The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 648 - 647: Whoever Has the Money, Targets Them

Chapter 648: Chapter 647: Whoever Has the Money, Targets Them

After washing up at night, Shen Mingzhu returned to the bedroom and rummaged through all the family’s passbooks, bank cards, and large fixed deposits.

Not long afterward, Pei Yang finished his shower and entered the bedroom to see her tallying the family’s savings. He couldn’t resist teasing her, "What are you doing? You’re not thinking of absconding with the money, are you?"

As he spoke, he walked up behind her, wrapped his arms around her, "Just make sure to take me with you. It’s fine if we lose the kids, but you can’t lose me."

Shen Mingzhu gave him a glare, "Sit down, I have something to tell you."

Pei Yang, sticky like a piece of cowhide candy, insisted on sticking close to her, "Go ahead, I can hear you."

After receiving a glare from Shen Mingzhu, he finally sat down across from her with a cheeky grin, "Alright, go ahead."

Shen Mingzhu briefly explained Zhao Dafa’s foray into the real estate business.

Although she hadn’t verbally agreed to Shen Hongmei’s financing proposal, she was evidently entertaining the idea, or she wouldn’t have wanted to check the family’s savings.

Pei Yang was curious, "You forgave Hongmei?"

"Although she brought it up, my decision has nothing to do with her. On one hand, I trust Zhao Brother’s character and capabilities, and on the other, we have a deep relationship with Zhao Brother. He has helped our family a lot in the past. Now that he’s in trouble, morally and emotionally, we should give him a hand."

"Okay, I’ll listen to you. More than Zhao Brother’s ability, I trust my wife’s judgment."

Shen Mingzhu chided lightly, "Don’t give me too much credit; if my judgment was that good, we wouldn’t have had such a fallout with Hongmei."

Pei Yang took her hand, "It’s not your fault. Similarly, if the investment fails, that’s not your fault either. It would just mean that the heavens didn’t want us to make money, it’d be fate’s arrangement."

Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but smile at these flattering words, "Why so sweet tonight? Have you had some candy?"

"Hmm, try it, it’s pretty sweet."

With that, he puckered up and pushed his face forward.

Shen Mingzhu pushed his head away, looking disgusted, "No thanks, you haven’t brushed your teeth."

Pei Yang exhaled and showed a look of annoyance, "I forgot, I’ll brush them now, just one minute, wait for me!"

Watching the man hastily run off to the bathroom, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but laugh to herself.

...

In the conference room.

Zhao Dafa, Ren Yan, and several of the company’s veteran managers were all staring intently at the only person in the room who was hunched over a calculator.

"Old Duan, have you figured it out yet?"

Duan Yiwen stopped what he was doing and, with annoyance, pushed the documents and calculator towards the other person, "Why don’t you give it a try?"

That person responded sullenly, "If I had the ability, what would I need you for?"

"If you don’t have the ability, then shut up."

"I’ll shut up then, what are you so aggressive for?"

"You’ve got two eggs hanging under your brows; can’t you just blink instead of looking foolishly? Can’t you see I’m busy? Everyone else is silent, only you babble on..."

Zhao Dafa knocked on the table, "Enough, stop arguing. Old Duan, continue; everyone else keep quiet or I’ll dock your pay."

Zhao Dafa still had some authority, and once he spoke, the quarreling duo both closed their mouths.

The conference room quieted down, with only the mechanical sound of the calculator’s keys being heard.

After a long while, as the sound of the calculator stopped, several sleepy heads started to lift.

"How is it?" Zhao Dafa asked first.

Duan Yiwen handed over the calculated financial statement, "The total is one million nine hundred ninety-seven thousand six hundred and eighty."

Zhao Dafa glanced at the amount on the financial statement and then passed it to Ren Yan.

After Ren Yan had looked at it, he passed it to the next person. In this manner, the statement went around the room and finally returned to Zhao Dafa’s hands.

Zhao Dafa threw the spreadsheet on the desk and leaned back in his chair, looking at the people in the conference room.

"Let’s hear it, what are your thoughts?"

Ren Yan spoke first, "The shortfall in funds is quite significant, isn’t it?"

Developers in the real estate industry belong to the primary market, which is the land market.

Land is controlled by the government, and current transactions in the primary market are carried out through agreement transfers.

Once a developer signs a land grant agreement with the government and pays the transfer fee and preliminary relocation expenses, they can transfer the land to the name of the development company.

The costs required upfront for these purposes start at a minimum of ten million.

Zhao Dafa wanted to acquire land from the government, and that required at least ten million as start-up capital.

Only after securing the land could he then finance and borrow from banks.

"What if we start with something else? Over in Shenzhen City, there are people running real estate agencies, helping with buying, selling, and leasing, charging a commission of 1%-5% of the transaction amount. This doesn’t need much investment, just rent a few storefronts and recruit some salespeople to distribute flyers in the streets and alleys."

"We could also do interior decoration, as new houses are being built one after another. Whoever buys a house will have to decorate it, right? We could earn a thousand or eight hundred per house, so I think it’s doable."

The people in the conference room were all key company members, each expressing their ideas one after another.

Zhao Dafa didn’t stop them; after everyone had finished speaking, he finally said, "I’ll figure out a way for the money. You all shouldn’t sit idle either. When you have nothing else to do, take your people out, turn around, get to know the industry from our peers, and while you’re at it, meet with the big and small bosses you know to drum up some funds."

Hearing this, everyone reluctantly stood up and left the conference room.

Soon, the spacious conference room was left with only Zhao Dafa and Ren Yan.

"President Zhao, to be honest, the suggestions everyone just made weren’t bad. With our current strength, venturing into real estate development is still too risky."

Zhao Dafa looked at Ren Yan and asked, "What do you think about the prospects of this industry?"

"The prospects are certainly promising, but..."

"That settles it, if the prospects are good and it’s our forte, why should we give up and venture into fields we are unfamiliar with?"

"The only problem we’re facing with this is the lack of money, but if we were to get into agencies or interior decoration, the problems we would face are far more numerous. Why pursue something complex when we have simple options? Isn’t that putting the cart before the horse?"

With just a few sentences, Ren Yan was utterly convinced, "President Zhao, I oversimplified the problem."

"Let’s go."

"President Zhao, where to?"

Zhao Dafa stood up and tucked the hem of his shirt into his waistband, "Obviously, to raise money!"

Ren Yan, curious, "How will we do that?"

"Whoever has money, that’s who we target."

Ren Yan: Good thing I don’t have any money.

...

"She left her job with great fanfare, and now, not long after, she’s come back with her tail between her legs."

"I heard her husband offended some high society folks, their company went bankrupt, and they ended up with a huge debt. To pay it off, the couple even sold their car."

"No wonder she came to work this morning on an old motorcycle. In this hot weather, I was wondering why she didn’t drive."

"She’s got some nerve coming back. She had a good managerial position that she messed up, and now she’s returned to work as a common employee. What is she thinking?"

"If she went to any other business, who would bother with her? It’s only because President Shen takes pity on old times that she might get looked after here."

"She really has some thick skin..."

Listening to the gossip coming from the women’s restroom, Shen Hongmei did not barge in to argue like she used to but chose to turn around and leave.

Silence wasn’t a sign of weakness, but of letting go, of understanding that true strength lies in being reticent.

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