45: Returning to the village, planning the Second Brother Road

The tiger head benz drove smoothly on the national highway; its suspension system was so good it felt like sitting on a pile of cotton.

Lin Chuan had his eyes closed, seemingly resting his mind.

In reality, the high-tech system panel in his mind was emitting a series of pleasant notification sounds.

"Ding! Detected that the Host has completed a series of prestige events (Acquisition of Admiralty Building, Establishing Authority at Deloitte, Gaining Fame at West Street Casino, Defeating Broken Finger Qiang)."

"Prestige value has increased significantly!"

"Congratulations to the Host! The System Mall level has increased to LV4!"

"Unlocked new items:"

1. [Top-grade Aviation Fuel]: 100 liters refreshed weekly, 4 yuan per liter.

(System Note: This is aerospace-grade stuff. Once you have a private jet in the future, it'll let you fly faster than anyone else.

It can also be used to fuel luxury cars.)

2. [Top-grade Fruit Basket]: 5 baskets refreshed daily, 500 yuan per basket.

(Contains various high-end fruits, including out-of-season and even future varieties. Good for beauty, health, and as gifts.)

3. [Inner Voice Post-it Note]: Special consumable, 50,000 yuan per sheet.

Stick it on a target to hear their inner thoughts for one hour.

(Just use it; it's a divine tool for identifying 'green tea' types!)

Looking at these items, Lin Chuan was overjoyed.

The aviation fuel could be used for the tiger head benz.

Besides, in this day and age, transporting various fruits was very difficult. In winter, you couldn't eat anything except for frozen pears and frozen persimmons.

If he could get fresh fruit, the Lin family's living standard would jump up another level!

As for the Inner Voice Post-it Note, it was absolutely a good thing!

If anyone dared to play dirty in front of him in the future, he'd just slap a sticker on them and see right through their secrets.

*Screech—*

With a soft sound, the tiger head benz slowly stopped at the main gate of the Lin family's old house in Red Mangrove Village.

When this big Benz entered the village, it caused quite a stir.

Even the big yellow dog at the village entrance was so scared it tucked its tail and didn't dare bark. The neighboring aunts and uncles stretched their necks like giraffes, their eyes nearly popping out.

"Good heavens! What kind of car is this? Why is it so long and shiny?"

"It looks like... a Big Benz? I heard those cost a fortune!"

Lin Jiang pushed the door open and got out, looking absolutely triumphant. Carrying large and small bags, his voice was loud enough to be heard two miles away.

"Dad! Mom! Second Brother! We're back!!"

The door opened.

The second brother, Lin He, wearing a faded old work uniform and holding a wrench, ran out hurriedly.

Behind him followed the honest and simple Father Lin and Mother Lin.

"Why are you only back now! The food has been reheated twice!" Mother Lin grumbled, but her face was beaming with joy as she hurried to take the boxes from Lin Chuan's hands.

"Mom, don't worry about it, it's heavy!"

Lin Jiang put the things on the heated brick bed and started pulling them out like a magician.

"Second Brother! Come here! Look what I brought you!"

"This is the most popular leather jacket in Hong Kong Island! Real leather! Feel the texture!"

"And this! A Walkman! It takes cassettes. I bought several!"

"Dad, this is foreign liquor for you, and this pipe—that's what the foreigners use!"

Lin He held the brand-new leather jacket, his hands trembling.

This thing would cost at least several hundred yuan in the county department store; he wouldn't even dare to dream of it.

"Brother! This tiny thing can actually play music! It's too advanced!" Lin He was very excited.

Looking at his glamorous elder and younger brothers, he felt happy but also a bit inexplicably envious.

The three brothers were originally all just "muddy-legged" peasants.

Now the eldest brother had gone to Hong Kong Island with the third, taking planes and riding in a Big Benz, while he was still stuck here with a bicycle.

Lunch was quite a feast.

Braised pork with pickled cabbage, stewed chicken with mushrooms, sweet and sour pork, stewed pork with vermicelli—a whole table full of hearty dishes.

During the meal, Lin Chuan smiled and spoke to Lin Jiang.

"Brother, there's something I need to tell you."

"Our old house is about to be demolished."

"The workers have already finished the designs. We'll build a three-story small villa right here, with a garage and a garden."

"So during this time, we definitely won't be able to live at home."

Lin Chuan: "It just so happens we won a lot of money this time. This afternoon, take Qiang Zi to the city, to a place with a good environment like Nangang District or Daoli."

"Buy two villas!"

"They need to be existing houses, the kind where we can just move in with our bags."

"One for the whole family to move into, and the other..."

Lin Chuan pointed to Chen Jiacheng next to him.

"For Tony."

"After all, the headquarters of our Longteng Group will be in the city. Tony is the president; we can't have him staying in a guesthouse every day or squeezing into a communal bunk with us, right?"

Chen Jiacheng was busy wrestling with a pork rib when he heard this, and his chopsticks almost dropped.

A villa?!

Although housing prices in Harbin weren't expensive in '92, a villa was still a top-tier luxury!

And he was preparing one specifically for him?

"Mr. Lin, this is too expensive!"

Chen Jiacheng quickly wiped his mouth, looking overwhelmed by the favor.

"It's fine, it's just for you to live in; the property rights still belong to the company." Lin Chuan chuckled. "But as long as you do a good job, this will be your employee dormitory."

"This employee dormitory is second to none." Chen Jiacheng felt a warmth in his heart. This boss was the right one to follow!

After the meal.

Lin Chuan was preparing to head over to the Canned Food Factory to check out the production line.

Just as he walked into the yard, he saw his second brother, Lin He, squatting by the large millstone, holding a twig and absent-mindedly drawing circles on the ground.

That back view exuded a sense of loneliness.

"Second Brother? What are you doing!"

Lin Chuan walked over and handed him a Marlboro he had brought back from Hong Kong Island.

"What's wrong? Why the long face?"

Lin He took the cigarette, squeezed it in his hand, and sighed.

"Lao San..."

"I see that you and Big Brother are really successful now."

"Big Brother manages construction, you manage a big group, and even Qiang Zi is driving a Big Benz."

"In my heart, I'm truly happy for you guys."

Lin He looked up, his eyes filled with a trace of confusion and urgency.

"Hey, do you think I'm too stupid?"

Lin Chuan: "Brother, why have you started to belittle yourself and speak inappropriately, thus blocking the path of loyal advice?"

Lin He was a bit dazed: "What was that?"

"Nothing, keep going."

Lin He was a bit dejected: "Sigh! I was thinking, I can't just keep farming and fixing cars at home forever."

"I want to do something too, but I've realized I don't have any skills. I'm afraid I can only run errands or guard the gate for you guys."

"Sigh, I've been left too far behind by you."

Looking at his second brother's cautious appearance, as if he were afraid of being disliked.

Lin Chuan felt a pang of sadness, followed by a hearty laugh.

He threw an arm around Lin He's shoulder and gave it a firm pat.

"Second Brother! What are you talking about!"

"We are biological brothers, blood is thicker than water. How could I leave you behind?"

"Actually, I've already thought of a path for you."

"Really?!" Lin He's eyes instantly lit up, as if he had caught a life-saving straw. "Then tell me quickly, what do you want me to do? As long as it's not building an atomic bomb, I can definitely do it!"

Lin Chuan gave a mysterious smile, pointed toward the village shop, and then toward the distant city.

"Second Brother, I want you to go open a supermarket."

"What?"

Upon hearing this, the light in Lin He's eyes dimmed significantly, like a deflated ball.

"Open... open a supermarket?"

"You mean like Widow Wang's little shop at the end of the village?"

"Selling soy sauce, vinegar, and some rock candy?"

Lin He gave a bitter smile, lit the cigarette, and took a deep drag.

"Sigh, alright, maybe this is all I'm capable of."

Lin He believed Lin Chuan's words implicitly; at this moment, that sense of loss was likely a form of resignation.

Sigh!

So in my third brother's eyes, I'm only fit to look after a small shop.

It makes sense. Big Brother has the skills of a civil engineer and can manage a construction team of a hundred people.

My brain probably just isn't up to it.

Seeing his second brother like this, Lin Chuan burst into laughter, doubling over.

"Second Brother! Where did your mind go!"

"Who said anything about a small shop?!"

"What I want you to do is a business much larger than Big Brother's construction team, even larger than my Canned Food Factory!!"

"Huh?" Lin He was stunned, not even noticing the cigarette ash burning his hand. "Larger than yours?"

"Yes, even hundreds of billions a year wouldn't be the limit."

"What kind of rock candy can sell for that much? You'd have to be selling 'ice'!"

Lin He watched a lot of Hong Kong movies and knew what 'ice' represented.

"Brother! No one in the Lin family is allowed to touch drugs."

"Anyone who dares will be expelled from the Lin family and personally handed over to the police."

"This must be set as a rule. No matter how large the family business grows in the future, drugs must never be touched."

Lin Chuan's smile vanished. Of the three vices—gambling, prostitution, and drugs—drugs were the most harmful.

Watching some adult films or playing a bit of poker for fun was nothing; that was just relaxation.

But drugs—touch even a little bit, and you'll fall deep into it, beyond redemption!

This is a red line. Whoever crosses it is a criminal.

Whoever dares to move this line deserves to be infamous for ten thousand years!

Lin He said, "We're just ordinary commoners; there's no way we'd touch that stuff."

Lin Chuan: "True! That stuff is deathly expensive and not available domestically. Those who can touch it are probably only the young masters and ladies who emigrated abroad."

"Let's not talk about that for now."

"Second Brother! The supermarket I want you to open isn't the kind of small shop with only two shelves."

"It's the kind of hypermarket that's thousands or even tens of thousands of square meters!"

"Inside, there will be thousands of types of goods! Food, drinks, daily necessities, clothes, appliances, even motorcycles!"

"People will push small carts inside and take whatever they want, choosing for themselves!"

"It will have air conditioning, warm in winter and cool in summer! It'll also have cooked food stalls, making and selling food on the spot!"

Lin Chuan got more excited as he spoke, picking up a stone from the ground and drawing a square in the mud.

"This is called a Commercial Complex!"

"The first floor is the supermarket, the second floor is clothing, the third floor is appliances, and on the fourth floor, we'll even have a cinema and an arcade!"

"It's called a one-stop service!"

"We'll open it in the most prosperous part of the city center! We'll even outshine the Central Department Store!"

"In the future, we'll open ten such stores in Harbin! A hundred in the whole province! A thousand across the country!"

"Second Brother!"

Lin Chuan grabbed Lin He's shoulders with both hands, his eyes burning bright.

"Tell me, can this be a big business with an annual revenue of hundreds of billions!"