Chapter 111: Placing the Order

Two days later.

Shenzhen, Huaqiangbei.

Autumn in Shanghai was already underway; flowers were wilting one after another, and the edges of the maple leaves had turned red. Wang Qiang, who had arrived by train, was now dressed in long sleeves.

But Shenzhen, with its unclear seasons, presented a different scene.

The trees lining the roads were still lush and verdant. Here and there, two or three brightly colored flowers bloomed vividly. Occasionally, one could catch the faint scent of a fallen leaf landing softly on the sweet-smelling grass, reminiscent of fresh earth.

Wang Qiang did not head straight to Weijia Electronics. Instead, he found a nearby phone booth and dialed the number of Luo Jiacheng, the “agent” of Su Weiming from Weijia Electronics.

Standing outside a small roadside shop, Wang Qiang held the receiver.

After two rings, the call was answered.

“Hello, this is Luo Jiacheng.”

“Brother Luo, hello, this is Wang Qiang, the one who bought a hundred standalone players from you last time. Remember me?”

“Oh, Little Wang, of course, I remember. How many standalone players do you want this time?”

“This time, I might pick up the goods directly at the factory, but I want to meet Manager Su to get him to put in a good word for me. There will be a good return for his help.”

There was a brief silence, then Luo Jiacheng’s voice buzzed again. “Where are you? I’ll come over in a bit. Just hand me the money; I’ll talk to Old Su at the factory for you.”

His tone was straightforward, without any hint of subtlety.

Since this was a business deal, Wang Qiang felt no discomfort. On the contrary, he was quite satisfied with Luo Jiacheng’s bluntness. After confirming the address with the fifty-something owner of the small shop, he relayed it to Luo Jiacheng.

Hanging up, Wang Qiang waited quietly by the shop entrance.

From a normal perspective, Wang Qiang could have gone directly to the factory since Weijia Electronics’ minimum factory order was five hundred standalone players, and he qualified.

But after some thought, he decided to nurture his relationship with Su Weiming. As the saying goes, it’s easier to deal with the devil than a tricky little spirit. Last time, he had gone through Su Weiming’s route to get the goods. If he went straight to the factory this time without any prior notice or courtesy, the factory might cause trouble behind his back—perhaps delaying the shipping date or mixing in defective products. In that case, he would have no recourse.

About twenty minutes later, Luo Jiacheng arrived, sporting a thick beard.

Wang Qiang didn’t waste time and immediately pulled out a thousand yuan. The two exchanged no words during the entire transaction; an outsider might have mistaken it for a secret deal.

...

Meanwhile,

At the centralized office area of Weijia Electronics’ sales department,

More than a dozen people sat at their desks, some sipping tea and chatting, others verifying order details, and a few were on the phone communicating with clients.

By the window, Su Weiming yawned, picking up his teacup to pour himself some tea, when suddenly his bulky mobile phone rang. Technically, their salaries wouldn’t cover such extravagant gadgets, but not only he had one — nearly all the sales staff in the office did. That was the power of being a salesperson in this era, with kickbacks pouring in.

No kickbacks, no goods?

You could get them, but you’d have to wait your turn.

Several colleagues glanced at Su Weiming when his phone rang, sharing a knowing smile. Normally, business calls were made on landlines; only unusual matters warranted a mobile call.

Su Weiming set down his teacup and lazily picked up the mobile phone. Without caller ID, he drawled, “Hello, who’s this?”

On the other end came Luo Jiacheng’s voice. “Old Su, it’s me.”

Su Weiming immediately perked up, knowing this meant some profit. “Hold on a sec,” he said, standing and walking to the eastern window in the corridor outside the office before continuing, “Go ahead.”

“Someone just gave me a thousand yuan. They might come to the factory to pick up goods later. Can you give them a hand?” Luo Jiacheng spoke straightforwardly.

A thousand yuan was no small sum.

Even Su Weiming, who was used to kickbacks, was pleased. He asked kindly, “Is this one of our previous clients?”

“Yes,” Luo Jiacheng answered carefully. “It’s the young man who came to the factory last time to pick up a hundred standalone players. He should be arriving soon. Bye.”

A busy tone followed. Su Weiming looked out at the concrete road, a faint expression of recollection in his eyes. The young man who came to the factory last time?

Ah, yes, he remembered.

He chuckled softly. Smart guy.

...

At one o’clock in the afternoon,

After parting ways with Luo Jiacheng, Wang Qiang headed to Weijia Electronics.

The gatekeeper was the same as last time. Upon hearing that Wang Qiang wanted to pick up five hundred standalone players, he took the initiative to escort him to the sales department.

Inside, the electric fan groaned and creaked as it slowly swung back and forth.

Wang Qiang, sweating under his long sleeves, finally felt a slight chill. He glanced around and saw Su Weiming already waiting by the door.

“Manager Su,” Wang Qiang greeted hurriedly.

Su Weiming gestured for silence and whispered, “Just call me Old Su here. The manager doesn’t like it.”

Wang Qiang nodded. “Okay.”

“Alright, I’ll take you to see the manager.” Su Weiming said.

Wang Qiang found it a bit strange. A small order of five hundred standalone players should have been something Su Weiming could approve himself. Why bring him to the manager?

But since Su Weiming insisted, there must be a reason. He didn’t ask and followed him through the centralized office area, soon arriving at the independent office on the east side.

A sign read: Manager’s Office.

Knock, knock, knock.

Su Weiming knocked and said, “Manager, I brought a client to see you.”

An older, somewhat hoarse voice came from inside, “Come in.”

Su Weiming pushed open the door.

Wang Qiang followed in and saw a thin-faced man in his fifties with a receding hairline sitting behind the desk—this must be the manager.

“Little Wang, this is our Manager Chen,” Su Weiming introduced.

Wang Qiang stepped forward, extending both hands. “Hello, Manager Chen. My name is Wang Qiang. You can just call me Little Wang.”

Manager Chen was good with people. He immediately stood, clasped Wang Qiang’s hands in return, and shook them. “Hello, Little Wang. You look young and promising.”

After introductions, Manager Chen invited them to sit on the sofa along the left wall.

They exchanged a few trivial words.

Seated in his office chair, Manager Chen smiled and asked, “Little Wang, what kind of goods are you planning to take? Standalone players? Walkmans? Or CD players?”

Wang Qiang’s eyes lit up. “You make CD players?”

“Huh? Old Su, didn’t you explain this to Little Wang?” Manager Chen frowned, looking at Su Weiming.

Su Weiming feigned ignorance. “Oh, Little Wang came by unannounced. I didn’t have time to explain; I just brought him straight here,” he said, then turned to Wang Qiang, “Let me tell you about our factory…”

He launched into a lengthy spiel about the history of Weijia Electronics: how long the factory had been running, its sales scale—mostly boastful talk.

Finally, he went over the prices of various products.

There was only one kind of standalone player, the same as the one Wang Qiang had taken last time, priced at twenty yuan each at factory price, with a minimum order of five hundred units.

The fully functional Walkmans came in three grades, ranging from fifty to one hundred fifty yuan each, also requiring a minimum order of five hundred units.

As for CD players, the price was much higher. Although there were only two grades, the cheaper one cost three hundred eighty yuan, and the better one went for four hundred fifty. The minimum order was more flexible than for standalone players or Walkmans—only one hundred fifty units.

Wang Qiang roughly tallied the figures in his mind. Learning that Weijia Electronics also produced CD players was an unexpected delight.

He stated his intent: “This time, I plan to order five hundred standalone players.”

The order was relatively small, but Manager Chen showed no disappointment or disdain. He smiled and said, “Alright. Old Su, take Little Wang to finance to settle the account, and then have him leave the address. We’ll probably ship everything together in three days.”

Three days?

That was too long.

Wang Qiang felt a bit uneasy, worried that he wouldn’t be able to deliver to Cheng Weihong and the others within a week. The first cooperation might end up ruining his reputation.

However, something unexpected happened.

Su Weiming looked surprised and said, “Manager, isn’t there a shipment scheduled for tomorrow morning?”

Manager Chen shook his head. “No, we don’t have enough products yet. Everything’s already allocated.”

“Five hundred standalone players aren’t a big order. We can just have the workers do two extra hours tonight,” Su Weiming pressed on Wang Qiang’s behalf.

Manager Chen still refused. “That’s the production department’s decision. How can I arbitrarily tell them to work overtime?”

At this point, Wang Qiang was already disappointed, resigned to waiting three days for shipment.

But Su Weiming had another idea. “How about I call Manager Zu in production? If he doesn’t agree, we’ll talk again. What do you think?”

Wang Qiang nervously glanced at Manager Chen, knowing that if Chen didn’t approve, Su Weiming couldn’t act on his own.

Manager Chen narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Su Weiming for a moment, then suddenly smiled. “Alright.”

Upon hearing the approval, Su Weiming didn’t hesitate. In front of Manager Chen, he took out his mobile phone and dialed Manager Zu from production.

The call lasted barely two or three sentences, simply verifying identity and asking if workers could put in overtime to produce five hundred more standalone players tonight.

Less than a minute later, Su Weiming hung up and looked at Manager Chen with a smile. “Manager Zu agreed.”

“Good. Take Little Wang to finance to settle the account,” Manager Chen said, then added with some meaning to Wang Qiang, “Little Wang, next time you want to order, just call our sales department and transfer money to the company’s account. We’ll ship to your designated train station. No need to come all the way to the factory.”

Previously, transferring money was inconvenient. But all that changed in 1991 when the central bank led the establishment of the Financial Satellite Communication Network and the National Electronic Clearing System. Paper vouchers and receipts were replaced by encrypted electronic messages sent thousands of miles away.

Now it was 1994. Although not all banks had fully implemented internal networks, major banks like Bank of China and Industrial and Commercial Bank already supported such transfers. The transit time for funds was shortened from over a week to just one or two days, greatly reducing daily in-transit capital.

Still, ordinary people preferred to send money via the post and telecommunications bureau, then pick it up using clearing letters.

Yes, the post and telecommunications bureau—not the post office. Telecommunications and mobile services had yet to be separated and were still under the same bureau.

Wang Qiang sensed the message was partly a warning directed at Su Weiming. He replied calmly, “Okay, thank you, Manager Chen.”

“Old Su, give Little Wang the company’s account number and phone number,” Manager Chen said as he poured tea and saw them out. “I have some work to get back to. You two can settle the account now.”

...

Under Su Weiming’s guidance, Wang Qiang settled the account at finance and left his address. Holding the receipt, he was about to leave.

In the corridor outside the finance office,

Wang Qiang greeted, “Manager Su, I’ll take my leave. Hope we can have a drink together sometime.”

“Wait, Little Wang,” Su Weiming called out, lowering his voice. “Remember what Manager Chen said earlier?”

Wang Qiang paused, then quickly responded with a smile, “Thank you very much for your help, Manager Su.”

“No problem. I have a pretty good relationship with Manager Zu in production,” Su Weiming emphasized the “pretty good.”

Wang Qiang understood immediately and said, “Manager Su, you only gave me the company’s account earlier. If something goes wrong with the transfer, wouldn’t that be inconvenient? Maybe you can give me your personal account too?”

Su Weiming was pleased with the young man’s savvy. “Yeah, that’s true. If the transfer has issues, it could delay shipment. Alright, I’ll give you another account and my mobile number. If anything unexpected happens, just call me.”

He pulled out a small notebook and pen from his pocket and wrote a series of numbers, then handed it to Wang Qiang.

Looking at the note, Wang Qiang saw a Bank of China account number on one line and Su Weiming’s mobile number below. Su Weiming didn’t even need a passbook to remember the account, showing this wasn’t his first time doing this or that he was very experienced.

Wang Qiang folded the note and put it in his pocket, ready to say goodbye, but then he remembered something and asked, “Manager Su, are there any nearby factories producing electronic watches or subwoofers and other audio equipment?”

“Why do you ask?” Su Weiming inquired. Then added, “I don’t know about subwoofers, but there’s a Japanese-owned watch factory next door that makes electronic watches. My wife works there as an accountant. If you want, I can ask for you.”

“Not for now. But how much do the electronic watches cost at the factory?”

Su Weiming replied casually, “Depends on the grade. The cheap ones go for five or six yuan, the expensive ones a hundred or eighty. Hard to say.”

At last, Wang Qiang had a sense of the factory price for electronic watches.

He made a mental note. Today, he owed Su Weiming a lot. According to Manager Chen, the shipment might have taken three days to go out, but after Su Weiming’s intervention, it would be ready by tomorrow morning. Plus, he now had a price reference for electronic watches.

Wang Qiang felt the thousand yuan was well spent because as long as Su Weiming stayed at Weijia Electronics, his shipments would always be faster than others’.

Time is money.

Many might not care much about that.

But Wang Qiang was in a state where every passing day meant one less day ahead of his competitors.

For most, three days was just seventy-two hours.

For Wang Qiang, it was the time to secure another order—even bigger than this one for five hundred standalone players—with profits far exceeding the thousand yuan he had just paid. Three times, five times, or even ten times more.