160: Chapter 160 Creating a Living Plaza

Xiong Xiqu was indeed someone who had seen the world.

Whether it was the Zhao Xiaoshuai who used to ride a Yadea to deliver packages, or the Zhao Xiaoshuai who now drove a maybach to find him, he maintained a calm heart in their interactions, at least showing no emotional fluctuations on the surface.

"Old Xiong, I looked into your past after I went back. You won't blame me for investigating you, will you?"

After all, Xiong Xiqu was once a famous entrepreneur, and his legends were still recorded on the internet.

He came from a peasant family and dropped out of school before finishing junior high; after that, he tried countless professions and small businesses.

Although things didn't go too smoothly—he was even detained once for illegal operations—these experiences accumulated a wealth of social experience for him.

Later, with his brother's help, he opened a tobacco and liquor store, officially entering the commercial field. Initially, the business was very successful, but following an accidental involvement in illegal transactions, he was detained again and lost almost everything.

In history, prison has been the Dragon Field of Enlightenment for countless formidable men, and Xiong Xiqu was one of them.

After his release, he decided to start over and changed his business strategy, focusing on legal and high-quality goods and services. His store received more and more praise, eventually growing into a large-scale Life Plaza integrating shopping, leisure, dining, and entertainment.

He placed great importance on customer service, adhering to the philosophy of "returns if unsatisfied," and equipped the shopping environment with first-aid kits, power banks, microwaves, and other facilities, greatly enhancing the customer experience and satisfaction.

He also emphasized employee care and motivation, with generous benefits, abundant training opportunities, and sufficient incentive mechanisms, which greatly improved employee enthusiasm and loyalty. The company's cohesion and centripetal force were second to none in the country.

At his peak, it was said he once distributed 90% of his annual profits to his employees, creating a myth that was constantly praised on the internet.

But he ultimately touched too many people's cake. Countless capital forces united to smear and attack him. When the effects weren't obvious, they directly began setting traps to frame him and conducted market blockades.

In the end, due to a misplaced trust, he was backstabbed by an ally, resulting in his first major blemish. These capital forces bribed the media and used traffic to blow small matters out of proportion, eventually stirring up a massive storm of public opinion.

At the same time, the capital forces intensified their efforts to blockade and strike him in reality. A former corporate beacon collapsed just like that.

Xiong Xiqu sold off all his assets, dismissed his loyal employees, and found himself burdened with tens of millions in debt.

Hearing Zhao Xiaoshuai's confession, Xiong Xiqu smiled casually. "Those are just reports you can find with a simple search online; it doesn't really count as an investigation. Besides, I believe I haven't done anything shameful in the past, so I'm never afraid of people knowing about my history."

"Haha, it seems I underestimated you, Old Xiong."

The two talked happily along the way and soon arrived at Zhao Xiaoshuai's luxury mansion.

Luxury cars and mansions were both means for Zhao Xiaoshuai to demonstrate his strength in a roundabout way. He planned to cooperate deeply with Old Xiong, and these were all displays for him.

Although he could see his character through the system, trust was mutual. It was hard to say what kind of evaluation Zhao Xiaoshuai would receive in the other's eyes.

Even if the initial impression was very good, subsequent interactions were also particularly important.

He didn't directly talk about money or business from the start; instead, he planned to become true friends first through a family dinner.

So tonight, he also called over his Sister-in-law, his personal chef, to prepare a sumptuous home-cooked meal.

"Chu Xinyi is like a sister to me. Today's dishes were all made by her."

"Hello, Uncle Xiong."

"This young lady is quite something! I can tell these dishes are delicious just by the smell!"

Halfway through the meal, everyone was enjoying themselves and truly became acquainted.

"Brother Zhao, I trust your character, and I've seen your sincerity. Since you've treated me to a family dinner, I accept you as a friend."

"Now we can talk about where exactly you need me. As long as I can help, I will certainly do my best!"

The Sister-in-law sat obediently to the side, like a child who completely didn't understand the adults' conversation, just helping the two of them pour wine.

Zhao Xiaoshuai still didn't get to the point but asked instead, "Old Xiong, I heard that when you went bankrupt, you owed a lot of money to scrape together severance pay for your employees. Exactly how much was it?"

"After the bankruptcy, some old friends helped out, and some creditors I had good relations with simply waived my debts. But even after all that, I still owe the bank twenty million."

Calculating silently, Zhao Xiaoshuai felt more confident, knowing his current Silver Card reserves should be able to handle it.

"I want to build a Life Plaza of my own, just like the one you used to have. But I know nothing about it, so I want to hire you as my CEO to be fully responsible for all the construction."

"However, basically all I can provide is money. All the connections, resources, and planning will have to rely on you. Old Xiong, will you take this job?"

Xiong Xiqu took a large gulp of wine and sighed.

"Brother Zhao, let me give you a piece of advice. I still firmly believe this path is right, but it's truly difficult to walk, and the rate of return isn't very high. You might end up in the same situation as me."

"Old Xiong, you might still be underestimating me. I may not have much of other things, but when it comes to money, I can give you a guarantee: there's as much as you need."

Old Xiong gained some interest. "How much does Brother Zhao plan to invest in this project?"

"Initially, I plan to invest seventy million to first set up a supermarket inside Hengtian's nearly completed May Plaza. Once you've built up the brand, we'll create our own Life Plaza later."

"Brother Zhao, it's not that I want to dampen your spirits, but as long as people know I'm operating your store, there will definitely be numerous difficulties in the subsequent operations, and it will be basically impossible to attract financing."

"I don't need financing at all. From start to finish, the shares of this store will only belong to the two of us, and I will provide all the funding."

Seemingly moved by Zhao Xiaoshuai's confident attitude, Old Xiong's spirits lifted.

"I'll take the liberty of asking: once everything is on track, if we encounter trouble from competitors, how much liquid capital can Brother Zhao pull out to support us?"

Zhao Xiaoshuai glanced at the eleven Gold Cards in his system inventory and replied with full confidence, "When the time comes, it won't be a problem to take out seven billion."

Now even Xiong Xiqu was a bit shocked. You have to realize he was asking about liquid capital!

Seven billion in cash—that would be a trump card anywhere.

"Good! This business is worth doing! I'll work with you from now on! I can't say much else, but I can guarantee that we'll recover the investment and make a small profit!"

For a multi-billion project, a small profit would be hundreds of millions. It seemed Xiong Xiqu was very confident in his abilities.

"Old Xiong, you're the expert in management and I'm the layman. I promise you I won't interfere with your decisions; everything will be decided by you. To put it bluntly, I'll just be a hands-off boss."

"I heard you used to distribute 90% of your annual profits to your employees, so I'll give you a 10% fixed stake as your salary."

"Besides that, I'll lend you the money to pay off your current debts first. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a joke if my Chief CEO was restricted from high consumption?"

"What do you think of these terms?"

This time, Xiong Xiqu was truly moved.

He was currently at a low point, burdened with debt, yet he met someone who thought so highly of him and treated him so generously. It was truly a helping hand in his time of need!