Chapter 114: Ruozong and Mengzong [Sixth Update]

"Lao Chen, in a few days, accompany me to pick out a new car. It's time to replace this one," Huang He said, shifting his weight in the seat.

"Chairman, you’ve finally decided to get a new car. I've suggested it to you several times, but you kept insisting on keeping this old one," the driver said with a smile.

"That was back when I stayed in Wenzhou most of the time and didn't need to travel far. Even when I did, I didn't need a car. But things are different now. I’ll be using a vehicle frequently, so I think it’s better to switch to a business-style minivan. You go ahead and handle the arrangements," Huang He replied.

"Understood!"

"By the way, what did you think of that young girl, Wang Danrou?" Huang He asked.

"She seems like a very nice girl, quite capable, but..."

"But what?"

"But I thought you might keep her as your personal assistant. You’ve been looking for a suitable secretary for a while, haven't you? I didn't expect you to hand her over to General Manager Ruo."

"General Manager Ruo? Why do you address Zhiruo that way?" Huang He asked, intrigued.

"It’s just for convenience. Since there are two managers in the company now, if we call them both 'General Manager Leng,' it gets confusing. So, we started calling one 'General Manager Ruo' and the other 'General Manager Meng.' It’s much easier to distinguish them that way," the driver explained.

Huang He smiled. "That’s interesting. To answer your previous question, my chief secretary is still your General Manager Ruo. So, whoever I use as a secretary has to be approved by her!"

"I see. So, the Chairman sent that girl to General Manager Ruo for evaluation?"

"Something like that. Besides, I have a gut feeling that something is off about her, though I can't quite put my finger on it. Zhiruo is observant, so I figured I’d let her handle the vetting," Huang He said with a chuckle.

The car traveled for five hours before finally arriving in Wenzhou, by which time the lights were already dimming. Huang He went home to rest, preparing for a busy day ahead. Meanwhile, at the RT-Mart supermarket in Shanghai, the store was experiencing an unprecedented surge in business.

Although RT-Mart had been open in Shanghai for about two years, its performance compared to surrounding supermarkets had been lackluster, often bringing in only half the business of its competitors.

Initially, management blamed the location, but after a Walmart opened across the street—constantly packed with customers and generating five times the business—the atmosphere at RT-Mart had grown increasingly demoralized.

Historically, RT-Mart would only survive in this cutthroat market after adopting a strategy of abandoning first-tier cities to focus on third and fourth-tier cities and county towns, while shifting from a direct-operation model to a franchise system.

But today was different. Starting in the afternoon, a massive influx of customers surged into the store, heading straight for the grain and oil section. They began clearing out the shelves with fervor, buying in quantities that were truly staggering. Many were loading up one or two hundred pounds of rice at a time, bringing their own carts to haul it away.

Even more surprising was the payment process. Customers pulled out stacks of vouchers—some even held vouchers for over a thousand pounds of rice. Since they couldn't carry it all at once, they were relieved to learn there was no expiration date and they could return as long as the store remained open. They left humming tunes, carrying their hundred-pound sacks of rice.

This continued throughout the day. By the time the staff began counting stock, the manager was horrified to discover that the promotional rice was nearly depleted and required immediate restocking.

While the entire supermarket was abuzz with joy over the record-breaking sales, Ke Xuedong, the marketing manager, felt no cheer. Instead, his expression was one of greed.

"Manager, I asked a few customers who were using the vouchers. They said they got them from the 'blind boxes' at the Jiangnan Blind Box Shop. Apparently, they sold a huge volume today; the shop actually sold out of all their blind boxes and closed early," a subordinate reported.

"I see!" Ke Xuedong’s eyes lit up with realization. "So that’s where Liu Xiangjiang was getting all this demand for vouchers—he was using them as prizes for his blind boxes."

"But Manager, what is a 'blind box'? I asked an old lady, and she couldn't explain it either. It seems like you pay 10 yuan and get our 10-pound rice voucher."

"How would I know what a blind box is?" Ke Xuedong, originally from Taiwan, had never heard of such a thing. It was a bizarre concept, but he couldn't let his subordinate know he was ignorant. He put on a knowing look. "It’s just a promotional tactic!"

"If you bought our 10 pounds of rice at the regular price, it would cost about 12 yuan. These people are getting it for 10 yuan, so it’s quite a decent discount," Ke Xuedong feigned professional insight.

"I understand. But that Liu fellow is too cunning. He buys our vouchers for six yuan and resells them for 10, making a four-yuan profit. That’s easy money!" the subordinate said with envy.

"Indeed, it’s far too easy for them!" Ke Xuedong grew increasingly jealous. Their cost for the rice was 30 cents per pound; they sold the vouchers for six yuan, making a profit of three yuan per voucher. Yet, this Liu character was making four yuan per voucher—more than they were making themselves. It was preposterous.

"Why let someone else make such easy money when we can do it ourselves?" Ke Xuedong pondered. He quickly made up his mind and ordered, "The next time that guy comes to buy vouchers, you are strictly forbidden from selling them to him. If he asks for me, tell him I’m not here!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Also, go find a printing shop and order a banner immediately. I need it by tomorrow. If these rice vouchers sell so well, there’s no reason we shouldn't be the ones profiting instead of letting this mainlander take the gain!"

"I was just wondering what kind of promotion to run. We’ll start selling our own vouchers the day after tomorrow. Our vouchers, our rice—we’ll keep all the profit for ourselves!" Ke Xuedong said with a smug smile.