Return to 88: Starting from Marrying My Sister-in-law

The morning mist had not yet dissipated, but the conference room at Mingzhu Electric Appliances' Hengzhou headquarters was already full of people.

The store managers had different expressions; some were full of confidence, while others were puzzled by being summoned overnight.

In the center of the conference room, a huge map of Hunan Province was highlighted with three red circles: Baoqing, Hengzhou, and Yongcheng, like three solid foundation stones.

But Yin Mingzhu's gaze was sharply directed to the area further north on the map: Lou City, Tan City, and Zhu City.

These three cities are geographically adjacent to Hengzhou and are located on the edge of her existing agency area, with some overlap. However, in the regional division documents within Lianxiang Company, these three cities are clearly classified as belonging to the supply coverage area of ​​the regional general manager.

Because they are all located right next to Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province.

While companies like Lianxiang, due to limited resources, cannot yet open a directly operated store in every one of the 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, and 4 municipalities across the country, guaranteeing at least one in each of the 297 prefecture-level cities, they do have at least one directly operated store in economically developed regions, especially in the capital cities of each province.

These directly operated stores also bear the important responsibility of supplying goods to surrounding cities and radiating outwards.

Therefore, in conclusion, Xingsha City is also the headquarters of General Manager Zhang, the regional manager.

"Everyone."

Yin Mingzhu's voice was clear, cold, and penetrating, breaking the hushed conversation in the conference room.

"Today's meeting theme is accelerating expansion and clarifying where our next branches will be opened. Lianxiang's promise of becoming the general agent in Hunan Province is not just empty talk; it requires the joint efforts of everyone present to deliver even more impressive results. The saturation rate in Yongcheng and Baoqing is nearing expectations, and there is still potential to be tapped in Hengzhou, but..."

She abruptly changed the subject, pointing her finger sharply at Lou City, Tan City, and Zhu City on the map, "The real growth point is here!"

A collective gasp rippled through the audience.

A senior store manager couldn't help but speak up: "General Manager Yin, Lou City, Tan City, and Zhu City—to be honest, these three cities do have relatively good economies because they are close to the provincial capital, Changsha City. They have many state-owned enterprises, and the people are relatively wealthy... However, according to the headquarters' regional division, this seems to be General Manager Zhang's territory. Would it be... risky for us to open a store there rashly?"

He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear: this was a breach of the agreement, which would directly offend the regional manager, General Manager Zhang, and might even violate the sales agency contract with Lianxiang.

"Territory?"

Yin Mingzhu's lips curled into a cold smile as her gaze swept over the crowd. "In my eyes, there is no such thing as territory. The regional division documents within Lianxiang do not specify Lou City, Tan City, or Zhu City. They have their headquarters and directly operated stores in these three cities, which do not allow our products as distributors to be sold. Our only basis is the contract, and the contract does not prohibit us from opening stores and selling Lianxiang products in other cities in Hunan Province. What do they care about dividing up territory?"

She paused, her gaze becoming deep: "Of course, I know what you're worried about—worried about that Mr. Zhang."

Mentioning this name, a hint of undisguised disgust flashed in Yin Mingzhu's eyes.

"He can manage his directly operated stores in the provincial capital, while we open our branches. As long as our stores are located in Hunan Province and sell legally obtained Lianxiang products, what right does this Zhang fellow have to point fingers?"

She glanced around and said firmly, "The plan remains unchanged! Next week, we will simultaneously and secretly launch the site selection process for 'Mingzhu Electrical Appliances' branches in Lou City, Tancheng, and Zhu City. As for the funding issue..."

Thinking of the breathing space brought about by the extended payment period, she felt a little more at ease. "Headquarters will give us their full support. We want everyone to see that 'Mingzhu Electric's' expansion momentum is unstoppable!"

The meeting ended, and everyone left with mixed feelings.

Yin Mingzhu remained alone in the conference room, standing in front of the map. Her fingertips lightly traced the names of Lou City, Tan City, and Zhu City. The sunlight outside the window shone on her face, reflecting a calm to the point of being cold.

This move was extremely risky, but she had no other choice.

She knew that Mr. Zhang all too well.

This balding, middle-aged, greasy man's lust for her beauty was merely a facade; at a deeper level, it stemmed from his fear of losing power.

She, a "connected person" who was directly parachuted in from the group headquarters and held exclusive agency rights, was like a knife hanging over his head.

Baoqing, Hengzhou, and Yongcheng are just the beginning. Once she truly obtains the Hunan Province general agent position, it will be equivalent to directly taking away half of his "regional general manager" status, leaving him only an isolated island in Xingsha City.

Cutting off someone's source of income is like killing their parents, let alone cutting off the source of income of a sales manager who is used to having the power to make money.

How could he possibly be willing to accept this?

The previous difficulties with payment terms, verbal harassment, and even the implied "unspoken rules" were just appetizers.

As long as she remains in this position and continues to expand, the obstacles that General Manager Zhang will encounter will only increase and become more severe.

“Ordinary methods will definitely not work, unless he commits an unforgivable crime…” Yin Mingzhu muttered to herself, her eyes sharp as knives.

This was the opportunity she had been waiting for.

Opening branches in areas of ambiguous and disputed agency rights, within the catchment area of ​​the headquarters' directly operated stores, was her carefully laid bait.

Next, you just need to wait patiently for the other party to take the bait.
The plane slowly landed on the runway of Pengcheng International Airport. The roar of the engine gradually subsided. Lu Yang glanced at the familiar city through the porthole. Sunlight shone through the clouds, casting dappled light and shadow on his tired face.

The flight of more than ten hours left him feeling sore and tired, but the thought of seeing his family soon made his weariness disappear.

Picking up his simple luggage, he quickly walked down the gangway, and the hustle and bustle of the airport terminal rushed towards him.

The mechanical announcements of flight information over the loudspeaker, the hurried footsteps of passengers, and the eager faces in the arrival area.

Lu Yang's gaze swept across the crowd, quickly settling on:

The mother-in-law, Ma Xiulan, stood in the front row, wearing a beige coat, her hands clasped together and slightly nervously placed in front of her lower abdomen, her eyes revealing a hint of unease and anxiety.

Beside the mother-in-law was the wife, Yin Mingyue, whose slender figure was accentuated by a beige trench coat, but a deep sorrow lingered between her brows.

The two children were jumping around energetically. Their son, Lu Fan, looked around with his little eyes in his wife's arms and waved his little hands, while their daughter, Lu Xin'er, quietly held onto her mother's clothes.

Lu Yang smiled slightly, not at all surprised by Ma Xiulan's appearance.

He strode over, nodded to Ma Xiulan, and said in a gentle tone, "Mom, thank you for making this trip, coming all this way."

Ma Xiulan visibly relaxed, her tense shoulders easing, and she forced a smile: "It's not hard work, it's good that you're back safe and sound."

A brief exchange of pleasantries.

Lu Yang didn't embarrass her in the slightest.

Although my mother-in-law ran away from home a while ago, she's back now. There are many entanglements in the past, but time has passed, so why add to the trouble?

He turned around, squatted down, and opened his arms.

His daughter, Lu Xin'er, flew into his arms like a little cannonball. Lu Yang picked her up and kissed her two tender cheeks, making the little girl giggle.

"Dad, is the Pacific Ocean big?"

"It's big! It's much bigger than our country! It's this big!" Lu Xin'er asked in her childish voice. Lu Yang smiled and nodded, "Big! It's much bigger than our country! It's this big!"

Then, he stretched out his right hand and gestured.

"A globe, yes, a globe. Dad will ask someone to buy you a globe model later, haha, so you can recognize it properly. Your dad actually went to the other side of the world this time!"

He gently stroked his daughter's nose with his finger.

My daughter is six years old and has officially started preschool. Children of this age are full of curiosity about the world.

The group headed towards the parking lot. Ma Xiulan tactfully excused herself, saying she was getting old and hadn't slept well the night before, and didn't like children making a fuss. She then got into the car in front with Lu Yang's entourage, leaving space for their little family.

Lu Yang carried his daughter into the car, then turned around and took his son Lu Fan from his wife Yin Mingyue's arms. The little guy had just turned one year old and was squirming restlessly in his arms, seemingly not used to his unfamiliar father.

Lu Yang laughed out loud.

As soon as I got into the car, I kissed the little guy's face twice and then tickled him with my beard. After a couple of rounds, I made the little guy laugh heartily and try to pull the stubble off his face that I couldn't reach with my little hands.

The engine started, the car drove away from the airport, and merged into the afternoon traffic in Shenzhen.

The city scenery outside the window flashed by.

Yin Mingyue had been silent since getting into the car, but finally spoke, her voice low and hoarse, with a barely perceptible sob: "Husband, my sister and I... we may not be able to reconcile."

She turned her head to the side, her face radiating guilt, like a child who had done something wrong. She was so close, so very close, to pulling her sister away from Lianxiang's camp and helping the group's prodigy gain more market share.

But the problem lies with the agency rights.

The older sister, Yin Mingzhu, wanted the exclusive distributorship for the child prodigy in Hunan Province, but she simply couldn't provide it due to resource constraints.

There should have been a chance for them to reconcile, but they ended up falling out again.

Now, things have gotten even better. My sister has turned around and tied herself even tighter to Lianxiang. I heard that Lianxiang has given her an exclusive three-month extended payment cycle, the only one of its kind among all agents. With this policy, my sister will have less financial pressure in the future and will be more unrestrained in her expansion. I'm afraid she will become a formidable rival to the company in the future.

"I...I think I messed up."

Lu Yang listened and couldn't help but chuckle.

He had actually learned this from other sources long ago—in the business world, the winds blow faster than people.

Looking in the rearview mirror, he saw his wife's downcast eyes, her self-blame for "not doing a good job" almost overflowing.

The car stopped at a red light. Lu Yang deftly moved his son, Lu Fan, to his left arm, freeing his right hand to pull his wife into a gentle embrace.

Yin Mingyue's body stiffened slightly, then softened and she leaned on his shoulder.

"Silly girl, what's there to blame yourself for?"

He spoke softly, his voice deep and steady, "I don't care about these things at all. As for you two sisters, do what you want and don't always consider my feelings."

He patted her back and looked out the window. In the distance, the logo of "Lianxiang VCD" flashed across a billboard, glaringly obvious.

"She's just your sister now, my sister-in-law. I'll treat her the same way you treat her, without saying a word."

Yin Mingyue didn't respond, but buried herself in his arms, her breath warm.

Lu Yang's eyes were deep: That woman got an extension of payment from Lianxiang, she's probably really going to rise up, the appliance chain store model is a good card!

He is a "prophet".

A reborn individual with memories of decades of development in the future.

Not to mention far.

Let's take a few well-known electronics chain stores as examples, such as Suning, Gome, Yongle, and Dazhong...

These are all giants in the home appliance retail industry, and their establishment dates are mostly concentrated in the late 80s and early 90s. In other words, it was not too late for Yin Mingzhu to seize this opportunity to enter the home appliance retail industry; in fact, it was just right.

The home appliance retail chain industry!

At their peak, some of these industry giants had market capitalizations exceeding 100 billion yuan. It's even said that a certain Mr. Huang was once the richest man in China before he started working at a sewing machine!
Is this true?

In his previous life, Lu Yang was just an ordinary person. Before his rebirth, he had only a superficial understanding of the specifics of the financial industry. All he knew came from the internet and from explanations by short video hosts in related fields.

However, whether it's true or not isn't important; what's important is that this industry is indeed quite promising.

Thinking about this, Lu Yang frowned: "Should I also invest some money in the home appliance chain store industry?"

Although both Century Group and its subsidiary, Century Group, have their own directly operated stores across the country for their products, whether they are child prodigies or child geniuses.

However, these single factory direct stores are different from these specialized appliance stores.

Professional appliance stores offer a wide variety of products and a diverse range of brands, providing consumers with more choices. Once established, their foot traffic far surpasses that of a single company-owned store.

At least for now, neither child prodigies nor geniuses can compare to the likes of certain celebrities in later generations.

A vertically integrated direct-sale store, a flagship product experience store, located next to a professional appliance store that brings together many brands, can completely drain the traffic of the other store.

"Forget it, I'm already involved in enough industries. If I want to make money from everything, I can't possibly make it all. Besides, it seems that the electronics chain store industry only really started to take off at the end of this century or the beginning of the next century, with its market value multiplying. It's a bit too early for me to get in now."

No rush, let the industry mature a bit more first.

With money in hand and surplus grain at home, he could simply wait for someone to invite him, and then confidently go and reap the rewards.

……

Star City.

Mr. Zhang has been quite upset lately. He discovered that he had been tricked by a certain woman who, although beautiful, was despicable.

He had just helped the other party apply for a three-month extension of the payment period, relieving their financial pressure, when the other party started to intrude on his territory.

His people learned that the other party had surrounded Xingsha City and simultaneously rented several prime downtown storefronts in Lou City, Tan City, and Zhu City, setting up enclosures and carrying out renovations. (End of Chapter)