Chapter 42 Full of Heroic Spirit

Wu Peng didn't drive into the alley. Instead, he stepped on the gas and drove straight to Yao Fanghua's courtyard house. The roads there were wide, and since everyone was a stranger, there was less gossip. There were many wealthy people there; maybe he could sell some right away.

He wasn't in a hurry to sell his truckload of goods; he was eager to show them off to Yao Fanghua, so she could take a good look and praise them.

After knocking for a long time, no one was home in the courtyard.

Wu Peng asked Yang Liu to guard the car while he hailed a tricycle and headed towards Yao Fanghua's new house.

"Yao Fanghua, Huahua, open the door! I'm back!!!" Wu Peng banged and shouted at the gate. Hearing his third brother calling, he shouted even more excitedly, "Third brother, your dad's back! Your dad's back with big money!"

Upon hearing that it was Wu Peng, Yao Fanghua's hand, which had just opened the camphor wood box, trembled.

Yao Fanghua made a quick decision and immediately opened the box to take a look. She wouldn't rest in peace if she didn't take a look at the box now that things had come to this point.

At the bottom of the box were a few folded pieces of paper, a porcelain vase, a dagger, a bracelet, and a hairpin. Well, not as much as she usually had. Turns out, she actually had some valuables; this kid wasn't lying to her.

"It's here, it's coming right now." Yao Fanghua closed the box, replied, and then applied glue around the box, locked it, and placed it by the stove in one smooth motion. "It's here right now."

She called her third brother and locked the study door. She figured she could delay as long as possible, so Yao Fanghua planned to make an excuse to return the box once the glue had dried completely.

Yao Fanghua put on her cotton-padded coat, tidied her hair, and went to open the courtyard gate.

"Why are you so slow? I've been knocking for ages. Come on, I'll take you to see some good stuff." Wu Peng, ever the friendly type, pushed his bicycle into the yard, grabbed Yao Fanghua, and they left.

As soon as the third brother saw Wu Peng pulling at Yao Fanghua, he bared his teeth and pounced on him.

Thankfully, I was wearing thick clothes in the dead of winter.

"Third brother, are you crazy? You bit through my cotton pants. Believe me or not, I'll stew you!" Wu Peng kicked the third brother away.

Yao Fanghua said to stew it, and Lao San would only whimper and whine. Wu Peng said to stew it, and Lao San really went berserk this time, growling and baring his teeth at Wu Peng, ready to pounce at any moment.

Wu Peng was shocked: "It's gone mad? Did you give it the wrong medicine?"

"Don't actually fight with the dog," Yao Fanghua said, pulling Wu Peng away. "Let's go, let's go, we're not here to see anything good."

"Third brother, watch the house." Yao Fanghua locked the gate.

Wu Peng glared at Lao San through the door, still brooding over it on the way, "What's wrong with Lao San?"

The third brother is dead?! Is this the new dog you got that looks exactly like the third brother?

Yao Fanghua: ...

"You noticed that?" Yao Fanghua asked in exaggerated surprise.

"Sigh, since you figured it out, I'll just tell you the truth." She'll forget about the box of stuff, but she really doesn't plan to return the dog.

Wu Peng stopped the car and glanced sideways at Yao Fanghua, "Where did you bury him?"

Huh? "Dead and nowhere to be found. He got lost."

"What nonsense are you spouting? You call yourself a college student? I've raised Lao San for so long, do you think I'd admit my mistake? Are you trying to cheat Lao San out of his life? You've really spoiled this dog, it even dares to bite me!" Wu Peng glared angrily at Yao Fanghua.

"Look at what you're saying, the third brother thinks he's been abandoned by you, he must be holding a grudge against you."

"Pah! A dog dares to hold a grudge against me? I won't feed it today. Let it go hungry for two days."

"Hurry up, hurry up, are you still going to look at the good stuff? Aren't you cold on the street?"

Wu Peng snorted and got back on his bike, heading towards the courtyard house.

"Well, why don't you hold off on selling your courtyard house? I think it's a great place; the roads are wide and the security is good." It's perfect for storing goods.

This time, Yao Fanghua glanced at Wu Peng sideways and said, "What are you holding back for? Just say it."

"Look at you, a college student, huh? What nonsense are you spouting?"

Yao Fanghua jumped out of the car. "If you bring up college students again, believe me, I'll slap you." She's always being shackled by the label of a college student. What's wrong with being a college student? Can't she swear? Does she have to suffer losses? Does she have to be bound by others? Others can say whatever they want, but she can't? She has to endure being insulted?

Upon seeing Yao Fanghua's pale face, Wu Peng knew she was truly angry, and he immediately backed down. He was genuinely afraid of Yao Fanghua's anger; a beating or a scolding would be one thing, but the thought of her ignoring him completely was unbearable. He was even more afraid to imagine Yao Fanghua marrying someone else someday; just thinking about it made him miserable.

To avoid feeling uncomfortable, Wu Peng immediately softened his tone, "Why did you jump out of the car? It was so dangerous. Did you get hurt?"

I was wrong, I won't say it again! What's wrong with college students? Aren't they human beings too?

I'm not afraid you'll look down on me for being uncultured; I'm just insecure, which is why I bring it up from time to time. I'm just provoking myself; I absolutely mean nothing else. Even if I have it, I can't admit it!

Wu Peng's attitude in admitting his mistake was good, and Yao Fanghua, seeing that things were going well, snorted and sat back down. But her expression was still not good.

Wu Peng showed Yao Fanghua his identity document from Gangcheng, and then began to recount his experience of sneaking off to Gangcheng.

He wouldn't tell others, but Yao Fanghua was the person he planned to spend the rest of his life with, so he wanted to tell her, to make her admire him, and to let her know how capable he was. Besides, he knew Yao Fanghua wouldn't speak carelessly.

As expected, Yao Fanghua's expression softened upon hearing this, and her eyes lit up. She took Wu Peng's Hong Kong certificate and examined it over and over.

Then Wu Peng showed Yao Fanghua the business cards he had printed, and talked about how he ran the workshop, how he bought cars, and how he brought back a truckload of goods, down to the smallest detail, except for the Great World.

Wu Peng caught a glimpse of Yao Fanghua's bright eyes out of the corner of his eye, and felt a surge of happiness, pedaling his bicycle with renewed vigor. He was a worldly man, having seen countless women of all kinds at the Grand World; of course, none of them could compare to Hua Hua.

Yao Fanghua carefully examined the famous film, Huapeng Electronics Factory?

"Didn't you say it was a workshop? How come it's become a factory?"

"What's wrong with that? People who own factories over there all want to call themselves 'corporations,' so what's wrong with me naming my factory? When I hand out my business card, who knows if I own a big or small factory? Don't worry about it, it's all about prestige. When they see my business card, they'll all think more highly of our factory. Business will be much easier to do."

Yao Fanghua: ...Seriously, if I hadn't heard Wu Peng mention any workshop, just looking at this business card, it would really be impressive. Everyone who sees it would call him Boss Wu. No wonder he's so good at business. He's really good at it, but he's all talk and no action, and the key is that he's not ashamed of it at all.

“Well, Hua, I was thinking of using the courtyard house as a warehouse. When we bring back goods, we can put them there. The roads there are wide, making it easy for cars to drive in. Most importantly, it's safe there; the security is good.”

"It's not impossible. But we'll have to revise the contract. I've already invested 20,000 yuan." Yao Fanghua frowned. How much money had she already invested? When would she be able to break even? This kid didn't have much money of his own; he relied entirely on her investment.

How much did the gold sell for?

"Hmm, huh?"

"Don't give me that. You spent 30,000 yuan to get your identity, set up a workshop, bought a car, and even brought back goods."

"Do the math and see how much you've spent?"

Wu Peng held up a hand; he didn't intend to hide it, otherwise he wouldn't have told Yao Fanghua how much money he had spent on this trip.

"So much? Is gold easy to sell over there? And at a high price?"

Wu Peng nodded.

Yao Fanghua was delighted and even more eager to go. A good place is one where gold can fetch a high price.

"I invested almost all of this; it's not unreasonable for me to own 80% of it!"

"I've been talking non-stop all the way here, how come you can't hear how hard I've worked? Sigh, look at my dark circles, even if you pity me for driving all that way back, you can't only give me 20% of the money."

"How about we get married? From now on, all the money I earn will be yours; I'll only keep some for spending money."

"Bullshit about getting a marriage certificate! Stop going off on tangents. I don't care, you want my house and you've cost me so much money. Even between brothers, accounts should be kept clear. Calculate how much I've invested. Where else can you find someone who can come up with that much money and invest it in you? I'm not saying 30/70, but it's at least 40/60."

"Okay, okay, whatever you say. Just rewrite the contract later, and I'll sign it, alright?" Indeed, without Yao Fanghua's money, how could he have established himself in Shenzhen so quickly? He believed that after some time of struggling on his own, he could definitely get his hands on the money for the identity document and the workshop.

It just means he might not be able to seize the initiative. The Shenzhen slogan is right: time is money. Besides, who can blame him when it comes to Yao Fanghua? He's willing to take a loss in front of her. Forget 40/60, he'd even sign a 20/80 deal. Yao Fanghua will never marry anyone but him! He has plenty of ways to ruin things for her, using both soft and hard tactics, tantrums and unreasonable demands.

“I’ve hired an accountant over there to manage the books. I’ll bring the books back every two weeks, and you can help me sort them out to make sure there are no mistakes. After all, we’re hiring an outsider.” Now that he’s started, Wu Peng wants to make it more formal, hiring the necessary people and spending the necessary money.

She loved doing this job. Yao Fanghua readily agreed.

"I'm thinking of getting our goods into all the shopping malls, supply and marketing cooperatives, and even small individual stalls and shops as soon as possible. We'll assemble the electronic watches ourselves, which will keep costs down, but the wholesale prices for radios, tape recorders, and cameras aren't high either, so there's potential for profit. Once we've made enough money, we'll open a factory. Da Beitou was able to open a factory in a year, so can we!" He thought to himself, he couldn't rely on Da Beitou forever. He needed his own products to truly establish himself. He wasn't willing to keep buying parts and finished products from Da Beitou; there was some profit, but it was small. He wanted his own products! His own factory!

He thought the clothing business was doing well. However, he still preferred opening a fan factory, or a washing machine factory. Refrigerators and televisions weren't out of the question either; the environment there was suitable, and Yao Fanghua, with her readily available technical expertise, was right there. Yao Fanghua could handle the technical aspects, and he could handle the sales—and the factory would be up and running! As for whether Yao Fanghua would be willing to give up her current job, Wu Peng glanced at her a few times. "Only a fool would work for someone else if he could be his own boss, right?"

But we'll talk about that later.

Doing business isn't that difficult! If someone has money, skills, and connections, they can succeed.

Looking at the spirited Wu Peng, Yao Fanghua felt that he was radiating light.

Wu Peng: "Let's treat Wang Huaizhi to dinner tonight. Do you know anyone in your factory who is familiar with places like shopping malls?"

Yes, that's true. Director Geng deals with these people. Also, the fan factory has its own sales channels. She's not familiar with the sales people, but Director Geng is. Maybe Director Geng is familiar with the distributors too.

Although she wasn't particularly close to Director Geng, they could talk to each other. Director Geng was an extremely resourceful person; if she asked him to make connections and offered him benefits, he would be more than happy to help.