Chapter 0291: Little Tricks

"Life is so beautiful, yet I am so irritable. Not good, not good."

After a long while, Zhao Fusheng managed to force a smile onto his face. Looking at Fan Baobao sitting before him, he said as amiably as possible, "Look, can't we talk things out? Why do you have to call the parents at the drop of a hat?"

"You're bullying me, so of course I have to tell Uncle and Auntie." Fan Baobao blinked her eyes, looking at Zhao Fusheng.

"You must have misunderstood." Zhao Fusheng nearly choked with frustration. He shook his head and said, "We grew up together. When have I ever bullied you?"

In his heart, he silently protested, 'You've always been the one bullying me!' But on his face, he still wore a full smile.

"But you just said we were irreconcilable enemies, that it's either you or me." Fan Baobao said.

Zhao Fusheng quickly shook his head: "You misheard. I said we'd never part, that if you die, I wouldn't want to live either."

Even he found these words cheesy, let alone Fan Baobao. She quickly waved her hand: "Stop! Cut it out! Don't be so disgusting."

As she spoke, both of them burst out laughing.

The advantage of growing up together is that no matter how long apart, neither forgets that bond.

Naturally, Zhao Fusheng wouldn't stoop to Fan Baobao's level, and Fan Baobao knew very well that Zhao Fusheng wouldn't hold her earlier behavior against him.

After dinner, Zhao Fusheng went upstairs to his room to read, while Fan Baobao stayed downstairs watching TV.

Before long, the girl grew restless. She began wandering around, looking left and right. Clearly, she had never lived in such a big house before.

"Looks like Boss Zheng has made quite a bit of money." Fan Baobao looked around and found the house was indeed spacious. If you combined her house and Zhao Fusheng's house, they'd be about this big.

Most importantly, the interior decoration was very nice.

"She lets Zhao Fusheng live in a house like this? They must be pretty close." Fan Baobao furrowed her delicate brows, walked upstairs, and knocked on Zhao Fusheng's door.

"Something up?" Zhao Fusheng opened the door, looking puzzled.

Fan Baobao pointed at the house: "Are you and Boss Zheng on good terms? She actually lets you stay in her house."

Zhao Fusheng shook his head helplessly: "We're not that close. The thing is, after I finished that marketing plan, she wanted me to use the winter break to write the ad plan for the next quarter."

"Well, well, so you're locked up here writing plans." Fan Baobao burst out laughing.

Zhao Fusheng gave her a look: "Go to bed already. Aren't you tired?"

Fan Baobao nodded, said nothing, and turned to go downstairs to sleep.

At the top of the stairs, she turned around and shook her fist at Zhao Fusheng: "I'm telling you, don't you dare come into my room at night, or I'll make you a eunuch for life. Got it?"

Zhao Fusheng rolled his eyes: "I'm not blind."

"Bastard!"

Fan Baobao stomped her foot and watched helplessly as Zhao Fusheng closed the door.

After seeing the girl off, Zhao Fusheng sat in his room reading, but his mind was troubled. His father's shopping mall was going too smoothly—so smoothly it worried him.

Zhao Fusheng was well aware of the current situation in Northeast China. In many departments, officials turned their本职 work into power rent-seeking, playing 'close the door and beat the dog,' demanding bribes, and running things based on connections. Security depended on personal ties, business relied on relationships, and competition hinged on connections and backers. In short, anything but normal business operations was possible.

To run a business, the first step wasn't a business plan or a capital operation plan, but to find connections, then pull strings, and only then could you start planning. Even then, operations had to rigidly follow the rules and regulations of various management departments.

Of course, this was just the experience of Zhao Fusheng in his previous life as a平民小贩 without background or connections, unwilling to bribe, or the problems that private business owners of his father's stature would eventually face. If it were big entrepreneurs, they would come with red-head documents to invest, which served as a通行证, and no one would dare to obstruct them.

As for the rest, it defies description. In short, without a powerful background, Zhao Fusheng was certain that even if his father had made some money in the past few months, the business would eventually slip out of their control.

When bureaucracy permeates every corner of society, and everyone has a mindset of 'sucking the marrow and closing the door to beat the dog,' taking officialdom for granted, then the saying 'investment doesn't cross the Shanhai Pass' is no longer a joke.

"Looks like I need to find a way to build connections." Zhao Fusheng muttered to himself.

Under the current circumstances, either his father could bring in foreign investment, or have official backing. Otherwise, relying solely on their own connections, problems were bound to arise sooner or later.

But Zhao Fusheng also knew he couldn't be too direct. In his parents' eyes, this wasn't something he should meddle in. So he had to think of a way.

Actually, the best solution was to introduce investment from Hong Kong or abroad. Even a small share would be useful, because at this time, many people were still wary of foreign-related matters.

But that was a last resort, and Zhao Fusheng didn't want to owe anyone favors.

The night passed without incident. The next morning, when Zhao Fusheng got up, Fan Baobao was already practicing her posture. Watching her do various exercises, Zhao Fusheng smiled.

"What are you laughing at?" Fan Baobao, who was stretching, noticed his expression and asked curiously.

Zhao Fusheng shrugged: "Nothing. I just think you should try yoga."

"Yoga?" Fan Baobao looked completely bewildered, clearly never having heard of it.

Zhao Fusheng then remembered that yoga hadn't yet become popular in China. It was normal for Fan Baobao not to know.

"Tell me, what is yoga?" Fan Baobao was obviously interested in what Zhao Fusheng had said and asked curiously.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Fusheng roughly explained the origins and basic movements of yoga, telling her that it was very effective for improving posture.

"How do you know?" Fan Baobao asked him curiously.

Zhao Fusheng shrugged: "I read it online. You can give it a try." Since it couldn't hurt, he let her go ahead and exercise.

Fan Baobao hadn't expected Zhao Fusheng to know about this kind of exercise; she found it quite novel.

"Where are you going?" Seeing Zhao Fusheng pack up to leave, Fan Baobao asked curiously.

Zhao Fusheng held up the book in his hand: "I'm going to the library. Want to come?"

Embarrassed, Fan Baobao turned around decisively, pretending she hadn't asked. Since childhood, she had never been one for studying. Accompanying Zhao Fusheng to the library was harder for her than climbing a mountain.

Zhao Fusheng smiled, not offended, and left the house alone with a smile.