Rebirth at the Start: This Fate is Too Explosive!

Chapter 325 Persuading Uncle to Sell the Factory!

Gu Ruoyang was slightly taken aback. He took the cigarette, which was clearly much more expensive than the one he smoked, and looked at Ye Fan in surprise: "When did you learn to smoke this?"

In his memory, Ye Fan was still a teenager.

Ye Fan smiled but did not answer immediately.

He used to smoke before his rebirth, but he hardly touches cigarettes in this life; carrying cigarettes in his pocket is purely a social necessity.

But there's no need to deliberately hide it from your uncle who watched you grow up.

He also took out a "Supreme" cigarette, lit it in his mouth, and lit it for his uncle with a delicate lighter before lighting it for himself.

He took a deep breath, the familiar spiciness spreading through him. Through the rising wisps of pale blue smoke, he half-jokingly said, "Just yesterday afternoon, when my mom's 'education on love' was reaching its climax... I suddenly had an epiphany, realizing that life is too short to resist the urge to smoke."

He shrugged, a smug grin on his face.

Upon hearing this, Gu Ruoyang gave an understanding look, then chuckled gloatingly.

He knew it! How dare this kid so blatantly take out cigarettes right under his sister's (Gu Ruoning's) nose? Turns out he's already been beaten enough and is now like a dead pig that doesn't fear boiling water!

The two men sat on the balcony, puffing on their cigarettes, silent for a moment, with only the faint hum of machinery in the distance. The children's playful antics in the courtyard below and the laughter and conversation in the living room seemed to be veiled by a thin layer of gauze.

After a moment of silence, Ye Fan's gaze also turned towards his uncle's factory area, where the somewhat deserted factory buildings seemed to reflect the sorrow between his uncle's brows.

He flicked off his cigarette ash and cut to the chase: "Uncle, how's things at the factory lately?"

Gu Ruoyang took a deep drag on his cigarette, then slowly exhaled. The helplessness on his face was clearly visible through the swirling smoke: "What else can we do? Same old story! Hanging on by a thread, half-dead. Orders are so few, but wages, utilities, rent—everything costs money. Barely making ends meet, not starving, but forget about getting rich."

Nanzhou is a major food processing city, and there are countless small and medium-sized factories like his. In recent years, they have been engaged in fierce price wars, resulting in thin profits. The advantages accumulated in earlier years have long been wiped out.

Ye Fan nodded, a small piece of cigarette burning down between his fingers. His tone was calm but serious: "Then let's sell them as soon as possible."

"Sell it then?" Gu Ruoyang's voice suddenly rose as if a cat's tail had been stepped on, and the hand holding the cigarette trembled.

He whirled around, raised his old leather shoe, and gave Ye Fan a light kick in the backside, the motion carrying the affectionate "discipline" typical of elders from southern Fujian: "You brat! Can't you wish your uncle well during this holiday? All you talk about is selling the factory! Do you think this factory is some kind of ancestral inheritance?!"

Although he was cursing, there was no real anger in his eyes, but rather an annoyance at having his secret exposed.

Ye Fan nimbly dodged to the side, chuckling with a touch of youthful slyness: "Uncle! Honestly, of course I want you to be well! But the problem is, in this situation, burning incense and praying to the heavens won't help! The tide has turned, even a god can't save us!"

He used the faith most familiar to the people of southern Fujian as a metaphor, which was both down-to-earth and highlighted the cruelty of reality.

(In the Minnan custom, worshipping the Heavenly Emperor is a way of praying to Heaven for blessings.)

Gu Ruoyang naturally understood that his nephew was telling the truth.

The general trend? It's the crushing dominance of large, well-funded companies and the shrinking of traditional channels due to the impact of e-commerce.

He silently took a few more deep drags on his cigarette, as if trying to inhale all his helplessness into his lungs. After a long while, he gave a self-deprecating laugh, with a hint of resigned acceptance: "Sigh, I'll just hold on for as many years as I can. Anyway, I don't have to worry about your mother now, and you, Zhuyan, and your cousins ​​are all grown up and doing well. This old man of mine will just hold onto this hope and make a living. I don't need to earn a lot of money."

Seeing the barely concealed dejection beneath his forced nonchalance, Ye Fan stubbed out his cigarette, his expression turning extremely serious: "Uncle, don't hold on any longer. The longer we drag this out, the greater the damage will be, and the lower the final selling price will be."

He took a step closer, lowered his voice, and spoke with an insight beyond his years: "If you sell now, the equipment, factory, and distribution channels still have some value, and you can get a relatively good price. Why waste your energy and miss the window of opportunity for transformation?"

The wind on the balcony dispersed the smoke and also ruffled Gu Ruoyang's slightly graying temples.

He gazed for a long time into his nephew's clear yet unusually determined eyes, without refuting him as before. Instead, he sighed deeply and repeatedly, extinguishing the "Supreme" cigarette, which had burned down to the filter, on the edge of a flowerpot on the balcony.

That sigh contained too many complex emotions—resentment towards reality, confusion about the future, and perhaps... a hint of wavering after being awakened.

The silence on the balcony was broken by a long sigh from Gu Ruoyang, a sigh that carried with it a sense of uncertainty about the future and a feeling of emptiness after being relieved of a heavy burden.

He rubbed his face vigorously, the cigarette butt between his fingers long since extinguished, leaving only a faint smell of tobacco. "Xiao Fan," he said, "I understand some of the truth in what you're saying. But if this factory really is sold, what can your aunt and I, two idle people, do?"

He gazed at the outline of the factory in the distance, the result of half a lifetime of hard work and the very foundation upon which he depended for survival. If it were to be uprooted suddenly, he would lose his footing.

This was exactly what Ye Fan was waiting for.

His eyes lit up, he leaned forward slightly, and said with an unwavering certainty, "Uncle, don't worry about that! Come and help me!"

"Help you?" Gu Ruoyang turned his head in surprise, looking his nephew up and down as if he were seeing him for the first time. The boy had changed dramatically recently, but this suggestion...

Ye Fan didn't give him time to question, clearly outlining his plan: "I have an investment company that's currently planning to launch a chain restaurant brand in Nanzhou. From site selection and decoration to supply chain, staff training, and later operation and management, there are countless things to handle, and we're in dire need of trustworthy people who can keep things under control!"

He looked intently at his uncle: "You've run a factory for so many years; your management experience and interpersonal skills speak for themselves. Your aunt is also a master at managing the household and finances, and she's incredibly shrewd. Add my dad, who's spent half his life in sales; his interpersonal skills and market acumen are all advantages. If the three of you join forces, and I provide you with professional finance, quality control, and marketing teams, wouldn't a complete and efficient management team be perfect? ​​Isn't that much better than sticking to that half-dead factory?"

Ye Fan's blueprint was clearly drawn and full of allure.