September 27, 2006, Wednesday.
The sixth day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar.
Just like September 27 two years ago, I once again departed from Beicang and returned to my hometown, Yicheng.
Tan Jincheng deliberately chose this day to return, because two years ago, he and Zhang Xupeng dragged their suitcases from Beicang and boarded a minivan home, just in time for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
However, this year's Mid-Autumn Festival would have to wait until October 6, after the National Day holiday was over.
"Auntie, please take these things back to my mom for me. I don't have time to go home for the Mid-Autumn Festival this year."
Before preparing to leave in the morning, Zhang Xupeng called out to Zhang Suzhi while stuffing things into the trunk of the A6.
There was nothing special, just some food and drinks, plus a few boxes of mooncakes prepared in advance, a brand from Xiangjiang that was very popular among the wealthy in Yongcheng these days.
"Oh, you child, no matter how busy you are, it's always possible to take one day off to go home for the Mid-Autumn Festival,"
Zhang Suzhi sighed.
"I really can't get away, otherwise I would definitely go back with you all,"
Zhang Xupeng said helplessly.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a major holiday, coinciding with the National Day break.
If not for special reasons, who wouldn't want to spend it with family?
Zhang Xupeng was simply too busy with the acquisition and integration of factories and the renovation of GXG stores to get away.
Compared to Boss Tan, who had been relatively free recently, Boss Zhang was incredibly busy.
Before the end of this year, GXG planned to open its flagship stores in 8 cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Yongcheng, Yangcheng, and Jiangcheng.
The first batch of self-produced goods would definitely not be ready in time, so they could only rely on OEM production.
Jinpeng also didn't plan to have too many GXG apparel factories; it wasn't necessary.
Once the brand was established, OEM would suffice, but quality control must be well maintained.
The goal was to build national brand awareness before 2007, striving to open flagship stores in multiple first and second-tier cities, and also open franchise stores to achieve brand coverage.
These days, creating an apparel brand wasn't that difficult; a name that was neither too Chinese nor too foreign would do.
In an era where domestic goods were generally perceived as inferior in quality to foreign brands, consumers often had a preference for foreign goods.
This was understandable; if your product quality truly wasn't as good, it was better to get it right the first time, even if it cost a little more, rather than wasting money multiple times.
Brands like Giordano, Jack & Jones, Playboy, and Baleno seized consumer psychology and became popular quickly through marketing.
And without exception, these companies were purely domestic, but due to their unique brand names, information asymmetry, and misleading marketing, consumers mistakenly thought they were foreign brands.
However, with the improvement of domestic product quality and changes in consumer perception of domestic brands, these "urban-rural fringe" style brand names became the fatal weakness for enterprise development, quickly abandoned by consumers.
If it was just about making a quick buck and running, Tan Jincheng would have advised Zhang Xupeng to be like these companies, or at least create a Fanke Chengpin, which didn't exist at this time.
Fanke Chengpin was truly about making money, rapidly becoming popular, and then rapidly declining, at an extremely fast pace.
But for a venture, one needs a long-term plan, yet it cannot deviate from the current market environment.
A purely foreign brand like GXG was relatively suitable.
Foreign branding and quality, combined with prices generally acceptable to domestic consumers, positioned as mid-range apparel, was the best choice for breaking through in the clothing brand market at present.
Furthermore, Tan Jincheng didn't plan to open too many offline stores; the main focus later would be on online sales to reduce operating costs.
In summary, one's vision can be ahead of its time, but not too far ahead, otherwise you will die on the path of being too advanced.
For example, trying to develop new energy electric vehicles at this time, your money would run out before you could even develop it.
"Don't listen to his nonsense, I brought Qingqing home, he just doesn't dare to go back,"
Tan Jincheng ruthlessly exposed Zhang Xupeng.
Yes, they were partners who grew up together, their families were so close, and their careers were closely linked.
One had officially brought his girlfriend home, while the other was still single.
What if he was under 22 and still very young? In contrast, he was still pressured to marry.
At home, he was not "Boss Tan" or "Boss Zhang."
"Bullshit, I'm really busy, okay? Aunt Zhang, don't listen to his rambling,"
Zhang Xupeng said, somewhat flustered.
Zhang Suzhi shook her head, amused.
Whenever these two were together, they would always badmouth each other, their words not clean.
"Busy is busy, but you also need to start looking for a girlfriend. You'll be 23 in just a few months."
"Did you hear that? 23."
"Alright, alright, I know, I know. I have things to do, I'll be leaving first. You all be safe on the road."
There was naturally no problem with safety.
Tan Jincheng brought two drivers and drove two cars back.
Gu Qingqing and he himself could also drive, so they could take turns on the road.
The whole family sat in the GL8 driven by Li Yaohui.
Tan Jinyue was very clingy to her brother and insisted on sitting in the same row as him, refusing to listen no matter what.
Zhang Suzhi was so angry she called her a "little heartless one," actually wanting Gu Qingqing to sit in the same row as Tan Jincheng.
Gu Qingqing naturally wouldn't bother with a child and smiled,
"Auntie, let's sit in the very back. Jincheng is very good at taking care of children, you don't need to worry."
In fact, it wasn't just Gu Qingqing who couldn't understand this; everyone close to Tan Jincheng couldn't figure out why he was so good at taking care of children, from small things like holding positions, formula and toys, to bigger issues like children's illnesses, he knew it all.
While adjusting Tan Jinyue's car seat, Tan Jincheng said to Gu Qingqing,
"Do you know, today, two years ago, Old Zhang and I dragged our luggage home for the Mid-Autumn Festival? It's been exactly two years since I came ashore."
"Two years ago? 2004?"
"Yes, 2004. At that time, he and Pengya were very tanned, but they looked much stronger,"
Zhang Suzhi also sighed and chimed in.
Two years had passed in a flash.
Gu Qingqing turned to look at Tan Jincheng, imagining him with dark skin.
Although work had been busy these two years, he ate well, dressed well, and usually traveled by car, leading a pampered life.
Both Tan Jincheng and Zhang Xupeng had long lost their appearance from being sun-drenched at sea.
Unable to imagine it, Gu Qingqing asked Zhang Suzhi,
"Was the dark-skinned Jincheng a bit like that Hong Kong star who played in The Return of the Condor Heroes?"
Zhang Suzhi smiled,
"Others said he looked like him, but I don't think so. To me, he will only be like my son."
"At that time, Old Zhang and I were pulled by a minivan to a black restaurant. A 30-yuan fast food meal was almost like pig feed, and you couldn't leave without eating it."
Tan Jincheng still remembered Zhang Xupeng's expression at the time.
Although they worked hard on the boat, the food was really good.
Zhang Xupeng exclaimed that he had never eaten anything so unappetizing!
"Why couldn't you leave without eating?"
Gu Qingqing asked, somewhat curious.
She had never seen a "black restaurant," and even Zhang Suzhi was a little curious, having never seen one either.
"Those small restaurants open by the national highway, specializing in business from passing minivan passengers. The driver would take you there, and you couldn't leave without eating."
"Ah? Such places exist? Do they still exist now?"
Tan Jincheng nodded,
"Yes, my dad and Uncle Guolong probably encountered them when they first came."
This was something almost every worker of that era experienced.
A 30-yuan fast food meal was quite profitable.
By cooperating with multiple routes, they could easily achieve hundreds of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, in turnover each month.
Located in a remote corner of a rural town, with their own house, it seemed like an unremarkable business, but it was actually very profitable, and these were the original capital sources for many future entrepreneurs.
With a child in the car, Li Yaohui dared not drive too fast.
They departed at eight in the morning, and including rest stops along the way, it wasn't until six in the evening that the family truly arrived home.
Tan Lihua specially took a day off today and had already prepared a large table of dishes at home.
He didn't know how to make some of them, so he called Zhang Guolong and his wife over to help.
Unlike meeting in Yongcheng, Zhang Suzhi took Gu Qingqing's visit to Yicheng this time, which included celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, very seriously.
She had already informed Tan Lihua early on.
Although both sets of parents had not yet met, coming to Yicheng, her old hometown, meant that this prospective daughter-in-law was basically settled.
Tan Lihua, still wearing an apron, smiled and welcomed Gu Qingqing and the others inside at the door:
"Come in quickly, you must be tired from the long drive. Let me introduce you, these two are Zhang Xupeng's parents."
Gu Qingqing behaved gracefully:
"Hello Uncle Tan, hello Uncle Zhang, hello Aunt Liu."
"Good, good, good, I've long heard that Little Tan found a beautiful daughter-in-law, and today I finally get to see her,"
Liu Huiru responded with her clumsy Mandarin.
Her eyes were full of envy, and at the same time, she looked outside.
Zhang Guolong, who was beside her, smiled and nodded.
"Pengya hasn't returned yet. He's been too busy to get away recently. He asked us to bring you some gifts. It's too late today, I'll bring them over tomorrow,"
Tan Jincheng said with a smile, holding his sister.
After a 10-hour car ride, Tan Jinyue had long lost her initial excitement and was utterly exhausted.
She was already asleep at this point.
Liu Huiru was somewhat disappointed upon hearing this.
The entire Old Tan family had returned, but her own smelly boy had not.
"No rush, no rush."
Tan Jincheng then introduced Li Yaohui and Liu Suman.
When Liu Huiru learned that Liu Suman was actually Gu Qingqing's personal driver, she was even more surprised.
"Jincheng is really good to his little girlfriend, even assigning her a driver. His own parents don't even have one."
A student being a driver, tsk tsk.
"Let's eat first. Qingqing, Little Li, and Little Liu must be hungry,"
Tan Lihua said as he placed the last fish dish on the table.
Tan Jincheng took a quick glance; wow, 12 dishes, Old Comrade Tan is impressive.
This was completely in the style of a formal banquet.
Seeing the fish, which was the last dish to be served, one could guess the serving order was also ceremonial.
At an Yicheng banquet, the last dish is fish, symbolizing abundance every year.
The arrival of the fish meant that the serving of dishes was complete.
"Thanks to you,"
Tan Jincheng whispered in Gu Qingqing's ear.
(End of Chapter)