Pei Xiang widened her eyes instantly, "Auntie, just tell me what the task is. As long as it's not picking stars from the sky, my colleague and I will throw tantrums to complete it for you."
The last time she was given skin care samples had already made her the darling of the troupe. Now, with one call, hundreds would respond. After all, which girl wouldn't care about her own face?
With a new task at hand, she was already thrilled without a hint of apprehension.
"It's not a big deal. Just convince your troupe leader to help advertise. Don't worry, it won't take much effort from you all, and it will absolutely benefit you. Jiao Yan's whitening skincare line is just the first product from the factory. There will be more products for you all to try in the future, including makeup items. They will all be free of charge. This should help your troupe save a lot on expenses..." Zhi Xia said with a smile that made her eyes disappear.
Zhi Xia didn't have any ulterior motives. She just suddenly thought of the advertising effects from her past life.
In the 1980s, televisions weren't prevalent yet, and only a minority could afford radios. But art troupes were different. They traveled all over the country for performances, attracting large crowds wherever they went. Some people would even walk dozens of miles just to watch a show.
Zhi Xia didn't need them to do much, just help advertise on stage during performances, and say a few words about the product at the beginning and end.
This was the best way to quickly and briefly establish the Jiao Yan brand nationally, making it known all over.
After hearing the explanation, Pei Xiang's eyes shone brightly the whole time. "Auntie, don't worry. I guarantee I'll complete the task for you. If the troupe leader doesn't agree, I'll lead my sisters to surround him until he submits!"
The benefits for them were simply too great.
A good set of skincare easily cost tens or even hundreds of yuan at Friendship Stores for foreign goods.
The lowest paid members of their troupe only made 30 yuan or so, with the highest earning 70-80 yuan. Having their faces caked with makeup for performances already greatly damaged their skin. Using skincare products was comparatively expensive.
They had to spend a month's wages every 3-4 months on average. Many lower income members complained they couldn't afford it and often had irritated, blemished skin from saving money.
If they could eliminate this expense, nobody in the troupe would disagree.
Zhi Xia also felt they had no reason to refuse such a win-win proposal. She waved her hand generously, "Go ahead and let them pick. I'll cover the costs today. Just let me know when it's time to checkout."
To get things done, you had to be willing to invest.
Since Pei Xiang had only brought 4-5 colleagues today, giving them some free skincare sets was affordable.
Knowing Zhi Xia wasn't joking, Pei Xiang excitedly hugged her. "Auntie, you're the best. Love you! I'll go pick things first. Next time I'm free I'll come visit you."
Zhi Xia found her amusing. She then went to notify the shop assistants so there wouldn't be any misunderstandings at checkout later since she was busy.
Zhi Xia took over the tasks of collecting money and bookkeeping. The second floor provided facials and massages, along with some skincare package experiences. It was very busy today with the extra customers, so they were short on people.
But this was only the first day. Once the grand opening promotions died down, customer flow would reach a saturation point and slowly stabilize.
The shop didn't close until 11pm. Zhi Xia still had school tomorrow, but fortunately Su Ying had introduced a store manager to her.
After calculating the earnings from the first day, she found out they had made over 3,000 yuan.
In this era of average 50-60 yuan monthly wages, it was a huge sum.
What's more, they still had promotional activities running for another two days. Looking at their current inventory, they needed to urgently restock.
Pei Xiang soon sent word that the troupe leader had naturally agreed. It was a win-win deal with no reason to decline.
But they still needed to meet and thoroughly discuss the details of their cooperation, as well as sign a contract. This was protection for both Jiao Yan and the art troupe.
What Jiao Yan currently needed wasn't just building brand awareness, but also recruiting franchises to expand store locations. Otherwise, even with fame, customers would have no way to purchase their products.
After settling the cooperation on her end, Zhi Xia left franchise matters to Wu Lei's side. The factory was over there after all, so having the production facilities and supply would be more convincing.
The second half of 1979 was Zhi Xia's busiest half year.
From product formulas, promotions, to sales methods, all decisions were up to her.
Of course, Wu Lei and Hu Zhou weren't slacking off either. Otherwise, with how much Hu Zhou doted on his daughter, he couldn't have left her here for half a year without visiting.
But their hard work was worth it. By the end of the year, the factory finally moved past operating at a loss and stepped into profitability.
Although bonuses still had to be saved for next year's production, it was still a good start. Moreover, the Jiao Yan brand was now well established. Wu Lei's side had also set up a marketing department. Although they hadn't expanded overseas yet, they now had a place in the skincare industry.
On the 22nd day of the last lunar month, Zhi Xia decided to start her year-end vacation early. The shop staff had been busy for half a year without any time off. She gave each of them a big red envelope, as well as rewards of rice, oil, and a large pork leg.
Of course she couldn't neglect Auntie Zhang's side either. When she was busy, the household depended entirely on her.
After many years together, Auntie Zhang was more like family.
Zhi Xia went to Wu Xiaohua's snack shop. With Liu Xuan's addition, they had built up the little eatery to look formal, and even hired two assistants.
"Sis An, you're here..." Compared to her previous bleakness, Wu Xiaohua was much more cheerful now, likely from regaining confidence.
Zhi Xia: "Your dad said I should ask if you want to go to Shen City to find him since the New Year is almost here and he won't make it back."
Wu Xiaohua hesitated before sighing, "Forget it. Spending New Year's alone would be too pitiful. Brother Liu also decided to take Si Si back to his hometown, so the shop would have to close with him gone anyway. I might as well go find my dad and come back after the holiday."
Zhi Xia smiled. "Go on. It'll be good for a grown man to get out and see more of the world. You can't hide in this little snack shop forever."
"I certainly don't plan on staying in this little snack shop forever. Brother Liu mentioned earlier that we should expand and not just do snacks anymore. We want to open a restaurant hotel, but haven't found a suitable location yet. Sis An, you know more people, so help us keep an eye out for a place suitable for a hotel."
"Running a restaurant takes quite a bit of capital. Do you have that much money?" Zhi Xia asked in surprise. She was also worried that the simpleminded Wu Xiaohua would be taken advantage of by the more ambitious Liu Xuan.
Despite seeming honest and obedient, Liu Xuan harbored greater aspirations. He must have plans to propose something so bold.
"We're not sure yet. But we've saved up some over the past half year. If we do decide to open the hotel, we can sell this snack shop. It should be worth something. Anyway, I'll just partner with Brother Liu. He said no matter how much we earn in the future, we split it evenly, and will be lifelong good brothers, with neither cheating the other."
Wu Xiaohua knew that while he had initially taken Liu Xuan in with his roadside food stand, their current shop and ambition to open a hotel were all thanks to Liu Xuan. If it was up to him alone, he would still be half dead behind that food stand.
