Chapter 68: Returning to School

At just past eleven that night, the sales totals for each branch were finalized.

Qingyang branch led the chart with 1.46 million.

Nanping branch had 880,000, Hechuan branch 840,000, and Yanghe branch 810,000.

Although the total sales of the three county-level branches did not match Qingyang's, their profits surpassed those of Qingyang.

Li Dong did a quick calculation. After deducting expenses and taxes, the profit from the first day of operations at the four branches exceeded 400,000.

Adding the Dongping branch, the total profit from the five branches in one day was around 500,000.

500,000 in a single day!

Li Dong was overjoyed. With 500,000 a day, it could easily exceed 100 million in a year.

Of course, this is an ideal calculation. Sales vary between peak and off-seasons, and today's opening was exceptional, so such performance might not be replicated easily in the future.

However, even with adjustments, the annual profit from the five branches would still exceed 50 million.

Although it couldn't be compared to large supermarkets with hundreds of stores and annual revenues over 10 billion, Yuanfang was already a retail giant in the Qingyang area.

Li Dong took a deep breath. Although excited, he remained grounded.

The road ahead for Yuanfang was still long. Right now, they were just getting started. When Yuanfang becomes dominant in the Jiangbei region, then they would have the qualification to compete with domestic and international giants.

His goal was to have Yuanfang Supermarket in every county-level city in Jiangbei before he graduated from university.

Li Dong believed that day would not be far off!

...

On the morning of the 9th, Li Dong hurried back to Dongping.

This time, he didn't take a bus; Xie Hong personally drove him back.

Li Dong was already thinking about buying a car for himself. It wasn't ideal to keep bothering others, especially subordinates. It was a bit embarrassing.

When he arrived at the Dongping branch, Yang Yun was waiting for him.

She went straight to the point, saying, "Mr. Li, I'd like to talk to you."

Li Dong nodded and invited Yang Yun into his office.

As soon as they sat down, Yang Yun said, "I talked to my husband about the last matter. He wants to meet you in person."

Li Dong wasn't surprised. If Qin Hai had agreed without even meeting him, that would be unusual.

However, Li Dong wasn't ready to reveal himself yet, so he couldn't meet Qin Hai. He said, "There are still things to handle in Pingchuan. I'll need to leave this afternoon. How about this: I'll have Brother Sun represent me and meet with Uncle Qin. General Manager Sun can fully represent Yuanfang."

Sun Tao was the company's general manager and was someone Li Dong trusted deeply. For appointments like this, Sun Tao could make decisions independently.

Yang Yun had no objections. Moreover, since she had worked with Sun Tao for a longer period and had a closer relationship with him, it would be more convenient for Sun Tao to handle it.

"Alright, I'll arrange for General Manager Sun to meet with Old Qin."

After discussing Qin Hai, Yang Yun hesitated a bit and then asked, "Mr. Li, if Old Qin goes to Pingchuan, what about my situation?"

"You can go to Qinghua Logistics or stay in Dongping. My suggestion is for Aunt Yang to go to Qinghua Logistics. It's currently in a state of disarray, and with your help, Uncle Qin would have a much easier time. Plus, you won't be separated by two locations, which is more convenient."

Seeing Yang Yun still uncertain, Li Dong added, "If Aunt Yang also goes, the company can consider helping with housing arrangements."

"Really?"

Yang Yun was now fully tempted. If the housing issue could be resolved, she would definitely be willing to move to Pingchuan.

After all, Pingchuan was the provincial capital, far superior to the remote Dongping.

She had considered staying in Pingchuan when she was younger, but due to the school assignment back to her hometown, it was not possible.

Now that her daughter was in college, they might settle in the capital in the future. It didn't matter where she and Qin Hai went, but if they could settle in Pingchuan, it would fulfill a long-held dream.

Seeing Li Dong nod affirmatively, Yang Yun's decision seemed to be shifting.

Li Dong smiled, seeing that it was almost certain.

With his mother-in-law settled, dealing with his father-in-law would be straightforward; he knew Qin Hai would be the decision-maker.

After discussing these matters, Yang Yun was ready to leave but couldn't help turning back at the door to ask, "Mr. Li, do you know our Old Qin?"

If he didn't know him, it would be strange to appoint someone he hadn't even met as a branch manager.

Li Dong understood that if he claimed not to know Qin Hai, Yang Yun and Qin Hai would likely be uneasy. He nodded and said, "I've met him a few times. I know that Uncle Qin is a capable person. Otherwise, I wouldn't be foolish enough to entrust a company worth several million to a stranger."

Yang Yun was reassured, realizing that it made sense.

With her last concern addressed, Yang Yun made up her mind.

...

Li Dong left without any send-off, taking a bus alone to Pingchuan.

When he returned to the dormitory, Xu Chen was the only one there, absorbed in a game.

Li Dong had been too busy to notice before, but now that he had time, he realized that Xu Chen seemed to have skipped classes for quite some time.

As a roommate, Li Dong didn't want to see Xu Chen completely wasting his time.

He advised, "Chenzi, if you keep playing games all the time, not only will your studies suffer, but your health will deteriorate!"

Xu Chen put down his mouse and said somewhat dumbly, "I know, but what else can I do? I lose interest in class when I see her, and it's meaningless to go."

Li Dong was speechless. After just a few days of acquaintance, was he really so infatuated?

Moreover, she had never considered a relationship with him from the beginning, so continuing to chase after her was pointless.

Though he didn't want to say it outright, he gently suggested, "Find someone else if it doesn't work out. There are so many beautiful girls in school. Why hang onto just one?"

Xu Chen smiled self-deprecatingly and said helplessly, "Who would look at me? I'm not handsome and don't have money. Nowadays, women are so realistic. Chen Fang is rich, or why would Huang Shanshan look at him?"

Seeing Xu Chen bring up Huang Shanshan again, Li Dong lost interest in continuing the conversation.

He also felt that Xu Chen's thinking was a bit extreme, and further persuasion would be pointless.

By around five o'clock, the other roommates returned to the dorm.

Meng Qiping saw Li Dong and immediately exclaimed, "Dongge, you're finally back. I was about to come looking for you!"

Li Dong knew he was joking and said, "You'd really come looking for me? Don't you care about Cheng Nan anymore?"

Meng Qiping laughed awkwardly and said, "I was just saying that. You took it seriously."

Li Dong rolled his eyes, knowing this guy was fickle.

While chatting with Meng Qiping, Li Tie asked, "Dongzi, you came back just in time. This Saturday, the class is organizing an autumn outing to Nanpu Mountain. Are you going?"

"Autumn outing?"

Li Dong was skeptical. It was already December; winter solstice was in ten days. Autumn outing was nonsense!

Li Tie explained, "It was supposed to be last month, but there were too many things in the class and preparations for the sports meet. We didn't have time. Now we're making up for it."

Li Dong thought for a moment and said, "Forget it. I'll pass."

He had been to Nanpu Mountain many times in his past life. It wasn't very interesting. Besides hiking, there wasn't much to do, and Li Dong didn't feel like making the trip.

Meng Qiping tried to persuade him, "Dongge, why not go? This outing is covered by our class funds. It would be a waste if you don't go."

Li Dong ignored him. It was just a few dozen yuan from the class funds. With that time, he'd rather supervise at Longhua Square.