At 2 AM.

After parting with Lu Hongbo and the others, the suppliers no longer felt like going home to sleep.

Though these people weren’t short of money, being suppliers, they disliked passenger cars and used modified vans instead. The seats were removed to facilitate cargo transport.

Now they crowded into one of these vans, which became an impromptu meeting room once the doors were closed.

One supplier spoke first:

“This is troublesome – where did Asia find their supplies? How did we not get any wind of it?”

“Maybe there aren’t other suppliers at all. Lu Hongbo might be making this up. He saw Asia’s successful promotion today and their rising daily sales, and feared we might supply Asia again. That’s why he called us out in the middle of the night – to tighten the leash on us!”

“That does sound like something Lu would do.”

They huddled together and cursed Lu Hongbo until their midnight anger dissipated.

But anger wasn’t the point – businessmen weren’t so temperamental, they cared about profit. As long as the state-owned stores remained their major clients, they could tolerate Lu Hongbo’s excesses.

If the state-owned stores lost business, their relationship would instantly flip – today’s humiliation would eventually be repaid to Lu Hongbo.

Profit was what mattered most – the suppliers truly didn’t want to take sides.

“But if Lu is right, we’re in trouble. Some outsider is stealing from our territory – we must get to the bottom of this. Wait another day, and we can estimate from Asia’s sales whether they have new suppliers. Asia’s promotion will run for several days, business will surely be good – we need to reclaim Asia as a channel.”

For businessmen, losing face wasn’t called losing face – it was called being flexible.

If Asia could achieve daily sales of hundreds of thousands, why should they give up this channel just because Lu Hongbo said so? Lu Hongbo wasn’t going to compensate them from his pocket for their lost profits!

They agreed on their strategy, waiting to see how Asia’s business would fare the next day – business should be good, but did Asia really have new suppliers, or were they just bluffing?

Either way, the major suppliers had reached an understanding. They’d wait at most one more day – if Asia didn’t come to them, they would take the initiative to “send warmth” to their door!

…

The day broke quickly.

While Lu Hongbo’s group barely slept, Xia Xiaolan had a good rest. As the sun lit up the horizon, a new day began!

Before Asia opened, citizens wrapped in cotton coats and wearing hats were already waiting at the store’s entrance.

“Have they been here long?”

“Manager Xia, the night shift staff said these citizens started queuing before 6 AM, mostly to buy appliances.”

Xia Xiaolan had arrived quite early, just at 7:30 AM.

She hadn’t expected citizens to start queuing before 6 AM. To save three or four hundred yuan on desired appliances, they didn’t mind getting up early or braving the cold – this was how ordinary people carefully managed their household expenses.

“We can’t let them freeze out there. Have the staff move quickly, let’s try to open early today and get these queuing customers inside. Also, have the cafeteria staff get moving and make a big pot of ginger soup to warm up the waiting customers!”

Xia Xiaolan instructed Song Minglan.

Song Minglan had arrived even earlier than Xia Xiaolan and had already given these orders:

“Manager Xia, I’ve already had the kitchen boil water for ginger soup and prepare hot tea.”

As she finished speaking, people carried out two large containers – one with ginger soup, and one with hot tea.

The queuing citizens were reluctant to leave their spots until Xia Xiaolan had numbered tickets distributed. Only then did they dare to get tea and soup, and use the restroom.

The queue dispersed temporarily but would reform according to the handwritten numbers – there wouldn’t be chaos.

Before 8 AM, over 200 numbered tickets had been distributed, with people still arriving to queue. Regular customers wouldn’t come this early to get cards – these were all here to buy appliances.

While Xia Xiaolan showed compassion for citizens queuing in the cold, reminding Song Minglan to prepare warm drinks, she wouldn’t compromise on business arrangements.

“Today we’re only preparing 80 TVs and washing machines each, not one more.”

“Understood, Manager Xia!”

Reducing the supply of popular appliances wasn’t just to minimize losses – it also created urgency among customers. If people were thinking of getting shopping cards to buy appliances, they’d better hurry. The first batch of cardholders could easily buy discounted appliances, the second batch would need to queue in the morning, and those who hesitated further might queue for days – ultimately, the goal was to snatch customers from the state-owned stores as quickly as possible!

Having worked alongside Xia Xiaolan for so long, Song Minglan understood her management style, which was why she arrived earlier than Xia Xiaolan today and immediately ordered the kitchen to prepare warm drinks.

But Song Minglan wouldn’t suggest to Xia Xiaolan to increase today’s appliance supply despite the large queue!

Just the gesture of providing ginger soup and hot tea had already warmed the hearts of the early-morning queuing citizens.

Someone gulped down a cup of tea, stamped their feet, and said with visible breath in the cold:

“If Asia maintains this level of service, I won’t go to other stores anymore. I’ll stick to this place. Even if it’s one or two yuan more expensive than others, it’s worth it!”

Spending money here gave a sense of being respected and valued – you got your money’s worth, got your items, and felt good about it!

When relatives and friends visit from out of town, where would you take them?

See the Erqi Tower, visit Asia – how impressive!

This person thought that even Beijing’s department stores couldn’t possibly provide better service than Asia.

These sentiments drew nods of agreement from those around. With nothing else to do while queuing, people quickly introduced themselves and became familiar.

Unfortunately, once Asia opened its doors, these weakly founded friendships capsized immediately – everyone rushed in, fearing they’d be too slow and miss out on their desired items!

Before Asia opened, the queue had grown to five or six hundred people.

Xia Xiaolan watched with a smile. Today’s popular items were divided into two parts – half for morning supply, and half for afternoon. Even so, they caught several speculators trying to queue repeatedly to buy extra appliances.

Their explanation was amusing – Asia’s discounted prices were even lower than supplier wholesale prices, so these clever folks thought they could buy low and resell with a three or four-hundred yuan markup.

They might have gone undetected if they’d bought just one unit each, but their greed led to their capture.

As these people hung their heads in shame, the observing customers were truly excited. Even peddlers had tried to “stock up” from Asia – nowhere else in Shangdu would offer such big discounts!

Buy, buy, buy, quickly – only a fool would miss out!