Carrying a stack of documents, Lin Su walked through the side gate of the courtyard and approached the observation terrace by the cliff. She noticed the Western man lounging in a bamboo chair, legs crossed, reading a martial arts novel, and couldn't help but feel a bit confused.
Today was October 26th, a Wednesday.
For several days now, Simon Westeros had spent most of his time on this terrace, reading, playing chess, drinking tea, drawing… Yesterday, he even had some girls from the county's arts troupe come to dance for him. Dissatisfied with the looks of a few of them, he insisted on selecting others from Guilin's troupe, saying that the red sleeves meant to add fragrance must be beautiful; otherwise, they would only add chaos.
He was behaving just like the spoiled young heirs in Lin Su's social circle.
Fortunately, he had only watched the girls dance and hadn't done anything more outrageous.
Otherwise… Lin Su realized she might not have been able to do anything about it.
She might even have had to clean up after him.
The dozen or so girls had danced for him for just over an hour in the evening, and each had left with a $200 tip, which led to Lin Su receiving a call this morning from Secretary Liu of Yangshuo County, asking if Mr. Westeros wanted to see more dancing today.
Two hundred dollars, at the current exchange rate, was equivalent to 1,720 yuan.
Lin Su, with her education and family background, had secured a civil service position in the bustling city of Shanghai, with a monthly salary of only 560 yuan. The girls in these arts troupes in this remote county in Guangxi earned just a few dozen yuan a month. Suddenly receiving a $200 tip was like hitting the jackpot.
However, given that Secretary Liu had called to ask about it, it was likely that the girls would be required to hand over a portion of their earnings. Lin Su suddenly thought that the man might have known this would happen, which is why he gave them $200—so they could at least keep half.
Allison Norris was not present, and the one accompanying the man was Chen Qing.
Lin Su approached the two and, with a cold expression, nodded at Chen Qing before handing the documents to Simon. "Mr. Westeros, would you take a look at these?"
Lin Su had brought some information about courtyard houses in Beijing.
Since Simon was starting to invest in property in China, he naturally wouldn't miss out on the capital.
Simon had already purchased a courtyard house in a prime location not far from the Forbidden City, but after reading the *State Council's Decision on Deepening the Reform of the Urban Housing System* yesterday, Simon was reminded of a story. In the 1980s, someone sold their courtyard house in the capital for 300,000 yuan to move abroad. Thirty years later, they returned with 1 million euros, intending to retire, only to find that the courtyard house was now worth 80 million yuan, leaving them devastated.
This sparked a mischievous thought.
Simon decided to sweep up a batch of courtyard houses in Beijing, curious to see how many people would regret it in the future.
Before 1994, this would have been difficult to do because of unclear policies, making the process cumbersome and legally questionable. However, after 1994, this was no longer an issue, thanks to the Chinese government's announcement in July of the *Commercial Real Estate Era*.
Simon set down the martial arts novel he had been reading and picked up the documents Lin Su had brought.
Since they had been collected through Lin Su, the courtyard houses were in prime locations, and their scale was excellent. Most were likely government assets, which would be difficult to purchase without the right connections.
After carefully reviewing the information on the eight courtyard houses, Simon noticed that one of them was a five-entry courtyard, making it even rarer. Such courtyards were once the residences of high-ranking officials and nobility. Most of those that remain are preserved as cultural sites and rarely go up for sale.
The fact that Simon could obtain this information was clearly due to his special status.
Moreover, the suggested price at the end of the document was laughably low—7 million yuan, less than $1 million. When he thought about the future, where such a courtyard would be worth 1 billion yuan, it was almost unimaginable. A four-entry courtyard wouldn't even be worth that much.
Simon originally planned to buy all eight courtyard houses at once, which would cost less than $5 million and would increase in value a hundredfold in the future.
However, after seeing the information on the five-entry courtyard, Simon decided against sweeping up all the properties.
This was clearly a special favor from the authorities, selected and recommended just for him. Buying them all might be inappropriate. If he really wanted to buy up properties, it would be better to have someone else handle it privately.
"Well, just this one," Simon said, selecting the five-entry courtyard. "You can discuss the rest with Allison."
Lin Su wasn't surprised that Simon chose the five-entry courtyard. She nodded, but she couldn't help but feel a bit wistful.
Seven million yuan… At her current salary, it would take her a thousand years to afford such a residence in Beijing. Yet the man before her was buying it as if it were just cabbage.
After organizing the property documents, Lin Su didn't leave immediately. She glanced at the martial arts novel Simon had picked up again and hesitated before asking, "Mr. Westeros, do you also enjoy reading Mr. Jin's martial arts novels?"
Simon nodded. "Yes."
Chen Qing glanced at Lin Su, who was making small talk, and then poured her a cup of tea.
Lin Su wasn't the type to privately badmouth others like Chen Qing had done last week. She could only watch as Chen Qing grew closer to Simon Westeros. She wasn't even sure if Chen Qing had gone to Simon's bedroom during the past few nights.
Taking a sip of the tea, which she found somewhat distasteful, Lin Su asked, "Mr. Westeros, what do you think of *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils*?"
Simon flipped a page in the book and seemed to think for a moment before saying, "All beings suffer." He shook his head slightly. "A bunch of fools."
Lin Su was slightly taken aback.
In this era, Jin Yong's dramas weren't as widespread as they would later become. Most people still had to read the novels. As a woman, Lin Su had little interest in martial arts novels, often dismissed by adults as distractions. But hearing Simon Westeros's comment on *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils*, Lin Su suddenly felt she should take the time to read the novel.
Chen Qing smiled slightly at Simon's comment and Lin Su's reaction.
Chen Qing knew that Lin Su must have done a lot of preparation for this job, just as she had. However, the man before them had surprised them in many ways. Over the past few days, Lin Su had struggled to keep up with the demands of the job, which included more than just translation.
Feeling a bit embarrassed under Chen Qing's teasing gaze, Lin Su said hesitantly, "I didn't expect Mr. Westeros to have such a deep understanding of this novel. It's an honor."
"An honor?" Simon raised an eyebrow and glanced at the woman who was awkwardly trying to make conversation. He sat up, looked at her, and said, "Do you know, Lin? Compared to many ancient civilizations that have been lost to history, it's a rare and fortunate thing that your culture has been passed down for thousands of years. You should be proud of that."
Feeling somewhat uneasy under Simon's gaze, Lin Su reflexively said, "Thank you."
Simon's voice suddenly turned cold. "I'm not praising you."
Lin Su trembled slightly and instinctively said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Westeros."
Simon shook his head. "I don't need your thanks, and I don't need your apology, Lin. You completely misunderstood what I was trying to say. What I meant is that you should be proud of your culture. In front of someone like me, an outsider, you should look at this matter from a position of superiority," he pointed to the small town below. "Just like those foreigners living in this small town. For them to settle in such a paradise on earth is their good fortune, not yours."
Lin Su seemed to grasp something and straightened up slightly. "Mr. Westeros, I understand."
"No, you don't," Simon continued to stare at Lin Su, his voice still cold. "Do you know what your country is lacking the most right now?"
Lin Su reflexively shook her head.
Simon didn't make it difficult for her and directly answered, "Self-identity. You lack self-identity. Look at Japan and South Korea. Even though I, as an outsider, look down on their culture, which is just a fragment of Chinese civilization, they are confident in defending and promoting what they consider their culture. Why? Because they have a strong sense of self-identity. They naturally believe that their culture is the best, the most outstanding. It's this inherent superiority that allows their culture to spread abroad. Now, look at yourselves."
At this point, Simon paused. "I can see that China has been trying to promote its culture in recent years, but you've fallen into a trap. Instead of rebuilding your self-identity, you're desperately seeking recognition from others. In areas I'm familiar with, like film, you're doing exactly that. In my view, making movies should primarily satisfy the needs of your own people, preserving and creating your culture. But what you're doing is chasing recognition at international film festivals, seeking approval from others. Unfortunately, I don't see much self-identity in
that; I just see a bunch of beggars."
"Mr. Westeros, we are not beggars."
"Shut up."
Lin Su's eyes were already a bit red, and she didn't speak again but continued to hold Simon's gaze, forcing herself to stay strong.
Increasingly irritated, Simon continued, "I'm leaving tomorrow. I know you've been tasked with probing me, but I have no interest in giving you any answers except this one: If your country hopes to rise again, this year is indeed a great start. However, if it's only an economic rise, I'll tell you this—it's not really a rise. You'll only become a flock of fat sheep, despised wherever you go, seen as walking wallets. What you need is to first rise culturally, to rebuild your national self-identity, your national pride and dignity. You need to stop clinging to an ingrained sense of inferiority, basking in the praise and recognition of any foreigner. As long as you are confident enough, who cares what others say? Does a tiger care about the chatter of monkeys? So, if you can't achieve this, then even if you surpass the USA economically in the future and become the world's largest economy, your people will still be looked down upon, still seen as inferior. And it won't be because of others; it'll be because you, lacking cultural confidence and self-identity, inherently believe you're inferior."
After saying this, Simon noticed that Lin Su was crying. Suddenly losing interest, he picked up the novel again and began reading.
After a moment, noticing that Lin Su hadn't left, Simon hesitated before saying, "Quit your job and come to the USA with me."
"I won't."
"Then I'll have your unit fire you."
"Do you think I'll surrender?"
"Your parents' positions aren't very high either; getting them fired seems doable."
"You… bully."
"Unfortunately, I suddenly feel like bullying you. Look, you happen to be powerless to resist. How sad."
Lin Su glared at him in anger. "I… what would I do in the USA, become your mistress?"
Simon glanced at her with disdain. "I have many women, but very few I consider worthy of being called mistresses. You don't qualify."
"You…"
Simon smiled wickedly. "Do you want to fight me?"
Lin Su bit her lip and remained silent.
"See? You don't even dare fight me."
"You're a bully."
"I told you, I want to bully you. If you don't submit, I'll bully your entire family."
"Bastard."
"Go wash your face. You look awful when you cry."
Chen Qing watched as Lin Su covered her face and ran off, then turned to look at the man across from her.
There was a hint of anticipation in her eyes.
The man's earlier words had touched her as well.
But now.
Is it my turn?
Simon glanced at her and smiled. "I'll arrange for you to join the Apollo Management team under Cersei Capital, focusing on the China investment department. You have two years to earn at least an MBA. After two years, how far you go will determine the resources you get."
"Thank you, Mr. Westeros."
"And, I'm a very possessive man, so for the next two years, you're mine."
Chen Qing hesitated for a moment but quickly nodded. However, she couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Westeros, what about after two years?"
"After two years, you can do whatever you want. I have no intention of controlling you for life. In fact, if you're too mediocre, you might not even last a year before you disappear from my sight."
Chen Qing nodded again.
She felt both relieved and disappointed.
No woman would want to remain an unofficial concubine forever, but hearing the man's blunt words, she couldn't help but feel a little let down.
Too close and you lose respect, too distant and you harbor resentment.
However, Chen Qing's resolve was not as fragile as Lin Su's. From the beginning, her goal had been clear—to seize this opportunity at any cost. Now that Simon Westeros had given her the chance, if she failed, she would accept it. With her mind made up, Chen Qing pushed aside her previous emotions and brought up another topic. "Mr. Westeros, did you see the article in *Asahi Shimbun*?"
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