The next day, Xu Qiang signed a cooperation contract with Zhang Li. Both parties agreed that Xu Qiang would provide product development and technical support for the "Xinli Daily Chemical Factory". Correspondingly, Xu Qiang also received 30% of the shares.

At that time, there were no joint-stock private companies in the country, but Zhang Li's daily chemical factory was Hong Kong-funded, so apart from the obligation to pay taxes and provide local labor, its internal operations were relatively free.

In fact, in Xu Qiang's opinion, Zhang Li's daily chemical factory has no advantages in terms of capital, equipment and manpower scale compared with other domestic daily chemical factories. Especially in Shanghai, there are three well-known domestic state-owned daily chemical factories. Their scale is at least many times higher than that of Xinli Daily Chemical Factory. They also have their own mature and best-selling products, and their sales networks cover every corner of the country. These are things that Zhang Li's daily chemical factory cannot compare with.

But Zhang Li's company also has its own advantages. First of all, in terms of policies, in Changzhou, since Zhang Li herself is a government official and her company is a Hong Kong-funded enterprise, her company enjoys many preferential policies.

In fact, in later generations, the state explicitly stipulated that government officials were not allowed to engage in business, but in those years, there was no such restriction. It was not until December 1984, 12 that the state issued a relevant document and made the "Decision on Strictly Prohibiting Party and Government Organs and Party and Government Cadres from Engaging in Business and Running Enterprises."

It emphasizes that party and government organs shall not use public funds (including administrative expenses, party and league fees, special funds for veteran cadres, etc.), loans, and funds raised by in-service cadres to run their own enterprises or jointly run enterprises with the masses, and shall not be linked to the economic interests of enterprises run by the masses; in-service cadres of party and government organs at the township (including township) level and above (including retired cadres) shall not engage in business or run enterprises as sole proprietorship or joint ventures, part-time pay, or share dividends; nor are they allowed to use their power to seek profits for enterprises run by their family members, relatives, and friends.

So in this day and age, it is not illegal for government officials to engage in business, but in reality, except for people like Zhang Li who have a strong background and Hong Kong capital injection, others have no chance at all.

After the contract was signed, Xu Qiang's work became busier. He had to stay in Changzhou at least five days a week, and would only visit the research institute when it was almost the weekend.

Time flies and it is already the end of December.

"This is a new shower gel I developed recently. You can try it later. If you are not satisfied with it, I can improve it..."

Sitting in the reception room of the Xinli Daily Chemical Factory, Xu Qiang took out the shower gel sample that had just been made from the laboratory and placed it on the coffee table in front of Zhang Li.

"Shower gel?" Zhang Li was stunned when she saw the new product Xu Qiang took out.

There were no products like shower gel in China at that time. People generally used soap and other things to take a bath, so in fact, Xu Qiang came up with a relatively advanced product.

In fact, shower gel originated in Germany in the late 19th century. At that time, shower gel was relatively crude, simply a mixture of alkaline water and sodium fatty acids.

It wasn't until the 20s that the American chemical company DuPont invented the first real shower gel. They used different formulas and materials to create a more gentle shower gel suitable for all types of skin.

"Compared to the soap or perfumed soap we usually use, this shower gel product is more gentle and can better protect the skin." Xu Qiang smiled and continued, "Now that the living standards of our people have improved, this product is tailor-made for women and babies..."

"This product is quite new. I haven't seen similar products when I was abroad before. They generally use soap..." Zhang Li picked up the bottle of shower gel and said to Xu Qiang, "How did you come up with the idea of ​​developing this product?"

"I develop what consumers need. If I want to make money from them, I must have a keen sense of the market." Xu Qiang paused and continued, "In the past, people were poor and used alkaline noodles or soap to take a shower, but now people's income is getting higher and higher, so they should enjoy better things. That's what I think."

"Haha, you're right. Actually, I've discovered recently that the purchasing power of workers in Shanghai is getting stronger and stronger, and many people are willing to pay high prices for imported goods. I just didn't expect that..."

Zhang Li has been observing the changes in the domestic consumer market for a long time. Whether it is as small as snacks or as large as home appliances, she has obtained sales data from several large department stores in Shanghai through various channels, and obtained some very valuable data through analysis and calculation.

In fact, what Zhang Li did was more like a kind of big data analysis in later generations. Although there were no computer networks and corresponding software and hardware in that era, she was still ahead of most businessmen with her personal ability and wisdom.

In addition, with the help of her position in the CZ Municipal Government, Zhang Li can also obtain a lot of information on the production, sales and profits of various products in the city. This also enables her to discover market changes and new trends more quickly, and adjust business strategies at the first time.

It is precisely because of Zhang Li's unique thinking and extraordinary abilities that she not only helped the township enterprises in CZ City gain the upper hand in the market competition, but also made her own daily chemical factory flourish. The soap and shampoo products that Xu Qiang had provided to her before have begun to open up the Shanghai business, and she has also received a large number of orders from distributors in other provinces.

"So we have to produce more and better products!" While Xu Qiang was speaking, he took out two small plastic tubes from his bag and placed them in front of Zhang Li.

"What is this?" "It's lipstick."

"Lipstick? Isn't this a solid paste?" Zhang Li picked up a small plastic tube and saw the 'Changzhou Paste Factory' trademark on it. She said to Xu Qiang in surprise.

"I can't make lipstick packaging, so I can only find a few plastic tubes of solid paste instead," Xu Qiang explained.

"You can actually make lipstick!?" When Zhang Li opened the plastic tube and saw the light pink paste inside, she was so surprised that she could not express it in words.

Zhang Li has always thought that lipstick is a relatively high-end women's cosmetic that would be very difficult to produce, but she did not expect that Xu Qiang could actually make it himself.

"As long as the product has something to do with chemicals, I can try to make it. In fact, this kind of lipstick is not difficult to make, and the formula is not that complicated, but if you want to mass-produce it, it is still quite difficult..." Xu Qiang paused, and then said: "In addition, these two lipsticks, one is magenta, mainly used for wedding brides' makeup, and the other is a lip balm without any pigment added..."

"lip balm?"

"It is used to keep lips moisturized. It is mainly aimed at the northern market where the climate is relatively dry. Many people are prone to chapped lips in winter. If you use this lipstick, you can avoid these problems." Xu Qiang said.

"I think this product...how should I put it, it may not be very popular..." Zhang Li said after picking up the lip balm and taking a look at it.

Zhang Li highly recognizes Xu Qiang's skills, but based on her business acumen, things like lip balm may be pre-cooled in the domestic market. The reason is very simple. Problems like chapped lips can be solved by drinking more water, so Chinese people may not have much interest in this kind of product.

"The lip balm I developed can not only solve the problem of chapped lips, but most importantly, it can make your lips look as moist as peaches." Xu Qiang smiled and continued, "In fact, for the current Chinese people, few women will use lip balm except when getting married. But with this product, your lips can be moisturized and shiny without any traces of makeup, which is in line with the current Chinese people's implicit aesthetic..."

"Huh?" Zhang Li suddenly became interested when she heard Xu Qiang say that.

"You can try it. Don't worry, this thing is absolutely safe." Xu Qiang suggested.

"Yeah." Zhang Li nodded slightly, then took out a small mirror from her bag, and then applied lip balm on her lips in front of Xu Qiang.

In just a moment, Zhang Li's lips did become moisturized. What's more amazing is that the seemingly colorless lip balm actually has a faint pink hue, which, combined with Zhang Li's delicate facial features, adds a bit of purity and brightness.

"This...your lip balm looks really good!"

After looking at herself in the mirror, a look of surprise suddenly appeared on Zhang Li's face.

Women are always very sensitive to beautiful things, and even a little bit of enhancement can surprise them.

"Although some products are not easily accepted by the current market, as the demands of domestic consumers increase, they will become popular products one day." Xu Qiang paused and continued, "In fact, the sales of our products are sometimes a process of trial and error. As long as it is profitable, we still need to give it a try..."

"You're right." Zhang Li nodded with a smile and said, "You always bring me some surprises. How about this, I will open two small-scale production lines to specialize in the production of the two products you provided. If the market response is good, we can expand production."

"Ah."

"Also... New Year's Day is coming soon. During this period, I will ask the accounting staff to do some statistics and then give you this year's dividends." Zhang Li said with a raised eyebrow.

"That's great!" Xu Qiang's eyes lit up when he heard that, and he immediately asked, "Then how much money can I get this year?" (End of this chapter)