Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 317 Which is more important?
Finance Office, Wan'an Town Canned Food Factory.

The office was small, with a row of dark brown wooden filing cabinets against the wall. The cabinet doors had yellowed labels indicating categories such as "accounting vouchers" and "financial statements".

In the center of the room was a light-colored wooden desk with several thick ledgers spread out on it. Next to it was an ink bottle and a stack of blank forms. The whole office was filled with the smell of paper and ink.

A girl in her early twenties was looking down at a document, her pen pausing occasionally on the paper, making a soft scratching sound.

Suddenly, the phone on the table rang. She immediately put down her pen, reached out and answered the phone, speaking politely: "Hello, this is Wan'an Town Cannery."

"I'm looking for Li Zhenguo." The woman on the other end of the phone had a Beijing accent.

The girl paused for a moment, then replied, "Supervisor Li is in the workshop right now. May I ask your name? Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I am his wife, Chen Shuping. Could you please let him answer the phone?" the woman on the other end of the line said gently.

"Oh, it's Auntie!" Li Hongying breathed a sigh of relief, her voice brightening. "I'm Li Zhensheng's eldest daughter from Daying Village, Li Hongying. Do you remember me? You used to braid my hair when I was little!"

Chen Shuping on the other end of the phone paused, as if recalling something, before laughing and saying, "Hongying! What brings you to the cannery?"

“I used to work as a substitute teacher in the village, but the pay wasn’t very good. So I asked Brother Zhe for help and got a job as an accountant at the factory.” Li Hongying’s voice was cheerful. “Auntie, please wait a moment. I’ll go to the workshop and call Uncle Zhenguo to answer the phone.”

"Okay, thank you for your help." Chen Shuping replied. Before hanging up the phone, a hint of envy suddenly popped into her mind, and a sentence involuntarily flashed through her mind: "When one person attains enlightenment, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven."

She worked at a textile factory in Beijing and was very familiar with the situation there.

The workload of ordinary workers is generally very heavy. In the past, when things were busy, female workers in textile factories had to work three shifts. They not only had to work through the night, but also had to endure the roar of the machines and the cotton fluff flying everywhere in the workshop. The working environment was harsh.

In contrast, the working environment for accountants is much more comfortable. They spend their days in the office keeping accounts and doing calculations, without having to do heavy physical labor.

Especially after the general wage increases in recent years, accountants' salaries have risen significantly, far exceeding those of ordinary female workers.

In their textile factory, people were scrambling to become accountants, and those who could get the job were mostly people with connections.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Zhenguo's voice came through the phone: "Hello, this is Li Zhenguo."

“It’s me, his father,” Chen Shuping replied quickly.

Li Zhenguo recognized his wife's voice and asked with a smile, "Honey, what's up? Why are you calling now?"

Chen Shuping hesitated for a moment, her tone somewhat troubled: "There is something I need to discuss. Is it convenient for you to talk to me over there?"

“It’s convenient. I just came off the production line, and there’s no one around. Go ahead and say it.” Li Zhenguo paused, seemingly noticing something was wrong with his wife, and frowned slightly.

"Sigh..." Chen Shuping sighed softly, and then told her husband in detail about Wang Ting's possible study abroad.

After listening, Li Zhenguo remained silent for a few seconds before asking, "Does the second brother know about this?"

“I know, Tingting has already told the second brother. However, the second brother is worried that it is not safe for Tingting to be abroad alone, and he is not very supportive of her going abroad. But my sister and brother-in-law are afraid of delaying Tingting’s future, and they are determined to let her study abroad,” Chen Shuping said helplessly.

Li Zhenguo then asked, "So what are your thoughts?"

Chen Shuping said helplessly, "This happened so suddenly... I have no idea what to do."

Li Zhenguo said, "If you ask me, you should persuade your older sister and brother-in-law not to let Tingting go abroad. It's too unsafe for a young girl to be alone abroad."

Chen Shuping, however, had some concerns: "That's true, but I'm afraid it will ruin the child's future. What if the child regrets it later and blames us?"

Li Zhenguo was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Wife, do you still remember Zhang Yuhong?"

Chen Shuping paused for a moment, then sighed, "Why bring her up out of the blue?"

Ignoring his wife's emotions, Li Zhenguo continued, "Back then, when her educated youth husband returned to the city, he promised to take her and the children to Beijing within a year. But she waited for three years and didn't even receive a single letter."

Later, she couldn't make ends meet and had no choice but to remarry, taking her child with her.

This is even after they are married and have children, and the two places are not particularly far apart.

If Tingting goes abroad, it's hard to say whether she'll ever come back. I don't think we can do it that way.

Hearing this, Chen Shuping also sighed, "You're right. When we first brought the two children together, we hoped they would be happy. Who would have thought something like this would happen?"

Li Zhenguo said in a serious tone, "Since we introduced the two children, we have to take charge of this matter, and at least make things clear."

He paused, then sighed, "If Tingting really goes abroad without a word, how am I supposed to explain it to my brother and sister-in-law when they ask?"

Chen Shuping said helplessly, "But my sister is now single-mindedly hoping that Tingting will go abroad, thinking that it will bring honor to the family. I guess she won't listen to what we say."

Li Zhenguo frowned and said, "Whether she listens or not, as the matchmakers for the two children, we have to put this matter out in the open and make it clear. If she listens to our advice, that's best; if she doesn't, don't blame us for not reminding her if the two children really have a conflict later."

“Okay, I’ll listen to you.” Chen Shuping stopped hesitating and nodded in agreement.

"Then I'll arrange the work at the factory first, go home as soon as possible, and resolve this matter. I'll hang up now." After saying that, Li Zhenguo hung up the phone, but his face still showed worry.

Just then, the sound of a car engine came from outside, growing louder as it approached.

Li Zhenguo walked to the window, lifted a corner of the curtain and looked out. He saw a white sedan drive into the factory area.

His heart skipped a beat, and he thought to himself: This kid is probably getting restless and has come to me for advice.

Inside the workshop, Factory Director Xie also heard the car and came out of his office.

Seeing Li Zhe get out of the car, he immediately greeted him with a smile, saying warmly, "Mr. Li, you've arrived!"

Li Zhe took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, handed one to Factory Director Xie, and said with a smile, "I've already arranged for the radio station to broadcast our canned peaches. The radio station will start airing our company's advertisement on October 15th."

"Manager Xie, how's the salesperson recruitment going?"

Factory Director Xie took the cigarette, tucked it behind his ear, and quickly replied, "President Li, everything is settled! Those people are very willing to join our company. They've been looking forward to it for a long time and can start work anytime."

Li Zhe glanced down at his watch: "The distribution work must be completed before the advertisement airs, and time is quite tight. Could you call the recruited sales staff over now so we can finalize the sales details today?"

"No problem! I'll contact them right now!" Director Xie said, then hurriedly pushed his bicycle away.

Seeing this, Li Zhenguo came out of the house, walked to Li Zhe's side, and asked, "Where did Factory Director Xie rush off to in such a hurry?"

Li Zhe briefly recounted his conversation with Factory Director Xie to Li Zhenguo.

After hearing this, Li Zhenguo felt a little relieved and said with a sigh of relief, "So that's what happened. I thought something urgent had come up."

Li Zhe changed the subject and asked about production. "Second Uncle, how's the production of pickled cucumbers going these past few days? Have you encountered any problems?"

"It went very smoothly, everything proceeded as planned, and there were no major mishaps," Li Zhenguo replied with a smile.

Li Zhe nodded and said, "Second Uncle, why don't you go to the workshop and arrange your work? We'll chat with the newly recruited salesperson later and get to know them."

"Okay, I'll go right away." Li Zhenguo replied and turned to walk towards the workshop.

……

An hour later, Director Xie returned to the cannery on his bicycle, followed by two men and a woman. All three were dressed in simple coats, carrying simple cloth bags, and looked very energetic—the three were former salesmen at the Wan'an Town Cannery. These three salesmen were selected according to Li Zhe's requirements: none of them were over thirty years old, they were eloquent, hardworking, and had many years of sales experience.

Factory Director Xie parked his bicycle at the entrance of the office building and led the three of them into the building. As they walked, he whispered his instructions: "You should all know General Manager Li, right? When you see him, be respectful, but don't be timid. Just be natural and confident."

In addition, Mr. Li is a very pragmatic person and values ​​work attitude most. You all need to be down-to-earth in your words and deeds.

"Okay, Director Xie, we've got it." The three nodded in response, their voices filled with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation.

Factory Director Xie walked to the door of a room with a sign that read "Good Taste Company Manager's Office" and gently knocked on the door.

"Come in," came Li Zhe's voice from inside the office.

Factory Director Xie pushed open the door and led the three people inside. He turned to Li Zhe and introduced them, saying, "President Li, these are the three salespeople I recently recruited."

"Hello, Mr. Li!" the three salespeople greeted in unison, their eyes fixed on Li Zhe with a hint of awe.

Li Zhe put down the documents in his hand, looked up and sized up the three men: the man in front was about twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old, wearing a blue khaki jacket, with his hair neatly combed and a capable look on his face, clearly someone who dealt with people all year round.

The man in the middle was slightly younger, around twenty-five or twenty-six years old. He was wearing a gray jacket, slightly overweight, and had a smile on his face. He looked very approachable and easy to like.

The last woman was about twenty-four or twenty-five years old. She was wearing a beige knit sweater, had her hair tied in a low ponytail, was tall and thin, and while not particularly beautiful, she had a clever and quick-witted air about her.

"Hello." Li Zhe stood up, gestured for them to sit down, and said with a smile, "Don't stand, sit down and let's talk. There's a sofa over there."

Then, Li Zhe took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his desk drawer, opened it, and handed the cigarettes to the two male salesmen. He then asked the female salesman, "Do you smoke?"

"Thank you, Mr. Li." The saleswoman took the cigarette and lit it skillfully.

Li Zhe lit a cigarette, walked to the sofa, sat down, took a drag, and slowly asked, "You all used to work in sales at the Wan'an Town Cannery?"

“Yes, Mr. Li, we’ve been working in sales at the factory for four or five years,” the oldest man among the three replied first.

Factory Director Xie reminded them from the side, "The three of you should first introduce yourselves and tell General Manager Li about the areas of business you are familiar with."

Zhang Xin nodded immediately and looked at Li Zhe, saying, "Mr. Li, my name is Zhang Xin. I used to be the deputy head of the sales department at Wan'an Town Canned Food Factory."

My main responsibility is to develop sales channels in the city, including department stores, supply and marketing cooperatives, and food markets. I've been to all of them. I'm very familiar with the managers of those stores and cooperatives, so communication is very smooth.

Moreover, these channels are the main places where ordinary people shop daily, covering a wide range of people and ensuring sales volume.

Then, the slightly chubby man in the middle spoke up: "Mr. Li, my name is Wang Chao, and I'm from Yangma Village."

I am very familiar with the sales outlets and farmers' markets in the surrounding towns and villages of Wan'an Town. I used to mainly go to these places.

I know all the owners of those consignment shops and the stall owners at the farmers' market. I know their purchasing needs, so there shouldn't be any problem with stocking the shelves.

Finally, the woman said, "Mr. Li, my name is Ma Shanshan. I used to be mainly responsible for contacting wholesalers, that is, wholesaling our factory's canned goods to food wholesalers in various places, and using their sales networks to sell the products to other places and expand the market in other places."

I've contacted wholesalers in surrounding counties, towns, and neighboring cities.

Li Zhe listened and nodded, gaining a general understanding of the three men's business scope. He then said, "You should have heard about our company. We mainly exported canned goods to the Soviet Union, and we didn't really get involved in the domestic market."

He took a drag of his cigarette and continued, "The company has now produced an extra batch of canned yellow peaches and plans to expand into the domestic market."

I've heard Director Xie mention before that the Wan'an Town Cannery previously encountered difficulties in domestic sales. The main problem was the low brand awareness of its canned goods; consumers didn't recognize them, so sales remained stagnant.

"To solve this problem, I contacted a friend at Langfang City Radio and Television Station and, through his connections, obtained advertising slots during prime time on the radio."

"Our company's canned yellow peach advertisement will officially start airing on the 15th of this month, and then all the people in Langfang City will be able to hear it." Li Zhe said, glancing at the three men and observing their expressions.

Seeing the expectant looks on the faces of the three, Li Zhe continued, "There are still twelve days until the advertisement airs. I hope that in these twelve days, our company's canned yellow peaches can be distributed in the main sales channels of Langfang City."

If you encounter any difficulties during the distribution process, feel free to tell me, and we'll work together to find a solution.

The three salespeople exchanged glances, and Zhang Xin spoke first: "Mr. Li, since we have dealt with these distributors before and have a good relationship with them, there shouldn't be any problem with distributing the goods in twelve days."

However, there's something I need to tell you. Based on our past experience, before canned goods have gained brand recognition, retailers are generally unwilling to purchase directly. They will only agree to consignment sales, and payments will be settled monthly.

Additionally, if consigned canned goods don't sell well within a week, they will remove them from the shelves and replace them with other products.

“No problem, the consignment model is acceptable.” Li Zhe readily agreed, then asked, “So, which channels do you plan to focus on for distribution? Do you have a specific plan?”

Zhang Xin thought for a moment and replied, "Since the advertisement is broadcast on Langfang Radio Station and the publicity scope is mainly Langfang City and the surrounding areas, our distribution should also focus on the Langfang area."

I think we can start by covering state-owned stores, grocery stores, and supply and marketing cooperatives in Langfang city, as well as rural farmers' markets and consignment stores in the surrounding towns.

This way, after hearing the broadcast, people can easily go out and buy our canned goods, maximizing the advertising effect.

Li Zhe nodded, finding the plan reasonable, and then asked, "What are your requirements regarding salary? Or rather, what kind of salary model do you prefer?"

Zhang Xin and the other two exchanged glances, then said, "Mr. Li, we are all here for the development of our company. Regarding salary, we would like to hear your arrangements first."

Li Zhe smiled and said, "Since you put it that way, I'll just say it directly."

Because sales positions are different from regular positions, income is tied to performance, so the basic salary is less than that of ordinary workers, which is 40 yuan per month.

However, in addition to the basic salary, there are extra travel allowances and bonuses—bonuses are divided into four levels: 30 yuan, 60 yuan, 120 yuan, and 200 yuan.

Our company has just started its domestic business, and the sales system is not yet perfect. During this period, the bonus will be determined by the number of channels you distribute the goods to. The more channels you distribute the goods to, the higher the bonus will be.

Once the company has stabilized, the salary system will be adjusted. If you have any thoughts or opinions, please feel free to tell me.

Since the Wan'an Town cannery shut down, Zhang Xin and his colleagues haven't had a proper job for a year. Now that they have a job to make ends meet and can even earn a high bonus, they are overjoyed.

The three quickly expressed their no objections and repeatedly assured Li Zhe that they would work hard and complete the distribution as soon as possible, thanking him for giving them this job opportunity.

Li Zhe chatted with the three of them for a few more minutes about the specific details of the distribution, and then Factory Director Xie led the three of them out of the office.

Li Zhenguo didn't leave until the office door closed, then he asked, "Second brother, your aunt just called me and said Wang Ting is going to study abroad?"

Li Zhe nodded: "That's true. Studying abroad is a good thing, but I think it's too dangerous overseas. I advised her not to go for now. Once the domestic economy develops in a few years, there will be plenty of opportunities to go abroad."

Li Zhenguo sighed: "After Wang Ting went home, she told her parents the same thing, but her parents disagreed and even dragged her to school to register for the exchange student study abroad program."

Li Zhe frowned slightly—actually, he could understand Wang Ting's parents' thoughts.

Let alone in this era, even more than thirty years from now, if a child has the opportunity to study at an Ivy League university in the United States on a government scholarship, parents would probably be even happier than Fan Jin passing the imperial examination, and would want the whole world to know.

But this didn't align with his wishes; he didn't want Wang Ting to go abroad. He believed that whatever Wang Ting gained from studying abroad, he could give her in the future, perhaps even more and better.

Although this idea sounds a bit selfish, if he can't even be this "selfish" in this second life, then wouldn't he have lived in vain in his previous life?
Li Zhenguo patted Li Zhe on the shoulder: "Don't worry, we'll go back to Beijing tomorrow morning. You can talk to Tingting again, and your aunt and I will go to the Wang family to ask. Even if we can't persuade them, we have to make things clear."

"Second Uncle, tomorrow won't work. It's getting cold, and the vegetable greenhouses need to be covered with plastic film. This matter can't be delayed. I have to oversee it personally. I can't return to Beijing until these next few days."

In Li Zhe's heart, Wang Ting certainly held a significant place, but compared to the career he had just built up, this affection ultimately had to take a backseat.

(End of this chapter)