Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 578 Negotiations

Xiao Liu said, "Tianjing is famous because it was the largest foreign concession in modern Chinese history, and there were many historical events involving national and personal tragedies. Many important figures and historical celebrities from the Republic of China era stayed here, you know? It's not famous because of its scenic spots."

Xiao Hong said, "Really? But I feel like there should be a lot of good food and fun things to do here, and quite a few famous things too."

Xiao Liu said, "There are a lot of historical traces here, and it was quite prosperous in the past because many foreigners lived here. Things like acrobatics, clay figurines, and crosstalk all originated here. But if you really want to talk about something else, there isn't. Tianjing is famous because of the city's own historical status."

Tianjing Xiali Factory.

After sampling local snacks and visiting historical sites, Xiaowei and his three companions arrived at the Xiali factory, which was far from the city center at that time.

In the early 90s, automobile sales in China were mainly conducted by state-owned material systems or automobile trade (industrial and commercial) systems. Very few private individuals entered this industry due to issues such as capital and market conditions. Those who did were often backed by state-owned industrial and commercial entities and profited from the price difference.

Back then, car sales were all in the form of large, mixed-brand stores; whatever cars were available, they sold them, with sedans and trucks all displayed together. However, around 91, some private individuals had already started renting space in the auto parts market to do business, and some were even selling complete vehicles.

至于私人大量的介入汽车销售那是95年以后的事情。而4S店还要向后，国内第一家4S店是重庆南平的长安铃木汽车直营店，建于96年八月，现在还在运营。真正大量4S店建设运营要等到99年以后去了。

At that time, Xiali was still a Sino-Japanese joint venture, and frankly, it couldn't be considered a true car manufacturer. When Xiali first started, it was essentially an assembly plant, assembling and selling all parts imported from Daihatsu in Japan, and then gradually producing its own parts. Around 90, many regions in China had similar assembly plants, including FAW in Jilin Province.

The so-called localization is nothing more than instrument panels and plastic parts; they can't handle anything from the chassis and engine to the body panels. In fact, the technological content of these joint ventures is even lower than that of tractor factories.

Even in later generations, very few of those domestic brands were actually capable of producing cars. The term "domestic" was merely a sales strategy employed by the Japanese and had nothing to do with the country itself.

Sales Department, Xiali Factory.

"This is our Section Chief Han." The employee who greeted them gave a brief introduction of the sales section chief and then hurriedly left. The superior-subordinate relationship in state-owned factories is not as deliberate as in private enterprises.

Section Chief Han was a slightly overweight man in his thirties, with a fair complexion, no beard, and wearing gold-rimmed glasses.

"Hello." Section Chief Han shook hands with Xiao Wei, then nodded to Xiao Liu and Ga Zi who were following behind. "Come in, have a seat. The place is a bit simple. Where are you all from?"

"Fengtian." After entering the room, Xiao Wei looked around and found that the office environment was indeed not very good, with wooden armchairs in the room.

The group sat down, and Section Chief Han looked at Xiao Wei. Xiao Wei said, "I'm from Liaodong Brothers Group. I've come here for two purposes: first, to purchase vehicles for the group, and second, to ask if you have an agency in Northeast China."

Xiao Wei shook his head and said, "No, we are a food company."

Section Chief Han was a little disappointed, and sat down after saying "Oh".

Xiao Wei said, "We plan to equip all middle-level managers with a Xiali, and then equip all the stores and branches with a few Daifas. For the time being, the number may not be too large. The first batch of Xiali will not exceed ten units, and the Daifas will not exceed twenty units, but..."

Section Chief Han asked eagerly, "How much?"

Xiao Wei said, "Ten Xiali cars and twenty Daifa cars aren't a lot, but we're constantly opening new stores and will continue to increase our stock. What's up?"

Section Chief Han forced a bright smile and said, "It's alright, it's alright, please continue." This was in 91, before Xiali had reached the point of producing the popular three-box model. Producing thirty units at once was a rather large procurement plan for the Xiali factory. This was not the era in later years when every family owned a car.

Xiao Wei said, "We currently only have stores in three cities in Liaodong, but we're about to expand to six cities. We'll also be starting in Jibei and Heilongjiang soon, and we'll need to provide vehicles for those areas. So we've been thinking about discussing the possibility of becoming an agent in the three northeastern provinces with your factory. You probably haven't set up an agent yet, right?"

Section Chief Han shook his head: "No, the factory has no such plan. In China, cars are sold by order now. I've never seen an agency before, but this model exists abroad. Okay, wait a moment, I'll go and ask them."

Section Chief Han gestured to the four of them, adjusted his glasses, and hurriedly left. From a sales perspective, the domestic market at that time was completely undeveloped; there were no so-called skills or the right mindset. This was why domestic and foreign transactions were always unprofitable during this period—most people hadn't yet transitioned from a planned economy.

A few minutes later, Section Chief Han walked in with a middle-aged man. "This is our Factory Director Li, in charge of sales. This is a representative from Liaodong Brothers Group. Brother, what's your surname?"

Xiao Wei stood up, shook hands with Factory Director Li, and said, "My name is Zhang Wei."

Factory Director Li, still wearing a kind smile, gestured with his hands: "Sit, sit. Mr. Zhang, you're quite accomplished at such a young age, haha. Please sit down. Hey you, make some tea, make some tea. Don't you have any sense of propriety?"

"Um, Xiao Zhang, is it okay if I call you that? Haha, Xiao Zhang, tell me your thoughts in detail, tell me."

Xiao Wei said, "We'll act as your factory's sales agent throughout Northeast China. From the moment we sign the contract, all sales in the Northeast region can only be done through our company. My first order for cars will be no less than 20 yuan, and for Daihatsu no less than 30 yuan. After that, I'll order quarterly. Manager Li, is that alright?"

Factory Director Li thought for a moment and said, "This is unprecedented in China, but haha, that's not important. If you target three provinces at once, how much can you help us sell in a year? How will you handle the payments? We're a small factory, a small factory, haha, when it comes to funding, hahaha."

Xiao Wei said, "I'll pay cash when I pick up the car, I won't hold your money back, but you have to guarantee that we're the only ones selling to you in Northeast China, is that okay? Even if a government agency comes to pick up the car, you can't sell to them."

Factory Manager Li asked, "Xiao Han said you're a food company, right? Well, professionally speaking, it's a bit of a mismatch. And in terms of market impact..."

(End of this chapter)