Chapter 219: Please Close the Door from Outside

On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, February 20, Zhou Ming was surprised to see small snowflakes drifting down from the sky as he left the house in the morning. The accumulated snow outside was already up to his ankles. Despite the ongoing Spring Festival holiday, Zhou Ming had made arrangements in advance. The factory's logistics had already cleared the snow from the roads, and recalling the ice disasters of the future, he had even instructed the logistics department to spread a lot of salt on the roads to prevent ice formation.

When Zhou Ming arrived at the factory's administrative building and entered his office, he was surprised to find Su Han already there. "Xiaohan, why are you here so early? Shouldn't you be at home enjoying the New Year?"

Su Han smiled and replied, "With the great sales of our factory's Eight-Treasure Porridge, how could I, as the general manager, stay home for the New Year?"

"Xiaohan, you already know about the Eight-Treasure Porridge sales?" Zhou Ming asked in surprise.

In the four days after the Spring Festival, the Eight-Treasure Porridge produced by the factory had exploded in sales nationwide following its exclusive sponsorship of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala. The sales first surged in Yanjing, where Zhou Ming's phrase "This year, don't accept gifts, only accept Eight-Treasure Porridge" had become a well-known catchphrase in the capital's cultural circles within just one day.

Binhai, Baiyun, and Nanjing followed suit, with their sales of Eight-Treasure Porridge also exploding. This is why Zhou Ming had been running back and forth to the factory these past few days to monitor the situation.

However, Zhou Ming had kept Su Han in the dark about the Eight-Treasure Porridge sales in order to let her rest at home. He didn't expect her to find out anyway.

Su Han nodded and said, "Yesterday, Boss Yan from the Wehui Supply and Marketing Cooperative called me about placing an order. I also saw that Uncle Wang and the others returned to the factory the day before yesterday. I knew our Eight-Treasure Porridge must be selling well. I was worried you'd be too busy alone, so I came back to help you."

"Xiaohan, I just wanted you to rest at home. After all, it's the New Year. I didn't expect Boss Yan to call you," Zhou Ming said.

"There was no choice. If you didn't respond to him, he would have had to find me," Su Han replied.

The first-tier cities like Yanjing and Binhai couldn't be compared, but at least the fact that Yanjing could be elevated to a city indicated that it was developing well. Thus, the sales of Eight-Treasure Porridge in Nanhui County and the entire Yanjing area had also become booming. Boss Yan from the Wehui Supply and Marketing Cooperative had called Zhou Ming several times yesterday, but Zhou Ming had ignored him. Unexpectedly, Yan then contacted Su Han.

Shaking his head, Zhou Ming pushed the issue of Yan out of his mind and picked up the office phone to call Yuan Zhigang and Li Hua, asking them to come over.

Due to the unexpectedly high sales of Eight-Treasure Porridge, the directors of production and sales had also given up their holidays to work at the factory. Of course, Zhou Ming had offered them generous overtime pay, and they were more than willing to come in.

Soon, Yuan Zhigang and Li Hua arrived. When they saw Su Han there, they first greeted her with New Year wishes.

Zhou Ming didn't waste any time and directly asked, "How is the supply of Eight-Treasure Porridge going in Yanjing, Binhai, and Lingnan?"

Yuan Zhigang responded with a troubled expression, "Boss Zhou, it's the Spring Festival, and everywhere is on holiday. I've handed over transportation in Lingnan to the factory's fleet, but Yanjing and Binhai are too far. The drivers aren't familiar with the roads, and I'm worried about problems. We are still contacting other units."

This was Zhou Ming's biggest concern these days. Unlike twenty years later, when there were strong logistics networks and numerous logistics companies nationwide, logistics systems were still in their infancy and mostly controlled by public entities. Finding logistics support during the Spring Festival was quite troublesome.

"I thought I had been optimistic enough, but I still underestimated the influence of the Spring Festival Gala," Zhou Ming said self-deprecatingly.

"This isn't your fault, Zhou Ming. No one expected the Eight-Treasure Porridge sales to be so explosive. I was still worried about how much we could sell! You've done great," Su Han said, with Yuan Zhigang and Li Hua nodding in agreement.

Zhou Ming shook his hand and took out a note from his pocket, handing it to Yuan Zhigang. "Director Yuan, this is the phone number of Secretary Zhao from the city government. I contacted Mayor Chen yesterday, and he said he would help us coordinate with the railway."

"Alright, Boss Zhou, you're the most capable!" Yuan Zhigang respectfully took the note. His praise was not entirely flattering. The issue of Eight-Treasure Porridge transportation had troubled him greatly these days, and he had struggled to find a solution. Now that Zhou Ming had stepped in, even coordinating with the mayor, it was impressive.

At this moment, Zhou Ming's pager rang again. Zhou Ming took out the pager and said, "It's Boss Yan from Wehui Supply and Marketing Cooperative."

Hearing Boss Yan's name, Su Han and Yuan Zhigang both looked displeased, especially Su Han. No matter how much time had passed, she still remembered Yan's deceitful behavior during the meal.

"What did he say?" Su Han asked.

"He wants to come to our factory. Judging by the time of his page, he should be arriving soon. Let's go down and welcome our client," Zhou Ming said.

With that, he stood up and led Su Han and Yuan Zhigang downstairs, while Li Hua went back to supervise production.

The three waited at the entrance of the administrative building. Soon, Boss Yan's car pulled up and stopped at the entrance. The three of them went out to greet him.

Boss Yan got out of the car and actively jogged a few steps to shake hands with Zhou Ming. Zhou Ming greeted him, "Happy New Year, Boss Yan! I didn't expect you to be so proactive. It's only the fourth day of the New Year, and you're already out here doing business. No wonder you managed to take over the Wehui Supply and Marketing Cooperative and become a well-known big boss in Nanhui County."

"Happy New Year, Boss Zhou," Boss Yan said. "In front of Boss Zhou, I can't call myself a boss. Only Boss Zhou is the most business-savvy big boss in Nanhui County!"

"You flatter me, Boss Yan. It's just luck on my part," Zhou Ming replied modestly.

After inviting Boss Yan upstairs and settling in the reception room, Boss Yan couldn't wait to say, "Boss Zhou, your skill is truly impressive. You managed to get the advertisement on CCTV. This year's Spring Festival Gala, Boss Zhou, your Eight-Treasure Porridge ad was truly the highlight."

Boss Yan's praise made Zhou Ming smile wryly. The ad was obviously a product placement, and it was amusing that Boss Yan praised it, especially since product placements hadn't yet reached the level of being loathed as in later years.

Zhou Ming thanked Boss Yan politely and took a sip of tea before asking, "Boss Yan, coming to our factory on the fourth day of the New Year, I assume you have something important to discuss?"

"You truly are insightful, Boss Zhou," Boss Yan said. "Here's the thing: During the New Year's period, I have already sold out the previous batch of Eight-Treasure Porridge. I came to discuss with you whether we can adjust the previous agreement and increase the rebate based on the sales volume."

Hearing this, Zhou Ming frowned. "Boss Yan, wasn't the rebate amount agreed upon already? Why are you reneging now?"

"That's for you to answer, Boss Zhou!" Boss Yan said. "You didn't tell me in advance that you had advertised on CCTV, and the effect has been so good. If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have agreed to the original terms."

"You're talking nonsense!" Su Han countered. "We told you from the beginning that we had advertised on CCTV and were the exclusive sponsor of the Spring Festival Gala. It's your own fault for not taking it seriously. How can you now blame us?"

Boss Yan chuckled. "Is that so? I don't remember that."

Shameless!

Su Han cursed Boss Yan in her heart.

Zhou Ming put down his tea cup and said, "Boss Yan, integrity is crucial in business. What was agreed upon should remain as it is. How can it be changed at will?"

"Boss Zhou, that's not right. I'm not changing it arbitrarily. I'm just discussing it with you," Boss Yan said.

"What if I don't agree?" Zhou Ming asked.

Boss Yan shook his head regretfully. "That would be a pity. They say that in business, if a deal falls through, there should still be kindness. I thought you'd at least appreciate my effort in selling your Eight-Treasure Porridge, but instead, you seem a bit too confident. It's very disappointing. Do you really think your Eight-Treasure Porridge will sell that well

?"

"You haven't done your best to help us sell it. I've been to your supply and marketing cooperative, and you haven't put any effort into it. The current sales are all thanks to our ad on CCTV," Su Han said.

Boss Yan sneered. "Believe what you want. Even if it's due to your ad, so what? Do you think that aside from me, there's anyone else in Linyang who can help you sell it? Didn't the last dinner make you wake up?"

"That was last time. Now our Eight-Treasure Porridge is so well-known that people will definitely help us sell it!" Su Han said.

Boss Yan laughed loudly. "So, you're Su Manager? You're really naive. Let me tell you, the reason I'm dealing with you is that I'm a private contractor for the supply and marketing cooperative. To put it simply, I want to make money. As for other supply and marketing cooperatives, they're public institutions, and their profits and losses are irrelevant to them. What sells there is all based on relationships. Do you think you're capable of that?"

Su Han wanted to say more, but at this moment, Zhou Ming suddenly spoke up, "Boss Yan, could you do me a favor? Please go outside and close the door."