Hong Kong Tycoon: Starting from Delivering Dongfeng Express

Chapter 106 Ruan Mei: Brother Sheng, someone's stealing our business!
Portland Street, Dongfeng Express.

Li Mingzhuo walked out of the store, touched the wallet in his pocket, and thought, "200 yuan!"

He came from a clothing industry background and worked in a large company for more than ten years. A couple of years ago, he saw that the mainland was carrying out reform and opening up, and that labor and costs were so cheap. Several people he knew had made money from their investments. So he gritted his teeth, took out his savings of 30 yuan, and opened a clothing factory in Jinghai.

He made the right bet, and his net worth reached 1.5 million in less than two years!
However, he still maintains the meticulousness he had when he first started his business.

This was his third time using Dongfeng Express. Everything about it was great—convenient and hassle-free—but the price still stung a bit. If he hadn't been in a hurry to send a sample, he would definitely have opted for the 100-yuan three-day delivery.

He sighed inwardly, wishing the price could come down someday!

Li Mingzhuo shook his head, deciding not to think about it anymore. He walked towards the minibus station not far away.

It's just sending a package, not doing business. He's reluctant to drive his car. Don't you think gas and parking fees are free?

As soon as he stopped at the minibus station, a man approached him. He instinctively dodged to the side and looked warily at the thin man.

The latter, with a fawning smile, handed over a flyer: "Sir, send a package to the mainland, delivered in one day, only 100 yuan!"

Li Mingzhuo raised an eyebrow and immediately took the flyer, which read:

Hong Kong Island - Jinghai

One-day delivery: 100 yuan!
Three-day delivery: 50 yuan!

He looked again at the top of the flyer: "Hutchison Express!"

Not far away, Jimmy stood on the side of the street, watching the situation of several young men handing out flyers.

He wasn't as wealthy and powerful as Ye Dongsheng, who booked prominent spots in three major newspapers to advertise his shop.

He and Longgen pooled together 30 yuan. The Hong Kong Island shop was located on Shanghai Street, while the Jinghai shop was in a relatively remote location. They bought several used cars, and with the addition of renovations and other miscellaneous expenses, the whole set had already cost 20 yuan.

He needs to keep some money for emergencies, so he can only spare 5 yuan for publicity.

He even inquired about newspapers, but advertising space in major newspapers was charged by the month, and he couldn't afford the good advertising space. The less desirable spots weren't effective, and tabloids were out of the question.

After thinking it over, Jimmy decided to forgo newspaper ads and instead distribute flyers.

Distributing flyers is usually a broad, indiscriminate approach, without a specific target. But he's different. He has ready-made customers right there in front of him!
These customers of Dongfeng Express are the best audience; he just needs to focus on sending packages to those customers who use Dongfeng Express!
Especially for customers who take minibuses and subways, these people are generally price-sensitive and will definitely be interested in his low-price delivery offer!

Even if he starts out performing worse than Dongfeng Express, for this group of people, the lower price is the biggest advantage!

Jimmy's strategy is to use low prices to first win over some of the customers of small and medium-sized enterprises, which is enough for him to make a living!
……

"Fly, are all these boxes packed? Make sure you don't mix up the ones in Luohu and Shekou!"

"Don't worry, boss, everything's taken care of. We're just waiting for the time to leave! You can go and take care of your other things!"

Ahua nodded. Although Wuying had been working for a few days, he still frequently gave him various instructions, fearing that he might make a mistake.

Now that Ye Dongsheng is gone, he's in complete control of the store. Luckily, he worked with Ye Dongsheng to build Dongfeng Express from scratch, so he's good at handling everything.

As Ahua walked out of the back warehouse, he saw Chen Yongren standing in the aisle, smiling and saying:
"Ren, so fast? Have you already delivered the last batch of packages?"

Chen Yongren smiled and said, "They're all in the same area, so delivery will be faster."

Ahua patted Chen Yongren on the shoulder and said, "Wow, you're something else! Looks like you're going to be the top spender this month!"

Last month, Li Xiaojun was the top-selling courier at Dongfeng Express's Hong Kong Island branch, winning by a narrow margin of 6 orders over Chen Yongren and earning a bonus of HK$800.

Ahua believes the gap is small and he can catch up with a little effort.

Chen Yongren scratched his head: "Brother Hua, actually I have something to ask you."

Ahua glanced at Chen Yongren and pulled him aside: "Yongren, what's wrong?"

"Brother Hua, I'd like to work as a deliveryman, is that possible?"

Ahua looked slightly surprised:

"Ah Ren, you earned over 4 yuan last month, which is more than the deliveryman makes!"

Chen Yongren made a troubled expression: "Brother Hua, deliverymen earn a lot, but it's also hard work. Now, all I want to do when I get home is collapse into bed, and my girlfriend is complaining about it!"
If this keeps up, I'm afraid my girlfriend will run off with someone else!

Chen Yongren's words were obviously not true; he and his girlfriend were currently inseparable, so what problem could there be? However, he had to say this for the sake of the mission.

He then added, "And if I have the chance, I'd also like to go and see the mainland."

Delivery drivers do earn more for more work, with a higher potential payout, but it's also a tough job.

In contrast, deliverymen have it much easier. They can earn 100 yuan a day by sitting in their cars delivering goods across borders, making 3000 yuan a month.

Ahua sighed. He had witnessed Chen Yongren's performance over the past month; he was a very good young man, down-to-earth and hardworking, and did an excellent job as a courier. The fact that he wanted to be transferred was a bit of a pity.

However, since Chen Yongren had already made the request, Ahua didn't want to refuse.
"There's a good opportunity right now. Brother Sheng is currently expanding into new markets, and he'll definitely need more delivery drivers! If you're really interested, I'll save you a spot."

Chen Yongren immediately beamed with joy: "Thank you, Brother Hua!"

"Alright, now let's focus on delivering the package!"

After giving a few words of advice with a smile, Ahua walked towards the front of the shop.

The store was still bustling with people, and Ahua wandered around the store, occasionally offering a reminder or helping out.

Suddenly, Li Mingzhuo, who had just left, re-entered the store and walked towards Ahua, shouting, "Hey, Manager Liu, shouldn't Dongfeng Express lower its prices?"

Ahua frowned inwardly, but maintained a smile on his face: "Sir, you've probably experienced the service of Dongfeng Express before; we're honest and trustworthy!"

Other customers nearby chimed in, "Yes, it's already pretty good that they can deliver to Jinghai in one day! It's so much more convenient than before!"

Li Mingzhuo said, "It's good, but the price is high! Besides, other companies' one-day delivery has dropped to 100 yuan now!"

As soon as he said this, some of the onlookers asked:
"What? 100 yuan a day? Really? Where can I find that?"

As he spoke, Li Mingzhuo waved the flyer in his hand:
"Why would I lie to you? Look for yourselves! I just got this flyer!"

Many people gathered around him, craning their necks to watch.

Before they could even get a good look at it, a large hand snatched the flyer away. Seeing the words "100 dollars a day" printed on it, their expressions turned ugly.

Li Mingzhuo immediately asked Ahua, "Manager, what do you think? Was I right? If you don't lower the price soon, I'm going to run away with Heji Express!"

Immediately, the customers in the shop buzzed with conversation, quickly spreading the news that the shop could charge 100 yuan a day. Several customers joined in the commotion, saying, "Manager, they only want 100 yuan, it's not fair for you to charge 200 yuan on top of that! Our money doesn't grow on trees!"

"Yes, manager, I think Dongfeng Express should lower its prices!"

The other customers in the store were also watching Ahua. In any case, if the price could be lowered, it would be a good thing for them.

Faced with a group of noisy customers, Ahua, who was surrounded in the middle, was a little flustered and didn't know how to respond.

He could handle other problems, since he could learn from others' examples and think about how Ye Dongsheng handled things when he was around. But he had never encountered a problem like this before!

Besides, how could he possibly decide on something as significant as a price reduction?

"Everyone, please be quiet."

Just then, a gentle female voice rang out, calming the restlessness that had risen in the shop. It was Ruan Mei!

Many customers had a good impression of Ruan Mei, a beautiful and helpful shop assistant, so they stopped arguing when she came over.

Ruan Mei walked up to Ahua and said to everyone:
"Please trust Dongfeng Express. We have the most professional team, and we will definitely do our best in terms of safety and timeliness!"

Ahua then composed himself and said to Ruan Mei, "That's right, our Dongfeng Express motto is 'Mission Accomplished!' We absolutely guarantee the safety of all items, and our efficiency is the highest!"

Many customers nodded in agreement, but one still asked, "Ms. Ruan, will you lower your prices?"

Ruan Mei took the flyer from Ahua and said, "Everyone, we need to investigate the authenticity of this flyer first. As for your opinions on the price, we will relay them to the boss. Please be patient and wait a few days!"

"Okay, Ms. Ruan, then you must relay our feedback to the boss!"

A moment later, order was restored in the store. Even those who were very tempted by the 100-dollar one-day delivery option still had to send their packages through Dongfeng Express because Heji Express would not open for another three days.

Beside him, Ahua also gave Ruan Mei a thumbs up: "Amei, thank goodness you were here just now!"

Ruan Mei gently shook her head: "No one could have predicted such an accident. But Brother Hua, we've only managed to stall for time. We still need to tell Brother Sheng about this as soon as possible!"

Ahua nodded, then said with a wry smile, "I hope Brother Sheng is in Jinghai, otherwise it will be difficult to find him!"

Although Ye Dongsheng had a mobile phone, it only worked in Hong Kong Island; the operators didn't cover the mainland.

……

Dongguan, a guesthouse. It's still Li Lei and Han Mei from before.

"What?! Mr. Ye, you've been robbed by highway robbers?!"

"Yes, they also had guns. We had no choice but to fight them and escape in a sorry state!"

Li Lei's expression changed drastically, and he slammed his hand on the table:
"This is outrageous! Which town are they from? I'll contact the police right now to arrest them!"

He was genuinely angry. The Dongguan government had put in a lot of effort and thought to attract investment, but someone was sabotaging them. If word got out, it would make a lot of their previous work seem pointless!
Ye Dongsheng shook his head and said:

"Comrade Li, please have a seat. We weren't robbed in Dongguan, we were robbed by highwaymen in Huicheng!"

"Ah? Huicheng!" Li Lei suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, and even felt a little smug.

As a neighboring city, Guancheng is in direct competition with Huicheng in attracting investment. The worse Huicheng performs, the more advantageous Guancheng becomes in comparison, and the more foreign investment it can attract in the future.

Ye Dongsheng looked terrified: "Comrade Li, I never expected there to be such fierce robbers on the mainland."

Han Mei immediately reassured Ye Dongsheng, "I'm so sorry, Mr. Ye, you were frightened! We will definitely issue a condemnation to the Huicheng region! What you encountered was just a special situation; the mainland is still very safe!!"

Li Lei patted his chest and assured him, "Mr. Ye, don't worry. I can't speak for other places, but this kind of thing will absolutely not happen in Dongguan!"
I'll contact the police right now to help you with this!"

Li Lei was truly decisive and efficient; before long, several police officers came to visit him.

"Did all three of you fire your guns? Did you all have gun licenses?"

Old Zhao and Old Hu both nodded, having done it before, while Zhang Tiezhu said, "I just came down from the army, and haven't had time to do it yet!"

Ye Dongsheng also helped explain, "Officer, he's the bodyguard I hired for this trip. His gun license will be issued later."

The police officer nodded but didn't say anything. Although gun control regulations were enacted in 81, enforcement was not strict, and their question was just a routine matter.

After recording the relevant information, the police officers stood up and said, "Okay, we have a clear understanding of the situation. We will notify you if there are any further developments!"

Li Lei emphasized to the police officers, "Officers, these robbers have ruined our investment promotion plan. They are utterly lawless. We must bring them to justice and give Mr. Ye an explanation!"

The lead officer immediately became serious and said, "We'll go back and contact our colleagues in Huicheng to work together to arrest these robbers as soon as possible!"

Ye Dongsheng smiled and said, "Then thank you very much, officers!"

After the police officers left, Ye Dongsheng thanked Li Lei and Han Mei again: "Thank you both so much for taking care of everything. I really don't know what I would have done without you!"

The two laughed:

"Don't mention it, it's what we should do! It's our responsibility to provide a safe, reliable, and comfortable investment environment for Hong Kong businessmen like Mr. Ye!"

Ye Dongsheng praised, "Our Guancheng is truly exceptional! So thoughtful! I will definitely recommend Guancheng to everyone I know when I get back!"

He meant it sincerely. Although Guancheng is not as good as Jinghai in terms of resources and policies, its service and attitude are truly impeccable!
Li Lei and Han Mei were both overjoyed: "Thank you so much, Mr. Ye!"

……

The Dongfeng Express store in Guancheng is not yet fully renovated, but the telephone line has already been installed.

Telecom staff proudly introduced to Ye Dongsheng, "Last year, our Dongguan Telecom introduced overseas automatic exchange systems and program-controlled telephones, making us the first county-level city in the country to launch a fully automatic dial-up telephone service directly to Hong Kong Island!"

Ye Dongsheng smiled and nodded. This was one of the reasons why he was willing to settle in Dongguan. It was very important that he could communicate directly with Hong Kong Island from the store without having to go to the post office to queue up to make a phone call!
After the line was connected, Ye Dongsheng couldn't wait to make a call to Hong Kong Island to test it out.

"Hello, this is Dongfeng Express~"

Hearing Ruan Mei's warm and sweet voice, Ye Dongsheng smiled and said, "Amei, it's me. How's the shop these past few days?"

Ruan Mei exclaimed with delight, "Brother Sheng?! I've finally gotten in touch with you!"

Then she said:

"Something terrible has happened! Come back quickly, someone is trying to steal our business!"

(End of this chapter)