After much deliberation, I decided to buy Tianhong. As a major domestic brand with decades of reputation, it is trustworthy. Both in taste and texture, it ranks among the very top, thanks to their unwavering commitment to using only the finest foreign raw materials.
Li Haochen selected pistachios, macadamia nuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, peanuts, and more, buying five or six bags of each until his shopping cart was overflowing.
The keen-eyed store manager, spotting Li Haochen's extravagant spending, immediately assigned a sales assistant to help push his cart, recognizing him as a big spender.
Li Haochen was happy to oblige. He still had plenty of items to purchase, and an extra pair of hands would make things much easier.
Besides these, no Lunar New Year celebration would be complete without Lishi candies and Jiayuanzi, considered essentials. They are indispensable whether for personal consumption or for visiting relatives.
For Lishi candies, Jia Dun is the top choice. Their classic strawberry cream-filled candies have been popular in Guangdong for twenty to thirty years. Subsequent varieties like assorted flavors or coffee flavors were uninspired; the classic strawberry ones were still the most delicious.
Jiayuanzi is unquestionably the best. As a long-standing Guangdong brand, its reputation is explosive, built over decades of consistently high quality.
However, the plastic-packaged Jiayuanzi produced nowadays isn't as good as the old paper-wrapped ones, and the fruit pieces are smaller.
Given the substantial amount of Lishi candies and Jiayuanzi needed for the New Year, Li Haochen directly ordered three boxes of each.
This had the sales assistant behind him sweating profusely. Judging by Li Haochen's shopping spree, there was definitely more to come.
Indeed, Li Haochen then made his way to the fruit section. Apart from the candies and biscuits, no Lunar New Year celebration would be complete without pomelos, oranges, apples, and kumquats.
While he could have bought these upon returning to his hometown, Li Haochen preferred not to trouble himself. Since he was already here, he decided to get them all at once.
Furthermore, one must buy red socks and red underwear for the New Year. Especially the underwear, whose homophone "di ni fu" (抵你富) means "support your wealth" and "guarantee your riches," a very auspicious and fitting phrase. It was simply a must-buy. He truly admired the merchants' advertising slogans.
Li Haochen took another stroll through the supermarket, checking if anything was missed. Indeed, there were still many items, such as seasonings, beverages, cigarettes, and alcohol, that hadn't been bought.
Fortunately, he came alone. If he had brought Murong Yanran and the other girl, they might not have finished shopping even after another two days.
When it was time to check out, Li Haochen was taken aback. More than ten sales assistants were behind him, pushing carts, creating a scene that drew the attention of all nearby customers, resembling a "train."
With such a large volume of items, the supermarket had set up a dedicated checkout channel. While the items were being tallied, Li Haochen was invited to the manager's office for tea.
He recognized the manager from a previous major shopping trip when he had received an 8.8% discount card. This time, the manager was also accommodating, telling the cashier to give Li Haochen a 8.5% discount directly in front of him.
Don't underestimate that extra 0.3% discount. For bulk transactions like Li Haochen's, it could save thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan, which was significant.
During their conversation, they naturally touched upon Li Haochen's background. Upon learning that he was starting a bamboo processing plant, the manager enthusiastically invited Li Haochen to stock his products in their mall. This was also the primary reason Li Haochen had come to the manager's office to chat.
Li Haochen had already envisioned the future development of his processing plant. Besides chopsticks, he also planned to produce toothpicks, barbecue skewers, and bamboo cutting boards. He was eager to get his products onto the shelves of a large mall like Binhai Plaza. Having this connection to sell his goods here would undoubtedly elevate his sales to another level. Although the shelf fees were not small, reducing his profit margin, it would increase volume.
Just as they reached a verbal agreement, there was a knock on the manager's office door. It was the cashier, informing them that Li Haochen's total bill had been calculated.
"Manager Huang, I'll head to checkout first. I'll come by for tea again in a while."
"Mr. Li, safe travels."
Huang Yuan stood up to see Li Haochen out before returning to his seat. He happily accepted the ten-thousand-yuan red envelope transferred to him via WeChat. Of course, this wasn't all for him. As Li Haochen intended, the ten or so people who helped push his carts should also receive a token of appreciation, and Huang Yuan was to decide the distribution.
When it came to paying, Li Haochen faced an awkward situation: his bank card had insufficient funds. He remembered he had forgotten to cash that check. At this point, the cashiers and the tally staff looked at Li Haochen differently, and someone had already notified Huang Yuan.
Upon hearing this, Huang Yuan was also taken aback. It didn't make sense. Someone who wore a watch worth hundreds of thousands would be short of thirty to forty thousand yuan for the goods?
By the time Huang Yuan arrived, Li Haochen had just finished calling Murong Yanran.
"I'm sorry, Manager Huang. I didn't deposit money into my card. Please wait a moment."
"Uh, no... it's fine. No rush to wait, haha!"
Li Haochen could see a hint of hesitation from Huang Yuan but didn't say anything. Perhaps he felt awkward after just receiving Li Haochen's red envelope.
"Zizi~"
At that moment, Li Haochen's phone vibrated twice. He knew without looking that Murong Yanran had transferred money. Picking it up, he confirmed it.
It was quite a sum, one million yuan. Huang Yuan, who saw this, instantly shed all his reservations and became even more enthusiastic towards Li Haochen. A million yuan transferred with just one phone call indicated significant influence.
After successfully completing the payment, Li Haochen chatted briefly with Huang Yuan and then left. He didn't need to worry about the goods; the supermarket would deliver them.
Leaving the underground supermarket, Li Haochen went up to the third floor to the Lp specialty store and bought three sets of skincare products. This brand was truly expensive. Even with his current net worth of over a hundred million, he found it costly. Three sets cost over three hundred thousand yuan.
Poverty truly limits one's imagination. To experience some of the world's wonders, one must strive harder and harder. Of course, striving harder doesn't guarantee access, but at least one can get closer. Keep working hard, young man!
Leaving the Lp specialty store, Li Haochen considered going up to Liu Zijun's place for a bowl of soup, but he dismissed the idea, thinking he'd only be teased again if he went.
Exiting Binhai Plaza, Li Haochen rode his little Aima back to the warehouse. Li Rendong would deliver the last batch of chopsticks before the New Year in the afternoon, and he could hitch a ride back with him.
Arriving at the warehouse, the main door was shut tight. Li Haochen knew they had gone out to solicit business again. Such employees were truly gratifying to a boss, and their performance was improving steadily. Li Haochen made a mental note to give everyone a generous red envelope for the New Year, ensuring they felt their efforts were rewarded proportionally.