Small experience, big wealth

Chapter 29

65. Two credit cards and two steaks
Many people think that we Chinese like to treat guests, but in fact, Americans also like to treat guests.Just the night before our return to China, Hogen, the sales representative of the American company who has been accompanying us on sightseeing and investigation, treated us to a pure American meal in an American restaurant.

Hogan ordered each of us a fried steak.The steak was half-cooked, at most it was medium-rare, and the beef oozes bright red blood when you bite it down.Don't say that you can't bite or chew, your appetite will be affected just by looking at it.

Hogen told us: "This is the best steak, pure steak, and the heat is very well controlled." I thought: It would be great if my son came, because my son can eat this kind of under-rare beef the most.

There were 5 of us, Hogan ate one steak by himself, 4 of us ate two steaks, and there were exactly two steaks left.The habits of Americans are the same as ours, and they can't eat and walk around.

After the steak was packed, Hogen signaled to the waiter to pay.To our perplexity, Hogan took out two credit cards and handed them to the waiter.

We thought about it - it seems that this steak can't be cheap, and a credit card is not enough!The interpreter was more polite and said to us: "I'm so sorry that I spent all of my credit card. Forget it, I'll go to checkout." The interpreter went to call Hao Gen.

We watched them from a distance, and only saw Haogen and the translator making gestures and saying something, and the translator came back with a smile.

It turned out that the remaining two steaks were to be taken home for the children to eat, so the two packaged steaks needed to be settled with Hogen's own credit card.The 3 steaks we ate belonged to the company's banquet, so we settled with the company's credit card.

After the translator explained to us Hogan's use of two credit cards, each of us sighed.

In fact, the two steaks didn't cost much, and Hogen didn't ask for too much on purpose. They were all paid with the company's credit card, and no one could say anything.

When Hogen came back, we shared our thoughts with Hogen through a translator.Hogen’s head shook like a rattle, and he uttered a series of birdsong excitedly: "NO, NO, %8%? ◎For"/f..." Later, the interpreter explained Hogen’s words to us: "No , No, public is public, private is private, absolutely can not be confused, we do not have this habit. "This is the ideological realm of a standard American businessman who has been nurtured by the American market economy.

Business experience:
Be a man first and then do business, this should be the motto of a businessman.

The good quality of a businessman and the word of mouth praised by everyone often become the best advertisement for a businessman.

66. Approaching the Wong Tai Sin Temple Although the Wong Tai Sin Temple is one of the most famous temples in Hong Kong, it is indeed insignificant compared with many famous temples in the mainland. The entire temple covers an area of ​​only 1.8 square meters. It is a place with a radius of less than 140 meters.

"Hey, it's really spectacular. Although I have walked through countless temples, I have never seen a place as strong as Wong Tai Sin Temple!" My wife said in surprise.

I said: "It seems that the little gods in the temple are big!" But seeing the crowds in the temple, the incense is lingering, and the smoke produced by the incense after burning is lingering in the air and spreading out bit by bit. I was so choked that I couldn't open my eyes and couldn't breathe.Devotees and believers each took bundles of thick, long and large incense and walked to the Buddha statue, standing there devoutly worshiping, burning incense and making wishes.There is a Chinese-style courtyard in front of the temple, called Congxin Garden, where many people stand or kneel and shake the sticks in their hands with their eyes closed.

"Hey, there is a lottery here, let's go, let's draw a lottery too, according to the tour guide, the lottery here is very effective!" I said, and walked to a stall with many lottery tubes: "How much is a lottery?" Money?" "No money, whatever you want!" A dull-faced woman in the stall said listlessly.

"There is such a good thing in the world of money in Hong Kong. Come on, let's draw a lot!" My wife, my son, and I stood there holding the lottery tubes and began to shake them.

I shook the stick religiously for a long time, and finally a bamboo stick jumped out of it. I hurriedly picked it up, took it in my hand and saw that there was only one number on the stick, which was 29.

I turned around and asked the woman just now: "Sister, where do I go to see the signature?" "Front." Still with a blank face.

At this time, the wife and children also drew out their own bamboo sticks. The wife drew No. 96, and the son drew No. 35. We came down together.There are many stalls in a row of two rows below, and on each stall are many pink slips of paper, marked with numbers from 1 to 100, and the words written under the numbers are the signatures we are eager to know .Two yuan a piece.

It turned out to be the case.

"I said, how can there be a free lunch in a place like Hong Kong!" "Why didn't they collect money directly at the lottery, why did they make such a detour?" My son didn't understand.

"This is where the beauty lies. When the price of a product is high, the social demand is low; if the price of a product is low, the social demand is high. Now that the Wong Tai Sin Temple is free to enter and draw lots for free, the demand must be high. You think Ah, if money is collected at the lottery, many people may not spend the money. One is that many people may not believe it, and it is even less likely to go to the lottery if they are asked to spend money; Money may need to be lined up, which will delay the time and may affect the following tour time, so some people will not be willing to participate in the lottery. In this way, there will be very few people participating in the lottery, and the lottery they sell will be It will decrease, and their income will also decrease. Now, entering the temple is free, and lottery is also free, so the vast majority of people who come for the first time do not know the rules here, and they will subconsciously think that here is a place from the beginning to the end. Tails are free.

So I don't hesitate to participate in the lottery, even if I don't believe it, I have to play it.Therefore, there will be many, many people participating in the lottery, and their income will increase infinitely.It's also a beautiful design for a way of doing business. "Jiang Taigong took the bait when he fished volunteers." "So what if people don't read the signature after drawing lots? Isn't that a waste of resources?" "You don't understand this, they make full use of people's curiosity After shaking the lottery for a long time, the bamboo stick came out, and the sign was right in front of my eyes, but it cost two yuan each, and no one who came here was reluctant to spend two yuan. Even if you play, you have to have a satisfactory result. This is the general psychology of human beings. Do the math, for such a spectacular scene, there are still 5 tourists a day. If [-] tourists come, each person will buy a bundle of incense and draw a lottery. Huang Daxian The shrine will receive [-] yuan, and that’s not counting those donors who donate money voluntarily!” While speaking, my son had already bought our signatures.

My signature reads like this: "Ancient Zhang Hansi's "Perch": Perch is cooked with chrysanthemum yellow, and the bottle of wine is full and cool at night. The pan is just waiting for the tide, such a happy scene." Life is 40, wife and son Filial piety, sweet love, a successful career, no worries about food and clothing, is the best situation in life, and it can be said to be the best sign.

The son's signature reads: "The ancients "Tang Monk Learns the Sutras": Heaven will appoint this person, and the muscles and bones will work hard on the other body first. It is not easy to say that good times come easily, and there are reasons for poverty and wealth." The son is in high school, and he is halfway through his studies. , The bright future is limitless, but it still needs a year and a half of hard work. Only by being admitted to a prestigious university can one be successful. The signature is also good, and it should be a signature.

The wife's signature reads: "The ancients "Wen Ji Si Han": The frequent blowing of the Qiang flute makes it more sad, and the return date is touched by a guest in a foreign land. The lone wild goose from the south feels pity for me, and I send a letter from home to convey my knowledge." The wife's signature is written by Cai Wenji My wife didn't understand the allusions to the story, and she was very upset by the words "meaning more sad" and "lone wild goose". The Shinto old woman cheated out of 20 yuan by talking nonsense.

After hearing the old woman's nonsense, I dragged my wife away, telling her the story of Wen Ji's return to Han:
In fact, Wen Ji Sihan's lottery is not a lottery, it's just a delusion by the person who solved the lottery.Cai Wenji is the daughter of Cai Yong, a famous scholar in the Han Dynasty. During the war, she was exiled to the Southern Huns for 12 years. During this period, she became a loving couple with King Zuoxian and gave birth to a son and a daughter.She and Zuo Xian Wang are loving and loving, and live a happy life, but there is often a trace of melancholy in her heart because she misses her parents and hometown.At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Cao sent Dong Si and Zhou Jin to the Southern Huns to preach Cao Cao's literary and martial arts to King Zuoxian.Before leaving, King Zuo Xian vowed to be reconciled with the Han Dynasty forever. Dong Si was very moved and presented King Zuo Xian with the jade sword that Cao Cao gave him. Cai Wenji also left the bronze mirror she carried with him to King Zuo Xian.

Eight years later, Cai Wenji's children had grown up, and they came to the Han Dynasty in accordance with their father's will.On his deathbed, King Zuoxian gave his son the jade sword that Dong Si had given him, and gave Dong Si the bronze mirror that Cai Wenji had given him.Cao Cao understood Zuo Xianwang's meaning of "mirror and sword cooperation", and personally officiated the marriage. Dong Si and Cai Wenji became "mandarin ducks of life and death" sharing weal and woe.

At that time, the woman who released the sign took the sign and asked his wife: "What are you asking?" The wife said: "Love." From Cai Wenji's allusion, we know that Cai Wenji was away for 12 years. Her love is sweet, but she misses her parents and her hometown. ; Later she returned to the Han Dynasty, and she began to miss her children again.But in the end she and Dong Si became life-and-death mandarin ducks and reunited with her children, which was a very happy ending.For a woman who asks about love, this lottery should definitely be the top lottery, which is called good things take a long time.

"But why did that unlucky fortune-teller say so many nasty things?" asked the son.

"Of course it's for the money. Think about it, if I tell you badly, are you likely to spend money to avoid the disaster again? Isn't she going to make a lot of money again? It's not just 20 yuan It can be easily dismissed, at least three hundred and five hundred, or three thousand and five thousand." "Is it too dark?" "It's free, and I didn't force you to come." "I think it's a set from beginning to end. !” said the son decisively.

I said: "That's right. From the tour guide's tireless exaggeration of the Wong Tai Sin Temple in the car, to the free of charge of the Wong Tai Sin Temple, and then to the free lottery, the whole thing is the same. Then you come here to buy a lottery, Unlock the sign, this is another set. Let’s go, maybe your mother will get into another set they designed in a while!" "I said, the incense here is so strong, it turns out that there is something hidden in it." There are so many mysteries." Business Classic:

It is very important to use your brain to design a profit model for your business.The same business, different business model, the profit is absolutely different.

Advanced and developed countries and regions have many well-designed profit models. "Stones from other mountains can be used to make jade", we might as well learn from one or two.

In fact, innovation does not only exist in the technical field, but also requires innovation in business operations.The so-called marketing and planning are actually a design of the business model.

67. Ants moving house During the Spring Festival of 2005, our family of three traveled to Hong Kong and Macau. We returned to Zhuhai from Macau on the fifth day of the first lunar month.

When leaving Zhuhai, I noticed a very strange phenomenon. Many local middle-aged women from Macau to Zhuhai were carrying or pulling two boxes of Red Bull drinks in small luggage carts.I said to the tour guide: "This is visiting relatives in Zhuhai. Why do you drink Red Bull drinks? What's the point?" The tour guide smiled and said: "What are you visiting relatives? Don’t underestimate these women, they can earn 500 yuan by running dozens of times a day in Macau and Zhuhai, which is more than us.” It turns out that this is also a kind of smuggling.

Red Bull functional drink originated in Thailand and was born in 1966.It is the most famous energy drink brand in the world and has a marketing history of 40 years.Because its products are mainly energy supplements, it created the category of energy drinks and has been widely promoted around the world.Red Bull has been deliberately operating in brand promotion for a long time, established brand reputation and influence by sponsoring extreme sports, motor sports and flying sports, and created extraordinary performance. The sales volume of functional drinks ranks among the top in the world. billion cans.

大陆一箱红牛饮料的批发价格在75元至130元之间，一桶的价格在3.1元至5.4元之间，而澳门红牛饮料一箱的批发价在35至60元之间，一桶的价格在1.45元至2.5元之间。从澳门买两箱最低只需要70元，到大陆最高可卖到260元，两箱饮料就可以赚190元。即使在澳门以最高价60元买两箱，到大陆以每箱最低价75元销售，两箱也可以获利30元呢。

This may be related to the special geographical locations of Zhuhai and Macau.Because the central areas of the two places are very close, it only takes 10 minutes to walk from Macau to Gongbei in Zhuhai, and the cost is extremely low.

As a result, some housewives in Zhuhai or Macau took advantage of the difference in the price of goods between the two places at the port and border, and frequently carried goods with the price difference through the port for a long time, and they used this as a long-term career.Like the "beggar gang", they have leaders and introducers.People call this kind of people who carry parallel imports into and out of the country as water passengers. "Water travelers" "break up into parts" items with price differences between Hong Kong, Macau and the mainland or items subject to domestic taxation, such as foreign cigarettes, wines, beverages, etc., through frequent entry and exit, and "ant moving" into Zhuhai. Then bring vegetables, meat and other various items from Zhuhai to Macau.

有的“蚂蚁”一天甚至往返珠海澳门达70趟！搬“红牛”140箱，1箱赚50元钱的话，1天就可以赚7000元钱。

I said to the tour guide: "Why does the customs ignore them?" The tour guide said: "I don't understand either. I once asked a friend who works in the customs. They said that this is called 'passengers bring their own'. That is to say, it is a small amount of personal use. The goods are legal, and the customs can’t control them.” In fact, this kind of ant-moving smuggling is not limited to foreign cigarettes, foreign wine, and beverages. There are some computer motherboards and medical equipment worth thousands of yuan, as well as the United States, Germany, Some mechanical parts in Japan, etc., are being manufactured.

I have experience with this.Most of the time, we need more than 5000 yuan to buy a mechanical part of the same brand in Dalian, and it takes two to three months for delivery. However, some small trading companies in Shenzhen and Dongguan only need more than 3000 yuan to get it. The lead time is only one week.Where did they come from?They usually enter Hong Kong from Shenzhen, find an agent of a certain brand in Hong Kong, and buy accessories according to the brand and specifications. Generally, these things are very small, and they can be placed anywhere in the car or carried in their pockets. After leaving the country, there is no tariff, so the price is cheap and the cycle is short.Nothing special, just ants moving.

Business experience:
Laws and systems will always lag behind the market.If you want to do business, you have to study and study the law. The loopholes in laws and systems are actually opportunities for businessmen.

The edge ball can be played, and there is no foul, but it must be handled well.You can take any risk in business, but you can't take the risk of breaking the law at any time.

(End of this chapter)