Chapter 715: Being Ignored by Kin

The Old Neighborhood Hot Pot Restaurant was deserted, with only two tables of guests.

Zhou Ying's brows were furrowed in worry as she sighed, "Jiecheng, changing it into a hot pot restaurant still isn't working. If things go on like this, the little money we've earned will eventually all be poured down the drain."

Yan Jiecheng felt a fire burning in his heart too: "How about... we listen to Dad and just sell the shop, then find a new place to start over. The He Family really has a knack for running restaurants; we truly can't compete. Look at their gimmicks—spend one hundred and get twenty back, get a ten percent discount if you sign up for a membership... How do they come up with these tricks? With all this fuss, can they even make any money?"

Zhou Ying was filled with anxiety: "They have many customers and can afford the volume, but we can't. I just hope there won't be any hitches with this batch of televisions. If this flops, we two will really be back to square one."

In a warehouse near Deshengmen, You Fengxia was directing a group of people to unload cargo.

This time, one thousand five hundred black-and-white televisions had been brought in and were temporarily stacked in this rented warehouse.

What she didn't know was that someone was lying flat on the warehouse wall—Yan Jiekuang.

Ten days ago, Yan Jiekuang had gone to find his older brother Yan Jiecheng to borrow money, only to be ruthlessly humiliated.

"You spent ten years in the countryside and it's made you a fool. You still want to learn from me and open a breakfast shop? Breakfast shops are a dime a dozen now; how could you possibly make money?" Yan Jiecheng said irritably.

"Big Brother, you won't even lend me one thousand yuan?" Yan Jiekuang's eyes turned red instantly.

"It's not that I won't lend it, but my restaurant also needs capital turnover. The money for the business I'm doing with Li Huaide cannot be touched. The eight thousand yuan I earned has to be used to renovate the restaurant—changing it from home-style cooking to a hot pot restaurant; eight thousand might not even be enough."

Yan Jiekuang didn't say anything more and left in a huff.

After discussing it with Wang Fang at home, the two made up their minds to report them.

These past few days, Yan Jiekuang hadn't done anything else, keeping his eyes on Xu Damao's movements every day.

Nine days ago, Moscow Restaurant.

You Fengxia was eating with Xu Damao.

Li Huaide had just undergone surgery for hemorrhoids and was stuck in the hospital, so the two of them had to make the final call on this business deal.

You Fengxia wore a plain white dacron shirt paired with a skirt that fell below the knees; her short hair was neat and slightly curled, and her pair of peach-blossom eyes were exceptionally alluring.

Xu Damao drank his borscht while staring straight at her.

"Secretary You, it's no wonder President Li took a fancy to you; you really do still have a bit of charm left."

You Fengxia slapped her fork onto the table with a "clack" and cursed as soon as she opened her mouth: "Screw your grandfather! I'm only thirty-two this year, what the hell do you mean 'still have charm'? I'm in the prime of my youth!"

Xu Damao grinned cheekily: "Secretary You, your President Li is nearly sixty years old; what are you hoping for by following him? Why don't you come with me instead?"

You Fengxia's face stiffened: "Can you speak seriously? We are here to talk about business today."

Xu Damao was indifferent: "What else is there to talk about? Isn't it just one thousand televisions? President Li takes six hundred, I take one hundred and fifty, you take one hundred, and the Yan family and Liu family split the remaining one hundred and fifty."

You Fengxia said sternly: "There are one thousand five hundred units in total this time. Originally, President Li wanted to find Zhou Hao to offload five hundred units, but Zhou Hao isn't in Beijing; he went to Guangdong Province. President Li was in such a rush that he couldn't scrape together the money for those five hundred units, which is why he got so anxious that his hemorrhoids flared up and he had to go to the hospital for surgery."

Xu Damao asked: "Is the cargo this time the same as last time? Still five hundred and seventy per unit?"

You Fengxia shook her head: "I forgot to tell you, the other party is asking for six hundred this time."

Xu Damao's face darkened: "How can the price go up when we're buying more?"

You Fengxia grew impatient: "Do you even know how to do business? Don't you understand following the market? When has the price of goods ever stayed the same?"

Xu Damao sighed: "I can take at most two hundred units; I really can't handle any more than that."

You Fengxia sighed along with him: "Didn't you pat your chest and say you could sell one thousand units before?"

Xu Damao said: "If it were five hundred and seventy, I could take a bit more."

You Fengxia gritted her teeth: "President Li is still lying in the hospital and really can't find anyone else. If you can sell those five hundred units, I and President Li will subsidize you, giving them to you at five hundred and seventy per unit. If you can't sell them, this deal is dead."

Xu Damao slapped the table: "Fine, I'll go find people!"

Eight days ago, Dajinya's shop.

"Uncle-Master, what brings you to grace me with your presence today?" Dajinya came up to greet him with a face full of smiles.

"Cut the crap, I've got something to talk to you about."

Dajinya hurriedly ushered him into the back room: "Please, Uncle-Master, speak your mind."

Xu Damao got straight to the point: "You know I handle big business. This time I brought one thousand five hundred televisions from the south, but I haven't gathered enough funds for five hundred of them and can't take them all. Do you want to take some?"

Dajinya shook his head like a rattle-drum: "Uncle-Master, I only work in the trades I understand; I can't do this business of yours."

Xu Damao said mysteriously: "The profit on this deal is very high. With one turnover, you can make over two hundred per unit."

Dajinya still shook his head: "Even if you were making over five hundred, I wouldn't do it. I don't touch things I don't understand."

Xu Damao glared at him: "Kid, haven't you heard? A new shop opened over at Panjiayuan that buys things every day and offers higher prices than anyone else. Your crappy shop will go bankrupt sooner or later!"

Dajinya chuckled: "I won't hide it from you, they often come to me to buy goods. Last time, they gave me sixty thousand just for the payment!"

Xu Damao's eyes widened: "Not bad. So that batch of my stuff sold for sixty thousand? You really are a crook!"

Dajinya kept smiling: "Uncle-Master, what are you saying? I have plenty of business every day!"

Xu Damao shook his head: "Truly boring. You only know how to fleece people you know; you'll never accomplish anything big."

Dajinya frowned: "Uncle-Master, your Siqiang and my Grand-Master have deep family assets, why don't you go find him?"

Xu Damao slapped his forehead and laughed: "You're right, you're a sharp kid. My Siqiang has plenty of money; why am I wasting my breath here with you?"

Tianjin Fifth Avenue, Villa No. 234.

After Hu Yunbin retired from the underworld, he lived in seclusion in Tianjin.

Once individuals were allowed to buy and sell houses, he bought a large villa left behind by an old warlord and lived a very comfortable life.

Cui Dazhi also lived here with him.

Xu Damao rang the villa doorbell.

Cui Dazhi opened the door, saw it was him, and said with a smile: "Damao, it's been a while since you've been here. What have you been busy with?"

Xu Damao said: "I've been doing trade, and dabbling in some things at Panjiayuan on the side. Senior Brother, that apprentice of yours, Dajinya, is really no good; he cheated me out of money."

Cui Dazhi waved his hand: "Junior Brother, he doesn't count as my proper apprentice. I just had a good relationship with his father and helped his family once, and his dad forced him to kowtow to me three times... I haven't actually taught him anything; that's his family's inherited skill."

The more Xu Damao thought about it, the angrier he got: "That grandson, last time he took my things to sell, sold them for sixty thousand, and only gave me twenty thousand—what kind of business is that!"

Cui Dazhi asked with a grin: "How did you find out?"

"Dajinya let it slip himself."

"Damao, we two are the real fellow apprentices. In the future, when dealing with Dajinya, don't treat him as my Apprentice."

"Understood!"

"Did you come to see Siqiang this time because you have something on your mind?" Cui Dazhi asked.

Xu Damao nodded: "You know about the business I'm doing in partnership with Li Huaide, right?"

Cui Dazhi nodded: "I know. But Li Huaide doesn't have a very good reputation, you must be careful!"

Xu Damao said: "I know. But during the time I've been working with him, it's looked pretty good. This time a batch of goods is coming from the south, we can't scrape together enough money, and Li Huaide has fallen ill. I was truly at my wit's end, so I came to beg Siqiang. I wanted to see if Siqiang would be willing to buy a share."

Cui Dazhi shook his head: "Sigh, Siqiang has no interest in making money these days. But if you want to borrow some money, that's no problem. How much do you want to borrow?"

Xu Damao's eyes lit up: "At least three hundred thousand."

Cui Dazhi gritted his teeth: "How about this, I'll give you one hundred thousand, and you can get another two hundred thousand from Siqiang. But if this money is lost, it will be hard for Siqiang to maintain his current life."

Xu Damao patted his chest in assurance: "How could it lose money? It's a guaranteed profit!"