Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 614 Arriving Home

Xiao Hong was also telling Chen Xiao and Geng Hui, "You guys have no idea how arrogant that section chief was back then. He just wanted to leave without a word. Too late, they called the security department. He was as arrogant as could be. Turns out he was a big embezzler. It would have been better if that kind of person had been shot."

Geng Hui asked, "He really dared to call for your arrest without any evidence?"

Xiao Hong said, "If it weren't for Xiao Liu and Xiao Wei having work permits, it would be hard to say. Back then, even if they were in the right, they couldn't explain themselves. The factory manager even sided with him."

Geng Hui asked, "And then what happened?"

Xiao Hong said, "That's how it happened. Uncle Chen's men went and arrested them all. Then Xiao Wei signed the contract with them. Uncle Chen was really awesome this time. I love him to death."

Chen Xiao said, "We did a huge favor. The Ministry of Machinery and Electronics bypassed the China Ordnance Industry Corporation and went directly to the noodle factory to handle the case. There's still a lot of trouble going on there."

Xiao Hong asked, "Is everything alright? Will it affect Uncle Chen?"

Chen Xiao shook his head and said, "The two systems aren't affected, but I owe a big favor. My dad said it's nothing serious. Just be more polite to me in the future, and be more attentive to things like serving tea, pouring water, or washing feet. Have some sense of propriety."

Xiao Hong gently patted Chen Xiao's stomach: "Believe it or not, I'll cut you both off too?"

Geng Hui saw this, reached out and slapped Xiao Hong: "You idiot! She's about to give birth, and you still dare to slap her?"

Xiao Hong pouted and said, "Geng Hui, you've changed! You've changed your mind, haven't you? Who's your best friend now?"

Chen Xiao said, "It would be great if it were actually filmed. It's not too worrying that there's been so little commotion. I wonder when this will ever end."

Geng Hui said, "You're in good health, don't think too much. You'll naturally feel better once you get used to it. Come inside and lie down, let's go inside and talk."

Chen Xiao said, "I've developed calluses all over my body from lying here. Oh my god, come out quickly!" The three of them went inside.

Xiao Wei went through his work records from the past month. His own house was already being bricked up, the row of three-story buildings was under construction, the headquarters building was having its foundation dug, and the Xingcheng area was almost completely demolished.

The land in Liguantun has been purchased and is currently being leveled for infrastructure development.

Chen Hui has already bought six buildings in Fengtian, plus two properties in Longcheng, spending nearly 20 million yuan in total. They are currently under renovation, and it will take some time before they are ready for occupancy. The renovation in Andong is also underway, and the property is expected to be ready for handover in mid-September.

The recruitment process for Li Na is progressing smoothly. The restaurant is almost fully staffed, and they have borrowed several classrooms from the nearby middle school for training. As for the factory, they are waiting for the factory building to be completed, so they have only finalized the number of openings, and no staff have arrived yet.

Everything in Longcheng remains the same. The billiards hall will be fully operational by the end of the month, and the restaurants and cake shops are operating at a stable revenue. The third batch of students at the school has already started classes, with the number of students almost doubling compared to the second batch.

The local produce company we set up back home has been officially registered, but it's not open for business yet. The plan is to demolish the existing buildings on the land and rebuild. It's already been handed over to Boss Xia, so Xiao Wei doesn't need to worry about it. Anyway, there's no rush here; the produce will be available a long time.

Closing the file, Aunt Wang said, "When are those houses you agreed on with the police station going to be built? Your uncle said he's arranged a construction team, and the blueprints are all ready. Also, aren't you going to Longcheng? So much money is just sitting there with other people."

Xiao Wei said, "I'll go as soon as the car arrives. I'll take care of things at the police station these next couple of days. Don't worry, the money is in my passbook, and I've set a password so no one can withdraw it."

In 91, the banking system wasn't computerized yet, but the function of using a withdrawal password existed. Back then, to withdraw money, you had to fill out a withdrawal slip, and when filling out the slip, you also had to enter a password, the kind that was handwritten. If it didn't match, you couldn't withdraw the money. However, the bank didn't care if you didn't set a password; it wasn't mandatory.

Domestic banks began using computers to conduct business around 91, but it was not widespread and they could not connect to the network. Around 95, bank network services took shape, gradually realizing interbank deposits and withdrawals within the same province, and ATMs also appeared. In 98, nationwide network was achieved, but the transaction fees were very high.

Aunt Wang asked, "What car? Did you buy the car Xiaohui wanted? You kids, you really know how to spend money."

Xiao Wei said, "I bought six cars for my own use. Now that we're starting a company, we need a few good cars to make a good impression, and the company also needs a few decent cars. There are also some cars from the Xiali factory. The first batch was fifty cars. We'll use a few at our noodle shop, and the rest will be for display and sale."

Aunt Wang said, "You guys just come up with whatever comes to mind. Those things cost tens of thousands of yuan, but how many people can afford them? What are you going to do with them if they just sit there unsold?"

Xiao Wei said, "It's okay. We're going to open so many stores, we'll need a car for each one, right? We can just use all fifty of these cars ourselves, it's half the price of buying them on the market."

Aunt Wang's eyes widened suddenly: "Half? Oh my, that's great! There's such a big profit to be made selling cars!"

Xiao Wei said, "After this, I'm planning to go and talk to Grandpa Liu, and have Xiao Hui try to find some connections in the cities and prefectures below. There are taxis everywhere, right? Let's see if we can get them to buy our cars. It's really hard to get them to buy from private individuals. I'm not planning to make this my main job. I'm just thinking that since I'm buying cars anyway, I might as well do it as well."

Aunt Wang asked, "Why did you need to set up one place? Why did you need to set up Chang'an as well?"

Xiao Wei said, "Chang'an has small trucks, and we need them too, right? Besides, quite a few people are buying small trucks now, for transportation and such."

Aunt Wang asked, "Doesn't the factory require a deposit or anything like that?"

Xiao Wei said, "We pay cash on delivery, we pay the exact amount we take, we don't hold the payment in advance, we don't collect any deposit. The factory didn't mention this, why should I bring it up?"

Aunt Wang laughed and slapped Xiao Wei on the back: "You idiot! Where are you going to park all those cars coming back? Have you thought about it yet?"

Xiao Wei scratched his head and said, "Let's discuss it when Xiao Hui gets back. I really didn't expect there to be such a big place. There are over eighty cars, it's a huge area. Let Xiao Hui find a place to store them for a few days, and then put them all there once Li Guan gets things sorted out."

Aunt Wang checked the time and said, "Aren't you two coming back for something to eat? Shall I cook you something?"

Xiao Wei said, "We ate before we came back. As soon as we got off the car, Xiao Hong started clamoring for food. How could we let her go hungry? The main problem is that the food outside isn't good. The food in Beijing is alright, but the food in Shanghai is terribly sweet and inedible. The food in Chongqing is all spicy, and they put Sichuan peppercorns in like they don't care about the price."

Aunt Wang said, "I don't know. I've never been anywhere in my life. Most of my life has passed by in the village and the county. Your uncle, on the other hand, went to many places while serving in the army, but he didn't even have a single photo taken back then. Did you take any pictures? Let me see them."

Xiao Wei said, "I took quite a few photos. They're being developed at the station. I'll pick them up and show them to you. It'll take two days; I'll pick them up tomorrow." Back then, photo printing shops were quite common. Developing a roll of film cost three yuan, and printing a 7-inch photo cost four mao (0.4 yuan). Business was booming, and they used Japanese machines. You could get expedited service, which would cost an extra amount of money to wait for the prints to be ready, but it would be more expensive—six mao (0.6 yuan) per print.

(End of this chapter)