Chapter 8

Yi Xingchen carefully looked at the form, which mainly required the company name, legal representative, and the contact number of the person in charge to be filled in.

Yi Xingchen glanced at the middle-aged woman, originally intending to ask some questions, but he was also worried about revealing himself. After hesitating for a moment, Yi Xingchen decided to complete it himself.

A minute later, Yi Xingchen finished filling out the form and handed it to the middle-aged woman.

The middle-aged woman took the form and casually glanced through it, asking in a routine manner, "Is it a local winery?"

Yi Xingchen nodded in agreement.

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman casually glanced at the form again and said, "There are still a few third-level booths available for the International Fruit Wine Exhibition. However, the fees for international exhibitions are quite high and may not be suitable for small wineries. If you insist on participating, you need to pay the first day's booth rental fee in advance, which is 600 yuan."

Seeing that the middle-aged woman did not ask for any business documents, Yi Xingchen was quite straightforward and directly paid the 600 yuan.

Seeing Yi Xingchen's promptness, the middle-aged woman assumed he was a new salesperson from a small winery. She gave him a few more pointers, instructing him to take a one-inch half-body photo at a self-service camera outside the office hall.

This one-inch photo was for the identity badge required to enter the exhibition, allowing only one member of the company to enter and participate in the exhibition.

Within fifteen minutes, the middle-aged woman had processed Yi Xingchen's identity badge and handed him a receipt. With this receipt, Yi Xingchen could enter the exhibition center early to participate in the exhibition.

Holding the receipt and the identity badge, Yi Xingchen felt a bit strange as he walked out of the office. The procedures for the exhibition center's merchant booths were surprisingly convenient, and more importantly, no business license was required for verification.

Yi Xingchen thought for a long time and concluded that the only possible explanation was the environment of Nianxiang City. After all, the exhibition center was also a business platform, and simplifying some procedures to create economic benefits was not unusual.

In fact, what Yi Xingchen didn't know was that he was just lucky. The reason the lady at the exhibition center simplified the process was partly due to her carelessness and partly because Nianxiang City had too many small and medium-sized wineries.

Some of these small and medium-sized wineries were just family workshops of a few dozen square meters. As the big players in the industry competed for market share, many small wineries in Nianxiang City went bankrupt each year. However, many new wineries also opened, introducing new products. Therefore, like Yi Xingchen's plan, the exhibition was their best shortcut.

As an exhibition center supported by the local government, they had the responsibility to assist local businesses. Thus, when the staff heard Yi Xingchen's local accent, they did not suspect him and opened the door for him.

Moreover, competition was not just among different wineries but also among different exhibition venues.

Nianxiang City had more than one exhibition venue. Unless there was evidence of serious violations or fraud, the exhibition center had no reason to push potential customers away. The exhibition center merely provided a platform, ensuring its safety, and simplifying the booth rental process to meet market demands. Regarding responsibility, the exhibition center would require both parties to conduct investigations when signing trade agreements.

In addition, the exhibition center would also classify merchants by credit rating, allowing participating companies to choose. The third-level booth was for the lowest-credit exhibitors. The exhibition center explicitly stated that for merchants choosing this level, they only provided a platform and did not guarantee the credibility of either party.

Of course, what the lady at the office was most concerned about was that for every third-level booth sold, the person in charge would receive a 5% sales bonus.

After leaving the exhibition center with the receipt, Yi Xingchen began preparing the items needed for the International Fruit Wine Exhibition.

For example, the packaging for the Wàngyōu Wine. Although Wàngyōu Wine was a "three-no" product (no production date, no quality inspection, no manufacturer), since he decided to participate in the exhibition, Yi Xingchen could not let it appear as such. Therefore, he needed to provide good packaging for the Wàngyōu Wine.

After returning to his rental, Yi Xingchen found a design and printing shop nearby, spending over a hundred yuan to design and produce a poster for the exhibition. Then, he went to a seal engraving shop and asked the engraver to hand-carve a Wàngyōu Wine seal. He also visited a gift shop to buy ten gift boxes and cards for the wine bottles.

After completing these preparations, Yi Xingchen waited for the start of the International Fruit Wine Exhibition.

On the first day of the exhibition, Yi Xingchen arrived early to set up his booth.

Because the third-level booth he rented was very small, only 5 square meters, it could only accommodate a wine rack, a small table, and two swivel chairs.

The booth space was small, so Yi Xingchen had little to do. He pasted the promotional poster prepared by the printing shop on the partition wall behind the booth. Then, he neatly arranged ten bottles of Wàngyōu Wine on the wine rack and placed two small transparent glass cups, completing the setup.

These two small cups were for guests to taste the wine. However, not just any curious passerby could try it. Only customers who showed genuine interest in purchasing would be allowed to taste it. After all, the quantity of Wàngyōu Wine was limited, and Yi Xingchen could not satisfy every curious person.

With over ten thousand people attending the exhibition each day, if Yi Xingchen let everyone try the wine, the ten bottles would not be enough. Only customers with the financial means and genuine interest would be allowed to taste it, and Yi Xingchen would try to close deals with them.

At 8:30 AM, the International Fruit Wine Exhibition at the exhibition center officially began, and a large number of wine enthusiasts entered one after another.

Initially, the visitors at the exhibition headed straight for the first-level and second-level booths. These booths, with their inviting aromas, attracted many interested people. These booths belonged to large wineries and companies, with ample space and excellent locations, so they were surrounded by interested visitors.

As the number of visitors increased, the third-level booths gradually gained more attention.

Yi Xingchen was not in a hurry. He sat quietly in his chair, not actively soliciting customers. Even when some curious customers came to ask questions, Yi Xingchen would directly quote a price of 10,000 yuan per bottle.