"Come up and let's chat, it's not convenient here!" After hearing Wang Gang's words, Huang He pondered for a moment, then smiled and said to Wang Gang.
Wang Gang looked at Huang He with some surprise. Huang He immediately smiled and said, "Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Huang He, and I am the owner of this establishment. We handle the entire blind box business in China!"
"Mr. Huang!" Wang Gang became a bit flustered. He was then led by Huang He into the office, and the two began to discuss in a relatively quiet environment.
However, it was less of a discussion and more of Huang He stating his requirements.
"Boss Wang, I think your suggestion is excellent, and we can do this business!" Huang He said directly.
"Thank you, Mr. Huang. I knew you would understand my idea..."
"Not so fast. There's something that must be clarified: we need to send people to investigate your company first to ascertain that you are indeed a legitimate and honest business before we can cooperate with you. You should have no objections to this, right?" Huang He asked.
"Of course. You can investigate freely. Although our store's business isn't great, my character is well-known throughout the entire street!" Wang Gang replied.
"Good. Then, the second point is that we need to investigate your menu prices, dining environment, and hygiene. We must ensure that your menu prices are not beyond those of comparable restaurants, and that the dining and hygiene environments are clean and tidy, meeting safety requirements, etc. You can accept these as well, can't you?" Huang He smiled. "Because we are a large company, any problems that occur in your restaurant would cause immense brand damage to us in Jiangnan, affecting the Jiangnan Group brand. We must have control over these aspects."
"No problem, I completely agree with this too!" Wang Gang agreed without hesitation. He had no ulterior motives and agreed readily.
"Good. Then the next matter is that we absolutely will not tolerate any 'yin-yang menus' or any restrictions on the use of vouchers. This means that holding a voucher in your store should be treated like normal consumption with cash, except for no change being given. There should be no other differences! Additionally, there should be no time limits. As long as your store is open, these vouchers can be used anytime, anywhere."
"This is to guarantee our customers' dining experience. I hope that users holding our vouchers are not subjected to any demeaning treatment in your store," Huang He said with a serious expression.
"This..." Wang Gang's expression changed this time. In fact, the reason he proposed the suggestion of exchanging 5 yuan for 12 yuan worth of vouchers was precisely because he considered making some conditional restrictions to compensate for the losses.
For example, a 10 yuan voucher might only be usable for purchases of 20 yuan or more.
Or, these vouchers could only be used for specific menu items, and the prices on these menus would naturally be for high-profit dishes. This way, even with vouchers, the restaurant could still achieve good profits.
However, as soon as Huang He voiced this requirement, Wang Gang understood that all the tricks he had planned were seen through by Huang He.
So, should he agree to Huang He's demands?
If he agreed, he would either have no profit or a very meager one, essentially working for Huang He.
But if he refused, his store would have to close next month.
"Alright!" After calculating for a long time in his mind, Wang Gang determined that even if the cost of a 12 yuan voucher was 5 yuan, if he could save costs in other areas and maintain sufficient customer traffic to offset the total cost, he should still be able to make money!
"That's very straightforward!" Huang He laughed heartily. "Given your straightforwardness, I'll make a concession of one yuan. For each 12 yuan voucher, I'll buy it from you for 6 yuan, which is half the face value. How about that!"
"Thank you, Chairman Huang!" Wang Gang felt a slight sense of relief. With that extra yuan, he had much more room to maneuver. As long as he could maintain normal customer traffic for his store, he shouldn't incur losses.
"Then there's one more issue. You know our store sells blind boxes. Blind boxes don't just contain 12 yuan vouchers, but also rare versions worth 100 yuan vouchers, and super deluxe versions worth 2000 yuan vouchers!" Huang He smiled. "According to our standard proportions for blind boxes, rare items are 3%, and super deluxe items are 0.03%. This means for every 10,000 12 yuan vouchers, you must include 300 100 yuan vouchers and three 2000 yuan vouchers. I hope your company can provide us with these latter two types of vouchers according to the procurement ratio!"
"300 100 yuan vouchers and three 2000 yuan vouchers, that's a total of 36,000 yuan in vouchers. And you're selling 10,000 12 yuan vouchers to me for only 60,000 yuan. Chairman Huang, you are truly..." Hearing Huang He's request, Wang Gang's expression changed.
"I know this is a bit difficult, but in fact, 36,000 yuan in vouchers is equivalent to only 18,000 yuan in cash... Hmm, that does seem like a lot. How about this then: all vouchers can only be used for food expenses, not for table fees or drinks. How does that sound?" Huang He said with a smile.
Many people might not know that table fees are one of the most profitable items for many restaurants. So, by relaxing the restriction on table fees, Huang He instantly allowed Wang Gang to earn significantly more.
"Moreover, Mr. Wang, with your restaurant's consumption level, the average per person spending should be around 100 yuan, right? Would those customers with 10 yuan vouchers really only order items worth ten yuan?" Huang He asked with a smile, and Wang Gang's expression became hesitant again.
Finally, Wang Gang nodded and said, "Alright, I agree. But Chairman Huang, I have one request: can the payment for these vouchers be settled in advance..."
"No, vouchers must be settled afterwards. And all vouchers will be produced by us. We will add exclusive security verification to these vouchers. After consumption, you will bring the consumed vouchers to us for settlement, which will be done once a month."
"Don't worry, our Jiangnan has branches all over the country. We would never abscond with your money."
"Once a month?" Wang Gang's expression immediately turned furious. "Chairman Huang, this won't do! My store is almost unable to stay afloat. If your payment is delayed for a month, I won't even have money to restock!"
"Yes, Boss Wang, to put it bluntly, you yourself said earlier that your store is already in dire straits and might close down at any time. If we were to purchase your vouchers first, and then you closed the store and ran off, wouldn't the losses be borne by our Jiangnan?"
"How could I run away? My dreams are all here..." Wang Gang said.
"Don't talk to me about dreams. Dreams are the most unreliable things. My dream back then was to become a scientist, or a teacher, or a doctor. I even solemnly vowed that I would win a Nobel Prize!" Huang He shrugged.
Huang He wasn't lying. This was when he was in first grade, and the teacher had asked a question in class. Huang He had raised his hand and answered loudly and firmly.
"We signed a contract, and I cannot breach it..."
"As you said yourself, you are likely already in debt. Even if I sued you in court, would you have the money to compensate me?" Huang He sneered.
"Of course, Mr. Wang, I personally trust your character very much and believe you will find a way to repay this money in the future. However, our future partners will not be just you. We will cooperate with many more people in the future, who are a mixed bag of all sorts. Therefore, settlement after consumption is a rule that our Jiangnan must strictly adhere to and implement. I cannot break this rule for you alone."
"Not to mention that you are the first collaborator. If the rules are broken from the start with you, how can the rules be strictly enforced in the future?" Huang He countered.
"Yes!" Wang Gang gritted his teeth and considered his finances. He felt that his capital might be able to hold on for a while longer, so Wang Gang finally agreed.
"Chairman Huang, do you have any other requests?" Wang Gang asked with a wry smile. "Can we sign the cooperation agreement now!"
"Good. Since Boss Wang is so agreeable, let's sign the contract now. I'll have someone prepare the contract immediately!" Huang He said decisively.
An hour later, an intention contract drafted by the head office's legal department was sent over. It was printed and placed before Wang Gang and Huang He.
Wang Gang first picked up the contract and read it carefully. He confirmed that there were no issues with the terms. As long as Jiangnan's investigation into Gan Yue Xuan was passed, the contract could take effect immediately.
He then picked up his pen and, gritting his teeth, signed his name. Huang He quickly added his signature as well, while someone nearby recorded the entire signing process with a camera.
This was also Huang He's requirement to the company: all business cooperation involving contracts must have video evidence to avoid unnecessary trouble.
"Here, here's another one. You can sign this too!" After Wang Gang finished signing the contract, Huang He took out another document.
However, compared to the thick contract before it, this document was only a thin sheet of paper.
Wang Gang looked down and saw that it was a loan receipt. It stated that Huang He personally lent Wang Gang 500,000 RMB today, to be repaid within three months with zero interest.
"Chairman Huang, what is this..." Wang Gang took the loan receipt and looked at Huang He, his hands trembling.
"The 500,000 is right here. Once you confirm it's correct, you can sign," Huang He snapped his fingers, and Liu Xiangjiang placed a red plastic bag on the table.
Through the plastic bag, one could clearly see stacks upon stacks of cash inside.
"Chairman Huang, I didn't ask to borrow money, I..."
"Don't refuse my good intentions!" Huang He patted Wang Gang's shoulder. "I also know your financial situation is very difficult. Rules are rules, and I cannot break them myself, so settlement must be done afterwards. But at the same time, you are a benchmark for me, and you must succeed. Therefore, I am lending you this money! This way, it's not considered me breaking the rules."
"Thank you, Chairman!" Wang Gang, with tears in his eyes, signed his name on the loan receipt and then said with a somewhat awkward smile, "Actually, I still have 100,000 left, which might be enough to last for a month."
"No, believe me, once you cooperate with our Jiangnan, that money of yours won't even be enough for a week's worth of groceries!"