Chapter 413: Good News

Zhang Ping'an did not expect that after all the twists and turns, Gao Qiqiang would still return to his fish stall, only this time there was no Chen Tai for him to bow to as a godfather.

Due to Guan Tai's withdrawal and a subsequent cleanup by the city, the underground forces of Jinghai had already completed a new round of reshuffling.

They had become Xu Jiang, who headed the various entertainment venues; Bai Jiangbo, who headed the various wet markets; and Feng Lvzi, who handled the low-level business of collecting protection fees.

As for the construction materials sector, all three had dabbled in it, but they were all black-market workshops, and they were not foolish enough to challenge the former Brother Tai.

At this moment, fifteen-year-old Gao Qiqiang was busy at the fish stall, skillfully killing and cleaning fish; his mother was also helping out on the side, while seven-year-old Gao Qisheng was in the back room looking after his five-year-old sister, Gao Qilan.

"Boss, what would you like? These fish were just caught today, they are very fresh," Gao Qiqiang said without even looking up while processing the fish.

"Then give me two."

"Alright, Boss."

Gao Qiqiang felt the voice was somewhat familiar, and when he looked up, he saw it was actually the uncle who had helped them back then.

"General Manager, General Manager Zhang."

"Hahaha, little Gao, you are very good. I have heard everything from Jianye. Not bad, you are already the pillar of your family."

"Hehe, I am the older brother, after all. I have to take care of my mother, my younger brother, and my sister."

"General Manager Zhang, please excuse the mess; we don't really have a place for you to sit."

"It's fine. I just came over to take a look and buy some fresh fish. You go ahead and get back to work."

This was the peak time for buying groceries in the afternoon, and Zhang Ping'an did not want to disturb their fish sales.

"Then, then General Manager Zhang, I will come find you at Qian Xiaoniu's place when I finish."

"Hehe, alright."

Zhang Ping'an carried the two fish back to the group branch. There was an employee cafeteria here, and he could have Gao Qiqiang be responsible for delivering fish; there was also the breeding farm cafeteria, so digesting two or three hundred catties a day would not be difficult.

"Xiaoniu, what do you think of Gao Qiqiang?"

"General Manager Zhang, I think this child is resilient, kind, grateful, and has a sense of responsibility. He is a good seed."

Qian Xiaoniu had more private contact with Gao Qiqiang; Qian Xiaoniu had helped him a few times, and in recent years, Gao Qiqiang would come to see him during every holiday.

"Hmm, we can try to cultivate this child. I heard from Jianye that he has quite a business mind. In the future, let's procure all the fish needed for the two employee cafeterias from him."

"I want to see if he can maintain his original intentions while growing his business."

"This..."

"Wait until I leave Jinghai to tell him this. Do not reveal the intention."

"Yes, General Manager Zhang."

From what Zhang Ping'an had seen so far, Gao Qiqiang was indeed as the two had described; to be able to grow up in such an environment and still possess such qualities was truly rare.

However, Gao Qiqiang also had the nature of an ambitious hero; although there was an element of being forced, he likely had some psychological issues as well.

It was seven o'clock in the evening when Gao Qiqiang finally came over. He had cleaned himself up and even brought two small side dishes.

"Brother Qian, General Manager Zhang, this is the braised food from our market. It is very delicious. You two should try it later."

"Alright, sit down and let's talk."

"General Manager Zhang, thank you for taking us in when we needed help the most. I have wanted to thank you all these years, but I was afraid of disturbing you, so I kept putting it off until now."

"Since we met today, I will definitely toast you with two glasses of wine later."

Their family had saved quite a bit of money working at the breeding farm, and with his younger brother reaching school age, they had resigned and left.

Later, after scouting the market in Jiu Chang Street for a few days, they decided to start a fish stall business. They had spent almost all their savings on it, and now, having operated for only half a year, they had already recouped their capital.

"Hahaha, alright. But you are still young, and you have to go back later, so just use tea instead of wine."

"Alright, I will do as you say."

Soon, the two fish Zhang Ping'an bought were prepared, and with the two dishes Gao Qiqiang brought, the three of them started eating.

"General Manager Zhang, our fish stall basically sells fresh stock every day. What do you think?"

"Hmm, not bad. It is indeed fresh fish." Zhang Ping'an felt it did not taste like farmed fish.

"Hehe, General Manager Zhang, a lot of what we have here is collected from individual fishermen. It is absolutely wild-caught."

However, Zhang Ping'an's heart stirred at this moment. Thinking of the fish in his space, perhaps he could try to make Gao Qiqiang a major aquatic products dealer.

But thinking of the weather here, where typhoons were almost one of the most common natural disasters, he temporarily dismissed this idea.

The gathering without alcohol broke up quickly; it had only been about half an hour, and during that time, Gao Qiqiang had said many words of gratitude to Zhang Ping'an.

He even planned to deliver two fish every day in the future, but Zhang Ping'an refused, saying he would not be staying here for long.

"Little Gao, go slowly on the way back."

"Don't worry, General Manager Zhang. I am familiar with this place; I could ride home with my eyes closed."

"Hehe, alright."

The next day, Zhang Ping'an went to Pengcheng. All the houses in the Oriental Residential Complex had been sold, and the sales office had already been replaced by a property management company.

Among these twenty thousand residents, a small half had come from Xiangjiang, and the rest were local residents.

The property management was currently holding a lucky draw for renovation prizes, with 1,100 renovation vouchers worth five thousand yuan each, along with other miscellaneous home appliances.

According to Zhang Ping'an's original idea, he would have just given out 1,200 renovation funds directly; he did not expect Lou Xiaoe to pull this off.

But it was also fine; everyone participated, and everyone had a chance. That way, even if they didn't win, they could only blame their own bad luck.

"Everyone, no need to crowd. Every household has one chance to draw. Bring your property deed to draw. Even the lowest prize is a fan."

Today was already the second day of the event, and less than a third of the renovation vouchers had been drawn. The people queuing up now were all as excited as if they had been injected with adrenaline, even more proactive than old men and women scrambling for eggs at the supermarket.

"Ah, I won! I won!" A woman scratched off the voucher, excited beyond measure.

"Congratulations, congratulations!" Then she was taken by the relevant property staff to collect the money, take photos, and do publicity.

"Not bad, not bad. Much better than my previous simple and crude plan."

Subsequently, people successively won televisions, refrigerators, fans, washing machines, and so on. In the morning, less than a hundred renovation funds had been given out.

After a busy day, over two hundred more renovation funds had been drawn, with about half remaining. Those who had not yet queued up were even more anxious; they didn't even leave at night, choosing to queue right at the entrance of the property office.

The property management staff also skillfully set up over twenty tents for the residents to rest in at night.

Early the next morning, at 6:30, a new round of the lucky draw began, and it was finally completed two days later.

Residents who drew the renovation fund couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear, while those who drew appliances could only cast envious glances, sighing at others' good luck while lamenting their own rotten luck.

"Not bad, not bad, the event was run well. Everyone has worked hard these past few days, so I'm treating everyone to a meal tonight."

"Thank you, General Manager Zhang."

"General Manager Zhang is generous."

That evening, Zhang Ping'an directly booked the entire main hall of a restaurant for the property management and security staff, totaling over 130 people.

Zhang Ping'an didn't even look at the prices and ordered the highest standard party set menu, leaving the whole group eating until their mouths were glistening with grease.

The next morning, Zhang Ping'an inspected five more acquired residential complexes, which had now undergone partial renovations and were expected to go on sale next month.

With the current hot sales and the renovation giveaway event at Oriental Residential Complex, he believed these five complexes would also shine brilliantly.