April 29th, Sunday morning.

Tian Mo and Zhuang Dong were sitting quietly drinking coffee in a mall café, wordless as they looked at each other.

Tian Mo yawned and checked his watch—it was almost 10 o’clock.

Zhuang Dong gulped down three mouthfuls of coffee and asked, “Dog Bro, how’s it going? Did you figure anything out last night?”

Tian Mo rolled his eyes: “Don’t ask.”

Zhuang Dong obediently stopped asking.

Yesterday, Tian Mo had finished work at five o’clock. After returning to his place, he had seriously reflected on why their Saturday sales had been zero, trying to figure out what went wrong.

But after racking his brains until past 2 AM, he still couldn’t figure it out.

He put himself in the customers’ shoes and realized that customers not buying anything was normal—buying would be abnormal.

When a salesperson tells you these products have poor price-to-performance ratios, are you stupid or masochistic? Who would still buy?

But these principles were personally set by Mr. Pei, and Mr. Pei couldn’t be wrong.

So what exactly went wrong?

Tian Mo really couldn’t wrap his head around this problem, so he hadn’t slept well yesterday and woke up late today. They were supposed to be at the store by 9 AM, but it was already 9 when he got out of bed.

Since they were already late, Tian Mo decided to go all in—he’d take Zhuang Dong to the café for a coffee to wake them up before going to work.

Being a little late was just being late; going a bit earlier or later wouldn’t make much difference anyway since they weren’t selling anything.

The two silently finished their coffee and then went upstairs to the store entrance.

Just as Tian Mo was about to take out his keys to open the door, he suddenly froze.

Because the door was already open!

Mr. Pei was sitting on the sofa in the store, leisurely playing a game.

Tian Mo’s heart immediately sank.

Oh no!

Late for work on the second day, and caught red-handed by Mr. Pei!

He never imagined that Mr. Pei would come so early on a Sunday, and he happened to be absent. This was beyond awkward!

Tian Mo was completely frozen, but Zhuang Dong hadn’t realized the severity of the situation. Seeing someone in the store, his first reaction was to step forward and question: “Hey? Who are you? How did you get in?”

Tian Mo nearly coughed up blood.

He quickly grabbed Zhuang Dong: “Stop talking, you idiot! This is the boss!”

Zhuang Dong was dumbfounded: “Huh? The boss? Oh, boss, I’m sorry!”

Tian Mo hurriedly stepped forward to apologize: “I’m sorry, Mr. Pei. My brother didn’t recognize you before. He’s a straightforward person. Please don’t take it to heart.”

Pei Qian put down the controller and stood up, his face wearing a warm smile: “It’s fine, it’s fine. Young people being straightforward is a good thing. I like this kind of direct personality. Good!”

“You must be Zhuang Dong, right? When I saw your resume before, I thought you had great potential and was really optimistic about you! Now that I’ve met you, I’m even more certain of my judgment.”

“From now on, work well with Tian Mo. The sales department is counting on you two to hold it up for me!”

Zhuang Dong was a bit overwhelmed by the favor: “Really? Thank you, boss! Thank you, boss!”

Tian Mo let out a sigh of relief. He carefully observed and found that Mr. Pei’s expression didn’t seem fake; he really didn’t seem angry.

This was a good sign, indicating that Mr. Pei was in a good mood today. He needed to seize the opportunity to explain why they were late.

“Mr. Pei, I couldn’t sleep well last night because I kept thinking about work, so that’s why I’m late. Please rest assured, this is the first and last time. I will absolutely never do it again!”

Although this excuse sounded fake, Tian Mo knew he was telling the absolute truth, so his tone was quite firm.

Pei Qian showed concern: “Couldn’t sleep well last night? That’s unacceptable!”

“Health is the foundation. Without good health, how can you do your job well? You must pay attention to your sleep and rest more in the future!”

“Besides, the sales department is different from other departments. Hard work isn’t measured by punctual attendance. Let’s do this—from now on, you can work on a flexible schedule. As long as you meet the minimum working hours, it’s fine if you come a bit late or leave a bit early.”

Tian Mo was deeply moved: “Yes, Mr. Pei. Thank you for your understanding and support!”

He looked at Zhuang Dong: “Why are you just standing there? Quickly get Mr. Pei a glass of water.”

“Oh, right!” Zhuang Dong had been standing awkwardly to the side. Hearing this, he hurried to the water dispenser, filled a paper cup with hot water, and brought it over.

Pei Qian took it: “Actually, I don’t have any particular business today. I just wanted to see how things are going here and whether the store is operating according to my plan.”

“How was business yesterday?”

Tian Mo’s heart sank. He thought, oh no, Mr. Pei still asked about it!

Zhuang Dong offending Mr. Pei because he didn’t recognize him and Tian Mo being an hour late were minor issues that Mr. Pei, being magnanimous, could completely overlook.

But having zero sales for the entire day yesterday—that was just too hard to explain away!

After all, this store was in a shopping mall. While the location wasn’t great, it wasn’t particularly bad either. Yesterday was Saturday, yet after working the whole day, they hadn’t sold a single item. It was too embarrassing.

If he told the truth, Mr. Pei would definitely question the abilities of the two brothers!

But Tian Mo didn’t dare lie. He knew very well that Mr. Pei was in a much higher league than him. If he lied, a single glance or subtle facial expression might give him away, and the consequences could be even worse.

After hemming and hawing for a while, Tian Mo finally said with great shame: “I’m sorry, Mr. Pei, but the store’s revenue is still zero. We haven’t sold anything yet.”

“But please don’t worry, Mr. Pei. I will redouble my efforts and strive to make our first sale soon!”

Hearing this, Pei Qian’s eyes lit up: “Not a single item sold? Well done!”

Tian Mo was stunned: “Huh?”

Pei Qian realized he got a bit carried away and quickly composed himself: “What I mean is, this result aligns perfectly with my expectations.”

“It shows that you haven’t acted on your own but have strictly adhered to the principles I gave you.”

Tian Mo was a bit bewildered: “Completely meets expectations? So you expected… no sales?”

Pei Qian smiled slightly, his eyes radiating a philosophical light: “Yes and no.”

“Actually, the sales volume isn’t important. What’s important is that customers willingly purchase our products even after knowing their flaws.”

“This store’s location is decent, and the daily foot traffic isn’t too low. Not selling a single item means that you followed my requirements and detailed the shortcomings of these products to customers, deterring them from buying.”

“Rather than having customers blindly buy our products and then complain when they encounter problems, it’s better to tell them about the product issues upfront so they don’t buy at all.”

“This way, customers aren’t deceived, they have fewer hassles, and we don’t leave a bad impression on them. Isn’t that a win-win?”

“This is what we call a mutual benefit.”

Tian Mo felt a bit dizzy: “But Mr. Pei, if we continue like this, when will we ever sell these things? If no one buys, then…”

Pei Qian immediately said: “If no one buys, that’s not your problem.”

“It only means that our products aren’t good enough, not refined enough, and don’t meet customer demands.”

“The ones who should persevere are the product managers and designers.”

“In short, maintain your current approach and keep going. The fewer things you sell, the more thoroughly you’ve explained the product defects to customers, and the more successful your work is! Moreover, this can also serve as motivation for product managers. You’re doing a great service!”

Tian Mo was completely confused. It was the first time he’d heard that a salesperson not selling a single item was considered doing a great service.

Originally, Tian Mo thought he’d face criticism for being caught late by Mr. Pei, but to his surprise, he was instead lavished with praise—so much that he felt a bit embarrassed.

“Then… Mr. Pei, do you think there are any aspects of our work that need improvement?” Tian Mo asked.

Pei Qian pondered for a moment: “Hmm, if I must point out something that needs improvement…”

“I think your work model is too singular.”

Tian Mo was a bit stunned: “Ah? Mr. Pei, do you mean we shouldn’t just wait in the store for customers to come but should go out and distribute flyers to attract customers?”