Fang Bai and his father poured all the money they had collected today onto the floor and first picked out the hundred-yuan bills.
Most of the money consisted of 10-Yuan Notes, with a smaller portion of hundred-yuan bills, plus a pile of 5-Yuan Notes and one-yuan bills.
After counting, there were only nine hundred-yuan bills in total, all from the fourth 1980 edition and fairly well preserved.
The one-yuan bills, however, actually had names or various information written on them. Some of the 10-Yuan Notes had writing as well.
In this era, some people liked writing on banknotes, perhaps to keep records or pass along messages, such as advertising something.
But generally speaking, if large-denomination notes had writing on them, some people might refuse to accept them.
"Dad, next time, try not to take any money with writing on it. It'll be troublesome for us to deal with otherwise," Fang Bai reminded him. He did not want to encourage this habit.
"Yeah, I was in a rush while taking the money and didn't pay much attention. I'll watch out next time." Fang Shi had been a little excited while collecting payments, and with so many people around, he had gotten flustered.
Father and son sorted the cash together, putting the hundred-yuan bills in one pile and stacking every other denomination into bundles of one hundred notes.
At the same time, Fang Bai checked the receipts.
They had sold twenty-nine televisions today in total: twelve 21-inch color TVs at an average price of 1,100 yuan each;
two 14-inch color TVs at 368 yuan each, though one had sold for 350 yuan;
one 29-inch color TV at 2,500 yuan. It was also the Color TV with the highest profit margin, and Fang Bai had not expected anyone to buy it.
Ten 17-inch black-and-white TVs at 150 yuan each;
and four 14-inch black-and-white TVs at 78 yuan each.
Their total revenue was 18,230 yuan.
The father and son counted the money twice, taking quite a while. In the end, the amount was correct, and it matched the receipts.
Still, they had accepted one counterfeit 10-Yuan Note. Fang Bai tore it up the moment he saw it.
"Ah, I still wasn't careful enough. That's two days' wages gone. I wonder which bastard could be so heartless." Seeing his son tear up the fake bill without hesitation, Fang Shi was not distressed over the money, but blamed himself for not being more careful.
"Dad, it's fine. It's only ten yuan. With so much money coming in, mistakes are unavoidable."
Fang Bai comforted him without taking it to heart. "We made so much money. Losing a little doesn't matter."
After tearing up the ten yuan, their actual revenue was 18,220 yuan. They had recouped their investment and turned a profit.
Hearing his son say that, Fang Shi smiled in relief.
Looking again at the pile of money on the floor, he was truly happy.
His hands had gone numb from collecting payments. He knew their revenue had definitely exceeded ten thousand yuan, but once the final tally came out, both his hands trembled, and the silly grin on his face would not fade.
"Son, we still have so many TVs that can be repaired. If we can sell them all, we'll be rich."
Fang Bai was relatively calm and smiled. "Let's talk after the money is in our hands. Besides, to rich people, this amount is nothing."
"You're being too cocky, kid. That won't do. You need to understand that if money comes easily and you don't know how to cherish it, it'll be spent just as quickly," Fang Shi said with a laughing scold.
"Dad, I mean that if we want to build a business, this money is nowhere near enough to get started."
"Why build a business? Isn't selling TVs honestly enough? The profit is so high."
"Dad, have you forgotten that I still need to go to school? I can't keep selling TVs forever, and testing them takes quite a bit of time.
Besides selling TVs, there are plenty of other businesses we can do."
Fang Bai reminded him that selling TVs to build up capital before dealing in Subscription Certificates was fine.
But selecting TVs and analyzing their faults consumed a great deal of his time. It simply would not work unless he did it himself.
Based on the value of his time, if his hourly profit was higher than what he earned tinkering with used TVs, then he would definitely have to give up the refurbished TV business.
Of course, with Fang Bai testing TVs alone, it would be difficult for the market to become saturated. There would be no problem continuing for a long time.
His speed of testing TVs and guiding their repair on his own, especially guiding repairs, was terribly time-consuming. He could handle at most a hundred sets a day, which still could not keep up with the rate at which several developed countries discarded electronic waste.
If Fang Bai kept fussing over TVs, it would affect his plans for future development.
He needed to spend time studying and improving himself. How could he possibly treat himself as a mere TV-testing tool?
If he liked working on TVs that much, he might as well develop and sell his own TVs.
Therefore, there was a limit to what refurbishing TVs could achieve. In the end, it could never amount to anything grand.
Fang Shi slapped his forehead with an "Ah!" and laughed. "Haha, I got so dizzy from selling TVs today that I forgot you're still repeating your final year.
What you said makes sense too. You decide for yourself, then. My suggestion is that you keep some capital aside and leave yourself a way out."
Over the past two days, Fang Shi had watched his son manage TV sales with flawless organization. There were many sales tactics he did not even understand.
Fang Shi had not expected his son to have such a talent for business. It seemed those two months of working had influenced him greatly.
Fang Bai nodded in understanding. He knew his father's worries came from concern and love.
"Dad, I understand what you mean. I'll consider it carefully and keep some capital for myself."
As Fang Bai spoke, he counted out two thousand yuan and handed it to him. "Take these two thousand yuan for household expenses. Pay off all our debts, and I have plans for the rest of the funds."
"Alright. There isn't much debt left anyway. The eight hundred you gave me last time paid off almost all of it."
Fang Shi accepted the money his son handed over, marveling inwardly that this was the first time he had ever been able to control so much money.
If this had happened before, he truly would have wanted to keep his son's money for him.
But after observing his son these past two days, he realized that his son had grown up and understood business. He felt too embarrassed to ask to hold onto his son's money anymore.
He understood that his son needed funds to purchase stock and keep the business running, and he trusted Fang Bai to manage the remaining money cautiously.
In truth, he did not need two thousand yuan himself, but he wanted to save some separately. What if his son's business failed someday and he needed funds? At least he would have capital to make a comeback.
Fang Shi felt gratified. Looking at his son, he was proud of him.
"Dad, don't do anything with the house for now. We'll be doing business here this whole year and will rarely go back to live there.
Just get some new clothes for yourself and Mom. In another year or two, once we've made more money, we can build a better house," Fang Bai reminded him. He was afraid that once his parents had money, they would recklessly spend it renovating the house, and then he would have to put more money into it.
Building a concrete house did not cost much now, but Fang Bai wanted to build one properly and avoid having to keep renovating it. If he wanted it not to fall behind for fifteen years, he would definitely need to spend a lot.
Right now, he needed to accumulate more funds in preparation for Subscription Certificates. Aside from Subscription Certificates, there might be other plans as well, so he needed to avoid reckless spending in the early stage.
Giving his parents two thousand yuan was enough for them to spend without affecting Fang Bai's plans.
"Alright, we'll listen to you. Tomorrow, I'll just have your mom quit her job and come help out."
Fang Bai's words put Fang Shi somewhat at ease. He knew his son was smart and had plans, and he trusted him to make wise decisions for his future.
"Exactly. Mom really doesn't need to work at the school anymore. The pay is too low, and the main thing is that people look down on her. How could that make her happy?"
"Well, there was no choice before. Now that you've made something of yourself, your mom and I can relax," Fang Shi said with a gratified smile, though he was also worried. "It's just that it's delaying your studies."
"It's fine. Reading all day gets stifling too. Finding something to do is good, and it won't delay me by much." Fang Bai said, "Dad, the storefront next door happens to be up for rent. Let's rent it."
Fang Bai had disliked the previous rent being too high, so he had not rented the space next door.
Now that they were no longer short of money, spending an extra hundred yuan or so a year did not matter. More importantly, it would be convenient for him.
Fang Shi agreed as well. "A bigger space would be better. We have too much stuff piled up here, and there's barely room for a few people to move around."
The two continued chatting for a while before taking hot baths.
Fang Bai continued studying into the night and finished his learning tasks for the day.
At eleven-thirty that night, Fang Shi woke up after having a little alcohol. When he passed the bathroom to relieve himself, he saw that the light in his son's bedroom was still on. He went over to look and found his son still reading beneath the lamp.
He did not know what to say to persuade him, so he went downstairs to boil water, brought a bowl up for his son, and set it on his desk.
He said nothing, then left.
Fang Shi planned to buy some supplements tomorrow for his son and daughter. Now that they had money, they should spend it where it was needed.
There was also that business tax. His son said they needed to pay the overdue amount, and it was not much money. It would save them trouble later; otherwise, if the authorities confiscated their TVs, there would be nowhere to cry. They also needed to make time to get a business license.
Fang Bai kept reading until midnight before going to bed. As he closed his eyes, he looked at the system screen.
Personal wealth had reached 30,000 yuan! (Cash: 19,500 yuan + remaining TV costs: 9,200 yuan + personal fixed assets: approximately 1,300 yuan) 70,000 yuan remained until the next upgrade!
Fang Bai desperately wanted to upgrade his Golden Finger. First, it would restore his finger; second, he hoped to see what other changes would occur after the Golden Finger upgraded.
Right now, the Golden Finger he had the greatest hope of upgrading first was the middle finger Golden Finger.
Reaching 100,000 yuan in wealth was not far away.
Before you continue