Chapter 130: Only by Standing on the Shoulders of Giants Can One Become a Colossus

Even after their passionate night, the couple continued to discuss the matter while still wrapped in each other's arms.

Rang Weidong, flush with cash, suggested offering a payment-on-behalf service for these small merchants. The biggest fear with remote shipping was wiring money and then never receiving the goods. Since they couldn't travel thousands of miles to pick up every shipment personally, transactions handled by the transport fleet—where money and goods were exchanged simultaneously—were the safest option.

Dong Xueying asked, "In that case, should the fleet increase its shipping fees?"

Rang Weidong, applying a logic reminiscent of later internet-era thinking, replied, "No. This is a service. Only we can afford to provide this kind of service; eventually, other transport companies won't be able to compete with us. I actually know there are still some transport routes at the docks, but we have our own goods to ship, so this is just a way to help the Hongguang Factory improve its situation."

Thinking of this, he pulled his wife closer and whispered his secret: "I found information in Old You’s notebook about a trader from the Yangtze River Delta looking for titanium alloy raw materials. I happened to have sold cured meat around the Hongguang Factory before, so I connected the dots and made the sale."

Dong Xueying looked at him with surprise and admiration. "There are so many people in the trading firm bragging and taking calls all day, yet you were the only one who steadily seized the business opportunity!" She leaned over and kissed him.

Rang Weidong forgot what he was about to say and decided to play another round of a mobile game. It wasn't until he finished his match that he remembered to add, "They paid me seventeen thousand per ton, but the acquisition cost on the other end was sixty-six thousand. Regardless of how the market fluctuates, I feel nervous just thinking about two tons a month."

Even as she lay limp in her husband's arms, the young woman was shocked. "That much?" She then squeezed him gently and whispered, "Perhaps that is what makes you remarkable. Others go crazy when they see money, desperate to earn as much as they can, while you understand that only by being steady can one achieve long-term success."

The man, unable to remain steady himself, kissed her again, and she responded with every ounce of affection.

It wasn't until the next morning, while driving her to work, that the couple could sit and talk business. Dong Xueying laughed and apologized first: "Xiaoqing might have a bit of an attitude at first, so please bear with her."

Yesterday, it was just eye-rolling, but today it turned into snide remarks. Early in the morning, Xiaoqing had taken the baby out to buy plenty of deep-fried dough sticks and eggs, claiming they were to "replenish" her sister and brother-in-law. She even asked if her sister wasn't feeling well, since she kept hearing her "calling out" all night. The young woman blushed furiously.

Fortunately, Rang Weidong had no shame. He simply suggested moving the color television into her room: "Turn the volume up and you won't hear anything. I'll go buy you a signal booster today, and I guarantee you'll have programs to watch."

Dong Xueqing retorted playfully, "Then please stop the commotion after twelve, because the television station signs off after midnight!" Rang Weidong could only mutter about going to find a... video recorder.

The elder sister, having spent the time blushing in silence, didn't offer a word until they were in the car. "You should still exercise some restraint. I’ve heard that doing this too much at the beginning is bad for your health."

Rang Weidong, who practiced internal energy exercises even while driving, remained confident in traditional wisdom. Besides, he was truly in good health, with vitality that would last well into his fifties and sixties. "Is it my fault? You’re just too beautiful, and I can't help myself."

Dong Xueying felt embarrassed while holding the baby, but her main concern was her own inner anxiety: "What kind of beauty am I? Regardless, please be more restrained. I’ve been following your lead and staying here, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to handle it if things change too much later... Anyway, let’s not talk about that. Shall I start arranging the transport fleet today?"

Rang Weidong didn't want to flirt anymore—why flirt with his own wife? "Fine. I’ll try to request another three tons of goods, but I’ll offer them a unit price of twenty-six thousand, gradually increasing it bit by bit."

Dong Xueying, having seen more of the darker side of human nature, cautioned, "That’s too much. Take it slow. Don't raise it all at once. If they really get back on their feet and their financial situation improves, do you think they’ll still want to do this transport business with you?"

Rang Weidong realized, "You're right!"

Dong Xueying expanded on her point: "For example, you said we’d pay for the goods on their behalf for free. What if they collude and use a batch of fake goods to get us to pay, and then it turns out there’s no one to receive the shipment? We’d be stuck with the loss. There are so many tricks in business. Old You didn't pay much attention to details, and it was always Old He and the others who helped him guard against these things... though I know sometimes they’d secretly pull off their own side deals."

She had seen too many pitfalls that Old You and his associates had stumbled into.

Rang Weidong laughed. "Exactly. That's why it's so hard to find a few reliable partners. For now, let Li Erfeng look after the food factory and Shen Cuiyue help manage the sanitary napkin factory. I will pull some people from the university students as soon as possible, and I won't have any entanglements with them."

Dong Xueying didn't ask about the figure who seemed to have vanished; she just smiled and agreed.

Rang Weidong then passed her the contact information for the Hongguang Factory, the film factory, the camera factory, and the student sales teams from the north, south, east, and west, including Shanghai. Since the office there didn't have a phone, he left the numbers for the students' dormitories.

This was the reality of doing business in the eighties. Sometimes you had to wait by a phone all day just to get a response from a long-distance call. It was a massive constraint on trade. That was why, for Dong Xueqing, working at the post and telecommunications office was an absolute "golden rice bowl."

The owner of that golden rice bowl was still grumbling while crossing the road to work that morning, wishing she could go off and hang out with her sister and brother-in-law.

Like a morning meeting between a CEO and an office manager, the couple shared a kiss before she stepped out of the car, and the baby, cooing loudly, left a face full of drool on them both. Only then did Rang Weidong head to the factory with a sense of happiness.

Shen Laosan was already overwhelmed by the swarm of units coming to pick up goods. He reported to Rang Weidong that, following the installation of the phone yesterday, there had already been a call informing them that city leaders were coming to inspect the factory that afternoon.

This was the benefit of having a phone. Regardless of who facilitated the visit, the notification allowed them to prepare.

There was no need for a suit in June, but a crisp shirt and trousers were essential. Shen Cuiyue pulled him inside to change. Rang Weidong, sticking to the baseline of a decent family man, said, "Just hand them to me, I can change myself."

Shen Cuiyue pushed him into the inner room. "I only wait for you to trust me. If I used deceit to tempt you, I’d be ruining everything. Hurry up, I need to change too!"

She remained outside, busy. "Eleven units finished picking up their goods yesterday. Sixteen are already waiting this morning. The department store told me they wanted fifty thousand packs but wanted to pay later. I ignored them."

Rang Weidong was shocked and poked his head out. "What? The department store is also looking for..."

He caught a glimpse of a smooth back, clad only in lingerie, twisting to pull on a business skirt. Most notably, he could see black garter belts not yet fastened to the stockings. The semi-concealed sight was incredibly seductive.

Shen Cuiyue, hearing the shift in his voice, turned around without dodging, acting as if nothing were wrong. "I already said everything is yours anyway... What about the department store?"

Rang Weidong froze and quickly pulled the door shut. "Our... the entire purpose of our sales right now is to get into the department store. Having them on the shelves to drive sales is a completely different ballgame!"

The girl, wearing a mask, gave a playful look before asking, "But they want to pay later. What should we do?"

Rang Weidong drew a sharp breath, dampening the visual impact from a moment ago. "Ah, that's annoying. They’d be able to squeeze us. Fifty thousand packs at our wholesale price of eighty cents is forty thousand yuan. Even our cost is about..."

She finished the calculation for him from the outside: "Twenty-four thousand!"

Rang Weidong was truly hesitant. He was planning to advertise this product, but advertising meant consumers needed to be able to buy it immediately—or at least as soon as possible—not in a year or two. Even without knowing the technical term "distribution," he knew they needed to have a place to sell. Since they were going to advertise on the national television station, they needed to be stocked nationwide. He had come today intending to ship goods to the north, south, east, and west, but he realized he couldn't even scrape together a few packs.

Every unit was crouching at the door, snatching up every thousand packs as soon as they came off the line.

The functional departments that had arrived yesterday were local authorities, so they had to be accommodated. Today, it was city police, health, tax, hospital, and education departments. They all had employee welfare funds for their female workers, and once they got the news—often under strict orders from female leaders to secure the goods—they arrived carrying the heavy expectations of the female colleagues in their units.

If he only focused on the present, he would prioritize the local Jiangzhou area, but his goal was national. If he didn't seize this moment to advertise and establish a foothold before companies across the country reacted, what would happen once everyone else started producing their own?

So, high-end sales channels like department stores were still necessary. The key was that the "pay later" policy was disgusting. Rang Weidong could guess that once the ads aired, department stores everywhere would be lining up with cash to pick up goods. But in this pre-advertising stage, being held hostage like this was infuriating. Plus, he already had his own north-south-east-west sales points.

Shen Cuiyue, thinking he was hesitating, quickly put on her shirt and leaned against the door to button it. "It’s not just the department store; the commercial companies and supply and marketing cooperatives are demanding the same thing..."

Rang Weidong almost opened the door again. "The supply and marketing cooperatives?! How much do they want?"

Shen Cuiyue was clear: "One hundred thousand packs. But they can pay a twenty percent deposit each time, because they settle accounts annually."

Rang Weidong ignored the commercial companies. "Are you dressed?"

Receiving her confirmation, he slowly opened the door to peek. Seeing the girl, in her white shirt tucked into a dark gray skirt, fully dressed and combing her hair, he stepped out. "Then give it to the supply and marketing cooperatives. Ignore the others."

In the eighties, department stores were the "Number One" malls in every provincial capital, prefecture, and county. But they were just single malls, lacking the massive scale of later department store groups. They had no branches; each was an independent local state-owned entity, often supported by local commercial bureaus or supply units. That was why so many went bankrupt after the reforms, once the centralized procurement channels vanished.

Those that survived became top-tier groups, easily becoming behemoths by relying on state assets.

Rang Weidong knew the Jiangzhou Department Store would eventually cover the region. But right now, it was just a big mall—offending them was fine. The supply and marketing cooperatives were the shops most familiar to farmers. Every street in every town where farmers gathered to trade had to have one. For many farmers, the little cash they had at the end of the year was spent there on fabric, salt, tea, alcohol, or farm tools. In an era where private trade wasn't fully permitted, they were the only state-owned convenience stores in the countryside.

Rang Weidong remembered a trip to Beijing after the Spring Festival where he attended several seminars. One was at the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives. That was when he realized that these "rustic" village shops were, in fact, the only "super-chains" in the country. Because they served rural areas, their goods weren't diverse, focusing on availability over variety. Because rural purchasing power was low, prices were kept low, and the entire system distributed goods from the provincial and city levels downward.

While big cities might have fewer outlets, they were essential in the countryside. Rang Weidong immediately decided to embrace the supply and marketing cooperative channel.