In the detention center's reception room, Wang Peng and Ma Ronghua faced each other, looking at each other, but Wang Peng couldn't recognize Ma Ronghua.
Ronghua Supermarket used to be the second largest supermarket in the provincial capital, second only to Huihuang.
Like a crumbling castle in the air, Brothers Supermarket's operation for just over a month brought Ronghua Supermarket to the brink of collapse.
In the past, Ma Ronghua was in high spirits, wearing clothes worth several thousand yuan and a watch worth tens of thousands of yuan, and frequently visited various high-end places.
Now, he has sunken eyes, bloodshot eyes, and white hair, like an old man in his twilight years.
"Old Ma, life here isn't good, is it?" Wang Peng sighed softly and took out a cigarette for him.
Ma Ronghua took a few deep drags on his cigarette, which immediately made him feel much better. He laughed and said, "Everything else is fine, it's just that I don't have any cigarettes to smoke."
Wang Peng shook his head. "Don't joke around. Even a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. Does Little Ma think he'd be short of your cigarettes?"
"Hmph!" Ma Ronghua sneered, "You think they'd be filial to me? Which of those crown princes in ancient times didn't want their fathers to die early?"
Wang Peng was taken aback, then shook his head. "You're right. It seems that the Mas won't come up with a huge sum of money to beg for my forgiveness?"
“Even if they beg you, you won’t forgive me because of money. I’m seventy years old, what difference does it make whether they forgive me or not?” Ma Ronghua retorted.
Wang Peng nodded. Whether he was sentenced to life imprisonment for not forgiving the wrongdoing or to twenty years for forgiving it, it made no difference to him.
After he finished his cigarette, Wang Peng lit another one for him. "Old Ma, I only have one question for you: Is Wang Cheng involved in this?"
Ma Ronghua immediately recalled that when he was drowning his sorrows in a bar, Wang Cheng approached him three times. The first two times, Wang Cheng encouraged him to use underhanded tactics, and on the third day, Wang Cheng suggested that he contact Zhang Jinzhu.
"Xiao Peng, I really miss the days when Brothers Tobacco and Liquor Store first opened, and you used to take liquor from my store."
“You were to my liking back then. You were a very capable person and you were sure you could make the business bigger. I really wanted to be friends with you.”
"Later you just didn't suit my taste. Not selling counterfeit goods is annoying, but paying workers high wages is even more annoying."
Ma Ronghua took a deep drag on his cigarette, a hint of regret on his face.
Wang Peng scratched his head. Sure enough, those who walk different paths cannot make plans together.
"Xiao Peng, we're selling counterfeit goods together, eating from the same pot, so why are you taking your own life in the pot?"
"If we unite to pay workers low wages, all the money we save will be ours. Why are you sabotaging us?"
"Xiaopeng, we're on the same side. The workers are our adversaries. Why don't you understand?"
Faced with three deadly questions, Ma Ronghua looked distressed and resentful.
“Old Ma, our views may be different. In your eyes, supermarkets are tools for making money, and workers are slaves.”
"In my eyes, supermarkets are convenient service stations, mainly to make life easier for ordinary people. If I provide good service, the people will naturally let me make money."
“The workers are comrades-in-arms who fight together. I’m not the emperor. We can share hardships, but we can’t share the good times. Good heavens, once you become the emperor, you kill your meritorious officials.”
As Wang Peng finished speaking, he handed him another cigarette. In just a short while, he had already smoked three cigarettes.
Ma Ronghua stopped talking and carefully considered Wang Peng's words: What is a community service station? Why comrades?
After a long while, he still didn't agree, but facts always prevail over disagreement.
The truth is that Brother Supermarket was unstoppable, and in less than two months, it drove him to desperation.
“Hehe.” Ma Ronghua smiled wryly, “I used to think that Ma Yonghong was short-sighted, but now I think he has a really good eye.”
Wang Peng smiled slightly as he thought of Ma Yonghong.
That old guy was shameless. He was a year older than Ma Ronghua. He was one of the ten supermarkets that ganged up on the brothers.
After the first encirclement and suppression failed, Ma Yonghong chose to join the fight if he couldn't win, and took the initiative to improve his relationship with Wang Peng.
When Wang Peng opened the Brothers Supermarket, he shamelessly offered to invest, but Wang Peng, who wasn't short of money at the time, politely declined.
"That old man Yonghong is going further and further down the wrong path in the mountain stronghold, haha." Wang Peng couldn't help but laugh out loud.
“Hehe.” Ma Ronghua laughed too. “If you don’t sell counterfeit goods, he won’t sell counterfeit goods either. If you don’t sell low-quality brands, he won’t sell them either.”
“You pay your workers high wages, and he pays them too, but he’s not as ruthless as you. His wages are only two hundred more than mine.”
After finishing his speech in one breath, Ma Ronghua laughed again, "Everyone scolds him for being useless, with a lot of white hair, yet he's actually following the younger generation to learn."
Wang Peng chuckled lightly, "Old Ma, what about now?"
Ma Ronghua's smile vanished, and after a long while, he let out a long sigh.
“Yonghong Supermarket used to be ranked ninth, but now it’s ranked second. We old guys have been left behind.”
Wang Peng nodded. "Old Ma, Ma Yonghong and I have both proven that you can make a business successful by not selling counterfeit goods and paying high wages. You guys just can't bear to spend the money."
"Yes, it's like taking a penny from my pocket is like taking my life."
Ma Ronghua said, “When Ronghua’s business was going downhill, Ma Yongyuan suggested that I learn from you. I argued with him directly and called him an idiot.”
"Now I realize that I was the real idiot. If I had learned from you, my business wouldn't have been bad, and I wouldn't have gone to such extremes."
At this point, he let out a long sigh and lit a cigarette for himself.
Wang Peng thought about it carefully, then chuckled, "You really are a miser. You'd rather spend 50,000 yuan to hire someone to commit arson than raise the workers' wages."
These words were like an invisible hand tearing away Ma Ronghua's last fig leaf. His face turned red, and he remained silent, head bowed.
After a long silence, he slowly spoke, "Zhou Shun has done Zhang Jinzhu a favor. Wang Cheng revealed this information to me, but he didn't say anything else."
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