The sound of gongs and drums stopped, and the sound of firecrackers rang out one after another. Large pots of food were served on the table. Ye Zhao had never eaten authentic large pots of food before, but this time he finally had it at the village banquet.
In fact, it is mainly for fun, the taste is nothing special.
Ye Zhao had no appetite for the food and was always keeping his eye on Zeng Amei who was sitting at another table.
Halfway through, Zeng Amei stood up, as if she wanted to find the toilet. Ye Zhao walked over calmly and asked with a smile: "Auntie Mei, are you going to the toilet? I'm going too. There is a toilet in our office. I'll show you the way."
A Mei knew who Ye Zhao was, so she asked, "Where is your office?"
"It's just in front, very close."
A Mei was very outgoing. She asked Ye Zhao, "Your friend bought the land from my brother's family, right? I heard that the land is well planned and your friend is going to be rich. Did you buy it for your friend? You have good taste."
Ye Zhao smiled and said, "Yes, my friend is lucky."
A Mei whispered to Ye Zhao: "I heard your father passed away?"
"Well, a heart attack. Aunt Mei, do you know my dad?"
"Those educated youth were all very familiar to our family."
This was a surprise! Many people in Zengwuwei knew Ye Dingguo, but few really understood him.
Ye Zhao asked curiously: "What does your family do? How come you are so familiar with my dad?"
Amei said, "We used to have a boat. There were too many people fleeing to Hong Kong in those years, so the village sent a few educated youth to guard Chitose Island to prevent the fleeing people from gathering on the island. Those educated youth usually came and went on our boat, so they were all very familiar with it."
Ye Zhao asked: "Do you know Jin Jingzhi and Guo Xuyan?"
A Mei was stunned for a moment and said, "Yes, I know them. You know them too? Where are they now?"
"I don't know. Jin Jingzhi is my mother, and I'm looking for her too."
Amei was surprised: "Jin Jingzhi is your mother? How old are you?"
“I’m from the 70s.”
"70 years? Impossible." A Mei stared at Ye Zhao and said, "Your father is Ye Dingguo, and your mother is Jin Jingzhi? You were born in 1970? Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
Ye Zhao shook her head: "No, I'm an only child."
Amei seemed a little confused. She hesitated for a moment, didn't say anything, and just followed Ye Zhao upstairs.
After coming out of the bathroom, Ye Zhao asked her to sit in the office. Amei could see that the girl specially asked her to sit there.
Amei asked her, "Did you hear me say that I stayed on Chitose Island for two days, so you wanted to ask me a question?"
Ye Zhao smiled and said, "Yes, I was born on Chitose Island in August 1970, which coincided with the time when you arrived at Chitose Island when Uncle Jiulong fled to Hong Kong. At that time, if nothing unexpected happened, you must have met my mother."
Amei frowned slightly and said, "I have met your mother, but she wasn't pregnant at that time. How could she have given birth to you at that time?"
In other words, in August 1970, Jin Jingzhi was still alive.
Ye Zhao asked again: "Didn't you say that we have to take your boat to enter and exit Qiansui Island? Do you remember when was the last time you saw Jin Jingzhi?"
Amei was standing at the door of the office, not sitting down. She said, "It's hard for me to say. The two girls both had quotas to return to the city. I thought they had left a long time ago, but when I went to Chitose Island that time, I found that they had not left. I haven't seen them since then. I don't know how they left. If they didn't take our boat, they could take another one."
Amei hesitated for a moment and didn't say that it was actually Guo Xuyan who was pregnant.
"Where's Hong Cheng Zai? Have you ever seen him on the island?"
"Gangchengzi went there almost every two weeks to deliver supplies to them on behalf of the village. Around November, he went to Chitose Island to deliver supplies, but he didn't let us pick him up, and then he disappeared. Others said that he also escaped from Chitose Island back to Gangcheng."
Ye Zhao asked: "Have you ever seen Hongchengzi in Hongcheng?"
A Mei said: "No, I haven't seen him. However, he looks a bit like Luo Jiaming from the richest Luo family, but his temperament is different. Luo Jiaming is obviously a rich man."
Ye Zhao could feel that Amei did not tell her the truth, at least she did not tell her that Guo Xuyan was pregnant.
Ye Zhao pulled Amei's hand and said, "Aunt Mei, I really want to find my mother. If you can provide me with information, I will definitely reward you handsomely."
In return for the generous reward, Amei licked her lips and smiled, "I really don't know much."
Ye Zhao: "Tell me all the information you know, and I will give you 20,000 as a thank you. If you find my mother based on the information you provide, I will give you an additional 20,000."
20,000 pieces of information in 1991 was no small sum.
It was impossible for Amei not to be tempted. She hesitated for a moment and said, "Well, I'll go back and discuss it with my brother. He knows more than me. He was the one who was active on the island at the time, and I was basically on the boat. I don't know as much as he does."
It seems that Zeng Laojiu knows more of the truth.
Ye Zhao said: "Okay, you guys discuss it. I'll write down your phone number."
A Mei didn't tell Ye Zhao her phone number. Instead, she asked, "What's your phone number? We'll call you when the time comes."
Ye Zhao had no choice but to tell Amei his mobile phone number.
After watching Amei go out, Ye Zhao did not go back to continue her meal. She found out the land purchase contract that she had signed with Zeng Laojiu. After finding Zeng Laojiu's identity information, she called Qi Lian'an and asked him to find someone to investigate Zeng Laojiu's trajectory or history of making a fortune in Gangcheng.
Amei returned to Hong Kong City that same day, and Ye Zhao waited until the third day but still received no call from Zeng Laojiu and his sister.
After class that day, Ye Zhao walked towards the dormitory with Qiu Ping. Xiao Baixiong caught up with her and said that he wanted to discuss working on a project with her.
After hearing this, Qiu Ping hurriedly said, "Hey, Xiao Baixiong, you have a project, but you only want Ye Zhao to join you, and not me?"
Xiao Baixiong said to Qiu Ping: "Even if I tell you, you won't be interested, and you can't afford it."
Qiu Ping: “…”
Hearing about the project that still required money, Ye Zhao couldn't help but ask: "What project?"
"We can develop pager software. Yang Feihe, I, and you, the three of us, can develop the software and sell it to pager companies. We can make a lot of money."
Ye Zhao, who was just asking casually, immediately became interested when he heard the name of the future richest man, Yang Feihe's junior brother, "Okay, I can participate. What do you want me to be responsible for?"
Xiao Baixiong chuckled: "During non-computer hours, there is no queue for computers in the computer room, which seriously affects our efficiency. The three of us will jointly buy a computer. Do you have any problem with that?"
It turned out that he wanted to invest in a computer with her. Ye Zhao was probably the only one in their class who had so much spare money. She said, "Okay, leave the purchase of the computer to me. Just list the configuration you want for me."
Xiao Baixiong patted Ye Zhao on the shoulder and said, "I knew I had found the right person. That's settled. The computer doesn't need to have too high requirements, a standard configuration will be fine."
Ye Zhao made an "OK" gesture, and Xiao Baixiong ran away happily. He wanted to tell Yang Feihe the good news.
After Xiao Baixiong left, Qiu Ping whispered to Ye Zhao: "Are you really going to buy them a computer? They treat you like a mere fish!"
Ye Zhao smiled and said, "Sure, Qiu Ping. You even know what water fish means."
Qiu Ping raised her eyebrows proudly: "Of course, I didn't hang out with those local students for nothing."
"Don't you like Yang Feihe? Go chase her." Ye Zhao encouraged. She is the future richest man, and if you catch up with her, you will be his wife.
Qiu Ping has an apple-shaped face and looks cute and petite, which is the type that many boys like. She laughed and said, "I am one year older than him, and I always feel weird about it."
"Don't blame me! If you like me, just chase me bravely!"
"You sound like you're very experienced. Hey, between you and your boyfriend, who chased who?" Qiu Ping asked curiously.
Ye Zhao thought about it and smiled happily: "I like him, and he likes me too. It's not like one of us is chasing the other. But... I was the first one to make a move."
Qiu Ping's face was full of envy: "You are so brave, Xiao Zhao."
"If you like it, just do it. Come on, I'm optimistic about you, Qiu Ping." Ye Zhao kindly reminded: "Yang Feihe is a potential stock."
There will be no such store after this village.
Qiu Ping didn't understand: "What potential stock?"
“He’s a dark horse with great potential!”
Qiu Ping nodded in agreement: "I think he's so charming when he's serious."
When they arrived at the dormitory building, Qiu Ping went upstairs to get her lunch box. Ye Zhao called Ni Meng under a tree and asked him what Zeng Laojiu's phone number was.
After asking for the phone number, Ye Zhao called it immediately.
The person who answered the phone was a middle-aged man, and he sounded a little listless.
Ye Zhao asked: "Excuse me, is this Uncle Jiulong's house?"
The person on the other end of the phone responded: "I'm Zeng Jiulong, who are you?"
Ye Zhao smiled and said, "Hello Uncle Jiulong, I am Ye Zhao, the one who bought the land from you before."
Zeng Jiulong said, "Oh," "It's you. What's the matter?"
"Auntie Mei came back to the village the day before yesterday and talked to me for a while. Did she tell you when she got back?"
Zeng Laojiu paused for a moment and said, "She came to me. It's not that I didn't help, it's just that it happened too long ago. How can I remember what happened 20 years ago?"
Ye Zhao said: "Auntie Amei said you still remember it."
Zeng Laojiu said: "I am old now, I can't remember the old things."
Judging from Zeng Laojiu's tone, he was unwilling to even try. This was not the attitude of an ordinary person.
Ye Zhao asked again: "Do you really not remember anything at all?"
Zeng Laojiu: "What I remember is the same as what Amei remembers. She has told you everything she knows. We are all neighbors. It's not a matter of money. We really don't remember."
Zeng Laojiu was firm in his attitude and Ye Zhao did not insist any more. She had to find a way to talk to him in person. He said it was not a matter of money, but since the money was enough, there was nothing he could not discuss.
unless…
Unless there is something else going on.
On Friday she returned to Zengwuwei and first went to Zhaohua Company to arrange the purchase of computers, and then went to the Irene Toy Factory.
In Ye Zhao's office, Director Liu handed her all the documents that needed to be signed. Su Yingmin also came and wanted to discuss the women's shoe brand with her.
Su Yingmin pulled out a chair and sat down, saying, "I was the one who suggested to your father to set up your own women's shoe brand. He was reluctant to do it at first. Later, it was very difficult for me to convince him. But just when things started, your father passed away. Over the past year or so, I noticed that you didn't seem to care much about the women's shoe brand..."
Ye Zhao stopped writing and said to Director Liu, "Come back later to get the document."
After Director Liu left, Ye Zhao closed the cap of the pen and said with a smile, "Uncle Su, do you have any ideas?"
Su Yingmin said: "I am in charge of the women's shoe brand now. I want to separate the women's shoe brand from Irene. If I only own 5% of the company's current shares, then I will not be very interested in what I do..."
This was the most direct communication between Su Yingmin and Ye Zhao, unlike the previous times when they were so roundabout.
Ye Zhao understood what he meant, "Do you want to increase your shareholding in the women's shoe brand?"
"Yes. I think at least we should each own 50%, so that it can be considered a real cooperation. What do you think?"
"You want to increase your capital?"
Su Yingmin nodded: "I'll pay 300,000, and I'll own 50% of the shares of the women's shoe brand!"
Ye Zhao asked back: "How did you get the basis for investing 300,000 yuan and holding 50% of the shares?"
Not to mention the factory buildings and other supporting facilities, the investment in the three production lines of the shoe factory alone is over three million. Su Yingmin wants to take 50% of the shares, but only wants to invest 300,000. Is there such a cheap good thing in the world
Su Yingmin knocked his elbow on the table, "Then how much do you think I should invest?"
Ye Zhao shrugged. Su Yingmin was direct, so she was also direct: "This is not a question of what I think or what you think. This must be professionally evaluated to calculate how much our shoe factory is worth..."
Su Yingmin raised his hand to interrupt: "I'm talking about the women's shoe brand. It has nothing to do with our existing OEM shoe factory."
Ye Zhao: "How can it be irrelevant? How can a women's shoe brand be run without the equipment and personnel support of the shoe factory?"
"My idea is this: in addition to using the shoe factory's production line, the women's shoe brand will focus on the domestic market, starting from scratch and being completely independent of the OEM shoe factory."
Ye Zhao retorted: "This logic doesn't make sense. If you want to use the shoe factory's production line, you can't say that you are completely independent of the shoe factory."
Su Yingmin seemed to have expected that Ye Zhao might disagree. Seeing that he could not convince Ye Zhao, he immediately proposed another plan: "If you don't agree, then we can only split up. The toy factory will be yours. The shoe factory is small in scale, with three production lines, two for you and one for me. I've calculated that if I split it this way, I won't take much advantage of you."
It seems that separation is the real purpose of Su Yingmin's conversation this time. He wants to separate the family, take a production line out of the shoe factory, and open his own women's shoe brand factory.
This old fox doesn't want to stay in Irene and continue to fleece her? This is not his style. It's abnormal that he is so anxious to cut ties with her.
Ye Zhao smiled calmly and said, "What about our own brand of women's shoes? Who will we give it to?"
Su Yingmin knocked on the table: "We haven't even started the women's shoe brand yet. How can we divide something that doesn't exist?"
Ye Zhao said: "Uncle Su, have you been provoked by something? Why do you suddenly want to separate from me?"
Su Yingmin sighed and said with a wry smile, "Why should I split up? When your father was here, I fought side by side with him. Now that he's gone, who should I fight with? You, Ye Zhao? You act like a boss, coming here once a week and not caring about anything except money. I find it boring. I want to be alone and start over."
Ye Zhao couldn't help laughing: "I act like a boss? Then I am the boss! If I am not a boss, then what should I be like? I am in college now and have classes four days a week. It is impossible for me to be in Irene. If it is as chaotic as the half year after my father passed away, then Irene really can't be without a boss. But after our efforts, Irene's operations have been completely on track in the past six months, and I don't need to watch it all the time. This is a good thing, which means that everything is running in a standardized manner. Besides, there are so many employees in Irene who fight side by side with you. Aren't they human beings? Can't you see it? Or do you, Uncle Su, act like a boss and think they are not worthy of fighting side by side with you?"
Su Yingmin was slightly stunned by Ye Zhao's words, "That's not what I meant!"
"what does that mean?"
Su Yingmin said: "Yes! The factory is now running more standardized than before! But I can't find the feeling I had before, I want to struggle again."
"Strive again?"
"Yes, let's fight again!"
Ye Zhao nodded and said with a smile: "You must have thought it through carefully if you want to start over. You are over 40 years old and still want to start over. You are very brave. I want to learn from you! I support you!"
Seeing that Ye Zhao had relented, Su Yingmin quickly struck while the iron was hot and said, "I'll go call Manager Chen to discuss the division issue."
Ye Zhao actually doesn't care about any brand of women's shoes. In her eyes, toy factories and women's shoe OEMs will be eliminated sooner or later. But now these two factories are still in their heyday, earning a lot of foreign exchange for the country and a lot of money for her. Of course, she will not give them up.
But she would not give Su Yingmin a discount, not even a penny.
Ye Zhao said: "Uncle Su, I have something urgent to deal with later. How about next week? Can we talk about it in detail next week?"
"What about the weekend? Weekends are fine too."
It seems that Su Yingmin is very anxious to divide the family business.
The more anxious he was, the more Ye Zhao wanted to delay. She smiled and said, "I'm not free on the weekend either. I've already made arrangements."
"It won't take up much of your time. You just need to spare half a day to finish it. Where are you going this weekend? Going to Gangcheng again?" Su Yingmin asked with a guilty conscience.
Ye Zhao made up an excuse: "I'm going to Beijing this weekend."
"What are you going to Beijing for?" Su Yingmin asked until he got to the bottom of it. He was really anxious.
Ye Zhao: "I'm going to Beijing to watch the flag-raising ceremony. I've already bought the plane tickets."
Su Yingmin shook his head and sighed, "Look, it's just after the Chinese New Year, and it should be the busiest time. You have to attend meetings and make all kinds of plans and arrangements, but you still have time to go out and play. This is the generation gap between us."
"Uncle Su, weren't you happy that I didn't care about Irene before? Why does it suddenly seem like Irene can't leave me... Is there something wrong with you?"
Su Yingmin coughed guiltily, "No. What do you mean I'm happy that you don't care about Irene's affairs? This is a big misunderstanding!"
Ye Zhao imitated his tone and laughed sarcastically: "Generation gap! Generation gap!"
Su Yingmin had no choice but to say, "Okay, there's no rush. Let's find time to discuss it in detail next week."
Early Saturday morning, Ye Zhao passed customs and arrived at the port city.
Zeng Xiang drove to pick her up. After getting in the car, she asked, "Where's Uncle Qi? Why didn't he come?"
Zeng Xiang pretended to be jealous and said, "You didn't even ask me when you got in the car, but only asked Uncle Qi?"
Ye Zhao smiled and played word games with him: "Why don't I ask you first? Am I talking to the air now?"
Zeng Xiang also smiled, "Aren't you going to Shengheji for a meeting first? I'll ask Uncle Qi to meet up with us later. Fasten your seat belts."
Ye Zhao asked about his father's condition, and Zeng Xiang said that his father was still not conscious and was in a state similar to that of a vegetative state.
Ye Zhao said: "If you have anything to say, you can tell him directly. He can hear you."
"how do you know?"
Because I was once a vegetable! Ye Zhao laughed and said, "I was just guessing. What should the Luo family do with so many companies?"
Zeng Xiang said as he drove: "With professional managers taking care of things, it doesn't matter whether my dad is there or not. My grandmother still has the final say on decisive matters."
This is the ideal state for achieving the highest level of business.
Ye Zhao also hoped that in the future her wealth kingdom would be prosperous with or without her, while she could just lie back and only be responsible for making important decisions.
After the meeting at Shengheji, Qi Lianan was already in the car. Without Ye Zhao asking, Qi Lianan told Ye Zhao everything he had investigated about Zeng Jiulong.
"Zeng Jiulong, nicknamed Zeng Laojiu, is 56 years old this year. After escaping to Hong Kong in 1970, he mainly worked as a construction worker in the early days, and later as a cleaner. In recent years, his health has not been so good. He only occasionally works odd jobs and spends most of his time recuperating at home. Before his children went out to work, there were only Zeng Laojiu and his wife in their family who did odd jobs to earn money to support four children..."
Ye Zhao had met Zeng Laojiu. Anyway, people who returned to Zengwuwei from Gangcheng had to wear their best clothes and look good, but only they themselves knew what they were actually like.
According to Qi Lian'an's description, Zeng Laojiu should not be well off. Ye Zhao said, "But he bought a house in Gangcheng with full payment two years ago."
"Yes, they used to live in public housing, but they scraped together enough money to buy a 600-square-foot house two years ago."
Ye Zhao: "When he bought the house, he had at least 200,000 yuan, and then he sold the land to raise another 100,000 yuan to buy the house."
Qi Lianan said: "Based on actual investigation, Zeng Jiulong's family cannot have so much savings."
Ye Zhao nodded and said thoughtfully: "So, he has additional income."
"Yes. So, I asked someone to check the call records of his home phone, which are from the past three years..." Qi Lian'an handed Ye Zhao a stack of telephone communication records.
Ye Zhao was surprised. She didn't know whether Qi Lian'an was so powerful or the Luo family was so powerful. She took the receipt and joked, "Can you find his bank account record?"
Qi Lian'an smiled: "There is nothing we can do about that. Unless he breaks the law and the police investigate him. But this phone record also shows the problem."
Ye Zhao took a closer look and saw that Qi Lian'an had circled the problematic phone number.
On the evening of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Zeng Jiulong's family made a call from the mainland. Ye Zhao was very familiar with the phone number, as it was Su Yingmin's.
Ye Zhao seemed to understand. No wonder Su Yingmin was so anxious to separate from her. It seemed that he knew that Ye Zhao had found Zeng Jiulong.
Ye Zhao flipped through the pages and found that Zeng Jiulong and Su Yingmin talked on the phone basically once every six months.
Every time, I would call Su Yingmin on January 1st and July 1st. If I didn’t call on the 1st, I would call on the 2nd at the latest. It was very regular.
Why did Zeng Jiulong call Su Yingmin? To ask for money? Apart from the charm of money, who could persist for so many years? This also explains why Zeng Jiulong and his wife could save money to buy a house without stable jobs to support four children.
Therefore, Su Yingmin must have something on Zeng Jiulong, and Zeng Jiulong has been sucking Su Yingmin's blood for 20 years like a parasite.
No wonder he looked down on the 20,000 yuan given by Ye Zhao. Maybe Su Yingmin only gave him 20,000 yuan every year!
"We have to pry open Zeng Jiulong's mouth." Whether it's paying, outsmarting, or even using both, at this point, valuable information must be obtained.
Qi Lian'an said calmly: "Leave it to me, I have a way."
Ye Zhao asked: "Does his son have a job?"
"My method has to do with his son."
(End of this chapter)