For the past six months, Sun Lian Cheng had been focusing all his energy on industrial development.
By the end of the year, all the factories had completed their upgrades and renovations, and were fully operational.
Although the long-term effects were yet to be seen, the immediate impact was the creation of five to six hundred jobs, which in turn spurred the growth of surrounding street vendors and sole proprietorships, leading to a total increase of over a thousand jobs.
The total population of Donglin Town was less than forty thousand people, and excluding the elderly, women, and children, the workforce amounted to slightly over twenty thousand.
Most of the workforce was engaged in agricultural activities like farming and livestock breeding, while others sought work in towns, counties, and cities. There were not many people left who were unemployed.
Just in the past two years, the newly established factories had created nearly two thousand jobs, which in turn encouraged even more people to participate in related service sectors. It seemed as if everyone in Donglin Town had a job, and everyone was busy.
The situation was steadily improving, and Sun Lian Cheng could relax with a greater peace of mind.
However, at the end of 1991, Sun Lian Cheng suddenly called his older brother, Sun Lian Guo, to come over.
"What's the matter, Second Brother? I'm swamped with work already. Can't you let me rest? You've caused so much trouble in the past two years!"
Sun Lian Cheng chuckled and poured his brother some wine. "Big Brother, why are you so hasty? Here, have a drink to moisten your throat. We can talk slowly, brother to brother!"
Sun Lian Guo took a large gulp, then grabbed some food and continued asking.
"What is it this time?"
Sun Lian Cheng said, "Big Brother, why are you acting so dramatic? I called you over, and yes, you have been very busy, but aren't you also an entrepreneur now?"
"Nonsense, I'm just working for you!"
"Hey, you shouldn't say that! I may have invested, but you are the majority shareholder!"
Sun Lian Guo grunted, "It's still working for you! I've figured it out, you little rascal. You're just sitting on a pile of money and looking for something else to do!"
Sun Lian Cheng suddenly turned serious, "Big Brother, I'm going to be frank with you about this business. At most, I will have to withdraw my shares next year. Otherwise, I'll be in trouble!"
"What?" Sun Lian Guo was genuinely surprised. "Why would you say that? Has there been some policy change?"
"I don't know, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Don't worry about it too much. I'm not lacking money. If things get really bad, I can always ask you for help. After all, you've made a fortune. You wouldn't forget about your own brother, would you?"
Sun Lian Guo glared at him and continued asking, "Are you really determined to do this?"
"I am!"
"Alright, then give your shares to Little Sister. Mom and Dad have been nagging us endlessly, saying that we can't forget about Little Sister now that we've gotten rich... You see, our two sons don't have the same weight as our little sister!"
Sun Lian Cheng laughed, "Big Brother, don't argue with Mom and Dad. You know they're more attached to our daughter. We're just two wild boys, picked up from the streets!"
"That's true! But you didn't just call me here to tell me this, did you?"
Sun Lian Cheng became more serious again. He pulled out a notebook from his drawer and passed it to his brother.
"Take a look. This is the conclusion I've reached after studying various national and international news events over the past two years."
Sun Lian Guo flipped through the pages casually, then asked in a confused tone, "I can understand it roughly, but what do you want to do?"
Sun Lian Cheng pulled out another piece of paper, "This is a new policy that Shanghai is preparing to implement. There's money to be made here!"
"Stock subscription certificates?"
"Yes, use as much of your liquid assets as possible to go there and buy as many of these subscription certificates as you can. Don't sell them until they have multiplied tenfold or even a hundredfold."
"This..."
Although Sun Lian Guo had graduated from high school, he had been managing the family business for many years and couldn't understand this right away.
In fact, Sun Lian Cheng didn't fully understand it either. But in a future ten-year economic development forecast that he had received from the system, there was a message about a "treasure certificate" (translated as "lucky certificate" or "wealth certificate" in the context).
He knew there were two particularly important events happening next year, both of which could make a fortune.
One was the treasure certificate, the other was the British pound crisis!
The first one was relatively straightforward. He could simply go to Shanghai.
But the second one required preparation beforehand. He would have to go to Hong Kong to execute it properly.
The first step was to buy up the treasure certificates. Making money was essential for the next endeavor.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have enough capital, and any attempt would be too risky.
Seeing Sun Lian Guo hesitate, Sun Lian Cheng became impatient.
"Big Brother, we're brothers. I wouldn't harm you. Trust me. Do as I say, and I guarantee you'll make a fortune!"
Sun Lian Guo asked, "So we really need to use half of our money?"
"Yes, you have to keep some cash on hand to support the factories, right?"
"Second Brother, that's over two hundred thousand. Are you really going to gamble like this?"
Sun Lian Cheng was surprised. "Big Brother, you've already made four hundred thousand in just two years?"
Sun Lian Guo gave him a sideways glance. "Is that strange? You've known for a long time that we could make big money, haven't you?"
"Uh..."
"Alright, since you're so insistent, I'll go crazy with you! I'll prepare the money. Just tell me when and where to go!"
Sun Lian Cheng knew that the technical information he provided was quite valuable. Making money with factories was easy these days, but he hadn't expected to make so much.
When he first pulled his brother into this venture, it was because no one else was willing to invest. So he had to do it himself.
Sun Lian Guo, with his family's savings of over ten thousand, combined with Sun Lian Cheng's investment of seven to eight thousand, a total of twenty thousand, started several factories.
But later, they also took out a loan of several tens of thousands from the credit union, so they weren't short of capital.
At the beginning, it was just a small workshop operation. They hadn't expected to make much money, but it was just a way to support Sun Lian Cheng's work.
Unexpectedly, after just two years, Sun Lian Guo had become a minor tycoon!
It made sense. Sun Lian Guo was now managing businesses that included tea processing, bamboo and rattan weaving, canned food production, potato chip processing, and juice beverage production.
In just two years, these products had spread beyond Yi'an County and Yunzhou City, not only reaching the entire Han Dong province, but also being sold to neighboring provinces.
So it wasn't strange that he had made several hundred thousand!
Hundreds of thousands in the early 1990s, in a town like this, was already considered the wealth of a tycoon.
But Sun Lian Guo, heavily influenced by his younger brother, was relatively low-key and hadn't considered buying any luxury cars or indulging in extravagant lifestyles. So people didn't know how much money he had made.
Sun Lian Cheng still held a thirty percent stake in the business, which meant he was also a wealthy man with hundreds of thousands to his name.
It was precisely because of this that he planned to withdraw his shares completely after the two big deals next year.
According to the information from the system, if he played his cards right, he could easily multiply his twenty thousand by a hundredfold next year. Maybe even more!
So unless Sun Lian Cheng was planning to quit his job and go into business full-time, having too much money would be a burden. He needed to cut ties as soon as possible.
But why was he so determined to go into business?