Tycoon: From Rags to Riches

THUD...

The door clicked shut, leaving only Gu Heng and Fan Hong in the office.

"Uncle Fan, please, have a seat."

Gu Heng offered Fan Hong a warm smile and gestured for him to sit.

"Thank you, Chairman Gu."

Fan Hong wasn’t one to stand on ceremony. He smiled back at Gu Heng and took a seat.

"Uncle Fan, when there’s no one else around, you can still just call me Heng."

Gu Heng picked up the pre-prepared teapot and poured Fan Hong a cup of tea.

"Chairman Gu, if I weren’t an employee of Zhen Cui Group, I would definitely still address you as I always have, even if you were the chairman."

Fan Hong shook his head. "But now, we have a superior-subordinate relationship. There have to be rules. I can’t address you so informally anymore."

Gu Heng looked into Fan Hong’s eyes and saw his earnest expression. A hint of resignation crossed his face. "Alright. In that case, Uncle Fan, call me whatever you feel is appropriate."

Seeing Gu Heng’s reaction, Fan Hong felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

Time reveals a person’s character, and hardship reveals a true friend.

You can’t truly know someone until you’ve gone through something with them.

In the past three years, Fan Hong had seen more than his share of fair-weather friends.

The wife he thought would share his joys and sorrows chose to fly off on her own when disaster struck.

The brothers he thought were as close as his own hands and feet all avoided him like the plague when he needed help the most.

The family he thought he could rely on only offered mockery and ridicule, treating his misfortune as a spectacle when he most needed comfort.

And the thing was—

he had always treated these people so well!

At the same time, he Never Expected that during the darkest period of his life, the person who would offer him the greatest help was the very same boy to whom he had once casually shown a small kindness.

The two sat together, catching up over tea.

About half an hour later, their conversation gradually turned to business. "Uncle Fan, I brought you up from your previous position to work directly with me. I’m sure you can guess some of my reasons."

"You’ve spent the better part of your life in the restaurant industry; you’re an absolute expert. I, on the other hand, know very little about it, so I urgently need to get up to speed."

"At the same time, I also need someone who knows the ropes to help me vet things and keep the people below me from pulling any tricks to fool me."

Hearing this, Fan Hong gave a wry smile. "Chairman Gu, I wouldn’t call myself an expert. If I were a real expert, I wouldn’t have failed to read the situation back then and ended up in such a state."

"However, when it comes to the restaurant industry’s many inside secrets, its intricacies, and its common knowledge, I can certainly say I’m experienced. If you want to learn, Chairman Gu, I will tell you everything I know without reservation."

Gu Heng smiled. "Uncle Fan, if I could just master everything you know, that would be more than enough. As for the more specialized matters, we have professionals for that. Why else would we pay them such high salaries?"

"That’s true."

Fan Hong chuckled, then continued, "Chairman Gu, in my opinion, the core operational experience of the restaurant industry can be boiled down to seven main aspects."

"The first is supply chain and management. Take the procurement of high-end live seafood, for example. As the boss, you first need to understand the origins, seasons, transport times, temporary holding facilities, shipping losses, and many other factors."

"Second, because Zhen Cui Group focuses on high-end dining, our demand for rare, premium seafood is always very high. That’s why we’ve signed exclusive agreements with many large fishing vessels in coastal cities, giving us priority purchasing rights and establishing a competitive advantage..."

Every trade has its master, as they say, and Fan Hong proved it. The moment he started speaking, it was all pure, practical information.

Compared to the courses Gu Heng had found online, what Fan Hong was teaching went straight to the core of the business, and it was all explained in the specific context of Zhen Cui Group.

Gu Heng was completely absorbed, eventually even taking out a pen and paper to start taking notes.

Seeing this, Fan Hong held nothing back, methodically passing on his life’s worth of experience to Gu Heng.

Without them realizing it, time flew by.

By the time Gu Heng and Fan Hong snapped out of it, the sky was already covered in the orange-red hues of sunset.

"The seventh and final aspect is marketing and brand operations. Our high-end clientele is a group that Zhen Cui Group must maintain long-term, so we have to periodically use various marketing strategies to increase our appeal to them."

"For instance, we could co-host private tasting events with well-known liquor brands, collaborate with famous food bloggers to create a secret menu exclusively for our premium customers, or hold a whole-tuna banquet."

"Beyond that, high-end seafood dining also needs strong political and business connections for support—expanding our client base through local chamber of commerce events, or providing customized services for government receptions..."

Fan Hong had been talking for hours on end; his throat was practically smoking.

"Alright, that’s enough for today."

Fan Hong twisted open a bottle of mineral water. "Chairman Gu, you should take some time to digest all this. I’ve only given you a brief overview of these seven aspects today. If I were to go into detail on each one, I could talk for two days and two nights and still not be finished."

"You’ve worked hard, Uncle Fan."

"Even just this ’brief overview’ has been incredibly enlightening for me."

Gu Heng slowly closed his notebook and said to Fan Hong with a smile.

They chatted for a while longer. When they noticed the sky outside growing dark, Gu Heng stood up and led Fan Hong out of the office.

Back in the main conference room, the once-empty long table was now piled high with all sorts of legal documents.

Yang Wenjie, who was sitting at the head of the table, immediately stood up and walked over to greet Gu Heng upon his arrival.

"How is it?"

Gu Heng asked casually, his gaze sweeping over the scene.

"There are some issues, but they’re all minor."

Yang Wenjie knew what Gu Heng was asking and replied in a low voice.

The restaurant business, compared to other traditional industries, is a place where corruption can easily fester.

Gu Heng understood the principle that "water that is too pure has no fish." He could tolerate the water being a little murky, but only on the condition that the murkiness didn’t offend his eyes—or worse, blind them.

The people Yang Wenjie had brought with him today included not only senior tax lawyers but also senior auditors and accountants who had collaborated with Jun Cheng Law Firm for many years.

With a team like this, forget about Zhen Cui Group, which was just a restaurant company; even a far more complex financial group wouldn’t be able to hide any problems from their eyes.

Of course...

Gu Heng wasn’t digging into these old accounts to settle scores with anyone.

He just wanted to have a clear picture of the situation. At the same time, he was using this as an opportunity to put a little fear into the executives, to make sure they knew their place.

"Thank you for your hard work, Lawyer Yang."

"In my opinion, let’s call it a day."

"Everyone should head home when it’s time. I’m not in a huge hurry for these things."

"Don’t keep everyone from getting their rest."

Gu Heng glanced at the time and said to Yang Wenjie with a smile.

"Alright. I’ll let them go home as soon as they finish up what they’re working on."

Yang Wenjie nodded with a smile.

"Well, I’ll let you get back to it."

"I’ll be heading out now."

Gu Heng said to Yang Wenjie, and then his gaze inevitably fell upon the graceful red figure hunched over her desk, working diligently.

"Chairman Gu, how about I have Si Yao drive you home?"

Yang Wenjie noticed Gu Heng’s gaze and asked tentatively.

"No need. Let her work."

Gu Heng shook his head. Without another word, he turned and left the conference room with Fan Hong.

"Chairman Gu."

"Assistant Fan."

Gu Heng and Fan Hong had only taken a few steps out of the conference room when they ran into Qi Min.

"Manager Qi, starting tomorrow, I plan to visit all the group’s restaurants. Please arrange the itinerary."

Gu Heng instructed Qi Min as he walked toward the company exit.

"Understood."

Qi Min nodded in response. "I’ll notify all the restaurant general managers immediately so they can prepare."

"Mm..."

"That’s all then."

"You can both get back to your work."

"I’m leaving now. Call me if you need anything."

Gu Heng stepped into the elevator, giving his final instructions to the two before he left.

"Take care, Chairman Gu..."

The elevator doors slid shut slowly as Qi Min and Fan Hong bowed slightly.

Only after the doors were fully closed did the two of them straighten up...