Chapter 0560: Flowers Blooming, Wealth Abounding

Zhao Aiguo had lived for over seventy years, witnessing all kinds of storms and upheavals, countless scenes of gunfire and bloodshed, where people who were lively one moment fell dead before his eyes the next. Not to mention the turbulent decade, when the ugly side of human nature was magnified infinitely.

Though he had always lived in the rural northeast, Zhao Aiguo felt that at this moment, his grandson seemed to exude the aura of that great figure he had once seen.

That man was a grand general commanding hundreds of thousands of troops back then.

Although Zhao Fusheng didn't have that man's overwhelming dominance, at the very least, his calm and composed demeanor had a bit of that bearing.

Even though Zhao Fusheng was just sitting on a low stool, to the elders, he seemed like those successful people sitting upright in TV dramas, giving off a strange feeling.

Glancing at his grandson, the old man patted Zhao Fusheng on the shoulder: "I didn't expect that our Zhao family would also produce a talent."

Although Zhao Fusheng hadn't answered Zhang Houde's words, the old man already understood his meaning—it seemed the eldest son intended to help his younger siblings.

"It's like this: my dad and mom discussed it and plan to find something for Second Uncle and Third Uncle to do." Zhao Fusheng looked at his uncles and aunts and said calmly.

"Find something to do?"

Second Uncle and Third Uncle exchanged a glance, full of surprise: "Let us work at the beer factory?"

Clearly, in their understanding, they didn't quite grasp Zhao Fusheng's meaning.

Zhao Fusheng frowned. He didn't understand what his uncles meant—what was this about going to the beer factory?

At that moment, the old man slowly spoke: "It was my idea. When your parents came earlier, I didn't let them talk about opening the mall. After all, it's just starting out; there's no need to drag family into it."

Huh?

Zhao Fusheng was stunned for a moment, then understood his grandfather's meaning.

His parents had just started their business and were partnering with others. If they told the uncles and aunts right away and placed family members in the company, it would surely displease the partners. But if they didn't help their own relatives, it would also be hard to justify. So it was better to just keep it from everyone.

Thinking of this, Zhao Fusheng shook his head helplessly and said to his grandfather, "Grandpa, you're being too cautious."

The old man chuckled, glanced at his children, and said lightly, "Your parents have staked their house on this venture; no amount of caution is excessive."

This was true. Though they were siblings, the eldest son had mortgaged his house to make the business work. Helping siblings was a kindness, but not helping was also within reason.

The uncles and aunts dared not speak. The old man's status in the family was too high; even the daughters-in-law and sons-in-law held him in awe.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said to the elders, "It's like this: at the beginning of this year, my dad partnered with a few comrades-in-arms to rent the first floor of Hualian Commercial Building, renamed it Wanda Commercial Building, and opened a mall..."

As he spoke, he explained his father's current business: roughly, his father had been laid off but, with the help of a benefactor, now had a good situation. However, because he was in a partnership, he couldn't place family members in the company, but he could find ways to help them from other angles.

"You mean that Wanda Supermarket was opened by your dad?" After a long silence, the younger aunt asked Zhao Fusheng in surprise.

"Yes." Zhao Fusheng nodded honestly. He knew this news might be a big shock to the elders, but he hadn't expected his grandfather to keep such good secrets.

And his parents too—they hadn't revealed anything to this side.

After all, he had discussed with his parents long ago about entrusting the supermarket's vegetable supply to Second Uncle and Third Uncle.

"That Wanda Commercial Building—you mean it's your dad, my eldest brother, who's the boss?" Third Uncle tilted his head, thought for a long time, and said hoarsely, "I remember going there shopping with someone; it was huge..."

For rural people, the Wanda Mall and Wanda Supermarket at that time were undoubtedly the most bustling and upscale places in all of Ninghai.

"He's not exactly the boss. My dad is the general manager and a major shareholder, but since there are other partners, he's only one of the bosses." Zhao Fusheng corrected.

There was no denying that this news struck everyone like a thunderbolt, making the entire Zhao family suddenly feel as if one of their own had become a big shot.

"Wait, Fusheng, you said you wanted to find something for us to do—what exactly do you mean?" Second Aunt suddenly asked.

At this thought, everyone's eyes became eager. Not knowing Zhao Fusheng's family situation before, they had thought his parents wanted them to work at the beer factory. But now it seemed that the eldest brother's family had clearly struck it rich.

Zhao Fusheng smiled, didn't beat around the bush, and explained, "It's like this: my dad's idea is for Second Uncle, Third Uncle, and your family, Aunt, to set up greenhouses to grow vegetables. Then we'll send the vegetables to the supermarket to sell. What do you think?"

"Send them to the supermarket?"

"Greenhouses?"

The elders looked at each other, hesitated, and then Third Aunt asked, "What if they don't sell?"

Zhao Fusheng chuckled: "How could they not sell? The supermarket needs a large quantity of vegetables every day. As long as our own produce is of good quality, there's definitely no problem."

This was a conclusion reached after careful calculation.

After all, Wanda Supermarket now had a stable customer base in Ninghai, with a large number of customers coming to pick vegetables every day. So in Zhao Fusheng's view, Third Aunt's worry wasn't an issue at all.

Of course, ultimately, it was because their families had limited capacity and couldn't produce enough vegetables to worry about oversupply.

"Won't anyone object to this?" Third Uncle hesitated and said to Zhao Fusheng.

After all, Zhao Fusheng had told them earlier that this was a business with comrades-in-arms. If favoring family caused resentment from others, that wouldn't be good.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head, feeling a warmth in his heart. After all, family was family; Third Uncle's first thought wasn't about how much money he could make, but whether it would affect his father. For others, the first question would likely be about money.

"Third Uncle, don't worry. My dad has already discussed it with them." Zhao Fusheng smiled and explained to Third Uncle.

Doing this kind of thing naturally required planning ahead. Otherwise, if something went wrong and made everyone unhappy, it would affect the partnership.