After rebirth, I became a great master

Chapter 253 The Sacredness of Middlemen

Long weekend, two days off.

On Saturday, Zhou Haoran invited Ji Yingyang and Qiao Nuo, with Dongfang Lang in the passenger seat.

We set off north.

There was a large manufacturing cluster there, the most central area of ​​the Yangtze River Delta. The Yangtze River Delta later became world-renowned because of the development of this manufacturing cluster around the seaport, which extended to the surrounding Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.

There are tens of thousands of factories.

Laid-off workers across the country often choose to work in the Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta regions.

When visiting the Yangtze River Delta, the first place to go is the seaport.

To cover this manufacturing cluster, the "People's Livelihood Investigation" special on the private economy would need at least four episodes to barely manage to cover it, allowing Zhou Haoran to use the television station's resources to collect comprehensive customer information for this region.

Qiao Nuo and Ji Yingyang sat in the back row.

Let's go find a factory that makes secondhand clothes.

I don't know exactly where it is.

We have to search slowly, following the mail address.

“Master, you didn’t attend yesterday’s meeting again.”

Qiao Nuo was looking at the map with Yang Yang in the back row, talking casually as they went.

Zhou Haoran drove off, saying calmly, "If I don't want to go, I don't want to go. Who has any objections?"

“No, it’s just…” Qiao Nuo hesitated for a moment, then looked up at him, “It’s just that the gap on the sales chart has widened again. Zhong Jiantong signed another deal this week, and his sales have reached 135 million yuan, while yours is still unchanged at 83 yuan.”

"fine."

Zhou Haoran didn't care much about it.

Dongfang Lang asked curiously, "What sales ranking?"

Qiao Nuo explained, "It's a ranking system in the company's sales department. Whoever is the top salesperson this year will be rewarded with a car at the end of the year."

"Huh?" Dongfang Lang was surprised. "Such great benefits? We have to fight for them!"

Zhou Haoran laughed and said, "It's just a beat-up Xiali."

Dongfang Lang said, "A Xiali is a car too! If you don't want it, I'll take it!"

Zhou Haoran retorted angrily, "What do you want, you're just a student?"

"I don't want it, Qiao Nuo is fine too!" Dongfang Lang turned and glanced at her. "Right?"

Qiao Nuo beamed with joy, "Yes! That's right!"

Zhou Haoran saw this scene through the rearview mirror. "Nono, can you drive?"

Qiao Nuo said dismissively, "Just learn it, that's easy."

Dongfang Lang said solemnly, "Whether I can drive or not is another matter, but I have to compete for the sales champion title! Not just for the car, but also for the honor!"

Qiao Nuo shared the same thought and sighed, "There's only one month left, and the gap between us and the first place has widened to 52."

"Easy to say!"

Zhou Haoran was very relaxed.

Jono said happily, "Master, let's write a letter!"

Zhou Haoran hummed in agreement. "It's still mainly focused on the manufacturing industry. How many letters have we written to the third batch of clients?"

"I've sent out all three free lead generation emails!"

Jono's workload has decreased dramatically.

Because she had already written many of the earlier letters, and they had all been printed in large quantities.

All you need to do is categorize customers, find envelopes and stamps, write down the addresses and postal codes, put the corresponding letters in, and send them out. Yangyang's office currently has five employees, all young women, who can help with this.

There have even been recent attempts at digitalization, such as scanning letters into computers for reading, storage, and information retrieval, which would be much more convenient.

Zhou Haoran nodded. "By the way, you know the advertising fees on the lifestyle channel might go up tomorrow?"

Qiao Nuo nodded slightly. "Yes, I heard about it. Director Meng even mentioned it at yesterday's meeting, saying that it's the end of the year and we can use this as an excuse to sign more clients. If clients wait until next year to place their advertisements, the cost will increase."

"We should make good use of this reason."

"Ah."

"Many people in the manufacturing industry today lack an understanding of marketing, and they can't even see that television advertising is more attractive than newspaper or magazine advertising. In the next letter, I will focus on the value of television advertising in media communication."

Zhou Haoran initially wanted to write letters with the intention of making sales.

It's a matter of course!

Jono happily exclaimed, "Great! That's my specialty!"

Zhou Haoran said, “It will be divided into three parts. First, the cost of television advertising will increase significantly. If we don’t invest now, the cost will be even higher in the future. Second, we will explain the communication effects of television advertising. Third, we will provide verifiable real-world examples to illustrate this.”

Qiao Nuo thought the first two parts were easy to handle, but then asked, "What are some real-world examples?"

Zhou Haoran said, "For the 'Children's Encyclopedia,' you wrote about the Changxing Publishing House, which was on the verge of bankruptcy. Under the guidance of the master, you advertised on television and then made a miraculous turnaround. Not only did you successfully turn the tide, but you also rose to prominence and acquired the Sancai Printing Factory, becoming the most influential printing factory in the harbor."

"Yup!"

Jono's eyes were sharp.

Recently, the story of Changxing Printing Factory has spread throughout the entire port, thanks to the reports by "People's Livelihood Investigation" and the establishment of positive role models of conscientious private enterprises.

The vast majority of private business owners have no idea what's going on.

They can only admire and worship through rumors and hearsay.

Write a paid letter, using Changxing Printing Factory as an example.

This can be said to have coincided with a hot topic in the port's business community recently!

Let's provide a detailed explanation for these paying users!
Let them know that the miracle of Changxing Printing Factory as a private enterprise was actually orchestrated by Mr. Da!

As a result, paying users will be much more cautious about receiving letters from Mr. Da.

"Master, this works! This really works!" Qiao Nuo was so excited that she could hardly sit still. "Master, your third move is amazing! It kills two birds with one stone... no, three birds with one stone! It not only enhances the reputation of the Great Master, but also attracts advertising orders and increases the stickiness of paying users."

Ji Yingyang sat next to her.

Secretly shocked.

She was there the whole time and listened attentively.

What was initially thought to be a very difficult matter was handled by Zhou Haoran with ease and without hesitation. Moreover, it wasn't a rigid solution, but rather a highly divergent one, a good approach that integrated multiple ideas!

This person is amazing!

It makes perfect sense that Hu Xiaochen and Qiao Nuo both became disciples.

Dongfang Lang was used to this and said "not bad". He thought that Zhou Haoran could easily become the top salesperson and didn't need to worry about it. He then changed the subject and asked, "Shouldn't we go to a trading company for second-hand clothes? Why are we here in the manufacturing industry?"

Zhou Haoran smiled and said, "Then you'll have to ask Sister Yang. I've never been here either."

Ji Yingyang said, "I've been in contact with them. These second-hand clothes from abroad aren't just sold to consumers after a few resales by traders. There's a very important link in between."

"What part?"

"Washing, ironing and finishing".

"Oh." Dongfang Lang understood after hearing her say that. "I thought everything was packed up abroad."

Ji Yingyang said softly, "Some of them are already sorted out, such as second-hand clothes donated by charities. Many people wash and fold them before donating. If they are dirty clothes, the charities will also wash and sort them after accepting them, and then donate them to third-world countries."

"Charity? Donation?" Qiao Nuo's eyes widened.

Something doesn't feel right.

Even the secondhand clothes sold to the poorest areas still require ordinary people to pay for them, costing only a few dollars per piece... Where is the donation in all this talk?

Ji Yingyang glanced at her and said calmly, "Many charitable organizations, after receiving donated supplies from abroad, mainly rely on market mechanisms to distribute them to those in need."

Qiao Nuo said angrily, "Isn't this just reselling for personal gain? How can you do this?"

Ji Yingyang, a man of great experience and knowledge, calmly said, "The cost of distribution channels is often higher than the cost of the product itself."

Dongfang Lang agreed wholeheartedly, saying, "That's true. When domestic charities receive secondhand clothes donated from abroad and want to give them to the poor, how do they do it? The poor are scattered all over the country, and they don't even have enough money for the travel expenses. If they are given away for free, won't it cause chaos and lead to panic buying? Relying on the market and using business methods to distribute the free items is the lowest-cost, most efficient, and stable way."

Ji Yingyang said, "It means that the overall social cost is the lowest."

Qiao Nuo, filled with righteous indignation and hatred for evil, said, "Master, tell me! Those people take the supplies donated from abroad and then resell them to middlemen to line their own pockets. How can that be right?"

“That’s just how the market is.” Zhou Haoran wasn’t surprised. “In China, the understanding of business focuses on the production stage. But distribution channels are more important than production. If there are distribution channels but no production, at least there’s no waste of social resources; if there’s production but no distribution channels, ordinary people still can’t get anything, but it results in huge waste, and the products can only grow mold and mildew in the warehouse.”

Ji Yingyang nodded slightly. "That's right. If charitable organizations don't sell the donated goods from home and abroad to middlemen, they simply don't have the capacity or channels to process these goods. Moreover, centralized free distribution would cause social unrest, and in the end, the goods would just grow mold in the warehouse."

Zhou Haoran said with a smile, "Just like the satire in the textbook, capitalists would rather pour milk away than give it to the poor. They only focus on the producers and consumers. Where are the distribution channels? Who will be responsible for distributing the capitalists' milk to the poor? The huge costs in the distribution channels are something that even charitable organizations cannot afford."

Qiao Nuo was somewhat dazed.

So that’s it!
In previous years, China was cracking down on middlemen, arresting many people on charges of speculation and profiteering.

But after hearing what Master said...

It feels like middlemen are somehow considered sacred in the business world!
Without the services of middlemen, even if all the goods were free, they wouldn't reach the poor.

This also made Ji Yingyang's beautiful eyes sparkle, giving her a sense of pride in doing business.

Zhou Haoran drove around in circles twice.

Finally, we found our destination—Jinqiao Garment Factory.

It's called a clothing factory, but it doesn't actually produce clothing.

The main business involves buying secondhand clothes from foreign trade merchants at low prices, then cleaning, ironing, and repairing them, essentially operating a garment processing shop. After refurbishment, the clothes are sold to middlemen who come to pick them up, and then passed through multiple middlemen before finally reaching consumers.

This is where the importance of luxury cars becomes apparent.

A silver-gray tiger-headed steed!
It's rare to see this in a harbor; you don't even need to get out of the car to register. The security guard jogged along, leading the Mercedes inside.

As he ran, he shouted, "Factory manager! Factory manager! We have a distinguished guest!"

Zhou Haoran didn't rush to get out of the car. He turned around and said, "Sister Yang, you're the big boss. I'm your driver. You're here to talk business with them. Nuonuo, you're Sister Yang's assistant. Dongfang and I are your assistants."

Ji Yingyang smiled slightly, "Okay."

Zhou Haoran then instructed, "Dongfang, go open the car door for Sister Yang."

Dongfang Lang chuckled, "Okay."

Park the car.

Dongfang Lang got off the bus first.

He ran to the back seat with a serious air, bent down, opened the car door, and said with a fawning expression, "President Ji, please be careful not to bump into anything."

"Ah."

Ji Yingyang remained calm and didn't even glance at him, exuding a cold and aloof demeanor.

Zhou Haoran found this scene amusing.

I just think women are really good at acting.

Yang Jie's dramatic flair is just as good as Hu Xiaochen's!
At that moment, some people from the factory also rushed out in a hurry.

It's already late November, and the weather is getting cooler.

The men were mostly wearing jackets.

"welcome!"

The man at the head of the group looked to be the factory manager; he was in his forties, with very white temples, and greeted them with a broad smile.

Ji Yingyang, with his hands behind his back, glanced around briefly and asked, "Who is the factory manager?"

The man opposite him spoke humbly, “Yes, I am Tang Youzhi, and I am the factory manager here.”

"Director Tang, I'm here today mainly to conduct research. Whether we will cooperate depends on the results of the research."

Ji Yingyang remained unmoved and unresponsive.

This can be considered a privilege of beautiful women; the social atmosphere tends to be more lenient towards cold and aloof beauties.

Qiao Nuo chimed in, "This is my boss, Mr. Ji, the general manager of Haoqi Sunshine Trading Company."

Factory manager Tang Youzhi said with a smile, "Welcome, Mr. Ji. We are in the second-hand clothing business, and it's a small business."

"Let's take a walk."

Ji Yingyang nodded.

I know this is a small factory, and they only do small businesses.

If it were a big business, Dongfang Lang wouldn't be here. He's just here to resell some secondhand clothes to college students; it's unlikely to be a large-scale operation anyway.

Tang Youzhi glanced at Zhou Haoran and was slightly taken aback.

But he didn't say much.

Follow Ji Yingyang and accompany her as she walks around and looks at the factory.

His eyes, however, had a strange look in them.

She glanced at Zhou Haoran, intentionally or unintentionally.

Ji Yingyang noticed and casually said, "He's my driver."

"General Manager Ji is indeed a big boss!"

Tang Youzhi smiled warmly, but his eyes kept glancing at Zhou Haoran, which was very strange.

In an attempt to build a connection with him, Ji Yingyang smiled and said, "President Tang, do you know why I came here?"

"Because of……"

Tang Youzhi dared not make wild guesses.

Ji Yingyang smiled and asked, "Do you correspond with the Master?"

"Master?"

Tang Youzhi looked astonished.

Ji Yingyang tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said with a light laugh, "I am one of Master Da's people. I also got the information from him and want to give more preferential treatment to paying clients."

Tang Youzhi turned around and looked at Zhou Haoran, seemingly now truly certain, "You...you are Zhou Haoran?"

"what?"

Zhou Haoran was stunned for a moment.

Ji Yingyang, Qiao Nuo, and Dongfang Lang were all taken aback.

What's the situation?
Tang Youzhi was overjoyed and said, "It really is you! I knew it, how could you look so much like me? You really are Master Da, Uncle...you are my uncle! Why did you come all the way here in person?"

(End of this chapter)