Investment Life

Chapter 14

14 - Business

　　After a night of rest, Chen Yuanming figured out his itinerary and set out on his own early the next morning.

　　His first stop was set in the commercial district at the city center. He had visited Wuhan several times before in his previous life, and he was no stranger to the city, but that was something that had only happened ten years later from this current time. His memories of the past were still blank, and the streets and buildings of now weren't at all what they will look like in the future. Presently, all he could do was explore this strange city in accordance with his established route.

　　In the early 1990s, the prosperity of Wuhan City should not be underestimated. Urban development had already begun to take shape, and the state-owned enterprises were still arrogantly sitting in their positions at the very top, possessing benefits and profits that people could only dream of. The extensive railway network and harbour transportation also brought even more liveliness to the city. Compared to his own hometown, and the Zhuhai City that would only start to develop after becoming a special administrative zone, Wuhan appeared to be full of charm, revealing a vitality that belonged only to the new era, in the midst of the old.

　　After methodically strolling past a few blocks, and stopping for a while at the large department store building and the main commercial quarters, Chen Yuanming slowly confirmed one thing. Whether it's in the past or the future, the city's consumer appetite was amazing. It seemed that the sales counters were always packed with people standing in front of them, and large amounts of money were used for shopping, rather than for savings. The transportation here was more convenient than in most other cities, so some of the non-necessity goods that could be regarded as luxury items were much cheaper here than in the Midwest, inciting many shoppers dressed up as tourists to come to this city and generously spend their money.

　　It wasn't until now that Chen Yuanming finally understood why Ma Lei and them chose to acquire goods here rather than ship their goods here. In the current days when the traffic network still hasn't been completed yet, the importance of transportation hubs was self-evident. But can this big city really not tolerate even a little trouble? Chen Yuanming didn't think so, and instead a small glimmer of hope arose in his heart.

　　He only roamed around until it was the afternoon, and after learning the prices of the commodities he needed, he left. The hotel that the scarface had chosen was located at the junction between the outskirts of the city bordering the urban district, and it could be considered as a typical urban-rural junction. The price was cheap, but staying there wasn't like living in the real countryside either. It had the flavour of a "high-end" imitation, and the cost-to-performance ratio was still quite good.

　　Because there were too few public transport services, it was already dark by the time he returned to the hotel. This time, Chen Yuanming didn't choose to go directly upstairs and rest, but instead, he sat in the small dining room of the hotel and prepared to have dinner.

　　In these years, there really weren't many people who'd choose to stay at a hotel. Most of the people who would were those who were on business trips and needed a place to temporarily stay for the night, they'd check in late at night, and leave early in the morning. Therefore, although the dining room of this hotel was open, its sense of existence was very low, and the food was only so-so, there was basically no one here in the evening. Chen Yuanming didn't pay much attention to this, and just sat straight down in front of a relatively clean wooden table. As soon as they saw that there was a patron in the dining room, the proprietress happily welcomed him personally and wiped the table with a cleaning rag.

　　"Room 304, right? You're only eating when it's already this late, young man, you should pay attention to getting your three meals on time. You people driving transport vehicles are always ignoring your health, sooner or later, your stomachs will have been tormented so much that you'll end up falling sick..."