Therefore, in addition to running around the world to purchase goods, Li Tongfu could only stand at the counter with Yanhua. At the same time, due to the change of goods, some professional knowledge was required to be integrated, so he and Yanhua learned from scratch what positive and negative electrodes, what color temperature of lighting, wattage of light bulbs, wattage of various electromechanical devices, the use of multimeters, and how big cables and wires are. , how to configure the electric switch, what number of screws, how many inches of nails, what types of pliers, open-end wrenches, adjustable spanners, pipe wrenches, vise pliers, etc. Not to mention selling goods, the two of them just kept remembering these thousands of goods every day. Extremely busy.
And the newly purchased truck they bought cannot stay idle forever. After all, once the truck is in motion, it will generate a lot of income every month. It happened that Qin Jiajun was doing odd jobs, and he drove the truck as he was also in the army. After discussion, the two could only entrust the truck to him. In addition to a monthly salary of 500, he was also given a 1% commission.
After Li Tongfu entrusted the truck to Qin Jiajun, he began to give full play to his business talents and devoted himself wholeheartedly to the management of the supply and marketing cooperative's sales department. Because the set of counters they contracted was relatively close to the door, he went to the Yellow River Market to find someone to weld a mobile counter. He used angle iron to weld the counter to look like it, and then installed universal wheels underneath. Early on, products such as wires, cables, bicycle tires, and power tools were placed on mobile counters and pushed outside the store for operation.
All the products in the store are sold at small profits but quick turnover, and they are sold when they can make money. Yanhua's service attitude was very good when she was at the original supply and marketing cooperative, and now their service attitude is even better. They also innovate and innovate. They are the first in the supply and marketing cooperative to provide door-to-door delivery of bulk commodities. Sometimes, in order to make an extra cent, they have to deliver goods to customers even if it rains.
Qin Jiajun recently drove a truck to haul goods and also helped them promote their business. Sometimes when I go to a construction site, I will communicate with the gatekeeper or the person in charge of the project, saying that my wife is in the supply and marketing cooperative and can get goods at a low price, etc. Sometimes they will chat for a while if they need it. Some units with large demand were struck by his luck. Xizhou Waterworks had to buy a large number of temporary distribution boxes, safety helmets and wires, as well as simple fire awnings. Each small fire awning was equipped with a fire extinguisher. , fire shovels, fire buckets, fire extinguishers, etc. are required to be delivered to your door and purchased with advance payment.
Some of these products are available in their sales departments. You can compare the products with each other, so that the funds you need to advance are smaller. Some of the products that are not available can only be purchased with real money. To buy out the goods at the rental counter, they all borrowed money from loan sharks at high interest rates. Now they have no money to purchase goods, so they have no choice but to go to the auction club to raise funds.
A single transaction of this batch of goods has a total profit of 20,000 yuan. After deducting the interest on the discount and paying the cost of the goods, there is only a profit of 8,000 yuan. Everything is difficult at the beginning. When you are not capable enough, you can only give in step by step and groping forward. When they came back from collecting the check from the water company, Li Tongfu and Yang Liufang discussed it and gave Qin Jiajun 500 yuan. They want people around them to believe that everyone's hard work deserves recognition.
On New Year's Day in 1988, snowflakes started to fall from the sky. Yang Liufang gave all the workers in the furniture factory a holiday, and even the master chef in the canteen went home. Yang Liufang went to the supply and marketing cooperative to see Li Tongfu and Yanhua. He took orders from the counter of the supply and marketing cooperative and has not been there since they opened for business. When he got off the bus at the supply and marketing cooperative station in the north of the city, he saw Li Tongfu wrapped in a military coat from a distance across the road. The collar of the military coat stood up and he had a leather hat on his head. He put his hands into his sleeves and stood in the cold wind. Yang Liufang paced back and forth in the sales department, waiting for customers to arrive. Yang Liufang felt a little sad and lamented that it was too difficult to make money.
"Brother." Yang Liufang stepped forward and called Li Tongfu.
"Brother, why are you here?"
"Today is New Year's Day. I've given the factory a holiday. I came to see you."
"Come in, it's cold outside." Li Tongfu let him behind the counter of the sales department. He saw Yanhua, who was also wrapped in a military coat, with an obvious bulge in her abdomen. Yanhua was already three months pregnant at this time, and she still insisted on standing at the counter. .
"Sister-in-law Yanhua, if you feel inconvenient, please stop moving. If you really can't, don't come to work."
"We have our own business. If we don't go to work, who will take care of us. Your brother takes care of the outside alone, and I can help to some extent from inside." Yang Liufang was very moved. The salesperson of this supply and marketing cooperative, who was once regarded as God by customers, could always get the latest product news when he stood at the counter here. Because of this convenient internal channel, Yang Liufang also enjoyed the convenience of having someone inside when purchasing products.
However, under the impact of the tide of market economy, the supply and marketing cooperative's survival is as grim as these nine cold days in Xizhou. As its employees, the salespersons can only do the same as Yanhua, either contracting the counter themselves, or taking leave to rest and contracting the counter to run it themselves. Even though I am pregnant, I have to work in such a severe environment, because no matter whether I sell goods or not, I have to spend money every day.
In order not to miss customers at noon, the counter cannot be separated from people, and they cannot go to the restaurant to eat. Yang Liufang could only buy dumplings from outside. The hot dumplings were served and turned cold after being opened at the supply and marketing cooperative. Li Tongfu and Wang Yanhua boiled it with hot water and ate it.
While the three of them were eating dumplings, Qin Jiajun came back with a truck. He was now renovating a house with a few fellow villagers. Because of the convenience of having a car, he did some moving and transportation work all day long. At noon, because he was worried about his pregnant wife, he After transporting a truck of lime and paint, I turned in and took a look. Now he is white and black, with ice silk in his hair. When he enters the store and takes off the fur collar of his military coat, his face is filled with a happy and confident smile.
"Ouch, look at you." Yanhua scolded him affectionately.
"It's okay. It doesn't matter if you're dirty, tired or miserable. As long as I see you and your son, I'll be happy." Qin Jiajun said sweetly.
"That's all you can say."
Qin Jiajun turned to Yang Liufang and asked, "Brother Xiao Yang, are you there too?"
"Yes, Brother Qin, today isn't New Year's Day! I gave the workers in the factory a holiday, so I came to see Sister-in-law Yanhua and my brother. Are you done?"
"Why are you so busy? I'm my own boss now. I'll be busy today if I have any work to do, and I'll be idle when I don't have any work. Oh, I also said I'd like to see you in the next few days. The Chinese New Year is coming soon. I'll give it to Xizhou A middle school teacher moved to a new house. He and his husband are both teachers. They have many books and need to make bookshelves in the new house. I recommend you."
"It's better to hit the sun than to choose another day. Why don't we go and have a look?" Yang Liufang asked tentatively.
"Okay, let's go then."
"Go back and change your clothes. Don't leave a bad impression when you go to an intellectual's house dirty."
"Okay, wife, I'll go back and change clothes first. Xiao Yang, come with me. You haven't been to the new home yet."
Yang Liufang ate a few dumplings as quickly as possible and drank a bowl of half-warm water.
"Slow down, don't be in a hurry." Li Tongfu comforted him for fear that he would choke. Qin Jiajun started the truck, Yang Liufang got into the passenger seat, and the two drove towards his new home.
"The new home is not too far from the supply and marketing cooperative. Although it belongs to Beiguan, it is relatively close to the center of Xizhou City." Qin Jiajun said while driving.
"As long as I can settle down in the city at this stage."
"Yes, even with that little retirement payment, I had to buy a house. Otherwise, your sister-in-law and children wouldn't know where to live in this cold weather."
As they spoke, they entered a courtyard-like community with Soviet-style sloping roofs. They stopped in front of a building near the northeast corner.
"Let's go up and have a look together. It's relatively simple." The two of them went upstairs along the stairs. Some places on the stairs were covered in ice.
"Oh, I don't know who's water pipes have frozen and cracked again. This is an old community, and the water pipes are all rusty. When winter heats up and contracts, some of them will crack."
"Then why not transform it?"
"There is no real estate here, there is no unified organizational call, and no one is willing to spend that wasted money. Here we are." The two stopped in front of a unit door at the corner of the third floor. Qin Jiajun took out the key and opened the door.
"Come in, you are the first guest in this house besides Principal Wang. The house is a bit messy, don't mind."
Yang Liufang walked into the room and saw the small dining table she had made for him in the army dormitory in the middle of the living room. There was still an unwashed bowl for the morning meal on the table.
"I left early in the morning. It was cold and there was no hot water at home. I was afraid that your sister-in-law would catch a cold, so I didn't let her wash her. You can just sit down and I'll change clothes before we leave."
"Brother Qin, your house is quite warm."
"Yeah, that's the only good thing. There is heating, and I changed it myself. When I first moved here, the heating was not hot, so I asked someone who worked in the market to come over and change it. They charged me 200 for each group. I would do it myself when I got angry. Your sister-in-law bought some steel pipes and a set of threading machines from the store, and she specialized in making them herself. After finishing the modification, my house has the hottest heating in our building."
"You are so awesome." Yang Liufang admired sincerely.
"What a great thing, it's not because I don't have money. Okay, I've finished changing, let's go."
The two of them went out. Qin Jiajun locked the unit door behind him, went downstairs and drove to measure the cabinets together.
