Chapter 62: A Small Demonstration of Skill
After more than half an hour of pleasant discussion in He Xueqing’s office, Xiao Liang made his decision on the spot—he would entrust all subsequent advertising production to Xijiang Daily.
He Xueqing’s professional skills weren’t yet fully refined, but in Xijiang at this time, Xiao Liang doubted he could find a better option.
Besides, while Xiao Liang possessed experience far beyond his peers, the next phase of advertising was no longer just about crafting slogans or writing copy.
Layout design for outdoor posters, filming and producing TV commercials—without a proper team and equipment, even the most capable individual would be helpless. A skilled housewife still needed rice to cook.
As one of the earliest institutions in the province to introduce internal competition mechanisms, Xijiang Daily required its mid-level managers—like He Xueqing—to meet annual performance targets.
If she could secure the advertising production and placement for Nanting Lake Juice Factory, it would essentially cover three to four months’ worth of her yearly quota.
Naturally, she treated Xiao Liang and Zhang Feili with exceptional enthusiasm, repeatedly assuring them that once the contract was signed, she would personally oversee the advertising production.
But handing everything over to her was out of the question. Xiao Liang didn’t have that kind of time to spare.
His main goal was to leverage her team and the newspaper’s equipment. One of the conditions he attached to the contract was that all aspects—planning, design, copywriting, and layout—had to report directly to him and cooperate unconditionally.
Previously, Nanting Lake Juice Factory had already placed a large number of narrow-column ads in the Daily and Evening News. He Xueqing had some doubts about Xiao Liang’s capabilities, but she still maintained basic respect for a client.
However, by the time they finalized the contract details that afternoon—and confirmed a series of production plans—she had no choice but to reassess him. Though he looked young, anyone capable of independently leading a sales team of thirty to forty people in a factory could not be underestimated.
With such limited time, producing truly “high-end” TV, newspaper, and outdoor advertisements was nothing more than wishful thinking.
But then again, “high-end” was relative.
What Xiao Liang considered mediocre would already seem more than sufficient—if not impressive—to He Xueqing, Zhang Feili, and the newspaper’s advertising team.
Dozens of advertisements were produced in a short span of time, completed in one go.
Every day, Xiao Liang would bring Zhang Feili to the newspaper office, finalize that day’s production plan, and assign tasks with methodical precision.
He didn’t just oversee things—he actively participated in graphic design, layout production, and copywriting. He even wrote detailed storyboards for TV commercials himself, personally guiding camera movement and filming techniques.
Beyond production, he also signed advertising placement agreements with the newspaper.
Within the paper, different sections belonged to different departments. Meanwhile, TV stations and major outdoor advertising platforms—anywhere you went—were dominated by local power players. Add to that the need to host promotional events in shopping malls, busy commercial streets, and upscale hotels…
With He Xueqing’s exceptional coordination skills, negotiating under the banner of Xijiang Daily was far more effective than Xiao Liang approaching them alone.
In addition to widespread advertising placements, they printed large quantities of high-quality promotional flyers and posted them at retail outlets. Two vans were hired, draped with Nanting Lake Juice banners, weaving through the streets and alleys of Xijiang. Flyers were distributed throughout bustling commercial districts.
Having handled advertising for the Daily for only two or three years, this was the first time He Xueqing had seen such a diverse and dynamic marketing strategy—especially from a little-known village-run enterprise.
With the success of the previous phase as a foundation, Xu Lihuan, Wu Qiyan, Fei Wenwei, Zhang Feili, and the others gained confidence. They quickly adapted, each stepping into their roles with renewed energy.
Summer was peak season for beverages. In just over half a month, they poured two hundred thousand yuan into marketing and promotion across Xijiang.
In 1994, when hiring someone to hand out flyers cost only ten yuan a day, this level of investment was almost unimaginable.
Naturally, the results were extraordinary.
By late July, Nanting Lake Juice had surged to the number one position in actual sales within Xijiang’s urban market.
The ripple effect extended to surrounding counties as well. After all, people in those areas relied heavily on city-based media—TV and newspapers—for information. They also tended to emulate urban lifestyles and trends.
None of this surprised Xiao Liang.
In 1994, the consumer market was still in its pioneering stage. Returning to this era with full knowledge of how things would unfold was like having a complete guidebook to development.
At this point, no beverage manufacturer had ever concentrated such an intense marketing push in such a short time within a single, limited urban market.
By late July, total cash-based shipments across Xijiang had reached nearly sixty thousand cases—meaning they had already met their revenue targets ahead of schedule.
Now, the goal was to clear out all inventory within the two-month timeframe.
Xu Lihuan led the distribution efforts in Lihe County. No matter how exhausting the work, he made it a point to return to the city every two or three days after finishing his tasks, discussing progress with Xiao Liang before heading back to Lihe early the next morning.
On a day near the end of July, just before four in the afternoon, Xu Lihuan received a call from Xiao Liang. Gu Peijun was already on a bus to Xijiang, and Xiao Liang asked him to return to the city that night as well.
Lihe was the most remote county in Xijiang, over a hundred kilometers away.
Xu Lihuan wrapped up his work quickly, found a ride back to the city, and arrived to find Gu Peijun sitting in the office, chatting and smoking with a man he didn’t recognize—Xiao Xiao.
“This is my brother, Xiao Xiao,” Xiao Liang introduced. “He used to work at the Municipal Economic and Trade Commission and handled coordination with the city pharmaceutical factory—also involved in the juice factory’s process upgrades. Gu and I have been relying on him behind the scenes, but never had the chance to introduce him to everyone.”
Aside from Wu Qiyan, Zhang Feili, Liu Weiwei, and Zhang Ming—the deputy head of production—who were already stationed in the city, no one else from the county teams had been called back.
Xu Lihuan, still unsure what this was about, shook Xiao Xiao’s hand, poured himself a cup of tea, and joked to Gu Peijun, “So, Factory Director Gu graces us with his presence today—planning to reward the frontline troops with silver?”
“Get lost,” Gu Peijun shot back with a laugh. “All you ever think about is money. As if we’d shortchange you.”
They were all from Nanting Village, having grown up together. Gu Peijun and Fei Wenwei had even been classmates in middle school. Zhang Feili, though a few years younger, had studied under her father Zhang Qiang, just like them. After working together at the juice factory for over a year, their conversations were naturally informal.
Unable to contain his excitement, Gu Peijun said,
“The speed you’ve taken this market—it’s left everyone stunned. Do you know what? I was afraid of scaring the village and township officials, so I didn’t dare report the real shipment numbers earlier. Even when Secretary Zhou and Mayor Liu asked, I only said we’d barely moved thirty to forty thousand cases, and that most of it was still sitting in the warehouse you rented in Xijiang. I told them collecting payments was the real headache.”
He paused, then added with a grin,
“Even that much was already shocking. Last year, we only sold ten thousand cases in Xijiang for the entire year. Honestly, I doubt the whole city’s juice market even reached sixty thousand cases during peak season back then!”
