In 1992, a small village owner became the richest man in the village by owning a car.

Chapter 643 A Silent Phone Call, the Branding of Fanfan Repair Shop
"You don't wear a suit and tie every day, slick your hair back, and apply face cream and skincare products, do you?" Yu Dawei leaned back in his chair, his tone clearly teasing.

"Huh? How did you know? But it's not that exaggerated. Meng Kai used to be unkempt, but now he dresses like a proper man every day and even asked me to go to the city with him to buy new clothes. Disgusting!" Ai Yongqiang said, trembling all over.

"Maybe it's just puberty," Yu Dawei thought, already having the answer in his mind.

"His puberty came a bit late; he was already an old cabbage leaf before he learned to dress himself up."

"How is Linlin doing?" Yu Dawei asked again.

"I've completely divorced Zhao Shirong. Linlin gets custody of the child, and the stall and house were all transferred to Zhao Shirong."

"Why should he?" Yu Dawei frowned. "After so many years of marriage, not only did he not give Huang Linlin any compensation, but he also took the house away. Zhao Shirong really deserves a beating."

"Sigh, Fourth Brother also wanted to get rid of Zhao Shirong's clutches as soon as possible, so he immediately agreed to the conditions proposed by Zhao Shirong." The voice on the phone paused, then continued, "Recently, the two of us have been helping her find a place to open a restaurant. Meng Kai is the most enthusiastic, going to Huang Linlin's parents' place every day."

"This kid is wicked." Ai Yongqiang had also noticed something amiss, but he hadn't dared to say it out loud these past two days.

"Okay, once you've chosen a location, let's register a catering company. I'll send Linlin some money then."

"Okay! I'll let you know once the news is finalized."

The two chatted for a while longer before hanging up the phone.

Later in the car, Yu Dawei chatted with Duan Dahai about some of his classmates who were doing quite well in high school, as well as the class reunion a few days ago. When he mentioned this, Yu Dawei was somewhat helpless, as people seem to become more profit-seeking and avoid harm after entering society.

"Dingling, ringing, ringing..."

Just as Yu Dawei was continuing his chat with Duan Dahai, his phone lit up again. However, when he picked it up and glanced at it, he found it was an unfamiliar number.

"Dawei, you're quite busy with business these days, people are even calling you late at night," Duan Dahai joked with him.

"It doesn't happen usually, and I don't think I've ever seen this number before. I don't know who called."

Yu Dawei answered the phone, saying, "Hello."

Yu Dawei was waiting for the other party to introduce themselves or say a few words to awaken his dormant memories on the other end of the phone.

Surprisingly, there was no sound on the other end of the phone; all that could be heard was the whistling of the wind.

"Hello?! Who is it?" Yu Dawei felt like he was being "teased," and several black lines appeared on his forehead. His tone also became stiff.

However, there was still no response on the other end of the phone.

"Speak! If you don't speak, I'm hanging up!" Yu Dawei suspected this was a silent harassment call, but it seemed that harassment calls didn't exist yet. He waited a few more seconds, but the other end of the line showed no intention of speaking.

Yu Dawei simply hung up the phone and ignored him.

"Who is it?" Duan Dahai asked with a curious look.

"Crazy." Yu Dawei was too lazy to pay attention to this kind of person; he figured it was probably someone who had drunk too much and dialed the wrong number.

On the other side, outside a restaurant in Mulunhe Town, Hohhot.

Zhao Shan looked down at the phone that had been hung up and sighed with a complicated expression.

In the end, I still didn't say "thank you".

He put his phone back in the pocket of his black coat, looked up to admire the snowy scenery of northern China, and took a few deep drags on a half-smoked cigarette held between his fingers.

The real estate transfer of Fuxin Jiayuan went smoothly. Better than expected, the other party did not take advantage of the situation too much. At least after they made their profit, they made sure to leave some soup for themselves.

In this way, he can live up to the expectations of his fellow villagers and himself for persevering to this day.

"Finally, I can get a good night's sleep. I never want to work in this damn real estate industry again." Zhao Shan walked to his old-fashioned bicycle, put one foot on the pedal, and stepped onto it.

He rode fast through the snow against the cold wind, but then, as if remembering something, the bicycle suddenly slowed down and eventually disappeared into the vast snowstorm.

The 20th day of the twelfth lunar month is three days away from the Little New Year in northern China.

Yu Dawei didn't stay at home. He took his wife's Fiat to town, got off at the town's kindergarten, and walked straight to Fanfan's repair shop.

Since drinking with Guo Lao and Duan Dahai the day before yesterday, he has been staying in the old village for the winter, habitually visiting neighbors here and there. Some of his peers who went out to work have already returned, and everyone is chatting and playing cards happily.

However, Yu Dawei did not forget that he still had a lot of things to do, so after resting for two days, he went to the repair shop.

Today is a holiday for the factory's core staff. The number of people on duty will gradually decrease in the coming days. Yu Dawei is here to hand over the responsibilities so that he can deal with any problems that may arise during the Spring Festival.

Meanwhile, on my wife's side, it was the official start of the kindergarten holiday, and many parents from the village were lining up to pick up their children.

School will reopen on March 1st.

"boss!"

"The boss is back!"

"Hi boss!"

As soon as Yu Dawei entered the factory, he saw several apprentices greeting him obsequiously.

"You've worked hard, brothers! I'll ask Chef Ji from the cafeteria to make some extra good food for lunch." Yu Dawei didn't put on a stern face; instead, he chatted sincerely with the young men.

Knowing that the factory hadn't been as busy as before, with many orders coming from members after the Lunar New Year, Yu Dawei went to the parts department after getting a general understanding of the situation.

The parts department is no longer managed by Da Feng, but by Qian Yin, a newcomer recruited by the grain depot. This kid is quite hardworking and has some experience in parts management.

After chatting briefly, Yu Dawei noticed that the kid was stammering when he spoke to him, as if there was something he couldn't say.

Just as Dawei was about to ask for clarification, the door to the parts department was pushed open.

Yu Dawei looked up and saw that it was Accountant Yang.

"You didn't take a vacation?" Yu Dawei looked over curiously and noticed that Lao Ji had also come over behind Accountant Yang. "You're here too? What's up?"

"Something's up, boss. If you don't come back soon, I'm about to call you." Old Ji put his hands on his hips, indicating that he was a little angry.

It seems like their boss has really become a hands-off manager now. He used to manage all the big and small things at Fanfan Repair Shop, and that was bad enough. Now, even things like parts have to go through his decision-making and discussion.

He was a car mechanic who knew nothing about the auto parts business, and everything he thought seemed unreliable, but he had to bite the bullet and do it anyway. And sure enough, he ran into trouble.

"Is it a car repair shop or a parts shop?" Yu Dawei glanced at Qian Yin subconsciously, feeling that the problem might lie there.

"Accessories."

“Alright, let’s talk in my little room.” Yu Dawei stood up and glanced at Qian Yin. “You’re in management now too, come with me.”

"Did they help me burn firewood over at the hut?" Yu Dawei asked.

"Burn it! Accountant Yang works at your place every day, we have to burn it, especially since it's so cold outside." Old Ji echoed Yu Dawei as he walked beside him.

Upon arriving at the brick house, the group sat on the kang (a heated brick bed). Yu Dawei noticed that the original pinkish-green kang mat had changed to a blue patterned one.

"The old kang mat was burned with a big hole by a brat who was tending the kang, so I threw it away and replaced it with a new one," Old Ji said, seeing Yu Dawei sitting cross-legged staring at the kang mat.

"Oh." Yu Dawei took out a notebook from his bag, and when he opened it, it was filled with dense writing. "Let's talk about your situation first. Is there anything you can't resolve?"

Old Ji glanced at Qian Yin, then at Accountant Yang, and finally gave the initiative to Qian Yin: "Qian Yin, why don't you say it?"

"This...this...let Brother Yang explain it. He understands financial matters better than I do." Qian Yin was a little embarrassed, especially in front of his boss, and his heart was pounding.

I wonder how my boss will berate me in a moment.

"Hey, this is interesting." Yu Dawei's gaze swept back and forth between the three men's faces. "Normally, when we have a meeting, the three of you are like you're on steroids, each one talking non-stop. What happened today that silenced all three of you?"

“The accounts don’t match.” Accountant Yang didn’t stand on ceremony and placed a stack of account books in front of Yu Dawei, staring at him with a serious expression. “Boss, I’ve discovered that we have too many branches. The accounts in various cities in Heilongjiang Province don’t match. It’s not an isolated case.”

He was reminding Yu Dawei that some employees were messing with the books.

Yu Dawei's eyes instantly turned cold: "Continue."

"Let me be more specific. Look at this. They applied for a large sum of money under the guise of maintenance of the Eighth Bureau's engineering equipment, but when I got the ledger later, I found that it didn't match the amount they said at all."

"Besides this one, there's also the Qiqihar No. 2 store. They have accounts for applying for equipment, but after the equipment was applied for and used, it wasn't actually reimbursed."

“Besides that, I think time is also a problem.” Accountant Yang raised his head and pointed his gaze directly at Yu Dawei before offering his opinion: “If these accounts were before the New Year, I could not only find out about them, but also find out who did it. But now, some people have already taken leave to cover for others, and the records have changed. When we really investigate, it will be difficult to determine who did it.”

"Is the amount of the loss large?" Yu Dawei asked again.

"It's not a big deal. I did a rough calculation, and the discrepancies between the accounts and the shop records add up to a total of several thousand yuan. But this habit is definitely not a good one." After finishing the account matter, Accountant Yang promptly shut up, leaving the opportunity to Qian Yin.

"Boss, I'm so sorry. I didn't manage things properly, which led to kickbacks being taken among the various branches." Qian Yin took the initiative to admit his mistake, lowering his head and avoiding Yu Dawei's eyes.

“It has little to do with you; it’s a problem with the system.” Yu Dawei sighed. He had heard his sister Yu Feng mention this last year. “Firstly, it’s because the shops are too far apart. There are shops in Qiqihar, Jicheng, and Hecheng.”

"This leads to a situation where the emperor is far away and has no time to spare, giving petty thieves an opportunity to take advantage of the situation."

"In addition, there is the equipment maintenance cooperation with the Eighth Bureau. Currently, the number of times is decreasing, and some of the previous service points are even experiencing losses. They are already difficult to compete with local auto repair brands, and the cooperation is not as effective as before. With everyone earning less, it is inevitable that something will happen."

Yu Dawei did not hide the current situation and was well aware of the problems that were likely occurring in the various stores below.

"Boss, this is what I wanted to talk to you about." Old Ji took over the conversation, spreading the account book flat on the table: "Now, out of the 13 stores in the entire province, Old Yang told me that half of them are losing money this year. I think if the Eighth Bureau continues to be like this, should we close all the stores?"

Lao Ji felt that he had earned enough in the past few years, and even if he closed all thirteen stores now, he would not lose money. Moreover, the Eighth Bureau is now following the route of leasing equipment, and the equipment leasing company is responsible for the maintenance of their equipment.

Very few pieces of equipment actually require maintenance.

"Should I turn it off?" Yu Dawei sat cross-legged, lost in thought.

Shutting it down would indeed stop the losses in time, but it would also mean losing the popularity that had been built up over the years. It was hard to open a small niche in another city, and it would be a shame to leave like this. Yu Dawei was reluctant to do so.

However, if it is not shut down, then it will have to face rectification.

How to rectify the situation has become another difficult problem.

Fanfan Repair Shop is in a very awkward situation. On one hand, it faces the challenge of being split up by Yu Dawei, who wants to turn Fanfan Repair Shop into a true maintenance and repair shop. On the other hand, it also faces the issue of relocating to the oil city. The slightest mistake could lead to a loss of morale and the shop falling apart.

"If all else fails, let's go for branding." After much thought, Yu Dawei realized this was the only path they could take.

"Branding?" The three of them looked over blankly.

"Yes, Fanfan Repair Shop and its various branches have a mother-child relationship, and branding means that the relationship between the mother and child becomes closer, and everything follows a standardized set of rules."

"Perfect timing, I also have an idea that I'd like to discuss with the three of you." Yu Dawei then brought up the idea of ​​setting up the parts department separately and building an auto parts market in the town.

The original plan to relocate the repair shop remains unchanged; however, the parts department will focus most of its efforts there.

The three people were so shocked that they couldn't speak.

Yu Dawei didn't give them time to think and continued to talk about the brand: "In the future, the parts will definitely be concentrated in the parts market, and I plan to give the separate repair shops two functions."

"In the future, the repair shop will undertake the repair, refurbishment, and maintenance of large-scale scrapped engineering vehicles in the oil city. Of course, the repair shop will also undertake various external engineering equipment and automobiles."

"My second role is to run the headquarters of the chain brand, focusing on car decoration, repair, maintenance, bodywork and painting. If possible, I will do these two things in two separate places."

“When we moved out, didn’t we say we’d leave something behind to maintain our existing customer base? Why not take this opportunity to establish our brand and then expand outwards?”

After Yu Dawei finished speaking, he looked at the three people's eyes again. Their expressions had changed from confusion to stunned silence.

"So the three of you didn't understand at all?" Yu Dawei shook his head and smiled wryly. It seemed he would have to put in some effort to make the three of them understand.

After all, this is his core team, and aside from car maintenance, they are the main force driving the development of Fanfan Repair Shop.

For the plan to be executed perfectly, Yu Dawei must ensure that the three of them fully accept these things.

"Hey boss!" Old Ji wiped the drool that had dripped from his dazed expression. "Can we take it one step at a time? You've given us too much information all at once, and we're all a bit overwhelmed."

He still can't figure it out. It's just a matter of closing a few stores, so why has it suddenly escalated to something like branding and functional stuff?

This is terrifying! What are all these things?!

He hasn't neglected his studies these past few years, so how come he didn't understand a single word!

(End of this chapter)