Chapter 105: The Boss

Mist and clouds drifted faintly, and time passed silently. The autumn morning breeze clung closely to the whispers of summer, quietly cycling through the changes of the seasons. The gentle cool wind awakened dreams season after season.

Early in the morning, Wang Qiang rose, first heading to the market to buy some things, then following his mother to visit his grandmother.

Around nine-thirty, he took some other items and went to pay a visit to Mayor Zhang and Secretary Li. Finally, he went to the Jin Gong Machinery Factory to see Lu Dahai, but unfortunately, Lu was away on a business trip, so Wang only chatted briefly with Qin Xiaohui.

Maintaining proper social relationships was necessary, especially with Secretary Li. If not for his help in securing the border permit, Wang Qiang wouldn’t have prospered so quickly.

In the blink of an eye, it was noon.

At home, after packing his luggage and exchanging a few words of farewell with his mother, Lu Wei’s voice came from outside.

“Boss, I’m here.”

Hearing the word “boss” inexplicably filled Wang Qiang with a sense of achievement. To be honest, he was not one to chase vanity, but anyone would feel some pride at hearing their first employee call them boss. It was a small matter, but the feeling of accomplishment was real.

Wang Qiang grabbed his travel bag and stepped outside, seeing Lu Wei carrying a large sack whose contents were unknown.

“Lu Wei, why are you carrying so much stuff?” his mother asked as she came out.

Lu Wei was dressed quite formally today. His white shirt and black trousers, though patched in several places, were very clean. His usually messy hair was neatly combed, showing that he took this trip to Shanghai seriously. “Aunt Cheng, these are quilts and clothes inside.”

Wang Qiang said, “Mom, why don’t you push the bicycle out and give us a ride?”

Lu Wei quickly waved his right hand, “No need, it’s not heavy.”

“Whether it’s heavy or not, I’ll give you a ride,” his mother said straightforwardly, running inside to bring out the bicycle, letting Lu Wei put his bags on it.

The door was locked.

Lu Wei insisted on pushing the bicycle.

Wang Qiang didn’t stop him. The three of them walked southward along the stone path.

Surprisingly, Lu Wei was quite talkative, chatting non-stop with Wang Qiang’s mother.

“Qiangzi, don’t treat Er Gou badly.”

“No, no, the boss treats me well.”

“Boss, boss, you’re older than him by a year. Just call him Qiangzi.”

The two of them chatted continuously, leaving Wang Qiang with little chance to join in.

Before long, they reached the roadside.

Wang Qiang let his mother ride the bicycle home first, while he and Lu Wei waited for a bus at the intersection.

The autumn heatwave was fierce; sweat stained Lu Wei’s face slightly. “Boss…”

Wang Qiang always felt a bit awkward having acquaintances call him “boss,” so he interrupted, “Call me Qiangzi.”

“Okay, Boss Qiangzi,” Lu Wei replied.

Wang Qiang: “...Forget it, just call me boss. What were you about to say?”

“Oh, I was wondering why you didn’t let Aunt Cheng go to Shanghai to watch the shop for you? That would save some money,” Lu Wei asked curiously.

“She needs to stay home to take care of the elders; it’s inconvenient for her to go,” Wang Qiang replied in a good mood, adding a bit about the earlier matters.

After hearing this, Lu Wei nodded thoughtfully and casually remarked, “Actually, Aunt Cheng is doing well at home. Last time when you were away, I heard her say she wanted to work at the textile factory.”

“Again?” Wang Qiang frowned.

“That’s what she said. She wants to learn to operate the ‘foreign needle machine’ and become a formal worker,” Lu Wei revealed.

The term “foreign needle machine” was a local dialect for a sewing machine.

Wang Qiang hadn’t liked the idea of his mother working hard, but hearing the word “sewing machine” suddenly sparked an idea. He recalled how women in their hometown used to work.

At that time, as the business in Dashiqiao grew larger, some factories couldn’t keep up with orders, so a lot of outsourcing work emerged.

For example, a boss would negotiate with the factory: “I’ll take this many sets of bedding; you pay me this much.”

Then the boss would find a group of women in the countryside to sew at home. Since it was home-based work, the women bought their own sewing machines, and the boss only paid a low manual labor fee.

No need for a factory building.

No need for sewing machines.

The fabric was supplied by the factory.

This business model was incredibly profitable.

Of course, Wang Qiang didn’t intend to take orders in Dashiqiao himself.

Nowadays, many workshops and factories in Dashiqiao could handle production on time, as the scale wasn’t as large as it later became.

He was pondering whether his mother could become a “boss” at home, allowing her to care for the elders without interruption, working easily without having to toil in the fields.

As for the fabric for the bedding sets, that was easy to source—just a handful from Dashiqiao would do.

The key problem was finding buyers.

If he had his own sales channels, then all problems would be solved.

The more Wang Qiang thought about it, the more possible it seemed.

At that moment, a bus to Shanghai honked nearby.

Lu Wei immediately reminded him, “Boss, the bus is here.”

“We’re not going to Shanghai right now,” Wang Qiang decided.

Lu Wei exclaimed, puzzled, “Not going to Shanghai?”

Wang Qiang smiled slightly, eyes sparkling, “Right, let’s stop by Dashiqiao first, then head to Shanghai later.”

He decided to buy a dozen or so sets of bedding in Dashiqiao to test the market in Shenzhen. Since many products from Shenzhen could be sold at huge profits in the Changjiang Delta area, perhaps inexpensive goods from the Changjiang Delta were relatively lacking in the south?

Wang Qiang realized he had been thinking in reverse: only considering bringing southern goods back to resell, never considering whether local goods could be sold in the south.

If it worked, his path to making money would be much wider.

After making up his mind, the two hurriedly took a bus to the county.

They transferred buses midway.

Then they bought fifteen sets of various bedding in Dashiqiao, covering low-end to high-end products.

By the time everything was done, it was about three in the afternoon.

The two hurriedly boarded a bus to Shanghai, leaving Haitong once again.

After a four-hour journey, they arrived in Shanghai at seven in the evening.

The autumn night was cool as water; a crescent moon hung quietly in the southwest sky. The clear moonlight bathed the earth in a dim glow, while the stars in the Milky Way shone ever more brilliantly.

Along the way, Lu Wei was like a curious child, marveling at everything.

“So many cars.”

“Such tall buildings?”

“Wow, there are foreigners too?”

Seeing the strange looks from passersby, even Wang Qiang, who was over forty, felt a bit embarrassed. He quickly admonished, “Er Gou, enough, if you have something to say, tell me quietly, don’t shout.”

Lu Wei was fascinated by everything; he had never even been to the county seat before, and now suddenly arriving in Shanghai, how could he not be interested?

As a result, on the short one-kilometer walk, Wang Qiang turned into a tour guide, constantly explaining things to Er Gou until his mouth was dry.

The Friendship Guesthouse.

Perhaps it was still early, for the lights were bright inside.

As they stepped in, Wang Qiang called out, “Brother Zhu, Sister, I’m back.”

No sooner had the words fallen than a figure jumped out from behind the counter—the landlady. She had been dozing but sat up straight when she heard Wang Qiang’s voice, her face lighting up with joy.

“Xiao Wang, you’re back? Have you eaten dinner? Old Zhu went to the game room.”

“Not yet, is there food?” Wang Qiang didn’t bother with formalities and asked straightforwardly.

“There is! Come on in quickly.” After saying this, the landlady looked at Lu Wei, who was carrying his large bundles, and said, “You’re staying here too? Wait a moment, I’ll get some food for my big brother.”

Lu Wei gave a small “uh” and pointed at himself, “Are you talking about me?”

“Who else would it be besides you?” The landlady rolled her eyes.

Clearly, she took the shabby-dressed Lu Wei for a traveling guest.

Wang Qiang hurried to explain, “Sister, he’s my fellow villager, came with me.”

Lu Wei nodded, “Right, I’m with the boss.”

“Boss?” The landlady looked at Wang Qiang in surprise. “You hired staff?”

Wang Qiang smiled, “No, I just asked him to help watch the game room.”

As they were speaking, the sound of a motorcycle turning off came from outside.

Then came the voices of Old Zhu and Zhu Xiaofeng.

“I’m starving.”

“Complaining about watching the shop? What can you do anyway?”

The father and son entered while chatting.

Before they could greet, the father and son spotted Wang Qiang.

Old Zhu chuckled, “You’re back?”

Zhu Xiaofeng’s face lit up, “Uncle Xiao Wang, you finally returned.” He poured out his woes, “I’ve been exhausted watching the shop alone these past two days. My dad only knows how to play cards, doesn’t help at all.”

Old Zhu glared, “Making money isn’t supposed to be easy.”

Zhu Xiaofeng hung his head, obviously not daring to argue with his father.

Listening to their conversation, Wang Qiang smiled warmly, “Xiaofeng, you’ve worked hard. Tomorrow, you can sleep in; someone else will watch the shop.”

The landlady quickly pointed to Lu Wei, “Xiao Wang hired someone to watch the shop.”

Old Zhu was stunned, “Hired someone to watch the shop?”

“Yes,” the landlady confirmed, teasing, “Xiao Wang is getting more and more like a boss.”

Wang Qiang introduced, “His name is Lu Wei, nickname Er Gou. I brought him in to help watch the game room. Er Gou, this is Boss Zhu, you can call him Brother Zhu; that’s his wife, just call her Sister. As for Xiaofeng…” He hesitated, not quite sure what to say next.

Zhu Xiaofeng had indeed been exhausted these days watching the game room, dragged out of bed early each morning by his parents. Hearing that Wang Qiang hired someone to help, he was almost moved to tears. But when Wang introduced Lu Wei, he felt something was off and suddenly said, “Do I have another uncle now?”

Everyone was stunned, then burst into laughter.

After the laughter, Old Zhu joked, “Xiao Wang, not bad. You’re already hiring staff, acting like a real boss.”

Zhu Xiaofeng excitedly said, “Uncle Xiao Wang, you’ve done a great thing. Starting tomorrow, I can sleep in.”

Knowing Xiaofeng’s lazy nature, Wang Qiang said nothing more and instead asked, “Brother Zhu, have you finished renting the place for me?”

“Done. The quilts and furniture are all gathered, though mostly secondhand. Don’t mind that,” Old Zhu replied.

“That’s nothing; I’m grateful,” Wang Qiang said.

The game room now had someone to watch it.

And he had a place to stay in Shanghai.

Wang Qiang was satisfied with everything. Soon, he planned to discuss with Old Zhu whether he was interested in doing more business together. His own capabilities were limited; having partners could solve many problems. For example, Wang Qiang could source goods around Shenzhen, while Old Zhu handled sales. Clear division of labor would improve efficiency and help the business grow.

Cooperation brings mutual benefits and focuses on creating value.

Wang Qiang understood the power of many hands. Working alone made it difficult to achieve scale. Once he earned a bit more money and had the chance to assemble a team, if a group followed him, he believed that with his forward-looking vision guiding the big picture and others executing, they could rise rapidly and seize more opportunities.