CHAPTER 175: CHAPTER 38: SMOKELESS WAR

From the tone of Su Ziceng’s voice, there was no excessive blaming. Zhou Dagen rubbed his hands and explained with a heavy tone: "Little boss, if you agree to Mr. Shang’s request, I can only resign."

Ever since Zhou Dagen decided to make a comeback and Su Ziceng confidently handed over the Wine Shop entirely to him, the relationship between Zhou Dagen and Su Ziceng had long surpassed a mere employment contract. Relationships between people are inexplicable; Su Ziceng comes from wealth, Zhou Dagen has lived in decline, but both have fallen from the pinnacle of life, both have felt the pain of broken wings, and it’s only through such shared experiences that the pair forged this hard-earned close friendship despite their age difference.

Before today, Su Ziceng was still a comfortable small Wine Shop boss, but now, she has to face the risks of her backbone staff threatening to resign and partners withdrawing their investments; all of this came too suddenly.

"Uncle Da Gen, take your time," experience told Su Ziceng that splashing out in anger was the worst move. Teacher Fei Lin’s lessons taught her that knowing how to listen is one of the ultimate tactics for a woman to win over a man.

"The methods proposed by Shang Yin, indeed, can bring our Wine Shop back from the dead. He suggested selling wine to minors, as well as promoting the sale of cheap wines mixed with various drinks, such as wine with Sprite," Zhou Dagen stated Shang Yin’s suggestions for business improvements.

"I don’t agree with the first one either. The second one sounds feasible," selling wine to minors was a proposition walking the edge of the law. The legislation in Z country does not specify clear penalties, creating an obvious legal loophole. Nonetheless, acting on the principles of a businessperson new to the market, Su Ziceng still refused.

Seeing Su Ziceng’s reaction, Zhou Dagen also breathed a sigh of relief; he had been worried that after hearing his answer, the boss would turn her back on him like Shang Yin, caring only about money.

"The second one, is because of my pride as an old man who lives for wine," Zhou Dagen’s response was firm, he pounded his chest and pointed at the bottles of wine on the Wine Shop’s shelves: "What Boss Shang calls mix-and-sell is actually a lucrative opportunity."

Su Ziceng also knew it was a way to make money; indeed, after wine became popular nationally, the practice of mixing grape wines with beverages like Sprite quickly emerged. For the people of Z country, who were still not used to the tart taste of wine, the sweetness mixed into the wine made it easier to drink. It could be said that this mixing method led the main trend in the domestic wine industry for a long time.

"But it’s also a dishonest path; it can set back the development of our country’s wine industry and the taste buds of wine connoisseurs by more than a decade, or even decades," Zhou Dagen asserted with the dignity of a wine drinker, his opinion was simple and carried weight, much like the authentic famous liquors of Z country.

"The flavor of a bottle of wine is the painstaking accumulation of generations from countless wineries; it can be considered the tears of the grapes. The initial sourness when people from our country drink wine is inevitable. Taking the low-end road is a stage that domestic wine producers must go through. If the initial adaptation phase is destroyed, then there will no longer be pure wine, nor will there be customers whose tastes are continually refined," Zhou Dagen spoke with a heavy heart; he had seen truckloads of counterfeit wine being destroyed, and witnessed generations of old workers who had dedicated their lives to making wine weeping inconsolably.

This represents a pure respect; it took hundreds of years for Z country to have its unique baijiu (white spirits), and it should also take an equal length of time to have a wine industry that is no less excellent. Any shortcuts or opportunistic behavior is unacceptable.

At the end of his speech, Zhou Dagen’s eyes were fervent but lacked confidence; he did not know how effective his words would be. Shang Yin had scoffed at his opinion, as sooner or later, others in the country will walk the same path. Over the past decade or so, Z country has undergone earth-shaking changes, and there has been an array of money-making tricks, with almost none of the food entering one’s mouth being trustworthy.

"Let’s do as you wish," Su Ziceng patted Zhou Dagen’s shoulder and put on a relaxed tone, "You just look after the Wine Shop; I’ll find a way to persuade Shang Yin regarding the funding matter."

Compared to the cold spell the Wine Shop had just experienced, other places in Zone 3 had already welcomed spring. After leaving the Wine Shop, Su Ziceng made a phone call to Shang Yin.

"There’s a party on my yacht this weekend evening, Miss Su, you are welcome to come along with your boyfriend, and we can discuss specifics then," Shang Yin threw out this sentence before hanging up the phone.