SAG -Chapter 143 Buying New Year Goods

Zhang Ran didn’t know what Huang Lin was thinking, but he could more or less guess.

If Tian Yaohui had made his choice purely for money, then Huang Lin’s motivation was to compete with Zhang Ran one more time.

To be honest, Zhang Ran himself didn’t think his previous victory had been particularly honorable.

Back then, although Huang Lin’s vision couldn’t compare to Zhang Ran’s as a transmigrator, it had already been exceptional for that era, and his abilities were formidable.

The main reason Zhang Ran won was money.

Perhaps Zhang Ran wouldn’t have earned more than Huang Lin in the same industry, but he could certainly make Huang Lin earn less—or even lose money.

At the time, Zhang Ran had enormous cash reserves. He pushed Huamei to the brink of financial collapse, and only when he could no longer hold on did Huang Lin admit defeat.

So Huang Lin had never accepted that loss. If there had been no opportunity for redemption, that would have been one thing. But now that the chance was right before him, someone like Huang Lin could hardly be expected to refuse.

Moreover, Zhang Ran was certain that if he defeated Huamei again this time, Huang Lin would return the company to him intact, without resorting to underhanded tricks, creating internal chaos, or forcing local governments to intervene.

That was one reason Zhang Ran had treated Huang Xunzeng rather kindly before.

Huang Lin and Tian Yaohui were fundamentally different kinds of people, and Zhang Ran had always understood that.

Huang Lin’s assessment was also correct. Although the government had never stated it outright, it had subtly conveyed a similar message to him.

After all, the matter involved the livelihoods of more than a million employees. Including their families, the number became staggering.

That was why Zhang Ran had kept his actions relatively restrained until now.

He needed a decisive, fatal strike—especially against someone like Tian Yaohui.

Zhang Ran was confident that Huang Lin would not resort to dirty tricks after losing, but he couldn’t say the same about Tian Yaohui. In fact, he thought the chances of that happening were extremely high.

…

“Zhang Ran, we’re ready. Let’s get going!”

Prince Haiman had already changed clothes and was eagerly waiting to set out.

Today, both he and Lin Mei were wearing ordinary clothes that had been purchased in a hurry earlier. The goal was to avoid drawing attention. If anyone recognized him, the outing would probably end immediately.

The four little ones hadn’t wanted to come at first. They were enthusiastically working on their “masterpieces.”

But after a bit of temptation from Zhang Ran, they obediently agreed to go along. According to Zhang Ran’s vivid descriptions, the place they were about to visit was incredibly fun.

At one o’clock in the afternoon, the group arrived near an old temple district in Shanghai.

The area was already decorated for the New Year. Lanterns hung along the streets, vendors lined the roadsides, and many elderly men and women had set up stalls writing Spring Festival couplets.

Most of them weren’t there to make money—they simply enjoyed the festive atmosphere.

“Uncle Zhang, I want some candied hawthorn. Can you buy me one?” Arthur asked.

The little fellow was undeniably clever. In a short time, he had learned that if he wanted treats his parents normally wouldn’t allow, his best options were Zhang Ran or Liu Lu.

And Zhang Ran was by far the safest bet. Once Uncle Zhang agreed, Prince Haiman rarely objected.

Sure enough, Zhang Ran smiled.

“Of course. Tell Uncle Zhang what flavor you’d like.”

“Me too!” Austin immediately chimed in.

Soon, Zhang Xiaotao and Susu joined in as well.

In an instant, each of the four children had a candied hawthorn skewer in hand.

“Grandpa, Grandpa, I want that sword!”

No sooner had they bought the snacks than Zhang Xiaotao spotted something else he wanted.

Once he spoke up, the other three children refused to be outdone.

Thus, four wooden swords were added to their collection.

The children still carried their treasured gourds with them. Zhang Ran found a vendor selling red cords, bought several strands, and tied the gourds so they could be worn on their backs.

Now, with wooden swords in hand as well, the four children genuinely looked like little wandering heroes from martial arts stories.

However, since they had just eaten lunch, they quickly found themselves unable to finish their candied hawthorns.

Seeing Susu’s pitiful expression, Zhang Ran immediately surrendered.

“Can’t finish it, Susu? Give it to Grandpa. Grandpa will help you eat it.”

“Thank you, Grandpa! Grandpa is the best!”

Her little face instantly bloomed with a smile.

Zhang Xiaotao’s eyes lit up at the sight, and he was about to speak when Zhang Ran cut him off.

“A real man handles his own affairs.”

The boy immediately understood there was no hope.

He turned to his mother instead.

But Liu Lu had no intention of indulging him.

She had already found her proper role in the family. Since Zhang Ran doted on the children so much, she had to be the strict one. Otherwise, Zhang Xiaotao would become completely uncontrollable.

Austin and Arthur looked toward their own parents.

Prince Haiman and Lin Mei had never encountered such situations before.

Yet neither of them rejected the half-eaten candied hawthorns.

As they ate what their sons could not finish, both suddenly experienced a strange, unfamiliar feeling.

They had never done anything like this.

In the past, if the children didn’t want something—even food that had just been bought—it would simply be thrown away.

That left only poor Zhang Xiaotao sadly chewing on his candied hawthorn.

Fortunately, Austin and Arthur proved themselves loyal brothers, splitting the remaining skewers among the three boys.

After this lesson, the four children no longer dared to ask adults to buy large amounts of snacks. Whenever they bought something afterward, they only requested tiny portions.

There was no denying it—being cute was a tremendous advantage, especially for children.

All four were adorable. The mixed-race brothers, Austin and Arthur, were particularly striking, while Susu’s gentle and delicate appearance made people instantly protective of her.

As long as the children asked nicely, very few people could refuse them.

“Oh! There’s an old acquaintance.”

Zhang Ran suddenly spotted someone familiar.

“Come on, let’s buy some Spring Festival couplets and blessing characters.”

It was the old man he had met while staying at Zhang Sicheng’s former residence—the one who was notoriously terrible at chess.

“Brother, your calligraphy looks pretty good,” Zhang Ran said with a grin as he approached the stall.

“So it’s you, little brother. Bringing the whole family out to buy New Year’s goods?” the old man replied cheerfully.

“Of course. Otherwise, why would I come here?”

Zhang Ran got along exceptionally well with the old man, so he spoke without ceremony.

“I noticed nobody’s visiting your stall, so I came over. Brother, don’t tell me you still haven’t made a single sale?” Zhang Ran teased.

The old man’s face darkened immediately.

“Those people simply don’t know quality when they see it,” he said indignantly.

“True enough. If someone didn’t really ‘know quality,’ nobody would pay your prices.”

Zhang Ran deliberately emphasized the words “know quality.”