Chapter Fifty-Three: I Long to Ride the Winds and Break the Waves, to Tread Across the Golden Sands and Roaming Seas

Gui A County. Tianyu Tower.

At six minutes past six on the morning of March 6th, 1990, according to the lunar calendar, Huakun Supermarket officially opened its doors.

This grand opening ceremony was nothing short of spectacular.

The crackling of firecrackers echoed for over an hour, alerting nearly half the city that a supermarket was opening today by the People’s Square.

The promotional campaign had kicked off three days earlier. Lu Kun had gone all out, hiring more than two hundred middle school students as part-time staff. Dressed in uniform, they were split into teams, each parading down different city streets with placards announcing Huakun Supermarket's March 6th grand opening and special promotions, shouting slogans and handing out flyers to every passerby.

On major thoroughfares, advertising trucks arranged by Lu Kun roamed back and forth, broadcasting commercials and ensuring the entire Gui A County urban area was thoroughly covered.

Even the rundown county television station was bought off by Lu Kun’s cash. With the exception of a weekly technical maintenance break on Tuesday afternoons, it broadcast Huakun Supermarket’s promotional event twenty-three and a half hours a day, on endless repeat.

Of course, the main reason was the price—a mere five hundred yuan secured a whole quarter’s worth of advertising.

As for why it wasn’t a full twenty-four hours, Lu Kun guessed the station needed to reserve a little time for the national news broadcast.

Thankfully, Lu Kun had already paid off all the relevant officials and filed the necessary paperwork; otherwise, making such a splash out of nowhere would probably have earned him a summons to the authorities for a “friendly chat.”

Having arranged everything in advance, Lu Kun arrived to find the supermarket already bustling with people.

It was rare for a small, quiet county to have such big news, so many came to look around—some to shop, others just to join the excitement. Either way, the place was buzzing with energy.

The second floor, which Lu Kun had originally planned to reserve for a game arcade, was hastily converted into a clothing market selling all kinds of end-of-line and clearance goods. For just three or five yuan, one could pick up an item of clothing; some children's clothes were marked at only fifty cents a piece.

These rock-bottom prices drew wave after wave of customers, and soon the entire second floor was packed almost to bursting.

Shitou and his crew struggled to maintain order amid the surging crowds.

Throughout the supermarket, people jostled shoulder to shoulder in a frenzy of shopping.

People tend to follow the crowd; hearing the constant exclamations of excitement from inside Huakun Supermarket, even those who hadn’t intended to enter were swept along by the tide.

“Hurry, hurry! If you don’t get in quick, everything will be snatched up! Opening day only, everything’s forty-four percent off! Tomorrow it’s just twelve percent off, and the third day only one percent off! If you want anything, you’d better get it all today!”

“That’s right! I heard someone say the owner’s lost his mind—selling socks at just one cent a pair! He’ll go broke at this rate. His wife’s already grabbing a kitchen knife to chase him around...”

“Seriously? Then we’d better act fast...”

“Wow, this rice is so much cheaper than at the grain store! If only I hadn’t bought so early this month...”

...

“Congratulations to Ms. XXX for drawing the sixth prize: a thirty-yuan voucher for ten yuan off after discount!”

“Congratulations to Mr. XXX for drawing the third prize: a one-hundred-yuan voucher for fifty yuan off after discount!”

“Congratulations to Ms. XXX for drawing the second prize: a fine electric rice cooker!”

...

The lucky draw was a killer move. The elderly men and women were completely swept up by Lu Kun’s combination punch, their adrenaline constantly spiked by the prize announcements at the entrance.

Of course, as a shrewd and cunning boss, Lu Kun made sure that only the first and second prizes were actual physical items; the rest were all vouchers!

The old folks, their pockets emptied, staggered home with their purchases, only to return after withdrawing more money for another shopping spree at Huakun Supermarket.

This time, they even appointed themselves as promoters, calling the younger generation at home to help carry their bags.

If any of the young ones dared protest, they’d be scolded into submission—“Back in my day...”

...

It wasn’t until after eight in the evening that the crowds in the street finally began to thin.

Lu Kun, after presiding over the opening ceremony, had returned to his general manager’s office to oversee operations and receive reports from his staff.

“Boss Lu, here are today’s sales figures...” The statistics manager, Li Wenhao, beamed as he presented several sheets of data.

Lu Kun took them eagerly.

Previously, Li Wenhao had been head of accounting at a small state-run factory, and Lu Kun had poached him at great expense to serve as statistics manager and deputy head of finance.

He was the most educated employee at Huakun Supermarket, a technical secondary school graduate, and very capable.

“Fifty-seven thousand?”

Lu Kun felt a bit dizzy.

To be honest, this far exceeded his expectations.

His secret goal had been five thousand in total sales and a profit of over one thousand—that would have been a passing grade.

Looking at the profit, it was over twelve thousand, which was acceptable.

Of course, the deep discounts and the many vouchers from the prize draws had taken a chunk out of that.

Still, after the day’s hype, tomorrow might be even more explosive, and with discounts tapering off, profits would likely soar.

Reviewing sales across categories, Lu Kun found that daily necessities and clothing were the hottest items.

In particular, the end-of-line and clearance products he’d sourced were almost completely snapped up.

“Well done, everyone’s worked hard. Go tell the staff that during the grand opening promotion, wages will be doubled. Make sure they get plenty of rest and provide great service to our customers,” Lu Kun said cheerfully.

...

“Boss, we’re running out of some items...” The sales manager reported, looking hesitant.

Tap, tap, tap.

Lu Kun drummed his fingers on the table, pondering a solution.

“You in sales need to think harder, broaden our supply channels, and make sure suppliers don’t have us by the throat.

Remember, we’re the sales terminal, the upstream of the retail industry, and we must have absolute bargaining power!

The supermarket will continue to be packed for the next two days, then things will likely ease up. Our top priority is to keep the shelves fully stocked during this peak.”

Seeing the sales manager’s blank expression, Lu Kun’s irritation flared.

“Why are you standing there like a lump? I’m telling you to contact more suppliers and restock immediately—don’t let us run out of goods just as we open,” Lu Kun snapped, his face turning green. If it weren’t so hard to find staff in this market, he’d have fired the man on the spot.

“Oh... oh, yes, General Manager, I’ll get right on it.”

Watching the sales manager stumble out, Lu Kun’s mood only darkened.

Phew—

“The world is so beautiful, yet I’m so irritable. This won’t do—won’t do at all!” Lu Kun tried to calm himself.

But he couldn’t help but worry.

It was nearly impossible to find real talent in Gui A County, and right now, Huakun Supermarket was barely held together by his efforts alone. Management everywhere was a mess, and even if he fired the current staff, there was no guarantee he’d find better replacements locally.

Forget it—he’d make do for now, train them when things settled down, and if they still couldn’t cut it, they could go find work elsewhere.

PS: Thanks to book friends “Hi Hi Unreasonable” and “Void Reborn” for your generous rewards!