Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 509 Business Strategies

Xia Maosheng looked around and said, "This is fine, what do you think, Xiaowei? I feel like this is more complete than what we could have made ourselves." He picked up the phone on the table and listened to it; it was still connected.

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, it's really good, and it's enough." Back then, the guesthouse rooms were quite large, each one was about 25 or 26 square meters, and it felt quite spacious for five or six people to sit in one room to work.

Xia Maosheng asked, "How many rooms do you need?"

Xiao Wei thought for a moment and said, "Let's get five rooms. You two need to stay here, Li Na needs to stay here, and people from Longcheng will probably be coming too. Xinghai and Liu Liu, you can stay here whenever you come over. These rooms are reserved for you."

Xia Maosheng looked around and said, "There are only twelve rooms on this floor. Why don't we rent the whole floor? You and Xiao Hong can stay here, and so can Xiao Hui. It will save us from having to travel back and forth."

Xiao Wei shook his head and said with a smile, "I can't. If I come here with Xiao Hong, my aunt will probably be angry. Oh well, it's just a short walk. Let's rent it out if we want. Renting an entire floor is convenient and saves us from having other people's messy accommodations. How much is one floor?" he asked the waiter who was standing next to him.

As the group walked downstairs, the waiter said, "Let me call my manager to ask. We've never had a package deal like this before, so I'm not sure. You guys probably can't pay too much, since we're all family here."

Xiao Wei said, "These are two different things. If it were a private residence, I wouldn't pay for a few days. But this is public space, so it should be calculated accordingly. This isn't a matter of a day or two; it will take several months."

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, give us the keys. Will it be paid monthly or quarterly?"

The waiter bent down to rummage through the drawer for a spare key and said, "Just pay monthly. You can bring it over whenever it's convenient for you. We're all family here, so I'm not worried about you running away." He then handed over the spare key with a smile.

Xiao Wei took the keys and asked, "Will people moving in here need to register again?"

The waiter said, "You can arrange it yourselves. We won't take care of your floor. Just let us know when you need to clean the room. We won't let anyone up there normally, so as not to make things inconvenient for you."

Xiao Wei nodded, and the group took the keys and went upstairs. Xia Maosheng and Geng Hui originally lived on the third floor, and the group went up to help carry their things down. At this time, the state-run guesthouse rooms did not have bathrooms. Each floor had a communal bathroom with a water room, which had a communal washbasin and an electric hot water boiler.

After looking around the rooms, Xia Maosheng and Geng Hui chose the first room at the other end of the road, away from the office. This room had windows on two sides and was quieter. In those days, there weren't many double rooms. A standard room with two beds was considered a luxury room, and rooms with four or six beds were the norm. Moreover, in those days, you often had to "share a bed" when staying in hotels or guesthouses, which meant being assigned to share a room with strangers.

Xinghai and Liuliu chose a double room. Xia Maosheng and Geng Hui packed their things and went back to sleep, while Xiaowei sat down to talk to Xinghai and Liuliu.

"Selling things mainly requires being quick-witted and having a fast mind. You need to know the products you're selling very well. When someone asks about things like the origin and price of the fabric, you have to be able to answer immediately. Even if you don't know much, you still have to be able to answer immediately. You can't hesitate, understand? If you hesitate, people will lose confidence in you."

Liu Liu asked, bewildered, "How can you just blurt it out if you don't know?"

Xiao Wei said, "Just make it up. It's not like you're lying. As long as your product is of good quality, that's fine. He can't possibly go to another province to investigate just for one piece of clothing, right? Duh. You need to learn how to talk properly. You have to be able to tailor your words to the person you're talking to, and say things that make them happy, understand? You have to learn how to praise people, but you can't just flatter them directly, understand? Otherwise, you'll drive them away."

"You need to be quick-witted. Look at that shopping mall, it's so crowded, there must be plenty of petty thieves trying to steal things. If you're not quick-witted, you'll be robbed in a few days. When you set up a stall, use counters to fence off the area, leaving one entrance and one exit. Then, one person can accompany each stall and stand guard at the entrance and exit to watch the piles."

Xinghai said, "After you've been talking for so long, I'm getting more and more uneasy, and I'm really panicking."

Xiao Wei laughed and said, "Same here. I was panicked when I first started out, that's normal. If you weren't panicked, I wouldn't dare let you do it. Why were you panicked? Because you weren't confident, right? Why were you unsure? Because you took it seriously, you wanted to do it well, so you considered whether you were capable and understood it. If you didn't feel anything, it means you didn't take it seriously at all, and you wouldn't do it."

Xinghai scratched his head and laughed, and Liu Liu also grinned foolishly. The child was completely at a loss for what to do at this moment.

Xiao Wei said, "No matter how late or tired you are, the accounts for the day must be settled immediately. Xinghai, you need to collect the cash and do the accounting. Then give the money to Liu Liu, and Liu Liu will do the accounting again and deposit the money. Do you understand? Don't delay. Money matters can't be delayed even for half a day."

The two nodded together.

Xiao Wei said, "These next few days, you should follow Xiao Hui and explore Fengtian thoroughly. Go to Wu'ai South Tower for a few days, get familiar with the area, and try to negotiate prices. Don't rush to buy goods yet. You need to see what's selling best in the market, which vendors are doing well, and also check the quality and origin. If you see something you like, try talking to the owner first."

Once you've gotten familiar with the area, go back and tidy up the stalls. You can ask Brother Liu for help with that; he needs to get his too. Have him help you with that, and we'll pay you.

Liu Liu asked, "Then what should we do about it?"

Xiao Wei said, "You guys deliver it to him. If he really doesn't want it, that's fine. I'll deduct it from his rent. It's no problem."

Xinghai asked, "After you're all packed up, can you come and pick up the goods?"

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "Yes, come and pick up the goods after that. When you first start picking up goods, all six of you should come. Anyway, there are places to eat and stay. You can spend a few days in Fengtian. Don't order too much the first few times. You need to test the waters first. Once you have a better understanding, you can add more little by little. Before you come, you should walk around the mall and see how other people are stocking their goods, the styles, etc., and take a look."

Xinghai asked, "What do we sell? I'm really confused right now, my head is spinning."

Xiao Wei said, "One stall sells women's clothing, another sells men's clothing and children's clothing, and the third sells shoes. The shoes are the same; they have men's, women's, and children's shoes."

Liu Liu asked, "What if we start with a small stock, and then a popular item sells out in no time?"

Xiao Wei said, "You can ask him to pay a deposit, and then he can come to pick it up in a few days. Even if you only charge him ten yuan, he won't be able to run away. Nobody's going to give you ten yuan for nothing. If you don't take a deposit and just say that you'll have the goods on a certain day, he might not be able to come."

The two nodded in unison.

(End of this chapter)