2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 205 The Spirited Boss Tan
The winter sun didn't feel very warm on his skin. Tan Jincheng stood at the factory gate, waiting for Gu Qingqing to arrive.

Company employees would occasionally pass by him, some from the new factory and some from the old factory. Those who recognized him would stop and greet him.

The factory gate became quite crowded for a while.

"It's freezing cold, everyone go inside and find a seat. There are sunflower seeds and peanuts to eat inside, don't crowd here."

The crowd dispersed, whispering amongst themselves, wondering who the boss was waiting for and why he was personally greeting them at the door. Could it be some important leader coming to our annual meeting?
About five minutes later, the "big boss" arrived.

Wearing a long down jacket and carrying a backpack, Gu Qingqing stepped gracefully out of the taxi. Tan Jincheng rushed over and put his arm around her.

Since Ningbo University started its summer break, the two haven't seen each other for over a week, and Tan Jincheng doesn't care if people gossip about it.

"Let me go! There are too many people at the entrance." Although Gu Qingqing missed Tan Jincheng, there were just too many people at the entrance, and she couldn't stand their stares.

Some people had even taken out their phones to take pictures of them.

"Haha, what are you afraid of? Let's go in." Tan Jincheng laughed.

He wasn't wearing many clothes, and he had felt a bit cold when he stood at the doorway because the sunlight wasn't warm enough, but he didn't feel that way anymore.

Holding Gu Qingqing's hand, the two walked together toward the annual meeting venue. Gu Qingqing's eyes seemed to be glued to Tan Jincheng, but she still stubbornly said, "Why do you insist that I come to your company's annual meeting? I'm not an employee of your company."

"You're the boss's wife, of course you have to come. Even that kid Zhang Xupeng has the nerve to come, why can't you? Besides, didn't you say you were bored at home?"

"Hmph, who knows how many boss ladies there are? I'm not a boss lady."

"Whether she's the boss's wife or not is not up to you. Also, there will be punishment for being jealous tonight," Tan Jincheng said, flicking her nose.

This all started on the last night before the holiday, when Liu Yifei called Tan Jincheng to discuss the Shanghai exhibition in April. Gu Qingqing was with her at the time.

Logically speaking, Liu Yifei shouldn't need to discuss the schedule with Tan Jincheng personally; her mother or agent could make the decision directly. Tan Jincheng didn't know why this young girl would personally come to him to talk about this, especially at night.

In short, Gu Qingqing found it somewhat eerie; well, Tan Jincheng also found it a bit strange, but he didn't think much of it and just assumed that the girl was bored and wanted to chat with someone.

"It's still uncertain who will be punished," Gu Qingqing said softly. She was no longer the naive little girl she used to be.

"By the way, do your family members know you're coming over?"

“I know, my dad doesn’t want me to come. It’s too cold, and it’s the Spring Festival travel rush, so it’s inconvenient to travel by car. Oh, by the way, I brought you a gift.”

After saying that, Gu Qingqing took off her backpack. Both sets of parents were aware of the relationship between the two, although they had never met, they knew of each other's existence.

"What is it?" Tan Jincheng asked, looking at the backpack with some curiosity.

Gu Qingqing took out a scarf from her backpack. It was light gray and looked hand-knitted.

Taking the scarf, Tan Jincheng smiled and said, "Did you knit this yourself?"

Gu Qingqing said somewhat shyly, "Well, it's not very well knitted. This is my first time knitting a scarf."

"My Qingqing is amazing! She knitted such a good scarf on her first try. Please put it on me; I'm a little cold." Tan Jincheng smiled and lowered his head.

These days, it seems like college students are a couple, and it's especially popular to knit scarves, gloves, and the like. I never thought I'd get to enjoy that treatment myself.

The cost of dating was much lower in this era. Unlike later times, where a simple lipstick can cost several hundred yuan, and a date, a movie, a meal, and a hotel room can easily cost several hundred yuan a day.

"Don't mind it," Gu Qingqing said, helping Tan Jincheng put on the scarf and patting it.

"How could that be? But I didn't prepare a New Year's gift for you, what should I do?" Tan Jincheng stared at her and blinked.

Actually, I had prepared it, but it was kept at home. My initial plan was that if Gu Qingqing didn't come today, I would take a detour to Yiwu to give it to her during my studies at home for the New Year.

"It's alright, you've already given me quite a few gifts."

"Let's go in, everyone should be here soon."

"Ah."

Upon entering the annual meeting venue, one sees a dense crowd already filling the entire workshop. Six or seven hundred people are crammed into one room, making it feel somewhat crowded, but that's precisely what makes it so lively.

Due to the approaching Chinese New Year, Tan Jincheng only invited some suppliers from the surrounding areas of Ningbo and some high-performing terminal store customers to this annual meeting, apart from some employees of Jinpeng Trading and Jinyi Industry.

Those who lived far away were not invited. Walking through the crowd, Tan Jincheng saw Zhang Mingcan sitting in the front row, eating sunflower seeds while watching the non-mainstream performance on stage with a look of disgust but also great interest.

"Why do young people these days like to make their hair look like a bird's nest? Don't you, as their boss, do anything about it?" "Are you kidding me? How am I supposed to manage this? You can't even control your daughter skipping school to chase after celebrities, and you expect me to manage other people's hair?" Tan Jincheng casually sat down next to him and then said to Zhang Huining, who had been brought over by this doting father, "You agree, right, little chubby girl?"

"Uncle Tan, you're so mean! Don't call me 'Little Fatty'," Zhang Huining said, displeased.

Then she sweetly called out to Gu Qingqing, "Sister Gu, you're here too! Can you keep an eye on Uncle Tan? He always calls me 'Little Fatty,' don't I have any dignity?"

"Good grief, you even told me not to call you 'Little Fatty.' Your Sister Gu and I are boyfriend and girlfriend. If you call me Uncle Tan, isn't that a generational difference?"

“They should really do something about it. Xiao Gu should keep an eye on him. My daughter isn’t fat at all; she’s healthy,” Zhang Mingcan said, also expressing his dissatisfaction.

After a busy year, everyone is in a very relaxed mood today, including the employees. They chatted and laughed with each other, ate fruits and drinks, watched the performance on stage, and waited for the main meal to arrive.

This table was mainly filled with acquaintances. Besides Zhang Mingcan, there was also Zhang Xupeng. Zhang Xupeng immediately noticed that Tan Jincheng had a scarf around his neck and couldn't help but glance at Gu Qingqing sitting next to him, but he didn't point it out.

At that moment, he was also chatting with Zhang Xuhui, discussing what to buy to take home.

"How much were your sales last year? How much money did you make? I heard you were recognized as a large-scale enterprise, and the district even gave you a plaque?" Zhang Mingcan changed the subject, knowing that if he continued, the chubby girl would get angry.

"We did make some money, but it's all been spent. As for the turnover, it's not bad, over 6000 million yuan, but it's still a bit less than Mr. Zhang's Jinpeng," Tan Jincheng laughed.

When Zhang Xupeng was called on, he looked smug. When it came to making money, none of the bosses present could match the capabilities of his company. Although Jinyi Industry was also engaged in import and export business, it was still in its initial stage this year, somewhat similar to Jinpeng Trading last year.

In 2005, Jinpeng Trading's total export value exceeded US$2200 million, and its net profit reached more than RMB7700 million. Jinpeng Trading was also a major taxpayer in the district and, like Flash Technology, received a plaque.

"Not at all, I'm just making a little money, it's all thanks to you, Mr. Tan," Zhang Xupeng said modestly.

"Haha, you two are just praising each other. I'm the one who's benefiting from your fame," Zhang Haiping laughed.

Since Tan Jincheng founded FlashTech, his business ties with Zhang Haiping have been severed. However, they remain friends in private, and Zhang Haiping occasionally visits FlashTech's old factory.

This year, Zhang Haiping benefited from the surge in orders from Jinpeng Trading. As the most important OEM manufacturer, he also made a lot of money, recovering his investment costs in less than half a year, and even drove an Audi A6 before Zhang Mingcan.

When business people get together, they usually just brag, talk about women and national affairs. However, today's occasion was clearly not suitable for talking about women. As they were bragging, the conversation turned to the recent serious milk powder scandal.

Actually, this incident happened back in 2004. In 2004, Yingzhou experienced the "big-headed baby" incident, and 45 substandard milk powder companies were blacklisted, including a certain third-party company.

However, for some unknown reason, Yingzhou CDC publicly apologized to the third party in the media and removed the third party from the blacklist. Two years later, the incident reappeared in the public eye and once again caused a great uproar.

"What kind of formula does your sister drink?" Gu Qingqing asked Tan Jincheng softly as she listened to the conversation, her eyes revealing worry.

"Don't worry, I carefully select all the formula for my sister, bringing it back from overseas and Hong Kong. I don't use these brands."

"Oh, all right."

Around midnight, an administrative staff member approached Tan Jincheng and asked him to come up on stage and say a few words before they could start eating. Tan Jincheng then stopped bragging, clapped his hands, and walked onto the stage.

"Hello everyone, I'm Tan Jincheng, your boss. Thank you all for your hard work in 2005. First of all, I hope you all have a good meal and drinks today, and I wish you all a happy new year. By the way, have you all received your year-end bonuses?"

"Received, thank you boss," Zhang Xupeng chimed in.

Tan Jincheng glanced at him. This kid still understands him; he's acting as a shill for him. As soon as he shouted, everyone below shouted "Received!" and the venue became unusually noisy.

He gestured for everyone to be quiet.

"I know everyone has worked very hard for the past month or so because of the annual rush to complete the orders. But no matter what, the hard work is worth it. Our company's overall salary level is at least 20% higher than that of our peers and even other factories. We also provide complete accommodation and living guarantees, and we pay social security for everyone. Don't underestimate this. As long as you keep paying, you will definitely thank me in the future."

"Of course, you probably don't understand what I'm saying now, but just remember, everyone work hard, and your boss will definitely not treat you unfairly. Your income will be higher than most people's!"

"In addition, we are also building a new industrial base. I believe some of you already know about it. It's located in Daqi. If you have time, you can go and take a look. Once the industrial base is completed next year, I will select a group of veteran employees from the two factories to work there as grassroots managers. I hope everyone will seize this opportunity."

"Our company also rents two residential buildings. In the future, you long-term employees will also be given priority to be arranged to live in the staff dormitories in the residential buildings. Again, you will not be charged rent, you only need to pay for water and electricity."

"In short, the company will create all the conditions to give hardworking and capable employees more opportunities to showcase themselves and earn more money. We hope that one day in the future, you will be able to buy your own house and car in Beicang."

"By the way, the performance just now was wonderful. The employees who performed on stage, please go to the administration department later. I will personally give each of them a red envelope of 200 yuan. It's not much money, but it's a token."

"Alright, enough chit-chat, let's eat! The dishes today are pretty good, I spent quite a bit of money on them."

As Tan Jincheng finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted in the hall, and some young people even whistled.

Zhang Qingliang, who was clapping along with the crowd, looked at his nephew who was performing freely and with great spirit on stage, and said to his wife sitting next to him, "Jincheng has really made something of himself."

(End of this chapter)