"Really?"
Xiao Ming hehe'd with a smile, "How about we make a bet too, Sir Duan? If you win, we can forget about the rewards that kid just mentioned."
Duan Hongqing's hand trembled, spilling tea everywhere. He eyed Xiao Ming up and down and asked Zhou Jicang, "Zhou, where on earth did you find this demon? A sly old fox full of guile, always looking for a gap to exploit and setting traps with every word. Despite being full of malice, he carries himself with such openness that it's almost embarrassing to get angry with him.
I've seen many old rouges like him, but to have such cunning at over twenty years old, Xiao Ming is truly one of a kind!"
Zhou Jicang chuckled, "I warned you all in advance to not underestimate him just because he's young. You wouldn't listen, relying on having eaten more years of rice and pulling rank. It serves you right to face the consequences!"
Duan Hongqing's face twitched as he glanced at Zhou Qingyuan, who was staring at Xiao Ming like an idiot. His mouth curled coldly and he whispered, "Old man, don't celebrate too soon.
You might have seized a small advantage over Xiao Ming's issue, but your daughter has squandered it all.
Think about it, what usually happens when a proud and strong-willed girl is defeated by an even more outstanding male peer?"
Zhou Jicang immediately choked in response, looking from Xiao Ming to his daughter and starting to worry.
With Xiao Ming's ability and talent, he'd naturally be happy to have him as a son-in-law, but the man was already married. He couldn't possibly destroy another family for the sake of his daughter, could he?
At that moment, Zhou Qingyuan seemed to spring to life, taking a deep breath and asking Xiao Ming sternly, "Why? You think I, Zhou Qingyuan, am not fit to start afresh and venture out on my own?"
Xiao Ming shook his head: "Miss Zhou, having confidence is good, but too much confidence becomes self-centeredness, which can easily lead to stubbornness.
Just now, Sir Duan mentioned your exceptional pride, but what is true pride?
A great master from your own family once made the most precise description: 'Walk your own path and let others talk.'
Therefore, I deduce that you must disdain to act like other scions, clamoring to step out of a parent's shadow, striving to prove your own worth through starting your own business.
You look down on those people, believing it's precisely their deep-seated inferiority complex about their parents' achievements that makes them so desperate to outshine their forebears.
But you are confident, convinced that no matter how bright the halo of your lineage, it can't obscure the brilliance that you're about to unfurl.
'Not losing to your parents' simply wouldn't satisfy you, your ambition is to far surpass them.
All things considered, if I were you, I would choose what others see as a peak as the starting point, creating my own steps where none exist and carving out an unprecedented path to the heavens!"
His analytical lecture made Xiao Ming sound like he was giving a formal speech.
The old men showed no particular reaction, just nodding in agreement after aligning their views with their understanding of Zhou Qingyuan.
In contrast, the complex emotions of Yun Shi Yu and Yang Hanqing, seated at a nearby table, deepened.
Yun Shi Yu and Zhou Qingyuan knew each other well, both renowned for their pride and intelligence, which led the busybodies of the social circuit to dub them the "Twin Jewels of the Provincial Government."
Although she scoffed at the title, in her heart, she couldn't help but compare herself, convinced that she was in no way inferior to Zhou Qingyuan.
But now, she realized that, at least in terms of temperament, Zhou Qingyuan had long since left her far behind.
Thinking of Xiao Ming's words "If I were you," an idea involuntarily popped into her mind: If these two were together, they'd undoubtedly create remarkable achievements that would astonish everyone.
But then she cursed herself in her mind, her chest swelling with a fighting spirit.
I, the heiress to a century-old family, how could I surrender without a fight to the daughter of a mere businessman?
Pride is your asset, but it's also your weakness. Jiang Xue, the mountain before you, will prove even harder to climb.
While Yun Shi Yu was busy imagining dramatic scenarios of snatching husbands, Yang Hanqng's thoughts were quite simple, filled with nothing but resentment.
That bastard, can't you be a bit dumber? To even guess a girl's mind so thoroughly, I really want to buy a thick iron chain to tie you up and never let you show off again for the rest of your life.
As for Zhou Qingyuan's own thoughts, they seemed to have been overlooked: Xiao Ming's performance had already won the approval of the old chaps, who even stopped treating him like a junior. They clinked glasses with him, the wine flowed freely, and boisterous laughter erupted now and then.
Before long, the banquet reached its lively peak, and as the host, Zhou Jicang raised his glass to take the stage, thanking the leaders and proposing a toast.
A leader, his face slightly flushed from drinking, found an opening and said, "Mr. Xiao possesses great talent and is indeed the outstanding figure among Longyin's young entrepreneurs. As long as you don't make any mistakes, your future will surely be limitless."
Xiao Ming raised his glass courteously, "Thank you for the leader's auspicious words.
The leader smiled faintly and continued, "However, while it is good for young people to be eager to forge ahead, they must also grasp the measure.
Take the recent slum district mass incident, for example. Your approach was somewhat inappropriate. How can one add fuel to the fire to solve one's own troubles by shifting them to others?
You must understand that doing business is like being a person, it is very important to recognize one's position."
Xiao Ming's eyebrows twitched slightly as he glanced at Cao Zhining, who was chatting with Shen Anhe to his left, and sneered internally.
Using authority to press me? You brought this upon yourself.
"The leader is right, I will definitely bear that in mind."
He sipped his drink and then asked with an innocent face, "But please forgive my ignorance, I am a bit confused about something—what does it mean to add fuel to the fire and shift the burden onto others?
As you know, when the slum neighbors started making trouble, the park belt's plan had not yet been announced. Who spread the news?
We at Maohe just wanted to do business quietly and peacefully, and we hadn't provoked anyone, but some people, for their own selfish reasons, dared to commit a grave error by inciting a mass incident and attacking a legitimate enterprise.
May I ask the leader, what did we at Maohe do wrong in this matter?
Ultimately, if certain individuals hadn't deliberately leaked the city's plans in advance, the incident wouldn't have occurred.
As victims, we endeavored to clear up the origins, inform the neighbors of the truth, who was hurting them, and have them seek out the responsible party. Is there anything wrong with that?
Or does 'recognizing one's position,' as you put it, mean that we at Maohe, being weak, should quietly endure bullying by the strong, resign ourselves to bad luck, and keep silent? Is that what you mean?"
The leader's face shifted through shades of green and red, on the verge of an angry outburst, when he saw Xiao Ming crack another slight smile and lean in to whisper, "Actually, I've always been quite curious—how did some individuals know the city's plans in advance?
This question troubles me, and I would be grateful if the leader could ponder it more when resting at Jiangnan Villa.
After all, the presence of moths in the city affects you all, doesn't it?"
Upon hearing "Jiangnan Villa," the rage in the leader's eyes turned to shock.
The house was a gift from Dabang, registered in the name of a female college student; even his wife didn't know about it—how did Xiao Ming find out?
Thinking of what Zhou Jicang had previously praised as miraculous, the leader swallowed dryly and chuckled with acknowledgment, "Right! Mr. Xiao makes a valid point, this matter must be investigated thoroughly indeed."
"The leader is wise!"
Xiao Ming touched glasses with the leader, and then turned to Cao Zhining with a beaming smile.
Cao Zhining had no idea what the two had discussed at the end, but the result was already clear, and a sense of powerlessness welled up in him.
Cao Bangxi, if only you weren't my son, how wonderful that would be!