Chapter 288

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

Seeing his elder brother so insistent, Wang Erhai had no choice.

He couldn't bring himself to persuade him further.

Because deep down, he actually agreed with what his elder brother said.

Doing business is like being a person; one cannot be without principles.

"Since you've said so, Big Brother, fine then—I'll go refuse Xu Mingxin's cooperation tomorrow."

Wang Erhai's mood was somewhat complicated as he asked:

"But after refusing Xu Mingxin, how are we going to get through this crisis?"

Wang Dashan was actually troubled by this question too, but he still comforted Wang Erhai:

"Don't worry, I'll find a way."

Then he added:

"When the cart reaches the mountain, there will be a path; when the boat reaches the bridge, it will go straight. I believe that as long as we're willing to work hard, we'll surely get out of our current predicament soon. Haven't we just closed a deal? Although that bastard surnamed Xu cheated us out of five thousand yuan, we still made a small profit. With this good start, our path will surely get smoother and smoother."

Wang Dashan's words seemed to comfort Wang Erhai, but at the same time, he was actually comforting himself.

He needed to give himself a firm belief in order to grit his teeth and carry on.

Wang Erhai could only smile bitterly and said nothing more.

Just then, Wang Dashan's mobile phone rang.

Taking it out, he saw it was Zhang Zhihao calling.

"Dashan, you free? Come out for a late-night snack?"

Zhang Zhihao sent an invitation late at night.

Wang Dashan knew Zhang Zhihao definitely wasn't just inviting him for a late-night snack; there must be something else.

So although he was exhausted from a day's work, he readily agreed:

"I'm free. Give me an address, and I'll head over right away."

Zhang Zhihao said:

"Let's go to the late-night snack shop near my computer store!"

Past ten at night, Wang Dashan arrived at the late-night snack shop and met Zhang Zhihao.

The two ordered a claypot congee, a plate of dry-fried beef noodles, several skewers of barbecue, and several bottles of beer, eating and chatting.

The late-night snack shop's business was good.

Besides them, there were several other tables of diners around.

It was lively and bustling.

Seeing this business, Wang Dashan couldn't help but envy it.

One table spent two or three hundred yuan; several tables meant over a thousand yuan.

This business was much easier to make money from than his real estate intermediary work.

"Dashan, how's business lately?"

Zhang Zhihao asked casually.

This wasn't just concern for a friend; it was also because he had invested one hundred thousand yuan in Shanhai Real Estate—real money—and he didn't want it to go down the drain.

"Not good."

Wang Dashan didn't want to hide anything from Zhang Zhihao, after all, Zhang Zhihao had the right to know.

"Since opening, we only closed our first deal two days ago. It's really damn hard."

Wang Dashan smiled bitterly and couldn't help sighing:

"When I worked at Zhongyuan Real Estate, I thought everything was simple—customers could be handled in two or three moves. Now that I've gone out on my own, I realize things aren't that simple. Many customers simply don't trust this little platform of mine; they'd rather pay higher fees to go to big intermediary agencies and won't give me a chance."

Zhang Zhihao nodded slowly:

"That's true. The cheapest thing in this world is trust, and the most expensive is also trust. The most important thing in business is trust. Without trust, there's no deal. It's the same in every line of work. But don't rush; take it slow. Customer trust needs to be accumulated gradually."

Wang Dashan then said truthfully:

"Hao Ge, to be honest, I can barely hold on anymore. The company's funds are running out. If we can't make money in the next two months, I'm afraid we're done for."

Wang Dashan's intention in saying this was obvious—he hoped Zhang Zhihao would invest more money, but he was too embarrassed to say it directly.

So he could only look straight at Zhang Zhihao with a gaze that was sincere yet tinged with pleading.

Zhang Zhihao sighed and said:

"Dashan, I'm not doing well either. The landlord suddenly raised the rent, and by quite a lot. Damn it, that bastard landlord knows I'm making money and starts raising the shop rent—like a vampire!"

Wang Erhai could only smile bitterly and had nothing to say.

Zhang Zhihao suddenly asked:

"By the way, are you still in contact with Du Xiaojuan?"

Wang Dashan smiled bitterly:

"We've been broken up for over three months. What contact could there be?"

Zhang Zhihao sighed incessantly, concerned and reproachful:

"You, you... you really don't know how to cherish. Du Xiaojuan is such a good girl—how could you not hold on tight? She's not only beautiful but also good at making money. Most importantly, her personality is so good! Such a perfect woman, you couldn't find her even with a lantern!"

Wang Dashan could only force a dry laugh:

"I wanted to hold on too, but they wouldn't give me a chance. After going back to my home for the Spring Festival, she said she wanted to return to her home on the First Day of the Lunar New Year—I couldn't keep her at all. Then on New Year's Day (Lunar), she sent me a breakup text. She was determined to break up; what could I do?"

Zhang Zhihao frowned slightly:

"Did you do something to let her down? Otherwise, she wouldn't be so resolute, would she?"

Wang Dashan shrugged, wearing an innocent expression:

"I didn't do anything; there was just a small conflict on the road home. That small conflict wasn't enough to warrant a breakup at all. I think she just disliked that my family is too poor. She took one look at our conditions and immediately ran off. Women—bottom line, they're still very realistic."

Hearing Wang Dashan's words, Zhang Zhihao dared not agree in his heart.

He and Du Xiaojuan could be considered friends; he knew well that Du Xiaojuan was not that kind of snobbish woman.

If Du Xiaojuan truly cared so much about so-called wealth and family conditions, she could never have fallen in love with Wang Dashan in the first place.

It can only be said that Wang Dashan made a serious mistake in matters of the heart, yet he still doesn't realize it to this day.

"I went to Du Xiaojuan's company today."

Zhang Zhihao suddenly said such a sentence.

Wang Dashan lowered his head eating barbecue, looking absent-minded:

"You went to her company, so what? Why tell me this? I have no relationship with her anymore."

Zhang Zhihao continued:

"Her company has been developing very rapidly lately, with monthly revenue already reaching the ten-million level. She didn't tell me about the profits, but e-commerce has lower costs than physical stores, so profits must be much higher than physical store businesses. Conservatively estimated, she can earn at least nearly ten million in pure profit this year."

Hearing these words, Wang Dashan's inner heart trembled violently.

As if struck heavily.

An inexplicable taste surged up in his heart.

As the saying goes, without contrast there is no harm.

Du Xiaojuan's company has already developed into a large company with monthly revenue at the ten-million level.

While his Wang Dashan's real estate agency, with a total investment of over one hundred thousand yuan, has only made one business deal worth around ten thousand yuan in three months, struggling painfully on the brink of life and death.

This made Wang Dashan suddenly feel that the barbecue in his mouth was no longer fragrant, and even somewhat hard to swallow.

Zhang Zhihao advised at this time:

"Dashan, why don't you take the initiative to find Du Xiaojuan and ask for reconciliation? As long as your attitude is more sincere, there is definitely room for reconciliation. Most importantly, Du Xiaojuan only needs to make a slight move, and she can help your Shanhai Real Estate get through the crisis."