2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 340 A Different Kind of Homecoming Journey (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

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Wednesday, November 2006, 9.

The sixth day of the eighth lunar month.

Just like on September 27th two years ago, he set off from Beicang once again and returned to his hometown of Yicheng.

Tan Jincheng deliberately chose this day to go back, because two years ago, he and Zhang Xupeng had taken a minibus home from Beicang with their suitcases, which happened to coincide with the Mid-Autumn Festival.

However, this year's Mid-Autumn Festival will be on October 6th, after the National Day holiday is almost over.

"Auntie, please take these things back to my mom. I won't be able to go home for the Mid-Autumn Festival this year."

Before setting off in the morning, Zhang Xupeng was stuffing things into the trunk of the A6 while shouting to Zhang Suzhi.

There was nothing special, just some food and drinks, plus a few boxes of mooncakes prepared in advance. They were from a brand from Hong Kong, which is very popular among wealthy people in Ningbo these days.

"Oh, you silly child, even if you're busy, you can always take a day to come home for the Mid-Autumn Festival," Zhang Suzhi sighed.

"I really couldn't get away, otherwise I would definitely have gone back with you guys," Zhang Xupeng said helplessly.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a major holiday, and it coincides with the National Day holiday. Unless there are special circumstances, who wouldn't want to spend it with their family?

Zhang Xupeng was so busy with the acquisition and integration of factories and the renovation of GXG stores that he had no time to spare. Compared to Boss Tan, who was relatively free recently, Boss Zhang was extremely busy.

Before the end of this year, GXG plans to open its flagship stores in eight cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Guangzhou, and Wuhan. It is definitely too late to produce the first batch in-house, so it can only go through the OEM model.

Jinpeng doesn't plan to build too many clothing factories for GXG; it's unnecessary. Once the brand is established, they can just use OEM manufacturing. However, they must ensure good quality control.

Before 2007, we aimed to establish brand awareness nationwide and open flagship stores in several first- and second-tier cities. We also planned to open franchise stores to achieve brand coverage.

These days, starting a clothing brand isn't that difficult; you just need to come up with a name that's neither Chinese nor Western.

In an era when domestic products were generally inferior in quality to foreign brands, consumers often had a tendency to admire foreign products. This is understandable. If your product quality is indeed inferior to others, it's better to get the best quality product the first time, even if it's a bit more expensive, than to waste money several times.

Brands like Giordano, Jack & Jones, Playboy, and Baleno have capitalized on consumer psychology and achieved explosive popularity in a short period through marketing.

These companies are all purely domestic companies, but due to their unique brand names, information gaps, and misleading marketing, consumers mistakenly believe they are foreign brands.

However, with the improvement of the quality of domestic products and the change in consumers' awareness of domestic products, this kind of rural-urban fringe brand name has become the most fatal weakness of the enterprise's development and has been quickly abandoned by consumers.

If Zhang Xupeng's only goal was to make a quick buck and run away, Tan Jincheng would suggest that he do what these companies do, at the very least create a Vancl-like platform, which doesn't even exist yet.

Vancl was a real money-maker; it became incredibly popular quickly, and then it declined just as fast.

However, when it comes to building a business, one needs to have a long-term plan, but one cannot be detached from the current market environment. Purely foreign brands like GXG are relatively suitable for this.

Offering international brands and quality at prices generally acceptable to domestic consumers, and positioning itself in the mid-range apparel market, is currently the best choice for clothing brands looking to break through.

In addition, Tan Jincheng does not plan to open too many offline stores. In the future, it will mainly focus on online sales to reduce operating costs.

In summary, you can have a forward-looking vision, but not too far ahead, or you'll fail because of it. For example, if you start developing new energy electric vehicles now, you'll burn through all your money before you even get started.

"Don't listen to his nonsense. I brought Qingqing home, he just doesn't dare to go back." Tan Jincheng ruthlessly exposed Zhang Xupeng's lie.

Yes, they grew up together, their families are so close, and their careers are closely intertwined. One of them has even brought his girlfriend home, while the other is still single.

So what if she's under 22 and still young? Compared to others, she's still being pressured to get married, but at home she's not some high-ranking official like President Tan or President Zhang.

"Bullshit! I'm really busy, okay? Aunt Zhang, don't listen to his nonsense." Zhang Xupeng was getting a little impatient.

Zhang Suzhi shook her head with amusement. Whenever these two were together, they would always be attacking each other, and their words were always foul.

"Busy as I may be, I need to start looking for a girlfriend. You'll be 23 in just a few months."

"Did you hear that? You're 23."

"Okay, okay, I got it. I have something to do, so I'll go now. Be careful on your way."

There were no safety issues. Tan Jincheng brought two drivers and drove two cars back. Gu Qingqing and he himself could both drive, so they could take turns driving on the way.

The whole family sat in the GL8 driven by Lai Yiu-fai. Tan Kam-yuet was very attached to her brother and insisted on sitting next to him, no matter what they said.

Zhang Suzhi was so angry that she cursed Gu Qingqing for being heartless, but actually she wanted Gu Qingqing to sit in the same row as Tan Jincheng.

Gu Qingqing naturally wouldn't hold a grudge against a child, and said with a smile, "Auntie, let's sit in the back. Jincheng is very good at taking care of children, so you don't need to worry."

This is something that not only Gu Qingqing couldn't understand, but everyone close to Tan Jincheng couldn't understand either. They couldn't understand why he was so good at taking care of children, from small things like holding positions, formula and toys, to big things like children getting sick.

While setting up the child seat for Jin Yue, Tan Jincheng said to Gu Qingqing, "Do you know that two years ago today, Lao Zhang and I dragged our luggage home to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival? It's been exactly two years since I came ashore."

Two years ago? 2004?

"Yes, back in 2004, he and Pengya were both really tanned, but they looked much more fit and strong," Zhang Suzhi added with a sigh. Two years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Gu Qingqing turned to look at Tan Jincheng, imagining his dark skin. Although he had been busy with work these past two years, he had been eating well, dressing well, and traveling in a car. He had been living a life of luxury. Neither Tan Jincheng nor Zhang Xupeng looked like they did when they were exposed to the sun at sea.

Unable to imagine, Gu Qingqing asked Zhang Suzhi, "Doesn't that dark-skinned Jin Cheng look a bit like the Hong Kong star who played the Condor Heroes?"

Zhang Suzhi smiled and said, "Everyone says he looks like me, but I don't think so. To me, he only looks like my son."

"Back then, Lao Zhang and I were taken to a shady restaurant by a minibus. It was a fast food meal that cost 30 yuan a meal, and it was almost like pig swill. We had no choice but to eat it."

Tan Jincheng still remembers Zhang Xupeng's expression at the time. Although the two of them had a hard time on the ship, the food was really good. Zhang Xupeng exclaimed that he had never eaten anything so bad before!

"Why can't I just not eat?" Gu Qingqing asked curiously.

She had never seen a shady restaurant before, and even Zhang Suzhi was a little curious because she had never seen one either.

“Those small restaurants along the national highway specialize in serving passengers from passing minibuses. The drivers are taken there and won’t let them leave unless they eat.”

"Huh? There are places like this? Are they still there now?"

Tan Jincheng nodded: "Yes, my dad and Uncle Guolong probably encountered it when they first came here."

This is something almost every worker in this era will experience. A 30-yuan fast food meal can make a lot of money. By cooperating with multiple routes, it is easy to achieve a monthly turnover of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of yuan.

Located in a remote corner of a small town, in a house owned by the family, the business may seem insignificant, but it can actually be very profitable, and this is the source of initial capital for many future business people.

With children in the car, Lai Yiu-fai didn't dare drive too fast. They set off at eight in the morning, and including rest stops along the way, it wasn't until six in the evening that the family finally arrived home.

Tan Lihua took a day off today and prepared a large meal at home. Since there were some dishes she didn't know how to cook, she called Zhang Guolong and his wife over to help.

Unlike their meeting in Ningbo, Zhang Suzhi took Gu Qingqing's trip to Yicheng this time, which included celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, very seriously and had already informed Tan Lihua well in advance.

Although the two sets of parents haven't met yet, their arrival in Yicheng hometown means that the prospect of her becoming their daughter-in-law is practically secured.

Tan Lihua, still wearing an apron, greeted Gu Qingqing and the others with a smile at the door: "Come in quickly, you must be tired from the journey. Let me introduce you, these two are Zhang Xupeng's parents."

Gu Qingqing acted with grace and poise: "Hello Uncle Tan, hello Uncle Zhang, hello Aunt Liu."

"Good, good, good. I've heard that Xiao Tan found a beautiful wife. I'm so glad to finally meet her today," Liu Huiru replied in her broken Mandarin.

His eyes were full of envy, and he looked out at the other side. Zhang Guolong, who was standing next to him, smiled and nodded.

“Pengya isn’t back yet. He’s been too busy lately and couldn’t get away, so he asked us to bring you some gifts. It’s too late today, I’ll deliver them tomorrow,” Tan Jincheng said with a smile, holding his younger sister in his arms.

After a 10-hour car ride, Tan Jinyue had long lost the excitement she felt when she first boarded the bus. She was exhausted and had already fallen asleep.

Upon hearing this, Liu Huiru was somewhat disappointed. The entire Tan family had returned, but her own brat had not.

"No hurry, no hurry."

Tan Jincheng then introduced Li Yaohui and Liu Suman. Liu Huiru was even more surprised to learn that Liu Suman was actually Gu Qingqing's personal driver.

"Jincheng treats his girlfriend quite well, he even provides her with a driver, even though he doesn't have parents." A student who's also a driver, tsk tsk.

"Let's eat first. Qingqing, Xiaoli, and Xiaoliu must be hungry," Tan Lihua said, placing the last dish of fish on the table.

Tan Jincheng glanced at it; wow, 12 dishes, Old Tan is quite something.

This was done entirely in the style of a formal banquet; you could tell the order of the dishes just by looking at the fish that was served last.

In Yicheng, the last dish served at a banquet is fish, symbolizing abundance year after year. The arrival of the fish signifies the end of the meal.

"I'm just benefiting from your help," Tan Jincheng whispered in Gu Qingqing's ear.

I recommend a new book by one of the authors in the same group; you can check it out if you're interested!

Book Title: Rebirth and Financial Freedom Begin with the World Cup

Zhao Zixuan, who was reborn after posting an answer online that he wouldn't give a bride price and was bombarded with 100,000 comments by a fairy, has been reborn.

The white moonlight, the cinnabar mole, the little green tea... everyone looked up to him because of his youthful talent.

But he no longer believed in so-called science fiction romance.

Zhao Zixuan: Let's talk business, don't make it like we're dating.

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(End of this chapter)