Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 214 Is it so hard to report battle losses?

What became a commonplace foot bath business in later generations is still a very novel business today.

Just hearing Cao Weida describe the blueprint made him want to try it out for himself.

Feeling that this was a good project to make money, Xu Hancheng couldn't help but have some ideas in his mind. His eyes darted around, occasionally flashing a look of interest.

Cao Wei Da was perceptive; Xu Hancheng was intentionally getting involved, and in fact, he also wanted to bring the other party into the fray!

So he pretended to be hesitant and said, "I am quite optimistic about this business, but I am still too young. As the saying goes, 'a young man with no experience is unreliable.' If I rashly start a business, I will inevitably be seen as naive."

"Furthermore, we're really short of money, and our family has always been struggling to make ends meet."

"Director, you've always called me 'brother' this and 'brother' that. I'm seeing that your brother wants to start a business to supplement the family income. If you don't support me even a little bit, I'm not going to leave!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Hancheng was clearly stunned, but then he realized that his little scheme had been seen through, and that Cao Weida was giving him a way out!

He was both amused and exasperated, but secretly pleased. Cao Wei Da was a considerate, sensible, and thoughtful person. Coupled with his competence, he could be described as a very shrewd and capable person!

"You, you really know how to cause me trouble!" She pointed at him with her finger and chuckled, "Fine, what can I do? We're brothers, your business is my business!"

"Since you're already offering to help, I can't be stingy, brother." After a moment's hesitation, he continued:

"In this way, I will be in charge of all matters, including demolition, construction, and renovation."

"You'll be in charge of buying the land deed for the Bright Moon Ballroom, as well as managing the staff and other arrangements."

What are the details of demolition, construction, and renovation?

Cao Weida clicked his tongue inwardly. Xu Hancheng was really stingy. This was a considerable expense, and compared to buying a house, it was quite uneconomical.

Why do you say that?
Of course, it's because there are unspoken rules everywhere!
Just like the items auctioned off in later years, the good stuff was actually already preserved long ago.

If the level of regulation in later generations was this high, then it goes without saying that it was even higher during this period.

For example, that house, if its original market price was 10000 dollars, after being seized by the police, would only cost around 4,000 or 5,000 dollars if purchased internally, which is much cheaper than a normal sale.

The expenses for demolition, construction, and renovation are real and substantial; they'll cost exactly what they're supposed to!
And it's not a small amount of money!
The key point is that the cost of these renovations is gone once it's spent, unlike houses, where even if you don't want them anymore, you can resell them and not only won't lose money, but you can actually make a fortune!
It can be said that Xu Hancheng's move was full of sincerity.

Of course, this is certainly not just because of this business; there must also be reasons why they want to befriend him.

Since the other party had extended a gesture of goodwill, Cao Wei Da, who also wanted to establish a friendship with them, naturally accepted it gladly.
"Thank you so much, Director! You've done me a huge favor!"

"Don't worry, I can't guarantee this business will be incredibly profitable, but I will definitely do my best to turn it into a golden goose!"

After leaving the director's office, Cao Weida had someone bring Du Dan to his office.

"Master Cao." Du Dan greeted him cautiously as she entered. The incredibly young man in front of her was someone whose words could decide her life or death!
She had to treat it with respect and caution.

"You're here, have a seat." Cao Weida, who was writing, looked up and gestured for her to sit down first, then went back to writing and drawing.

Du Dan was filled with trepidation, unsure of Cao Weida's intentions, but dared not utter a word of objection. She sat cautiously on the sofa, but only half-sitting.

He would glance at Cao Weida every now and then, and couldn't help but fantasize in his mind, "If only I had met this man back then, how wonderful that would have been?"
She was naturally aware of Cao Wei Da's reputation, as was his reputation for being a womanizer.

But she also knew that he was quite good to all those women.

Beauty is a resource.

But in times of chaos, beauty is a sin if one does not have enough power to protect oneself!
For example, she didn't actually want to follow Shao Yongming at first.
Compared to her, how lucky were Cao Weida's women?
As she was lost in thought, time passed little by little.

After an unknown amount of time, just as Du Dan was beginning to feel anxious, Cao Weida finally raised his head.

He took a deep breath, stood up, and sat down opposite Du Dan with the paper he had just filled with writing.

Du Dan was startled and quickly stood up: "Master Cao."

"Don't be nervous, sit down." He gestured for her to sit down and reassured her, "Don't be nervous. Since you've already pledged your allegiance and I've made a promise to you, I certainly won't lie to you."

"I, Cao Weida, am a man who likes to keep his word."

He handed over the papers in his hand: "I said before that as long as what you say is true, I will not only not blame you, but I will also give you some protection."

"Take a look at this first. What do you think of this business? Does it have any potential for growth?"

Upon hearing these words, Du Dan's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, immediately relaxed considerably. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief, feeling fortunate to have survived such a close call.

"Thank you, Master Cao."

After thanking her, she took the paper and began to read it. When she saw the words "Foot Bath Shop Drafting Plan" at the top, she was a little puzzled.

But after seeing the contents of the following articles of association, her eyes couldn't help but gradually brighten.

This unconventional business seemed very promising, and Cao Weida's plan was extremely detailed, including almost all the attractive features of foot massage parlors in later generations.

This is a promising and theoretically sound new business opportunity!
If it were to be made, it would truly have great potential!
As for how to address the relatively conservative nature of women during this period...
Aren't the women in the dance hall readily available?
What's more, these days there's no shortage of people who can't make a living!
Most importantly, a foot massage parlor is not a brothel!
Although there are some transactions involving money and sex, they are all based on the principle of mutual consent!
With Cao Wei Da backing him up, who would dare to force their way into the store?

“Master Cao, I think this business is very feasible and has a very good future prospect.” Du Dan put down the paper and said thoughtfully, “If it can be done well, it seems to be a business that can keep generating gold.”

Upon hearing this, Cao Weida nodded slightly. He knew, of course, that this business was very promising, after all, it had stood the test of time for decades.

Take himself for example, he spent a lot of real money at foot massage parlors in his past life.

To this day, he still remembers the emptiness and grief he felt after technician number 88 left.
"From now on, you will be in charge of this business. You will be the driving force behind this foot massage parlor."

"Huh? Me?!" Du Dan was both surprised and delighted, clearly not expecting such a huge windfall to fall from the sky.

She was a criminal before!
My initial plan was simply to save my life!

The surprise came so suddenly that she even wondered if she had misheard. Seeing her self-doubting look, Cao Weida couldn't help but smile and say, "You heard me right. This matter is now entrusted to you."

"The address is the original Mingyue Ballroom. I will buy it. As for the remaining demolition, renovation, technician training, and other matters, I will leave them to you to handle."

He leaned back, took out a cigarette and lit it, but his eyes were fixed on the lighter on the table.

Du Dan was perceptive; she suppressed her inner elation, got up, picked up a lighter, and obediently lit it for him.

Cao Weida took a drag of his cigarette and smiled with satisfaction. "This can be considered a return favor. Besides, you are a capable person. I have briefly looked through the accounts of Mingyue Ballroom, and you have managed them well."

"Therefore, I have high hopes for you, and I hope that you can run the future foot massage parlor well."

Du Dan could no longer contain her excitement and repeatedly bowed to express her gratitude: "Thank you for your trust, Master Cao. Du Dan will certainly live up to your trust and run the foot massage parlor perfectly!"

She is confident in running a foot massage parlor and is also confident in turning it into a lucrative business.

However, this was not the reason for her excitement. What excited her was that having this relationship meant that she had gotten in touch with Cao Weida!

With this connection, her life was naturally guaranteed to the greatest extent!

"Okay, I believe you." He got up and walked to his desk, pretending to open a drawer, but actually took out two silver dollars and a key from his storage space.
"Here are two hundred silver dollars, your start-up capital. This is the key to the courtyard at the entrance of Pocket Alley. You can stay there for now."

"Starting tomorrow, you should immediately begin looking for renovation workers and training your employees."

Du Dan thanked them profusely and left with the money and keys. The stark contrast in her feelings before and after almost made her burst into tears of joy.

After seeing Du Dan off, Cao Weida took another box, put a check for three thousand silver dollars inside, and went straight out to hail a rickshaw.

"Oh, Master Cao, what a coincidence!" The rickshaw driver took off his straw hat, revealing Wen San'er's sly face.

Upon seeing that it was Wen San, Cao Wei Da inwardly cursed his bad luck, but said with a mischievous grin, "Oh, isn't this Third Master? Greetings!"

"???" Wen San scratched his head. "Master Cao, please don't tease me. You call me a master? People will laugh their heads off."

"Where are you going? I'll give you a ride!"

After a slight hesitation, Cao Weida boarded the rickshaw and gave an address.

Although Wen San had a somewhat jinx-like demeanor, those who had either a grudge against him or a favor to him generally did not fare well.

But if we don't become enemies or get too close, there shouldn't be any problems, right?
If you deliberately refuse to ride in his car, it would seem a bit intentional, which would be counterproductive.

As the rickshaw moved along, Cao Weida teased, "I've heard more than once that you, Wen San'er, are incredibly skilled in martial arts and have close relationships with many famous people. I must learn from you, so calling you Third Master isn't too much of a stretch!"

Wen San wasn't actually a bad person; he naturally had the mentality of an ordinary citizen, lacked a sense of the big picture, and had quite a few minor flaws.

If you had to pick his worst trait, it would be his mouth.

He was beaten many times, all because of his mouth.

Especially after drinking, they really act like they're the most important person in the world.

It's not about bragging about fighting the sect leader and sending him flying against the wall like a New Year's picture; it's about bragging about who you know, like being sworn brothers with the notorious bandit Yanzi Li San.

They'll exaggerate and boast as much as they can.

He even threatened to go to the Japanese barracks in Fengtai to find the Japanese soldiers and beat them up.
His bad habit was known to almost every rickshaw puller in Beiping, but he just did it for fun and nobody took it seriously.

Being teased about this on the spot, especially by Cao Wei Da, a figure of immense importance in his mind, Wen San was incredibly embarrassed. He felt so ashamed that he wanted to dig a three-bedroom, two-living-room house out of his toes.

"Master Cao, please stop teasing me. I don't have that kind of ability. I'm just bragging after drinking."

He glanced back guiltily and chuckled awkwardly, "If I really had that ability, I wouldn't still be a lowly rickshaw puller. You're an important person, please don't hold it against me."

He wanted to give a heads-up, because ever since he met Cao Weida, he had gained another target for boasting while drinking, namely Cao Weida, whom he was currently holding hands with.

He boasted to others that he had an extremely close relationship with Cao Wei, a friendship so deep they had risked their lives for each other.
On several occasions, he even flaunted Cao Wei Da's tiger skin to show off his power.

If Master Cao finds out, will he punish me?
Thinking of this, he felt even more guilty, and prayed that Master Cao would never find out.
Cao Wei Da naturally couldn't see the guilty look on Wen San's face, but even if he had, he wouldn't have cared too much.

It's just boasting from ordinary people at the bottom of society; he's only doing it for fun, so naturally he won't really care.

"Don't talk nonsense when you're drunk next time. It's not worth getting beaten up if you upset someone. Just focus on pulling the cart."

Wen San breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Master Cao was still unaware of his boasting and exaggeration.
For the rest of the journey, he dared not say another word, for fear of saying something wrong and revealing the truth.

When Wen San gets serious about pulling a cart, he's quite steady, after all, he's been pulling carts for so many years, his experience is undeniable.

They arrived at their destination smoothly, and after paying him off, Cao Weida walked towards the sentry post.

"Cao Sang!" After several meetings, the guards naturally recognized Cao Weida.

As usual, he slipped a few packs of cigarettes over, which earned him a pleased smile from the guard. A moment later, Mei Zeping appeared at the door.

"Mr. Meize, I'm sorry to bother you again!" Cao Weida stepped forward politely.

"Haha, Mr. Cao, you're too kind. Come on, let's go inside. The car is ready. I'll take you to see it."

Mei Zeping was clearly delighted to be about to receive 3000 silver dollars, especially after seeing the box in Cao Weida's hand; his smile was incredibly warm.

what?
Is the car owned by the government?

Confused!

Is it really that hard to report battle damage?
(End of this chapter)