"Damn it, after graduation, my older sister wanted me to help out at her company, but my parents disagreed. They insisted on putting me in the district government as a secretary, and now I'm just a lowly deputy section chief. Ugh!" Wang Kang complained bitterly. He had his own troubles to vent. Becoming a civil servant wasn't so carefree anymore. Although he was only a deputy section chief at the moment, he still had to be careful about his image, afraid of bringing shame to his family.
Zhang Guodong never imagined that the fat man who longed for freedom would become a civil servant. He didn't dare to ask what rank his parents held, but judging from the situation, it seemed to be quite high.
"Wow, he's actually become an official! He'll have to take care of us farmers from now on!" Zhang Guodong laughed. It's hard to imagine that the chubby man, used to being carefree and extravagant, is now a civil servant representing a serious image.
"Ugh, don't even mention it, my life is over!" the fat man said, taking a swig of beer.
"What are you doing now? All of our classmates are doing incredibly well these days. Some went south, some started companies, some went into politics, damn it!"
Zhang Guodong smiled, but it was a bitter smile.
"I'm just a farmer, running a small business selling vegetables!" Zhang Guodong said.
"Farmers are great! Without farmers, where would everyone else come from? They would have starved to death long ago. But seriously, you're so young, you should find a stable job. Why don't you go work at my sister's company? With your abilities, you could easily be a small manager!" the fat man said earnestly.
There wasn't a trace of contempt on his face; Zhang Guodong was deeply moved. Then the fat man said, "If you work for my sister, it'll be much easier for me to contact you in the future!"
The slight goodwill Zhang Guodong felt vanished instantly.
He gave the fat man the middle finger and said, "I knew you were up to no good. I'd rather be a farmer in the city, at least I'm free!"
The fat man couldn't understand this, but he believed Zhang Guodong's words. When Zhang Guodong arrived, he was riding an electric tricycle. He figured it was just a small business; how much money could a small business possibly make?
After a few words of persuasion, seeing that Zhang Guodong was determined, he said helplessly, "I just don't understand. You're going to pedal a tricycle your whole life, but it's not hard for my sister to make three to five thousand a month."
Zhang Guodong shook his head and smiled calmly.
In the past, he might have been tempted, but his life had changed drastically. That mysterious and unpredictable paradise was his greatest secret and bargaining chip.
Zhang Guodong believes there are still many secrets to uncover in Taoyuan. Moreover, he is quite satisfied with his current life; he provides vegetables to 'Da Mingtang' every day, earning 2,100 yuan daily, which adds up to over 60,000 yuan a month—a considerable income.
Zhang Guodong said, "Of course, it can't last forever. I'll buy a car in a while, and I'll find a bigger storefront to sell some vegetables. That would be great!"
"Looking for a storefront?" The fat man frowned, thought for a moment, and asked, "How big? It seems there are storefronts for rent across the street, two stories!"
"Oh?" Zhang Guodong was stunned. The fat man seemed to know everything, even these trivial matters in his carefree manner. But he immediately became interested; with two floors, he could run the business downstairs and sleep upstairs, killing two birds with one stone.
The fat man scratched his head, looking embarrassed, and said, "I heard it at a friend's house—"
His words seemed somewhat evasive, and Zhang Guodong immediately knew there was more to the story. He quickly said, "Is that really the case? Do you have a new target?"
He chuckled twice, and even blushed, saying happily, "I'm in love now, and that girl works at the provincial TV station!"
It turns out that the fat man hadn't made a move yet. The girl was a rising star reporter at the provincial TV station, fresh out of university. The fat man took a liking to her and decided to pursue her relentlessly.
A bouquet of flowers every day is a must.
这死皮赖脸的招居然揍了点效果，一来二去和胖子熟了，偶尔胖子还去那丫头家蹭顿饭。不过可惜，张国栋看得出来，虽然两人熟悉了，但胖子目前似乎在单相思。
Zhang Guodong greatly admires this.
The fat man is rich and powerful. Although he is a bit fat, he looks handsome, which is rare. In particular, he is good at talking and has a knack for picking up girls.
After finishing two dozen beers, Fatty and Zhang Guodong were pretty drunk, so they went to a sauna, worked up a sweat, and the smell of alcohol dissipated a lot.
Zhang Guodong originally thought that the fat man would keep the two girls, but unexpectedly, the fat man still had high taste. After consulting Zhang Guodong and finding out that he didn't need the girls, he touched the girls a few times and kicked them out, but he still had to give them a tip.
"Don't take the girls at entertainment venues seriously!" the fat man said smirkingly, his voice righteous. His somewhat obese body plunged into the hot water, Zhang Guodong sitting next to him. The sauna was steamy and felt incredibly comfortable; every pore on his body seemed to open up, as if impurities were being expelled—it was so relaxing.
Zhang Guodong felt that the fat man wasn't telling the truth. He was probably afraid of his older sister; the hotel belonged to their family, and if it got out that her brother was messing around here, the fat man would be dead.
After soaking for half an hour and paying the bill, the two left the hotel feeling refreshed. The fat man insisted on going to advise Zhang Guodong, and Zhang Guodong asked curiously, "You guys have so much freedom at work, no one cares about you?"
The deputy section chief of the district government's secretariat, though only at the deputy section chief level, still has considerable authority over the secretaries. Being a leader's secretary has nothing to do with rank; it depends on the leader's power. When one person rises to prominence, even their relatives and friends benefit, and the secretary's status increases exponentially. Many people will give them face, and the secretary wields considerable power.
"What the hell? I'm not a full-time secretary anymore, just coasting along!" the fat man sighed. "My parents said there are no special privileges, so I have to rely on myself. If I can't even do well at the grassroots level, what future do I have? Luckily, my work ability is pretty good, so I managed to become a deputy section chief, hehe!"
Zhang Guodong didn't ride the electric tricycle, and the fat man also parked his vehicle outside the hotel. The two crossed the pedestrian crossing, and across the street was the provincial TV station's TV tower, a thirty-story building that was the main building of the provincial TV station.
According to Fatty, getting inside isn't easy, and the whole area is huge. However, if one could open a vegetable shop outside the provincial TV station, business would be quite good.
Zhang Guodong glanced around and saw plenty of restaurants, bars, and cafes, but not a single vegetable vendor on either side. It was funny to think that selling vegetables outside the provincial TV station would probably attract a lot of attention.
In addition, the rent doesn't seem to be cheap either.
Fortunately, Zhang Guodong's vegetables were no ordinary produce.
I found the storefront that was for sale. It was still operating, selling seafood, but business didn't seem to be doing well. The store was rather deserted, and the owner was listlessly watching TV. The weather was so cold outside that nobody wanted to go out for a walk.
Zhang Guodong glanced at the first floor and estimated it to be about sixty square meters. Tiled steps led up to the second floor. Just as the fat man had said, it was indeed a two-story building.
"Gentlemen, take a look at what you want!" The shopkeeper glanced at the two of them and greeted them without getting up.
"See? Business's bad, huh!" the fat man muttered. In the rows of glass tanks, oxygen tubes were running, and bubbles rose, but despite this, most of the fish were half-floating, lacking vitality, and some were even dead. The shrimp were the same. In the crab tanks, the water had been drained, but the crabs' claws were drooping, showing no improvement. There were a few eels, small, only half a foot long, and not many of them.
Nodding, Zhang Guodong looked at the seafood; it was freshwater. The prices weren't low, so it was easy to imagine how bad the business would be. However, what he didn't know was that the seafood business was difficult and required a significant investment.
Water tanks are not large pools, lakes, or rivers, and they are very different from natural ecosystems. If customers want to buy fresh seafood, a large investment is required, which is difficult for most small shops to do.
“You can’t make money selling seafood. If you use the money to sell vegetables, it probably won’t even cover the rent, right? Shouldn’t you reconsider?” the fat man said with some concern.
Zhang Guodong shook his head but offered no explanation.
Seeing Zhang Guodong's stubbornness, the fat man was helpless. Zhang Guodong was just like that in college; despite his average looks and lack of money, he was very persistent, and once he made up his mind, no one could persuade him otherwise.
Unbeknownst to the fat man, Zhang Guodong's mind was quite active at that moment.
Upon seeing the aquatic products—grass carp, common carp, river shrimp, and eels—Zhang Guodong was reminded of the dark green pond in Peach Blossom Spring. Because he couldn't see the bottom of the pond clearly, Zhang Guodong didn't dare to try raising fish in it.
But now I'm tempted to give it a try.
However, money is a big problem. If we rent the entire storefront, this location would cost at least 30,000 to 40,000 yuan a year. In addition, even if we take over these seafood products cheaply, it would probably cost 60,000 to 70,000 yuan.
Although we have a partnership with 'Da Ming Tang', it's too late to solve the immediate problem. The vegetables will only be delivered tomorrow. At this rate, it will take at least a month or two to get the storefront sorted out. If something goes wrong here by then, it will be a real shame.
"The location is nice, but it'll cost a lot of money if we take it all out!" Zhang Guodong said helplessly. "If only it could be delayed by a month or two!"
"How much do you want? I don't have any more. My sister controls all my allowance, and she won't give me a single penny more. Is 100,000 enough?" the fat man asked directly.
Zhang Guodong was taken aback, and the fat man said helplessly, "Don't even mention being self-reliant. My little savings are only a little over 100,000 yuan. Don't be fooled by my nice car; I don't need to worry about those things. I get 200,000 yuan in pocket money a year, and my older sister won't give me a penny more!"
"Thank you!" Zhang Guodong said.
The fat man put his arm around Zhang Guodong's shoulder and laughed, "You're just too shy. How could I not support you in doing business? Maybe I'll have to rely on you in the future, right?"
Zhang Guodong knew the fat man was trying to comfort him, but a surge of pride also rose within him. Although he didn't have a prominent family or a large company, he possessed a secret unlike any other in the world—a secret that was unique!
So he laughed and said, "Alright, I won't say any more. I'll recover in a few months!"
"Boss, a customer is here!" After they had agreed on the terms, Zhang Guodong shouted to the boss.
The shopkeeper seemed a bit confused. Business? He stood there and asked, "Grass carp? Carp? River shrimp? Crab? Eel? Snakehead?"
These are the six types of products sold in the seafood store. However, like the eel, there are only three to five snakehead fish available. The meat is incredibly tender and delicious, but the price is not cheap.
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