It truly was just the beginning.

After-sales peaked on the 27th, they never declined.

Take the Xidan store’s sales data as an example: 71 items on the 27th, 89 on the 28th, and 100 items on the 29th.

On the 30th, Reporter Huang’s article was published in the People’s Daily.

Reporter Huang’s writing was naturally profound. Chen Xiliang, who had been a street vendor wholesaler just two years ago, was now portrayed as a moral exemplar, a private business owner, and a young comrade responding to the nation’s call for reform and opening up!

Once this article was published, no one could stop the widespread discussion in the newspapers.

Zhang Xiao’s donation and Chen Xiliang’s promise to “donate 1 yuan per sale” were repeatedly mentioned.

Luna’s sales naturally skyrocketed.

By December 3rd, the Xidan store’s daily sales reached 167 items!

167 items – this number was terrifying. With winter clothing’s profit margins, if they could maintain an average of 100 items daily, one month’s earnings could open another identical store. That’s how remarkable it was!

Reportedly, at Luna’s headquarters in Yangcheng, over 20 potential franchisees from across the country were camping outside the office, some even willing to sleep in the stairwells at night.

During the day, they staked out the Yangcheng direct-sale store, personally counting customers and watching the blackboard’s sales figures climb daily. With each increase, their expressions showed mixed joy and anxiety.

They smiled because the project seemed genuinely promising. The blackboard’s sales numbers increased daily, and Luna’s backing was substantial – the garment factory was enormous, serving as Luna’s foundation.

They’d discovered the factory wasn’t directly owned by Luna, but since Manager Chen was Factory Director He’s brother-in-law, it was essentially Chen’s backyard!

They fretted because Chen hadn’t returned to Yangcheng, preventing them from joining the franchise and starting to earn money!

“Why hasn’t Manager Chen returned?”

“The Beijing reporters won’t let him leave!”

“So many newspapers and magazines are waiting to interview him, he has no choice!”

“Besides the franchise fee, do we need to follow Luna’s current decoration standards? That’s over 100,000 yuan total investment. Those without enough money should leave early…”

Nonsense! They wouldn’t leave. That dog was trying to monopolize the profits!

If they needed money, they’d borrow it. None of them lacked courage.

Those with little courage or drive wouldn’t have earned their first bucket of gold just a few years into reform and opening up.

It wasn’t that their current businesses weren’t profitable – most couldn’t openly discuss how they’d earned their first bucket of gold. Even with money, they worried and wanted stable businesses.

In 1985, any business featured on Central TV and People’s Daily was officially endorsed – secure!

A store selling 100 items daily, from expensive wool coats at over 100 yuan to basic sweaters at 20-plus yuan.

They must profit at least 10 yuan per item on average.

That’s thousands in daily profit, potentially 20-30 thousand monthly!

Compared to this, the initial investment of over 100,000 seemed trivial – they could recover it within a year, and future profits would be theirs.

Though joining Luna was complicated – franchise fees, store decoration, sales tracking, even sending staff to Beijing for training… these experienced businesspeople wouldn’t believe in easy money.

Windfalls usually meant scams or poison!

A row of men squatted by the roadside, banned from watching near the store to avoid disrupting business. They stayed at street corners where they wouldn’t affect Luna’s operations, reluctant to leave even for meals, just buying noodles to eat while maintaining their vigil.

One man cursed himself while eating: “Should’ve signed earlier when the fee was just 50,000 and Manager Chen was eager to help. Now it’s jumped 30,000, and they’re not even rushing to take our money – what times are these!”

“Old Gou, what are you muttering about?”

“Nothing… just wondering if the franchise fee might rise to 100,000 if Manager Chen delays longer?”

What?

Surely not!

Rising with the wind – even printing money wasn’t this fast!

Everyone started discussing frantically. Old Gou’s noodles lost their taste – if he’d signed that contract earlier, he wouldn’t be anxiously squatting on the street with this crowd.

Hindsight is precious – had he known Luna would create such a stir, he wouldn’t have hesitated.

Yangcheng was full of garment factories and wholesale stalls, yet here he was, money in hand, waiting to join Luna… What irony! Clothes were available everywhere, who knew they’d suddenly become as sought-after as washing machines and TVs?

Chen Xiliang, constantly discussed behind his back, sneezed over a dozen times daily.

His ex-wife’s family naturally regretted everything now. Who could have imagined that Chen Xiliang, abandoning his steady job for risky ventures, would create such a sensation?

Being self-employed was considered undignified.

But when a self-employed person appeared in People’s Daily, it was an entirely different status.

Chen Xiliang’s former mother-in-law spent her days crying over losing such a son-in-law, berating her daughter for failing to control Chen’s money, and complaining that the 100,000 yuan divorce settlement was too little, given that he now had enough to donate.

Her words were inconsistent, alternating between praising and cursing Chen Xiliang.

As for Chen Xiliang?

He was in rural Ji Bei Province with Zhang Xiao and Evening News reporter Liu Xuan, donating school uniforms to impoverished elementary schools.

Yangcheng’s chaos no longer concerned Chen Xiliang.

These recent experiences were once-in-a-lifetime for some people. Manager Chen considered himself operating on a different level now, too busy for trivial people and matters.

His thoughts of Yangcheng now centered on franchisees, not his ex-wife or former mother-in-law… Women always dwelled on the past, while business-focused men like Chen Xiliang had moved beyond failed marriages.

This might sound heartless, but for Chen Xiliang, making money was truly more interesting than relationships with women.

Especially now that he was gaining both profit and reputation – the feeling was incredible!

Trudging through the mud to their destination, even Reporter Liu’s feet were covered in it.

This wasn’t even the poorest school – reaching the poorest would take two or three days on foot.

When Zhang Xiao handed over the uniforms, her eyes glistened with tears, and Liu Xuan quickly captured photos.

Chen Xiliang couldn’t tell if Zhang Xiao was acting. If it had started as a performance, a marketing strategy, now society’s attention and discussion were like an invisible hand pushing him forward, along with Zhang Xiao. She might still be able to step away, but could he?

As Xia Xiao Lan said, he not only had to do this personally but persist.

It was tiring.

But did he regret it?

Heh, he wished he could do it all again!

The one regretting now must be Ji Ya, who had invited Young Lady Xia to the fashion show. Her store wouldn’t open until December 15th – with Luna’s unprecedented popularity, Elegance was destined to be crushed by Luna.