Night gradually fell. In the vast expanse of low, simple houses and illegal structures on the outskirts of Jiangyang County, a silent contest was underway.
If Wang Yu were here, he would have marveled at his foresight. The miniature fuel engines on the motorized bicycles were designed to be exceptionally quiet, much to the pleasant surprise of the Public Security Bureau officers who were stealthily completing their patrol and encirclement.
...
The next day, Wang Yu woke up very early.
Today was a big day: the grand opening of his own directly operated sales store.
This was something Wang Yu had considered before. Establishing direct sales outlets meant he couldn't just bury his head in manufacturing products and rely solely on other agents' channels.
Wang Yu disliked methods that placed his fate in the hands of others.
He had no choice but to rely on other distributors for business outside of Jiangyang County. However, he was determined to keep the local market in Jiangyang County firmly in his grasp.
The best sales area in the county town was undoubtedly the State-Owned Department Store building.
It was essentially the economic center, where ordinary people went to buy anything they needed.
To use modern terms, it was similar to future pedestrian streets or prime commercial areas.
However, the shop spaces in the department store building were not only expensive, but Wang Yu also found the arrogant demeanor of those in the state-owned company utterly unappealing.
Across the street from the department store building, however, he found a derelict factory warehouse.
It belonged to the Second Motor Factory, the very factory that had been subcontracting the production of Wang Yu's electric fans.
That's right, Jiangyang County didn't have its own electric fan factory. It had previously been a transition by the poorly managed State-Owned Second Motor Factory under the prevailing trend.
Naturally, the cross-industry transition failed, leading to bankruptcy.
After all, not everyone possessed Wang Yu's solid technical expertise. Casual attempts at cross-industry ventures often ended in ruin.
In this era, real estate had not yet boomed, and land was not valuable.
There was no concept of industrial zones, and it was quite normal for some factories to be established within the city.
The Second Motor Factory happened to be sought out by Wang Yu for fan subcontracting, and thus found a new lifeline.
Without any hesitation, they offered their disused warehouse and factory space, transferring ownership to the automobile factory in exchange for a twenty percent increase in subcontracting fees.
This was a win-win situation for both parties. The laid-off workers from the Second Motor Factory were very satisfied, and Wang Yu was equally pleased.
After simple renovations, Wang Yu converted the warehouse into a basic direct sales outlet.
The old warehouse was tall and sturdy, with ample space. With the addition of shelves and a few tables and chairs as sales counters, it was ready for business.
Fortunately, in this era, there wasn't an excessive emphasis on formalism or so-called interior design styles.
Thus, Wang Yu was able to quickly open this direct sales point.
"Little Factory Director, the flyers have all been distributed."
Upon arriving at the automobile factory, Wang Yu was met by Brother Hu.
Yesterday, Wang Yu had arranged for him and his subordinates to distribute promotional flyers, commonly known as small advertisements.
He had incidentally printed a batch of these flyers when printing the instruction manuals at the county high school.
As Brother Hu had coincidentally injured him, Wang Yu decided to let him atone for his mistake by distributing them throughout the county.
Yes, touching the gauze-covered wound near his eye, Wang Yu felt a dull ache. This guy had nearly injured his eye, and Wu Lingling had insisted on applying gauze, making it look like a stubborn stain.
"En, well done. Head to finance later, and each of you will receive 2 yuan," Wang Yu praised Brother Hu. "Let's hurry and prepare for the opening ceremony."
"Alright!"
Brother Hu's face lit up with a smile. Although it wasn't much, getting paid for running errands, especially for work that required no technical skill, was something he wished he could do every day.
The group soon arrived at the renovated disused warehouse.
The so-called opening ceremony was very simple: a string of firecrackers was set off to celebrate, and the factory's current products were displayed on the shelves inside.
Outside were daily necessities like electric fans and electric kettles, as well as motorized bicycles.
As for the water and wind power generators, and even their own automobiles, they were displayed in the deeper sections of the space.
Wang Yu had even arranged for one new-style farm vehicle and one small dump truck to be displayed inside. The spacious area was more than sufficient, and it didn't feel crowded at all.
This arrangement mode was somewhat similar to modern-day car 4S dealerships.
"Is this considered a simple department store?"
Wu Lingling stood at the warehouse entrance, teasing Wang Yu.
"Too bad there are so few goods inside."
She had also come to join the excitement, her gaze constantly scanning the displays, particularly focusing on the electric fans and electric kettles.
"Heh, there will be more and more products soon. You can consider it a private mall I'm building."
Wang Yu said with a smile. His ambition for small home appliances extended far beyond mere electric kettles and electric fans. As long as his reputation grew and funds were ample, he could quickly launch new products.
The only troublesome area was microcomputer chips, which had always been a weakness. This required a complete industrial system to support it. Even with various advanced design blueprints, he couldn't produce the corresponding items alone.
However, one had to eat one bite at a time, and walk one step at a time. He couldn't rush.
The existing industrial system could already produce many things!
"Heh, your ambitions are quite grand!" Wu Lingling said with interest. "Regarding this, I have a collaborative idea. Are you interested in hearing it?"
"Oh? What idea is so mysterious?" Wang Yu's interest was piqued.
"However, the prerequisite is that you must stand out at the upcoming East Continent Industrial Expo. Not necessarily win first place, but at least make a significant impression."
Wu Lingling suddenly blinked her big eyes at Wang Yu.
"Oh? So mysterious? I'd like to see..."
Wang Yu's words were cut short by someone's impolite interruption.
"You are Wang Yu from Jiangyang Automobile Factory, aren't you?"
An arrogant voice, accompanied by an equally arrogant expression, as a group of people walked directly towards Wang Yu and his companions.
It was none other than Xia Ping, the director of the Machinery Industry Association, along with Bai Yanbing and their subordinates, forming a team.
"Hmm? May I ask who you are?"
Wang Yu searched his memory but did not recognize the person before him.
"I am the director of the Machinery Industry Association, Xia Ping!"
Xia Ping sneered with his head held high. "Factory Director Wang is truly a busy man. Meeting you is as difficult as ascending to heaven!"
"Oh? From the Machinery Industry Association?" Wang Yu finally recalled, and the name Xia Ping sounded familiar.
Wasn't this the scoundrel who had previously issued him a so-called product non-compliance assessment report?
As Wang Yu recalled this, his demeanor immediately turned cold. "May I ask, Director, what guidance do you bring with your visit?"
"Heh, guidance is too much to say. We are here to inform you," Xia Ping said indifferently. "Following the nomination by our President Zhao Guozhu, your Jiangyang County Automobile Factory has an opportunity to join our Machinery Industry Association. We are here to conduct an audit."
After speaking, Xia Ping raised his head, like a proud rooster, quietly waiting for Wang Yu to approach and flatter him.
However, after waiting for a while, Wang Yu showed no reaction.
"Hey, I said we are giving you a chance to join our Machinery Industry Association!" Xia Ping couldn't help but repeat, then looked around.
"Look at you, so impoverished that you use a warehouse as a sales outlet, neglecting your main business to dabble in other irrelevant products. Your factory is on the verge of bankruptcy. If you join our Machinery Industry Association..."
Xia Ping deliberately drew out his words but found that Wang Yu was not responding with the expected flattery.
Instead, he looked at him with the eyes of someone observing an idiot.
"Does your factory's bankruptcy have anything to do with your industry association? You haven't lent us any money."
Wang Yu spoke directly.