Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 1321 It's still about comparing children

The rooster crows at dawn.

The sun shone again, and the entire city awoke from the darkness.

The old capital city is most charming in the morning—lively, welcoming, and peaceful. The breakfast stalls lining the streets and alleys emit enticing aromas, and strolling crowds walk slowly along the roads, exchanging greetings as vendors call out their wares on the morning breeze.

The old town and the modernized part are like two completely different worlds. Although the latter is neat, grand, and filled with towering buildings, and the people there are mostly successful white-collar workers in suits, it has lost its sense of life.

It's so cold and impersonal; even eating breakfast feels like rushing to catch a train. The ever-accelerating pace of city life is destroying so much of life.

Xiao Wei got up early and spent some time with Wang Jiwei at the Intermediate People's Court. After returning to his room, he helped Xiao Hong get up and asked with a smile, "How did you manage while I wasn't home?" Xiao Hong was already having a hard time getting dressed, getting off the bed, and putting on her shoes.

Xiao Hong said, "Just do it that way, so we have to finish it while you're home."

There was a knock on the door: "Dad Zhang, Mom Zhang, dinner's ready!"

"Uncle and Aunt, get up and eat! Don't sleep in!"

The two kids were shouting loudly outside the door. They really have a lot of energy.

Xiao Wei opened the door, and the two little ones ran in: "Dinner's ready! If you're late, there won't be any left!"

Xiao Hong gave each of them a kiss: "Okay, keep your voices down, the neighbors can hear us."

The two little ones giggled and ran out, asking, "Who's the neighbor?"

"They're the people who live on the side."

"So, if he hears this, he'll come to eat too?"

"Even if you hear it, you can't eat our food."

"What if they come?"

"The gate is locked; we can't get in."

Because Qin Xuemei moved to the Intermediate People's Court, and Wang Yan also lives there, the two little ones' activity area has doubled. Previously, Xiao Xiaohui rarely went to the Intermediate People's Court to play by himself.

Chen Hui stood at the doorway with a towel draped over his shoulder and a toothbrush holder in his hand: "The air here in the morning is really nice."

Xiao Wei said, "It would be even better if you could get up a little earlier. You two should both get up early and get some exercise."

Chen Hui patted his belly, unconcerned: "Let's talk about it when we're older. Let's enjoy ourselves for a few years first."

Old Chen's favorite activity is taking walks. He has just returned from a walk by the lake with Old Geng and is watching the two children running around the yard with a smile, enjoying the pleasures of life.

Everyone went to the restaurant in the back to eat.

Xiao Wei said to Lao Geng, "Uncle Geng, you don't need to come so early anymore. I'll have Wang Jiwei and the others take turns accompanying Uncle Chen on walks."

Old Geng smiled and said, "It's alright, I'm used to it. At least I can get breakfast."

After finishing their meal and having a cup of tea, Uncle Chen and Aunt Chen said goodbye to their grandson and went to work.

It has now become a habit that every morning Comrade Chen Xiaohui would see Old Chen and his wife off to the car and watch them drive away before coming back to play. Usually, Ma San's wife would arrive around this time, and they would all go into the yard together.

Comrade Wang Yan accompanied Chen Xiaohui in her spare time, going through the routine procedures every day.

Xiao Wei and Chen Hui moved to the front yard to work. Now that the branch office has moved out, the entire front yard is theirs to use. The main building has four offices and a reception room, and Shi Li and Jiang Xinting also have their own offices.

The west wing contains a shower room, changing room, toilet, and boiler room, while the east wing has been converted into guest rooms.

The pool in the yard is being changed. The water pump is whirring as it drains the water from the pool into the lake outside, while the water, heated by the boiler, is then disinfected and filtered before being poured back into the pool.

Xiao Wei looked up at the glass canopy over the pool and said with a smile, "This thing needs a cleaning; it's covered in bird droppings and dust."

Chen Hui looked up and said, "Next time, just let it sit down and rinse it when you change the water. It's something that can't be avoided."

Entering the room to review documents and answer phone calls—this is the daily work of the two of them. Once the company reaches a certain scale and the systems and personnel are well-established, the boss is usually quite relaxed, as he often has to deal with matters outside of business operations.

Around 10 o'clock, Zhang Wu, Huaiyuan, and Changqing ran over.

Now that the group has gotten to know each other better, they've lost their reserve and scheming and can interact normally, but they're still far from being friends.

"You guys are so comfortable here," Zhang Wu remarked, looking around at the pool and glass canopy.

Enter the reception room.

Huaiyuan asked, "Your company moved?"

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "We've moved. We've set up a yard in the back, so we're staying there for now. We'll have to move there again once things are settled in Zhongguan Village. It's not very convenient here."

Shi Li brewed some tea and brought it over. Chen Hui said, "There's also coffee. Let me know if you want some. It's freshly ground imported beans, not bad."

Five people sat down on the sofa.

Zhang Wu said, "I've set up the company. It's called New Era Real Estate Development. There are only five of us as shareholders. I shamelessly made myself the chairman, so I can brag about it. The general manager is someone I poached from the housing construction company. His name is Ba Guangyu."

"The office space will have to wait until your side is finished, right? We're temporarily renting a place under the Municipal Construction Commission. Old Ba is setting up the scaffolding. Once it's all set up, send the finance department over so we can all meet with the employees. Okay?"

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, you can arrange it. We can also handle the funding anytime."

Zhang Wu said, "The three of us will each take 1,500, so let's round it up to a whole number, okay? You guys will take 55%. We'll leave the operations to Lao Ba, and you'll manage the finances. As for the specific strategic decisions, we'll definitely listen to you two; none of the three of us have any experience in that area."

Xiao Wei shook his head: "Let's discuss things together. Explaining things too clearly, regardless of experience, is ultimately useless. We don't have much experience in the housing sector either."

Zhang Wu asked, "Are you really not considering going public?"

Chen Hui said, "Actually, once you think it through, whether or not we go public doesn't really matter. We don't lack funds, and we won't in the future. Going public gives the company a false value; it seems like the market capitalization is quite large, but you only have that money after you sell your shares, right?"

"You think you can sell something so legitimately? It's just a hollow title, and you've blatantly displayed it right under everyone's noses. Everything has to be transparent and publicly disclosed; what's the point? Then you'll have to find a way to hide your identity."

Zhang Wu thought about it for a moment, then turned to Huaiyuan and said, "That makes sense, doesn't it?"

Changqing slowly took a few sips of tea, put down the cup, and said, "I also feel that it's better not to go public. You can make money, put it in your pocket, and not have to report here or there. It's so much quieter. Money that is originally earned honestly is exposed once it goes public, haha."

Xiao Wei said, "Yes, that's exactly it. That's why I said even if we do it, we have to follow the rules regarding demolition and land acquisition compensation. We can't take advantage of others, so that we don't have any excuses to cause trouble later."

Chen Hui said, "The cleaner we are, the more assertive we are. Your dad, my dad, and all the elders are assertive too. Do you think they wouldn't be happy if we did a good job? It would make them proud. When we get together, we still compare our kids."

(End of this chapter)