2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 510 Brand Name Before Construction Begins
February 11th, the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.

Wang Xincheng exhaled a breath and opened the roller shutter door of the SF Express station on Taishan Road. Today, he received a notice from the company that SF Express in Ningbo had officially opened for business.

Although the weather is still cold, the city of Ningbo, which has had three consecutive sunny days, has basically restored social order.

The courier industry is also a service industry, and as service industry workers, they are usually the first to start work after the Spring Festival every year. The special Spring Festival of 2008 was the longest break Wang Xincheng had ever had since he became a courier.

"Good morning, Brother Wang! Happy New Year!"

With a cigarette dangling from his lips, Xiao Hu greeted Wang Xincheng with a grin, offering him a cigarette as he went to visit a relative who was also stranded in Beilun for the Spring Festival.

"You came all the way here today? Why don't you rest for a couple more days?"

"It's because no one else can come, and we're worried you won't be able to handle it all by yourself. Besides, the relatives' place isn't very fun either. How did you spend the New Year, Brother Wang?"

It wasn't very fun staying with my relatives. It was a bit restrictive, and the accommodations weren't convenient either. The place they rented wasn't spacious enough, and he had to share a bed with his cousin. There wasn't much to do there either.

"Nothing fun to do. I've been lying at home for days, surfing the internet, and occasionally going out for a walk, but there's nowhere to go." Wang Xincheng took the cigarette and pointed outside the door.

Smoking indoors is somewhat dangerous, but Wang Xincheng, as the person in charge, is quite safety-conscious.

Xiao Hu also realized what was going on. The two of them stood outside the door smoking and chatting casually: "Our company seems to be one of the earliest courier companies to open, besides the post office, right? I saw that other companies didn't open until the eighth day of the new year."

"I don't know either. Anyway, the company says it will open, so it will open. We don't have much to do, so it's good to earn more money. Orange Products Fair is also starting today, so I guess we'll have some packages to deliver."

As the heavy snow intensified, almost all e-commerce websites were rendered inoperable. With the improvement of weather and transportation, courier companies gradually resumed operations, and the pent-up demand for express delivery, which had been suppressed for two weeks, was expected to be released during the period when people returned to work.

With orders backlogged before the Spring Festival and the anticipated surge in online shopping, SF Express, being well-prepared, reacted much faster than other courier companies. Based on local weather and traffic conditions, they began notifying employees to return to work gradually starting from the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.

Those who couldn't return were rehired. Beicang in Ningbo was one of the first areas to start work, and Yiwu, Gu Qingqing's hometown, has also started work in order to process the orders left over from Orange Products Fair in advance.

Wang Wei was quite grateful to Tan Jincheng. Although he hadn't expected the snow disaster to be so severe, thanks to Tan Jincheng's reminder and the abnormality he saw at Shenzhen Dexian Electronics, SF Express made some preparations.

For large companies, even a slight lead can have a significant impact.

Thanks to these small preparations, SF Express has gained a great deal of positive word-of-mouth during this snowstorm, whether in warehousing, logistics, or service.

SF Express, whose shipping costs far exceed those of its competitors, values ​​its reputation highly. While companies like STO Express, YTO Express, ZTO Express, and Yunda Express can frequently argue with consumers over issues related to cargo transportation, SF Express cannot.

Industries severely affected by the snowstorm, such as SF Express, began to resume work and production after the snow stopped. However, Flash Group and Orange Technology were like usual. For the employees of Flash Group, this Spring Festival did not feel like the Spring Festival.

During Lunar New Year's Eve and the Spring Festival, employees who need to rest can take turns to rest, and those who want to work overtime can also work overtime. As for middle and senior management, except for those who have family matters to attend to, they will be on standby during this Spring Festival.

None of the branch managers went back to their hometowns for the Spring Festival. Interestingly, the managers of Tianjin, Luzhou, and Shenzhen are all single, with Sun Yuming being the oldest.

Their family was naturally very happy that their son was successful and made a fortune by working for a good boss. Their only complaint was that he was too busy and they were a little anxious that he hadn't gotten married yet.

It's not just Sun Yuming and his group; there are plenty of eligible bachelors in Flash, and even the entry-level employees are very popular among their peers.

Factory workers and programmers, due to their limited social exposure and relatively simple minds, coupled with their considerable income, are quite popular in Beicang.

It's only because the social environment is still relatively good these days, otherwise these eligible bachelors would also be the first choice for women looking to hook up.

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Boss Tan was still entertaining guests. Due to the special circumstances before the New Year and the few days of the holiday, many of his social engagements could not be held. In addition, the bad weather made Boss Tan too lazy to move. However, now that the weather has cleared up, he still has to attend the social engagements he needs to attend.

Boss Tan's official work start time was after the eighth day of the Lunar New Year.

Before officially starting work, Flash Group had already begun preparing for the registration of the car trademark. Tan Jincheng was already hesitant about whether to continue using the current trademark, and Lao Tan's words did indeed remind him.

In an era dominated by joint venture brands, a newer car brand might actually be more appealing than the Flying Spur. The Flying Spur has left too deep an impression on consumers; who knows, it might actually be produced but no one would buy it.

Since the market is entirely new, it might be better to register several new trademarks. Currently, relevant personnel from the company are preparing to submit trademark applications for Xingchi, Fengchi, Yuechi, and Huachi.

The car brand continues to use the concept of "Chi," which aptly describes the feeling of driving on the road. "As long as it's not the result of Hengchi, it's fine."

In addition, there is another one, which is that it copied a brand name from a later generation: Weilai. To be honest, the name is not bad. It has a sense of technology and fantasy.

Right now, Mr. Li is still working on his car website. We're from the same hometown, so let's use it for now.

Although Mr. Li's reputation among netizens is so-so, he has a very good reputation in the industry. Flash Group also cooperates with these car websites, and the car websites also accept some electric vehicle review advertisements.

Mr. Tan chuckled to himself, thinking that even our incredibly successful "Belt Bro" couldn't make it in the automotive industry. But perhaps he never really intended to, since his main business was real estate, and automobiles were just a pretext.
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"What are you four doing all this time? Don't let it turn into another situation like before the Lunar New Year. Why don't you stay home for a couple more days?"

At Xu Xinglei's home, his mother was rambling on with some worry. Last year, her son had been on the road for seven days, and she was really terrified.

"It's alright. The snow here has mostly melted. My colleague said that it's been sunny in Ningbo for several days now. Everyone's been working really hard these past few days. I'm a team leader, so I can't afford to delay things too much."

Xu Xinglei explained that he was actually a little worried. After being a team leader for a year, Xu Xinglei was no longer the clueless young man he used to be. He had become more shrewd and experienced.

Xu Xinglei also knew that the room for advancement for grassroots employees was very limited. At most, a team leader or a group leader in charge of several production lines could only go so far. As for workshop director, there were indeed opportunities, but they were too few.

There's only one director in a workshop, and getting the position of deputy director is the highest position Xu Xinglei can imagine.

The most intense competition is actually for the team leader position, because anyone who has worked diligently in the company for a year or two has a chance. He has been in the team leader position for a year, and his diligent work is not enough to disqualify him.

But this year is an exception. Most team leaders are staying at Beicang to work, and very few are going home like him. His team is currently being managed by a former employee.

Xu Xinglei was genuinely worried that there wouldn't be any seats available when he returned.

Newlywed Xu Xinglei was still somewhat clueless about weddings. Apart from the evenings, he wasn't particularly interested in romance during the day. However, after getting married, he became more aware of money.

This wedding cost a lot of money, plus household expenses, and I also got a car and started showing off. I often drive around in it, which has cost a lot in gas.

Xu Xinglei had almost spent all the money he had saved over the past two years. His father wanted to repair the house, and he also wanted to buy a discounted house from the company. Xu Xinglei really didn't want to be squeezed out.

He got married on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, and on the fifth day he discussed with his family that he would set off for Ningbo the next day, which is the sixth day of the Lunar New Year.

Tan's PUA tactics worked on Xu Xinglei. After getting married, he only knew how to make money and how to rush to work. He became obedient.

Xu Xinglei got married, and Zhao Xinbin also went home for a blind date. His conditions were not much worse than Xu Xinglei's, and he easily succeeded in his blind date.

His blind date will also be going to work in Ningbo with him this time. Her goal is the same as Xu Xinglei's wife, Zhang Lijuan: to work in Jinpeng Industrial's garment factory.

“If we go too late, Lijuan might not be able to find a job. Mom, don’t think it’s easy to get into our company. There are countless people in Beicang who want to work for us.”

If we leave early on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, we can arrive at the company a day earlier. This will not only allow us to start work sooner, but also help us arrange for my wife to start working at the garment factory sooner.

“That’s right. It’s really hard to get into our company. Our salary is higher than other factories, the benefits are better, and the food is better too.” Zhao Xinbin, who was standing next to him, nodded in agreement.

Although he didn't become a team leader, he was still considered a senior employee with a benchmark salary and benefits, and he had saved up quite a bit of money over the past two years.

Unlike Xu Xinglei, Zhao Xinbin planned to get married later. He wanted to buy a company-provided apartment during his visit to the company. He heard about this from a relative who works in a government department during the Chinese New Year.

His relatives told him that no matter what, even if he didn't have enough money, he had to borrow money to make a down payment and buy the house, since houses in big cities are definitely better than self-built houses in the countryside.

His father trusted this relative quite a bit. Whenever there was something going on at home, the relative would help them if they could. It was just that he was a good-for-nothing. If he had any better grades, he could have started a small business back in his hometown with the help of his relatives.

"Alright then, if that's the case, then you can go ahead. It's just a bit unfair to Lijuan, though, that she has to go out to work without even returning home for her wedding."

"It's okay, we can make it up later." Zhang Lijuan was a little shy, mainly because she wasn't very familiar with her husband's family yet.

In Anhui province, coming-of-age ceremony is to choose a city in Jiangsu, Zhejiang or Shanghai to work. It is common for young couples to pack their bags and prepare to leave for work the day after their wedding. Xu Xinglei is just one of them.

(End of this chapter)