Chapter 157: Investment Promotion

It is not that serious; the work still has to be done, but I need to change my approach. Since the state is now calling for the implementation of the household contract responsibility system in rural areas, I will introduce a counter contract responsibility system. Whoever can do the job gets it. Since none of you treat me like a kind person, I will stop burning incense for myself. Second Uncle, your brush calligraphy is better than mine, so I must trouble you to stroke a few characters for me! As Hong Tao spoke, he pulled a roll of white paper from the top of the cabinet, spread it out on the Eight Immortals table, unscrewed the ink bottle, poured out a little ink, picked up a writing brush, licked the ink, and thought better of letting his own spider-crawler-like handwriting see the light of day. He reached out and handed the brush to Second Uncle.

Hong Tao had no intention of delving into the causes and process of this incident, nor did he want to find out who the mastermind or the organizer was. Profit-driven betrayal was human nature; those who could always adhere to principles were always the minority. The mistake lay in the transactional model between himself and them. It was not that the others lacked loyalty, but that he had provided them with the opportunity to be disloyal. Tracing it to its root, he had only himself to blame for introducing a system that corrupted these originally simple and honest people.

The next day, two big-character posters were put up in the Forward Store, with a very simple title consisting of just two words: Contracting!

The specific content was also simple: starting from October this year, the Forward Store would change its previous operating model. It would no longer use a tiered commission sharing system, but would instead shift to a counter-based contracting system.

Simply put, each operator needed to voluntarily propose a contracting amount for a counter, which meant how much in contracting fees could be paid monthly. At the same time, the store would once again open for external investment recruitment and collect bids from other parties. Finally, the bids of the original merchants in the store would be compared with the new bids.

If an original merchant's bid was lower than the new bid from the same industry, and the difference exceeded 10%, then I am sorry, but the counter would change hands. Whoever offered the higher bid would operate it. If the difference in bids was less than 10%, the original merchant would continue to operate the counter. Moreover, this model would become the norm, repeating every two or three years, with the specific timing, of course, decided by Hong Tao.

Everyone, take a close look. If there is anything you do not understand, come up to the second floor and ask me. Your... minds have been warped! Alas... Second Uncle roughly explained the contents of the notice to everyone, then looked at the merchants who had frozen into statues, shook his head, sighed, and walked away.

Sun Da! Sun Er! You two heartless wretches! Are you satisfied now? I told you long ago not to mess around blindly, but you wouldn't listen! Now you are in trouble, and you've dragged us down with you. Tell me, what should we do now! As soon as Second Uncle stepped out the door, Older Sister Liu, who was behind the counter near the entrance, lost her temper and directly pointed at the Sun brothers who sold sunglasses across the way, shouting at the top of her lungs.

My older brother just wanted to save a bit more money, and besides, we didn't drag you into this back then! You copied us on your own, so why do you blame everything on our brothers when something goes wrong? Sun Jun was not one to back down and immediately retorted.

Following their quarrel, the other merchants in the mall also joined in. Some tried to mediate, some poured oil on the fire, while others complained and worried. In any case, it had already become a chaotic mess. A few customers who had just stepped in to buy things pushed the door open, got frightened away, and stood outside looking up at the sign, thinking they had walked into the wrong place.

Your trick is too vicious; isn't this instigating the masses to fight the masses? It's a good thing you were born a few years later. If this had happened back in those years, you would definitely have been a rebel leader! Second Uncle had already heard the commotion inside the room as he walked out, but he didn't bother to interfere. He was completely pushed out by Hong Tao to act as a shield. Although the notice was written by him, every single word had been dictated by Hong Tao.

Will you stop elevating this to a matter of principle? This is called normal competition; a person without pressure floats away lightly. Without pressure, where does motivation come from? This competition is pressure, and at the same time it is motivation. Only in this way can society progress! Hong Tao explained his half-baked theory to Second Uncle once more.

Stop talking nonsense with me. Then why don't you put some pressure on yourself? I see your motivation isn't very sufficient these days either. An elementary school student spending all day fighting crickets, trading old goods, and wallowing in a pile of women—this is not the Qing Dynasty anymore! Can you learn something good from me? What if your family elders think I was the one who corrupted you? Despite being an old profligate at heart, Second Uncle actually possessed an upward-looking spirit and started lecturing Hong Tao.

Save your breath. I am not bragging, but you are not capable of corrupting me. In a few years, who knows, things even more potent than opium might be brought in, and brothels will pop up everywhere. By then, I will take you along to have a look. Given your physical condition, you probably can live to see that day... Hong Tao was almost amused to laughter by the old man.

He still wanted to teach him to be bad—drinking, gambling, whoring, smoking opium, cheating, swindling, and stealing. Hong Tao dared say he was far more proficient at these than the old man. In future generations, which business did not aim to cheat customers? Weren't deceptive tricks everywhere on mobile phones and television? Even if you worked in an office, could you climb up without stepping on someone else's head? Could you get promoted without licking up to leaders and sucking up to the powerful? Someone like Hong Tao, who had spent half his life drifting through society, even without deliberately studying it, saw far more with just a glance than this Banner man did.

You little rascal, praise you just a bit and you get full of yourself. Get lost! Get lost! The sight of you annoys me. Hurry up and get out of my sight so I can live a few more years! Second Uncle truly could not outargue Hong Tao, and he was too weak to land a proper blow, leaving him spinning around in anger.

Whether Second Uncle supported it or opposed it, he could not sway Hong Tao, and even if Hong Tao wanted to quit, his eldest sister's husband would not agree. When Hong Tao shared this plan with his eldest sister's husband, as a shareholder of the mall, the man almost worshipped Hong Tao like a deity. Hong Tao's bidding idea catered precisely to his innermost wishes; now he had no interest in anything else, and the only thing he loved was money!

With his eldest sister's husband and Second Uncle holding down the fort, Hong Tao did not need to personally organize this investment recruitment event. He only needed to compare the bids, investigate the background and identity of the new bidders, and ultimately decide which offer was most appropriate.

A few days before the start of the semester, Dajiang suddenly tracked Hong Tao down at school to convey a message on behalf of his grandfather, inviting Hong Tao over for dinner that evening. Hong Tao did not ask for the reason, as asking would be useless since Dajiang could not explain clearly. As for whether the old man had made up his mind, he would find out once he went.

Dinner was sliced mutton in a hotpot, and all four members of Dajiang's family were present, with Hong Tao being the only outsider. To be honest, the mutton slices and tripe prepared by Dajiang's grandfather tasted exceptionally delicious, and the dipping sauce was nothing short of top-tier. Hong Tao was even tempted to suggest that the old man give up the idea of a private kitchen and simply open a hotpot restaurant instead.

At the dinner table, Dajiang's grandfather finally confirmed the partnership with Hong Tao to open the restaurant. Although Dajiang's mother still looked somewhat reluctant, she did not raise any objections, presumably having been suppressed by the joint effort of Dajiang's father and grandfather.

Now, this small two-story building was completely occupied. The clothing store and the novelty store each occupied a room on the ground floor and the second floor, while the hair salon took up two rooms downstairs and upstairs. The Forward Store originally spanned four rooms, but for now, it only used two storefronts on the ground floor, leaving the upstairs unused, which happened to make room for Dajiang's grandfather to open a restaurant.

Although there were still two empty rooms upstairs—one above the hair salon and one above the Forward Store—Hong Tao had no immediate plans to repurpose them. The room above the hair salon was reserved for a beauty parlor, but because cosmetic machinery and equipment were not yet available domestically, it had to be left as is for now. As for the room above the Forward Store, Hong Tao planned to open it next year or the year after. As for the exact timing, it would depend on whether the commercial atmosphere of the nearby tourist attraction and surrounding streets intensified enough to justify it.

Speaking of the commercial atmosphere, Hong Tao was quite proud. Because of the Forward Store, hair salon, and clothing store inside his small two-story building, several private shops had suddenly sprung up along this previously quiet street. Opposite the breakfast diner that opened relatively early, a new breakfast stall had opened this year. It not only sold deep-fried dough sticks, fried dough cakes, and soy milk in the morning, but also served noodles, flatbreads, and side dishes at noon and in the evening, catering to the working class. Its business was quite good, with lines forming every day at mealtime, and employees from Hong Tao's shops would sometimes go over to grab a bite.

Aside from these two eateries, three small grocery stores had popped up in the surrounding area, selling cigarettes, alcohol, snacks, and beverages. In the summer, several cold drink and watermelon stalls would appear nearby, operated with tricycles carrying large blocks of ice topped with layers of Beibingyang soda.

These shops and stalls were all concentrated within a 200-meter radius of the main gate of the Lama Temple. Combined with the two existing state-run grocery stores, a state-run tavern, and a bank, a small commercial circle had naturally formed. The most conspicuous and successful business in this circle was undoubtedly Hong Tao's small two-story building.

The October investment recruitment event was a great success. A little less than half of the original merchants were squeezed out by newcomers, and the monthly contracting fees for all counters exceeded one hundred yuan. The highest bidder was a twenty-year-old young man named Tian Tian, and the items he sold made Hong Tao feel as though he had traveled back to future generations: they were denim jeans and denim jackets!

Hong Tao had already started wearing denim jeans the previous year, which he bought from the Friendship Store using Foreign Exchange Certificates. However, because there were no children's sizes, he had to buy the smallest size and have his aunt alter it. The denim jeans and jackets sold by Tian Tian certainly did not come from the Friendship Store. Through deliberate inquiry, Hong Tao learned that Tian Tian's older sister was a train attendant running the Beijing-Guangzhou line, and she had married someone down south. These jeans and denim jackets were procured for him by his sister and brother-in-law from Guangzhou. (To be continued...)