Song Qiao was jolted awake from his sleep at six in the morning.
Currently, Xiang Piaopiao needed at least another month to see a return on its capital, yet he had promised his wife and mother-in-law that he would have enough money for house repairs within a week.
Aside from this, the investment he had promised Pan Bei also needed to be expedited.
These were all places that required money, and the string of events had made Song Qiao feel immense pressure at that moment.
Because of this, he had tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep well.
To further expand his business, he had to find new partners.
Currently, the markets in his city and several neighboring cities were already saturated. He had to shift his focus to areas he hadn't paid attention to before.
After breakfast, he called Li Lili, who had just arrived at the factory, and the two prepared to travel to a remote rural area where the department stores had not yet accepted Xiang Piaopiao's products.
"Boss, the countryside is not like the city. Farmers generally believe in self-sufficiency and rarely buy snack-type products from department stores."
Li Lili felt a little worried when she heard Song Qiao's plan on the road.
As a native of the countryside, she naturally understood the consumption habits of rural residents and was not optimistic about this venture.
"Lili, don't underestimate our rural areas. Wherever there are people, there will be demand," Song Qiao said with a slight smile, full of confidence.
"We can appropriately lower the price, then sell at a small profit but with high volume. The living standards of the common people have improved now, and occasionally buying some stinky tofu as a side dish with drinks is very common."
"Moreover, other big brands, because they look down on the rural market, have not chosen to penetrate it. We, Xiang Piaopiao, must quickly seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
When Song Qiao talked about business, he naturally analyzed things clearly, and in a few words, he completely dispelled Li Lili's doubts.
Since the establishment of Xiang Piaopiao, Song Qiao had never made a mistake in his decisions, which earned him the absolute trust of his employees.
The two drove around all the department stores in the rural areas surrounding the city. Song Qiao, through his sales skills, conquered the bosses one by one and successfully secured orders worth over 20,000 yuan.
Although it couldn't compare to the department stores in the city center, for the rural areas in the 1990s, this was a considerable sum of money.
Song Qiao planned to go home tonight to give this money to his mother-in-law first, so she could find people back home to start the construction. If more was needed later, he would provide it.
...
As soon as they returned to the shop, his wife Xia Yuqing called, telling him that her mother's waist had relapsed and they were at the hospital for a check-up.
Song Qiao was shocked by the news. He didn't even have time for lunch that afternoon and drove to the hospital.
His mother-in-law was old, and her body's recovery ability was inherently fragile. Her old waist injury relapsing was a normal occurrence.
Upon entering the emergency room, he saw Xia Yuqing standing at the entrance, looking flustered.
"The doctor says Mom needs another minor surgery, and we don't have much money left at home," Xia Yuqing said with a somber face before Song Qiao could speak.
"Honestly, you shouldn't have used that money for investment. Otherwise, we wouldn't be in this situation."
As she said this, her voice began to break.
"Wife, I have money. I just closed a deal today and was planning to give it to Mom for house repairs."
Song Qiao said, quickly taking out the 20,000 yuan cash he had earned that morning from his bag.
"You, didn't you say you didn't have money?"
Xia Yuqing had already been preparing to call relatives for help, but she never expected Song Qiao to produce 20,000 yuan so readily.
This sum was more than enough for her mother's recovery surgery.
"I just earned it this morning. Don't ask so many questions for now, let's go pay for Mom quickly."
Song Qiao said, pulling Xia Yuqing to the payment counter and paying the surgical fees for his mother-in-law.
Fortunately, his mother-in-law was not in serious condition. After a simple adjustment, she was able to walk that same day.
Seeing this, Song Qiao was completely relieved. After sending his wife and mother-in-law home, he rushed back to the factory to implement his second plan.
Before leaving, he didn't forget to reassure his mother-in-law and wife that his promise to raise the money within a week still stood.
Xia Yuqing's attitude towards Song Qiao had also softened by now. She no longer blamed him for blindly investing without consulting her.
As soon as Song Qiao returned to the factory, he immediately summoned Ah Wei and a few other key personnel to a meeting.
"All along, our bagged stinky tofu has only had one fixed flavor. In terms of variety, it is far inferior to our directly managed stores."
"Therefore, I've decided to follow the example of the stores and increase the number of flavors for our bagged stinky tofu to encourage more customer spending."
"Boss, I have a question," Old Zhang said, raising his hand as soon as Song Qiao finished speaking.
Song Qiao nodded slightly, gesturing with his eyes for him to continue.
"Our factory's production is already very tight now. If we suddenly add so many flavors, the production process will become complicated, and capacity might become a problem."
This question was immediately met with agreement from several key personnel.
However, Song Qiao was not surprised by Old Zhang's question; he had already considered this matter last night.
With a mysterious smile at everyone, he calmly continued, "I'm not saying the factory should produce various flavors of stinky tofu in batches."
"Instead, similar to instant noodles, we will add various flavored powder packets in the packaging, allowing customers to sprinkle them according to their own tastes after they buy them."
Song Qiao was borrowing this model from the marketing strategy of a wildly popular fried chicken restaurant from his previous life. It was precisely because this model gave customers great freedom that the fried chicken brand became popular across the country in just one year, with branches spreading everywhere.
Ah Wei and the others' eyes lit up when they heard the boss's idea. Although they had not experienced such a marketing method before, as long as the boss could improve product quality without affecting production capacity, it was ultimately a good thing.
"Since everyone has no further questions, you can all go back and prepare. As for the procurement of powder packets, this task will be handled by Old Zhang."
"Lin Jing must provide sufficient support in terms of funding."
Song Qiao said, his gaze sweeping over the two of them.