Fang Bai Was So Good at Handling People

After chatting with his father-in-law for a while, Fang Bai left.

He planned to visit Hengli Company and Boli Valve Company, secure a few more orders, and let Wang Hengli and Hua Feng know his Pager number while he was at it.

He went to Hengli Company first. When Wang Hengli saw Fang Bai and noticed the Pager on his belt, he praised him, "Oh, Fang Bai, you bought a Pager? That must have cost several thousand, right?"

"Manager Wang, don't tease me. I only bought a Pager because I'm broke. The Boss wouldn't even look at one—they all buy Big Brothers."

After being flattered, Wang Hengli beamed.

Fang Bai exchanged a few pleasantries with Wang Hengli and quickly secured a new order: subcontracting the machining of 400 three-inch Gate Valves. Then he left Hengli Company.

When he arrived at Boli Company, he met Hua Feng and asked about the feedback on the delivered goods.

Hua Feng was quite satisfied. There were no issues, and they could continue working together.

After settling the two orders, Fang Bai went back to update his father-in-law.

When Qin Donghai heard that there was a major processing order worth ten thousand yuan, he was delighted but also worried about hiring workers.

With the original two orders, if payment came through smoothly, Qin Donghai could earn 6,800 yuan in subcontracting fees, while Fang Bai could earn 4,900 yuan.

As for the two new orders, Fang Bai had a profit margin of seven or eight thousand yuan.

It looked like Fang Bai could only earn around ten thousand yuan a month doing sales, but once Qin Donghai had more equipment and workers, and more orders came in, earning over fifty thousand yuan a month would not be a problem.

And it would not even take much time.

These days, earning tens of thousands a month was no worse than running a factory with a hundred employees. Where else could he find such a stable business?

The profit margins in valves could not be underestimated.

After leaving Jiayu Processing Plant, Fang Bai returned to his rental home. Whenever he had time, he designed a few fixtures and molds that might be needed for subcontracting, then handed them over to his father-in-law to manufacture.

So far, none of the subcontracting orders had been paid for. His father-in-law was definitely worried, since he had to advance the workers' wages and other expenses himself, while the payments were beyond his control.

Once they actually received the money, even if Fang Bai said nothing, his father-in-law would become much more proactive about recruiting workers.

Fang Bai understood all this and understood his father-in-law's thoughts. There was no point rushing. Only when his father-in-law received payment would their partnership truly begin.

When Fang Bai returned to the rental home, he had just parked his bike and turned around when his father noticed the Pager on his belt. He walked over and lowered his head to inspect it.

He could not help noticing it. His son rarely tucked in his shirt, so the sight immediately surprised him.

"Oh, you bought a BP Pager?" he asked.

"Son, how much did this Pager cost?"

Fang Shi had seen other people wearing Pagers. Some small workshop owners in the village had them too, so he was no stranger to them and knew they were expensive.

Fang Bai chuckled. "The whole set cost 2,580 yuan."

"That's ridiculously expensive. I heard there's a monthly rental fee too. Even if ordinary people had one, they couldn't afford to use it."

"If you're doing business, you can't manage without one. Dad, how about I get one for you too?"

When Fang Shi heard that his son wanted to buy him one, he smiled and shook his head. "Better not. I'm always at home and don't go far. If something comes up, I can just CALL you."

As the father and son chatted about Pagers, the students repairing televisions overheard them and came over to take a look. Then they praised Manager Fang for being impressive.

They got along quite well with Fang Bai, mainly because he was generous and easy to talk to.

Fang Bai raised his brows and smiled. "You need to work harder so I can use a Big Brother."

"Then, Manager Fang, we'll work even harder so you can drive a car."

"Exactly. Full marks for comprehension."

Fang Bai chatted with the students for a while and had each of them dismantle ten sets so he could mark them. He also told them to write down the issues he explained. He had exams tomorrow and the day after, so he would not have time to explain the faults to them.

If they missed how to repair something, they could just switch to another television.

These students thought Fang Bai was incredible. He was still a high school student, yet he could quickly identify the specific fault in every television and understood television structures and circuit boards with remarkable clarity.

It was just that Fang Bai had no time to explain anything too deep to them.

What they did not know was that Fang Bai did not understand the deeper technical knowledge that well either. How could he explain it to them?

As far as Fang Bai was concerned, the students only needed to know what to repair. Understanding so much had nothing to do with him—they were not doing research and development.

After arranging the tasks for tomorrow and the day after, Fang Bai rolled back into his room to study without wasting another word on the students.

Talk less, do more.

Everyone had their time occupied by all kinds of trivial matters, entertainment, television, gossip, and the like. There was too little time left for getting things done, so year after year passed without them accomplishing much.

The monthly exam was tomorrow. He was still somewhat looking forward to it. Since starting his review, he had not tested his level yet.

The next morning,

Fang Bai leisurely ate breakfast at home and memorized english vocabulary, as he did every day.

When it was almost time, he stuffed the BP Pager into his backpack, slung it over his shoulders, and left the rental home.

There was no point arriving too early. Today was the monthly exam, and the school required students to move the books from their desks outside the classroom or to the back row. During the time before the exam, nobody could study effectively anyway. Fang Bai felt it was better to spend a little more time reading at home.

Oubei No. 1 Middle School, Repeat Class One classroom.

Zhan Feng stood at the classroom door and checked the time. It was almost nine o'clock, and the Chinese exam was about to begin. Fang Bai still had not arrived, and he was the only student missing from the class.

Please don't be late at such a critical time.

The Chinese teacher, who was in her thirties, stood nearby, somewhat displeased. She said that Fang Bai was the only student still missing.

Zhan Feng explained, "Teacher Mo, there are still five minutes before the papers are handed out. There's still time. Maybe that guy likes arriving right on time."

"Every other student is making the most of their time to review, but he alone is in no rush at all. I really don't understand why the school leaders agreed to let him take long leaves so often."

Teacher Mo was somewhat unhappy. Fang Bai had only attended one of her classes, while he attended more classes in other subjects. She thought Fang Bai did not like her class.

"Teacher Mo, Fang Bai's circumstances are rather special."

"Forget it. I don't really have any objections."

Teacher Mo roughly knew some things about Fang Bai. She had heard that his severed finger required frequent medical treatment outside school, which was why he needed to take long leaves.

Still, even if he saw doctors often, did he really need to take long leaves so frequently?

As the two spoke, a boy strolled toward them without any hurry.

When Zhan Feng saw him, a smile appeared on her face. She stopped urging him and only spoke once he reached her.

"Fang Bai, I thought you'd forgotten about the exam."

"How could I forget something so important?"

"Mm, thank you for helping me get the discounted television price."

"No need to be polite. If other teachers want to buy one too, they can get a ten percent discount. Teacher Zhan, just give me a list, and I'll talk to the boss."

"Oh, really? That's great. Quite a few teachers have asked me about it, but I was too embarrassed to answer them."

As Zhan Feng spoke, she turned to Teacher Mo beside her. "Teacher Mo, didn't you ask where I got the discounted television price? This is Fang Bai. Can I recommend Teacher Mo?"

"Of course. Teacher Mo is my teacher too, and she's helped me a lot with my studies." Fang Bai lied smoothly, because he would not embarrass someone to her face.

"I see. Then thank you, Teacher Zhan and Fang Bai." After hearing their conversation, Teacher Mo finally understood that Zhan Feng had gotten the discount through Fang Bai.

Fang Bai had even said that anyone recommended by Zhan Feng could get a ten percent discount.

Now Fang Bai directly said Teacher Mo could get the same ten percent discount. That was even better.

At once, she no longer had any issue with Fang Bai arriving late. Besides, it was not even time to hand out the papers yet. He had merely arrived right on time.

By then, the students in the classroom were getting anxious. The class next door had already started handing out papers, while they had not started yet. A few students shouted, "Teacher, hand out the papers already! We won't have time to finish the essay later!"

Hearing the students shout, Teacher Mo entered the room and slapped the podium. "What are you shouting for? There are still two minutes. During the actual college entrance exam, they won't hand out the papers early for you."

Having received the discounted television price, she had no complaints toward Fang Bai at all. In fact, she now owed him a favor.

"Teacher, Fang Bai hasn't come to take the exam. No need to wait for him." A student in the corner of the classroom reminded her.

When Teacher Mo heard that, she felt that the student was trying to make her lose face. When you had accepted someone's favor, you could not turn around and offend them.

She slapped the podium again and declared firmly,

"Fang Bai arrived long ago. He's outside the classroom.

"I must remind you that Fang Bai has a very steady mindset. He's calm and unhurried, not treating the exam lightly.

"Unlike certain students, who usually score well but crumble under pressure in a real test and cannot even finish their essays."

The students did not dare argue with Teacher Mo after hearing that. They could only complain inwardly about Fang Bai: He did not even attend class regularly. It would be strange if he could score well.

Outside the classroom, knowing the exam was about to begin, Zhan Feng said to Fang Bai, "Fang Bai, go into the classroom first. The exam is about to start."

"Okay."

After seeing Fang Bai enter the classroom, Zhan Feng glanced at the student inside who had reminded Teacher Mo that Fang Bai had not come for the exam.

This student has become obsessed.

Before the exam, Li Hui had once again tattled to her, saying that Fang Bai usually skipped class because he worked part-time. He had seen Fang Bai helping someone sell televisions over the weekend.

When Zhan Feng heard him say that, anger rose in her. She immediately criticized him, "Li Hui, just focus on your own affairs. Your first priority is studying, not watching other people. Go back to the classroom."

When the Homeroom Teacher criticized him, Li Hui was actually a little surprised. He had thought she would praise him for discovering Fang Bai's little secret.

After Li Hui left, the teachers in the office could not help saying that Li Hui was truly obsessed and might be psychologically unbalanced.

How could a student like that possibly get by after entering society?

Then they looked at Fang Bai. He was so good at handling people. What teacher would not like him?