raknovel Chapter 27 Happy Cooperation
Chapter 27 Happy Cooperation
Now it was Hong Lu's turn to fall silent.
After Chen Che expressed his hope that they would coordinate the supply, the conditions he had mentioned earlier suddenly became much easier to understand.
This is someone trying to drag me into being a bad guy.
She was basically the only supplier among the engineering students. Chen Che's intention in ordering so much stock was obvious: to act as a channel representative between her and the other students, taking an extra layer of profit. This would likely require raising the price at their point of entry.
When they come to him again, he has to say with a cold face: "Sorry, not for sale."
Wouldn't that damage your friendly image and business reputation?
However, at the very beginning of the conversation, Chen Che had already found a weakness in his hands. If he didn't agree, it seemed that he wouldn't have a good outcome if Chen Che went back and exposed him.
Thinking about it this way, I felt like I had walked into a dead end, with no way out.
Having been in business for so many years, I was actually outmaneuvered by a naive college student today.
Chen Che glanced at the uncertain expression on Hong Lu's face and spoke at the opportune moment: "Sister Lu, my suggestion is actually a win-win situation for all three parties. It's too much trouble for you to handle so many students all by yourself. It's much easier for me to take charge of the overall communication and coordination within the school. The students can get their supplies from me faster and don't have to travel all the way to the school gate anymore. As for me, I'm just providing some convenience in the middle, and I really don't make any money."
Hong Lu sneered inwardly. If you don't make money, then why did you come all this way to talk to me, pulling and tugging at me, and even bringing up this seemingly harmless plan that you're using to do charity?
However, one point Chen Che raised really hit her sore spot: the number of students was not large, and she had to deal with each one individually, which sometimes made her feel that the effort and reward were not commensurate. If Chen Che could handle everything, it would save a lot of effort. Moreover, the market in the school was far from being fully developed, so the pressure of consuming so much inventory was not actually that great; it just needed some time to expand.
Chen Che's suggestion to increase the volume of goods purchased in batches is probably based on this consideration.
After thinking for a moment, Hong Lu replied, "Okay, but we should discuss the details further."
......
Another half hour passed, the details were discussed and everything was settled. Hong Lu sighed, but there was no dissatisfaction or disappointment on his face. In fact, he felt that the plan he proposed was quite bold. Putting himself in his shoes, he probably couldn't do it. With so many years of social experience, he had never been able to outmaneuver a college student.
Chen Che raised his hand first, smiling and revealing a set of white teeth: "It's a pleasure working with you, Sister Lu."
Hong Lu smiled and said, "It's a pleasure to cooperate with you, Mr. Chen."
"I'll have the contract ready in a couple of days and then I'll get it for you to sign."
............
When Chen Che and Xu Zhen walked out of Hong Lu's storefront, the summer night heat was no longer so scorching. There was only a bright moon and few stars in the night sky above. Xu Zhen pushed the electric scooter and walked slowly with Chen Che for a short distance before Chen Che belatedly let out a long sigh of relief.
The brief conversation he just had consumed far more mental and physical energy than he appeared composed on the surface. Fortunately, the effort wasn't wasted, and the result was positive.
Hearing Chen Che make a sound, Xu Zhen finally spoke up to him: "Junior, you're really amazing. You even came up with this drastic solution. This is the first time I've ever seen so many different expressions on Sister Lu's face."
"Hmph, this is nothing. I have plenty of strength and methods."
"I just flattered you a couple of times, and you're already putting on airs again."
"But junior, I have an idea," Xu Zhen said after thinking about it seriously.
"What are your thoughts?"
"Tell me, if we take charge of supplying them, wouldn't that be equivalent to monopolizing the channel? Wouldn't that mean we have to raise our supply price? Wouldn't they have to buy it even if they had to hold their noses?" Xu Zhen's tone was full of excitement.
Chen Che looked at Xu Zhen's face by the moonlight. He saw that Xu Zhen's honest and simple face revealed the ugly face of a capitalist, mixed with a fanatical and excited expression. Under the bright moonlight, he was simply a perfect ornament for the street lamps on both sides of the road.
"Senior, I kind of miss the night I first met you. Our faces were full of both restraint and sincerity."
"Look at you now, you're like one of those minor leaders who get a little power and then turn your back on people as soon as you're done with them. Yesterday you were colleagues, today you're asking people to work overtime for free."
"With such a small profit margin, you start figuring out how to exploit your classmates whenever you get the chance. Do you even have a human being?"
"If I had a leather whip, I'd wet it with cold water and give you a good thrashing." Chen Che scolded Xu Zhen with a look of disdain, making Xu Zhen shrink back in fear.
"Let's not even talk about raising prices. They can immediately contact other distributors. Our primary goal, as we've said before, is to get all our customers onto our platform as quickly as possible."
"But, junior, what's the point of wasting our time if we're not going to make money? It's just a waste of time," Xu Zhen said cautiously.
"To earn, of course we have to earn," Chen Che shook his head. "You heard it just now, for a company of our size, the profits that Hong Lu's main Wahaha products can provide will be fully given to us."
"That doesn't seem like that much," Xu Zhen estimated.
"So what you need to do now is to hand over your snack business first, and then expand into other fast-moving consumer goods channels," Chen Che explained.
"I'll be responsible for getting all the student agents in the school connected to our platform."
"What Sister Lu has agreed to is to give us half the money upfront as a deposit. We can add a little more to ensure our cash flow for the next few months. After that, for non-Wahaha products, we will have to source them from other, cheaper channels."
"When our market grows bigger, we can lower the purchase price even further, and then we'll have profits."
Xu Zhen's eyes lit up after hearing Chen Che's analysis: "Wow, you're brilliant, junior! You're a genius!"
The next second, her brows furrowed, and she looked a little deflated: "Should I try to expand our channels? I'm too shy, I don't think I can do it."
"You have to do it! You're a senior now, and you're about to leave the ivory tower of academia to see how the real world works."
"Alright, let's head back early, junior."
"Yes, of course I'll go back, but don't call me junior anymore," Chen Che said.
"Then what should I call you?" Xu Zhen asked, a little confused.
"Sister Lu's young CEO Chen was quite good. CEO Chen was a bit too old-fashioned and pretentious, while young CEO Chen was just right, young and full of vigor."
"Alright, Mr. Chen, shall we head back to the engineering institute?" Xu Zhen deliberately put on a fawning expression.
"Let's go, little Xu." Chen Che patted Xu Zhen's shoulder and plopped back onto the back of the electric scooter.
"Damn it, they're getting too big for their britches."
Xu Zhen laughed and scolded, then turned on the switch and sped through the deserted streets. The night was thick, and apart from the brightly lit Qu Shui Liu Shang (a scenic spot), the celestial palaces didn't distinguish between day and night.