2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 32 The First Employee

Speaking of which, Zhang Xupeng has grown a lot during this period.

Tan Jincheng left this place for Guangzhou, leaving him with the entire task of setting up the company, which put a lot of pressure on him.

Not only did I have to go around looking at houses with the real estate agent every day, but I also had to go to Zhang Haiping's factory to learn. When orders came in later, things got even more hectic.

Fortunately, Zhang Xupeng finally completed the task left by Tan Jincheng in the past two weeks.

The company premises were ready, the office equipment was purchased, and the order clerks were hired. Everything was in normal order.

I just don't know if the sales clerk will meet Xiao Tan's requirements.

Tan Jincheng listened quietly.

There are six essential factors on the road to success. The first hurdle is whether you can take the first step. Only by taking this step can you have a chance of success.

The second challenge tests attention to detail and patience, while the third challenge tests teamwork skills and the importance of a network or team.

No matter how strong one's abilities are, success is inseparable from the support of a team. Zhang Xupeng has no shortage of courage to take the first step, but whether he can grow quickly is particularly crucial.

Unlike their previous partnership in running a fast food business on construction sites, this time Zhang Xupeng needs to adapt to the pace more quickly and take on more responsibility.

It seems that although the beginning is not his forte, Zhang Xupeng is still able to complete the task very well.

If he can't even handle small things like renting a place, getting office equipment, and hiring employees in half a month, then he's not the Zhang Xupeng from his previous life who could still stand on his own even after the family split up.

"The rent is 2000 yuan a month. The area is a bit small, but I calculated that it's enough for now. There's a deposit waiver if you pay for a year, so I decided to pay for a year."

"It's about a 15-minute ride by electric scooter from where we live, and less than half an hour by electric scooter to the factory in Xiaxi Village. I think it's pretty good."

"Oh, by the way, I bought a used electric scooter for 600 yuan. I'll take you there to take a look tomorrow. Your fear of riding a scooter is really a headache."

Speaking of this, Zhang Xupeng still has a headache. When Xiao Tan was in junior high school, she and her classmates fell off a bridge while riding their bicycles. After that, she developed a psychological trauma and dared not ride a bicycle anymore.

But the tricycle was fine, which is really strange.

"It's okay, I'll get a driver's license when I have time, and we should be able to buy a car next year," Tan Jincheng said confidently.

"Hehe, then I'll go get a driver's license too. What kind of car do you think we should buy?"

"Of course, it's the Wuling, the ultimate tool for entrepreneurs."

"Huh? Isn't this a bit too low-end?"

"Stop talking about this, we'll talk about it later. Let's get back to what we were saying."

I definitely won't buy a Wuling, but Wuling is indeed a godsend for entrepreneurs. In the era when pickup trucks weren't popular, Wuling carried the dreams of countless entrepreneurs from the bottom up.

It can carry people and cargo, has strong power, and offers excellent value for money.

The reason why sales eventually declined was actually more due to a decrease in the number of entrepreneurs.

"I've hired a merchandiser as you requested. The probationary period salary is 2000 yuan plus commission. She's a woman, 24 years old this year. Go check her out tomorrow to see if she's qualified. I've also assigned her to handle two orders."

"Okay, I'll go check it out tomorrow." "Also, there's the money in the account. Not counting our previous investments, there's over 17 in the account right now. You should submit your business trip expense report tomorrow. You can't spend your own money."

"Just book the plane ticket, that's all. I forgot to get an invoice."

“That won’t do. You spent a lot of money on this trip. Now that we’re starting a company, we should do things the way they should be and not spend our own money.”

"You're right, even close brothers should keep clear accounts. But I really forgot to get an invoice this time, so I'll let it go this time. I'll remember next time, and you too, remember to get an invoice next time you go on a business trip."

Tan Jincheng did indeed forget to issue an invoice. He didn't care about the small amount of money and hadn't thought much about it before. However, Zhang Xupeng made a good point. Since the company had been established, it should be more formal.

Nothing happened that night. At 9 a.m. the next morning, Zhang Xupeng rode his second-hand electric scooter and took Tan Jincheng to the company's location.

When Tan Jincheng first arrived at his own company, there was a small sign hanging at the entrance with the simple Chinese and English words "Yongcheng Jinpeng Trading Co., Ltd." on it, without any logo.

After entering, Tan Jincheng estimated that the area was indeed not large, probably only thirty or forty square meters. Fortunately, the location was not bad, as it was in a relatively traditional office building area in Beicang.

The transportation here is fairly convenient, but this area will decline in the future, with most office buildings moving to the Financial Building and the new district government area.

The layout is simple and you can see the whole thing at a glance. The front half of the office has a row of sofas and coffee tables, which serve as a reception area. Opposite the coffee table is a computer desk.

At that moment, a young girl was sitting next to the computer desk, scrolling the mouse.

Upon seeing Tan Jincheng and Zhang Xupeng enter, he greeted Zhang Xupeng as "Boss" before continuing his work.

"Sister Li, let me introduce you. This is another boss of our company. He's the one who brought in the order you have."

"You must be Boss Tan. I've heard Boss Zhang mention you before. Hello, my name is Li Yanning."

"Hello, Sister Li, I'm Tan Jincheng," Tan Jincheng replied with a smile.

Li Yanning is 24 years old this year. Born in 1980, she is also from Anhui Province. She graduated from high school and has been working for several years, having worked as a merchandiser for three years.

She had only been there a few days. When she applied for the job, she thought it was a scam company, but when she saw that the company had all the necessary qualifications, she changed her mind.

The reason I left my previous company was simply because I was unhappy at work. My boss would make things difficult for me from time to time, so I just didn't want to work there anymore.

In addition, Jinpeng Trading offers a base salary of 2000 yuan during the probationary period, plus commission, making the benefits better than my previous company.

Most importantly, this company also promised to pay social security contributions. These days, there are very few private companies that are willing to pay social security contributions for their employees.

However, after officially joining the company, Li Yanning regretted it. There was nothing going on at the company, the boss was often not there, and she never even saw the other boss.

She had originally planned to resign, but a few days later, Boss Zhang gave her an order worth $10.75 and asked her to handle it. Later, he gave her another order for 1 pieces.

Orders approaching 100 million are nothing compared to the previous company, but something is better than nothing, at least the company won't go bankrupt in the short term.

Most importantly, the work here is quite easy. The boss is often not around, and no one cares what time you start work. As long as you can finish your work on time, that's all that matters.

After a few days, Li Yanning actually started to like this situation. She just hoped that Jinpeng Trading wouldn't go bankrupt too quickly, so that she could work there for a little longer.

(End of this chapter)