Chapter Seventeen: The Millionaire Family

Zhang Xiaocheng found himself troubled once more, but unlike before when he was desperately begging others for orders, this time his worry was quite different: the production speed of the satellite dishes simply couldn’t keep up with the pace of sales.

On the very first day after increasing capacity, the factory churned out 430 satellite dishes, all of which sold out before the morning was over. A flood of customers arrived demanding more, forcing Zhang to go straight to the production floor and place bonuses there, urging the workers to ramp up output.

By the second day, daily production had risen to 700 units. Although material wastage and defect rates increased considerably, these losses were insignificant compared to the profits earned from the satellite dishes. The modest losses were easily bearable.

Selling each dish at a factory price of 300 yuan, even after deducting costs for materials, labor, sales, production losses, and transportation, the profit margin remained over 120 yuan per unit. Under these circumstances, the only option was to boost production regardless of cost—after all, the more sold, the greater the profit.

Yet even with a capacity of 700 units a day, demand was still far from being met. Each morning, the stock sold out again, and sales staff at the supply and marketing cooperative as well as at television station service centers were going wild. Selling a day’s worth of products was equivalent to a month’s salary, and without any prodding, the employees worked tirelessly to promote the satellite dishes.

When the daily output at Yuanci Factory reached 1,000 units, production hit a bottleneck. To increase capacity significantly beyond this point was impossible without expanding the factory space, which was already insufficient.

Meanwhile, among nearly 900,000 television users spread across two districts and ten counties in Pingyang City, the satellite dish quietly began to gain popularity. The earliest buyers were mainly employees of local institutions, who could afford it due to higher wages. Soon, the trend spread to towns and villages alike. Installing satellite dishes became a craze—whether out of genuine appreciation for the product or simply due to competitive spirit, the Spectra Satellite Dish was starting to be embraced by Pingyang’s television audience.

“Sales of the satellite dish have surpassed 5,000 units!”

On the eighth day of sales, Spectra’s sales officially broke the 5,000-unit mark, generating revenue exceeding 1.5 million yuan—more than the total income of Yuanci Factory in Shangguan Town over the previous two years.

At this point, the agreement between Li Dongling and Zhang Xiaocheng came into effect. When the satellite dish sales exceeded 3,000 units, Li Dongling was to receive 20% of the profits. Now, in less than eight days, sales had already topped 5,000 units.

Zhang Xiaocheng harbored no regrets over sharing the profits with Li Dongling; on the contrary, he felt grateful. Without Li Dongling’s intervention, Yuanci Factory in Shangguan Town would have long since gone bankrupt, and Zhang would have lost the livelihoods of hundreds of employees. It would have been the greatest defeat of his post-military career, possibly relegating him to an obscure position in some department—an eternal source of guilt. Thanks to Li Dongling, his professional life was saved and a heavy burden lifted from his heart.

With sales surpassing 5,000 units, the satellite dish drew increasing attention. More distributors actively sought Zhang out, eager to work with him.

“Director Zhang, I am Ma Yingxian from Shangzhong City. Our company is the largest television sales firm there. I’d like to become the agent for Spectra Satellite Dishes in Shangzhong. I’m willing to pay upfront for an initial order of 5,000 units.”

The gates of Yuanci Factory, though large, were now completely blocked. Delivery trucks bringing materials and vehicles hauling goods occupied most of the space. Nearby, local Pingyang electrical appliance dealers gathered, joined by distributors and agents from neighboring cities.

As Zhang Xiaocheng stepped outside, a voice called out and a swarm of people surged forward. Some, like Ma Yingxian and other out-of-town dealers, even waved checks, shoving them into Zhang’s hands.

The scene was utterly frenzied. Previously, Zhang had only read in newspapers about companies like Jianlibao whose products were so popular that distributors lined up daily, paying upfront and waiting months to receive goods with promissory notes. He had doubted such reports, but now, the reality unfolded before his eyes: people waving checks, desperate for Zhang to accept their money—even if delivery could only come later, they just wanted their orders confirmed.

“I’m terribly sorry, but Spectra Satellite Dishes are currently out of stock. Our orders are already backlogged by ten days. If you want to place an order, delivery will be delayed by at least ten days,” Zhang explained.

These orders had already been tallied by the supply and marketing cooperative, the television sales offices, and Zhang Ao’s sales department. Some buyers had even paid deposits. Yuanci Factory needed to produce at least 10,000 more units to fulfill existing orders. At this point, it wasn’t about money—even if paid in full, Zhang simply couldn’t deliver the goods immediately.

Yet revealing this only fueled the dealers’ excitement. Checks were thrust into Zhang’s hands faster, with some even offering to pay a premium—raising the factory price to 370 yuan per unit just to secure orders.

If Zhang accepted the money, these dealers pledged to purchase over 8,000 units at this elevated price—amounting to nearly 3 million yuan in sales.

Of course, they couldn’t pay all at once but would spread payments over several installments. Still, the offer was staggering, and Zhang was tempted. Closing such a deal would net him a profit of approximately 1.52 million yuan—how could he resist?

Having experienced the rush of being chased by buyers eager to hand him money, Zhang realized that if he simply said the word, he could secure orders for more than 20,000 satellite dishes, generating sales worth six to seven million yuan.

“Please, everyone come inside first. We need to discuss within the factory and give you a prompt response,” Zhang said cautiously.

He dared not accept orders on the spot; if problems arose later, he couldn’t afford the losses. Moreover, receiving so much money upfront made him uneasy—he needed to consult with Li Dongling.

Ma Yingxian and others were ushered into the factory’s canteen, which was previously used for employee meals. The factory lacked a proper auditorium or meeting rooms large enough to hold all these people.

“Why not accept them?” Li Dongling asked Zhang Xiaocheng.

“At present, only Yuanci Factory can supply the satellite dishes. Buyers won’t find them anywhere else, at least for the next month or two,” Li said.

“Let’s prioritize orders from out-of-town dealers first. Local sales in Pingyang should be handled by the supply cooperative and TV station service centers. Going forward, Zhang Ao and his team should focus on expanding markets beyond the city—even outside the province.”

“But…” Li Dongling added one condition: “When signing contracts with these out-of-town dealers, we must require them to cooperate with local television stations for sales. Otherwise, I’d rather not accept their orders.”

Whether in Pingyang, neighboring cities, or other provinces, Li Dongling hoped that users of Spectra Satellite Dishes could enjoy them openly and without fear—no need to sneak around, worry about someone breaking their dishes, being fined, or even arrested. Making money was one thing, but Li Dongling wanted to earn it with a clear conscience.

“Our factory can accept everyone’s orders, but due to production constraints, deliveries may be delayed. However, we guarantee exclusivity—only dealers who sign contracts and pay upfront will be authorized in each city. We will not cooperate with other dealers there.”

“Of course, we also require our dealers to work with local television stations to ensure users can use the satellite dishes with peace of mind.”

Hearing that a portion of profits would be shared with local TV stations, some dealers felt dissatisfied, thinking the factory was being overbearing. Yet at the prospect of exclusive cooperation, their displeasure was quickly forgotten.

“In total, we have received orders for 24,000 units. Over 10,000 units have been fully paid for, and the rest have paid deposits with full payment to be completed within a week,” Zhang Xiaocheng excitedly reported to Li Dongling back in the office.

Adding the previous sales of 5,000 units, total revenue from the satellite dishes had already exceeded 8.7 million yuan.

After taxes, the net profit was approximately 5.8 million yuan. Li Dongling’s share reached nearly 1.16 million yuan—he was now a millionaire.