Chapter 374: Operations of Sales Personnel

Zhou Ming's tone was not high, but to Zhao Ge, it was like a thunderbolt. Zhao Ge stared at Zhou Ming in disbelief, hardly able to trust his own eyes and ears. 

Of course, Zhao Ge had heard of Zhou Ming. Given Zhou Ming's achievements in Nanjing over the past year, anyone with even a slight interest in economic affairs in the city would have heard of him. For ordinary people, Zhou Ming was a legend in Nanjing, especially with his involvement in the stock market and nightclubs, both of which were hot topics. The stock market had once experienced a period of frenzy.

After a year of development, Nanjing's stock market now had daily trading volumes reaching tens of millions. Although this figure pales in comparison to the hundreds of billions seen in future stock markets, for ordinary people, it was already an astronomical number.

Despite the stock market craze sweeping across Nanjing and creating a stock market frenzy, few truly understood its essence. Many ordinary people had not even had the chance to open stock trading accounts and only judged the market based on speculation, believing that all the money flowing through the stock market was earned by Zhou Ming.

This idea is laughable to those who truly understand finance, but it was the reality of how people thought. Even ten or twenty years later, despite finance being a common term, many would still believe that the money in the stock market was all earned by companies, failing to recognize it as investments or loans that required repayment.

Nevertheless, this perception contributed to Zhou Ming's fame.

"Zhou Ming, you are really that Zhou Ming? Oh my god, is this real? Zhou Ming is actually talking to me, am I dreaming?"

Zhao Ge muttered, trembling with excitement. He could hardly believe that the legendary figure had truly appeared before him. The confidence in Zhou Ming's words sent a shiver down his spine.

Zhou Ming was uninterested in Zhao Ge's display of admiration and asked, "So, can I now speak with your supervisor?"

Zhou Ming's words were like a wake-up call for Zhao Ge. He quickly nodded and bowed, appearing as if he had just met a major figure, "Of course, if it's Advisor Zhou, absolutely."

"Then what are you still standing here for? Hurry up! Do I have to go and ask?" Zhou Ming said with a frown.

"Of course not. Please wait a moment, I will go get our supervisor right away."

Zhao Ge said this and hurriedly ran to get their supervisor.

Zhou Ming, watching Zhao Ge's sudden change in attitude, could only shake his head in resignation. Sometimes people are just like this. When you treat them kindly, they don't listen, but when you assert yourself, they act like sycophants and treat your matters as if they are their own.

The commotion in the office attracted attention, but most people didn't understand the situation and merely glanced over. It was only when Zhao Ge and the supervisor hurried over that they realized a significant figure had arrived.

The supervisor was a short, plump man with glasses. He hurriedly approached Zhou Ming, "Hello, Advisor Zhou. I am Wu, the Sales Director of Dongkou Textile Factory. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I understand. It's noisy here. Director Wu, please find a quieter place for us to discuss," Zhou Ming said dismissively. This was not Zhou Ming's arrogance but his understanding that some people should not be treated too politely. The more polite you are, the more they will think you are easy to bully, just like Zhao Ge before. Therefore, Zhou Ming intentionally adopted this attitude.

Director Wu was quick to comply, "Certainly, Advisor Zhou. Please follow me to my office."

Zhou Ming nodded, "Lead the way."

Director Wu, like a past concierge, led Zhou Ming to his office. Once the office door was closed, the outer office erupted in conversation. 

"What's going on? Who is that young man? Why does Director Wu seem to be so fawning over him?"

Some people were puzzled by this, and their questions stirred a lot of other people's curiosity. Director Wu was their superior and had a reputation for being quite arrogant, so why was he being so respectful to a young man? They couldn't understand.

Someone answered, "I heard from Xiao Zhao that the young man's name is Zhou Ming. Could he be the Zhou Ming?"

This revelation caused everyone to gasp in shock, and the office fell into a stunned silence.

They had all heard of Zhou Ming and knew he was a figure who wielded immense wealth and created miracles in Nanjing. Every era has its idols, and Zhou Ming was theirs.

The sudden shock of having their idol right in front of them left them momentarily dumbfounded.

The silence was short-lived, as one person broke the news, "Zhou Ming is here," and the entire office erupted in excitement. People expressed their astonishment and disbelief, each person sharing their emotions.

However, the noise didn't last long. Director Wu emerged with a stern expression, "Quiet down, everyone! Be silent!"

After being scolded by Director Wu, the noise in the office subsided, but the enthusiasm and excitement did not disappear. People continued to discuss quietly among themselves.

In Director Wu's office, Wu apologized to Zhou Ming, "I'm sorry, Advisor Zhou. This is all due to my lack of discipline, leading to such a situation."

The simplicity of things from that era meant that offices lacked good soundproofing, so they could hear the commotion outside. Zhou Ming, Du Peng, and a few bodyguards from Zhongnanhai were unfazed, while Xia Lang straightened his posture, knowing he couldn't embarrass Zhou Ming.

"It's alright. It just shows that the people you manage are enthusiastic. Let's discuss the matter at hand."

Zhou Ming said as he took a seat, followed by Du Peng. Director Wu then sat down and Zhou Ming said, "Actually, I'm here to discuss the discount policy. My friend wants to engage in wholesale business, but the current offer of five percent discount for an eighty thousand yuan payment is too low. I want to know if a larger payment would get us a better discount or some kind of rebate."

"Eighty thousand for five percent? That's impossible," Director Wu was surprised. "The minimum here is fifteen percent discount for a payment of one hundred fifty thousand, plus a seven thousand yuan rebate."

Hearing this, Zhou Ming and Du Peng exchanged surprised glances. The discrepancy between Wu's and Zhao Ge's figures was significant, indicating there were issues. It seemed not only external bag companies but also internal sales staff had problems.

This was normal; everyone works to earn money, and when they have the chance, they'll grab it.

With nearly thirty years of business experience, Zhou Ming recognized Zhao Ge's scheme. Using his position, Zhao Ge understood company policies better and manipulated them to his advantage, creating the illusion of a major customer to secure the best deals.

Director Wu was not foolish. Realizing the discrepancy, he turned angrily to Zhao Ge, "Xiao Zhao, how dare you deceive customers! You're fired from tomorrow, and I will report your actions to the company's organizational department!"

From the moment Zhou Ming spoke, Zhao Ge's face changed. Hearing Wu's words, Zhao Ge immediately pleaded, "Director Wu, I was wrong. I didn't mean to deceive. I didn't know Xia Lang and Advisor Zhou knew each other!"

"Does not knowing excuse your deception? How could you still deceive me?" Xia Lang was also angry, realizing Zhao Ge had hidden many things from him. If Zhou Ming hadn't exposed this, Xia Lang would have been kept in the dark and Zhao Ge would have reaped all the benefits.

"It wasn't intended to deceive Xia Lang. I just feared policy changes," Zhao Ge explained.

Although this revealed some issues, Zhou Ming didn't dig deeper. He simply waved his hand, "Enough. Resolve your issues privately. I just want to know if this is your final offer, Director Wu?"

"Of course not. If you can pay over five hundred thousand yuan, we can offer a twenty percent discount and a fifty thousand yuan rebate."

Director Wu gritted his teeth, clearly stating this was the factory's bottom line. However, what Zhou Ming said next left him stunned and unable to accept.