Chapter 136: A Man Can Make Do with Anything—But This Must Be Done Properly

However, opening the door sent an inexplicable pang through Rang Weidong's heart.

Because it was evident that the departure had been sudden; although everything was meticulously tidy, those suitcases he had brought from the Xishan Factory were left right beside the bed in the inner room.

Under the dim incandescent light, that figure seemed to linger in his mind, sitting here reading books like an isolated monk beside a solitary Buddha.

He immediately turned around and walked out. "Let's go, let's go eat night snails."

Though the two younger subordinates had no idea why they were leaving right after returning, they happily agreed, and their two fellow townsmen were called along as well.

Once they sat down and ordered some wine to eat and drink, that lingering melancholy vanished entirely.

Most men share this inexplicable common trait.

When eating out, if the service is slow, the service poor, or the food subpar, they generally do not complain, get angry, or argue about any aspect of the dining experience. They simply make a silent decision never to come back.

When they realize they have been short-changed or overcharged while shopping, they pay silently without arguing, knowing full well that they will never set foot in this store again for the rest of their lives.

Even with something like a haircut—an exterior disaster that might make women hysterical if ruined—if it is not to their liking, they simply pay in silence, bid a silent farewell, and part ways forever.

Yet, as long as a man is satisfied just once—whether it is dining, getting a haircut, or anything else—even if it merely sparks the slightest bit of goodwill, they will become steadfast, regularly returning patrons who silently visit every single time.

The only exception is perhaps when choosing a technician.

For a man like Rang Weidong, who had never once chosen a technician in his past life, his loyalty was actually remarkably high.

Even without deep emotional attachment, and even if the experiences varied wildly, he was prepared to remain steadfast to the end.

The editor-in-chief, who had been sought out and brought over from the newspaper office by Stone, joined them in the meal and drinks, avoiding any mention of Yu Songhai's bizarre ordeal. "A little past five o'clock, the Postal and Telecommunications Equipment Factory called me, agreeing to your restructuring and merger. The Dongsheng Trading Company will hold a fifty percent stake, forming the new Xinxing Electric Appliances Co., Ltd."

Rang Weidong laughed. "Fifty-fifty? Is that meant for endless arguments? Don't they know someone needs to hold the controlling stake? I'll cede a single percentage point to them so they can hold the controlling share, but I also want them to understand that I'm not greedy for this fraction of the equity. Given the low technological threshold of cassette players today, if I wanted to find a partner, they would definitely be better off finding a sales company than me. In short, if I catch them secretly selling goods behind our backs again, however many I discover, I will deduct double that amount from their sales proceeds."

The editor-in-chief helped write it down. "Just call them and make it clear: our Chengdu Station is primarily here to assist in pairing up and promoting progress, and we hope this electronic and electrical cooperation project we previously reported will bear rich fruit."

Rang Weidong had no choice but to stay another day, summoning the five college students doing sales in Chengdu, along with two warehouse and logistics workers, for a meeting.

If Zhang Lanzh or Dong Xueqing were here, they would undoubtedly have taken charge of managing the daily operations of this electrical appliance company without hesitation.

Or Yu Songhai could have held a nominal title.

For now, Rang Weidong could only have these seven individuals temporarily form a sales management committee, which was popular in this era.

Naturally, he was the head of the management committee, holding veto power.

However, when he was not in Chengdu and could not be reached, the committee could handle matters that did not involve major strategic directions, major finances, or inventory transfers through a voting system.

Among the five college students, only one was graduating this year, and he was actually hesitating whether to give up his state-assigned job to plunge into the market economy.

Therefore, apart from the two warehouse and logistics workers, the five college students were all considered part-time.

They would receive a basic monthly salary of thirty yuan, with bonuses issued based on sales commissions and workload.

Rang Weidong felt as though he were playing a video game: testing management in Pingjing, testing pioneering and networking in Guangzhou, focusing on promotional methods in Echang, observing how Zhang Lanzh proved her worth in Shanghai, and finally testing the management committee model in Chengdu.

Everywhere was a matter of crossing the river by feeling the stones, and eventually seeing which approach worked best before rolling it out widely.

Because Rang Weidong felt that at this moment, he should maintain some prestige and not eagerly rush over to sign the joint venture agreement and company merger contract with the Postal and Telecommunications Equipment Factory himself.

It was better to clear the existing inventory of cassette players and lay the groundwork for production through preliminary sales.

Thus, arranging for this management committee to test the waters meant he had to impose upon Editor-in-Chief Feng to look after them.

The advantage was that the Xishan Factory office had a telephone; although long-distance calls were impossible, receiving calls was completely fine.

Rang Weidong transformed this office into the electrical company's headquarters.

Finally, loading Zhang Lanzh's suitcases—which he still hadn't opened—onto the red minivan, and making arrangements with the local team to call the Jiangzhou office at a fixed time every day for routine daily reports, he left Chengdu for the Xishan Factory.

To say there was no lingering knot in his heart would be untrue.

Yet people had their own pursuits, which wasn't wrong, was it? Back then, the Xishan Factory had entrusted a military-uniformed girl to him as his secretary, and now she had suddenly dashed off to Shanghai, with the expectation of dashing abroad in the future.

Both reasonably and emotionally, Rang Weidong still needed to go to the factory to brief them, though he had no idea if Zhang Lanzh had given the factory any notice herself.

For a camera factory that was now providing over twenty thousand yuan in monthly profit, this mess still required his cleanup.

Passing through the Xishan Factory on the way back to Jiangzhou from Chengdu added a detour of a hundred or so kilometers, but it was hardly an issue.

Rang Weidong regarded it as taking his two younger brothers along to experience the local customs and landscapes.

Besides, this 1.2-liter displacement, full-time four-wheel-drive minivan, which consumed only seven or eight liters of fuel per hundred kilometers, drove completely differently from a Dongfeng truck—it was nimble, comfortable, and flexible.

Moreover, the fuel coupon acquired through contracting the Dongfeng truck was the real key, allowing him to refuel at official state gas stations everywhere at the flat rate of nine cents per liter.

He could drive to his heart's content.

Traveling over three hundred kilometers from morning till dusk—without any pre-arranged celebratory banners, but with a red minivan bearing only temporary license plates—he had just arrived at the bustling commercial district of Xishan Factory near the department store and cinema when he was surrounded by curious evening gazes.

Once people realized it was Rang Weidong sitting inside, the factory leadership seemed to possess the power of clairvoyance, instantly materializing to gather at the office building with an enthusiastic welcome. Within half an hour, the remaining factory leaders had all rushed over.

Rang Weidong also noticed a couple with intellectual expressions, wearing military uniforms, standing on the periphery.

He decided to address work first. "Can our current production capacity of eight thousand cameras per week be increased, and if so, by how much?"

This damn thing was already the result of five optical instrument factories and their supporting plants producing jointly.

Director Cheng spoke very formally. "There is still room for expansion. We will strive to try twelve thousand units per week next month, but... wasn't our previous production plan for an annual output and sales of five hundred thousand units? If we produce any more... won't they become unsellable?"

Rang Weidong had never once considered where the ceiling might be. "Right now, cameras represent a completely blank market. Among a billion people, there must be at least three to five hundred million households. We should strive toward the goal of every household owning a camera. Five hundred thousand units a year was merely an initial target. If we produce desperately and sell desperately, everyone gets to take home better bonuses!"

The entire conference room instantly buzzed with excitement. The planning philosophy of this Third Front factory model from its inception was that even if a nuclear war broke out, it could independently operate and manufacture its own products to fight the war.

Therefore, from raw materials to manufacturing processes, they tried their utmost to be self-sufficient.

They were most accustomed to this current model, where several factories involving two to three thousand people focused solely on producing a single camera, a single model, and a single set of components.

One after another, they declared they could overcome all difficulties and forge new heights.

Director Cheng also confirmed on behalf of everyone, "Then we will strive to surge toward a scale of twenty thousand units per week this summer."

Applause erupted!

Even with an ex-factory price of only nineteen yuan, this still meant a monthly production and sales value of 1.5 million, translating to an annual output value approaching twenty million.

For a region where the average wage still hovered around forty to fifty yuan and living costs were extremely low, this could be described as rolling in wealth.

Rang Weidong deliberately magnified the importance of his sales system to the extreme. "Why do I dare say this? Our current sales landscape is as follows: three thousand units weekly for Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and one thousand units each for Shanghai, Chengdu, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Echang. I have spent the past half-year building this sales network. What impressions do you all get looking at this sales distribution?"

Nearly one hundred thousand units had been sold. If not for the extreme information isolation of this era, people in this factory would likely have already found out through some channel that low-priced cameras were being sold by West Lake.

Keeping it hidden relied entirely on the absence of the internet and mobile phones, though the secret might leak out eventually following photography exhibitions and television commercials.

Therefore, he was also tentatively releasing information.

Everyone immediately began pondering seriously: Jiangsu and Zhejiang are wealthy; I've been there on business trips, the land of fish and rice...

But aren't Shanghai and Guangzhou even wealthier?

Why should Beijing get the same treatment as them...

In short, nobody guessed West Lake. Rang Weidong explained it himself. "Because the sales team in Jiangsu and Zhejiang was established earliest, they sell well. Now, the sales volumes in these major cities are also rising. In fact, our sales personnel are clamoring for more products to be allocated. Therefore, I think Jiangsu and Zhejiang should maintain their current levels, while the other five locations can be increased to two thousand units each. That is the target for next month."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Rang Weidong guided them step-by-step. "However, this is merely our sales targeting these six or seven major cities and their primary regions. With the advertising effect brought by the National Day photography exhibition, I estimate we will need to launch sales across twenty to thirty provinces and municipalities nationwide. Therefore, I will establish a sales center in Jiangzhou to further radiate outward to every province in the country. We must set our sights on selling one hundred thousand units a month!"

The atmosphere truly reached a fever pitch. Many people were quietly calculating on their notepads: if they really achieved an annual output and sales of 1.2 million units, how much surplus could their respective sub-sectors generate?

How delightful.

Finally, Rang Weidong poured a little cold water on their enthusiasm. "Of course, we must also plan ahead. If we sell over a million units a year, will the market become saturated after a few years? Thus, we must begin researching and preparing new products right now. We might not manufacture them immediately, but we must prepare them. The moment we find sales meeting resistance, we must launch new products for innovation and replacement."

Everyone agreed repeatedly, even bringing up the improved product Rang Weidong had previously mentioned—the one hoping for a built-in flash.

As it turned out, these fellows' line of thought was to add a hot shoe for a flash directly onto the camera, linking an independent flash unit with the shutter button so that pressing it would trigger a flash.

This way, they wouldn't need to alter the original structure—especially avoiding the need for the camera to house batteries. The battery pack would reside inside the flash unit, and users could simply attach it when flashing was needed. Even older models currently being sold could be retrofitted with this flash attachment by pressing two fingers together.

The core concept was saving money for the masses without requiring upgrades or replacements.

Rang Weidong was left speechless and amused; capitalists certainly didn't think that way.

We need to introduce a completely different camera style, making the older models utterly uncompetitive, in order to stimulate consumers into making a secondary purchase.

Everyone suddenly dawned on the realization—so fleece were meant to be shorn repeatedly!

Yet upon reflection, this reasoning made complete sense. Only those who loved photography would buy cameras, and among such people, the consumer desire triggered by technological innovation and replacement was the strongest.

Those who hadn't bought the cheap ones before would likely have even less interest in new models, so focusing tightly on the consumers who had already purchased their first unit and repeatedly engaging them was how the core market base was built!

Rang Weidong briefly explained the tactics used in later generations for selling computers, electrical appliances, and especially smartphones, leaving everyone filled with profound admiration.

Consequently, Rang Weidong simply drew the style of the "fool-proof" camera he remembered right on the conference room blackboard.

By the way, because of his previous two visits, the factory discovered that Comrade Rang liked to draw messy patterns on small blackboards for explanations.

Thus, the factory had specially built a full-wall blackboard resembling a classroom chalkboard on the wall, and assigned a skilled technician to assist him nearby.

It ended up as a completely black, flat plastic bar. Pulling it outward from both sides revealed the lens, while simultaneously causing the camera to begin charging the flash, accompanied by a faint whirring sound.

Everyone was stunned once more. What kind of new model was this? It was just redesigning the appearance of the current one!

Was upgrading really that simple?

Squeezing toothpaste was just like that!