Chapter 78: Setting a New Record
Chapter 78: Setting a New Record
That night, no one spoke much.
The next morning, the young couple woke up early. After getting their daughter ready, they dropped her off at kindergarten. Li Yi then took the bus to Lianhua Square, while Xu Qingnan headed straight to the meat processing factory to complete her resignation procedures.
When Li Yi arrived at the store, he found that Wei Sanpao and the others had already arrived.
Since there was still some time before opening, Li Yi called Wei Sanpao into a small office at the back of the store.
Noticing the redness in Wei Sanpao's eyes, Li Yi immediately asked, "Didn't sleep well last night?"
Wei Sanpao groaned, "How could I? The warehouse was hot and humid, and the mosquitoes wouldn't leave me alone. I spent the whole night battling them!"
Li Yi chuckled. "Hang in there. I'll get you an electric fan in a few days—it'll be much better then."
"That would be great!"
Shifting the topic, Li Yi asked, "Any guesses on how much we sold yesterday?"
Wei Sanpao's eyes lit up. "Of course! I thought about it all night. I couldn't sleep just thinking about it!"
Li Yi smirked. "You've got potential. Alright, I'll tell you—our total sales yesterday hit 61,000 yuan."
"What?!" Wei Sanpao gasped in shock. "Brother Yi, am I dreaming? In less than ten hours, we made over 60,000 yuan?!"
Li Yi nodded. "You're not dreaming. And honestly, 60,000 yuan isn't that much."
"Come on, Brother Yi, that's sixty thousand, not six hundred! That's a fortune!"
Li Yi laughed. "Relax, that's just our total revenue, not our profit."
"Then how much did we actually make?"
"Around 20,000 yuan. Since you own 5.5% of the shares, your dividend comes to about 1,100 yuan."
Wei Sanpao was stunned. "1,100 yuan… in a single day?!"
It was the equivalent of his annual salary at his previous job.
"Brother, are you sure you're not joking? My heart can't take this!"
His mind started racing—if this was just one day's earnings, then what about ten days? Twenty days? A whole month? The numbers were mind-blowing.
Li Yi smiled. "Don't get too excited. Our current sales are inflated due to the opening promotion. Sales will drop after a few days and eventually stabilize at a normal level."
"I understand."
"Also, keep this to yourself. You should always be cautious—while you may not have bad intentions, that doesn't mean others won't."
"Got it. I'll be careful."
"One more thing," Li Yi continued. "Soon, your sister-in-law will take over managing this store. You need to help her out."
"Brother Yi, what about you? You're not managing it yourself?"
Li Yi grinned. "We signed an exclusive sales contract with Donghua Clothing for the entire province. A single store isn't enough—I need to scout for more locations and open branches as soon as possible."
"Already planning to expand?"
"The sooner, the better."
"Alright, I'm with you!"
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A Busy Day Ahead
Though it was a Monday, foot traffic at the store was just as high as the previous day—if not higher.
Many customers who had bought clothes the day before went home and compared them with their old outfits, realizing the difference in quality. Some couldn't resist showing off their new clothes to friends and family, essentially giving the store free advertising.
Word spread quickly, bringing in even more customers.
Unlike yesterday, when many had come just out of curiosity, today's shoppers arrived with a strong intent to buy.
From the moment the store opened, a long line formed at the cash register.
The team worked tirelessly from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, barely stopping for water, let alone a meal. At one point, they even ran out of stock, and Li Yi had to send Wei Sanpao to the warehouse for urgent replenishment.
Exhausted, they decided to close early.
As a reward for everyone's hard work, Li Yi treated the staff to hot pot for dinner again.
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Setting a New Record
After dinner, Li Yi, Xu Qingnan, and Wei Sanpao returned to the store to count the day's earnings and set up financial regulations.
They established a policy that all daily revenue must be deposited in the bank next door by 5:00 PM.
After tallying the day's sales, they were in for a surprise—82,000 yuan in revenue, setting a new record.
Even though they knew such high sales wouldn't last forever, the excitement was undeniable.
However, Li Yi remained composed, earning admiration from both Wei Sanpao and Xu Qingnan.
The truth was, Li Yi understood the era too well.
This was the early 90s—the planned economy was crumbling, and the market economy was on the rise. Opportunities to make quick money were everywhere.
In this environment, it wasn't uncommon for businesses to rake in thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan daily. Some profiteers, taking advantage of the collapse of a certain northern powerhouse, had made tens or even hundreds of millions from a single shipment.
And on the global stage?
The United States had seized the accumulated wealth of that same northern giant in a single move—not just hundreds of millions, but trillions.
Compared to that, his earnings were mere pocket change. If he wanted to hit his first major financial milestone, he'd have to scale up—fast.
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Late-Night Reflection
Dragging their tired bodies home, Li Yi and Xu Qingnan finally arrived at their apartment around 9:00 PM.
By then, Xu Qingyao had already picked up their daughter, given her a bath, and put her to sleep.
When Li Yi walked in, he saw Xu Qingyao reviewing her notes.
Approaching her, he asked, "Are you heading back to school tomorrow?"
She nodded. "Yeah. The teacher asked us to pick up our exam admission tickets and go over some final instructions before the test."
Li Yi offered, "Want me to take you?"
Xu Qingyao hesitated for a moment before replying, "No need… I'm a grown-up. I can go by myself."
Li Yi didn't say anything else, but his sharp eyes caught the slight nervousness in her tone.
Something was on her mind.
And sooner or later, he would find out what it was.
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