"Brother Chang, Iāve been thinking, since the county has thrown this matter to the three of us, we have to do something, no matter whether we can pull it off or not. Who knows, we might just succeed. We donāt seek praise from the leaders, but at least we need to prove that we are not incapable, right?" Lu Weimin, while gauging the other personās thoughts, said calmly, "We will all find a way together. Just now, Xiao Su and I were worried because we know nothing about this industry, and we really donāt know what to do. Now that Brother Chang is here, itās great. With an expert like you, we have a backbone."
"Alright, Xiao Lu, donāt flatter me. Your Brother Chang is a disliked figure in the Commercial Bureau. If I were as popular as you say, wouldnāt I already be the director?" The man with the thin face laughed, though his words were still somewhat defiant, his tone was much softer, "Xiao Lu, I like what you said about not seeking other things, just proving that we can get things done. I do know a few people in Nantang County who deal with fruit sales, but it might be hard to open up the market for kiwis here in Nantang. Even in Liyang, itās unlikely to work. We can only see if thereās any possibility in Changzhou."
"Brother Chang, we need to act quickly, the sooner the better," Lu Weimin agreed, "We have already estimated the production from the various towns in the county, and the main focus should be on opening up sales channels."
"Xiao Lu, itās not that simple. Even if we can find some sales channels in Changzhou, do you plan to have the farmers rent trucks to transport the kiwis to Changzhou themselves, or organize them for unified sales? Do you plan to sell them directly, or do you need to sort and package them?" The man with the thin face glanced at Lu Weimin and Su Yanqing with a half-smile, "Selling individually will result in losses in both transportation and price, and the sales channels will be limited. If you need to package them, thereās a lot of follow-up work to be done."
Lu Weimin and Su Yanqing were both pleasantly surprised. They didnāt expect Brother Chang to have such expertise. Although Lu Weimin had thought of many issues, he had never truly dealt with the specifics. With an experienced hand like Brother Chang, they could avoid many detours and save a lot of time and effort.
"Brother Chang, we are not familiar with these things, so we need an experienced hand like you to lead us. Xiao Su and I will be happy to assist you," Lu Weimin rubbed his hands and pulled over a rattan chair, sitting beside the man with the thin face, "Brother Chang, what else needs to be done immediately?"
"Hehe, Xiao Lu, you sure know how to talk." The man with the thin face clearly had a good impression of Lu Weimin. He knew that people from the county party committee office usually had some connections, and to be so respectful and courteous to him was unexpected.
He had initially put on this act to make the other party reject him and send him back to the bureau to be replaced. But the other party had always been respectful and courteous, and some of his words had struck a chord with him, making it hard for him to back down.
"Brother Chang, the three of us are in the same boat now, whether we like it or not. Xiao Su and I have no experience, so we rely on you, Brother Chang." Lu Weimin gauged the other personās thoughts, knowing that if he showed no capability, he might be looked down upon, "Xiao Su and I have discussed it. As you said, the market acceptance in Nantang and Liyang is likely to be small. We can only look to Changzhou. Since both Xiao Su and I are from Changzhou, we plan to go back and find some connections."
"Oh?" The man with the thin faceās expression changed slightly, and he nodded, "What do you plan to do?"
After Lu Weimin explained his ideas, Chang Chunlai realized that he had underestimated the pair. Before being sent to this place by the bureau, he had already understood the situation and thought that this matter might turn him into a scapegoat, so he had decided to find a way out. But now, hearing the pairās plans, he felt more confident.
At this point, Chang Chunlai was truly determined to work with the two of them on how to handle the matter. Although they had some connections, they had not actually done this kind of work before, and many details might be overlooked. Since he was already involved, he had to push through, as the other party said, to prove himself.
On the long-distance bus from Nantang to Changzhou, Su Yanqing couldnāt help but ask Lu Weimin why he trusted Chang Chunlai so much and dared to entrust all the work to him.
"Itās simple. Iāve done some research. Brother Chang is not well-liked in the Commercial Bureau, and this time he was deliberately sent here by his superiors. But he has some connections and is very familiar with this industry. We need to do our part, and his connections to find sales channels in Changzhou donāt conflict with our efforts. As long as we can finalize things here and support it with the promotional methods I mentioned, I think we can create a kiwi fever in Changzhou. Whether he can open up the market in Changzhou or not, we can use this opportunity to push forward."
"Weimin, are the methods you mentioned really your own ideas?" Su Yanqing couldnāt understand how Lu Weimin could come up with such ideas. To her, even professional advertising and marketing personnel might not have such insights, but Lu Weimin could come up with them effortlessly.
"Ha ha, Yanqing, donāt make it sound so mysterious. It was just a flash of inspiration. We need to use our connections to help promote the kiwis, but we also need to make it easy for those who help us. We canāt just expect people to suddenly stop eating apples and start eating kiwis, right?" Lu Weimin smiled, "The wife of Secretary Shen works at the Changzhou Daily. Not using this advantage would be a waste. Besides, Secretary Shen is also the leader of our task force, so itās his responsibility. As for the promotional materials, it will cost some money, but I think itās worth it. Weāre talking about tens of thousands of kilograms of kiwis. Even if we donāt sell them at the price of imported kiwis, even at a discount, itās still at least 4 yuan per kilogram. Thatās over a million yuan. Spending a little to achieve a lot is worth it! Besides, we need to continue next year, so this is also laying the foundation."
"Moreover, I think to open up sales channels in places like Beijing and Shanghai, itās not just about talking. To make people believe you, the most direct way is through visual evidence. They canāt come here, so detailed and realistic photos are the best approach. The more detailed and thorough the work, the better."