The children played around, the women chatted about everyday matters, and several older women talked to Jiang Xiaoyan about some taboos related to pregnancy, chatting enthusiastically.
On the men's side, apart from Uncle Hong occasionally spouting official jargon, Chen Hansheng was the only one who talked incessantly. Despite his young age, when it came to boasting, he was just as good as Uncle Hong.
A night breeze swept by, refreshing every pore of his body. Lu Feng sat there listening for most of the time, while Duo Duo nestled in his arms, counting the stars in the sky, and fell asleep without realizing it.
Lu Feng understood as well. Grandpa Hong must have been a leader in the postal system before. He had only retired for a couple of years, but he still had some influence.
Chen Hansheng used to have a secure job at the post office, but he resigned to start his own logistics business. He probably had connections and took over some of the original post office orders, which were quite successful. In addition, he was good at networking, so his business grew bigger and bigger.
After buying the two-story villa here, he got along very well with Grandpa Hong. According to the neighbors, he even wanted to recognize Grandpa Hong as his godfather a month ago, but was rejected.
The people living here are basically all involved with the postal service, so Grandpa Hong's words carry weight and everyone has to listen to him.
It was already past nine o'clock at night, and the night was getting late and a bit chilly. Duoduo was fast asleep, and Lu Feng's legs were a little numb from the weight of her. Lu Feng said, "It's getting late, let's go to sleep."
Chen Hansheng was a little unsteady from drinking. He stood up and helped Grandpa Hong up, saying, "Grandpa Hong, let me tell you this: whoever entrusts me with goods, I will definitely deliver them. It's a matter of integrity. If you fail once, your reputation will be ruined..."
Everyone stood up and gathered around Grandpa Hong, talking as Lu Feng carried Duo Duo home. Aunt Liu tidied up the dishes, and Zhou Ya helped carry them back. The meal was over.
The moonlight was pure white, and the alleyway returned to its desolate state. When the tungsten lamp went out, only the embers of the campfire remained.
Chen Hansheng quickly washed up and went to bed. Slightly drunk, he leaned against the headboard and looked at Xiu'er, saying, "How about it? In this alley, we still have to watch our family. No one else can help us."
“Lu Feng is a businessman, but you can’t tell at all. He’s so dull and doesn’t even know how to talk.” Xiu’er said with a look of disgust, “It’s Jiang Xiaoyan who can talk big. She almost fooled him a while ago. He sat there all night without saying a word.”
“He looks like an introverted and dull person. He probably works outside and rents a yard to keep a facade of business.” Chen Hansheng lay down and said, “Let’s go to sleep.”
Lu Feng put Duo Duo on the bed, went out of the room, and ran into Zhang Fengxia. He asked, "How much of our logistics system do we handle ourselves, and how much do we use logistics companies for?"
“Locally, we mostly handle our own logistics. Some goods are picked up by suppliers, while for inter-provincial shipments, we cooperate with some companies. Currently, the logistics system is quite chaotic because the industry itself is very disorganized.” Zhang Fengxia asked, puzzled, “Why are you asking this?”
"Is the loss high?" Lu Feng asked.
“Of course it’s high. Last month, we lost 700 TVs and 300 VCD players. We asked the logistics company to compensate us, but they all ran away. We withheld their deposit, but it didn’t offset our losses.” Zhang Fengxia sighed and said, “The logistics industry is very chaotic now, especially inter-provincial ones. You don’t know, there are still robbers on the road.”
Highway bandits and village bullies were common occurrences, existing throughout the 1990s. Truck drivers who frequently drove long distances would rather run over people who tried to stop them in unfamiliar areas than stop.
Busy highways also became gathering places for some idle people. Not to mention trucks, just take the minibuses in the city. In the 1990s, minibuses were definitely a lucrative job. Many cities did not have public buses, and minibuses were the only option.
To keep this lucrative job, you have to keep all sorts of sticks in your car. If someone stops the car and causes trouble, you get out and do it. After you're done, you continue driving and taking people away.
Part of the product cost is in logistics, and there is also uncertainty involved. Lu Feng genuinely wants to solve this problem. For a company, logistics is like blood vessels. If the flow is not smooth or the speed is slow, there may be no problem in the short term, but there will be big problems in the long term.
"Do you have any ideas about logistics?" Zhang Fengxia asked.
"Let's rest first, we'll talk about it at the factory tomorrow." Lu Feng said and walked towards the bedroom.
Jiang Xiaoyan had already changed into her pajamas and was lying in bed. When she saw Lu Feng come in, she put down a parenting book she was holding and said, "Chen Hansheng and his wife are quite interesting. I've been watching a show all night."
“It’s normal. He was originally the most promising young man in the alley, but after you came, he became so ordinary. People are always relative.” Lu Feng lay on the bed looking at her and said, “Don’t take it too seriously. If it really doesn’t work out, we can move to a villa, somewhere quieter!”
“No, it’s fine as it is. I’ve gotten to know all the neighbors.” Jiang Xiaoyan snuggled up to Lu Feng, put her arm around him, and said with a grin, “Xiuer and I don’t mind. We just think she’s funny.”
“Funny? Didn’t you tell me not to make money back then?” Lu Feng put his hand behind his head, turned his head to look at her and said, “If I had just set up a cannery and stopped, you would be in the same boat as her now.”
"What? I'm not that mean-spirited." Jiang Xiaoyan rolled her eyes at him, rested her head on her chest, and her hands became a little restless.
"Stop being a pervert, go to sleep. You're pregnant now." Lu Feng put his hand under the covers and took her hand out.
"Is it wrong to get pregnant?" Jiang Xiaoyan asked, puzzled.
"Nonsense, what kind of parenting book did you read?" Lu Feng said, somewhat amused and exasperated. "How does the baby see me? Daddy came in, Daddy went out, Daddy came in again, Daddy went out again. Is that prenatal education, you know?"
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