Fang Bai and his father poured all the money they had collected that day onto the floor, first picking out the hundred-yuan banknotes.
Most of the money consisted of ten-yuan notes, a small portion of hundred-yuan notes, and a pile of five-yuan and one-yuan notes.
After counting, there were only 9 hundred-yuan banknotes, all from the fourth series issued in 1980, and they were well-preserved.
However, the one-yuan notes surprisingly had names or various messages written on them, and some of the ten-yuan notes also had writing.
In this era, some people liked to write on banknotes, possibly to record or transmit information, such as for propaganda.
However, generally, if large denomination banknotes had writing on them, some people might refuse to accept them.
"Dad, next time, try not to accept money with writing on it; otherwise, it will be very troublesome for us to deal with," Fang Bai reminded him. He didn't want to encourage this practice.
"Oh, I was in a hurry when I was collecting the money and didn't pay much attention. I'll be careful next time," Fang Shi said. He was a bit excited when collecting money, and with so many people, he rushed a little.
The father and son organized the cash together, putting the hundred-yuan banknotes in one pile and stacking every hundred notes of other denominations together.
At the same time, Fang Bai checked the receipts.
Today, a total of 29 televisions were sold: 12 units of 21-inch color TVs, averaging 1100 yuan each;
2 units of 14-inch color TVs, priced at 368 yuan each, with one unit sold for 350 yuan;
1 unit of 29-inch color TV, priced at 2500 yuan, which was also the most profitable color TV. Fang Bai hadn't expected someone to buy it.
10 units of 17-inch black and white TVs, priced at 150 yuan each;
4 units of 14-inch black and white TVs, priced at 78 yuan each.
The total revenue was 18,230 yuan.
The father and son counted the money twice, which took a lot of time, but they finally confirmed that the amount was correct and consistent with the receipts.
However, they did receive one fake ten-yuan note, which Fang Bai immediately tore up when he saw it.
"Oh, I still wasn't careful. That's two days' wages from work. I really don't know which scoundrel is so heartless," Fang Shi said, seeing his son tear up the fake money without hesitation. He wasn't pained by the loss but blamed himself for not being careful.
"It's alright, Dad, it's just ten yuan. It's inevitable to make mistakes when receiving so much money," Fang Bai comforted him, not taking it to heart. "We've earned so much; a small loss like this is nothing."
After tearing up the ten-yuan note, the actual revenue was 18,220 yuan, which meant they had recovered their capital and made a profit.
Hearing his son say this, Fang Shi smiled with relief.
Looking at the pile of money on the floor, he was truly happy.
He had been numb from collecting money and knew the revenue would definitely exceed ten thousand, but after the final tally, his hands trembled, and he couldn't stop grinning foolishly.
"Son, we still have so many televisions that can be repaired. If we can sell them all, we'll be rich."
Fang Bai was relatively calm and smiled. "Let's talk about it when the money is in hand. Besides, for rich people, this amount of money is nothing."
"You're too reckless, child; you shouldn't be like that. You should know that money comes easily, but if you don't cherish it, it will be spent quickly," Fang Shi scolded him with a laugh.
"Dad, I mean, if we want to start a business, this amount of money is far from enough to begin."
"Why do we need to start a business? Isn't it good enough for us to honestly sell televisions? The profit is so high."
"Dad, you forgot that I have to go to school. I can't keep selling televisions forever. Testing televisions takes a lot of time.
Besides selling televisions, there are many other businesses we can do."
Fang Bai reminded him. Accumulating wealth by selling televisions before dabbling in subscription certificates was fine.
But selecting televisions and analyzing faults took a lot of his time, and it wouldn't work without his direct involvement.
Calculated by time cost, if the hourly profit from other ventures was higher than from dealing with second-hand televisions, then he would definitely have to give up the refurbished television business.
Of course, with Fang Bai's individual effort in testing televisions, this market would be difficult to saturate, so continuing with it would not be a problem.
His individual testing speed and guidance for television repair, especially the guidance for repair, were very time-consuming, at most one hundred units a day, which still couldn't keep up with the speed at which several developed countries discarded electronic waste.
If Fang Bai kept focusing on televisions, it would affect his future development plans.
He needed to spend time learning and improving himself; how could he treat himself as merely a television testing tool?
If he liked working with televisions so much, he might as well research and develop his own televisions to sell.
Therefore, the achievements in refurbishing televisions had an upper limit and ultimately couldn't be considered significant.
Fang Shi exclaimed, "Oh!" and slapped his head, laughing, "Haha, I was so dizzy from selling televisions today that I forgot you're still re-studying.
What you said also makes sense. You can decide what to do, but I suggest you keep some capital for yourself as a fallback."
These past two days, Fang Shi had watched his son manage the television sales, arranging everything in an orderly manner, and there were many sales techniques he didn't understand.
Fang Shi hadn't expected his son to have such a talent for business. It seemed that his son's two months of working had greatly influenced him.
Fang Bai nodded in understanding. He knew his father's worries stemmed from his care and love.
"Dad, I understand what you mean. I will consider it carefully and keep some capital for myself."
Fang Bai said, counting out two thousand yuan and handing it to him. "Here's two thousand yuan for household expenses. Pay off all our debts. I have other plans for the remaining funds."
"Alright then, there isn't much debt left. What you gave us last time, 800 yuan, has almost paid everything off."
Fang Shi took the money his son handed him, sighing inwardly that this was the first time he could manage so much money.
Regarding his son's money, he had indeed wanted to keep it before.
But after observing his son these past two days, he realized his son had grown up and understood how to do business. He felt awkward asking to manage his son's money again.
He understood that his son needed funds for purchasing inventory and supporting the business's operation, and he trusted his son to manage the remaining funds carefully.
Actually, he didn't need two thousand yuan, but he wanted to save it separately, in case his son's business failed one day and needed funds. At least there would be capital to start over.
Fang Shi felt relieved. He looked at his son, proud of him.
"Dad, don't do anything with the house for now. We'll be doing business here all year and will rarely go back to live there.
You and Mom can just get some new clothes. After a year or two, when we earn more money, we can build a better house," Fang Bai reminded him. He was afraid his parents would spend money recklessly on the house once they had it, and then he would have to invest more.
Building a house now wouldn't cost much, but Fang Bai wanted to build a good one, to avoid constant renovations and ensure it wouldn't become outdated within fifteen years, which would definitely require a significant expenditure.
He needed to accumulate more funds now to prepare for the subscription certificates, and perhaps there would be other arrangements besides the certificates. In the early stages, he wanted to avoid unnecessary spending and reckless ventures.
Giving his parents two thousand yuan was enough for them and didn't affect Fang Bai's plans.
"Alright then, I'll listen to you. I'll tell your mother to resign tomorrow and come help out."
Fang Bai's words slightly reassured Fang Shi. He knew his son was smart and a planner, and he believed he would make wise decisions for his future.
"Yes, Mom really doesn't need to work at the school anymore. The salary is too low, and mainly, she's looked down upon. How can she be happy like that?"
"Alas, there was no other way before. Now that you've achieved something, your dad and I can relax," Fang Shi said with a relieved smile, then added with some worry, "It's just that it's delaying your studies."
"It's alright. I get bored reading all day, so finding something to do is good. It won't delay my studies much," Fang Bai said. "Dad, the shop next door is for rent. Let's rent it."
Fang Bai had found the previous rent too high, so he hadn't rented the neighboring shop.
Now that they weren't short on money, spending an extra hundred yuan or so on annual rent didn't matter, especially since it would be convenient for him.
Fang Shi also agreed, "A bigger place is better. There's too much stuff piled up, and a few people can't even move around."
The two chatted for a while longer, then took hot showers.
Fang Bai continued his night study, completing today's learning tasks.
At half past eleven at night, Fang Shi, who had woken up after drinking some alcohol, passed by the restroom to relieve himself and saw the light on in his son's bedroom. He went over to check and found his son still reading under the lamp.
He didn't say anything to persuade him. He went downstairs to boil water, brought a bowl to his son, and placed it on his son's desk.
He said nothing and then left.
Fang Shi planned to buy some tonics for his son and daughter tomorrow. Now that they had money, they should spend what was necessary.
Also, regarding the industrial and commercial tax, his son said it needed to be paid, and it wasn't much money. It was better to pay it to avoid trouble later, otherwise, if their televisions were confiscated, they would have nowhere to cry. He also needed to find time to get a business license.
Fang Bai continued reading until midnight before going to bed. As he closed his eyes, he looked at the system screen.
Personal wealth reached 30,000 yuan! (Money: 19,500 yuan + remaining television cost: 9,200 yuan + personal fixed assets: approximately 1,300 yuan)
Still 70,000 yuan short of upgrading!
Fang Bai was very eager to upgrade his Golden Finger. Firstly, it could restore his finger, and secondly, he wanted to see what other changes there would be after the Golden Finger upgraded.
Currently, his Fang Bai's Middle Finger Golden Finger was the most promising to upgrade first.
Reaching 100,000 yuan in wealth was not far off.