"When you get to the capital, remember to say hello to your uncle. The things I asked you to bring, be sure to take them to your uncle's house."
"And your sister, remember to go to Ren'ai Hospital to see Xiao Yu. Your mother bought her new clothes and new shoes, don't forget, I've packed them all for you."
At Shanghai Railway Station, Chen Liming saw off Chen Yang, who was about to head to the capital. Listening to his old father's earnest instructions, he couldn't help but laugh and cry. His usually stern father was now being so fussy. He was already a grown man, not a child who needed constant reminders.
Chen Yang's son's first birthday banquet, which he had been looking forward to, was not a grand affair. It was a small gathering with just family members and the parents of his brother-in-law, Li Zhengpeng. Then, he had to head north to the capital.
As the capital, Beijing was second to none in terms of politics and economy in China at the time. Before the reform and opening-up, even Shanghai was not much stronger than Beijing.
The capital had a considerable number of workers in state-owned factories, which was a major customer base for Zhenhua televisions. As the headquarters of Zhenhua Electrical Appliance Factory was located in Shanghai, Chen Yang had no worries about sales there.
Even the televisions produced by Shanghai's state-owned factories in the past were no match for Zhenhua televisions.
However, in Beijing, Zhenhua televisions had several strong competitors, such as the Kunlun brand televisions produced by the Dongfeng Factory, and the Peony brand televisions, among others. Even the Jin Xing brand televisions produced in Shanghai had a considerable sales volume in Beijing.
Although Chen Yang had Wenzhou businessmen helping him with sales, supply and marketing cooperatives were still the primary channels for selling televisions during this period. Coincidentally, Chen Yang's Dream Recycling Radio had not yet expanded its reach to Beijing.
As a result, Zhenhua televisions' sales in Beijing still needed a boost.
Therefore, to conquer the large market in Beijing sooner, Chen Yang had to personally travel to the capital to explore how deep the waters were.
"Clang, clang."
The train whistle blew and the train started moving. Chen Yang lay on the sleeper berth, watching the familiar Shanghai gradually disappear outside the window. Soon, vast stretches of farmland began to appear.
Even Shanghai at this time could hardly be considered a big city.
Outside of Shanghai, it was even more so. At night, one could basically only see scattered lights, let alone the brilliant urban lights visible from space in later generations.
"Boss, are you asleep?"
Having eaten two boxed lunches during the day, Chen Yang couldn't sleep at night. Those who could afford a sleeper berth back then were not ordinary people.
It was also fortunate that things had loosened up a bit. Otherwise, without a letter of introduction from their unit and connections with railway staff, it would have been very difficult for ordinary people to get a sleeper.
"What is it? Is something happening?"
Upon hearing Lei Baoguo's words, Chen Yang, who was already restless, immediately perked up. He had not forgotten what happened when he first met Lei Baoguo.
They had together subdued a group of robbers on the train. If Lei Baoguo hadn't intervened, he would have had to confront them alone.
"Boss, what are you thinking about? I just want to go pee, and I was afraid I might step on you when I got down."
Hearing Chen Yang's words, Lei Baoguo couldn't help but laugh. Although they had encountered robbers last time, such incidents were rare.
There might have been a lot of petty theft on the train, as pickpockets were common in any era, but robbery was not so common.
"Go ahead, go ahead."
"How boring!"
Hearing that Lei Baoguo was just going to urinate, Chen Yang immediately lost interest.
In his previous life, he always flew first class when he traveled, which was very quiet. Apart from the occasional coffee served by the flight attendants, there was no other sound.
The train rattled and bumped, making Chen Yang even more restless. After an unknown amount of time, he finally drifted off to sleep.
After more than twenty hours, Chen Yang finally arrived in Beijing around noon. His legs felt weak and shaky as he got off the train. Lei Baoguo, on the other hand, seemed unfazed, carrying the two large bags of gifts that Chen Liming had prepared for his uncle and little niece and walking with a brisk pace.
"That Wenzhou businessman is at the train station to pick you up, boss. Would you like to go to his shop first, or should we visit your uncle first?"
Some of the Wenzhou businessmen who had placed the first batch of orders from Zhenhua Electrical Appliance Factory had already opened television shops in Beijing and were selling Zhenhua televisions.
"Let's greet him first, and then we'll go to my uncle's place. It's not right to come to Beijing and not visit an elder first."
"Then I'll go see my little sister. Since they're all in the same area, it'll be convenient to drop off these two bags of luggage. Otherwise, we'd have to worry about them wherever we go, which would be troublesome."
Chen Yang and Lei Baoguo walked and observed. There were people everywhere, but even amidst the bustling crowd, the Wenzhou businessman waiting outside the station immediately spotted their benefactor.
"Factory Director Chen, Factory Director Chen, over here, over here."
Seeing the middle-aged man who had clearly tanned a few shades darker, Chen Yang understood. Money was not easily earned, and this man must have worked hard to open a shop in Beijing.
"Shen Wanfu, right? I remember you. You took ten televisions the first time, and eighty televisions at most later on."
"How are things now?"
Hearing Chen Yang recall his name so easily, Shen Wanfu was overjoyed. Such a big boss remembered a small fry like him.
This kindness even moved Shen Wanfu to the point of feeling that he would die for someone who truly appreciated him.
"Factory Director Chen, thanks to you, we wouldn't be living such good lives without you."
"I basically sell two to three units every day now, and on peak days, I sell ten televisions."
"Now, we're hoping to have enough manpower to get more stock from your television factory. Also, the television market in Beijing is huge, and we've only captured a small portion. We're far behind those appliance counters in the supply and marketing cooperatives."
"If we could display televisions in the most prosperous department stores like the supply and marketing cooperatives, our sales volume would increase severalfold."
The speaker spoke without thinking, but the listener took note.
At that time, televisions were still considered rare items. Even if Zhenhua didn't do much advertising, being able to produce televisions was a symbol of strength in itself.
However, the most important issue was scale!
If Chen Yang could display hundreds of appliances in a row like the appliance counters in supply and marketing cooperatives, the sense of awe would be more effective than any advertisement.
Perhaps, like the large home appliance markets in later generations, they could build a huge warehouse, fill it entirely with televisions, and then have a clearance sale. Sudan Novel Network.
Jiangnan's largest television factory, Zhenhua Television Factory, its boss Huang He, owes 350 million due to gambling and womanizing, and ran away with her younger sister. Huang He, you bastard, Huang He, you're not human... The television that was originally 500 yuan is now all 300 yuan.