Chapter Thirteen: The Preheating Event

  Mother Zeng Ke, Father Su Licheng, both looked a bit hesitant. They were uncertain about competing for the city government's office supplies procurement contract, and lack of confidence was one of the main reasons. Additionally, Zeng Quanming had been busy with many things in the city recently since taking over as head of the City Construction Bureau, and he only mentioned this matter to his sister Zeng Ke in passing, without expecting their Xia Hai Culture Supplies to become a designated procurement supplier for the city government.

  After all, even in peacetime, he would introduce the Municipal Construction Bureau and some project companies connected to the Municipal Bureau to Zeng Ke, so Su Can's store was just starting out, retail was not prominent, and it was still in the preheating stage. On the contrary, various companies signed more orders because Zeng Quanming's channel was now open, and the sales volume of the daily necessities store had also increased several times compared to before.

  "What should we do on our side, big brother? This bidding seems to be held at the Kayla Hotel..." Father Su Licheng said with little confidence, and the two of them have been discussing this matter for several days.

  "I don't know either, this bidding thing, we're just going to join in the excitement, those are all capable people who go, even if it's because of my brother's relationship, it won't work."

  It's no wonder that Zeng Ke is worried, first, this bidding will be clearly supervised by the municipal leaders, it is said that the mayor Hong Xiaotian, who is in charge of this area, has already proposed to resolutely prevent any favoritism and corruption, and damage to competition, every industry's designated unit qualification review will go through his personal audit, and will be jointly approved with the Municipal Bureau of Commerce and Trade, the bidding aims to be fair, strict, and also aims to create a relaxed atmosphere.

  So the municipal government chose to hold this tender in Kailai Hotel, one of the top hotels in the city. The participating companies are numerous, and for office supplies alone, there are more than a dozen companies that want to participate, all of which are old brands in Xiahai City, including some state-owned department stores that also want to get a share.

  It's like Su Can's family store, wanting to get qualified through review is extremely difficult, and they shouldn't have a seat in the first place. However, Da Shu Quan Ming ran around and managed to secure a spot for them, but this participation quota is just a tiny corner of the entire grand bidding conference. The mayor has to review many qualifications of various designated office units, with strong competitors everywhere, and their level of experience might not even enter the mayor's eyes.

  When mentioning this matter to his parents and uncle, he showed a look of disdain. "I managed to get you this quota, not for you to go in and do whatever you want. You two have just started doing business, you're just getting started. It's not like it's easy to get into this kind of thing, the relatives of the municipal office can't even get in. You two are limited in ability, you should take a look at how others do business, how they speak on the big stage. Otherwise, you'll always be stuck in your own little world, and even if you try to make a move, it won't work! You still need to raise money for Su Can's university tuition, and you should also learn more about business."

  Zeng Quanming was in this posture, even for Zeng Ke and Su Licheng, it was with a scolding attitude.

  But as he thought about his parents and uncle's words, the more he felt that it was a high-end stage, belonging to others' development. His father had never thought of wanting anything luxurious in his life. He furrowed his brow, "Hey, I said there wouldn't be any connections inside, they're just formalities. Let's say our stationery store, compared to Xia Hai Department Store, Xia Hai Office Chain, and Xinhua Bookstore, which one can we compare with? Their experience, connections, are all very extensive. If the city government wants to support us, it must be supporting these old-brand enterprises first, right? Compared to them, we're just too small..."

  My old mom also nodded, "Yes, we don't have any big ideas. That money is endless, as long as we do our own thing well, it's enough. It's the big companies that need to worry about those things, why bother us?"

  Generally speaking, in family discussions like this one with his parents, Su Can was unable to get a word in edgewise. However, sitting in the living room, Su Can deliberately lowered his voice and listened to his parents' muttering as they cooked in the kitchen, but in his heart, he felt a twinge of annoyance at their conservative and outdated mindset.

  My parents, Zhen Ke and Su Li Cheng, have been ordinary workers all their lives, so they only know that stability is the first priority, and they will only do well in what they need to do every day, and everything will be fine. This is not their fault, in fact, when people reach their age, plus they never had any ambition, my parents' outdated ideas and clinging to a small piece of land are exactly what their hearts desire most, which can no longer withstand turmoil.

  But for Su Can, who had been reborn once, he clearly knew that this was an opportunity. Unfortunately, his parents were going to let it slip away and hadn't even considered fighting for this bid, which would undoubtedly leave a feeling of anger and regret in his heart.

  Because in his previous life, he often did so, and now it seems that the choices and opportunities that could have greatly improved his life were all abandoned due to his inaction. After rebirth, he hated this idea of waiting for death even more intensely.

  At the dinner table, Soo-chan stabilized his breath and said faintly, "Mom, do you still remember what our house looked like five months ago?"

  The parents who were originally worried about their son's words did not think much of Su Can's words at first, but now that he mentioned five months ago, they subconsciously recalled the past, after all, it was too profound.

  Zeng Ke thought for a moment, affectionately stroking Su Can's head. "That was before our family underwent earth-shaking changes. Five months ago, I didn't even know if you could get into No. 3 Middle School, but you gave your dad and me a huge surprise!"

  Su Can felt a little moved, the so-called earth-shaking changes his parents mentioned were not about the excellence or otherwise of their family situation, but about Su Can's major transformation, he was what they considered most precious.

  "Five months ago, your mom and I hadn't opened this store under your proposal, but there were still problems on your mom's company side. If it wasn't for that, your mom would have gotten the severance pay and we wouldn't be able to open this store. Now the business is getting a bit better, we're planning to save some money, and when you go to college, we'll use it. My son will definitely get into a good university!" Su Licheng said proudly.

  "So, how much money have we saved up at home so far?"

  Zeng Ke and Su Licheng exchanged a glance, neither of them understanding why Su Can would ask such a question. However, Zeng Ke replied, "In the past few months, I've earned around 5,000 to 6,000 yuan. There are also several units that haven't signed yet, but those orders are small. Originally, we sign with them once every three months, and some even require us to sign every six months. Adding all these together, it's around 7,000 to 8,000 yuan."

  "After some thought, Su Can said, 'Mom, do you still remember what I told you? The happiness given by others will never be that happy.'"

  Zeng Ke couldn't help but know that her son's words, sometimes when she was tired on the surface, she thought to herself and got through it. She thought that after all, her son had grown up, and sometimes a plain sentence could give her the motivation to live her life with purpose.

  "Our family looks good now, but most of the clients were introduced by my uncle's side, and many of them are not necessarily willing to come, but it's also not good to offend my uncle. If my uncle is no longer in this position one day, our family's chain will also be broken. We don't have our own living chain, which is not acceptable!" This kind of honor and shame family chain relationship is what Su Can wants to avoid as much as possible.

  Things in the officialdom are hard to say, and with the temper of Da Shu, it's inevitable that something will go wrong. Su Can is not a god, he can't control Zeng Quanming's moves in the officialdom from afar. Even if Su Can makes up his mind to personally enter the fray, he wouldn't dare be arrogant, how could he guarantee that his brother-in-law would keep his current position and not be removed?

  Su Licheng was apparently moved by Su Can, in fact, as the father of Su, he has always had authority at home, it's just that Su Can's repeated performances made him also reevaluate his son and no longer think of him as just a child who can't participate in family affairs, but instead, a sense of importance arose in his heart, "So to say..."

  Su Can looked up, his eyes fixed intently on Su Licheng. "Dad, we must participate in this bidding conference. If we continue to guard this small storefront, our lives may be better off, but our family will always be stuck in one place. In the future, the government will definitely look towards Yongcheng and Zhonghai, those developed cities. The tall buildings blocking the way outside will be demolished and rebuilt into green lawns, looking open and spacious. If our storefront is demolished, what will we do? Rather than living a life like a floating duckweed, it's better if Mom didn't go to sea and work for others forever!"

  Both of them fell into deep thought, Su Can wanted this effect, using the sense of crisis to force his parents not to feel at ease with the current good situation. If he could represent them in doing all this, he would naturally not want his parents to worry, but it was clear that this was not possible. A sixteen-year-old kid, after all, couldn't take on such a role.

  This is not Detective Conan, in this Chinese society that emphasizes seniority and experience, at his current stage, he actually has no say.

  "Then what can we do? We want to attend the bidding conference, but our qualifications are not as good as others..." Mother Zeng Ke frowned.

  Su Can shook his head, "Not necessarily, I heard that Mayor Hong Xiaotian's policy is to reform the existing bloated state-owned enterprises, give market competition to private enterprises in Xiha City, stimulate economic development, and make some political achievements. This is a good sign."

  "Is...this really true?" His parents were stunned, and for a moment they forgot about Su Can's mature tone.

  For Xia Hai's internal and external references, Su Can spent a lot of time on his brother-in-law's desk, although not specifically reading, but in the frequent reports on local city leaders, Su Can was still able to find some directions for these city leaders' political ideals.

  "Mom, the money we earned from the storefront recently might need to be used a bit...". Su Can smiled slightly, "But I think that on the day of the bidding, it will definitely be worth remembering."

  "Why?" The parents were perplexed.

  "Because from then on, whether it's your old colleagues from the office, or your former leaders, or other people in this unit, those uncles and aunts who were skeptical about our family opening a store, who thought it was unbelievable that you would go into business, they will eventually look up to you with an unprecedented attitude, admiring what you have achieved!"

  ====

  The book's group will be released soon, thanks to the enthusiasm of Xue Yu friends, and *Nian Nian brother's reward directly killed everything.

  The protagonist has a few more reverent attitudes towards life after his rebirth, which is also an interpretation of his mental state.

  Not causing trouble, nor being afraid of it, this is the character that Su Can has always adhered to. As for whether or not he's showy, as long as he's reasonable and controlled in his fantasies, that's what Ao Bao expects of him.

  Everyone reads books for fun, and this book will also revolve around this principle.

  Finally, thank you brothers for your recommendations and collections! This is crucial for the new book stage.

  I'm deeply grateful.