25
The Boss is Stupid Again
Qi Lei pulled out an order list. After Zhou Tao looked at it, her first reaction was: This kid is messing with me!
But the Qi Lei before her seemed like a completely different person—his gaze sharp, his expression serious.
“Sis, can you handle this or not? If not, I need to find someone else quickly. I have to get back to Shangbei tonight!”
“Hah.” Zhou Tao took a deep breath, feeling completely unsettled.
What lay before her now was the biggest business deal since she opened her shop—bar none.
And what made it even more surreal was that this massive order, something others could only dream of, had been handed to her by a sixteen-year-old kid.
And this was a kid she didn’t dare underestimate in the slightest.
After a long silence, she said, “Little brother, this order… Sis finds it hard to believe.”
Her brows furrowed deeply. “30,000 pairs of budget socks and 2,000 pairs of brand-name socks? Sis doesn’t even hit that sales volume in a month. Who are you selling these to?”
Yes, this time Qi Lei wasn’t asking for just a thousand pairs of goods—but over thirty thousand pairs!
She pushed the order back to Qi Lei and shook her head. “Little brother, I’ve been to your Shangbei area before. Quite a few of the small vendors who get goods from me are from Shangbei.”
“Let me be frank with you. No matter how well your goods are moving right now, Shangbei doesn’t have that big of a market. You can’t sell thirty thousand pairs.”
Zhou Tao was actually being kind here—she was telling the truth.
Shangbei had a decent population, and sock sales were decent too. But for one person to try to sell that many? Pure nonsense.
Qi Lei, however, didn’t seem concerned. “Sis, no offense, but whether I can sell them or not is my problem. We’re doing business here—you just need to tell me if you can handle this order.”
“…” Zhou Tao was momentarily stunned. The Qi Lei before her now was completely different from the one she met three days ago.
After a long pause, she finally nodded. “I can do it! But… I still don’t really believe it.”
That’s when Qi Lei said, “You don’t need to believe it.”
He placed the three thousand yuan he had prepared in front of Zhou Tao.
This was their sales revenue and profits from two days, plus all the personal savings the three buddies could scrape together.
“Here’s three thousand. Today I’ll take 2,000 yuan worth of budget socks, and leave the remaining thousand as a security deposit with you.”
“From now on, I’ll be picking up goods every two to three days on average. Within a month, I’ll increase the security deposit to 5,000 yuan. We’ll set the period at two months. If my order volume doesn’t reach the amount on this list by then, you keep the deposit.”
Gasp!!
Zhou Tao drew a sharp breath. She had never known business could be done this way.
A five thousand yuan security deposit!? If he couldn’t order thirty thousand pairs within two months, the money was hers!? What reservations could she possibly have then?
After thinking for a long time, she asked one question: “What about the payment for the goods?”
She hadn’t completely lost her head. What if this kid delayed payment, or just took the goods and ran? She’d still be losing out.
Qi Lei said, “I won’t be able to come to Ha’erbin every time from now on. I’ll need to trouble Sister Tao to help with shipping. But don’t worry—payment first, then shipment!”
“Deal!”
Zhou Tao wasn’t an indecisive person either. This arrangement posed no risk to her—what was there to hesitate about?
If anything, it was Qi Lei who was taking on considerable risk.
“Alright then, what are your requirements?”
Someone bringing such a large order definitely had some purpose in mind.
To this, Qi Lei was also quite frank, “Price! Whether it’s budget socks or brand-name socks, they all need a true bottom price.”
“Hah.” Zhou Tao fell silent once again.
After thinking for a moment, she borrowed a calculator from the restaurant owner and buried her head in calculations for a long time.
Finally, “I’ll give you another 15% off the previous price.”
“Deal!” Qi Lei agreed without even thinking.
It was Zhou Tao’s turn to be taken aback, “You’re not going to bargain?”
Qi Lei grinned, “I believe this must be sis’s lowest price.”
Zhou Tao was speechless. Of course! You’ve already squeezed me dry, you little rascal.
The price she quoted was indeed very, very low. Regardless of how much money she, Zhou Tao, made, she dared to guarantee that no one in the entire underground shopping mall could offer a better price.
Of course, there were other reasons for offering such a big discount.
For wholesalers like them, the quantity they purchase from manufacturers also determines the factory price offered by the manufacturers.
That is to say, the more they buy, the greater the discount the manufacturer gives, especially for brand-name goods.
With budget socks, no matter how much the manufacturer discounts, there isn’t much room. But for brand-name socks, since her store mainly deals in budget goods, the volume of brand-name socks she moves isn’t high, and the prices are also higher.
Now with Qi Lei’s guaranteed order, she could strive for greater profit margins on brand-name goods.
The reason she was surprised was because of Qi Lei’s reaction.
Earlier, she had repeatedly emphasized that the price she gave him was already the bottom line, and she was even losing money.
But now she suddenly offered such a big discount. Most people would have been furious, feeling deceived.
But he… he didn’t even bat an eye. What kind of person is he?
“Aren’t you angry at all?”
“Angry about what?”
“Earlier I said it was the bottom price. Aren’t you angry? Aren’t you afraid that the price I’m quoting now isn’t the bottom line either?”
“Oh.” Qi Lei finally understood and grinned, “It’s business. Whoever takes it seriously loses.”
Zhou Tao: “…”
“Impressed!” She gave Qi Lei a thumbs-up. “From today on, sis admires you!”
Qi Lei extended his hand, “Then… happy cooperation.”
At this point, Qi Lei also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It was done!
He had really been afraid that the previous price was Zhou Tao’s bottom line. That would have meant he was at a loss and would have to bear significant risks.
The reason he did this—using a large order of over thirty thousand pairs over two months to secure a lower price—wasn’t because Qi Lei was greedy or seeking greater profit margins, but to prepare for a rainy day.
As mentioned before, this kind of traffic generation sales tactic would eventually be copied by others.
What would they do then? That was the challenge the three brothers would face, and they needed to prepare in advance.
This marketing strategy essentially boils down to three aspects:
Channels, traffic generation capability, and main profit products.
What he was doing now was securing the channels.
With this order of over thirty thousand pairs, no one selling socks in Shangbei would have a better wholesale price than him.
The ultimate result would be that he had more room to maneuver than others. Whether it came to price wars or other challenges in the future, he would have confidence.
It just goes to show that even though it’s just a small sock business, it’s not simply about buying and selling.
When Qi Lei and Zhou Tao returned to the store, Zhou Tao, who had been quite happy, was instantly put in a bad mood by a question from her shop assistant.
“Sis, did you manage it? You didn’t get fooled by this kid, did you?”
Zhou Tao: “…”
Well, this time the little brother was quite domineering and changed his tactics. Once again, Zhou Tao found herself completely outmaneuvered by him.
“Get back to work. Haven’t I deducted your salary this month?”
After dismissing the clerk, Zhou Tao and Qi Lei first signed a simple security deposit agreement. Without wasting words, Zhou Tao immediately allocated goods to Qi Lei and had the clerk help him carry them to the ground freight point.
When the clerk saw the price, he clicked his tongue regretfully.
Was the boss being foolish again?
…