Tian Tian raised an eyebrow. New information?
Zhou Haoting poured Tian Tian a cup of tea before saying, “Strictly speaking, it’s about the person behind him.”
They’d investigated Xiao Ming before, but only found that he came out of Kowloon Walled City. His university was even paid for by He Cheng. You could say the man looked like a He Cheng man from head to toe. It was just that after He Cheng’s downfall, Xiao Ming had surfaced.
And whoever could stand behind Xiao Ming definitely wasn’t an ordinary person.
“The capital behind him comes from an American investment company. This company isn’t large in the US. Most of its business is in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. The boss’s surname is Chou. Judging by the spelling, he should be a Hong Kong native. Specific information can’t be found, which means this person is extremely low-profile. Even in the US, keeping this low a profile…”
Tian Tian understood Zhou Haoting’s implication without him saying it.
Such a low-profile person, and not a super tycoon either, hiding like this, and a Hong Kong native to boot—nine times out of ten he had enemies. From He Cheng’s downfall, the conclusion was obvious.
“Now that Xiao Ming has surfaced, does that mean this Boss Chou will appear soon?”
Tian Tian took a sip of tea and said slowly.
Zhou Haoting nodded. “Not necessarily. Depends on whether the other party has other goals. If it was purely to take revenge on He Cheng, then he’s done it. It’s just unclear whether this man has other enemies.”
Hong Kong, despite being small, had been in a chaotic state for years. In the underworld, today you hack me, tomorrow I hack you. For those in the game—whether in the underworld or the business world—who didn’t have a few enemies? These people acted without scruples, so their enemies naturally wouldn’t show mercy either.
So for now, whether this Boss Chou—Zhou—still had enemies was impossible to know.
Hearing this, Tian Tian spread her hands. “Forget it. Whether this person has enemies or not, it has nothing to do with us. As long as he’s willing to place orders.”
“Haha…” Zhou Haoting was amused by this. True. They were in business with open doors. As long as the client placed orders, didn’t renege, and paid on time, that was fine. Other matters they wouldn’t and couldn’t manage. With that time, taking a few more orders was the proper thing.
But Tian Tian wouldn’t limit herself to just one client. After getting quite a few trading companies’ contact information from Zhou Haoting, she continued working hard to dig up clients.
Meanwhile, the Xiao Ming they were discussing was on the phone at that moment.
“I know, godfather. I’ll be careful.”
In a lavishly decorated office in downtown Shenzhen, Xiao Ming leaned back in his boss chair, looking at the traffic outside the floor-to-ceiling window, in a great mood.
“Yes, I’m in contact with them now. Everything is going smoothly so far.”
“Good, no problem. I’ll do it well. You don’t need to worry, old man. When are you coming back to the country?”
“Alright, I understand. I’ll get the business in order first.”
After hanging up, Xiao Ming looked at the documents on his desk. They were clearly information on Zhou Haoting’s home appliance factory. He picked them up and flipped through them, murmuring, “Let me see what you’re made of.”
The Zhou Haoting being talked about was also working hard at that moment.
Unlike the garment industry, the home appliance industry had a certain threshold. So Zhou Haoting didn’t have many competitors. But because the technical threshold for home appliances wasn’t high, small appliances like rice cookers and electric fans could actually be produced by many factories. So all in all, selling goods abroad was a good path for Zhou Haoting.
Because of the complexity of the international market, and to be more competitive, Zhou Haoting took Tian Tian’s advice and made quite a few rice cookers with novel designs. The core was the same core, but the exterior completely matched foreign aesthetics.
Sure enough, the samples were about ready. He was preparing to participate in the next Canton Fair.
But his factory was, after all, a new factory, and the brand was new too. And it was a privately run factory. Getting into the Canton Fair also had certain difficulties.
So in the end, this matter still depended on connections.
At dinner that evening, Zhou Haoting brought up the Canton Fair with Tian Tian.
Hearing it, Tian Tian’s eyes went wide. “I thought you’d given up?”
Actually, Tian Tian had thought about participating in the Canton Fair long ago. But at the time, most of the clothes she sold were stocked from other garment factories. She herself was a middleman—what would she go to the Canton Fair for? And at that time, Zhou Haoting’s factory hadn’t gone into production yet. Without products, there was even less reason to participate.
But now, private factories also had a hard time getting into the Canton Fair. The threshold there wasn’t low.
Zhou Haoting understood Tian Tian’s meaning and smiled. “I didn’t give up. But before, I didn’t have any particularly good products. The day Boss Liu and the others visited the factory, they placed a big order. After I talked with him, I found our factory’s small appliances are actually quite popular abroad.”
That was true.
Tian Tian thought about the various small appliances produced by Zhou Haoting’s factory. No matter what, their appearances were very stylish.
Ask yourself—if both were rice cookers, one stylish and one dull gray, who wouldn’t want the stylish one? Although the stylish one would be more expensive, foreigners weren’t short on money either!
Seeing Zhou Haoting say this, Tian Tian immediately followed up. “Then I’ll be waiting to cling to your coattails.”
Yes, she’d been busy digging up clients lately and had no energy for the Canton Fair. If Zhou Haoting could get into the Canton Fair, she could just hitch a ride.
“Haha, I’ll be waiting for you to cling to my coattails.”
Chatting and laughing, both felt even more confident about the work ahead.
“What are you two kids laughing about?” Just then, Granny Cui came out, looking very happy.
Tian Tian said, “Granny, sit. We were talking about work.”
“Young people, it’s good to work hard, but don’t get obsessed with work.”
This made Tian Tian pause. Not for any other reason—mainly because Granny Cui rarely said things like this. Having lived here for over half a year, what she heard most was all kinds of neighborhood gossip. Granny Cui seldom talked about anything work-related. Even less would she ask about her income.
Suddenly saying something like this today, Tian Tian was a bit surprised.
“Haha, did I scare you?”
Tian Tian shook her head again. “Granny, you’re in a really good mood!”
Granny Cui nodded. “Mm. A distant relative of mine said they saw my son in Hong Kong.”
Tian Tian looked at Zhou Haoting in shock.
Zhou Haoting shook his head. He’d been busy with work lately and really hadn’t paid attention to what was happening in the village.
“Granny, really?”
Granny Cui smiled. “I know what you mean. You’re afraid I’ve been scammed, right?”
Tian Tian nodded. “Granny, it’s mainly because there’s been no news for so many years.”
Granny Cui said, “Yes. So many years with no news, and suddenly there is—anyone would worry. But to me, this is good news. I have a feeling this time it’s good news.”
Tian Tian: …
Zhou Haoting wanted to say something, but Granny Cui had already stated her purpose. “I’m thinking of selling this house. Do you want to buy it?”
Granny Cui looked at Tian Tian with gentle eyes.
Tian Tian instinctively shook her head. This house was the old woman’s retirement home. In her past life, she’d never heard that Granny Cui found her son. So this sudden development—she felt it wasn’t reliable.
Zhou Haoting finally found a chance to speak. “Granny Cui, how about this? Tomorrow I’ll first talk to my uncle about this. As for who has news of Uncle, let the village committee confirm it first. As for the house, don’t sell it yet.”
Seeing how much the two cared about her, Granny Cui ultimately changed her mind. “Then I’ll wait a bit longer. Sorry to trouble you two. But the house—if I don’t sell it now, I’ll still have to sell it after I’m gone. The money will be kept for your uncle. Whenever he comes back, it’ll be for him.”
Tian Tian listened to the old woman ramble on about matters before and after death and felt a pang of sorrow for her.
After Zhou Haoting left, Tian Tian went upstairs to ask Sister Zhen next door if she knew about this.
After hearing it, Sister Zhen shook her head. “The factory’s been busy lately. I haven’t paid much attention.”
Sister Zhen’s mother, Liu Chunfen, did speak up. “Yesterday a woman came to see Granny Cui. It was probably her. After that woman left, Granny Cui shut herself in her room for a long time.”
Tian Tian nodded. She was about to say something when she suddenly noticed the mother and daughter before her also seemed to have some conflict. But she didn’t say anything—just quietly observed Qian Lizhen’s expression. Then she smiled and exchanged a few more pleasantries with Liu Chunfen before going back to her room to rest.
The mother and daughter next door had already had several conflicts during this time.
Tian Tian had been busy with work and really didn’t know what they were specifically fighting about. Both mother and daughter were the type to keep their mouths shut like a gourd, keeping everything bottled up inside.
She sighed. Every family had its own difficult scripture. Having lived here over half a year, Tian Tian really hoped all her neighbors were doing well. She just hadn’t expected Granny Cui to suddenly get news of her son, and the mother and daughter next door to be fighting again. It seemed like all of a sudden, none of her neighbors were doing too well.
But her work was going smoothly.
The next day, Tian Tian dug up a new client.
Although the new client wasn’t a trading company, but a big wholesaler from the north who mainly wholesaled everyday clothing. It was still good business.
This order took two days to negotiate. After getting the deposit, Tian Tian started preparing the goods.
So that day, she again returned to her residence relatively late.
Just as she entered the courtyard, she heard arguing from the second floor. The voices were very soft, but from the tone, she could tell the mother and daughter were fighting again.
Granny Cui came out just then. Seeing Tian Tian, she sighed directly. “I really envy them, being able to argue.”
Tian Tian understood instantly.
Granny Cui had lived alone for so many years—she couldn’t even find a child to argue with if she wanted to!
This topic was heavy. Tian Tian gave an awkward smile and asked whether the village head had come by today.
Last night after Zhou Haoting went back, he’d gone straight to report Granny Cui’s situation to the village head. Logically, today they should have come to talk with Granny Cui.
“They came. The village officials are all good people. They came early this morning to ask about the specifics.”
Hearing this, Tian Tian breathed a sigh of relief. “Then Granny, wait until the village head finds out the situation before doing anything else.”
Same old saying—until everything is settled, it could all be a scam. Especially for a solitary elderly person like Granny Cui, who was most vulnerable to being scammed out of money.
“Alright, alright, I promise.” Earlier, Granny Cui really had listened to her relative and wanted to sell the house to take the money to Hong Kong to find her son.
It was only after the village head came with village officials today and talked some sense into her that she finally calmed down.
“But Tian Tian.” Granny Cui spoke up again. “Whether or not my son is found, I really do want to sell this house to you in the future.”
Seeing this, Tian Tian didn’t decline further. No matter what, having a ready-made house in the village wasn’t a loss for her. If Granny Cui insisted on selling it to her, she wouldn’t refuse.
It was just—what exactly was going on with Granny Cui’s son?
Leave a Reply