Chapter 53: with translation of chapter title

This time, in the county's personnel reshuffle, Li Daqiang, the Party Secretary of Baishu Bay Township, made the list; he finally got his wish and was transferred back to Ningyang to serve as director of the Health Bureau. Those in the know understand—this is a cushy post.

Moreover, Secretary Li has just turned thirty, still has room to advance, so he is naturally feeling pleased as punch.

Township Chief Shi Qiancheng smoothly secured the position of Township Party Secretary, becoming Lu Fan's direct superior in Baishu Bay.

People's Congress Chairman Cui Mingliang heard that he had found solid connections in the province and seized the township chief's seat. Know this: although both are Zhengke Level, the township chief and the People's Congress chairman are not on the same footing; only by becoming township chief does one have the standing to align with county leaders, who will then look up to you, and moreover, the township chief is the legal representative of the township government.

Deputy Secretary Meng Qingchi was promoted to People's Congress Chairman, and Deputy Township Chief Lu Mingxiong was reassigned to Deputy Secretary.

The leaders of Baishu Bay can each advance further—not only through their own 'activities,' but also because they 'benefit from' this poor, remote locale, where competition is not strong.

Personal connections rely on daily accumulation; taking advantage of Secretary Li Daqiang not having left yet, Lu Fan made a special trip to the township government to pay a visit, bringing two packs of 'Huazi' cigarettes and a box of tea, and they chatted for about ten minutes.

Next, Lu Fan also went to Secretary Shi Qiancheng's office for a while, bringing the same gift as Secretary Li Daqiang—about one or two thousand yuan, neither too light nor too heavy, just right.

Secretary Shi Qiancheng was in a great mood, very talkative; as they chatted, the conversation turned to Lu Fan's personal matters.

"Xiao Fan, I told you last time I wanted to introduce you to my niece—you haven't forgotten, have you?"

Lu Fan strongly resisted the topic, but he couldn't refuse to give the secretary face, so he said: 'Secretary Shi, I still have two years before reaching the legal marriage age—what girl could you have me date for two years before marrying? I wouldn't want to delay your niece. Besides, she works in the county, while we're out here in this backwater—you can't just push your own relatives into a pit of fire!'

"You little brat, you keep making excuses when I try to set you up—do you have a girlfriend? I've never seen you with anyone!"

Lu Fan's mood plummeted instantly, and he said, 'To be frank with you, I did have a girlfriend, but we broke up recently, so I don't want to think about this now.'

"Xiao Fan, as someone who's been there, let me give you a piece of advice: to forget a woman, the best way is to start a new relationship. A real man only worries about failing to make his mark; what's there to worry about not having a wife? Pick a day, you two meet—if there's no spark, just call it quits!' The matters of the standing committee, Secretary Shi Qiancheng had long known; he felt that Lu Fan's Zhengke Level position was firmly in his grasp, otherwise he wouldn't have brought up the old topic.

In personal relations, there are indeed many things one cannot avoid; Lu Fan had no choice but to agree for now, planning to think of a way to part on bad terms later—this would also count as fulfilling his duty to Secretary Shi.

Next, Lu Fan also went to the offices of Township Chief Cui Mingliang, People's Congress Chairman Meng Qingchi, and Deputy Secretary Lu Mingxiong for a while, bringing two packs of cigarettes for each—no one minds extra gifts, just keeping the relationship alive.

Back in the office, seeing Cao Tianma alone on the sofa drinking tea, Lu Fan laughed and said, 'The 'oil peddler' is back? What's up? Any recent crackdown?'

"Brother Fan, my father's birthday is tomorrow; no matter how busy I am, I have to come back—I'm just here to see you first!"

Over the past two years, Lu Fan has taken over Lao Cao's craft; the Cao family's harvest is guaranteed rain or shine, with no risk to worry about, and their days have been improving steadily. Consequently, Cao Tianma traded his bird gun for a cannon, turning the 'Two Dan' oil truck into two oil tankers, and his purse has swollen completely.

When one drinks water, one should not forget who dug the well; the Cao family treats Lu Fan like kin.

As they chatted, the topic turned to Le Xuezhi's newly opened Waste Oil Mud Treatment Plant; Cao Tianma said admiringly, 'That bastard is too awesome—on the surface it's waste oil mud treatment, but in reality it's just 'oil peddling.' I've seen the trucks that deliver oil to him; hell, that's not waste oil at all. After passing through the plant and changing hands, it becomes outright 'oil peddling,' raking in piles of gold!'

Lu Fan had been calculating this matter lately, so he said, 'Tianma, I'd like to ask you for a favor.'

"Brother Fan, what's with the formalities? Don't be so distant! Tell me what you need; if I can do it, I won't frown at all!"

"Brother, can you think of a way to 'supply oil' to Le Xuezhi's plant?"

Cao Tianma thought it over and said, 'There's someone I could connect with—we can give it a try. Brother Fan, let me ask bluntly: do you have a grudge against Le Xuezhi?'

"A blood-deep grudge!"

Cao Tianma jumped up with a 'Whoosh!', his anger flaring, and said, 'Brother Fan, don't say another word—I know what to do! No matter who he is, I've never backed down from anyone!'

"Tianma, you must be careful when dealing with the Le family; I don't want my affairs to drag you into trouble."

"Don't worry—I'm no newcomer to the martial world; everyone in our line knows what the Waste Oil Mud Treatment Plant is like, and getting evidence of their illegal crimes isn't hard. But I've heard that Le Xuezhi holds a government post; the plant's legal representative is someone else, and he's merely the behind-the-scenes boss."

This is indeed a problem; for the Le family, finding a scapegoat is as easy as pie. Lu Fan began to think: if he could get Le Xuezhi's government post removed, he could run his business without restraint, and there would be no need to let someone else be the legal representative—he could act whenever he wanted.

The two talked for a whole afternoon, and Lu Fan realized he had previously underestimated Cao Tianma—he knows more than Lu Fan in some respects, his heart is more ruthless and his methods more vicious! But that's normal, since 'oil peddling' is inherently illegal dealings, and the people one meets in that line are a mixed bag; what wouldn't they dare to do?

By Friday, Lu Fan and Du Wenlong returned to Ningyang.

At month's end, the massage parlor distributed its first profits; everyone knew they had made money, the brothers were all bitterly waiting, and they could hardly contain their eagerness.

In the shop, the brothers were anxiously waiting; Su Xiaoyi presented the account book with both hands, smiling happily, and said, 'Brother Fan, please have a look—I have not failed my mission!'

Lu Fan took the account book and examined it carefully.

Xia Li was originally an accountant, the accounts were very standardized, making everything clear at a glance.

Employ without suspicion, suspect without employ; Lu Fan had little interest in expenses, skimmed over them, and focused on profit.

Operating for 77 days in total, after deducting expenses and 'tribute', the profit actually reached as high as 280,000 yuan!

Su Xiaoyi said: 'Brother Fan, have you seen? That massage parlor has closed down for good; our shop in Ningyang is the one and only Scorpion Baba, business is getting better and better!'

Lu Fan cautioned: 'Xiao Yi, the shop mainly relies on you to manage; the situation is now very favorable, we have recouped our investment, but we must absolutely not become complacent. Even if it becomes an exclusive business, we still need to work hard on operations; remember that Wutong Xiaoqi is a service industry—customers spend money to relax, they are gods, service must keep up, focus on managing the technicians, so treat them better usually. Also, we must establish close cooperation with the Public Security Brigade and the police station; a word from them could shut us down.'

'Brother Fan, rest assured, our technicians already number 24, Elder Sister Ding is very capable, managing them well. As for the Public Security Bureau, I go there to 'burn incense' every few days; yesterday I even had a few drinks with some officers from the police station.'

Lu Fan suddenly remembered his promise to Ding Tongxin, and said: 'Xiao Yi, go call Elder Sister Ding; let's distribute the profits!'

Soon after, Ding Tongxin came in twisting her waist like a water snake, smiling and saying: 'Boss called a meeting, what do you want me, a worker, to do?'

Lu Fan said: 'Elder Sister Ding, a man's word is worth a thousand gold; you are a shareholder of Wutong Xiaoqi, today we are distributing profits for the first time!'

'Hehe, of course we want the money!'

'Elder Sister Ding, business at the shop is booming, this is what you deserve! Brothers, as of now, our profit is 280,000 yuan; we keep 30,000 for shop operations, and we distribute the rest!'

As soon as the words fell, everyone beamed with delight and broke into applause, including Wu Heng—this was his own business, giving him an even greater sense of achievement.

Lu Fan continued: 'According to shares, Wu Heng gets 75,000, I get 50,000, Ding Tongxin and Xiao Yi each get 25,000, Chou Chou, Minghao, Ceng Ming, Jin Zhu, and Xia Li each get 15,000. Xia Li, hand out the money to the brothers!'

Watching Xia Li take out a stack of bright red money from his bag, joy and pride filled everyone's faces; all felt grateful to Lu Fan in their hearts—this was Brother Fan's second time leading everyone to make money!

Wu Heng beamed with delight and said: 'Seventy-five thousand, I've finally earned this much and now have some private stash! Lu Fan, Brother Fan, from now on, if there's anything good, you must take me along, or I'll be angry with you!'

Ding Tongxin held twenty-five thousand; besides happiness, she felt even more respect. In this line of work, who would treat you as a person? But at Wutong Xiaoqi, she had not suffered the slightest discrimination, and she felt increasingly at ease.

The ancients said, 'Eat the ruler's stipend, be loyal to the ruler, bear the ruler's worries'; Ding Tongxin understood this principle, and she had already kept Lu Fan's matters in mind.

After everyone's excitement subsided, Lu Fan said again: 'Brothers, I have two matters I'd like to discuss with you; first, after we accumulate some capital, could we open a KTV on the second floor?'

Wu Heng immediately chimed in: 'That's great; last time I went to Chang'an, their KTV was so extravagant that technicians and 'princesses' could be used interchangeably! Brother Fan, I fully support this—I'll keep the second and third floors vacant for us, not renting them out for now.'

The others had nothing more to say; they obeyed Lu Fan's words without question.

Lu Fan continued: 'This matter needs long-term planning; doing business isn't something you can just jump into on a whim—you must understand the trade. As before, we need someone like Xiao Yi to go 'study' and master the tricks of the trade.'

Yang Minghao was the first to raise his hand, saying: 'Brother Fan, I'll go, I'll go!'

Lu Fan thought for a moment and said: 'Okay, then Minghao will go; Xiao Yi has experience in this area, you two should communicate well. I personally think going to Yingjiang is sufficient—Chang'an's standards are too high, perhaps not suitable for a small county town.'

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