Chapter 142: It Was All Worth It (Special thanks to Xiangrui Yumei for the 30,000-point tip!)

To put it simply, the process of registering a company involves name approval, capital verification, seal carving, obtaining an enterprise organization code certificate, completing tax registration, opening a basic bank account, and purchasing invoices.

Right now, they had reached the stage of opening the basic account. Once they purchased the invoices next, they could officially start operations.

After finishing their deliveries, the four of them went back to get their money and headed to the bank. They had Wang Qiang's father, Wang Baoguo, cancel the temporary account and simultaneously open an official corporate account. Opening a basic company account required the original copies of the business license, organization code certificate, and tax registration certificate, along with the corporate representative's ID card. They also needed to bring the company seal, financial seal, and personal seal, which was quite a hassle. Fortunately, Old Zhu and the others had taken care of those things. Otherwise, just thinking about running around every day would give Wang Qiang a headache. Well, enjoying the fruits of others' labor felt pretty good.

In the evening, at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

Wang Baoguo, acting as the legal representative, went to queue up in line.

Wang Qiang, Old Zhu, and Old Yao sat on the chairs in the waiting area, chatting.

"When Uncle Wang transfers the money from the temporary account to the basic account later, our corporate account will have a total of two hundred and fifty or sixty thousand, right?" Old Zhu asked, crossing his legs.

Old Yao was very shrewd, but since he hadn't carefully calculated the total amount received from the recent payments, he said uncertainly, "It should be more than that, Little Wang, am I right?"

Indeed, it was more than that. The temporary account had one hundred thousand, plus thirty thousand contributed by each of them totaling ninety thousand, plus Cheng Weihong's thirty-eight thousand and Manager Lu's seventy-five thousand in payments, making a grand total of 303,000. Among this, Wang Qiang had advanced 27,000 of his own funds, meaning the company account should actually hold a total of 276,000 yuan.

With his 40% stake worth over 110,000 yuan, Wang Qiang felt a sense of unreality. Going from zero to ten thousand from scratch had taken a full month, but going from ten thousand to 110,000 had taken significantly less time, which was simply incredible. No wonder people said money begets money.

In this era, even possessing ten thousand yuan made someone a prominent figure, yet he had unexpectedly become the owner of over one hundred thousand yuan?

In fact, he knew very well that achieving a net worth of over one hundred thousand in such a short time was due to a few fundamental reasons:

First, a substantial profit from the four-piece bedding sets had been continuously reinvested into the company;

Second, Old Yao had put up 70,000 yuan but only held a 30% stake;

Third, because they had more capital on hand, the scale of their business had expanded. For instance, Cheng Weihong and the others placing two consecutive massive orders, plus Manager Lu's extra 150 CD players, were entirely due to the ripple effect brought by Old Yao's initial investment. Otherwise, Wang Qiang and Old Zhu wouldn't have even gathered enough capital for Cheng Weihong's first major order, let alone developed to their current scale.

"Two hundred seventy-six thousand," Wang Qiang told them the exact figure.

Old Zhu beamed with joy and said, "I invested a total of a little over forty thousand yuan, and now it's doubled?"

Old Yao, however, said with a hint of sourness, "I invested seventy thousand yuan and only made a little over ten thousand."

Old Zhu had initially put in 4,000 yuan. After the very first partnership venture, Wang Qiang had split the earnings with him, and he had recovered both his principal and profit. The second time, he put in 20,000 yuan, but because it included the previous profits, his actual out-of-pocket principal was only a little over 10,000. Combined with this latest capital injection of 30,000, it really did equal an actual cash outlay of just over 40,000 yuan.

But Old Yao was different. He had genuinely forked over a solid 70,000 yuan. Now, with the company's total assets at 276,000 yuan, his 30% share was worth over 80,000 yuan, making him the one who had earned the least among the three.

The one who earned the most was undoubtedly Wang Qiang. Of course, he wouldn't say these things to their faces. Instead, taking a cue from Old Yao's remark to change the subject, he half-jokingly said, "Brother Yao, you're complaining about making over ten thousand in less than a month? At that rate, I suppose only robbing a bank could satisfy your appetite."

Old Yao was startled, then broke into a satisfied smile. "That's true. My clothing store only makes six or seven thousand a month."

Wang Qiang gave him a reassuring reassurance, "Your initial investment was large, but once our company is fully up and running, your earnings will be pure profit. Making twenty to thirty thousand a month in the future isn't out of the question." Speaking of the company, something crossed his mind. "By the way, what was the company articles of association you two registered two days ago?"

Since he hadn't been around and his father had hashed it out with the other two, Wang Qiang genuinely didn't know, so he decided to ask. Just as he finished asking, he caught out of the corner of his eye that his father had already reached the corporate accounts counter at the bank to handle the procedures.

Old Zhu fished out a cigarette and handed one to Old Yao. Banks back then weren't as strictly regulated as they would be later, and smoking was permitted. He smacked his lips and explained, "We discussed it: at the end of every year, we'll distribute 50% in dividends and keep 50% for company development. Then, we'll pay monthly salaries based on positions. For example, your dad will be the company's general manager and head of finance, with a monthly salary of two thousand yuan. Old Yao will be in charge of the personnel department, and I'll be in charge of sales, each getting fifteen hundred. As for you, Old Yao suggested you be the supervisor, also with a fifteen-hundred-yuan salary. To make this happen, your dad even made a special trip back to Haitong to get a certificate for you."

"Brother Yao suggested it for me?" Wang Qiang asked with curiosity.

Old Yao said with a straight face, "That's right. A position of such importance is something only you are qualified to hold."

Wang Qiang smiled and said nothing more.

According to relevant regulations, regardless of size, a company must have a finance department, human resources department, administrative department, sales department, general manager's office, and board of supervisors, though human resources and administration can be merged into a personnel department. Wang Qiang knew a little about this; since the company they started together was relatively small, individuals had to wear multiple hats. Still, he was somewhat surprised that Old Yao had proposed him as the supervisor.

What was a supervisor?

A supervisor was a member of the permanent supervisory organ within a company, also known as an inspector, responsible for overseeing the company's financial situation, the execution of duties by senior management personnel, and other supervisory duties stipulated by the company's articles of association.

Usually, a company of moderate size was required to have a board of supervisors with no fewer than three members. However, in companies with a relatively small number of shareholders like Wang Qiang's, only one to two supervisors could be appointed without establishing a full board.

There was just one drawback to being a supervisor: directors and senior company executives were barred from simultaneously holding the position of supervisor.

Wang Qiang could see right through it. Old Yao was definitely playing games again, because Old Yao surely wanted to be a company director or senior executive, keeping real power firmly in his own hands. Yet, Wang Qiang felt no displeasure whatsoever; on the contrary, he was delighted.

Why?

Because the power of a supervisor was indeed immense. They had the right to propose the dismissal of directors and senior executives, could even propose convening extraordinary shareholder meetings, and had the right to file lawsuits if directors or senior management engaged in actions detrimental to the company. Of course, the premise for a supervisor wielding great power was having a powerful figure within the company backing them up; otherwise, it would be useless.

To Old Yao and Old Zhu, the supervisor role was indeed a tasteless chicken rib, because once someone became a supervisor, they could no longer participate in the company's senior management.

But for Wang Qiang, it meant gathering all the real power of the company into his own hands. The reason was simple: his father was the general manager, and he was the supervisor—he had a firm grip on everything from the inside out.

Wang Qiang wore a knowing smile and said pointedly, "Making me a supervisor—Brother Yao, I really have to thank you."

Old Yao didn't think along the same lines; assuming Wang Qiang had seen through his little scheme, he shifted the topic with slight embarrassment. "Come on, let's go see if Wang... your dad has finished opening the company account."

"Tonight, we'll celebrate properly," Old Zhu proposed. "Tomorrow, we should recruit one or two people—a receptionist, a delivery person. We can't possibly handle everything ourselves."

Old Yao glanced at him sideways and exposed his motive. "You just want to experience the thrill of being a big boss, don't you?"

Old Zhu said righteously, "Are you telling me you want to sit in the company and answer phones all day?"

Wang Qiang burst out laughing, knowing Old Zhu indeed wanted to taste being a boss, but his words made sense; they couldn't possibly handle every trivial matter personally.

The three of them walked over to check on the account opening progress.

Before long, the company account was fully opened, and the 276,000 yuan was deposited. From then on, any use of funds had to follow proper procedures and could no longer be as casual as before.

...

At night, a little past ten.

The father and son, their faces flushed from drinking, returned to the rental house along with Lu Wei.

The three of them washed up and went to their respective rooms to sleep.

Inside his room.

After taking a shower, Wang Qiang was much more awake. Thinking about delivering the four-piece sets to Boss Ding and the others next, he began pondering the matter of the merchandise payment.

600 sets of polyester-cotton and 850 sets of pure cotton. Based on the prices of 15 and 25 yuan quoted to him by Boss Zheng in Dieshiqiao, the total payment would be just over thirty thousand yuan.

Therefore, he asked his father to get all the money out. "Dad, give me the 27,000."

Wang Baoguo, stripped to the waist and wiping his arms with a towel, said casually, "Wait a minute. What do you need money for this late?"

Wang Qiang explained, "I'm calling Boss Zheng tomorrow to pick up the goods, and I need to calculate if the payment is enough."

"Got another order?" A warm, honest smile appeared on Wang Baoguo's face as he praised, "Our son has real capability. From the time I went to Shanxi until now, in about two months, you've made over a hundred thousand yuan. If the people back in the village knew, wouldn't they die of envy?" Having said that, he offered a reminder, "Making money is one thing, but your studies can't fall behind. Don't forget to review your lessons."

"I know, I know," Wang Qiang replied.

Wang Baoguo hung the towel on the balcony rack, then trotted over to the side of the bed and squatted down, reaching underneath to fumble around for something.

Wang Qiang watched with slight puzzlement. "Dad, what are you doing?"

"Getting the money," Wang Baoguo replied, leaning sideways with a grunt and a rustling sound. Moments later, he emerged holding a plastic bag wrapped tightly in transparent tape. It was very thick and seemed to be packed with something. Wang Baoguo tossed the bag casually onto the bed. "The money's all in there. Open it yourself and look."

Wang Qiang broke out in a slight sweat. He hadn't expected his father to hide the money so securely—actually packing it in an oiled paper bag and taping it to the underside of the bed with clear tape. But when he thought about it, it made sense; his father had never seen this much money in his life and naturally had to treat it with utmost caution.

There were 27,000 inside. He knew the amount well and didn't even bother to count it. He jumped off the bed, opened his suitcase, and took out all the money to tally it up. After advancing 27,000 for the merchandise payment and injecting 30,000 into the company capital, he had 6,050 yuan left.

Combined with the 27,000 in the oiled paper bag, he had a remaining cash total of approximately 33,500 yuan.

Wang Qiang breathed a sigh of relief. The money for sourcing the four-piece sets was enough.

Fortunately, he had collected a 30% deposit from Boss Ding and the others beforehand; otherwise, he wouldn't even have had enough for the procurement costs.

In fact, what satisfied Wang Qiang the most today wasn't learning that he had become the owner of over one hundred thousand yuan, but rather having this 33,500 yuan right in his hands. While over 110,000 yuan in the company account belonged to him, it couldn't be touched casually. This thirty-odd thousand yuan was different. Once he brought the four-piece sets to Shenzhen and collected the remaining 70% payment, he would have close to 50,000 yuan in cash on hand.

All these days of hard work hadn't been in vain. Not only had he managed to scrape together 30,000 yuan when he only had 13,000 left in his bag, but he was also about to possess nearly 50,000 in cash. Reflecting on the exhaustion of the past couple of days, Wang Qiang felt that it was all worth it.