What was it like when Comrade Tan Jincheng, the "renowned entrepreneur," returned to his hometown?
As Tan Lihua's direct superior, Li Shiqi, who was now almost like brothers with Tan Lihua, found it easy to inquire about the reason for Tan Lihua taking a day off.
After learning that Tan Lihua took a day off because his son and future daughter-in-law were back for the holidays, he was torn about whether to inform the city that Tan Jincheng had returned.
Li Shiqi, returning home from work in the evening, discussed the matter with his wife.
"I think you're mistaken. If it were you coming home today, tomorrow your house would be swarming with people. Wouldn't you find that annoying? Especially since he's a young man. Just report it tomorrow afternoon."
Li Shiqi suddenly realized, smiling,
"That's true. If Young Tan hasn't revealed his whereabouts, then only I should know he's back right now."
"Exactly. If people go to his house tomorrow morning, he'll probably resent you. He's bringing his girlfriend home for the holidays, after all."
Then Li Shiqi's wife continued,
"But we can't not let him know, and give him some mental preparation. After dinner, let's use the excuse of taking a walk to Old Tan's house and sit for a bit."
"Walk to Linghu Park? Isn't that a bit deliberate? After all, I'm still Old Tan's superior."
"What's wrong with being deliberate? You're too proud. Doesn't your brother's youngest son want to open a shop? I think opening an electric vehicle specialty store would be great."
Unlike Li Shiqi, who was momentarily hesitant to let go of his pride, his wife had never interacted with Tan Jincheng.
What this young man was like before didn't matter; what mattered was that everyone in the city now wanted to curry favor with him.
Those near the water get the moon first.
Why not seize such an opportunity?
Li Shiqi thought for a moment, then laughed,
"They say a man with a virtuous wife won't suffer misfortune. It seems that saying is true."
"Stop babbling and eat early. We'll go for a stroll at Linghu Park later, and you can send Old Tan a message then."
Small cities have their own tranquility.
Upon receiving Tan Lihua's text message, Li Shiqi roughly calculated the time and arrived at Tan Lihua's new home near Linghu Park around 7:30 PM.
Li Shiqi's wife was visiting for the first time.
After entering, she looked around the three-bedroom, two-living room residence.
Unlike the traditional gaudy, brightly colored decor, the houses in Yicheng were decorated in sync with Beicang, all based on a white palette, appearing simple and bright.
"Your house has a really nice decor style,"
Zhang Yuping praised with a smile.
A three-bedroom, two-living room apartment would have been a struggle for Tan Lihua and his wife with their original income, but given their current circumstances, it was quite modest.
Zhang Suzhi also replied with a smile,
"Jincheng insisted on decorating it this way. All that white makes one's eyes dazzle."
They had been colleagues for over 20 years, and even as superior and subordinate, their relationship wasn't that formal anymore.
That's why Zhang Yuping mocked Li Shiqi for being too proud to ask for help; wasn't it always a case of 'you help me with a small favor, I help you with a small favor' usually?
"Old Zhang, you two are here too."
"Yes, we're having dinner here tonight."
"Your two families have such a good relationship, closer than real brothers. If Young Tan and Young Zhang were a boy and a girl, they might even become in-laws."
Tan Jincheng, busy serving tea and water and playing the role of a junior, replied with a smile,
"If we were a boy and a girl, Peng Ya 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's a significant difference in their statuses after growing up, their relationship won't deteriorate much.
Li Shiqi chuckled,
"You're right. Didn't you say you brought your wife back? Where is she?"
"She went to the room to see my sister. I'll go call her."
Tan Jinyue had been sleeping for a long time.
Tan Jincheng and Gu Qingqing had just gone into the room to check on her, and she was still asleep but about to wake up.
Gu Qingqing was waiting inside for a bit.
Li Shiqi quickly waved his hand, saying,
"No, no need. We'll sit for a while longer; there's still time."
Li Shiqi actually sat for a while, chatting animatedly with Tan Lihua and Zhang Guolong.
Once they dropped their formalities, they were all peers, and there were plenty of topics to discuss.
Coincidentally, all three men's wives were named Zhang, and these three women also chatted animatedly about everyday matters.
"Your daughter-in-law is truly beautiful, and her demeanor is impeccable. I'd say she's no worse than the celebrity spokesperson for your company."
Zhang Suzhi glanced at Gu Qingqing, who was feeding her daughter with her son, and said proudly,
"Mainly, she has a good personality and is very capable. She's also managing a company herself now."
"Really? Didn't you say she was still in school? How did she open a company?"
"It's a company her dad invested in for her, the kind on computers. I don't really understand it, but I heard it's quite popular."
"So her family background is good too. She's beautiful, has a good personality, and is capable; Young Tan not only has a good eye for business but also an impeccable eye for choosing a wife."
They were all speaking the Yicheng dialect, which Gu Qingqing couldn't understand.
Tan Jincheng slyly and smilingly told her they were praising her.
If she were just an ordinary college student, Gu Qingqing might have felt a bit uncomfortable, but as the CEO of an internet company valued over a hundred million, Gu Qingqing clearly wouldn't be bothered.
"Young Tan, does anyone in the city know about your return?"
After chatting with Tan and Zhang for a long time, Li Shiqi finally brought the conversation back to the main topic of the evening.
"No one in the city should know. Our county leaders know; I came back this time to visit the county."
Li Shiqi didn't hide anything; he knew it was best to be direct when talking to these young people:
"Then I understand. Uncle, I'll tell the city tomorrow that you're back, you don't mind, do you? You know sometimes it's beyond one's control."
"Uncle Li, you're too kind. I'm already very grateful that you didn't mention it today."
In later generations, even a moderately famous internet celebrity would have their hometown leveraging their fame and offering various receptions when they returned home, all to stimulate a bit of the local economy.
The situation was the same now.
As the most talked-about entrepreneur currently, Tan Jincheng had grown accustomed to being welcomed and seen off whenever he went somewhere, knowing these things were unavoidable.
It was already very commendable that Li Shiqi, knowing Tan Jincheng had returned home today, could hold off reporting it until the next day; otherwise, people would have been knocking on his door tonight.
"I still have to thank you for your understanding. Logically, when you bring your wife home, you surely want to spend a few quiet days with your family. Our visit tonight was already inappropriate."
"Please don't say that. You've watched Peng Ya and me grow up. We caused quite a bit of trouble in the yard when we were kids. Just treat us like we were back then."
"Haha, you're a sentimental child. Young Zhang is also very good; he even brought me a bottle of wine last time he was back. Next time Young Zhang comes, you two should come to my house for a drink together."
"No problem, but I'm like my dad. My dad can't drink, and my alcohol tolerance isn't good either. Don't scold me if I don't keep you good company then."
Zhang Guolong, from the side, also said with a smile,
"That's really true. Although Young Tan can drink a little, his alcohol tolerance is indeed not good."
Li Shiqi was a bit surprised:
"Really?"
"It couldn't be more true. Uncle Li, if you have time to visit Yongcheng, you can find out; my alcohol tolerance there is notoriously bad. Oh, and last time I went to my in-laws' house, they even got me drunk."
"Tsk, tsk, you two father and son are quite unique. But it's a real shame about Old Tan; if he could drink a bit, he wouldn't be where he is now."
Li Shiqi sighed with a hint of regret.
When Tan Lihua was young, he wasn't without opportunities, but because he offended someone by refusing to drink at a banquet once, he had been stagnant ever since.
"It's all in the past. Nothing to regret. I'm living quite well now,"
Tan Lihua said calmly.
Tan Jincheng was not bad-looking, and naturally, his father, Tan Lihua, wouldn't be far off.
When he was young, he certainly wasn't without opportunities to advance; the first was marriage, and the second was the occasion Li Shiqi regretted.
On both occasions, Tan Lihua chose to follow his heart.
Did he regret it?
Tan Jincheng didn't know, and Tan Lihua himself had no answer.
His father was like this, and so was that paternal cousin.
Even a group of uncles in the countryside, after Tan Jincheng became successful, didn't choose to bother him.
The Tan family seemed to inherently possess this quality.
Perhaps they missed out on some things, but these were all their own choices.
When Li Shiqi left, he still didn't bring up his brother's son opening a shop.
Although his wife had hinted several times, he was ultimately a bit embarrassed because Mr. and Mrs. Zhang Guolong were present.
The two of them came by taxi, while Mr. and Mrs. Zhang Guolong came by electric scooter.
On the way back, Tan Jincheng drove them.
Zhang Yuping finally seized the opportunity to bring up the matter.
"This is simple. Tomorrow, when my dad goes to work, I'll have him bring a business card to Uncle Li. Then you can contact him, and I'll have someone help tutor your nephew."
"Thank you, Young Tan,"
Zhang Yuping said happily.
Having someone guide the opening of a shop is better than fumbling around blindly.
If he loses money, he'll just have to come back to this elder brother for help again.
"You're welcome, you're also supporting my business this way."
Subsequently, Shanchi also had a cooperation plan with individual retail terminal stores, which was modeled after Chenguang Stationery: paying a few thousand yuan to buy out the names of these small shops and unifying their store names to Shanchi Electric Vehicles.
In every street and alley, what kind of electric vehicle is sold is not important, but what matters is that stores carrying Shanchi Electric Vehicles are the most numerous.
This is living advertisement.
Whether in the electric vehicle or automobile market, companies cannot achieve a monopoly.
Tan Jincheng also did not wish for his company to become a monopoly.
However, achieving a leading market share through various details was essential.
"What are your plans for tomorrow, Young Tan?"
"Tomorrow, I'll take my girlfriend sightseeing. After my dad's holiday, we'll go back to our hometown to visit together."
"Yes, you should explore. There are many fun places in Yicheng. If you get a chance, Young Tan, you can also promote them outside."
"No problem."
At the entrance of the petrochemical staff living quarters, watching the Audi drive away, Zhang Yuping exclaimed,
"Young Tan is quite friendly, without that arrogance typical of young people."
Before going, she had imagined him to be a high-spirited and very arrogant young man, given his achievements and wealth.
Many people in the city lamented not having the opportunity to befriend him.
Unexpectedly, he was still a young man who could act like a junior in front of his elders.
"Indeed, there aren't many people he'd personally pick up and drop off anymore. We still have some face,"
Li Shiqi also sighed.
(End of Chapter)