Reborn in 1999: Starting as a black marketeer

After drinking a cup of hot tea, Wang Feiyang felt much warmer. He then recounted what he had seen in the Sun District and concluded with a wry smile, "It seems I'm not doing a very good job as a small-time trader. My first attempt has been unsuccessful. I can't sell this batch of goods at the main market. I need to think of another way."

Liu Jianjun laughed and said, "Come on, I know someone over there. I'll take you there to get more details. Although competitors are often rivals, he should be happy to see someone like you in the same industry."

After saying that, Liu Jianjun got up and took Wang Feiyang to the New Sun District again. They found a shop selling jeans, briefly explained Wang Feiyang's situation, and said with a smile, "Old Wang, you've been in the jeans business for so many years, you know the business inside and out. You should help this young man out. This is his first time being a middleman. You two are even from the same clan."

The boss, surnamed Wang, was a little older than Liu Jianjun, almost forty, chubby, and his eyes almost disappeared when he smiled.

After listening to what Liu Jianjun had to say, he didn't rush to speak. Instead, he took out a cigarette and offered one to each of Liu Jianjun and Wang Feiyang. The three of them lit up and started smoking.

After taking two puffs, Boss Wang sighed and said:

"Hearing about Xiao Wang's situation reminds me of when I first came to Moscow a few years ago, and I had the exact same thoughts as Xiao Wang!"

Thinking that other stores are selling low-quality, cheap goods, I'll bring in some high-quality goods to differentiate myself from the competition, and my business will immediately boom!

As a result, the goods were delivered, and to be honest, many customers came and praised the quality, but not many people bought them!

Later I became more honest and could only sell that batch of goods at a low price. Fortunately, I didn't lose much, but I didn't make any money either, and I wasted several months of time.

Xiao Wang, if you ask me honestly, since this batch of goods is destined not to make a lot of money, then don't waste your time and energy on it. Quickly get rid of it and contact the domestic authorities to reship it!

Of course, don't make the next batch of goods with such high costs; you need to adapt to the situation here.

His words came from the bottom of his heart, without any pretense. Liu Jianjun was at a loss after hearing this, so he turned to Wang Feiyang and tentatively asked, "How about... I help you share a stall with someone at New Sun, so you can get rid of your goods as soon as possible? By the way, how much of your batch of goods do you have?"

"Ten thousand," Wang Feiyang said with a wry smile.

"Tsk tsk, that's not a small amount. It'll take about two months to sell it all. The rent, management fees, and taxes alone will cost five or six thousand US dollars. Old Wang, do you have any better ideas?" Liu Jianjun looked at Boss Wang again.

The shop owner frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "How about this, Xiao Wang, you calculate your costs, add in the transportation and customs clearance fees, and then give me all the goods at cost price. I have a shop here that also sells jeans, so just consider it as adding a couple more styles. We can sell them slowly and still make a little profit."

Actually, this was already a huge help, allowing Wang Feiyang to sell the goods quickly without losing money, and then use the money to do whatever he wanted.

Of course, Boss Wang won't lose money either. This batch of goods isn't much for him. Just like he said, he can make a little profit by hanging it here and selling it slowly.

If Wang Feiyang hadn't already had a Plan B, he definitely would have agreed.

Looking at Liu Jianjun and Boss Wang, he knew they were genuinely trying to help him, and said gratefully, "Brother Liu and Brother Wang, thank you both. But I have another idea, and I'm going to give it a try."

"Other ideas? Xiao Wang, you're not planning to open your own retail store, are you? Let me tell you, that's even more troublesome, and how long would it take to sell 10,000 pairs of jeans at retail?" Boss Wang asked in surprise.

Wang Feiyang shook his head. "No, I'm planning to start a company and give it a try."

Liu Jianjun and Boss Wang immediately understood Wang Feiyang's meaning. Since the vicious competition in the big market had driven prices down too low, and the customers here were all looking for low-priced goods, they should open a company, package the products, and find high-quality customers. The prices would then naturally be able to be raised.

The idea itself is good, but this is in Moscow, not in China. Will it really work...?

So, Boss Wang just shook his head and didn't say anything more. He wasn't familiar with Wang Feiyang and didn't want to dampen his enthusiasm.

Liu Jianjun frowned and said, "Starting a company is simple enough; I thought about it last year and even inquired about it. But once your company is up and running, you'll need to hire employees, have office space, and deal with government departments. Can you handle that? Besides, even if you can handle all of that, will people still come to buy your overpriced goods?"

Wang Feiyang smiled and said lightly, "Give it a try. If it doesn't work, consider it tuition."

Liu Jianjun originally wanted to try to dissuade him, but then he thought that Wang Feiyang had just started university and it was his first time going abroad. His family was willing to give him hundreds of thousands of yuan to do business and practice. Even if he lost money, he probably wouldn't care. So he decided to give it a try and stopped trying to persuade him.

After saying goodbye to Boss Wang, Wang Feiyang was about to leave when Liu Jianjun stopped him, saying that since he had come all the way to the market, it was absolutely necessary to have a meal together.

So the two of them stayed at Liu Jianjun's stall and chatted for a while. Around 11 o'clock, the market was no longer so lively, and fewer and fewer customers were coming in. Liu Jianjun got up and made some arrangements, telling the translator and sales assistant to keep watch and call him if anything happened.

Then he said to Wang Feiyang, "Let's go, I'll take you to eat."

"Are we going to the Chinese restaurant next door?" Wang Feiyang stood up and asked curiously.

While he was wandering around, he noticed that there were quite a few Chinese restaurants near the parking lot in the ACT Market.

"No, there are only fast food restaurants around here, not much to eat. I'll drive you somewhere else," Liu Jianjun said with a smile.

The two arrived at the parking lot. Liu Jianjun took out his car key and pressed it. With a "beep beep" sound, the headlights of a champagne-colored BMW lit up. He then beckoned Wang Feiyang to get in the car.

"Wow, Brother Liu, you're driving a BMW now." Wang Feiyang looked the car over and saw that it was a BMW 5 Series, but the exterior was filthy. In Moscow's weather, cars can't stay clean.

"Hehe, this is a used car I bought for a little over 40,000 US dollars, which is quite cheap," Liu Jianjun explained casually as he started the car.

There are quite a few people buying used cars in Russia, especially German and Japanese used cars, which are the most popular. The local car industry is very weak. The best-selling local model is a Lada that hasn't been updated in a long time. A new car only costs a little over 10,000 US dollars, and there are still quite a few cars on the road.

However, the mid-to-high-end car market is entirely dominated by Japanese and German brands, especially Mercedes-Benz and BMW, which are very popular among wealthy Russians.