“Go ahead, I’m listening.”

Over the phone, Xia Xiaolan didn’t sound angry, but Chen Xiliang still felt nervous.

After all, he was talking to a provincial college entrance exam champion who was not only brilliant academically but also sharp in business.

The situation was this: Chen Xiliang and Xia Xiaolan had wanted to capitalize on the enthusiasm surrounding the Los Angeles Olympics that summer, especially after shooter Xu Haifeng became China’s first gold medalist, with China winning 15 gold medals in total. Sports was the hottest topic this year. Not riding this wave would be worse than death for shrewd merchants. Chen Xiliang had partnered with Xia Xiaolan to order 10,000 sets of sportswear, but Xia Xiaolan thought about it and doubled the scale of the business, with each of them investing 140,000 yuan.

She certainly didn’t have 140,000 yuan; of the 90,000 she could manage, she had even borrowed 20,000 from Zhou Cheng.

However, Xia Xiaolan believed 20,000 sets of sportswear would sell well, and she had already sold several thousand sets on her end.

Chen Xiliang said he needed to settle 240,000 with the garment factory… unless he had ordered another 10,000 sets on his own! Xia Xiaolan waited for his explanation, thinking she wouldn’t be happy about this even if it was profitable because Chen Xiliang had acted unilaterally.

Chen Xiliang was indeed nervous, stammering out an explanation that matched Xia Xiaolan’s guess.

The sportswear had sold too well.

Even the additional 10,000 pieces had sold out completely.

“I couldn’t reach you, and I was anxious. We couldn’t miss such a good profit opportunity! Fortunately, all the sportswear sold out, and we didn’t lose money this time.”

It was more than just breaking even – all 30,000 sets of sportswear had sold out completely.

The cost price was 14 yuan per set. Chen Xiliang’s wholesale price was at least 18 yuan per set, while Xia Xiaolan took 2,000 sets to Shenzhen People’s Bridge Small Commodities Market and transported 3,000 sets back to Shangdu, all at 20 yuan per set. On average, there was a profit of 4-5 yuan per set.

And this was for 30,000 sets!

The factory cost alone was 420,000 yuan worth of goods. Because of installment payments, Xia Xiaolan and Chen Xiliang had each only actually invested 90,000 yuan, totaling 180,000. So now there were still 240,000 yuan in payments remaining for “Chenyu Garments.”

“I knew nothing about the final 10,000 sets, you didn’t need to tell me.”

If they had lost money, Chen Xiliang could have asked her to share the costs; if they made money, couldn’t he have just kept it quiet?

After all, the manager of Chenyu Garment Factory was Chen Xiliang’s brother-in-law. Even if Xia Xiaolan got wind of it later, she’d have no proof.

Chen Xiliang looked sheepish, “That wouldn’t be right. Business is about credibility. If we had lost money, I would have taken the hit myself, but since we made money, it’s still our business together.”

Xia Xiaolan’s feelings were complicated. As a partner, she disagreed with Chen Xiliang’s method of acting without consulting her. If, as Chen Xiliang said, he couldn’t sell the extra 10,000 sets he ordered privately, could she not share any of the burden? Once they started arguing, their business partnership would be ruined, and “Blue Phoenix” was still getting stock through Chen Xiliang… For future cooperation with Manager Chen, she would need to be more careful. Xia Xiaolan rubbed her temples:

“Don’t let it happen again! If something like this happens again, I’ll dissolve our partnership even if it’s a million-yuan business!”

This time they had won the gamble, but what about next time?

Regardless of profit or loss, all business decisions needed to be made jointly.

Chen Xiliang, unaware of Xia Xiaolan’s assessment that he was too arbitrary in business, was just relieved to have passed this hurdle and happily started calculating their profits from riding the trend:

“After deducting our capital, we made 146,000 yuan in total.”

That meant 73,000 yuan each, and it had only taken two months from when Chen Xiliang recruited Xia Xiaolan until they sold all 30,000 sets of sportswear.

Did it sound like easy money?

Even with installment payments, how many people could come up with over 100,000 yuan?

You also needed production and sales channels. Xia Xiaolan’s earlier displeasure dissipated – regardless, Manager Chen had indeed helped her make money.

He had sought her out to share the cost pressure and risks, but there was also an element of returning Xia Xiaolan’s favor. After all, during the previous “dollar” deal with tape recorders, Xia Xiaolan had included Chen Xiliang. Business was about this kind of give and take – it’s hard to achieve big things alone, and sharing resources leads to mutual prosperity.

Now, the tens of thousands earned was still a small change to Xia Xiaolan – even if Chen Xiliang’s unilateral decision had led to losses, she wouldn’t have been devastated.

But as future amounts grew larger, Xia Xiaolan would need to be more careful… For true business partnerships, Chen Xiliang wasn’t as reliable as Bai Zhenzhu.

These were considerations for later.

Regardless, Xia Xiaolan’s investment had doubled, increasing her available cash flow, which would make other ventures much more convenient.

Since her rebirth, in just one year, Xia Xiaolan’s wealth had grown from 20 sweet potatoes to over 200,000 yuan. Looking back on her year of struggle, she hadn’t wasted a moment. All the hard work had been worth it. If she lacked ambition, she could have used this money to buy some seemingly run-down cheap houses in Beijing, waited for demolition compensation to get more houses, and then sold a few sets after 30 years – wouldn’t that solve all her worries?

But that was 30 years away! In the meantime, should she just idle away her time waiting for wealth?

Such a life would be too boring.

Xia Xiaolan enjoyed doing business, making money, and having wealth in her own hands. It made her feel in control of her destiny – after all, many things could be solved with money, and achieving financial freedom would make life much easier.

But what she liked wasn’t just the numbers in her account.

She enjoyed this state of endless struggle and progress; the process of wealth creation was what Xia Xiaolan enjoyed!

When Chen Xiliang asked if she wanted to work together on winter clothing, Xia Xiaolan thought about it and decided to decline: “You know, I still have studies to focus on here in Beijing, and I can’t put too much attention on Yangcheng right now. If you’re short on cash, I can lend you some, but as for partnership, let’s hold off for now. Have you gotten in touch with the people from ‘Fashion’ magazine?”

Chen Xiliang was stunned on the other end of the phone – turning down money-making opportunities?

In business, isn’t it the timid who starve and the bold who prosper? Was Xia Xiaolan still angry about the extra 10,000 coats?

Xia Xiaolan changed the subject, and Chen Xiliang followed along, “I’ll wire the money to you. If you want to take a break, I’ll take a break too, and continue with the wholesale business. I’ve already contacted the people at ‘Fashion’ about the cashmere coats, and I’m planning to come to Beijing soon to meet with editors from ‘Popular Cinema’ – they know many actors…”

…

Kang Wei shared the same sentiment as Chen Xiliang.

In business, the timid starve while the bold prosper.

When Zhou Cheng suddenly said he wouldn’t touch the cigarette business anymore, Kang Wei was completely stunned. How could someone just give up such a profitable business? Without such a steady large income, how could they speak confidently in front of their Sister-in-law, or casually offer to buy cars, saying anything under 200,000 was fine?

Although Sister-in-law hadn’t wanted the car, Brother Cheng needed to have that financial backing.

“Brother, you’re not planning to rely on those few houses in Beijing for retirement, are you? Are we giving up this business?”

Those old courtyards – Kang Wei wouldn’t even want to live there, thinking them too remote. How could they be counted on for retirement?