Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 1090 The Most Neglected

He turned to Xiaowei and said, "I have read all your materials. Your development model is very good and has a good driving effect. Just this one Spring Festival shopping festival has enabled hundreds of families to earn more than 100,000 yuan."

At the same time, it saved an average of over forty yuan per family who shopped there, generating over twenty million yuan in profits and taxes—a miracle. I hope you can persevere, make your business successful and strong, and contribute to the commerce of our province.”

Xiao Wei glanced at Lao Chen, unsure how to respond.

Old Chen laughed, waved his hand, and said, "He doesn't understand these official words you're saying. This kid is typically smart enough but lacks formal education, but he's very reliable."

Secretary Quan shook his head and said, "This is kind of an occupational hazard for us. Xiaowei, tell me your plans for next year. I'd like to hear them."

Xiao Wei said, "Next year, our shopping malls and hotels in Xidu, Andong, and Dalian will open. The business area of ​​each mall is over 300,000 square meters. We plan to operate half of them ourselves and the other half as independent shopping malls, allowing local people to come in and run them."

In Fengtian, two large shopping malls, Zhongjie and Huanggu, are under construction. At the same time, a convenience noodle factory in Zhangshi is also under construction; it's probably the largest in Northeast China right now. Oh, and there's also a brewery in Heping, equipped with complete German technology and equipment.

Secretary Quan said, "I see from the documents that there are quite a few projects in the cities and prefectures below. You've made a big move. If you encounter any difficulties, just call Xiao Tao. I'll be paying close attention to your area next year. Let's work together to create a healthy and successful business market. Are you confident?"

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "I have confidence, and I will work even harder."

Secretary Quan asked, "Now that you've taken over the trade city, what are your thoughts on the joint-venture department store?"

Xiao Wei shook his head: "No, really no. Taking over the Trade City was actually for the Rose Hotel; we didn't even have that in mind from the beginning. Our business focus and strategies are completely different; taking over might have been worse than we are now."

Old Chen said, "Everyone is figuring things out as they go. They already have their own initial ideas and plans, so let them try it out on their own."

Secretary Quan smiled, pointed at Old Chen with his hand, shook his head, stood up, stretched, and said, "Oh, I envy your comfortable life. I forced myself to take half a day off today. I never have a moment to relax."

"Come on, let's go downstairs and make dumplings. I'll also get a meal here. It's been so many years since we've had a proper family reunion dinner. Xiao Tao."

Xiao Tao, who was guarding the door, pushed it open and came in.

"Come to my house and pick up your aunt. We'll have dinner at Director Chen's place for the New Year, and have a free meal."

Xiao Tao hurriedly went downstairs. Secretary Quan said, "You can still relax now. Tonight I still have to visit the soldiers and police officers on duty, check on the frontline workers in the factory, and see the elderly living alone. I'll be staying up late again."

Old Chen said, "There's a rest room here. Why don't you take a nap while you can? I'll call you when it's time to eat."

Secretary Quan was clearly somewhat tempted.

Xiao Wei said, "Everything here is new. I've never slept here before, and I don't have the habit of taking a nap." He walked over and opened the door to the lounge.

Secretary Quan rubbed his hands together: "I haven't celebrated the New Year with everyone for many years. I've probably forgotten how to make dumplings. I really want to go and join in the fun."

Old Chen said, "Go take a nap. You're older than me, so you should take better care of yourself. Sleep for a little while, then I'll come wake you up."

Secretary Quan thought for a moment and said, "Okay, take a nap."

After Secretary Quan entered the lounge, Xiao Wei closed the door and returned. Old Chen said, "See? The higher you go, the less freedom you have, even the freedom to sleep and eat. You are completely powerless, including in the struggles. You should observe more, think more, and reflect more. There is no difference between doing business and being an official."

Xiao Wei pointed to the lounge: "What do we do now?"

Old Chen stood up and said, "You three stay here and keep watch. Your Aunt Chen and I will go downstairs to make dumplings. He can come over as soon as he wakes up. Oh, and Xiao Hui, go get the camera. We'll take some pictures together at the family reunion dinner later."

Old Chen and his family of three went downstairs. Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng sat on the sofa, looking at each other. Xia Maosheng lit a cigarette and smiled, lowering his voice as he said, "I don't want to work in the cafeteria and I want to run away. Now that I'm idle here, I don't want to stay here. I want to go to the cafeteria."

Xiao Wei scratched his head a few times: "It's probably because of a different mindset. You feel stressed here right now."

The two chatted idly, and time passed by unnoticed. It was already dark outside, and the sound of firecrackers began to rise. Looking out from the building, a sea of ​​red lanterns stretched as far as the eye could see. It was indescribably beautiful.

Xia Maosheng shook his head and asked, "Hey, what are we planning to do with this money? Just save it?"

Xiao Wei said, "Xiao Hong asked me too. I don't know, and there's nowhere to spend the money. What are your thoughts?"

Xia Maosheng shook his head and said, "What can I think? I have no ideas. Why should we spend money if there's no reason not to? Actually, I feel that whether or not the value increases has little to do with us. We earn this much every year, and our earning speed is definitely faster than the rate of inflation. If we keep thinking like this, won't we be worried to death in two years?"

Xiao Wei thought for a moment, nodded and said, "That makes sense. If we don't do anything next year, we'll have hundreds of millions. Plus, with the opening of a few shopping malls, we'll probably triple or even triple our money by the end of next year."

Xia Maosheng said, "That's right. So I feel that we don't need to worry about appreciation or depreciation. Instead, we should use that time to think about what we should do. I feel that your and Xiaohong's project to build a school this time is reliable and meaningful."

Xiao Wei said, "You want to do it too?"

Xia Maosheng said, "There are too many places where it's difficult to go to school and people can't afford to go. You can't possibly manage everything, but this is something you can do for a lifetime. You're giving back to your hometown, and I'm not lacking anything either, right? I'm planning to go back to Longcheng to take a look around. You build Hongwei, and I'll build Huisheng. Let's see whose school has better teaching quality in the end, shall we compare?"

Xiao Wei said, "What's the point of comparing elementary schools? We should compare which school has the best food and sleep."

Xia Maosheng shook his head and said, "Let me tell you, don't make it too fancy. As long as you have food and sleep, that's enough. Making it too fancy is not just a matter of spending money, but also about the consequences."

This is a matter of habits. What kind of habits do you want to cultivate in the students of the schools you build? Can you support them for a lifetime? What will they eat and sleep like in junior high? What about high school and university?

Moreover, building a primary school attracts the least attention. To be honest, if you're after fame, you wouldn't choose this option. Look at those big shots, they all build universities, because universities are supposed to produce talent. Without primary schools, universities would all close down, and there would be no talent to speak of.

I talked to Geng Hui about this, and she said that primary school is the foundation and the most crucial, but it is also the one that is least valued.

People only think about high school and university. When someone becomes successful, they always say they graduated from a certain university, mentioning their high school, which is their alma mater. But nobody mentions their elementary or middle school.

Including the government and those involved in education themselves, nobody really cares about primary and middle school. I think we're not after fame, so let's just focus on improving teaching quality. As long as we have enough to live on, that's fine.

Xiao Wei thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "You two are really something, discussing such profound issues at home. I've never thought about it that much; I just do what I feel like doing, and fill in the gaps wherever they're lacking."

I think what you two said makes sense; I was too naive. Okay, let's take this seriously then. I'll also discuss it with Xiaohong to see if we can come up with a procedure to follow from now on.

(End of this chapter)