Everyone loves 18-year-olds; a man's aesthetic is always consistent.
From late autumn to mid-summer, there was a girl with a beautiful face, tall figure, and flowing long hair, who would occasionally work, eat, and chat with you.
From the gentle charm of autumn to the vibrant energy of mid-summer, it was hard not to be attracted to her.
Although a 38-year-old soul resided within him, 38 was not that old.
Tan Jincheng was equally attracted to the girl in front of him, not only by her appearance but also by her eagerness to learn and her curious attitude towards new things.
Furthermore, what Tan Jincheng appreciated most was Gu Qingqing's upbringing.
From their very first interaction, Tan Jincheng never felt even a hint of condescension from Gu Qingqing; all their conversations leaned towards equality.
In his half-year entrepreneurial journey, Tan Jincheng had met more than just Gu Qingqing among university students.
Even when they wanted to earn his money, they maintained an air of superiority, somewhat looking down on small business owners like Tan Jincheng.
Of course, they were favored by heaven, so it was understandable, but it was still somewhat uncomfortable when it happened to him.
Just like Qin Siyu's request for a raise yesterday, in Tan Jincheng's view, since you already let Gu Qingqing know in advance, wouldn't it be more effective to have an intermediary speak at this point?
Over the past half year or so, in their limited interactions, the greatest feeling Tan Jincheng experienced was comfort, like the comfort of knowing an old friend for many years.
Therefore, Tan Jincheng would also entrust Gu Qingqing with tasks that weren't exactly part-time jobs, such as the translation work for Jinpeng Trade.
In reality, with a little more effort, Tan Jincheng could easily handle it alone.
The reason for this, besides freeing up more time for other things, was perhaps also to create more opportunities for interaction.
Nowadays, Gu Qingqing is still responsible for some translation work at Jinpeng Trade.
After a few times, Gu Qingqing has figured out how to translate these documents, and after completing them, she sends them to Tan Jincheng for proofreading, not to Zhang Xupeng who now directly pays her salary.
As for the translation work at Jinyi Industrial, it involves more specialized terminology for electronic products, which Tan Jincheng himself cannot handle and requires more professional translators to deal with; of course, it's still on a part-time basis.
In an asset-light operating model for a trading company, all possible tasks should be handled part-time.
The lower the operating costs, the higher the profit margin can be.
In the future, electric scooters will also develop export business, which will then be handled by Jinyi Industrial.
One company is responsible for production, and another for sales.
This model was learned from the owner of a trading company in his previous life.
In his previous life, Tan Jincheng knew an owner of a Ningcheng company whose single-item export volume was among the top 15 in the industry.
He operated this way: manufacturing enterprises consistently maintained very low or even negative profit margins, transferring profits to another company.
This model is common in later generations, but it is still relatively rare now.
At least in Ningcheng, a city with developed import and export, Tan Jincheng had not seen it much.
Currently, models similar to Jinpeng Trade are still dominant.
Both models have their advantages.
If it's purely about making quick money for a few years, then the Jinpeng Trade model is undoubtedly the best.
Once the golden age of foreign trade passes and money isn't so easy to make, the Jinpeng Trade model will lose its competitiveness.
At that point, the company would be deregistered, and they would "pack up and run."
The latter model, however, has a longer lifespan.
In an era of profit margins, relying on cost and tax rebate advantages, it can also thrive.
In his previous life, this company did quite well in the years after 2020.
In fact, most company brands that survive essentially rely on this model.
The quick-money model isn't necessarily short-sighted; businesses have their own goals.
Profits made during a bonus period, if managed well, are indeed enough to squander for the rest of one's life.
"What are you looking at? You haven't said anything for so long,"
Gu Qingqing said gracefully.
Boss Tan had been staring at her for a while, but it didn't seem like he was actually looking at her because his gaze wasn't focused; he must have been thinking about something.
Tan Jincheng, snapping back to reality, smiled and took an envelope from the drawer:
"There's 5000 yuan in here. Part of it is your salary, and part is Qin Siyu's and Zhao Xianbo's. The rest will be settled next time. Let me know when it's all settled."
"Thank you, Boss Tan,"
Gu Qingqing said with a smile, taking the envelope.
"From now on, you'll be solely responsible for operations and the translation work for Jinpeng Trade, right?"
"I didn't say it explicitly, Boss Tan, how did you know?"
"Just a guess."
"Then you guessed correctly. Qin Siyu's family isn't very well off, and she often does part-time jobs to earn living expenses. It's quite tough for her. Let her do all the shooting from now on, and Boss Tan, please don't look for other models, okay?"
Unlike Qin Siyu, Gu Qingqing took part-time jobs simply to experience different industries and enrich her knowledge, not for the purpose of earning money.
For example, she definitely wouldn't take jobs like distributing flyers or working as a waitress in a restaurant.
"Alright, I'll listen to you then. If she doesn't have time, you can fill in,"
Tan Jincheng readily agreed.
"No problem with that, but I have something I want to ask Boss Tan. How did Boss Tan come up with the idea for driving traffic to that lingerie store?"
"QQ group chats. Someone screenshotted posts from other forums, then everyone went to view them. That's where the inspiration came from,"
Tan Jincheng said with a smile.
If you want to talk about topics like this spreading the fastest, it would be future WeChat groups.
It seems every WeChat group has similar topics circulating.
Once you join a few WeChat groups, it's hard not to see them.
What year was WeChat developed?
It seemed to launch in 2011, probably when smartphones became fully popular.
With smartphones as a platform for large-scale promotion, the world became different.
Tan Jincheng is still using the Nokia phone he bought when he first started.
And frankly, it's quite good, especially for someone like Tan Jincheng who frequently travels.
With two batteries and a universal charger, there's no need to worry about running out of power.
"Let's go, let's not talk about this anymore. They should be done packing soon. Let's go eat, and I'll take you back after dinner."
"Didn't you say we should take the bus?"
"It's already quite late, and it's inconvenient for you to transfer. I'll give you a ride. Also, if I'm not at the company next time and it's inconvenient in the evening, you can find Zhang Xupeng; I'll tell him."
"Going on another business trip?"
"Yes, I need to find suppliers. The progress of staff recruitment is quite good, and the progress with component suppliers cannot fall behind. We need to strive for mass production as early as possible, otherwise, spending money like this every day is unbearable."
"I don't really understand business, but when your company's electric scooters are mass-produced and launched, Boss Tan, I'll buy one to help boost your sales."
"Due to the target audience for the first model, it probably won't suit your aesthetic. Have your parents buy one, and then you can give feedback on the user experience. When the second model comes out, I'll give you one; you'll definitely like the second one."
"Oh? So confident? How do you know I'll definitely like it?"
"You'll know then. Let's go."
Since a suitable purchasing manager couldn't be found for the time being, Tan Jincheng would start contacting suppliers from next week.
The first issue to address was the selection of batteries.
Considering costs, most electric scooters on the market currently use lead-acid batteries.
On the other hand, lithium battery technology is not yet as mature, so lead-acid batteries are the best solution.
Xinri uses Zhongke Sanhuan's.
With Shanchi's current procurement scale, directly competing with Zhongke Sanhuan and Xinri would definitely not secure favorable purchasing prices.
Therefore, even if Zhongke Sanhuan produces the best-reputed batteries on the market, Shanchi cannot use them.
Other big brands like Chaowei and Tianneng can naturally be considered if the price is right.
However, if an affordable and good brand can be found, that would be even better.
Lead-acid batteries are a mature industry, and there are many brands on the market.
I remember when I was very young, probably in the nineties, I saw a scene in the countryside of someone carrying a storage battery to fish with electricity.
I don't know if it was a lead-acid battery, but regardless, in about 10 years, this industry had become quite mature.
An electric scooter needs to control costs, but the costs of the seven core components cannot be skimped on; at least the quality must pass inspection.
The balance point here is not to focus on brands, as consumers don't know much about the brands of these components anyway.
The first thing to do is to buy back some component brand products with decent sales on the market, test them, assemble a few electric scooter prototypes, and test which company's components offer the best value for money.
Incidentally, this can also test the training results from this period, to see how well the employees have learned assembly techniques.
The essence of electric vehicle assembly is the controller wiring method, so check how well the employees have mastered these.
The next day, the first thing Tan Jincheng did when he arrived at the company was to call Sun Yuming:
"You go coordinate with the people below, buy a few more electric scooters, take them apart to see what batteries, motors, controllers, and so on are inside. Then go to the market and buy several more individual parts, and test them by category."
"Okay, boss, anything else?"
"Are the staff dorms all set up?"
"They are. We rented in Xiana Village, about two to three kilometers from our factory. Also, a cooking aunt has been hired. We borrowed two workers from Uncle Zhang to simply whitewash and renovate the place, and it will be ready for move-in."
The Uncle Zhang Sun Yuming referred to was Zhang Qingliang.
The renovations at Jinyi Industrial had already finished, and they were currently renovating Tan Jincheng's house.
Next, there would be Zhang Xupeng's newly purchased house.
Adding in the usual minor repairs, Zhang Qingliang seemed to have a busy year ahead; he might even have to stay in Beicang for the entire second half of the year.
It was now June, less than three months from September in his previous life.
He wondered if he could escape this calamity, hoping things could change.
If fate remained the same as in his previous life, this time it wouldn't just be regrettable for Zhang Qingliang; Tan Jincheng would also risk the latter half of his life, as the accident happened while working for him.
Even knowing such a risk, if Tan Jincheng had to choose again, he would still intervene.
"Also, boss, the apartment you asked me to rent in the urban area is ready. It's a two-bedroom, one-living room, and can be moved into directly after cleaning."
"Alright, I understand. You go get busy. For now, keep an eye on the component test results. Once the tests are complete and everything is good, just give them to me."
(End of chapter)
---------------------
Support me on P@treon
[email protected]/charaz
$3 -> 15 chapters in advance
$5 -> 30 chapters in advance
$10 -> 60 chapters in advance
Check my pinned post on P@treon