With Fang Lin's help, the Sichuan cuisine at Su Wei's hotel is now selling like hotcakes, especially the self-service hot pot restaurant on the first floor, which is packed every day during mealtimes. Su Wei has made a lot of money from this.
Li Yuzhu helped Zhu Xiaofei to the dining table and sat her down. Su Wei had met her twice before, and they knew each other.
The waiter had already served all the hot pots, so Li Yuzhu and Fang Lin left the private room and went to the counter to select some dishes.
During the meal, Su Wei's second uncle asked, "Dongqing, there aren't any businesses in our village right now. What kind of business do you think we should start?"
Su Wei's second uncle rarely addressed Chairman Dong Qing as such in private. Dong Qing felt that this was a good way to address him, as it didn't sound too formal. Dong Qing also often followed Su Wei's lead and addressed him as his second uncle.
Dong Qing said, "Instant noodle factories are starting to spring up in big cities. You could have the village set up a large instant noodle factory, and in the future, you could provide employment for the villagers there."
My second uncle said, "Our village can't afford to build a large instant noodle factory. To be honest, all the money from selling land over the years has been distributed to the villagers, but we haven't received a single penny from the land sold to my niece."
Su Wei laughed and said, "Second Uncle, if you don't have money, just say so. Why are you dragging me into this?"
Uncle said, "Don't give me that silly grin. I don't owe you anything, so why do I always have to take the blame for you?"
My second uncle gets a headache whenever he thinks about this niece. He sold her the land for a pittance and hasn't given her a single penny since. She has money to invest in building a shopping mall and renovating a villa, but she's unwilling to pay off her debts, making herself unable to hold her head up in the village.
It's not hard to understand Uncle Er's feelings at this moment. It would be easier to explain if Su Wei really didn't have the money to pay off her debts. But she has the money to invest elsewhere and doesn't want to pay off her debts.
My second uncle is an upright person, and even if others don't say anything, they still feel embarrassed.
When Su Wei saw that her second uncle was really angry, she was too scared to speak. Sometimes she really did act like a timid little girl in front of her second uncle.
Of course, Second Uncle didn't treat Dong Qing and his wife as outsiders. If there were other people present, he would never have stood up for his niece. Su Wei herself was well aware of this.
That's how it is between uncles and nieces. Even if he's angry with his niece, he'll still help her when she needs it. After all, they share a close blood relationship; they have the blood of the same ancestor flowing through their veins.
Dongqing said, "Second Uncle, how about this? I'll lend Su Wei three million yuan so she can pay back the money she owes the village. Every household in the village makes tofu, so the villagers are all quite wealthy. The village can raise funds from the villagers, meaning they will all become shareholders in the factory and receive dividends every year."
My second uncle also strongly agreed with this idea. The village's main goal in setting up the factory was to make the villagers rich, and raising funds to build the factory was, in a sense, the most direct way. He said, "You young people are really good at thinking. Why didn't I think of this method before? I'll hold a meeting tomorrow to raise funds from all the villagers. I was just saying that in a fit of anger. My niece doesn't need to rush to pay back the money she owes the village. She can pay it back when she has the money, and if she doesn't, she can leave it as is."
The second uncle's last words were his true feelings: he would never force his own niece.
Su Wei said, "I'll try to pay back one million yuan to the village tomorrow, and I'll pay it all back before the instant noodle factory opens."
My second uncle said, "Alright, do your best."
In theory, Dong Qing could have invested in the Su Village instant noodle factory, but he also had his reasons for not wanting to. After all, it would be a village enterprise, and there were too many issues for the villagers to handle; he didn't want to get involved.
These days there are so many places to invest, he can make money no matter where he invests. As the saying goes, even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake, there's really no need to do business with them.
My second uncle and aunt left early after finishing their meal.
After his second uncle left, Dongqing asked, "Sister-in-law, what's your second uncle's name? I've never heard you mention it before."
Su Wei laughed after hearing Dong Qing's words, and then said, "The main reason is that my second uncle's name isn't very nice. After he became the village party secretary in the 1970s, most people didn't call him by his name. My family already has a high seniority in the village, and the villagers all address each other by their seniority. Even though he has a formal name, very few people call him by it, so it's normal that you don't know his formal name."
Dongqing said, "Could you tell me my second uncle's nickname? How bad can a name be?"
Su Wei said, "My dad's name is Su Danao, and my second uncle's name is Su Erao. Don't you think they sound awful?"
Dong Qing laughed after hearing this. It wasn't hard to understand. People born in the 1940s and 50s often had nicknames like "cat" and "dog," which was not unusual in that era. Many people born in the 1960s also had such nicknames.
Dong Qing's nickname was Lai Hai, which was given to him because he was too spoiled when he was a child. However, no one called him by his nickname after he grew up, and even Li Yuzhu didn't know his nickname after she entered the family.
Dongqing asked, "What is Second Uncle's full name?"
Su Wei said, "It's a name that sounds similar to yours but doesn't have the same characters: Su Dongqing."
It was only then that Dong Qing learned the real name and nickname of Su Wei's second uncle.
The next morning, Su Dongqing convened a meeting of all village officials to discuss the construction of the factory.
Su Dongqing enjoyed great prestige in the village, and unsurprisingly, the resolution was passed unanimously.
A mass meeting was held that morning, where Su Dongqing explained in detail the village's decision to raise funds to set up a factory.
After the meeting, many villagers were willing to pool their money to build a factory, but a small number of villagers were unwilling to do so, not because they didn't have the money, but mainly because they didn't believe the village had the ability to run a factory.
Village officials are essentially local leaders. Some villagers believe they are incapable of doing business, that investing is risky, and that if their businesses fail, who will they ask for money from?
However, a small number of villagers overlooked the relationship between Su Dongqing and Dongqing, believing that Dongqing was bound to succeed in helping the village set up a factory.
In recent years, the villagers of Su Village have become wealthy. No one in any household is idle; they are either making tofu or working at the wholesale market.
Furthermore, the villagers received a considerable amount of money from the land sale, and within half a day, the village had raised 26 million yuan.
There are several hundred acres of land west of the national highway in the village, which is relatively remote for doing business. There is no problem building a factory there. There is really no need to choose a downtown area for building a factory.
Su Dongqing entered his niece's house. Su Wei saw her second uncle enter and said with a smile, "Second Uncle, you're not going to use your daughter to pressure me about debts again, are you?"
My second uncle said, "I really want to slap you twice. What do you mean, 'coming to collect debts again'? Have you ever tried to collect debts? Call Dongqing and invite him to dinner tonight. I have something to discuss with him."
Su Wei said of course, then called her sister to bring dinner home that evening, and then called Dong Qing and his wife to invite them over for dinner after get off work.
Dong Qing walked into the vice chairman's office. His wife was working. He said, "Honey, don't be busy. Su Wei invited us to her house for dinner."
Li Yuzhu said, "He just treated us to dinner yesterday and he's treating us again today. If I'm not mistaken, it must be his second uncle who's treating us."
Dongqing said, "It's all the same. We should help her second uncle. Let's go!"
Dong Qing's words make perfect sense. Su Dong Qing has indeed helped him a lot over the years, and no matter how you look at it, you can't ignore his affairs.
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