2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 36 First Shipment

Saturday, October 11.

The container slowly drove away, heading towards the dock, and Tan Jincheng couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Just like leveling up by defeating monsters in a game, I'm one step closer to leaving the beginner village.

After nearly a month of effort, both orders were successfully shipped two days ahead of schedule, and the payment will arrive before the end of the workday on November 26th. Both orders were processed in the same manner.

As the container ship drove further and further away, Tan Jincheng turned around and said, "Come on, it's my treat today. Let's go out for a good meal to celebrate!"

All four items arrived on the first shipment, which is quite a milestone.

"Wow, thank you, boss! I want meat!" Li Jinglan said happily.

"Vulgar! Why eat meat? When you're making money, of course you should eat seafood!" Tan Jincheng laughed and scolded.

"I don't like seafood. I just want to eat meat. I'm so tired lately," Li Jinglan complained.

"Okay, okay, you can have whatever you want to eat. There's plenty for today. Let's go."

The tiredness Li Jinglan mentioned was because recently, in order to rush the delivery, the three of them, including Zhang Xupeng, had worked a lot of time packing with temporary workers, and their workload was much heavier than that of the temporary workers.

Tan Jincheng himself had other things to deal with, so he participated much less often.

Having worked together for almost a month, Tan Jincheng had gained a certain understanding of the sisters' personalities. The older sister, Li Yanning, had been in the workforce for several years and was much more mature in character.

While her work ability wasn't particularly strong, she was extremely meticulous, able to fill in details that Tan Jincheng might miss.

My younger sister has only been in the workforce for a short time, and still retains some of the innocence and naivety of a student.

As for her personal work ability, I wouldn't say she has none, but she's practically a blank slate. However, she has the advantage of learning quickly. As long as you tell her how to do something and what the specific steps are, she can get started very quickly.

Most importantly, they are obedient and easy to fool; with a monthly allowance of a thousand yuan, they can make grand promises at will, something that Tan Jincheng in later generations would never even dare to dream of.

The four of them returned to the city and chose a relatively upscale restaurant, as this season is the perfect time to eat ribbonfish.

As the most purchased seafood by Ningbo residents, the allure of East China Sea ribbonfish is undeniable. Ribbonfish from the East China Sea are at their fattest and most delicious at this time of year, with thick, oily flesh and an exceptionally good flavor.

In addition, other seafood varieties such as small yellow croaker are also quite good. It's a real pity that the two sisters don't like them.

Thus, the table was clearly divided: the two sisters focused on meat dishes, while Tan Jincheng and Zhang Xupeng focused on devouring seafood.

At the dinner table, the four chatted and laughed, without any sense of distance between employees and bosses. Everyone was happy that the shipment had been successfully delivered.

When Tan Jincheng proposed that, in addition to their regular wages, each of the two sisters would receive an extra 500 yuan bonus, the atmosphere at the dinner table became even more lively.

"Thank you, boss. You're such a good person. You're sure to make a fortune," Li Jinglan said happily.

"Thank you, boss. I wish you both great success in your businesses," Li Yanning said with a light laugh, raising her glass to offer a toast to Tan Jincheng and Zhang Xupeng.

Compared to her cousin, Li Yanning's income this month is quite good. She has already calculated that with her base salary and commission, she can earn more than 5000 yuan this month. In addition to the 500 yuan promised by her boss, her monthly income will be 6000 yuan.

With only one order follow-up clerk, there's no competition, and all commission goes to the employee—such a work environment is truly rare. Moreover, there's no need to worry about future income, as Boss Tan has already arranged the orders for December and January.

For the next two months, the company will have one order shipped each month, so there is no need to worry about income at all.

Li Yanning had already calculated that, including this month, there would be three months before the Chinese New Year, and her net income for those three months would be at least 1.5 yuan, enough for a prosperous New Year.

Although the company is not large, the competition is low and the income is not low. Li Yanning is very satisfied with her current work situation.

Unfortunately, I've told my cousin many times to learn how to copy orders, but she just won't listen.

A few hundred dollars isn't a lot, but for the two sisters who haven't been working long, it's enough to keep them happy for a while.

"Xiao Li, there's something else that makes me happy. Would you like to hear it?" Tan Jincheng said to Li Jinglan with a smile.

"Huh? There's something else to be happy about? What could be happier than getting money?" Li Jinglan was a little surprised when she heard this. She was just about to toast the two bosses like her sister did.

“You tell us, Lao Zhang,” Tan Jincheng said, glancing at Zhang Xupeng.

"Damn it, I told you not to call me Old Zhang. Am I that old? This sounds awful," Zhang Xupeng said, still busy eating.

"Mr. Zhang, what's the matter?" Li Jinglan didn't care whether he was willing or not, and quickly asked.

"Well, I've discussed it with Xiaotan. We'll be handing over the management of the Taobao store to you from now on, including customer service and handling shipping and receiving."

"Huh? What's so great about this? Besides, haven't I always been the one doing these things?"

"What's the rush? Let me finish. Starting next month, you'll still be doing the work, but for every piece of clothing you sell, you can take 1 yuan out of it."

"Huh? One yuan? That's not much money. We've only sold about 100 pieces this month." Li Jinglan said disappointedly. Compared to the 500 yuan she just received, the difference was quite significant.

However, even 100 yuan is still money, and it's better than nothing, so he smiled and said, "Thank you both, 100 yuan is fine too."

Tan Jincheng took in Li Jinglan's expression, but he didn't point it out to her.

Alipay will be launched next month, which will definitely greatly improve the convenience of online shopping. Even without much management and without any knowledge of it, I was still able to sell more than 100 items this month, and my sales will only continue to rise in the future.

Don't think that selling 100-plus items is a small number. This is a one-star store that has been registered for less than a month, with no traffic support, and it's an era when online shopping is not accepted by most people.

Selling over 100 items in less than a month is already quite impressive.

Indeed, the allure of free shipping within the Yangtze River Delta region remains strong; data shows that most buyers are drawn to this offer.

The commission of 1 yuan per item was simply to increase Li Jinglan's work enthusiasm. When she found that she was selling more and more clothes and her commission was also increasing, she would naturally devote her energy to studying Taobao stores and increasing the store's sales.

"You can go back now. You don't need to work this afternoon. You're on holiday."

After leaving the restaurant, Tan Jincheng told the two sisters that he had something to discuss with Zhang Xupeng in the afternoon, and that the first batch of goods had been shipped out, so everyone could relax a bit.

(End of this chapter)