Linxia

Chapter 210, follow-up

Fan family.

As the leader of the five major families in Huai'an City, the Fan family naturally got the news. Fan Qingzeng, Fan Qiguang, and Fan Qihui, father and son, were all shocked when they heard the whole story of Fang Lin's fight with the Gu, Ma, Shao, and Duan families.

"Amazing, really amazing!"

Fan Qing once sighed: "First, we stabilized the Ma, Shao, and Duan families and forced the Gu family to surrender; then, we quickly made peace with the Gu family, bought the Gu family's factories and fleets, and then turned around to attack the Ma, Shao, and Duan families; finally, we used this so-called "soap" business to use both soft and hard tactics on the Ma, Shao, and Duan families, quickly swallowed up their factories and fleets, and unified the entire Huai'an factories and fleets. We even killed two birds with one stone, got rid of our dependence on our family, and gained the initiative... The art of forming alliances and making alliances is really amazing!"

To be honest, he felt complicated. He didn't expect that while watching the show, the situation in Huai'an suddenly changed.

"Dad, given the relationship between our family and Fang Chenshi, we should be happy, right? Now that he is more valuable, isn't he more worthy of our family's attention?"

Fan Qihui represented the Fan family and contacted the "Huaian Popular Fiction Guild" to promote Fan family fragrance dew. They cooperated a lot and got along well with each other for a long time, and the other party had a good impression of them.

"Second brother, normally this is the truth, but now, the situation of Fang Chen is too valuable, so valuable that it is beyond our control!" Fan Qiguang shook his head.

"Yes, you can see the light clearly."

Fan Qingzeng narrowed his eyes as he spoke: "Come to think of it, you may have forgotten that we bought our fragrant dew business from this Mr. Fang for three thousand taels of silver. It seemed like a lot at the time, but now..."

"Dad, you can't say that. This is a different time. At that time, he had just written the first part of Romance of the Three Kingdoms and had no official position. Under the circumstances at that time, three thousand taels of silver was not a small amount for him. It was a sign of sincerity."

Fan Qihui's words are actually quite reasonable. The same thing has different meanings to different people, or even to the same person at different times. Just like when a person is starving to death, if you give him a steamed bun, he will be grateful, but when he has no worries about food and clothing and is on the rise, giving him another steamed bun will be like an insult.

"Indeed, our family got the formula of the perfume and spent a lot of money to improve the formula. Later, we also spent a lot of money on publicity and market development. During this period, we were coveted by countless people. Our family has deep connections and was able to make it step by step, but that Chenshi Fang has no foundation, and I'm afraid he can't do it now... But I'm afraid that Chenshi Fang can't see all this, and only sees how much our family has earned, and thinks we owe him." Fan Qiguang frowned.

"Yes, the human heart is the most unpredictable. Its light and brilliance. Do you remember what Dad told you to do before? It was to eliminate this grudge!" Fan Qingzeng said.

As soon as these words were spoken, Fan Qiguang immediately remembered that his father had asked him to keep an eye on Fang Lin, and that when he first found out about the Zhang family's affairs, he had taken action; Fan Qihui also remembered that his father had asked him to give benefits and build relationships, such as with Xia Bing and Dong Cai.

"I asked you to do these things as a side job. The core purpose is to use the pressure from the Gu, Ma, Shao, and Duan families to make Fang Qianshi gradually rely on our family. Eventually, a dependent relationship will be formed... and a dependent relationship will be formed. Then there will be a distinction between superiors and subordinates, and between master and servant. Those grudges will no longer be a problem."

It's like this: if one person develops a patent and another person wants to use it, he has to offer a market price. But if the latter starts a company and recruits the former, and the former develops the patent, he can be dealt with with just a certificate and a small bonus.

This principle applies to people, organizations, and individuals.

"So this is what Dad meant by that. But now it's unlikely."

The Fan family has the most say in how profitable the perfume business is, and from what they have collected, the 'soap' business seems to have more potential!

Not only that, this time, Fang Lin also turned enemies into friends with the Gu family, and reached in-depth cooperation with the Ma, Shao, and Duan families. It is conceivable that as they make money together in the future, Fang Lin's relationship with the three families will become closer.

In addition, Fang Lin also unified Huai'an's factories and fleet industries.

With all these things, as long as Fang Lin digests and settles them, it won't be difficult for him to surpass the Fan family. Under such circumstances, how could he possibly depend on the Fan family?
"Yes, at the beginning I thought that even if we couldn't make Fang Qianshi rely on our family, when he was in a slump facing the four families of Gu, Ma, Shao and Duan, we could give him a hand and do him a favor, which would mend the relationship and eliminate the grudges... But who would have thought that the other party would rise so quickly, so quickly!" Fan Qingzeng sighed.

"Dad, big brother, what should we do? Now that Mr. Fang has his own soap business, will the advertising of our perfume business be affected? Also, if this grudge is not resolved, will the other party bear a grudge against our family?" Fan Qihui asked.

"The 'Huai'an Popular Fiction Guild' is getting bigger and bigger. It is still possible to accommodate advertising for both of us. There is no need to worry about this aspect for the time being... As for resentment, as long as our family is as strong as before, there is nothing to worry about." Fan Qiguang said.

"Qi Guang's words are truly golden words. At any time, being strong is the most important thing."

Fan Qingzeng paused as he spoke, and sighed unintentionally: "Alas, after all, Huai'an is still too small!"

Since the fragrant dew business was launched, the Fan family has become the first of the five major families in Huai'an, and they are aloof from the world. When Fang Lin is fighting with the Gu, Ma, Shao, and Duan families, they all want to act as arbitrators, and even say that they will help Fang Lin if he falls into a slump...

But now, Fang Lin has come from behind and after integration and digestion, he may surpass the Fan family in one fell swoop. How does the Fan family feel? How can a small Huai'an accommodate two overlords?

It can be said that the grudges about the "fragrance dew business" are secondary. In essence, Fang Lin is too strong. He is so strong that he poses a huge threat to the Fan family. There is no room for two tigers in one mountain.

"Dad, you mean..." Fan Qiguang narrowed his eyes.

He is a utilitarian person who can humble himself to win over others for the sake of profit; but when the disadvantages outweigh the advantages, he will not be bound by morality.

"Dad!" Fan Qihui shouted, feeling a little reluctant.

"I didn't say anything... Don't act rashly. The other party's assistant is still the same as before. At the moment, we still have a lot of cooperation."

Fan Qingzeng narrowed his eyes, pondered for a moment, and then said, "At least don't move until the present emperor's mausoleum collapses. Also, be careful when dealing with Fang Qianshi in the future. As for the rest, we'll see later!"

"Dad, we understand." Brothers Fan Qiguang and Fan Qihui looked at each other and nodded.

……

Here, the Ma, Shao, and Duan families signed a contract with Fang Lin and handed over the factories and fleet assets. The dust had settled, and that day, Fang Lin went drinking with Xu Kuolao again.

"After we digest this harvest and develop the soap business, I'm afraid we can surpass the five families of Fan, Gu, Ma, Shao and Duan in the city and become the overlord of Huai'an." Xu Kuo Lao laughed.

"Brother Xu, you still can't let your guard down. The Gu family is easier to deal with now that there is no conflict of interest. The Ma, Shao, and Duan families will have a deeper relationship as they cooperate in the future. As for the Fan family, we used to have a close relationship and were relatively more dependent on each other. The other party also implicitly regarded us as their younger brothers, but this time our strength has expanded so quickly that I'm afraid it will cause the Fan family to change their attitude."

Fang Lin realized that everything he did this time might arouse the vigilance of the Fan family.

In the past, when they were in the fragrance dew business, they were not strong enough and had to play the pig to eat the tiger to fool others. At that time, no matter if it was sincere or not, the Fan family did not care, because Fang Lin was still weak and had no ability to cause harm to them.

But things are different now. In terms of court background, local power, and industrial base, Fang Lin is likely to surpass the others in all aspects. Even if there are no conflicts, his mere existence will make the Fan family wary and on guard.

The so-called "fragrant dew business" grudge was actually just an introduction. "We need to pay attention to the changes in the relationship." Xu Kuo Lao was also a perceptive person. He immediately realized the seriousness of the situation and secretly admired the other party's sobriety.

"However, we have a good relationship with the Fan family and have been cooperating with them for a long time. We won't fall out right away. We are more afraid of each other... As for the Fan family, we just need to be careful and develop ourselves first."

Fang Lin said his plan: "We will unify the Huai'an factory and fleet industries. For the factory, we will copy the management model and system of the "First Quality Weaving Workshop" and remove the dross and retain the essence... For the fleet, there are dozens or even hundreds of ships. In terms of scale, it is considered a first-class fleet in the Jianghuai area."

"However, these ships are of complex composition. They belong to the Gu, Ma, Shao, and Duan families, as well as our own fleet. They are currently mixed together. I plan to integrate them into two fleets, the First Ocean Fleet and the Second Ocean Fleet."

The First Ocean Fleet, which occupied most of the ships, was large in size and attracted attention from the outside world. It transported some rougher goods, such as cotton cloth and so on.

The Second Ocean-going Fleet is smaller in scale and adopts an elite troops model, with trusted personnel placed in place to ensure full control. The crew members are selected from those with good conduct, families, and children in their families who have attended "skill training classes". In the future, they will continue to absorb new blood from the First Ocean-going Fleet, openly transporting fine goods, such as porcelain, and secretly undertake more critical tasks, such as looking for weapons channels overseas, acquiring guns and cannons, establishing strongholds in Luzon, and building overseas arsenals when there are enough talents in the future.

"Daxia is not yet at the point of collapse. If you stir up trouble within the country and are exposed, you will definitely be hit hard. So for the time being, we should focus on overseas."

"Students in the skills training class have all received ideological education. Their families, honor and disgrace are tied to me. They are the most loyal. In the future, they will be incorporated into the fleet and put up a fight... If it is said that they will not dare to rebel, but after training, they will definitely dare to fight for some land overseas if a high reward is offered!"

This era is different from the previous one. When facing overseas barbarians, the people of Daxia have a sense of confidence and superiority in their bones.

"Even if these things are exposed, outsiders will only think that I am setting up a business base overseas, or want to get some land overseas... As long as I don't cause trouble in China, it will basically not attract any attention. After all, the concept of remote and poor areas overseas is deeply rooted in people's minds. Even if there are some minor problems, my background is enough to deal with them."

Fang Lin thought about this and made up his mind.

"Of course, overseas operations can begin, but Huai'an should remain calm for the time being and digest and integrate the situation."

To be honest, he was a little tired of all the intrigue these days and planned to stop and relax for a while.

……

In the afternoon, Fang Lin saw off the slightly tipsy Xu Kuo Lao and returned to the house.

"Ugh!" Fang's mother and Tian Xuan were doing needlework when the latter suddenly let out a dry heave.

This is pregnancy again.

"Mom, Sister Xuan, if you don't want to make it, then don't make it. Just buy some when the time comes." Fang Lin said as he brought over two bowls of sour plum soup to relieve the heat.

“The ones outside don’t sell well.”

"Yeah, I'm just sitting around doing nothing!"

"Okay, as long as you are happy. If you are tired and don't want to do it anymore, just stop and take a rest." Fang Lin smiled and shook his head, then picked up Qiuqiu, who was calling "Daddy" and stretching out his little arms.

"Qiuqiu, did you miss your nap today?"

Haw!

Qiuqiu rolled her bright eyes, kissed her father on the face, clapped her hands and changed the subject: "Daddy, story! Tell me a new story!"

It is said that Fang Lin really racked his brains to tell stories to his daughter. This girl was easy to fool when she was young, but now whenever a story is repeated, Qiuqiu will shake her little head like a rattle and say "I've heard it", "I've heard it".

"Daddy, do you have a new story today?"

"Have."

"how many?"

"A belly full of it."

"Let's listen to a story!" Qiuqiu was put down and jumped happily on the bamboo bed. She turned around and patted Fang Lin on the face again.

Fang Lin wiped his saliva with pretended disgust and looked at his daughter. Qiuqiu inherited genes from him and Tian Xuan. She was well-nourished and looked very beautiful. Her skin was as white as porcelain, just like a porcelain doll.

He lay down beside me and told me a story. After a while, he suddenly asked, "Is it good?"

There was no response. I looked and saw that he had indeed fallen asleep.

This guy was not sleeping well, he almost pushed the pillow away while leaning sideways. I gently put Qiuqiu in the right position, covered her belly, and went to the window to close the curtain.

Outside the window, the sound of cicadas rises one after another from the tall trees. The leaves of each tree are shining in the blazing golden sunlight. It is another midsummer.

……

When you relax and have free time, time seems to slow down.

Fang Lin handed over most of the factory matters to his subordinates. He knew what to do and focused on the big issues while letting go of the small ones. Even if problems did arise, they would not be a big deal. He just treated it as an exercise for them.

As for the fleet side, they made a good division of personnel between the First Ocean-going Fleet and the Second Ocean-going Fleet, allowing them to integrate themselves in practice and solve problems when they arise... Then they told Fang Chuanhui alone to pay attention to overseas arms channels from this time on, and ignored everything else and became a hands-off boss.

Therefore, I have spent a lot of time with Tian Xuan and Qiuqiu, which makes the mother and daughter quite happy recently.

……

(End of this chapter)