Chapter 595: A Quick-Cash Scheme—The Trade Show!

Beijing. The Li Family Courtyard!

In the west wing, a small round table held a few appetizers to accompany the drinks, along with two bottles of Moutai and several small shot glasses.

Li Yi, Jiang Longcheng, and Ye Jianhua sat around the round table, raising their glasses frequently.

Of course, given Li Yi’s drinking capacity, he certainly wouldn’t dare keep up with his two brothers-in-law like this, so raising his glass was merely a gesture.

The reason they had the time to get together today was mainly because Li Yi had finally wrapped up his work at the TV factory. Until he received a response from higher-ups, he wouldn’t need to get involved with the factory again.

After all, the district authorities had only tasked him with reviving the TV factory and resolving the immediate crisis; whether the factory would remain successful for long or eventually go under was not something Li Yi needed to worry about right now.

Plus, since it happened to be his day off, he called both Jiang Longcheng and Ye Jianhua to invite them over for a visit and a chat.

With his older cousin and second cousin paying a visit, Jiang Xue naturally wanted to treat them well. She immediately whipped up a few small dishes and opened two bottles of fine wine.

However, Li Yi knew Jiang Longcheng’s temperament—after a few hundred sips of liquor, his true colors would show. To avoid scaring Yun Jin and Yun Rui when the guy started “talking big,” Li Yi didn’t let the two of them into the main hall; instead, he arranged for them to drink in the side room.

After all, they were all family; there was no need to distinguish between the main hall and the side room.

After a few cups of wine, Jiang Longcheng—who was already quite talkative—let loose completely. He boasted to Ye Jianhua, who was sitting next to him: “Jianhua, you have no idea just how impressive our National Cotton Mill No. 2 is right now. We sold over ten million yuan worth of goods yesterday, with a net profit of several million. With a profit margin like that, who in the whole country can compare?”

Ye Jianhua smiled and said, “I’ve heard about it. Your State Cotton Mill No. 2 is definitely the most dazzling star enterprise in Beijing right now. So many people are scrambling to get a job there!”

“Hahaha, you bet! I heard that one of our factory’s quotas is selling for  yuan now!”

“? That expensive? Doesn’t that mean we’ve been working for nothing for years?”

Honestly, Li Yi was stunned when he heard that.

After all, starting wages at the factory aren’t exactly high—general workers make just over thirty yuan a month. That  yuan is equivalent to working for free for over three years.

Jiang Longcheng smiled and said, “It won’t take several years—two years at most!”

“Two years?”

“Right. At our factory, a Level 2 worker makes  yuan a month, and a Level 3 worker makes  yuan. But since production is pretty busy right now, we have to work overtime almost every day, and the factory pays us for all that overtime.”

Jiang Longcheng continued, “So, generally speaking, the average wage for a regular worker at our Second Cotton Mill is around 100 yuan. That’s enough to match the salary of a mid-level manager at other factories!”

“Plus, our factory is doing well, so we get a decent bonus at the end of the year—at least seven or eight hundred yuan a year. Spending a few hundred yuan to buy a factory admission quota is definitely a good deal!”

Ye Jianhua said enviously, “Then you’ll be able to make a pretty penny just by reselling factory admission quotas!”

This sort of thing was all too common these days; many factory leaders were lining their pockets through such means.

“It’s all about hiring anyway—whoever we hire is fine, as long as the new employees aren’t idiots or disabled.”

Jiang Longcheng glanced at Li Yi, then said with a wry smile, “I’d love to, but my old man won’t let me. If I dared to do that, he’d break my legs, and besides…”

“And what?”

“And my brother-in-law wouldn’t let me either!” Jiang Longcheng said.

Ye Jianhua looked at Li Yi and said, “Brother-in-law, reselling admission quotas isn’t a big deal in our circle. There’s no need to…”

Before Ye Jianhua could finish, Li Yi cut him off: “Perhaps in your eyes, this isn’t a big deal. Compared to crimes like embezzlement, bribery, or misappropriation of collective assets, reselling a few factory admission quotas really isn’t a big deal!”

“But you should understand the saying that a thousand-mile dyke can be breached by a single ant hole. Once you open the floodgates on certain matters, there’s no turning back—especially for those of you within the system. Once you reach out that hand, there’s no turning back!”

Jiang Longcheng hurriedly said, “Don’t worry, brother-in-law. The Jiang and Ye families wouldn’t stoop to doing something like this just for money!”

“That’s right. If we dared to do something like that, we’d never get past our old man at home!” Ye Jianhua added.

Li Yi nodded. “Hmm, I do trust the upbringing of the Jiang and Ye families. But I also know you two have a habit of spending money without counting the cost. Even though your salaries aren’t low, I imagine you’re still living hand-to-mouth, aren’t you?”

Jiang Longcheng sighed and said, “You’re absolutely right. Before I got married, I didn’t really think much of it—if I ran out of money, I could just ask my parents for some. But ever since I got married, I’ve felt too embarrassed to ask them for anything.”

“Plus, Xinyao’s pregnant and needs extra nutrition, and we’ve got to help my two younger brothers-in-law get married. Lately, I haven’t even been able to bring myself to drink Moutai at home!”

Ye Jianhua immediately chimed in, “That’s nothing compared to me. Look at me—as soon as my monthly paycheck comes in, I have to hand it over to Xiaoying. I don’t even dare order meat at the office cafeteria. Sometimes I really miss the days before I was married!”

Listening to these two men competing to see who had it worse, Li Yi couldn’t help but smile.

“Alright, I called you guys over today just to talk about making some money!”

Hearing this, Jiang Longcheng’s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked, “Bro-in-law, are you planning to help us make some money?”

“Exactly. I can’t just sit back and watch one of you too scared to drink and the other too stingy to eat meat!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“I knew you were a true brother to us. Spit it out—how are you going to help us make money?” Jiang Longcheng asked.

Li Yi replied, “Right now, I have two ideas. Take a look and see what you think!”

“What ideas?”

“If we’re just starting small, I can help you two open a franchise of a barbecue and hot pot restaurant. It won’t make you rich, but making two or three thousand yuan a month shouldn’t be a problem!”

Li Yi had already begun preparing to open branches of the hot pot and barbecue restaurant. The first two locations had already been leased and were currently under renovation; they were expected to open in about another two weeks.

He planned to have his third older sister, Li Na, and Liu San’er serve as managers for these two branches, with the staff consisting of the young men his brother-in-law had brought over from Qin Province.

If Jiang Longcheng and Ye Jianhua were willing, Li Yi could set up a shop for each of them as well. He wouldn’t dare claim they’d make a fortune, but it would certainly be more than enough to supplement their household income.

But Li Yi’s words left Jiang Longcheng and Ye Jianhua speechless. Was making two or three thousand yuan a month really just “pocket change”?

Consider their current situation: even someone like Jiang Longcheng, a big factory director, only makes  yuan a month.

As for Ye Jianhua, he earned even less—only  yuan a month.

If they could earn two or three thousand yuan a month, that would be dozens of times their current salaries.

After a long moment, Jiang Longcheng finally asked, “Brother-in-law, are you saying there are even faster ways to make money?”

“Yes. If you guys think running a store is too slow, there really is a business that makes money even faster!” Li Yi said.

“What kind of business?”

“Hosting trade shows!” Li Yi said, making a startling suggestion.

“Trade shows?”

Ye Jianhua frowned and said, “Aren’t those just for clearing out unsold inventory? Can you really make money from that?”

In those days, when the planned economy dominated, the production and distribution of goods across the country were subject to strict, centralized allocation, and private trade was prohibited.

Trade fairs were a loophole opened up for the market economy in the early days of reform and opening-up, intended to break the “ration-based supply system” by inviting consumers to visit and make purchases, thereby balancing supply and demand.

In reality, they were mostly used by certain organizations to clear out surplus inventory!

For instance, in the short span of just one year—from [Month] [Year] to [Month] [Year]—Beijing hosted no fewer than five “Clearance Sales for Surplus Inventory.” These events spanned every sector, from the Foreign Trade Bureau to the Grain Bureau, covering everything from transistor radios to grains and cereals.

Li Yi smiled and said, “Those are other people’s fairs. We’re not doing that kind of thing—we’re going high-end!”

“Will it really make money?” Jiang Longcheng asked earnestly.

“Absolutely!” Li Yi replied without hesitation.

“Since you say it’ll make money, let’s do it!” Jiang Longcheng said.

Ye Jianhua immediately asked, “What do we need to do?”

“You’ll need to contact the exhibition halls and merchants, but not right now. I’ll get back to you with the details once I’ve finalized the plan!” Li Yi said.

“Alright, we’ll wait for your good news!”

“Alright, let’s have a drink first!”

“Drinks…”

………

District Government Office Building!

In the top-floor office, Jiang Longyin was hunched over his desk, processing documents.

When he finished reading the document in front of him, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

This was a funding request sent to the district by the Municipal Accessories Factory. With over 1,800 workers going four months without pay, the factory could no longer hold on and had no choice but to seek assistance from the district.

If it were just a single parts factory, Jiang Longyin wouldn’t have been so torn.

The problem is, this is already the third such application the district has received this month—some asking for as little as 30,000 to 50,000 yuan, while others are asking for as much as a million yuan right off the bat.

However, the district government is currently facing severe financial difficulties as well. The deficit is so high that even Jiang Longyin, the top official, is terrified—he simply dares not allocate funds to them.

As a result, the district government is currently caught between tens of thousands of workers crying out for help and the immense pressure of the fiscal deficit, leaving everyone on edge.

And the biggest problem is that the nearby factory certainly won’t be the last one to go under, nor will this be the last funding request they receive.

“Approve the allocation of 100,000 yuan!”

After writing his approval and signing his name, Jiang Longyin set the document aside.

But he had no heart to deal with other matters; he leaned back, resting directly against the chair.

It was now the third year of reform and opening-up, and Jiang Longyin simply couldn’t wrap his head around it. Reform and opening-up were supposed to revitalize the domestic economy, yet he now found that the vast majority of state-owned enterprises were struggling, and the situation had actually worsened.

To be honest, Jiang Longyin was feeling a bit lost…

“Knock, knock, knock!”

Just as Jiang Longyin was deep in thought, a sharp knock suddenly sounded from outside, snapping him back to reality!

Taking a deep breath and gathering his complex emotions, Jiang Longyin said in a deep voice, “Come in!”

“Squeak!”

As the office door swung open, his brother-in-law, Li Yi, strode in.

Jiang Longyin caught a glimpse of two young men standing outside the door, but they didn’t come in; he assumed they must have been brought by Li Yi.

“What a rare visitor! Why did you come over so early in the morning?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “The issue with the TV factory has been resolved, so I came to discuss the next steps with you, Second Brother!”

“Hahaha, I heard about that prize-winning sales campaign you guys ran. It was truly impressive. To be honest, I’ve never been impressed by anyone in my entire life, but you, brother-in-law, are the first!” Jiang Longyin said sincerely.

“You flatter me, Second Brother. Let me give you an update on the TV factory first!” Li Yi said.

“Alright, go ahead!”

Li Yi immediately continued, “Through this promotional campaign, we sold a total of  televisions, generating sales revenue of 万 yuan.The cost of goods sold was  million  yuan. Adding the  million in channel setup costs from the initial investment, our profit came to  million  yuan!”

“In addition, the factory currently owes the bank  million, owes the electronics factory  million, and owes the packaging factory  million… After deducting all liabilities, there’s currently  million left in the factory’s accounts…”

“That much?” Jiang Longyin asked in surprise.

Li Yi smiled and continued, “Besides the money in the accounts, through this marketing campaign, Yanjing TVs have not only gained nationwide recognition but have also established sales channels in over ten provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in the north. We’ve also won the public’s approval, so there won’t be any inventory backlogs in the short term. The task you entrusted to me, Second Brother, is now complete!”

Jiang Longyin was initially quite pleased to hear this, but he quickly realized the implication and hurriedly said, “Brother-in-law, are you planning to just walk away from this?”

“Yes, Second Brother. You originally asked me to turn the TV factory around, and now that I’ve done just that, it’s time to let go!” Li Yi replied.

“Brother-in-law, tell me—will the TV factory’s profits stay this strong?”

“No way!”

Li Yi continued, “As things stand, the Yanjing TV Factory can maintain decent profits for two years at most. Starting in the third year, profits will plummet, and by the fifth year, it’ll be barely hanging on!”

Li Yi wasn’t exaggerating. Two years ago, the country’s first color TV production line was established in Shanghai, and soon after, the First TV Factory in Beijing and the Jinling TV Factory both began introducing their own color TV production lines.

At present, color TV production is still limited, and prices remain high, so the impact on black-and-white sets isn’t significant yet.

Therefore, as long as black-and-white TVs continue to gain public acceptance over the next two years, sales and profits will remain substantial.

However, starting in 1985, color TV production skyrocketed, and prices plummeted accordingly.

Furthermore, starting in 1990, the domestic economy experienced rapid growth, and as more people became affluent, the public’s demand for televisions shifted from small-screen black-and-white sets to color televisions.

Nevertheless, given the large number of small fourth- and fifth-tier counties and vast rural areas in the country, there remained a significant demand for black-and-white TVs among ordinary people. Consequently, although profits for manufacturers of black-and-white TVs plummeted during this period, they were still barely able to survive.

However, by around the year , China was on the verge of becoming the world’s largest producer and exporter of televisions. By this time, color TVs had completely become the mainstream in the domestic market, and the era of black-and-white televisions was drawing to a close.

Although Jiang Longyin didn’t know the reason behind Li Yi’s statement, he was well aware of his brother-in-law’s capabilities.

Since he said the Yanjing TV Factory could last at most five years, it certainly wouldn’t make it intact into the sixth year!

After a moment’s thought, Jiang Longyin said in a solemn tone, “Brother-in-law, you know that what I want isn’t just for the TV factory to survive a few more years, but for it to remain a thriving enterprise.”

Li Yi paused briefly before replying, “Second Brother, if you want the Yanjing TV Factory to become a major, influential enterprise, you’ll have to upgrade their products—and that will cost far more than you can imagine!”

“Isn’t those twenty million enough?”

Li Yi shook his head. “It’s not enough. Do you know how much a color TV production line costs?”

“I don’t know!”

“50 million US dollars. At the current exchange rate, that’s 300 million yuan!”

“Whoa!”

After hearing Li Yi’s words, Jiang Longyin couldn’t help but gasp.

“Is industrial upgrading really necessary?”

“Absolutely. If you want our TV factory to compete on equal footing with similar companies in other provinces, we have to produce color TVs. They don’t have to be better than others, but they definitely can’t be too far behind!” Li Yi said.

“Brother-in-law, is there any other way?”

“Yes, two!”

“Two?”

“Right. The first option is for the TV factory to bypass official channels when ordering production lines—and not order new ones at all. Instead, we’d go through middlemen to buy production lines from foreign TV factories on the verge of bankruptcy, then smuggle the equipment into the country. That should save us a huge chunk of money!” Li Yi said.

“Smuggling? Is… is that even possible?”

“In theory, there’s no problem with it. Besides, this is the only way out for the Yanjing TV Factory—unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Unless the State-owned Assets Department and the district can raise 100 million yuan in industrial upgrading funds to purchase brand-new production lines through official channels. Otherwise, we’ll just have to watch the Yanjing TV Factory gradually decline and fall into ruin until it goes completely bankrupt!”

Jiang Longyin shook his head with a wry smile and said, “The district doesn’t have the money, and the State-owned Assets Department won’t cough up that much either!”

“Then I’ll have to try the second option: raising funds!” Li Yi said.

“Financing?”

“Right. The TV factory can seek financing from foreign companies and convert it into a joint venture. That way, we’ll have the capital needed for development!”

Joint ventures were no longer a novelty by now. As early as last November, the first Sino-foreign joint venture—Beijing Aviation Catering Co., Ltd.—had been approved for establishment.

Subsequently, the first batch of approved Sino-foreign joint ventures was announced, including Schindler Elevator Co., Ltd., Tianshan Wool Textiles Co., Ltd., the Jianguo Hotel, the Great Wall Hotel, and the Jincheng Dynasty Winery.

So converting the TV factory into a joint venture is entirely feasible!

“Brother-in-law, I can’t make this decision on my own. Let me report this to the district authorities, okay?” Jiang Longyin said.

“Alright, but you know my situation, Second Brother. I can’t keep serving as an advisor to this run-down little factory forever!”

Li Yi continued, “If the district still wants me to lead the ongoing reforms at the Yanjing TV Factory, they’ll have to agree to two conditions!”

“What are the conditions? Go ahead,” Jiang Longyin said.

“The first condition is to reshuffle the leadership of the TV Factory. Aside from Sun Feng, replace all the current plant managers and deputy managers!”

Li Yi continued, “The second condition is that if the district and the State-owned Assets Department intend to secure financing, they must give priority to my companies in Hong Kong!”

“Alright, I’ll report your ideas and conditions to the relevant leaders as soon as possible. I’ll contact you immediately as soon as I have any news!” Jiang Longyin said.

“Hmm, and one more thing—now that the TV factory has been revitalized, shouldn’t the district fulfill the compensation they promised me?” Li Yi asked.

Jiang Longyin chuckled and said, “So, brother-in-law, you’re here today to collect what’s owed to you, are you? Don’t worry—you’ll get every penny we promised!”

“Good to hear. Well then, I’ll be heading back now!”

“Alright…”

………

It wasn’t until the morning of the 15th that Li Yi learned of Feixue Apparel’s impressive achievements from An Hong.

As for why it wasn’t that flashy brother-in-law of his, Jiang Longcheng, who told him—well, that’s because our “Factory Director” Jiang was still nursing a hangover at the time.

After the meeting last night, an excited Jiang Longcheng couldn’t contain his joy and took Tong Youlin and the others out to celebrate with drinks!

And since he had no self-control when it came to drinking, he didn’t stop until he was completely wasted.

So, when An Hong called Li Yi, Jiang Longcheng was still fast asleep in his factory dormitory.

As for Li Yi, upon learning that the National Cotton Mill No. 2’s promotional sales campaign had achieved such staggering results, he was quite shocked.

After all, the Second State-Owned Cotton Mill sold clothing!

Although their clothes weren’t cheap, summer items were mostly short-sleeved shirts or skirts, priced at around six or seven yuan each.

Only suits and the like were a bit pricier, but even those didn’t exceed 10 yuan.

To generate over ten million yuan in sales, just how many garments would they have had to sell?

What shocked him even more was the profit from this campaign—tens of thousands a day. It was practically like printing money.

Although Li Yi knew that marketing campaigns like this usually lead to a sharp drop in sales afterward, with a profit of 万, it would still be worth it even if they didn’t sell a single piece of clothing for the next two weeks.

Having witnessed the success of the campaign at the Second National Cotton Mill, Li Yi felt even more confident about the prize-based sales promotion currently underway at the TV factory.

Even if they couldn’t ship a million TVs like they did with clothes, the high unit price meant the results wouldn’t be too bad.

And things unfolded exactly as Li Yi had predicted. After a day of waiting and testing the waters on National Day, coupled with a report on the event by Beijing Television that evening, the campaign at the Beijing TV Factory garnered even more attention.

Starting from September 10th, sales at campaign locations across the country experienced an explosive surge.

With so many people buying, a large number of raffle tickets were distributed, so the number of winners today far exceeded yesterday’s.

The grand prizes, in particular, were being won one after another.

Take the Capital City Xizhimen flagship store, for example: on the 10th alone, they awarded 10 prizes of 1,000 yuan and 10 prizes of 500 yuan, with 10 prizes of 500 yuan being awarded consecutively, and countless smaller prizes under 100 yuan.

As more and more big prizes were announced, winners kept taking the stage to claim their prizes, further fueling the public’s enthusiasm for spending.

By closing time on the evening of the 10th, the Xizhimen store had sold 1,000 units in a single day.

Combined with yesterday’s  units, in just two short days, Yanjing TV sales in the Beijing area alone have surpassed  units.

Similarly, the situation at direct-sales stores in other provinces was much the same, with sales at nearly all locations climbing steadily.

Fortunately, since Li Yi had anticipated this situation long ago, he had Sun Feng ensure that all direct-sales stores were well-stocked well in advance, so there was no shortage of goods.

However, Li Yi had still underestimated the public’s enthusiasm for the prize-winning sales campaign.

Upon realizing that buying a TV could indeed lead to winning a grand prize, more and more people were motivated to participate.

Some people hadn’t yet saved enough money to buy a TV and had planned to wait a few months, but upon seeing this, they immediately borrowed money from friends and family to purchase one right away.

First, the promotion was truly a great deal; even if they didn’t win the grand prize, they were almost guaranteed to win one of the smaller prizes worth ten or twenty yuan, effectively lowering the price of the TV.

Second, if they happened to win the grand prize, wouldn’t that be a huge windfall?

Some workplaces also joined in on the fun. With the end of the year approaching, many organizations would recognize top performers at this time and award them bonuses and prizes.

In some profitable companies, bonuses can easily reach several hundred yuan, and prizes range from TVs and bicycles to sewing machines and radios.

Everyone had been wondering what would make a suitable prize this year, but upon seeing how popular this campaign was, they immediately decided to use Yanjing TVs as prizes.

So these organizations went all out, ordering a dozen or even several dozen units at a time.

The real climax occurred on the afternoon of the th of , when the Jincheng flagship store finally announced the 10,000-yuan grand prize that had been the talk of the town for several days.

However, the winner of this grand prize was not an individual, but the Jincheng Shipyard.

At the time, to recognize outstanding employees, the shipyard purchased  televisions in a single transaction from the Jincheng sales outlet and also collected  scratch-off tickets.

When the shipyard staff were scratching the tickets, one of them immediately revealed the 10,000-yuan jackpot.

After the news was reported on local TV in Jincheng, it quickly spread across the country.

This once again demonstrated to the public across the country just how generous Yanjing TV Factory could be!

Overnight, Yanjing TV’s reputation soared: the sets were high-quality and affordable, and the company was incredibly generous.

Subsequently, even more people flocked to Yanjing TV’s flagship stores, ready to open their wallets to take a TV home—and, while they were at it, try their luck at winning a 10,000-yuan jackpot!

But just then, a shocking piece of news broke—they were out of stock!

The news first came from Jinzhou, a small city in Northeast China. Since Jinzhou is not a large city and has a small population, Sun Feng had allocated  televisions to the area.

In his view,  units would be more than enough for such a small town.

But unexpectedly, by the morning of the fifth day of the promotion, the 1,000 TVs at the Jinzhou flagship store had been snapped up by enthusiastic residents.

Left with no choice, they had to call Beijing for help, requesting immediate shipment.

However, this was just the beginning; that same day, dozens of direct-sales stores affiliated with the Beijing TV Factory called simultaneously to demand more stock.

By the afternoon of the 12th, the factory’s entire inventory of 12,000 televisions, along with the 2,000-plus units produced during that period, had been completely sold out.

Under these circumstances, the TV factory had no choice but to announce the early termination of the prize-winning sales campaign.

The news sent shockwaves across the nation!

The public’s reactions were mixed. Some regretted their indecision and failure to act promptly; others were dissatisfied with the factory’s broken promise—the campaign was supposed to last ten days but ended after just five; still others called the Yanjing Television Factory, urging them to organize another such event as soon as possible…

In short, there were all kinds of reactions!

Compared to the general public, Yanjiing TV Factory’s competitors were even more stunned.

The general public may not know the true state of Yanjing TV Factory, but as peers and competitors, they certainly do.

For many years, this factory had been barely hanging on—its product quality was decent, but sales were abysmal.

In recent years, it had been crushed by the local Peony TV brand, barely managing to survive.

Especially this year, rumors that the factory was on the brink of collapse had circulated repeatedly, and everyone was waiting for the news of Yanjing TV Factory’s shutdown and bankruptcy.

But then, the factory staged a spectacular comeback!

In just over ten days, Yanjing TV Factory seemed to have been injected with a shot of adrenaline. Not only did its reputation turn around, but sales skyrocketed—they even sold out their entire inventory.

Dozens of TV manufacturers across the country were baffled and couldn’t help but wonder what exactly had happened at this factory and why such a dramatic turnaround had occurred.

However, some quick-thinking factories have already sprung into action, hoping to emulate Yanjing TV Factory by launching their own prize-based sales campaigns.

Before long, news began spreading from all corners of the country that TV manufacturers were launching their own prize-based sales campaigns!

Just as the factories were preparing for a fierce showdown, Li Yi arrived at Jiang Longyin’s office with Yanjing TV Factory’s financial statements!

The work was done, and it was time to settle the accounts…

………

It was late at night, and the air carried a hint of autumn’s chill!

Beiguan Village was completely silent in the dead of night; apart from the occasional bark of a dog, the vast village was utterly still.

Yet at this very moment, the conference room at State Cotton Mill No. 2 in the northern suburbs remained brightly lit. Nearly all the factory leaders, including Jiang Longcheng, were present without exception, gathered around the oval conference table.

Unlike the usual atmosphere during meetings, the mood in the conference room today was somewhat peculiar.

From Plant Manager Jiang Longcheng down to the ordinary team leaders, no one spoke; the room was deathly quiet.

Their eyes, however, kept drifting toward the conference room door, as if they were waiting for something.

After quite a while, Jiang Longcheng finally grew impatient and turned to the secretary beside him, saying, “Haven’t they finished the calculations yet? Secretary Wang, go next door and ask how much longer it will take…”

Before he had even finished speaking, the sound of a doorknob turning could be heard.

Immediately afterward, a man and a woman pushed the door open and walked in. Leading the way was none other than An Hong, the sales director of Feixue Apparel, and by her side was Li Yeqiao, the company’s finance director.

As the two strode into the room, everyone’s eyes in the conference room turned to them.

Once An Hong and Li Yeqiao had walked over and taken their seats, Jiang Longcheng couldn’t wait to ask, “Comrade An Hong, have the sales figures been tallied yet? How much did we make from this campaign?”

Indeed, the reason they were still in the office so late was to await the results of this prize-based sales campaign.

After all, for this event, thousands of people throughout the entire Second National Cotton Mill had worked tirelessly.

Needless to say, the sales department and all the company-owned stores had been swamped. Faced with frenzied customers, they’d been working from the moment the doors opened in the morning until closing time at night, barely managing to eat a hot meal all day.

The production department was no different. With insufficient stock, they had to work overtime, each person spinning like a top.

Now that the event has finally come to an end, everyone is eager to see the results!

It’s just like college entrance exam students who’ve studied hard for so many years—whether they pass with flying colors or fail, there’s always a result.

Of course, with the promotional sales campaign off to a strong start and taking the nation by storm, there’s no longer any debate about whether this event was profitable or not—it’s definitely a money-maker.

Now, what everyone is wondering is: just how much money did this campaign bring in?

An Hong knew that the people in front of her had been waiting for two or three hours, so she didn’t keep them in suspense. She immediately stood up and said, “According to our statistics, during this -day event, the total sales across our  stores nationwide amounted to  million yuan…”

“Whoosh!”

Before An Hong could even finish her sentence, the entire conference room erupted in a frenzy!

All the senior executives present were stunned by this staggering figure. They began whispering to one another, expressing their shock:

“This… this number can’t be wrong, can it? Over 10 million yuan in sales?”

“That’s ridiculous! Over 10 million in just three days? That averages out to over 3 million in sales per day!”

“My goodness, our total sales for the entire month last month were only a little over 10 million. I never imagined a single event could generate a month’s worth of sales—it’s simply unbelievable!”

“Comrade Li Yi is truly a genius. Just a few words of advice from him have brought our factory such immense benefits…”

……..

Jiang Longcheng, sitting at the head of the table, was also stunned. Although he had always known his brother-in-law was a business genius and that the results of this campaign he proposed would certainly be impressive,

Still, Jiang Longcheng was stunned by this staggering result.

It took him a while to snap out of it.

Immediately, he tapped the conference table in front of him, signaling for everyone to quiet down.

“Quiet, everyone!”

Jiang Longcheng then looked at An Hong again and asked, “You haven’t miscalculated this revenue figure, have you?”

At that moment, Li Yeqiao, standing nearby, interjected, “Director, this figure is based on the sales reports submitted by all our stores nationwide. Moreover, our finance team has double-checked the calculations multiple times and confirmed there are no errors!”

“All right, all right…”

Overcome with excitement, Jiang Longcheng said “good” three times in a row.

Just then, Deputy Plant Manager Tong Youlin interjected, “Comrade An Hong, as far as I know, we spared no expense preparing prizes for this event. So I’d like to ask: out of this over 10 million yuan in sales, how much profit did our plant actually make?”

An Hong replied immediately, “Deputy Plant Manager Tong, since much of the data is still being compiled and calculated, I can only give you a rough estimate regarding the profit…”

“That’s fine, go ahead!” said Tong Youlin.

“According to our operations department’s statistics, during this event we gave away  Yanjing brand televisions,  Phoenix brand bicycles,  radios, and yarn… The total value of all prizes amounts to over 4,000 yuan!”

An Hong continued, “In addition, we sold over 14,000 pieces of clothing during this event. The cost of these garments was roughly 1.4 million yuan. After deducting these expenses, our factory’s gross profit from this event was approximately 1.4 million yuan!”

“However, this figure doesn’t account for shipping costs, store rent, utilities, or the salaries of our staff and management, so the actual net profit is likely much lower.”

“Whoa!”

Even though An Hong had already mentioned that other costs hadn’t been factored in, the 万 gross profit still caused everyone present to gasp in astonishment.

“Oh my gosh, a million in profit a day—that’s a million a day!”

“You’re absolutely right. We’re selling clothes, but this is practically stealing money!”

“Stealing money doesn’t make this much profit—unless you’re robbing a bank!”

“You’re overthinking it. Most banks only lend out 100,000 or 80,000 a day—just enough to get by. How could they possibly be so flush with cash that they’d dare lend out 10 million…”

After gesturing for everyone to quiet down again, Jiang Longcheng said with a sense of anticipation, “Comrade An Hong, this promotional giveaway has been incredibly effective. Have you guys considered doing something like this again?”

An Hong replied immediately, “I’ve discussed this with the store managers. Most of them think this kind of event is fine once in a while, but it shouldn’t be repeated too often!”

“Why?”

“First of all, ordinary people don’t have that kind of purchasing power. They might support it once, but if we do it too often, they won’t buy into it—after all, they don’t have that much money!”

An Hong continued, “Secondly, running these promotions too often risks making people suspicious of our motives. After all, we’re holding this event under the guise of giving back to the community. We can’t just give back and then do it again right away—even a fool would see something fishy going on.”

“Feixue Apparel has built its reputation on trust and quality. If the public starts to doubt our motives, it could damage our reputation. Once our reputation is ruined, no amount of money can buy it back!”

Jiang Longcheng wasn’t stupid; he could naturally weigh the pros and cons. He immediately made a decision: “In that case, let’s call it a day on this matter!”

“Right!”

“Everyone has worked hard during this period. I’ll submit a commendation for all of you to the district authorities and the State-owned Assets Department!”

Jiang Longcheng continued, “Also, our employees have made tremendous sacrifices for this campaign. We need to show our appreciation. I suggest we give everyone a bigger bonus this month. What do you all think?”

“I agree with the plant manager—we should give the employees a bigger bonus!”

“I have no objections!”

“Me too…”

………..

Beijing. The Li Family!

While the Yanjing TV Factory event was in full swing, Li Yi was nowhere to be seen at the venue, nor had he gone to the factory in the northern suburbs.

At that moment, he was strolling through the Summer Palace with his son Yunjin, Jiang Xue, and his older sister.

His older sister and her young son, Rui Rui, had been in Beijing for over half a month, but since both Li Yi and Jiang Xue were extremely busy, and his older sister was unfamiliar with the city, she didn’t dare go out alone.

So, for the past few weeks, his older sister and her son had stayed at the Li family home without going out.

With the National Day holiday underway and Jiang Xue not having to go to school, Li Yi decided to take them out for a stroll.

On one hand, he wanted to take his older sister out for some fresh air; on the other, Li Yi also wanted to use this opportunity to spend more time with his wife and son.

After all, it was already October, and according to his plans, he would be heading back to Hong Kong at the end of the month.

As for the TV factory, Li Yi had entrusted Sun Feng with full authority to handle it.

It wasn’t that Li Yi didn’t care about the situation there; rather, he felt he had done everything he could, and the rest was up to the market—whether he was there or not didn’t really matter.

More importantly, in Li Yi’s heart, family mattered more than making money.

In his previous life, he had spent half his life working tirelessly; even though he was worth billions, in the end, he was nothing more than a lonely soul.

Therefore, money had never been what he pursued—at least not in this life.

The autumn air was crisp and clear, with not a cloud in the sky!

Early autumn in the capital is arguably the best season of the year—the temperature is neither too cold nor too hot, making it exceptionally pleasant.

Perhaps because they rarely went out, or perhaps because the gentle breeze and beautiful scenery appealed to the children, the three little ones were exceptionally excited from the moment they stepped out.

Especially Ruirui in their eldest sister’s arms and Yunrui in Jiang Xue’s—these two boys were incredibly lively. All along the way, they babbled away in an “alien language” no one could understand, occasionally letting out loud shouts that drew curious glances from passersby.

Perhaps they didn’t like feeling confined, as they would occasionally squirm in their mothers’ arms, kicking their little legs now and then, looking eager to get moving—they were absolutely adorable.

As for the little Yunjin in Li Yi’s arms, though usually quite quiet, she was also very lively at this moment.

The little girl snuggled into Li Yi’s arms, her little head darting left and right as she curiously observed the surrounding flowers, trees, and pavilions. Her two big, beautiful eyes were so adorable that passersby couldn’t help but take a second look.

“Sis, what do you think of this place?”

“It’s really beautiful!”

Li Mei exclaimed in admiration. Faced with the beauty of the Summer Palace, she—lacking much education—couldn’t find the words to express the awe she felt.

“Heh, this used to be an imperial garden. Just a few decades ago, ordinary folks like us weren’t even allowed in here!” Li Yi remarked.

Just then, Jiang Xue suddenly asked, “By the way, is it really okay for you to drop everything at work to come out with us like this?”

“Why not?”

“I heard from Third Brother that things aren’t going too well at the TV factory…”

Before Jiang Xue could finish, Li Yi laughed and said, “Don’t listen to his nonsense. You know what he’s like—he makes a big deal out of everything, no matter how trivial!”

“But the factory…”

“I’ve already sorted out the problems at the factory!”

“Really? I heard that factory owes millions in debt!” Jiang Xue said.

“It’s really been resolved. Besides, for a large factory with two thousand employees and assets worth tens of millions, a mere few million in debt is just a drop in the bucket!” Li Yi said.

“That’s not how you do the math. I’m an accounting major in college now—you can’t fool me!” Jiang Xue said proudly.

At that moment, the older sister chimed in, “Xiao Yi, work comes first. You mustn’t let spending time with us interfere with your work!”

“Don’t worry, Big Sister. It won’t get in the way. I’ve already taken care of everything at work. You two just relax and enjoy yourselves!” Li Yi said.

Jiang Xue understood Li Yi’s personality; she knew that once he’d made up his mind, he rarely changed it, so she didn’t want to dwell on the matter any further.

“We’ve been wandering around here for two or three hours now. Shouldn’t we head back?” Jiang Xue asked.

“Go back where?”

“Home, of course!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “We’ve finally managed to get out for a change—why go back so early? Let’s walk around a bit more!”

“We need to get back early to cook. Otherwise, where are all these people going to eat?”

“Let’s just eat out for lunch!”

“Alright, then…”

……….

While Li Yi was out sightseeing in the city with his wife and children, the promotional event at the flagship store in Xizhimen reached its first peak.

At 11:30 a.m., a young teacher from Beijing University drew a 1,000-yuan winning ticket, instantly setting the place ablaze!

This female teacher’s luck was truly enviable—she won three prizes from just four tickets. In addition to the 1,000-yuan prize, she also won a  prize and a  prize.

In other words, she spent just  yuan and, in addition to winning a TV, cashed in  yuan in prize money.

The onlookers were absolutely thrilled by the scene—after all, that’s over a thousand yuan, enough to sustain an average worker for three years without spending a penny on food or drink.

While it wasn’t exactly getting rich overnight, it was certainly enough to make anyone envious.

Spurred by the big win, the onlookers who had been holding back began to participate one after another.

Although most had never experienced such a novel event before, they sensed intuitively that in activities like this, the odds of winning were generally higher in the early days, while the chances of winning dropped significantly later on.

If not now, then when?

As a result, the store quickly saw another surge in sales.

The results were astonishing: in less than a morning, the first batch of  televisions delivered to the store was snapped up by frenzied customers.

Fortunately, Sun Feng had anticipated this scenario. The large truck delivering the televisions was parked just outside Xizhimen. As soon as the store’s stock sold out, the truck drove directly to the storefront to unload the goods on the spot.

As a result, by noon, over 2,000 televisions had been sold in Beijing alone—nearly matching the sales volume of the previous month.

As the hottest TV brand of the moment, Yanjing TV Factory had been in the spotlight for the past week and had attracted significant media attention.

Their high-profile promotional event naturally drew the media’s attention.

From the very start of today’s event, a large number of reporters arrived on-site to cover the story, and even Beijing Television urgently dispatched a camera crew to film the event.

And this wasn’t just happening in Beijing—the same scene was unfolding in Tianjin, Qingdao, Tangshan, and other cities as well!

While the TV factory’s sales campaign was sweeping through major cities across northern China, the scene at Feixue Apparel was quite different.

After two days of intense promotion, their event was nearing its conclusion.

At 6:00 p.m., as the company’s direct-sales stores across the country closed for the day, the campaign officially came to a close.

Subsequently, following headquarters’ instructions, the direct-sales stores across the country began compiling sales figures for the seven-day event.

After all that hard work over the past few days, the results were finally about to be revealed…

………

In the golden autumn of October, during the National Day holiday, the capital was filled with a festive and harmonious atmosphere!

Early in the morning, the Yanjing TV flagship store in Xizhimen was already packed with people, all eagerly awaiting the store’s opening!

Or, to put it simply, these ordinary people were all waiting for the TV Factory’s prize-winning sales event to begin.

With Feixue Apparel having sparked the craze for prize-based sales, the people of the capital have gradually come to accept this novel marketing approach.

After all, the 1,000 televisions, thousands of bicycles, and all the other prizes—big and small—from the Second State-Owned Cotton Mill were actually given away.

Many residents truly spent just a few yuan to get both clothes and a TV, or clothes and a bicycle—which made others envious.

Of course, some questioned whether Feixue Apparel’s campaign was genuinely a way to reward customers or simply a gimmick to boost sales.

But these doubts didn’t stir up much of a reaction; the vast majority of citizens still thought the Second State-Owned Cotton Mill’s campaign was excellent, and consequently, they were filled with anticipation for the campaign at the Yanjing Television Factory as well.

This was undoubtedly because people in those days were relatively simple-hearted; they hadn’t yet experienced the exploitation and deception of unscrupulous merchants through various marketing tactics. At that time, they were like innocent youths, completely unaware of the treachery that lurked in the world.

Furthermore, the people who came today were all in genuine need. While it’s true that some were drawn by the lure of the 10,000-yuan grand prize, the vast majority were there because their families actually needed a television.

You just can’t escape the reality of genuine need!

It’s just like those people decades from now who are buying homes to get married—even as housing prices keep skyrocketing, far beyond what people can afford.

Yet, vast numbers of young people still rush in one after another, even if it means taking on 20 or 30 years of mortgage debt.

It’s not that people don’t realize those hefty loans are essentially a life sentence, condemning them to immense pressure for the rest of their lives—but because it’s a basic necessity, they have no choice but to grit their teeth and bear it.

The situation today is much the same. Many people are drawn here simply because their families need a TV and they happened to come across this opportunity.

Even so, everyone can’t help but buzz about that 10,000-yuan grand prize.

Many worry that this is just a smokescreen or a gimmick put out by the TV manufacturer, and that the prize won’t actually be included in the raffle tickets.

But others felt that, after all, the Yanjing TV Factory is a well-known major enterprise; if they ended up not awarding a single 10,000-yuan prize by the end of the sale, it would be a serious blow to their reputation.

For a time, people on the street were abuzz with speculation!

But whether or not they believed the campaign would actually award the grand prize, everyone was filled with anticipation for that 10,000-yuan prize…

……..

Just past 7:30, staff from the Yanjing TV Factory began arriving at the store one after another and started setting up.

Unlike Feixue Apparel, which confined its event to an indoor venue, Yanjing TV Factory’s event was held outdoors.

After the staff arrived, they quickly set up a simple podium outside the store for the executives to give their speeches.

After all, Yanjing Television Factory is a local Beijing enterprise, and the Xizhimen branch is the factory’s largest and most important store, so it was only natural for the factory’s leadership to attend such an event.

Moreover, the event had already generated a huge buzz even before it began; numerous media outlets and television stations had already taken notice, so it was clearly not appropriate to start it on the quiet.

At 8:30, Sun Feng arrived at the event site accompanied by several factory executives!

By then, the venue was nearly ready.

Half an hour later, with a burst of firecrackers, the event officially began!

Because the event had attracted so much attention, it didn’t unfold like the one at Feixue Apparel, where people rushed to grab clothes the moment the doors opened and then exchanged them for raffle tickets—a scene completely devoid of any sense of ceremony.

The TV factory, on the other hand, maintained a strong sense of ceremony. As the firecrackers went off, Sun Feng, the deputy factory director, delivered an enthusiastic speech on behalf of Yanjing TV Factory.

After his speech, Sun Feng once again read out the detailed rules of the event before officially declaring it open.

As the ceremony concluded, a massive crowd of citizens surged into the store, kicking off a frenzy of shopping!

Zhou Jianhua was an ordinary worker at the Beijing Steel Plant. Since his wife was also a full-time employee at the plant, their family’s financial situation was fairly comfortable.

As their family’s living standards had gradually improved over the past few years, and with their children constantly begging, they decided to add a major household item this year—a television!

Originally, he and his wife had set their sights on a locally produced “Peony” brand TV and were planning to buy one during the National Day holiday. However, in recent days, newspapers and television had been flooded with advertisements touting the exceptional quality of Yanjing TVs. Being easily swayed, Zhou Jianhua and his wife began to waver upon seeing this.

Just as they were debating whether to abandon the Peony for a Yanjing TV, the Yanjing TV Factory announced that it would be holding a prize-winning sales promotion during the National Day holiday.

Upon hearing the news, Zhou Jianhua and his wife immediately decided to buy a Yanjing TV!

Early in the morning, they arrived at the TV factory outlet in Xizhimen and immediately took their place at the very front of the line.

As soon as Sun Feng announced the start of the event, Zhou Jianhua and his wife rushed into the store and approached a staff member.

“Comrade, these TVs are  yuan each, right?”

“That depends on whether you have a ration ticket. If you do, it’s indeed  yuan per unit, and we’ll also give you  lottery tickets!” the staff member replied immediately, with a very friendly attitude.

“I have a ticket… I have a ticket!”

Saying this, Zhou Jianhua hurriedly pulled out the money and ration tickets he had prepared in advance.

That’s right—back then, buying a major appliance like a TV required ration tickets. Usually, factories allocated a certain number of tickets each year, but you could also buy them from others!

However, unlike the severe shortage of TV coupons in previous years, TV production had increased significantly as every province across the country had established its own TV factories. As a result, TV coupons were no longer as scarce as they had been in the past.

It makes sense when you think about it—if they’re practically unsellable, how could there be a shortage of coupons?

But even though they weren’t scarce, the store still required vouchers when selling televisions.

If you don’t have a voucher, it’s no big deal—you’ll just have to pay extra!

After the staff checked the TV purchase vouchers held by Zhou Jianhua and his wife and confirmed they were in order, they immediately said, “Comrade, your vouchers are fine. If you’d like to make the purchase now, you can pay and we’ll issue the invoice!”

“Buy… of course we’ll buy it! Hurry up and issue the receipt!”

Soon, with the staff’s assistance, Zhou Jianhua and his wife paid  yuan, receiving a -inch black-and-white TV and four beautifully designed lottery tickets.

Then, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Zhou Jianhua carefully scratched off one of the tickets.

“Thank you for your business!”

Seeing what had appeared beneath the gray coating, Zhou Jianhua felt a pang of disappointment.

He had listened very carefully to the speech by the TV factory’s manager earlier and knew that “Thank you for your patronage” meant he hadn’t won.

The fact that the very first ticket was a loser made Zhou Jianhua’s heart sink, so he immediately handed one of the tickets to his wife.

“My luck isn’t great today. You try scratching one!”

Without a second thought, Zhou Jianhua’s wife took the ticket and immediately began scratching off the coating!

The moment the coating was scraped away, three beautiful Chinese characters appeared beneath: 520 yuan!

“I… I won?” Zhou Jianhua’s wife said, somewhat excitedly.

A staff member nearby immediately said, “Congratulations, you’ve won 520 yuan! You can redeem this ticket for 520 yuan in cash at the prize redemption counter over there!”

Seeing this, Zhou Jianhua immediately said, “Let’s not rush to claim the prize just yet. Quick, scratch these two tickets too!”

Soon, the remaining two tickets were scratched off as well. One read “Thank you for your patronage,” while the other read “100 yuan.”

Two out of the four tickets were winners, totaling  yuan in prize money.

After cashing in their prizes, Zhou Jianhua and his wife were delighted to discover that they had bought the TV, which originally cost  yuan, for only  yuan.

Although they hadn’t won the so-called 10,000-yuan grand prize, they were still overjoyed.

With Zhou Jianhua and his wife setting the example, ordinary citizens with an urgent need for a TV rushed to make purchases. For a time, the store’s sales staff, cashiers, and prize redemption personnel were swamped with work…

………

Note: There will be one more chapter before 10:00 PM!

Yanjing Television Factory. Headquarters Office Building!

In the temporary office, Li Yi, having hung up the phone, couldn’t help but shake his head.

He could see right through Jiang Longcheng’s intentions. Clearly, the guy was worried that Li Yi wouldn’t be able to move tens of thousands of those black-and-white TV sets in stock anytime soon, so he was offering to help clear out the inventory.

But Li Yi really didn’t need the help. After all, that was seventy or eighty thousand televisions—how many could their cotton mill possibly absorb on its own?

Besides, his marketing campaign had already begun to take effect, and the results were quite promising.

On the 15th, the Workers’ Daily had already published the story, and that very day, Yang Ling called him to say that a large number of citizens had been calling the newspaper to ask if it was true.

Mainly because the whole thing seemed simply too unbelievable. Televisions are electronic products—they can malfunction from the slightest bump or knock, let alone after falling into the Yellow River.

Besides, it’s hard enough to find a large iron bull that’s fallen into the Yellow River—let alone a small item like a TV!

Consequently, many citizens began to doubt the authenticity of the report.

Upon receiving feedback from Yangling, Li Yi couldn’t help but chuckle. Whether it was true or not didn’t really matter; what he needed was public attention.

From this perspective, Li Yi had already achieved his goal—the public was indeed paying close attention to the matter.

Upon receiving the news, he immediately had the Beijing Daily reprint the report, this time in a more prominent spot—on the front page.

More importantly, the Beijing TV interview team—which he had just contacted through Jiang Longyin—had already entered the television factory and was conducting a follow-up report on the matter.

As for the interview script, he had already handed it over to Sun Feng; since they had rehearsed it several times, there shouldn’t be any slip-ups.

If all goes as planned, today’s Capital News will broadcast the story.

At that point, any viewer tuning into Beijing TV will see the news—it’s bound to go viral.

Furthermore, Li Yi had already learned that Feixue Apparel’s promotional giveaway was proceeding very smoothly and had caused a huge sensation in the city; reportedly, the massive crowds at Wangfujing had completely blocked the mall’s entrance.

Under these circumstances, as long as the media and TV stations in Beijing aren’t too slow to react, they’ll respond quickly.

As expected, the capital’s media and television stations would cover the story extensively tomorrow. When reporting on Feixue Apparel’s prize giveaway, they would inevitably mention the most valuable prize—the Yanjing brand television.

That is the true purpose behind Li Yi organizing this event!

With the boost from the Feixue Apparel event, coupled with coverage from Beijing Television,

Furthermore, Li Yi has contacted television stations and newspapers in Jibei Province, Western Shanxi Province, and Northern Sai Province. As soon as Beijing TV reports the story, these media outlets will quickly follow suit and repost the news in full force.

In just a few days, the Yanjing TV’s popularity would skyrocket, and the traffic would pour in.

And once the traffic arrives, it’s time to monetize it.

Earlier, he had already had Sun Feng and his team establish a sales network spanning more than ten provinces and cities, and he had specifically devised a brand-new sales strategy. Once the traffic picked up, this would quickly translate into sales figures.

Given the current demand for televisions among the Chinese public, coupled with the fact that ordinary people are still quite naive and largely unaware of these marketing tactics, those tens of thousands of units in stock would likely be snapped up in no time.

So, Li Yi really didn’t need Jiang Longcheng to help him like this!

………

And the situation unfolded exactly as Li Yi had predicted!

After the report aired on Beijing TV that evening, many ordinary people were drawn to the news.

The fact that a TV set could still function normally after falling into the Yellow River—requiring only a simple cleaning and repair—was obviously fake news. However, with the coverage by Beijing TV, a key state-run media outlet, the public’s skepticism about the news itself immediately turned into recognition of the TV’s quality.

This was mainly because the public in that era was sufficiently naive, and because state-run media in that era held immense authority.

Even fake news could become “true” through their coverage, because the public trusted the government and the state-run media that spoke on its behalf.

Under these circumstances, Yanjing televisions suddenly became a hot topic of discussion among the public.

As Feixue Apparel’s prize-winning sales campaign gained nationwide traction, media outlets soon took notice, and a flood of reports followed.

Although their coverage primarily focused on the Feixue Apparel prize promotion itself, few outlets dedicated specific reports to the Yanjing TV.

However, whether in newspapers or on television programs, every report on the matter included the line: “The first prize in the Feixue Apparel promotion is a Yanjing TV worth  yuan per unit.”

Because so many media outlets across the country were covering the promotional campaign, the phrase “First prize: a Yanjing TV, worth  yuan each” became deeply ingrained in the minds of the general public!

Starting from the 12th of the month, thanks to the relentless media coverage, Yanjing TV quickly became a brand on everyone’s lips.

In the days that followed, sales channels across the country began reporting increased sales to the factory headquarters!

On the 15th of the month, after the buzz had been building for 10 days, Li Yi immediately announced the sales campaign plan for the Yanjing TV Factory on behalf of the company.

According to the plan, starting on National Day, any customer purchasing a TV at a Yanjing TV Factory flagship store would receive a scratch-off coupon.

Scratching these coupons not only reveals various prizes but also offers cash rewards, with the top prize reaching as high as 10,000 yuan.

The news quickly caused a nationwide sensation.

Wow, Feixue Apparel’s promotion—offering bicycles, radios, and televisions with clothing purchases—was already jaw-dropping enough, but compared to Yanjing TV Factory’s, it was nothing.

After all, the top prize at Feixue Clothing was merely a TV worth 400 yuan, whereas the top prize at the Yanjing TV Factory was a whopping 10,000 yuan in cash.

If anyone was lucky enough to win the 10,000-yuan grand prize, they wouldn’t have to work a day for the rest of their lives.

Overnight, people across the country turned their attention to this campaign, scrambling to find out if there were any Yanjing TV flagship stores in their cities!

Unfortunately, Yanjing TV Factory had only opened direct-sales stores in dozens of large and medium-sized cities across a dozen or so provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in northern China; nowhere else had any.

Upon hearing this news, many citizens looking to buy a TV took time off work to travel to nearby cities with flagship stores, hoping to try their luck.

It wasn’t that they truly believed they were incredibly lucky and would win the grand prize; rather, they simply had a genuine need to buy a TV.

Plus, having heard that Yanjing TVs are of high quality and that buying one offers a chance to win a prize, it seemed like a win-win situation no matter how you looked at it.

It’s safe to say that Yanjing TV Factory’s promotion had already become a sensation before it even began!

State Cotton Mill No. 2. Office Building!

In the factory director’s office, Jiang Longcheng sat face-to-face with Deputy Director Tong Youlin, with a pot of green tea resting on the small coffee table between them!

Deputy Director Tong had recently been transferred from the State-owned Assets Department to replace the fickle Deputy Director Chen.

Since Deputy Director Tong and Jiang Longyin were on good terms, he naturally got along quite well with Jiang Longcheng as well; the two would often meet up for meals or tea, whether there was a specific reason or not.

Holding his teacup, Tong Youlin looked at Jiang Longcheng and said, “Director, you don’t seem worried at all!”

“Worried about what? The promotional giveaway?”

“Exactly. This was your initiative. The factory has already spent over 10 million yuan just on purchasing the prizes. If this goes south, the State-owned Assets Department will inevitably launch an investigation!”

“So what if they investigate? Do you think they’ll actually fire me?” Jiang Longcheng said dismissively.

“They wouldn’t go that far, but it would still damage your reputation to some extent!” said Tong Youlin.

“Hah, I couldn’t care less. You know exactly what kind of reputation I have—I don’t give a damn what anyone says!”

“You can say that in our factory, but don’t go blabbing it outside. It wouldn’t look good if people heard it!” Tong Youlin said as he sipped his tea.

“Hearing you talk like this reminds me of my second older brother. Hanging out with you guys isn’t fun at all—it’s nowhere near as easygoing as hanging out with that kid Li Yi!” Jiang Longcheng said.

“Old Jiang has mentioned this Comrade Li Yi to me before. From the way he spoke, he seemed to have a lot of respect for that brother-in-law of his!”

“That’s for sure. If it weren’t for my brother-in-law, the cotton mill and the candy factory probably wouldn’t have survived. Between the two factories, there are at least three thousand workers and managers combined. If they really went under, do you think those district leaders would still have it easy?”

Jiang Longcheng continued, “And look at us now—our factory’s raking in over a million in profits every month, and the candy factory isn’t far behind. I hear their profits broke two million last month. My second older brother walks into city meetings with his head held high. Don’t you think he owes a debt of gratitude to my brother-in-law?”

“Hmm, Comrade Li Yi really is a business prodigy!” Tong Youlin remarked admiringly.

Jiang Longcheng grinned and said, “You’re absolutely right about that. My brother-in-law doesn’t act lightly, but whatever he sets his mind to, he never fails!”

“Take our cotton mill, for instance. Back then, that bastard surnamed Gao had run the place into the ground—no one would touch the cloth we produced even at half price. That kid Li Yi took just a month and a half to not only clear out the entire stock of fabric but also turn the factory around. Tell me, isn’t that impressive!”

As he said this, Jiang Longcheng’s eyes sparkled, as if he’d turned into Li Yi’s biggest fan.

Though he was a bit of a rogue, he knew his own worth.

Although profits had been soaring these past few months thanks to the rebirth of State Cotton Mill No. 2, and many had been heaping praise on him, hailing him as a management guru and marketing genius…

But Jiang Longcheng knew full well that all the credit belonged to his brother-in-law; he was merely reaping the rewards of someone else’s hard work.

“No wonder you’re so at ease—you’re not the least bit worried this event might fall flat!” Tong Youlin said with a laugh.

“So what if it does? As long as the factory doesn’t lose money, neither the district nor the State-owned Assets Department will have any grounds to take action against us…”

Just then, a series of urgent knocks at the door interrupted him.

“Come in!”

At Jiang Longcheng’s command, the office door swung open.

Immediately, the female secretary rushed in. Upon seeing Jiang Longcheng, she exclaimed excitedly, “Director, it’s a huge hit! The merchandise at those stores in the city has completely sold out…”

“Slow down. What exactly is going on?” Jiang Longcheng asked.

The secretary took a moment to compose herself, then gathered her thoughts and said, “We just received a call from the Wangfujing flagship store. They said the over 20,000 yuan worth of merchandise they prepared is almost sold out, and they need us to rush a shipment over there…”

Before she could finish, Tong Youlin, standing nearby, asked in surprise, “How is that possible? It’s only been two hours since the mall opened. How could they have sold out so fast?”

“It must be true—this kind of thing can’t be faked!” the female secretary replied.

Jiang Longcheng immediately ordered, “Notify the fleet right away. Get the prepared goods to the Wangfujing store as soon as possible!”

“Yes, sir!”

“While they’re at it, have them send a batch of goods to the Dong’an and Xizhimen stores as well. Judging by the situation at those two stores, they shouldn’t be doing too badly either!” Jiang Longcheng said.

“Yes!”

With that, the female secretary turned and walked out.

After the secretary left, Tong Youlin looked at Jiang Longcheng and said, “Congratulations, Director. It looks like this campaign of ours has been a success again!”

A single store sold nearly 20,000 yuan worth of merchandise in just two hours, clearly demonstrating that this prize-based sales campaign has been well-received and embraced by the public.

More importantly, Feixue Apparel—operated by State Cotton Mill No. 2—now has a full  direct-sales stores nationwide.

Although it’s unlikely every store will be as bustling as the Wangfujing branch, with such high sales figures,

But judging by this single store, the situation at the others is likely just as strong.

All in all, it looks like the event was a success!

Jiang Longcheng burst out laughing. “I knew my brother-in-law wouldn’t let me down!”

Immediately, he strode over to his desk and dialed a number.

After a few rings, the call was answered: “Logistics Department of State Cotton Mill No. 2. Who’s this?”

“Old Liu, it’s Jiang Longcheng!”

“Good morning, Director. What are your instructions?” Liu Yunsan, the head of the logistics department, replied hurriedly.

“Contact the Yanjing TV Factory immediately and tell them that our Second National Cotton Mill needs to purchase another batch of televisions. The quantity is tentatively set at  units. Get the funds from the finance department—tell them I’ve approved it!”

“Yes, sir. I’ll do it right away!”

“Good…”

After Jiang Longcheng hung up the phone, Tong Youlin couldn’t help but ask, “Weren’t those thousand units we ordered earlier still sitting in inventory? Why are we ordering so many more now?”

“Don’t you think giving only  units to over 120 stores is a bit too few?”

“Is that too few?”

“Of course it is. On average, that’s not even one TV per store. And since this promotion is running for a whole week, that means each store can only give away one grand prize per day—that’s far too few!” Jiang Longcheng said with a straight face.

Tong Youlin chuckled. “I’d be a fool to believe you. You’re just trying to help Yanjing TV Factory move their inventory. Don’t think I don’t know that!”

“You know that, yet you still ask…”

Just then, the phone on Jiang Longcheng’s desk suddenly rang.

Hearing the ringtone, Jiang Longcheng immediately stood up and strode over to his desk.

He plopped down on the desk and picked up the receiver: “Hello, who’s this? Who are you looking for?”

“It’s me, Li Yi!”

Hearing the voice on the other end, Jiang Longcheng immediately grinned and said, “Bro-in-law, it’s you! What made you think to call me?”

“I heard your factory just placed another order for  TVs with us?”

“You found out that fast? Old Liu really gets things done quickly. I’ll have to give him a certificate of merit at the year-end awards ceremony!” Jiang Longcheng said with a laugh.

“Old Liu definitely deserves a certificate, but I called to tell you to cancel that order for  units!” Li Yi said, dropping a bombshell.

“Cancel them? Why?” Jiang Longcheng asked, puzzled.

“I know you’re trying to help me clear some inventory, Third Brother, but I really don’t need it. I’ve got my own channels to move those TVs!”

“Brother-in-law, I wasn’t trying to help you clear your inventory. It’s just that over here…”

Before he could finish, Li Yi cut him off: “Alright, that’s settled. I’ve got other things to do—I’ll hang up now!”

“Beep… beep…”

Listening to the busy signal coming through the receiver, Jiang Longcheng was completely baffled…

……….

: Given the cost of living back then, Lao Cang felt that the sales plan’s stipulation of exchanging  yuan for one lottery ticket was a bit unreasonable, so he changed it to fifty yuan per ticket. The earlier sections will be updated accordingly.

Feixue Apparel, Wangfujing Flagship Store!

Early in the morning, before the mall had even opened, the area was already crowded with people waiting to shop.

While waiting, people gathered in small groups of three or five to chat.

Some were discussing the event at the Second National Cotton Mill, while others were talking about TV dramas, with a particularly large number of people discussing *The Legend of Huo Yuanjia*.

*The Legend of Huo Yuanjia* was a TV series imported from Hong Kong; according to official reports, it was the first Hong Kong TV series ever introduced to the mainland.

The series tells the story of Huo Yuanjia, the legendary martial artist from Tianjin. Thanks to its high production quality and positive themes, it naturally resonated with mainland audiences.

Consequently, it caused a nationwide sensation as soon as it aired, securing the top spot in TV ratings for 1981.

Along with the series’ massive success came its theme song, “The Great Wall Will Never Fall.”

Almost overnight, the song became a sensation across the country.

Whenever the song played, the feeling of blood pumping through one’s veins made people want to find a young man to beat up.

While crowds of citizens gathered outside, the Feixue Apparel flagship store inside the mall was also bustling with people, with over thirty female sales clerks busily stocking the shelves.

Normally, there are only about ten salespeople at the main store, but when the Second Cotton Mill was planning this event, they anticipated the huge turnout, so they urgently reassigned more than twenty female salespeople from other departments to help out, to prevent the original staff from being overwhelmed.

Just as the sales staff were busy at work, a clear voice suddenly rang out in the store: “Everyone, stop what you’re doing and assemble!”

Hearing the voice, all the sales staff put down their work and quickly lined up.

Next, a middle-aged woman in her thirties stepped forward and announced loudly, “The mall opens in 15 minutes. Let me go over today’s event with you all once more!”

“As expected, we’ll have a large number of customers coming in today. No matter how busy you get, you must keep a smile on your face and never neglect a customer. Do you understand?”

“Got it!”

“Also, as soon as a customer wins the first prize, redeem it immediately—no excuses!”

The middle-aged store manager continued, “And to the team in charge of setting off the fireworks: as soon as someone claims the first prize, go outside immediately and set off a string of firecrackers. Can you do that?”

“We can…”

“Good. Quickly tidy up the packaging and other supplies, then get ready to welcome customers into the store!”

“Yes…”

………

At 8:30 a.m., as the mall doors swung open, a huge crowd of people surged in all at once!

These shoppers had a clear destination in mind: Feixue Apparel.

But as soon as they walked in, the customers noticed that the store had changed.

Originally, aside from the numerous clothing displays hanging on the walls, there was also a row of metal racks in the center, each laden with clothing.

In addition, the room had been filled with numerous male and female mannequins, all intended to showcase the store’s clothing to customers.

But now, both the central row of clothes and the mannequins had been removed, replaced by a row of wooden tables pieced together.

The most eye-catching feature was what was on the tables: first, a large red tablecloth was spread out, and on top of it were neatly arranged dozens of televisions.

In addition, there were some daily necessities, including towels, soap, malted milk powder, radios, bicycles, and more—a total of seven or eight items.

Upon seeing these items, the customers flooding into the store were intrigued.

Wow, could these items be the prizes?

So, the customers rushed over to the salespeople to ask for details about the promotion.

The female store manager, who had been well-prepared, immediately grabbed a megaphone and shouted, “Everyone, please don’t crowd! This prize promotion is primarily to thank our loyal customers. As long as you spend fifty yuan in our store, you’ll receive a scratch-off ticket. Scratch it off for a chance to win various prizes, including daily necessities as well as big prizes like radios, bicycles, and televisions…”

After carefully explaining the details of the prize promotion to the customers, the female store manager showed them the dozens of televisions and piles of various prizes displayed in the store.

When they learned that the items on the table were genuinely intended for everyone, some people were tempted!

After all, being able to scratch off a prize while buying clothes—and even having a chance to win a TV worth hundreds of yuan—was truly a stroke of luck.

Plus, with the seasonal clothing change right around the corner, everyone moved quickly. One middle-aged woman selected a thick Zhongshan suit and two pairs of pants, bringing her total to 50 yuan.

At checkout, she received a rectangular scratch-off ticket.

The ticket was beautifully designed, with a photo of the Feixue Apparel store printed on the front and the event details on the back, complete with a round seal from the Second National Cotton Mill—it looked quite novel.

Then, under the salesperson’s guidance, the middle-aged woman carefully scratched off a silver-gray coating in the center of the ticket in front of everyone.

Once the coating was scraped away, a picture of a radio appeared.

“Congratulations on winning a radio!” the saleswoman said cheerfully.

Hearing this, the middle-aged woman replied, her voice trembling slightly, “I… I won?”

“Yes, you’ve won. It’s a radio worth 120 yuan. Would you like to claim your prize now?”

“Claim… Of course I’ll claim it!”

“Alright!”

With that, the saleswoman led the middle-aged woman to the nearby prize redemption counter.

After the staff at the redemption counter checked her ticket and confirmed it was valid, they took it and immediately handed her a radio.

Once the middle-aged woman received the radio, she was absolutely thrilled.

After all, the clothes she had just bought cost only 50 yuan, yet she had suddenly received a radio worth 120 yuan—what a great deal!

Right then, she pulled out another 50 yuan and said to the salesperson, “Give us another set of the same clothes!”

The customers watching nearby were also inspired by the scene and began snapping up the store’s clothes.

Soon, as large numbers of raffle tickets were claimed, major prizes like radios, bicycles, and televisions began to be awarded one after another, and the event quickly reached its climax!

Every time a major prize was announced, it greatly fueled the customers’ enthusiasm for spending. Before long, the entire first floor of the mall was packed to the brim with frenzied shoppers…

…..

September 24!

Like a bolt from the blue, National Cotton Mill No. 2 announced via newspapers and public notices: To thank the general public for their support of Feixue Apparel, the factory has decided to launch a prize-winning sales event at all its direct-operated stores nationwide over the next week, along with a detailed event plan.

According to the plan, from September 25 through October 1, anyone in the country who purchases clothing at any Feixue Apparel flagship store for over 100 yuan would receive a scratch-off ticket—the more you buy, the more tickets you get.

After scratching off the ticket, customers may find various prizes listed inside.

Prizes ranged from daily necessities to furniture and home appliances, and the Second National Cotton Mill guaranteed that there would be no fewer than 1,000 first-prize Yanjing brand black-and-white televisions.

After this news was reported by the *Workers’ Daily*, *Beijing Daily*, and *Legal Evening News*, it quickly caused a sensation.

At the same time, to achieve the desired promotional effect, the Second State-Owned Cotton Mill worked through the night to print a large number of flyers, which were then distributed to its direct-sales stores across the country.

With the vigorous promotion by the print media, the campaign quickly attracted the attention of the general public.

After all, the vast majority of the public had never heard of or seen anything like winning a prize for making a purchase.

More importantly, the idea that buying 100 yuan worth of clothes could win a 400- or 500-yuan television seemed like a fairy tale.

Whether or not they actually intended to buy clothes, everyone was eager to check it out in person.

Consequently, after the announcement on the 24th, nearly all of Feixue Apparel’s flagship stores were swamped, with crowds flooding in.

Their goal wasn’t to buy clothes; they were all there to ask about the promotion.

Some were asking if the promotion was real, others were skeptical about whether buying clothes would actually get them a TV, and still others wanted to know when the promotion would start and if the number of raffle tickets could be combined…

In short, even before the event had begun, Feixue Apparel had once again become a massive sensation.

Over a hundred stores nationwide are now packed to the brim with frenzied shoppers…

………

And just as the Second State-Owned Cotton Mill was heavily promoting this prize-winning sales event, a rather inconspicuous section of the *Workers’ Daily* quietly published a report:

“Recently, a Yanjing-brand television that had been submerged in the Yellow River for a month—having endured the scouring of rapids and the pounding of silt—was salvaged looking like a ‘mud egg.’ However, after technicians performed a simple repair—replacing only the speaker’s paper cone and voice coil—the TV still produced clear images, vibrant colors, and pleasant sound, with viewing quality virtually indistinguishable from a brand-new unit…”

This news item seemed rather unremarkable amid a flood of major international events, but the accompanying photos were quite eye-catching.

The set consists of three photos: one shows a television completely encased in mud and silt, with the Yanjing brand logo barely visible—nothing else is discernible.

The second photo shows a stunningly beautiful woman repairing the television. The striking contrast between the attractive, focused technician and the filthy set is truly memorable.

The third image shows the repaired TV now playing a program. The picture is crystal clear, and paired with the beautiful young woman beaming beside it, the entire scene is warm and serene—truly captivating.

That’s right—this was Li Yi’s plan to make the Yanjing TV brand a hit!

Of course, this wasn’t his original idea; he simply copied the approach used by the neighboring Beijing TV Factory.

On August 25, 1984, the *Beijing Daily* published an article titled “Peony Color TV Sinks into the Yangtze River.” The article detailed how a Peony TV, after sinking into the Yangtze River for a month, could still function normally following a simple repair.

As soon as the report was published, it immediately sparked a buying frenzy, instantly making Mudan TVs synonymous with durability and reliability in the public’s mind.

Furthermore, with domestic goods in short supply at the time and televisions—as luxury items—in high demand, this publicity sent Mudan TV sales soaring overnight. People across the country rushed to buy them, with long lines forming everywhere. Convoys of trucks hauled televisions straight off the production lines, and sales were booming.

By 1993, Peony TV had sold 600,000 units annually, with revenue reaching 1.2 billion yuan, and at one point held a 50% market share in China, effectively dominating the market.

However, the good times did not last. With the widespread adoption of televisions in the 1990s and the resulting oversupply, a price war erupted as companies sought to clear inventory. Unable to keep pace with market competition, Peony TV began a steep decline and gradually faded from the market.

Nevertheless, it is undeniable that the rise of Peony TV was directly linked to that meticulously planned marketing campaign.

After taking over the Yanjing TV Factory, Li Yi had been constantly thinking of a way to break the deadlock. Recalling this success story, he decided to take a gamble using the Yanjing TV Factory’s banbanhaobang inventory products.

Although this plan had an element of risk, after careful analysis, Li Yi believed the chances of success were quite high.

The reason was that the domestic television industry was still in its early stages of development and was at a critical juncture of industrial upgrading, presenting a rare opportunity for the Yanjing Television Factory.

Although color televisions had already begun to spread widely abroad, some domestic television factories had also started importing color television production lines from abroad, such as the Hucheng Television Factory.

As early as 1979, they had already ordered a color television production line from the Japanese. Currently, the factory’s “Golden Star” brand color televisions have gone into production and have been widely accepted by the public.

However, with domestic color TVs often costing two or three thousand yuan, they are not affordable for the average household. As a result, the vast majority of ordinary families still use black-and-white TVs.

This indicates that black-and-white TVs still have a market in China at present!

Moreover, black-and-white TV technology isn’t particularly sophisticated, and the production lines at various factories are even quite similar; the only significant difference lies in the TV casings.

To claim that the best-selling Jinxing TV is significantly superior in technology to the Yanjing TV is pure nonsense—they’re essentially the same product.

When there’s no significant difference in quality, marketing becomes crucial.

Li Yi is confident that once the media and TV programs extensively report on the “rock-solid quality” of Yanjing TVs, coupled with the National Cotton Mill No. 2’s promotional campaigns offering prizes, Yanjing TVs will inevitably become the top brand in the national TV industry in a very short time.

At that point, the TV factory’s sales department would simply ride the wave to clear inventory and recoup funds—it would be a piece of cake!

His only concern was that Yanjing TV Factory’s inventory was too low, and this wave of demand was simply too massive for them to handle, which could disrupt subsequent plans.

But since things had come to this, he had no other choice but to proceed step by step according to the original plan!

And so, a jaw-dropping marketing spectacle began…

………

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. After being apart for over twenty days, Li Yi and Tang Xue both had so much to say to each other.

So much so that during dinner, they kept exchanging glances, making no attempt to hide how much they’d missed each other.

Ye Lingyun and Li Mei had been their age once too, so they understood how young people think. As a result, they were more than happy to give them some private time together.

After dinner, they retreated to the adjoining room, taking the two children with them.

Just past ten o’clock that evening, Juanzi came to the main room to tell Li Yi and Tang Xue that Yunrui and Yunjin had already fallen asleep in the side room.

To prevent the children from catching a chill, they wouldn’t be brought over for the night.

Hearing this, the sharp-witted Li Yi immediately caught on to what was going on and silently gave his mother-in-law a mental thumbs-up.

To live up to his mother-in-law and older sister’s kindness, Li Yi immediately transformed into a wolf and pounced on Jiang Xue…

One hour later!

On the large bed in the main room, Li Yi, having just finished his exertions, held his wife close, savoring the tranquility that followed their passion.

Jiang Xue, her face flushed, nestled tightly against Li Yi’s chest, looking utterly content.

After a moment, Jiang Xue traced circles on Li Yi’s chest as she asked, “How long will you be able to stay at home this time?”

“I should be able to stay until the end of October, but then I’ll have to make a trip to Hong Kong!”

By the end of October, the international gold price would peak at $599 per ounce, and Li Yi would need to be there to oversee operations.

At the same time, he’d have to make arrangements for upcoming investments.

After all, once the gold was sold off, they would recoup a large sum of capital—they certainly couldn’t just leave all that money sitting in the bank earning interest!

Jiang Xue did a quick calculation: there were still nearly forty days left until the end of October.

Thinking that Li Yi would be able to spend all that time with her and the child, Jiang Xue felt incredibly happy.

“I almost forgot to ask you—how’s college life?” Li Yi asked gently.

“It’s great. Even though my classmates come from all over the country, they’re all very friendly. It’s just that sometimes I feel like they’re working way too hard—compared to them, I feel like I’m just wasting my time!” Jiang Xue said.

“Hardworking?”

“Yes. Many of them are out on the sports field memorizing vocabulary early in the morning, and they spend every spare moment in the library!”

Jiang Xue continued, “I asked quite a few classmates, and it turns out many of them study until eleven or twelve at night before heading back to the dorm to rest!”

“Unlike me—I usually get there pretty late, and as soon as school lets out, I hop on the bus home to take care of my two little ones. I end up wasting so much time!”

After hearing Jiang Xue’s words, a single word couldn’t help but pop into Li Yi’s mind—“cutthroat competition”!

But thinking about it, it made sense. These days, even though material resources aren’t exactly abundant, college students are far from lacking in drive.

The main reason is that the number of college students is small these days. The extremely low admission rate means that every young person who manages to get into college is a standout among their peers, so they’re unwilling to waste such a great opportunity to study just to seek pleasure.

“Taking care of your family and raising a child isn’t a waste of time. Besides, you’re not going to college to compete with others—I think doing your best is all that matters!” Li Yi said.

“But… but I feel like I haven’t really been doing my best!” Jiang Xue said, looking a little embarrassed.

“That’s okay. As long as you’re happy!” Li Yi said affectionately.

“You’re so kind!”

“Right? So how do you plan to thank me?”

They were an old married couple, after all. Jiang Xue knew exactly what her husband meant, so she immediately rolled over and pinned Li Yi beneath her.

……..

The next morning!

Feeling refreshed, Li Yi got up and immediately went out to buy breakfast for the family.

After a quick meal, he and Zhang Ziqiang drove to drop off Jiang Xue and his mother-in-law, Ye Lingyun, at school.

Afterward, Li Yi drove to the district government office to meet with Jiang Longyin.

He came to see Jiang Longyin partly to brief him on the situation, and partly to ask for his help in contacting some newspapers and media outlets.

A prize-based sales campaign alone would not be enough to completely turn around the Yanjing Television Factory’s predicament.

In Li Yi’s overall plan, building the reputation of Yanjing TVs was the most crucial step—that was the foundation.

Put simply, Li Yi needed traffic right now, so he could monetize the tens of thousands of black-and-white TVs sitting in the Yanjing TV Factory’s inventory.

And where does the public attention lie in this era?

The answer was newspapers and television!

Therefore, if Li Yi wants to drive traffic, he cannot do so without the cooperation of these newspapers and television media.

The problem, however, is that at present, most newspapers, magazines, television, and radio are controlled by the government.

Even if an ordinary person were to throw money around, they wouldn’t be able to mobilize these resources.

Fortunately, Li Yi was now working for the district government, so matters like contacting the media naturally required them to step in.

And Jiang Longyin did not disappoint Li Yi; upon learning the purpose of his visit, he immediately offered his full cooperation.

Jiang Longyin then took matters into his own hands and helped Li Yi contact several newspapers based in Beijing.

In addition, he called the director of Beijing Television and asked for his assistance in supporting Li Yi’s upcoming plan.

After leaving the district government office, Li Yi rushed straight to the Second State-Owned Cotton Mill.

When he arrived, Jiang Longcheng was holding a meeting with the factory’s leadership, instructing the sales department to immediately launch a prize-based sales campaign.

Although some were highly skeptical of the plan Jiang Longcheng had proposed—after all, prize-based sales were something everyone had never heard of or seen before, and no one knew if it would work—

Consequently, several factory leaders raised objections to the plan.

But Jiang Longcheng remained resolute, showing no sign of backing down.

Moreover, after everything he had been through, Jiang Longcheng’s authority at the Second National Cotton Mill was now unshakable.

Seeing his firm resolve and the comprehensive plan he had presented, the other factory leaders, after some discussion, ultimately agreed to his proposal.

Just as this decision was reached, Li Yi arrived.

He then personally guided the cotton mill on how to implement this incentive sales program.

Soon, the cotton mill sprang into action.

Just as State Cotton Mill No. 2 was vigorously promoting the prize-based sales campaign, Li Yi, accompanied by Jiang Longcheng, went to the Workers’ Daily to meet with Yang Ling.

Upon learning the purpose of Li Yi’s visit, Yang Ling immediately offered his assistance, adding that Li Yi could choose any page except the front-page headline.

Yang Ling’s willingness to agree so readily was certainly influenced by Jiang Longcheng, but more importantly, he wanted to repay Li Yi for a favor.

The last time Li Yi had used the *Workers’ Daily* to run a soft advertisement for the garment factory, it had been a tremendous help to him.

Because the soft-sell ad had been so effective, the newspaper received daily calls during that period from people inquiring about the garments produced by State Cotton Mill No. 2.

This forced the newspaper’s leadership to seriously consider whether to resume the paper’s advertising business.

After some deliberation, the leadership ultimately decided to start by allocating some inconspicuous page space to test the waters for expanding their advertising business.

This trial proved to be a game-changer, directly boosting *Workers’ Daily*’s revenue by 1 million yuan in less than six months.

That’s real, hard-earned money—who wouldn’t be pleased to see that?

As a result, Yang Ling received commendation from his superiors and was recently promoted to deputy editor-in-chief of the newspaper.

Yang Ling had always felt he owed Li Yi a favor for the boost he’d received.

However, when he saw the news稿 Li Yi had brought out, he was completely dumbfounded. The稿 was simply too outrageous; he really didn’t dare to publish it…

………

Downtown. The Li Family Residence!

By the time Li Yi returned to his family’s courtyard house, it was already past 6:00 p.m.

As soon as he stepped through the gate, he heard the sound of children crying from inside the house. The cries were loud and chaotic, as if several children were crying at once.

Instinctively, Li Yi quickened his pace!

As soon as he stepped inside, Li Yi was amused by the scene before him.

There stood Juanzi at the edge of the kang, holding the little girl Yunjin in one arm while watching Yunrui and her young nephew Yang Rui on the kang.

The three little ones were all wailing at the top of their lungs, their eyes filled with hurt as they stared at their eldest sister not far away.

His eldest sister, Li Mei, was standing on a cabinet nearby, fiddling with a few baby bottles—apparently preparing formula for the children.

Perhaps they’d caught a whiff of the formula’s scent, or maybe they were simply starving—in any case, the three little ones were wailing so loudly that anyone unaware of the situation might have thought something was seriously wrong.

Li Yi strode forward, grabbing one in each arm, and lifted his son Yunrui and his little nephew up at once.

The sudden lift into the air left the two little ones completely bewildered; though their eyes were filled with tears, they stopped crying.

Only then did his older sister and Juanzi realize that Li Yi had returned!

“Little Yi, you’re back?”

His older sister said happily, “When did you get back? Why didn’t you let us know in advance?”

“Hehe, I wanted to surprise you all, so I didn’t say anything beforehand!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“So Xue doesn’t know you’re back today either?”

“No, I didn’t have anyone tell her!”

“Playing these silly games with your own family—aren’t you afraid Xiao Xue will get mad at you when she gets back?”

His older sister said with a laugh as she handed out the prepared formula to the three children.

“What’s there to be upset about?”

Then Li Yi asked again, “Sis, are you and Ruirui settling in here okay?”

“It’s okay, but…”

“What is it?”

“Well, I can’t read, so it’s not very convenient whether I’m shopping or going out to do other things. That’s why Juanzi has had to go grocery shopping these past few days!”

Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “It’s true that not knowing how to read makes things a bit inconvenient. Here’s what we’ll do, sis. If you have time, you can ask Juanzi and Xiaoxue to teach you.”

“We don’t necessarily have to learn to write, but at the very least, we should be able to recognize all the common characters. That way, we won’t have to worry about being cheated when we go out to do things!” Li Yi said.

“Hmm, that’s exactly what I was thinking. I’ve been having Juanzi teach me to recognize characters these past few days!”

“So, how’s it going? Is it working?”

Just then, Juanzi chimed in, “Sister Meizi is picking up characters really fast—she already knows quite a few common ones!”

“That’s great. I’ll leave teaching Big Sister to read to you!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“Sure…”

Before she could finish speaking, Big Sister asked again, “By the way, Xiao Yi, is there anything you’d like to eat? I can make it for you.”

“Big Sis, you’ve been watching the kids all day. I’ll make something myself!”

With that, Li Yi handed the child to his older sister and headed to the kitchen.

He took a quick look around the kitchen and saw only a small piece of pork, a few yam tubers, and a bunch of Chinese chives.

Seeing this, Li Yi could only shake his head with a wry smile.

They say even the most skilled cook can’t make a meal without ingredients. With just these few items, there was only one dish Li Yi could make—stir-fried noodles!

Immediately, Li Yi asked Zhang Ziqiang to tend the fire while he heated the wok and prepared the broth, then began kneading and rolling out the dough…

…….

While Li Yi was busy in the kitchen, at the bus stop at the end of the alley, Jiang Xue, carrying a cloth bag full of books and with her arm linked through her mother’s, got off the bus.

Lately, the two of them had been staying at the Li family’s courtyard house, going to school and coming home together every day.

The only difference was that Ye Lingyun went to school to teach, while Jiang Xue went to attend classes.

“Xiao Xue, how have the classes been these past few days? Are you able to follow along?”

“Yes, they’re all basic courses—nothing too difficult!” Jiang Xue said with a smile.

“That’s good. But don’t let your guard down—next semester you’ll start taking major-specific courses, and those can be quite challenging!” Ye Lingyun said.

“I think it’s fine. I didn’t have class during the second period yesterday afternoon, so I went next door to sit in on a sophomore-level class. The professor was teaching a major-specific course, and I thought he explained it very simply—in fact…”

“Even what?”

“I even think that professor’s explanations aren’t as profound as the things Yunrui’s dad usually talks about. I could understand everything he said, but with a lot of what Yunrui’s dad says, I only catch bits and pieces—and sometimes I don’t understand a thing!” Jiang Xue said.

Thinking of her son-in-law’s level of expertise, Ye Lingyun smiled and said, “Xiao Yi is in big business. What he talks about is quite different from what they teach in school, so it’s only natural that you don’t understand it!”

“By the way, Xiao Yi’s been over there for quite a while now. Haven’t you heard from him at all?”

“No,” Jiang Xue sighed.

To be honest, her husband had been gone for over half a month, and she hadn’t heard a single word from him during that time.

Although she knew he was off doing important work, Jiang Xue still felt a touch of disappointment and worry.

Seeing her daughter’s expression, Ye Lingyun knew exactly what she was thinking.

She smiled and said, “Don’t worry too much about it. Your father mentioned that direct phone calls aren’t possible between Hong Kong and here. If Xiao Yi wants to contact you, he’d have to come back to Guangzhou—it’s just too much of a hassle!”

“I understand, but I just can’t help feeling a little uneasy…”

“What’s there to feel uneasy about? True love between a husband and wife isn’t about romantic moonlit nights or the longing of long separations—it’s about mutual tolerance, mutual support, and helping each other succeed!”

Then Ye Lingyun added, “Xiao Yi isn’t just an ordinary person or a small-town citizen—he’s a man destined for great things. So he can’t just stay home with his wife and kids like an ordinary person. You have to understand that—and adapt to it!”

“Mom, of course I understand him. It’s just that he left in such a hurry this time. I can’t help but feel something bad has happened, so I’m a little worried about him!”

“Hmm, once we get back, I’ll give your father a call and have him try to find out what’s going on. It would be even better if we could get in touch with Xiao Yi!” Ye Lingyun said.

“Okay… Mom, you’re the best!”

“Hehe, you, you…”

The mother and daughter chatted as they walked, and before long they reached the entrance of the alley.

Just as they turned the corner, Jiang Xue spotted two young men with upright postures standing at their front door.

Jiang Xue seemed to realize something immediately; she grabbed her mother’s hand and hurried toward their home.

Just as they reached the door, they were stopped: “Excuse me, comrades, please show your IDs!”

Jiang Xue was momentarily taken aback and replied, “I… Do I need ID to enter my own home?”

“Your own home? Are you Comrade Li Yi’s wife?”

“Yes, I’m his wife. Has he come back?” Jiang Xue asked urgently.

“Yes!”

Even so, Zhou Wen and Yang Zhiwen insisted on checking Jiang Xue and Ye Lingyun’s IDs. Only after verifying their identities did they let them in.

As soon as they entered the gate, Jiang Xue couldn’t wait and ran straight into the house.

Not seeing Li Yi in either the main hall or the living room, Jiang Xue hurried anxiously to the bedroom.

Seeing Jiang Xue walk in, Yun Rui and Yun Jin—who had just finished their formula—immediately lit up with joy. They called out to her while reaching out their arms, clearly wanting to be picked up.

However, Jiang Xue seemed not to notice the children at all. She turned directly to Li Mei and asked, “Big Sister, where is he?”

Li Mei, of course, knew exactly who her sister-in-law was asking about. She immediately replied with a smile, “He’s in the kitchen cooking!”

Jiang Xue hurried through the bedroom and ran into the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Li Yi had already rolled out the noodles and was preparing to cut them when he suddenly saw his wife burst in.

“You’re back?”

“You’re back?”

The two were so in sync that they spoke almost at the same time.

After that, they both laughed at the same time!

“You go set the table first. The noodles will be ready soon. We can talk about whatever’s on your mind after we eat!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“Okay…”

………