Work and choice

A watermelon procurement project, and how it played out

7 August 2026Jinan, Shandong Translated by AI

She asked if buying watermelons through a former colleague was reliable. I noted transport issues and damage risks. Everything matched later.

The screenshots were masked before they were posted. Names, avatars and birth details are covered in the originals; where a translated line reads [redacted], the source was covered too and nothing has been guessed.

Client

Zongyuan, I have two questions I’d like to ask for your help with today. 1) At work, the general manager of the business unit asked me to take charge of purchasing 20,000 jin of watermelons, saying Henan watermelons are cheap. Our boss is fairly generous with usual meal and entertainment expenses, but this time it’s for employee welfare and community public welfare, so I want to do a good and solid job. I’ve looked on Taobao and Pinduoduo but all of them only ship by express, no direct truck delivery from Henan, and the prices are too high. Right now I’ve found two suppliers. The first one is a broker whose hometown sells watermelons, but he works under the manager of my subordinate’s region—we’re distant and don’t know each other, so I’m worried there’s no guarantee. That’s why I found the second one: a former colleague of mine who left the job before, whose hometown is in Henan. He’s helping find a farmer-supporting supplier locally, and it sounds like they offer a full one-stop service including loading, unloading, and watermelon inspection. Right now the price is 9 mao per jin for 20,000 jin, which my boss can accept.

猫猫道长～今天有两个问题，想请道长帮忙看一下哈🙏 1) 工作上有一个活，事业部总经理让我负责采购两万斤西瓜说河南西瓜便宜😂，平时吃饭宴请等开销领导还算大方，但是这次涉及到做员工福利和社区的公益，所以我想把事情做的好点漂亮点，淘宝拼多多找了这么多只发快递，没有直接一车从河南拉过来的，价格也太高，然后目前找了两家，第一家是一个经纪人的老家是卖西瓜的，但是是我下属负责区域的经理下面的经纪人，关系远不认识，我怕没有保障；所以找了第二家，是我之前离职的我的前同事，老家就在河南，他帮忙在当地找了助农的，装货卸货验瓜也听上去一条龙挺专业，现在是两万斤价格每斤9毛，我老板也能接受。

7月29日 10:54

So there’s no guarantee; that’s why I found the second one, a former colleague of mine who left before, whose hometown is in Henan. He’s helping find a farmer-supporting supplier locally, and loading, unloading, and watermelon inspection all sound like a professional one-stop service. Right now the price is 9 mao per jin for 20,000 jin, which my boss can accept. So for this project, I’d like to ask for your help to check: (1) Is purchasing through my former colleague reliable? For example, will the watermelon quality be as good as promised later? (2) My boss’s requirement for me is to make the promotion clear: one part is welfare for employees to eat themselves, the other is for stores to take to communities for public welfare activities. Are there any extra precautions I need to pay special attention to in between? My boss sometimes only says half of what he means, and I still want to do things to his satisfaction, especially when it comes to spending money.

有保障；所以找了第二家，是我之前离职的我的前同事，老家就在河南，他帮忙在当地找了助农的，装货卸货验瓜也听上去一条龙挺专业，现在是两万斤价格每斤9毛，我老板也能接受。所以这个活上想请道长帮忙看看 (1) 从我前同事这里采购的靠谱不，比如后续瓜是不是和说的一样品质ok (2) 我老板给我提的要求是把这个事宣传明白一个是员工自己吃的福利，一个是让门店拿到社区去做公益活动，这中间还有没有什么注意事项是我要格外注意点，我老板有时候说话也是说一半留一半，我还是想把事情做的让他满意，尤其是花钱的事上

Zongyuan

First question: [redacted] 1. The overall direction is fine, and the watermelon quality is good too. They’re quite large in size, and most will exceed expectations in quality. 2. You’ll build a good reputation for yourself because of this, and receive praise. 3. But from this divination, there are transport issues—there will be delays or rescheduling along the way. 4. Besides, the clash pattern is obvious: there will be some defective products on the road, like cracked or crushed ones. You should make some contingency plans for this kind of loss. Also, watch for timing changes; the delivery date is likely to shift. 5. [redacted] combination is a form of promotion. Later, I suggest you frame the whole thing in a more positive, high-profile way. It’s likely to be set up as a promotional model, and will be imitated later. Or you’ll lead similar projects again later, sort of becoming the go-to person for this kind of event. 6. [redacted], pay attention to cold chain and refrigeration issues. After delivery, arrange proper storage. Now for the second matter.

第一个问题： [redacted] 1 总体方向没问题，西瓜的品质也不错。个头也挺大，质量上多数超过预期。 2 你自己会因为这个事儿挺有口碑的，会得到夸奖。 3 但是这个卦上看，有运输问题，当中会停滞或者改期。 4 此外冲的像明显，路上会有一些残次品出现，比如裂开或者撞碎，这一类的折损可能要做一些预案的。再一个是注意时间上的改期，容易有到货时间改动。 5 [redacted]合是一种宣传，后期建议你们自己把事情写的高大上一点，容易被立为宣传的典型，之后会被模仿，或者你之后还会再牵头办这一类的事情，有点儿成为这类事件小组长的事情。 6 [redacted]，要注意冷链和冷藏的问题，到货了之后要安排好储存的问题。第二个事儿

Client

Zongyuan, the watermelon procurement is all done—purchased and distributed, just like you said! The watermelons are quite big, sweet enough, and good. This time the campaign was pretty big, it’s a farmer-supporting project, and it went really well. We’re almost at the wrap-up stage now, and I’m going to make a Video Account promotion for it. And the transport issue did happen: a lot of watermelons cracked on the road, crushed and split. Also, the temperature was too high, some watermelons got overripe and hollow from the sun. They didn’t ship with cold chain, and the big truck was stuffy and hot—this problem really did happen. Although the farmer said they’d send a few hundred extra jin of watermelons, it still wasn’t enough to make up for the cracked ones. I’m still waiting for the after-sales compensation plan now. And point 5 also came true: a lot of people are coming to ask me how to buy watermelons now. But I don’t dare recommend this supplier to others until they sort out the after-sales for me. If it gets resolved later, I might really end up leading group purchases for other people too.

猫猫道长～采购西瓜的事情，已经采购+派送完了，和道长说的一样！！西瓜个头挺大，够甜可以的，而且这次造势挺大的，属于助农，搞的风风火火，现在就快收尾阶段了，我再做个视频号宣传一下。然后运输的问题也出现了，就是路上裂了好多瓜，压裂的，而且天气温度太高，西瓜有的都被晒熟晒空心了，他们没有冷链发货，大货车又闷热，真的出现了这个问题👍虽然农户说多送了几百斤瓜，但是还不够补裂瓜的数量，现在正在等售后给我赔偿方案呢，而且第五条也应了，现在好多人都来找我问怎么买瓜，但是这家没给我售后安排好之前我还不敢推荐给其他人，之后如果处理好了可能真的要牵头在帮其他人采购了🤣

First question: [redacted]. 1. The overall dir…

第一个问题：[redacted]。1 总体方…

Zongyuan

That’s really good 🧑🌱👍

真不错🧑🌱👍

昨天 18:29

Client

[image]

昨天 18:59