EFB Chapter 5 Partnering with Chen Nan
Chapter 5 Partnering with Chen Nan
It took Li Si'an two weeks to sell all the magnetic cards with a face value of three thousand.
I attended classes during the day, practiced martial arts at night, and wrote articles on weekends. The only time I could use to network was Saturday afternoons, when I would ride a 28-inch bicycle from Xicheng to Haidian, and then from Haidian to Chaoyang. I would talk to people at phone booths one by one, and ask around at hotels one by one. After two weeks, my legs had become noticeably thinner.
The three thousand yuan denomination turned into two thousand four hundred yuan in cash, resulting in a profit of eight hundred yuan.
Li Si'an stared at the eight hundred yuan in the drawer, feeling no joy at all.
Two weeks, three thousand denominations. In a month, at most, he can process six or seven thousand denominations, with a profit of less than two thousand. It's not that he doesn't have enough money, it's that he doesn't have the time.
He has to attend classes during the day, and he can't miss his major courses; he has to practice his skills at night, and his body is still developing; he also can't stop writing articles. The magazine "Zhiyin" just mentioned that he gets 200 yuan per thousand words, and if he stops for a month, he will lose more than 1,000 yuan.
Time is limited; even if you divide it into eight parts, it won't be enough.
We need to find someone.
On the first Saturday of May, Chen Dong rode his bike to the school to find him. The two squatted by the roadside near the school gate, drinking Beibingyang soda, and Li Si'an recounted the entire magnetic card business from beginning to end.
After listening, Chen Dong placed the soda bottle on his lap and remained silent for a long time.
"You mean, you collect discount cards from post office employees and resell them?"
"right."
How much do you earn per unit?
"For banknotes with a face value of 100, we buy them for 50 and sell them for 85 to 90, making a profit of 35 to 40 per banknote. For banknotes with a face value of 50, we buy them for 30 and sell them for 45, making a profit of 15 per banknote."
Chen Dong did some mental calculations, his eyes widening in surprise.
"And this batch of three thousand denominations—"
"I made eight hundred."
Chen Dong put the soda bottle down.
"You want me to run away for you?"
"You don't have time either, you still have to go to school." Li Si'an looked across the street. "Is Sister Nan still selling clothes in Xidan?"
Chen Dong was stunned for a moment.
"She's still there. In that clothing market in Xidan, selling women's clothes. The base salary is 200 yuan, plus commission, it can be a little over 300. She said the boss is stingy, no matter how much she sells, it's just so-so." He paused, "Why are you asking about my sister?"
"Sister Nan works as a saleswoman, dealing with people all day long. She knows how to sell things, how to chat with people, and how to get customers to spend money. I want to recruit her. I'll provide the goods, and she'll provide the time and her persuasive skills. We'll split the profits 50/50."
Chen Dong stared at him for several seconds.
"My sister is six years older than you, and you want her to work for you?"
"You're not working for me, you're a partner."
"Are you serious?"
"Bullshit, of course I'm serious about making money."
Chen Dong fell silent.
His older sister, Chen Nan, graduated from vocational high school and sold clothes in Xidan for two years. She was quick-witted, bold, and could chat with anyone for three sentences. When Chen Dong was a child, he was bullied in the alley, and he never went home to call his parents, but to his sister. His sister would grab a broom and rush out.
"I'll go back and ask her," Chen Dong said.
The next afternoon, Chen Dong arrived with Sister Nan.
Li Si'an arranged to meet Chen Nan at Lao Zhao's restaurant. When Chen Nan walked in, he almost didn't recognize him.
The last time I saw her was two or three years ago. She had just graduated from vocational high school, with her hair in a ponytail, wearing a white T-shirt, and looking very neat.
Now she has permed her hair into small curls, shoulder-length, and is wearing a maroon light jacket, the kind of outfit typical of girls selling clothes at the Xidan Clothing Market—not expensive, but neatly coordinated.
She wasn't particularly pretty. Her eyes weren't big, her face was a bit square, and her skin wasn't fair. But when she stood there, she exuded a certain air about her—her back was ramrod straight, her chin was slightly raised, and her gaze never wavered when she looked at people.
"Hey, Anzi." She plopped down opposite him, looking him up and down. "Dongzi said you've grown taller. I was wondering how much taller you could get. You must be 1.8 meters now, right?"
"1.82 meters tall."
"What did you eat to grow up like this?" she turned to Old Zhao and called out, "Boss, a large bowl of beef noodles, with two extra servings of beef, his treat."
Old Zhao looked at Li Si'an, and Li Si'an nodded.
Before the noodles were served, Li Si'an explained the magnetic card business from beginning to end. Chen Nan listened without interrupting. After he finished speaking, the noodles arrived. She lowered her head, took a large bite of noodles, and only spoke after chewing them.
"You said the profits would be split 50/50. Then what am I supposed to do?"
"Develop distribution channels. Talk to hotel lobby managers, shop owners near universities, and get them to get their cards from us."
"Why should they take it from us?"
"Because it's cheap. We sell a card with a face value of 100 for 100, and give it to the hotel for 85. They can then sell it to the guests at face value, making 15 yuan profit per card. No matter how you look at it, we make a profit."
Chen Nan took another bite of noodles.
"How would a little kid like you know these things?"
"I ran it myself. I sold three thousand denominations in two weeks."
Chen Nan stopped using her chopsticks.
"Did you run away by yourself?"
"right."
"Three thousand sold in two weeks?"
"right."
She put down her chopsticks, stared at him for two seconds, and then turned to look at Chen Dong.
"Your childhood friend is more reliable than you."
Chen Dong didn't say anything.
"Okay." Chen Nan turned back, picked up his chopsticks again, and said, "I'll work with you. But there's one condition."
"you say."
"You'll train me for the first month. I've never sold this stuff before, so you'll have to teach me. Once I get the hang of it, I can sell it on my own."
"make a deal."
On the first weekend, Li Si'an took Chen Nan to three hotels.
He had scouted the route in advance. The area near Xizhimen, close to the Beijing Exhibition Center, is frequented by government officials from out of town who need to make long-distance calls while staying in hotels, making it the perfect customer group for magnetic cards.
At the first shop, the receptionist listened to him for thirty seconds, then waved her hand, saying the manager wasn't there. Chen Nan stood silently to the side, only speaking up after they came out: "That girl didn't even bother to call the manager; she didn't even move."
"I can tell."
"Then why did you talk for so long?"
"The first place was just for practice. I was going to show you what it means to have no chance."
The second establishment had a lobby manager who was a man in his forties with slicked-back hair and an ill-fitting suit. He sat on the lobby sofa, legs crossed, and after listening to Li Si'an's explanation, picked up a magnetic card and examined it closely.
"Really?"
"It came from an internal post office channel. You can verify it at the post office. A card with a face value of one hundred yuan sells for one hundred yuan at the post office, but I'll give it to you for eighty-five."
The slick-haired manager thought for a moment and took ten to try.
The third store had a female manager in her early thirties with short hair and glasses. She spoke very quickly. She picked up the magnetic card, looked at it over and over, and asked three questions.
"Really?"
"It's true, it's through the post office, you can verify it."
"What's the price?"
"Here's eighty-five of the hundred-dollar bills."
Can unsold items be returned?
"If we don't sell them all, we'll exchange them for new cards of the same face value next time we get more stock."
The female manager thought for a moment and took thirty to try.
On the second weekend, Li Si'an took her to visit three universities.
Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing Normal University, Renmin University. Nearby convenience stores all had public telephones outside. In 1994, university students had to queue at the post office or use the convenience stores near the school gates to make long-distance calls, which cost 1.2 yuan per minute—extremely expensive.
Li Si'an was looking for the owner of the small shop near the east gate of Beijing Foreign Studies University. His surname was Sun, he was over fifty years old, bald, and had cigarettes, alcohol, candy, and tea on the counter. There was a red public telephone at the door, and students lined up to make calls from morning till night.
After listening to Li Si'an's words, Lao Sun picked up the magnetic card and examined it over and over for a long time.
"You give me forty-five for a fifty-yuan note. I'll sell it to students. Will I even be able to sell it?"
"Don't just sell it at face value," Chen Nan interjected.
Old Sun looked at her.
"You sell a card with a face value of fifty for fifty. But for the student who buys the card, you give them a bottle of Beibingyang soda for free. You buy Beibingyang soda for just a few cents. The student feels like they've gotten a good deal, and you've sold the card and made a lot of soda."
Old Sun thought about those words for a moment, then smiled.
"You're a smarter girl than this guy," he said, pointing at Li Si'an.
Old Sun took thirty fifty-yuan notes and ten one-hundred-yuan notes.
Chen Nan took out a small notebook from her bag and made a note. The handwriting was messy, but the numbers were written in large letters, as if afraid they wouldn't be legible.