Chapter 732: Rise of the New Generation

He Zheng gave a thumbs up, his eyes full of admiration: "Dad, you really are a genius! Even things we've never seen before, you can come up with."

He Yuzhu smiled, a hint of smugness at the corners of his mouth: "Your dad can even tinker with a computer, what's a little thing like this?"

He Zheng leaned in with a grin: "Then why don't you open a car manufacturing plant? I heard you loved building cars when you were young, thought about building cars your whole life, but in the end, what you built was still a tractor."

"Who did you hear that from?" He Yuzhu glared.

"Of course it was from Grandpa."

He Yuzhu laughed: "Once I save enough money, I'll build cars!"

He Zheng curled his lip, feeling unconvinced in his heart—his mother had long since spilled the beans to him; his father had more money than could be counted, he just refused to take it out, afraid of being talked about.

Ivan, standing to the side, was full of admiration and said respectfully: "Mr. He, you truly are a great designer."

He Yuzhu smiled and gave him a meaningful look: "Ivan, if you have the chance, settle down in our country; your country is not safe."

Ivan was a bit bewildered by this and hurriedly defended himself: "The conditions in our country are much better than here."

He Yuzhu just smiled and did not continue to discuss this matter with him.

This evening, he cooked himself and prepared a table full of dishes.

Everyone ate with great enthusiasm, and the whole room was filled with laughter.

After this meal, Ivan finally realized that the He Family was no ordinary family.

When he left, he was all smiles, having already made up his mind: he must hold tight to this big tree, and no matter what, he could not let go.

Once everyone had dispersed, He Yuzhu called He Zheng into the study, handed him a beer, and asked casually: "He Zheng, what exactly is going on with you and that girl Tianzhen from Qin Huairu's family?"

He Zheng's face turned red, and he stammered: "Dad, we are just... just good friends."

He Yuzhu sneered: "You brat, don't try to pull the wool over my eyes. If you really like her, go and tell her clearly; if you don't like her, tell her that clearly too, and don't keep her hanging. You are the son of He Yuzhu; you must act upright and honorable. I don't need you to use anyone just to earn those few pennies."

After listening, He Zheng hurriedly stated his position: "Dad, I didn't use her. I just don't like her stepfather; he's a total snob. When he sees me, it's like he's seeing his own father, fawning over me desperately. I find it annoying just looking at him."

"Are you looking for a wife or a father-in-law?" He Yuzhu interrupted him, "If you think that girl Tianzhen is good, then hurry up and marry her; don't dilly-dally."

"Dad, I promise you! You and Mom can just set the date!" He Zheng was straightforward this time because he suddenly understood his father's intention.

He Yuzhu smiled with satisfaction: "We all live in the same Siheyuan; if you don't get married, it doesn't sound good when outsiders talk about it. They might think you're looking at one mountain while standing on another. Anyway, you have to get married sooner or later, why let people wag their tongues?"

"I know!" He Zheng gave a cheeky grin, then changed the subject, "But for those fishing rods, who should we get to make them?"

He Yuzhu knew this brat was negotiating terms, so he said: "Let Yi Xiaotian handle this matter, and have his father lead the way in setting up a factory. Don't let the First Elder just sit idle after retirement; giving him something to do is quite good."

"Dad, then how much money can you put up?" He Zheng asked eagerly.

He Yuzhu thought for a moment: "I'll give you one million to start with. You don't need to worry about this; let Yi Xiaotian handle it."

He Zheng almost jumped up: "Dad, if I don't agree to marry Tianzhen, are you not planning to open this factory?"

"Get lost!" He Yuzhu laughed and scolded.

He Zheng slipped away with a grin.

In the front yard's makeshift room, Yan Jiekuang and his wife Wang Fang were huddled together counting the money they had earned today.

This couple was truly diligent; not only did they work from dawn till dusk, they didn't even miss the midnight Ghost Market. In a single day, they could earn at least a few hundred yuan.

Wang Fang said while counting the money: "Yan Jiekuang, I think this business is much better than what we were doing on our own. Before, we had to scour everywhere for tapes and record them secretly; now it's great, someone has the tapes ready for us, and we just have to sell them. Although it's a bit tiring, we can clear nearly ten thousand a month."

Yan Jiekuang lowered his voice: "I think we should buy a house, otherwise our business will be discovered by my father sooner or later, and he'll definitely try to squeeze us for a cut."

Wang Fang nodded: "But we don't know anything about buying a house."

Yan Jiekuang thought for a moment: "I heard that grandson Xu Damao has already bought several, let's go ask him."

Xisi, Xu Damao's house.

Liu Sanmei was walking around the courtyard, looking at one room after another. This was the two-entrance Siheyuan they had just bought.

Xu Damao puffed on a cigarette, looking smug: "I have to say, the house Niu Ye found for us is really nice; everything is kept clean and tidy."

Liu Sanmei curled her lip: "The price is also quite something, 160,000. I think that courtyard in Xizhimen was more worth it; it was also a two-entrance courtyard and only 120,000."

Xu Damao cursed: "What do you know! That courtyard in Xizhimen is so remote, it's almost in the suburbs; how can it compare to Xisi?"

"But it's close to my home; if anything happens, it's convenient to go home and call for people."

"That's true, but you can't calculate the price based on how close it is to your home, right?" Xu Damao shook his head.

Liu Sanmei went silent, then asked after a while: "Damao, after you returned the money to your Siqiang, what was his reaction?"

Xu Damao took a deep drag of his cigarette, knowing she was testing him, so he said solemnly: "If you're going to act, you have to do the whole thing. He refused to take the money no matter what, saying that if he gave it to me, it was mine. But I said this money was a New Year's gift for him, and only then did he accept it. He even said that after he passes away, this money will all belong to me and my senior fellow apprentice Cui Dazhi."

Liu Sanmei was thoughtful: "However, my older brother said that your Siqiang wouldn't give you money and then ask for it back. But you saying it's a New Year's gift also makes sense."

"Do you think your brother is Ge Liang, that he can calculate everything?" Xu Damao got a bit anxious; he couldn't let his secret of hoarding money be exposed.

"In my opinion, my Siqiang is just testing me. The more I give, the more he'll give in the future, and it also keeps my senior fellow apprentice from having anything to say."

Liu Sanmei looked at his flustered face and laughed: "I understand, your Siqiang is afraid that if the money is in your hands, you'll squander it all in a couple of years."

Xu Damao chuckled inwardly; he had finally managed to smooth this matter over.

A few months passed in the blink of an eye.

Yi Zhonghai led some people and actually made the several types of fishing rods He Yuzhu had designed, and they were snapped up as soon as they hit the market.

When Ivan saw this batch of exquisite fishing rods, he was so excited he was dancing, wishing he could take a huge shipment back to his country immediately.

He Zheng's border trade business also shipped out its first batch of goods, including liquor and down jackets. The goods were organized by He Zheng, but sold under the name of the Northern Company.

After the down jackets were shipped to the Soviet Union, they were sold out in a flash. This single order alone netted a profit of 50,000 yuan for the Global Trading Company.

The real money-maker wasn't the down jackets, but the batch of liquor He Zheng had managed to get his hands on.

With Liu Sanman's help, the quantity of liquor he shipped over this time was not small, and this batch of liquor earned the company a full 300,000-plus yuan.

Rewarding merit, He Zheng gave Tianzhen a bonus of 20,000 yuan.

Tianzhen ran all the way home, grabbed Qin Huairu, and dashed into the bathroom.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you dragging me to the bathroom?"

"Mom, that deal I partnered on with He Zheng—he gave me a 20,000 yuan cut!"

Qin Huairu was so happy to hear this that she couldn't close her mouth: "This makes too much money; I haven't saved up twenty thousand yuan in my entire life!"

Tianzhen said: "Mom, you must not let my stepfather know; if he sees it, he will definitely demand it from me."

Qin Huairu said: "We don't want your money, keep it safe yourself, just don't let him know."

Tianzhen hesitated for a moment and whispered: "Mom, why don't you divorce my stepfather."

Qin Huairu glared at her: "You little brat, why are you meddling in my business?"

Tianzhen was unconvinced: "Look at my stepfather, drinking every day until his face and neck are red, and still arguing with you over trivial matters; it annoys me just looking at it!"