Relatives?

Yuan Han was Zhou Wenbang’s son-in-law, but one that neither Zhou Wenbang nor the entire Zhou family acknowledged.

Tang Hongen would be even less likely to acknowledge him.

Old Tang hadn’t even accepted Zhou Cheng yet – he still hadn’t come to terms with Zhou Cheng secretly giving him an engagement ring.

Never mind that Yuan Han wasn’t recognized by the Zhou family; even if he were their legitimate son-in-law, Tang Hongen would maintain the same attitude.

“Petty person!”

That was Old Tang’s assessment of Yuan Han.

Though he rarely got angry and looked refined wearing his glasses, when his face darkened, his authority was imposing enough to make small fry like Yuan Han tremble.

Without Old Tang even showing his face, Yuan Han slunk away.

Unlike Liu Fang, he didn’t dare leave his gifts behind.

With so many people trying to force gifts on him, if Old Tang couldn’t refuse them, he would have made mistakes long ago.

Xia Xiaolan received many New Year’s greeting calls.

Zhou Cheng’s side couldn’t find time even by the second day of the New Year. From Pengcheng, Du Zhaohui’s calls came one after another.

Not for nothing – Cheng Rong Plaza was finally ready for its grand opening.

Without Xia Xiaolan there to support him, Du Zhaohui felt uncertain.

“Isn’t everything arranged already?”

“But I’m still nervous!”

“…”

Xia Xiaolan was pestered by Du Zhaohui with no way out – that 10 million Hong Kong dollars wasn’t easy to earn, it really had become a full-service operation.

After confirming that Zhou Cheng couldn’t get leave yet, Xia Xiaolan decided to return to Pengcheng first.

Tang Hongen’s holiday wasn’t over yet – with Zhou Cheng not taking leave, what was Old Tang waiting for in Beijing? Even Zhou Guobin’s invitation for a meal with the future in-laws was declined by Tang Hongen.

“I’ll accompany your mother and your uncle’s family back to Yunan to sweep the ancestral graves. You’ll have to return to Pengcheng alone.”

Xia Xiaolan was overwhelmed.

Little You could have had a few more days off, but now he too was called back early.

Calling Du Zhaohui back, Xia Xiaolan confirmed her schedule:

“Alright, alright, I’m coming back to Pengcheng right away!”

In Pengcheng, Du Zhaohui hung up the phone very pleased.

He didn’t look scared at all.

Whether you stick your neck out or pull it back, the blade falls the same – everything is ready except for the opening. Du Zhaohui wasn’t just unafraid, he was eager and full of anticipation, hoping to defeat Du Zhaoqi decisively in one move!

Ah Hua thought the eldest young master had quite a few tricks up his sleeve.

This was keeping Miss Xia concerned.

As long as Cheng Rong Plaza existed, the eldest young master would always use it as an excuse.

Even after opening, there would often be concerns about operations.

With the eldest young master being so humble, Miss Xia couldn’t refuse every time.

…

February 1, 1987, the third day of the New Year, 6:30 AM.

The plaza’s main entrance wasn’t open yet.

But merchants could enter through the side door.

Early in the morning, Old Duan had already arrived. Though the unopened mall was actually spotless everywhere, he still wiped his counter again and again.

He had rented two stalls at the time, one 20 square meters and another 40 square meters.

Old Duan dealt in whatever electronic products were profitable, not limited to any single category.

He could get electronic watches, tape recorders, cameras – he had connections for all sorts of things. But wasn’t it a bit wasteful to fill both stalls totaling 60 square meters with merchandise?

In the end, Old Duan let out the 20-square-meter small stall to a longtime business friend – he couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

Old Duan wasn’t the only one coming early to wipe counters. On opening day, how the business would fare would only be known once consumers arrived.

How many people would come?

There should be quite a few.

Hopefully quite a few…

Damn, business must be good!

Though the merchants had different personalities, their inner expectations were the same.

At 7:30, Du Zhaohui arrived surrounded by a group of people. As the plaza owner, he made a show of motivating everyone:

“Don’t be nervous, stick your heads out, and look – it’s not even eight o’clock, and people are already queuing. Once the doors open, these lovely customers will rush in to spend. Service – I emphasize again that everyone must have a service mindset. If you want to earn customers’ money, treat them like emperors. No matter which stall, if we receive complaints about poor customer attitude at the service desk, we’ll record it all and fine you at the end of the month!”

Du Zhaohui didn’t want to see merchants looking down their noses at customers in the mall.

Want to make money but won’t bow your head?

What gives them the right?

Even when he tried to get money from the old man, he had to sweet-talk him and act like a filial son. These losers weren’t nearly as rich as him – what right did they have to be arrogant?

If they ruined their reputation, Du Zhaohui would tie them to rocks and sink them in the sea!

The merchants nodded like pounding garlic. Though they wanted to see how long the queue outside was, they had to continue listening to Manager Du’s teachings.

Manager Du seemed endless in his teachings, then waved his hand:

“Let me tell everyone more good news – to encourage customer spending, for our grand opening celebration, no matter which stalls you buy from, spending over 100 yuan qualifies you for a lucky draw with your receipt! The first prize is a car, the second prize is a motorcycle, the third prize is a Wenqustar electronic dictionary, the following prizes…”

Du Zhaohui stumbled a bit, and Ah Hua quietly reminded him:

“Young Master, after the third prize, they’re all lucky to draw prizes – a pack of laundry detergent.”

Even the merchants didn’t know about the lucky draw until hearing about it for the first time.

Prizes of a car and motorcycle?

And that Wenqustar electronic dictionary.

Oh, the most prominent stall in the mall was selling Wenqustar electronic dictionaries – everyone didn’t quite understand what this thing was yet since it hadn’t been released and no advertisements had aired.

But cars and motorcycles – everyone’s ears weren’t deaf, they heard these two items.

A car wasn’t cheap.

Everyone thought this idea would stimulate customer spending, but who was paying for it?

It couldn’t be split among everyone, right?

The large stall merchants weren’t too concerned, but the small stall merchants felt some pain.

Old Duan gathered his courage, “Manager Du, there was no notice about this before…”

Du Zhaohui’s eyes widened – do I need your opinion on my decisions?

No, these people had paid rent – Du Zhaohui decided to be more polite.

“This is just another way to stimulate consumption. We didn’t notify everyone because the plaza will bear all costs of this activity – it won’t increase your operating pressure. Final interpretation rights belong to Cheng Rong Plaza, everyone just needs to cooperate.”

Manager Du was making big moves.

Money makes one willful!

All merchants immediately became happy – since they didn’t have to pay, they started throwing free flattery at Du Zhaohui.

Though Du Zhaohui cursed losers in his heart, when these losers’ flattery was enthusiastic and pleasant to hear, he felt completely comfortable.

This receipt-based lucky draw idea was Xia Xiaolan’s suggestion.

It was a strategy – you couldn’t let people see through everything at once, and they were still guarding against Du Zhaoqi’s side causing trouble.

The car was naturally a cheap model worth just tens of thousands, and how much could the motorcycle and Wenqustar be worth?

There was only one first prize, two-second prizes, and more third-prize Wenqustar electronic dictionaries – ten units.

As for the remaining White Cat laundry detergent, bought wholesale, it didn’t even count as spending money in Du Zhaohui’s eyes.