My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 51: Want to find out business secrets without being corrupted?
Weidong must ask some questions to find out what sales channels the other party has.

The manufacturer shrugged, "No, we've never sold cameras. Even though we helped make parts for Xiangjiang brand cameras in the past few years, those were state-controlled purchases and sales. If they sold well, we'd go full throttle when orders came in. If they didn't sell well, we'd still be able to survive. We'd figure out improvements. Now even the Xiangjiang brand has been taken back, and they have to find a way to survive. We definitely have to find a way ourselves, too. What suggestions do you have?"

This suggestion couldn't be given away for nothing. Weidong now understood how valuable the information gap was. "When I went to Shanghai, I saw cameras sold in the big department stores and Friendship Stores on Sujing Road, but they required coupons. Why don't you ask them to sell them there?"

The sales manager smiled bitterly, "People all over the country are lining up to find them. How can we even get them all? Besides, they won't even look at the product we just prototyped. Especially the idea of ​​this cheap camera, even here they're laughed at."

It was clear that the factory leadership had come to the decision: "But we really like what you said. We want to make a camera that the people can afford and enjoy using! If even we workers can't afford it, how can it be called a people's camera?"

Wei Dong didn't beat around the bush. "How many units have you produced now? What's the production volume?"

He spread out his palms and said, "Five hundred. If we can really start selling, normal production can reach five thousand a month, and with overtime we can make eight to ten thousand. If we make more, we will have to expand the production line and seek support from our sister factories. I hope that day will come."

When saying this, the factory leaders' eyes were filled with disbelief and longing.

The company that sells more than 300 units has an annual output of only 20,000 to 30,000 units.

But the production complexity of that SLR camera is many times that of this thing, and the price difference is even more than ten times.

The scrap rate is still very high.

It’s dead simple here.

Rang Weidong actually had an idea in mind: "Five hundred units...what's the lowest price you can give me for the package? I'll pay first and take the money. Whether I can sell it or not is a risk on me. If I can't sell it, I'll lose everything. If I can sell it, how can you abide by the agreement? Let's sell more together."

This is what makes his approach different from You Qili's.

He only does work that is within his financial means and will not use leverage to challenge higher-level players, making it easier and less stressful for his partners.

Suddenly, I felt a huge sigh of relief, and became even more enthusiastic. "As long as you can sell it, we can give it to you for 19.5 yuan. If nothing else, today's change to remove the lens cover can save you another 20 cents. We just hope you can develop this sales market. We don't need to participate in sales, just focus on production. This is the model we've been accustomed to for the past 20 years. We can sign an agreement, a contract. As long as you pay in full and get the goods in stock, we will do our best to meet your needs."

Just then, the person who had gone to develop the film came back, showing off two wet rolls with a look of confusion: "Comrade Rang, one of your rolls was not even exposed on the spool, and half of the photos on the other roll were not even exposed. The color roll is still being developed at a constant temperature. I hope it's better than these two."

To save Weidong's face, he said, "Isn't this exactly what you need to consider? Why didn't I succeed? How can a beginner like me succeed without any complicated training? Why is the exposure poor? How can we increase the success rate? Anyway, as long as we can leave an image, it's enough. We don't care about complicated exposure or anything like that."

If he really said this to a mature large enterprise or brand, he would lose if they even looked at him for a second.

It was precisely in the early 1980s that all commodity production was in a state of disrepair and manufacturers were struggling to survive.

It was such an amazing experience to meet such a capable and responsible person. We all listened carefully and communicated seriously. Okay, let's focus on analysis, improvement and adjustment.

Dong Xueqing was watching intently from the side.

Someone has long summarized that the first great person many people meet when they enter society after graduating from school is, to a large extent, like the mother a baby bird sees after pecking open the eggshell. This person will leave an indelible mark on their career and make them learn and follow him involuntarily.

In fact, Jiang Weidong was a bit like this. After he stepped out of the tax compound, the first person he took the initiative to follow and learn from was You Qili.

It can be said that I have set my goals very high.

However, his actual age means that he will not be too superstitious about idols and will work steadily at his own pace.

In fact, money was still made in the citrus business in Shangzhou, and Weidong even admitted to the city leaders that the gross profit was 17,000 yuan.

Besides, sand and gravel transportation is profitable, and the calculation of several in and out transactions only requires a few thousand yuan to be added.

Now he directly paid the nearly 10,000 yuan for the goods, got the factory's sales letter of introduction, sales contract, sales work permit, and even got one for Dong Xueqing who was following him.

Isn’t it just taking a headshot and putting a stamp on it? It’s so easy here to take the photo and print it right after.

So the technical secondary school students who have not yet graduated already have a work permit in the sales department of Xishan Optical Instrument Factory!
As long as the manufacturer can sell the products, they will issue this kind of free work permit at will, especially for a "rich salesperson" like Weidong who can pick up 500 units. They wish they could give him a secretary!
This is what Hongguang Factory thought, but they obviously got it wrong and did not choose the right track.

As they loaded the 500 cameras, along with their simple cardboard packaging, onto the truck, the Xishan factory leaders spoke solemnly, "Although this sale won't solve our livelihood problems, it gives us hope. We just hope Comrade Xiao Rang can pass on the good news as soon as possible. We still have some surplus food to start production. Otherwise, if we continue to spend more than we earn, even the living standards of the factory workers will plummet."

Let Weidong give each anxious factory leader a piece of bacon.

They immediately gave him their own telescope and a Tai Hong Kong brand SLR camera as a gift, reminding him to improve his photography skills, as the photos he took this time were really terrible.

It makes them doubt whether their products still have a market.

Guilty!

Weidong, desperately suppressing his expression, bid farewell and returned to Jiangzhou, carrying the collated contracts and the documents from the relevant industrial and equipment departments, which listed seven film and paper R&D companies at the national conference. Even a security guard at the tax compound would have known at a glance that only one of these seven companies would become a nationally known brand.

In the northern Jicheng.

It was he who mustered up the courage to "drive" to the north to purchase the relevant areas of beef and mutton tallow.

Now he had to plan his route carefully.

Dong Xueqing didn't care about the plan. She put on suede shoes as soon as she got in the car, leaned on Weidong, holding the stack of photos and giggling.

Because asking Weidong to take pictures is purely the style of mobile phone photography in later generations, taking random photos, or even deliberately taking ugly photos, just doing it casually.

Starting from the two days when his parents brought the film back, he took pictures of the black and white film everywhere, including visiting the lantern festival, at the pier, cooking at home, watching TV, etc., making a mess of it.

The mother was so amused that she hit someone with a spatula. The young woman holding her baby was frightened when she suddenly saw the camera. The old man was smoking and encouraging his son to make trouble. Of course, there was also Dong Xueqing jumping and swearing in the park.

There's no composition, no light and shadow, no merit in any photographic sense, it's just a bunch of random things anyone could take on their phone.

But it just records the truest form of life.

No wonder people in camera factories feel like the professional world is collapsing.

In this era, film is a very precious thing. Everyone who takes a photo does so seriously in the hope of leaving behind a good image.

How can you take such random photos?

Weidong tried to push him away with his elbow, but he subconsciously knew to be gentle.

I don’t know if she could feel it, but Dong Xueqing was laughing and squeezing in behind the driver. “It’s so lively in the countryside during the Spring Festival. My sister and I will go back with you to celebrate the New Year next year, okay?”

Color photos are also noisy and fragmented when developed, but the unconcealed atmosphere of life will definitely make sensitive and lonely souls yearn for it.

Weidong continued to play up his seniority: "We don't know where you'll be next year. Take that SLR camera back to school and study hard. See if you can develop some photography skills."

He doesn't care at all and has no interest in tinkering with the complicated settings of aperture and shutter.

The girl had red circles under her eyes. She was raised with great difficulty by her sister and had never felt the love of her father, so she felt a little suffocated.

So when no one was looking, I quietly untied my pigtails, tried to lean my head on that broad back, squinted my eyes and smiled secretly with great attachment.

It is well known that Dongfeng trucks do not have interior rearview mirrors.

Weidong was so absorbed in thinking about how to sell the camera that he didn't realize that a girl of the same age was having a lot of fun hiding behind him.

This kind of affection lasted from the optical factory in the afternoon all the way to Jiangzhou.

I never even looked out at the street view.

On the contrary, the young people who had never thought about whether to call the police had long forgotten the fight last night. They all crowded at the back of the car, lifted the tarpaulin, and looked at the big city in amazement.

Goudan, who had been here a dozen times and had even been to Shanghai, lazily lay down on the straw blanket and said, "What's so good about this? The hot pot in the city is the best. I wonder if I can have it today."

He only cared about this and didn't force it. Whatever he was given to eat was better than living in the countryside.

Let Weidong definitely reward everyone.

He parked the car steadily in front of the store and got out to greet everyone: "Move the things first, then have some food..."

Then I saw a neatly dressed and gentle young man wearing glasses walking out of the store.

He extended his hand enthusiastically: "Hello, Comrade Rang Weidong. I'm Xu Jianmin, the factory secretary sent by the factory to assist you with your work. I've also delivered two tons of titanium ingots as agreed on the phone."

So Aunt Wang is being replaced?

Hongguang Factory later regretted this decision.

(End of this chapter)