On April 15th, the 98th Export Commodities Fair officially began, with exhibitors, staff, and merchants from all over the world flocking to participate.
The number of booths at this exhibition increased by 250 compared to the previous one, but due to reasons such as optimizing exhibitor qualifications and raising the threshold, the participating enterprises did not show the trend of sequential growth seen in previous sessions.
This is probably one of the reasons Jinpeng Trade was able to secure a booth this year; overall, due to changes in the external environment, this exhibition seemed to prioritize quality over quantity.
Although the number of participating enterprises did not increase, the competition became even fiercer after the purification by raising the threshold.
As for companies that couldn't get in?
It's easy, either do what Tan Jincheng did last year, or go to nearby "copycat" exhibitions.
Taking Zhejiang Province as an example, as of the end of last year, there were over 7,000 enterprises with import and export operation rights and actual performance.
Among these 7,000-plus companies, most are private and small to medium-sized enterprises.
These companies would go to nearby or even surrounding cities to participate in exhibitions similar in nature to the Canton Fair, and some local governments would even organize and openly support these companies to exhibit there.
Hmm, it's like buying stocks; if you can't buy the leading shares, you buy some that ride on concepts.
Whether you can make money is another matter, but at least you get a sense of participation and gain some experience.
Sun Yuming, after dressing up, pretended to be an inland employee of a Korean merchant company, active in the textile and apparel exhibition area.
He originally wanted to disguise himself directly as a merchant, but alas, his height of over 1.8 meters, plus his accent and appearance, made it impossible to pull off.
"Damn, bosses are so dark-hearted; they can even come up with such a rotten idea,"
Sun Yuming grumbled to himself while strolling around.
Needless to say, although it was Boss Zhang who asked him to do it, this idea must have come from Boss Tan.
Boss Tan is in charge of the company, and as soon as he arrived, he took full control of this exhibition, which was evident from the setup in the past few days.
However, Boss Tan is indeed capable; just a few small changes in the exhibition layout were enough to impress people.
Yesterday, Zhang Xupeng found Sun Yuming and told him that starting today, during the exhibition, he should take turns with Old Liu, just stroll around; if he saw anything similar to their own clothes, he should go up and inquire, pretending to look at samples and subtly get information, and if there was no patent, report it.
Old Liu was Liu Wenbin, the other of the two salespeople brought by Jinpeng Trade this time, and at that moment, Boss Tan sat beside him, watching him, dumbfounded, with a smile on his face.
This tactic was simply brilliant.
Regardless of whether someone infringed or not, such a commotion would surely have some impact, while their own company's booth prominently featured their various patents as a main selling point in the exhibition area.
Hey, don't even say it, it really did look a bit "gaodashang".
"Gaodashang" was also what Boss Tan said: high-end, grand, and classy.
Whether it's useful or not, don't worry about it, as long as it can bluff people.
Other small designs, such as how to highlight the company's booth location and products, also made Sun Yuming, who had been involved in the exhibition setup, light up.
People's ideas truly are different.
It's hard for such a capable boss, who can also do cunning things, not to get rich.
But strolling around also has its benefits: Boss Tan pays him without him having to work.
While Sun Yuming was strolling around the exhibition, the Jinpeng Trade booth also welcomed its first wave of guests.
Tan Jincheng was diligently introducing his company's products to the guests, and Liu Wenbin, standing nearby, was equally stunned.
"I wondered why Boss Tan said there was no need to hire a translator. Turns out he can handle it himself. Are you telling me this guy is only 20 and hasn't been to college?"
Zhang Xupeng was also greatly impressed.
Although he knew Xiao Tan's English was good, he had never personally witnessed him communicating so fluently with foreign friends.
A couple of days ago, when Xiao Tan said there was no need to hire an English translator, Old Zhang was still a bit uneasy.
However, to Zhang Xupeng's slight regret, although the guests seemed very satisfied with the company's samples, they unfortunately did not close the deal in the end, only accepting promotional materials and business cards.
"What's the rush? Today's only the first day. Merchants also need to look at several companies. Who places an order right away?"
Seeing Zhang Xupeng a bit disappointed, Tan Jincheng smiled at him.
He had the same feeling last year when he came; the negotiations went well, yet he didn't secure an order.
"True, at least it's a good start. I feel our foot traffic here is pretty good,"
Zhang Xupeng thought for a moment and nodded.
"Yes, the foot traffic is pretty good. Don't panic, just wait for me to lead you to fortune. When I communicate with people, you should also learn more, and be clever, like handing out water. Just think of yourselves as cruise ship attendants."
Zhang Xupeng understood immediately.
Although not as fluent as Tan Jincheng, Zhang Xupeng could speak a little English.
Moreover, some merchants would bring their own translators, especially those speaking minority languages, as they wouldn't be able to communicate otherwise.
While receiving merchants, Tan Jincheng also looked around.
Compared to last year's autumn exhibition, there were indeed many differences.
The foot traffic was genuinely huge, with people coming and going.
Additionally, Tan Jincheng noticed that e-commerce had made significant progress.
Yijietong online exhibition service centers were visible everywhere, and even the complete digitalization of exhibition drawings and remote network transmission had been realized, extending various services provided to exhibitors online.
As expected, any advanced technology requires state support, and the state is always the first to apply it.
Looking at these new things with a future mindset, one can also realize why online shopping became popular.
"Do you see those service machines for internet access?"
Taking advantage of a lull, Tan Jincheng pointed to the machines standing upright in the exhibition hall and said to Zhang Xupeng.
Tan Jincheng had just gone to try one out.
Their style and fluidity, of course, couldn't compare to the ubiquitous machines seen in all sorts of settings in later generations, but at the moment, they were remarkable.
"I see them. What about them?"
"Those that can access the internet, with decent speed, are like small service centers. Think about it, if this kind of network were applied to daily life, wouldn't online shopping be even more convenient?"
Seeing Zhang Xupeng still a bit confused, Tan Jincheng encouraged him:
"Or you can go try it yourself while you have time now."
The internet is the future trend, and once he gets busy with the new company, he won't have this much time to guide Zhang Xupeng.
This was his first and possibly only time exhibiting with Zhang Xupeng as partners from the same company.
Securing orders was, of course, the biggest demand, but Tan Jincheng also hoped that Zhang Xupeng would pay more attention to the details of how the times were progressing, and that he could correctly guide Zhang Xupeng on how to do business.
This was also the greatest advantage of a reborn person.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
(End of Chapter)
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