Chapter 34: Creating a Legend
As soon as Sun Tao was sent away, Cao Fang squeezed out of the crowd.
Seeing Li Dong, Cao Fang beamed with joy, "Dongzi, did you hear? I won a prize!"
She waved the exquisitely packaged phone box in her hand, her smile widening, "I had such good luck and drew the first prize—a phone! The supermarket people said this phone is worth over three thousand!"
Cao Fang's mood was exceptionally high; she almost wanted to announce her win to everyone.
Although Li Dong was annoyed with Fang Hao's actions, seeing his mother so happy quickly dispelled his displeasure.
It was just a small act of cheating, and if it made his mother this happy, Fang Hao had somewhat redeemed himself.
"Mom, I heard. The supermarket's broadcast played it three times," Li Dong said with a smile, teasing, "You've become famous now; at least several hundred people know Ms. Cao Fang won a prize."
Cao Fang felt a bit embarrassed by Li Dong's teasing and playfully scolded him, "Stop joking around and let's go home!"
As they talked about going home, Li Dong looked at the nine or ten bags of items in front of him and was momentarily stunned.
How was he going to carry all this stuff back?
...
Li Dong's trip home was a grim one, devoid of any humanity.
Cao Fang, in order to save a few bucks on a cab fare, insisted on walking back with Li Dong.
Li Dong resisted and even offered to pay for the cab himself, but Cao Fang refused.
Her reasoning was sound: "When you grow up, you have to learn to live frugally. It's just a short walk. When I was young, I walked all the way from the countryside to the county town, which was dozens of miles without complaining…"
Li Dong could only respond with a wry smile, obediently accompanying his mother back home.
Although it was only a ten-minute walk, Li Dong was drenched in sweat by the time he got home due to the heat this year.
Cao Fang, however, remained in high spirits, showing no sign of fatigue despite carrying just as many bags as Li Dong.
While unpacking, she continued to praise the new supermarket, noting how the items were both cheap and good value, and, most importantly, how they had a lottery.
Li Dong couldn't help but laugh; it was probably the lottery that mattered most to his mother.
She really thought winning a prize was that easy—thousands of tickets and a minuscule chance of winning. If it weren't for cheating, how could she have won?
But Li Dong said nothing more. After all, it was his own business, so even if his mother cleared out the supermarket, it wouldn't benefit anyone else.
...
When Li Chengyuan came home in the evening, Cao Fang eagerly recounted the day's events and showed off the phone to him.
She proudly said, "What do you think? I'm so lucky!"
Li Chengyuan, used to his wife's personality, overlooked this comment and examined the phone with some surprise. "This phone isn't cheap, is it?"
"Yeah, I asked, and they said it's worth over three thousand!" Cao Fang responded.
She was initially thrilled, but then expressed some regret, "It's just a pity that we can't exchange it for cash. It would be worth a whole month's salary for us."
"Why be so picky about something free? This phone is nice. It's just right for Dongzi as he's going to college," Li Chengyuan said with a smile, handing the phone to Li Dong.
Li Dong quickly shook his head, "Dad, you should keep it. You need to keep up appearances in business. I've got my own phone."
His old phone had long been discovered by his parents, and since it was outdated, they didn't question it.
Li Chengyuan's phone was even older, bought two years ago. If not for frequent calls requesting deliveries, he wouldn't have bought a new phone.
"That won't do. Your phone is old. It would be embarrassing for a college student to use such an old phone," Li Chengyuan insisted.
Father and son debated for a while, with Li Chengyuan insisting that young people shouldn't use old phones, as it would be embarrassing.
Cao Fang interjected with a hint of sourness, "Why is no one thinking of me?"
Li Dong and Li Chengyuan looked at each other. After a brief pause, Li Dong quickly put on a smile and said, "Of course I've thought of you. This phone is a men's model. I'll buy a women's model for you once I earn some money."
Li Chengyuan also nodded in agreement, and soon Cao Fang was happy again.
As for Li Dong's promise of buying a phone once he earned money, both parents didn't take it seriously.
The matter of the phone wasn't brought up again. Li Chengyuan reluctantly agreed to use the phone, changing the SIM card for himself.
But he thought about getting a new phone for his son once he started college, pondering whether to use his private savings or family funds.
...
Leaving aside Li Chengyuan's internal struggle, after dinner, Li Dong went to his room.
He didn't wait at the supermarket, knowing that everyone would be working late into the night to deal with the aftermath. It would be too late for his parents to let him out.
With no interest in doing anything else, Li Dong lay in his chair, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Around 12:30 a.m., his phone finally vibrated.
Li Dong flipped over quickly and answered the call, "How much?"
The call was from Sun Tao. Understanding Li Dong's question, he suppressed his excitement and said, "Guess!"
"800,000?"
Li Dong guessed based on the morning's data, feeling the actual figure should be close to this.
On the other end, Sun Tao suddenly burst into laughter and shouted to those around him, "Li Dong guessed 800,000. Tell him if that's high or low!"
"Low!"
Voices rose in unison from the phone, male and female alike.
Since it was the first day, the leadership had stayed late to organize and tally the results.
Li Dong rubbed his ears, smiling broadly, and raised his voice slightly, "Regardless of whether it's high or low, you've all worked hard today. The bonuses and red envelopes won't be lacking."
"Hahaha!"
Sun Tao laughed loudly, proudly declaring, "We didn't just earn sympathy for red envelopes. The red envelopes you promised this morning are ours because we did it!"
"1.02 million! We've created a miracle!"
Sun Tao pumped his fist energetically, though Li Dong couldn't see it.
"We've created a legend!" the crowd shouted together, each face beaming with joy.
They were not just excited about the red envelopes but also about the bright future they saw.
A supermarket with daily sales exceeding one million, a company with ample cash flow, made them feel dedicated and proud.
Now Faraway Supermarket belonged not only to Li Dong but to everyone involved. Achieving daily sales of a million was their collective effort!
They didn't tell Li Dong that in the final moments, all the leaders worked together to help with checkout, and Sun Tao even recruited customers at the entrance, all to achieve this great goal.
They had succeeded in creating the myth of a daily sales of one million!
"1.02 million!"
Li Dong was deeply moved, feeling the effort the others had put in despite not being present.
This was not ten years later; this was 2004.
Dongping was not the capital city, just a small inland county.
Faraway Supermarket, though dominant in the county, had a usable area of less than 3,000 square meters…
Yet, under these circumstances, Faraway Supermarket had achieved daily sales of one million. Even if it were ninety-nine thousand, Li Dong wouldn't be as touched because a million and ten thousand were different concepts.
A small town like Dongping achieving such consumer capacity, even though it was the first day and the first supermarket…
Li Dong clenched his fist tightly, unable to suppress his excitement, "You've done a great job. Faraway won't let you down, and neither will I!"
Sun Tao laughed, his excitement matched Li Dong's.
Why?
Not just because they had created a miracle, but also because he would receive tangible rewards.
With a daily sales figure of one million, even with discounts on the first day, the profit would not be less than 150,000, and Sun Tao's earnings for the day amounted to 15,000.
Fifteen thousand in a single day was incredible.
...
That night, many people likely stayed awake.
Li Dong was sleepless for the first time since his rebirth.
Not because of the 150,000 profit; he had earned as much or more during his previous lobster trading days, and it was easier.
Back then, Li Dong was only focused on making money; now he felt he was building a career.
Selling lobsters was a mere speculation for Li Dong, while running a profitable supermarket felt like a successful career. These were two different concepts.
In the dark, Li Dong clenched his fist, his expression resolute.
The success of the supermarket gave him immense confidence. In his previous life, he was mediocre, but with a second chance and foreknowledge of the future, if he couldn't create something spectacular, it would be a tremendous failure.