Chapter 184: Acquisition (1)

Boss He took his secretary and went to Wanzhou. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] After delaying there for a period of time, he didn’t return until the twelfth lunar month.

The first thing he did upon returning was to release word that he was going to transfer the He Jiale Hypermarket located in the center of Dongchang City.

For a time, there was widespread discussion in the outside world. Some said “The He family’s business suffered a setback,” while others said “The He family obtained a large sum of funds, and the merged major supermarkets will only be opened in first-tier cities in the future”…

All sorts of things were said, but most were hearsay and unconfirmed. Only one thing was certain: the He Jiale Hypermarket located in the main city of Dongchang was in an excellent location. If anyone took it, they were guaranteed to make a steady profit without loss—and if one had to say who would reap the greatest benefit from taking this treasure land, it would definitely be Baichuan.

That Baichuan would take over He family’s hypermarket had already become a matter universally acknowledged in everyone’s hearts.

Boss He also thought so.

But he didn’t want to let Baichuan take this advantage. He had painstakingly arranged things for nearly a year, and now that he was leaving, he didn’t want to be too sorry a figure. Still keeping up appearances, he wanted to raise the price a bit more at the very end, making Baichuan bleed a little too.

There was no reason for him to lose money alone.

Contrary to his expectations, among the many people who came to inquire, there was no one from Baichuan.

Boss He was not satisfied with these people. Most of them were just asking about the price, lacking the substantial confidence of Baichuan, and couldn’t offer the price tag Boss He wanted financially. Although Boss He was going to sell the hypermarket here, he still had an expectation for its future development. He looked down on these local wealthy squires gathered around. Carrying an arrogance from years of navigating the business world, in this place of Dongchang, the only one he could barely look up to was Baichuan.

If Baichuan could hold its breath, Boss He would wait patiently. He didn’t believe Baichuan was not interested in this big fish in his hands.

Half a month passed.

From his initial unhurried calmness, Boss He also became somewhat anxious.

As the outside world rumored, the He family’s business in Wanzhou had indeed encountered a slight problem. He had been in business for many years, relying on the word “fast”. The money and time he wasted here in Dongchang were too much, which originally caused some grumbling within the clan. Now he could only cut the Gordian knot, extract himself to solve the matters in Wanzhou, and could no longer delay.

A few days later, the He family headquarters sent someone from Wanzhou. After seeking Boss He to discuss, they gave a final deadline.

Boss He couldn’t completely grasp the business in his hands now. The convenience the clan gave him back then had now become shackles restricting him. This was no longer a matter where he could just grit his teeth and persevere.

After sending away the person from the headquarters, the secretary came to report. The data listed on the forms he held was even uglier than the previous few times. He was somewhat trembling with fear as he read. Looking up and seeing Boss He’s expression was very bad, his voice slowly lowered and gradually faded away.

Boss He sat behind the office desk, pondered for a moment, and said to the secretary:

“Prepare the car, I’m going out for a trip.”

If the mountain won’t come to me, I must go to the mountain.

Countryside, Lei Family Village.

The asphalt road paved at the village entrance was wide and flat. Judging from the road to the small buildings inside the village, Lei Family Village was already more imposing than Shifang Town. The entire village was clean and tidy, nestled against mountains and rivers, looking more like a resort for leisure and vacation. Even quite a few people from nearby would come admiringly for spring outings.

The Baichuan Supermarket at the village entrance had undergone two expansions, and now had become a three-story large supermarket. Department store goods and home appliances were all complete. Compared to other places, the first floor also had an additional section for seeds, fertilizers, and agricultural tools convenient for local farmers to use. On the side were posted photos of agricultural vehicles and mechanical tillers, with some spare replacement parts placed around, even having engine oil and diesel.

Lei Dongchuan was currently behind the warehouse replacing a tire for an agricultural vehicle. Under the vehicle propped up by a jack, a plastic sheet was spread. Du Ming was checking the wear and tear of other parts.

Sun Xiaojiu stood on the side helping Lei Dongchuan. After the two worked together to change the tire, Sun Xiaojiu wasn’t in a hurry to leave either. Standing there, he looked around and asked loudly:

“Du Ming, are you done checking?”

Du Ming: “Almost, wait a bit longer!”

Sun Xiaojiu deliberately asked loudly:

“Can you do it? Have you ever repaired this car? Don’t tell me you can’t understand it?!”

Du Ming: “…”

The person under the car didn’t utter a sound, probably angry enough to choke. Sun Xiaojiu became smug, letting that kid surnamed Du show off in front of the boss!

Before he could be smug for long, Lei Dongchuan kicked Sun Xiaojiu’s butt, furrowed his brows and said:

“Shut your mouth. If Du Ming can’t, you go down and try?”

Under the agricultural vehicle, Du Ming called out for a wrench. Lei Dongchuan instructed Sun Xiaojiu:

“Hurry up, go hand him a wrench!”

Taking a hit, Sun Xiaojiu went to work honestly.

Lei Dongchuan went to wash his hands clean. Seeing some oil stains on his clothes, he simply went to change into another set of clothes.

Not long after he came out, he saw Sun Xiaojiu running over and saying:

“Boss, someone is here!”

Lei Dongchuan buttoned his shirt with one hand, asking:

“Did my mom and Zimu come over?”

“No, it’s the boss of that He Jiale Hypermarket in the city,” Sun Xiaojiu said.

“That surnamed He’s car came over, looks like it’s heading straight here.”

“Where has it reached?”

“Just passed Shifang Town. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] The people over there saw it and just called to say.”

Wang Damao also followed and walked over, saying honestly:

“Boss, should we tell Auntie Fang Jin? When he comes, invite him to the office to meet?”

Lei Dongchuan was amused, waved his hand and said: “What’s the rush, leave him hanging for a while.”

Wang Damao still wanted to say something, but Sun Xiaojiu held grudges more than him, and preempted:

“That surnamed He still dares to come over, is it not the time when he smashed our warehouse? Was it the main door he smashed? That clearly smashed our Boss’s face!”

Lei Dongchuan glanced at him.

Sun Xiaojiu was most afraid of him, closed his mouth and stopped making a sound, but still looked indignant.

Lei Dongchuan said:

“Those who come are guests. Xiaojiu, come here, you’ll be responsible for entertaining that surnamed He when he arrives later.”

He beckoned for Sun Xiaojiu to come over, whispering a few sentences in his ear. Sun Xiaojiu’s eyes lit up, nodding repeatedly:

“Boss, just watch, I’ll definitely handle it properly!”

Boss He’s car drove all the way to Lei Family Village. The Baichuan Supermarket sign here was very large; one could see it without asking.

The secretary jogged out of the car all the way, went to the back and opened the car door. After Boss He got out, he then carried the briefcase and followed behind, walking all the way in.

After announcing their surname, they stood waiting on the first floor.

The place where they stood was the area where agricultural supplies were placed. Seeds and the like were fine, but the smell of pesticides and fertilizers was too pungent. The secretary on the side couldn’t help but frown, raising his hand to pinch his nose.

Boss He, on the contrary, showed nothing unusual. He stood there with great interest watching for a while, and even went up to ask the person at the agricultural supplies counter:

“Have these agricultural tools always been here?”

The person at the counter said:

“Right, they’ve been here since the store opened. They are all seasonal seeds. Hoes, sickles and other agricultural tools are available anytime. If you need to order an agricultural vehicle, you have to wait three days, it has to be transported from the provincial capital!”

“Is it only this store that has them, or do other stores have them too?”

“The stores in the surrounding villages and towns are all equipped with agricultural tools, but the types are different. We have fish ponds here, so fishing nets and such are complete. Over at Shifang Town, they also have beehives. This is our main store, so it’s the most complete.”

…

The person at the counter introduced for a while, his face full of pride when speaking.

Boss He listened for a moment, nodding frequently.

While he was asking questions, Sun Xiaojiu ran down from upstairs and said politely:

“Hello President He. Our President Fang is out inspecting stores and will return in a while, you see…”

Boss He said: “I’ll just wait here, not busy.”

Sun Xiaojiu said: “Then alright, the smell of pesticides isn’t good here, I’ll take you outside to sit.”

Boss He followed, and sure enough, he didn’t receive any good treatment. Sun Xiaojiu invited him to wait in the courtyard outside for a while, then carried out a half-new chair from the warehouse, patted it clean, and said with a smile:

“You sit here.”

Sun Xiaojiu even brewed a pot of strong tea for him. The broken jasmine tea leaves solidly filled more than half the cup, making the tea soup look no different from a bowl of soy sauce.

“President He, you sit. We are a countryside place here, and have nothing good to entertain you with. Please wait a moment, we already have people going to pick up President Fang and the others, they will be back immediately.”

“Alright.”

Boss He sat on the chair. He had a slightly plump figure, and the chair seemed a bit unable to bear it, letting out a creaking sound.

Boss He looked around for a moment, saw a few thick logs placed in the courtyard. One log was already somewhat moth-eaten, but the position was good, placed under the shade of a tree. He carried the teacup over and sat on the round log.

Sun Xiaojiu was somewhat dumbfounded.

The secretary following Boss He also wanted to say something, but was stopped by him waving his hand.

Boss He endured it patiently, sitting on that rotten log in the courtyard, holding the tea and slowly taking a sip.

While waiting there, he even drank tea while watching the people coming in and out of their store, smiling cheerfully and saying: “Does your President Fang come over often?”

Sun Xiaojiu: “Right, this is our main store.”

Boss He nodded, looked around, and sighed lightly: “Arranged truly not bad, put thought into it.”

Sun Xiaojiu: “…”

Sun Xiaojiu felt there was more or less something wrong with this person. His display of severity had no effect, instead looking at the surnamed He seeming quite comfortable.

A quarter of an hour later.

A car came over to the main gate. The person getting out of the car was none other than Mother Lei’s group, followed closely behind by Lei Dongchuan and Bai Zimu. She rushed over as soon as she heard the news, not even having time to change clothes, wearing plain clothes and trousers. She went to the courtyard to greet Boss He, smiled and said:

“President He, look at you, coming over without a word, I didn’t have any preparations here.”

Boss He smiled and said:

“President Fang, an honorable person forgets many things. Sent invitations twice before, but couldn’t invite you.”

Fang Jin smiled and said: “What are you saying, it’s truly because I’m really busy.”

She patted her body twice, having just gotten some dust in the warehouse, so it didn’t look fake either. She glanced at the rotten log Boss He had just sat on, then turned to look at Lei Dongchuan and those few brats, feeling it wasn’t good to invite people inside anymore, so she could only sit there too.

How could Sun Xiaojiu dare to let her sit on a rotten log? He hurriedly ran to move two chairs over. Under the shadow of the tree in the courtyard, sitting at the stone table, the two presidents sat down and talked slowly.

Mother Lei originally wanted to pour a cup of tea for the guest. Just as she poured a little, she saw the color of the tea water: “…”

Bai Zimu watched clearly from the side, and whispered:

“Out of water? Give it to me, I’ll go add some water.”

Mother Lei took the opportunity to give him the teapot, shook her head and smiled:

“President He, look, my place here isn’t like your big family and big business, have to arrange everything myself.”

Boss He didn’t take the matters of a few juniors to heart, and said to her:

“I had heard people talk about Baichuan before I came, but at that time, being arrogant and haughty, I very much looked down on these small operations, thinking it was nothing more than doing some small-capital business in the countryside.”

He looked towards the first floor of the supermarket over there, “My coming to the countryside this time was just to see where your confidence lies.”

Mother Lei: “Has President He seen it?”

Boss He nodded: “Seen it. After seeing it with my own eyes, losing this time isn’t unjust for me. President Fang is someone who does big things.”

He used tea as a substitute for wine, toasting a cup, and Mother Lei drank it frankly.

Boss He tapped his finger on the stone table twice, and spoke:

“I won’t beat around the bush, I’ll speak directly with President Fang. Wonder if you have any interest in the He Jiale Hypermarket in the city?”