there's not much that can be done.

Two days had passed since he returned from Nanjing, and Chen Xiaohe took the initiative to call him.

With so many things to do, he decided to compress the trip, combining the warehouse visit with his reception of her, and letting her see it for herself as well.

These two days passed in the blink of an eye for Lu Changge, because he was simply too busy.

But for Chen Xiaohe, it was a long and even torturous process. The decision both excited and terrified her, and she tossed and turned all night in a state of turmoil.

"...Even after thinking about it for several days, I still can't understand why you would contact me, since the work I did before was completely different from your company."

Lu Changge naturally couldn't say that he had seen the character card of Lu Changge's, so he could only try to come up with something else.

"Many of the decisions I've made are incomprehensible to others. I heard you've gone to Lou Mang, but did you know that the company upstairs there is also owned by me?"

Chen Xiaohe genuinely had no idea. "You opened that place too? What exactly are you trying to do?"

"I'll say something a little smug, but don't curse me in your heart. It's because I've seen far too many opportunities."

That's what I meant.

They didn't scold him, but they rolled their eyes at him.

“Some people have told me that it might be better to focus on doing one thing well. I’ve thought about it myself, but it’s not that I can’t do it, it’s just that it’s a bit difficult. I think Sister Chen can understand what I’m saying.”

As he spoke, he pointed to Qin Jun, who was leading a group of people to inspect the warehouse details.

Chen Xiaohe did understand; she instantly had a sudden realization.

"At your age, I don't have the courage to support the future of so many people."

That's right. What Lu Changge meant was that along the way, success and failure were no longer just his own, but also the responsibility of a group of people who followed him.

To put it pretentiously, in society, it's okay to lose money, and no one can guarantee they'll always win, but you can't afford to lose face.

"That being said, I can't afford to consider other opportunities."

Chen Xiaohe couldn't take it anymore. "Fine, I know you're quite learned. I don't doubt Lu Mang's potential, but I need to know what you need me for. Otherwise, I won't be able to live with myself."

"Well, it's actually quite simple. Basically, it boils down to one thing."

"one thing?"

“Yes. I need you to let go of your habits of working in an established organization, tolerate the chaos in our startup, and then, within one to two years, end this chaos.”

This statement can also be summarized by the word 'management'.

But perhaps it was too abstract, Chen Xiaohe didn't quite understand, "Just...that's it?"

"This is very important. From what I can see now, I can predict that Lumang's expansion will be very rapid. And while rushing forward at such a frantic pace, the worst thing is leaving behind a mess. If people are flying ahead while their souls are chasing behind, there will always be trouble."

Those last two sentences made Chen Xiaohe laugh. Judging from her state, Lu Changge guessed it was pretty much the truth; in fact, her presence today was an answer in itself.

Therefore, it is true that she has a conflict with the school headquarters leaders.

Long ago, he asked Gong Chunxue to inquire about the news. She had a brother-in-law who was a vice principal, so she could always hear some gossip.

Specifically, it wasn't that she herself had a conflict with the school's leadership, but rather with her husband.

Although our Principal Chen is a successful woman of the new era, her husband is just a clerk in a public institution, without any leadership position.

But the couple was deeply in love, and even though Chen Xiaohe's position and salary both increased after marriage, the fact that she was more successful than her husband did not affect their family.

However, this was at home. Once outside, it's easy to be humiliated unexpectedly. There are many snobbish people who bully the weak and fear the strong. In short, that's how the feud started.

This gossip also answered Lu Changge's question from her previous life: why would a perfectly good young principal suddenly resign?

A short while later, Qin Jun returned and said, "There's enough space. This used to be a 5000-square-meter high-standard warehouse, but it wasn't for storing clothing; it was for storing daily necessities. From our perspective, it needs to be redesigned and replanned, so it won't be ready for use so quickly. But the arrangement for us to handle all the shipping has been mostly finalized..."

Lu Changge stood between the two, saying, "Sister Chen, this is what I meant. We need to overcome the initial chaos because the problems at hand need to be solved. So we can't ignore the present, but expedient measures can't last forever, and we also need to consider the future..."

At this point, he suddenly realized that Chen Xiaohe might only understand the immediate needs, which are simply things that need to be used right away, but she probably didn't understand what the future held, so he laid it all out.

"...To put it simply, because we are an internet-based apparel brand, this brings two basic characteristics. One is a light-asset model, which means not holding large amounts of inventory to control costs and maintain a price advantage. The other is rapid product iteration. This is forced upon us because internet preferences are fleeting; the trend can change overnight. Furthermore, most internet users are young, so the best-selling clothing items change every quarter. In short, it means fast product updates, high inventory turnover, and a large number of SKUs."

The above characteristics will pose significant challenges to the supply chain and logistics system, but we'll leave the supply chain aside for now. Regarding the logistics system, we also need our own warehouse management information system, integrated with the warehouse layout and structure. For example, how can the layout of receiving areas, storage areas, sorting areas, packing areas, and returns areas be optimized? To be more specific, where should we deploy our best-selling SKUs for maximum efficiency?

Chen Xiaohe's head was throbbing. "Wait, what you mean by that SKU..."

Qin Jun paused, his expression blank. Had they hired an amateur?
However, Lu Changge remained patient. "SKU stands for Stock Keeping Unit, which is a professional term in the retail industry. It's like a product's ID card. It's important to note that it doesn't just refer to a shirt. It also includes factors like color, size, material, and packaging. For example, Qin Jun and I are both men, both Chinese, and both university students. We have many similarities, but we are different heights, so we are different SKUs."

"Does a change in one attribute equate to a new SKU?"

"Yes. In this way, all products have their own unique number, which facilitates precise inventory control and allows for accurate identification of which individual items are selling well. Of course, there are many other benefits as well."

Chen Xiaohe wasn't a professional, but she had a good understanding, so she sighed and said, "It's like you're trying to figure out exactly what's going on in a big city with all those messy water pipes, communication lines, power lines, gas pipelines, heating pipes, and so on."

Lu Changge naturally knew this, so he couldn't laugh. "Yes. So tell me, don't we need a specialist who is well-versed in management, meticulous, and has enough patience?"

How do you know I have patience?

Well... how should I put it?

"Those who can communicate well with parents are all patient."

It's one thing for ordinary schools, but who would want to be the principal of a private school with tuition fees of over 100,000 yuan a year? Let's see if those parents are too picky.

Of course, the relationship between schools and parents is complex and cannot be said to be entirely the parents' fault. In short, it is absolutely unacceptable for our Principal Chen to lack patience.

"Okay. You're right. Oh, by the way, I heard you were on TV. When is that program airing?"

Lu Changge said, "This Saturday night."

"Then I'll have to watch TV."

(End of this chapter)