"Think about it! The store is located in or around a factory. Naturally, most of the customers are related to the factory. If something happens to the factory, they won't talk about it?
Even if they don't talk, you can just ask someone you know well! They are not spies, so as long as they don't involve factory secrets, you can't ask about ordinary things?"
Shen Peixin realized belatedly and finally understood what Cui Shunong meant, and said, "You mean, let me open a chain store of Western pastries?"
Chain operations in the modern sense originated in the United States and had developed extensively before the Civil War. This chain operation had already appeared in China in the late Qing Dynasty. The Chinese Travel Agency during the Republic of China was the most typical large chain enterprise.
.
"Yes..." Cui Shunong nodded and said, "But we can't copy the Western pastry shop you open now. Your shop mainly sells cakes, bread, pastries and the like.
Firstly, these things are relatively expensive, and secondly, they are not common foods in China. Except for a few who are fashionable or seeking to cater to Western-style life, most ordinary people try them out and do not buy them regularly.
As a result, it is difficult for a Western-style pastry shop to have a large number of regular customers, or even very few people visit it, making it inconvenient to inquire about information. At the same time, it is also unqualified from a commercial perspective, and this lack of quality may also arouse suspicion.
So, you have to research and see if you can make some products that are affordable and suitable for Chinese people's tastes. They can be Chinese pastries, Western pastries, or even a combination of Chinese and Western. Anyway, they have to sell better and be suitable for ordinary people. If they can be used as
It’s better to have dinner.”
Hearing Cui Shunong's explanation, Shen Peixin immediately understood. In fact, he had also discovered these problems in the Western pastry shop. He had similar ideas and even had solutions. However, his main energy was on organizational work and he never put his ideas into action.
action.
After hearing Shen Peixin's highly feasible idea, Cui Shunong thought about it for a moment and realized why he didn't do it.
"Old Shen! You have to take care of things in this store. It doesn't mean you have to make a lot of money, but it's your cover. If you run the store well, sometimes it's the best thing for you.
cover."
That’s right! My cover identity is the store owner. If I don’t care about the business in the store all day long, and there is nothing to do, and I still wander around like a normal person, if someone finds me, wouldn’t I tell people that I have a problem?
"Don't worry, Lao Cui, I will do my best to play the role of a good boss from now on! I will make the business prosperous."
"Don't just focus on business. The businessman's shrewdness, tact, cunning, etc., or even flattering, flattering, etc., you'd better change it in time.
I've been dealing with the Lin family a lot recently, and I've also met a lot of managers and shopkeepers who are ups and downs in the business world. You don't behave like a businessman at all. Now you run a small shop and others don't notice you, but your business has grown.
You will become the crane among the chickens."
"Hmm..." Shen Peixin murmured softly, lost in thought, and felt a little uneasy in his heart. He underestimated the difficulty of this matter. He was about to enter a brand new field. Facing the unknown, he always felt uncertain.
"You don't have to worry too much. This kind of thing is just a matter of taking it one step at a time. As long as you have a clear understanding of these things in your heart and put more thought into it, change will not be difficult."
After giving Shen Peixin a reassurance, he continued: "Let's get back to business! I've heard about some situations recently. Let me tell you about it and see if I can help you.
The thing is that the Lin family recruited several students who had returned from studying in the United States. Because they had just graduated and had no experience, the Lin family arranged for me to take them with them. When they talked about life in the United States, they talked about a kind of American food.
It seems to be called a hamburger. It is a fried minced meat patty sandwiched between bread. It is cheap, fast and convenient to eat. It is very popular with the American working class. It is a food spawned by industrial development. It is good for you.
The next work will be of great reference.”
"Old Cui, what you mean is that the customers I will face in the future will mainly be workers. I can find inspiration from the changes in diet brought about by foreign industrial development? And then apply it."
"Absolutely! You can collect more relevant information and study it. This aspect is still blank in China. If you can understand it through research, I guess this business problem will not be big."
"Hmm...not necessarily..." Shen Peixin shook his head and said: "Although you only told me a burger, the patty in the burger is the key that cannot be avoided. I really want to do this business like abroad, meat.
Supply is key.
Domestic meat is not cheap. It is very difficult to make it affordable, let alone low-priced. This alone is a big trouble."
"Old Shen, that's good! You got into the mood so quickly, and you discovered the problem just from my few words."
Cui Shunong affirmed Shen Peixin, thought for a moment, and continued: "This is indeed a problem, but when you encounter a problem, you just have to find a way to solve it! When have we ever flinched because of difficulties?
Hmm... The wages offered to employees by the Lin family are not low. Generally, workers' wages are 20 to 30% higher than those in factories with good remuneration. There are bonuses for good work, and their spending power is not low.
Professional people do professional things, and you have to overcome any difficulties in business. I will at most give you some financial support at the beginning, and rely on my relationship with the Lin family to try my best to help you solve problems in the factory.
obstacles to opening a store.”
After Cui Shunong finished speaking, he walked to the desk, took out two cloth bags from the cabinet under the bookshelf behind the desk, and put them on the table. The thick sound sounded serious.
"It's full of ocean. There are more than 1,200 dollars. I also have these 500 US dollars. Take them and prepare them as soon as possible."
"Is this... too much? I also have some surplus from the store and compensation for the damage to my store by the Intelligence Department. Well... I will get another thousand and that will be enough. It cannot affect your maintenance of a professor's life and the payment to the organization.
expenses.”
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Take them all..." Cui Shunong pushed the money towards Shen Peixin again.
"Dayang gave it to the Lin family, and the US dollar was given by Lin Mo today. I guess it's hush money! It's all my extra income, and it doesn't affect my normal expenses."
Cui Shunong is a university professor and a high-income earner. In order not to arouse the suspicion of the enemy, his daily expenses are much higher than those of ordinary comrades. However, compared to his income of half a thousand per month and half a million per year, excluding expenses
He could sell it and deposit a portion of it in the bank to avoid arousing suspicion, and he could also take out a large sum and hand it over to the organization.
"It's a good idea to hand over the money to the organization! This adds up to almost three thousand oceans, and it can also help the organization!"
Seeing this, Cui Shunong smiled and said: "I know the organizational situation better than you. The Soviet area is economically blockaded by the enemy, and they can't spend money. I guess they are still worried about how to exchange the oceans in their hands for supplies!
As for the underground organization, according to the news, the material raising work is progressing smoothly, and a lot of materials are even stranded outside the Soviet area. Material raising has been postponed, and the funds are much more generous, which is not bad at all.
And looking at the Lin family's posture, the number of factories they want to build is not eight or ten, but probably dozens. Moreover, they are not acting alone. They seem to have joined forces with other people to build it. The number of factories may be even greater.
Even if it's run properly, there's still a chance, but I'm worried that this little money won't be enough."
"Then I'll accept it..." Shen Peixin nodded thoughtfully. He didn't know what else he thought of, and his eyebrows formed the character "Sichuan".
"Well, if it's not enough, you can ask me to get it. I also have a large amount of money deposited in the bank to avoid arousing suspicion. I have wanted to touch it for a long time, but I have no chance. Your store is a good place to invest it.
.”
"By the way..." Cui Shunong slapped his forehead, pointed at the U.S. dollars on the table, and said, "I almost forgot. Remember to exchange the U.S. dollars for oceans when you go back. Recently, there has been a rise in silver speculation in Shanghai to prevent the silver price from rising and the money shrinking."
"Okay..." Shen Peixin nodded in agreement, and then said: "Old Cui, I will overcome the difficulties in business by myself, but now there are two other problems that I need your advice on.
One is manpower. We need to open dozens or even more chain stores as you said. At least one of our comrades is needed. There are too many manpower needed, and it is impossible for the organization to help solve it. For our own development, we must also meet the requirements just mentioned.
Established principles, this is not easy to solve!
The other is to inquire about the passing of information. If we inquire about the situation of the passing factory for a long time, it will appear very suspicious. There is no reasonable reason or excuse, and it is very likely to expose us, especially Lin Mo, who is in the Lin family. Once he notices
If it happens, the consequences will be unimaginable.”
"Let me think about it..." Cui Shunong considered it carefully and said: "In terms of personnel, the principle cannot be changed. There will definitely not be many people, but you don't need to arrange a comrade in every store.
You can refer to the Lin family's handling methods. There is a branch in Tianjin that is responsible for business in North China, a Nanjing branch that is responsible for business along the Yangtze River, a Shanghai branch that is responsible for connecting foreign countries and business in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, and a Hong Kong branch that is responsible for business in Hong Kong, Guangdong, Fujian and Guangxi.
These factories of the Lin family are mainly distributed around several cities. You can also learn to divide areas and set up regional branches. Only arrange our colleagues in the branches and let them connect with the stores below.
Firstly, it solves the problem of shortage of manpower. Secondly, it is inconvenient to communicate over long distances, and it also makes it easier to manage the store. Of course, some factories that focus on work also need to arrange comrades in the store.
As for collecting and transmitting information, I can't think of anything better except for the weak excuse that something might happen to affect my business, so I can only try to be as cautious as possible.
In this way, before there is a solid solution to this matter, you can still inquire about the situation as usual, but except for some major situations that will be reported in real time, everything else will be summarized at the same time to minimize the number of message transmissions to avoid attracting attention.
"
"Well, this is all we can do for the time being. I'll go down and add and improve the details to try to ensure that no abnormalities are discovered."
Without a better solution, Shen Peixin could only accept it. Although it might not achieve the expected goal, he could only take one step at a time.
"By the way, Lao Cui, we still have to discuss the issue of your investment and shareholding. You will contribute the most money. How about you holding 50% of the shares?"
"Obtaining shares? Is this necessary?" This question was a bit beyond Cui Shunong's expectations. He had never thought about shares at all.
"If you think about it behind closed doors, these all belong to the organization, so there is no need to divide them. But externally, there must be a charter. If you open dozens of stores, it is a big company, so there must be a statement to the outside world.
If I give you shares, others will know the source of my funds, reducing the possibility of being suspected. Moreover, as the business grows, it is inevitable that outsiders will want to take a share. Most of the shares are on your side. Your identity and connections,
The relationship that most people don’t dare to make mistakes can ensure that the company is in our hands.”
"It seems that you have entered the role of a businessman and started to think about issues from the perspective of a businessman. I am relieved. As for the issue of shares, it is up to you to decide. You can allocate to me the amount of shares you think is appropriate for me."
After discussing general issues and discussing work matters, Shen Peixin asked a question that had been hidden in his heart for a long time.
"Old Cui, I have been wondering about a question these days. Why do you think the organization gave us such a task? It is said that training talents can be sent to the Soviet Union to study. Why did you choose such a method?"
Cui Shunong heard this and said: "At the beginning, I also had such doubts, but after careful consideration, I have to admire the superior's foresight. I have roughly guessed the superior's intention, so I will briefly explain it to you.
After these years of exploration, it can be seen that the Soviet Union’s experience is not necessarily applicable to China. This is true in revolution, and such problems may also arise in industry.
The success of the Soviet revolution relied on mobilizing workers to carry out the revolution. This shows that Tsarist Russia at that time already had a certain industrial foundation. From workers, talents, technology, to factory machinery, there was a foundation. Soviet industry could be based on this.
Come up and develop.
And what about us? We are completely poor, with no talents, no technology, no machines, and even lack of qualified workers. In a short period of time, we have to go through the process of starting from scratch, while the Soviet Union is going from having to good to strong.
the process of.
Therefore, the experience of the Soviet Union is not applicable to us at this stage. Even the talents sent and the technologies learned are very likely to be acclimatized and unable to play their due role.
I guess the superiors saw our report and learned that I can obtain some technical information through the Lin family. Although these technologies have lagged behind the world, they are equally precious to us, and are even more practical than obtaining the world's top technologies.
.
At the same time, the Lin family has just set foot in the industry and is building a number of factories from scratch. This can give us something to learn from in the future. Of course, it is only a lesson or two. The conditions for them to open factories are much more favorable than ours. They need money and money.
It is easy to recruit the necessary talents, and it is also very easy to obtain the machines.
Therefore, we have such a plan, using the Lin family's platform to cultivate experienced and capable talents who are relatively suitable for us in the future, and prepare for better construction of the Soviet Area in the future.
Whether the superiors have any deeper considerations is not what we should be concerned about. Knowing this is enough to clear up our confusion and let us know what to do.
As for me keeping in touch with Lin Mo, obtaining information, etc., it can only be regarded as an extension of this purpose, or simply hunting down rabbits..."
The two chatted for a while, and Cui Shunong stayed with Shen Peixin to eat before letting him go.
