Chapter 96: Grand Opening

As time passed day by day, Su Chunfeng and his father Su Cheng finally understood — contracting land for commercial development was not like farming and spraying pesticides, not like buying a combine harvester to work the fields, nor was it like buying a freight truck, getting it licensed with all the documents, then hitting the road to deliver goods and collect the freight fees…

This kind of thing could not be rushed; it was very complicated.

Just having the approval of the Erdaokou Town government was not enough. They still needed to write reports to the higher-ups, wait for the higher-ups to review and forward them to other departments for further review and approval, and then get approval layer by layer before it was possible to move on to the official agreement text negotiations.

If these matters were left to Su Cheng or Su Chunfeng to handle, they would not be able to get them done even in two years.

Not to mention the various detailed issues in the subsequent negotiations, which would leave the father-son pair, Su Cheng and Su Chunfeng, completely muddle-headed.

Fortunately, there was Chen Yufang, who had worked in a government department, was familiar with the procedures, and had the backing of her father Chen Xian’s connections. Thus, she was able to smoothly, unhurriedly handle each related matter one by one, obtaining quick approvals from various departments, waiting for the final approval to come down.

All of this required time.

What ordinary person would think of these things? Who would have the patience to wait like this?

So when things were halfway done, Chen Xian tactfully informed Su Cheng that for this contracting development, there was no need to cooperate or take shares with the Erdaokou Town government, and the contracting price would not be too high either. It was just that Chen Yufang wanted to invest and obtain thirty percent of the shares. At this, Su Cheng did not even bother to ask for the opinion of his eldest son Su Chunfeng, who was studying at the County No.1 High School, and simply, without hesitation, made the decision on his own to agree.

Afterwards, Su Chunfeng also expressed support and approval for his father’s decision.

Nowadays, Su Cheng had also come to understand: some things were not within their ability to do, and some money, they could not earn on their own. Without this mindset and tolerance, one should not think about doing big things.

While Chen Yufang was busy handling the matters related to contracting the land during this period, Su Cheng was not idle either.

He was not busy with freight work to earn money, but rather, following his son Su Chunfeng’s suggestion, he negotiated and signed an agreement with the provincial capital’s Fukang Agricultural Vehicle Manufacturing Plant to become the exclusive sales agent for Fukang brand combine harvesters and all agricultural machinery and tools. At the same time, through Chen Yufang, Su Chunfeng secured approval from the Erdaokou Town government to first build four simple rooms on that land parcel and erect a wall enclosing about three and a half acres of land, and also put up an advertising billboard.

It was worth mentioning that during the negotiation process of signing the agreement with the Fukang Agricultural Vehicle Manufacturing Plant, although Su Chunfeng did not personally participate, he was the mastermind behind the scenes, allowing his father Su Cheng to secure the greatest possible benefits in this relatively straightforward cooperation negotiation — the sales commission per vehicle was raised from 3,200 yuan to 3,680 yuan; the transportation costs for the vehicles and corresponding machinery and parts were to be borne by the manufacturer; and most importantly, no capital investment was required. Everything would be supplied by the manufacturer, and payments would be collected from the manufacturer after sales. Besides this, Su Chunfeng also advised his father not to be too shy, to be willing to set aside face and patiently haggle with the manufacturer’s representatives and responsible persons. In the end, even the advertising billboard, the wall, and the site planning received partial funding support from the manufacturer…

In short, from negotiation to the official opening of the business of being the sales agent for Fukang brand combine harvesters and all related machinery, the Su Cheng family practically got something for nothing.

This was not because the manufacturer was foolish, nor because Su Chunfeng was particularly shrewd.

The main reason was that, with the widespread adoption and promotion of combine harvesters across the country, Yuzhou Province, a major grain-producing province nationally, had already begun to see several new combine harvester manufacturers emerge, and brands from other regions were also starting to enter Yuzhou Province’s vast market. Foreseeably, under the broad market prospects in Yuzhou Province in the future, various manufacturers would inevitably engage in intense competition.

The representatives and responsible persons of the Fukang Agricultural Vehicle Manufacturing Plant, after thoroughly investigating the market in Pingyang City and Su Cheng’s personal capabilities among other comprehensive factors, ultimately, through meeting discussions, agreed to all the conditions Su Cheng proposed.

Firstly, Su Cheng was among the top ten people in Pingyang City to purchase a Fukang brand combine harvester.

Secondly, Su Cheng possessed a piece of land in a geographically advantageous location that could be used for the sales agency. Moreover, Su Cheng himself had a good reputation and had already built up name recognition for the Fukang brand combine harvester. In the minds of the local ordinary people, Su Cheng’s attitude also held a certain authority regarding the purchase and use of combine harvesters.

It was the third month of spring, a time of lush grass and singing birds.

The exclusive sales agency for Fukang brand agricultural combine harvesters in Pingyang City officially opened on April sixth.

The sales office did not have two doors opening to the west and north as originally envisioned by Su Chunfeng. Considering that several months later, after the final approval for the land contracting matter came down, the sales office’s wall would inevitably need to be demolished and rebuilt, to avoid unnecessary waste, only one large west-facing gate was opened on the south side of the western wall. On the wide, leveled yard, a row of simple open-sided warehouses made of cement slabs was built near the southeastern corner for parking vehicles and storing large machinery parts like rotary tillers.

The four simple brick-structured buildings running north-south, facing east and west, had small doors and windows on both the eastern and western sides. The southern room was the financial office, the two northern rooms were for repairs and spare parts retail, and the middle room was the reception office. In reality, the northern rooms were also used as living quarters for Su Cheng and his wife, while the southern financial office basically served as the security guard room.

Following Su Chunfeng’s suggestion, the buildings were set back eight meters from the east side of National Highway 107, creating a large open space in front of the retail area. This not only made it convenient to park combine harvester vehicles but also helped avoid the negative influence of the road’s negative energy directly opposite the shop across the South City Road, which could affect the business’s fortune.

The sales point staff included — General Manager, Finance, Sales, Repair, and Demonstrator: Su Cheng; Cleaner and Guide: Chen Xiulan; Security Guard: Su Li, that is, Su Cheng’s elder brother.

Su Li, now already in his fifties, was usually just an ordinary farming peasant, occasionally doing odd jobs for construction teams, earning less than twenty yuan a day. Now his younger brother Su Cheng asked him to be responsible for watching the gate, with a salary of fifteen yuan a day. It wasn’t busy or tiring, and it included food and lodging. He just had to keep watch at night. What could be better than that?

Besides, they were family, trusting each other. So to do this job well, Su Li simply brought the large wolfdog he raised at home along with him.

Not just Su Li, even his two sons, Su Changhai and Su Changjiang, also worked for their second uncle Su Cheng.

These two brothers were now on Su Cheng’s freight truck. Su Changhai was the driver, earning thirty-five yuan per day. Su Changjiang helped on the truck and could also learn to drive, earning thirteen yuan per day, with meals provided.

The family’s own combine harvester and rotary tiller, Su Cheng also sold to his brother-in-law Chen Shunhe for thirty-five thousand yuan.

Now, as it was not yet May, the busy farming season, Chen Shunhe came to help out at the sales office.

Opening day happened to be a Sunday, a date Su Chunfeng had calculated long in advance so he could be there to help at the shop.

Because there had been earlier publicity in the local Hetang Township, and relatives and friends had helped spread the word everywhere, distributing flyers, and also because there were indeed quite a lot of people wanting to buy combine harvesters these days, by eight in the morning, even before the shop had set off firecrackers to officially open, many ordinary folks had already arrived on motorcycles or bicycles. Added to the relatives and friends who came to show support, it was truly lively, quite a bit of a bustling, noisy scene.

Small signs with red characters reading “Grand Opening” were pasted on the sales agency’s small door, main gate, and windows.

Parked right at the entrance were three brand new, massive yellow combine harvesters, looking particularly eye-catching and imposing under the blue sky and sunshine. Further west, on the open space between the shop and National Highway 107, a string of ten-thousand-cracker firecrackers was laid out. Several relatives and a few good friends Su Chunfeng had invited were all excitedly holding firecrackers, waiting nearby.

Crackle, pop, crackle pop…

The crisp sound of firecrackers rang out by the open national highway. As the firecrackers went off, several young lads, amidst the smoke drifting in the gentle breeze, crouched down to light the firecrackers — Boom! Crack!

Prosperous and auspicious, a grand opening!

Farmers interested in buying combine harvesters, under the enthusiastic introductions of Su Cheng, Chen Xiulan, and Chen Shunhe, inquired in small groups about the various features of the combine harvesters. They gathered around the machines, examining every detail. Some couldn’t resist climbing into the cabins, touching here, looking there, familiarizing themselves with the controls inside.

Those seriously intending to buy could also follow Chen Shunhe to the yard in the back to try driving a combine harvester.

People went to the back and saw, wow!

In the large yard, another six or seven combine harvesters were parked.

By this time, Su Chunfeng, Li Zhichao, and his other young friends had already gone to the roadside and started handing out the pre-printed promotional flyers to passersby…

On the morning of opening day, three people paid the full amount directly and drove away three combine harvesters.

Before five in the afternoon, three more combine harvesters were sold, and four others clearly expressed their intention to buy, firmly stating they were going home to prepare the money.

Six combine harvesters sold in one day…

The sales office had only prepared ten in total.

So before five p.m., Su Cheng hurriedly called the provincial factory, asking them to quickly transport ten more vehicles over, and informed them of the day’s sales.

Su Cheng could receive 3,680 yuan per combine harvester. Six — that was 22,080 yuan.

Twenty-two thousand yuan earned in one day!

Su Cheng and his wife felt as if they were dreaming…

On the way to the bank to deposit the money, Su Chunfeng smiled and said to his father, “Dad, this is just the first day’s sales being good. Also, with the May farming season just two months away, people wanting to buy combine harvesters are naturally impatient. So this is just a short-lived boom.”

Chen Shunhe, who was following the father and son, laughed and said, “Selling one a day for two months would be fine too.”

“Yes, yes, yes…” Su Cheng nodded happily.

“Uncle, you’ll have to come here to help every day these next few days, at least accompany my dad when going to deposit money; it’s safer,” Su Chunfeng said with a very serious expression.

“Okay,” Chen Shunhe agreed — this was no joke. Just today, they had already made five trips to the bank. Every combine harvester sold meant a huge sum of fifty or sixty thousand yuan. Keeping that in the shop or on the way to the bank was worrisome. If someone with ill intent took notice…

Su Chunfeng then said to his father, “Dad, in a few days when Uncle goes elsewhere for the farming season and you’re alone in the shop, whoever buys a combine harvester, have them go with you to the bank to deposit the money first, then come back and let them drive the vehicle away.”

“I know, I know,” Su Cheng nodded, smiling in agreement.

“Chengzi, young Feng really worries a lot.”

“No kidding, ah, his head is always full of thoughts, thinking more than adults do… My ears are almost calloused from hearing it all, haha.”

Chen Shunhe said enviously, “Luckily, young Feng is smart. Look at the life you and Xiulan are living now…”

Beside them, Su Chunfeng revealed a shy, embarrassed smile.

…