In 1992, a small village owner became the richest man in the village by owning a car.

Chapter 641: Old Guo Invites People to Dumplings, and the Duel Begins Between the Two Sides
Yu Dawei rested at home for two days. No matter how much he had to do, he wouldn't treat himself like a beast of burden. He hadn't made any money in his past life, but so far, he was living a good life in this one.

With a beautiful, well-educated, tolerant, and gentle wife, and a sensible son who helps with housework and can even act as a bodyguard, his family is certainly not worried about food and drink. They can buy whatever fruits or beef and mutton they want whenever they want, without having to hesitate because they feel they don't have enough money.

In Yu Dawei's view, it would be enough if everyone in China could live such a life, which would be considered a true step into a moderately prosperous life, or at least that's his understanding of a moderately prosperous life.

Just thinking about how many people in the town, or even in his own village, live frugally, reluctant to throw away leftover soup and mending their clothes, would unconsciously stir up a flood of emotions within him.

The main problem is that after he returned, Guo Lao somehow found out about the news and often had Duan Dahai call him to invite him to meet up.

The previous times, Yu Dawei had brushed it off by saying he was too tired from the journey and needed to rest for two days, but things can only be done once or twice, not three or four times.

This time, Mr. Guo went even further, calling them early in the morning and insisting on having dumplings at his home.

Yu Dawei could only nod in agreement. After telling his wife and children, he drove to the flour mill first.

The flour mill has been in a semi-holiday state since the beginning of the Gregorian calendar year, around the same time as Fanfan's repair shop.

After the car entered the compound, Yu Dawei got out and went straight to the boss's office on the second floor. Sure enough, Brother Duan was still busy at his desk when he went in.

Seeing Yu Dawei approach, Duan Dahai smiled maliciously: "You were called here by Elder Guo, weren't you?"

"Sigh, yeah, is he in such a hurry right now?" Yu Dawei casually found a place to sit down, crossed his legs without any regard for his image, and spread his arms out on either side of the sofa behind him.

"Of course, next year, and the year after that, and Old Guo will be retired for good." Duan Dahai took off his glasses, closed the book he was reading on the table, and sighed with some emotion: "Old Guo is probably worried that people who come to our town again are outsiders who only want to gain experience here and then leave. As for the development of their hometown... hehe."

“I understand.” Yu Dawei moved his hands, then shifted to a more comfortable position, looking at Duan Dahai with a hint of resentment. “But I feel that Old Guo is still too hasty, unlike his usual steady style.”

Upon hearing this, Duan Dahai pursed his lips in silence: "It might also have something to do with me."

"The news that I wanted to move the factory to Qiqihar somehow got to Qiqihar. You know, there is no shortage of flour mills there, but what is lacking is a local grain brand. The Daohuaxiang brand that I got has received a particularly good response in the three northeastern provinces."

"The leaders in Qiqihar must have seen the brand's potential and our factory's overall strength, so a while ago, a person in charge from there came over in person to talk to me about relocating the factory."

Duan Dahai got up, grabbed a chair from the side, and pulled it to the coffee table. He then began to boil water and make tea.

Is the support substantial?

"It's very large. If you open a factory there, they will help you connect with major banks to handle loan matters. In addition, the land price required for building the factory is very low, and they can also allow the factory to halve its taxes for the first three years."

Duan Dahai handed the brewed tea to Yu Dawei, and at the same time picked up the teacup and took a sip himself.

To be honest, he was tempted by the offer, but because he had promised Mr. Guo, he decided to postpone it with Qiqihar City.

Based on the discussion between Duan Dahai and Yu Dawei, they decided to leave the flour mill and Fanfan's repair shop here, and then go to the cities where they wanted to develop to rebuild new factory areas.

Yu Dawei's task was simpler, since he already owned a repair shop converted from an equipment factory in the oil city.

Therefore, it was he who really needed to consider the issue of building the factory, which is why Duan Dahai almost agreed.

"Old Guo is treating us to dumplings tonight, why don't you come too?" Yu Dawei took a sip of tea and realized it was Biluochun. He found it amusing, as drinking Biluochun in this season would only worsen one's cold constitution, especially since it was already cold.

Duan Dahai, as always, doesn't know much about tea.

“Go ahead, I’ll ride over in your car in a bit. I happen to have a case of Moutai left here, I’ll take two bottles over later.” Duan Dahai pointed to the cabinet behind his desk. “With these two bottles of Moutai, I don’t think Old Guo will make things too difficult for us.”

"Is Lao Liang ready to go south?" Yu Dawei asked again.

"Preparations are almost complete. There's something he's a little embarrassed to tell you, about the distribution of spare parts. If he goes to the south, the distribution here might not be as aggressive as before without his help."

“I know this even if he doesn’t say it. It’s all fine. I can roughly guess what he’s thinking.”

The two chatted idly for a while, and around four o'clock in the afternoon, they drove away from the flour mill with two bottles of Moutai in their car.

Mr. Guo's family lives in the northernmost part of the town, near the highway. Their house has a spacious courtyard.

After opening the door and entering, the entire courtyard was paved with red bricks. Next to it was a small plantation of less than ten square meters, which was now just a few wooden poles covered with dried bean vines standing there in the wind and snow.

Once inside the house, Guo's wife was adding firewood to the small stove, while Guo was preparing dumpling filling.

"You two, you're here, why did you bring anything?" Old Guo was quite happy to see the two of them come in, but when he saw that Yu Dawei was carrying two bottles of Moutai, he was immediately flattered.

Moutai is never cheap, no matter the era. Guo Lao immediately realized that the two men brought Moutai to prevent him from being too harsh in his words. But the reason he invited them here today was that they had to come up with a solution.

Luhe is located in a remote area and is the least valued town in the county. This is not only because Luhe has the smallest population of all the towns, but also because several pillar industries that were developed in recent years have all collapsed.

If we're talking about the truly successful ones over the years, one is the revitalization of the old flour mill that had collapsed, and the other is the sudden emergence of Fanfan Repair Shop.

Mr. Guo is a native of Minquan. He has spent most of his life working his way up from an ordinary grassroots worker to the position of managing a town. He doesn't want to see the two glimmers of hope he has finally gained slip away.

You must do your best to fight for it, even if it means sacrificing your so-called pride!

"Of course." Yu Dawei placed the wine on the stove, then subconsciously looked at the dumpling filling in the enamel basin. "What kind of filling did you make, sir? It smells delicious." "You have a gluttonous mouth." Old Guo teased, then continued stirring the dumpling filling with his chopsticks. "This is mushroom, radish, and meat."

"Mushroom, radish, and pork?" Duan Dahai, standing to the side, also craned his neck curiously. He thought it was a Northeastern specialty, sauerkraut and pork dumplings. This was the first time he had heard of such a filling. "It does smell very fragrant. I didn't expect you to have such skills."

"This isn't my cooking method; it's the way my wife's mother, my late mother-in-law, taught me. Over the years, besides sauerkraut dumplings, this has been my favorite food."

"This radish is the same big radish we usually eat in winter, and the mushrooms are hazel mushrooms picked and dried in autumn. Soak them in water and chop them up..." Old Guo seemed to want to promote this dumpling filling, and began to patiently explain how to mix it.

Duan Dahai and Yu Dawei unknowingly joined the dumpling-making group.

Place the work surface on the kang (heated brick bed), knead the dough, divide it into small portions, roll out dumpling wrappers, and finally wrap the dumplings.

Throughout the process, Mr. Guo did not mention a single word about the fate of the two factories.

It wasn't until the dumplings were served, several side dishes were cooked, and after a few rounds of drinks, that Mr. Guo, emboldened by the alcohol, began to describe the development of Luhe over the years, as well as the various changes that Duan Dahai and Yu Dawei had heard about before.

Most of the conversations were just old news, but what surprised the two of them was that Mr. Guo actually raised his glass and toasted them as a native of his hometown.

"Over the years, I have seen many young people of your generation leave home to work and earn money. I have also seen many left-behind children being taken care of by their grandparents. This includes my own three sons. Whether they went to university or graduated from junior high school, none of them wanted to stay in this godforsaken place."

“I know that our place is remote and poor. Other towns and villages have had electricity since the 1980s or even the 1970s, but we only got electricity in recent years.”

“As a native of this place, I also want my children to be close to me, I also want there to be a light along the road from the town to the village, and I also want people from other places to look up to us, instead of always saying they’ve never heard of us.”

"I'm getting old, just an old man. I really need to rely on young people like you from now on." Old Guo held his wine glass in the air, looking at Yu Dawei and Duan Dahai with hopeful eyes.

The two men's hands trembled slightly as they held their wine glasses. The old man was showing a lack of sportsmanship; everyone had just finished eating and drinking when he immediately revealed his true colors and prepared to force the emperor to resign.

Guo Lao's wife, who was standing next to him, glanced at Duan Dahai and Yu Dawei with a smile, and very tactfully got off the kang (a heated brick bed) and went to the kitchen to tidy up.

"Hehe, Mr. Guo, I'm not young anymore. In another seven or eight years, I'll be approaching fifty." Seeing that Mr. Guo was starting to press him, Duan Dahai quickly looked for loopholes in his words and planned to vaguely steer the conversation away from the topic.

"Don't be modest. You're all younger than me. You have plenty of time to expand and strengthen your factory in town. There's no need to rush," Old Guo continued his counterattack.

"Old Guo, time waits for no one." Seeing that Old Guo had made his move, Yu Dawei couldn't leave Brother Duan to handle the situation alone. He picked up his wine glass and continued, "These days, the market can change in an instant, catching people off guard."

"Take the real estate market for example. A few years ago, nobody wanted it for 500 or 800, but now you can hardly buy it in big cities for 1,000 or 2,000." Seeing that Mr. Guo didn't intend to clink glasses, Yu Dawei moved a little closer to him, but didn't push his luck.

"So, Xiao Yu, heroes are made by the times. To bloom a magnificent flower on barren soil not only adorns the earth but also amazes everyone around." Old Guo didn't push them too hard with this glass of wine. Seeing that the two of them were about to clink glasses, and because of the aroma of Moutai, Old Guo finally clinked glasses with them and then drank it all in one gulp.

Yu Dawei and Duan Dahai exchanged a secret glance, realizing that Guo Lao had held back.

Normally, he would stop touching the cups and start smilingly lecturing the two of them for a long time, explaining profound principles until he was hoarse from all the persuasion.

This time, the two men only saw that after drinking, Old Guo's aura had weakened considerably, and he instantly became depressed, just like the martial arts masters in those stories who, upon realizing that revenge was hopeless, would look up at the sky and feel disheartened.

Seeing Guo Lao's attitude, Duan Dahai felt a pang of guilt. He had been able to successfully take over the flour mill thanks to Guo Lao's mediation, and Guo Lao had also given the mill a lot of preferential treatment in the early days.

Another point is that when the leaders from Qiqihar City came to see him this time, Guo Lao, unusually, did not directly refute them. It is estimated that his attitude this time was also related to the conditions offered by Qiqihar City.

Thinking about it this way, Duan Dahai felt even more guilty, and he turned to look at Yu Dawei with a somewhat helpless expression.

He really didn't know whether to stay or leave.

"Hey, Mr. Guo, let's not beat around the bush." ​​Yu Dawei knew that Brother Duan was a bit lost, and he didn't want to see Mr. Guo looking so dejected. He put down his wine glass and spoke frankly, "Right now, if we want to make it a pillar industry in the town, there are a few issues that must be resolved."

"First, we have a small population; second, we are small in size and located in a remote area; third, we cannot gain recognition; and lastly, and most importantly, no one in the county or city is on our side."

"I know that..."

"Mr. Guo, wait a minute. I've been thinking about this for the past few days. Please let me finish what I have to say." Yu Dawei once again analyzed seriously in front of the two of them. "Let's not talk about me for now. Let's talk about Brother Duan first. If he hadn't found a suitable place before, he could have chosen to continue cultivating his career here."

"But things are different now. With the support of the Daohuaxiang brand, Brother Duan's factory has greater potential. Moreover, Qiqihar is the hometown of rice, so both transportation and operating costs will be lower there."

"Therefore, his relocation is the wisest thing to do under the current circumstances. In addition, with Qiqihar as the hometown of rice, I believe that the Daohuaxiang brand will be famous throughout China in a few years. We cannot do something that will delay his wealth."

"Besides, only some equipment and management personnel were moved away. The flour mill here will continue to operate the same way as before, maintaining flour-related businesses. It's just that the rice and millet products will be separated out."

Seeing that Old Guo was listening attentively, Yu Dawei continued, "Old Duan's business certainly can't be the pillar industry of our town. If you insist on taking a gamble, I'm willing to offer Fanfan Repair Shop and go crazy with you."

Yu Dawei's gaze was sharp and resolute, like a gambler sitting at a gambling table betting everything, forging ahead bravely and fearlessly.

"Really?!" Old Guo looked up, his fists clenched together excitedly.

“It’s more real than real gold, but please let me finish explaining my thoughts first.”

(End of this chapter)