The international long-distance call in the backyard was quickly connected, and the old man told Li Xia to use it if she needed it. On Tuesday, someone from the investment promotion office drove to pick them up, and she followed the old man to the investment promotion office.
A group of returned overseas Chinese sat down to drink tea and chat. After a conversation, they were led by the investment promotion office to inspect various places. The investment environment in the provincial capital made the bigwigs frown. Not to mention anything else, the roads alone were full of potholes.
If you want to get rich, you must build roads first. No matter what you invest in, you can’t avoid transportation. The transportation conditions are really disappointing. The people in the investment promotion office also saw this and quickly explained that the road construction work would start immediately.
“We have already applied for it. Once the approval comes from above, construction will start immediately. Don’t have any doubts about the road. The new document from above has already indicated that the first livelihood project to be implemented is road construction.”
Even so, some people still shook their heads and said they couldn’t believe it. It was because there hadn’t been much change in the country for many years, which made these people feel unsure. But Li Xia knew that in the next few decades, the mainland would undergo earth-shaking changes. Cities would look different every few years, and if you went away for three years and came back, you might not be able to find a place.
Some state-owned factories and some small factories with subsidiaries were accompanied by leaders, all of whom wanted to get investment. Everyone walked and looked; the old man never spoke, and Li Xia followed behind him and just nodded to everyone. She was wearing a dress today, with her hair tied behind her head, and everyone thought she was the old man’s assistant or secretary.
A man couldn’t get a word in with the big guys, so he rushed to offer her water to get close to her. Li Xia smiled and waved her hands, indicating that she didn’t care about it, so he shouldn’t waste his time.
But the other party obviously didn’t believe it and treated her very attentively along the way. During lunch, he heard her calling the old man “Dad,” and this time he kept chasing her. I thought she was a secretary, but it turned out to be a daughter.
Not much investment was made that day, and the old man looked around and didn’t invest in any factories. The man opened a paint factory and urgently needed funds to turn it around. He couldn’t get money from others, so he turned to Li Xia.
“Madam, this is the information about my factory. I am not exaggerating. The paint is next fortune. There is definitely a lot to be done.”
“I’m very sorry, but I have no say in this matter. It’s useless for you to tell me all this.”
The man was a little frustrated after being rejected. He worked hard all day but didn’t make any investments. He left in the afternoon feeling dejected. He looked back at Li Xia, who said she couldn’t help him. The development of paint is not something that can be achieved in a short time, from heavy odors to various non-toxic products. The old man is obviously not interested in this.
When returning, most people brought their own cars and drivers. Shen Yaozong gave up the responsibility of the old man, so the business office drove them. An old lady with gray hair accidentally tripped when getting on the car, and Li Xia quickly reached out to help her.
“thanks, thanks,”
Due to inertia, she was pushed by the old lady and bumped into the car. The old lady was fine, and she thanked her repeatedly. Seeing that her arm was scratched, she said she would take her to the hospital.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s just a small cut. I’ll go home and apply some red medicine to it, and it will heal quickly.”
Seeing her sincerity, the old lady smiled and said nothing more. She took out a business card from her bag and handed it to her. “You can contact me anytime if you need anything.”
The chairman of Xingchen International, Ms. Li. What kind of company is this? Li Xia has not heard of it because she has little knowledge of it. But those who can come here today are all well-known people. Whether this relationship is useful or not, she will nod with a smile. Make good relationships in the business world.
After sending Ms. Li to the car, she followed the old man to another car. After getting off the car, the old man shook his head and said that the car of a department in the provincial capital was really not very good.
Li Xia helped him walk home, and the door to the backyard was opened from behind. The old man’s brand new Cadillac was parked in the garage. Seeing that she didn’t say anything, the old man continued.
“Have you ever thought about learning to drive? Cars are definitely indispensable for future development. Do you plan to always use a tricycle every time you have so much cargo?”
“I’ve already signed up.”
This time, the old man showed an approving look. The scrutiny from this elder put Li Xia under great pressure. She herself had a low level of education, a low family background, and little knowledge of reality. Most of what she knew came from TV. In her new life, she wanted to rely on her foresight to make money first. But why did the old man seem to be giving her some advice? Did she look like a talented person with great potential?
She thought that home appliances would definitely make money in this era, but that was only a prediction from her past life. She only had a few dollars now, and home appliances were basically monopolized by state-owned shopping malls. She wanted to sell home appliances, but the timing was not right and the conditions were not ripe. However, selling clothes was going well, which gave her the idea of opening a clothing factory. But she knew that the clothing business would become more and more difficult, so this was just an idea, and she had not made a final decision.
Thinking about their own things, the two of them went into the backyard and sat down in the main room. Qin Mu made tea for them. The old man leaned against the sofa and closed his eyes to rest. Li Xia drank a sip of water and was about to say goodbye and leave when he spoke.
“We’ve inspected so many things today. What do you think is the most promising investment?”
“electronic.”
The current electronics market is dominated by traditional home appliances such as televisions, refrigerators, and washing machines, and the domestic market alone is huge. Mobile phones became popular after the millennium, and the development of that thing was even faster. BB machines seemed to disappear just as they became popular and were replaced by mobile phones.
Before she was reborn, she had seen mobile phones such as the Big Brother on TV and had seen the mobile phone in Fang Zhongcheng’s hand. It was a black flip phone, much smaller than the Big Brother. However, the signal in the village was not good, and the children said that this thing was very popular in the city.
“Is it better to make end-of-line accessories or finished products?”
“Of course we can make finished products if we have the ability. We can make black-and-white TVs for at least another ten years, and the replacement of color TVs can continue.”
Li Xia suddenly stopped talking. She was a rural woman, and her words made people suspicious. The old man looked at her with an unchanged expression, as if he was not disturbed at all.
“There are no suitable existing manufacturers for the electronics business, so we have to start from scratch.”
Is he planning to invest in an electronics factory? The investment in this business is not small. How much money does the old man have? He had already calculated it when he planned to return to China. It can’t be a sudden whim.
“I don’t understand this.”
The old man smiled and said, “Isn’t there a night school now?”
Night school? At her age, she is learning how to manage a business. Is this too difficult? She only wanted to sell home appliances, do home appliance distribution, and produce electronic products.
She didn’t understand at all and shouldn’t have been so quick to say that. In the 1990s, electronics was dominated by Japanese capital, and all the famous brands seemed to have some Japanese capital. Did the old man also have a joint venture with a Japanese company?
“This is an era of change. If you don’t handle it right, you will be washed away by the waves on the beach.”
The old man saw that she had ambitions, but she really didn’t think she could do them. Being a regional general agent for home appliance distribution and striving for more brands was the biggest platform she felt she could handle.
Those who do this and that to make money are just her talk. Running a business is not like selling goods back and forth. She knows the future development of selling goods back and forth and just buys and sells. Running a business is not that easy. Many factories established in the 1980s were finished in the 1990s and swallowed up by large enterprises, and the brands disappeared.
It has only been such a short time, and she feels that she has not made much progress, yet the old man actually suggests that she go to school.
“Let me see.”
She walked out of the backyard with heavy steps, as if a heavy burden had been placed on her shoulders. Qin Mu was cooking in the kitchen, and she stared blankly at the pomegranate tree in the yard.
“Mom, what are you looking at?”
Huihua came in with her schoolbag, and she subconsciously raised her hand to help her child carry the schoolbag. The heavy feeling in her hand made her realize that she wanted to give her children a good life again, but the most important knowledge, the most critical thing in life, still needed them to work hard to obtain.
The children were all carrying heavy burdens and moving forward, learning the skills to make a living so that they could live better in the future. How could she, as a mother, stand still and be complacent with her knowledge of her past life? She would soon be eliminated by the times.
“I’m thinking about signing up for night school.”
“Mom, are you going to night school?” The little girl looked at her mother with admiration and said, “Mom, you are awesome! After you graduate from night school, you can be a college student.”
Li Xia smiled awkwardly. As a college student, these three words were far from her; she had never dared to think about them. “Do you want to learn piano? If you like, mom will find a teacher for you. But let’s make it clear that playing a musical instrument requires self-discipline and hard practice. If you like it and are willing to spend time practicing, then we will learn. If you are not interested, mom is too busy to supervise you, and I am afraid you will not learn well.”
“I like it. Mom, does it cost a lot to learn piano?”
“Don’t worry about the money. Our family can afford it. What you need to consider are your hobbies. If you like them, take the time to learn and practice. As the old saying goes, it’s good to have many skills. The more you know, the wider your future will be.”
“Then I’ll learn. I was just worried about spending too much money. My brother will go to college if he studies well, but I won’t study well, so I’ll learn something else. I heard that having talents can add extra points to the college entrance examination. Maybe I can go to college with these in the future.”
“Mom will buy you another violin. See which one you like. These can indeed add points to the college entrance examination. If you are interested in one, study hard. You can apply to the music department or the fine arts department in the future. With the foundation accumulated since childhood, there will be no problem.”
“thanks Mom.”
The child actually knew whether the family was well-off or not. If it were in her previous life, she would never have mentioned these things to Li Xia. She knew her mother’s hard work and her mother’s difficulties. But in this life, with Shen Haiyang, the house was spacious, and the family’s living standard was not inferior to that of their classmates and was even higher, so the child felt relieved.
It was decided that the child would learn a musical instrument, and she discussed these matters with Shen Haiyang that night. “Do you think a night school can accept someone like me ?”
Shen Haiyang was in college during the chaos, so he didn’t learn much. After he was transferred to the procuratorate, he took a unified training course.
“If you don’t have to pass an exam to get a diploma, then it shouldn’t be too strict. What level did you reach in junior high school? Did you learn functions?”
“No. Our place is a small place, and the teachers are not very good. In addition, in those years, school classes were often labor classes. Later, everyone basically went home. Since it was labor, it would be better to go home and earn work points.”
“I’ll go with you to sign up; let’s see how it goes first.” Shen Haiyang smiled and said, “Don’t worry, just ask me if you have any doubt; I’ll help you with some lessons at home.”
Li Xia sighed, feeling the pressure. “Also, please help the children find a music teacher to teach piano.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to the kids in detail.”
Shen Haiyang did what he said. That night, after talking to the three children, they decided to let all three learn piano. Now the three children are still young, so let them learn first to see if they have talent. If possible, cultivate them well. If they are mediocre, they can also develop talents in the future.
He asked for teachers for the children, and Li Xia signed up for night school. For business administration, she was a little scared when she heard the high-sounding name. The other party was also scared when they heard her level, but she didn’t require a certain level after completing the course, so they accepted her reluctantly.
After paying the fees and receiving the books, she was told that the class would start on Saturday night. She bought herself a pen and a notebook. After so many years, she started studying again. These things were still heavy in her hands.
When she got home, Shen Haiyang said he had found a piano teacher for the children. “She’s a working music teacher, a woman in her early 40s. Not many people are willing to let their children learn musical instruments these days, and piano is even rarer, so she only has three students from our family. Oh, and her little daughter is also learning, so there are four of them in total. For two hours each on Saturday and weekend nights, her home is not far to the east of ours.”
“Okay, let them study for a while first and see. But I have to go to school on Saturdays and Sundays, so you have to pick up the kids when they come back.”
“Leave it to me.” Shen Haiyang smiled and casually flipped through the books she received today: “From now on, your focus should be to study hard, and I will provide you with logistics support.”
“I don’t know what I’ll learn yet.”
“Don’t be discouraged; you have to encourage yourself. You are a role model for the children; you have to work hard.”
“Yeah, I will.”
On Saturday afternoon, the children had a day off, so Li Xia closed her stall and went home early. In the evening, everyone went to study, and she sat in the classroom with her hands shaking unconsciously.
Don’t be afraid. After more than a decade of accumulation, when you are big enough, your children will graduate from college. If you can’t do it, you still have your children. Huihui is so smart that he can always take over. Because she knows that many local tycoons who can’t keep up with the times have gone bankrupt in the later period, she can’t help but feel nervous.
She comforted herself silently in her heart, and after calming down, she realized that she did not completely fail to understand. She wrote down the parts she understood in her notebook and marked the parts she did not understand in the book so that she could study them slowly when she had time.
A class lasted two hours, and time passed quickly because she was so absorbed in listening. After leaving, she lowered her head and recalled what she had just learned. She accidentally bumped into someone, so she quickly looked up and said.
“Sorry, I……”
It turned out to be Murong Danling, who was carrying a handbag and looked surprised when she saw her. Li Xia also felt that it was really a narrow road for enemies to meet on the main road in such a big provincial capital.
“You, are you in school?”
Li Xia didn’t want to answer this question. She had already apologized for bumping into her without noticing, so she said sorry again and turned away.
She quickly got on her tricycle and disappeared on the road. Murong Danling was very angry at her attitude. “What’s so great about you? You’re just a country girl. When my business becomes big, I’ll pin you down and see if you can still be so arrogant.”
Li Xia had already walked away, so she naturally didn’t know the woman’s expression of expecting a good show. She looked down at her newly bought bag with a smug look on her face.
“Humph, that’s no big deal. I can live a good life on my own.”
Li Xia arrived home soon. The bun shop in the front yard was brightly lit, and she was watching TV, but the yard was dark. She went into the house, turned on the light, took out the book, and carefully recalled what she had just learned. The knowledge filled her mind. She was reading the book, and soon Shen Haiyang came back with the three children.
The father and his two sons were happily discussing the piano. Huihua was eager to practice but was stopped by Shen Hui.
“The provincial TV station is broadcasting Hong Kong movies at this time. Let’s go and watch TV first and practice the piano tomorrow.”
Grandpa was about to go to bed at this time, and practicing the piano would disturb the neighbors next door. Huihua nodded, and the three little ones ran to the backyard to watch TV without going into the house.
