Xia Xiaolan didn’t regret rejecting Zhu Suizhou’s free 2% shares at all.
Right now, she was focused on Cheng Rong Plaza’s second day’s sales figures.
At 10 PM, Du Zhaohui personally called her, laughing heartily before revealing the answer:
“Today we hit 1.86 million!”
“Congratulations.”
“Haha, let’s celebrate together!”
Unexpectedly, the second day had reached new heights, exceeding the opening day by 150,000. Du Zhaohui was ecstatic. Yesterday was the foundation, today was the explosion – he wanted to continue the shopping lottery promotion indefinitely… Operating costs were burning, but he could afford it!
Xia Xiaolan had to stop him, “Three consecutive days is enough. Consumers’ money doesn’t grow on trees. Too much is as bad as too little – you need to let them recover.”
After harvesting one crop of leeks, the next crop needs time to grow!
Such promotions were eye-catching when done occasionally, stirring consumers’ hearts. If done daily, forget whether Du Zhaohui could sustain the costs – consumers might find it amazing at first, but when novelty becomes routine, it loses its appeal.
Du Zhaohui was running an electronics mall complex, not a lottery shop.
“Alright, I’ll listen to you! Do you think tomorrow’s sales will keep rising?”
Du Zhaohui was elated, but Xia Xiaolan couldn’t make guarantees.
“It’s hard to say. Maybe slightly higher than the first day but lower than today, or perhaps even higher than today. No one in China has ever run a professional electronics mall before – we can’t accurately estimate how big this market is.”
This life’s Cheng Rong Plaza was even grander than the previous life’s SEG Plaza.
With Du Zhaohui’s investment, the Peng Cheng government’s support, plus many ahead-of-their-time marketing strategies, even Xia Xiaolan couldn’t predict Cheng Rong Plaza’s limits!
Du Zhaohui chuckled: “My arm’s tired from answering calls today – so many people asking when the remaining retail space will be available for rent!”
The first floor was an electronics megastore, handling both retail and wholesale.
Besides electronics, there were various accessories. A comprehensive electronics plaza is naturally needed to form a complete sales chain, serving not just individual customers but merchants from all over finding satisfactory goods… This was exactly what the Peng Cheng government hoped for.
Du Zhaohui’s thinking hadn’t reached that level – he could only see the current momentum, which was fantastic for him!
Xia Xiaolan pondered: “Register all those interested electronics manufacturers. Sign lease contracts quickly where possible – rent can be calculated when they move in. For those who can’t sign immediately, at least get letters of intent. These, along with sales figures, are all comprehensive results you can show Chairman Du on February 5th!”
Du Zhaohui understood.
He just wanted to discuss it again with Xia Xiaolan – her approval gave him more confidence in his judgment.
“Xiaolan, will you accompany me to Cheng Rong Group’s spring banquet on February 5th?”
Du Zhaohui hesitantly made his final request.
Xia Xiaolan’s palm itched – if not for the phone between them, she wanted to hit him.
“Du Zhaohui, are you thinking my life is too comfortable? Do you think it’s appropriate for me to attend Cheng Rong Group’s spring banquet?”
That 10 million HKD consulting fee was truly hard-earned money.
Xia Xiaolan felt that even going to Hong Kong now meant watching out for other Du family members’ schemes.
Du Zhaohui knew this would be her answer.
Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t get deeply involved in the Du family’s inheritance dispute – this was her maximum limit for helping. She would firmly refuse to make high-profile appearances… Although she had accomplished something remarkable in creating Cheng Rong Plaza, she didn’t want to claim that fame.
“I was just asking! It’s fine if you don’t go. Xia Ziyu will be there, and you surely don’t want to see her. Oh right, I’ve been too excited these past days and forgot to tell you – Xia Ziyu seems to be pregnant.”
“Pregnant?!”
Xia Xiaolan frowned, “This complicates things. Although your Du family doesn’t lack children, when an old man loves his young wife, Chairman Du will surely protect her!”
Regardless of true love, for face alone, Du Chengrong couldn’t hand over his pregnant woman.
Du Chengrong had built Cheng Rong Group from scratch and was a major figure in Hong Kong’s legitimate and underground worlds. In those circles, face was paramount.
If the truth about Du Chengrong’s young wife being a mainland fugitive came out, he would be the first to protect Xia Ziyu – Hong Kong in this era was completely different from post-handover Hong Kong. Xia Ziyu’s mainland crimes weren’t major, at least not to Du Chengrong. How could he admit Xia Ziyu was a fugitive and let tabloids feast on Du’s family gossip?
That would be too embarrassing.
Du Chengrong would insist Xia Ziyu was just Vivi, the identity Du Zhaohui had created-
This time, Du Zhaohui didn’t argue with Xia Xiaolan.
He thought similarly.
So why had Xia Xiaolan stopped him back then? If he had eliminated Xia Ziyu, everything would have been simpler!
“Anyway, I’ll fulfill the conditions I promised you, even if it’s more troublesome!”
“Hey, Du Zhaohui, don’t be rash-“
“I won’t kill her, I have other methods.”
Really?
Xia Xiaolan was skeptical.
Du Zhaohui laughed heartily: “I’m worth several hundred million now, and in the future, it’ll be billions or even tens of billions. Any single hair from my body is worth more than Xia Ziyu. Don’t worry, I won’t harm my interests just to deal with her.”
…Right, she shouldn’t have asked! Xia Xiaolan didn’t want to know which specific hair Du Zhaohui was referring to!
February 1st, Cheng Rong Plaza’s opening day: 1.71 million in sales.
February 2nd: 1.86 million in sales.
February 3rd: 1.97 million in sales, just 30,000 short of breaking 2 million – even Xia Xiaolan felt slightly regretful.
Two million was a different concept altogether – even one day of breaking through would have had special significance.
After three days of shopping lottery activities, Peng Cheng residents were still eager for more.
The merchants felt the same, collectively approaching Du Zhaohui:
“President Du, if you don’t want to spend more on the lottery, we merchants can pool money together to continue this promotion!”
Du Zhaohui waved his hand, feigning wisdom:
“Get out! Do you think I lack money? Don’t you understand ‘too much is as bad as too little’? Just conduct business properly, and don’t sell inferior goods as superior ones. Leave customer traffic to me!”
A stream of flattery echoed around Du Zhaohui, with varied and colorful compliments forming a rainbow of praise. On February 4th, without the shopping lottery, sales naturally dropped significantly, but with these rainbow compliments supporting him, Du Zhaohui wasn’t too disappointed!