Chapter 694 New Year's Eve
This year's New Year's Eve dinner was held at Song Yuanchao's home.
Zhang Jianguo's family arrived early in the morning on New Year's Eve. Zhang's mother was old, so Song Yuanchao didn't let her help with cooking. He asked Lin Yan, Xiao Pingping and Yang Yang to sit with the old lady and chat and watch TV.
Song Yuanchao and Zhang Jianguo were busy preparing the New Year's Eve dinner. Zhang Hao wanted to come over to help, but was driven out by Sun Xia, who said that a boy would not be able to do this and that he would only make things more troublesome. He was told to either read a book or go and accompany grandma with his sister and others, and not to make trouble in the kitchen.
Song Yuanchao smiled and asked Zhang Hao to go to his study. There were many books in Song Yuanchao's study, mostly literary books as well as some professional books on economics, clothing, food, etc.
In addition, there is a very good audio system in the study. Zhang Hao is not very interested in some literary books, but he is very interested in this audio system. Song Yuanchao simply took out the instruction manual and gave it to him, letting him tinker with it in the study.
Back in the kitchen, Qin Xia was frying meatballs, and Zhang Jianguo was sitting with an iron spoon in his hand, making egg dumplings in front of a coal stove.
"Do you need help?" Song Yuanchao asked.
"Not now." Zhang Jianguo said casually, "Let's wait until we finish these. We can still do the rest after lunch."
"Okay." Song Yuanchao pulled a chair and sat down next to Zhang Jianguo, watching Zhang Jianguo make egg dumplings with an iron spoon. He first heated the iron spoon on a coal stove, then coated it with oil, and then took a spoon tied with chopsticks to pour the prepared egg liquid into the iron spoon. The iron spoon was turned in Zhang Jianguo's hand, and the egg liquid became semi-solidified under the heat. Then he put the prepared minced meat in with chopsticks, picked up the semi-solidified egg liquid and folded it in half, and a beautiful egg dumpling was completed.
Put the finished egg dumplings into a large bowl prepared on the side. There are already a dozen finished egg dumplings lying quietly in the bowl.
Watching Zhang Jianguo's skillful movements, Song Yuanchao felt itchy and asked Zhang Jianguo to move aside so that he could do a few too.
"You kid, you're already thirty years old but still like a child. Here you go." Zhang Jianguo smiled and handed the iron spoon to Song Yuanchao, giving up his seat.
Song Yuanchao sat down and started tinkering with it. Although his movements were a little unfamiliar at first, he soon became proficient. After all, he had practiced before. In his previous life, even though he had been single for decades, he would still make a few egg dumplings and meatballs every New Year.
In Song Yuanchao's opinion, although ready-made products were already sold in supermarkets at that time, this kind of thing still tasted better if it was made at home , and it was a New Year's ritual that was absolutely indispensable.
Sitting in the chair where Song Yuanchao had just sat, Zhang Jianguo watched Song Yuanchao fiddling with things and lit a cigarette.
"What time is the flight tomorrow?"
"It's half past ten in the morning."
"Okay, I'll come over at eight to take you to the airport."
"Thank you, uncle. You can't sleep in on New Year's Day." Song Yuanchao said with a smile.
"You say I'm your uncle, but you're still talking nonsense. Besides, why am I still sleeping in at my age?" Zhang Jianguo said with emotion, "As the old saying goes, you can't wake up in the first thirty years, and you can't fall asleep in the second thirty years. I'm already at the age where I can't fall asleep. You should also take it easy and sleep more while you're young. Otherwise, when you get older, you'll wake up like an alarm clock at dawn."
Song Yuanchao laughed out loud. What Zhang Jianguo said was indeed right. He had also experienced this change.
"By the way, I have something to tell you." After taking a puff of cigarette, Zhang Jianguo suddenly said, "Your aunt is planning to transfer the business on Maiyang Road this year."
"Why did you suddenly stop? Wasn't it going well?" Song Yuanchao was stunned and looked up at Sun Xia not far away.
Sun Xia turned around and said to Song Yuanchao, "Business on Maiyang Road is pretty good, but it's been getting more and more chaotic since last year. There have been too many messes since Zhang Yong left, and the people who replaced him don't have Zhang Yong's abilities, so it's meaningless to continue doing this."
"Tell me more details?" Song Yuanchao asked.
Sun Xia immediately gave a brief explanation. Originally, Zhang Yong was the boss of Maiyang Road, and most of the shops were under Zhang Yong's name. Zhang Yong was very famous and had connections. When he was in power, he was fair and managed everything in an orderly manner.
But as soon as Zhang Yong left, although he had someone take over the area, as Sun Xia said, the successor was no match for Zhang Yong. In addition, the business on Maiyang Road has been getting better and better in recent years, and more and more people are doing business there.
When there are too many people, it is easy for good and bad people to mix together. Moreover, Maiyang Road is already famous throughout the country. The daily flow of people is terrifyingly large, even more crowded than the City God Temple during the Lantern Festival.
Sun Xia's stall was in good market, with a full range of products and competitive prices, so there were many customers. However, this change also led to many things that had never happened before. Although Sun Xia had someone to protect her, she was a woman after all, and some things were not big but very annoying. After a long time, Sun Xia had the idea of ending this business.
In the past few years, Sun Xia has made a lot of money selling clothes on Maiyang Road. Although it is just a small stall, the profit is not small. If you really calculate it, you will make more than Luo Yang did in the past when he opened his store in Dashilan.
Moreover, Zhang Jianguo's logistics company is really too busy now. With the continuous expansion of Si Te Company, the enterprise has entered a stage of rapid development. Si Te has shares in the logistics company. Most of the business of Zhang Jianguo's logistics company is for Si Te Company, in addition to its own business.
Next year, Sit will continue to expand, and logistics will have to keep up with the expansion to a new place. This is a strategy that has been formulated long ago. From this point of view, Zhang Jianguo, as the general manager, has several projects on his hands at the same time, and he also has to be responsible for the management of the company. He is so busy that he wishes he could be split in two.
The logistics company has expanded a lot and the profits are very considerable.
The Zhang family is no longer the small family it once was. Even without Sun Xia's clothing business, Zhang Jianguo can now be considered one of the richest people in the country.
Besides, the children are getting older. Zhang Hao will be in high school next year, and Xiao Pingping will be in the upper grades of elementary school. It is impossible for the couple to be busy every day at home, right? Someone has to take time out to take care of the family. So after discussing, the couple decided to transfer the stall on Maiyang Road and end the business. Sun Xia will take care of the family, and Zhang Jianguo will have more energy to work.
After listening to Sun Xia's explanation, Song Yuanchao thought about it and said that this was a good idea.
Maiyang Road was indeed very popular at one time, and the first batch of stall owners on Maiyang Road made a fortune.
Some time ago, the Shanghai Evening News reported a piece of news about Maiyang Road, saying that two bosses of Maiyang Road quarreled over a trivial matter, and then somehow they started to compete with each other to see who was richer.
In order to suppress each other, the two bosses actually burned money for fun in public. You burned one and I burned two, you burned one stack and I burned two stacks, attracting countless people to watch.
Finally, after one boss had burned through hundreds of thousands of dollars, he saw that another boss had burned through the same amount of money, so he went to the bank and directly withdrew hundreds of thousands of ten-yuan notes to continue burning. He proudly said that if this amount was not enough, he would ask for this amount again, and he had to see if the other boss could keep up...
Seeing such wealth and power, the boss in front of him suddenly looked ashen. Looking at the banknotes scattered on the ground, he felt disheartened and could only bow his head and admit defeat.
This incident caused a sensation throughout Shanghai. There was a wave of criticism from the public, and at the same time, the idea that the clothing owners on Maiyang Road were rich became deeply rooted in people's minds.
After this incident, Sun Xia became even more worried. Originally, everyone was making a fortune quietly, but now everyone knows about it.
"It's better to end it or not do this deal." Song Yuanchao still agreed with the decision of Zhang Jianguo and his wife. Besides, the Zhang family is not short of money now. Even if you don't count the money Sun Xia has earned in recent years, it is not an exaggeration to say that Zhang Jianguo's logistics company is making a fortune every day. Moreover, it is very low-key, unlike the nouveau riche who burns money on Maiyang Road and is high-profile and annoying.
"Uncle, how is the logistics company doing now?" After talking about Sun Xia, Song Yuanchao asked about the situation of the logistics company.
The logistics company's headquarters is in Shanghai, and Zhang Jianguo is the boss of the logistics company. Although Si Te Company has invested in it, it is only a shareholder. The specific operations are handled by Zhang Jianguo. Song Yuanchao rarely intervenes, except to check the financial statements.
When talking about the company, Zhang Jianguo's eyebrows beamed with joy.
He told Song Yuanchao that the logistics company is developing very well now, especially relying on Si Te's factories and market channels in various places. It is no exaggeration to say that the logistics company has been changing with each passing day in the past two years.
Currently, the logistics company owns more than 300 vehicles of various sizes, and has set up warehousing centers and fleets in Shanghai, Jinling, Yanjing, Tianjin, Shancheng, Hangzhou, Huizhou, Yangcheng... In addition, there are several small fleets directly affiliated with the logistics company to supplement its transportation capacity.
"You still need to pay attention to the affiliation issue." Song Yuanchao reminded.
"I know this. Every failure is a learning experience. I've fallen before, so I won't fall into the same pit again." Zhang Jianguo nodded, and said, "But the current affiliation is different from the previous one. After all, we are outsiders in other places, and some local snakes still need to be dealt with. We can't just grab our jobs right away. But don't worry, I know what I'm doing about this. By the end of this year, I plan to reorganize the branches in various places. Some problems have gradually emerged due to the rapid development, and we can't just let it go."
"This is a good idea. If you need any cooperation from Si Te, just let me know and I will tell the people below." Song Yuanchao expressed his agreement with relief.
"By the way, do you still remember those people who broke up with me before?" Zhang Jianguo asked.
Song Yuanchao smiled and nodded. He certainly remembered that if this incident had not happened, Zhang Jianguo would not have the logistics company he has now.
Zhang Jianguo said with emotion: "It's true. These people are hopeless. They were the ones who broke up the group in the first place, and they are the ones who can't even eat now."
"They are having a hard time now. The company couldn't survive last year and now it's in name only. Several people have already taken their cars out to run their own business. Everyone is looking after themselves. Some even shamelessly came to me and asked me to help them introduce business. Tell me, why is this happening?"
"Zhang Jianguo, I'm telling you, don't be too embarrassed to agree rashly. Don't be fooled by a few nice words about how they treated you in the first place! Otherwise, I... I will divorce you!" Without waiting for Zhang Jianguo to finish his words, Sun Xia turned around and warned Zhang Jianguo very seriously, with an extremely firm tone in her words.
Zhang Jianguo was stunned, looking extremely embarrassed, and immediately retorted: "I'm not a fool, how can I really trust them? Besides, what are you talking about today on New Year's Eve? Did you get shot in the head? The Korean War is still here, what nonsense are you talking about!"
"Anyway, I don't care. I'll tell you the ugly truth in advance. It's just right that Yuan Chao is here. He testified. Is he Yuan Chao?"
Song Yuanchao didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He lowered his head and fiddled with the egg dumplings seriously. One was his uncle and the other was his aunt. It would not be good for him to take sides with either of them. He could only pretend to be deaf and dumb and pretend he heard nothing.
