“Eight thousand yuan per head, that’s quite a substantial income…” Liu Yong muttered.

Gong Yang ducked his head, feeling uncomfortable with this way of calculation as it sounded rather creepy.

Processing individual franchise contracts was quite troublesome. Currently, franchises were freely permitted in provincial-level cities, but cities below that level were restricted to no more than three stores. There were entry barriers for franchising – most county-level cities had small populations, and opening such a store would require an investment of over a hundred thousand yuan with uncertain returns. So for those planning to open stores in counties… sorry, but there is no franchise qualification at present.

Xia Xiaolan wanted to build a solid foundation for the brand. To ensure franchisees’ confidence in profitability, she wouldn’t allow any underperforming franchise stores to exist. At least for this year, county-level franchising was not an option.

Finally, someone’s application was approved. They exchanged eighty thousand yuan for a franchise contract and pushed through the crowd.

Liu Yong had no time to chat with his niece anymore and quickly brought Gong Yang along – this was business after all!

It wasn’t until 11 PM that Chen Xiliang was finally freed from the siege of people. He processed all qualified applications that could be handled on the spot.

The others either didn’t have enough money or had qualification issues.

Without exaggeration, the room was filled with money.

These private business owners preferred cash transactions, unfamiliar with and distrustful of bank checks, refusing to replace “Da Tuanjie” (ten-yuan notes) with those flimsy pieces of paper.

The 100-yuan denomination of Chinese currency wouldn’t be issued for another three years. Currently, the largest denomination is still the 10-yuan “Da Tuanjie.” Eighty thousand in cash stacked up to the equivalent of what eight hundred thousand would look like in future times.

Now there was over two million yuan in cash in the room, equivalent to the visual impact of over twenty million in future hundred-yuan bills.

Everyone who saw it was stunned!

Though Liu Yong had earned millions before, he had never seen so much cash at once.

Fearing miscounts, Chen Xiliang had invited professionals from the bank to help – all winners of branch-level money-counting competitions. They counted each eighty-thousand payment separately, confirming the total of 2.16 million yuan without error.

Chen Xiliang kept giving himself psychological suggestions, telling himself he was someone who had seen it all, just to maintain his composure.

“2.16 million, 27 franchisees! I didn’t approve anyone who couldn’t pay the full franchise fee upfront.”

Who knew what those people’s real intentions were? Not having enough money showed a lack of sincerity, so Chen Xiliang wanted to secure these 27 franchisees who could pay in full first.

The advertising costs have been recovered.

Earning over a million at once was quite something, and Xia Xiaolan worried about Old Chen getting carried away:

“Most of the money we earn needs to be reinvested in the brand. These franchisees won’t make it in time for the winter collection. By the time they finish decorating their stores, they can start directly with the spring collection. Previously, Luna only needed a small amount of inventory monthly, but now it’s suddenly increased severalfold. Not just the quantity and quality of ready-made clothes, but also transportation and delivery scheduling… Old Chen, this is a big test for us, no, for you!”

Xia Xiaolan wanted to help but had little free time. Once she finished setting things up with Luna, she would need to focus on Golden Sand Pool’s sales.

Chen Xiliang also felt the pressure.

These 27 franchises were just the confirmed ones.

The advertisement hadn’t been running for long, and before the New Year, there would surely be more people coming to investigate franchising opportunities.

Once this batch of attracted franchisees started making money and business was booming, Luna would have established a firm foothold and could continue to grow and develop.

Using this Spring Festival as a deadline, expanding Luna to 50 stores wasn’t just a dream.

Fifty stores meant Luna would need to move tens of thousands of pieces monthly… This was different from wholesale business. Wholesale was a one-time deal – private vendors bought from his stall, and whether they could sell it was their own business. Chen Xiliang didn’t need to worry about “after-sales service.”

Running a brand was different, with so many things to worry about.

Chen Xiliang suddenly felt overwhelmed – why did he give up being a good wholesale trader to become a brand founder?

Seeing him being dramatic, Xia Xiaolan rolled her eyes: “Old Chen, don’t act coy after getting such a good deal. Look at Ji Ya – she’d love to be this busy but doesn’t have the opportunity. Why don’t you give this chance to her?”

“No, no, Miss Ji’s shoulders are too delicate. I’m afraid she couldn’t handle this heavy responsibility. I’ll just have to work harder and do it myself!”

Hmph!

If this wasn’t acting coy after getting a good deal, what was it?

Xia Xiaolan wasn’t scolding Chen Xiliang.

They were both happy.

Wang Mingming being poached had disrupted Luna’s original plans, and Ji Ya’s fashion show had added variables, but with Xia Xiaolan strategizing and Chen Xiliang executing meticulously, they had turned the situation around, making Luna’s promotion even more effective than expected.

Xia Xiaolan had already disrupted Ji Ya’s initial promotional campaign – could Ji Ya make a comeback later?

Xia Xiaolan didn’t care.

The market share was fixed. If Elegance wanted to challenge them, Luna had to dominate them completely.

The market was there – whoever had the ability could seize it!

If Ji Ya still wouldn’t admit defeat, Xia Xiaolan would exhaust all their resources first.

“Sister Zhang Xiao has returned to her work unit. She’s now our brand ambassador and ordinary consumers already see her as one with Luna. Old Chen, you need to keep an eye on her situation – we absolutely cannot have any scandals.”

Chen Xiliang laughed heartily, “She understands better than anyone. Previously, some people at her work unit criticized her, but after the newspaper coverage, her fame and reputation have risen significantly. Their film studio wants her to shoot a new movie – that’s why she returned so quickly!”

Xia Xiaolan certainly hoped Zhang Xiao would get better resources.

If the film studio didn’t give her new movies to shoot, Xia Xiaolan would dare to create a custom urban drama for Zhang Xiao next year. This kind of TV drama didn’t require much investment, and Luna could provide costumes for all female characters. This wouldn’t just be product placement – it would be advertising brainwashing!

Of course, making TV dramas requires capital. Unlike in future times when dramas could air on satellite TV and stream online, earning money twice, with advertisers willing to invest heavily, Xia Xiaolan felt that trying to make money from TV dramas in the 80s, while possible, wasn’t worth the effort and stress for such meager returns.

In that time, she could have renovated and sold two more buildings!

Real estate development was still the faster way to get rich.

Xia Xiaolan suppressed the idea of filming with Zhang Xiao. “We’ve already spent over a million on advertising with Central TV, but the impact of this money goes beyond that. While our relationship with the TV station is still warm, we should get Zhang Xiao onto the Spring Festival Gala this year. Have the designers start preparing now – design two good outfits for Zhang Xiao.”

With fame and a good reputation, why couldn’t she appear at the Spring Festival Gala?

If she hadn’t wanted to leave some funds for Luna, Xia Xiaolan would have dared to buy this year’s midnight time check advertisement for the Spring Festival Gala.

Never mind, hold back – they couldn’t play all their cards at once.

As Xia Xiaolan’s excited mind cooled down, Chen Xiliang walked around like a wandering soul, his eyes fixed and steps floating. Last year, when he went looking for connections, few people in the industry paid attention to him. He had to sneak into the Spring Festival Gala program backstage to build relationships, begging people to wear Luna’s clothes.

This year, he could already freely put performers on the Spring Festival Gala stage!