Chapter 725: He Yuzhu

Zhongyuan Province, Sun Family Village.

Xu Damao has been here for three days already.

His target is bronze ware.

Previously, by relying on forging paintings, Xu Damao earned quite a bit, but after doing this trade for a long time, he felt the money came in too slowly. One day, he accidentally discovered a few fake bronze pieces displayed in an antique shop; he picked them up to take a look, and good heavens, they were almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

Xu Damao felt right then that a grand road to riches was beckoning to him.

He shamelessly pestered the shop owner to find out where one could get such things. At first, the Boss kept his mouth shut tight and refused to say. Xu Damao didn't waste words and simply smashed money down—ten thousand yuan slapped on the table, and the Boss immediately loosened his tongue.

Returning to his shop, Xu Damao left the store to Liu Sanmei to manage, hired a vehicle himself, and headed straight for Sun Family Village.

Upon arriving in the village, he found the legendary master of forgery—Sun Datou.

This Sun Datou's craftsmanship in making bronze ware was absolutely superb. The things he made, you could stare until your eyes were round and still not tell the fake from the real.

Xu Damao held a Western Zhou-style bronze round pot, examining it over and over, yet he couldn't find a single flaw.

He looked up and asked Sun Datou: "Sun Shifu, how many of these have you made?"

"Just finished two, and I was planning to keep making more," Sun Datou replied honestly.

"Stop making them. I want both of these, and give me the molds as well."

Sun Datou thought for a moment: "If you want both, six thousand yuan will do. But I can't give you the molds—if I give them to you, when I make more later, the dimensions won't match."

Xu Damao handed over a cigarette: "I'll give you ten thousand."

Sun Datou hesitated for a long time, then finally nodded: "Alright, I'll give them to you."

Xu Damao puffed out a smoke ring and asked again: "In the village, are there others with craftsmanship as good as yours?"

Sun Datou shook his head: "When it comes to making the items, there are two who are about the same as me. But when it comes to the aging process—they are far behind."

Xu Damao smiled: "From now on, you make them for me one by one, and each one will be ten thousand. I will come by every so often."

Upon hearing this, Sun Datou's eyes beamed with joy: "No problem! But I don't see many real items; if you could give me some photos and dimensions, that would be even better."

Xu Damao nodded: "Rest assured, I will have them sent to you."

Having said that, he loaded the two bronze pieces onto the rented truck.

At the black market, Yan Jiekuang's street stall was displaying a large batch of Zhang Shuying's cassette tapes, as well as that new album by He Yushui.

But a strange thing happened—usually, his stall was always crowded with people, but today they had all run to the stall next door. That side was incredibly popular because the stall had many Tape Recorders on display, even plugged in with headphones for people to test-listen.

Yan Jiekuang walked over and asked: "Brother, how are you selling these tapes?"

"Two yuan a box, the quality is absolutely guaranteed. If you don't believe me, take the headphones and listen."

Yan Jiekuang put the headphones into his ears to listen—the sound quality was as clear as the original. He was stunned right then: "Brother, your sound is too good, isn't it? Where did you get the goods?"

The man glanced at him: "What? Want to steal my rice bowl?"

Yan Jiekuang laughed sheepishly: "No such intention, no such intention."

He returned to his own stall with a dejected look.

Wang Fang asked him: "Jiekuang, what's wrong? Why is no one coming to buy from us today?"

Yan Jiekuang said irritably: "Damn it, they're selling pirated copies over there, and the sound is better than the original; is this even letting people live?"

Wang Fang said: "That can't be, right?"

Yan Jiekuang was even more impatient: "What's possible or impossible? Why don't you go over and listen for yourself? What's the use of talking to me!"

Wang Fang actually went to listen. After she returned, her expression changed: "If we don't find this sales channel, this business won't be able to continue."

Yan Jiekuang said with a mournful face: "Then what do we do?"

Wang Fang immediately started packing up the stall: "Going home, no business tonight."

Yan Jiekuang pushed his bicycle and asked: "What about all those tapes we still have?"

"Sell them at fifty cents a piece, at cost price. Otherwise, no one will buy them—I think someone with more capability has entered the market," Wang Fang said.

Shichahai, He Ji Spicy Hot Pot.

He Yuzhu was taking He Zheng, He Jia, and Fang Deng out to eat grilled skewers.

He Zheng flipped the skewers while saying: "Dad, I don't want to work at the Electronics Factory anymore; being a technician is boring. I want to go out into society and try my luck."

He Yuzhu asked with a smile: "Then what do you want to do?"

He Zheng thought for a long time before mumbling: "I want to be like Mom and learn to do business."

"What business do you want to do? Do you have any ideas yet?"

He Zheng shook his head: "I want to follow Mom and learn first."

He Yuzhu said irritably: "That won't do. That's the path your mother paved. You're nearly thirty years old; since you don't want to do your original job, you have to find your own path. Otherwise, you are not allowed to resign."

He Zheng thought for a long time again before making up his mind: "Then I'll do international trade, which is selling domestic goods abroad and buying foreign goods to bring in."

He Yuzhu said: "Fine. You prepare the plan, and after the New Year, start the company. However, if you fail, you go back to work obediently."

He Zheng nodded with a lack of confidence.

Just then, a woman wearing old clothes walked to the entrance of He Ji Spicy Hot Pot, and upon seeing He Yuzhu, her eyes suddenly lit up: "Factory Director He? It's you?"

He Yuzhu looked at the person who arrived and asked with a smile: "Liu Lan? Why is it you?"

Liu Lan was suddenly a bit delighted and asked: "Factory Director He, you recognize me."

He Yuzhu nodded.

Liu Lan's gaze dimmed again; she knew that Factory Director He recognized her mostly because of Li Huaide.

"Why, are you here to eat?" He Yuzhu asked.

Liu Lan shook her head, gritted her teeth, and told the truth: "I don't get along with the director of the unit's cafeteria. He recently arranged for his own relatives to join, and he gives me a hard time every day. I'm not someone who can endure that, so I had a fight with him. As a result, he forced me to resign; there was no other way, so I quit. My child is not yet an adult, and their father ran off long ago. For the sake of my child, I have to find another job. I just wanted to ask if you still need people here? You know, I've always worked in the cafeteria; cafeteria work, restaurant work, I have no problem with any of it."

After He Yuzhu heard her finish, he felt this woman also had it quite tough. Although she had been with Li Huaide before, she wasn't a bad person. In the TV series, He Yuzhu had a pretty good relationship with her, but in this life, he had never even stepped into the cafeteria, so the two of them had no interaction.

He said casually: "I'll talk to the Manager, you two talk, and if you're willing, come in and be a chef."

Upon hearing this, Liu Lan was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly: "Thank you, thank you, thank you so much, Factory Director!"

He Yuzhu called over the Dianshang: "Cui, this is Liu Lan; from now on, she will work at your shop. Take care of her, she is an old friend of mine."

Dianshang Cui nodded immediately: "Rest assured, Boss, I will certainly take good care of her."

He Yuzhu asked: "How much can you pay per month here?"

Upon hearing that she was the Boss's friend, Cui hurriedly said: "55 yuan, do you think that is acceptable?"

Liu Lan had not expected He Yuzhu to help her this much.

When she was at the factory, she had barely spoken a few words to Factory Director He. Moreover, the salary offered was so high that her eyes turned red, and she said: "I am willing to come work here."

He Yuzhu waved his hand: "You go home first today; just come directly to work tomorrow."

Liu Lan shed tears in her excitement.