December 8th, Saturday.
Fang Bai went to T City again to prepare for the fifth batch of foreign junk TV purchases.
The third batch of televisions had already sold out, with a total revenue of 196,200 yuan. The procurement cost was 21,500 yuan. After deducting other expenses and taxes, the profit was approximately 165,800 yuan.
After the third batch was sold, Fang Bai's personal wealth had reached 446,900 yuan.
Currently, the fourth batch has already sold through three rounds, generating 100,000 yuan in revenue, bringing Fang Bai's personal wealth to 535,000 yuan.
Generally, he sets up a stall three times a week, usually on Saturdays and Sundays, unless the weather is bad.
A batch of televisions can be sold out in half a month, with revenue between 180,000 and 210,000 yuan, and a monthly profit exceeding 300,000 yuan.
He has been spending a lot of money recently. Buying two houses cost 48,000 yuan. Now, they need simple renovation, connecting the second floor to create six bedrooms upstairs, and then buying furniture, which is also estimated to cost a lot.
Buying 15 plots of land plus handling fees cost 72,000 yuan, and he gave his father 200,000 yuan for purchasing materials to build the appliance mall.
Currently, Fang Bai has 226,000 yuan in disposable cash.
However, the mall might require another 250,000 yuan later.
In other words, all the money he has earned so far has been invested into the appliance mall. He earns quickly, but he also spends quickly.
After buying the televisions, Fang Bai rushed back to Wen City in the evening.
His home is currently undergoing renovations during the day, which is a bit noisy and has started to affect Fang Bai's studies. He plans to go to school for classes in the afternoon.
His learning progress is relatively fast, and the teachers' lecturing speed is too slow. He mostly self-studies when sitting in the classroom.
On Monday afternoon, Fang Bai arrived at the classroom.
At this time, there were still a few minutes before the first class started, and there were many students in the classroom. Some students took advantage of the lunch break to quietly study hard, only napping briefly at their desks just before class. Most students rushed in from their dorms, carrying their books.
When the students saw Fang Bai, they greeted him warmly.
Now, Fang Bai is quite impressive. Not only are his academic results good, but he is also active and popular, well-liked by both teachers and students.
"You don't have to rush so much. If you're tired, you should still rest. If your mental state isn't good, your study effectiveness will be very poor, and your memory will decline. It'll be a waste of effort."
Fang Bai reminded them, mainly because some students were malnourished. Out of 60 students in the class, there were still quite a few poor students.
These poor students especially wanted to get into university, hoping to get a good job after graduation to change their fate. Therefore, they worked harder and more diligently than others!
Of course, although job assignments are no longer provided, if one can go to university, their prospects after graduation are still better than those who simply work as laborers.
But if it's about starting a business, that's another story.
Therefore, Fang Bai would not persuade them not to study and instead start a business.
If their business failed, could he be responsible?
"Fang Bai, is that true?" A classmate looked up and asked him.
Fang Bai replied, "Experience it yourselves. You don't exercise regularly, so can you really endure it?
Anyway, everyone's situation is different. When you're tired, you need to learn to relax. Don't try to compete with others and end up collapsing. There are many such cases."
Students in the re-study class were all very hardworking. In those days, there was no entertainment, and the school did not arrange physical education or music classes. Students only had time to play ball after school in the afternoon or on weekends.
Fang Bai hoped they would balance work and rest for higher learning efficiency.
Many classmates still listened to what he said, as Fang Bai's grades were excellent, giving his words credibility.
A moment later, the bell rang, and class began.
Just after one class, during the break, a classmate approached Fang Bai and asked with a grin:
"Hey, Fang Bai, that advertising slogan 'Walk around, take a look' isn't something you came up with, is it? The person shouting sounds a lot like your voice."
Fang Bai rested his left hand on his chin, looked at the classmate meaningfully, and strongly denied it: "How could it be me? There are too many people whose voices sound like mine."
"I knew it, it couldn't be Boss Fang's."
Wang Dakai said that the slogan was written by a clown, the one he least wanted to admit. In fact, when he heard the loudspeaker's voice, he was already eighty to ninety percent sure it was Fang Bai's voice.
Li Hui, sitting in the classroom, didn't know why Fang Bai dared not admit it, so he wouldn't let him get away with it easily, interjecting with a sly smile:
"Fang Bai, I personally saw you selling televisions there. A few days ago, I went and asked the female salesperson, and she said it was your advertising slogan, and the stall was even your family's."
To verify this, he really went and asked, and he even found out something that surprised him: the stall actually belonged to Fang Bai's family.
When he learned about it at the time, it indeed shocked him for a while, and he felt a bit jealous.
In this era, household appliances on the market were expensive luxuries for ordinary families, let alone the sellers of these items. It was imaginable that the profits were not low. It seemed Fang Bai's family had a deep financial background, which made Li Hui feel a bit uneasy.
But then he thought that many classmates in the class had families who ran businesses, and that made it feel more normal.
"You're good, Fang Bai, you're quite secretive."
"Classmate Fang Bai, your family is so rich, and you didn't say a word. That's really not fair."
"Brother Fang Bai, you're too low-key."
At some point, Fang Bai's seat was surrounded by several curious classmates, all chatting away.
Fang Bai glanced at Li Hui, never expecting that guy to actually go and ask the salesperson. It seemed this classmate was truly "concerned" about him.
Looking at how the classmates were looking at him, it seemed many of them had already figured out that he was the one who recorded it.
"Actually, whether the slogan was made by me or not, that's not important, is it?" Fang Bai tried to deflect from the topic of his family selling televisions.
"Don't you know? Your advertising slogan is now very popular and widely sung throughout the streets and alleys. That group of freshmen even made a skit using your slogan, and it's said they're going to perform it at the New Year's Eve party." A tall male student said, spitting foam.
"Yeah, they're using your lines for a skit, and it's quite popular. Did they get your permission?"
"Yeah, Boss Fang is too low-key. I was also curious and asked the TV shop owner, and she said it was her son who made it. Haha, I never thought your family sold TVs, that's so rich."
Zhang Xiaoai, sitting in front of Fang Bai, heard so many classmates talking, turned her head, and said with a hint of envy, "Fang Bai, does your family really sell TVs?
My mom wants to buy a color TV. If it's sold by your family, can we get a discount?"
Fang Bai thought for a moment. Since it had come to this, there was no need to hide it. Admitting it wasn't a big deal, it just meant more trouble later.
Out of 60 students in the class, probably about ten families ran small workshops, which was a very high proportion.
On May 12, 1985, a certain newspaper's front page featured a lengthy report titled "330,000 People in Wen City Engaged in Family Industries," and the "Wen City Model" was first reported by the media.
In the past few years, more locals have set up small workshops. How many people are there in Wen City anyway?
So, saying that one-sixth of the students in the class had families running small workshops was not an exaggeration.
Of course, there were also some students from very poor families, the kind who struggled to eat meat. If you asked them what meat they ate the most, they would definitely say "crabs" and "we're sick of eating crabs."
Overall, a significant proportion of students in the class came from wealthy backgrounds; it was just that they temporarily didn't have control over their family's wealth.
Fang Bai just pursed his lips and admitted, "Alright, my family sells them. If classmates from our class buy one, you can get a 5% discount. I'll make some coupons another day, and you can get the discount with the coupon."
Zhang Xiaoai, hearing Fang Bai admit his family sold televisions, couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, Fang Bai's family sells TVs!"
After shouting, she said to Fang Bai, "So that means you also shouted that advertising slogan, right? I thought everyone was just joking. Hehe, Fang Bai, you're really amazing."
Seeing Da Ge Zi lower his head, she raised an eyebrow: "Da Ge Zi, I remember you said you called Fang Bai a clown."
Wang Dakai's face instantly turned red upon hearing Zhang Xiaoai say that. He looked up and retorted, "You must have misheard, no! Don't slander me randomly."
Zheng Ran, Zhang Xiaoai's deskmate, a girl with a face full of acne, chuckled slyly: "I also heard you curse Fang Bai."
"Boss Fang, I really didn't curse you." Wang Dakai leaned closer to Fang Bai, looking like a good child admitting a mistake.
"Mm, I know." Fang Bai chuckled.
"Boss Fang, you have to let me explain. At first, I didn't know who started the rumors, and then I just blabbered along and copied them. You have to believe in our friendship!"
"Da Ge Zi, friendship is meant to be sold." Zhang Xiaoai couldn't help but interject.
"Classmate Xiaoai, starting today, we're breaking up!"
Fang Bai made a slightly surprised expression: "Could it be that you two have already developed into something unspoken...?"
Zhang Xiaoai's face was serious as she slapped Wang Dakai's book: "Da Ge Zi, please be more precise with your words..."
"Alright, Classmate Xiaoai, don't explain anymore, I understand." Fang Bai quickly chuckled and interrupted, then winked at her deskmate, "Do you understand?"
"Mm, I understand, hehe." Zheng Ran also showed a meaningful smile.
"Da Ge Zi, you're done for. I'm not done with you."
"Who's afraid of whom?"
Fang Bai watched the two of them playfully bicker and quickly interjected, "Oh, you two, don't show off your affection in front of me."
"What's 'showing off affection'?" Everyone was confused.
Fang Bai explained, "Public displays of affection. But you two need to be careful, the school is very strict about this. I'll keep it a secret."
"Boss Fang, don't talk nonsense."
"Classmate Fang Bai, we really didn't, you misunderstood." Zhang Xiaoai's face grew even redder, and she glared fiercely at Wang Dakai.
Just as they finished chatting, several more classmates came over.
Just now, Zhang Xiaoai's loud shout had attracted even more classmates to gather around Fang Bai.
"Fang Bai, your family sells TVs. If my family buys one, can we get a discount?"
Fang Bai chuckled, "There's a discount! Not 998, only 368!"
"Fang Bai, I'm serious, truer than pearls."
"Li Feiyu, I remember your family produces shoes, right? Does your family still lack this bit of money?" Fang Bai said. This classmate was in his original third-year high school class.
"Yes, who would complain about having too much money? How about I trade shoes for a color TV?"
"Then my family wouldn't need to buy shoes anymore in the future. I have to say, you're as shrewd as your dad. If you don't study and come out to take over, you'll definitely be a crooked merchant."
"Then Fang Bai, if you don't come out to take over, aren't you still a crooked merchant?"
"The problem is I don't have that potential, but you do." Fang Bai chuckled slyly.
"Alright, I admit I can't argue with you. Speaking of which, my dad wants to buy a 29-inch large color TV, but my mom thinks it's too expensive. Can your family give us a 50% discount?"
"95% off. This item doesn't make money, it's sold at a loss."
"Hehe, no one would believe that." Li Feiyu pouted, but being able to get a 5% discount, he could still brag a bit to his parents when he went home.
The classmates chatted with Fang Bai for a while. After this incident, everyone knew that Fang Bai's family sold televisions and that the catchy advertising slogan was made by Fang Bai, which refreshed their impression of him.