Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Five: Everything Arranged

After obtaining the order form from Melody, Chen Feng pulled Zhang Wenhao out of the establishment. As soon as they reached the entrance, Chen Feng remarked, "Wenhao, call that Hu Yun right now and place the order, or go directly to Dingsheng Trading to hand it to him. Give him the address and tell him to arrange for delivery this afternoon."

Zhang Wenhao nodded and asked, "What about the payment once they settle the bill here? Part of it is yours, and part covers the procurement costs. Besides, with this much profit, isn't it too much for me to take eighty percent?"

"It's fine," Chen Feng said, waving his hand. "What is this amount of money? It might seem like an astronomical figure to you now, but before long, this amount won't even catch your eye. I just wanted to use this opportunity to train you, so you won't be as naive as a child when you eventually get to Yanjing."

Chen Feng added, "By the way, don't worry about giving me my twenty percent yet; it’s not even enough for my gas money. Keep it for now. Remember what we talked about last night? I think you’ll need some startup capital, so just use this to cover it. As for the future, whether it's here at Melody or with the business owners we dined with yesterday, I won't interfere. It’s entirely up to you to manage."

Knowing that Chen Feng couldn't possibly care about the income from this, Zhang Wenhao realized that being overly modest would only make him look small-minded. He nodded and said, "Alright, I understand. I'll give some serious thought to finding a proper way to make money."

Chen Feng laughed. "Setting aside our income from Melody, I hope you can use this startup capital to earn one million from those business owners over the summer." He then added, "Remember, it must not be about taking advantage of others, but about making money reasonably."

Zhang Wenhao smiled and replied, "Expecting me to reasonably earn a million from them in two or three months—you really think too highly of me."

Chen Feng smiled slightly. "If you don't try, how will you know if I've overestimated you?" He then asked, "Where did you park your car? I'll take you there, and you can handle the rest. I have things to do this afternoon; I'm heading to a neighboring province."

"Just drop me off at home," Zhang Wenhao said. "I parked near my place."

Chen Feng drove Zhang Wenhao to the residential complex near his home and then left. Once Zhang Wenhao got into his Scirocco, he called Li Nan.

"How is it going? Is everyone there?" Zhang Wenhao asked.

"Almost," Li Nan said excitedly. "One person is still on the way. It's a bit far, but he’ll be here soon. The others are already at my place." He added, "Everyone was shocked when they heard they could make at least three hundred a day. They didn't believe it was real; they were afraid you were trying to pull a fast one."

Zhang Wenhao laughed. "Three hundred isn't real."

He paused deliberately, sensing the silence and disappointment on the other end, before continuing, "It starts at five hundred."

"Damn!" Li Nan was stunned. "You're not taking us to hold people up, are you? Five hundred a day?!"

Hearing the astonishment from the other students around Li Nan, Zhang Wenhao said, "Don't worry, it's completely legitimate." He then added, "Meet me at the entrance of Melody in half an hour."

"Got it."

After hanging up, Zhang Wenhao drove to Dingsheng Trading. This time, he didn't look for Xue Qicai but went directly to Hu Yun, handed him the order form, and asked politely, "Brother Hu, when will these items be ready?"

Hu Yun glanced over it briefly and said with a smile, "These are all hot-selling items, and our stock is very sufficient. I'm placing the order with the warehouse now. Give me the address, and the order will be packed within an hour. I'll have them delivered to you immediately afterward."

Zhang Wenhao expressed his gratitude and left the address for Melody. Hu Yun was slightly surprised but didn't ask questions, assuring Zhang Wenhao that the goods would arrive within two hours at the latest.

Zhang Wenhao was confident; this was a first-tier provincial distributor. If he couldn't trust them, there was no other reliable source in Nanjang Province.

Driving to Melody, Zhang Wenhao met Li Nan and his five other classmates. Li Nan, in particular, was very surprised that Zhang Wenhao had brought them to this KTV, given the previous unpleasantness. Zhang Wenhao’s intention to make money here seemed contradictory to Li Nan.

Before Li Nan could ask, Zhang Wenhao ushered everyone inside and introduced them to Zhou Xinquan: "Boss Zhou, these are my classmates. From now on, they will be responsible for supervising the sales of alcohol and beverages here. This way, they can keep track of your sales. If you run low on stock, they will notify me immediately to avoid any supply delays that could affect your business."

Zhou Xinquan understood perfectly. He had originally planned to play along for a few days before finding a way to cheat—perhaps by purchasing stock privately and having the waiters sell it to bypass the supermarket arrangement. He hadn't expected Zhang Wenhao to be so vigilant; the supervisors had arrived before the goods even did.

However, Zhou Xinquan didn't dare show any defiance and quickly greeted everyone warmly.

Zhang Wenhao said, "Boss Zhou, please keep a medium-sized private room open for us long-term. Charge it to me, and I’ll settle the bill with you, so my classmates have a place to rest when they're tired."

Zhou Xinquan thought to himself: *How much does a private room cost for a session? You're fleecing me for so much money every day, yet you're being so precise about this bill as if you don't want to take advantage of me. Can I really charge you for a room? If you hold a grudge and resort to violence again, I’ll lose even more!*

"That's a small matter, I'll arrange it," Zhou Xinquan replied. "Treat this place like your own."

Zhang Wenhao nodded, offered a perfunctory thanks, and said, "Boss Zhou, please arrange it now. We have a few things to discuss. Also, the goods should arrive within an hour and a half; have your staff prepare."

Zhou Xinquan had to call a subordinate to open a room for them. Zhang Wenhao chose the one closest to the supermarket. Once inside with his six classmates, Zhang Wenhao said, "Actually, the work is very simple. We are the sole suppliers of alcohol here, so you need to ensure that every bottle sold is from our stock. One person will watch the supermarket sales, while two others will patrol the KTV to verify that the alcohol being delivered to the rooms is ours."

"That's all?" Li Nan asked.

"That's all," Zhang Wenhao confirmed. "There are two floors with about a hundred rooms each. Aside from the person in the supermarket, one person must patrol each floor. That means three people on duty at a time."

The others nodded. Zhang Wenhao continued, "I'll get you walkie-talkies this afternoon. When the place opens, the person in the supermarket will record every batch of alcohol leaving, and those on the floors will report every time a waiter delivers drinks to a room. We'll cross-check the numbers."

"How should we arrange the shifts?" a classmate asked.

"Business starts at 2:00 PM," Zhang Wenhao explained. "From 2:00 to 7:00 is one shift, and 7:00 to 1:00 AM is another. Five hours per shift. Rotate every three days. Those on the night shift get an extra hundred yuan for dinner and cab fare."

Li Nan quickly divided the six people into two groups. "Since the KTV isn't open this afternoon, let Group Two take the night shift."

Zhang Wenhao laughed. "No need to be modest today. Everyone works the night shift tonight; the pay is the same for everyone. I'll be here too, and we'll have dinner together."

"You got it!" everyone cheered. They were eager to start, as earning six hundred yuan in one night was a huge temptation. Zhang Wenhao wasn't worried about Zhou Xinquan bribing them; he trusted these people, and the three-person shift structure provided mutual oversight.

After waiting for over an hour, Zhang Wenhao's phone rang. It was Hu Yun. "Mr. Zhang, your shipment is downstairs. Please come down to sign for it."

Zhang Wenhao went down with his classmates and found a two-row box truck parked outside. Hu Yun stepped out of the passenger seat with a young man. "I was afraid they wouldn't recognize you since it's their first time, so I came along," Hu Yun said. He introduced the young man: "This is Xiao Wu. He will be responsible for your deliveries from now on."

Hu Yun instructed Xiao Wu, "This is Mr. Zhang Wenhao. Call him before every delivery, let him count the goods, and check the order form. Once he signs, you can go."

Xiao Wu nodded. Having been told by Hu Yun to treat Zhang Wenhao with importance, he greeted him very politely.

"Mr. Zhang," Hu Yun said with a smile, "if you run out of any stock, call Xiao Wu directly. Even if it's just one bottle, he'll deliver it as quickly as possible."

Zhang Wenhao thanked him and told Zhou Xinquan to have his men count the stock. Once verified, they would move the goods and settle the payment with a check.

After Zhou Xinquan's procurement person finished counting, the staff began moving the goods. When Li Nan and the others tried to help, Zhang Wenhao stopped them: "You have nothing to do with the staff here. They have no right to ask you to do anything. Just do what I told you."

They nodded. This made things easier for them; they only needed to focus on monitoring the sales.

Once the goods were counted, Zhang Wenhao didn't wait for them to finish moving everything. "Boss Zhou, let your men finish. Let's go up and settle the account."

"Right, right." Zhou Xinquan felt resentful, but he had to act as if he was happy about being fleeced. He led Zhang Wenhao to the finance office and had the accountant issue a cash check for 449,600 yuan.

Zhang Wenhao took the check, put it in his wallet, and walked out. He told his classmates to wait while he drove to the bank where the check was issued. He opened a new account, kept twenty thousand in cash, and deposited the rest.

After that, Zhang Wenhao went to buy a leather clutch. His small wallet wasn't enough to handle the daily payroll and his new financial status. He then went to the electronics mall and bought six imported walkie-talkies to facilitate communication.

Finally, Zhang Wenhao returned to Melody, but first stopped at a decent restaurant nearby. He thought that since his classmates were on summer break, they would likely hang out in the KTV rooms even when off-duty, so he needed to arrange their meals.

He negotiated with the restaurant owner, gave a 10,000 yuan deposit, and requested a menu. He arranged for his classmates to call in their orders, which the restaurant would deliver to a designated room at Melody. He didn't ask for any discounts, only that they include the receipts for accounting purposes.

The owner was delighted to have a regular, prepaid customer and agreed immediately.

With everything settled, Zhang Wenhao felt relieved. His six classmates could now hang out and make money at the same time. Over the summer, each of them would earn at least 30,000 to 50,000 yuan—enough for their tuition and expenses for the next three to four years of college.