Chapter 90: Every Second Counts
Xiao Liang and his elder brother had spent most of the month sleeping either at the Yunshe office or at the factory, racing against time to finish building the new company and smooth out the production process. Since he had finally made a rare trip back to the city today, he had the taxi drop him off first at Qian Street in Jiangjiayuan.
He went upstairs, took out his key, and opened the door. Seeing light still spilling from the living room, he pushed the door open and found his parents still awake.
“Why haven’t you gone to bed?”
Xiao Changhua and Ge Minglan normally did not interfere in Xiao Liang’s affairs. But the day before yesterday, Xiao Xiao had come home and mentioned that after less than a month of preparation, **Naojianling** would be launched within the next two days. Since then, they had not been able to stop worrying.
Seeing Xiao Liang and Xiao Xiao return reeking of alcohol, Ge Minglan asked anxiously,
“It was already good enough to set up a company to handle Nanting Lake Juice’s sales. Why not wait a while before launching a new product? Why are you in such a hurry? The streets are full of health supplements now, all promoted with exaggerated, conscience-free claims. But if you don’t exaggerate too, how can you compete? How many days has it been since that incident? You’ve already built such a huge operation. Aren’t you afraid you won’t be able to hold it together?”
Plenty of people were going into business these days. Whenever someone’s child showed a little promise and opened a factory or company outside, the family could not wait to shout it into every neighbor’s ear.
But Xiao Liang had only been transferred to the juice factory after the false accusation case, and barely two months had passed. His new company already had sixty or seventy employees. Wages alone would cost nearly a hundred thousand yuan a month. That was a figure Ge Minglan would never have dared imagine before, and her heart hung in her throat.
Xiao Changhua had weathered many storms in life. Even so, he gestured for Xiao Liang to sit down and could not help asking, “How sure are you about this?”
“We’ll start slowly,” Xiao Liang said with a shrug. “I’m not expecting to make much. Three to five hundred thousand a year, maybe eight hundred thousand or a million. Enough to live comfortably first.”
“Listen to him. Listen to the way he talks now!” Ge Minglan could not deal with the younger one, so she vented at the older one instead, complaining to Xiao Changhua, “You Xiao men, starting with you, none of you knows how to keep both feet on the ground. Three to five hundred thousand a year is just ‘living comfortably’? He has no idea his own father might not even have three to five thousand left in his pocket after a whole year.”
“How did this become my fault?” Xiao Changhua cried injustice.
“If you two want to quarrel, can you go back to your room and do it?” Xiao Liang said with a laugh. “I know things look a little rushed. We probably should be steadier. But this really is something I’m very confident about. Mom, you don’t need to worry so much.”
“Go to bed first. You still have work to arrange tomorrow. Unlike me, I can sleep half the day at the office and no one cares.” Xiao Changhua coaxed his wife back to the bedroom first, then lit a cigarette and said to Xiao Liang, “I don’t know much about Yunshe’s situation, but from what your brother says, you have no intention of taking it slowly at all. What exactly are you thinking?”
Xiao Xiao spread his hands. “I’m not trying to sell you out. It’s just that even I don’t feel sure about some things. In front of Gu Peijun and Xu Lihuan, I can still help you pretend. But Dad is an old fox. He only needed a few questions to get everything out of me.”
Among the many municipal departments, the Economic and Trade Commission was considered a busy one, and Xiao Xiao was more diligent than most of his colleagues. Even so, over the past month, he had felt as if Xiao Liang were dragging him forward so fast he could barely breathe.
The production link seemed to have been opened, the sales team had been built, and work procedures had been drafted one by one. But all of it had been driven by Xiao Liang alone. The others had barely had time to think before Xiao Liang assigned one task after another, pushing everyone forward.
Naojianling would officially launch the day after tomorrow. It was not just Xiao Xiao. Xu Lihuan, Gu Peijun, and the others had no idea whether the result would be good or bad. None of them felt confident.
In front of Gu Peijun, Xu Lihuan, Chen Zhu, and the others, Xiao Xiao had to act confident. But once he returned home, in front of his father, he could not help revealing his worries.
In everyone else’s eyes, the first month and a half had mainly been spent running around for the juice factory’s inventory sales. The new company, from beginning to end, had only had one month to form.
In such a short time, all the steps before product launch had been connected from scratch. How could that not feel fast? How could anyone feel fully prepared?
His father was not easy to fool. Xiao Liang also could not say he had been reborn with twenty or thirty years of experience from his previous life, and that leading a team of sixty or seventy people through such a simple product process was not much of a test at all.
It was true that with too few people available, he had to handle everything personally, and that was exhausting.
“If the company weren’t based in Yunshe, and if we hadn’t handed the contract manufacturing to the juice factory, we wouldn’t need to move this quickly,” Xiao Liang said after a moment of thought. “But since we’re in Yunshe, we have no choice. I don’t even know how long Wang Xingmin’s support will last.”
Since he had decided to stay in Yunshe and develop there, Xiao Liang could only race forward and fight for every second.
This was the most direct way to crush people like Fan Chunjiang, Zhou Jianqi, and Yuan Tong.
He wanted Fan Chunjiang, Zhou Jianqi, Yuan Tong, and the rest to come back to their senses and decide to interfere, only to suddenly discover that Suyun Biotech’s foundation had already grown so deep that small figures like them could not shake it casually.
Only then would he not need to worry about people like Wang Xingmin wavering.
As for his brother, Gu Peijun, Xu Lihuan, and the others lacking confidence, Xiao Liang thought that was perfectly normal. After all, not everyone had his reborn perspective and experience. Right now, he was essentially dragging his brother, Gu Peijun, and the others forward at a run.
Xiao Changhua understood those words deeply. He had already guessed as much. Taking a long drag from his cigarette, he said to Xiao Liang, “If that’s what you’re thinking, then do it. Don’t hesitate. You’re all still young. Even if this doesn’t work out, it’ll still be good training.”
…
Yuan Tong pushed open the door and entered the private room at Red Romance. He cupped his hands repeatedly toward Le You and said,
“I really owe Brother Le an apology today. When I got your call, I was sitting right beside County Magistrate Zhou in a meeting. I truly couldn’t get away. Ever since Tang Jihua arrived in Shishan, he’s been organizing investigations and discussions every few days, always at night. The standing committee members and county magistrates are all sick of it, but Tang Jihua is the Party secretary. No one can do anything.”
“I’ve told you before, you should have come out and done your own thing earlier.” Le You waved a hand to show he understood. He introduced the two friends beside him, then pushed aside the charming girl in revealing clothes, pulled Yuan Tong down beside him, and said, “If you’d listened to me earlier, would you have to suffer like this?”
“How could I compare with you, Brother Le? I’m not cut out for business.” Yuan Tong flattered him for a while, then lowered his voice and said, “I spoke to County Magistrate Zhou about the Jiefang Road plot. The county is doing everything possible to attract investment right now. Who else would they give that land to if not us? When is President Xu of Fanhua free these next couple of days? I’ll see if County Magistrate Zhou can arrange time.”
“Oh, Fanhua is tight on funds right now. They may not be able to do the project for the moment,” Le You said. “I asked you out to talk about something else, though it’s related to this project too.”
“What is it?” Yuan Tong asked.
“If Fanhua can’t provide the funds for this project, what if we brothers do it ourselves? Can Shishan find a way to raise some money?” Le You asked.
Yuan Tong froze for a moment before slowly grasping what Le You meant. “President Xu has no objections?”
“What objections could Old Xu have?” Le You said. “Doing a project is all about putting the pieces together. Of course I hope Old Xu can take the lead on it, but how the shares are divided depends on how much capital and resources each person can bring in. If Old Xu can provide the bulk, then the project will naturally be led by Fanhua. But if Old Xu’s funds are tight and he can’t withdraw money from Xinhuatong for now, he can’t stop the rest of us from doing the project, can he?”
“I personally don’t have much ability, but I’ll definitely keep Brother Le’s matter in mind. I’ll make inquiries for you over the next couple of days,” Yuan Tong said.
“Don’t worry. As long as you put in the effort, I’ll remember it.” Le You smiled and patted Yuan Tong on the shoulder. Then he asked, “By the way, I want to ask about someone. Have you heard of Xiao Liang? He seems to work in Yunshe Town under Shishan.”
“Ah. Why are you asking about him, Brother Le? Do you know him?” Yuan Tong’s eyes narrowed as he asked cautiously.
“I’ve only met him once. He acted like he was some big shot…”
Even though Le You was sure Sui Jing had only used Xiao Liang as an excuse to distance herself from him and would never truly be interested in some wild kid from a backwater, Xiao Liang’s cool, aloof attitude still irritated him.
Xu Jianqiang had mentioned Xiao Liang several times with unstinting praise. Between the lines, he clearly wanted to invite that young punk into Fanhua, even offering him partner-level treatment. That made Le You even more unhappy.
Yuan Tong had been working in Shishan for a while. Since Le You had run into him today, of course he wanted to ask whether that guy was really worth taking seriously.
Hearing the contempt and disgust in Le You’s tone, Yuan Tong smiled inwardly, but deliberately pretended not to understand and asked,
“Brother Le, you’ve only met Xiao Liang once? You didn’t know him before?”
“There aren’t many people I know that you don’t. Stop playing dumb with me. What background does that punk have, to make you act so startled?” Le You’s curiosity had been aroused.
“You’ve at least heard of Xiao Changhua, haven’t you?” Yuan Tong said. “Xiao Liang is Xiao Changhua’s second son.”
“Oh. Him.”
Le You might be a wastrel, and he might not care much about municipal affairs, but he had heard of Xiao Changhua. He simply had not connected that young punk Xiao Liang with Xiao Changhua before.
Now that he knew Xiao Liang was Xiao Changhua’s son, Le You laughed in anger.
“They say a plucked phoenix is worse than a chicken. Xiao Changhua wasn’t even a phoenix to begin with. His position was stripped clean two years ago. Yet that grandson Xiao Liang is strutting around like his father is still the municipal Party secretary.”
“You can’t put it that way. Even without relying on Xiao Changhua, Xiao Liang is quite a formidable figure in Shishan. Brother Le, have you heard of Xiao Yujun’s case?”
“I’ve heard a little, but it’s all petty township crap. I didn’t pay much attention. What’s the story?” Le You asked.
“Xiao Yujun was the director of a village-run juice factory in Yunshe Town. He had real methods. Before that, he’d already made a name for himself in Shishan. He had a building materials business and a sand and gravel yard. Later, he returned to Yunshe and became village Party secretary and director of the village-run factory…”
“If he had already made a name for himself in the county, why go back to the sticks to be some village Party secretary? Was something wrong with his head?” Le You asked in confusion.
“What if being that village Party secretary allowed him to roll away more than ten million in four years? Would it be worth it then?” Yuan Tong asked with a smile.
“There’s that much money in townships now?” Le You asked in surprise.
“Depends on the place. Some places are dripping with money. Otherwise, why would someone doing well in the county go back to some backwater to become village secretary? You don’t really think there are that many selfless people in the world, do you? But after Xiao Yujun went to all that effort to grab so much money, he fell into the hands of this insignificant Xiao Liang.”
Yuan Tong smiled and told Le You some of the details of Xiao Yujun’s case.
“I don’t know how much work was done behind the scenes, but Xiao Yujun had to return three million on the surface alone before he was released on bail pending trial. Even so, whether his crime is counted as misappropriation rather than embezzlement, he’ll still have to go inside for three to five years. And this kid? After sending Xiao Yujun in, he transformed himself and transferred from the township into that village-run juice factory. He even registered a company outside and took over the factory’s sales business. He’s someone who can really stir things up. Impressive, isn’t he? In any case, I’m completely beneath his notice.”
“He’s offended you too?” Le You heard the implication and asked, “Then why are you letting him toss things around in Yunshe? Surely you can deal with an ordinary township cadre, can’t you? Why let him grow?”
“It’s better if he grows,” Yuan Tong said with a smile. “If he just stayed quietly down there, what could we do to him? Brother Le, would you bother stepping into a mud pit to crush a tiny worm? Let him grow bigger first. Tax, fire safety, hygiene—any one of those can be used to squeeze him at will. Oh, and something happened in Shishan today. The son of our county office director seems to have offended him before and gave him an opening today. That grandson really started acting like he was somebody. He forced the guy into the detention center, and even our county office director’s pleading didn’t work…”
