Originally, Wang Xiaobai didn't have high hopes for this business opportunity that had come knocking on her door.
After all, she was the salesperson.
She hadn't even started pitching yet, and the business came to her? Was that reasonable?
Wasn't this completely upside down?
Driving along the way to Jiangjiazhuang, looking at the farmland and rural scenery on both sides of the provincial road, Wang Xiaobai couldn't help but wonder if she was being played.
Several times, she considered turning back to Ping County but held herself back.
Since she was already here, she might as well take a look. Worst case, she could treat it as a trip to the countryside to relax!
When she arrived at the entrance of Jiangjiazhuang village, it happened to be the day of the village's big market.
Both sides of the main street were lined with stalls selling lanterns, couplets, frozen goods, and various New Year supplies.
The road was so crowded that even electric scooters could barely pass, let alone cars.
Wang Xiaobai parked her car on the side of the road and called Jiang Tao to let him know she had arrived at the village entrance.
Then, carrying her company's product, she got out of the car and waited for Jiang Tao to come meet her.
Rural houses all looked similar, and Wang Xiaobai genuinely had no idea where Jiang Tao's house was.
She waited for about ten minutes, her patience nearly exhausted, when a tall, handsome man approached her.
"You're Wang Xiaobai, right? I'm Jiang Tao. Thanks for coming all this way."
Based on Wang Xiaobai's description, Jiang Tao easily spotted her in the crowd.
The people attending the market in Jiangjiazhuang were mostly villagers from nearby villages, dressed mostly in dark colors like black.
Wang Xiaobai, wearing a long white down jacket and holding a gift bag with a Nezha cartoon design, stood out distinctly and was easy to recognize.
"Hello, Mr. Jiang! I'm Wang Xiaobai. It's an honor to meet you!"
Recognizing Jiang Tao's voice, Wang Xiaobai quickly greeted him with a smile.
Even if the deal didn't go through, Jiang Tao was still a potential client, so she maintained an enthusiastic attitude.
"Have you been waiting long? Come on, let's head to my place, and we can talk more there."
Jiang Tao nodded at Wang Xiaobai, then turned to lead the way, weaving through the crowd toward his house.
Seeing so many people on the street, Wang Xiaobai felt reassured that Jiang Tao wouldn't try anything shady by bringing her to his home.
Along the way, Jiang Tao greeted several acquaintances with a smile.
The two walked one behind the other, and in five minutes, they arrived at Jiang Tao's doorstep.
When Wang Xiaobai saw the brand-new Beijing-licensed Mercedes-Benz GLS parked at the gate, her confidence in this deal suddenly surged!
The car in front of her was the latest 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLS450, with a landing price of over a million yuan!
Her company's boss drove the exact same model!
In Ping County, someone who could afford a million-yuan luxury car was definitely among the top tier.
This Mr. Jiang was really keeping a low profile!
As Wang Xiaobai was momentarily stunned by the Mercedes-Benz GLS, a figure appeared at the gate.
A woman with delicate features and fair, almost translucent skin rode out on an electric scooter with a little girl.
The woman had a slender, elegant figure, yet her presence was commanding—she was at least twice as striking as Wang Xiaobai.
Standing in front of Xu Li, Wang Xiaobai couldn't help but feel a bit inferior.
"Honey, I'm taking Little Xue to the market for a bit. You guys take your time talking," Xu Li said with a smile, greeting both Jiang Tao and Wang Xiaobai before riding off with Jiang Xue, who was happily licking an Alps lollipop in the back seat.
A big shot—this Mr. Jiang was definitely a big shot!
Driving a million-yuan luxury car and having such a beautiful wife—these were all symbols of success!
At that moment, Wang Xiaobai automatically pictured Jiang Tao as a successful person returning to his hometown for the New Year.
In an instant, she felt the chances of this deal succeeding had skyrocketed!
Maybe it could actually happen!
Following Jiang Tao through the gate and into the house, Wang Xiaobai noted the ordinary decor and once again marveled at how low-key this big shot was.
Little did she know, the "big shot" in her mind had been drowning in debt when he built this house.
It wasn't that he wanted to keep a low profile—he simply couldn't afford to be high-profile.
"Have a seat," Jiang Tao said, leading Wang Xiaobai to the living room and offering her a cup of tea.
"Thank you, Mr. Jiang."
Wang Xiaobai was even more polite than she had been on the phone.
"Did you bring the product?" Jiang Tao asked.
He had only seen pictures online after getting the tip and hadn't yet seen the actual Flying Pig Popcorn Bucket.
"I brought it, I brought it. Here it is, Mr. Jiang, please take a look."
Wang Xiaobai hurriedly pulled two popcorn buckets featuring Nezha riding a Flying Pig from her gift bag and handed them to Jiang Tao.
"The craftsmanship is pretty good. Plus, after finishing the popcorn, it can be used as a decoration or a key holder or something."
Jiang Tao examined the popcorn bucket closely, finding the design quite interesting.
The Flying Pig's silly, adorable look was also rather cute.
Even the manufacturer probably hadn't anticipated that this popcorn bucket would experience a massive surge in popularity after the movie's release, bringing in a windfall of wealth!
This tip about the popcorn bucket reminded Jiang Tao of the *Bing Dwen Dwen* mascot during the Winter Olympics a few years ago, which had been nearly impossible to get.
At certain moments, due to specific events, a product could suddenly explode in popularity. There were plenty of examples like this.
But such random events were hard for most people to predict.
If the manufacturer of this Flying Pig Popcorn Bucket could foresee that in just a few days, this product would become a hot commodity with its price soaring seven or eight times, they probably wouldn't be in such a rush to sell it now. They'd likely hold onto their stock and wait for the price to rise.
"Manager Wang," Jiang Tao said, turning his gaze to Wang Xiaobai after admiring the popcorn bucket, ready to talk business.
"Ahem, Mr. Jiang, you can just call me Xiao Wang. I'm just a small-time salesperson," Wang Xiaobai said with a smile.
"Haha, Xiao Wang it is then," Jiang Tao chuckled.
"Xiao Wang, how much stock do you have of this product? And what's the lowest price you can offer?"
Jiang Tao didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point.
"Mr. Jiang, I have a total of 10,200 units in stock," Wang Xiaobai replied.
"As for the lowest price… I can do 23 yuan per unit."
Wang Xiaobai didn't mind Jiang Tao calling her "Xiao Wang" and respectfully quoted her price.
If Jiang Tao could take this batch of goods, she wouldn't care if he called her "Xiao Wang" or even something less flattering—she'd accept it.
"To be honest, Mr. Jiang, aside from the raw material costs, we also have to pay licensing fees to the copyright holder."
"When you factor it all in, our production cost is already as high as 15 yuan per unit, leaving us with just 7 yuan in profit per sale."
"This product, when sold with popcorn, has a suggested retail price of 55 yuan, which leaves a decent profit margin."
"When we work with movie theaters, the price for orders under 1,000 units is around 35 yuan, for 2,000 units…"
Wang Xiaobai patiently explained the market positioning and pricing of the Flying Pig Popcorn Bucket to Jiang Tao.
It was clear she was eager to close this deal so she could enjoy the New Year in peace, and she showed great sincerity.
"20 yuan per unit. If you can do that, I'll take all the stock you have," Jiang Tao said, quoting the price System Bro had mentioned in the tip.
This was likely Wang Xiaobai's bottom line.
"…"
Hearing Jiang Tao's offer, Wang Xiaobai inwardly marveled.
A big shot was indeed a big shot—his grasp of negotiation rhythm and price control was spot-on!
He had nailed her bottom-line price in one go!
"Mr. Jiang, please give me a minute or two. At this price, someone at my level can't make the call."
"I'll make a quick call to check with my boss and see if we can make any further concessions on the price."
"Sure, go ahead," Jiang Tao said with a smile, his face radiating confidence as if he already had the deal in the bag.
"Please wait a moment…"
Wang Xiaobai got up from the sofa, stepped out of the living room, and walked down to the courtyard.
There, she pulled out her phone and pretended to make a call.
Three minutes later, Wang Xiaobai returned to the living room, her face full of excitement.
"Mr. Jiang, my boss approved it. We can do 20 yuan per unit."
"And the extra 200 or so units? We'll throw those in for free!"