Chapter 0425: Mayor Pan

Zhao Fusheng actually wanted to have a good talk with Zhou Wei, but the problem was that he knew the other party's appetite was not small.

In his own eyes, it might be a lion's open mouth, but in Zhou Wei's eyes, this was nothing.

After all, in a business like an arcade, it was obvious even with eyes closed that it would make money.

As for how much profit or loss, or whether it would lose money, that was not within Zhou Wei's consideration; that was Zhao Fusheng's business, none of his damn concern.

Human nature is selfish, so those who willingly sacrifice are respected for such things, but some are not worth it.

Simply put, it's like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

But Zhao Fusheng respected those who sacrificed and dedicated themselves for the country and the nation, not so-called teachers who left their sick son at home to go teach students.

"Son, you're not planning to file a complaint, are you?" Hearing Zhao Fusheng say he wanted him to introduce a few leaders from the municipal party committee's armed forces department, Father Zhao hesitated and said to Zhao Fusheng.

Although he didn't mind helping, Father Zhao still felt that using power to suppress others directly was not appropriate.

In Father Zhao's eyes, this matter could be handled by casually finding a leader from the Industry and Commerce Bureau, making a connection, having a meal together, and then giving a heads-up.

This was very common in Northeast China nowadays; everyone had relatives and friends, and through connections, there was always a way.

Zhao Fusheng smiled slightly and said to his father, "Dad, things are not what you think."

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Here's what you do: you don't need to introduce those armed forces department leaders to me. Just find time in the next few days to have a meal with them, and also the leaders from the military sub-district. At the dinner table, casually mention that on the fifth floor of our family's mall, an arcade is going to be opened by a few veterans."

"Hmm, hmm?"

The same word, but with completely different tones. The first was Father Zhao's casual agreement, while the second was full of confusion. Clearly, Father Zhao was puzzled by Zhao Fusheng's words. What did this mean?

The corners of Zhao Fusheng's mouth lifted: "In short, no matter where you go to eat in the next few days, remember to mention at the dinner table that on the fifth floor of Wanda Mall, a group of orphans from the welfare home and veterans plan to open an arcade."

"You plan to get these officials to help?" Father Zhao looked at Zhao Fusheng strangely. To be honest, he was not optimistic about Zhao Fusheng's plan at all.

As an adult and a seasoned veteran, although Father Zhao had been in business for less than a year, after dealing with various officials over the past half year, he had summed up his own experience. In his view, these officials always liked to add flowers to brocade—in other words, they liked to come close when you were successful. And their starting point was always to protect their own interests. Expecting these people to offer timely help was undoubtedly a fool's dream.

In fact, they all forgot that if a company received policy support and help from the government from the very beginning when it was small, once the company developed, it would certainly give back to the local government.

But because officials' terms were generally only five years, and after their terms ended, most would be transferred elsewhere, few were willing to make wedding clothes for others.

There were too many smart people, and that was often the downside. Some had thought of this method, but once they considered that implementing it meant helping others, few were willing to do so.

This principle was actually similar to what Zhao Fusheng was planning now.

Countless facts had proven that to live a stable life without being disturbed, there was no other way than to use thunderous means to beat opponents until they dared not harbor covetous thoughts.

If one kept giving in and allowed the enemy to take whatever they wanted, then they would think you were a pushover, not taking you seriously at all. Even if you begged bitterly, they would not show you any courtesy.

Zhou Wei was that kind of person. Zhao Fusheng was sure that if he agreed to let that nonexistent accountant into the Glory Arcade, then the next step would be that he might demand a share of dry shares in the arcade, and then from time to time, he would also take a portion of the arcade's profits.

People, in the face of money and beautiful women, always habitually turn into idiots and fools. This point had been proven by the ancestors over five thousand years.

For Zhao Fusheng, even if Zhou Wei asked him to take out ten thousand yuan at once, Zhao Fusheng might agree. After all, as an adult, he understood the principle of spending money to avert disaster.

But unfortunately, Zhou Wei was very greedy. His demands showed Zhao Fusheng his greed, and that was something Zhao Fusheng could not tolerate.

Although men always liked to seduce good women into cheating and persuade prostitutes to reform, Zhao Fusheng firmly believed that the only way to sober up those who were self-indulgent and extremely greedy was to thoroughly knock these bastards into the dust.

"Don't worry, Dad, I definitely won't get any officials to help." Zhao Fusheng shrugged and said to his father.

This was his true feeling. Compared to his father's willingness to associate with officials, Zhao Fusheng was well aware that although official protection was important for a company, the problem was that if the entanglement with officials was too deep, although one could gain certain benefits, there would eventually be great drawbacks.

Thinking of this, Zhao Fusheng looked at his father and said in a low voice, "Dad, remember, never get too entangled with officials. Giving small gifts is okay, but there must be no monetary transactions."

Father Zhao was startled, then laughed: "You brat, what are you thinking about? Even if your dad wanted to give gifts, they'd have to think it's worth it."

This was the truth. The highest-ranking leader he had ever known so far was that deputy mayor, but unfortunately, that man was a big shot from the capital, solely focused on political achievements, which was why he supported Wanda Mall.

When it came to gift-giving, Father Zhao saw that the other party smoked special-supply cigarettes and drank special-supply liquor, so he simply gave up the idea.

Zhao Fusheng, however, was unaware of this. Seeing that his father didn't take his words seriously, he frowned and emphasized, "Dad, I'm not joking. This is really important."

He thought his father considered the matter too secret to tell him.

Father Zhao looked at his son and nodded approvingly. "You little rascal, you're starting to think about me. Not bad."

With that, he waved his hand. "Deputy Mayor Pan is from the capital. They say his family has deep roots there. What food or drink hasn't he seen? Last time I invited him to dinner, he brought his own bottle of special-supply liquor. That single bottle was worth more than the whole table of dishes."

Ah?

This time it was Zhao Fusheng's turn to be dumbfounded. He stared at his father in surprise. What was going on?

He never expected that his own father would give him such a big surprise.

Deputy Mayor Pan...

Zhao Fusheng frowned and pondered for a long time, finally falling silent.

In the original history, there seemed to be no such figure appearing in Ninghai. Or perhaps, at that time, he had gone to the capital to develop his career and didn't know that such a big shot had once come to Ninghai.

But in Beijing, there really was a high-ranking official surnamed Pan, and he was indeed powerful.

The problem was that Zhao Fusheng couldn't be sure whether the two were related.

Moreover, he couldn't remember to what extent Mayor Pan would develop in the future.

Just thinking about it gave him a headache.

Most importantly, from what his father said, it seemed that Mayor Pan was a pretty good leader. After all, an official who brought his own liquor to a banquet clearly didn't want to take advantage of others.

At that moment, Father Zhao said with a smile, "You, don't always think the worst of people. Mayor Pan is a leader with ideas. He wants to leave something for the people of Ninghai. So don't let your imagination run wild."

This was the truth. At first, Father Zhao had also thought like Zhao Fusheng about giving Mayor Pan a gift. But the gift box containing fifty thousand yuan in cash was sent back exactly as it was delivered.

Moreover, Mayor Pan had sent a message to Father Zhao: "Measuring me with this amount of money is an insult."

At first, Father Zhao thought the other party's appetite was too big and prepared to send another gift.

Unexpectedly, within three days, the bank called to say that the loan amount for Wanda Mall had increased, and it was Mayor Pan who had personally intervened.

Father Zhao was stunned at the time. He personally went to thank Mayor Pan and asked the question that puzzled him.

And Mayor Pan's few words finally made Father Zhao understand.

"What he wants is solid political achievements. Those crooked ways are useless to him." Father Zhao looked at Zhao Fusheng and said seriously.

Zhao Fusheng nodded thoughtfully and didn't dwell on the matter. But he blinked and still said to his father, "Since that's the case, when you have dinner with Mayor Pan next time, remember to mention the situation at the Brilliant Arcade."

Father Zhao was baffled but still agreed. He really couldn't figure out what Zhao Fusheng was up to.

After chatting with his father for a few more words, Zhao Fusheng got up and left.

Once outside, his face darkened, and he dialed Zheng Yao's number.

"Oh, calling me so soon? Did you know I was looking for you?" Zheng Yao teased with a smile. She was in a good mood lately, since Zhao Fusheng's willingness to continue working on the project was undoubtedly great news for Future Advertising.

"What else could you want from me besides making me do the project?" Zhao Fusheng said irritably. "Same as last time. Have Dong Chenxi bring the materials to see me."

Then he continued, "By the way, do you have any acquaintances at the provincial newspaper or TV station?"

Zheng Yao was taken aback and frowned. "What's wrong? Why are you asking?"

Zhao Fusheng gave a cold smile, his eyes filled with chill. "Nothing. I just plan to leave a deep impression on certain people."