Chapter 100

On the first day of opening, the turnover reached an astonishing 106,000 yuan. This meant that in just one day, 53,000 yuan worth of inventory, which was almost a third of the total stock, had been sold. This unexpected boom left Li Mu unprepared, something he had never imagined before.

Currently, the inventory issue was also severe. In the afternoon, his aunt had already placed an order with the headquarters, with a total order amount of around 150,000 yuan. The biggest problem was how to get this batch of goods delivered as quickly as possible.

Upon learning about the sales boom, the headquarters also sent a dedicated person to help solve the problem. The final solution was: 25% of the goods were entrusted to a specialized road transport logistics company that same evening, specifically the long-distance bus from Haizhou to Wencheng, which would arrive the next morning. The maximum capacity of the bus was 25%, so this 25% could be used for emergency purposes.

The remaining 30% was transported by rail, but it would not arrive until the day after tomorrow. The remaining 45% also used the long-distance bus method, with 25% waiting for the second direct bus to Haizhou two days later, and the other 20% first arriving in Jinling.

Li Mu had recovered over 100,000 yuan in goods payment in just one day, so he was quite generous when it came to placing orders. As soon as the transportation issue for the 150,000 yuan worth of goods was resolved, he asked his aunt to place another order for 100,000 yuan worth of goods.

His aunt expressed concern about the limited storage space, but Li Mu solved her worry with a simple solution: "Rent a residential house in the back of the neighborhood to use as a warehouse. Keep one bedroom for living, and have our employees take turns on duty at the warehouse every night, with a 50 yuan duty allowance per night. They will just be sleeping there, and need to pay attention to fire, water, and theft prevention, and promptly address any issues."

His aunt's eyes lit up: "Xiao Mu, you are really smart."

The rent for a residential house was very cheap, and a three-bedroom apartment would not cost more than 500 yuan a month. With an area of about 100 square meters, it was definitely enough for storage. Moreover, it was not far from the store, and an employee could fetch goods in just a few minutes, making it very convenient.

On the second day of opening, his aunt found a suitable residential house, and coincidentally, it was on the third floor directly above the store, making it extremely convenient.

The sales for the entire second day saw a certain decline, at 95,000 yuan, not reaching 100,000 yuan, but it still left Li Mu amazed.

After the store closed, Li Mu returned home and received a call from Kong Lingyu. He had already developed a test version of the Tieba according to Li Mu's requirements and had started internal testing.

Li Mu asked for the internal testing address, went online to check it out, and found that from the page layout to the functionality, it was very similar to the early version of Baidu Tieba. However, at Li Mu's request, each Tieba had a follow and check-in function, which was not available in the early Baidu Tieba. This minimalist product philosophy made every user action in the community more efficient.

Li Mu was very satisfied with Kong Lingyu's work and told him to launch it as soon as possible if there were no issues during internal testing. However, he emphasized that all bugs should be found and fixed during the internal testing phase to avoid user loss after the official launch.

Kong Lingyu firmly promised to do so. Li Mu asked for the launch date, and he gave a date five days later. Li Mu had no objections, and they ended the conversation.

Tieba was a major community project that Li Mu wanted to incubate through Yiting.com. The most important aspect of building a community was not just the product itself but also the community's genes and foundation. Although Yiting.com was far from profitable, it had already gathered a considerable number of music fans. Therefore, Li Mu planned to use Yiting.com to lay the groundwork for Tieba, specifically the celebrity Tieba section, to convert Yiting.com's music fans into the first batch of Tieba users, and then proceed with the second phase of expansion.

Meanwhile, the online campaign about Wu Dong's hit-and-run, which Li Mu had asked Zhao Kang to promote, had reached its peak.

Due to the high public attention, the situation was almost uncontrollable when it broke out. The police tried to delete posts, but this process only lasted a few hours before stopping. It was said that there was internal conflict within the bureau, with the deputy director, Li Jiawei, being exposed for accepting a 3 million yuan bribe from Wu Dong and organizing the post deletions. However, the third-in-command, Su Weimin, promptly cut off his path by directly investigating Li Jiawei's subordinates and reporting the matter to the director, Du Cheng.

Du Cheng was due to be transferred to the provincial department at the end of the year. He had come to the Haizhou bureau to gain experience, and although he was the director, his position was not solid. From the day he took office, Deputy Director Li Jiawei had often opposed him, causing him a lot of headaches.

Li Jiawei was a local from Haizhou and had been in the police system for about 20 years. He had hoped to become the director, but an external appointment was made. He knew the new director was there to gain experience and had connections, but he did not care. At over 40, he had little room for advancement within the system. The highest position he could reach was the director of the Haizhou bureau. The provincial department would not transfer someone his age, and even if they did, it would be a nominal promotion with no real power. Therefore, he planned to push Du Cheng out from the day he took office, hoping to take over the director's position. If Du Cheng stayed, he would be close to retirement age in a few years and might not even become the director.

Because Du Cheng and Li Jiawei were always at odds, Du Cheng wanted to promote Su Weimin to director before he left. However, he had no effective way to do so. Su Weimin was young and lacked the necessary experience, so he had to remain under Li Jiawei. Du Cheng could not openly support him in the provincial department, as it would be inappropriate and counterproductive.

However, after Su Weimin reported the matter to Du Cheng, Du Cheng realized an opportunity had arisen.

Regardless of the truth of the online claims, Li Jiawei's attempt to delete posts already indicated his guilt. After careful analysis, Du Cheng and Su Weimin, both experienced detectives, believed the online claims were likely true.

If Li Jiawei had indeed accepted 3 million yuan from Wu Dong, Du Cheng would be overjoyed. Not only would he have avenged the past two years, but if Su Weimin took over as director, he would have a solid base in Haizhou.

With this in mind, Du Cheng began to act.

After careful consideration, Du Cheng decided it was not suitable for him to directly investigate the case, as Li Jiawei had deep roots and would be desperate with 3 million yuan at stake. It would be a lose-lose situation, and even if he succeeded, it would leave a bad impression on his colleagues.

Therefore, Du Cheng decided to seek help from the provincial department. He called his old superior and privately complained about the situation, explaining the high public attention and his dilemma. He asked his old superior to send people from the provincial department to investigate, as solving the case would improve police-community relations and enhance the police's image.

Because the case was widely discussed online in Jinling, Du Cheng's old superior was aware of its severity. Upon hearing about the deputy director's involvement in deleting posts, he was furious and immediately convened an emergency meeting to form an investigation team to thoroughly investigate the hit-and-run case in Haizhou.

The old superior knew that such a highly publicized case was a headache for local officials but a good opportunity for the provincial department. As long as they sent people to investigate, they would gain public support, regardless of the outcome.

The next morning, the Haizhou Daily and Haizhou Morning News announced that the provincial department had formed an investigation team to investigate the hit-and-run case and would arrive in Haizhou that day. The citizens were elated and posted online, expressing their hope that the provincial investigation team would bring justice to the deceased farmers.

Upon hearing this news, Wu Dong was terrified. He called Li Jiawei, his first words being, "Director Li, if the provincial department investigates and finds out it was me, what should I do?"

Li Jiawei could hear the panic in Wu Dong's voice. He was also anxious and panicked, as he had accepted the 3 million yuan. If the truth came out, he would be in trouble.

Li Jiawei analyzed the situation. Everything hinged on Wu Dong. If the investigation team found him and broke through, he would be finished. Although he would not face the death penalty, his career would be over, and the length of his imprisonment was uncertain.

Calmly, Li Jiawei said, "You could face more than seven years for hit-and-run resulting in death. More importantly, you killed two people, which has sparked public outrage. If it goes to court, you will face a severe sentence, likely over ten years."

Wu Dong was panicked. He was not yet the energy tycoon of southern Jiangsu but a well-known coal dealer in Haizhou. He could manage local relations, but he had no idea how to deal with the provincial department.

Li Jiawei then suggested, "I think you should run away, preferably out of the country to avoid the heat."

Li Jiawei hoped Wu Dong would flee, preferably to a foreign country, as his disappearance would make it difficult to trace the case back to him.

However, Wu Dong did not fall for it. Instead, he shouted, "Are you telling me to run? If I run, it will tell the world that I did it!"

"But what if you don't run and get caught?" Li Jiawei asked, panicking.

"If they catch me, I won't admit it! The car has been disposed of, so where will the police find evidence? If they ask about my car, I'll say it was stolen."

Li Jiawei had a sudden idea and said, "Find someone you trust, give them some money, and if they find you, have them take the fall for you."

Wu Dong asked, "How long might they be sentenced?"

"It's hard to say," Li Jiawei replied. "The death penalty is unlikely, but it could be seven years or more, up to life imprisonment."

"Got it," Wu Dong sighed in relief. As long as it didn't cost his life, he could pay some money and find someone to take the fall. He estimated that offering 1 million yuan would attract many volunteers.

Realizing this, Wu Dong felt annoyed. He regretted panicking and seeking Li Jiawei's help after the accident, which cost him 3 million yuan. He should have directly paid someone to take the fall, saving him the trouble. Li Jiawei had not mentioned this solution earlier, only now that he was also in fear. What a bastard!