Fifty million a day, trapped in the county town, can't spend it all.

June 28th, 6:00 AM.

Although Sun Yifan had said that Zhang Yang didn't need to go to the scene so early, Zhang Yang didn't know why, and he hadn't set an alarm, so he naturally woke up at this time.

It was already daylight outside the window, and the morning light streamed through the gaps in the curtains, casting a thin ribbon of light on the floor.

He originally wanted to lie down and sleep a little longer, but he couldn't fall asleep no matter how much he tossed and turned, so he simply got up, washed up, and changed his clothes.

When Zhang Yang came out of the room, Chen Xiuyun was already busy in the kitchen, and Zhang Jianming was sitting at the dining table, wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, which was unusual for him.

His mother placed a bowl of porridge on the table: "Eat first, don't go on an empty stomach."

Zhang Yang sat down at the table and picked up the porridge to drink.

Chen Xiuyun sat opposite him, watching him drink half a bowl in one gulp, and asked, "Did you sleep well last night?"

"It's alright, but I have a lot of dreams."

Chen Xiuyun nodded. "You seem to be in good spirits."

Zhang Jianming put down his chopsticks and said in a low voice, "Your mother and I will take the bus there later."

Zhang Yang looked up: "I'll have Xiao Li come pick you up."

"No need, you go about your business, don't worry about us."

Zhang Yang glanced at his father, nodded, finished the last mouthful of porridge in his bowl, wiped his mouth, and stood up: "Then I'll go first."

Chen Xiuyun saw him to the door and said, "Be careful."

Zhang Yang waved his hand and walked out of the house.

The car was already waiting by the roadside. Liu Chuang stood next to the car, wearing a black short-sleeved T-shirt, looking more energetic than usual. When he saw Zhang Yang get out, he opened the back door.

"Good morning, Mr. Zhang."

"Good morning." Zhang Yang got in the car, Liu Chuang closed the door and went around to sit in the passenger seat.

The car started and headed towards Moore Department Store.

The morning light on the street was thin, and occasionally you could see steam rising from the doors of a few breakfast shops. There weren't many pedestrians, and the whole county was still slowly waking up.

Zhang Yang sat in the back seat, watching the familiar street scenes outside the window slide past frame by frame, and went through the day's schedule in his mind again.

About fifteen minutes later, the car arrived at Moore Department Store Plaza.

Zhang Yang opened the car door and stood in the square, looking around.

The entire shopping mall stood quietly in the morning light, the glass curtain wall reflecting the pale orange light of the sky, and the ground was washed clean.

The display boards on both sides of the square have been set up, and the red carpet is laid from the entrance all the way down the steps, with more than a dozen rows of flower baskets on both sides.

Sun Yifan walked out of the mall, wearing a dark gray suit jacket and a neatly tied tie. When he saw Zhang Yang, he quickly came over to greet him: "Mr. Zhang, you're here so early."

Zhang Yang looked around, his gaze sweeping across the entire square, and nodded.

Sun Yifan lowered his voice and said, "There's something I haven't had a chance to tell you yet. Liu Chuang's men spotted a figure around the square, in the alley behind the mall. He's been there for several days in a row, but he hasn't come over here, so we haven't taken any action."

Zhang Yang frowned slightly: "Did you remember the features?"

"I remember. He's rather thin, a little over 1.7 meters tall, but he was wearing a hat, so we couldn't see his face." Sun Yifan paused. "We all think he might be here to scout the location."

"Keep a close eye on things today, and notify me immediately if anything seems amiss."

"clear."

Just after seven o'clock, people began to gather around the square.

First, a few elderly people carrying plastic bags stood outside the cordon and looked around. Then a few young people arrived on electric bikes, parked on the side of the road, sat on the bikes and scrolled through their phones, occasionally glancing up at the mall's entrance.

Chen Rou was wearing a white shirt and dark trousers today, looking much more capable. She was directing the staff to arrange materials when she saw Zhang Yang in the distance and walked over: "Brother, quite a few people have arrived."

"Hmm." Zhang Yang glanced at the outer edge of the square; there were several more rows of people than before.

At 7:30, Cheng Kainian arrived. He was wearing a light blue short-sleeved shirt, and his hair was clearly styled and shiny.

"Mr. Zhang, congratulations!" Cheng Kainian said with a smile, extending his hand.

Zhang Yang grasped his hand: "Director Cheng, you're here early."

"I'll definitely be there early for your opening today."

The two chatted for a few minutes, and then another car stopped by the square. Liu Senran got out of the car, wearing a light gray short-sleeved shirt and looking relaxed.

"Young Master Liu," Zhang Yang greeted him.

"Congratulations, Mr. Zhang!" Liu Senran looked at the decorations in the square. "You've put on quite a show. I'll post an ad tonight and let those uncultured people in the county see what's what."

Zhang Yang smiled and said, "Then thank you, Young Master Liu."

"Don't mention it. If your business prospers in the future, the whole county will benefit too."

Cheng Kainian and Liu Senran exchanged a glance, said nothing, nodded to each other, and then walked together toward the guest area.

At 7:50, the square was getting more and more crowded. Several rows of people were already standing outside the cordon. Some people were taking pictures of the mall with their phones, while others were standing on tiptoe to look into the archway.

As the person in charge of account operations, Zhang Xiaowen quickly walked up to Zhang Yang: "Mr. Zhang, the equipment signal is working perfectly. We'll switch to the live stream in a bit."

Zhang Yang nodded and glanced at her: "You'll be watching the entire live stream today, making sure there aren't any interruptions."

"clear."

At 7:58, Zhang Yang stood on the red carpet.

Sun Yifan, accompanied by hostesses, began distributing scissors. Heads of several county departments took their seats in the VIP area, and media cameramen set up their equipment.

At 8:00 AM sharp, the emcee tested the microphone: "Distinguished guests, friends, welcome to the opening ceremony of Moore Department Store Lifestyle Plaza..."

A round of applause erupted from the audience.

Afterwards, Cheng Kainian, as the project's promoter, went on stage to give a speech. After he finished speaking, Zhang Yang said a few words, mainly focusing on the core principle of putting people first and hoping that ordinary people could buy affordable and safe products.

He finished speaking, and it was exactly 8:18.

The emcee raised his voice slightly: "The auspicious time has arrived! Distinguished leaders and guests, please cut the ribbon to mark the grand opening of Moore Department Store Lifestyle Plaza!"

Zhang Yang stood in the center, flanked by Cheng Kainian and Liu Senran. As the scissors fell and the red ribbon broke, cannons roared and colorful ribbons sprayed out from both sides.

The audience erupted in applause.

Zhang Yang put down the scissors, glanced at the mall entrance, and saw that the red ribbon above the door had been untied, revealing the words "Moore Department Store Life Plaza" shining in the morning light. The silvery-white lettering reflected the skylight, clear and quiet.

Two uniformed security guards stood on either side of the door, standing ramrod straight.

After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the media interviewed everyone, and of course, the interviews were all positive, eventually veerging back to the vital interests of ordinary people, which earned another round of applause.

At 9:00 AM sharp, the mall doors officially opened.

Customers who had been waiting at the door began to walk in. At first, it was relatively orderly, but in less than five minutes, the flow of people became dense. People walked and looked around, and many took out their mobile phones to take pictures and videos.

The supermarket area on the first floor was the busiest, with crowds quickly gathering around the fresh produce and fruit and vegetable sections. Several stock clerks were skillfully restocking the shelves, but items were snatched away as soon as they were placed there, and some even took things directly from the shopping carts...

"Look, these fruits are so big and cheap."

"That's right, I also have coupons, so I can save a lot of money..."

"Hey, ma'am, you've got so many chickens, are you sure you can finish them all?"

"It's none of your business. Can't I buy it and stock up on it?"

Sun Yifan was inside keeping things under control to ensure no trouble occurred, while Zhang Yang, along with several people from county departments and Young Master Liu, were talking on the second floor.

Everything was proceeding smoothly, but then, a sudden change occurred.

As if by prior arrangement, all the lights on all floors flashed for a moment, and a murmur of surprise rippled through the entire mall.

"What's going on? Is the voltage unstable?"

Zhang Yang's heart skipped a beat.

At this moment, Sun Yifan reacted quickly, using the mall's public address system to reassure customers and emphasize the importance of not pushing or shoving to avoid a stampede...

Zhang Yang immediately called Zheng Hu: "Develop the motor, ensure power supply first, then immediately have an electrician check where the problem is."