Chapter 359: What

At dusk, Hao Jian's Crown car stopped outside the residential area west of PepsiCo in Pengcheng.

Two men got out of the car: Hao Jian and Mu Weimin.

As they walked, Hao Jian said, "Weimin, everyone who came out with you has now become capable on their own—you're the last one left."

"This is the last task I'm taking you on. If after this you still rely on me for everything, we'll have to consider outsiders."

Mu Weimin lowered his head and said, "Hao Ge, you know me—I can handle production, but dealing with people, schmoozing, building connections—I just can't do it."

"Hey, what can I even say to you? Look at Ma Qianshan, look at Ergou—you've got to step up!"

Hao Jian sighed, deeply frustrated.

Of the few who originally followed Hao Jian and Jin Peng down to Yangcheng, nearly all had been forged into capable figures—only Mu Weimin remained stuck managing production at Pengcheng Factory Seven.

This time, with the founding of Pengcheng Red Bull, Mu Weimin was due for promotion by seniority, so he became the head here in Pengcheng.

Hao Jian's intention was for Mu Weimin to fully shoulder Pengcheng Red Bull, never letting Pei Wencong's side dominate the mainland side.

After all, friends are friends, but they all followed Li Ye for wealth and status—there must be a hierarchy, a second brother, a third brother.

But now it seemed Mu Weimin was good at holding ground, weak on advancement.

When Pei Wencong asked Hao Jian to investigate PepsiCo's suspension of production for Pengcheng Red Bull, he assigned Mu Weimin to handle it—and Mu Weimin couldn't even get started.

So Hao Jian used connections to find a breakthrough and brought Mu Weimin along.

"When you meet Engineer Cao, don't reveal our demands—just ask when the production line will be repaired and whether they can squeeze us in for a bit of extra output from another line."

"Also, remember what I told you—gently find out if Jianlibao's contract manufacturing with them will be halted too."

Hao Jian had dug up the technical director's background at PepsiCo and decided to first confirm whether the maintenance was genuine or just an excuse to pressure Pengcheng Red Bull before making any moves.

A production line's true status couldn't be hidden from the technical director.

As for why Mu Weimin was sent instead of Hao Jian himself, it was because Hao Jian, the current factory director, was now a well-known figure in Pengcheng.

Pengcheng Factory Seven employed tens of thousands, paid massive taxes annually—its scale and prestige far exceeded that of today's PepsiCo in Pengcheng.

So visiting a technical director didn't require Hao Jian's personal presence; Mu Weimin would first uncover the reason, and only then would Hao Jian decide whether to meet higher-ups.

Mu Weimin knew Hao Jian had his back, so he steeled himself to do the one thing he'd always hated.

Following the address they'd confirmed, they found Engineer Cao's home—a private courtyard, a sign of decent treatment for a senior technician at PepsiCo.

But at the gate stood two men: one in his forties or fifties, the other quite young.

Their heads bowed, smoking silently, clearly in bad moods.

Hao Jian gave Mu Weimin a glance; Mu Weimin stepped forward with a basket of fruit and knocked.

The two men smiled at Mu Weimin; the younger one said, "Brother, don't bother—no basket of fruit's gonna open Engineer Cao's door."

Mu Weimin glanced at them, turned away coldly, and ignored them.

【I've got something good hidden under this fruit basket—do I need to tell you?】

In the early 1980s, gift-giving and backdoor deals were common, but Li Ye's people remained cautious, avoiding anything that could be used against them.

But while Mu Weimin refused to speak, Hao Jian smiled, pulled out cigarettes, and walked over casually.

"You two here to see Engineer Cao too? First time—we don't know the rules. What's the standard threshold for his door?"

The young man glanced at Hao Jian's cigarette, took it, and said, "Depends on what you want from him—are you buying their product or scooping up their scraps?"

Hao Jian lit his lighter, ready to offer a flame, when the middle-aged man spoke.

"He's just like us—someone who got his throat squeezed and came begging."

"."

Hao Jian froze; his Zippo, already lit, snapped out with a click.

I offered you a light out of goodwill—but your tone? Very unfriendly.

The young man had just leaned in to catch the flame, now jerked back empty-handed.

Hao Jian tucked the lighter away and smiled at the middle-aged man: "You're from Jianlibao, right? Not Li the factory director?"

The man glanced at Hao Jian and said coldly, "I'm Li Jingwei. Hao Factory Director, your eyes are sharp—you recognized me at once."

"No need to look—only Jianlibao and Pengcheng Red Bull are outsourcing to PepsiCo now. Even guessing would've told you."

Hao Jian studied Li Jingwei with a half-smile, cross-referencing what he'd learned.

Li Jingwei was indeed an odd man: orphaned from childhood, raised in an orphanage, climbed to deputy director of the district sports committee, then inexplicably demoted to a county liquor factory.

Though Hao Jian delegated beverage matters to Mu Weimin, he'd thoroughly studied Guangdong's beverage industry—he couldn't ignore Jianlibao, right behind Pengcheng Red Bull.

Left unchecked, without Pengcheng Red Bull holding him back, Li Jingwei's liquor factory would've exploded—more than a few steps up, at least.

So when PepsiCo halted production for Pengcheng Red Bull, Hao Jian had suspected Li Jingwei was behind it.

But now it seemed he wasn't.

"Squeak~"

As Hao Jian and Li Jingwei locked eyes in silence, Engineer Cao's door opened.

A short, balding man in his thirties looked at Mu Weimin and asked, "Which unit are you from? Who are you here for?"

Mu Weimin hurriedly replied, "We're from Pengcheng Red Bull Beverage Company. We've come specifically to visit Engineer Cao Yuanmao."

The short man squinted, stepped aside half his body, and said, "Come in."

"."

Watching Mu Weimin enter, Li Jingwei sneered, "Looks like he's been waiting for the big client all along! I said we came three days straight and couldn't even cross the threshold!"

Hao Jian shook his head, smiling helplessly.

Extorting and demanding gifts was an art—if you couldn't squeeze someone's throat, how could you eat and take?

Seeing Hao Jian silent, Li Jingwei added, "Factory Director Hao, people fear fame, pigs fear fat—you keep throwing money around carelessly, and it'll only hurt you in the end."

Pengcheng Red Bull's ties to Pengcheng Factory Seven weren't a secret—sharp eyes could guess the truth, so Li Jingwei was implying Hao Jian was a fool.

Hao Jian looked at Li Jingwei and said calmly, "When you say we throw money around, what money exactly?"

"Of course, the fifty thousand dollars a year in sponsorship. You used to make clothes—you don't understand beverages. Do you know how much profit a beverage company makes in a year?"

Li Jingwei laughed, "Even if you're using overseas money, it's not easy to get—look at PepsiCo's behavior today: they're determined to destroy mainland enterprises. You might become their unwitting accomplices."

Just look at Pepsi's actions today—they're determined to destroy our mainland enterprises; you might unknowingly become their accomplices.

Hao Jian gave Li Jingwei a cold look. "Spending overseas money to improve training conditions for mainland athletes—what's wrong with that?"

"Spending overseas money to build our own business—what's bad about that?"

Seeing Li Jingwei about to speak, Hao Jian cut in: "Factory Director Li, how much tax did your unit pay last year?"

Seeing Factory Director Li about to speak, Hao Jian asked directly: "Factory Director Li, how much tax did your unit pay last year?"

Hao Jian held up one finger. "We paid over ten million last year. Since we built the factory, Pengcheng Factory Seven never asked the state for a single cent."

"Pengcheng Red Bull will do the same. So, Factory Director Li, don't ever call us accomplices again."

Li Jingwei shot back: "But your tax money comes from stealing from other mainland beverage factories! You grow fat while crushing at least three others!"

Hao Jian slowly shook his head, calmly saying, "Factory Director Li, your vision is too narrow. Our target has never been crushing mainland rivals—it's Coca-Cola."

"Coca-Cola? How much do they even make in a year?"

Li Jingwei blinked, thinking Hao Jian knew nothing about beverages.

In 1984, Coca-Cola in mainland China was still struggling—earning less than two hundred thousand dollars a year.

When Coca-Cola first entered China, it was only permitted to sell to foreigners.

After repeated loopholes, in 1982 it was allowed to sell "surplus planned production."

But in 1983, it was accused of wasting foreign exchange and banned entirely.

Its concentrate was imported, diluted locally—seen as contrary to the mainland's values of diligence and frugality.

This ban only ended after top-level leaders intervened.

So now, when Li Ye treated Coca-Cola as the main rival, Li Jingwei and others didn't understand.

In fact, in the original timeline, Jianlibao had clashed with Coca-Cola in 1986–87—back then, Coca-Cola couldn't fully dominate Jianlibao.

In fact, according to the original timeline, in 1986 and 1987, Jianlibao had clashed with Coca-Cola, and at that time Coca-Cola still couldn't fully overpower Jianlibao!

Hao Jian chuckled. "Factory Director Li, do you know how massive Coca-Cola is overseas? It's just not unleashed yet—that's why we have breathing room."

Hao Jian chuckled and said: "Factory Director Li, do you know how massive Coca-Cola's overseas scale is? It's just not exerting itself yet—that's why we have room to breathe."

Li Jingwei scoffed. "No matter how big it is, it won't dare stir up trouble here."

Factory Director Li let out a light laugh and said confidently: "No matter how big its scale, it can't stir up trouble on our mainland."

Hao Jian fell silent.

Li Ye had long drilled into Hao Jian and others the idea of crisis awareness: businesses can't rely forever on state protection—like a child, you must eventually leave parental shelter and walk your own path.

But now, Li Jingwei treated state protection as his winning strategy.

It was like a brat fighting someone, waving a stick and yelling, "Watch out! My dad's right behind me—even dragons have to coil for me!"

It's like a bratty kid fighting someone, waving a branch and yelling, "Watch out! My dad's right behind me—even if you're a dragon, you'll bow to me!"

As Li Jingwei and Hao Jian remained locked in stalemate, Cao Yuanmao's door opened again.

And the fruit basket flew out in a graceful arc, crashing to the ground.

Hao Jian stared at the scattered fruit, his face darkening like a soot-covered pot.

You welcomed them in—now you throw the gift out? Are you trying to slap their face?

Fortunately, the large envelope at the basket's bottom was sealed tightly—otherwise, Hao Jian would've been utterly humiliated.

Fortunately, the large envelope at the bottom of the fruit basket was sealed tightly—otherwise Hao Jian would've been even more humiliated.

(End of chapter)