“Old Chen, Old Chen, what’s wrong with you?”

Shao Guangrong was embarrassed – he’d brought the reporter, but after shaking hands, Chen Xiliang had rushed to the bathroom.

If he needed to urinate, couldn’t he hold it? This behavior was so unrefined!

“It’s fine, my schedule today is very flexible.”

The reporter who came along also smiled.

Shao Guangrong ran to the bathroom and found Chen Xiliang slapping himself repeatedly, swinging left and right while muttering “Is this a dream or not?”

“Old Chen, are you crazy? Hurry out, Reporter Huang is waiting! It’s not a dream, it’s real. Look how undignified you’re being!”

Chen Xiliang wasn’t angry at all.

“Brother, no no, Master, Master Shao, that Reporter Huang outside is from the People’s Daily! Even if our Chen family ancestors’ tomb smoke reached the heavens, I never imagined I’d make it into the People’s Daily. I need to slap myself a couple more times!”

This made Shao Guangrong laugh.

Thinking carefully, it made sense – the People’s Daily was the primary voice of organizational propaganda.

Shao Guangrong hadn’t been featured in the People’s Daily and didn’t expect to make it onto its pages in this lifetime. It published policy interpretations, and both its circulation and importance far surpassed local newspapers… Shao Guangrong stared at Chen Xiliang for a while:

“Old Chen, seize this opportunity well. You’ve caught the right moment – even if you make more money in the future, you might never get another chance to be in this paper.”

Interview a private business owner.

Dream on!

Chen Xiliang getting an interview wasn’t because of how much money he made, but because his slogan “donate one yuan for every piece of clothing sold” happened to align with a People’s Daily feature story about Reform and Opening Up.

Since Reform and Opening Up was proposed in 1979, six full years have passed. The broader environment of reform could be shown through data, including changes in Special Economic Zones like Pengcheng.

But ask common people to explain it, and many would be confused.

Regular folks only knew that rural land reform had happened, that cities allowed individual vendors to set up stalls, and that private shops were permitted.

Each year, policies seemed to become more lenient, but ordinary people couldn’t clearly explain exactly how far “Reform and Opening Up” had progressed.

At this time, the People’s Daily needed to report some real-world examples.

Simply reporting how much money someone made wouldn’t work – that wasn’t the main theme.

The main theme was: what did these private business owners who benefited from the policies and became wealthy first do? They needed positive, uplifting examples.

Chen Xiliang was just one typical figure. Besides him, some capable people ran township enterprises and drove entire township economies.

That’s why Shao Guangrong said Chen Xiliang was lucky – this truly was perfect timing. Sister-in-law Xiaolan surely hadn’t anticipated this People’s Daily feature when she suggested this idea.

Chen Xiliang washed his face at the tap and walked out with a resolute expression like a soldier prepared for martyrdom – onlookers might have thought he was heading to the execution ground!

“Reporter Huang, I’m sorry for embarrassing myself. To be honest, I was just too excited – never imagined I’d be interviewed by the People’s Daily.”

Chen Xiliang tried hard not to be nervous.

Reporter Huang was quite used to this – who wouldn’t be nervous about being interviewed by the People’s Daily? It would be strange not to be nervous.

Chen Xiliang was handling it well – some people couldn’t even speak when they saw reporters!

“No worries, we can start when Comrade Chen is ready.”

Reporter Huang had Chen Xiliang sit on a stool with the hotel wall as background, first taking two half-body photos.

Once the interview began, Chen Xiliang related his packaged success story to Reporter Huang.

“I was working at a clothing factory at the time…”

Working at the clothing factory, discovering business opportunities in Yangcheng’s clothing market, from wholesale street vending to wanting to establish China’s own clothing brand, to the brand’s establishment, and this year’s hard work – the story needed ups and downs, success mixed with failure, rising again after failure, to be engaging.

He had to control the pace well.

What shouldn’t be mentioned, shouldn’t be mentioned. For instance, no need to bring up that Chen Xiliang’s brother-in-law He Congsheng was a garment factory director.

And why mention making quick money with Xia Xiaolan, dealing in cheap tape recorders?

When Chen Xiliang got to hiring a Hong Kong celebrity for advertisements who stood them up, then turning to actress Zhang Xiao, who eagerly cooperated and donated her fee… Reporter Huang cut off Chen Xiliang’s attempt to slip in promotional content:

“Comrade Chen, tell us about your thinking – how did the idea of ‘donating one yuan for every piece of clothing sold’ come about? When did you start fulfilling this promise, and when will it end?”

If the People’s Daily was going to report on Chen Xiliang, he couldn’t just talk big.

Remembering Grandmother Xia’s instructions, Chen Xiliang straightened his back even more:

“I’m ashamed to say that when I first made money through clothing, my first thought wasn’t charity but buying myself a motorcycle. The idea of donating came from Comrade Zhang Xiao’s inspiration – if an actress could unhesitatingly donate her fee, why couldn’t I use some of my earnings to benefit more people? Although this idea only came to me in mid-November, Luna’s sales data is counted monthly – November 1st counts October’s sales, December 1st counts November’s, and so on. My promise to ‘donate one yuan per piece of clothing’ will start from November 1st. After December 1st when November’s sales data is tallied, I’ll announce the first month’s donation amount. Reporter Huang and other newspapers or TV stations are welcome to supervise! As for the end date… unless the Luna brand fails, these donations won’t end!”

Supervision was good – Chen Xiliang wouldn’t fake the accounts.

This supervision was excellent – wouldn’t the media have to keep following up with reports? They’d save on future advertising costs!

Reporter Huang nodded, “Would Comrade Chen mind sharing your brand’s October sales figures?”

The reporter wanted to use this as a reference.

“Our brand has one direct store each in Beijing and Yangcheng, plus five franchise stores. Last month’s national sales were 5,765 individual pieces. November’s figures aren’t counted yet, but I don’t think they’ll differ much.”

October only sold autumn wear, while November mixed autumn and winter clothing.

Yangcheng was still wearing trench coats, while Beijing was already selling overcoats, cotton jackets, and down jackets.

Reporter Huang quickly calculated: thirty days in a month, seven stores sold 5,765 pieces – this counted both tops and pants together.

Each store had to sell over 25 pieces daily!

Donating over 5,000 monthly meant sixty to seventy thousand yearly.

“Comrade Chen, can you take responsibility for your words?”

What if he regretted it after calculating?

Chen Xiliang nodded firmly, “Absolutely! My influence is limited now, but if Luna grows stronger, more sales mean more donations. I look forward to donating 10,000, 50,000, or even over 100,000 yuan monthly!”

Reporter Huang, though well-experienced, pressed so hard his pen tip punctured the notebook.

Donating over a million yearly? This Comrade Chen sure dared to dream big!