2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 58 New Year’s Eve
With the onset of winter, there are fewer and fewer vehicles on the roads in Beicang town. The usually crowded buses are now only occupied by a few elderly people, and the free shuttle buses that travel between Tianrunfa and various towns and villages have many empty seats.

Today is January 31st, the 1nd day of the twelfth lunar month. Most of the migrant workers who should have gone home for the Spring Festival have already left.

After today, Jinpeng Trading will officially begin its annual holiday and will resume work on February 16th, which is the eighth day of the first lunar month next year.

The Li sisters were quite satisfied with their two-week vacation, but for some reason, it was almost noon today and Boss Tan still hadn't arrived.

I'm still waiting to get paid and go home.

There's no specific work to do today. I just need to clean the office, distribute salaries, and then I can leave early. Boss Zhang is already at the company, and the office was tidied up this morning. He's just waiting for Boss Tan.

Starting today, the Taobao store has stopped shipping orders. Orders placed before the Lunar New Year will be shipped together after the holiday.

This month, Jinshang Clothing sold a total of 1255 items, including 140 down jackets priced at 199 yuan each, with a total monthly turnover of 93645 yuan.

With direct factory access, low purchase prices, and low labor costs, the store didn't require much investment this month, resulting in extremely high net profits.

At this moment, Zhang Xupeng was sitting in his office doing calculations. The data he calculated startled him. After deducting all expenses, this Taobao store made a net profit of 5.17 yuan this month!

"Holy crap! What kind of monster has Xiao Tan created? She even said it's pocket money for each other's parents, 25,000 a month, and you call that pocket money?"

Last month, due to the investment in the store, the expenses were relatively large, but Zhang Xupeng didn't feel it much. However, this month, apart from paying Jinpeng Trading for goods, express delivery fees, and Li Jinglan's commission, the Taobao store has almost no expenses.

This is practically making money without lifting a finger! Are online stores really that successful? To be honest, Zhang Xupeng was even a little jealous of his mother!

I have a feeling that I've been tricked by Xiao Tan. But why hasn't that kid come over today? Buying a New Year's gift shouldn't take that long, right? Those two outside are waiting for him to pay their salaries.

Around 11 o'clock, Tan Jincheng arrived at the company and walked into the office empty-handed.

Seeing this, Zhang Xupeng asked, "Didn't you say you were going to buy New Year's gifts? Why did you come empty-handed?"

"It's in the car. Everything's tidied up here, right? We'll clean it up in a bit, and you won't need to come over this afternoon after lunch."

"Oh, all packed up. But I have a question for you. Your Taobao shop made so much money this month. You just dabble in this stuff for pocket money, right?"

"We'll talk about that later. Let's pay the wages first, and then we'll go out to eat."

Immediately afterwards, Tan Jincheng called out to the door, "Sister Li, Jinglan, come in for a moment."

Jinpeng Trading pays salaries on the 15th of each month, which is usually handled by the accountant and deposited into the account. This month, due to the Chinese New Year, the salaries were paid in advance in cash.

As for part-time staff, those like accountants are paid monthly, while others, such as clothing designers, are paid on a per-workload basis, and these payments have already been made.

After the two sisters came in, Tan Jincheng asked with a smile, "Have you finished tidying up?"

"I've finished packing up," Li Yanning replied.

"Okay, then let's not waste any more time. Let's get paid quickly, and then we'll go out for dinner together. It'll be our pre-New Year's Eve dinner."

Immediately afterwards, Tan Jincheng pulled out two envelopes of different thicknesses from the inner pocket of his down jacket. The envelopes were addressed to Li Yanning and Li Jinglan respectively.

The two sisters looked at the envelope with some anticipation; after all, they had traveled a long way just for money.

“Although we haven’t known each other for long, we get along quite well. Lao Zhang and I both recognize Sister Li and Jinglan’s abilities, so in addition to your salaries, we will give you a year-end bonus based on your last month’s salary.” “I took the liberty of rounding it up. Sister Li, yours is 5000 yuan, and Jinglan, yours is 3000 yuan.”

Li Yanning's envelope contained 10,000 yuan, while Li Jinglan's envelope contained 6,000 yuan. These amounts had already been discussed with Zhang Xupeng beforehand. Tan Jincheng handed the envelopes to the two sisters respectively.

Taking the envelope and feeling its thickness, Li Yanning happily said, "Thank you, boss."

This is such a pleasant surprise! Boss Tan had mentioned there would be a surprise during the New Year, but I never expected it to be such a big surprise. I never even dared to dream of 5000 yuan. I thought that getting one or two thousand yuan would be quite extravagant.

Unlike her reserved sister, Li Jinglan couldn't help but take out the money from the envelope and count it: "Wow, there's six thousand yuan! Boss, you're so kind, thank you!"

Seeing this, the other three people in the office laughed. Tan Jincheng, on the contrary, appreciated her behavior. It was good for everyone to count the money in front of everyone.

Zhang Xupeng also said with a smile, "Sister Li, you should count it too. Yours is ten thousand yuan. See if there's any mistake."

Li Yanning then took out the money from the envelope and counted it, feeling a little embarrassed. She had to admit, counting money felt great, especially since it was all her own.

"Sister, you actually have ten thousand yuan! You've struck it rich!" Li Jinglan said enviously.

"Work hard next year, and your income will be no less than your sister's. Also, study more in your spare time."

"Okay, I understand." Li Jinglan nodded. She was already very satisfied with six thousand yuan. In the first few months after graduation, she hadn't saved much money working in the electronics factory, but after her cousin introduced her to this company, she earned ten thousand yuan in just a few months.

"I need to buy a gift for my sister for the New Year. What should I buy?" Li Jinglan pondered to herself.

Watching Li Yanning put the money back into the envelope, Tan Jincheng said, "Is everything alright? If it's alright, then keep it safe and don't lose it. Next, let's go have lunch. After lunch, you don't need to come over this afternoon. Turn off all the power and lock the door."

Small companies are that simple. There are no annual parties. Most people clean up on the day of the holiday and go home quietly. Some bosses will organize a dinner party a few days before the end of the year.

In the boss's eyes, treating an employee to a nice meal and giving them a few hundred yuan for travel expenses is already the best reward.

Li Yanning has been working for several years, and she has never heard of a private company that gives out year-end bonuses of 5000 yuan, especially not to an employee who has only worked there for a little over three months!

Li Yanning was amazed by the young boss's straightforwardness.

With an excited Li Jinglan by their side, the two quickly packed their belongings, turned off the company's main power, and followed the two bosses downstairs.

Did you two come by electric scooter or bus today?

"I came by bus. It's cold now and the buses aren't crowded, so it's more convenient to take the bus."

"Alright then, I'll take it back to you after you finish eating."

The car made several turns and drove for about 15 minutes before arriving near a magnificent restaurant, where Tan Jincheng parked the car.

"Eat here? Holy crap, is it really that good?" Zhang Xupeng had been to this restaurant twice, and in his words, it was ridiculously expensive.

Tan Jincheng asked with a smile, "What's wrong? You've worked hard all year, can't I enjoy myself a bit?"

(End of this chapter)