radicalducati Chapter 6: Monthly Income of 1 in 1994
Chapter 6: Monthly Income of 1 in 1994
At the end of the first month, Chen Nan spread the account book out on the table at Lao Zhao's restaurant.
"One hundred and twenty hundred coins were sold. Ninety coins were sold. A total of two hundred and ten coins."
The total face value was 16,500. Based on Li Si'an's previous calculations—earning 35 to 40 yuan per 100-yuan note and 15 yuan per 50-yuan note—the total profit was less than 5,000 yuan. Split in half, Chen Nan received a little over 2,000 yuan, and Li Si'an received roughly the same.
"It's better than selling clothes in Xidan," Li Si'an said.
"Much better. I work myself to the bone in Xidan and only make 300 yuan a month."
"Then why are you looking so long-faced?"
Chen Nan flipped to the last page of the ledger, which was filled with feedback from every single customer.
"Three hotels aren't selling well. I went to ask last week, and the manager with the slicked-back hair said that guests find the magnetic cards troublesome and prefer to swipe them at the front desk. There are also two convenience stores near the universities; the owners said that students are reluctant to buy fifty-yuan notes and asked if they could stock twenty-five-yuan notes."
She looked up at him.
"We only have cards in 50 and 100 denominations. Can you get the 25 denominations?"
"Yes. My supplier has some, face value 25, he'll give it to me at a 60% discount, 15 yuan. I'll sell them for 20, making 5 yuan profit per piece."
"Five dollars is too little."
"But the quantity is large. How much is a student's monthly living expenses? They can't bear to spend fifty, but they can grit their teeth and buy twenty-five. They make five yuan on each one, so a hundred ones are five hundred."
Chen Nan thought for a moment and nodded.
"Okay. Next month I'll mainly promote the 25-yuan option. I'll make a few more trips to the hotels. If the slicked-back one doesn't work, I'll switch to another one. There are two other hotels nearby that I haven't been to yet."
Li Si'an watched her put away the account book, then stood up to leave.
"Sister Nan."
She turned around.
"You were born for this."
Chen Nan paused for a moment, then smiled. It wasn't the polite smile he'd given before; it was a genuine smile of relief that someone had guessed correctly, and his eyes lit up.
"I know."
In June, Chen Nan's sales doubled.
Li Si'an almost never accompanied her on her runs anymore. He only went over the accounts with her once a week on Saturday nights.
Chen Nan's ledger was filled with detailed notes, recording exactly how much each hotel sold, which convenience store restocked, and which owner introduced a new customer.
She expanded the channel from Xizhimen to Andingmen, and then to Dongzhimen.
The hotel's discussions ranged from the front desk manager to the housekeeping department, and the convenience store's discussions ranged from the university gate to the area near the train station.
She went to a hotel's business center four times and then took two hundred 100-yuan bills in one go.
When reconciling accounts at the end of May, Chen Nan spread out the account books.
"Three hundred bills with a face value of one hundred, two hundred bills with a face value of fifty, and three hundred and fifty bills with a face value of twenty-five. A total of eight hundred and fifty bills."
The total face value is slightly over 40,000. The profit exceeds 10,000.
Chen Nan received over five thousand yuan. In 1994, an ordinary worker's monthly salary was six hundred yuan, and she earned in one month what others earned in more than half a year.
Li Si'an looked at the account book and remained silent for a long time.
"What about July? How many do you estimate you can sell?"
Chen Nan thought about it.
"One thousand and five."
"Sure?"
"Confirmed. I negotiated deals with two hotels near the train station last week. The owners said that the peak season for travelers is around the summer holidays, and they told me to stock up in advance."
And then there's Old Sun, the guy who runs the convenience store at Beijing Foreign Studies University. He introduced me to his fellow townsman who owns a shop near the south gate of Tsinghua University. Students from Tsinghua make even more long-distance calls.
She paused.
"There's one more thing. A former colleague of mine from Xidan Clothing City, whose boyfriend is studying at a university in Tianjin, told me that the lines for public phone booths outside universities in Tianjin are even more ridiculous than in Beijing."
I'm thinking of asking her to try her luck in Tianjin.
Li Si'an looked at her.
"It's your decision. You're a partner, so you're in charge of sales."
Chen Nan closed the ledger and stood up.
"Then I'll go to Tianjin next week."
He took two steps out, then came back and stuffed the ledger into his bag.
"Oh, by the way, Chen Dong said he wanted to come and help. I asked him to help me with the accounts, run errands, and deliveries. What do you think?"
"Your brother, you're the one who calls the shots."
Chen Nan glanced at him.
"You certainly know how to be a hands-off manager."
"I was the one who shipped the goods!"
Chen Nan chuckled, his maroon coat swaying in the May breeze.
Li Si'an sat by the window in Lao Zhao's restaurant, watching her walk away. Half a bowl of beef noodles remained on the table, soggy, but still tasting good.
June. July.
Chen Nan's account books are getting thicker and thicker.
July sales indeed exceeded 1,500. There were 400 one-hundred-yuan notes, 300 fifty-yuan notes, and 800 twenty-five-yuan notes. The total face value was over 70,000 yuan, with a profit of nearly 18,000 yuan. Chen Nan received over 8,000 yuan.
Sales rose again in August. During the summer travel peak, sales at the two hotels near the train station doubled. The hotel near the south gate of Tsinghua University had to restock every week. They also got through to Tianjin, and sold 300 tickets in the first month.
Chen Nan earns more in a month than an average worker earns in a year.
One evening in mid-September, Chen Nan invited Li Si'an to dinner. It wasn't Lao Zhao's restaurant, but a newly opened hot pot place in Xidan, with a copper pot and charcoal fire, and the lamb slices were as thin as paper.
Chen Nan placed a stack of banknotes on the table.
"Your share."
Li Si'an didn't count it and put it in her pocket.
"Sister Nan."
"Um?"
"How many copies did you sell last month?"
Chen Nan picked up a piece of mutton with her chopsticks and rolled it in sesame sauce.
"Two thousand three."
Li Si'an did the math in her head. Two thousand three hundred bills, with a total face value of over one hundred thousand. The profit was over twenty thousand. Chen Nan would receive a little over ten thousand.
He didn't speak.
Chen Nan stuffed the mutton into his mouth, chewed it, swallowed it, and then put down his chopsticks.
"Anzi, I have something to tell you."
"you say."
"Starting next month, the profits will be 60% for you and 40% for me."
Li Si'an looked at her.
Why?
"Because of the goods you supply. Without your supplier's line, I wouldn't be able to sell a single piece. No matter how many I sell, it's all from you."
She paused, then added, "And I earn more in a month now than my dad does in a year. That's enough."
Li Si'an picked up the cooked mutton and dipped it in the sauce.
"Fifty-five. Unchanged."
"you--"
"Sister Nan, without you, I can only sell a maximum of six thousand yuan worth of face value a month. You're worth that price."
Chen Nan stared at him for a while, then picked up her beer glass and clinked it against his Arctic Ocean bottle.
"Okay. Then I'll treat the Tianjin distribution channel to you as a gift."
"The profit margin in Tianjin is still 50/50."
"What's wrong with you—"
"I supplied the goods, but you sold the cocaine."
Chen Nan chuckled and downed his beer in one gulp.
On the first Saturday of September, Li Si'an sat at her desk in her dormitory and emptied all the cash from her drawer to count it.
The royalties and the share of the credit card revenue add up to 23,000 yuan.
In 1994, it was 23,000 yuan. An ordinary worker would have to save it for three years without eating or drinking.
He brought up the system panel.
[Level: 2]
Experience points: 0.2/100 (requires 100 grams of gold for the next level)
[Physical Fitness: 14]
【Spirit: 17】
Available attribute points: 0
Upgrading to level 3 requires 100 grams of gold. At the current gold price, that's over ten thousand yuan. He already has enough money in his drawer to upgrade.
But Li Si'an turned off the panel.
Not urgent.
The magnetic card business is just getting on track, and every penny of cash is working capital. Zhang Yuanxiao's side is going to receive a large batch of new cards with a face value of 200 next month. The quantity is large, and the inventory is also large, so they need to keep enough capital.
For systemic matters, proceed step by step and take your time.
In this life, he never races against anyone for time.