All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

Before leaving, among the crowd seeing him off, he saw Gao Shengnan's cold and arrogant face, without revealing the slightest flaw. Sure enough, when women act, they are all professionals.

For the next two weeks, Lei Dongbao spent his time traveling to various parts factories for inspections. During these inspections, he discovered some major problems.

There are several parts factories that not only produce parts for Thunder brand electric fans, but also for other electric fan factories. When Lei Dongbao signed the contract with them, it was clearly stated that he could not accept orders from any other electric fan brand while fulfilling the Thunder brand electric fan contract.

Several factories, knowing full well the contents of the contract, still dared to breach it so brazenly, leaving Lei Dongbao speechless at the business environment of this era.

If Lei Dongbao's warnings could make those factories restrain themselves, then the behavior of one of the parts factories required more than just a warning.

This parts factory that produces fan housings works overtime every day to complete its production tasks, but instead of sending the parts they produce to Leiting Electric Factory, they sell these parts bearing the Leiting brand logo to a local fan factory.

These accessories clearly bear the Thunder brand logo, indicating that this local electric fan factory is obviously producing counterfeit Thunder brand electric fans.

After investigating, Lei Dongbao discovered that this parts factory had already produced more than 10,000 casings and sold them to that fan factory.

This means that at least 10,000 electric fans that are exactly the same as the Thunder electric fan have appeared on the market. This behavior is disgusting, and Lei Dongbao immediately lost his temper.

Lei Dongbao immediately reported the matter to the local government. What was even more disgusting was that, because the local electric fan factory had the background of a large state-owned enterprise, the local government was playing a game of passing the buck. The local government was also somewhat ambiguous about this matter. After all, it was obvious who was favored between a state-owned enterprise and a small township collective enterprise in Lei Village.

On one occasion, during a mediation meeting, a local leader directly told Lei Dongbao, "Your small township factory in Xiaolei Village is making so much money, which is a form of undermining socialism. There are thousands of families in our local electric fan factory who depend on this factory for their livelihood. You are still making such a fuss. You are simply unable to distinguish right from wrong."

This incident disgusted Lei Dongbao.

He certainly couldn't tolerate this behavior. After discussing it with Lao Xu, Lao Xu was also furious about it. Leiting Electric Factory was built up by him, and now someone was poaching his employees. This was a slap in the face!

But in 1981, even if it was a slap in the face to Lao Xu, he really didn't have any good solutions. That electric fan was also a matter of face for certain leaders.

In the end, Lao Xu could only discuss with Lei Dongbao whether they could let the matter drop for the time being, since the whole thing had made things difficult for everyone.

Forget it

joke!

Slapping Lao Xu in the face is also slapping Lei Dongbao in the face. Moreover, he is really angry about the local solution to this matter. This is not the 1960s or 70s, when everything was about forbearance. Now it is the 1980s, and we are feeling our way across the river. This behavior is slapping someone in the face.

Moreover, the Xiaolei family cannot afford to suffer a loss in this matter, nor can they let it go like this.

Lei Dongbao's solution was simple and direct: first, to sue both the parts manufacturer and the state-owned fan factory.

Although these kinds of lawsuits in this era are mostly just wrangling and trying to smooth things over, Lei Dongbao has a contract, so his chances of winning are high, but the effect is probably not significant.

The only slightly comforting outcome is that the parts factory still owes them 130,000 yuan in outstanding payments. Lei Dongbao has directly announced the termination of the cooperation. With the contract in place, they can forget about getting back a single penny of that 130,000 yuan.

If they can't recover the 130,000 yuan payment, this parts factory probably won't survive for long. Trouble is inevitable, so let them have it!

This incident taught Lei Dongbao a lesson. In the following months, he would assign special inspectors to other parts factories to prevent such an incident from happening again.

The first step was to file a lawsuit. The second step was for Lei Dongbao to write an article about the matter and send it to major newspapers in Anyun Province for them to report on.

Newspapers love news like this: a small township enterprise suing a large state-owned factory. It's sure to be a blockbuster headline!

The Golden State Daily was the most enthusiastic about this, after all, the Thunder brand electric fan originated from Golden State, and if this news had a big impact, it might even be included in the internal reference. So the next day, the Golden State Daily's headline was about it.

"How to tell if a Thunder brand card is genuine or counterfeit?"

The news article was a lengthy piece, starting with the rise of the Lei family, then discussing Lei Dongbao himself, and finally addressing the issue of genuine and counterfeit Leiting brand electric fans on the market, as well as the details of the lawsuit between the village collective enterprise and a state-owned enterprise with thousands of employees.

Lei Dongbao's actions completely ignited a powder keg, adding fuel to the fire for the Thunder brand electric fan in the summer of 1981!

From the very beginning, Lei Dongbao knew that the problem of counterfeiting was absolutely impossible to eradicate, not even forty years from now, let alone in the 1980s.

The reason he wanted to make a big fuss was naturally to use this opportunity to make Thunder Brand a household name. Wasn't this the perfect chance?

With reports from various newspapers, the issue of genuine and counterfeit Thunder brand products quickly caused a huge uproar in An Van province, and many people learned for the first time that there were such things as counterfeit products.

What the intellectuals and leaders were more concerned about was whether the state-owned electrical appliance factory's actions were legal and compliant.

This behavior was of course neither compliant nor legal. As the matter slowly escalated and became increasingly serious, the authorities finally issued a disciplinary decision: the head of the state-owned factory was dismissed, the parts factory was shut down, the local supervisor was given a serious warning, and so on.

This matter once again made headlines in various newspapers, and the matter can be considered settled.

However, the impact of this incident was enormous. The incident in Anyun Province eventually reached the ears of the emperor, and the great man finally said one sentence: We must respect the achievements of others...!

Thus, in 1982, China's first trademark law was officially enacted, providing a legal basis for legal action.

The biggest beneficiary of this operation was undoubtedly Thunder brand electric fans. For a whole month, various newspapers and magazines bombarded the headlines, making the Thunder brand electric fans known to the people of the entire Anyun Province. Even newspapers from some other provinces reported on this.

In the reports over the past month, ordinary people only know one key point: Thunder brand electric fans are of good quality and are a genuine brand. The reason why counterfeiters want to imitate Thunder brand is because Thunder brand electric fans are of good quality, have a three-guarantee service, and can be used with peace of mind!

Of course, some bargain hunters are aware that they choose counterfeit goods simply because they are cheap.

Of course, some unsuspecting people have bought counterfeit electric fans, which eventually broke down. They went to the Thunder Electric Fan Repair Shop hoping for free repairs, which led to arguments and other problems. This kind of thing has happened more than once.

Lei Dongbao could only try his best to report these cases in newspapers as social news soft advertisements and as follow-up news reports.

After this incident, the Thunder brand electric fan indeed became incredibly popular. In May, sales exceeded 57,600 units, and in June, sales reached 123,700 units. This sales figure even surprised Lei Dongbao.

This doubling of sales really startled Lei Dongbao. Even though Xiao Lei Village is now operating on three shifts and its production capacity is gradually reaching its limit, it still can't supply this output.

At this sales rate, July will likely see a new record high. However, Xiao Lei's production capacity has already reached its limit. Lei Dongbao has no choice but to keep up with the parts and appliance factories while trying to outsource some of the production.

You heard right, it's outsourcing. Like I said, the cake is only so big. Thunder brand electric fans ate the biggest piece, so the remaining electric fan factories can only fight for the smaller piece. But at this point, there are only scraps left, and everyone is hungry.

More than a dozen electric fan manufacturers, including one in Jinzhou, will go hungry this year. No matter how powerful their background is, if the people don't buy their products, there's nothing they can do.

It's one thing for electric fans to be unsold, but the newly established electric fan factory this year, with so many workers and machines, is all shut down. Meanwhile, Lei's Thunder Electric Factory is operating on three shifts and is simply too busy to keep up with demand. This must be infuriating for the managers.

For the sake of their own future, these people had no choice but to use their own methods, and finally contacted Lei Dongbao through Lao Xu.

When Lei Dongbao learned about this, he chuckled to himself, thinking that this would solve his biggest problem at the moment.

They had their own orders, while others had the manpower and machinery. Thus, the outsourcing service was born. After conducting inspections, Lei Dongbao selected seven factories, and the first batch of 70,000 outsourced orders was officially shipped.

Lei Dongbao never expected that this year, by sheer chance, the Thunder brand electric fan would reach a whole new level.

Based on this sales volume, 300,000 units this year is clearly far from enough, so Lei Dongbao has once again raised the sales target to 500,000 units!

Xiao Lei Village seems to be walking on a golden road right now, but behind any glory, there are countless evils and conspiracies!

Chapter 43: Fifty Million

With outsourcing, the delivery of Thunder Electric Fans was finally not delayed. The ample supply of electric fans in the market greatly relieved the pressure on Thunder Electric Factory.

With the supply of goods secured, Lei Dongbao finally felt relieved. This had been his biggest worry all along, and the fact that it could be resolved in this way was a happy ending for everyone. In addition, he had also gained a lot of goodwill, and Leiting Electric Factory's position in Jinzhou was even more secure.

With increased shipments, Xiao Lei's cash flow problem was finally solved, and the amount of cash accumulated on the books was increasing almost every day.

Leiting Electric Appliance Factory and department stores in various places settled accounts every two weeks. In those days, there was no mobile phone transfer, and the department stores always paid in cash. With so much money involved, it was inevitable that some people would try to take advantage of it.

In each location, Leiting Electric Appliance Factory has a local partner bank. Basically, the bank, Leiting Electric Appliance Factory's cashier and finance department jointly count and settle the money. In principle, after the finance department confirms the money and the cashier records it, it is directly handed over to the bank staff.

However, principles are just principles. Because the Xiaolei family expanded too quickly, many rules and regulations were not yet perfected. With so much money, naturally some people would try to take advantage of it.

In mid-June, Lei Dongbao received a payment of 63,000 yuan from a shopping mall in a certain county, which was due but not received on time. The accountant, Zhang, had disappeared and was suspected of transferring the money and absconding.

Lei Dongbao was furious when he heard the news and immediately asked the local officials to call the police. When the police found the cashier, the cashier was still confused and didn't understand the situation. After an investigation, it turned out that there was indeed collusion between insiders and outsiders.

It turned out that the settlement day happened to be a Sunday. In those days, banks were not open on Saturdays and Sundays, but since Leiting Electric was a long-term partner, the bank would still send settlement personnel to settle accounts with Leiting Electric.

Rules are just rules. On the settlement day, Leiting Electric's finance department proactively called the bank to say that they were closed today and would settle the accounts together on Monday.

With just one simple phone call, the bank's demands were settled. Then, Leiting Electric's finance department contacted the cashier, saying that the bank requested a day off today and that the settlement would be made on Monday. The cashier, who had also enjoyed some leisure time, agreed. When the police came knocking on the door, the cashier was still fast asleep at home.

Subsequently, the finance manager of Leiting Electric Appliances and the finance manager of the local shopping mall colluded to easily abscond with 170,000 yuan in cash from the mall, including 63,000 yuan from Leiting Electric Appliances.

In the early 1980s, 170,000 yuan in cash was already a major case, and a special task force was quickly established by the authorities.

Lei Dongbao in Jinzhou immediately ordered all counties and cities to conduct self-examinations and rectifications, and also involved Jinling County, as he did not want to be implicated in this matter.

Such a good handle was naturally seized upon, and some people even tried to make a big fuss about it behind the scenes. In the end, it became a huge uproar, and several awards that the county and city had originally planned to give to Lei Dongbao were temporarily canceled. Fortunately, Lao Xu stepped in and suppressed the pressure from behind the scenes.

However, the matter was suppressed, but under the undercurrents, it would inevitably explode sooner or later. Lei Dongbao didn't think much about it. If it exploded, it would only mean that he would be removed from his position and that Xiaolei Village would be completely taken over by certain people.

This incident did serve as a wake-up call for Lei Dongbao, but taking on the tough challenge of Xiaolei Village will not be easy. Lei Dongbao will wait and see!

For Leiting electric fans, tens of thousands of yuan is a small amount of money at present. They earn 300,000 to 400,000 yuan a day. However, Leiting Electric Factory is a collective enterprise, not a private one. It is understandable if someone wants to make a fuss about this.

However, with Lao Xu around, this kind of thing will definitely not hurt Lei Dongbao much. But what if Lao Xu is no longer in Jinling County one day?

Lei Dongbao didn't know when it would happen, so he decided to wait and see.

With the supply issue resolved, Lei Dongbao took the time to plan his expansion into the Pearl River Delta region. He planned to establish Leiting Electric Appliances' presence in the entire southern market within two to three years.

The reason why China's economy has been able to develop so rapidly is because of its huge population. In this market, as long as you seize the opportunity, there is enough for any company to thrive.

As expected, Thunder Electric's sales in July reached a new high, exceeding 163,700 units. By the end of July, the cumulative sales had already approached 350,000 units. This figure caused a stir throughout Anhui Province.

The Xiao Lei family now has tens of millions of yuan in their accounts. In 1981, this amount was an astronomical figure, and many people are once again eager to make a move.

Many departments in the county came to Xiaolei Village wanting to borrow money, and even used various connections. In response to this situation, Lei Dongbao always passed the buck to village cadres such as Lei Shigen. Lei Shigen, on the other hand, received a clear order from Lei Dongbao that Xiaolei Village would not borrow any external debts.

With money in hand, Lei Dongbao was determined to spend it. He didn't hesitate and began to use the funds to expand, starting to plan for expansion into the southern region, recruiting a large number of sales personnel, and establishing a marketing department.

The construction of Xiaoleijia Village has not stopped. The blueprint for the new village has been planned, and the land is currently being prepared. Construction is scheduled to begin in mid-August. The second phase of the factory and dormitory has also been planned and will soon be under construction.

Lei Dongbao is still working on the Hongyun fan project, and negotiations for the purchase of injection molding machines are underway. Whether it's construction or new projects, these are all expenses that come one after another, with money flowing out like water.

Tens of millions of yuan, although an astronomical figure, were spent like water by Lei Dongbao's extravagant spending.

August sales reached 136,600 units, September sales reached 84,000 units, and October sales reached 11,000 units. By the end of October 1981, the electric fan war had officially come to an end.

The company sold nearly 570,000 units throughout the year, generating nearly 50 million yuan in sales revenue and nearly 17 million yuan in profit.

With so much money to be made, Lei Dongbao didn't hold back on spending. After paying off various bank loans, he expanded his sales and marketing teams, built factories and new villages, implemented welfare programs for villagers, and purchased injection molding machines and other materials and accessories. By the end of the year, the Lei family had less than three million yuan left in their accounts.

The speed at which they spend money is something that makes all the state-owned enterprises, big and small, in Anyun Province extremely envious and jealous.

Moreover, after hearing that Xiao Lei's family needed to repay the loan, the bank personally sent a provincial-level official to Jinzhou to cultivate a relationship with Lei Dongbao. They not only refused to let Xiao Lei's family repay the loan now, but also hoped to lend them another five million yuan, ostensibly to support the economic development of local enterprises in Anyun Province.

Lei Dongbao readily accepted the olive branch offered by the bank. He would definitely take out the loan, but not now, but next year. He didn't have enough cash on hand right now, and the little he had on hand certainly wouldn't last until May next year.

Now, Xiao Lei's business is growing bigger and bigger. The total number of employees in the Leiting Electric Factory, including sales staff, has exceeded one thousand. With the expansion of the marketing team in the past few months, the number has reached nearly one thousand five hundred.

Fortunately, labor was indeed cheap in those days. Workers in the electronics factory, even with overtime pay, earned an average of fifty to sixty yuan per person per month. Sales staff earned more, with base salary plus bonuses reaching one hundred yuan or even more during peak seasons, but during the off-season, they basically only earned thirty yuan per month.

These are not even the repairmen at the service center; those are just temporary staff.

This year, the repairmen at these repair shops have also become a new sales point for Xiao Lei's family. Many of them are skirting the law, and during peak season, a single repair shop can sell more than a dozen electric fans a day. By selling Leiting brand electric fans, these repairmen are making a fortune.

Of course, Xiao Lei will not include this portion of sales in its annual sales report. It will only be counted as purchases by internal employees, although the number is indeed a bit high.

Lei Dongbao estimates that by the end of next year, the number of employees at Leiting Electric Factory will exceed three thousand. As for how far Xiaoleijia will go in the future, Lei Dongbao doesn't know. We'll just have to wait and see!

Chapter 44: Wild Growth