Tengfei Company began moving onto a track that attracted government attention. Liu Jun didn’t know whether this was good or bad—more attention meant more people taking advantage, but also more policies given. Policies in some people’s hands were flexible—they could give you the upper limit or the lower limit, depending on whether you, as an enterprise owner, were sensible enough. Liu Jun wasn’t very sensible, but he was already satisfied with the lower limit. However, seeing Shi Yiji, whose R&D capabilities were publicly recognized as inferior to his Tengfei, receiving much more attention, Liu Jun still felt somewhat unbalanced. But he could only accept his fate—the Shen family had spread its branches and leaves throughout the city with well-developed roots, incomparable to his Tengfei.
While Liu Jun was still mending the fold after the sheep were lost, Shi Yiji’s negotiations with technical cooperation partners had already begun in full swing. This negotiation was Shi Yiji’s second venture outward in its history. Unlike the previous confused departure, this time the helmsman going out was Shen Huadong’s father, Shen Baotian. Back then, Shen Baotian was among those who most closely watched Shi Yiji’s first joint venture fall into contractual traps, and had also contributed ideas for extricating Shi Yiji from those contracts. Therefore, from the very beginning of planning this second venture outward, Shen Baotian had drawn on experience to provide a concise memorandum, indicating several key points of focus. Shen Huadong handled the entire operation, almost completely excluding Dong Qiyang from cooperation negotiations. At this moment, even Shi Yiji’s lowest-level employees could see the calculations of the senior management, so how could the smooth and versatile Dong Qiyang not know? But Dong Qiyang remained motionless, arriving and leaving work on time daily, even though his office was deserted.
Instead, although Liu Jun was busy with patching holes and filling gaps, he was often invited by Shen Huadong to serve as a technical advisor, to prevent Shi Yiji from repeating the painful mistakes of the past in technology transfer. Even Liu Jun could see that Shen Huadong was forcefully excluding Dong Qiyang, and he privately advised Shen Huadong to handle this properly, cherishing and valuing talent. But Shen Huadong had his way of doing things—he even asked Liu Jun to act as an intermediary to discuss separation terms with Dong Qiyang.
While discussing separation here, two wedding invitations arrived, with Yu Shanshan and Yang Li competing to be October brides. Yu Shanshan’s invitation was sent by registered mail to Liu Jun’s company. Liu Jun reasoned that it seemed Yu Shanshan had gone from making friends to marriage in less than a year. He wanted to ask Shen Huadong who the groom was and whether he was reliable, but remembering past lessons, he reminded himself to mind his own business. Shen Huadong also received an invitation, but this time he couldn’t spare time to investigate. Seeing Liu Jun come to accompany him to the negotiation hotel, he asked whether to attend the wedding banquet.
Liu Jun honestly said, “Yu Shanshan should have known early that I wouldn’t attend the banquet. I’m still puzzled why she sent me an invitation.”
Shen Huadong’s eyes rolled as he said doubtfully, “She must have found a golden son-in-law, the very presentable kind—showing off, heh, utterly boring.” After thinking, Shen Huadong added, “Just because we pursued her once, do we have to be responsible for her for life? Then you and I should be responsible for beating gongs and drums to help her bid farewell to the old and welcome the new on that great, happy day. Let’s see who’s more embarrassed then. Haha.”
Liu Jun didn’t want to respond, so he changed the subject. “Why are you taking me through the back door? It’s too roundabout, and the front door isn’t under construction.”
“There’s a madman at the front door waiting to smash my car. That madman used to be a regular worker at Shi Yiji. When Shi Yiji was still with a state enterprise, he took unpaid leave. Now he suddenly wants to come back to work. Personnel naturally disagrees, so the madman makes trouble in my office, threatening that since he didn’t transfer his personnel file out back then, we now have no right to transfer his file to the labor bureau—we must be responsible for him to the end. The problem is, when legal affairs investigated, they found the madman had indeed exploited a legal loophole. I can only avoid him by taking detours. I’m grinding my teeth, wanting to do something illegal and disciplinary.”
“That’s nothing compared to what you’re dealing with. At most, the other party causes you some inconvenience. I once had an employee steal blueprints. I managed to catch him and send him to prison. While he was in prison, his wife ran away with their son, and his mother, desperate with nowhere to turn, jumped into the river and committed suicide. As soon as he got out of prison, he came looking for me, threatening that I had ruined his life, that he was now a desperate man with nothing to lose. Either I give him five hundred thousand to settle the matter, or wait to be clubbed. What kind of situation is this? Just as I settled the matter of my dad’s car tires being punctured, now there’s an even more deadly one. Has anyone come to your father’s door after all his years in business?”
“How could there not be? I still remember as a child, for a period, several people would eat and sleep at our house. Now my father’s status is transcendent—bottom-level disputes rarely reach him, so it’s my turn to catch the bullets. Recently, we fired a lazy cleaner, and the cleaner’s father came to our door. I happened to be leaving through the security gate when the man grabbed a stool and threw it at me. Fortunately, I learned fighting skills from you, or there would have been casualties. There was also fighting between quality control and the workshop—a full-scale brawl in the entire large workshop. Speaking of it, what haven’t we experienced? These past two years, we’ve been through all kinds of storms.”
“Goodness, full martial arts, the workshop floor covered with cold weapons. I had such an incident too, just this summer. I was cracking down hard on quality then. Even now, when I think back on midnight, I still feel lingering fear, and my blood pressure spikes. That day, I grabbed a threaded steel crowbar to go break up the fight. The crowbar had a pointed end and a duck-bill end, nearly a person’s height long. If I had acted, it would have been one life per hand. Afterward, they said my eyes were red that time, I looked like I wanted to kill someone, so they got scared. As for daily minor scuffles, sigh, I’m numb to them now. I’ve cultivated the point where I can numbly pass by fighting and brawling scenes without intervening, just calling the direct supervisors of the involved parties to let them handle it in order. I’ve achieved enlightenment, right?”
“You know what my father says? He says that when I cultivate to the point where I can remain unmoved and sit like a mountain upon hearing someone died in the workshop, then I can return to work in the group. He says when people reach a certain level, what they compete on is no longer brainpower—people at that level are all similarly intelligent—but endurance, seeing who can stay calmer. Those who can stay calm can think thoroughly and make fewer mistakes. I can’t do that yet. I still like to genuinely pound the table in righteous anger, rather than putting on a show for others to see.”
Hearing this, Liu Jun felt like he had been awakened by a revelation, unable to speak for quite some time. Thinking of Shen Baotian whom he had frequently contacted recently due to negotiations, thinking of Song Yunhui whom he had always regarded as an idol, then thinking of the hardships he had walked through these past few years and the changes in his character, his heart was full of thousands of words, yet he only uttered four characters: “So that’s how it is.” Looking back again, he felt his mind had broadened, and the gloom that had accumulated in his chest for years due to trivial company affairs seemed to dissipate like light clouds and a gentle breeze. Now he could only admire his father—where did he get such bold courage back then to let a green kid like him shoulder such heavy responsibility? He wouldn’t dare do the same; he would only learn from Shen Baotian, first sending his son to be a regional lord for a few years of tempering.
Yang Li’s wedding invitation, however, was delivered personally when they met for dinner. Although wedding preparations kept her busy, Yang Li set aside an entire evening to dine alone with Liu Jun. Yang Li chose the restaurant. Liu Jun arrived first and entered the private room. Looking out the window, he faced the five-star hotel that Yang Xun was building. In the dim evening light, he could see the massive podium building and the towering main building. Even though Liu Jun wasn’t in the construction industry, he could see Yang Xun’s strength from this. He sighed inwardly and drew the curtains.
Yang Li wore a silk slip dress with a short blazer over it, accessorized with a string of perfectly round white pearls—both charming and capable. Yang Li knew Liu Jun couldn’t possibly attend her wedding, so she brought wedding candy to give to Liu Jun today. Liu Jun also took out a wedding gift—a set of SK-II gift boxes, a last-minute effort that he had his father send from Shanghai.
“Neighbors on the same floor, yet I had no advance information. Your secret work is too good.” Liu Jun pulled out a chair for Yang Li. “Where’s the groom? Let’s wait for him to arrive before ordering.”
“He won’t come. He’s supervising the cleaning of our new home. Look at our wedding photos.”
Liu Jun felt a trace of suspicion and took the wedding photos to look through. He saw the groom was a robust young man who appeared naive standing next to Yang Li. It wasn’t an age difference, but rather in expression—an obvious simplicity. Looking at Yang Li ordering skillfully across from him, then at the groom in the wedding photos, Liu Jun felt even more puzzled.
Yang Li had already sensed this and laughed frankly, “Speak directly if you have something to say. What’s the point of hiding and concealing? My groom has a sunny disposition, an open heart, knows how to care for family, and especially rare is that he cooks wonderfully. How nice. When looking for a husband, you’re not looking for a lover—good character is paramount.”
Liu Jun initially believed her, but the more Yang Li explained in detail, the more he doubted. However, having just decided to learn to take things in stride, he smiled and said, “That’s very reasonable. Good character is most important. What have you been busy with lately? Hotel construction must be a major project. Learning as you go?”
“I’m familiar with five-star hotel operations. My main work now isn’t specific affairs, but negotiating with hotel management companies. Originally, we were talking with Shangri-La, but now it seems Shangri-La’s conditions are too harsh, so we’re preparing to talk with several more companies. Mm, the city just allocated a piece of land for a technology park. I went to look at the planning the other day—you’re quite quick, even faster than me. The plot of land you’ve chosen is surrounded by water on two sides with excellent scenery, except for a temple across the water that spoils the view. Planning to develop it?”
“What development? I’m honestly doing the industry. The company is expanding, and the original land is no longer sufficient. I’m planning to move the R&D center out. That land has nice scenery, suitable for planning an environment where one can think quietly. Moreover, the technology park is close to the city center, convenient for the engineers’ lives. Are you also interested in that land?”
“No. Since you haven’t paid yet, I’ll tell you honestly. There’s an old local saying: ‘Poor in front of temples, rich behind temples, many widows to the left and right of temples.’ That land is right in front of the temple—a major feng shui taboo. Otherwise, do you think such a good location would be available for you to consider? How about it—am I very superstitious? Haha. I’ve been looking at land a lot in recent years, and all my contacts involve this kind of knowledge. It’s hard not to know. Regarding temples, I can be atheistic, but my customers will vote with their feet, so I have to consider thoroughly.”
Liu Jun laughed after hearing this. “I wondered, I wondered how a plot of land I fell in love with at first sight had no competition. But I don’t care—I’m planning to do pure R&D there, unrelated to customers. Too funny. I didn’t expect someone like you to understand such things.”
Yang Li carefully observed that Liu Jun was laughing without any resentment, not mockingly, before laughing reassuredly, “No choice—it’s my livelihood, I have to know. But I must remind you that the land’s future appreciation potential is poor. Times are different now—movements to demolish temples probably won’t come again.” Seeing Liu Jun nod with heartfelt conviction, Yang Li felt pleased. “I used to quite reject such things. Do you know why I’m familiar with five-star hotels? Before… our generation grew up watching Qiong Yao…”
“I watched Gu Long.”
“All literature is full of dreams. Back then, I yearned for invisible social strata, invisible lifestyles. Five-star hotels were the best and only window then. I finally fought for the opportunity to work at a five-star hotel. Invisible social strata… sigh… My sister-in-law understood earlier than I did. I was the most obtuse, only recently understanding a principle: people of grassroots origin will forever have grassroots in their hearts that can’t be burned away by wildfire.”
Liu Jun listened in confusion. “Our country has had reform and opening up for over twenty years, with truly good days for less than twenty years. You could say grassroots are everywhere—don’t mind it.”
“No, people are different. That’s a state of being. From birth, the starting track is already determined, like lanes on a track field. You run in whichever lane you stand in. Stepping on lines results in penalties, even disqualification from competition. I only figured this out now.”
Liu Jun was even more confused. “Life and tracks aren’t comparable. Although man definitely can’t conquer nature, but…”
“That’s because you’ve always been running in the inner lane—you can’t see the hardships of the outer lanes.”
“I think this is a mental demon. Look at your sister-in-law—isn’t she living happily and actively?”
“She sees more clearly than I do. Now she’s alone in Boston, raising two children, completely letting go of my brother. My brother respects her more. She’s very wise—alone, she arranges her life extremely well. Besides caring for children, she can still pursue a master’s degree in accounting. Ah, yes, it is a mental demon. Let go of one’s heart, and outside is a vast sky and earth.”
Liu Jun accompanied Yang Li in drinking, listening to her increasingly erratic and jumpy rambling, feeling more and more that this dinner was unusual—Yang Li seemed to truly have mental demons. Yang Li drank most of a bottle of red wine. When the wine was finished, Yang Li suddenly asked, “Liu Jun, have you ever thought of taking revenge on my brother?”
“No opportunity.”
“That shows you still think about it in your heart. No wonder my brother has always been wary of you.”
Liu Jun was shocked inside but said nonchalantly, “I think your brother should be more wary of balance sheets. Building such a hotel, your balance sheet must be quite frightening.”
“When we borrow a hundred thousand from the bank, we fear the bank. When we borrow ten million from the bank, the bank fears us. When we borrow a hundred million, we become too big to fail—even the government fears us. What’s there to worry about? Are you still planning to acquire that shaky micro bearing company next to yours?”
“Your brother pays such close attention to me?” Liu Jun broke out in a cold sweat, but after Yang Li slipped the tongue while drunk, she said no more, leaving enormous doubts in Liu Jun’s heart.