Era: Rise from the Wilderness

"Boss! Boss! What do you want to wholesale? Come on over, come to my shop! I have the most complete selection!"

"Don't listen to him! Boss, come to my place! I have the lowest prices in Fuxian County!"

"Bullshit! Wang Laosan, you dare say you're offering the lowest price? I'll tear your mouth apart!"

"Boss, come take a look at my place first, the price is negotiable!"

"Come to me, I'll give you the biggest discount!"

"Bullshit! Zhang the Cripple, you actually gained five points yesterday!"

……

Spits flew in the sunlight.

Someone had already grabbed Li Hongfeng's arm.

The arm was still in the position of closing the car door, half-frozen in the air.

Li Hongfeng had dealt with factory managers, ministers, directors, section chiefs, and county leaders most of his life. He always left room for maneuver in his words and was particular about being considerate and thorough in his work. He had never seen anything like this before.

His face flushed red instantly, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his lips moved, but he couldn't squeeze out a complete sentence.

Let alone Li Hongfeng, even Li Yunjing, who prided himself on having seen the world, was dumbfounded.

What's going on?

So enthusiastic?

The mother was startled and hid behind Li Hongfeng. She had only ever been an ordinary worker and had never seen anything like this before.

"Dear uncles and aunts..."

"Quiet down!"

"Listen to me!"

After being torn apart for a while, Li Yunjing finally reacted. His voice still had a childish quality, but his tone was steady.

He stepped forward half a step, blocking his father's side.

The bright sunlight made him squint, but his back remained ramrod straight.

The noisy chatter subsided for a moment.

Everyone looked at the child.

"We're the new shopkeeper we contracted from the middle school in a nearby town!"

Li Yunjing cleared his throat, enunciating each word clearly, "This is the first time I'm here to pick up goods."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the faces covered in oil and sweat.

Some people grimaced, some raised their eyebrows, but no one made a sound.

"We believe in long-term business. We will continue to buy from whoever has good quality products and fair prices."

"You're all experts; you should understand what it means that a school with over two thousand students only has one small shop like ours, right?"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the shrewd businessmen before him, and then offered his most enticing bargaining chip: "This isn't a one-off deal!"

Upon hearing this, the business owners present were taken aback at first, but then their eyes blazed with even more intense light!

They knew all too well the value of having an exclusive campus convenience store!

That's practically an inexhaustible gold mine!

If we can secure this long-term client, it will definitely be a great opportunity that guarantees a profit!

Immediately, the scene became even more heated, with promises, guarantees, and price reductions rising and falling, and the bosses scrambling even more fiercely.

"Long-term?! Oh, boss, you should have said so earlier!"

"I have the latest Kissing Shrimp Chips at home!"

"Jianlibao! Want some Jianlibao? I'll give you the factory price!"

"I have everything you have, and I'll offer you the lowest price!"

"My price is even lower than the lowest price!"

"There's no lowest, only lower!"

……

The noise that had just subsided rose again, even more fiercely than before.

"Get the fuck out of here!"

"I'll buy all of this boss's goods!"

A thunderous roar exploded from behind the crowd.

The onlookers shrank back and automatically parted to make way.

A towering man walked over, wearing plastic slippers, his large feet making a crackling sound as he stomped on the sunflower seed shells on the ground.

He was wearing only a thin, white tank top, the seams of which were frayed, revealing his bronze skin; his jeans were worn-out at the knees and stained with mud at the cuffs.

He had a buzz cut, a square face, thick eyebrows that pressed down on his eyes, and a scar about an inch long on his left cheek that twitched as he grinned.

"This boss's stuff,"

He walked up to Li Hongfeng, a full head taller than him, casting a shadow over the entire family of three. "I, Wang Gang, have it all covered."

Upon seeing him, the shop owners around him immediately showed fear on their faces. The noise stopped abruptly, and they exchanged glances. No one dared to step forward to compete anymore. They retreated to their own shop entrances, watching from a distance.

Wang Gang ignored them and grinned at Li Hongfeng, his smile surprisingly sincere.

Li Hongfeng looked at the burly man in front of him, who was a head taller than him and exuded a江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) aura. He frowned slightly, but there was no fear in his eyes.

The people of Northeast China in the 90s were known for their tough and unyielding spirit, especially the men who were out in the world; they valued a "tough" attitude.

Although Li Hongfeng is not particularly tall, he has worked his way up in the complex environment of state-owned enterprises and has weathered many storms.

In his youth, he also followed the factory's security department to collect debts, carrying submachine guns to other provinces. He was a tough guy who dared to risk his life.

Although the burly man in front of him was imposing, he was not intimidated enough to make him show any fear.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"You seem like a very honest person!"

"Come, come, come and have a look at my shop!"

"I've been running my shop on this street for quite a few years now. I can't guarantee anything else, but I'll definitely have a full range of goods!"

He waved his hand and pointed to the third shop on the side of the road.

Li Hongfeng didn't speak, but stared intently into the other person's eyes.

An invisible string in the air has been taut.

On one side is the fierce spirit that comes from the grassroots, and on the other side is the toughness that comes from the system.

In Northeast China during the 1990s, these two kinds of atmospheres would always clash and sparks would fly.

"Li Hongfeng".

After a long while, he reached out and shook hands with Wang Gang's calloused hand.

They held hands firmly, neither of them letting go first.

Li Hongfeng nodded calmly and replied in a deep voice, "How should I address you, brother?"

"Wang Gang! Everyone on this street calls me Boss Wang. If you don't mind, you can call me Gangzi or Lao Wang, that's fine too!"

Big Han Wang Gang chuckled, becoming even more enthusiastic: "My shop is over here, the third one from the right!"

His hand pointed again to a storefront not far away.

Li Yunjing looked in the direction he pointed and indeed saw a shop with a slightly rough wooden signboard hanging above the door, inscribed with the four large characters "Wang Gang Trading Company" in red paint.

Upon seeing this name, Li Yunjing's heart stirred slightly.

Wang Gang... This person was someone he vaguely remembered from his later life!

I heard that he later became a well-known figure in the city's underworld, with businesses spanning multiple sectors. He was the kind of "big brother" figure who could have influence in both the legitimate and criminal worlds.

However, that happened more than a decade later.

Wang Gang is currently in the initial accumulation stage, just a small business owner who has established himself in the wholesale market by daring to fight and struggle.

At this point, Wang Gang was not considered a threat by Li Hongfeng in terms of social status and influence.

Not to mention that Li Hongfeng has Ma Zhifu, the town's richest man, standing behind him, the large state-owned enterprise he belongs to, which ranks among the top in the country, is itself a behemoth, and its internal security department is no small force.

If a conflict were to break out, dealing with a self-employed individual like Wang Gang would not be difficult.