Chapter 56: Breaking the Ice!

The very first step of any meeting is always the icebreaker!
Commonly known as warming up the room!
It gets everyone acquainted, helps them better understand each other's interests and hobbies, and builds trust.
It relieves the participants' anxiety and increases everyone's sense of participation.
Lu Fan also began with an icebreaker.
"Hello everyone, before we start, I would like to thank you all for setting aside your busy businesses to attend our company's marketing meeting. This is the greatest trust you could place in our company."
"Now, let me introduce myself first... blah, blah, blah..."
His persona and identity had already been firmly established a few days ago when dealing with Jiang Ermei and Shi Hu.
Right now, he was simply repeating it.
The only change was that previously he was the person-in-charge for Jiangcheng City, and now he was the person-in-charge for Jiangnan Province.
Since these people might eventually recruit new agents and expand into other cities in the future, he could not afford to block off that path.
After Lu Fan finished his introduction, he patted Bai Lu on the shoulder.
"This is my assistant, Bai Lu. What she says goes just as much as what I say. If you have any questions regarding policies or business operations in the future, feel free to ask her anytime."
"Bai Lu, why don't you introduce yourself as well."
"Ah..."
Bai Lu was a bit flustered when she stood up, but she quickly composed herself. Since she hadn't yet learned how to lie, she decided to avoid talking about her company role and focused entirely on personal details.
"Hello everyone, my name is Bai Lu. I am seventeen years old, dropped out in the second year of high school, and then... and then started doing business following President Lu. My... my home is right near the Baiping District, not far from here, only about ten miles away, in Xiaodian Village, which locals just call Xiaodian. Um... there are four people in my family: my mom, my dad, and a younger sister. I like reading, reciting poetry, and quiet contemplation."
"Alright, let's give her a round of applause to encourage the young lady."
Lu Fan took the lead in applauding. If he hadn't interrupted her, God knows what other private matters Bai Lu would have spilled.
Although the two of them were only months apart in age, placing them in this environment made it very easy for others to overlook that age gap.
Lu Fan was as steady as an old hand, while Bai Lu was as green as a fledgling, forming a sharp contrast.
"Alright, next up are Shi Hu and Ermei. Please introduce yourselves."
Shi Hu and Jiang Ermei—one a junior high school graduate, the other a high school graduate—had gone from being idle street punks to embarking on the path of peddlers.
They had successively traded fruits, vegetables, and later seafood, before finally settling on clothing.
In this era, the two of them were almost a microcosm of a certain social group. Their sharing was down-to-earth and deeply emotional, causing the people below to nod repeatedly, feeling that the journey they had walked was by no means easy.
After the two of them finished, Lu Fan pointed again, "You, go ahead and share."
When Yi Yi saw his finger pointing straight at her, her small face instantly flushed red.
She asked stammering, "W—weren't we going in order?"
"It's fine, you're pretty, you go first!"
"Ah... I, I, I'm not ready yet."
Lu Fan smiled and said, "What's there to be ready for? Just talk about whatever comes to mind, mention your family members, your hobbies, don't be afraid!"
Yi Yi's heart was beating like a drum, but her master was keeping watch nearby, and she was here on a mission this time.
She couldn't afford to be kicked out just because she couldn't speak well. If that happened, not only would she lose face, but she wouldn't even be able to carry on with her mission.
At that moment, she re-experienced the helplessness of being called on by a teacher in class. She truly hadn't had time to prepare; originally, if the order had continued around the room, it would have been at least five or six people before her turn.
She had been planning to draft her self-introduction while the next person was speaking.
"I... my name is Yi Yi. My home is right in the Donghu District of Jiangcheng City. My mom is a university professor, and my dad..."
"Cough, cough!" Xue Gang let out a heavy cough from the side.
"My... dad is also a university professor. I am twenty years old—well, not quite yet, just graduated and doing my internship. I am..."
"Which school did you graduate from?" Lu Fan suddenly interrupted, following her train of thought.
"I am from Jiangcheng People's..."
Yi Yi suddenly choked on her words at that point, and even Xue Gang froze, truly unable to figure out how to salvage the situation.
"Haha, I know, you are a fine daughter of the people of Jiangcheng! We are all fine children of our motherland's people. Come on, everyone give Yi Yi a round of applause. Such an introverted young girl dares to come out and do business alongside her uncle; this spirit deserves encouragement."
"You can sit down now!"
Lu Fan waved his hand, and Yi Yi sat down in a daze, feeling a lingering sense of relief that her cover hadn't been blown.
Still, Master, what on earth are you doing? Why is your head practically about to burrow under the table?
Although there had been ripples, the moment passed without any real danger.
Next, the rest of the people also introduced themselves. Xue Gang blended into the crowd, giving a standard, run-of-the-mill account of his situation.
He claimed to be a factory cadre who had stepped out into the commercial sea and was currently looking for ways to make money.
With the icebreaker concluded, Lu Fan pulled over the whiteboard and officially began explaining the marketing plan.
The plan was simple yet troublesome. It essentially revolved around exploiting human greed, using small favors and petty gains to hook people in, and then harvesting them when the time was right.
Xue Gang and Yi Yi listened with great excitement because they were recording the audio. Everything Lu Fan was explaining amounted to various scams and schemes, and much of what he said could serve as future criminal evidence.
For instance, Lu Fan stated, "Human nature is inherently greedy. As long as we trigger a certain point within their hearts, they will crave endless acquisition. And in the process of this acquisition, they will only have eyes for profit, gradually forgetting and ignoring many things. The quality and value of our goods become secondary matters; even if there were no goods at all, they would still gladly fling themselves forward."
"What we must exploit are precisely these traits. In the early stages, use small gifts to hook them in, and then progressively increase the value of the gifts day by day until their eyes can see nothing else. Regarding the gifts, the company has a reimbursement process and standard; as long as sales reach a certain quota, the company will reimburse a portion of it. I will show you the specifics when you officially start selling."
Shi Hu and Jiang Ermei were also quite excited. Previously, they had only relied on their own observations and summaries, but today they finally got to hear the complete version.
The entire sales process was tightly linked together—it couldn't possibly be more perfect.
As for the others, they lacked that same enthusiasm because they hadn't witnessed the actual scene firsthand, making their sense of immersion much weaker.
Lu Fan took note of these reactions one by one, though he didn't mind too much.
The main event was still the evening sales session; the content discussed during the day was merely meant to give them an understanding of the routine.
Once they actually applied it, they would naturally take it to heart.
At noon, it was time for lunch.
Under Qi Xue's guidance, the group arrived at a private dining room containing two banquet tables, each seating ten people.
Watching the servers stream in to place exquisite dishes on the table one after another, everyone felt a sense of being respected.
Although they earned a decent living, they rarely ever went to such high-end places to consume.
If they had still harbored any doubts about Lu Fan's identity before, those doubts had now vanished into thin air.
If the man had no real power or substance, could he casually treat people to such a lavish banquet?
Just as Lu Fan was about to say something, his phone suddenly rang. He picked it up, and a gentle female voice came through from the other end: "The chicken is stewed. Come back and eat chicken!"