Chapter 113: The Persuader

The autumn air grew crisper…

Business at the agency sales office picked up again. Though it was not as bustling as before the busy spring farming season, after the autumn corn harvest, the fields needed tilling for wheat planting, so quite a few Rotary Tillers and tractors were sold. There were also vehicle and machinery maintenance and repairs before the plowing season started, spare parts sales, and so on. This kept Su Cheng very busy for nearly a month, earning over forty thousand yuan.

At the same time, progress on the Logistics Park project was also quite rapid.

For the first phase of construction, which was Area A of the Logistics Park, the ground hardening was already completed, and the foundations for the buildings on all four sides were also laid.

Previously, considering the autumn business at the agency sales office, Su Cheng had urged Yan Hongqiang to start construction on the six rooms and the courtyard wall adjacent to the sales office even before the ground hardening was finished. Additionally, the main structure of Area A’s west gate and the row of two-story buildings south of the gate was already complete.

When initially designing the park’s layout plan, Su Chunfeng had proposed that the buildings on the west side of Area A must be set back eight meters from National Highway 107.

At the time, both Chen Yufang and Su Cheng were extremely displeased with this suggestion. After all, this was land purchased with money. Setting back an eight-meter width along over a hundred meters in length… how much land would that waste? If included in the parking area, how much parking fee revenue could be collected from the extra vehicles parked?

However, Su Chunfeng’s subsequent explanation put their minds at ease, and they ultimately agreed with his suggestion.

Su Chunfeng said, “The main reason for keeping an eight-meter distance from National Highway 107 is to avoid accidents. If we are too close to the national highway, if a vehicle loses control or there’s any other reason causing an accident, it could easily damage the buildings of our Logistics Park, resulting in significant losses. Moreover, the eight-meter width might seem wasteful, but it can actually bring us considerable benefits. This entire row on the west side of the logistics area consists of two-story buildings, with doors opening to both east and west. I think any Freight Company with some capability would probably be willing to rent such storefronts, even if the rent is a bit higher. They can hang their company signs outside, creating excellent advertising effect. Also, the open space in front is convenient for parking vehicles… why wouldn’t they want that? Besides, restaurant owners would probably also be willing to rent such storefronts to run restaurants, right?”

Such a reasonable and meticulous analysis immediately allowed the shrewd Chen Yufang to see the business opportunity within. She couldn’t help but praise Su Chunfeng repeatedly and agreed to his proposal.

Su Cheng was even more overjoyed and elated by his son’s sharpness and wisdom.

They did not know that the main reason Su Chunfeng proposed an eight-meter gap between the west side of the Logistics Park and National Highway 107 was his concern about the negative Feng Shui energy, the “road sha,” formed by the severed section of National Highway 107 opposite South Ring Road, which could affect and disrupt the future development and operation of the entire Logistics Park.

Now, with the main structure of the west row of buildings taking shape, the major layout was set.

Su Chunfeng finally felt relieved.

The simple structures on the north side of Area A had also begun construction.

Originally, Chen Yufang wanted to replicate Su Chunfeng’s idea, leaving a sufficiently wide distance between the north row of buildings and South Ring Road as well, but Su Chunfeng laughingly vetoed it.

He said, “The north row, right next to South Ring Road here, cannot be built that way. First, our park’s east-west length is more than twice its north-south width. Building like that would waste too much land area. Besides, with the high-rent storefronts in the two-story west row, doing the same for the north row would be somewhat redundant. Area A’s east row will also have high-rent two-story buildings. The south row, besides warehouses, will also have a batch of high-rent buildings. When our Logistics Park first starts operations, we need a sufficient number of low-rent buildings for those without strong financial means or just entering the industry to afford, right? Logistics is an emerging industry; in the early stages, tenants without much financial strength will be the majority. Furthermore, the north row is just simple structures; they will eventually be demolished and rebuilt anyway.”

Chen Yufang was both exasperated and amused at the time, chiding him, “You little clever devil, it’s always your reasoning…” However, she still agreed with Su Chunfeng’s idea.

Sound reasoning stands firm everywhere!

As the busy farming period ended, business at the sales office gradually cooled, and Su Cheng’s schedule became freer again.

On Saturday morning, Su Cheng was by the laid foundations of the warehouse buildings in the south row of Area A, inspecting the construction quality of the foundations. He was also discussing with Su Chunfeng the height and area of the warehouses, things to pay attention to during construction, and so on.

“President Su…”

From afar, Chen Yufang stood at the west gate, waving and calling out.

“Hey, coming!” Su Cheng responded, patted the dust off his hands, and turned to walk over there. He said to Su Chunfeng, who followed beside him, with a mix of amusement and exasperation, “Look at your aunt, she’s family, but she doesn’t call me brother-in-law. She calls me President Su every day, saying it’s the necessary form of address in public settings, and she can call me brother-in-law in private.”

“You can call her General Manager Chen too,” Su Chunfeng said with a smile.

“It feels awkward…” Su Cheng waved his hand.

Wantong Logistics Park’s Area A, just the first phase, had a total area of nearly 20,000 square meters, 143 meters north-south and 135 meters east-west.

So walking from the warehouse foundation area in the south to the west gate area took a while.

Reaching the small courtyard wall by the west gate, Su Cheng asked cheerfully, “Yufang, what’s the matter?”

“Let’s talk in the office,” Chen Yufang said with a smile, turning and clicking her heels as she walked toward the small courtyard gate.

As the Deputy General Manager of Wantong Freight Forwarding Agency Co., Ltd., Chen Yufang carried a black ladies’ handbag. She wore a neat, well-pressed black blazer with a white shirt with a large collar inside, and brownish-gray high-heeled shoes. Her jet-black, shiny long hair was tied up in a high bun. Her appropriate attire, coupled with her lightly made-up, relatively delicate and dignified appearance, made her look quite sharp and capable, exuding an air of a successful career woman.

In contrast, the General Manager and legal representative, Su Cheng, wore cheap camouflage work clothes…

The comparison was truly shabby.

Su Chunfeng, following behind, chuckled and said to his father, “Dad, you should get some decent clothes too. After all, you are the General Manager.”

Su Cheng said nonchalantly, “What’s a grown man fussing about clothes for? I work more efficiently dressed like this.”

The six rooms on the north side of the small courtyard had just been renovated, basically just laying low-quality floor tiles, plastering the walls white, and applying a layer of ceramic-like coating. Currently, only the two westernmost rooms were in use as an office and a reception room. Some necessary, simple office furniture was added, and a telephone was installed.

However, these two offices were usually mostly unused and idle.

After all, the first phase of the Logistics Park wasn’t even finished yet. In those days, there wasn’t the bustling scene of soliciting tenants before completion with crowds flocking in, so there wasn’t much work to speak of. Chen Yufang had no interest in sitting here every day wasting time. And Su Cheng, always busy, would find something to do even if there was no work. How could he have the mind to sit in the office like a big boss, crossing his legs, drinking tea, and reading the newspaper?

Chen Yufang clicked her heels up the platform steps, took out a key from her bag, opened the door, and walked in.

“Xiaofeng’s mom, Yufang is here. We need to discuss something. Could you make some tea and bring it to this room…” Su Cheng followed behind, calling out toward the north room of the sales office.

“Okay,” Chen Xiulan responded from inside the room.

Su Chunfeng went directly to the north room of the sales office, helped his mother brew a pot of tea, carried it, and walked toward the office.

As soon as Su Cheng entered the office, he said with a smile, “Yufang, what brings you here with free time today?”

This office was designated for Chen Yufang, so after entering, she sat quite naturally in the large brown executive chair behind the wide desk. Leaning back in the chair, she rested her arms on the armrests, seeming to quite enjoy the feeling. She asked with a smile, “Brother-in-law, do you believe in Feng Shui?”

“Feng Shui?” Su Cheng was taken aback, then shook his head. “No.”

“It’s not superstition; it’s a culture… and it’s very effective.” Chen Yufang leaned forward, placing her arms on the desk, her expression serious. “Many Western countries even specialize in studying this Feng Shui knowledge passed down from our ancestors and apply it to their landscape planning, architecture, interior decoration, and so on. Oh yes, for ancestral gravesites too, they even travel thousands of miles to our country, going through great lengths to find and hire real Feng Shui Masters at high cost to go to their countries and help assess grave Feng Shui.”

Su Cheng walked over and sat down on the sofa. He lit a cigarette and puffed on it, saying dismissively with a smile, “Foreigners believe in this stuff too?”

“Of course,” Chen Yufang said rather mysteriously. “Forget foreign countries, brother-in-law, you know Hong Kong, right? Such a small place, rich people are everywhere… they all believe in Feng Shui. How factory buildings are built, their location, size, orientation, everything has its considerations. Even the placement of furniture and decorations in offices, the direction the door faces, the size of windows, even the colors of all indoor and outdoor decorations and office supplies must conform to Feng Shui principles.”

“Huh,” Su Cheng felt a bit dizzy listening to this and waved his hand casually. “Let’s not compare ourselves to them. Rich people are just bored, with nothing better to do.”

“Brother-in-law, look at you. You’re a General Manager now, still so unsophisticated. This is culture!” Chen Yufang chided him, then continued, “Now in Shenzhen, the special zone adjacent to Hong Kong in the south, and a few developed cities in Yuehai Province, even entrepreneurs and officials believe in this. If a company pays attention to Feng Shui culture, it can sail smoothly. If the Feng Shui is bad, it can be hard for the business to prosper, even leading to complete failure.”

Just then, Su Chunfeng happened to enter with the tea.

Hearing Chen Yufang’s words, his heart trembled slightly, but his expression showed no change. Smiling, he walked to the tea table, took out some clean white porcelain cups from underneath, poured a cup of tea for his father, then took another cup, poured tea for Chen Yufang, and brought it to the desk. He asked with seemingly casual curiosity, “Aunt, what brings up your interest in Feng Shui matters today?”

“Xiaofeng, you know about Feng Shui too?” Chen Yufang asked with pleasant surprise.

“I’ve heard of it. Superstitious thinking, right?” Su Chunfeng said dismissively.