The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 645 - 644: The Way Out

Chapter 645: Chapter 644: The Way Out

Hearing Zhao Dafa’s question, Ren Yan couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

"It won’t come to that, President Zhao, you’re underestimating everyone’s loyalty to you."

"What’s the use of loyalty to me, loyalty doesn’t bring money, and without money, you can’t eat or support a family."

Ren Yan looked at him and said, "Those who stayed are the old employees who fought alongside you, everyone believes that you, President Zhao, won’t leave us starving. I also believe that you won’t be easily defeated."

"Oh, are you intending to cling to me now?"

Ren Yan smiled, "If you want to see it that way, that’s fine."

"Fine then."

Zhao Dafa stood up, adjusted his collar and appearance, and instructed Ren Yan, "Notify everyone, meeting in the conference room in five minutes."

"Got it!"

Five minutes later.

Looking at all the familiar faces, Zhao Dafa felt quite gratified.

In such a tough environment, the fact that one third of the employees were willing to stay showed that he hadn’t been a complete failure as a boss.

"First of all, I’m really grateful for everyone’s trust in me, Zhao Dafa. As the saying goes, ’With a skill, one won’t worry about feeding the family.’ Our company has talent and brains, I just don’t believe we can’t make a living..."

"President Zhao, cut out the long-winded speech and talk about the future plans," someone interrupted.

"Exactly, we can’t fill our bellies with just pretty words; give us something concrete."

Zhao Dafa was easygoing and had no airs; some of the old employees always acted freely around him, and he never got angry.

"Alright, I’ll share my thoughts. You all know, I’m just a farmer who started out as a bricklayer. In my youth, I built houses for the villagers to earn my bread. Later, I moved to the city, built high-rises for city folk, and gradually started contracting projects, and slowly built up Dafa Construction."

"I’ve given it serious thought, if no one is giving us work, can we do it ourselves? Can we be our own developers, build our own high-rises, and sell them ourselves? Is that feasible?"

Develop property ourselves?

It wasn’t just feasible, it was an excellent idea!

All traces of confusion and dejection were wiped clean from everyone’s faces, replaced by excitement and anticipation.

As for the hottest economic trend, besides stock trading, it had to be real estate.

Skyscrapers sprouted like mushrooms after rain, and property prices soared year after year, turning property developers into exceedingly wealthy individuals.

"But where do we get the money to develop property?"

The question from one of the employees doused everyone’s excitement and fantasies like a bucket of cold water.

Indeed, the company was on the verge of collapse; where would the money come from for real estate development?

Zhao Dafa looked at the thirty or so employees with a gentle smile on his face, "I have an idea. You chip in a little, and he chips in a little, and that’s how we get the money, isn’t it?"

They looked at each other, "President Zhao, our little bits and pieces, what use are they?"

"Even a mosquito’s leg is meat. Rest assured, I won’t just take this money for nothing; I’ll give everyone shares proportionally. If the company goes public in the future, each of you sitting here will be a shareholder."

Good grief, we just wanted to earn a salary, but you’re set on reaping our very lives.

"If no one speaks up, then I’ll take it as your agreement. Alright, everyone go home and figure out how to raise the money."

"..."

Back in the office, Zhao Dafa handed the car keys on the table to Ren Yan.

"Find a reliable car dealership and sell it."

Ren Yan held the keys but didn’t immediately set out to do it, "President Zhao, if you sell the car, what will you drive?"

"I still have an old Xiali at home, I’ll drive that."

At the mention of the Xiali, Ren Yan was at a loss for words, "Even if you have to sell a car, it should be your wife’s; you’ll still need to deal with government officials and big bosses in the future. Keeping this car could at least maintain appearances."

Zhao Dafa looked at him, "Why don’t you be the boss then, and I’ll take orders from you."

With no choice, Ren Yan reluctantly took the car keys and left.

...

Just as he stepped out of the building housing the company, he ran into Shen Hongmei.

She didn’t arrive in that eye-catching sports car today.

Thinking about how his boss had ended up in this situation, all thanks to Shen Hongmei, Ren Yan had no good expression on his face.

"What brings you to the company, madam?"

"Is Brother Zhao upstairs?"

"He is, but President Zhao is very busy."

Shen Hongmei didn’t take issue with Ren Yan’s attitude but handed over her suitcase to him.

"Then I won’t go up. You help me give this to Brother Zhao."

When Ren Yan took the suitcase, he casually lifted it and found it extremely heavy. He was just about to ask what was in the case when Shen Hongmei had already turned and left.

He had to take the items upstairs first.

After he went out to sell the car, he would have to come back by bus, and carrying a heavy suitcase around would be too inconvenient.

"President Zhao, the madam asked me to give this to you."

"Where is she?"

"She left."

Zhao Dafa walked to the window and looked down at the street, but seeing no trace of Shen Hongmei, he turned and took the suitcase, ready to see what was inside.

Curious, Ren Yan actively helped him.

The elevators in the building were broken today, and he had carried it all the way up, as tired as a dog.

As soon as they opened the suitcase, both men were stunned.

A suitcase full of crisp hundred-yuan bills, and at a glance, it was at least a colossal sum of over a million.

"Did the madam say anything else?"

Ren Yan was so shocked by the suitcase full of money he was at a loss for words, "No, she didn’t say anything, just told me to give you the items, no, the money."

Zhao Dafa stared at the money for two seconds, then suddenly stood up and strode out.

He had taken a few steps when he came back, asked for the car keys from Ren Yan, and rushed off.

"President Zhao, where are you going?"

"What about this money?"

Getting no response, Ren Yan scratched his head in confusion for a few seconds, then bent down quickly to close the suitcase and dragged it to chase after Zhao Dafa.

By the time he heaved the suitcase full of cash downstairs, panting, Zhao Dafa had already driven off.

With people coming and going on the busy street, he stood there with a million in cash, heart pounding with fear, and had to drag the heavy suitcase back up to the office.

Exhausted to the core.

...

"...Let’s not tell President Shen about this for now."

Today was the annual recruitment fair at the food factory, a task usually handled by Shen Hongmei. This year, with Shen Hongmei gone, Shen Mingzhu was somewhat uneasy about the novice Wen Xiaoqin. After finishing work, she went to the recruitment fair to see how things were going and just as she arrived, she overheard Wen Xiaoqin giving low-key instructions to two HR staff.

This was a bit awkward.

But, if she wasn’t embarrassed, the embarrassment belonged to someone else.

"Speak up, what is it that I’m not supposed to know about?"

Under the gaze of Shen Mingzhu’s gentle eyes, Wen Xiaoqin’s heart couldn’t help but flutter.

She had originally hoped that this recruitment fair would go off without a hitch, so she could finally remove the "acting" title, but unexpectedly, Shen Mingzhu was inspecting and had caught her in the act of scheming.

"President Shen, I didn’t mean to hide anything from you..."

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