Road to Revival

Chapter 78 Exploration

Sun Dunquan officially began preparations for the launch of his new book after May Day. Inspired by the Donghu Club, he continued to conceive the book after returning home, and finally decided to use Donghu Industry as the prototype, with Tang Yikun as the protagonist.

Yin Yutao had suggested that he use Tao Tang as a model, believing that Tao Tang was more familiar with state-owned enterprises, having worked there for over a decade and possessing an understanding of their systems and mechanisms that most writers lacked. Moreover, there was Tao Tang himself; he could easily obtain necessary material from him.

After much thought, he still felt that such a story lacked appeal. Using Song Yue as a prototype, the story could be developed, but the theme would be rather dark. He chatted with his editor on QQ a few times, explaining his new book's concept. The editor felt that using a corrupt official as the protagonist was inappropriate, as there were new requirements from higher authorities for online literature, whether historical or contemporary, emphasizing the promotion of positive energy.

While continuing his Republican-era love story, he also conceived the framework for his new book. Once the general idea for the new book was finalized, his next task was to collect materials. There were introductions to Donghu Industry online, but these were promotional and didn't meet his needs. He wanted the development history of Donghu, or more specifically, the story of Tang Yikun's rise to power.

This was no easy task, as Sun Dunquan didn't even know any of the mid- to senior-level employees at Donghu.

But Sun Dunquan unexpectedly got an opportunity during the May Day holiday. That day, he went to the Cultural Palace for a stroll and met someone.

Pingquan City Cultural Palace hosts an antique and secondhand market every Saturday and Sunday. Sun Dunquan mainly browses for old books and newspapers. He bought many tattered magazines and newspapers at the Cultural Palace's secondhand market while writing his book, and over time, he became somewhat obsessed with "flea hunting." However, due to his limited funds, he couldn't afford the better items. While browsing the Cultural Palace's secondhand market, Sun Dunquan would think, "If only I were Tang Yikun! I could just take whatever I wanted without even asking the price." Even Tao Tang, with his annual salary of hundreds of thousands, could easily support such a hobby. But he couldn't... Then he realized that people like Tang Yikun and Tao Tang wouldn't have the leisure time to browse secondhand markets. They had money, but not the leisure. The world is always so mysterious; having one thing means not having another, so he shouldn't complain.

That day, Sun Dunquan was browsing through a comic book at the secondhand market. The cover was missing, but the illustrations were exquisite. He was sure he had read it as a child, so he squatted down and started reading it.

Perhaps the comic books evoked childhood memories, for Sun Dunquan was engrossed in reading them until a woman's voice laughed at him, "So serious, huh? Coming here to read comic books for free?"

He looked up and saw a woman about his age smiling at him, but for a moment he couldn't remember who she was.

"What, don't you recognize me?"

"You look familiar, but I'm sorry, I really can't remember..."

"Zhang Hongqin. Your name is Sun Dunquan, right?"

"Zhang Hongqin? Oh, oh, look at my memory. You were Lü Qi's good friend, right? You two were practically inseparable back then." Sun Dunquan stood up and extended his hand to the other person.

"I finally remembered. What, collecting comic books?" Zhang Hongqin smiled and grasped Sun Dunquan's outstretched hand. "Long time no see. Is Lü Qi still at the factory? How is she?"

"I'm just wandering around aimlessly; I'm not a collector, and I don't have the financial means. Lü Qi is at the factory. What? You've lost contact?"

"Sigh, I went to her wedding, but I lost contact with her after that... Could you give me her phone number?"

"Of course. Oh, why don't you come back to the factory with me? She's a nice girl; we just had dinner together not long ago. By the way, do you remember Tao Tang?"

"I remember, of course I remember. Isn't he in Yanjing? Oh well, let's forget about today, another day. I'll definitely go back to the factory to see Lü Qi another day."

"Tao Tang has returned to Hongxing to become the top leader. Tang Yikun hosted a welcome-back dinner for Tao Tang, and several classmates had a meal together. There was Zhou Hongyou, Han Ruilin, and oh, Gu Meijun too."

"Wow, Tao Tang's become the top leader at Red Star? That's impressive... What about Lü Qi? What's she doing now? And you, are you also at Red Star? You're a leader now, right?"

"Lü Qi is the deputy director of the Development and Planning Department, living a pretty good life. As for me, I resigned a long time ago and am now unemployed. That's why I'm just wandering around here. By the way, where are you working now?"

"Me? I'm just scraping by at Donghu Industrial..."

"You're at East Lake? That's nice..." Sun Dunquan's mind raced. "Is this your son?" He looked at the boy, who looked about eight or nine years old, holding Zhang Hongqin's hand.

"Yes. He's the second oldest in my family, and he has a daughter... Xiao Zhi likes to read comic books. He was resting and had nothing to do, so he came over for a stroll. He didn't expect to run into you. You haven't changed much, just a little bit chubby."

"A son and a daughter, huh? That's great. It's getting late. Meeting you is fate. Shall we find a place to chat? No, you must listen to me." Sun Dunquan took out 30 yuan and bought the comic book without haggling. He then pulled Zhang Hongqin's son aside and said, "Which set of books do you like? Tell your uncle, and he'll give it to you as a gift."

"You're still the same, unchanged." Zhang Hongqin said with a smile.

Half an hour later, Sun Dunquan and Zhang Hongqin, mother and son, went into a fast food restaurant inside the Cultural Palace. He insisted on spending 280 yuan to buy Xiaozhi an old edition of "The Romance of the Eastern Zhou Kingdoms". Now Xiaozhi is looking at the somewhat tattered comic book with great interest.

"Just eat something simple, no need for alcohol, I drove here," Zhang Hongqin stopped Sun Dunquan.

"Then let's not drink. It's so nice to see you. What brings you to East Lake?" Sun Dunquan ordered a few side dishes and some fruit beer. "This is fine, consider it a drink. To celebrate our unexpected reunion."

"I'm not like you guys. I didn't get into university. I went to a textile factory technical school and worked as a machine operator in the textile factory after graduation. It was exhausting. Later, Donghu was recruiting, and I took the exam and got a job there."

"So you're considered a veteran of East Lake, right? With Tang Yikun protecting you, life must be pretty good, right?"

"What's so great about him? He's the big boss, I'm just an employee. Private companies don't care about friendships."

"Last time we had dinner at the Donghu Club, Lao Tang didn't mention you... What are you doing in Donghu? Everyone says Donghu created Pingquan's wealthy class." Sun Dunquan looked Zhang Hongqin up and down, "You look like one of those who got rich first."

"You overestimate me. By the way, why did you resign?"

"You can't blame the factory for this. I just couldn't adapt to the way state-owned enterprises operate. I was in the propaganda department, but it was really boring, so I quit. Hehe, now it seems that our Class 58 is really a class of dragons and tigers, producing several trendsetters. However, in terms of achievements, it has to be your Boss Tang. I think Zhou Hongyou and Tao Tang can't compare to Tang Yikun."

"I don't see it that way. Life's achievements cannot be measured in money."

"Then what will we use to measure it? Now, isn't this the only metric left?"

"Anyway, I don't see it that way. Sigh, Lü Qi's life is going to be much easier now," Zhang Hongqin chuckled, seemingly remembering something. "It doesn't matter what we say now. Tao Tang was interested in Lü Qi back then, I hope he hasn't forgotten. When did he come back? I really didn't hear about it."

"He was just transferred here last month. Tao Tang, well, his life isn't that good either. His wife passed away in a car accident, and now he's all alone. He's kept in touch with me, and our whole family even went to visit him. We were very warm and attentive. At that time, he was in Binhai... Tao Tang is great, really."

"People change once their status changes. When Tang Yikun first started Donghu, it was just like the song 'Shajiabang' sung by Hu Chuankui, 'a dozen or so men with seven or eight guns.' He had a good relationship with us. But after he became successful, why would he remember us? Tao Tang was on good terms with you because you resigned. If you were his subordinate, he probably wouldn't say that."

"Looks like you're not doing well. Please forgive my inappropriate wording. What are you doing at East Lake?"

"I've done all sorts of jobs... Now I've been reassigned to Donghu Machinery, the headquarters is in the development zone, and the boss is Tang Yiwei, Tang Yikun's younger brother. Perhaps you know him?"

"I definitely don't know him. To be honest, I didn't say more than a few words to Tang Yikun back then. If it weren't for the Pingquan Hotel incident, I might have forgotten about him. By the way, I've always been curious about how Tang Yikun got into Donghu Industrial. Accumulating tens of billions of assets in twenty years is an absolute legend."

"Well... broadly speaking, we caught a good time. On a smaller scale, Tang Yikun is indeed capable and has foresight. Donghu started with coal mining and has now shifted its focus to real estate. He always manages to find opportunities to make money. A few years ago, coal mining was very profitable; trucks lining up for miles to haul coal from Dongshan Coal Mine could make a profit! You mentioned earlier that Donghu created the wealthy group in Pingquan, which is true. But there are different levels within Donghu. Not to mention the Tang Yikun family and those who hold real power, the treatment of employees in Donghu's various sectors varies greatly. The worst is Donghu Machinery; some of its factories are on the verge of bankruptcy. By the way, what did you do after you resigned? Resell antiques? That doesn't seem likely."

"I won't lie to you. I'm making a living by writing now."

"A writer, huh? I never would have guessed. Xiao Zhi, look at Uncle Sun, he's a great writer."

"Don't be so modest. I think life is getting harder and harder for professional writers. If a book can't even sell 1000 copies, how can they make any money? On the contrary, online literature is quite popular. Yuandian.com has at least tens of thousands of 'writers,' and the highest earners make tens of millions."

Zhang Hongqin was taken aback. "That many?"

"Absolutely. But there are very few top-tier authors. Most 'authors' are part-time, and someone like me, who has no legitimate job and whose book subscriptions are dismal, is probably the worst off. By the way, Hongqin, I'm planning to write a book based on Donghu Industry, and I just happened to run into you. Could you tell me about Donghu? I've looked it up online, and there's a lot of information about Donghu, but it's not what I'm looking for."

Zhang Hongqin became interested. "So what do you want to know?"

"The first pot of gold. That's the capital to start a business. This applies to business as well as other fields. The first pot of gold is the hardest to obtain. I know a little about Tang Yikun's business, but I have no idea where he got the funds to suddenly acquire the Dongshan coal mine. How many mines could he have made by going south to Shenzhen to do small business? I'm very curious. Loans? Are loans that easy to get? Don't banks require collateral? What did he use as collateral?"

"Hey, you've come to the right person. To be honest, I used to do this kind of work in East Lake. As far as I know, Tang Yikun's current wife is wealthy, and she's the one who's been supporting him."

"I've heard this rumor—I've been collecting information on Donghu recently. According to what I've gathered, Donghu's shareholding structure is actually quite simple; it's controlled by the Tang and Wei families, but the Tang family has absolute control, right? Although they're husband and wife, I don't think things are that simple, because Wei Fengru's money isn't her own; it belongs to her father or other elders. If you were in her shoes, would you give up your shares to Tang Yikun? You wouldn't, would you?"

"Why do I feel like you're investigating East Lake?"

"Why would I investigate Donghu? I'm really doing this for writing a book. These are just materials. You might not read many online novels, but the best-selling ones right now are urban novels, which are nothing more than stories of geniuses rising to wealth. Young readers are seeking fulfillment in a fictional world that they can't find in reality. I think a private enterprise like Donghu is inherently legendary, isn't it?"

"There's no need to delve into history."

"I'm not trying to exhaustively recount the history of Donghu. I just want to make the story more compelling. I've always believed that the story of the initial stages of the business is the most important and exciting. If this part isn't written well, the article loses its foundation. It's like a house; if the foundation isn't solid, there's no point in talking about quality... Don't worry, I have absolutely no intention of smearing Donghu. If I write it well, it will also be good publicity for Donghu. Besides, I won't let you provide the material for nothing."

Zhang Hongqin chuckled, "Haha, what benefits are you going to give me?"

"To be honest, I've written several books, but I've only just realized that those books were all nonsense, completely worthless. Now I understand that online novels are also literature, and since they are literature, they must follow the general rules of literature and must have material from real life. I'm not in a hurry; I must do a good job of preparation... You ask what benefits I'll give you? I'll give you a presentable gift—if this book is successful, you can choose whatever you want, and I mean it."

"I was just kidding, you actually took it seriously. I don't want any reward, just consider it a favor..."

So, while eating, Zhang Hongqin told everyone what she knew about East Lake. Before she knew it, time had slipped away. When Xiao Zhi started making a fuss, Zhang Hongqin said, "I have to go home now. I have things to do this afternoon."

The two exchanged phone numbers, and Zhang Hongqin paid for the meal. Zhang Hongqin said to Sun Dunquan, "Don't argue. Look, you bought books for my son, and I wasn't being polite either. I hope you can really write a novel that I can read."

Sun Dunquan gained a great deal; his "investigation" of East Lake was a significant step forward.

(End of this chapter)