Chapter 14

"The factory’s funds are now nearly depleted; we can’t afford advertising or promotion anymore, and we don’t even have enough budget to set up a sales department!"

Zhang Xiao sighed in frustration—he now wanted to split every yuan into two, but those hundred thousand yuan had already vanished like water, and now there was no money left to build a sales team or launch any promotion.

"Mass advertising via satellite dishes may not be effective—let Zhang Ao and the others handle sales!"

Along with Li Dongling and Zhou Wenyang, Zhang Ao and several other connections had come here; though these connections were technically incompetent, that didn’t mean they were useless.

Zhang Ao had ties with the Pingyang Supply and Marketing Cooperative; the others each had their own connections and plenty of shady friends. They might be useless at other tasks, but when it came to networking and pulling strings, they were the best.

"The factory price for the Observing Star satellite dish is three hundred yuan; for each one you sell, you get a twenty-yuan commission!"

Li Dongling looked at Zhang Ao and the others who had been called over: "As long as you sell the satellite dishes and recover the three hundred yuan, the commission is paid immediately. Whether you sell them yourself or get others to sell them, at what price—you decide. Just sell them!"

Originally annoyed at being suddenly summoned, Zhang Ao and the others now perked up. Fan Xugang, who had ties with the Forestry Bureau, asked, "You really mean twenty yuan commission per dish sold?!"

"As long as you sell it and collect payment, you get the commission!" Li Dongling affirmed.

Zhang Ao, Fan Xugang, and the others exchanged glances, all eager to try. Their monthly salary was barely a couple hundred yuan—sell ten dishes and they’d earn a month’s wage. They knew these satellite dishes would definitely sell.

Even those with connections were now struggling for money. Not just small-time connections—even major ones in provincial capitals or Beijing, since they could no longer resell permits, found it hard to make cash and were seeking other paths.

"I’ll take five satellite dishes—no, ten!" Fan Xugang said.

Many forestry bureau employees worked night shifts deep in the mountains, where there was virtually no signal. A satellite dish there was an absolute necessity—he was confident he could sell them!

"I’ll take fifty satellite dishes!" Zhang Ao said after thinking. He planned to use his supply and marketing cooperative connections to sell them.

Zhang Ao, Fan Xugang, and the others each took away a portion of the satellite dishes for sale, and another batch was sent to the Pingyang TV station’s service center as display units—suddenly, over two hundred dishes vanished from the warehouse.

The current sales channels for the Observing Star satellite receivers are mainly TV service centers, supply and marketing cooperatives, and Zhang Ao and his connections—let’s see how many they can move.

"Will this even work?!"

Watching the satellite dishes being hauled away from the warehouse, Zhang Xiao felt uneasy—he thought Zhang Ao and the others were unreliable. Letting TV service centers and supply cooperatives sell the dishes for Yuanqi Factory felt absurd to him.

Li Dongling shook his head. "Whether they’re reliable doesn’t matter—as long as the money is reliable."

"Uncle Yang!"

Fan Xugang arrived at the doorstep of Yang Guofeng, head of logistics at the Forestry Bureau, hauling a satellite dish on his tricycle.

Seeing the pile of stuff Fan Xugang had brought, Yang Guofeng frowned. "What trouble are you stirring up now?!"

Fan Xugang was a family member of the Forestry Bureau; after graduation, he should have joined, but he was notoriously unruly, couldn’t stand the bureau’s rules, and had gone out to mingle with the wrong crowd.

"Uncle Yang, you’re wronging me—today I’ve brought you something truly good."

Without waiting for Yang Guofeng to respond, he began assembling the dish. Over half an hour later, Fan Xugang had expertly adjusted it and connected it to Yang Guofeng’s TV.

When Yang Guofeng saw dozens of TV channels appear on screen, his face showed stunned surprise—he hadn’t expected this dish-shaped device to work far better than the antenna on his roof.

Seeing Yang Guofeng’s expression, Fan Xugang pressed on: "Uncle Yang, I bought this dish for you and Auntie. I heard you complained recently about the poor signal at home."

"You? Have you suddenly become this generous?!"

Yang Guofeng gave him a sidelong glance. "How much is this dish? I’ll pay you. Get to the point."

Fan Xugang sat down casually, poured himself a glass of water, and said, "Uncle Yang, I was thinking—the Forestry Bureau staff work night shifts in the mountains every day, where there’s no signal at all. If the bureau bought these satellite dishes, everyone could watch TV in the evenings—it’d lift morale!"

Hearing this, Yang Guofeng didn’t immediately object—he fell into thought. Conditions in the mountains were brutal. Over two thousand staff from Pingyang Forestry Bureau rotated shifts to cut timber; sometimes, they had to stay for ten or fifteen days straight. Watching TV could ease their spirits.

"How much is one satellite dish?" Yang Guofeng asked.

"Three hundred and twenty yuan per dish."

"You’re trying to skim a kickback off me, aren’t you?" Yang Guofeng, handling logistics, knew all the tricks.

Fan Xugang groaned. "Uncle Yang, you’re really wronging me! I barely got these few units through connections—I didn’t make a single yuan profit. This is high-tech! Can it be cheap?!"

Yang Guofeng shook his head. "Three hundred and twenty is too expensive. How about three hundred per dish? I’ll ask our staff how many want it. If we get a hundred, I’ll help you collect orders. If you’re willing, I’ll go ask now—if not, forget it."

Though forestry work was grueling, pay was decent. Many were dual-income households—they could easily afford a satellite dish. After all, if they’d bought a TV but had nothing to watch, it’d just become a useless decoration.

Fan Xugang put on a face of reluctance, but inside he was barely holding back laughter—a hundred dishes meant two thousand yuan in commissions!

"Alright, Uncle Yang, I’ll take the loss—who else but family would I do this for?"

Yang Guofeng didn’t waste words—he went out and called people. Soon, many forestry bureau staff arrived at his house to see the novelty. Fan Xugang ended up collecting over one hundred and ten orders.

While jotting down names, Fan Xugang said, "Within two days—I guarantee installation for everyone. Just have the money ready."

Two thousand yuan—that was his entire annual salary! How could he not be eager? He’d coveted Zhang Ao’s motorcycle for ages; if he sold a few more dishes, he might afford one himself!

In a town under Pingyang City, a man walked into the local TV service center. The clerk, Zhou Xia, immediately rushed to greet him.

In the past, clerks like Zhou Xia at TV centers, banks, post offices, phone offices, or supply cooperatives never showed such enthusiasm. Customers were treated with disdain; if they were in a bad mood, they’d refuse service outright—even complaints were useless, and sometimes the complainant had to apologize just to get anything done!

But today was different. Zhou Xia was unusually warm, ushering the man in and offering him hot tea. The man, taken aback by her attentiveness, felt genuinely surprised.

He’d heard this TV service center was notoriously difficult—getting cable TV service required multiple trips and waiting weeks. Yet today, it was nothing like the rumors.

"You’re here for TV service, right?" Zhou Xia asked.

"Yes, I want to sign up for cable TV. I just bought a color TV..."

Before he finished, Zhou Xia interrupted: "I’m sorry, our cable technician is out. Please register your name—we’ll submit all requests together next month. We can’t run a separate line just for your household."

The man stared blankly. Signing up for TV service now required waiting until next month—and who knew when it’d actually be done? He finally understood why so many people skipped cable and bought antennas instead—it was paying for misery.

Seeing the man about to leave in frustration, Zhou Xia quickly added: "Besides cable TV, we’re now also selling a new product—a high-tech satellite receiver: the Observing Star dish."

"It’s a bit expensive, but you get over a dozen channels—just as many as cable—and the signal is far better than a regular antenna. Plus, one-year warranty: if anything breaks, our technician comes right to your door—no disruption to your evening dramas!"

Zhou Xia then demonstrated the channels the dish could receive. The man was clearly tempted. "How much is this dish?"

"Three hundred and fifty yuan. Plus a fifteen-yuan installation fee—all one-time, no further charges. It’s a steal! There’s only one left—if you don’t buy it now, someone else will, and you won’t know when another arrives!"

"I’ll take it!"

Though he thought it was pricey, the man paid on the spot and waited for delivery and installation.

Zhou Xia counted the cash, locked it in her drawer—already filled with bills—and recorded another sale on her sales sheet. There were already seven names listed—today alone, she’d sold eight dishes!

The reason clerks like Zhou Xia were so eager was simple—they were making money. The TV station’s base price for the dish was three hundred yuan; for each one sold at that price, she earned a ten-yuan commission. The higher the selling price, the higher her commission.

If she sold a dish for three hundred and fifty yuan, she earned twenty yuan commission. Today alone, she made one hundred and sixty yuan in commissions—more than her monthly salary. Before, she got a fixed wage regardless of effort—why work hard? Now, selling one dish earned her twenty yuan—she could make a month’s salary in a day. How could she not be diligent?

The same applied to the service technician at the center. In the past, when a TV user had a problem, they’d beg him ten or twenty times before he showed up.

But today, he rode his tricycle all over town and surrounding villages, installing dishes for dozens of miles, never tired, even skipping meals—he earned fifteen yuan per installation, and the Yuanqi Factory in Shangguan Town also paid him a monthly subsidy. Combined, his commission and subsidy now exceeded his old salary by several times!