pjbooks Chapter 590 People who are too reliable are prone to bankruptcy.
Chapter 590 People who are too reliable are prone to bankruptcy.
In the first few years after they opened, they focused on the home decoration market for ordinary people.
Chen Bao is a stubborn man. The "strict discipline and high-quality work" style he developed in the army is something he can't change even in the business world.
He set the company's motto in seven characters, which he wrote in large letters and posted on the wall: "Honesty, Reputation, Repeat Customers".
He figured that as long as the work was done well and people felt at ease staying there, he wouldn't have to worry about not having customers referring others.
As it turned out, reality showed no mercy, delivering a resounding slap to this idealistic veteran.
Chen Bao never expected that in the home renovation industry, getting a batch of repeat customers would be even harder than winning the lottery!
The worst part is that he and his comrades are too honest, to the point of being "foolish".
Other renovation companies might skip applying a layer of putty to the walls, cut corners on waterproofing materials, and use glue with excessive formaldehyde. This could lead to cracked walls, hollow tiles, and a strange smell in the house after three to five years. Homeowners would then have no choice but to hire someone else to redo the renovation, thus becoming "repeat customers."
But Chen Bao and his team were different. They worked like they were doing military engineering, as if they wanted to use a level and infrared to calibrate every tile and every keel to the exact same degree.
All the materials used are top-quality environmentally friendly products obtained with real money. The boards are E0 grade, the glue is plant-derived, and the paint meets the standards for children's rooms.
To paraphrase Chen Bao's own blunt, drunken words, it was a mixture of bitterness and pride:
"The houses our brothers renovated are of absolutely top-notch quality! I wouldn't dare say they're for generations, but they'll last at least twenty years without a single crack in the walls! This is... well, the quality is so good, it's a problem where we're going to find repeat customers!"
If it weren't for a few loyal customers who particularly valued them and thought these people were so reliable they were almost "foolish," spontaneously introducing their relatives and friends, they could barely manage to get a few orders.
His "Leopard Decoration" shop would probably have closed down years ago; the signboard has already been taken down.
Later, Chen Bao squatted on the curb and smoked all night, watching the glass curtain walls of more and more office buildings in the city reflect the light. He gritted his teeth and stomped his foot, thinking that this couldn't go on, and his brothers would all starve.
He made a decisive decision to transform the business!
They emptied their savings and begged for more money to hire several professionally trained and experienced designers at high salaries.
We started trying to undertake commercial interior design projects for office buildings, hotels, and restaurants.
He completely abandoned his pathetic airs as a boss, driving his beat-up Wuling van, carrying printed brochures and case studies, going from park to park, handing them out to everyone he met, and knocking on every door.
But once he stepped into the unfathomable "pool" of commercial interior design, Chen Bao, a veteran accustomed to linear thinking, was completely bewildered. The water was too murky, and the path too deep!
The intricacies, hidden rules, and unspoken regulations involved here are ten times more complicated and a hundred times dirtier than home decoration!
Especially when dealing with companies that are neither too big nor too small, but have plenty of lucrative opportunities.
In a multi-million dollar renovation project, from the project manager and purchasing manager on the client's side to the design director they hired, and even the foreman in charge, everyone, layer by layer, reaches out, openly or secretly, asking for kickbacks, bribes, and "tea money."
This web of interests is so densely woven, like a spider web, that you can't get in unless you get caught up in it.
Chen Bao wasn't unaware of the "rules" here, but he was in a dilemma.
Where does the money for these favors come from?
The cost ultimately comes from the consumer, and there are only two possible solutions.
They either cut corners on raw materials or use inferior materials.
Alternatively, they could simply deduct it from the hard-earned money of their old comrades who worked alongside them and relied on this meager wage to support their families!
But the principles of Chen Bao's company, the conscience ingrained in his bones from more than ten years of military service, and his responsibility to the brothers who followed him out to make a living, all prevented him from doing this!
In addition, they are a small company that has just transformed, with no reputation or background. When they go to the building materials market to get goods, they can't get the wholesale prices from those big decoration companies at all. Their raw material costs are already much higher than those of others.
If we further solidify the quality, the profit margin will be as thin as a razor blade, so thin that it'll collapse in the wind. Where will we find the extra money to fill those bottomless pits?
This has led them to participate in bidding for no fewer than ten office building projects in the past six months.
Without exception, they were all "accompanying the prince in his studies," suffering repeated defeats and setbacks time and time again.
The company's cash reserves are dwindling, like a leaky bucket, and morale is plummeting.
He was being pushed to the edge of a cliff, with over fifty brothers below him and over fifty families behind him, all pinning their hopes on him.
If it weren't for the fact that Liu Ruyan was in a hurry to get the Hongdou Group to move into the new building recently, with a tight schedule and heavy workload,
And coincidentally, during that park promotion, I took a liking to the photos of completed projects on Chen Bao's phone, which, although not the most fashionable in design, featured solid materials and craftsmanship details.
Ultimately, the interior design and renovation project for the core area of the group was entrusted to them.
So this year, Chen Bao will probably have to take his old comrades-in-arms, who also came from the army and entrusted him with their trust and fortune, pack their bags and leave, ending up on the streets, contemplating life under a bridge.
Thinking back to those dark and almost hopeless days, and comparing them to now sitting across from General Manager Ye, holding what may be the biggest deal of his career, Chen Bao's eyes reddened even more.
He took a deep breath, as if inhaling all the frustrations of the past and the determination for the future into his lungs.
He picked up the glass of baijiu in front of him, which was filled to the brim and almost overflowing, and stood up abruptly. With the effort, the upright posture he had gained from his old military stance returned instantly.
He bowed deeply to Ye Fan, his head lowered, and when he raised it again, his face was filled with unwavering sincerity. His voice was hoarse, but every word seemed to strike the ground with resounding force:
"President Ye! Let's not talk about the past! We won't say anything more!"
He raised his glass:
"You're to hand over that house at Xuanwu Lake No. 1 to me, Chen Bao, and my brothers! I'm signing a pledge to you here:"
If we used a single substandard nail, stole an ounce or two of material that shouldn't have been saved, or cheated you in any way,
I, Chen Bao, would be hit by a car and killed the moment I step outside! No questions asked! This drink, bottoms up! You just wait and see how we brothers get along from here on out!
After saying that, he tilted his head back and gulped down the cup of strong liquor, which was at least two ounces in size, his Adam's apple bobbing violently as he drank it all in one go, leaving not a single drop.
When he put down the cup, his face was flushed red, but his eyes shone with an alarming light. It was the weight of a soldier's promise, and the heaviest vow a man driven to despair yet seeing hope could make.
Looking at the rough man in front of him, who was gulping down strong liquor, with red eyes and pounding his chest, Ye Fan didn't say anything, but simply gently stroked the warm, smooth rim of the porcelain cup with his fingers.
He picked up his glass of wine, but didn't drink it all; he just took a symbolic sip, though a clear hint of approval flashed in his eyes.
In this extravagant world of the super-rich, filled with scheming and betrayal, he had seen far too many sycophantic "clever people."
It is precisely Chen Bao's insistence on being "real" that is ingrained in his bones, even to the point of seeming a bit "foolish" and "out of step with the times."
Instead, it became the scarcest and most reliable thing for him.
Some values are more important than profits.
Some people are more worth investing in than contracts.
......