Chapter 152: Still Too Green
Lu Qiaoge thought about it and said, “The iron box is fished out, and I still need to find a place to put it.”
This would be great if it were in the wilderness.
“I can hold my breath for ten minutes underwater, but without a boat, I still can’t reach the center of the lake. Wait for me to find an opportunity, choose nighttime, and I’ll bring tools over.”
The old turtle naturally nodded in agreement.
And just at this moment, the water began to ripple, and Lu Qiaoge knew the big pike and the others had come.
Lu Qiaoge had thought that with so many old men fishing on the shore, the big pike and the carp wouldn’t come.
Lu Qiaoge looked into the distance, and fortunately, no one was coming this way.
So Lu Qiaoge stroked one by one the big pike, the big red carp, and the three big grass carp in Hongxing Lake that were familiar with her.
Once they were satisfied and returned to the bottom of the water, Lu Qiaoge also took Hua Hua and walked back.
She was pondering in her heart how to fish out the iron box.
It was a bit difficult, but not impossible to achieve.
Lu Qiaoge didn’t go to the neighborhood committee; she and Director Hu had already reported it, and she would go directly to the food factory to get samples during work hours in the afternoon.
At the same time, Lu Qiaoge also hoped that Director Hu could help solve the grain and oil issue.
After all, it was under the name of Xiangyang Neighborhood Committee Food Factory.
At that time, Director Hu had joked with Lu Qiaoge, saying it would have been better to start a handicraft factory back then, as raw materials would be easy to solve without worries.
Lu Qiaoge naturally didn’t agree with his words; a food factory could grow big and strong long-term, but a handicraft factory would have increasingly difficult roads ahead.
For example, right now, Lu Qiaoge could completely develop birch bark handicrafts.
But Lu Qiaoge didn’t do it.
The materials she chose for the workers were all renewable.
Because once birch bark is peeled off, it basically can’t regenerate, unlike wild grass, wheat stalks, reeds, or even bamboo.
Having come through the apocalypse, her ideas would definitely be different.
However, when the sunflower seed baskets woven from processed wild grass and reeds were placed on the table, Lu Qiaoge felt they could completely be called high-quality products.
Older Brother Chang was truly skillful with his hands.
After praising Chang An vigorously, Lu Qiaoge brought along Meng Qingshan and Hu Ze.
She went to find Elder Sister Su again.
Xiao Zhu from the foreign trade section was already waiting at the hotel.
The meeting place was still that same meeting room from last time.
Chairman Zhen wasn’t there; it was said he had been picked up by a leader.
The atmosphere of this meeting was different from last time.
Both sides were all smiles, exchanged pleasantries politely, and then Lu Qiaoge got straight to the point, placing the three sunflower seed baskets on the long conference table.
Although it wasn’t Meng Qingshan and Hu Ze’s first time meeting Zhen Xi, the two of them were still very excited, hoping to see shock and appreciation on Zhen Xi’s face.
But the two of them were very disappointed.
Zhen Xi looked faintly at the three sunflower seed baskets in front of him, with no reaction at all.
Meng Qingshan’s heart sank; this meant they hadn’t caught his eye, so the business couldn’t proceed, right?
It would be fake to say he wasn’t disappointed; all the excitement accumulated along the way vanished in an instant.
Hu Ze had the same thought as Meng Qingshan.
The two of them instinctively looked at Lu Qiaoge.
Lu Qiaoge didn’t know what Meng Qingshan and the others were thinking.
She also didn’t feel that Zhen Xi’s reaction meant he hadn’t taken a liking to them.
What good things had a person like Zhen Xi not seen?
There were very, very few things that could shock him.
Besides, good or bad wasn’t to be judged at the negotiation table; even if he liked them, he wouldn’t show shock or appreciation.
So Meng Qingshan and Hu Ze were still too inexperienced.
Lu Qiaoge said with a beaming smile, “I’ve already tested it; one sunflower seed basket can hold two jin of sunflower seeds.”
Zhen Xi turned his head and had his assistant bring over a sunflower seed basket. The assistant examined it inside and out, then placed it on the table, giving Zhen Xi an imperceptible slight nod.
Zhen Xi didn’t speak; he was waiting for Lu Qiaoge to talk.
And sure enough, Lu Qiaoge had something to say: “If Mr. Zhen has no confidence in finding sales channels, you can choose consignment sale. For those sold, you’ll take a commission according to the contract; for those not sold, you can choose to return them, and we’ll bear the shipping costs.”
Zhen Xi curved the corners of his mouth and pointed at the sunflower seed basket: “Director Lu is truly clever. Let’s not talk about the sold ones first; how do we calculate the unsold ones? This is a handicraft, different from food; it has no shelf life.”
Lu Qiaoge: “We can specify a time limit in the contract. Although it has no shelf life, it’s made from natural materials, and if not stored properly, it may experience deformation, discoloration, or dampness leading to mold spots. My suggestion is a one-year period; if still unsold after one year, return them, and we’ll give you a certain damage allowance rate. Additionally, we’ll bear the shipping costs ourselves.”
Lu Qiaoge paused, then continued, “I’ve never been to Hong Kong, but I know that the Zhen Group’s hypermarkets are top shopping venues in Hong Kong. It’s said that you face customers above the middle class, with purchasing power that’s very enviable.
A sunflower seed basket is just an accessory to sunflower seeds; the price will only be low, not high, because we won’t sell it as a handicraft. How about this: for the first batch of goods sent by the fried snack factory, we’ll gift you five hundred sunflower seed baskets. One, to express gratitude to Mr. Zhen for supporting mainland enterprises; two, to eliminate Mr. Zhen’s worries. What do you think?”
From the moment Lu Qiaoge enthusiastically took him to visit her small, shabby, and outdated so-called food factory, Zhen Xi had never underestimated her.
Every word from this woman was deliberate.
Right from the start, she worried that he had no confidence in finding sales channels.
He was the esteemed Third Young Master of the Zhen Group, the future heir of the Zhen Group; if he couldn’t sell even a few sunflower seed baskets, he’d truly be waste.
Then she pivoted and began praising the customer base facing the Zhen hypermarkets.
This made him even more intrigued.
To be honest, people here basically had no concept of this.
This was also why he felt Lu Qiaoge was different.
In the end, she generously offered to gift him five hundred sunflower seed baskets.
He, the Third Young Master of the Zhen Group—if at the end of negotiations, the other side thought he couldn’t do it and gave him five hundred for free, wouldn’t that make people laugh their heads off if word got out?
Lu Qiaoge had the face to give; did he have the face to take?
Did she see him as one of those profit-driven petty merchants scheming for small gains?
He scanned the faces of everyone present one by one.
Unexpectedly, these people actually approved.
He was a distinguished guest, after all; giving a guest some souvenirs was no big deal.
He looked at Lu Qiaoge again and lightly coughed: “Since that’s the case, let’s talk about the price.”
Lu Qiaoge smiled lightly: “Good!”
Everyone was shocked and still a bit confused; what did this mean? Wasn’t it giving five hundred for free? How did it suddenly turn to discussing price?
Lu Qiaoge, representing the Xiangyang Neighborhood Committee Food Factory Handicraft Side Business Group, signed a contract with Zhen Xi for ten thousand sunflower seed baskets.
Fifty cents each, first batch of one thousand, shipped together with the fried snack factory.
The fried snack factory shipment would be in half a month.
Payment on delivery, same as the sunflower seeds.
Elder Sister Su excitedly led the applause.
She was a bit uncertain in her heart, but it seemed like that was it.
Meng Qingshan and Hu Ze happily clapped the loudest.
