Gu Qingqing could hardly believe that the scruffy, messy-haired young man in front of her was the same person as the dapper one from half a month ago.
And this dust-covered BMW, apart from its license plate, no longer looked anything like it did half a month ago.
"Um, Boss Tan, what happened to you? Why are you in such a state?"
Boss Tan, who was always meticulously dressed, was now so unkempt, which truly surprised Gu Qingqing.
"Been on a business trip for half a month, just got back to Yongcheng. A bit sloppy, huh?"
Tan Jincheng replied with a smile.
Looking at the exhausted Tan Jincheng, Gu Qingqing felt a sudden pang of sympathy.
It seemed making money wasn't that easy after all?
Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles.
To find talent that suited his needs, he couldn't just limit himself to Beicang or Yongcheng.
Ever since sending his two elderly fathers back to Yicheng, Tan Jincheng had embarked on his business trip, with his presence seen in major production bases across the country and cities where electric scooters sold well.
This included finding suppliers for Jinyi Industry's export selection and poaching technical staff for Shanchi Auto.
A BMW that had just been picked up was made to look like an old car that had been driven for many years.
With no one trustworthy, he had to go himself.
He had been driven out by gatekeepers and outright rejected as a swindler.
Only he knew the hardships involved.
Fortunately, there were some gains.
Since the business trip, he had learned about the main production and sales areas for electric scooters, and had recruited a few people.
In addition, Jinyi Industry's export product selection and suppliers had also been finalized.
For the sales team, his father had also poached several frustrated middle-aged individuals from their company.
Tempted by high salaries and good benefits, they had already set off for Yongcheng.
Of course, these old hands hadn't resigned yet; they just said they were going to take a look.
Just like last time he returned from Xiangjiang, to save time, Tan Jincheng came directly to Gu Qingqing again.
This time, it wasn't to give a gift, but for clothing shoots for the three newly opened Taobao stores.
Besides Gu Qingqing, there was also one male and one female model.
Gu Qingqing arrived earlier, and after all three were present, Tan Jincheng took them to Beicang for the shoot, where there were many vacant spaces on the first floor of Shanchi Auto's office.
Tan Jincheng had Zhang Xupeng help set up a small photography studio.
Some simple shoots could be completed there this year, eliminating the need for additional venue fees.
It was a good use of resources.
In addition, customer service and shipping staff had been hired.
Four customer service representatives worked day and night shifts, responsible for three stores, and there were two employees for shipping.
"A few days ago, your friend said we could shoot, but my classmate was a first-timer and didn't dare to go without seeing the boss, so it was delayed for a few days,"
Gu Qingqing said somewhat apologetically.
"I understand, a few days late is fine. Would you like a cup of coffee? I'll go buy it for you?"
"No need, my classmates will be here soon. They just messaged me."
Soon after, the other two classmates arrived separately.
After greeting, they each got into the car.
Both of them, especially the female classmate, looked at Tan Jincheng with a strange expression.
Tan Jincheng smiled.
This was understandable.
A man constantly on business trips wouldn't pay attention to his appearance.
Being able to shower daily was already good enough.
"Xiao Gu has told you about the pay, right? 200 yuan a day. We're shooting summer clothes now. If there are any clothes you can't accept, just say so, and we won't shoot them. Also, the photos uploaded online will not show your faces, so don't worry about that."
From their clothing and demeanor, these two seemed to be genuine part-timers looking to earn money.
There were many students like Gu Qingqing from well-off families at Ning University, but not every family was like that.
Tan Jincheng didn't know what year these two were in.
If they were in the same year as Gu Qingqing, they would be juniors next semester, so doing part-time work was common.
College students are clear and naive.
Before long, Tan Jincheng extracted information from the two, which wasn't much different from what he imagined: they were there for the 200 yuan.
Especially the male student, who heard that there was a large volume of menswear shoots and could earn over a thousand yuan this time, had pleaded with Gu Qingqing for a long time.
The three college students of similar age quickly became acquainted after a few words.
The journey wasn't awkward.
In their conversation, they learned the male student's name was Zhao Xianbo, from Subei; the female student's name was Qin Siyu, from Lishui, Zhejiang Province.
After they became familiar, Qin Siyu boldly asked,
"Boss Tan seems a bit different from what Qingqing described."
"How is it different?"
"Qingqing and some of her roommates said Boss Tan was very well-dressed and quite handsome, but now he looks a bit different,"
Qin Siyu said straightforwardly.
"Huh? Your roommates? When did they see me?"
Tan Jincheng heard the key information and asked Gu Qingqing, who was in the passenger seat.
"Uh, um, it was last time, when I got my phone. They secretly observed you,"
Gu Qingqing said somewhat shyly, at the same time a little annoyed by Qin Siyu's directness.
She had heard from classmates that Qin Siyu was warm-hearted and always stood up for justice, but unfortunately, she was a bit too outspoken.
Now it seemed it was true.
"Oh, about my image, haha. I've been on a business trip for half a month, running through several cities from north to south. The fact that I don't smell sour now is already the greatest respect I can show you. Don't worry about it; I'll change clothes and shave my beard when I get back."
"So that's why! I was wondering why the car was covered in dust; it looked like it was picked up from somewhere."
Driving quickly, they arrived at Shanchi Auto.
The photographer was bored, waiting for the three.
Tan Jincheng left the three with the photographer and walked away directly.
This Miss Qin was right; his current appearance was a bit rough.
He was about to meet several salespeople his father had introduced, so he needed to go back, shower, and change clothes, lest he embarrass his father.
"You guys start shooting. I'm going back to change. If you don't understand anything, ask Qingqing. If Qingqing doesn't know, ask Mr. Zhang next to her. I'll be back shortly."
"Where are you going?"
Gu Qingqing blurted out.
It was evident that with Tan Jincheng leaving again in an unfamiliar environment, she seemed a little nervous.
The other two didn't mind.
They often did part-time jobs and had met many different kinds of people.
This was just child's play for them.
Not to mention, the photo studio looked quite novel; it was their first time experiencing this kind of part-time work.
"I'm going back to take a shower and change clothes. I'll be back in a bit."
"Oh, alright."
"Alright, Peng Ya, please look after these folks. Don't force them to shoot anything they don't want to,"
Tan Jincheng called out to Zhang Xupeng, who was watching nearby.
"Got it. Go shave that beard of yours. You look like you just got out of prison. And wash the car too; look what a mess you've made of it."
"Have you ever seen anyone just 'released' with as much hair as me?"
"Just beat it. I'll throw you a welcome dinner tonight,"
Zhang Xupeng waved his hand dismissively.
The friendship between men is truly wonderful.
Zhang Xupeng was clearly concerned about Tan Jincheng, but the words that came out of his mouth made it sound like he couldn't stand his current appearance and wished he'd stay far away.
In less than two hours, Tan Jincheng reappeared before everyone, once again restoring his previous image, giving Gu Qingqing a feeling of being as refined as jade.
"Why aren't you shooting?"
He had just heard from Zhang Xupeng that Gu Qingqing had no plans to shoot.
"I checked, there aren't many women's clothes this time. Let Qin Siyu take them; she can shoot for an extra two days,"
Gu Qingqing said with a smile.
Tan Jincheng nodded in understanding.
Anyway, she wasn't short on money, and he guessed she wouldn't be doing clothing modeling for long.
"In that case, would you like to come sit in my office?"
"Wouldn't I be disturbing you? I heard from your friend that you're going to interview a few people from your hometown later."
"Why does that guy say everything? What's the problem with an interview? You can just sit there quietly. It's not like we're discussing anything confidential."
"He also said you opened a QQ underwear Taobao store. Is that the underwear store you mentioned to me last time?"
Gu Qingqing stammered.
Damn it, Zhang Xupeng, that big mouth.
I really want to slap him.
He's really telling everyone about this.
Needless to say, although it was a legitimate business, in Zhang Xupeng's eyes, this was a black mark on Xiao Tan's life.
"This is a legitimate business. You have such a strong business atmosphere there, why do you have the same opinion as others? I'm telling you, this business will be better than legitimate women's clothing in the future,"
Tan Jincheng said with a serious expression.
For a product category with an almost zero return rate, find a few shills to take some buyer photos with image reviews, and then find some online trolls to promote it in QQ groups, forums, and Tieba.
When LSPs see it, even if they don't buy, they'll contribute a huge amount of traffic.
Business will be unbelievably good.
It would still be a long time before underwear products couldn't have image comments.
As one of the first to enter this market, Tan Jincheng knew the interests of these LSPs all too well.
"I didn't say it couldn't be done, I just didn't expect you to enter this category, and now you've even opened a factory. Aren't you taking on a bit too much?"
"In the future, most of my energy will be spent on the factory side. The Taobao stores are under my dad's name; they're just a sideline. By the way, are you interested in operating these three Taobao stores?"
"Huh? I don't know how to do that,"
Gu Qingqing said, somewhat surprised.
"You can learn if you don't know how. It's almost summer vacation, and you don't have much to do. Next semester you'll be a junior, and your classes won't be as busy. How about it, think about it?"
It wasn't realistic to have his father manage these three Taobao stores at this stage, but he couldn't find a suitable person quickly, and the stores couldn't be left unattended for long.
He had been in contact with Gu Qingqing for over half a year; she was a good girl.
Persuading her to work for him for the summer was a good option.
"Can I do it? Can I learn?"
Gu Qingqing was somewhat tempted by the idea of a summer job.
"There's nothing you can't do. Who's born knowing all this stuff? There's still some time until summer vacation. Go back and learn about it first, then give me an answer. I really can't find anyone suitable on my end."
Taobao operations sound impressive, and the work content is quite broad, but at its core, it's nothing more than driving traffic, which means attracting traffic to your store.
With experience from some shopping experiences in his previous life, he wouldn't dare say it was a game-changing skill now, but it was at least far ahead.
Sharing these experiences with Gu Qingqing and then letting her implement them would give these three stores a very good traffic pool, making upgrades to stars and diamonds much faster.
"Then I'll go back and think about it,"
Gu Qingqing nodded.
Finding a place to intern during the summer was good, but this place was too far from school.
Just as Gu Qingqing was about to bring up this issue, Zhang Xupeng entered with two middle-aged men, so she had to swallow her words.
She'd talk about it later.
Zhang Xupeng looked at Gu Qingqing with some confusion.
Why was she here?
What was Xiao Tan doing bringing her in?
But now wasn't the time to talk about that.
First, he should introduce them to Xiao Tan.
These two were poached by Uncle Tan from their hometown.
Whether they could help Xiao Tan expand the market was up to him.
(End of chapter)
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