Fang Bai shook hands with Hua Feng, probing his information, and quickly learned about Berly Valves Company's recent situation, saying, "General Manager Hua, I heard that Boli Company is very busy, and 3-inch gate valves and 2-inch globe valves are piled up like mountains.
The thing is, I happen to have a machining factory, and the quality is guaranteed.
The processing fee for a 2-inch globe valve is only 17 yuan!
As for the 3-inch gate valve, the processing fee is only 25 yuan!
The processing scope includes machining processes like facing, drilling, and chamfering.
The subcontracting prices for these two types of valves are basically transparent in the industry, and I can say that my quote is the lowest in the entire industry."
Hua Feng was a little surprised: "Indeed, your quote is a bit lower than the industry price. If the quality is fine, logically, I should give the work to you.
However, we already have a partner."
For him, a slightly higher quote was no big deal; he didn't have to spend a single cent, as long as it saved him trouble.
If there were constant quality issues or delayed deliveries, it would negatively affect his standing with his boss.
He would not do anything that would harm him or pose a risk to him.
Fang Bai seemed to have anticipated this and said, "Here's the deal: 8% of the subcontracting contract amount will be returned to General Manager Hua as a service fee, provided that payments are settled on time. I can deliver this service fee to your doorstep, or I can wait until the old agreement is completed before signing a new one."
When giving rebates to someone, don't beat around the bush; others don't have that patience, but the language should be more subtle, not arrogant.
Otherwise, someone like Hua Feng, who is a bit arrogant, would refuse directly before he even finished speaking.
On the other hand, Fang Bai giving a rebate to Hua Feng also had its benefits: Boli Company would pay very quickly.
The completion of an order isn't just about finishing the processing; it's considered successful only when the money is received.
Hua Feng's salary was annual, with a comprehensive annual income of six thousand yuan.
The rebate Fang Bai offered was substantial, reaching 8%!
Boli Company's monthly outsourced machining contract amount reached 30,000 yuan, so 8% was 2,400 yuan!
Of course, it was impossible for all outsourced machining to be given to Fang Bai, and Fang Bai also didn't have the capacity to take it all.
But even with just a 10,000 yuan contract amount, Hua Feng could get an 800 yuan rebate, which was more than his salary.
Fang Bai had carefully considered this rebate rate, ensuring more orders would be secured and making things simpler, as one discussion could lead to continued cooperation.
Therefore, Hua Feng couldn't remain calm.
He took a deep breath and couldn't help but smile, not directly agreeing to Fang Bai, but instead asking, "If you do this, wouldn't your quote be much lower than the industry average? How do you make money?
If you can't make money, how can we cooperate long-term, and how can product quality be guaranteed?"
"General Manager Hua is wise; he immediately hit the nail on the head. Cooperation that isn't win-win simply cannot last," Fang Bai praised.
"I won't hide it from General Manager Hua, we use new processes and new equipment, so our processing efficiency is faster, and thus our costs are lower.
Of course, this is our core secret, so I won't go into details."
"Oh, I see. Where is your processing factory?"
"Not far, it's about a hundred meters north from the intersection of Xiangyang South Street and Pu Yizhong Road. It's only a few hundred meters from your company, and it's called Jiayu Processing Factory."
"Oh, then I probably know the location. How about this, you come to my company tomorrow morning to find me. I need to assess the situation before discussing cooperation."
Upon hearing this, Fang Bai knew the other party was interested and said:
"Okay, thank you, General Manager Hua. See you tomorrow. I still have some things to attend to, so I'll head back now."
The other party had also made it clear he was rushing them out to do other things, so staying would be asking for trouble.
"Okay, see you tomorrow." Hua Feng shook hands with Fang Bai again.
After Fang Bai left, the young woman brought the child back to the living room, looked at her husband, and said with a smile, "Husband, that young man is quite interesting."
Hua Feng glanced at the gift on the tea table, checked it, and it was indeed the tea he liked to drink. He said in a deep voice, "He's very capable. He knows when to advance and retreat, and also how to avoid suspicion, he's got me completely figured out."
Then he looked at his child, who loved the backpack so much and even asked where the uncle went, wanting him to teach singing. He had his family completely figured out too.
"Husband, he came to discuss cooperation, right? Otherwise, why would he send so many gifts? Did you agree to him?" The young woman knew some things about her husband, and luckily she wasn't ostentatious, knowing that would harm her husband.
Otherwise, with her husband's personality, he wouldn't tell her.
"I have that intention. I need to inspect his factory first before deciding." Hua Feng smiled and didn't tell his wife about the rebate.
If the quality was guaranteed, then there wasn't much risk. His quote was very low, and he could also account for it to the company.
As for the matter of him receiving rebates, he had been in the workplace for so many years. As long as he was useful to the company, based on his understanding of his boss's personality, even if the boss found out, it wouldn't be a big deal.
Even if he didn't say anything, the boss would probably guess that he might receive rebates from outsourced factories, and just turn a blind eye, as long as he didn't overdo it.
Moreover, the boss would absolutely not expect someone to give such a large rebate.
Not just their company, but most companies' middle and high-level management had more or less some gray income.
"Oh, I see. Then he'll give you benefits, right?"
Hua Feng reminded her, "You should ask less about these things, and don't talk about them outside."
"Oh, I know, don't worry, I'm very tight-lipped."
...
The next morning, Fang Bai arrived empty-handed at Berly Valves Company.
After registering at the gate, he arrived at Hua Feng's private office.
The office was twenty to thirty square meters, with white walls and a cement floor. The interior was simply furnished with an office desk, a newspaper rack, a tea table, and a wooden coat rack with a blue work uniform and a blue hard hat hanging on it. Next to the coat rack was a pair of safety shoes.
It was a very standard setup for a middle to high-level production management office. Even twenty or thirty years later, it would only have added computers and printers, removed the newspaper rack, and little else would have changed significantly.
Hua Feng saw Fang Bai arrive and invited him to sit down and have tea.
Fang Bai shook hands with him, sat on the chair, and already knew that the transaction between them had been concluded.
"General Manager Fang, this is the outsourced processing agreement. Please take a look, and if there are no problems, sign it." This morning, Hua Feng had visited his Jiayu Processing Factory, and business was very busy.
Each piece of equipment had external shielding, as if there was some secret.
He asked Qin Donghai, confirmed that Fang Bai was a partner, didn't investigate much else, and then left.
Fang Bai nodded, took the two sheets of paper, and quickly skimmed them.
100 pieces of 3-inch gate valves, 100 pieces of 2-inch globe valves, all made of WCB cast steel. The prices were as he quoted yesterday. The delivery date was left blank for Fang Bai to fill in, which was truly rare.
Fang Bai pondered for a moment. The work for Hengli Company would probably take about seven days to complete. Hua Feng was cooperating with him for the first time and gave a smaller order, but it would still take five or six days to finish. Giving himself ten days would provide ample time, so as not to lose credibility by failing to deliver on time.
So he asked, "General Manager Hua, how about writing the delivery date as before November 1st?"
Hua Feng pondered slightly and said, "That's fine, but you must ensure the quality."
Fang Bai smiled, "Don't worry, if I don't do it well, wouldn't I be slapping my own face?"
Both parties signed, and Hua Feng arranged for the machining workshop supervisor to liaise with Fang Bai: "Li Kai, you are responsible for General Manager Fang's business."
"Okay."
Li Kai took the order and carefully sized up Fang Bai, who looked very young.
The company's business was busy, and outsourced processing orders were usually handled by Hua Feng, not him. Whatever Hua Feng arranged, he would do. He was promoted by General Manager Hua, after all; he was just an ordinary worker before.
Fang Bai smiled and shook hands: "General Manager Li, please take good care of me in the future."
He didn't recognize this young man in his thirties. Fang Bai only met Hua Feng a year later in his previous life, so he estimated that this workshop supervisor had already left by then.
Regardless, since the other party was responsible for machining production, he had to deal with him well. Giving cigarettes normally and gifts during holidays would certainly be indispensable.
The boss Hua Feng arranged for him to liaise with, Li Kai, had to take it seriously. He shook hands with Fang Bai politely and said, "Haha, I wouldn't dare be called General Manager. Just call me Engineer Li, General Manager Fang."
Fang Bai got the order, exchanged pleasantries with Li Kai, and then said he would take the goods back for processing. Li Kai arranged for a vehicle to deliver the goods.
Loading the goods took some time. Fang Bai rode his bike to lead the way, and in two or three minutes, they arrived at Jiayu Processing Factory.
Qin Donghai saw Fang Bai return on his bike with a pickup truck behind him and quickly came up to ask, "General Manager Fang, a new order?"
"Yes, an order from Boli Company. Ask Master Zhang to come and help unload."
Qin Donghai's face lit up with surprise. He called Zhang Dafu out to unload the goods and also lent a hand himself.
He hadn't expected Fang Bai to get an order from Berly Valves Company, and the order volume was quite substantial. They had work to do now.
He looked at the workpieces on the truck and said to Fang Bai next to him, "General Manager Fang, there are 3-inch gate valves. We don't have specialized fixtures."
"I'll discuss the price with you later. I'll design the fixtures."
"Okay, then let's unload first. You can rest."
Fang Bai nodded. He wasn't being polite; his right hand was weak, so he should do less work.
Moreover, unloading and processing were not his concern; he was a salesman, and getting orders was enough.
After the transaction with Hua Feng, Fang Bai found that he had gained another connection. Currently, he had a total of three connections.
As for his father-in-law, he wasn't a connection yet. Fang Bai guessed that his father-in-law's current level was not enough.
The nameless Golden Finger was one step closer to upgrading to Level 2.
Upgrading was difficult, but Fang Bai felt a sense of accomplishment seeing his connections continuously increase.
One day, when his connections were large enough, getting things done would be much easier.