Chapter 117 The Wise Old Man
Grandpa Yao finally woke up.
A soft bed, a quiet space, and when I opened my eyes, there was a whitewashed ceiling, everything was white. Was he dead? Was this... the underworld?
Then I saw a magnified image of an old woman's face. Meng Po?
"The old man is awake." Caregiver Aunt Cao was bending down to look at the old man. After confirming that the old man's eyes were open, she called to Yao Fanghua and Li Chunying.
Yao Fanghua, Li Chunying, and Yao Weimin gathered around.
When the old man saw Li Chunying, he recognized Yao Fanghua and Yao Weimin, and he smiled. "Oh, she's not dead yet," he said, "how could she die without feeling any pain or discomfort?"
At this age, death is nothing to me, but I'm afraid of cremation. Just thinking about that scene terrifies me.
Aside from this, there's nothing to fear. As people get older, their bodies become increasingly sluggish, they have little to do, fewer and fewer people to talk to, and less and less interaction with society. Without emotional ties, they feel lonely, and sometimes they suddenly feel that life has no meaning.
"Hua Hua is back?"
"Grandpa, how are you feeling?" Yao Fanghua held the old man's hand. "If you feel unwell, you must tell me. You can't keep quiet."
Grandpa Yao nodded.
Just then, Wu Peng pushed the door open and came in.
Wu Peng took his child and nanny home to settle down.
I called Zhong Er last night. The house has been cleaned up and even a telephone has been installed.
After dropping off the child, I returned to the hospital.
Wu Peng: "Grandpa's awake?"
"Why did I call you all back? I'm fine."
"Grandpa, look what I brought you!" Wu Peng was carrying a box of sponge cakes.
This time, the old man really smiled, his face full of wrinkles. "Back then, every time you came to visit me, you would bring me a sponge cake. For a while, you were eyeing my gold watch and would send it to me even more often."
"Grandpa, you actually took this seriously? I was just looking for an excuse to visit you because I was worried you'd be bored."
Grandpa Yao laughed heartily upon hearing this.
They were talking about what happened back then.
When the younger generation came to visit after work, they learned that Grandpa Yao had been moved to a different ward.
Song Xiaowen and Song Xiaoshi had arranged to come together, and they happened to run into Zhang Xiuxiu. The three of them went to the ward but couldn't find her. After asking around, they ran into Zhong Er and Yao Fangyuan, who were also there. Then the group went upstairs together.
Zhong Er and Yao Fangyuan were alright. They knew that Yao Fanghua and Wu Peng had returned and that the two were wealthy, but they never expected that they could get such a nice hospital room. Only leading cadres could stay in such rooms; money alone wasn't enough.
Zhang Xiuxiu came in and exaggeratedly opened her mouth wide, looking closely at everything from the broom and dustpan behind the door to the television, then to the window, and finally to the toilet. She wasn't there to see the patient; she was there to see the ward.
Song Xiaowen and Song Xiaoshi also read it, but they read it discreetly. When Mom came in the morning, she said that they were still in the downstairs ward, and there wasn't even a place to sit. After staying for a while, the noise gave her a headache. When they came, she told them to stay for a while and then leave so as not to disturb Grandpa's rest.
"Mom, this isn't a hospital stay, it's a chance to enjoy life!" No wonder the old man was clamoring to go home yesterday, but today he's all smiles and no longer says a word. Zhang Xiuxiu was so envious that she ran up to Yao Fanghua to ask how much she earned per day.
Everyone in the room looked over, including Grandpa Yao on the bed.
Yao Fanghua had no choice but to speak up, "It didn't cost much. It was only a few dollars a day, mainly because Wu Peng has some overseas connections."
Yao Fangyuan: "I knew it. I heard that only cadres can live here. Even if you have money, you can't live here."
Grandpa, you're really enjoying yourself thanks to my brother-in-law. It's so much more comfortable here than at home. Now you can focus on recovering."
Grandpa Yao pressed on, "Really? It really won't cost much?"
Wu Peng laughed and said, "It won't cost you anything. Besides, let's not talk about me, but about your granddaughter. With her wealth, what's a little money to her? She even tells me from time to time that she doesn't care about money anymore. You can rest assured and stay here. The hospitalization fee is just a drop in the ocean."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the room laughed.
Li Chunying whispered to Yao Fanghua that it really didn't cost much money, and after learning that it really didn't cost much, she smiled and peeled an apple for Wu Peng.
Regardless of the exact amount spent on hospitalization, one thing is certain: Hua Hua is indeed wealthy. Grandpa Yao settled down peacefully. It was rare for one of his children and grandchildren to be so successful; he simply considered it a testament to his granddaughter's filial piety. His children and grandchildren were capable of supporting him, so he could enjoy himself before he died. They had fulfilled their filial duty, and when he closed his eyes in peace, they would feel better, free from any regrets.
Grandpa Yao chats with his neighbors every day, and sometimes his caregivers even take him to watch others play chess. With two caregivers around, he doesn't have to worry about being looked after by his troublesome son and daughter-in-law, which makes him much more comfortable. The younger generation comes to visit him whenever they have free time, and Grandpa Yao seems much more energetic than he was at home.
Yao Fanghua and Wu Peng stayed in Beijing for half a month. During this time, Director Yu visited them every day.
Originally, seeing that Grandpa Yao's condition was improving, they planned to return to Shenzhen, but Director Yu...
Director Yu released Yao Fanghua readily back then without mentioning any sense of righteousness or friendship, but now he's bringing up the idea of ​​righteousness and friendship.
Factory Director Yu wanted Yao Fanghua to help the fan factory out.
The fan factory just started producing twin-tub washing machines last year, but the market has already been taken over. They can't compete on price, performance, or brand recognition. They invested a lot of money, but the product sales were dismal. They couldn't even break even, let alone make a profit.
All the money we made in the past few years has been invested. If this continues, the fan factory will be dragged down.
If the washing machine production line were shut down directly, what would become of these workers? Other factories were holding on, but he dared not tear down this fig leaf. He was nearing retirement, and he couldn't bear to see so many workers lose their jobs, much less bear the infamy.
Huapeng Electric Appliances is now a well-known brand, frequently appearing in news reports and on television. If they could cooperate with Huapeng Electric Appliances, Yao Fanghua would provide the capital and technology, while they would provide the personnel and facilities. They could then manufacture Huapeng Electric Appliances' products and earn manufacturing fees. This was the solution Yu Jun had been considering for a long time for the fan factory.
But Yao Fanghua wasn't optimistic. Setting up a contract factory here just to save on shipping costs? Wouldn't the equipment need to be upgraded? How would quality control be ensured? How would core technologies be prevented from being leaked? Just to save on logistics costs? With that money and energy, she might as well start her own logistics company.
Some parts can be outsourced, for example, they cooperate with mold factories in Shenzhen, but Beijing is too far from Shenzhen, inconvenient and not cost-effective. Moreover, the fan factory is not fully restructured, and she has no confidence in it.
She couldn't let her own factory suffer losses just to help the fan factory. After all, Huapeng Electric has more workers, and many more people rely on this job to make a living and support their families.
After much thought, Yao Fanghua concluded that the most valuable and worthwhile part of the fan factory was actually the land. Seeing how enthusiastically Director Yu always greeted Wu Peng, Yao Fanghua knew that Wu Peng must also have his eye on that land; he was currently addicted to building houses.
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