Back to the prime of life

Chapter 168 The Road No One Has Traveled
Wang Hongcheng waited for Lu Changge for a while outside the Development Zone Management Committee building.

He extended an invitation, saying, "Would you like to check out the Greenview Garden project?"

In fact, there is no need to look at it. As a person who has lived in Jiangzhou for more than 20 years in the future, Lu Changge already knows where the Cuijingyuan community is. Of course, it is still quite strange to travel through time and space to meet the developer of this community.

In his memory, Cuijingyuan was a relatively old residential complex in Lelang District, not too old or dilapidated, as it had been built in the late 2024s. However, from his perspective in , Cuijingyuan was certainly not new.

However, this community is adjacent to the train station and is considered to be in the city center.

Thinking of this, there is no need to say more. The urbanization process is booming. For reasons or not, land and housing prices are soaring, especially after the opening of Metro Line 1. The earliest unit price was 4500 yuan, but in just a few years it exceeded 8000 yuan.

It is precisely because of this that Lu Changge is confident that he can provide timely assistance this time.

"There's no need to look. You must have a lot of things to do, so why are you taking me to see it? Can you handle the guarantee?"

Although a wry smile is a common expression, Wang Hongcheng's smile at this moment is truly bitter. "In this situation, I have to do it even if I can't. I just made a few calls and there is another way."

Lu Changge asked: "What method?"

“Reducing prices moderately and starting pre-sales in advance.”

As a means of surviving the crisis, this is not a bad idea. Sacrificing a little profit is not a big deal, as long as we survive.

"You can also start preparing."

Wang Hongcheng felt relieved. No matter what, there were still several ways to go. It was not a desperate situation.

"By the way, what's going on with your Taobao store?"

"You still have the interest and energy to care about me?"

"That's right. Wait until I come to my senses. Then I'll see how I can help."

Lu Changge smiled. It was really different to help someone in need. This guy was very grateful to him.

Afterwards, the two went their separate ways to deal with their own affairs.

Wang Hongcheng probably had to go back to Nanjing. Things like guarantees were best discussed in person, and couldn't be resolved over a phone call.

Lu Changge returned to Lumang Company.

Qin Jun, Yin Anyan and others are here.

He should actually come more often in the last few days. After all, his 'self-marketing' methods have just begun to show their power, but we'll have to wait and see to what extent.

But in fact he didn't come. On the one hand, Yin Anyan had been "reporting" to him, which was equivalent to revealing the basic situation during the chat.

Besides, the overall situation has been decided, so what difference does it make whether he comes or not?

Such an action seems more like that of a swordsman who "brushes off his clothes after completing his mission".

When he returned to Lumang today, this small shop suddenly became lively and his young classmates almost lined up to applaud him.

"The real boss is here!"

The one who is best at making things happen is An Yihuan.

"Don't do that." Lu Changge's face was full of 'Damn' and he asked, "How's the situation? The store shouldn't be so quiet anymore, right?"

Qin Jun stood beside him and said, "Daily sales have tripled. In the past few days, we have received more than 900 orders every day."

It was slightly lower than Lu Changge's expectations. Just now, Xu Weiguo asked him about the specific sales volume. When doing business, one has to have some courage to brag, so he directly said that the daily sales have exceeded a thousand.

Fortunately, the difference wasn't too big, so he probably wouldn't mind. Yin Anyan said, "According to our previous division of labor, everyone is using their brains to think about how to do it better. You mentioned the cashback for good reviews, and Yihuan has done a great job. Now our store has a lot of people posting photos and leaving good reviews, so Ai Mai and I have been researching how to make the store more beautiful."

Li Ming said: "I'll do it simply. I'll get a bunch of online trolls to spread your news everywhere, and then promote the Lumang brand."

"Okay, I see. Everyone has unique skills." Lu Changge found a place to sit down. "I have a feeling this time, Lumang's Taobao store will be very different from the one I ran before. Firstly, the sales volume will definitely surpass my previous one. Secondly, the growth of personal fame will definitely lead to a significant monthly increase. This change is a challenge for both you and me. Frankly speaking, none of us have relevant experience."

"Also, in the past, what I sold were not physical objects, so there was no issue with returns. And because they were not physical objects, I could indicate that they were not returnable. But clothing is different. Now all major e-commerce platforms are gradually launching 'no-reason returns' services. How do we do this?

Especially since rapid development itself brings all sorts of problems, and with so many factors stacked together... Ladies and gentlemen, we don't expect an easy time in the next six months or even a year."

An Yihuan said, "Boss Lu, you didn't come here to scare us today, did you?"

"Of course not," Lu Changge said. "Do you remember the agreement we made when we first started? You were all going to get 3% of the profits for the first six months. If it works out, we'll continue. If it doesn't, forget it. Now it seems we can't stick to the six-month deadline. I think we need to adjust as soon as possible, to standardize and formalize things quickly. Simply put, Lumang needs to become a serious company, and we need to clarify our respective responsibilities and rights through an agreement."

"There is a problem." Yin Anyan said worriedly.

"what?"

"There's no official company where the main people in charge are all college students, right? If a partner asks us to discuss something, what should we say? Are we all in class or taking exams?"

Very good point.

Lu Changge hasn't talked about what to do next when expanding product categories and facing the possible explosive growth in sales.

"But it's impossible for all of us to drop out of school," said Ai Mai.

Qin Jun said, "Lao Lu, this is something we can only overcome. It's unrealistic for everyone to drop out of school."

Lu Changge couldn't figure out how other college student startup teams balanced classes and work. Maybe whoever had time would go to school. After all, it was a small company and didn't have the scientific department setup and strict department boundaries like a big company.

No matter whether you are the general manager or a clerk, you have to do the job once you get started.

In another sense, this is also a form of training, because under the almost excessive workload, talents will grow rapidly. Maybe in two or three years, these people will be very powerful.

Lu Changge decided to give it a try.

"It's certainly unrealistic for everyone to drop out, but this actually requires each of us to be well-rounded. To put it bluntly, if Lao Qin isn't available for supply chain work, whoever's available has to take over. Furthermore, communication must be very smooth. Opinions and decisions made by one person must be communicated promptly, and others must quickly understand and follow through, without overturning decisions already made by others. In other words, we must be an extremely efficient team with absolute mutual trust."

An Yihuan said, "I can do this. Although I am also obsessed with money, I always know that we are in this together. Apart from Lu Mang, I always regard everyone as a good friend. Apart from distinguishing between men and women, I don't care about anything else."

Ai Mai glanced at Lu Changge and said, "I've always felt that attending this university and meeting you all is a particularly lucky thing in my life."

Yin Anyan didn't say anything, but just took Lu Changge's hand.

There is no need to say more about Qin Jun and Li Ming.

"In that case, I'll announce a few decisions." Lu Changge counted on his fingers as he told them, "First, I'll divide the company's shares into three major blocks. The first block is the founding members' equity pool, which you will be in. The second block is the incentive pool reserved for future employees. The third block is me, as the major shareholder."

They have contributed both money and manpower, and no matter how much we value friendship, we cannot share the money equally with them.

"The second thing is that we have to move downstairs from my other company, PulseGo. I've already made arrangements for that location; it's a government-run base for fostering small and micro businesses. The rent is free, and the environment is better. It's far from school, but there's no other option because we need to meet with so many partners."

They all agreed with the above, but Qin Jun didn't understand what many partners meant. "Why do we need to contact them?"

Lu Changge said confidently, "Because I have found a strong coordinator, we will start to expand our product categories on a large scale in the future."

His entrepreneurial venture this time should be different from other successful Internet fast fashion brands, because they do not have the ability to predict the financial crisis in advance, and may not be as experienced as him in how to cooperate with the government. Naturally, they cannot intentionally utilize the foundation and advantages of Jiangzhou's clothing companies.

And because there is no precedent, even Lu Changge himself cannot predict how the situation will eventually erupt.

(End of this chapter)