In the blink of an eye, all three supermarkets had been open for a full month.
The smallest private room at Old Sichuan had become a temporary office for Wang Xiaoliang, Zhou Qiang, and Kong Xiuyun.
It was not mealtime yet, and the surroundings were quiet.
Inside the private room, however, the atmosphere was rather tense.
Wearing rimless glasses, Kong Xiuyun held down a thick ledger with her left hand while the fingers of her right flew over a calculator.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
Each crisp click of the keys struck at Wang Xiaoliang's heart, leaving him restless in his seat.
Zhou Qiang, meanwhile, held his teacup and leisurely blew on the steam, taking an occasional sip before glancing up at Wang Xiaoliang, the corners of his mouth curved in something that was almost a smile.
Suddenly, with a sharp click, Kong Xiuyun firmly pressed the equals key.
She pushed the ledger and calculator side by side into the center of the table and looked up at the two men.
"I've checked three times. The accounts are correct."
Wang Xiaoliang's heart instantly leaped into his throat.
Zhou Qiang set down his teacup and gave a single command. "Proceed."
"From this month's gross profit, after deducting all employees' wages, social insurance, utilities, and inventory losses... and then subtracting capital recovery."
She paused, swept her gaze across their faces, and announced the first figure.
"Store No. 1, net profit this month: 21,942 yuan."
Wang Xiaoliang's breath caught.
"Shop No. 2, net profit this month: 20,569 yuan."
He clenched his fists.
"Shop No. 3, net profit this month: 17,470 yuan."
Kong Xiuyun picked up her pen, quickly wrote the final total on a sheet of paper, and turned it toward them.
"Combined profit for all three stores this month: 59,881 yuan."
"The ledger is