Chapter 67: Promotion

"Does your supermarket not keep its promises? I won the prize; why can't I take the car away?"

"Yeah, are you scammers? Why are you denying the car to someone who won it?"

"Please listen to me…"

The lottery area was in chaos as Li Dong arrived, hearing complaints and doubts from customers.

Pushing through the crowd, Li Dong raised his voice and said, "Everyone, please calm down. I am the supermarket's general manager. Let me explain a few things!"

The crowd gradually quieted down after a while.

Li Dong then took a good look at the lucky customer. At first glance, he could tell that her luck was extraordinary, not due to any collusion.

He concluded this because her clothes and the bag she was carrying could easily afford the car parked outside the store.

Li Dong was internally frustrated: Lady, you're so rich, why even bother with the lottery!

And staying here for an entire morning was quite dull!

Complaints aside, the situation still needed to be handled.

Li Dong first addressed the staff responsible for the lottery: "Do we have the lottery ticket? Show it to me."

The staff quickly responded, "The ticket is still in the hands of this lady."

Li Dong then looked at the middle-aged woman, who reluctantly handed over the ticket.

She wasn't worried about Li Dong playing tricks, as there were many people watching; the store wouldn't risk ruining its reputation.

Li Dong examined the ticket carefully, flipping it over. It was indeed genuine.

To prevent any cheating, he had used a secret code and his own signature on the tickets.

After confirming the authenticity of the ticket, Li Dong said, "Everyone, rest assured that the prize will be honored. Yuanfang Supermarket will not damage its reputation over a single car!"

"Then why can't I take it now?" the winner, Huang Yunying, asked unhappily.

Li Dong did not respond directly but asked, "Miss Huang, what is your last name?"

"My last name is Huang," Huang Yunying replied, huffing.

Li Dong nodded affirmatively and said, "Hello, Miss Huang. Since you've won the car, it's certainly yours."

Huang Yunying's mood improved a lot. Since the general manager had said so, she believed there would be no deceit.

Li Dong continued, "However, the car cannot be taken away immediately."

"Why not?"

"Exactly, why can't it be taken away!"

...

Li Dong raised his hand and said loudly, "Everyone quiet down. It's not that the car can't be taken away, but Yuanfang Supermarket needs this lady's cooperation for our promotion. We're making a big investment in this event and hope it will attract more attention. After the promotion ends, Miss Huang can take the car anytime."

This explanation made sense. A business offering a car as a prize is naturally looking for publicity, so it's reasonable to ask the winner to cooperate with the promotion.

The crowd fell silent. If they had won the car, they would have happily cooperated with the promotion, even if it meant shouting slogans at the store entrance every day.

Huang Yunying considered it and said, "I can cooperate, but how long will it take?"

"Very soon!"

Li Dong turned to Chen Jia and whispered a few words. After Chen Jia hurried off, Li Dong told Huang Yunying, "Miss Huang, let's go to the office. You'll definitely be able to drive the car home before the evening."

Huang Yunying was relieved upon hearing a specific timeframe.

Waiting until evening was fine; after all, it was only a few hours.

A few hours to earn a car was worth the wait.

...

Once Huang Yunying and Li Dong left, the lottery area buzzed with excitement.

"Can you really win? I thought it was fake!"

"Who said it wasn't? That's a car, worth tens of thousands!"

"Stop talking. That car is a Great Wall Haval, only worth around 80,000…"

"80,000 isn't a small amount!"

The crowd continued to chatter. Someone said, "Since the car is gone, what's the point of the lottery?"

Immediately, a Yuanfang employee replied, "Besides the car, we also have computers and phones! As you can see, Yuanfang has a high winning rate. Even though the car is gone, the computers are worth ten to twenty thousand."

"That's true. It would be nice to win a phone; I was just about to get a new one."

So, stimulated by the car win, a new round of major shopping began.

...

At 3:00 PM, outside Yuanfang Supermarket.

"Hello, everyone. This is Qingyang News Online. I'm reporter Zhang Liang."

"Today, we've received news that someone won a car in a lottery. Is this news real or fake? Follow me to find out."

...

Seeing Huang Yunying cooperating well with the reporters, Li Dong finally relaxed.

He turned to Chen Jia and asked, "How much?"

"Since the news is urgent, the evening paper costs 3,000, and News Online charges 8,000," Chen Jia said with a hint of embarrassment.

Li Dong cursed inwardly. The cost was quite high for a brief local news segment, not an advertisement on TV.

But it was too late to complain; Li Dong hoped for a good outcome tomorrow.

The cost for the car and promotion had exceeded 100,000 today. If the Qingyang branch didn't perform well, Li Dong would be in serious trouble.

At 3:30 PM, the interview concluded.

When Li Dong saw off the two reporters, he handed them a generous red envelope. They both accepted it knowingly.

As they left, Editor Wang from the evening paper said with a smile, "Mr. Li, don't worry. Yuanfang is a star enterprise, so it will definitely get significant coverage. Just wait for the influx of customers!"

Li Dong thanked him with a smile, hoping it would indeed turn out that way. Otherwise, he would have to tear the two of them apart!

Back in the office, Huang Yunying was also feeling tired, yawning as she asked, "Manager Li, can I take the car now?"

Li Dong smiled and quickly said, "Of course you can."

Seeing Huang Yunying's delighted expression, Li Dong pretended to think and said, "Miss Huang, the car's paperwork isn't completed yet. How about this: I'll handle the transfer and registration, and I'll personally send the car to your home in three days. How does that sound?"

Li Dong wanted to use the car promotion for more publicity, so he wasn't ready to let Huang Yunying take the car so quickly.

Huang Yunying hesitated.

Li Dong reassured her, "Miss Huang, don't you trust me? It's already on the news; Yuanfang won't back out. I'm considering your convenience. It's better for me to handle the paperwork and registration, saving you the trouble."

Huang Yunying thought about it and agreed, understanding the reasoning. After some hesitation, she finally nodded in agreement.

With Huang Yunying sorted out, Li Dong sighed with relief.

This issue had wasted an entire afternoon, which was quite troublesome.

...

At 9:30 PM.

When Xie Hong entered the office, Li Dong was yawning at his desk.

Seeing Xie Hong, Li Dong asked, "How are the sales figures?"

Xie Hong grinned widely and said excitedly, "140,000 already. There's hope to reach 150,000 by 10:30."

Li Dong's mood improved. After deducting various expenses, the pure profit from 150,000 would be around 170,000 to 180,000.

Even after accounting for the cost of the car and the promotion, Qingyang would still be profitable today.

"Not bad. I thought we'd be lucky to break even. It seems the car promotion had a good effect."

Li Dong nodded and continued, "Once the news and newspaper coverage come out tonight, the Qingyang branch's reputation will be established. It shouldn't be hard to gain a foothold in Qingyang."

Li Dong gave Xie Hong some final instructions and said, "I'm heading back to Dongping early tomorrow. The rest is up to you."

"Don't worry, Mr. Li!" Xie Hong nodded firmly.

Li Dong had set up everything. If Xie Hong couldn't handle it, it would mean he lacked capability.