Chapter 61: Exclusive Agency
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Chapter 61: Exclusive Agency
"Youth, you truly have a remarkable talent for marketing. Are you interested in working for my company? I'll offer you an annual salary of 20,000 yuan!"
Li Yi smiled and shook his head. "Director Chen, I'm here to discuss business, not to seek employment."
Chen Donghua raised an eyebrow. "Is my offer not attractive enough? Fine, I'll add a 20% commission on sales to your base salary."
Li Yi chuckled. "No, your offer is indeed generous, but my goal is different. I want to do business with you, not work under you."
Chen Donghua scrutinized him carefully before speaking in a deep voice, "Alright, based on your proposal, the doors of my company will always be open to you."
"Thank you, Director Chen," Li Yi replied politely.
"Now, tell me, what is this business deal worth tens of millions that you're proposing?"
Li Yi grinned. "I want to sign a supply contract with your company. Specifically, I want exclusive agency rights for your products in Jiangnan Province."
"Exclusive agency?"
"Yes. I want the entire Jiangnan Province to be supplied solely through me, and I want a 20% discount on the wholesale price."
Hearing this, Chen Donghua frowned. "Exclusive agency rights aren't a trivial matter. You must guarantee sufficient sales volume. If a province only moves a few hundred units a month, we'd be making a loss."
Li Yi was prepared for this concern. "You don't have to worry about that. We can specify a minimum shipment volume in the contract. If I fail to meet the target, I'll compensate accordingly. However, if my sales exceed expectations, I expect corresponding incentives from your company."
Chen Donghua's interest piqued. "What's the minimum volume you can commit to?"
After a moment of thought, Li Yi answered, "10,000 units in the first month, increasing by 20% each month, up to a maximum of 50,000 units."
Chen Donghua's eyes gleamed. Ten thousand units meant a sales figure in the hundreds of thousands—a considerable order.
"In that case, I'm inclined to accept your request."
Li Yi nodded. "Then we should draft a contract. However, given the volume of our orders, I'd like to propose a staggered payment structure—50% upon warehouse dispatch and the remaining 50% paid within two weeks. This would ease our financial burden while ensuring timely payments to your company. What do you think?"
Chen Donghua ran the numbers in his head. Receiving 50% upfront meant the cost was mostly covered. Even if the second half faced delays, they wouldn't incur significant losses.
After a brief hesitation, he agreed.
With that, both parties signed an exclusive agency contract.
Leaving Donghua Clothing Company, Li Yi immediately instructed Wei Sanpao to arrange for transportation. Personally overseeing the loading of 30,000 clothing items onto trucks, he ensured their dispatch to Jiangcheng. Meanwhile, he himself boarded a train to return ahead of schedule—he had more pressing matters to attend to.
Preparing for the Clothing Store
Opening a store wasn't as simple as just renting a place and putting up a sign. A business license had to be secured, and the right location had to be chosen.
Li Yi had already made his decision—Lianhua Plaza in the city center. It was the absolute commercial hub of Jiangcheng, making it the ideal spot for a clothing store.
Since this business would be a long-term endeavor, Li Yi also planned to persuade Xu Qingnan to leave his job at the meat factory and run the store instead. His factory job was exhausting and didn't pay well. Running a business would be a much better opportunity for him.
Moreover, Li Yi needed someone trustworthy to manage operations.
While he had the capability, he wasn't about to waste his energy on a small clothing store. There were bigger plans ahead.
For instance, his sister-in-law, Xu Qingyao, was about to take her college entrance exams. He had to ensure she improved her grades.
And then there was the upcoming restructuring of the meat joint factory. His next move was to either acquire or lease the factory—a critical step in his long-term strategy.
The Bigger Picture
Of course, acquiring a meat factory wasn't an easy feat. It required both capital and strategic planning. If he told people now that he wanted to buy one, they'd laugh him off.
After all, the meat industry was considered a bottomless pit—a money drain that no investor wanted to touch. Even the wealthiest businessmen hesitated to get involved.
But Li Yi had insight that others lacked.
The global landscape was shifting. A major geopolitical event was on the horizon—the disintegration of the northern superpower.
With the Cold War drawing to a close, a golden opportunity was approaching.
Li Yi was certain that if he acquired the meat factory now, he would hold the right cards to compete for a once-in-a-lifetime business breakthrough when the time came.
A Moment of Reflection
Sitting on the train, Li Yi gazed out the window, momentarily lost in thought.
It had been nearly a month since his rebirth.
In that short time, he had changed the course of many lives.
He rescued his daughter from human traffickers and ensured their capture.
He orchestrated the downfall of Liu Tongfu and his son, reshaping his wife's perception of him.
He made his first fortune through the apple trade.
He sealed a lucrative jade deal in Guangshen, earning hundreds of thousands.
His total assets had now neared one million yuan.
For an average person, this was already an incredible achievement.
But for Li Yi, it was far from enough.
He wasn't chasing mere financial stability—he sought true financial freedom.
Not just to secure his future, but also to help others and give back.
Securing exclusive rights to Donghua Clothing was only the beginning. If he could successfully dominate the Jiangnan market, he would soon have a steady cash flow machine—his own golden goose.
With that, everything else would start falling into place.
Priorities Moving Forward
Reviewing the checklist he had made upon being reborn, Li Yi realized he had accomplished most of his short-term goals.
The remaining key tasks were:
Helping Xu Qingyao pass her college entrance exams.
Helping his father quit smoking.
Thinking of Xu Qingyao's academic struggles, Li Yi sighed.
Her grades were mediocre at best, with severe weaknesses in foreign languages.
Fortunately, as a liberal arts student, she only needed to focus on Chinese, Mathematics, Foreign Languages, Politics, History, and Geography for her exam.
Li Yi only knew for certain that her foreign language skills were poor, but he needed to assess her performance in other subjects.
Time was running out, and he had to find a way to boost her scores before the exams.
But would she even listen to him?
Even though his reputation had improved, in her eyes, he was still far from being a "top student."
With a wry smile, Li Yi shook his head.
Convincing that stubborn girl would be a challenge in itself.
But no matter what, he was determined to turn things around.
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