Around five in the afternoon, Huang He, Liu Xiangjiang, and Wang Gang, who was leading the way, prepared to go out for a meal.
The dining venue was naturally Wang Gang's Gan Yue Xuan. After signing the contract and receiving Huang He's 500,000 loan, it was only natural for Wang Gang, a restaurant owner, to treat Huang He to a meal.
Huang He was also very interested in the taste of Gan Yue Xuan, and it served as an investigation into the restaurant. After all, if Boss Huang himself found no issues with the food, then there wouldn't be any, and they could proceed with the contract.
The three of them drove to Gan Yue Xuan in Boss Huang's car. The restaurant was indeed very deserted. The main hall, which could seat over 30 tables, was surprisingly only occupied by two tables of diners during peak mealtime. The restaurant's staff appeared rather listless, clearly unaware of the sweatshop hell that awaited them in the future.
Upon seeing Wang Gang arrive, the staff finally shook off their lethargy and showed some semblance of energy. Wang Gang then led Huang He, Liu Xiangjiang, and two bodyguards directly into the kitchen.
Indeed, the entire kitchen was reasonably bright and clean. Although there were inevitably some oil stains on the cooking stoves, the overall impression was one of cleanliness and hygiene, which earned a nod from Huang He.
In fact, as long as the environment wasn't too dire, Huang He would have agreed. This was a new market, and Huang He needed someone to be the first to try.
After inspecting the kitchen, Wang Gang suggested taking everyone to a private room upstairs for dining. However, Huang He declined, stating he needed to see the environment of the establishment. He then picked up a menu from a table, glanced at it a few times, and smiled at Wang Gang, "Manager Wang, I've noted the prices on this menu. Once our blind boxes start selling, you're not allowed to raise prices for three months! If you want to increase prices in the future, any price hike for any dish exceeding 10% of the prices on this menu will require reporting to us and obtaining our approval. Otherwise, it will be considered a breach of contract."
"Of course, fluctuations in raw material prices for seafood and the like are excluded."
"Understood!" Wang Gang nodded. If Gan Yue Xuan were to arbitrarily raise prices, it would be ripping off Jiangnan's consumers, and all the resentment would be directed at Jiangnan Group. Huang He's demand was entirely reasonable.
After a brief chat, Wang Gang went into the kitchen himself. Today was a special occasion, so their Chef Wang would personally cook to entertain Boss Huang. Huang He, Liu Xiangjiang, and the two bodyguards sat at the table, chatting like ordinary people, until the two bodyguards seated beside Huang He suddenly stood up and blocked a man.
"What do you mainlanders want? How dare you stop me?" the blocked man shouted angrily.
"We're dining, and we don't welcome anyone else approaching. Please leave!" The bodyguard pushed the man several meters away and stood in front of Huang He. This bodyguard was indeed very diligent.
"Manager Liu, is this how you treat your customers, your gods?" the blocked man addressed Liu Xiangjiang.
"Your customers?" Huang He asked curiously.
"No, he's the marketing director of Da Run Fa," Liu Xiangjiang replied with a look of utter disbelief.
"Oh, the guy who refused to sell us coupons?" Huang He recalled, his interest piqued. He then said to the bodyguard, "Let him come over."
The bodyguard then allowed Ke Xuedong to approach. Without any pretense, Ke Xuedong sat down next to Liu Xiangjiang and said casually, "Manager Liu, long time no see. Why haven't you visited me lately? I'd love to treat you to tea."
"I wouldn't dare. The threshold at your place is too high for me to cross!" Liu Xiangjiang replied coolly.
"No problem. Next time, I'll carry you over!" Ke Xuedong said with a smile. "By the way, our supermarket's coupons have all been printed. This time, we've printed 1 million yuan worth of coupons. Are you planning to come and collect them? I've prepared them all for you."
"Oh!" Liu Xiangjiang expressed immense surprise. "Manager Ke, it's taken you over six months to print your coupons, and finally, today you've printed 1 million yuan's worth. This speed is truly incredible."
"Heh heh!" Ke Xuedong maintained his smile, though it became increasingly forced. "Actually, they were ready back in January. We've been waiting for Manager Liu to come and collect them, but you never did. It's quite a coincidence that we've run into each other today!"
"You bumped into me by chance?" Liu Xiangjiang asked, feigning surprise once more. "Were you following me all along, deliberately looking for me?"
Huang He's bodyguards had noticed a car following them all the way, which was why they had immediately intervened and blocked this rather persistent fellow.
"You..." Ke Xuedong's smile finally faltered, his anger almost palpable.
From the bottom of his heart, Ke Xuedong was a thousand times unwilling to seek out Liu Xiangjiang, but his performance metrics wouldn't allow it.
In December of the previous year, after understanding the blind box strategy, Ke Xuedong, in his own cleverness, decided to sell coupons himself. He thought that since they were priced at 10 yuan each, the same as Jiangnan's price, and sold at the supermarket entrance, they should be able to replicate Jiangnan's sales success.
The result was a complete failure. In one month, he sold less than 10,000 yuan worth of coupons. People passing by simply ignored him, leaving Ke Xuedong baffled as to why his coupons weren't selling when they were priced the same as Jiangnan's.
However, Ke Xuedong couldn't be bothered to dwell on it. If they didn't sell, they didn't sell. It was the same as before; he neither gained nor lost anything.
Unexpectedly, as time went on, Da Run Fa supermarket's sales of grains and oils plummeted. In January, sales dropped by 20%, and by another 20% in February. By May, Da Run Fa's grain and oil sales were only about 30% of their original level.
This drastic drop in sales caused Ke Xuedong's performance to explode. His superiors had directly informed him that if he couldn't find a way to bring the store's grain and oil sales back to normal levels by the end of the year, he would be demoted to a regular sales associate.
In desperation, Ke Xuedong quickly conducted market research. He discovered that it wasn't just Da Run Fa's grains and oils; in fact, the sales of grains and oils in almost all supermarkets and even dedicated grain and oil stores were declining significantly. Instead, sales in small shops and convenience stores had skyrocketed. Many citizens were now directly going to nearby small shops, using coupons to redeem rice, buying 10 kilograms at a time, which had nearly squeezed out the business of supermarkets.
Grain and oil stores fared slightly better because their prices were lower and they offered a wider variety, so their business was only slightly affected. However, the grain and oil business in supermarkets was almost entirely impacted.
The culprit behind all this was Jiangnan's grain and oil blind boxes. The company's grain and oil blind boxes were incredibly successful, not only nearly crippling the grain and oil business of supermarkets but also boosting the agricultural production value of Wuchang City by fivefold. This illustrated the terrifying market impact of Jiangnan's grain and oil blind boxes.
According to these people's investigation results, more and more young people and elderly people were inclined to buy grain and oil blind boxes. Even after some supermarkets proactively lowered the price of grain and oil blind boxes to around 8 yuan, the same level as grain and oil stores, it still couldn't stop users from buying blind boxes, as there was a chance to win big prizes like 100 kilograms of pork.
Seeing this investigation result, Ke Xuedong's expression was understandable.
After half a month of hesitation, half a month of deliberation, and half a month of self-consolation, by May, Ke Xuedong decided to give Liu Xiangjiang some face. He humbled himself and proactively called Liu Xiangjiang, offering to sell 1 million yuan worth of coupons.
Ke Xuedong felt he was doing Liu Xiangjiang a tremendous favor. As a proud Taiwanese, he was willing to give face to a mainland person. These mainlanders should be grateful and rush to buy his coupons.
However, Ke Xuedong found that he didn't have Liu Xiangjiang's phone number. He could only call Jiangnan's store. The frustratingly unhelpful staff member merely said they would record it and report it to their store manager, but there was no further follow-up.
Logically, at this point, Ke Xuedong should have actively sought out Liu Xiangjiang for a face-to-face discussion to explore potential renewed cooperation.
But who was Ke Xuedong? A dignified Taiwanese! Making a phone call was already a huge concession, so how could he possibly go and beg someone?
Therefore, Ke Xuedong kept delaying, pretending the matter didn't exist. But his superiors kept pressuring and pushing him, the burden of performance metrics weighing heavily on him.
So, Ke Xuedong waited outside the store. When he saw Liu Xiangjiang getting into the car, he followed closely behind, intending to create a chance encounter scenario. This would allow him to invite Liu Xiangjiang to his place to collect coupons without losing face.
Ke Xuedong had truly poured his heart and soul into this meeting, expending great effort. Unfortunately, his intentions were all in vain. It was too infuriating.
Although Ke Xuedong desperately wanted to walk away, the performance pressure from above forced him to constantly remind himself.
Someone like him, who devalued himself for the company's performance, was not being pathetic, but demonstrating a great spirit of self-sacrifice. He could always find ways to get revenge later.
Thus, Ke Xuedong said with immense grievance, "Manager Liu, my subordinate's actions were inappropriate before. He didn't print the coupons in a timely manner and even organized some activities behind my back. I am very sorry. I am here with sincerity this time. Our Da Run Fa supermarkets are all over the country. If we can reach a cooperation, then your blind boxes will not only be sold in Shanghai but can also be distributed through our nationwide network of Da Run Fa supermarkets. Isn't this a tremendous opportunity for you?"
"Distributed nationwide through you?" Huang He, who had been silent until then, suddenly blinked and asked, "How many stores do you have nationwide?"
Hearing this question, Ke Xuedong puffed up with pride. He straightened his chest and said, "Da Run Fa currently has 298 large supermarkets in 62 major cities across the mainland! In two months, we will have another 5 large supermarkets opening in 3 cities."
"That's impressive!" Huang He applauded. "Old Liu, how many stores do we have nationwide now?"
"As for stores, I think we surpassed 500 last month. As for mobile stalls, we exceeded 38,000 last month, and we expect to reach 40,000 mobile stalls this month! You can find our stalls and stores in every county-level city across the country!"