Chapter 434: Chapter 430: 430

In Foshi, Feng Jun was no stranger at all. Zhang Yunzhen… his first girlfriend’s family, was located in Foshi.

Indeed, after graduating from college, he turned down invitations from several large companies and headed straight to Foshi.

As a fresh graduate, he actually had considerable advantages. With his qualifications, he could even have found a job in a big company in a first-tier city.

Of course, an initial advantage isn’t enough to guarantee victory; one still needs to go through trials and tribulations, but that goes without saying.

The job in Foshi, however, was one that Feng Jun actively sought out. His two majors made it hard to find a perfect job, so he had to make do. There were prospects, but they required time and experience to develop.

He only worked there for half a year before resigning and moving to Yangcheng, hoping to find more opportunities.

While working his regular job, he also took on part-time work, aiming to make a name for himself quickly. But this inadvertently caused him to neglect Zhang Yunzhen.

Looking back now, Feng Jun felt that his life plan had been somewhat neglected in certain areas, too greedy, without learning to prioritize.

Sister Hong noticed his silence and asked sensitively, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Feng Jun replied casually, “I don’t really want to go to Foshi. I’ll wait for you in Yangcheng.”

That was all in the past. Foshi could no longer evoke any feelings in him, good or bad. But if it wasn’t necessary, why bother going there?

“Yangcheng… that works,” Sister Hong hesitated for a moment before agreeing, “The meeting is only for two days anyway. I’ll go and join in the fun, then we can hang out for a couple of days.”

Feng Jun signaled that he was fine with it, “As long as you don’t mind the heat.”

Once decided, he called Feng Jing to say they were planning a trip down south and asked if he wanted to come along.

It wasn’t really a sincere invitation; since they were likely to be gone for seven or eight days, he felt he ought to at least notify him, right?

Feng Jun thought that the heavily entangled Feng Jing probably wasn’t in the mood for traveling.

However, Director Mei readily accepted the invite, “When are you leaving? I’ll go ask my boss for leave right away.”

The three took a flight on the third day, flying directly to Yangcheng, and then met up with Dou Jiahui there.

Dou Jiahui also brought someone along – his cousin, who also had nothing much to do in Chaoyang. The two brothers were planning to start a venture together.

The cousin, surnamed Dong, was acquainted with Feng Jun, who was very familiar with Dou Jiahui.

Feng Jing had significant clout; he actually managed to borrow a Land Rover in Yangcheng. The lender was his “comrade-in-arms,” a soldier under his command from the days past.

Sister Hong wasn’t far behind; a local jade business partner picked her up in a BMW X5.

With these two cars, everyone’s movements were much more convenient. However, the two groups had different objectives – Dou Jiahui was there on an inspection tour, while Sister Hong and Feng Jing were there to enjoy themselves.

In the city, their itineraries didn’t clash much. Due to the hot weather, they couldn’t visit natural attractions during the day, so the two ladies went shopping together.

Feng Jun wisely accompanied Dou Jiahui and Cousin Dong, wandering around various trade centers.

That night, they went to appreciate the night scenery of Yangcheng, followed by a late-night meal, returning to the hotel at two in the morning.

Dou Jiahui had things on his mind and kept Feng Jun for more drinks, sharing his own thoughts during the drinking session. Cousin Dong, in the presence of these two younger brothers, didn’t put on airs and just poured drinks for them.

When the three returned to their rooms, it was already three-thirty. Feng Jun made two calls to disturb the two ladies, only to find out they had both turned off their phones.

The next day, everyone got up quite late, meeting in the hotel’s restaurant at nine-thirty. After eating and drinking, they drove out of Yangcheng, heading straight for a chicken farming business.

Basically, Dou Jiahui was busy inspecting, while Sister Hong and Feng Jing were either sightseeing or shopping, surprisingly in good harmony.

What Feng Jun hadn’t anticipated was Dou Jiahui also intending to visit Foshi because he thought he might be able to secure a dealership for some lighting brand, since the area was nationally renowned for its lighting fixtures.

In the end, he still went to Foshi with Dou Jiahui, Sister Hong, and others – Er Pang really needed his advice.

Negotiating a dealership wasn’t easy. Big brands had already established their national presence. When people heard Dou Jiahui wanted to do this in Yuyuan, they directed him to talk to the provincial distributor. Small brands looked down on Yuyuan, absolutely refused to supply goods without a deposit.

After a day of running around, Dou Jiahui felt somewhat disheartened. There was no helping it; he had no experience in lighting fixtures, which was seen as his biggest shortcoming. Factors like capital were secondary in comparison.

That night over drinks, he complained to Feng Jun, “They want me to be the provincial general agent? Are they kidding? The entry fee for those large decoration markets is so much, and small brands also demand a deposit of half a million… What if they go bankrupt?”

While he vented here, Feng Jing and Sister Hong were in high spirits. The two had a blast in Foshi, engaging in shopping and eating sprees. Even at one in the morning, they still joined the men for a few drinks.

Both of them stayed in luxury single rooms, but Sister Hong said later she would invite Feng Jing to her room to revisit today’s experiences and devise tomorrow’s “battle strategy” for shopping—does shopping really warrant this level of importance?

Upon hearing the two of them talk about this, Feng Jun felt a slight stir in his heart, Should I… also join the fray later?

But for some reason, in Foshi, he really couldn’t muster up the interest for it.

The next day at noon, the trio arrived at a lighting company called Bai Ye. They were received by a young girl who would score an eighty-five, her face always adorned with a standard, businesslike smile.

She did not outright reject Dou Jiahui, nor did she ask whether he had any experience in lighting sales.

Instead, she clearly stated, “For city-level agency rights, a one hundred thousand deposit and three hundred thousand in goods are required, and the annual sales must reach one million. Otherwise, we reserve the right to cancel the agency.”

It wasn’t just Feng Jun, even Dou Jiahui felt that this girl didn’t seem like she was negotiating a business deal, “Just looking at sales? What about advertising spending, discounts on excess amounts… There must be some sort of plan, right?”

“There isn’t,” the girl shook her head and answered crisply, “We only look at sales. The company doesn’t care how you do the marketing; heroes are judged by their performance.”

“Are you trying to run the company into the ground?” Dou Jiahui angrily spoke up, “If we’re only talking about sales, with so many cities developing on their own, even the company’s brand won’t have a precise positioning. If we can’t position it precisely, how can we work on the commercial market?”@@novelbin@@

This was information he had gathered yesterday, and it wasn’t too late to put new knowledge to use.

In the lighting sector, residential decoration forms a large market segment, but being able to enter the commercial market and participate in tenders significantly boosts a lighting brand’s influence. Then, leveraging this influence back into the residential market can create a beneficial cycle.

The girl still responded with a smile, maintaining a polite yet considerable distance, “Marketing is your business. If there is a commercial project worth over one million, the company will send professional staff to support, and the head office will coordinate as well.”

“Tsk,” Dou Jiahui clicked his tongue in disappointment. Doing business with this company seemed rather blunt and straightforward, “One hundred thousand for the deposit, plus three hundred thousand in goods, along with rent, staff, and promotional expenses. An initial investment of at least six hundred thousand is needed.”

He knew Feng Jun had money. Not to mention six hundred thousand, even six million or sixty million wouldn’t likely be a big problem. Given their relationship, if this six hundred thousand were lost, it probably wouldn’t be a big deal.

But that’s not how things should be done. Money was a small matter; he could not squander his brother’s trust like that, nor did he want to appear incompetent.

“The client’s initial investment is not within our considerations,” the girl replied with a smile,

“However… to ensure your investment is protected, I will take the initiative here—if you can achieve sales of six hundred thousand in the first year, you will retain the agency rights for the following year, and you must reach at least one million every year onwards.”

Hearing this, Dou Jiahui rolled his eyes as if to say, so your company is pushing all the risk onto me while you reap assured profits no matter what?

“It’s not like that,” the girl replied with a smile, “If you reach sales of one million, the next year’s deposit will automatically be converted into goods. If you reach two million, the discount will be even greater… We’ll come to discuss in person.”

In business, channels dominate and the end-game is king.

Dou Jiahui actually nodded, “If I can reach two million in sales, you folks might start worrying about me switching brands.”

“That’s right, which is why we are not guaranteed success in every situation, we might be cultivating talent for competitors,” the girl replied with a smile, “If you’re capable enough, you’ll receive our utmost respect.”

“The utmost respect…” Dou Jiahui’s mouth twitched slightly, he paused, and then let out an almost imperceptible sigh, “Miss… you really have a way with words.”

The girl smiled, “In this society, strength is honored, and we too hope to partner with capable individuals.”

To say that she was blunt and straightforward in her approach was not completely true; intentionally or not, she was sending out a message of doubt, and perhaps even a provocatively challenging one— “Are you strong enough?”

Dou Jiahui felt this doubt, but he didn’t see it as a challenge—after all, he admittedly lacked the strength; what challenge was there to speak of? Nevertheless, it definitely hurt his pride a little.

After hesitating for a while, he still looked towards Feng Jun, “Shall we go and check out other places?”

Feng Jun couldn’t stand seeing his brother snubbed like this, especially since Er Pang seemed ready to bear the indignity without complaint.

So he cleared his throat, “President Dou, I think their terms… are not bad at all.”

At this time, it was necessary to call him President Dou; calling him Er Pang, what would that look like?

Dou Jiahui looked at him skeptically, “Are you sure it’s… not bad?”

He felt that this young lady really didn’t understand anything. Her rhetoric was decent, but… not even being clear about her own product’s positioning, how was that doing business?

“I think the terms are quite good,” Feng Jun spoke casually, “President Dou, with our strength, one million in lighting isn’t much. If you’re too busy, just leave it to me.”

Leave it to you? Hearing this, where could Dou Jiahui be unaware that his brother was putting on a show for his sake?

After reflecting for a moment, he then spoke, “Since you, Lao Feng, have this confidence, let’s settle on this.”

(Update ends here. Calling for monthly votes.)