Chapter 37 Reselling

Chapter 37 The Resale

Wang Chuang immediately declared, "I won't mention small markets anymore—that's all in the past." He chuckled, reaching out to touch the desk in front of him. "From now on, I'll be working at our own company, sitting in an office. I'm a big boss now too."

Jiang Luo took a booklet from his desk drawer, raised his hand, and gestured to Wang Chuang: "Come over and take a look at this."

Wang Chuang stood up, walked over, and stood beside Jiang Luo, bending down to get a closer look.

"These are the goods we've already sent to Wing On Department Store."

Jiang Luo opened a ledger in front of him and pointed: "These are the product categories, these are the quantities, this is the price we charged them, and this is their retail price at the counter."

Wang Chuang leaned in closer, reading silently to himself.

Jiang Luo added, "Except for the dolls from Zhang Zhiqiang's side, all other items carry the 'Shengfei' brand."

"A few of them were already put on sale at Wing On Department Store a few days ago."

"I haven't had time to check on them yet. You can come with me later to take a look."

As Jiang Luo spoke, Wang Chuang kept looking.

Jiang Luo turned to another page and pointed: "This section here is what I'm planning to make next. Take a look so you have an idea."

Wang Chuang glanced at it and blurted out in surprise, "You're really planning to open a factory?"

Jiang Luo replied, "Yes, it's always been part of the plan."

Soon after, they left the office and the company. As they walked toward the elevator, Wang Chuang was buzzing with excitement again: "When did you hire all those people for the company?"

"Weren't you out selling with me at the small market every day before? When did you find the time to hire people and get the company set up?"

Jiang Luo explained as they walked, "Remember when I said I had someone help me with the company registration?"

"That old man at the desk near the entrance."

"His surname is Xue, a long-time accountant."

"I also had him handle renting the office and hiring people. I paid for it."

"And I hired him to keep the company's books and take care of odd jobs."

"Ah, got it," Wang Chuang nodded, understanding. He grinned again: "So we have a company and employees now? I really am a boss now."

No kidding.

Jiang Luo gave a slight smile: "We're in this together. How could I be the boss and leave you doing the legwork? We agreed—we'll make money together."

Wang Chuang happily stepped into the elevator: "Exactly. I knew sticking with you was the right move."

The two of them went to Wing On Department Store.

Upstairs, at the counters selling their company's products, Jiang Luo and Wang Chuang looked around and asked the sales staff about the sales performance of their items.

Most of the staff were quite polite. Seeing that Jiang Luo was young, handsome, and also their supplier, they answered honestly and mentioned that the products were selling well and there were no issues with sales.

But one of the saleswomen, around 35, who sold hair clips and headbands, was not only extremely arrogant but also impatient; she rolled her eyes multiple times. She ignored the mall's policy to speak Mandarin and kept using the local dialect of Haicheng.

"Hey, you..."

Wang Chuang was annoyed by her sarcastic tone and almost retorted in dialect.

"Let's go."

Jiang Luo, however, didn't seem to care.

As they walked away, Wang Chuang grumbled, "We're their suppliers, you know. She's just a counter clerk—what kind of attitude is that? Who does she think she is?"

Jiang Luo, keeping his cool, reasoned calmly, "Do you know what the real issue is?"

Wang Chuang: "Where?"

He glared. "With her terrible attitude—it's not on us, is it?"

Jiang Luo: "The problem is, she's a salesperson for Wing On Department Store, not our company."

"She sells products for Wing On, and her salary and commissions are paid by Wing On. You could say she has a kind of 'iron rice bowl.' Of course, she couldn't care less about us."

Wang Chuang sensed something more: "You mean..."

Jiang Luo remarked casually as they walked, "We'll find a way to swap out the staff at those counters with our own people later."

"With our own people, under our management, they'll actually push our products."

"Yes! Exactly!"

Wang Chuang immediately felt better: "Replace that woman from earlier! What an attitude!"

Jiang Luo then turned to look at Wang Chuang.

Wang Chuang: Hm?

Jiang Luo: "I'm putting you in charge of this. Can you handle it?"

Jiang Luo was showing Wang Chuang the ropes of the business but couldn't lead him through everything step by step.

Wang Chuang thought for a moment and nodded: "Sure, leave it to me."

He added immediately: "You must have the office number of the manager at Wing On Department Store, right? Give it to me later. I'll try to schmooze with him—treat him to meals, butter him up a bit."

"Alright."

Jiang Luo glanced at Wang Chuang again and joked, "Seems you're not stupid—you know how to play the game."

"Of course."

Wang Chuang bragged: "You see who I'm following? I'm with our Brother Luo."

"Who's my Brother Luo? He's amazing."

"Since I'm with him, I must be amazing too."

Jiang Luo gave a light laugh.

And so, at the turn of July to August, Jiang Luo and Wang Chuang wrapped up their small-market operations and officially moved on to the next level.

Wang Chuang went to build connections with the manager of Wing On's department store, while Jiang Luo took the chance to travel alone to Wencheng by green-skin train.

His main purpose for going to Wencheng was one thing: the transformer workshop he had bought earlier. Now that Yueqing was back in business, he needed to quickly resell it.

At the same time, he planned to check on the goods being produced under his brand by several factories—Wencheng had a serious counterfeiting problem, and he was worried. He needed to keep an eye on things and warn them not to supply inconsistent quality goods to the department store.

As Jiang Luo sat on the train, he leaned back in his seat, arms crossed, and thought quietly for a moment.

He felt that Wencheng had its advantages—there were many factories, the bosses were shrewd and willing to produce all kinds of goods, making cooperation convenient. Otherwise, he wouldn't have brought Wang Chuang to Wencheng in the first place.

But the downside was the prevalence of counterfeit goods, and many factories were accustomed to cutting corners. The bosses, driven by profit, often resorted to cutting corners.

Another key issue was that it was still a bit far from Haicheng.

After thinking it over, Jiang Luo felt that since they were now building their own brand, it would be best to find factories near Haicheng. Being closer would make it easier to supervise and allow them to address any issues promptly.

Yeah.

Jiang Luo made up his mind: once he found suitable factories near Haicheng, he would move operations.

Wencheng was just too far away, and the counterfeit goods issue was a liability.

When he got off the train and exited the station, he looked up and saw Zhang Zhiqiang waving his arm at him.

"Boss Zhang."

Jiang Luo walked over.

Zhang Zhiqiang had clearly been waiting for a while, sweat beading on his forehead.

He greeted Jiang Luo with a smile, "Come on, come on, Young Master Jiang, let's get in the car. We can cool off with the AC—it's really too hot outside."

Once in the car and on the road, Zhang Zhiqiang was all smiles. "Young Master Jiang, I'm so glad I followed your lead and bought that workshop in Yueqing back then."

"I resold it, and guess what? I made enough money to even repair my wife's family grave."

"My wife and mother-in-law are finally giving me a better attitude now."

Jiang Luo, sitting in the middle of the back seat, chuckled, "I thought you weren't going to repair the grave, saying it was just for the living."

"Well, it still needs to be done," Zhang Zhiqiang sighed. "Everyone else is doing it—how can I not? If I don't, my wife will raise hell. And if she raises hell, my life will be miserable. I might not even get dinner at home."

Jiang Luo asked, "What'd you sell the workshop for?"

Zhang Zhiqiang replied, "I originally bought it from a relative for forty thousand. Now that they want it back, I couldn't set the price too high, or the relative might resent it."

"A hundred thousand."

Zhang Zhiqiang glanced at Jiang Luo through the rearview mirror. "Do you think I sold it for too much or too little?"

"I wanted to ask for more, but my relative would've turned against me."

He added, "The original owner of your workshop contacted me too. He even wanted to buy it back at the original price."

"I told him there's no way—absolutely no way—I'd sell for the original price. I already sold mine for a hundred thousand."

Jiang Luo gave an "Mm" and said, "A hundred thousand is about right for you."

After all, there was a family relationship to consider, and it wouldn't be good to strain the relationship.

Zhang Zhiqiang glanced in the rearview mirror again. "Young Master Jiang, how much are you planning to sell yours for?"

Jiang Luo replied, "Nothing high—150,000."

Zhang Zhiqiang nodded. "I figured you'd ask for around 150,000."

"Alright, I'll talk to my friend about it later."

Jiang Luo joked, "Talk about how to buy it back at a lower price? Did your friend slip you something?"

"No, no," Zhang Zhiqiang quickly denied. "What could he give me? It's not like I'd make more from him than from you, Young Master Jiang."

"On one side, it's someone I know, but not that well. On the other side, it's you, Young Master Jiang. I've got your back."

Jiang Luo said casually, "Just kidding."

Zhang Zhiqiang laughed heartily. "150,000 it is. I'll talk to my friend on your behalf."

The meeting didn't take place in Yueqing but at an upscale restaurant in downtown Wencheng.

Whether it was because Zhang Zhiqiang, as the middleman, had put in a word or because the original seller—now the buyer—was being overly polite, when Jiang Luo arrived, not only were several familiar bosses there to accompany him, but they also served "Smooth Sailing" and "A Token of Appreciation" dishes.

The atmosphere during the meal was warm and congenial. The original seller, now the buyer, was especially eager, addressing Jiang Luo repeatedly as "Young Master Jiang" and toasting him with great humility, holding his glass lower significantly as a sign of respect.

In the end, Jiang Luo agreed to sell the workshop for a hundred and twenty thousand. The sales contract was signed on the spot, they pressed their thumbprints, and payment was made in cash.

"Thank you, Young Master Jiang."

The original workshop owner was profusely thankful. He knew perfectly well that he had sold the workshop at a low price during the downturn to offload a poor asset and minimize losses. Now, with business picking up again everywhere in Yueqing, setting up a new workshop would cost at least 150,000.

120,000 was indeed a "friendship price."

Moreover, back when the downturn happened, many bosses in Yueqing had sold their workshops to cut losses. Depending on the size, they went for thirty to forty thousand, fifty to sixty thousand, or seventy to eighty thousand.

But very few had been able to buy them back recently.

Being able to repurchase the workshop from Jiang Luo through Zhang Zhiqiang was already a lucky break.

"Come, come, Young Master Jiang, let me toast you again."

The original workshop owner raised another toast to Jiang Luo and added, "If you ever need transformers in the future, Young Master Jiang, come to me. I'll definitely give you the best quality at the lowest price."

"Don't mention it," Jiang Luo said calmly, raising his glass. "Let's be friends."

The other man replied, "Yes, let's be friends. From now on, Young Master Jiang, you are my best friend, Mr. Dong."