Tan Lihua's family only stayed in the countryside for three days.
After visiting his maternal grandmother for New Year's greetings on the second day of the Lunar New Year, Tan Jincheng's family returned to the city on the afternoon of the third day.
The village head was greatly surprised to learn that Tan Lihua's family's donation amount was actually the same as Tan Lixin's.
As if fearing his words wouldn't count, he took the village accountant to their home for confirmation on the first day of the Lunar New Year, before everyone went out for greetings.
As soon as he entered the Tan family's courtyard and saw the Audi A6 parked there, the village head was overjoyed, feeling that this was a sure thing.
However, this also spread throughout the village.
Throughout the day, people kept coming to their door, surrounding Tan Jincheng like he was a giant panda, some even wanting to introduce a wife to him.
Tan Jincheng, who had been feigning smiles all day, was almost becoming a lopsided-mouthed dragon king.
Annoyed by this, Tan Jincheng decided to return to the city as soon as possible.
Another matter was that he had made an appointment with Gu Qingqing's family before returning, that Tan Jincheng would visit them for New Year's greetings this Spring Festival.
Originally, Tan Jincheng had planned to go on the sixth day, stay for two days, and then return to Yongcheng with Gu Qingqing.
Within two days, his uncles, aunts, and maternal uncles all knew that Tan Jincheng had made a fortune, and also knew that Zhang Qingliang and his wife were currently working in his factory.
Closest relatives naturally wouldn't be as overt as distant relatives, but the mentality of being concerned not about scarcity but about inequality was definitely present.
Tan Jincheng also explained that Zhang Qingliang's situation was special; he had been in a car accident while helping him with renovations, which everyone knew about.
To prevent any sequelae, he had them both do some light work at the factory as a form of compensation.
As for other elders, Tan Jincheng stated frankly that he would not arrange for them to work in his factory again.
However, Tan Jincheng also said that in the future, his younger siblings and cousins, whether they excelled in their studies or were academic underachievers, as long as they were willing to join his factory after graduation, he would try his best to arrange it.
For academic underachievers, they would be assigned to the front lines as grassroots employees.
If they worked diligently, they wouldn't become extremely wealthy in this life, but they could ensure a worry-free life.
Those who excelled in their studies and wanted to join the factory would be even more welcomed.
Future Flash Tech also needed high-end talents, and there was no reason not to use his own younger siblings.
Among immediate family members, if anyone wanted to start a business, he could provide a sum of start-up capital, but it wouldn't be a lot, and it had to be repaid within three years.
Other than that, there would be no other special care for those older than him.
Of course, he would help in emergencies but not just alleviate poverty.
If anyone in the family had an urgent need for money or help, he would definitely assist within his capabilities.
As for giving out money for no reason, Tan Jincheng would not do that.
These were roughly the things he could do.
Many matters were actually quite simple; as long as he gave his relatives a "pie in the sky"—a hope, especially regarding their descendants—most people would become much more compliant.
As for weaknesses, everyone understood this, and it was true for family relationships as well.
Tan Licheng slung an arm over Tan Jincheng's shoulder and laughed,
"Kid, not bad. You made a fortune and still thought about helping the relatives back home. That's great, Second Uncle didn't dote on you for nothing."
"Forget it, what did you ever dote on me for? I never saw you buy me many good things to eat, but you took me to steal chickens and dogs quite a bit."
"What do you mean I didn't buy you many good things to eat? I bought you quite a few toys when you were little, and earning money was so hard back then! Also, your younger brother's grades probably mean he's destined to work in a factory screwing bolts. When the time comes, pay him a bit higher, or better yet, just have him be your driver after he turns 18."
"Be my driver? Dream on! Do you think being my driver is that easy? He'd have to see if he's qualified, unless he serves in the military for a few years first."
"Oh? That's a good idea, haha."
Tan Liye watched as the second brother and his eldest nephew chatted shoulder-to-shoulder, feeling a bit envious, but if it were him, he wouldn't be able to do it.
"When your business grows big, you should also be a bit more low-key, so people don't covet you. Like this time with the donation, even though I know you're not short on money, it would still be better if you donated a little less than your Uncle Lixin."
Tan Liye said seriously.
"I know,"
Tan Jincheng replied with a light chuckle.
Third Uncle had such a personality; he wasn't a bad person, but it was truly difficult to get close to him.
In his previous life, he remembered that Third Uncle later sold steamed buns, but because of his stern personality, he often offended customers.
His business failed, and he had no choice but to work for others.
"Jincheng, what do you think if we open an electric scooter shop in town and sell the electric scooters you produce? It seems your brand isn't in town yet,"
His aunt tentatively asked.
Tan Jincheng thought for a moment and said,
"It's possible, and you could also sell some tricycles, which our company will produce in the future. However, if you want to do it, you need to know a bit about vehicle repair. Otherwise, if a vehicle bought from your shop breaks down, you won't even be able to tell what's wrong with it."
"Another issue is doing business in rural areas; a lot of it involves credit. You need to be prepared to advance funds."
Business in rural markets is both easy and difficult.
It's easy because things are cheap, and as long as the quality isn't too bad, it's fine.
But it's also difficult because it's mostly business among acquaintances, and credit is unavoidable.
For example, it's common for people to build houses for you at the beginning of the year and only collect the money several years later.
Buying electric scooters on credit also isn't unheard of.
Furthermore, in general towns, shops selling electric scooters usually offer repairs, partly for after-sales service assurance and partly to earn a bit more.
"Oh, right, there's a lot of credit. We don't have that much money to advance, so let's forget it then."
"If you want to open one, I can lend you the initial start-up capital. Also, I can talk to the distributors to get you a relatively cheaper wholesale price. But after that, I won't have the energy to manage it, so if you lose money, don't blame me."
"Another thing is, if it negatively impacts the brand, the supplier has the right to cut off your supply. Even if I intercede, it won't work, and furthermore, I won't intercede."
Tan Jincheng's words extinguished the desire to open a shop among those who had been eager to do so.
They were all genuine farmers, not highly educated, and didn't have great ambitions for life.
Earning some money, building a nice house, raising their children to be university students, having face in the village, and helping them with their grandchildren in old age—these were their life goals.
"Then forget it, let's just work honestly and earn money to support your younger siblings' education."
"Yeah, my buddy in the next village opened a building materials store in town, and at the end of the year, collecting debts made his head ache to death. How could business be that easy?"
Tan Licheng chimed in.
"That's how it is in the countryside. When it comes to doing business, the city is better; it's all cash. Whether you can make money depends on your ability."
Tan Lihua stood by, wanting to speak but hesitating.
These were his brothers and sisters.
He wanted to tell them that this business could be done, that selling electric scooters in town could actually be profitable, but he was also afraid these people wouldn't know how to manage it.
Actually, their current savings would be enough for the start-up capital.
As for the credit issue, an electric scooter doesn't cost more than 3,000 yuan, so as long as the quantity is controlled, it shouldn't be a problem.
Never mind, he would talk about it after Jincheng left.
It wasn't appropriate to approach Jincheng directly about this; it would be better to handle it himself.
From his son's words and the previous matter of hiring Zhang Xuhui as an assistant, Tan Lihua had realized that, except for Zhang Qingliang's special circumstances, his son didn't want any relatives older than him to be too close to him.
Rural people place great importance on hierarchical order, and he could understand that his son didn't want these things to happen to him.
The younger generation, Zhang Qingliang, had also said that even though he worked in his son's factory, it was common not to see him for ten days to half a month, and he had also told him not to reveal his identity to grassroots employees.
However, there was indeed reason in this thinking.
An enterprise he founded himself would certainly have its own set of employment rules; how to employ people was his right.
Furthermore, the matter of helping older relatives shouldn't fall squarely on him.
Helping is a kindness, not helping is one's duty.
——
February 1st, the fourth day of the Lunar New Year.
At six in the morning, Tan Jincheng was dragged out of bed by his mother, Zhang Suzhi.
Today was the day he was going to Gu Qingqing's house for New Year's greetings, and his parents still attached great importance to it.
"Mom, this is too early, isn't it? It's barely light yet,"
Tan Jincheng said speechlessly.
"What's early? If you drive fast, it'll take about six hours to get there, and you'll arrive past 12 o'clock. There's no custom of arriving in the afternoon for New Year's greetings. I originally wanted to call you at five."
"This is a special circumstance, isn't it? What's the difference between arriving past 12 and past 1? Besides, they might not care about this over there, let me sleep a bit more."
"Sleep what sleep? Get up quickly! It's your first proper visit; be serious and leave a good impression."
"Alright, alright, I haven't gotten up this early all year. New Year's is really tiring, I'm not coming back next year."
"Whether you come back or not, you have to get up today. Stop dawdling."
"..."
The trunk was packed full.
Besides cigarettes, alcohol, cosmetics, and such, there were also some Yicheng specialties like Mozi pastry and square cakes.
These were all prepared by Zhang Suzhi.
Additionally, Zhang Suzhi had prepared red envelopes of varying sizes and amounts for Tan Jincheng.
Because she didn't know the local customs there, Zhang Suzhi had made many preparations ever since Tan Jincheng came home before the New Year.
How many people were in the family, how many brothers the parents' generation had, what hobbies the grandparents had, and how many children there were—Tan Jincheng was asked to inquire about all of it.
It really felt like a new son-in-law making his first formal visit.
It's worth mentioning that Tan Jincheng bought Maotai for the alcohol, and for this, he was scolded by his father and mother.
In those days, Wuliangye was more popular and considered more prestigious than Maotai.
For this reason, he specifically went and bought a box of Wuliangye.
His mother kept urging him, and Tan Jincheng had no choice but to quickly get up, eat a hasty breakfast, and set off.
Since it was still genuinely during the New Year period, there weren't many vehicles heading to Zhejiang Province.
The journey was smooth and unimpeded, and Tan Jincheng finally arrived in Yiwu for the second time just before one o'clock in the afternoon.
As the car just entered the main road near Gu Qingqing's community, he saw a figure waiting at the community entrance from a distance.
(End of Chapter)