"What about sales, revenue, and profit?"
Chen Yang nodded after hearing Zhang Weiyang's report. He had only been gone for a little over ten days, and Zhang Weiyang had achieved so much, even with Zou Chenguang's support, it was still very impressive.
"In the counties under Qinghe City, almost every store's average daily sales have reached over 30 units. The Liuhe County store has the most outstanding sales, with a peak of sixty-one units sold in a single day."
"At the Qinghe City main store, average daily sales have reached fifty units. When the supply was sufficient, we sold over one hundred and three units in a day. Director Zou even personally arranged for cadres from the Administration for Industry and Commerce to help maintain order."
"I don't have the data for Feishi yet; it's too far, and I need a letter of introduction to travel there. However, this time we're adopting a model of cooperation with state-owned department stores."
"This was something I suddenly thought of. After all, Feishi is not like Qinghe City where we gained trust after demonstrating results initially. I directly opened sub-branches within state-owned department stores, paying them rent. With the endorsement of state-owned stores, customers are more likely to trust us."
"Since we opened, we've sold over eighteen hundred radios, with an average profit of nearly thirty-five yuan per unit. Roughly calculated, the profit is around fifty to sixty thousand yuan."
"But we still have to pay for maintenance staff, distribution fees, rent, decoration, hiring people, and acquiring old radios for inventory. After all these miscellaneous expenses, we have about twenty thousand yuan left on hand."
Zhang Weiyang spoke the latter part in a low voice to Chen Yang, who was stunned by his words.
Over eighteen hundred units sold was an astonishing figure. They hadn't even been in the used radio business for a full month since they started.
The gross profit of fifty to sixty thousand yuan was immense for the 1970s, an era where a "Da Tuanjie" (ten-yuan note) was the highest denomination. Fifty to sixty thousand yuan was an astronomical sum.
The rarity of having fifty to sixty thousand yuan in savings was no less than being a billionaire in later generations.
Chen Yang had initially worried about Zhang Weiyang's funding, as advertising and other expenses required money. He hadn't expected Zhang Weiyang to have saved money.
"You rascal, you really are something."
Chen Yang patted Zhang Weiyang on the shoulder. This kid was a born businessman.
He was in his previous life, and even more so in this one.
In his previous life, without resources, connections, or guidance, Zhang Weiyang had started his business years later than now and still achieved great success.
In this life, Chen Yang provided the capital, pointed the way, taught him business, and even offered connections. Chen Yang was very satisfied with Zhang Weiyang's business acumen and dared not even speculate on his future achievements.
His future was limitless!
"Brother, I've hidden the money at home. You can come with me to get it later."
"I've made account books. I've recorded every radio acquired, the labor costs paid, distribution fees, and profits. You can look at them later."
Hearing Chen Yang's praise, Zhang Weiyang felt a sense of pride. He hadn't failed Chen Yang's expectations.
He knew that he had only put in the effort; Chen Yang had paved the way for him, including how to open stores, how to do distribution, how to smooth things over with higher-ups, and the initial capital.
Chen Yang had done so much, and if he didn't perform exceptionally, he wouldn't be able to face Chen Yang.
"Alright, I'll see later."
"For accounting, you can find an experienced accountant in the future. See if there are any retired accountants you trust from your factory. We can hire them to help with the books."
"Otherwise, you'll be too exhausted. As the business grows, neither you nor I will have the time to do the accounting and reconciliation."
"For now, keep the money. We need to speed up and aim to open a branch in every county in An Province before October."
"In each region or city, we need to open a main store. This store will be responsible for acquiring and repairing used radios in its region. We can't have everything sent to Qinghe City for repairs; the time cost and burden would be too great."
"All of this will cost money, and this amount might not be enough."
It wasn't that Chen Yang didn't trust Zhang Weiyang. Zhang Weiyang would be too busy to handle accounting in the future. Professional matters should be handled by professionals.
Chen Yang had originally planned to take over the entire used radio market in An Province by the end of the year. Now, looking at Zhang Weiyang's progress, this timeline could be moved up.
Each region or city would have a repair center and a main store to manage the sub-branches in its jurisdiction, as well as handle acquisition, repair, and distribution of radios.
This was something Zhang Weiyang hadn't considered. Currently, he had only fully developed the market in Qinghe City. The development in Feishi and Yingzhou was limited, so Qinghe City was still the sole supplier.
Once the scope expanded, the staff in Qinghe City wouldn't be enough.
"Brother, you're right. Just the trip to Feishi was a struggle for me. If the scale grows, I really won't have the time to make deliveries."
Zhang Weiyang completely agreed with Chen Yang's idea. He understood the inconvenience of transportation in this era after making a few trips himself.
Firstly, one needed a letter of introduction to travel. Secondly, truck drivers didn't pay him much attention.
In those days, most state-owned factories didn't even have their own transport teams. As for trucks, apart from state-owned enterprises or special units, private individuals couldn't possibly own them. Finding someone to transport goods was extremely difficult.
If not for Zou Chenguang's connections, he wouldn't have even been able to enter the dispatch office of the transport team. Even then, after giving them cigarettes and wine, they only helped him with a few loads, and the freight charges were not low.
"We'll discuss this matter further later."
"Regarding your father's uremia, I specifically consulted experts at a hospital in Jinling for you."
"If a suitable kidney donor can be found, a kidney transplant is possible, but some preparations need to be made beforehand. Also, the success rate of kidney transplant surgery is not high now. If it's unsuccessful..."
Since it was surgery, there were risks involved. Medical technology was not as advanced as in later generations, so Chen Yang had to inform Zhang Weiyang of the risks.
In his previous life, his father hadn't lived to see Zhang Weiyang become successful. After all, without Chen Yang, Zhang Weiyang wouldn't have dared to do business so openly at this time.
A few years later, when Zhang Weiyang dared to expand his operations, he wouldn't have had the conditions that Chen Yang was providing him now. His father couldn't wait that long.
This matter had always been a deep regret for Zhang Weiyang in his past life.
In this life, Chen Yang had led him onto the path of business early. Whether Zhang Weiyang's father would survive, Chen Yang was uncertain.
The main reason was that there were very few successful cases of treating uremia at this time. With the current medical conditions, having money didn't necessarily mean one could be saved.
"Brother, whether it succeeds or not, I have to try."
"If I don't try, my father will have no hope. I still want him to see me get married and start a family, to see his grandson born, and to enjoy family happiness."
"Even if it doesn't work out, I will have tried. I believe he won't blame me."
Zhang Weiyang looked at Chen Yang. Chen Yang could feel his inner pain. Zhang Weiyang's mother had passed away early, and his father was his only relative. How could he not cherish him?