Chapter 372:No More Chances for You!

"I did it! It's amazing! I finally persuaded the first client all by myself!"

In the parking lot outside a wholesale market in the western district, two cars were parked, and a group of young people gathered in a circle. In the middle, one young man was dancing with excitement. There was no doubt that this group was Zhou Ming and his team, and the excited person was Xia Lang.

He had just come out of the wholesale market, where he successfully persuaded the owner to provide a payment of ten thousand yuan. Although this was still far less than the forty thousand yuan Zhou Ming had achieved, it was still a substantial amount. More importantly, Xia Lang secured this deal entirely on his own, and the pride and satisfaction he felt couldn't be replaced by any amount of money. It also made him see a real possibility of success.

Zhou Ming smiled and applauded him: "Xia Lang, well done! This is the first step of your success. Once you've taken this first step, the rest will be easier."

Hearing Zhou Ming's encouragement, Xia Lang calmed his excited heart a bit and turned to him: "Boss Zhou, I really don't know how to thank you. If it weren't for your guidance, I probably wouldn't have been able to secure even one client, just like before with the San Yuan company."

Zhou Ming shook his head: "You're being too modest. In reality, there's not much I can teach you. You're in business, and you should understand that the market is like a battlefield, constantly changing. You still need to handle the specifics yourself. I can only help you with the general direction."

"That's already the biggest help you could give me!" Xia Lang said sincerely. "Many things are most frightening when lacking a clear direction."

"Alright, enough flattery. Instead, focus on planning your next steps. Based on the current situation, your clients can come up with over eighty thousand yuan. If we can exceed that number, we might be able to negotiate with the factory for better policies, which would give us more room to operate," Zhou Ming said.

Xia Lang nodded vigorously: "Boss Zhou, your words are truly enlightening! I'll find time to visit the factory tomorrow and check the situation."

"When will you go?" Zhou Ming asked.

"Are you planning to go as well, Boss Zhou?" Xia Lang asked, surprised. The emphasis was on the word "you," and another surprised voice came from Du Peng, who looked at Zhou Ming.

"I was thinking of going to take a look myself. Are you worried that Boss Zhou might steal your business secrets?" Zhou Ming said half-jokingly.

Xia Lang immediately shook his head: "Of course not. I just didn't expect someone as important as you would come with me to the factory. I'm flattered and surprised."

Xia Lang was sincere in his response. Although he was young, he wasn't naive. From the concepts Zhou Ming had shared with him, Xia Lang felt he was on a different level altogether.

In Xia Lang's eyes, Zhou Ming's vision and abilities were impeccable. A person like him should be very busy with national-level events, such as the Nanjiang stock market or the Chuling Expressway project. The idea of such a significant figure accompanying him to the factory just for a minor discount felt excessive, like using a prized sword to kill a chicken.

As for stealing business secrets, Xia Lang didn't consider it. The business at stake was worth ten or twenty thousand yuan at most, and even if Zhou Ming's deals were worth hundreds of millions, the difference was vast. Even if a pie fell from the sky, it wouldn't be enough to compete.

Zhou Ming smiled nonchalantly and said to Xia Lang: "Alright, just as long as you're not worried about me stealing your business. Do you have a pager number? I'll contact you tomorrow."

Xia Lang agreed and exchanged contact information with Zhou Ming. Xia Lang gave his pager number, while Zhou Ming provided his phone number. At that time, phones were still a high-end luxury, and owning one was more impressive than any modern smartphone. Xia Lang, running a small company, couldn't afford such high-end gadgets.

After sending Xia Lang off, Du Peng couldn't help but ask Zhou Ming: "Hey, Zhou Ming, what's going on here? Are you playing the role of Kangxi in a secret visit?"

Zhou Ming was momentarily taken aback, not because of Du Peng's excitement but because of the modern term used. His confusion lasted only a moment; perhaps he had unknowingly used the term himself, which Du Peng had picked up. This, however, wasn't the focus.

"Du Peng, do you think my visit to the factory is a bit of an overkill?" Zhou Ming asked, glancing at the direction Xia Lang had left.

"I didn't mean that," Du Peng said. "It's not really a question of overkill. I just don't understand the purpose of your actions. Are you doing this just for fun? Also, Xia Lang isn't even related to you. Why help him like this?"

"If you think it's just for fun, you haven't truly grasped the situation," Zhou Ming said.

Hearing this, Du Peng was stunned, his eyes scanning Zhou Ming's face, trying to find some clue. But he failed to understand.

Du Peng was perplexed. He couldn't comprehend the meaning behind Zhou Ming's words. Was there some deeper reason behind Xia Lang or the textile factory that could reveal more?

Zhou Ming, observing Du Peng's changing expressions, knew he was thinking along the wrong lines. Zhou Ming said: "Don't overthink it. Let me ask you: why do you think companies like Xia Lang's exist? Are such companies exclusive to the textile industry, or do they exist in other industries as well?"

"Because there's profit involved between manufacturers and markets," Du Peng answered. He raised an eyebrow as if realizing something. "You're not planning to eliminate these middlemen, are you?"

Zhou Ming nodded with a smile: "That's exactly what I'm aiming for. These middlemen manipulate and eat up a lot of the profit, increasing the price of products in the market. If we can eliminate them and connect directly with consumers, we could lower prices and make our products more competitive. What do you think?"

Du Peng was left speechless, eventually slapping his forehead in frustration: "Oh my God, I regret asking that foolish question. I should have guessed that Zhou Ming is a genius who sees opportunities and problems everywhere. A big capitalist like you wouldn't waste time on pointless tasks."

"You're not being fair, Du Peng. I'm actually trying to help you think through problems," Zhou Ming said.

"How does this concern me?" Du Peng asked.

"It's simple. I've stirred up such a big mess. Regardless of how the central authorities handle the Tan family, I definitely can't stay in the country. So what happens to the business I've built here? I have no choice but to leave it to a brother like you."

Zhou Ming continued: "But our domestic situation is too complicated. Take our products like Eight Treasure Porridge and Shaqima. Despite their potential, sales haven't been as optimistic as we hoped, largely because these middlemen have taken too much out of the equation."

"We can't just wipe out all these middlemen at once. After all, they are entrenched, and without their help, it's hard to get our products into all the supply and marketing cooperatives," Du Peng said.

"True, but we can consider alternative solutions," Zhou Ming suggested. "What if we recruit middlemen like Xia Lang into our company, eliminating the middlemen and having them promote our products for commission? Wouldn't that be better?"

Du Peng gave Zhou Ming a thumbs-up: "What else can I say? You're truly brilliant, Zhou Ming!"

Zhou Ming smiled with pride: "No need to be so polite."

Zhou Ming felt a sense of relief. Initially, he was motivated by a sense of curiosity and a desire to help Xia Lang, who was his former boss in a past life. However, after personally assisting Xia Lang and persuading the client, Zhou Ming realized the issues with middlemen.

In an era where order was still being established, both black market dealers and companies like Xia Lang's thrived on information asymmetry. It was only with the introduction of direct selling a year later that this type of middleman business was eventually wiped out, allowing the domestic economic order to gradually stabilize.

Now, Zhou Ming aimed to introduce his own direct selling model before it fully arrived, avoiding the pitfalls of pyramid schemes.