The next day, Fang Bai prepared for the electric appliance market's promotional work.
In this era, advertising was primarily done through newspapers and periodicals; different newspapers, page sizes, and sections had varying prices.
As for television advertisements, they existed but were not cheap.
With more competing businesses, prices naturally soared.
Fang Bai analyzed the cost-effectiveness of newspaper and television advertising and felt it was better to rent a car with loudspeakers and promote throughout the city for a better effect.
Of course, if he had money, he could combine them.
Actually, not many families bought newspapers.
And for families that already had televisions, advertising TVs on TV was inherently misaligned.
Therefore, Fang Bai felt that loudspeaker promotion + posting posters and distributing flyers + handsome men and beautiful women holding signs and walking on the streets were sufficient for publicity.
"Buy cheap appliances, go to Oubei Wharf Xinghai Shopping Mall."
"Focus on small appliances, Xinghai for millions of homes."
"Xinghai Electric Appliance: Not the cheapest, only cheaper."
"Quality establishes the world, Xinghai enters thousands of homes."
"To buy good home appliances, please come to Xinghai."
"14-inch color TV, not 1680, not 680, only 368."
...
Fang Bai prepared dozens of advertising slogans, specifically to bombard the streets and alleys of Wen City, letting nearby citizens know about Xinghai Electric Appliance Market.
At the same time, the electric appliance market also planned to hang such red banners.
Before undertaking these promotional efforts, Fang Bai needed to visit the local industrial and commercial department leaders, using his Golden Finger to ascertain their information, see what they liked, and then send some gifts.
Material possessions, reputation, social status, food and drink, etc., there was always something they liked.
Of course, it was best to know some of their unspeakable secrets that could threaten them, such as sleeping with a superior's wife.
In this era, to do big business, it was impossible not to establish connections with these department leaders; if a small fry came to cause trouble, it would be problematic.
What Fang Bai knew was that in those days, law enforcement officers from this department in the neighboring county were already adept at extorting and demanding favors, never paying for things like fruits, vegetables, and meat from market vendors, who still had to smile and laugh it off.
Therefore, if they resorted to such underhanded tactics, Fang Bai would not be polite; at least he had something to leverage against them.
On the morning of January 29th, Fang Bai first visited Mo Yang, the department head who sold them the land; this leader loved tea.
So Fang Bai prepared two boxes of good tea for his visit.
In those days, as long as it wasn't direct cash delivered to the office, two boxes of tea were not conspicuous at all; he could openly brew and drink tea in the office.
People from his own department wouldn't spread rumors, because he himself might not be clean.
If reported, not only would people from one department suffer, but that was just how it was.
After more than ten minutes, Fang Bai left Mo Yang's office somewhat troubled; the other party agreed to help him with recommendations, all people he was quite familiar with, and told Fang Bai to prepare a banquet, and to inform him once it was ready, saying this leader loved wine, and...?
Fang Bai frowned; he wasn't exactly disgusted by eating wild game, but it depended on what it was.
Civet cats, live civet cats, crocodiles, dogs, hedgehogs... he found all of them repulsive, just hearing the names made him nauseous.
Like in Yue City, there was no saying what couldn't be eaten; they could turn anything into a delicious meal, and as long as you didn't know what you were eating, you would definitely enjoy it.
Some wild animals were not yet prohibited from capture, for example, cobras would only be prohibited from capture a few years later; there were many in the rural bushes or desolate mountains in the south, posing a threat to public safety.
But Fang Bai was very disgusted by some inhumane wild game; fortunately, he could order his own dishes.
However, since the other party had a taste for it, and he had brought the trouble upon himself, he could only frown and go look for it.
It was difficult to find restaurants that served wild game locally; it was best to find one that served Cantonese cuisine.
After consulting more than a dozen decent restaurants, he finally found one that served wild game, and the wild game they served were only non-protected animals, such as wild chicken snake soup and wild rabbit.
Eating these, Fang Bai's sense of guilt was much reduced.
These dishes were expensive, simply unaffordable for ordinary people; a single wild dish would cost at least tens of yuan, or even hundreds or thousands of yuan.
That's right, like cobra soup, it was transported from the south; the snake catchers sold it to restaurants for tens of yuan per jin, and a snake was generally about three jin, so the original cost alone was over a hundred yuan, and it became much more expensive on the dining table, priced at 888 yuan, and the restaurant owner even said it was sold cheaply, saying some hotels charged over a thousand.
In this era, a single wild dish costing nearly a thousand yuan was too incredible.
After all, a stir-fried meat dish in a small restaurant now only cost one yuan, yet these dishes cost hundreds of yuan!
Fortunately, Fang Bai had run businesses in his previous life and was well-informed, so he understood it well; ordinary people would not understand it and would think it was bragging and nonsense upon hearing it.
After making the decision, he ordered the dishes and paid the deposit; besides Fang Bai, there were probably three people attending the banquet.
It cost about 1,300 yuan without even including alcohol, which made Fang Bai feel a bit pained, damn it.
But being able to spend money to establish connections was not a problem; generally, people wouldn't come out for banquets, as they weren't familiar with him and were afraid of being scammed.
If Fang Bai hadn't impressed Mo Yang with good tea, Mo Yang wouldn't have felt indebted, and also wouldn't have thought Fang Bai was genuine in his dealings, and wouldn't have helped introduce him just to freeload a meal.
After booking the banquet, Fang Bai called Mo Yang, who had a landline in his office, to tell him the location and the restaurant name.
After the call, Fang Bai bought six bottles of Maotai liquor, tore off the bottle caps, and poured the liquor into two clean 1-liter plastic buckets.
There were no mineral water bottles at this time, otherwise he would have just used them.
When giving alcohol to these leaders, it was best to tear off the labels.
Currently, 53-degree Maotai liquor was 90 yuan a bottle; four bottles were poured into plastic buckets, and two bottles had their labels torn off to be drunk at the banquet.
Drinking at the banquet, tearing off the labels seemed superfluous, but there was a reason for it.
It was to let you know it was Maotai, but without explicitly saying it was Maotai.
Around 4 PM, Fang Bai took a taxi from home to the restaurant.
After arriving at the restaurant, he waited for half an hour, and finally Mo Yang and two leaders arrived late.
The two sides exchanged pleasantries, and Mo Yang introduced the leaders to Fang Bai.
The fifty-year-old middle-aged man with a refined, gentlemanly appearance was the leader of the Industrial and Commercial Bureau, named Chen Shi.
The other one was an accompanying person.
"Director Chen, a pleasure, a pleasure!"
"I didn't expect President Fang to be so young!"
"No choice, poor children have to learn to manage the household early; thank you, leaders, for attending the banquet despite your busy schedules, please come in." Fang Bai shook hands with Chen Shi, unceremoniously using his Golden Finger to directly ascertain the other party's information.
Indeed, he loved wild game and alcohol, with no other hobbies; this was easy to handle.
He was most afraid of leaders who were lustful; in that case, he would have to be careful.
This leader had some functional impairments and had lost interest in lust.
He thought eating wild game and drinking good wine could restore his body, but after so many years, there was no improvement, so he gave up on that, and as a result, he became fond of wine and wild game.
The four entered the private room, and Fang Bai asked the waitress to serve the dishes.
At the same time, Fang Bai placed the two prepared bottles of Maotai liquor on the table, along with a pot of snake-infused liquor from the restaurant.
Fang Bai sat near the door, Chen Shi directly opposite the door, and the accompanying person and Mo Yang sat to his left and right.
Chen Shi looked at the wine on the table and smiled broadly: "President Fang, you've gone to great expense, getting such good wine."
"Leader, what are you talking about? This is wine brewed in my hometown, just put into nicer bottles." Fang Bai talked nonsense, smiling faintly, not hiding the act of opening the bottle in front of him.
Chen Shi heard this and thought it was homemade wine, but seeing Fang Bai personally open the bottle, he smiled appreciatively.
As a leader, Mo Yang understood alcohol, saw through it but didn't expose it, feeling that Fang Bai really had a way with things.
He just brought out real wine and made up a story so you could drink without pressure.
Fang Bai personally poured the wine, inserting from Chen Shi's right side, which was more convenient.
A moment later, the dishes were also served in sequence.
Mo Yang rarely ate wild game and asked curiously: "President Fang, what delicious dishes are these?"
"They are all specialty dishes, compliant with regulations," Fang Bai explained with a smile, without being explicit.
When eating wild game, it's best not to be explicit; some people, once they know, won't want to eat it, especially those with refined tastes.
"Oh, good dishes, I haven't tasted them in a long time." Mo Yang nodded, smiling contentedly.
Everyone first ate a few bites to fill their stomachs before Chen Shi began to taste the wine.
For someone who loves wine, even if they don't know what kind of wine it is beforehand, they can guess after drinking it.
With a sensitive nose, he only sniffed once and could smell the mellow aroma, unique and rich.
He took a sip, and upon entry, his tongue could feel the rich aroma emanating from the full-bodied wine, with an elegant musk and a unique aged scent, making one intoxicated.
The mouthfeel was warm and mellow, feeling like it melted in the mouth, leaving a lingering fragrance on the tongue.
"Hmm, it's good wine, and the dishes are good too, President Fang, you've been thoughtful." Chen Shi revealed a joyful and satisfied smile.
"As long as the leader likes it; I specially prepared a small bucket, same taste, same alcohol content, for the leader to take home and slowly savor." Fang Bai pointed to a plastic bucket placed in the corner, beaming with joy.
"Oh!"
Chen Shi's eyes lit up, and he saw that the plastic bucket was full; he felt that Fang Bai was too sensible and truly thoughtful, instantly liking this kind of person who knew not to cause trouble for him.
Mo Yang saw it and gave Fang Bai a thumbs-up; this kid was truly genuine.
Chen Shi's accompanying person was indeed somewhat surprised by this young man, so young yet so adept at these things; did he learn them in the womb?
Next, the four chatted and laughed at the banquet; Chen Shi and Mo Yang also promised Fang Bai that they would personally attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony when his shopping mall opened.
Fang Bai heard that these two leaders would come for the ribbon-cutting, which was the best possible outcome, as it could eliminate some minor troubles.
Of course, he knew that they also wanted to gain some reputation.
Fang Bai had already emphasized legal tax payment, and for the past two months, he had actively paid taxes; people preferred such companies, so they would actively attend the ribbon-cutting, which would not cause them trouble, and it would also be a matter of pride when mentioning it to their superiors.
Two bottles of wine, four people drinking; Fang Bai didn't drink much, mainly because the others didn't urge him to drink.
Leaders drink in moderation and cannot make a fool of themselves, so Fang Bai only prepared two bottles, to avoid them causing him trouble and blaming him afterwards.
Around 7 PM, Fang Bai returned home, reeking of alcohol.
This time, he wasn't drunk, which eased his parents' worries a bit.
But he had drunk after all; after taking a shower and lying in bed, he felt that this matter was finally settled.
His connections also increased by 1, reaching a total of 12, which was not bad; the money was not spent in vain.
Next, the electric appliance market could confidently proceed with its promotions and other matters.
He closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.