State Cotton Mill No. 2. Office Building!
In the factory director’s office, Jiang Longcheng sat face-to-face with Deputy Director Tong Youlin, with a pot of green tea resting on the small coffee table between them!
Deputy Director Tong had recently been transferred from the State-owned Assets Department to replace the fickle Deputy Director Chen.
Since Deputy Director Tong and Jiang Longyin were on good terms, he naturally got along quite well with Jiang Longcheng as well; the two would often meet up for meals or tea, whether there was a specific reason or not.
Holding his teacup, Tong Youlin looked at Jiang Longcheng and said, “Director, you don’t seem worried at all!”
“Worried about what? The promotional giveaway?”
“Exactly. This was your initiative. The factory has already spent over 10 million yuan just on purchasing the prizes. If this goes south, the State-owned Assets Department will inevitably launch an investigation!”
“So what if they investigate? Do you think they’ll actually fire me?” Jiang Longcheng said dismissively.
“They wouldn’t go that far, but it would still damage your reputation to some extent!” said Tong Youlin.
“Hah, I couldn’t care less. You know exactly what kind of reputation I have—I don’t give a damn what anyone says!”
“You can say that in our factory, but don’t go blabbing it outside. It wouldn’t look good if people heard it!” Tong Youlin said as he sipped his tea.
“Hearing you talk like this reminds me of my second older brother. Hanging out with you guys isn’t fun at all—it’s nowhere near as easygoing as hanging out with that kid Li Yi!” Jiang Longcheng said.
“Old Jiang has mentioned this Comrade Li Yi to me before. From the way he spoke, he seemed to have a lot of respect for that brother-in-law of his!”
“That’s for sure. If it weren’t for my brother-in-law, the cotton mill and the candy factory probably wouldn’t have survived. Between the two factories, there are at least three thousand workers and managers combined. If they really went under, do you think those district leaders would still have it easy?”
Jiang Longcheng continued, “And look at us now—our factory’s raking in over a million in profits every month, and the candy factory isn’t far behind. I hear their profits broke two million last month. My second older brother walks into city meetings with his head held high. Don’t you think he owes a debt of gratitude to my brother-in-law?”
“Hmm, Comrade Li Yi really is a business prodigy!” Tong Youlin remarked admiringly.
Jiang Longcheng grinned and said, “You’re absolutely right about that. My brother-in-law doesn’t act lightly, but whatever he sets his mind to, he never fails!”
“Take our cotton mill, for instance. Back then, that bastard surnamed Gao had run the place into the ground—no one would touch the cloth we produced even at half price. That kid Li Yi took just a month and a half to not only clear out the entire stock of fabric but also turn the factory around. Tell me, isn’t that impressive!”
As he said this, Jiang Longcheng’s eyes sparkled, as if he’d turned into Li Yi’s biggest fan.
Though he was a bit of a rogue, he knew his own worth.
Although profits had been soaring these past few months thanks to the rebirth of State Cotton Mill No. 2, and many had been heaping praise on him, hailing him as a management guru and marketing genius…
But Jiang Longcheng knew full well that all the credit belonged to his brother-in-law; he was merely reaping the rewards of someone else’s hard work.
“No wonder you’re so at ease—you’re not the least bit worried this event might fall flat!” Tong Youlin said with a laugh.
“So what if it does? As long as the factory doesn’t lose money, neither the district nor the State-owned Assets Department will have any grounds to take action against us…”
Just then, a series of urgent knocks at the door interrupted him.
“Come in!”
At Jiang Longcheng’s command, the office door swung open.
Immediately, the female secretary rushed in. Upon seeing Jiang Longcheng, she exclaimed excitedly, “Director, it’s a huge hit! The merchandise at those stores in the city has completely sold out…”
“Slow down. What exactly is going on?” Jiang Longcheng asked.
The secretary took a moment to compose herself, then gathered her thoughts and said, “We just received a call from the Wangfujing flagship store. They said the over 20,000 yuan worth of merchandise they prepared is almost sold out, and they need us to rush a shipment over there…”
Before she could finish, Tong Youlin, standing nearby, asked in surprise, “How is that possible? It’s only been two hours since the mall opened. How could they have sold out so fast?”
“It must be true—this kind of thing can’t be faked!” the female secretary replied.
Jiang Longcheng immediately ordered, “Notify the fleet right away. Get the prepared goods to the Wangfujing store as soon as possible!”
“Yes, sir!”
“While they’re at it, have them send a batch of goods to the Dong’an and Xizhimen stores as well. Judging by the situation at those two stores, they shouldn’t be doing too badly either!” Jiang Longcheng said.
“Yes!”
With that, the female secretary turned and walked out.
After the secretary left, Tong Youlin looked at Jiang Longcheng and said, “Congratulations, Director. It looks like this campaign of ours has been a success again!”
A single store sold nearly 20,000 yuan worth of merchandise in just two hours, clearly demonstrating that this prize-based sales campaign has been well-received and embraced by the public.
More importantly, Feixue Apparel—operated by State Cotton Mill No. 2—now has a full direct-sales stores nationwide.
Although it’s unlikely every store will be as bustling as the Wangfujing branch, with such high sales figures,
But judging by this single store, the situation at the others is likely just as strong.
All in all, it looks like the event was a success!
Jiang Longcheng burst out laughing. “I knew my brother-in-law wouldn’t let me down!”
Immediately, he strode over to his desk and dialed a number.
After a few rings, the call was answered: “Logistics Department of State Cotton Mill No. 2. Who’s this?”
“Old Liu, it’s Jiang Longcheng!”
“Good morning, Director. What are your instructions?” Liu Yunsan, the head of the logistics department, replied hurriedly.
“Contact the Yanjing TV Factory immediately and tell them that our Second National Cotton Mill needs to purchase another batch of televisions. The quantity is tentatively set at units. Get the funds from the finance department—tell them I’ve approved it!”
“Yes, sir. I’ll do it right away!”
“Good…”
After Jiang Longcheng hung up the phone, Tong Youlin couldn’t help but ask, “Weren’t those thousand units we ordered earlier still sitting in inventory? Why are we ordering so many more now?”
“Don’t you think giving only units to over 120 stores is a bit too few?”
“Is that too few?”
“Of course it is. On average, that’s not even one TV per store. And since this promotion is running for a whole week, that means each store can only give away one grand prize per day—that’s far too few!” Jiang Longcheng said with a straight face.
Tong Youlin chuckled. “I’d be a fool to believe you. You’re just trying to help Yanjing TV Factory move their inventory. Don’t think I don’t know that!”
“You know that, yet you still ask…”
Just then, the phone on Jiang Longcheng’s desk suddenly rang.
Hearing the ringtone, Jiang Longcheng immediately stood up and strode over to his desk.
He plopped down on the desk and picked up the receiver: “Hello, who’s this? Who are you looking for?”
“It’s me, Li Yi!”
Hearing the voice on the other end, Jiang Longcheng immediately grinned and said, “Bro-in-law, it’s you! What made you think to call me?”
“I heard your factory just placed another order for TVs with us?”
“You found out that fast? Old Liu really gets things done quickly. I’ll have to give him a certificate of merit at the year-end awards ceremony!” Jiang Longcheng said with a laugh.
“Old Liu definitely deserves a certificate, but I called to tell you to cancel that order for units!” Li Yi said, dropping a bombshell.
“Cancel them? Why?” Jiang Longcheng asked, puzzled.
“I know you’re trying to help me clear some inventory, Third Brother, but I really don’t need it. I’ve got my own channels to move those TVs!”
“Brother-in-law, I wasn’t trying to help you clear your inventory. It’s just that over here…”
Before he could finish, Li Yi cut him off: “Alright, that’s settled. I’ve got other things to do—I’ll hang up now!”
“Beep… beep…”
Listening to the busy signal coming through the receiver, Jiang Longcheng was completely baffled…
……….
: Given the cost of living back then, Lao Cang felt that the sales plan’s stipulation of exchanging yuan for one lottery ticket was a bit unreasonable, so he changed it to fifty yuan per ticket. The earlier sections will be updated accordingly.