Siheyuan: Grassroots Counterattack

Most of the people who came to inquire about the price at the beginning were people from Hong Kong Island. When they heard the price, they backed off. When the price of the washing machine was initially determined, Li Tianyi was consulted for his opinion. Based on the situation in later generations and today, Li Tianyi suggested that the price be set at US$300.

But later the country was afraid that the price was too high and they would not be able to sell it, so they slightly lowered the unit price, so the unit price was set at US$280. ​​If the order volume is large, the lowest price can be US$260.

I heard that the leaders of the Ministry of Finance were grinning from ear to ear. The factory cost of a washing machine is only more than 100 yuan, and the exchange rate at that time is about one US dollar to more than 4 yuan, so this profit of more than 10 times can be said to be a huge profit.

Although Li Tianyi felt that the price was still not high, he did not say anything. Of course, the patent registration had already been completed.

As time passed, more and more people came to Li Tianyi's booth. Originally, there were five sales staff in the booth, including Li Tianyi, and they could handle the work. However, as the number of people coming here gradually increased, there was no choice but to have the comrades from the Foreign Economic and Trade Commission quickly report the situation. Not long after, five more translators came.

Li Tianyi realized that this was not a solution, so he discussed with the booth manager whether he could gather together the customers who were interested in the washing machine and then specifically introduce this washing machine?

The person in charge knew Li Tianyi and knew that he was the developer of this washing machine, so he was the most appropriate person to introduce it. So, the person in charge had the washing machine carried to an empty place, while Li Tianyi greeted the customers who were interested in the washing machine.

So the scene was like this: Li Tianyi's booth was crowded with people, while the other booths were empty.

Even many booth owners came to Li Tianyi to listen to his introduction, and other staff at the booths began to serve tea and water, trying their best to entertain these customers.

In this way, a day passed quickly. There were not many customers who confirmed their orders on site today, but Li Tianyi was not in a hurry. The storm for this washing machine had just begun to move. He believed that in the next two days, orders would continue to come in.

Just as Li Tianyi expected, as soon as the museum opened the next day, foreign businessmen came to Li Tianyi to place orders, and the quantity was quite large, a total of 500 units. The unit price was also negotiated by Li Tianyi and was set at US$280.

Originally, Li Tianyi quoted a price of 300 US dollars, which scared the person in charge. However, the foreign businessman was here, and he could not criticize Li Tianyi at this time. However, the foreign businessman did not react strongly to this price. Although he felt that the price was a bit high, after Li Tianyi's persuasion, he finally gave the customer 20 US dollars and set the price at 280 US dollars. The customer seemed very happy.

The person in charge swallowed the criticism and reported the incident to his superior. The superior did not expect that their price was too low, so he asked the person in charge to change the price to US$300. If the order quantity was large, it could be reduced to US$280.

The next day was busy. Li Tianyi only gave a two-hour explanation in the morning, and spent the rest of the time negotiating orders with customers. The other translators were also busy, as they were able to entertain and receive customers, but when it came to negotiating details of the washing machine with customers, they only recognized Li Tianyi.

Because they know that Li Tianyi is the developer of this washing machine, he will definitely understand their requirements and details.

Li Tianyi did live up to their expectations. He would keep a record of every customer and write down their requirements, then give them to the customer to see. Only after the customer confirmed the quantity, unit price and details would Li Tianyi receive the next customer.

Although this will increase the waiting time for customers, they are happy to do so, which just shows that Li Tianyi is responsible.

After the exhibition ended, the person in charge gathered everyone together to count the day's gains. After some statistics, 127 tractors were sold, with an average price of US$4500 each; 5580 washing machines were ordered, with each costing US$285. Adding other miscellaneous items together, the total amount of orders for today was around US$220 million.

This is already a remarkable amount.

This was only the second day, and there were still two days to go. Thinking of this, the person in charge was filled with enthusiasm.

After receiving the report from the person in charge, the leaders of the Foreign Trade and Economic Commission asked people to draft a contract overnight to finalize the order as soon as possible. Li Tianyi and his colleagues did not have the right to sign the order. They had to wait until the Canton Fair was over and then the foreign or Hong Kong businessmen would go to the Foreign Trade and Economic Commission to sign the contract.

At the same time, the good news has also reached Beijing. The leaders of the Finance and Economics Committee contacted the Ministry of Industry overnight. The top leader was called to a meeting in the middle of the night. The minister explained the situation and requested that the relevant factories be notified the next morning, asking them to be prepared and to start production at full capacity as soon as the deposit was received.

As for Li Tianyi, as soon as the time came, people started coming to confirm the orders. Li Tianyi also gave his own suggestions. Due to the large order volume, the factory would arrange production tasks according to the time when the deposit arrives. If you want to get the goods as soon as possible, you can arrange to pay the deposit now. After the goods are produced, the customer can come to the factory to inspect the goods. If there is no problem with the inspection, the balance can be paid.

Although not all customers pay the deposit in advance, quite a number of them have arranged to pay. Don’t you think they are not afraid that Li Tianyi will cheat them?

You know what, they were really not afraid, because at that time, the orders at the Canton Fair were guaranteed by the state. Even if the company could not deliver the goods or refund the money in the end, the state would compensate the customer for their losses.

Soon, US dollars were deposited into the bank account, and the leaders of the Foreign Economic and Trade Commission also arranged for people to contact foreign businessmen to sign contracts.

Factories in Sijiu City and other places also started to move, and the washing machine workshop was also working hard to complete production.

Li Tianyi ignored these. In the next two days, they confirmed more than 800 million orders. Together with those on the second day, they confirmed a total of more than 1000 million US dollars in orders.

This washing machine has now become famous both at home and abroad. Domestic newspapers introduced this washing machine and its developer, Li Tianyi. However, Li Tianyi did not pay attention to these as he is busy with orders at the exhibition here.

He would organize these things and then send them to the State Foreign Trade and Economic Commission. The comrades from the Commission would draft a contract based on the information provided by Li Tianyi. After the foreign businessmen confirmed that there were no problems, both parties would sign it.

Four busy days passed. When the exhibition was being dismantled, Li Tianyi had nothing to do, so he began to wander around the exhibition.

If he sees something that interests him, he will go and ask about it. He usually does not take things from the exhibition back home. If the price is right, they will sell the items directly at the exhibition.