My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 752: Seemingly Unprofitable, But Hardly Not Profitable

Wei Dong really just wanted to get a job.

This whole situation needs to be explained clearly to the mother of the second child, because a sum of hundreds of thousands of yuan has appeared in her account.

Decades later, this amount of money will seem insignificant, barely a ripple in the grand scheme of China's trillion-yuan economy.

In 1987, however, it was a momentous event.

"First, take half of it directly, that is, transfer it to the cosmetics factory's superior authority according to the shareholding of 51%, because this land belongs to the cosmetics factory, which is state-owned. If you use state-owned assets to make money, you will be in big trouble."

The proprietress tried to argue further: "We can't deduct all the electricity, fuel, management, and labor costs before distributing the profits. That would definitely result in a loss. This is operating income, not net profit dividends."

These days, there are no fixed rules for agreements; anything goes.

But the ending was different.

Those familiar with taxation have a different perspective: "If you think about it another way, we're renting land from the government to build this building, then you'll understand. What does our profit or loss have to do with the government? Can we not pay the rent?"

Fengchu understood: "Oh, then we definitely have to give it. And the remaining 4% should be distributed equally among the original workers, right?"

Without having to do anything, each of the registered long-term employees of the cosmetics factory could receive two or three hundred yuan.

In 1987, when the average monthly salary was 80 or 90 yuan, this was a very good unexpected bonus, and it was paid out every quarter.

Wei Dong nodded: "That's right. We don't bully the weak and fear the strong. We treat the country and individuals the same, and only use the rest to cover expenses and costs..."

At this point, she glanced at the rearview mirror again. One of them, Lamu, was feeding Chongchong with a bottle, while the other was muttering something with her hands clasped together.

Only Xiaodie craned her neck and leaned against the armrest to listen attentively.

I don't know what a four-year-old can understand.

Wei Dong laughed: "By doing this, it will be difficult for others to compete with us for ownership of the large supermarket. That's the part we operate ourselves, a project used to make up for losses, and we don't have much stock yet, so we don't make much money."

At this point, she even gave the mother of two a flirty wink, which was quite unusual for her.

Dong Xueqing immediately beamed with delight, her expression shifting to that of a landlady, and leaned closer, winking seductively: "But slowly, you'll be able to make a lot of money in the future?"

Wei Dong was confident: "We should be able to make a profit. As long as we can replenish a large amount of goods at the National Sugar and Wine Fair and establish a reputation for low prices and high quality, we have no competitors right now..."

He also recalled that later famous supermarket: "Actually, this big supermarket is our barometer for the outside world. We try our best to treat our employees and customers well in the supermarket, earn less money but gain a good reputation, and make money quietly in other businesses is much better."

Dong Xueqing is no longer the naive vocational school student she was three years ago: "Yes, the goods are all transferred from our provincial branches. I get to decide the purchase price, selling price, and transportation costs."

She even clenched her fist to cheer on her husband.

Let Wei Dong casually clench his fist and try it out. Twenty or thirty years from now, when we see young people in TV dramas, short videos, or in real life bumping fists like this, we'll all be so envious.

It's really impossible.

So back then I didn't even dare to watch movies; I was too weak to even kill a chicken.

Fengchu was amused by this trendy gesture and kept grinding his fist in and out, thoroughly enjoying himself.

I'm reluctant to part ways. It's already June, and I've been home for a month or so. Anyway, the long calls from Hong Kong are getting longer and longer.

Of course, it's not to the point of pressuring her directly.

Just then, Xiaodie leaned forward and put her hand on his, her cheeks puffed out, clearly ready to go to war for her father.

This immediately dispelled Dong Xueqing's lingering reluctance, and he quickly reached out to hug her, saying, "Are you happy? If you're happy, then you should study hard and get along well with your classmates. Dad is away on a business trip and will be back in a few days..."

Wei Dong quickly explained, "The main thing is that we have to go to Citibank. We have to go. It doesn't matter whether we make money in China or not. We just need to see how much we can earn on this trip!"

Fengchu quickly grabbed the child's fist and cheered him on.

As it turns out, Wei Dong underestimated how easy it is to operate in a market without competitors.

Or rather, as a form of established capital, it truly represents a game of overwhelming force.

The Xintiandi Commercial Center was scheduled to open at nine o'clock. They rushed to arrive before nine o'clock, only to find the place already bustling with activity, colorful flags flying, and barely able to move...

The center of Jiangzhou City is a peninsula, where two rivers meet. Currently, the Jiangnan District and the Northern District are connected by only one bridge across the river.

So it's about a few hundred kilometers past the bridge, which is considered the busiest part of the district.

The exhibition center in Jiangnan District is just a few hundred meters away from the district center. The Economic Development Zone occupies half of the district center, with the electronics building, four-star hotel, and other buildings close to the main street, while the factory area is two kilometers away.

But the original site of this cosmetics factory was different; it was located right at the central intersection of the northern district.

This place even has one of only three traffic police booths in Jiangzhou directing traffic.

This demonstrates the level of prosperity and bustle.

Today, the intersection was completely paralyzed; the bus lanes, two stops away, were already packed with people.

The traffic police officer, with a serious expression, signaled the driver to change lanes early, to avoid getting stuck in the intersection.

Wei Dong got out of the car apologetically, and a driver immediately came over to take over and drive away.

Two Taoist priests, now in civilian clothes, came over and flanked them as they began to squeeze through the crowd.

Wei Dong was a little surprised: "Wasn't Yuan Yuanzi with you?"

The senior apprentice hurriedly reported, "Around seven o'clock this morning, she and her grandmaster took the factory shuttle to prepare. Last night, she wrote a lot of calming talismans in the room, and we also helped make a lot of blessing knots." Tch, let Wei Dong treat this Taoist temple, which has no supernatural powers, like a street welfare factory.

Fortunately, despite the large number of people, things remained orderly. When people saw that she was carrying two babies, they all made way for her.

So Little Butterfly, riding on her father's shoulders, was completely dumbfounded the whole time... There were hordes of people everywhere.

Anyway, there aren't many forms of entertainment right now, so let's go shopping. Anything new can attract a lot of people.

There are all sorts of car factories, motorcycle factories, daily chemical factories, and wire factories around here. Some people bring their kids out to watch the fun on Children's Day.

It took at least half an hour to slowly approach the building. Xiaodie was already so excited that she was pulling her father's hair. I wonder if she would pull Weidong's hair out if she knew that this beautiful building also belonged to her family.

Even when Ram tried to distract the princess by standing on tiptoe, it didn't work.

Dong Xueqing, holding the child's father's arm, felt both amused and heartbroken.

From afar, you could see that ground level, built like the supermarket exit of a later subway glass building, which was so crowded that it was impossible to move. It was only by the uniformed security guards pulling people out and stuffing them back in from the other side, their movements like stuffing sausages.

Because everyone who came out was super excited, carrying a bunch of clothes, much like the zero-dollar shopping scene at Citibank in later years.

If it weren't for their own security guards busy maintaining order, Wei Dong would have seriously suspected they were doing a zero-yuan purchase.

Forget it, it's obvious we can't squeeze in.

There are at least a thousand people still crowding at the entrance.

Wei Dong, with his daughter on his back and his son in his arms, prayed from afar, hoping that there would be no stampede.

As soon as he took a step and saw the Taoist priest beside him, he simply directed one of his fellow disciples over: "Could you help me chant some sutras to calm my emotions?"

But the person was incredibly experienced: "Every year during the snow season, New Year's Day, Lantern Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and National Day/May Day holidays, people climbing Mount Qingcheng do the same thing. I know how to manage it..."

Well, this senior brother has now lost the opportunity to go to Hong Kong and Citibank.

My passport and visa were all processed, and I was retained to serve as the deputy general manager of the security company.

Hearing the child's father's grumbling, Dong Xueqing laughed so hard she leaned her whole body against him.

From the White Building to the factory area, she had never openly shown any affection for Wei Dong, so she truly felt happy at this moment.

Under the protection of their only senior brother, the whole family simply followed the crowd and walked around the building. Zhuoma described it as being similar to their local religious activities of visiting temples.

There are too many people here; you can only go with the flow.

Then cut into the diagonal inner corridor.

As soon as they entered, they heard a chorus of exclamations: "Ah..."

Many people also raised their X-ray cameras to take photos and check in.

The black and white connecting sky bridges, intersecting between floors and between different floors, create a fantastical feeling reminiscent of the magic school in Harry Potter.

In particular, there was a white PU tarpaulin stretched across the sixth floor, the kind that Qin Yuye donated to the wedding park when Wei Dong got married in Hong Kong.

The combination of the haphazardly interspersed sky bridges creates a surrealist style.

If it can't win an award, it's probably because it also has four elevator towers made of transparent glass.

This inspired Wei Dong to draw inspiration from the later urban renovation projects that involved adding elevators to old buildings.

Actually, using a single sheet of glass for waterproofing and rainproofing, with a square steel structure inside, is extremely easy.

But it looked particularly futuristic in 1987.

The citizens' exclamations were mostly due to this, even though it looked completely out of place with the architecture.

But it is indeed very eye-catching.

It also drew away a lot of people.

Anyway, just have an elevator operator handle the floor opening and closing of the doors, what problems could there be?

It's safe to say that 99% of the citizens have never ridden an elevator by now.

Many people were curious and took the rides, not wanting to get out unless others were queuing up and urging them to.

Then the question that Wei Dong and his family heard the most was why the entire first floor was enclosed and covered with all sorts of beautiful hand-drawn "Coming Soon" signs.

Dong Xueqing had never been here before, but she and her husband were of one mind and cleverly whispered in each other's ears: "Should we hold out for the best price and save the best for last, then see if we can get a higher price?"

Wei Dong quietly gave a thumbs up: "That's about the idea. I imagine we should have a few flagship stores and large fast food restaurants. Let's leave them empty for now; we don't need them."

Yes, it mainly created jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities for thousands of people.

Even after twenty or thirty years, people still reminisce about that time: "Back then, when we ran a shop, we collected money drawer by drawer!"

Because everyone is living a rough life right now, with little money and no thoughts of buying cars, houses, or raising children, the pent-up consumer power that has been suppressed for many years is now bursting out, much like the explosive growth of Wei Dong when the bomb was defused.

Don't even think about leaving the house until you've run out of ammunition and food!

(End of this chapter)