Era: Starting with the struggle to refuse being taken advantage of

Chapter 335 A clever plan
Things became much simpler after that. Riding his bicycle, Wang Yong once again embarked on the road to the city's supply and marketing cooperative.

However, compared to last time, he not only had an official letter from the commune, but also had Li Dafei accompanying him, so he was fully prepared.

As it turned out, Wang Yong's efforts were not in vain. This time, after he issued an official letter from the commune, Yang Guocheng decisively chose to let him in.

After verifying the information brought by Wang Yong, Yang Guocheng stepped aside and said with a serious expression:
"Comrade, I told you that if you want to visit, you have to go through the proper procedures."

"Look, you brought an official letter this time, so I let you in."

Although Wang Yong brought an official letter this time, as a mere gatekeeper of the municipal supply and marketing cooperative, he had no need to curry favor with these commune cadres, given that even a low-ranking official like Wang Yong had to curry favor with them.

Led by Yang Guocheng, the two quickly arrived at the business department, which was the same department where Song Wenxin had previously worked.

The head of the business section, surnamed Zhou, was an older man. After carefully verifying the official letter brought by Wang Yong, he still maintained a stern face and said to Wang Yong in a businesslike manner:

"I have no objection to supporting village-run collective enterprises, but whether or not a procurement contract can be signed, and how much to purchase, depends on the quality."

"Take your stuff out. I'm sure you're not so low as to not even bring the finished product."

Upon hearing Director Zhou's words, Wang Yong immediately took out the Dapeng white sugar that he had prepared beforehand, without any further hesitation.

Moreover, he took seven or eight packages at a time, giving one to each employee in the business department.

Weighing the hefty bag of sugar in his hand, Director Zhou's expression softened considerably, and he said:
"It does look quite decent; at least half a pound is enough."

"How much is a pack? If the price is right, I can decide to buy a few hundred packs first, and then consider buying more depending on the sales situation later."

Upon hearing Director Zhou's question, a hint of embarrassment flashed across Wang Yong's face. Instead of answering the question directly, he advised Director Zhou to try the taste of Dapeng white sugar:
"Director Zhou, this is just white sugar after all, you can't tell anything just by looking at it."

"Why don't you try the taste first, and then we can talk about purchasing after you've experienced the quality of the sugar?"

It wasn't that Wang Yong was deliberately dragging his feet; the main problem was that he wasn't letting Director Zhou experience the quality of the sugar first, and instead directly offered a purchase price of four cents a bag. Director Zhou was afraid he would immediately turn hostile.

Even if he doesn't turn against you on the spot, he would never sign a large procurement contract; he would just give himself a small amount of procurement to get rid of you.

Hearing Wang Yong's words, Director Zhou's curiosity deepened, and he said:

"Most companies are overjoyed when they hear that they can sign a purchase contract directly, so it's rare for them to ask me to check the quality first."

"However, since you are confident in your product, I am willing to give you this opportunity."

"In that case, I'll try making a cup of sugar water."

"Although hot sugar water doesn't taste as sweet as cold sugar water, I can still accurately judge the quality of white sugar. After all, I've worked in the supply and marketing cooperative for so many years, and this job wasn't done for nothing."

As he spoke, Director Zhou picked up the kettle in his office and made himself a cup of sugar water in his enamel mug that read "Serve the People".

When he opened the package, he found that the packaging of Dapeng white sugar was much thicker and more solid than he had imagined.

The slogan on the packaging, "One bag is better than two," particularly piqued his interest, and he secretly hoped that this wasn't just Dapeng Sugar exaggerating.

People who are used to drinking tea are more tolerant of high temperatures than ordinary people. After blowing on it slightly, Director Zhou couldn't wait to drink the sugar water.

The moment the sugar water entered his mouth, Director Zhou felt a sweetness, and this sweetness even became more intense as more sugar water was added.

After taking a sip of sugar water, Director Zhou felt a warm and comfortable feeling in his stomach, and even his eyes lit up. He couldn't help but exclaim:

"No wonder you asked me to test the quality before discussing the purchase contract. The quality of Dapeng white sugar is really quite good. I wonder what secret recipe they used."

"Although it's not quite up to the standard of 'one bag is better than two bags' as advertised on the packaging, the taste is really good, very rich and mellow."

"Alright, I've had my sugar water. Now it's your turn to tell me what kind of procurement contract you want."

"Given the quality of Dapeng white sugar, as long as your terms aren't excessive, I'll agree to them directly."

Upon hearing Director Zhou's words, a hint of joy flashed in Wang Yong's eyes. He thought to himself that his efforts had not been in vain, and the quality of Dapeng white sugar had earned him an opportunity to negotiate a higher price!

Thinking this through, Wang Yong took a deep breath and mustered his courage to say:

"Director Zhou, you've seen the quality of Dapeng white sugar yourself; it's definitely better than ordinary white sugar."

"But the flavor didn't improve for no reason. To improve the quality of our white sugar, our factory specially ordered a batch of expensive equipment, and the cost of our white sugar is also higher than that of ordinary white sugar."

"Therefore, the ex-factory price of Dapeng white sugar is four cents a bag, which is more expensive than ordinary white sugar."

Upon hearing the price of four cents a pack, Director Zhou subconsciously frowned.

After taking another sip of the sugar water he was holding, and once again appreciating the quality of Dapeng sugar, Director Zhou's brow finally relaxed, and he said:
“What you say makes a lot of sense, but with such a high price, the public may not necessarily buy it.”

"However, if the quantity is not large, I would be willing to let you give it a try."

"After all, Dapeng white sugar is indeed excellent, and you have an official letter from the commune. Even if I don't care about you personally, I have to help you out."

At this point, Director Zhou paused, gestured with his hand towards Wang Yong, and said:
“I’m willing to sign a purchase contract with you for 1,000 bags a month first, which is also a chance for me to support the village-run collective enterprise.”

A thousand bags of Dapeng white sugar a month, that's five hundred catties of sales per month.

For other factories, this purchase order is quite large, enough to support an ordinary small factory.

However, Dapeng Sugar Factory is different. With the help of equipment designed by Wang Chengpeng, although it has few employees, it can definitely be considered a large factory in terms of output.

That's why the order for 1,000 bags was really a stretch, like a drop in the ocean.

Thinking this, Wang Yong winked at Li Dafei, signaling him to put in a good word for him and help him secure a larger procurement contract.

To everyone's surprise, Li Dafei not only didn't speak up for Wang Yong, but instead directly thanked Director Zhou, saying:

"Director Zhou is truly decisive, signing such a large order directly. This is an honor for our Dapeng Sugar Factory."

"I just hope we can shorten this purchase contract a bit, for now, to one month. Starting next month, we'll renegotiate it based on Dapeng Sugar's sales this month."

"Director Zhou, what do you think?"

After hearing Li Dafei's words, Wang Yong finally realized that Li Dafei was using a roundabout approach. Directly getting Director Zhou to sign a huge procurement contract was obviously unrealistic. Since Wang Yong was confident in Dapeng sugar, it would be better to sign a short-term contract first, and then gradually work on it based on the sales volume of Dapeng sugar.

In this way, Director Zhou will be more likely to accept larger procurement contracts.

In an instant, Wang Yong understood Li Dafei's meaning, thinking to himself that experience is indeed valuable, and this director of the town's supply and marketing cooperative had ultimately helped him at a crucial moment.

Thinking this, Wang Yong nodded hastily and said:

"Director Zhou, Director Li's meaning is the same as mine. What do you think?"

Director Zhou glanced at Wang Yong with surprise, then smiled and said:
"It seems you have a lot of confidence in your product."

“Young people are energetic and daring, no wonder you were able to become the director of the sugar factory.”

“Signing a short-term contract would not cause any loss to the supply and marketing cooperative. Since you have no objection, I will give you this opportunity.”

Now that both sides have reached an agreement, the rest is much simpler.

A simple draft contract was prepared and stamped with the official seals of both parties, and the procurement contract was officially effective.

Carefully putting away the purchase contract, Wang Yong finally showed a genuine smile and said:

"Director Zhou, thank you for your consideration. I can deliver the thousand bags of sugar you purchased to you tomorrow."

"I just hope we can continue to cooperate."

After saying that, Wang Yong extended his right hand to Director Zhou.

Director Zhou did not refuse and shook hands with Wang Yong directly, saying:
"Then I'll wait and see."

Having finalized the procurement contract, the two decided to have lunch at a state-run restaurant around noon.

Having received Wang Fucheng's guidance, Wang Yong became much more adept at handling matters and knew that the expense could be categorized as entertainment expenses.
We can't be stingy with money then; we have to treat Li Dafei well, since he spoke up for us at a crucial moment.

However, just as the two walked out of the supply and marketing cooperative and were about to leave, Wang Yong seemed to suddenly remember something and took out a red brocade pouch from his pocket.

Seeing this, Li Dafei asked with some curiosity:

"Comrade Wang, why do you, a grown man, carry a sachet with you all the time?"

Realizing that Li Dafei had misunderstood him, Wang Yong immediately explained, saying:

"Director Li, please don't misunderstand. This is not a sachet, but a secret plan that I asked a master for in case of emergency."

"However, now that this has already happened, this brilliant plan is no longer effective."

At this point, Wang Yong paused, then said somewhat embarrassedly:
"I'm just curious, curious about what kind of brilliant plan the expert has that could help our factory."

"Although this brilliant plan is no longer useful, that doesn't stop me from opening it and taking a look."

Wang Chengpeng has always disliked being high-profile and is unwilling to expose himself unless necessary. Wang Yong naturally didn't explain it too clearly, but only used an expert as a substitute.

Hearing what Wang Yong said, Li Dafei also became interested and asked curiously, "An expert?"

"I had long heard that your Dapeng Sugar Factory had a master strategist who advised you when it was developing. I never imagined that this master strategist would be so capable that he could even come up with a brilliant plan."

Now that you mention it, I'm a little curious about what kind of skills this expert possesses.

Seeing Li Dafei approaching, Wang Yong said somewhat embarrassedly:
"Director Li, it's not that I'm being formal with you, but the expert said that this brilliant plan can only be seen by me, so please stand a little further away."

"It's my fault, really. I shouldn't have piqued your curiosity."

Li Dafei expressed his understanding, took a few steps back to distance himself from Wang Yong, and said:
“Great people always have some unique characteristics and cannot be judged by common sense.”

"Although I am curious, there is no need for my curiosity to offend a master, so I will not look at this brilliant plan."

"Just take a look for yourself. If it really comes in handy, then this matter will be considered complete."

Seeing that no one was around, Wang Yong finally felt relieved and opened the brocade pouch with great anticipation to examine the ingenious plan inside.

He wasn't questioning Wang Chengpeng's abilities; he simply wanted to know just how big the gap was between him and his mentor.

After traveling so far and using the commune's connections, I finally managed to barely get through to the city's supply and marketing cooperative.

Wang Chengpeng stays in the village every day and rarely goes out. What extraordinary abilities does he possess that could help Dapeng Sugar Factory turn its fortunes around?
Unexpectedly, Wang Chengpeng's brilliant plan was very brief, consisting of only two lines: simply instruct him to tell the gatekeeper of the municipal supply and marketing cooperative that he was Wang Chengpeng's man and ask him to take him to Director Song.

Carefully stuffing the brilliant plan back into the pouch, Wang Yong felt that Wang Chengpeng's strategy was utterly absurd.

He had dealt with the gatekeeper named Yang Guocheng before; he was so arrogant, his nose practically grew above his eyes.

Is this the kind of person who can get things done just by giving their name?
Even if the name is the master's, the effect is a bit too exaggerated.

After hesitating for a moment, Wang Yong decided to give it a try.

It wasn't just out of trust in Wang Chengpeng, but also out of responsibility to Dapeng Sugar Factory and the villagers of Wangjia Village.

Although Director Zhou agreed to sign a short-term procurement contract with me first, and then decide whether to increase the procurement volume based on the sales volume later.

However, this gradual approach is very unstable and prone to unexpected problems.

Especially since this is the municipal supply and marketing cooperative, the competitive pressure would be immense if there were similar competing products.
If Dapeng white sugar doesn't become as popular as expected, then clearing the inventory in the warehouse will require even more effort.

Thinking this, under Li Dafei's bewildered gaze, Wang Yong walked towards the guardhouse of the Municipal Supply and Marketing Cooperative once again.

After glancing at Yang Guocheng, who was sitting at the table drinking tea, Wang Yong hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke as instructed in the plan:

"Guard, someone asked me to pass on a message to you."

"Just say I'm Wang Chengpeng's man, and ask you to take me to see Director Song."

(End of this chapter)