Chapter 235: Greediness Can Lead to Disaster

The next day.

When Li Dong arrived at the company, he was astonished to learn that the total sales for the first day across the ten stores had reached an impressive 12 million.

This result was a bit startling.

Li Dong hadn't even hoped for such a high figure, yet it turned out to be 12 million!

Upon inquiring, he learned that it was once again the Guanhai Store One that had created a miracle.

At eight o'clock, Guanhai Store One had achieved 2 million in sales, and Li Dong initially thought the increase afterward would be modest.

However, there was another surge later, and Guanhai Store One ended up with over 2.8 million in sales by the end of the day.

Just this single store accounted for about one-quarter of the total sales of all ten stores.

After hearing the report, Li Dong smiled at Liu Qi and said, "Cao Chun indeed has some skills. I didn't expect him to turn things around at the last moment."

However, Liu Qi wasn't as pleased as Li Dong and seemed hesitant to speak.

At first, Li Dong didn't pay much attention, but seeing Liu Qi's expression, he asked, "What's wrong?"

Liu Qi hesitated and said, "Well… Mr. Li, it seems there was an issue with the prizes at Guanhai Store One yesterday."

Li Dong's brow furrowed as he asked, "What issue?"

Liu Qi didn't answer but handed Li Dong a list.

Li Dong took a quick look and his expression darkened immediately.

"One car, one computer, three phones, one electric scooter…"

The list of prizes irritated Li Dong. It wasn't that he was reluctant about the prizes, but there was something amiss.

He looked at the prize lists from the other stores and found an even bigger issue.

In the other nine stores, the total number of prizes given away didn't even match what Guanhai Store One had handed out!

Could it be that Guanhai Store One had better luck than the other stores?

In just one day, or rather one afternoon, Guanhai Store One had given away a car, a computer, and several phones...

Almost everything that could be given away had been, and the probability of winning was far too high.

Taking a deep breath, Li Dong said, "Send the inspection team to investigate! Do it discreetly; don't let Cao Chun find out!"

Liu Qi nodded and then said, "Mr. Li, what about now…"

"Don't worry about it for now. I want to see if this is genuine luck or if someone is manipulating things!"

Li Dong clenched his teeth. He wasn't afraid of fraud; he was more concerned about where these prizes ended up.

The Yuanfang Group was large and wealthy, but even so, a single car was worth over a hundred thousand. Add in the computer and phones, and Guanhai Store One had given away nearly 200,000 worth of prizes yesterday!

200,000 was no small amount in 2005.

If Cao Chun was behind this, he was incredibly bold. If caught, he would face serious consequences.

Li Dong took another deep breath and said, "Also, have the inspection team look into the previous store managed by Cao Chun. I want to see how he managed to become the monthly champion for level three stores!"

At this point, Li Dong suddenly had a thought.

"Wait a minute, don't involve the inspection team just yet. I'll arrange for someone to check this myself!"

Liu Qi was startled. Was Mr. Li suspecting even the inspection team?

The internal inspection team of Yuanfang was under Sun Tao's direct management. If even the inspection team was compromised, it would mean…

Liu Qi swallowed nervously, feeling that the situation had become serious.

Li Dong ignored her and waved his hand, saying, "Go and call Sun Tao and Manager Zhou over."

...

Sun Tao and Zhou Haidong arrived quickly.

When they arrived, Li Dong didn't say much and directly handed the list to Sun Tao.

Sun Tao glanced at it, frowned slightly, and then passed the list to Zhou Haidong.

Zhou Haidong looked it over and, not quite understanding Li Dong's intention, remained silent.

After both had reviewed it, Li Dong asked, "What are your thoughts?"

Zhou Haidong was silent, looking at Sun Tao, who grunted, "The winning rate is a bit high, but we can't jump to conclusions. We need to investigate thoroughly."

Li Dong nodded. It was important not to make judgments based solely on subjective impressions.

After Sun Tao finished, Li Dong said, "Have Old Zhou arrange for a few people to investigate."

Zhou Haidong quickly agreed, "Understood!"

Sun Tao's frown deepened. Zhou Haidong was in charge of security, but such matters should normally be handled by the inspection team.

He now had a pretty good idea of what Li Dong meant. It seemed that Li Dong was even suspecting the inspection team, which made Sun Tao uncomfortable.

However, since Li Dong had not concealed anything from him, it showed that Li Dong still trusted him. Sun Tao felt somewhat relieved.

Seeing that Sun Tao didn't object, Li Dong added, "Also, this list looks suspicious. If there's a problem, doesn't he worry about it?"

Sun Tao's eyes narrowed as he said, "Prize lists are managed by the logistics department. Generally, as long as there are no major issues, they don't get checked."

Li Dong lightly tapped the desk and called, "Liu Qi, come in!"

Liu Qi hurried in, and Li Dong asked, "Where did this list come from?"

Liu Qi replied quickly, "I found it on the desk when I arrived this morning."

"On your desk?"

"Yes."

"Haha, interesting." Li Dong chuckled, but his tone was cold.

The company had just started running, and already such shady things were emerging. The intrigue and scheming were no less!

The appearance of the prize list on Liu Qi's desk was too blatant. The only people who could have access to the list were either the senior management or the logistics department.

Senior management was not numerous and usually wouldn't bother with such minor issues.

Furthermore, they could directly approach Li Dong for any concerns without resorting to sneaky methods.

So, this list must have leaked from the logistics department. This was intriguing. If there were no issues, the logistics department wouldn't have acted so covertly.

Li Dong rubbed his temples and said to Zhou Haidong, "Investigate thoroughly this time. Don't alert the culprit before we have evidence."

"Yes!" Zhou Haidong agreed promptly.

"Go and make the arrangements."

Zhou Haidong left the office.

Once Zhou Haidong was gone, Li Dong turned to Liu Qi and sighed to Sun Tao, "Do you think he's the one causing the trouble?"

Sun Tao replied solemnly, "It's not clear yet, but if there is a problem, he's the prime suspect."

"Greediness can lead to disaster!"

Li Dong sighed, shaking his head, "Did I treat him unfairly? The position of logistics supervisor is highly sought after, and I gave it to him. And now…"

"Ah!"

Li Dong didn't finish his sentence, only letting out a long sigh, feeling somewhat disheartened.

Sun Tao said, "Mr. Li, there's no conclusion yet, and it may not be as it seems."

"I know."

Li Dong replied, and the two fell into silence.

After a while, Liu Qi rushed back into the office.

"Mr. Li!"

"What happened?"

"Another car has been won!"

"Bang!"

Li Dong slammed his fist on the table, coldly demanding, "Guanhai Store One?"

Liu Qi, seeing Li Dong's angry reaction for the first time, timidly confirmed, "Yes, it's Guanhai Store One."

"Damn it! Is he out of his mind, or does he think I'm a fool?"

"Two cars in two days, does he really think I'm an idiot?"

Li Dong was enraged. The audacity of these people was astounding!

With only three cars total among ten stores, having two cars won by the same store was beyond explanation. It was sheer madness!

If the probability of winning was really that high, Li Dong wouldn't even need to hold such events.

Due to the large scale and long duration of this event, there were a total of 500,000 lottery tickets, with each ticket costing 100 yuan. It required at least 50 million in sales to exhaust all the tickets.

Even with 50 million, it was unlikely to use up all the tickets. It would actually require around 80 million in sales.

But now, with sales not exceeding 20 million, two cars were already gone!

A probability of 1 in 50,000, and to win twice in the same store, the chances were so low that Li Dong didn't even want to calculate.

The chance of it being luck was too slim. Li Dong didn't even believe it himself.

Seeing that Li Dong was still fuming, Sun Tao advised, "Calm down. We can afford a few cars. Let Old Zhou investigate thoroughly. If we find evidence, we'll make them pay back everything with interest!"

At the end, even Sun Tao, who was usually easy-going, was somewhat angry.

Yuanfang was wealthy, but that didn't mean everyone could take advantage.

Two cars were a small matter, but if this issue wasn't handled, it would lead to bigger problems in the future.

If every store did the same thing, what activities could they hold next time? They might as well just give the money to these people.

Yuanfang wasn't just Li

 Dong's; Sun Tao had shares as well. If he had accepted shares earlier, he would have been a shareholder by now.

Li Dong took a deep breath to calm his anger.

He said to Sun Tao, "Make sure to clean up the inspection team later. Even if they aren't involved, they are definitely negligent!"

Sun Tao nodded. He no longer had hope for the inspection team.

...

At Guanhai Store One.

Cao Chun was on the phone, listening to the angered voice on the other end. With a worried face, Cao Chun said, "It's really the case. I don't know how it happened."

"The 500,000 tickets were distributed randomly, and there was only one real prize. Who would have known it would end up in my hands and be drawn today…"

By the end, Cao Chun was at a loss, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

A 1 in 500,000 chance, and he won. What could he say!

Sighing, Cao Chun continued, "The higher-ups might not investigate, as it's a matter of luck. Mr. Li and others probably won't care."

"Hmph! Don't be too hopeful. Make sure everything is clean. If we're caught, we're finished!"

"I understand, don't worry."

"Hope so!"

After hanging up, Cao Chun sighed again.

He had a bright future ahead, and now it was too late to regret. If he had known, he wouldn't have been tempted by these small gains.

As a level-two store manager, just doing well could easily earn 200,000 a year.

He was still young and had reached this step. Becoming a manager or director in the future wouldn't be difficult.

The company had been expanding rapidly despite its short history. In a few years, regional managers would definitely be established. Being a regional manager would be even better than being a director.

Now, Cao Chun could only pray that the higher-ups wouldn't care about this small matter.

Or if they knew, they wouldn't find evidence. Otherwise, his future would be truly ruined.