Yicheng.
August, the season of fragrant osmanthus, the weather was still relatively hot.
The fan in the living room swayed left and right.
Zhang Suzhi rocked the baby stroller with one hand and changed channels with the remote control with the other.
Having given birth to a daughter at the advanced age of 40, her body's recovery ability was not as good as before.
Compared to before her pregnancy, Zhang Suzhi had gained a lot of weight.
This year, Zhang Suzhi had pulled strings to arrange for early retirement.
Her young daughter couldn't be left unattended, and she didn't feel comfortable entrusting her to the elderly.
With an extra mouth to feed and one less person working, she was initially worried about the family's finances.
However, as her son became more and more successful, she no longer had to worry.
The Taobao shop her son opened deposited tens of thousands of yuan into her bank card every month.
One month's income was higher than her previous annual income.
It was truly unbelievable; society was progressing too fast.
"Starlight shines, spring breeze gallops; Shanchi Electric Vehicle!"
On Anhui Satellite TV, a strong woman dressed in a leather jacket and leather pants drove a black electric vehicle, rapidly approaching from the furthest part of the screen, accompanied by a powerful voice-over.
This short few-second advertisement caught Zhang Suzhi's attention.
"This electric scooter is really big," the thought flashed through Zhang Suzhi's mind.
Since she heard that her son had started an electric vehicle factory, Zhang Suzhi paid much more attention to electric vehicles than before.
When pushing her daughter to buy groceries, she would also browse shops selling electric scooters, check the foot traffic, and inquire about the price of an electric vehicle.
Just then, Tan Lihua, who was cutting fruit in the kitchen, quickly rushed out and asked Zhang Suzhi,
"Did you hear that advertisement clearly just now? What's the name of that electric scooter?"
"I saw the picture clearly; it was quite pretty, actually. As for the name, I think it was Shanchi, right? What's wrong?"
"Are you sure it's Shanchi?"
Tan Lihua pressed.
Zhang Suzhi thought back, and at the same time, her husband's unusual reaction stirred a chord in her heart:
"Yes, it's Shanchi, Shanchi Electric Vehicle. Could it be Jincheng's doing?"
"If it's Shanchi, then it really is that mischievous kid's,"
Tan Lihua said in a deep voice.
His wife hadn't been to Beicang, but he had stayed there for several days.
The machines moving in and out every day, and the golden factory sign at the factory gate, were still fresh in his memory.
"He's putting advertisements on Anhui Satellite TV? And he hired a celebrity? How much must that cost?"
Zhang Suzhi exclaimed in shock.
The first time the Taobao shop deposited money into her bank card, she was very shocked, but after more times, she became numb to it.
During the Spring Festival, her son drove a car back; Old Tan said it cost around two or three hundred thousand, which at most meant she was happy her son was successful and could accept it.
A few months ago, she heard from Qingliang that her son had set up a factory of over 1,000 square meters.
Of course, she was more flustered then, but after Old Tan went to see it, she felt relieved.
However, not having seen it herself, she didn't have much of a personal feeling about it.
She didn't even feel much about her son driving Old Tan home and then changing to a more expensive car.
But this time, she was truly shocked.
In the minds of their generation, appearing on TV was a remarkable achievement, even though it wasn't her son himself on TV, but an advertisement made by his company.
But that was Anhui Satellite TV, the best TV station in the entire province! How expensive must the advertising fees be, and the celebrity they hired also costs money!
"No, I have to call that kid and ask."
Zhang Suzhi couldn't resist.
Tan Lihua opened his mouth, intending to stop his wife from calling at this time, but couldn't bring himself to speak.
In fact, he was also very shocked.
He had heard about Shanchi's production capacity design before; the initial design for a month's capacity was 3,000 units.
He had helped his son recruit two sales talents at the factory, initially thinking that with this capacity, he would just do some offline promotion and quietly make a profit.
He never expected him to go this big, even advertising on Anhui Satellite TV.
Zhang Suzhi didn't care about any of that.
After the call connected, Tan Jincheng's voice came through:
"Hello, Mom, why are you calling me at this time?"
Normally, Tan Jincheng would call home and chat with his mom whenever he had time, but it was rare for him to call after 7 PM.
Zhang Suzhi, however, went straight to the point:
"Son, is that electric scooter in the Anhui Satellite TV advertisement from your factory?"
"You saw it?"
Tan Jincheng chuckled.
Although the finals haven't started yet, Brother Chun has already entered the top six.
Shanchi's publicity has quietly begun, like a gentle rain, and coupled with Brother Chun's management team's promotion, the call volume to Shanchi Motors' customer service hotline has recently surged.
However, what was somewhat speechless was the excessive number of spam calls, with many Brother Chun fans calling to ask for autographs!
The power of fandom is terrifying in any era.
"How much did this advertisement cost? Besides Anhui Satellite TV, where else can it be seen?"
Zhang Suzhi asked curiously.
"It cost several millions of yuan in total, for hiring a celebrity, filming the advertisement, placing ads, and so on."
The call was on speakerphone.
Hearing this number, the couple exchanged speechless glances; a short few-second advertisement cost several million yuan.
"So besides Anhui Satellite TV, which other TV stations can it be seen on?"
"There's also Henan Satellite TV and some local TV stations. Currently, it's mainly being broadcast in Anhui and Henan provinces, so these two areas are our primary focus."
Tan Lihua's heart stirred, and he interjected from the side,
"Will it be sold in Yicheng?"
"Ah? Dad, you're there too. Yicheng will definitely be covered, but not in the first batch. The first batch is mainly concentrated in the Central Plains region. For Yicheng, it will probably be around the end of the year or next year. We'll also advertise on Yicheng TV then. Dad, if you can find some familiar contacts, get me a discount then."
"You're making such a big splash, hiring celebrities, filming advertisements. Aren't you worried that production won't keep up? What if there are no vehicles to sell then?"
"Haha, wouldn't that be perfect? That would mean our vehicles are selling well,"
Tan Jincheng laughed.
His dad still didn't understand what 'hunger marketing' was.
If production can't keep up and sales are booming, I'll just collect advance payments.
Making money with other people's money is the fastest way.
"Oh, by the way, who was that female celebrity? I didn't see clearly just now,"
Zhang Suzhi asked.
"The one from Super Girl. Mom, you might not know her, but she's very popular now."
"Super Girl, ah, I've heard of that. The little girl from Old Li's family downstairs goes crazy every day, buying stacks of stickers and postcards and stuff."
"Oh, that girl, I know. Mom, in a couple of days, I'll find someone to send a few vehicles back to you. You can ride one then and tell me about your experience."
"No need, no need. How would you send them from so far away? When your vehicles are sold in Yicheng, we'll just go buy one."
"It's fine, we have logistics. How about this, I'll send 10 vehicles back. You can give one to Peng Ya's family, and you decide what to do with the others. Let them ride for a while and tell me about their experience. It'll also serve as a small-scale advertisement in advance."
Zhang Suzhi was startled:
"10 vehicles? Giving them away? How much will that cost?"
"It won't cost much. Our vehicles are sold cheaply, so it's settled,"
Tan Jincheng decided.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot. You know Chen Shuyi's mom, right? Keep one for her then, I'll have her pick it up at our place."
Hearing this, Zhang Suzhi became interested:
"Yes, yes. What's going on between you and that girl? Why are you sending her a car separately?"
"Nothing much. Last time we chatted, she asked me what I was doing now, and I casually said I was making electric scooters. She also casually said if I made one, she wanted one."
She wasn't the first one to get a car; Gu Qingqing has been riding the white model to and from work recently.
"Oh, I thought something was going on between you two. Don't just focus on making money; you'll be 20 in a few days, so remember to find a girlfriend."
Tan Jincheng's birthday was easy to remember, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, which was Qixi Festival.
He flipped through the calendar and saw it was this Thursday.
If his mom hadn't mentioned it, he would have been too busy to remember.
"Got it, got it,"
Tan Jincheng replied perfunctorily, but Gu Qingqing's image subconsciously flashed through his mind.
"Remember, get married early while you're young, and then we can even help you take care of the children."
"I'm only 20, Mom. Alright, alright, I won't talk to you anymore, I need to go back."
"Go back where? Oh, why is it so quiet over there?"
"I'm still in the office. Do you think money is so easy to earn? I've been living at the factory for over a week now."
Entering August, Tan Jincheng's life became even busier.
He had to arrange payments to suppliers, monitor production, and most importantly, market promotion.
Although all preparations had been made, Shanchi had not yet undergone consumer testing, so it was uncertain whether it would be accepted.
Success or failure depended on this one move.
As a reborn person, even if he were to fail this time and be burdened with tens of millions in debt, Tan Jincheng would not be afraid.
However, no one likes to fail.
He shut down the computer, locked the office, and Tan Jincheng once again inspected his territory.
The R&D department on the second floor was still brightly lit, with some employees working overtime.
Tan Jincheng went in, greeted them, left two packs of cigarettes, and then departed.
R&D employees generally didn't work overtime too late, usually finishing by nine.
Sometimes Tan Jincheng would stay and participate, offering ideas based on his knowledge from his previous life.
Leaving the office building, he went to tour two workshops.
The workshops were even more bustling, with people screwing screws and installing batteries.
Passing workers who recognized Tan Jincheng greeted him.
This feeling was indeed quite good.
When he walked to a production line, Tan Jincheng actually spotted Zhao Xianbo, who was screwing screws.
"Why are you here at night too, kid?"
Zhao Xianbo stopped his work and replied with a smile,
"It's my night shift."
Tan Jincheng nodded without saying anything.
College students these days were still relatively down-to-earth; they didn't seem to mind working in factories during summer vacation to earn living expenses.
All along, Tan Jincheng had viewed factories with the perspective of his previous life.
Although it didn't affect him opening his own factory, he somewhat felt that factory employees didn't learn much and had no prospects.
But thinking about it differently, advanced factories in this era were actually quite good.
With a stable income, diligent workers could at least afford one to two square meters of housing with a month's salary.
Unlike 10-odd years later, where a month's salary buying 0.2 square meters would be considered good.
It wasn't that factory incomes couldn't keep up, but that housing prices rose too quickly.
After a round of inspection, Tan Jincheng also smiled knowingly.
Last month, they over-produced 3,600 vehicles.
The factory area was no longer big enough, so they rented a large warehouse nearby to store these electric vehicles.
The scene was indeed spectacular; he had never seen so many electric scooters before.
(End of Chapter)
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