After my divorce, I started to have good luck-Chapter 826 - 445: Requests from Two Old Rogues

Chen Feng, Chen Rui, and Wu Mengting were all seated at the same table.

As the banquet started, everyone began to dig in.

Chen Feng was no exception. He had been up since early morning and had gone several hours without eating, so he was certainly a bit hungry.

After everyone had eaten for a while, people at each table began to greet and toast each other.

Chen Feng was at the forefront of this; it's fair to say that most attendees at Zhao Guozhong's engagement banquet were there because of him.

The guests attending the banquet were originally Zhao Guozhong's family and friends, and everyone knew what kind of person Zhao Guozhong was.

Once a notorious layabout, Zhao Guozhong was now living well and not only was a major shareholder of a car wash but also of a small supermarket. His new, beautiful wife was more than ten years younger than him, symbolizing both career and romantic success, marking a dramatic turnaround in his once lackluster life.

All of this was because he had a good nephew like Chen Feng, who provided both financial and moral support, enabling him to change his life.

Zhao Guozhong didn't shy away from acknowledging this, frequently praising his good nephew Chen Feng in front of family and friends, especially among his dozen or so sworn brothers, boasting about his nephew's wealth and power.

Initially, most of them were skeptical, but with sworn brothers Liu and Qi vouching from personal experience, and then with reputable figures like Three Fingers and Ai Ba flattering him, they had no choice but to believe.

Many people were meeting the legendary "good nephew" Chen Feng for the first time today, and they all wanted to get acquainted with him.

Among them, Three Fingers and Ai Ba were the most eager.

Three Fingers was originally the most successful among Zhao Guozhong's sworn brothers. He had done various businesses and made some money, with a net worth of twenty to thirty million. He was a shareholder in two factories and operated a printing and a non-woven fabric factory himself, making several hundred thousand a year.

But since the beginning of this year, he seemed to be down on his luck. First, a major order from the printing factory went awry, resulting in over a hundred thousand calendars being scrapped, causing heavy losses. Then, a trainee mishandled a machine, severing three fingers.

He couldn't claim insurance and gave the victim thirty thousand, but the family thought it was too little and sued him. The court eventually awarded fifteen thousand in damages. Several lawyers advised against appealing, saying he might lose more, so he had to let it go.

Two months ago, the non-woven fabric factory experienced a fire due to a short circuit, burning over three hundred thousand worth of goods and severely damaging five hundred thousand worth of machinery. Even with insurance, only tens of thousands were covered, not even enough to cover a fraction of it.

Orders couldn't be fulfilled on time and had to be given to competitors for free, otherwise, it would mean penalties and losing face, making business difficult.

The other two co-owned factories also seemed to have poor business this year. Being only a minor shareholder, his dividends were predictably small, barely enough to cover his family's mortgage and car loans.

He indeed had twenty to thirty million in assets, but it looked better than it was.

Most of it was non-liquid, with the printing and non-woven fabric factories accounting for nearly half.

Then there were the houses and cars. Besides a small villa in town, he had a 180-square-meter apartment in the county, worth over a hundred and fifty thousand, where his son's family lived; a 120-square-meter apartment in the city, valued at over three hundred thousand; an 80-square-meter apartment in Shanghai, worth over four hundred thousand.

The family owned three cars: a Benz for himself, nearly a million; a BMW for his son, over sixty thousand; a Buick for his wife, over thirty thousand. Together, barely over two million.

The houses in the county, city, and Shanghai were mortgaged, as were the cars.

Thus, monthly mortgage payments and car loans added up. When he was making money, they weren't a big deal.

Never mind that his two factories each owed the bank millions in loans, which required monthly interest payments.

Now that the non-woven fabric factory was burnt, restarting operations would require at least five to six hundred thousand.

Unfortunately, he was short on funds. Even drawing from the printing factory, he could only cover three or four months of loan interests.

Two months ago, he decided to sell the apartments in Shanghai and the city, but despite many inquiries and several price reductions, there were no buyers.

So he appeared well-to-do, with assets of twenty to thirty million, but his finances were quite precarious, with a fragile cash flow on the verge of collapse, risking bankruptcy.

He urgently needed funds to reopen his non-woven fabric factory and improve his dire financial situation.

Ai Ba used to own a car wash in Yuelou Town, but it was closed, and he didn't reopen it, opting to start anew in a nearby town.

Originally, the new car wash was supposed to be a partnership with Zhao Guozhong. Zhao Guozhong was enthusiastic but lacked the capital, intending to borrow from Chen Feng. However, Chen Feng turned him down flatly, leaving Zhao Guozhong no choice.

Ai Ba eventually opened a new car detailing shop, commonly known as a car wash, but business was poor. The town already had two car washes, and his made it three.

Naturally, this left little business for him.

His connections in the new town couldn't compare to those in Yuelou Town. Not being outcompeted by the other two was fortunate enough; competing against them was improbable.

Unlike Yuelou Town and Qingpu Town, each with only one car wash, practically monopolizing business.

These towns were considered the territory of Zhao Guozhong or Chen Feng, "the good nephew," deterring others from investing in a second car wash.

Because of this, Ai Ba harbored some resentment towards Chen Feng and Zhao Guozhong but couldn't muster any thoughts of revenge due to their power. Instead, he sought to curry favor, especially with Chen Feng. If he could partner with Chen Feng or Zhao Guozhong, driving out the other car washes wouldn't be hard.

Three Fingers and Ai Ba were the most eager among those trying to ingratiate themselves with Chen Feng, and they were the first to approach him for a toast.

Had it not been for the wrong setting and timing, they would have immediately told Chen Feng about their situations.