Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 200 The Father-in-Law Who Benefited from the Masses

Inside the private room at Fengzeyuan, Cao Weida was quite surprised to hear that the other party was Lou Zhenhua from Lou's Steel Rolling Mill.

Lou Zhenhua, Steel Rolling Mill.
He never expected that the person who wanted to get to know him would be Lou Zhenhua!

He felt a little strange. If he wasn't mistaken, this should be the "cheap father-in-law" that most protagonists in transmigration courtyard novels end up "making trouble"!

Wearing a well-tailored bespoke suit and sporting thick, jet-black hair, he was under forty years old, yet possessed the air and composure of a successful person.

"Dr. Zhu said a friend wanted to meet me, but I never expected it to be General Manager Lou of Lou Steel Rolling Mill. It's a pleasure to meet you." Cao Weida cupped his hands and said with a smile, "General Manager Lou gave such a generous gift as soon as he arrived. I am quite flattered."

"The saying goes, 'One should not accept a reward without merit,' and now I'm a little worried about whether this money is too hot to handle."

Two thousand five hundred dollars, what a generous gift!

"I'm incredibly grateful that Master Cao has given me this opportunity to demonstrate my abilities. It's nothing, just a small matter." Lou Zhenhua smiled politely, his attitude neither servile nor arrogant, displaying a Confucian air.
"I have long heard that Lord Cao Wei of Beiping is well-connected, righteous, compassionate towards the people, and loves them like his own children."

"Stop, stop, stop! Aren't you insulting me?!" Cao Weida waved his hand to interrupt, angrily saying, "I'm a traitor and a lackey of the Han! How can you talk to me like that? Don't I have any dignity?!"

"Huh???" Lou Zhenhua was stunned, clearly not expecting Cao Weida to say that.

Why does he sound so proud of what he said?

Do you really think being a traitor or a lackey of the Chinese people is something to be proud of?

"Haha, just kidding, Mr. Lou, don't mind." Cao Weida grinned, finding it quite amusing to tease Lou Zhenhua, one of the "nation's fathers-in-law."

He took out a cigarette and lit it. "I'm a straightforward person. I don't usually like to beat around the bush. It's too tiring. Mr. Lou, just tell me what you need me for."

Although Cao Weida's straightforwardness surprised Lou Zhenhua somewhat, it was only slightly.

Everyone here is intelligent; the fact that he went to such lengths, pulling strings and helping to buy women, naturally means he had something to ask for.

Since he's already been so frank, if he keeps beating around the bush, it will only make people look down on him and dislike him.

"Since you speak so frankly, I won't hold back either."

“Our steel rolling mill is currently facing a severe shortage of raw materials and is on the verge of shutting down. About a thousand workers are about to be out of work.”

"But the entry and exit of raw materials are strictly controlled, so they simply cannot be transported in."

"Therefore, I would like to ask Mr. Cao for his assistance in mediating this matter. Lou Zhenhua would be extremely grateful."

In present-day Beiping, although the Lou family was considered wealthy, they were far from being comparable to the future Lou Bancheng. At this time, the Lou-style steel rolling mill only had about a thousand employees.

They were even on the verge of bankruptcy at this point.

Cao Weida felt a pang of regret. The main reason the Lou family had fallen to this state was because Lou Yaozu, the current head of the family, refused to collude with traitors, which led to him being targeted.

In times of chaos, steel is always the first material to be considered.

Since the materials used in steel rolling mills are mostly steel, traitors and lackeys can easily find any excuse to force the steel rolling mills to their deaths!

Cao Weida, who was well aware of these matters, glanced at him and said with a faint smile, "President Lou really thinks highly of me. Such a big matter is not something a mere patrol officer like me can get involved in."

His attitude was clear: he didn't want to help.

For others, more than two thousand silver dollars is a huge sum of money, but compared to the life and death of a steel rolling mill with more than a thousand employees, this amount of money is nothing!
Hilarious! You think you can get me to help you with just over two thousand dollars? How can you be so shameless?

"Master Cao, this is just a small token of my appreciation." Although he expressed his refusal, he did not say directly that he could not do it. Lou Zhenhua was not a fool and naturally understood the situation.

He placed the small box he had just brought in on the table and pushed it over, chuckling softly.

Cao Weida raised an eyebrow. The box wasn't very big, only about the size of a lunchbox. It was obviously unsuitable for holding gold bars. Could it be a check?
He opened the drawer in front of him, and sure enough, a check was revealed.

"This is five thousand US dollars from Citibank, just a small token of my appreciation."

"After the matter is settled, I will also offer you a token of my appreciation."

Cao Weida remained calm, raising an eyebrow slightly, and said jokingly, "President Lou is certainly generous. Aren't you afraid of spending so much money and ending up with nothing?"

"Don't worry, Master Cao. Even if things don't go as planned, it's alright. Just consider it my invitation to have some tea with you."

Wow, that's quite a nice way to put it.

Cao Weida looked at him calmly, without touching the box containing the checks again, as if trying to discern the truthfulness of his words.

Lou Zhenhua took a deep breath, stood up and bowed slightly: "On behalf of the factory's thousand or so employees and their families, Lou Zhenhua earnestly requests that Master Cao lend a helping hand."

"This"

"please!"

"Alright, but let me be clear from the start, I can only say I'll give it a try. As for whether it will succeed, I can't guarantee it." Cao Weida pretended to hesitate for a moment before finally agreeing with a relieved expression.

Look, look, that's the power of influence and connections. He doesn't have to do anything, and people come begging him for money.

If he doesn't accept the money, people will feel resentful and disappointed.

If you take the money, they should thank you!

Seeing that Cao Weida had finally accepted the money, Lou Zhenhua finally showed a relieved expression, his smile widening and his face crinkling with wrinkles.
"I, Lou Zhenhua, keep my word, so you can rest assured."

"This matter has troubled you, Master Cao. But could you please expedite it as much as possible? Although my son and I are well-fed and clothed, the families of those thousand or so workers are waiting for food to cook."

Cao Wei Da frowned deeply. What, are you trying to morally blackmail me?

Are you trying to pressure me by taking those thousand or so workers and their families as examples?

To be able to lead such a large factory, manage so many people, and even become the future Lou Bancheng, Lou Zhenhua is certainly not an incompetent fool; he has a strong ability to read people's expressions and moods.

Cao Wei Da frowned, immediately realizing his mistake. He had been too hasty and his words might have been inappropriate. He quickly tried to correct himself:

"I'm sorry, I was too hasty just now and spoke without thinking. I didn't mean anything by it."

"In this way, I will punish myself with three cups as an apology. If you are not satisfied, I will keep drinking until you are satisfied."

Seeing his sincere attitude and watching him slurp wine into his mouth, Cao Weida's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed.

Seeing that Lou Zhenhua had downed three cups of wine, he said, "President Lou, there's no need for that. It's understandable that you care about the families of your workers."

"I've agreed to this. Here's my phone number. I'll call you after it's done."

After Lou Zhenhua handed him the business card, Cao Weida nodded, closed the box, and put it in his bag.

Once the matter was settled, Lou Zhenhua quickly instructed the chef to start serving the dishes.

Before long, a table full of food was served.

Fengzeyuan is not among the eight famous restaurants, but that doesn't mean its food is bad.

On the contrary, Fengzeyuan was a restaurant that could rival the eight famous restaurants in Beiping. Both of them mainly served Shandong cuisine and had a very high status in the industry.

Fengzeyuan, leveraging its own advantages, has already demonstrated a more prominent influence at this time.

When Fengzeyuan first opened, it served the upper class. Its dishes were characterized by being light, fresh, fragrant, tender and crisp, especially light and fresh.

Signature dishes include braised sea cucumber with scallions, shark fin soup in casserole, and tripe soup in casserole.

When asking for favors, Lou Zhenhua was naturally not stingy, and ordered almost all of Fengzeyuan's signature dishes, except for those that were missing ingredients.

Cao Weida ate the dishes with gusto, his mouth greasy, and both host and guests were delighted.

After finishing his meal, Cao Weida stood up, said, "Thank you for the hospitality, I'll be leaving now," picked up his bag, and left Fengzeyuan.

Shortly after he left, the door to the private room was pushed open again, and a man who bore a slight resemblance to Lou Zhenhua, but was older and had a more refined demeanor, walked in.

“Zhenhua, you’re too rash and too hasty.” The man sat down and immediately criticized, “A gentleman can be deceived by reason, and a petty person can be lured by profit, but this Mr. Cao is clearly not someone who can be manipulated by these two points. He’s very clever.”

"If we had offended him just now and he had rejected this cooperation, our Lou family would be in serious trouble!"

"Fortunately, this Cao was a good person who cared about the people's survival and eventually agreed to help."

"Next time you meet him, you must not try such tricks again, otherwise he will definitely hate you and it will backfire."

Lou Zhenhua quickly admitted his mistake: "Dad, I was indeed anxious just now. I was genuinely worried about the workers and their families. I lost my composure in my words and made statements that implied I wanted to deceive them. It was my fault, and I won't do it again next time."

The person who just entered was none other than Lou Zhenhua's father, Lou Yaozu, the current true head of the Lou family.

Lou Yaozu glanced at his son noncommittally and sighed inwardly.

How could you not understand your own son?
The Lou family has accumulated this wealth over generations, taking several generations to do so. To prevent the family from declining, they have always been very cautious.

Although this slows down the family's development, it ensures safety.

His son, Lou Zhenhua, was intelligent from a young age and had a talent for business and management. He had always had a smooth life without any major setbacks.

As the saying goes, fortune and misfortune are intertwined. Although a smooth and successful journey may seem like a good thing, the lack of trials along the way will inevitably lead to arrogance and an inability to listen to the advice of others.

His son seemed very sincere in admitting his mistake, but he could tell that his son hadn't learned his lesson.

He sighed inwardly again and said, "I won't say anything more. Remember, be careful in your words and actions, and never be hasty."

"Be stable when you need to be stable, and be decisive when you need to be decisive."

(End of this chapter)