2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 341 Mr. Tan's Daily Life Back Home
P.S.: Thank you everyone for the monthly votes! I finished them all in just one morning, that's awesome! I'll try to add more chapters!

What is it like when "renowned entrepreneur" Tan Jincheng returns to his hometown?
As Tan Lihua's direct superior, and now almost like a brother to Tan Lihua, Li Shiqi could easily find out why Tan Lihua had asked for a day off.

After learning that Tan Lihua had taken a day off because his son and future daughter-in-law had come back for the holiday, he was torn about whether or not to tell the city that Tan Jincheng had returned.

When Li Shiqi got home from get off work that evening, he talked about this with his wife.

“I think you’re blinded by greed. If you were home today, a bunch of people would come knocking on your door tomorrow. Wouldn’t you find that annoying? Especially since you’re a young person. Let’s report this to your superiors tomorrow afternoon.”

Li Shiqi then realized and laughed, "That's right. If Xiao Tan hadn't revealed his whereabouts, I would probably be the only one who knows he's back now."

"That's it. If someone goes to his house tomorrow morning, he'll probably hold a grudge against you. He's bringing his girlfriend home for the holiday."

Then Li Shiqi's wife added, "But we can't keep him from knowing, and we can also prepare him mentally. After dinner, we'll make an excuse to go for a walk and visit Old Tan's house."

"Walking to Linghu Park? Isn't that a bit deliberate? After all, I'm still Lao Tan's boss."

"So what if it's intentional? You're so shameless. Your brother's youngest son wants to open a shop, right? I think opening an electric vehicle dealership would be a good idea."

Unlike Li Shiqi, who was still a bit too proud to admit his mistake, his wife had never met Tan Jincheng before. It didn't matter what kind of guy he was in the past; what mattered was that everyone in the city wanted to curry favor with him now.

Being near the water tower gives you an advantage; why not seize such an opportunity?

Li Shiqi thought for a moment, then laughed and said, "They say that if you have a virtuous wife, you will not suffer any misfortune. It seems that this saying is true."

"Stop being so glib and eat your food early. We'll go for a stroll in Linghu Park later, and you can send a message to Lao Tan while you're at it."

Small cities have their own tranquility. After receiving Tan Lihua's text message, Li Shiqi roughly calculated the time and arrived at Tan Lihua's new home near Linghu Park at around 7:30 pm.

Li Shiqi's wife was visiting for the first time. After entering the house, she looked around at the three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment. Unlike the traditional colorful and bright red and purple decoration style, the decoration style of the house in Yicheng was the same as that in Beicang, with white as the main color, which looked simple and bright.

"Your house has a really nice decorating style," Zhang Yuping praised with a smile.

A three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment would have been a bit of a struggle for Tan Lihua and his wife with their previous income, but given their current circumstances, it's quite modest.

Zhang Suzhi replied with a smile, "It's Jincheng who insists on pretending like this, all that white stuff is dazzling to the eye."

They've been colleagues for over 20 years, and even though they're boss and subordinate, the relationship isn't that formal anymore. That's why Zhang Yuping teased Li Shiqi about why he was so embarrassed. Isn't it just a regular occurrence for them to help each other out?

"Old Zhang, you and your wife are here too."

"Yes, we'll be having dinner here tonight."

"Your families are really close, even closer than brothers. If Xiao Tan and Xiao Zhang were a boy and a girl, they might even become in-laws."

While busy serving tea and water, Tan Jincheng, playing the role of the younger generation, smiled and said, "If it were a man and a woman, Pengya and I definitely wouldn't be like this now."

There aren't that many childhood sweethearts. On the contrary, there are many childhood friends who grew up together. Even if there is a big difference in their status after they grow up, their relationship won't be too bad.

Li Shiqi laughed heartily: "That's right, didn't you say you brought your wife back? Where is she?"

"She went to her room to see my sister. I'll go call her."

Tan Jinyue had been asleep for a long time. Tan Jincheng and Gu Qingqing had just gone into the room to check on her and found that she was still sleeping, but she was about to wake up. Gu Qingqing waited inside for a while.

Li Shiqi quickly waved his hand and said, "No need, no need, we still need to sit for a while, we have time."

Li Shiqi actually sat for a while, chatting enthusiastically with Tan Lihua and Zhang Guolong. Once they put aside their formalities, they were all the same age, so they had a lot to talk about.

Coincidentally, all three men's wives shared the surname Zhang, and the three chatted animatedly about everyday matters.

"Your wife is really beautiful, and her temperament is impeccable. If you ask me, she's no less beautiful than your celebrity spokesperson."

Zhang Suzhi glanced at Gu Qingqing, who was feeding her daughter with her son, and said proudly, "Mainly because she has a good personality and is very capable. Now she also manages a company herself."

"Really? Weren't you still in school? How come you've started a company?"

"Her dad invested in a company for her, the kind that's online. I don't really know much about it, but I heard it's quite popular."

"Her family background is also quite good. She's good-looking, has a good personality, and is capable. Xiao Tan not only has a good eye for business, but her taste in choosing a wife is also impeccable."

They were all speaking the Yicheng dialect, which Gu Qingqing couldn't understand.

Tan Jincheng smiled and secretly told her that he was praising her. If she were just an ordinary college student, Gu Qingqing might feel a little uncomfortable, but as the CEO of an internet company valued at over 100 million, Gu Qingqing obviously wouldn't feel that way.

"Xiao Tan, does anyone in the city know you're back?" After chatting with Tan and Zhang for most of the day, Li Shiqi finally brought the topic back to the important matter of the evening.

"No one in the city probably knows, but the leaders in our county do. I came back this time to visit the county."

Li Shiqi didn't hide anything; he knew he had to be direct when talking to these young people: "I understand, Uncle. I'll let the city know you're back tomorrow. Hope you won't mind? You know, sometimes we have no choice in what we do."

"Uncle Li, you're too kind. I'm already very grateful that you didn't say anything today."

Even if a celebrity becomes famous in later generations, their hometown will try to capitalize on their popularity and host them with great hospitality when they return home, all in an effort to boost the local economy. This is still the same today.

As one of the most talked-about entrepreneurs right now, Tan Jincheng is used to receiving and seeing off guests wherever he goes, and he knows these things are unavoidable. Li Shiqi was already quite generous to know he was going home today and to wait another day before reporting it to his superiors; otherwise, someone would have come knocking on his door tonight.

"I still want to thank you for your understanding. Logically speaking, you brought your wife home because you wanted to spend a few quiet days with your family. It was already inappropriate for you to come over tonight."

"Please don't say that. You're an elder who watched Pengya and me grow up. We caused quite a bit of trouble in the yard when we were little. Just pretend we're still the same as when we were kids."

"Haha, you're a sentimental person. Xiao Zhang is also very nice. He even brought me a bottle of wine when he came back last time. Next time Xiao Zhang comes back, you two can go to my house for a drink together."

"No problem, but just like my dad, he can't drink, and I can't hold my liquor either. Please don't scold me if I don't entertain you well."

Zhang Guolong, who was standing to the side, also laughed and said, "That's true. Although Xiao Tan can drink a little, her alcohol tolerance is really not good."

Li Shiqi was somewhat surprised: "Really?"

"It couldn't be more true. Uncle Li can find out if he goes to Ningbo for a visit. I'm known for my terrible alcohol tolerance there. By the way, I even got drunk at my father-in-law's house last time I visited."

"Tsk tsk, you two, father and son, are really unconventional. But it's a real pity about Old Tan. If he knew how to drink, things wouldn't be like this now," Li Shiqi sighed with some regret.

Tan Lihua had opportunities when he was young, but he offended someone by refusing to drink at a dinner party, and his career has been stagnant ever since.

"It's all in the past, there's nothing to regret. I'm doing quite well now," Tan Lihua said calmly.

Tan Jincheng is not bad-looking, and his father, Tan Lihua, is naturally not bad-looking either. In his youth, he certainly had opportunities to improve himself. His first opportunity was through marriage, and his second was the one with Li Shiqi, which was a pity.

Having been given two chances, Tan Lihua chose to follow his heart. Did he regret it? Tan Jincheng didn't know, and Tan Lihua himself had no answer.

The father was like that, as was that cousin, and even the group of uncles in the countryside did not choose to bother Tan Jincheng after he became successful. It seems that the Tan family has this kind of temperament in their bones.

You might miss out on something, but it's all your own choice.

When Li Shiqi left, he still didn't mention his brother's son opening a shop. Although his wife had hinted at it several times, he was still a little embarrassed because Zhang Guolong and his wife were present.

They came by taxi, while Zhang Guolong and his wife came by electric scooter.

Tan Jincheng drove them back, and Zhang Yuping finally got a chance to bring it up.

“That’s easy. I’ll have my dad take a business card to Uncle Li when he goes to work tomorrow. You can contact him then, and I’ll have someone tutor your nephew.”

"Thank you so much, Xiao Tan," Zhang Yuping said happily.

Having someone guide you in opening a shop is better than blindly trying to figure things out on your own. If you lose money, you'll have to go back to that old man.

"You're welcome. This is also you supporting my business."

Flash Electric Vehicles also has plans to collaborate with individual retail stores, which is based on the model of Chenguang Stationery. They will spend several thousand yuan to buy the names of these small stores and change their store names to Flash Electric Vehicles.

It doesn't matter what kind of electric bikes are sold on the streets and alleys, but what matters is that there are the most stores selling Flash Electric Bikes, which is a form of advertising.

Whether it's the electric vehicle or the car market, no company can achieve a monopoly. Tan Jincheng doesn't want his company to become a monopoly either, but achieving a leading market share through various details is essential.

What are Xiao Tan's plans for tomorrow?

"Tomorrow, I'll take my girlfriend sightseeing. After my dad has his holiday, we'll go back to our hometown together."

"Yes, we should go out and explore. There are many fun places in Yicheng. If you have the chance, Xiaotan, you can also promote them outside."

"no problem."

At the entrance of the petrochemical family quarters, watching the Audi drive away, Zhang Yuping sighed, "Xiao Tan is quite approachable, without that kind of arrogance typical of young people."

Before going, she imagined him to be a spirited and arrogant young man, after all, his achievements and wealth were there, and many people in the city had no chance to befriend him.

Unexpectedly, he's still the kind of young person who can act like a junior in front of his parents.

“Yes, there aren’t many people these days who would let him pick them up personally. We still have some face,” Li Shiqi sighed.

I recommend a new book by one of the authors in the same group; you can check it out if you're interested!

Book Title: Rebirth and Financial Freedom Begin with the World Cup

Zhao Zixuan, who was reborn after posting an answer online that he wouldn't give a bride price and was bombarded with 100,000 comments by a fairy, has been reborn.

The white moonlight, the cinnabar mole, the little green tea... everyone looked up to him because of his youthful talent.

But he no longer believed in so-called science fiction romance.

Zhao Zixuan: Let's talk business, don't make it like we're dating.



(End of this chapter)