HPDBC Chapter 103 Promoting Lin Xiaowen
Chapter 103 Promoting Lin Xiaowen
The next day, Lin Feng flew to Shenzhen. As the plane taxied on the runway, it was raining in Shenzhen.
Large raindrops pounded against the porthole, making a pattering sound. Outside, the sky was a hazy yellow, and the airport lights reflected in the puddles on the runway.
Lin Feng unbuckled his seatbelt and took the black travel bag from the overhead rack.
He didn't have much in his bag: a few changes of clothes, a brief plan for setting up the office, and the company's brochures and contracts. He followed the flow of people out of the cabin, and the humid, hot wind mixed with the smell of rain hit him in the face, sticking to his skin.
The arrivals area was packed with people. Wu Wenjie stood a little further back in the crowd, wearing a short-sleeved shirt, standing there straight, his eyes searching the exit.
Upon seeing Lin Feng, he squeezed forward a few steps and waved.
"Brother Lin!"
Lin Xiaowen stood next to him. Today she was wearing a light green short-sleeved shirt, jeans, her hair was tied in a ponytail, and she was holding a folding umbrella in her hand.
Seeing Lin Feng come out, she waved and smiled, her eyes crinkling.
"Brother Jie, Xiaowen." Lin Feng walked over.
"Was the journey smooth?" Wu Wenjie took Lin Feng's bag naturally.
"Successfully." Lin Feng looked at Lin Xiaowen. "Have you been waiting long?"
"We just arrived too." Lin Xiaowen tilted her umbrella towards Lin Feng, even though the rain had actually lessened and was just a few drizzles.
"Where's your brother?" Lin Feng asked Lin Xiaowen.
Wu Wenjie and Lin Xiaowen exchanged a glance. Lin Xiaowen scratched her head, her voice tinged with apology.
"Brother Feng, my brother's car suddenly wouldn't start today. He was really worried, so he had it towed to a repair shop. He asked me to apologize to you, saying he was afraid of delaying your pick-up and told us to come first. He said he'd be right there as soon as the car was fixed."
"His Chang'an bread truck had a lot of problems from the moment he bought it secondhand," Wu Wenjie added from the side, shaking his head. "In the sports car business, if the car is unreliable, the driver will suffer."
Lin Xiaowen sighed softly and didn't say anything more. She just looked up at Lin Feng with some worry in her eyes.
Wu Wenjie hailed a taxi, a red Jetta. The driver helped Lin Feng put his simple luggage into the trunk.
Wu Wenjie got into the passenger seat, while Lin Feng and Lin Xiaowen got into the back seat.
The taxi drove away from the airport and onto the highway. The rain gradually subsided, turning into a misty drizzle.
The view outside the window gradually changed from the empty airport area to the continuous industrial parks and scattered construction sites, and finally merged into the increasingly dense urban area.
The humid and stuffy air could be felt even through the car window.
"Go directly to Xinfa?" Wu Wenjie asked.
"Hmm." Lin Feng looked out the window. "The progress of the third batch of goods cannot be delayed, and the contract with Boss Chen needs to be finalized as soon as possible."
"Don't worry, all the mold materials are ready, we're just waiting for your payment and final confirmation," Wu Wenjie said. "Xiaowen has been keeping a close eye on things lately, even Boss Chen is afraid of her, saying that this girl has a very sharp eye."
Lin Xiaowen, sitting in the back of the passenger seat, lowered her head slightly upon hearing this, fiddling with the strap of her backpack, and remained silent.
Lin Feng glanced at her in the rearview mirror: "That's how quality control has to be. Being soft-hearted is irresponsible to your own products and to the people who buy them."
"Yes, that makes sense." Wu Wenjie nodded.
The car drove into an industrial area in Longhua and finally stopped in front of a building called "Xinfeng Electronics Factory". The rain had stopped, but the ground was still wet.
Mr. Chen was already waiting at the door. When he saw the taxi, he immediately greeted it with a big smile, the sandalwood prayer beads in his hand swaying wildly.
"President Lin! Oh, we've been waiting for you! You must have had a long journey!"
"Boss Chen, thank you for waiting." Lin Feng shook hands with him.
"Don't mention it! Your presence is an honor for me, Old Chen!" Boss Chen warmly led the group inside. "Let's take a look at the workshop first? That newest production line was specially set up for your batch!"
The workshop was very noisy, with injection molding machines, chip mounters, and assembly lines roaring.
Workers wearing anti-static suits were engrossed in their work, the air thick with the smell of hot air and the distinctive odor of electronic components.
On an assembly line, MP3 player casings are being precisely placed, welded, and inspected by robotic arms.
Lin Feng stood online for a while, picked up a finished product, looked at the seams, and weighed it in his hand.
"The casing thickness has increased by 0.2 millimeters compared to last time," Lin Xiaowen said, taking a step closer and raising her voice slightly in his ear to drown out the machine noise.
"The button feel has also been adjusted, and the rebound is crisper when pressed. The charging port has been reinforced with ribs, and it has passed the plug-in/plug-out life test of 5,000 times without any problems."
As she spoke, her eyes were fixed on the products on the assembly line, her gaze focused, and she knew every detail intimately.
Lin Feng nodded and put the machine back on the production line.
Mr. Chen, standing nearby, smiled and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Lin. Xiaowen comes every day for this order; she's even more attentive than I am as the boss! The quality is absolutely guaranteed!"
"Boss Chen, you've gone to a lot of trouble," Lin Feng said, looking at Wu Wenjie. "Let's talk in the office."
The group arrived at Boss Chen's office on the second floor. The room was spacious, with a mahogany desk, a tea set on the coffee table, and a calligraphy scroll on the wall that read "Honesty Wins the World".
After sitting down, Boss Chen started boiling water to make tea.
"Mr. Lin, look, the final payment for the third batch of 20,000 units..."
"The finance department will call first thing tomorrow morning." Lin Feng took the small teacup, took a sip, and said, "I'm here today mainly to discuss the next batch."
Mr. Chen paused slightly as he poured tea, his smile widening. "Next batch? Mr. Lin, how many?"
"Forty thousand units," Lin Feng said calmly.
"Forty thousand units?" Boss Chen's eyes lit up.
"Yes, but it's not a one-time production of 40,000 units; it's done in batches of 10,000 units per batch."
"No problem!" Boss Chen patted his chest.
But Lin Feng's next words chilled him to the bone: "The price will be reduced by two percentage points from the original price."
"This..." Boss Chen quickly looked troubled. "President Lin, it's not that I'm unwilling to lower the price, it's just that raw material costs have risen sharply recently, and labor costs have also increased. This... this is really difficult to do. Our profit margins are already very thin..."
Lin Feng didn't reply, but picked up his teacup and slowly drank it.
With the mass production of MP3 players in Huaqiangbei, costs are constantly decreasing. Boss Chen's claim that raw material prices are rising is pure blatant lying.
He can fool laymen, but he can't fool Lin Feng.
Wu Wenjie chimed in at the opportune moment: "Old Chen, this isn't the first or second time we've cooperated. You know Fengchi's business better than I do. If you concede now, the road ahead will be wider. President Lin is a man of great things; if you help him control costs this time, the volume will only increase in the future."
Boss Chen also picked up his teacup and drank tea, looking troubled with a shifty look in his eyes.
Lin Feng didn't look at Boss Chen; he simply tapped the surface of the mahogany coffee table lightly with his fingers, making a soft, rhythmic sound. He wasn't in a hurry.
The office quieted down, with only the bubbling sound of boiling water in the electric kettle.
After about half a minute, Boss Chen put down his teacup, sighed, and forced a smile that looked like he had a toothache.
"Mr. Lin, you're putting me on the spot... Fine! Considering how well we've cooperated, we'll do as you say! Forty thousand units, price reduced by two percent! But..."
He then changed the subject, saying, "We need to sign a long-term cooperation agreement. In the future, you'll have to give priority to me, Old Chen, when you place orders."
"Okay." Lin Feng picked up his teacup, gestured to Boss Chen, and drank it all in one gulp. "The quality must be the same as this batch, or even better."
"Absolutely!" Boss Chen quickly drank his glass as if it were wine.
With the business settled, the atmosphere relaxed.
Boss Chen brewed another round of tea and started chatting about industry gossip—which factory had gone bankrupt, which boss had absconded. Lin Feng mostly listened, occasionally responding.
After chatting for about twenty minutes, Lin Feng put down his teacup and said, "Boss Chen, there's something else."
"Please speak!"
Xiaowen has been working for you for a while now, and she's very diligent. I'm very satisfied with her!
Starting today, she officially assumes the position of Quality Control Supervisor at the Shenzhen office of my newly established Fengchi Digital Co., Ltd., and will be fully responsible for the quality supervision of our products at Xinfeng and all OEM factories. I hope your company will treat her with sufficient respect; I don't want to hear her suffer any more grievances here.
Sitting next to him, Lin Xiaowen suddenly looked up at Lin Feng, her eyes wide open, her heart filled with turmoil.
Even Wu Wenjie was somewhat surprised.
Mr. Chen was taken aback at first, then immediately laughed and said, "Of course! Of course! Miss Xiaowen's abilities are beyond question. I, Old Chen, am at ease having her in charge of quality! President Lin has excellent taste!"
"Brother Feng, I..." Lin Xiaowen finally came to her senses, her face flushed, and her fingers unconsciously clenched the hem of her clothes.
"Your monthly salary will be increased by one thousand!" Lin Feng said calmly. "This is a reward from the company for your hard work and responsibility in the previous period. Continue to maintain high quality control in the future."
Lin Xiaowen was so excited that she couldn't speak.
When we left Xinfa, it was nearly dusk. The sky after the rain showed a hint of gray, but the clouds were still very thick.
"Brother Lin, where are we going now? Should we go back to the hotel to rest first, or..." Wu Wenjie hailed a taxi and asked.
"To the repair shop." Lin Feng opened the car door. "It's on the way."