Chapter 360: Revisiting Xiangjiang 2.0

"Also..."

Zhang Weijun led the group around the perimeter while introducing the place; the condition of the pasture grass was indeed not great, with leaves slightly withered and yellow, and the growth was also poor—compared to other places, it was truly listless.

Perhaps because Zhang Ping'an had a keen sense of smell, the stench here was also noticeably stronger.

"Weijun, this pig manure can be stored in winter, but it must be cleared away every day in summer."

"It is being cleared; there are people specifically coming to clean and haul it away every day, but today's people haven't arrived yet."

"Hmm, that's good."

After leaving the breeding farm, the group returned to the Brigade Headquarters of Qi Family Village, which had already been expanded by a circle.

Aside from the original Brigade Headquarters, the inner courtyard now housed a two-story office building for the breeding farm, a row of single-story dormitories, and a canteen.

Zhang Ping'an nodded slightly; the conditions here were not bad, and one could say they were better than those of most families.

In the evening, Qi Tongwei came looking for them after school; at fourteen, he was already a tall and upright youth.

"Godfather."

"Hmm, it's Tongwei. How have your studies been lately?"

"Godfather, I'm in my second year of middle school this year, and my grades have always been first in the class and the grade; I'll be able to graduate from middle school in another year."

"Hmm, not bad. You are very excellent, Tongwei."

Now, almost all the villagers of age in Qi Family Village worked at the breeding farm, so Qi Tongwei's childhood was not exactly carefree, but at least he had no worries about food or drink.

Coupled with the fact that Zhang Ping'an would provide extracurricular reading materials from time to time, and that Qi Tongwei himself was truly diligent enough, it was no surprise he achieved such results.

"Hehe, it's still thanks to Godfather and Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law."

"You rascal," Zhang Ping'an rubbed Qi Tongwei's head.

The next day, Zhang Ping'an and his group of three left, inspecting all seven breeding farms along the way before setting off back to Xiangjiang.

In Pengcheng, there were already traces of real estate activity; it is estimated that many merchants from Xiangjiang would come to invest after the new year.

The group didn't return to the villa until evening, and the night was naturally a reunion; Wang Xiaoling was also quite familiar with Guan Xiaoguan from before, though they hadn't seen each other for more than a decade.

"Xiaoguan, don't be a stranger; just treat this place as your own home."

"Hmm, okay, Auntie."

"Big Sister-in-law," Wanqiu giggled; she and Guan Xiaoguan were the same age, and they could be considered childhood friends.

"Wanqiu," Guan Xiaoguan felt embarrassed by being called Big Sister-in-law.

"Alright, let's eat. Xiao Ling, Xiao'e, Mingzhu, I bought a Sijinyuan near Shichahai; it will be finished in a few months. When Wanqiu and the others are on summer vacation, you should all go back and take a look."

"Brother Ping'an, can I go back?" Zhong Mingzhu was a bit at a loss for a moment.

"Hmm, but you still need to keep a low profile. Don't worry, your parents are both in good health."

"Hmph, I want to go back and challenge Aihua to a duel," Lou Xiaoe said, puffing out her cheeks.

"..."

After the meal, in the second-floor study, Zhang Ping'an looked at the financial reports of several companies; they were quite good, all growing like a snowball.

"Thank you for your hard work, Xiao'e."

Among these three women, except for Lou Xiaoe, the other two were not interested in doing business and were both doing training work—one in Traditional Chinese Medicine and one in Western medicine.

"It's nothing, Brother-in-law. I'm just in charge of the general direction; the people under me are doing the work. Not to mention, Dahu and Xiaohu have indeed cultivated many talents, and the high-level staff in our company all come from there."

"Haha, I didn't expect that either. The initial purpose of having them come over was to protect you, but I didn't expect it to become a talent base now. It just so happens I'll go over and take a look tomorrow."

"By the way, is the real estate company still an empty shell?"

"No, we have already built our own high-level villa complex on the hillside, and it should be ready for delivery by the end of next year."

"Oh?"

Zhang Ping'an really didn't know about this, but it was even better this way; with the qualifications, it would be easier to enter the Mainland.

"Xiao'e, well done."

"Hehe."

"I was originally planning to enter the domestic real estate market after the new year, but since the company already has work to do, let's wait until that's finished. It's just as well to let others test the waters first."

"Brother-in-law, it seems that in the country, everyone relies on the factory for welfare housing. Is it already allowed to buy and sell houses freely now?"

"Not yet, it's not out in the open, so there's no rush for now. Let's finish building our own villa complex first."

"Hmm."

After discussing business, the four of them naturally had a good time pouring their hearts out to each other—separately, of course; it was just hard on Zhang Ping'an to run back and forth, only able to fish for one cat at a time, unable to play landlord with everyone at once.

After breakfast, Zhang Ping'an drove to the security company; there was no need to disguise himself anymore.

"Master."

"Hmm, Dahu, thank you and your brothers for your hard work. When summer vacation comes, you can also go back to Sijiucheng to see Dahu and the others."

"Master, can we go back?"

Qian Dahu was also a bit excited; after all, he hadn't seen his younger brothers and sisters for fifteen or sixteen years.

"Hmm, it was just after the Reform and Opening-up, and now the country has already begun to see results. You can go back as investors."

"It just so happens I plan to build a new company, Eastern Logistics Company, specifically responsible for transporting goods between the Mainland and Xiangjiang. Once we expand the scale later, we will take on external business."

Previously, cargo transport was always handled by people pulled from the security company, and sometimes other transport teams were hired, which inevitably made the timing a bit tight.

"Okay, Master, I will arrange it when I have time."

"Hmm."

Afterwards, under Dahu's guidance, Zhang Ping'an toured the brand-new security company.

The overall layout had changed significantly; the original classroom at the entrance had been moved to the back, and the training base had become a place similar to a military barracks.

"Dahu, who did you learn all this from?"

"Master, it was your brother-in-law. We heard that our previous training couldn't effectively exercise all parts of the body, so we made these changes."

"Besides, every day, apart from training, we also have to attend classes to learn how to protect the safety of our employers."

"The security company has now applied for and been equipped with pistols, though there are only three, and they can only be carried for specific security missions."

"But heh heh, we bought fifty pistols on the Black Market, so now we have an extra subject: practicing shooting with your brother-in-law."

"……"

Zhang Ping'an truly did not know Wang Jianjun was capable of such a stir; he had mentioned it to him once before, but he hadn't seen him during his subsequent visits to the Security Base, and he hadn't expected him to pull off something so big.

"Hmm, but this matter must be kept low-key; at the end of the day, this is still illegal."

Zhang Ping'an did not oppose the possession of firearms; sometimes, self-preservation really does require such things.

"Yes, don't worry, Master; many of our security members are also members of shooting ranges, and most of them go there to learn."

"I see. In any case, be careful and don't get targeted."

"Understood."

Leaving the security company, Zhang Ping'an met up with Jia Youwei again.

"Hahaha, Ping'an, come over here and take a look."

Jia Youwei handed over a car magazine; the cover prominently featured a Longteng Automobile, a car with the image of an Audi A6 from his past life.

"What is this?"

Zhang Ping'an did not know much about car magazines, but if it could occupy the cover alone, it certainly wasn't simple.

"Hahaha, my engine heart and your car exterior—we won an award, a narrow victory."

"I still need to research engines further in the future and strive to leave them in the dust by a hundred thousand miles; you should also design a few more exterior styles for me, as I always feel the ones they design are lacking something."

"Deal."

Zhang Ping'an didn't understand things like engines, but in his past life, he was a regular on car forums and could still draw various best-selling car models.