"What kind of background could they have? I even know one of the bosses. He used to be a small-ti thug, nicknad Ai Ba, about five foot three, with bow legs. He hung around with a friend of mine for a few years and had to call ’bro’ when he saw . He went to prison for a few years for beating soone up, and after getting out, his family helped him open a car wash shop.
Damn, now this guy’s driving a Land Rover and keeping a mistress. I heard she’s even a college student, young enough to be his daughter. He hardly visits the shop now, leaving it in the hands of his wife, son, and daughter-in-law. It seems like he’s also invested in a small factory with so partners, making money by producing small goods.
Maybe he has so money now and knows a few people in the scene since the car wash has been running for over a decade. But if I really want to deal with him, I can teach him a lesson anyti."
Seeing his uncle’s attitude, Chen Feng didn’t feel repulsed. The business world is like a battlefield; since they are in a competitive relationship, so underhanded tactics have to be used when necessary.
"What about the other company?" Chen Feng continued to ask.
Zhao Guozhong quickly replied, "The other one is even less significant. They’re not locals. They used to work in our town, then had a good eye and partnered with a few fellow villagers to open our town’s first car wash."
"Outsiders, huh? And it’s a partnership between several people, doesn’t that sound tricky?"
Outsiders around here tend to stick together. If you get into a conflict with one, they could easily rally a hundred locals, which frightens the residents here.
"Going head-to-head with them directly certainly won’t work. They’re very united and sowhat combative. Ai Ba tried to drive them away several tis but failed. I heard he was even cornered by them with knives and threatened until both sides finally reached a truce."
"So what do you plan to do?" Chen Feng asked.
Zhao Guozhong chuckled, "We’re living in a society governed by law now. I’ve heard from Ah Rui that you have connections in the hb bureau, and the car wash also needs to et environntal standards. So, I think once we open our shop, we could report them. Both of their shops are not up to environntal standards, and the car wash wastewater is being discharged illegally."
Chen Feng smiled, "That’s one way, but if we report them, they’ll know it’s us right away. Aren’t you afraid of their retaliation?"
Zhao Guozhong confidently smiled, "Isn’t that why you’re here? You took out two competitors in Qingpu Town, and now there’s only your brothers’ car wash in town. Did any of those two shop owners ever retaliate against you?"
They really didn’t.
Honestly, Chen Feng wondered why those two car wash shops just swallowed their anger after being shut down.
After asking his elder brother about the situation, he more or less guessed the reason.
The reason is actually a simple logic: civilians fear authority.
When Chen Feng personally reported the environntal pollution issues of the other two car wash shops, they surely knew he had connections.
And it wasn’t like Chen Feng was making false reports; there was evidence. They were shut down legally and reasonably.
Afterward, the two shop owners didn’t reopen in Qingpu Town but chose to restart elsewhere and were successful, still quite profitable.
So, they were actually afraid of offending the Chen Feng brothers, fearing he might use his connections to shut their shops down again, let alone retaliate against the Chen Feng brothers.
This is a very realistic issue.
But the situation in Yuelou Town is a bit different.
"For now, let’s not use tactics like reporting. There’s always money to be made, and there’s no need to turn it into vicious competition. I believe through fair competition, we can still beat them. Unless they use underhanded thods first, only then will we consider counterattacking."
"Isn’t that delaying us from making money? These two are just small fry; I think we should clean them out sooner rather than later."
"It’s better to resolve animosities rather than create them. Let’s be polite first and use force later if necessary. As long as everyone competes fairly and transparently, we have nothing to fear from them."
"Alright, I’ll listen to you."
Zhao Guozhong has a lot of faith in Chen Feng now, so he didn’t insist further.
Once in Yuelou Town, Chen Feng, guided by Zhao Guozhong, checked out three locations.
Essentially, it was the two ends of the main avenue in the town center, with one at one end and two at the other.
It was easy to choose: start with the location with more traffic, then consider other factors.
After a brief inquiry, Chen Feng selected the location with the highest traffic, closest to the highway.
This was conveniently an abandoned private gas station that could be easily converted into an auto beauty shop.
Zhao Guozhong was also most satisfied with this location and had already checked the price. The land and shop usage rights were held by the town, and renting it wasn’t too pricey.
Chen Feng entrusted him with full authority to handle the land and shop rental matters here. He himself began contacting the franchise company to send a team over.
As a returning custor, Chen Feng was familiar with these processes, and because this was the second store, there were so discounts on the price and extra care in the service.
They first secured the shop, and then the main company would send a team to handle renovations, training, and other issues. He just needed to hire a few people.
The main issue was finding a shop manager. Chen Feng planned to look within his relatives first.
For now, this matter was temporarily put to rest.
anwhile, Hong Guiquan and his wife arrived at Wu ngting’s house.
Then they directly inford Wu ngting’s parents about Chen Feng, especially about his diagnosis with a terminal illness, late-stage brain cancer.
Upon hearing this shocking news, the couple remained silent for a long ti.
After a considerable ti, Mr. Wu sighed deeply, "I didn’t expect it. He’s so young to suffer from such a terminal illness. What a pity."
Mrs. Wu also sighed with emotion, "He seed perfectly fine on the surface. How could he have such a terminal illness? ngting respects him so... so much. Knowing this news will surely break her heart."
Her aunt quickly said, "I think ngting has feelings for him. She must know about this soon. Otherwise, I’m afraid she might make a mistake."
Hong Guiquan also nodded, "Yes. The sooner, the better for this matter. Otherwise, she will be kept in the dark."
At that mont, Wu ngting wasn’t at ho. She was out shopping with Xu Shujing in the city to prepare for visiting Chen Feng’s house for the New Year the next day.
But soon, her mother called her several tis to co ho, and as soon as she stepped inside, she could sense sothing was wrong. Her heart sank, fearing she would hear so bad news.
"What’s going on with you all? Why is everyone so serious?"
Wu ngting asked, feeling a bit panicked.
The four elders exchanged glances, and finally, her aunt spoke up, "Little Ting, your godbrother, he... he has a terminal illness. Did you know?"
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