Sun Nian was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly remembered the news from below and said, "Dad, I heard Comrade Zhang Liunian has come to Pengcheng. Our people have arrived. Why don't we invite him over for a chat?"
With what was happening now, he subconsciously wanted to see Zhang Liunian, as if to get some calming words from him.
It wasn't just him; even Father Sun was eager to see Zhang Liunian upon hearing he was in Pengcheng, as if the latter were their stabilizing force. Just listening to his thoughts could give them direction.
"He's here in Pengcheng, has the Gu family made a move again? Quickly take some people to help him, and by the way, invite him to the Sun family for a visit," Father Sun thought of how the Gu family had chased Zhang Liunian when he left Pengcheng last year. Now that he was back, they knew about it, and the Gu family would surely know too.
Thinking of this, Father Sun immediately wanted to send people to help him, after all, he was a great benefactor to their Sun family.
"I'll go right away." Sun Nian was reminded by his father and also recalled how the Gu family had dealt with Zhang Liunian. He figured the current situation was likely not optimistic, so after saying that, he immediately got up and went to find Zhang Liunian.
Meanwhile, Zhang Liunian was unaware that the Sun family was looking for him. He was wandering around, planning to find a place in Pengcheng to establish a department store. After Fude Village was developed, he would build another department store there.
That's right, he planned to set up two department stores in Pengcheng first. Anyway, Pengcheng was very large, and having two department stores in new and old residential areas would be completely fine.
Uncle Yi knew Zhang Liunian's plan. He walked up to a row of civilian houses and said, "Liunian, I think we can set up the department store here. What do you think?"
Zhang Liunian followed his gaze and saw eight residential houses standing there. There were no special buildings nearby, and those eight houses looked very dilapidated, as if they would collapse before long.
Zhang Liunian looked at the eight houses, then at the surrounding location.
He found that by turning left and walking out, it led to Dongmen Old Street, which would later become Dongmen Pedestrian Street.
The geographical location was quite good. If a department store were really built here, business would indeed boom.
Thinking of this, Zhang Liunian said to Uncle Yi, "This location is indeed good. How did you see it, Uncle Yi?"
Uncle Yi was delighted to see Zhang Liunian agree with his idea. He put on a thoughtful look and said, "Look at this location, it's surrounded by houses on all sides, and it's the center. Generally, such places are most suitable for opening department stores, supply and marketing cooperatives, etc. See, isn't there a supply and marketing cooperative in front? And their business is very good, look at the people coming and going?"
Zhang Liunian followed the direction he indicated and indeed saw a supply and marketing cooperative with booming business.
"Alright, let's go and ask these households if they are willing to sell their houses and move." If not, he would find somewhere else.
But to his surprise, all these people were willing to sell their houses and move, but the price was fifty thousand per unit.
Uncle Yi thought the price was too high and tried to negotiate it down, wanting to buy each unit for twenty thousand. However, these residents insisted on not selling for less than fifty thousand.
"Liunian, why don't we look for more places? The prices they're asking are too high," Uncle Yi pulled Zhang Liunian aside and quietly stated his thoughts.
Zhang Liunian didn't object, as this location wasn't the only option. He immediately went with Uncle Yi to look for other places. After searching around, they found that only this spot was the most suitable geographical location.
"What should we do now? Good locations have high prices, and we don't want bad locations for fear of no business." Uncle Yi wasn't skilled in such matters; his expertise lay in investigating people and affairs.
Zhang Liunian didn't speak, he just walked forward, seemingly unwilling to settle for just this good spot.
Seeing him like this, Uncle Yi stopped speaking and followed him around until they reached a recycling station.
Zhang Liunian stood at the recycling station and looked for a long time, finally confirming that this was the place where Pengcheng Department Store was built in his previous life.
Although business wasn't very good at first, it gradually became very popular later, so much so that "crowded" was an understatement.
Goods sold out daily, and the department store owner made a fortune.
At that time, he had also cooperated with the department store to sell his own brand and envied their good business. It was then that he had the idea of opening his own department store. However, by the time he finally made up his mind, department stores had already sprung up all over the country, and if he wanted to start one, he would have to compete with them.
Finally, after much deliberation, he gave up on the idea.
Now, coming back, he had seized the initiative and could completely build a national chain of department stores, making his Zhang family's department store renowned. Thinking of this, Zhang Liunian said to Uncle Yi, "Uncle Yi, go and inquire now if the recycling station can be sold and how much it would cost."
This recycling station belonged to the neighborhood, so to get it, he naturally had to find the neighborhood office to inquire.
When Uncle Yi heard that he was asked to inquire about something, he was good at it. He immediately patted his chest and said he would handle it.
After Uncle Yi left, Zhang Liunian browsed for a while longer before heading back.
However, before he could enter the residential area, he saw Sun Nian appearing before him with a few people.
"Comrade Zhang, long time no see."
Seeing Zhang Liunian return, Sun Nian excitedly stepped forward to greet him.
Zhang Liunian stopped and smiled, "Long time no see, Comrade Sun Nian."
"My father just found out you're back in Pengcheng and asked me to bring some people to protect you. If you don't mind, please accept them. They're quite skilled." Sun Nian gestured to the men behind him, indicating their outstanding abilities to protect him.
Zhang Liunian smiled and glanced back at the fifteen bodyguards behind him, saying, "Thank you for your kind offer, but I've also made preparations for my visit to Pengcheng. These are the helpers I've hired. I appreciate your good intentions."
Sun Nian scanned the fifteen sturdy men behind him and nodded secretly, thinking they looked no worse than the people he had brought.
"Since you're prepared, I'll take them back. If you need anything, you can just ask."
After saying this, Sun Nian remembered that his main purpose for coming was to invite Zhang Liunian to their home, so he added, "By the way, my father also wants to invite you to our Sun family for a visit. Do you have time?"
Zhang Liunian happened to be free, so upon hearing it was to the Sun family, he readily agreed, "I happen to have time now. It's better to act than to choose a day, let's go!"
"That's great." Sun Nian was surprised by Zhang Liunian's prompt agreement and smiled.
Half an hour later, Zhang Liunian arrived at the Sun family and sat before Father Sun.
"Comrade Liunian, I hope you've been well. Have you encountered any trouble since arriving in Pengcheng?" Upon seeing Zhang Liunian arrive, Father Sun stood up to shake his hand and then poured him tea after they sat down.