1988: Back to the human world for a few years

Chapter 148 Collapse
In later times, the allocation system for luxury goods, represented by brand-name bags, is notorious;
Simply put, if you want to buy your favorite bag in the store, you need to spend a certain amount of money in the store, which is called bundled sales;
And this quota ratio is often 1:1.2, or even 1:2;

What does that mean?

That is, if you want to buy a hot-selling bag worth 10 yuan, you must buy other goods worth at least 12 yuan at the same time to be able to buy it... In other words, in order to buy such a bag, you need to spend a total of 22 yuan and bring back a lot of other goods that you don't even like or can't use.

Although this allocation system became famous in later generations because of foreign luxury bags, in fact, this thing has existed as early as the early 1980s... Although no special tracing research has been conducted, Yang Mo has always suspected that the foreign luxury brands in later generations learned this trick from China!

From the late 1970s, from high-end enamelware sets to the three must-have items for marriage; from refrigerators that were once highly sought after to color TVs that are still in great demand today, it is often not enough to just have a ticket, but you also need a lot of other things to buy them.
Therefore, this is the important reason why in the 1970s and 1980s, buying a TV or a refrigerator often required the entire family to go out... If there were not enough people, they would not be able to carry so many bundled items!
Of course, not all goods will be allocated to you. Usually only the popular goods will be allocated to you. Moreover, the probability of third- and fourth-tier cities requiring you to allocate goods is significantly lower than that of first- and second-tier cities.

But to be honest, although this allocation system, which has been in place for some years, is annoying, it generally only allocates you goods at around 5% to 8% of the value of the goods;

It is indeed very rare that the quota ratio has reached 16% as it is now.

and so……

In the end, Miss Mu still walked out of the department store with a cold face and empty hands.

It wasn't that she didn't have enough money on her, nor was she sad about having to pay an extra two hundred dollars, but she couldn't accept being ripped off like a sucker.

………………

"Yang Mo, I'm sorry. Within three days, I will give you a color TV... a 21-inch one!"

After standing for a while under the shade of a tree outside the department store, Muliya said a little embarrassedly.

Although she would occasionally go shopping in department stores when she was in Dongying, she usually bought clothes, shoes and other things and left immediately after making the purchase, so she really didn't expect to encounter such a thing.

"No need. I'm really not interested in that stuff anyway." Yang Mo waved his hands, looking indifferent.

Given Miss Mu's family background, she doesn't need to buy all the necessary supplies for food, clothing and daily necessities from such places. Therefore, it is normal for her to find it difficult to accept the distribution and sales of such scarce supplies.

In fact, today not only Miss Mu but also he was surprised.

After Yang Mo replied and then stood there without saying anything, Mu Liya felt a little uneasy for some reason, thinking that he was unhappy. She leaned over to take a look and found that although Yang Mo was frowning, he seemed to be thinking about something and did not seem to be angry about this matter.

"Yang Mo, what are you thinking about?" Mu Liya stretched out her hand and wanted to take the initiative to help him divide a bag and carry it.

It was obvious that Mr. Yang had never been a gentleman. Seeing that the young lady was willing to help share the weight, he simply stuffed the two bags in his hand into hers.

Mu Liya rolled her eyes and was about to complain about him when she heard Yang Mo sigh: "Although everyone knows that the current economy is in recession, after going through this today, I found that... the situation is more serious than I thought."

???

Mu Liya was stunned, and immediately swallowed the words she wanted to say to this guy: "What do you mean?"

Yang Mo shrugged: "Although the previous distribution system of scarce materials was unpleasant, you can actually understand it as the natural reaction of peripheral nerves under the influence of the market... After all, it's okay to increase the price of popular goods appropriately;"

“Due to the price control of the domestic supply and marketing system, the prices of those products cannot be changed directly, so the actual price increase can only be formed through the distribution system… Although the profit from the price increase is taken by the supply and marketing cooperative system and is not quickly and directly fed back to the merchants, the market value transmission is indeed formed in the middle;”

“Although this process is a bit slow, the supply and marketing system may have to wait until the second or third year to increase the purchase price for those production units due to direct or indirect reasons… But from the underlying logic of business, this matter is not as abominable as everyone thinks. After all, the positioning of the supply and marketing system itself determines that it needs to take into account the interests of more parties, and it cannot watch those units that produce unsalable products starve to death.”

After explaining the initial considerations of the allocation system to this young lady who was not very familiar with the world, Yang Mo sighed: "So, putting aside personal preferences, for now, the allocation quotas for in-demand commodities by commercial terminals in a regional supply and marketing system can fully reflect the commercial activity of some areas in this region!"

"If the previous allocation of 5% to 8% of the price of the in-demand products to the remaining unsalable products can be seen as the risk of being eliminated by the market that some conservative and unenterprising production units must bear in the face of the impact of marketization..."

"The current quota of 16% can only mean that the economic activity in some areas of the region has shown signs of systemic collapse!"

At this point, Yang Mo explained a little: "This collapse phenomenon is related to the iteration of the demand side and the supply side... But judging from the overall situation at present, it is essentially caused by the production and operation strategies of the production units on the supply side being too rough and backward, and consumers have no desire to buy at all!"

"You know, since the beginning of reform and opening up, our economic tone in recent years has been to [trade space for time]. With a foreign trade dependence of up to 70% or even 90%, even if there have been some setbacks in the past one or two years, the current basic consumption base does not have the potential on the demand side exhausted;"

“Since there is not such a big problem on the demand side… then the problem is obvious, that is, there is a problem on the supply side!”

Yang Mo shrugged and looked at Miss Mu with a teasing look. "Tsk tsk, it's the same as the triangular debt problem. This kind of collapse of regional economic activity is a systemic problem... Miss, if your package of foreign trade plans ends up failing, it's fine. If it's a great success... No, let alone a great success, even if you do a mediocre job, I guess someone will come to you to pressure you to do a task."

Mu Liya pondered for a while and frowned. "Nowadays, everyone has no money to spend, but all major companies have been working hard to produce in the past two years, so it is normal that there are more unsalable products... Why do you attribute all the reasons to the production units on the supply side?"

Yang Mo sneered: "No money to spend? ... Sister, I think your understanding of the word "consumption" is still superficial!"

"It is true that everyone is not rich now, and you may not be able to find two children even if you search them thoroughly; but you have to understand that there is a fixed amount of wealth in the world. If there are people who live in poverty, there must be people who live well... And after ten years of reform and opening up, given our country's population base, there are indeed many people who can afford it;"

“But oftentimes, whether or not to spend does not entirely depend on how much money you have, but also on whether you have enough impulse to spend!”

Pointing to the color TV ticket in his hand, Yang Mo curled his lips and said, "A 17-inch color TV costs more than 1400 yuan. An ordinary worker's family would have to save for three years without eating or drinking to buy one... Logically speaking, this thing is expensive enough, right?"

"But look at the department stores in any city across the country. Are there any big items like color TVs, washing machines, and refrigerators that are not in short supply? Even tickets can be resold to make a fortune... Can you say that the people in our country have no spending power and enthusiasm?"

"The reason why all kinds of daily necessities are now experiencing widespread unsalability, and why the supply and marketing system has even been forced to increase the quota for bundled sales to an exaggerated figure of 16%, is simply because these things can no longer arouse enough purchasing impulse among the core consumer groups!"

Yang Mo concluded: "The grassroots people who need these things can't afford them, or can't afford so many goods; and the middle-class consumer groups who can afford them don't want to buy these things... Well, this is the crux of the problem!"

As a reborn, Yang Mo knew the problem as soon as he heard the salesperson's bundled sales. Unlike those big-headed people who only know how to complain about the current bad economic environment, people having no money, and the products produced by the company cannot be sold, he, who worked as a VC for a few years in his previous life, undoubtedly looks at the problem in a more concrete way... In fact, if you really understand the words of our ancestors, "The wealth of the world is limited to this number, it is not in yourself, but in others", you have already understood most of the principles of economics.

Mu Liya's beautiful eyes kept turning. After thinking for a while, she looked at Yang Mo in disbelief: "Why do you always look at things from a different perspective?"

Yang Mo chuckled: "Because I am a peasant... If you also lived in the countryside since childhood, and were lucky enough to go to a crappy university in the city, and were willing to observe and think about the various phenomena around you, you can do the same!"

Although this statement is a bit confusing, it is not without reason.

Just like when future investors go to a strange city, the first thing they do is to go to the local high-end nightclubs and private clubs, to understand the level of economic vitality and structural vitality of a region, it is never something that can be done by looking at data reports;

It's just that high-end nightclubs are not allowed in Qilu at that time, and Yang Mo's status is not enough to set foot in high-end private clubs hidden outside the public line. Therefore, he can only make some judgments by putting himself in the shoes of ordinary consumers and combining some peripheral reactions of the supply and marketing system... But he is not doing project investment at the moment, so as far as chatting is concerned, such rough judgments are enough.

Oh?
Why not go to the grassroots more often, and observe and think more?

Miss Mu stared at Yang Mo with some suspicion.

She admitted that the reason given by Yang Mo made sense.
but……

Is that enough?

Among the people she knows, many have climbed up from the grassroots, and there are also many who have extraordinary backgrounds but are deeply rooted in the grassroots. However, they are the kind of people who are easily bound by their own experiences and develop rigid thinking.

The person who can observe details and have a macro perspective...it seems that so far, the only one is this guy in front of me?

………………

I felt a little frightened by Miss Mu's gaze.

Yang Mo looked around and found that the agreed time had not yet arrived and the driver had not come back yet. He laughed and said, "Although I didn't buy the TV today, I still accept your favor... Since I promised you to drink mutton offal soup before, I can't go back on my word... Let's go, I know there is a Muslim restaurant nearby, the baked buns and mutton offal soup there are very delicious!"

Watching this guy bending over and stretching out his hand like a gentleman on TV, Muliya looked down at the two large bags of candy in her hands and wrinkled her nose at him with disdain.

Pooh!
Fake!

After following him for more than ten meters with some dissatisfaction, Mu Liya suddenly thought of a question: "Eh? Yang Mo, didn't you just say that if my package of foreign trade export plans achieves some results, someone will come to take over the burden?"

Yang Mo looked at the woman with some doubts and nodded: "Yes, but you don't have to worry... You have already established a connection with Nanyang. As long as the cooperation is pleasant, they will definitely help you;"

"Anyway, exporting unsalable goods to Nanyang is already an old tradition... If the task is too heavy, you can ask the people there to help you share the burden... If it doesn't work, you can ask them to export these things and then bring them back. Anyway, Nanyang has a lot of connections, so it won't be difficult to find a few local leaders to help you."

As a friend and strategic partner, Yang Mo was never stingy in this regard and gave his opinions directly... Nanyang during this period was a famous funnel market, just like Changsha in the millennium. It could export unsaleable products to underdeveloped areas such as Africa or directly return them to the domestic rural market at low prices.

Moreover, Yang Mo was not worried that Nanyang would be unwilling to contribute.

Although the craft beer project that Miss Mu is working on has not officially entered South Korea, after several rounds of negotiations and evaluations, several large-scale South Korean agents are optimistic about this project and are very willing to sign an exclusive agency agreement after testing the sample market;
Anyone who has worked in business and trade should understand the meaning of this.

With such a good start, no matter what the considerations, the Nanyang Bridge Merchant who provided the route would naturally not be stingy in giving Miss Mu a little help in such matters.

After hearing Yang Mo's suggestion, the strange look in Mu Liya's eyes became more obvious, but she smiled and shook her head: "No, I mean..."

"If someone gives me a task, then Momo Baitou will be more likely to be given a task immediately... Who told Momo Baitou that its main job is to help solve the triangular debt problem of its sister companies? As you said, the collapse of regional economic activity and the triangular debt problem are actually two sides of the same coin;"

"But you have to know that pressing tasks is a double-edged sword!"

"Although the pressure on Vice President Feng has increased, the cards in his hand will also increase;"

"So, aren't you worried that they will win in the end and then suppress you so that you won't have a chance to come back?"

"Even if we fail to win in the end, the more cards Vice President Feng has, the longer we will have to hold out. As time goes on... many variables will arise. Aren't you afraid that this company that you once had high hopes for will become a worthless shell after the funds are exhausted?"

Looking at Miss Mu's vindictive smile, Yang Mo rolled his eyes: "The more cards you have, the longer you can hold out... Sister, I think you overestimate those people!?"

As he spoke, Yang Mo recalled something and laughed. Then he took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. "Believe me, the work of Momo Baitou is a completely unfamiliar thing to them. Without the guidance of an experienced person, they will definitely become headless flies in an instant;"

"Faced with this kind of confusion, if nothing unexpected happens, they will definitely arrange and carry out their work based on their previous experience..."

Yang Mo exhaled a puff of smoke with a hint of gloating on his face, and then said in a voice that made people want to rush up and punch him a few times: "Believe me, this is definitely a disaster... A disaster that once it starts, it will not be affected by Vice President Feng's personal will!"

"As for Mo Mo Bai Tou... to be honest, as long as this department still exists and as long as the functions of this department remain unchanged... it is already the most valuable thing to me!"

A disaster?
Mu Liya looked at Yang Mo with some confusion, not understanding what this meant.

As for the last sentence, she could understand it a little. After all, with his abilities, what this guy really needed was nothing more than an opportunity and platform to display his talents.

Thinking of this, Mu Liya, who felt that she had almost no presence in this regard, suddenly felt a little depressed. She pulled Yang Mo's hand and hung a bag over him: "I can't lift it anymore... Hurry up, I'm a little hungry, I want to eat mutton offal soup!"

(End of this chapter)