Chapter 12

On Monday, as soon as he arrived at work, the Beijing branch started a meeting. Wu Di spoke for over an hour about his experiences and impressions, then moved the Tuesday's order confirmation to the morning, and the morning passed in a blur.

At lunch, as usual, President Wang paid the bill, and the carefree guys like Li Qinglong started shouting slogans:

"Listen to Sister Wang, and you'll have food to eat; work for Sister Wang, and you'll earn money; remember Sister Wang's kindness, and you'll get to hug the girls; follow Sister Wang's path, and let her fall into the ditch..."

The lunch was always pleasant, especially with a few lively characters to liven up the atmosphere. The meal created a better mood than several meetings combined.

In the afternoon, as soon as Wu Di stepped out, Li Qinglong pulled him aside. The guy shook his big head and kept calling for Wu Di's help. Wu Di, confused, asked:

"What's wrong?"

"The Second Machine Factory is bidding, and I didn't know about it. I didn't even buy the tender documents. The Construction Department called Minister Ou, but the secretary answered, very polite but firm. Brother Wu, this is the only project I have for the next few months. What should I do?"

"It's okay, it's not your fault. The salesperson before you couldn't handle it either, and even Old Wang failed. As long as you keep trying, there will be a turning point."

"Turning point my ass. The Second Machine Factory is a mess, and I think the Construction Department is about to be overwhelmed too. Luckily, I didn't mention the manufacturer when I called, or I might already be on the blacklist."

"Damn, I didn't mean these two projects. Are you going to hang yourself on one tree? Actually, approaching the CEO isn't suitable for many public construction projects, especially government ones. The relationships are too complex, and everyone has a piece of the pie. Stirring things up will only get you killed. Real estate projects are more suitable. I warned you, but you didn't listen!"

"But I have to outdo Old Wang!"

"Alright, don't act like a motherless child. Be more open. Haven't you heard that a salesperson who never loses a deal isn't a good salesperson?"

"But I've never seen anyone get played so badly that they don't even know about the bid."

Li Qinglong grumbled, and Wu Di was both amused and exasperated. Every year, at least one-fifth of the projects the company follows don't buy the tender documents. Some genuinely don't know, some are played, some are intentionally abandoned, and some are taken away. The sales world is murky! Even with this data, the company is considered one of the best among its peers. Other companies are even worse, picking projects to bid on, involving everyone from top to bottom in collusive bidding, selling information, and all sorts of dirty deeds.

"Cheer up, come run a couple of projects with me."

"Alright, I'll learn from the old master. I'll follow your path..."

"Are you trying to leave me with no path? Fine, you have the spirit. In sales, you need to be fearless. Don't be afraid, I'm not afraid."

The week passed uneventfully. Wu Di called Old Yuan a few times, discussing prices and other issues. Old Yuan told him to handle it, ensuring the winning bid was kept below 200. He also informed Wu Di that the Dahan Company was causing trouble, wanting to submit a supplementary tender, but he sent them to the tendering company. Without the client's approval, the tendering company didn't dare to speak. He explained the tendering policy to Dahan for a long time. Dahan,不服气 (unconvinced), found Wang Dali, the head of the Second Machine Factory, who scolded them harshly. Old Yuan was particularly pleased.

"You know, what are these people thinking? Are they crazy for money? You don't know, last time a rogue company even approached my daughter. I plan to bring this up at the next infrastructure meeting in the system. Such rule-breaking companies should be eliminated as soon as possible."

Wu Di silently mourned for the company:

"I know, but I can't stop it."

Old Yuan was clearly excited:

"I lured the company's leader and scolded him. You don't know, seeing their faces, I felt so relieved. Wang Dali was even more impressive. He called me, Old Li, Old Tian, and the disciplinary committee to a large meeting room, cleared it out, and left only two rows of chairs, like a three-hall trial. Old Wang didn't use foul language, but he was so sharp. Listen, welcome, we warmly welcome manufacturers who support our project. What, you didn't buy the tender documents? Why are you here? There's something fishy in the bidding process, the disciplinary committee is here, our factory doesn't have a one-man show. What? No fishy business, why are you here? Giving you a chance? Young man, our factory doesn't produce that. If your leader fires you, I would do the same. You've been here for two years and didn't even get the tender documents. A guy in our factory forgot to stamp a document and got his leg broken. If you leak the tender documents, hmm. Young comrade, the tendering company, the disciplinary committee, the infrastructure department, the procurement department, and the engineering department are all here. I thought someone was up to no good, and I was preparing a rectification movement. For your mistake, you've wasted everyone's time and want us to make mistakes. You're really hurting us. Alright, go back and tell your leader not to do such immoral things again."

Wu Di laughed heartily and asked:

"Did you really break the salesperson's leg?"

"Indeed. That year, Old Wang's son forgot to stamp a document in a bid, and they lost a project worth over 700 million. A series of people were disciplined, and his son, as the direct responsible person, had his leg broken by his father. His wife even filed for divorce over it for half a year."

"Damn, Old Wang is a good comrade."

"Old Wang has been criticized a lot in the past two years, but no one is perfect. Without Old Wang, the factory would have collapsed long ago."

On Thursday, after verifying the prices, Wu Di had Zhao Haoran seal the bid. The opening of the bids on Friday was uneventful, just reading out the prices without even giving the companies a chance to present. As expected, the two companies outside the control group bid 326, and the final average price was 1.96 million.

In the afternoon, they were notified to pick up the winning bid notice. Wu Di's mind was finally at ease. 1.98 million, after deducting the cost of goods, expenses, taxes, and quality assurance, he would net 600,000, equivalent to several years of work.

The Ou family had no news, and he was a bit worried but resisted calling. He calculated that he would receive the payment from the Second Machine Factory in about a month. He needed to consider buying a brick inkstone. The money was not enough, extremely insufficient, especially since he was thinking about the children in Kaoshan Village and the old couple, Principal Lu.

For some reason, Wu Di was reluctant to use the wordless book to handle projects. Maybe it was because the information displayed was too explicit, or maybe the Ou DouDou incident made him a bit afraid. He feared that if he continued, he would lose his passion for sales, always going straight to the point, losing a lot of fun and friends. In the long run, without the book, he would lose his ability to survive. But he needed the money.

These few projects were fine, but he must not abuse the book's power in the future. Remember, a gentleman loves wealth, but he must obtain it in a righteous way.

The weekend at Panjiayuan was particularly crowded, and Wu Di regretted not checking out Liulichang first. On weekends, Panjiayuan allows street vendors, and many items from the bag shops were clearly fake, even to a novice like Wu Di. However, the target audience was those who thought they knew a bit and were looking for bargains. He, being a novice, was actually the hardest to deceive because he often had the proletarian spirit of doubting and negating everything.

There were a few vendors selling live animals, mostly strange-looking turtles, with stories about river dredging and pond renovation, creating legends of thousand-year-old turtles. Wu Di didn't know the names of the animals, but their appearance scared him. In modern terms, they weren't his type.

Wandering around, he came to a shop with an ancient and elegant appearance. Looking up, he saw Mingtangzhai. Ha, wasn't this the shop of the pressure tank? Because it was related to the equipment he sold, Wu Di was particularly sensitive to the term "pressure tank." Combined with the name "Mingtang," which sounded impressive, their manager often said, "What kind of Mingtang is this?" It was hard to forget. Even wandering around, he ended up here, it seemed fate.

Compared to the crowd outside, the shop was much quieter, but there were still three or four groups of people browsing. For a nearly 100 square meter shop, it seemed a bit deserted.

Wu Di immediately spotted Wen Yaru sitting in a corner reading a newspaper. Mainly because of his distinctive beard. Wen Yaru glanced up, then continued reading, clearly not recognizing him, or perhaps he had forgotten him.

A clerk hurried over, greeted him, and then rushed off to attend to a group of foreign customers. Seeing the clerks busy, Wu Di was pleased. He hated having someone chattering non-stop while he shopped, especially since he was just browsing today.

Wu Di stood in front of a glass cabinet. Inside were three rows of porcelain. The first row was likely blue and white, but he didn't know if it was modern or old. The second row was likely famille-rose, looking a bit aged. The third row was probably cloisonné, with very bright colors, especially the red, which was particularly beautiful.

Wu Di nodded repeatedly, not to praise the items but to commend himself. If people knew that this novice, who had never read a book on antiques and never seen a genuine antique, could identify three rows of porcelain, they would surely praise him as talented and promising.

Just as he was feeling good, someone came to join in the fun:

"Sir, you have a good eye. These blue and white pieces, though from the current dynasty, are all from famous kilns, crafted by renowned masters, and are limited editions. The famille-rose includes a few late Qing dynasty pieces. This cloisonné gilded garlic bulb vase is a genuine antique, a replica of an old piece. Which one would you like to see? I can take it out for you to handle."

The young man was a sales expert, following Wu Di's gaze and providing a mix of real and fake information, easily gaining the customer's trust.

After evaluating the young man's professionalism, Wu Di decided to give him a chance and enjoy the feeling of being the client.

"I mainly want to look at inkstones. I want to buy one as a gift, and you must guarantee it's genuine."

Wu Di glanced at the young man, judging that he only believed about 30%, and couldn't help but laugh. In this day and age, people hear so many lies that they don't believe the truth. Well, let's go through the motions of truth and falsehood.

"Ah, you've come to the wrong place, sir. We mainly deal in porcelain and jade, but we do have a few high-quality inkstones, all guaranteed to be genuine. Please step over and take a look. You might find one that suits you. After all, you've come to our shop, so it's a matter of fate."

Smooth! Watching this sales technique, he first admitted the weaknesses, then highlighted the strengths, guaranteed authenticity but not age, and emphasized the importance of fate in antiques. A true expert, higher than the city walls. He should have come to learn long ago.