Chapter 593 Firefighters
After finishing the accounts, it was already mid-December. Lu Yiming originally planned not to go to school, but Shi Qingxue said that the final exam would count as credits, so Lu Yiming had to take a private plane to Zhonghai and frantically make up the credits.
As the saying goes, a day without seeing you feels like three years. As soon as he got off the plane, he saw Shi Qingxue standing at the door in a cute pink down jacket. Lu Yiming ran over, hugged her, and kissed her hard on the cheek.
Shi Qingxue had developed a certain immunity to Lu Yiming's unrestrained behavior. Her pretty face blushed slightly, and she also responded to Lu Yiming's face.
Smelling the girlish fragrance on Shi Qingxue, Lu Yiming was a little intoxicated and wanted to explore it right now.
Lu Yiming took off his coat as he got into the car while hugging Shi Qingxue.
"The air conditioning in this luxury car is awesome. It's warm as soon as you get in."
Shi Qingxue looked at Lu Yiming warily: "What do you want to do?"
Lu Yiming thought for a while and said, "I do."
When they arrived at school, Lu Yiming appeared in the dormitory, it immediately caused a sensation.
"Good guy, you still remember to come back?"
"You finally remembered that you are a student?"
"Hello, richest man, haha."
Listening to the slightly teasing greetings from several people, a familiar feeling filled his heart. At this time, Lu Yiming felt that he was just a twenty-year-old young man, not a veteran who was deceitful in the business world.
Lu Yiming waved his hand and said, "Hello, it's been a while since we last met. How have you all been lately?"
Today, these people in the dormitory have become the real controllers and executors of Fanzhenxiang Fast Food, managing a team of thousands of people. They have also long shed their immaturity and become much more mature and stable.
Ni Cong said cheerfully: "Thanks to you, I am doing pretty well."
Wang Dazhuang said to Lu Yiming, "Fan Zhenxiang Fast Food has developed very smoothly. According to the strategy you formulated earlier, we have opened 99 stores. The company's headquarters in Zhonghai also has hundreds of employees and rented an office floor. We are also a large company."
Ni Cong said: "We plan to open our 100th store in Los Angeles. It has been renovated and is scheduled to open on Christmas. The 100th store is a milestone and the store is larger, so we plan to hold a grand opening ceremony. Let's go together then."
In this era, Christmas can be said to be the most popular holiday among young people. Although it is an imported product, and people have only a vague understanding of the origin and culture of this holiday, it cannot resist the various promotional marketing of merchants, such as Christmas cards and Christmas trees, and its popularity is likely to rival that of the Spring Festival.
Lu Yiming had experienced this period of time.
In his memory, if anyone had not received a Christmas card at this time, it would prove that his popularity was extremely poor.
Writing Christmas cards also provides an opportunity for men and women who have a crush on each other to express their love.
Normally, writing love letters carries the risk of being rejected outright, but at Christmas, if you send Christmas cards and apples, people will accept them first regardless of success or failure, and it saves your face.
This is also one of the main reasons why young people are keen on Christmas.
However, this trend did not last long. The craziest period was from 1999 to 2007, and it almost disappeared after 2009-2010. Lu Yiming speculated that this should be related to the 2008 Olympic Games. It strengthened the national self-confidence and no longer blindly worshipped the so-called "culture" of foreign countries. By the time Lu Yiming was reborn, this festival could no longer be marketed in China.
On the contrary, with the rise of national trends, energetic and confident young people are inheriting classics and carrying forward traditions in their own way.
Let’s get back to the topic.
At present, Christmas is a time when people in China do whatever they want. It is very wise for Fan Zhenxiang to open its 100th store at this time. Although Lu Yiming is not interested in Christmas, he is a young man. The so-called festival is just an excuse for himself to go out and have fun.
What's more, Lu Yiming hasn't been with Shi Qingxue for a long time, so it would be nice to take this opportunity to have some romance.
A few days later, on December 23rd, the group set out for Los Angeles.
It is more than a thousand kilometers from Zhonghai to Luocheng. We set out in the morning and arrived at nightfall.
After sleeping in the hotel for one night, on Christmas Eve, the 24th, the streets were decorated with lights and were bustling. It was already 10 o'clock in the morning when Lu Yiming and Shi Qingxue got up. Although the sun was shining outside, the temperature was very low.
Lu Yiming said to Shi Qingxue, "Wear more clothes so you won't get cold when you go out."
After packing up and leaving the hotel, the group had a lively breakfast and then headed to the first Zhen Xiang Fast Food store in Los Angeles.
Although it is a fast food restaurant, it also provides dine-in service. It occupies three storefronts and the decoration is slightly ancient in style, but it is still mainly simple.
The store will open tomorrow, and everything has been set up today. As soon as Lu Yiming arrived at the store, Wang Dazhuang said to the more than 20 employees who had gathered together: "This is the major shareholder of our Zhenxiang Fast Food, the boss, Lu Yiming, the richest man! Everyone applaud and welcome Lu Yiming to our Luocheng Zhenxiang Fast Food!"
Wang Dazhuang excitedly introduced the employees in the store to Lu Yiming , and then announced in high spirits: "In the next three months, Zhenxiang Fast Food plans to open five stores in Los Angeles. After gaining a firm foothold, we will continue to expand northward, cross the Yellow River, and head towards Beijing."
As their wealth gradually grew, Wang Dazhuang and Ni Cong's ambitions also grew. They were both gifted children who were admitted to Fudan University, so they naturally had vision and pattern, and with a little training they could be of great use.
Seeing their hard work, Lu Yiming was also happy to see it happen. Anyway, he had not intervened much in the management of Zhenxiang Fast Food, and he did not intend to intervene. It was fine to follow the current development model. When smartphones came out in the future, they could immediately transform into a food delivery platform, and they could connect seamlessly.
After all, we now have the software talents trained, and making a software like Didi or Tuan Tuan is easier than eating and drinking.
What Lu Yiming needs to do now is to make more money, make money crazily, and when these people start a money-burning war in the future, he will just kill them with money.
After visiting the store in Los Angeles, Lu Yiming held Shi Qingxue's hand and the two strolled on the street, enjoying their rare leisure time together.
Luocheng, the ancient capital of 13 dynasties and with a history of more than 4,000 years, has innumerable places of interest and historical sites, so you will never have to worry about having nowhere to go.
In the evening, Lu Yiming called Wang Dazhuang, Ni Cong and others to hold a lively employee dinner together with the employees, which was regarded as a company team-building activity.
In the five-star restaurant, all kinds of delicacies from land and sea were served one after another. Seeing that the big boss Lu Yiming was so generous, the employees were very happy and cheered, and the scene was very lively.
After three rounds of drinks, Shi Qingxue suddenly looked out the window and said in surprise: "Why is there so much smoke over there? Is someone setting off fireworks? I didn't hear any sound of firecrackers."
Lu Yiming laughed and said, "Who sets off fireworks on Christmas? Are you having eye problems?"
Shi Qingxue said anxiously: "No, it's really thick smoke, look."
Everyone's attention was finally attracted by Shi Qingxue's words. They looked out the window and saw thick smoke billowing in the distance, which was very eye-catching in the dark night.
“It’s on fire!”
"What's going on? It's really on fire!"
"What a big fire! Call 119 right away."
Everyone exclaimed, and then someone took out his cell phone and started calling.
Many of the employees are locals and are very familiar with this place. Someone soon recognized it: "That's Shangdu Building!"
A female employee suddenly broke down and burst into tears, "My sister is attending the Christmas Eve event at Shangdu Building tonight! There are at least a hundred people from her company there!"
"Ah? So many people?"
"This is just an event for their company. There are so many people in such a large building."
"With such a big fire, I don't know if they escaped. Those on the first and second floors are fine, but those on the upper floors are in a terrible state."
The female employee dialed her sister's number, but no one answered. She immediately burst into tears, got up and ran out, saying she wanted to save her sister.
Lu Yiming immediately stood up and said to Wang Dazhuang and Ni Cong, "Let's go and take a look. Maybe we can help. Send two female comrades to call her back."
Seeing that Lu Yiming, the richest man, was leading by example, the local employees were deeply encouraged. Moreover, they might have relatives and friends there, so they naturally had no reason not to go.
Seeing that everyone was going, Lu Yiming immediately said, "Those who have drunk too much, stay here. Those who haven't drunk or have drunk less, come with me to check on the situation. Xiaoxue, you stay here. I'll call you if anything happens."
Shi Qingxue was very worried and said, "You have to be careful."
Lu Yiming said: "Don't worry, I will help you if I can, but I won't show off if I can't."
Although Lu Yiming knew that it was impossible to put out such a big fire without professional equipment, he still wanted to provide some help within his ability. Of course, all this was under the premise of ensuring his own safety. If Lu Yiming was asked to rush into the sea of fire to save people, he would definitely not be able to do it and would not do it. He is not the kind of person who would trade one for one at the extreme.
Shangdu Building.
In the lobby on the first basement floor, welder Wang Cheng saw that the water gun of the indoor fire hydrant could not put out the fire on the second basement floor. He immediately panicked and asked Li Zhijian beside him: "Manager Li, what should we do now?"
Li Zhijian was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, cursing: "How the hell do I know what to do?"
Although he is the general manager of Dongdu Department Store, he can't handle such a big mess now.
Now the velvet, sponge mattresses, sofas and wooden furniture on the second basement floor have all been burned by the fire. How much money will I have to pay for this?
It’s obvious that with his salary, he would never be able to afford the compensation in his lifetime.
Wang Chengtai said, "Why don't we call the police?"
Li Zhijian made up his mind and stopped him, saying, "Call the police. Do you want to die? Did you know that you were welding without a welding certificate? Not to mention whether you can afford the compensation, arson is a felony! You will go to jail!"
When Wang Chengtai heard that he would not only have to pay compensation but also go to jail, he burst into tears and said, "I just earn some hard-earned money. How can it be easy for me? I have an 80-year-old mother and many children to feed..."
"Just shut up."
Li Zhijian also wanted to slap himself twice. If he hadn't hired such an idiot to do the job just to save money, how could he have caused such a big trouble?
Li Zhijian thought for a moment and said, "Throw all the stuff into the fire and run away. This matter has nothing to do with us. Do you remember this? Anyway, there are so many people here and no one will pay attention to us."
"oh oh."
The two men threw all their tools near the fire, thinking that once the fire came over, there would be no trace left. Then the two of them opened the escape passage and went up to the first floor via the stairs.
At this time, the huge shopping mall was in chaos. Countless people were screaming and running desperately to get out. The glass revolving door was blocked and several floor-to-ceiling windows were smashed open and used as escape routes.
Li Zhijian and Wang Chengtai mixed in with the crowd, preparing to leave.
However, unfortunately, as soon as the two of them ran to the door, they were blocked by a group of people rushing inside.
Everyone in the building is running outside now. Anyone rushing into the building at this time is either a firefighter or a psychopath.
Li Zhijian didn't want to pay attention to them, but there were too many of them and he couldn't get away in a short time. Thinking that he might be discovered if he ran too late, Li Zhijian was also panicked. He immediately reached out and pushed hard, saying loudly: "Get out of the way quickly, good dogs don't block the road."
And the person he pushed happened to be Lu Yiming.
Seeing Lu Yiming being pushed and called a dog, the drunken employees of Fanzhenxiang suddenly became angry and surrounded Li Zhijian with unfriendly faces.
As the richest man, Lu Yiming not only drank and ate with these low-level employees, but also treated them to delicacies from land and sea. They had long recognized this boss. Now seeing Lu Yiming being bullied, of course they were not happy.
"What's wrong with you? We are here to put out the fire, and you actually call our boss a dog?"
"Fuck, you think you can scold my boss? Do you believe I will kill you?"
When Wang Chengtai saw Li Zhijian getting into a conflict with someone , he immediately burst into tears.
Lu Yiming said to Li Zhijian: "As the manager of this building, why didn't you organize the firefighting and evacuation, and instead took the lead in running out?"
When Li Zhijian heard this, he panicked all of a sudden, and tried his best to look fierce and said, "What manager? I'm not, don't talk nonsense, what's the anger? I don't know, I just ran when I saw them running."
Lu Yiming sneered, "You didn't even take off your name tag, what a joke. I was having dinner at a hotel so far away and I came here to help. As a senior employee here, you actually took the lead and ran away. It's so shameful."
Li Zhijian shouted, "What's the big deal? I didn't see it. If you keep making trouble here, I won't be polite!"
Lu Yiming frowned immediately at Li Zhijian's strange behavior.
Why did Li Zhijian firmly deny the existence of the fire? It was already burning.
Seeing Wang Chengtai trembling in panic behind Li Zhijian, Lu Yiming realized that something was wrong and immediately asked tentatively, "You are trying to cover up the fire, aren't you?"
Wang Chengtai collapsed upon hearing this, squatting on the ground with his hands on his head, and yelled, "It's none of my business. It was Manager Li who asked me to conceal the fire and not call the police!"
"I'm so fucking..."
Li Zhijian was so angry that he rushed forward and kicked Wang Chengtai, knocking him to the ground.
Lu Yiming had never expected that he had only come to put out a fire, but he had unexpectedly captured the arsonist. He immediately said to Zhao Tiezhu beside him, "Catch this man for me."
When Lu Yiming spoke, not only Zhao Tiezhu, but also the company's employees gathered around and firmly controlled Li Zhijian and Wang Chengtai.
After handing the two men over to the company staff and confirming that they would not escape, Lu Yiming said, "Keep an eye on them. If they try to run, I'll beat them up. Go find a safe place outside and wait. Tiezhu, come with me to see where the fire started."
"good."
Lu Yiming and Zhao Tiezhu rushed into the building. Zhao Tiezhu was a soldier after all, so he quickly analyzed the situation and followed the safety passage to the underground floor.
Seeing the flames rising to the sky in the distance, Zhao Tiezhu said helplessly: "It's hopeless. The underground second floor is full of flammable materials. A few small water guns are useless. Moreover, the layout here obviously has major fire safety hazards."
Lu Yiming was speechless after hearing this, but now that the fire could not be put out, he naturally had to evacuate the entire building.
"Tiezhu, you take Ni Cong and the other two to the north gate, the opening there is bigger. Dazhuang and I will go to the west gate."
"Find the building's alarm."
The fire started in the basement, and the smoke was rising through the windows. There was still a lot of heat in the center of the building. You didn't even know there was a fire until you heard the shrill alarm and ran out in a panic.
Fortunately, Lu Yiming found the building's elevator power supply device in the first place and turned off the power directly.
Taking the elevator during a fire is like seeking death. If there is a malfunction, you will be locked inside and cooked.
The best thing to do at this time is to evacuate quickly through the fire escape and stairs.
Alarms rang loudly, and with Lu Yiming and his team guarding the entrances and exits, order was restored a little. The security guards patrolling the building also played a certain role in evacuating the customers stranded inside.
In just a few minutes, hundreds of people ran out of the building.
When they stood outside the building, they could clearly see the fire bursting out, the flames rushed from the staircase to the shops on the first floor, and everything was instantly ignited. Then, the fire spread to the walls and the outer walls of the building...
The evacuated people fled in all directions and ran far away.
As they shivered, everyone saw the entire building gradually being engulfed by flames.
At this time, fire alarms rang from far away, and dozens of fire trucks arrived quickly and began to put out the fire.
