On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, people slaughtered pigs, made purchases, and rushed to the big market.
The children, who had been home for three days, no longer seemed so fresh.
A little past eight in the morning, Zhang Xupeng was pulled out of bed by his parents.
Today, the family was going shopping, and he was the main porter.
Zhang Xupeng walked out of his room with drowsy eyes, somewhat discontentedly saying,
"Isn't this too early? In the middle of winter, you won't even let people get a good night's sleep."
"What do you mean early? It's already past eight. Soon the streets will be full of people. Get up a little earlier and buy the big items first. Hurry up and brush your teeth and come eat breakfast. Your dad and I were up at seven. Letting you sleep until past eight is good enough. You sleep in every day; is it like this in Beicang too?"
Liu Huiru chattered on, saying that when her son first came back, he seemed quite pleasing to the eye, but now, the more she looked, the less pleasing he seemed.
Not to mention sleeping until noon every day, Old Tan's boy has already met his girlfriend's parents, but he doesn't even have a close female friend.
It's truly infuriating.
"What good are you? You sleep until noon every day, either playing games at home or going to Little Tan's house. He has a girlfriend, do you?"
"Mom, you're going too far. It's so early in the morning, why are you bringing this up again?"
Sigh, I should have known better than to tell them about Little Tan meeting his girlfriend's parents when he came home.
Who knew it would backfire on me.
"After breakfast, let's go to Little Tan's place and see if they need to buy New Year's goods. We haven't been there since Little Tan came back,"
Zhang Guolong chimed in.
"Uh, when I went twice, you lectured me, but now you're going yourselves, why don't you say anything?"
Zhang Xupeng said helplessly.
"Stop talking nonsense, hurry up and brush your teeth and eat breakfast. It'll be more lively with more people buying New Year's goods."
"Oh, oh, oh."
By the time Zhang Xupeng's family was ready and arrived at the Tan family's new residence in Linghu Park, it was already 9:30 AM.
To their surprise, it was Zhang Xuhui who opened the door for them.
"Why are you here?"
Zhang Xupeng asked, somewhat surprised.
"I came to deliver some documents,"
Zhang Xuhui said with a smile, leading the family of three inside.
The boss had said to send them by email, but his old man insisted he deliver them in person, saying it wasn't far and it was a good opportunity to strengthen relations, and also to get familiar with the boss's parents.
Sure enough, his old man was right.
When he came over this morning, the boss's parents were very warm.
"What's going on?"
Zhang Xupeng asked, sitting casually next to Tan Jincheng as soon as he entered the room.
At this moment, Tan Jincheng was looking at the documents Zhang Xuhui had delivered and casually replied,
"The car factory in the city, no one wants it anymore. They're asking if I can take over. I asked Brother Xuhui to collect some information to prepare in advance."
"Prepare for what? You plan to take over? You can't even build cars."
"That's not how it works. Even if I don't plan to take over, I still have to meet and talk with them. The respect that should be given must be given. Besides, this factory isn't completely worthless; it still has some assets."
While dealing with him, Tan Jincheng stood up to greet Zhang's father and mother, while Zhang Xuhui smartly went to pour tea for the three of them.
Zhang Xupeng casually picked up an orange, peeled it, and popped a segment into his mouth, saying,
"From what you're saying, you're planning to buy it, right?"
Having grown up together and collaborated in business for over a year, Zhang Xupeng only needed to hear the latter half of Tan Jincheng's words to know he was interested in the car factory.
Otherwise, given Little Tan's personality, he wouldn't say such nonsense.
"Hmm, the factory has some things that could be useful for electric vehicles. If the conditions aren't excessive, I'll take it. It's only a few hundred thousand yuan either way,"
Tan Jincheng nodded.
According to the assessment in the documents, the leaf spring factory actually had no assets at all.
Excluding Andaer Auto's intangible assets, it would be worth at most 100,000 yuan.
It was unclear how the Andaer brand was transferred to such a run-down factory in the first place.
No wonder there's been no movement for over a year.
Indeed, the business environment in the inland areas is truly murky.
A state-owned car factory with complete car manufacturing qualifications, even if it had already undergone bankruptcy procedures, could not have been easily acquired by a small leaf spring factory.
The transfer fee itself was unclear.
This further solidified Tan Jincheng's determination to buy it outright.
Even if it meant paying more cash, he would not cooperate with them in any way.
Tan Jincheng was still very interested in Andaer's intangible assets, including its car manufacturing qualifications.
Acquiring these intangible assets would be a great step forward for Shanchi Technology's path into car manufacturing.
Andaer not only had qualifications for producing sedans but also for passenger buses.
These two qualifications might not seem like much now, but in a dozen years, they might not be obtainable even with tens of millions of yuan.
Enduring some trouble or paying a price now to acquire these qualifications is very much worth it.
Otherwise, companies like Wei Xiao Li wouldn't have been mocked for producing their own brands through car manufacturers like Jianghuai and Lifan.
"Are you going to buy New Year's goods? And you'll be going to the class reunion tonight, right?"
Zhang Xupeng asked further.
"Buying New Year's goods, I'd have to ask my parents; by the way, why didn't you tell me about the class reunion?"
"Your aunt will definitely tell you, why should I? Besides, you're not without a group chat. Even if you're a big boss, you should at least say a few words in the group. Don't be so aloof. What if one of our classmates makes a name for themselves in the future, right?"
"I'm not aloof. I just don't like using phones. Qingqing and I usually call each other, and rarely send texts,"
Tan Jincheng argued.
The truth was, he couldn't remember many high school classmates; he could only recall a few.
Others had only graduated two years ago, but for Tan Jincheng, it had been over 20 years.
It would be a miracle if he could remember classmates he'd lost contact with after graduation.
"Give it up. I might believe that excuse, but our classmates won't. Besides, I see you chat perfectly fine in your work groups, don't you?"
"Alright, the truth is, I can't remember many classmates anymore. You'll have to help me tonight so I don't mistake anyone,"
Tan Jincheng confessed helplessly.
Zhang Xupeng froze, as if he had discovered something, then exaggeratedly said,
"No way! Your memory has always been excellent. How could you not remember your classmates after only two years since graduation?"
Tan Jincheng spread his hands helplessly,
"I'm really not lying to you, I genuinely can't remember many people; there are only a few I can recall."
Zhang Xupeng wanted to say something else, but Tan Jincheng waved his hand, telling him to shut up for now.
He wanted to discuss with Zhang Xuhui how to respond to Andaer Auto's feedback.
The day before yesterday, his old man had already visited his leader's home.
The information he learned there matched Zhang Xuhui's latest collected data almost perfectly.
Andaer's most valuable assets were naturally its intangible assets, including car manufacturing qualifications.
As for the leaf spring factory's land and equipment, Tan Jincheng had no interest.
Tan Jincheng's intention was to wholly acquire Andaer's intangible assets only, and not accept any form of cooperation.
Tan Jincheng was unwilling to accept the land, equipment, workers, or liabilities.
The pension issues of state-owned enterprise workers were not something Tan Jincheng alone could solve.
However, this acquisition method might not be acceptable to the other party, so some other benefits would inevitably have to be offered.
"Dad, have they said when they'd like to make contact?"
Tan Jincheng asked, looking at Tan Lihua and Zhang Guolong, who were gathered nearby, watching the excitement.
It was the first time Tan Lihua and the others had witnessed his son's working style firsthand.
They had to admit he indeed possessed a certain entrepreneurial demeanor, and his approach to problems went straight to the core.
If the deal was struck according to his plan, not only would it avoid offending the leaders, but he himself wouldn't suffer any loss.
"They didn't say. They just said they hoped to make contact as soon as possible, but I estimate it will still have to wait until after the New Year, no matter how fast. Everyone's going on holiday now, so even if we talk, it won't be that quick."
"Alright, then Brother Xuhui, go back and write a preliminary plan. As for you, Dad, from now on, you don't need to contact your leader. Just pretend you don't know anything."
"Understood, boss."
"..."
---
That night, inside a moderately priced restaurant private room in Yicheng.
"That chubby one is Li Jun. In school, he usually sat in the middle, by the window. Remember?"
Zhang Xupeng quietly said to Tan Jincheng.
Tan Jincheng nodded,
"I have a slight impression. Is he the one who could eat a lot?"
"Damn, you can't remember people's names, but you remember that clearly. That's ridiculous,"
Zhang Xupeng pouted.
Tan Jincheng ignored him and pointed to the person next to Li Jun,
"What about him? I remember his surname is Liu, I think he's called Liu Jingxuan?"
"Yeah, that jerk. This guy had six girlfriends in three years of high school and had his parents called three times. What a playboy."
"Impressive. But he's tall and strong, so it's normal for girls to like him. He'll probably have many new girlfriends in college too."
"Given his behavior in high school, he'll definitely be changing girlfriends even more frequently in college."
"Go clink glasses with him and learn a thing or two. Although you're a bit ugly, you're rich, aren't you? Aunt Liu hasn't stopped nagging you lately, has she?"
"You have a bit of a screw loose. You just had to hit on a sore spot. Do you still want me to introduce people to you?"
"Alright, alright, you go on."
Just as the two were muttering, the class monitor, Nie Haijie, approached them with a wine glass,
"What's wrong? Why aren't the two big bosses interacting with our classmates? What are you muttering about here?"
When the two had arrived earlier, many classmates had clearly seen them, each driving an Audi A6.
It was obvious they had made a fortune.
Many classmates wanted to inquire about what business the two were in, but it was hard to strike up a conversation with them.
Zhang Xupeng was alright; anyone could chat with him for a few words.
However, Tan Jincheng, though very polite, revealed an air of aloofness everywhere, only chatting with a few people he had gotten along well with during school.
However, both of them shared a common trait: they didn't mention a single word about their business, only saying they were lucky and made a small fortune.
Who would believe that?
Nie Haijie's family was also in business, but they couldn't afford an Audi A6.
Oh, besides Zhang Xupeng, the person this guy talked to the most was his "aunt," Chen Shuyi.
How annoying!
Doesn't he have a girlfriend?
"Not at all. It's mainly because we haven't seen each other in over two years, so we're a bit out of touch with everyone. Just let us ease into it,"
Tan Jincheng said with a smile, clinking glasses with the monitor.
"Why do you and Xupeng both have drinks in your cups? Change to wine! Everyone's happier drinking some wine at a class reunion."
"Don't drink and drive,"
Chen Shuyi, who was sitting nearby, suddenly said at this moment.
(End of Chapter)