Volume 4: The World of Great Conflict Chapter 0519 Agency Store Economy
"Dad, how can this be considered an unorthodox path? I am just planning to engage in normal cigarette trading."
"Whether it is normal or not, it is not up to you or me to decide. Might has the final say. You want to skirt the rules in the cigarette business, and you are targeting several countries. Do you know what the consequences will be?"
"Dad, what consequences can it cause? I just wholesale cigarettes to customers. I have no control over where they ship the cigarettes to sell. I also cannot control whether they enter the country legally or not."
"Well, you are quite clever." Nan Yi nodded and said, "If you only sell goods to wholesalers at the factory gate, no one will be able to cause trouble to you.
You mentioned Yunxiao at the beginning. I understand that you will put a lot of effort into the product, improve the quality of cigarettes, and enhance the competitiveness of the product.
But have you ever thought about this: the production cost of cigarettes is relatively transparent. Anyone who knows a little about the business can calculate your costs clearly. You sell the products at your doorstep. How much profit margin do you think those wholesalers will leave for you?
Would you go to so much trouble and even trample on the laws of many countries just to do a business with small profits but quick turnover?
If you want to make more profit, you have to provide transportation.
If you only deliver the goods to the sea, the nature of the goods has changed. Legally, you can still argue that you are doing a legitimate business, but does that make sense ?
As long as someone is determined to deal with you, there are plenty of ways to put the blame on you.
Raid your freighter, detain all the transporters, and make them identify you as the boss behind the scenes. Then say that your cigarette factory is a large-scale drug production base. Which one would you prefer to have your head blown off by Interpol or special forces?
This is still a light punishment. Do you believe that if I dare to say that your cigarette factory produces biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction, you will be directly labeled a terrorist?
Or do you prefer the term centrifuge?"
After Nan Yi finished speaking, his eyes were still fixed on Nan Ruoyin's face. When her eyes became blurred, Nan Yi suddenly reached out and tapped her on the head, "Tell me, why aren't you wearing a hat?"
"Dad, you are such a bully."
After being hit by Nan Yi, Nan Ruoyin instantly became pitiful.
"Do you have any objections?" Nan Yi glared at him coldly, "Just because I'm better than you, just because I have you beat, if I'm not happy I'll slap you both, if I'm happy I'll give you a date, no matter if you want to eat it or not, you have to eat it gratefully for me to see.
Even if I fart, you have to find ways to praise me. You have to say that this is not a fart, but that I am a calf..."
"Okay, okay, Dad, stop pretending in front of me. I understand what you mean. You mean that the effort and gain in this business are not proportional, and that the risks are too high and the profits are too low." Nan Ruoyin pouted and said a little frustrated.
"It's good to know that if you want to make a lot of money in the cigarette business, you have to step on a lot of high-voltage lines. The degree of danger is higher than selling arms. If you really want to do something exciting, you might as well sell arms to Cambodia, Laos, and Afghanistan.
Except for the KGB, no one will bother you. But before you do that, let's sever our father-daughter relationship. In two years, I, your father, will have to go to the Soviet Union. Don't let me get in trouble ."
“Dad, is this business really dangerous?”
"It's not dangerous if you take it easy, but it will definitely be dangerous if you let go." Nan Yi stroked Nan Ruoyin's hair and said, "The questions in front of you are always multiple-choice questions. You can have many choices, so don't get stuck in a rut. You have to take one step at a time, and don't think about getting rich overnight.
Your father let you do business on your own, not because he really expects you to make big money, but because he wants you to learn through practice.
Let's take a simple example: a sales agency store in the countryside usually sells needles and thread, soy sauce, MSG, pickled vegetables, cooking wine, drinking wine, pencils, ballpoint pens, letter paper, exercise books, erasers, pencil sharpeners, square-packed melon seeds, snacks, small toys, cigarettes, etc.
For these things, the shop owner has to go to more than seven or eight stalls in the wholesale market. For cigarettes, he basically has to go to two places: one is the regular channel for tobacco, and the other is the den for selling fake cigarettes.
The owners of the consignment stores have limited financial resources and cannot stock too much goods. They need to travel frequently to the wholesale market, and if something is out of stock, they have to run to replenish it.
In rural areas, apart from collecting grain, electricity bills and levies, there is no such thing as door-to-door delivery service.
Take the agency store in Wenchangwei for example. Business is relatively good, and the owner, auntie, has to go out to purchase goods once a week. In addition to temporary replenishment, she has to go to the city at least five or six times a month.
Purchasing involves how to bargain with wholesale stall owners, product selection, quality control, and tricycle driving.
The process of selling goods is also called management.
As for a distribution store, there is basically only one in a village, and it does exclusive business. It seems very simple, and all you have to do is wait for customers to come.
But in fact, running a consignment store also encounters a problem, which is selling on credit.
Although we are from the same village, we see each other every day, so we usually don’t go too far. If we are short on cash, we will just pay the money after a few days.”
Nan Yi showed his hands and continued, "But five fingers are of different lengths, not to mention people. There are shameless people and shameless people. There are people who buy on credit again and again, and sometimes they buy on credit for one or two years.
There are three knowledge points involved here: working capital, cost accounting and payment period, as well as a debt collection technique that cannot be discussed openly.
In addition, in the south, sales agencies generally also run tea rooms for the elderly, selling tea for one or two cents, rice wine for one or two dimes, and also providing gambling equipment.
When playing cards, you can't just sit down and start to owe money. You have to bring some capital with you. If you don't have it, you will definitely borrow some from the store owner. Tea is sold at one or two cents, and gamblers borrow money for ten or twenty yuan. This kind of money usually has no interest, and it is uncertain when it can be recovered.
This involves the knowledge points of interbank lending and the use of working capital.
Also, playing cards usually requires four people, and it is very common to be short of one person. Whenever someone is needed, the owner of the agency store has to take up the responsibility, which is considered a passive high-risk investment.
During the Chinese New Year and other festivals, people in rural areas often play betting. This way of playing is the most equal between the banker and the player among all the gambling methods my father has seen. Therefore, once someone becomes the banker, a lot of people will participate in the game.
If the owner of a sales agency cannot resist the temptation and makes a bet, he is actively making a high-risk investment.
Whether active or passive, it is risky investment outside the normal business scope. This is just like the bosses in Xiangkeng. No matter what business they are mainly engaged in, once the stock market is good, they will invest their operating funds into the stock market.
What is the psychology behind this and what problems exist in it are all worth your careful consideration. "
Nan Yi stroked Nan Ruoyin's head again and said, "Dad hopes that you will discover business and run the business instead of just thinking about investment and speculation. You understand the operation of a consignment store and solve the problems encountered in the operation yourself. This kind of experience is more useful than reading books.
It is better to have no books than to believe in them blindly. Among those economists who have written great works on economics, how many of them have personally run businesses and have practical experience?
Learn more theories, participate more in practice, deeply analyze human nature, and exercise your insight into people's hearts. Only when you achieve these four things in one, you will have the opportunity to become a successful businessman.
Oh, if you want to stand in the front and face the flash lights in the future, you'd better study acting. Dad will not force you to be what you want to be, nor will he ask you to be like him, willing to be lonely and hiding in the dark.
If you are willing, you can serve as the face of our Nan family in the future."
As he spoke , Nan Yi deliberately glanced at Nan Ruoyin's face and teased, "It seems a little off. You are too ugly. Hongdou is more suitable."
"Hey, Dad, you've been bragging and your nose has gotten longer."
"Pinocchio doesn't care about anything here. This is the world of bullies. If you brag, you will only turn into a rabbit."
"Haha, rabbits are so cute, add more chili. Dad, let's go to Chongwenmen and see if there are any wild rabbits for sale near the vegetable market. I want to eat some."
"It's the wrong season. Wild rabbits are best eaten in winter. They have too many parasites right now. If you really want to eat them, let's go see if there are any angora rabbits for sale."
"Angora rabbits? Forget it. They are so cute." Nan Ruoyin said after thinking for a while.
"Then let's go to the suburbs and catch some loaches. Loaches are just right for eating in this season. Dad is going to treat everyone to a barbecue tonight, and grilled loaches taste pretty good."
"Dad, let's go, let's get going right away. I haven't been to the countryside with you for a long time. I miss the snakes there so much."
"Catching a snake? You don't have to go to the countryside. Just go to the Forbidden City. There is a snake there that has lived for about 600 years. Dad will catch it for you and we will roast it tonight."
"Dad, you are playing tricks on me again. You are so powerful. Why don't you catch Jin Shuihe?"
…
During the day, Nan Yi took Nan Ruoyin and Liu Zhen to the countryside to play for a day. At night, he brought Yu Dongfang to the yard for a barbecue. After they were happy, Nan Ruoyin suggested going to Houhai for a swim.
It was a rare occasion for Nan Yi to go crazy with her. The next day, the two of them, big and small, got together very seriously to plot something.
