20 years of restarting life

Chapter 3717 Zhao Chang'an's Sheep

“Zhao Chang’an, we just went to see your sheep. It’s very docile.”

Qi Xuan'er said to Zhao Chang'an, "I never thought you would have such a kind heart. I thought if you found a sheep on the road, the first thing you would think about is whether to make soup, kebabs, or hot pot."

"It was at the beginning of the new year, so I guess it was fate."

Zhao Chang'an said with a smile, "That truck was carrying a whole load of sheep to the slaughterhouse, so there's no need to take this so seriously."

"Wenjia Village is very serious about this. They built a large sheepfold for the sheep and put up a blackboard next to it with the origin of the sheep written on it in chalk. I heard from the old man who feeds the sheep that the village is planning to replace the blackboard with a glass display board and ask the president of the city's calligraphy association to write one and put it in the glass."

Qi Xuan'er said, "That cartload of sheep represents the lives of these sheep, just like this sheep, which fought against its fate. Although it broke a leg, it changed its destiny."

"I reckon this sheep will become a tourist attraction in the future."

Wang Yu joked with Zhao Chang'an, "Let's call it Zhao Chang'an's Sheep."

-

The village committee of Wenjia Village knew that Zhao Chang'an was different now than before, busy with many things. Many people were eagerly waiting to see him back in the mountain city, but they couldn't. So, lunch was mainly about chatting and laughing to liven up the atmosphere, with only moderate encouragement to drink, and no more boisterous drinking as before.

The baijiu is 50-degree Taohuacun baijiu from the Taohuahu Winery in Shancheng. In the past two years, the sales of baijiu from Taohuahu Winery have plummeted due to the impact of baijiu from other regions. As people's living standards have improved, there are expensive baijiu brands from other regions, as well as cheap and delicious grain baijiu from local workshops. In order to support this municipal enterprise and keep it from going, the city government requires that all receptions at the municipal level and in all counties, districts, townships and villages be conducted with this baijiu, thus keeping the winery afloat.

Zhao Chang'an certainly didn't need to make an exception. Although this wine was a bit spicy and could cause headaches after sobering up, at least the quality was decent. Unlike those grain wines brewed in makeshift workshops, some of which were delicious but Zhao Chang'an really didn't dare to drink much of them.

Qi Xuan'er and the others drank wine made from wild grapes collected by the Women's Director. Zhao Chang'an also tasted a small cup. It was a bit sour and sweet, which was quite unique. It was similar to the monkey wine from Qiaojiashan, but it wasn't as strong or smooth.

Sipping Taohuacun wine, Zhao Chang'an couldn't help but think back to two years ago when many companies in the mountain city were vying for Wenyang Group's assets. At that time, Luyuan's target was Wenyang Construction, while he and Shan Qiang's target was Wenyang Cement.

By selling shares in Tianyue Future, Zhao Chang'an and Shan Qiang jointly raised nearly 200 million yuan. They used 180 million yuan to win the bid for Tianyue Group and acquired Wenyang Cement. Afterwards, they sold most of the cement plant's shares to Yinlong Group to raise capital for their next move to take over Luyuan Group.

At the time, Taohuahu Winery was doing quite well and ambitiously wanted to acquire the Wenyang Brewery, which was still under construction and had assets worth 30 million yuan, to form a diversified wine group with liquor, beer, and fruit beer businesses.

In order to acquire the brewery, Taohuahu Brewery raised funds from the public. For each person who wanted to work at the brewery, they had to pay 30,000 yuan. Of this, 10,000 yuan was for the qualification to work at the brewery, and the other 20,000 yuan was a loan to the brewery with an annual interest rate of 10%, to be repaid after three years.

The original plan was to recruit 1,000 employees, raise 30 million yuan, pay it to the Wenyang Group's liquidation team, and obtain ownership of the brewery.

Then they used the brewery's assets as collateral for bank loans to build the brewery.

As a result, there were too many applicants. You should know that at that time, the interest rate for a three-year bank deposit was only 2.7%. Whether it was 10,000 yuan to buy a permanent job or 20,000 yuan with 10% interest per year, it was tempting for many people to borrow money from relatives to get the job.

When Xin Ying'e, the former director of Taohuahu Winery, saw that they had collected 30 million, there were still thousands of people scrambling to join. The winery's leadership team then privately recruited another 1,000 employees, raising a total of 60 million.

They borrowed another 30 million from the bank. Originally, they planned to invest another 20 million to build a modern brewery, with the remaining 10 million as working capital. However, in the end, they spent all 60 million before they could barely finish building the brewery, exceeding the budget by a full 40 million.

As a result, the liquor industry has experienced a precipitous decline, and the brewery has encountered repeated problems. It barely managed to start production, but the taste of the liquor cannot compete with that of the Jin Xing Beer Group in the same province. It has been operating at a loss for only six months and is unable to pay wages.

Not to mention the 40 million yuan principal plus interest, and the 52 million yuan funding gap that will be due in a year—where will they get the money to fill that gap?

Moreover, Xin Ying'e, the former director of Taohuahu Winery, absconded with tens of millions of yuan. The entire winery management team was completely corrupt; some had run away, while others had fallen into trouble. They are currently pursuing the recovery of the money they embezzled.

So even though the city knew that such an administrative order was wrong, it didn't dare to let Taohuacun Winery go bankrupt. Otherwise, the city would be helpless with just those two thousand brewery workers.

Looking at the burning gazes of the scholars and officials, Zhao Chang'an knew they were looking at him like he was a god of wealth. In just two years, many things and people had undergone tremendous changes.

This was different from the previous times when Zhao Chang'an would feel uneasy every time he visited Wenjia Village, as he would be forced to drink at least a pound of strong liquor each time. This made him secretly sigh in his heart that this was the most practical effect brought about by the change in his identity and status.

After a hearty meal, Zhao Chang'an and Liu Mingjie, accompanied by the village committee members, went to the small dock first. Ye Yiyi and the other girls warmly escorted Wen Ye's grandmother home before arriving at the small dock themselves.

The yacht returned to the scenic area dam. Everyone went back to their rooms to freshen up and agreed to go sightseeing together later. Although Zhao Chang'an, as the host, didn't want to go sightseeing, he still had to accompany them.

It was already late February in the Gregorian calendar, and the weather was rapidly warming up, changing every day. The group arrived at Nanshan, which was connected to the dam on the south side.

There is a rustic pavilion at the top of the mountain, but there are no well-maintained stone steps; instead, there is a steep path covered with exposed, irregular rocks that winds its way to the summit.

"Building a pavilion when there's no road is such a waste."

Qi Xuan'er was eager to climb up and enjoy the view, but looking at the almost vertical rock formation, she felt it wouldn't be easy to climb.

“There is a road on this, which is the lakeside scenic road. It was designed to have stone steps, but it is only half-finished. Standing on it, you can see my home and most of the Zhuhu area.”

Zhao Chang'an had been there before and said, "The scenery is indeed very nice."

"Then let's go up and take a look."

Qi Xuan'er immediately made a decision and said to Fan Chufei, who was frowning and about to refuse, "Didn't you say that Xu Xiake, who traveled the world in the wilderness, couldn't go up there?"

Fan Chufei rolled her eyes at Qi Xuan'er, and her silence was an admission of consent.

"But how can I get on?"

Wearing a bodycon dress resembling a stepmother's skirt, Ye Yiyi actually wanted to go up and see where Zhao Chang'an's house was, but she couldn't go up because of the tight skirt that restricted her movement.

Zhao Chang'an looked towards the dam. The Lantern Festival had passed, and there were still a few days until the Dragon Head Raising Festival on the second day of the second lunar month. It was the quietest period in society, and there were almost no tourists in the scenic area. At this time, apart from the five of them, there was no one else on the dam.