The three-courtyard mansion in the backyard of Xinzhi Bookstore is now much quieter. A few women were hired from Shilipu to clean the place. Their wages are negligible, and they are live-in maids, earning only 5 yuan per month.
In the reception room through the back door of the bookstore, a thin man wearing a top hat and sunglasses stood in front of Lu Ming.
He is Deputy Manager Qiu, the head of the Longgang branch of the Yellow River Trading Company. In fact, he is the head of the intelligence organization that Longgang is building a network of. A native of Longgang, he was originally a gossip for the Lao Chai gang, responsible for finding out about the situation of wealthy families in the county and the countryside.
Now he is "making meritorious service while serving his sentence" and helping Councillor Lu.
As for Lao Qiu himself, he has not realized that what he is doing now is any different from what he did before. He just feels vaguely that he is a bit like the head of the secret police during the dark ages of the empire.
In the past, they would inquire about official military and police information and spy on the secrets of wealthy families. Now, it is the other way around, inquiring about news from gangs and other criminals.
The Yellow River Trading Company, the agent of Donghai's "Poly" series of cosmetics and daily necessities, adopts a very special sales model: word of mouth, word of mouth sales, consumers will become sellers, and the company will receive commissions.
This is naturally the direct sales model brought by Lu Ming.
In fact, Polaroid's sales are now growing exponentially, but the tycoons in this industry have not yet realized it.
In Jiangning, the agency rights of Baoli were given to the Yellow River Trading Company.
In the Yellow River Trading Company, the intelligence network and the sales network are two completely different systems, but it will also benefit from the sales network.
For example, in the Longgang branch, Lao Qiu is the deputy manager, but he is not involved in the real business operations of the Longgang branch. Even the official manager does not know that this deputy manager is a secret intelligence officer. He is just a deputy manager who can meet the monthly performance targets and just gets by.
But Lao Qiu can also select useful information from the daily messages of direct sales personnel.
Of course, in Longgang, "Poly" is regarded as a luxury product from the East China Sea by the wealthy. The direct sales personnel only come into contact with the wealthy class, and the intelligence network has limited coverage. Lao Qiu mainly relies on some old relationships. He has familiar informants in every village and town. If they have useful information, he will get a little money.
In fact, this is enough for Lu Ming. Building a steel plant in Longgang requires caution. The Hu family's tricks are easier to explain, as there are traces of everything.
Especially now, he was pretending to be nice to the Hu family. Shares? Let's talk about it slowly. It's better to be stable in the early stage. The longer the time, the better it will be for him.
What we fear most is the trouble caused by some dangerous elements who are willing to take risks, such as kidnapping the steel plant's early technical personnel or future workers, or threatening to cause sabotage for ransom. These are inevitable. The motherland's foreign aid projects in chaotic areas are somewhat similar to the current situation of our own steel plants.
In addition to the absolute military protection of the 500-man reinforced platoon, we must also be able to sense possible dangers in advance to be absolutely safe.
Lao Qiu was talking about the private discussions among some small iron and steel plant owners these days about the planning of the super steel plant.
With the entry of the super steel plant into Longgang, the ones that feel most threatened are the small steel mills and iron mills scattered across several counties in Heishan. Those who are short-sighted would wish that the steel plant would go bankrupt. In fact, history has proved that the super steel plant is a boon to the nearby small iron mills and steel mills.
Sure enough, Lao Qiu got news that more than one small factory owner had threatened to take action against this super steel plant after drinking. Even one of them had just borrowed hundreds of thousands of dollars to set up a small steel plant. He felt that the future was bleak and was afraid that he would be heavily in debt. He said that when that day came, he would tie up explosives and die together with this deadly steel plant.
"Well, no matter how much I try, drunken talk can't be taken seriously." Lu Ming smiled, thought for a moment and said, "There used to be a Sangouzi smoked chicken in Longgang, in Sangouzi Town, right? It was a time-honored brand, but it later closed down. There's no special news there, right?"
Lao Qiu was stunned for a moment and said, "Well, no, what do you mean, Master?"
Lu Ming was about to speak when he heard a noise outside.
Lu Ming waved his hand: "Nothing, go ahead!"
…
Lifting the door curtain, Lu Ming walked into the bookstore from the back door.
But he saw a few more farmers in the store, pointing at Lin Shaocong and cursing at him.
Lin Shaocong's childhood sweetheart, Gao Xiaohua, hid behind Lin Shaocong with tears on her face.
The people who heard the farmers scolding Lin Shaocong were Gao Xiaohua's family members. The thin and dark man who spoke the loudest among them was Gao Xiaohua's eldest brother. He was scolding Lin Shaocong for being a liar and abducting his sister and running away from home.
Among the farmers, there is the person that Gao Xiaohua is betrothed to. He looks like a disabled person, a lame man, his last name is Wang, and he is not young anymore.
It sounds like the Gao family and Wang Quezi's family were originally planning an exchange marriage, with Gao Xiaohua promised to Wang Quezi, and Wang Quezi's sister promised to this Gao Lao Da.
"Let's go out and talk, can't we?!" Lin Shaocong said hastily. He felt even more ashamed when he saw his boss coming out. The matters at home had caused the bookstore to be unable to operate normally. As the person in charge, it was his responsibility.
"Why do you want to go out? Just talk here!" Boss Gao was tired of scolding, so he walked a few steps to sit down at the tea table, picked up the cup and started drinking.
“Ah, don’t…” Lin Shaocong’s face turned pale.
Yu Luan, who was standing beside Lu Ming, wanted to move, but Lu Ming raised his hand to stop her. Yu Luan bit her red lips and whispered, "I'm going to smash them all later. What a waste! I can't even keep the tea table."
Lu Ming shook his head helplessly. It was inevitable that Yu Luan was educated to look down on peasants and have no sympathy for the working people.
Wang Quezi also limped over and sat on the other side of the tea table. He also picked up the cup and poured himself some water to drink.
Lin Shaocong’s face turned pale as he looked at the owner, wanting to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Then, Boss Gao and Wang Quezi noticed Lu Ming and Yu Luan next to the door curtain. Because of the angle, there was a withered wooden stand separating them, so when they reached the tea table, Boss Gao and Wang Quezi saw Lu Ming and Yu Luan. On the contrary, it was Lin Shaocong who always paid attention to the movements in the backyard, so when the door curtain moved, he knew that the host had come in, and if he looked carefully, he could see him through the bookshelf.
When Boss Gao and Wang Quezi saw the people at the back door, they were stunned. Looking at the aura of the young man, they both felt unable to sit still and wanted to stand up.
Then, the beautiful woman in snow-white clothes came into the sight of the two men. Even though the young man was standing there casually, people couldn't help but look at him.
At this time, someone outside shouted, "Who the hell is so brave to cause trouble here?"
Two patrolmen came in like ferocious monsters. The leading police chief was named Wang, who was newly promoted to the chief of this police district.
After the collapse of the Second Zeng, Longgang Police Station was reshuffled. Dozens of people were expelled from the patrol force, and more than a dozen people were sued.
Those who are in power nowadays are all newcomers, and the chief of police in this police district knows that Xinzhi Bookstore is an existence that one cannot afford to offend and must curry favor with in every possible way.
When two brothers who were eating meat patties nearby heard someone say that there was a disturbance at Xinzhi Bookstore, they immediately trotted over.
Chief Inspector Wang bowed and nodded in front of Lin Shaocong, "Assistant Lin, don't worry, I will take these people away to the court!"
Lu Ming looked at it and shook his head. The people in the police station had changed, but in fact, nothing had changed. It was just that the east wind had changed to the west wind.
Many things are due to institutional defects and cannot be solved by any wise leader. That would be a foolish act in the feudal era.
Lin Shaocong sighed softly: "Captain Wang, our boss is here."
Lu Ming walked out slowly.
Boss Gao and Cripple Wang were scolded by the patrolman in black uniform. They were so scared that they stood aside and dared not even breathe.
"Ah, Master, you are here?!" Chief Inspector Wang had a fawning look on his face, and he wanted to kneel down and lick him. The "Lu" before "Master" was omitted to show respect. It was just the way a servant addressed his master.
"Captain Wang, it's just some housework, you guys go and take care of yourselves, sorry for making fun of me!" Lu Ming smiled at Chief Inspector Wang.
"Oh, okay, okay! Yes, I'm sorry to bother you!" Chief Inspector Wang nodded, waved his hand, and left with the young patrolman, looking back every few steps and smiling apologetically.
Yu Luan moved a chair over and placed it a few steps away from the tea table, as if she was afraid of getting contaminated by germs from there.
Lu Ming sat down and glared at Yu Luan. Of course, even if this little girl was very smart, she had no idea why he was glaring at her. Instead, she stuck out her tongue and smiled apologetically. She probably thought that he was just scolding her for no reason.
"Shaocong, you handle your family affairs!" Lu Ming waved his hand.
"Yes, yes..." Lin Shaocong said to Boss Gao and the others, "Brother, let's go out and talk!"
Boss Gao, Wang Cuzi and others were all embarrassed, but they all nodded at this time.
"Why are you going out to talk?" Lu Ming smiled and looked at Boss Gao. "You are Xiaohua's elder brother, right? It sounds like you don't believe that Xiao Linzi is successful now, earning dozens of dollars a month, and is the manager of several bookstores, right? I tell you, this is all true. I have invested hundreds of thousands, and I will open more bookstores. I will leave it all to Xiao Linzi."
Boss Gao and Wang Quezi were both stunned. Boss Gao wanted to say something, but Xiaohua had already wiped her tears and said, "Brother, don't say anything, just listen!"
“Yes, yes…” Only then did Boss Gao realize that this young nobleman might have a higher status than the landlord in his village. The landlord in the village had been bullied by patrolmen when he came to the city, but the patrolman directly called the man in front of him “Master”
Whatever others say, you can only listen. How can you have the right to speak
Lu Ming added: "So, although Xiaohua is definitely more than enough for Shaocong, for you, this relative is considered out of your league, so what's there to be dissatisfied about?"
After a pause, he said, "You can't get married. Actually, I can imagine that in one or two years at most, Xiaohua and Shaocong will help you find a wife. She will definitely be more virtuous than Mr. Wang's sister. Of course, you made such a fuss... So, go back. If I find out about your continued fuss, it won't be good!"
Boss Gao was half-believing and half-doubting, but he didn't dare to refute anything. He thought that not being arrested was a great favor from the master, so he whispered, "Yes, yes..."
Wang Quezi didn't dare to say much, but looking at Xiaohua's eyes, he was reluctant to leave and followed Boss Gao, looking back every few steps.
"Boss..." Lin Shaocong wanted to say something.
Lu Ming waved his hand and said, "You guys, hurry up and pick a good date to hold the wedding. Xiaohua's family wants a dowry. You can get an advance on your salary first, and then deduct it in installments. I think even if they ask for a high price, it won't be more than 100 yuan, right?"
Lin Shaocong was stunned. It was true that even if the Gao family tried their best, they could not come up with a higher number.
Lu Ming stood up and walked out.
Lin Shaocong wanted to say something, but Lu Ming had already left the store. Looking at his back, Lin Shaocong felt his nose sore and he just wanted to cry. Even on the day he was about to jump into the river, he had never had the urge to cry as much as he did now.
A warm little hand reached out to me. I turned around and saw Xiaohua's shy face. "Shaocong, you are a good person, so you can meet a great nobleman like the master."
Lin Shaocong was so dazed that he forgot where he was for a moment.