2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 141 Mr. Tan's Attentiveness
The next morning, Gu Qingqing woke up with panda eyes and looked at the carefree Qin Siyu with a resentful expression.

This guy actually fell asleep when he said he was going to sleep.

"Give me a ride on your bike today," Gu Qingqing said to Qin Siyu in an annoyed tone.

Qin Siyu chuckled, took the car keys, and then went out with Gu Qingqing. Her working hours were actually 12 hours a day, and she also needed to work day and night shifts. However, considering that she and Zhao Xianbo were doing summer jobs, Tan Jincheng asked Sun Yuming to inform the production line that they did not need to work day and night shifts.

In addition, the working hours are also arranged according to the 8-hour system, and he goes to and from get off work with Gu Qingqing. However, Zhao Xianbo rejected Tan Jincheng's kindness and lived in the dormitory, choosing the same treatment as ordinary workers.

Tan Jincheng let them have their way, only asking Sun Yuming to keep an eye on his safety. College students in 2005 were still quite valuable, and if something happened to him at the factory, it would be a big problem.

Flash Automotive also has some temporary workers, but the number is not large, and they do some non-core work, mainly playing an auxiliary role. The factory is different from Jinpeng Trading, a company with light asset operation.

If possible, Tan Jincheng still hopes to primarily employ full-time general workers. Temporary workers cannot guarantee quality and are difficult to manage. These people are like the legendary "Sanhe Gods," working one day and resting for three, with no work attitude whatsoever.

People who genuinely intend to work in a factory will not take temporary jobs. Besides having a portion of their hourly wage taken by the agency, the work is extremely unstable and offers no job security whatsoever.

If you offend the foreman, he won't want you tomorrow; of course, temporary workers don't care about that.

At nine o'clock in the morning, Tan Jincheng sat in his office on time. Although it was Saturday, it had nothing to do with him.

"Hello, MOTO, hello, MOTO."

Not long after he sat down, Tan Jincheng's phone rang, the Motorola ringtone filling his ears.

This is a Motorola V3, ice blue, that Zhang Xupeng gave to Tan Jincheng as a birthday gift. It cost over 4000 yuan. In return, Tan Jincheng gave Zhang Xupeng a watch, and Zhang Xupeng gave him this as a birthday gift.

Tan Jincheng was immediately captivated by the V3, which was launched in September 2004 and was considered Motorola's flagship phone. Tan Jincheng had also used this phone in his previous life and loved it very much.

It features a classic folding design, an ultra-thin and sleek body made of aerospace-grade aluminum alloy, a laser-etched keyboard, and a thickness of only 13.9 mm at its thinnest point. In terms of configuration, it has a built-in 30-pixel camera that supports 4x digital zoom, MP3 playback, Bluetooth connectivity, and a Web 2.0 web browser.

This data may seem insignificant to later generations, but in the present day, apart from the camera, the V3's various specifications are considered cutting-edge technology. When the Chinese version was first launched last year, it could sell for more than 8000 yuan.

In an era when the national average wage was just over 2000 yuan, it would take half a year of saving every penny to buy a phone like this, even more outrageous than when the iPhone 7 was released.

It has to be said that Zhang Xupeng's gift really touched Tan Jincheng's heart.

"Hello, Uncle Lin, good morning." It was Lin Yumin calling.

Last night, Tan Jincheng said he had something to do, so he didn't give his usual work report, and Wu Zhenping did the same.

"Mr. Tan, we've finished one phase of our promotion, and all the contracts have been signed. The advance payment will be transferred to the company account within 5 business days. Do you have any other instructions? If not, we'll head back."

"Oh? Is that so? That's great. Uncle Lin, you've all worked hard. If you have no other instructions, leave two of you over there to keep an eye on things. I'll arrange for the first batch of goods to be shipped out right away."

"Okay, if there's nothing else, I'll hang up and buy a ticket to go home."

"Well, Uncle Lin, why don't you go back to your home in Yicheng for a couple of days to rest? It won't take up much time anyway. I'll also talk to Uncle Wu about it later."

Lin Yumin thought about it for a moment. The first phase was over. Although there was still a lot to do, it was much better than now. Going home to rest for a couple of days and see his wife and children was indeed a good idea.

"Haha, that's great! Thank you, Mr. Tan. I'll go back and check on things at home while I'm there," Lin Yumin said readily.

"Alright, you can arrange the rest yourself. I'll give Uncle Wu a call too."

Although they were located in two different provinces, Tan Jincheng required that the promotion be synchronized and that the prices be kept in sync, without any discrepancies. Therefore, during this period, Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping not only had to communicate with Tan Jincheng every day, but the same was true for the two sides.

Wu Zhenping's reply was similar to Lin Yumin's. He was also very happy about Tan Jincheng's suggestion to go home for two days. Compared to Lin Yumin, Wu Zhenping, who was in northern Anhui, wanted to go home to visit his family more.

As for Mr. Tan's claim of "going the same way," that's just him taking care of himself; one is in the east, the other in the west, what kind of "going the same way" is that?

After hanging up the phone, Tan Jincheng immediately called Sister Liu in the finance department and asked her to transfer 2 yuan to Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping's salary cards respectively, as an advance payment of part of their salaries and funds.

Men have confidence when they have money. Bringing money home should make them happier and give them more confidence to work hard.

About half an hour later, Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping arranged for the personnel to stay behind. The personnel would not have a hard life. They would not have to be exposed to the wind and sun. They would only need to bring their electric scooters to the store and make arrangements. During transportation, they could even sleep in the hotel every day.

This is a relatively easy job, but the responsibility is not small during the handover process. Therefore, the quality requirements for the personnel staying behind are quite high, which will test the abilities of Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping.

If necessary, they will have to come back again to ensure that the handover of goods does not go wrong.

"Alright, those who stay can go renew their leases, and those who are going home can go buy tickets. Remember to keep your receipts and invoices for reimbursement later," Lin Yumin said, waving his hand.

He also needed to pack his things and hurry up to buy a ticket home. Just then, his phone beeped with a text message. Lin Yumin opened it and saw that 2 yuan had been deposited into his salary card.

Lin Yumin smiled knowingly after reading it. This kid from the Tan family is not only capable at work, but also very thoughtful. He not only let me go home to rest for two days during my business trip, but also thoughtfully transferred 2 yuan in advance.

They've considered all your worries, so all you have to do is work hard. It's really reassuring. Thinking of this, Lin Yumin's heart stirred, and he immediately dialed Wu Zhenping's number. Although they were competitors at work, they didn't see it that way in private; public and private matters were kept separate.

We were able to leave the same company together; we might not be the closest of friends, but we're at least friends.

"Did you receive the text message, Lao Wu?"

"I received it, you received it too, right? That kid from the Tan family really knows how to handle things, he even knew to prepare some money for us to take home, haha."

"Shall we go to Old Tan's house together when we get home, and bring some groceries over?"

"Okay, Lao Tan doesn't drink either. How about this, we each buy a dress for his youngest daughter? What do you think?"

"Your idea is good. Then I'll see you at the Tan family's place."

"it is good."
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"What's there to be embarrassed about? You're classmates, and you're actually that kid's aunt. If he says he's giving it to you, just take it." Zhang Suzhi looked at Chen Shuyi with a smile.

Chen Shuyi was completely bewildered. She was sleeping in at home when she was woken up by a strange phone call. When she answered, she was surprised to hear that it was Tan Jincheng's mother.

They said she should come and pick up some electric scooter.

???

Filled with doubt and confusion, she arrived at the petrochemical residential area. She had been here before, with her classmates. When she arrived, she saw a black electric scooter with a lightning bolt logo parked downstairs, and a middle-aged woman was waiting next to it with a stroller.

Wait, isn't he the one who runs a Taobao store and does clothing import and export business? How come he's suddenly selling electric bikes? And that was clearly a joke, so how come he actually gave one away?

Wait a minute? FlashDrive? Isn't that the one endorsed by Chris Lee? It doesn't seem to have officially launched yet, right? Where did he get it from?

"Auntie? I saw online that this car hasn't been officially launched yet, right? Where did you get it?" Chen Shuyi dared to joke with Tan Jincheng and ask him to call her auntie, but she didn't dare to actually call Tan Jincheng's mother her sister like her cousin.

"Don't you know? Xiao Tan's factory produces them themselves, and they're not available for sale in Yicheng yet. He brought back 10 of them, saying that one of them was supposed to be yours."

"Oh? He really made a little electric scooter? I thought he was joking at the time. Auntie, I can't accept this. It's not appropriate to accept such an expensive gift for no reason."

Zhang Suzhi smiled and handed over the keys: "Take it. I know my kid. He doesn't have many friends. Pengya's family even sent him a car. You're his deskmate, so I guess he considers you a friend too."

Chen Shuyi was taken aback, but still refused, saying, "I can't take it. A small electric scooter costs several thousand yuan. If I ride it back like this, my parents will scold me."

“It’s not free. My Jincheng said that everyone who gets a new car should help him test it and write down its advantages and disadvantages. Then, his company’s design department will make some optimizations based on market feedback.”

After a brief pause, Zhang Suzhi continued, "I was thinking that we don't know how to express it either. We'll tell you about our experience, and you can summarize it and send it to him."

"Take it. We've brought back 10 cars, and we've already given them to the people who needed them. It's a waste for you to just leave them there." With that, he shoved the keys into Chen Shuyi's hand without further ado.

Since things had already come to this point, Chen Shuyi could only accept it: "Thank you, Auntie. I will write a serious review of my driving experience."

"No need to be polite, we're all relatives; would you like to come up and sit for a while? I also have a few autographed photos of that girl from the commercials. If you want one, I can give you one. Xiao Tan said those things can be sold for money, but I don't know if it's true or not."

"No, no, I still need to buy groceries. My mom will be home from get off work for lunch."

"Alright then, I won't keep you any longer. Come visit sometime."

"Okay, thank you, Auntie. Goodbye, Auntie."

Still a little dazed, Chen Shuyi rode off on her electric scooter. After returning home, instead of rushing to buy groceries, she turned on her computer and searched for the keyword "Flash" online.

This search was quite remarkable, with rows of information popping up, all demonstrating the current online buzz surrounding Flash.

"A national electric vehicle brand has partnered with the super popular female celebrity Chun Ge, becoming the first company in the electric vehicle industry to invite a celebrity to be its spokesperson!"

"Can the collaboration between Flash Auto, which was established only three months ago, and the second season of Super Girl's most popular contestant achieve a win-win situation?"

"If Brother Chun ultimately wins the championship, what will it bring to Flash Motors?"

"Shocking! According to a casual revelation by Chun Ge's agent, Manyang, the founder of Flashcars is actually him?"

This was the first time Chen Shuyi had ever seen such a sensational headline. She clicked on it without hesitation, only to find nothing there. It merely stated that the founder of Flashcars was a handsome young man who was also a fan of Brother Chun (a famous Chinese comedian), and that he had put in a lot of effort to contact Brother Chun's team, earning a contract through sincerity, blah blah blah, and so on.

"What the hell? This is a scam." Chen Shuyi was speechless after reading the article.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Shuyi tried entering the three characters "Tan Jincheng" into the Baidu search bar, but found nothing. Qicha was only established in 2014. These days, if you want to check a company's registration information, you can only use your own network of connections.

"That really suits his personality; there's absolutely no information about him online," Chen Shuyi murmured to herself.

(End of this chapter)