I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 153. New Entrepreneurial Directions
Xu Qingfan arrived at Lin Wanning's doorstep. The little white dog from back then had grown into a majestic big white dog.

With round eyes, a round nose, and a delicate, fox-like face, the purebred Chinese rural dog is just as good-looking as foreign breeds.

"Mwah~ Big White, come here, Big White!" Upon seeing Xu Qingfan, the big white dog excitedly pushed off the ground with its hind legs and stood up to pounce on him.

"Hey~ good dog!" Xu Qingfan patted the dog's head, then smelled something strange coming closer. It must have been from being caught in the rain yesterday, as his hands smelled strongly of dog. "Damn stinky dog, get away from me!"

Gouzi: ???
The white dog, after being pushed away, looked surprised, but a few seconds later it pounced forward with even more excitement than before.

"Brother Qingfan!"

Xu Qingfan turned around and saw that it was his young master who had come out.

"Wanning, how many days has it been since your dog had a bath? It smells so bad." Xu Qingfan asked after washing his hands at the sink.

"No, Xiaobai broke free of its leash and ran away yesterday. It only came back when it started raining, and then Dad punished it by making it stand in the rain!" Lin Wanning also smelled the dog's scent and jumped back a step in disgust, moving away from Dabai's maximum range of activity.

"It needs to be punished so it can learn about the dangers of society and avoid being taken to a dog meat restaurant!" Xu Qingfan and his friends eat a lot of dog meat. It costs more than 30 yuan per kilogram, which is more expensive than beef. A dog like Xiaobai, which weighs 40 or 50 kilograms, can bring in thousands of yuan if caught.

"Okay, Qingfan, let's go inside and talk!" Lin Wanning took Xu Qingfan's wet hand without any disgust and pulled him into the house.

"Ningning is doing her homework!" Xu Qingfan said with a smile when he saw the open books and workbooks on the dining table.

"Hehe, graduation exams are coming up soon, I can't fall too far behind Qingfan-gege in grades!" Lin Wanning linked arms with him, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons with laughter. She tilted her head to look at him.

Xu Qingfan patted the girl's head and praised her, "Ningning is great. The graduation exam is a district-wide standardized test, without those hard-hitting bonus questions from the school. Our scores should be about the same."

"I'd be satisfied if you could score within twenty points of Qingfan and the others!"

The entrance exam for junior high school consists of four subjects: Chinese, Mathematics, English, and Science and Nature. The total score is 350. Lin Wanning's scores in the previous tests hovered around 320.

"Then I'll score a few points lower on the test, so that Ningning can achieve her goal."

"No need, I want to rely on my own efforts!" Lin Wanning pouted her upper lip and looked at him reproachfully.

"Okay, okay, just kidding. Hurry up and change your clothes. Aren't your aunt and uncle home?" Xu Qingfan bent down and checked the girl's homework for a while. He found that it was all correct and nodded in satisfaction.

"Mom and Dad have gone back to the factory. Qingfan, wait a minute, I'm going upstairs to change my clothes!"

"Okay, I'll wait for you on the first floor." He sat down where Lin Wanning had just been doing her homework and helped the girl tidy up her books and stationery.

Xu Qingfan suddenly remembered that Lin Qiaoshan's garment factory would be dragged down by the financial crisis this year and go bankrupt. On the one hand, the devaluation of foreign exchange caused many previously profitable orders to lose money after being converted into Chinese yuan; on the other hand, the remittance cycle of many customers was suddenly lengthened, eventually dragging the garment factory into a quagmire.

Xu Qingfan was also busy with this matter recently, as he needed to find a suitable reason to persuade Zhang Chunxue to sell her overseas stocks.

He certainly didn't have the talent to write an academic paper predicting the subprime crisis.

However, knowing that the 08 financial crisis would be triggered by the real estate market, Xu Qingfan was still capable of finding arguments to prove the risks.

After dealing with the cold wave in January, Xu Qingfan spent his time learning and collecting relevant financial knowledge and information through various channels. Finally, he managed to persuade Zhang Chunxue to sell her stocks at a high price just before the collapse of the Lehman Brothers building in April.

After doing all this, Xu Qingfan also took the midterm exam for the last semester and achieved a perfect score.

He felt like he was described in Li Bai's poem "The Knight-Errant": having accomplished his task, he dusted off his clothes and left, concealing his identity and name.

As for Lin Wanning's family's garment factory, the long string of zeros in the girl's bank card is enough to buy seven or eight garment factories of the same size. When the time comes, the gods will descend to earth and give Lin Qiaoshan and Wen Wanqing a big surprise!

"Does Brother Qingfan look good?" Lin Wanning asked him from the stairwell after changing into a blue and white dress, holding up the hem of her dress.

"Looks good, Wan Ning looks good in anything."

"Hehe~ I'll wear this then. Brother Qingfan, wait a little while, I'll just change my hair clip!" The girl ran upstairs with a grin.

"Okay!" Lin Wanning ran back to his side. Knowing that Xu Qingfan liked it, she specially tied a small corner of her hair with a yellow hair tie.

Six years have passed, and the girl still has the same hairstyle she had in kindergarten.

Xu Qingfan's eyes lit up. He had to admit that Lin Wanning really looked more and more like Xiao Liuhua as she grew up. If she were to wear Xiao Rizi High School's uniform and red mesh skirt, she would be a one-to-one replica of the real person.

[I think "Chuunibyou" came out in 12 or 13, when everyone was in high school!] He recalled in his mind, thinking that the girl in high school would still be as silly and cute as she is now, and Xu Qingfan couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Brother Qingfan, what are you laughing at?" Lin Wanning leaned closer to observe.

"You laugh at me for asking why my QQ level hasn't changed even though I forwarded the post!"

"Hey, Brother Qingfan, you're so annoying!"

Xu Qingfan let the girl hold his wrist and went out with her.

The osmanthus tree by the door had grown to be almost as tall as him, and the sunlight shone on their faces, obscuring their features.

[It's great that I don't have to sell the house anymore.] He glanced back at Lin Wanning's courtyard and thought to himself.

After the two rang Zhang Yi's doorbell, they waited downstairs for a while and the four of them soon met up.

With Zhang Yiyi by his side, Lin Wanning started sticking close to her. Xu Qingfan and Zhang Chunxue walked behind, watching the two girls skipping and jumping in front of them.

Zhang Chunxue, who is 1.68 meters tall, naturally put her hand on Xu Qingfan's shoulder, and the two walked in the garage like a mother and son.

"Time flies so fast. Back then, you were just a tiny little thing that only reached Auntie's thigh." Zhang Chunxue smiled and rubbed Xu Qingfan's head.

"It would be better if we were taller, then when we go out shopping, people will think we're siblings!"

"Pfft~ Hahahaha!" Zhang Chunxue was amused by him and burst into laughter.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?"

"Mom, what's wrong?" The two girls ran over to ask after hearing the laughter.

"Haha. Go ask your brother Qingfan!" Zhang Chunxue bent over, clutching her stomach, and pointed at Xu Qingfan, laughing loudly.

Xu Qingfan felt his face burning. He rarely said anything witty, and the laughter made him afraid to say it again.

"What's the big deal? I was just saying that when I grow taller than Auntie, people on the street might even think we're siblings!" Xu Qingfan said shamelessly.

“Yes, yes, Auntie looks even younger than Teacher Guan!” Lin Wanning glanced at Xu Qingfan and then turned to Zhang Chunxue.

"Mommy, sister!"

"They can't be siblings, haha, they're more like brothers and sisters. You brat, you're trying to take advantage of your aunt!" Zhang Chunxue glared at him before grabbing her two little cotton-padded jackets and continuing on her way.

Xu Qingfan shrugged awkwardly and followed behind. When they arrived in front of the Maserati, Zhang Chunxue took out her car key and pressed it. The sound came from a silver-white Maybach parked next to her.

Zhang Chunxue beckoned Xu Qingfan over here.

"Auntie, is this a Maybach? When did you buy a new car?" Xu Qingfan asked curiously after getting into the car.

"I just bought it recently. I had too much money and didn't know what to do with it. When you turn 18, Auntie will give you one too," Zhang Chunxue said as she started the car after fastening her seatbelt.

"Hehe, then I won't stand on ceremony with you, Auntie." Xu Qingfan also fastened his seatbelt and nodded with a grin.

"Xiao Fan, do you have any good ideas lately? Anything is fine."

Before meeting Xu Qingfan in 2002, Zhang Chunxue had only a little over 60 million yuan in fixed assets.

Now, six years later, she has more than 300 million yuan in the bank alone. If you include fixed assets, it should be more than 700 million yuan.

They really enjoyed the bull market in US stocks over the past few years. Xu Qingfan's initial investment of two million yuan in Apple stock alone has increased more than tenfold. Zhang Chunxue invested tens of millions of yuan, and although not all of it was in Apple stock, it still increased by an average of eight or nine times.

"Ideas, let me think." Xu Qingfan tilted his head and started thinking.

"It's okay, Xiao Fan, take your time thinking about it." Zhang Chunxue glanced at him with a smile through the rearview mirror.

Xu Qingfan's first thought was naturally to cut corners and short videos, followed by food delivery, but these could only be started when 4G networks arrived in 14.

Secondly, making counterfeit phones is also an option. Lei Jun's Xiaomi was founded in 10, and the iPhone, which redefined the mobile phone, launched its first generation last year. However, because it did not obtain a license in China, even if you bought it, it would not be usable.

Xu Qingfan quickly gave up as well. There was no suitable environment in Licheng for making mobile phones. Zhang Chunxue might be able to do it through her family connections, but why bother?

Want to invest in Lei Jun? You're not some Goldman Sachs heir; he has plenty of money and connections, why would he include you?

After thinking about it for a long time, I still think selling duck necks is the most reliable option!

“Auntie, I think we can open a milk tea shop. The milk tea market is so big. Right now, all sorts of random brands are opening on the roadside. If we set a unified standard like Haowei Duck Neck, and use a direct operation, franchise, advertising, and on-the-ground promotion strategy, it’s sure to work!” Xu Qingfan said, thinking of all sorts of popular milk tea chain stores from his previous life.

"Hehe~ Xiao Fan, why do you always think about food!"

"Auntie, auntie, there are also coffee shops, chain coffee shops, like Starbucks!" Lin Wanning's eyes lit up and he nodded.

“Auntie, if you don’t like milk tea, we still have some. Grandpa Xiaoyu’s fried pork chop recipe is also especially delicious. We can increase our investment and make another delicious pork chop!” As he spoke, Xu Qingfan thought of Zhengxin Chicken Cutlet from his previous life and added.

"That's something we can try. Anyway, you can't lose money buying a house." Zhang Chunxue nodded thoughtfully.

“Auntie, we have so many chain stores across the province. If we open milk tea shops and pork chop shops, we can also set up a delivery service!” Xu Qingfan’s eyes lit up as he spoke.

"You mean ordering food by phone like KFC?"

“I know, I know, 400823823~” Lin Wanning recited a long string of numbers as if reading a jingle.

"No, no, phone calls are too troublesome. It's the internet age now. Auntie, we can set up an online platform, just like online shopping, and order food on the computer!" Xu Qingfan got more and more excited as he spoke, directly repeating the model of Eleme in his previous life. "Apple released a phone last year that's just like a computer. Once these phones become widespread, we can order food directly on our phones. That would be so convenient!"

As shareholders of Apple, they all received a brand new iPhone 1 with almost no money, so Zhang Chunxue knew about this phone.

"You came up with all of this through that phone?" Zhang Chunxue imagined the scene Xu Qingfan described and couldn't help but marvel. Her brain was definitely new and efficient; how come she couldn't think of so many things?

"More or less!" Xu Qingfan scratched his head without batting an eye.

"I really want to crack your head open and see how you have so many ideas every day!"

"Brother Qingfan is just that smart!" Lin Wanning said proudly, resting her head on his shoulder.

The group chatted casually along the way, and soon the car drove into the provincial party committee compound.

After getting off the bus, unlike last time, everyone had a kind smile on their face this time.

"Perfect timing, the last dish has just been served." Zhang Chaoqun patted the heads of the three men and invited them into the house.

"Dad, Mom!"

"Let's eat when you get back," Zhang Youwen said, putting down his newspaper and nodding.

"Father-in-law, Mother-in-law," Zhang Yiyi called out nervously, clutching her mother's trouser leg.

"Ah."

"Yi-Yi has grown so tall."

Unlike last time, this time Zhang Yiyi's maternal grandparents both responded.

Zhang Yiyi was flattered and quickly replied, "That's right, 1.5 meters tall!"

"Go wash your hands and eat first, we can chat while we eat!" Zhang Chaoqun enthusiastically pushed the three of them into the bathroom to wash their hands.

Because the three of them were all key contributors, they sat at the main table during the meal and did not go to the children's table.

"Sister, I heard you have several hundred million in the bank. Do you have any investment plans recently?" During the meal, Zhang Chunxue's sister-in-law couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

Foreign exchange repatriation always involves procedures, and since everyone involved is part of the system, it's not surprising that people know about Zhang Chunxue's wealth.

“Let’s continue with the catering business. I have some initial ideas.” Zhang Chunxue replied with a smile, recalling what Xu Qingfan had said in the car.

“Then you can invest in Meizhou! Your older brother here can help you out!” Zhang Chunxue’s older brother is the top official in charge of the economy in Meizhou, but apart from salt-baked chicken, there’s nothing else that’s worth mentioning in the city.

If Zhang Chunxue could acquire another large company like Haowei Duck Neck, it would be a great help to his brother's career.

"Well, I'll consider this place first," Zhang Chunxue replied ambiguously.

"It needs to be seriously considered, after all, it's such a large sum of money."

Clearly, Zhang Yiyi was accepted by her family because of her comics, and Zhang Chunxue, with her increased wealth, gained value comparable to that of a marriage alliance and was once again recognized by her family.

After all, it was someone else's family matter, so Xu Qingfan couldn't say anything. Besides, Zhang Chunxue had relied on her family's reputation quite a bit in starting her business.

The sword in one's hand may not be used, but it cannot be without.

But if his awful grandmother and cousins ​​dared to try and curry favor with him after his family became successful, Xu Qingfan would definitely be the first to kick them out with a broom!

(End of this chapter)