Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 255 Department Store
You're the one who ruined my son!

The CEO's mother, with her arms crossed and a cold expression, said, "I set a trap to ruin his business."

The domineering CEO's business completely collapsed under Lin Dao's relentless pursuit of the project, even at a loss.

Not only did he fail to become the CEO, he also caused the company to suffer massive losses.

Faced with the shareholders' demands, the mother and son had no choice but to use their savings to cover the losses.

That's not enough to fill in.

Having suffered such a huge loss, of course we need to find out exactly what happened.

The investigation naturally led to Lin Dao.

"Just for this idiot?"

The CEO's mother frowned slightly and glanced at her girlfriend. "You'd rather lose money than drag the company down with you."

Do you know how much money you've lost?

"I don't care whether I pay compensation or not," Lin Dao shrugged and spread his hands. "I just want your son to be finished."

"childish!"

The CEO's mother stepped forward and stood in front of Lin Dao. "I've investigated you."

"You have neither connections nor capital."

"But to become rich so quickly in such a short time, there must be something wrong with it."

"If you don't want your secrets to be exposed, then listen to my terms."

Lin Dao, with a calm expression, said noncommittally, "Tell me about it."

“You have a very large business in Africa.”

The CEO's mother tilted her head slightly, her exquisite makeup almost touching her face. "Let's cooperate."

"You provide the money and the goods, I provide the connections."

"Let's start a company together and make money together."

"As for the past."

She turned to her ex-girlfriend and said, "If you want her, take her; if you don't, it doesn't matter."

"Let my son pour you tea and apologize, and we'll call it even."

She truly is a powerful businesswoman.

As long as there's business to be made, nothing else matters.

Even enemies who nearly bankrupted your family can be partners with.

Or rather, after suffering such a severe blow, she has no other choice now.

Lin Dao smiled, a genuine smile.

"You're kidding me."

"You want to use me to turn your life around?"

"Just go home and sleep; you can have anything in your dreams."

"If you want to leverage this opportunity, you'll have to beg me."

Lin leaned forward and whispered something in her ear.

The CEO's mother narrowed her eyes instantly, her gaze filled with coldness.

Lin Dao smiled, got back into his car, and drove away.

"Want to know my secret?"

"You deserve it too!"

Wude Era, Chang'an City.

The West Market, which had been closed for more than two months, has finally reopened.

Unable to contain their curiosity, the people of Chang'an flocked to the scene.

The guards shouted orders and brandished sticks to maintain order.

The area in front of the gate was bustling with shouts from people and neighing from horses.

Upon entering the West Market, the people all stopped in their tracks.

The West Market before us is completely different from what it was just over two months ago; it has undergone a dramatic transformation.

All the former shops, buildings, and stalls have been rebuilt.

As far as the eye can see, there are huge greenhouses, some as tall as the walls.

The roofs of these greenhouses are covered with densely packed, brick-like black panels, which look quite strange.

Inside are straight and wide roads.

On both sides of the road are partitions, which are covered with beautiful tiles.

There is a sign in front of each road that runs through it.

Those who could read read it aloud.

"Food Street"

The curious onlookers stepped inside.

The partitions on both sides of the road are lined with shops.

The shopkeepers who stayed there stood at the entrance and warmly greeted their guests.

"My family's mutton stew is made with only the freshest mutton!"

"My family's roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) is crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and bursting with sweet meat juice!"

"Our gourd chicken is made using a secret, ancient recipe; it's tender, crisp, and the bones fall off easily with chopsticks!"

"Our shop's gourd head soup with bread~~~"

Li Erfeng, dressed in casual clothes, strolled through the food street.

Looking at the signs hanging on the shops, he turned his head and asked, "Brother Zihou, it's fine here during the day, but when it's dark, can you still see them clearly?"

Lin Dao pointed to a restaurant next door with a sign that read "Zenggao" (steamed rice cake), "Let's go in and take a look."

As the group entered the shop, the shopkeeper and his staff warmly greeted them.

Li Erfeng looked around and saw that the shop was very bright.

He searched with curiosity and finally found the source of the light.

Several long glass tubes gleamed with a bright luster.

"What is this?"

"lamp."

"It uses electricity."

“On the roof of each greenhouse are solar panels that collect solar energy and convert it into electricity to power these lights.”

Li Erfeng and the others couldn't understand it, but they thought it was very impressive.

Fang Xuanling had already bought several portions of steamed rice cakes and distributed them.

The jujube paste and glutinous rice are steamed in a traditional steamer.

The sweet aroma of jujubes makes one unconsciously breathe more heavily.

One bite and it's sweet, soft, and delicious.

After leaving the steamed rice cake shop, we continued strolling through the streets. Every restaurant was filled with delicious aromas and had a bright, well-lit interior.

Li Erfeng ate as she walked, and by the time she left the food street, she was already rubbing her belly.

Looking back, I saw many people constantly going in and out of the restaurants.

Li Erfeng sighed, "With so many people eating, drinking, and shopping, the daily income must be enormous." Fang Xuanling, standing nearby, immediately understood his superior's intention.

He smiled at Lin Dao and said, "It seems the rent is actually lower."

Lin Dao rented the entire West Market at twice the price of West Market's tax revenue.

What followed was a large-scale reconstruction and renovation of the West Market.

The original shops and stalls were relocated to different areas according to the different businesses they were operating.

In addition to providing shop space, Lin Dao also contributes his technology and materials as equity, and enjoys the dividends from each shop.

Similarly, many other stores are directly operated by Lin Dao.

Of course, expenses such as water, electricity, firewood, sanitation, and management need to be paid separately.

Seeing the bustling and vibrant West Market, Li Erfeng and the others felt they had been taken advantage of.

Lin Dao smiled but remained silent, completely ignoring the topic.

Unlike other places, the forest trail offers a space and time that one can completely control.

In the Tang Dynasty, Lin Dao primarily focused on business.

To better conduct business, they simply transformed the West Market into a huge department store.

He told everyone to keep walking and observing.

Next to the food street is the wine street.

The shops here sell various types and strengths of alcoholic beverages brewed using Lin Dao's technology.

They come in white, yellow, and red.

The raw materials range from various grains to various fruits.

Li Erfeng and her group drank their way from one end of the street to the other.

When we came out of the wine street, half of the people sat down on the spot.

Li Erfeng pointed at Yuchi Gong and the others, laughing loudly, "You all always boasted that you could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, what's wrong with you now? Your alcohol tolerance is so low!"

The one who drank the most was Yuchi Gong, who mixed all kinds of wine. When he got drunk, he was completely unrecognizable and could even blow your eyes out.

He suddenly stood up, about to roar in anger, but Lin Dao pressed down on his neck with one hand and kicked him lightly with his foot.

Yuchi Gong immediately fell to the ground.

Stepping on his back, Lin Dao instructed Fang Xuanling, "Go to Sweetwater Street and find a basin of ice water to calm him down."

"This~"

Fang Xuanling subconsciously looked up at the sun in the sky. "Where did they get ice water on such a hot day?"

"You'll know when you go there."

Fang Xuanling, who left in a daze, returned with a basin of ice water.

He was even more confused.

"Taoist Master~"

After Lin Dao poured the ice water on Yuchi Gong's head, Fang Xuanling impatiently stepped forward and asked, "The shopkeeper doesn't have a cellar to store ice. I only saw that he put water in a copper basin on top of a water vat, and there was ice water."

"Ice made from saltpeter".

Lin Dao casually replied, "The physical phenomena of chemical reactions are very simple."

With such a simple method, all shops that use ice have to invest in him and receive dividends.

This is the power of technology.

Yuchi Gong, shaking his head as he got up, was clearly more awake.

He even bowed to Lin Dao to express his gratitude.

Recalling how he had almost uttered foul language and even physically assaulted the emperor, Yuchi Gong sobered up considerably.

"Let's keep browsing."

Lin Dao led everyone to a large shed next door.

The sign outside the first street reads "Women's Street".

Everyone wore knowing smiles, and their gazes toward Lin Dao were also teasing.

Just as they were about to enter, they were stopped by people at the street corner.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Women's Street is for women only."

Li Erfeng was greatly surprised. "Why is that?"

The person who tried to stop them respectfully replied, "Gentlemen, you may not know this, but this street is full of shops selling women's clothing."

Now everyone understood; it wasn't what they thought.

The group turned and left, but in their hearts they were thinking that they could have their wives arrange for maids to come and stroll around.

The next street is Men's Street.

It's filled with ready-made clothing stores that don't exist in this era.

"Clothes, robes, shirts, trousers, shoes, socks, and hats are all available."

Lin Dao gestured to a store selling underwear, saying, "This stuff is much better than a diaper."

Another shantytown, this is where transportation tools are sold.

The main products sold are all kinds of bicycles.

Among them, the largest model, the 28-inch bicycle, is the most popular.

Li Erfeng personally rode it around and immediately boasted that she would buy all the old-fashioned bicycles.

"You can't cover it."

Lin Dao simply shook his head. "Don't look down on Phoenix's permanent production line. Even if you took out all the taxes from the Tang Dynasty, you still couldn't cover it."

Li Erfeng didn't know anything about Phoenix Forever, but he believed in Lin Dao.

Since we can't cover it, then we won't.

"Brother Zihou, I am currently preparing for a campaign against Goguryeo."

"I have carefully reviewed the official records of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty's three campaigns against Goguryeo."

"The three expeditions failed largely due to insufficient supplies."

"I think the military really needs these bicycles, the more the better."

Lin Dao immediately saw through his lie: "With me with you, why worry about logistics?"

Then, changing the subject, she added, "It's not impossible to get some assistance."

Li Erfeng, understanding the implied meaning from the zither music, asked, "Brother Zihou, what has caught your eye?"

"Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion".

"Sigh~~~"

In Yonghe Time and Space, Lin Dao also arranged for someone to go to Wang Xizhi and have him copy the "Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion" according to the case file.

But the environments are different.

Having lost their original happy life, they hid in the mountains and forests to live a simple and austere life in seclusion.

Even if Wang Xizhi himself wrote the "Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion" in this state, it would still lack charm.

It just so happens that Li Erfeng has a truly rare and limited edition item, so of course we have to get it.

I was really torn.

Finally, persuaded by Fang Xuanling and others, he gritted his teeth, spread out five fingers, and shouted out what he considered an astronomical number.

"We need 50,000 vehicles!"

(End of this chapter)