Material Empire

McClure left Quwu full of resentment, but he was not in a hurry to return to China. Instead, he stayed in China to continue inspecting other products. He planned to contact Brother Ceramics Factory again in a few days to see if Liu Shuo's attitude would be correct. Loosen up. Of course, he also urgently contacted the company headquarters in Belgium, asking the headquarters to make a more accurate estimate of the sales prospects of ceramic knives in Europe, so as to use it as a basis for future negotiations with Liu Shuo.

The Ron Company did not dare to promise too high a sales volume, largely because they still had some uncertainties about the prospects of the market, and they were afraid that by promising too much, they would set themselves a trap. In addition, first promise a relatively small sales volume, obtain the agency right, and then negotiate with the supplier based on the actual sales situation to strive for better agency conditions. This is also the usual practice of Ron Company, but I did not expect It's just a snag with Liu Shuo.

Mo Kongchao was moved by Liu Shuo's words, but when he saw McClure leave, he was still a little panicked, for fear that this gentleman would really leave forever. However, his worry did not last long. Just two days after McClure left Quwu, a group of American merchants came again, with the same purpose of talking to Brother Ceramics Factory about the agency of ceramic knives.

In the following half a month, Quwu City was busy and received more than a dozen batches of foreign businessmen, including several companies with bigger background than Ron Company. Under Qin Hai's behest, Liu Shuo and Huang Yanling insisted on a commitment to the basic annual sales volume, in addition to a series of conditions such as advance payment and advertising, so that those foreign businessmen who planned to take advantage of it would be very surprised. Feeling a headache.

Seeing that so many merchants are interested in ceramic knives, and they can accept Liu Shuo's harsh conditions, Mo Kongchao is finally relieved. He even brought Liu Shuo over to discuss with him whether it is possible to add some conditions to foreign businessmen, such as introducing other products of Quwu along with it. For Mo Kongchao's whimsical idea, Liu Shuo could only smile wryly, explain, and then refuse.

Choosing an agent is not a simple matter. The two parties need to conduct repeated negotiations on various details and implement the negotiation results into an agreement. Liu Shuo led several cadres in the factory to negotiate with various merchants day and night. After the talks, he had to report the relevant situation to Qin Hai who was far away in Anhe by telephone and fax, and listened to Qin Hai's considerations on some important issues. . It stands to reason that Qin Hai should be present in person for such a big event, but at this time, Qin Hai is busy with the transformation of Qingfeng Factory, and he is also devastated and at a loss for resources.

Finally, the first agent finally negotiated down. This is an American distributor. They are not very strong and do not require exclusive agency rights in the United States. They only signed contracts with a few states on the west coast and promised to guarantee sales of at least 100,000 sets a year. According to the principle given by Qin Hai in advance, Liu Shuo agreed to cooperate with this dealer, and signed an agency agreement under the auspices of Mo Kongchao.

"Congratulations, Xiao Liu."

After the celebratory dinner, Mo Kongchao, who was slightly drunk, pulled Liu Shuo and congratulated him with a smile on his face. Although it is only a contract with annual sales of 100,000 sets, the total bid has reached more than 20 million US dollars. If the distributor works harder, it is very possible to exceed the minimum sales volume stipulated in the contract, which means that the sales volume will exceed the figure of more than 20 million, reaching 30 million or even more.

In the past, only coal exports in Quwu could exchange for some foreign exchange, and the total amount could not reach the scale of 20 million. But now, just some inconspicuous soil has been exchanged for so much foreign exchange, how can Mo Kongchao be unhappy.

"This is all the result of Mayor Mo's care." Liu Shuo said the compliment that all his subordinates would say, "Without the land that Mayor Mo granted us, how could our brother ceramics factory be where it is today."

Mo Kongchao smiled and said: "Haha, Xiao Liu, you are too modest. There are so many ceramic factories in Quwu, and most of them are old state-owned factories. None of them can do as well as your factory. This year the city To select outstanding talents, I have already told the secretary that there is a spot for you, and no one can take it away."

"Thank you, Mayor Mo." Liu Shuo quickly replied.

"Xiao Liu, how many other companies are you talking about?" Mo Kongchao asked.

Liu Shuo said: "There are still five companies, including Ron's company. Mr. McClure came to Quwu again the day before yesterday, and they have promised to sell at least 300,000 sets a year. Yanling and I want to expand He, at least he must promise 400,000 sets, otherwise we will find someone else."

"Yes, you should stretch him!" Mo Kongchao agreed, "Based on this, how much sales can you reach in the end?"

Liu Shuo said: "We made a rough calculation. The most conservative estimate should be able to achieve annual sales of 1.2 million sets. If we are more optimistic, 1.5 million is also possible."

"1.2 million, that's... how much is it?" Mo Kongchao snapped his fingers, unable to figure it out.

"208,800,000." Liu Shuo replied. He had calculated this number over and over again these days. At first, even he himself couldn't believe it.

Mo Kongchao exclaimed exaggeratedly, and said: "Hey! It's almost 300 million, and it's still in US dollars. This is a satellite, right? By the way, with such a large sales volume, your output can keep up with Come on? Do you want some support from the city?"

"It's so necessary!" Liu Shuo said, "I've been busy negotiating with foreign businessmen these days, and I haven't been able to spare time to report this matter to you. To reach an annual output of 1.2 million sets, we need to expand the existing factory area Three times, and a large number of new equipment is needed. Because the payment for the goods has not been received, the funds for purchasing these equipment need to be borrowed from the bank, which also needs to be coordinated by the city.”

"There is no problem with the land. I will call Lao Guo from the Land Bureau tomorrow and ask him to solve the land problem for you. As for the loan, there is no problem. You have the ability to repay it. It is impossible for the bank to refuse such a loan. You tell me For an approximate loan figure, I will personally go to several banks to contact you." Mokong said in a big way.

The project of earning nearly 300 million US dollars in foreign exchange a year is also a highly anticipated project in the province. How can Mo Kongchao not care about it. Land was not too scarce back then, but it was relatively difficult to get a loan. However, no matter how difficult it is, the task of earning foreign exchange through export must be given the green light, and Mo Kongchao has full confidence in this.

Liu Shuo repeatedly thanked him, but secretly laughed in his heart. If things went as Qin Hai predicted, as long as he dared to speak, there would be no doubts in the city. The reason is also very simple. Government officials have always only liked to add icing on the cake, not like to give charcoal in a timely manner. If the brother ceramics factory is not doing well and wants the city to help, the city officials must pass the buck to each other, and no one is willing to step forward. But on the other hand, Brother Ceramics Factory's business situation is very good, and it has become a big profit, tax and foreign exchange earner. Not to mention ordinary cadres, even the city leaders will come to express their concern.

"The problems of land and funds are easy to handle. There is another big problem, which is the problem of people." Liu Shuo pretended to be embarrassed and said to Mo Kongchao.

"What's wrong with people?" Mo Kongchao didn't understand all of a sudden.

Liu Shuo said: "Our production scale needs to be expanded by nearly 10 times, and there is a serious shortage of workers and technicians. Without people, no amount of equipment can run, and products still can't be produced."

Mo Kongchao took it for granted: "Recruitment! There are still so many unemployed young people in the society. It is really impossible. It is not impossible to recruit some young farmers to work in the factory in the surrounding countryside. You are a private enterprise, and there is no such thing as What is the establishment limit, as long as you open your mouth and recruit workers."

Liu Shuo shook his head desperately and said: "Mayor Mo, this matter is not that simple. What we need are skilled workers. Ordinary unemployed youths and farmers can only be recruited as apprentices or general workers. Skilled workers are still not enough. .”

"This is going to be difficult..." Mo Kongchao was worried. When he spoke just now, he didn't think about it. He forgot that the workers in the factory need skills, and they can't just find a few from the market to adapt. However, how easy is it to find skilled workers several times the size of Brother Ceramics Factory?

Liu Shuo said with a sad face: "Yes, these days, I feel anxious when I think about this matter, and I can't sleep at night. Mayor Mo, I'm not afraid of your jokes. I passed by the gate of Quwu Ertao this morning and saw their workers I can't wait to snatch these people over to work in our brother's ceramic factory."

"Quwu Ertao?" Mo Kong's eyes lit up. The full name of Quwu Ertao is Quwu No. 2 Ceramics Factory. It is an old local state-owned ceramics enterprise with more than 400 employees, a considerable number of whom are skilled ceramics technicians. If these people can be transferred to Brother Ceramics Factory, won't Liu Shuo's problem of shortage of manpower come to light?

Seeing Mo Kong showing a smile on his face, Liu Shuo knew that his hint had worked. Of course he didn't say Quwu Ertao's name casually, he had been thinking about this factory for a long time, and he finally had such an opportunity, of course he would firmly grasp it.

"Xiao Liu, you mentioned Quwu Ertao just now, I have an idea." Mo Kongchao didn't realize that Liu Shuo had dug a hole for him to jump into, he was still immersed in his discovery, and I want to trick Liu Shuo.

"If you have any good ideas, let's talk about it." If Liu Shuo didn't know what to say at this time, he would be a factory manager in vain.

Mo Kong said: "My idea is that you can borrow a group of workers from Ertao. Ertao's business is not saturated now, and the workers don't have so many things to do. It is appropriate to lend them to you."

"Borrow?" Liu Shuo muttered, "Mayor Mo, our production technology is kept secret. It might not be appropriate to borrow someone from Ertao. What if they bring the technology back to Ertao in the future? My It means, either transfer these people directly to our factory, or we can only continue to recruit people from the society."