Fang Bai shook hands with Hua Feng and probed for information, quickly learning about Boli Valve Company's recent situation. He said, "Mr. Hua, I heard Boli Company has been extremely busy lately. The 3-inch Gate Valves and 2-inch Globe Valves are piled up like mountains.
As it happens, I have a machining plant with guaranteed quality.
The processing fee for 2-inch Globe Valves is only 17 yuan!
For 3-inch Gate Valves, it's only 25 yuan!
The scope of work includes machining the end faces, drilling holes, chamfering, and other machining processes.
The subcontracting prices for these two valves are basically transparent throughout the industry. You could say my quote is the lowest in the entire industry."
Hua Feng was somewhat surprised. "Indeed, your quote is lower than the industry price. If the quality is fine, logically speaking, I should give the work to you.
But we already have a partner."
To him, paying a somewhat higher price did not matter. It was not his money anyway. As long as it saved him trouble, that was enough.
If quality problems kept arising or deliveries were delayed, it would instead affect his standing in the boss's eyes.
He would not do anything that brought harm or risk to himself.
As Fang Bai had expected, he said, "How about this? I'll return 8% of the subcontracting contract amount to Mr. Hua as a token of appreciation, on the condition that payment is settled on time. I can bring the token of appreciation straight to your door, and I can also wait until the old agreement is fulfilled before signing a new one."
When offering someone a rebate, there was no need to beat around the bush. Others did not have that kind of patience. Still, the wording had to be tactful; he could not act arrogant or overbearing.
Otherwise, someone like Hua Feng, who had a bit of pride, might reject him outright before he could even finish speaking.
On the other hand, there was another benefit to giving Hua Feng a rebate: Boli Company would pay very promptly.
An order was not considered complete just because the processing had been finished. Only getting paid counted as success.
Hua Feng was on an annual salary system, with a total yearly income of 6,000 yuan.
The rebate Fang Bai offered was no small amount—it actually reached 8%!
Boli Company's monthly outsourced machining contracts amounted to 30,000 yuan. Eight percent of that was 2,400 yuan!
Of course, it was impossible for all outsourced machining work to go to Fang Bai, and Fang Bai did not have the capacity to take it all on.
But as long as there was a contract worth 10,000 yuan, Hua Feng could receive an 800-yuan rebate, more than his salary.
Fang Bai had carefully considered this rebate rate. It would ensure he got more orders while also making things easier. One discussion could lead to continued cooperation.
Therefore, Hua Feng could no longer remain calm.
He took a deep breath and could not help smiling. Rather than agreeing to Fang Bai directly, he asked, "With you doing this, won't your quote be far below the industry price? How will you make money?
If you can't make money, how can we cooperate for the long term? How can you guarantee product quality?"
"Mr. Hua is wise. You spotted the key issue right away. Cooperation that cannot benefit both sides simply cannot last," Fang Bai praised.
"To be honest with you, Mr. Hua, we use new processes and new equipment, so our machining efficiency is a bit higher and our costs are lower.
Of course, that is our core trade secret, so I won't go into the details."
"Oh, I see. Where is your machining plant?"
"Not far away. It's one hundred meters north of the intersection of Xiangyang South Street and Puyi Middle Road, only a few hundred meters from your company. It's called Jiayu Processing Plant."
"Oh, then I roughly know where it is. How about this? Come to my company tomorrow morning and find me. I'll take a look at the situation before discussing cooperation."
The moment Fang Bai heard that, he knew the other party was interested. He said:
"Alright, thank you, Mr. Hua. See you tomorrow. I have some other matters to attend to, so I'll head back first."
The other party had also made it clear that he was ushering him out to handle other matters. Staying would only make him unwelcome.
"Alright, see you tomorrow." Hua Feng shook hands with Fang Bai again.
After Fang Bai left, the young woman returned to the living room with the child. Looking at her husband, she said with a smile, "Honey, that young man was quite interesting."
Hua Feng glanced at the gifts on the tea table and inspected them. They really were the tea leaves he liked to drink. He said in a deep voice, "He's impressive. He knows when to advance and retreat, and he knows how to avoid suspicion. He has me completely figured out."
Then he looked at his child. The child liked that backpack so much and had even asked where Uncle had gone, wanting him to teach him songs. Fang Bai had his family completely figured out too.
"Honey, he came to discuss cooperation with you, right? Otherwise, why would he bring so many gifts? Did you agree to it?" The young woman knew some things about her husband. Fortunately, she did not flaunt them, knowing that would only harm him.
Otherwise, given her husband's personality, he would never have told her.
"I'm considering it. I need to inspect his factory before deciding." Hua Feng smiled and did not tell his wife about the rebate.
If the quality was guaranteed, there would not be much risk. His quote was very low, and he would have an explanation for both himself and the company.
As for accepting rebates, he had spent so many years in the workplace. As long as he remained useful to the company, based on his understanding of the boss's personality, even if the boss discovered it, it would not be a big deal.
Even if he did not say anything, the boss probably suspected he might be taking rebates from outsourced factories. The boss simply turned a blind eye, as long as it did not go too far.
Besides, the boss would never imagine that the other side was willing to offer such a large rebate.
It was not just their company. Most middle- and upper-level managers in companies had more or less some off-the-books income.
"Oh, I see. Then they'll give you some benefits, right?"
Hua Feng reminded her, "Ask less about these matters. Don't tell anyone."
"Oh, I know. Don't worry, I can keep my mouth shut."
The next morning, Fang Bai arrived at Boli Valve Company empty-handed.
After registering with the Gatekeeper, he went to Hua Feng's private office.
The twenty- to thirty-square-meter office had whitewashed walls and a cement floor. Its furnishings were simple: a desk, a newspaper rack, a tea table, and a wooden coat rack. A blue work uniform and a blue safety helmet hung on it, with a pair of work shoes beside it.
It was a very standard office setup for mid-to-upper-level production management. Even twenty or thirty years later, the only major changes would be the addition of computers and printers and the removal of the newspaper rack.
When Hua Feng saw Fang Bai arrive, he invited him to sit and have tea.
Fang Bai shook hands with him and sat down, already knowing that the deal between them had been finalized.
"Mr. Fang, this is the Outsourcing Processing Agreement. Take a look. If there are no issues, sign it." That morning, Hua Feng had visited Jiayu Processing Plant and found its business very busy.
Each machine had shielding panels installed on the outside, as though there were some secret hidden within.
He had asked Qin Donghai and confirmed that Fang Bai was a partner. He did not investigate much further before leaving.
Fang Bai nodded, accepted the two sheets of paper, and gave them a quick read.
There were 100 3-inch Gate Valves and 100 2-inch Globe Valves, all made from WCB cast steel. The prices followed what he had quoted yesterday. The delivery deadline had been left blank for Fang Bai to fill in himself, which was truly rare.
After thinking briefly, Fang Bai estimated that the batch for Hengli Company could be completed in about seven days. Since this was Hua Feng's first time cooperating with him, the order quantity was small, but it would still take five or six days to finish. Giving himself ten days would leave plenty of room and prevent him from losing credibility by failing to deliver on time.
So he asked, "Mr. Hua, how about setting the delivery deadline as before November 1?"
Hua Feng considered it briefly. "That's fine. You must guarantee the quality."
Fang Bai smiled. "Don't worry. If we did a poor job, wouldn't we be slapping our own faces?"
After both parties signed, Hua Feng arranged for the workshop supervisor to coordinate with Fang Bai. "Li Kai, you'll be responsible for Mr. Fang's work."
"Alright."
Li Kai accepted the order and carefully looked over the very young-looking Fang Bai.
The company was busy, and whenever there were outsourced processing orders, Hua Feng was usually in charge. It was not Li Kai's place to interfere. He would do whatever Mr. Hua arranged. After all, Mr. Hua had promoted him; he had once been nothing more than an ordinary worker.
Fang Bai smiled and shook his hand. "General Manager Li, I hope you'll look after me in the future."
He did not know the young man in his thirties before him. In his previous life, Fang Bai had only met Hua Feng a year later. This workshop supervisor had probably already left his job by then.
No matter what, the other party was responsible for machining production, so Fang Bai had to build a good relationship with him. Cigarettes on ordinary days and gifts during holidays would definitely be indispensable.
As the person Hua Feng had assigned to coordinate with him, Li Kai had no choice but to take Fang Bai seriously. He shook Fang Bai's hand and said politely, "Haha, I wouldn't dare call myself a general manager. Just call me Engineer Li, Mr. Fang."
After receiving the order, Fang Bai exchanged a few pleasantries with Li Kai, then said he would take the goods back for processing. Li Kai arranged a vehicle to deliver them.
Loading the goods took some time. Fang Bai rode his bicycle ahead to lead the way, and they reached Jiayu Processing Plant two or three minutes later.
When Qin Donghai saw Fang Bai return on his bicycle with a pickup truck following behind him, he quickly came over and asked, "Mr. Fang, a new order?"
"Yes, an order from Boli Company. Get Master Zhang over here to help unload."
Qin Donghai was overjoyed. He called Zhang Dafu out to unload the goods and joined in himself.
He had not expected Fang Bai to actually secure an order from Boli Valve Company, and it was not a small order either. They would have plenty of work now.
After looking at the workpieces in the truck, he said to Fang Bai beside him, "Mr. Fang, there are 3-inch Gate Valves here. We don't have dedicated Workholding Fixtures."
"I'll discuss the price with you later. I'll design the Workholding Fixtures."
"Alright, then let's unload first. You should rest."
Fang Bai nodded. He did not stand on ceremony. His right hand was not strong enough, so it was better for him to do less work.
Besides, unloading and machining were not his responsibilities in the first place. He was a salesman; as long as he could bring in orders, that was enough.
After completing the deal with Hua Feng, Fang Bai realized he had gained another connection. He now had three connections in total.
As for his father-in-law, he was not yet a connection. Fang Bai guessed that his father-in-law's current standing was still not high enough.
The nameless Golden Finger had taken another step toward reaching Level 2.
Leveling up was difficult, but seeing his connections steadily increase gave Fang Bai a strong sense of accomplishment.
One day, when his network became large enough, anything he wanted to accomplish would become much easier.
Before you continue