Autumn faded into winter, and the chill grew stronger by the day.
For some reason, Tan Jincheng always felt that the winter of 2004 was colder than in later years.
Since December 8th, when Alipay officially launched its promotion, after a period of store upgrades and renovations, the Taobao store's business finally saw significant changes.
December 25th, Western Christmas Day, perhaps due to the holiday.
On this day, Jinshang Yidu, after its upgrade and renovation, broke through 100 sales in a single daytime, with monthly sales reaching 794 pieces to date, and a turnover of up to 46,846 yuan! Operating ideas incorporating some future operational thinking were practically a "great weapon" in the early days of the Taobao store.
This was despite Tan Jincheng not understanding store operations; what he knew was mostly from mindlessly scrolling through short videos, and he tried everything, useful or not.
If a Taobao store owner or a website operations expert were reborn into this era, there probably wouldn't be any talk of 79 yuan, would there?
"Boss, so my commission has already reached 794 yuan?"
Li Jinglan looked at Tan Jincheng, somewhat disbelieving.
This is too much; her commission might even reach a thousand yuan this month.
Li Jinglan was even a little worried that Tan Jincheng might go back on his word.
Her current monthly basic salary, after deducting social security and the like, is 1,200 yuan, and with some subsidies, it's roughly around 1,500 yuan.
The commission from the Taobao store had already exceeded half of her income, something she hadn't expected before.
Tan Jincheng immediately saw through her thoughts:
"This is just the beginning; work hard, and you'll earn more. Also, diligently learn conversational techniques for chatting with customers, summarize the mindsets of successful clients, and improve the conversion rate."
"Okay, okay. I also spent a lot of money upgrading the Taobao store this month and didn't make much profit, so I was worried the boss might not honor the agreement."
Carelessly, Li Jinglan blurted out what was on her mind.
This month, Jinshang Yidu's sales breaking 50,000 yuan should be no suspense, but in terms of actual profit, not much was made.
Upgrading the store was a major project with a significant investment.
High express delivery fees were also a major expense.
Even though Tan Jincheng negotiated preferential policies with the courier station as shipping volume increased, the limitations of the era were unavoidable.
However, one benefit was that as order volume increased, Li Jinglan no longer had to personally run to the courier station to drop off packages.
Aside from the fatigue of handwriting waybills, it was much more convenient than before.
Every day before closing time in the afternoon, courier station staff would arrive punctually at Jinpeng Trade to collect all packages to be sent out that day.
"While keeping an eye on the Taobao store, don't forget the international store. If you don't understand anything, remember to contact me promptly."
"Understood, understood."
The international store, renovated alongside the Taobao store, is also operating well and has already received its first order.
The order volume isn't large, only 20,000 USD, but it's a good start for the month.
Currently, Tan Jincheng is primarily responsible for the international site, with Li Jinglan assisting in daily management. If things become unmanageable, she contacts Tan Jincheng promptly.
For now, Tan Jincheng still has to handle the order business himself.
He might need to play the role of a salesperson for several years until Zhang Xupeng fully matures.
Alternatively, as the company scales up, it could hire a certain number of salespeople, just like other companies.
"Alright, don't worry about me not honoring it. Let alone a few hundred yuan, even a few thousand yuan, I won't default on you. Rest assured, I have something to do, so I'm going out for a bit. You work hard and don't slack off."
"Understood, thank you, boss, hehe."
The working environment at a startup is actually quite relaxed.
The boss rarely stays in the company office, either visiting suppliers or going out to secure new business.
Employees don't have to constantly face a supervisor staring at them, so their mental pressure is relatively low.
Today, he was going out to pick up a car.
The Passat he ordered upon returning at the beginning of the month had arrived at the dealership.
Walking out of the company door, Tan Jincheng called Zhang Xupeng:
"Have you left yet? I'm going straight to the 4S dealership; I'll wait for you there."
"Already left, I'm on my way,"
Zhang Xupeng's voice came from the other end of the line, filled with excitement.
Whether now or in the future, buying a car is a big event for ordinary people.
In the days leading up to picking up the car, Zhang Xupeng had been so excited that he couldn't sleep for several nights.
Even though he couldn't drive himself, what did that matter?
After Tan Jincheng's continuous 'indoctrination', Zhang Xupeng no longer fretted over whether Tan Jincheng's driver's license was bought, but he still remained skeptical of his driving skills.
But it didn't matter; if Xiao Tan couldn't drive, they could have someone from the 4S dealership drive it over and then hire a driver.
The payment for the second order had been fully received.
After deducting the portion paid to suppliers, Jinpeng Trade's account currently had sufficient funds, and subsequent orders could also be well sustained.
Zhang Xupeng was full of confidence in the company's development.
In his opinion, hiring a driver was completely affordable.
Zhang Xupeng arrived at the 4S dealership first.
After waiting for a while, Tan Jincheng also arrived.
After the test drive, there were no major issues, so they began processing the paperwork.
Including insurance and other fees, the final price was nearly 280,000 yuan, paid in full.
The development of the times is truly interesting.
At this time, buying a car in full cash would give you certain discounts, but a decade or so later, buying a car in full cash would even be deeply despised by 4S dealership salespeople.
For some household sedan brands with poor attitudes, their 4S dealership staff were even unwilling to sell cars to customers paying in full.
The Passat was naturally registered under Jinpeng Trade, Tan Jincheng and Zhang Xupeng's first car, yet it wasn't the first car for both of them.
"Sit tight, fasten your seatbelt, I'll take you back, haha."
"Awesome! When did you learn to drive? It feels like you can do everything."
Zhang Xupeng was still a bit stunned.
He couldn't drive, but even if he hadn't slaughtered a pig, he had eaten pork; he could still gauge Xiao Tan's driving skills from the recent test drive.
Moreover, he had specifically asked the 4S dealership staff about Xiao Tan's driving skills and received a positive answer.
He found his lifelong best friend increasingly incomprehensible.
Ever since they landed ashore, his performance had been baffling.
Neither of them had ever touched a steering wheel growing up.
How exactly did he do it?
Learn to drive in half a month, and so skillfully?
That's impossible.
Watching Tan Jincheng drive effortlessly and focused, Zhang Xupeng realized deeply at that moment that his best friend harbored many unknown secrets.
"It shouldn't be. Aside from kindergarten, in 19 years, the only time we were apart for half a month was when he went on a business trip to Guangzhou. Where did he learn to drive?"
On the cruise ship, apart from different workplaces, they shared the same dormitory.
It's not like he was born knowing how to drive, right?
(End of chapter)
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