Chapter 165: Force to Lower One’s Head
Qi Yu got up and walked to the conference room. He dug out the familiar number from his phone, hesitated for two seconds and pressed the dial button.
The call quickly connected and he heard Xu Jing’s voice from the other end of the line. “Hello?”
“I’m here at President Qu of Long Xian Foods’ place.” In just a few seconds, Qi Yu had adjusted his emotions. In the depths of his eyes, dark tides surged but his tone was calm without a single ripple. “You asked me to call you. What do you want to say to me?”
It seemed that Xu Jing didn’t expect him to be so calm. After a moment of silence, he said slowly, “President Yang of New Bird told me that you had an appointment with her yesterday.”
Qi Yu: “She sure does relay news quite quickly.”
“I think I know a little about the Si Yuan Group’s current situation. I also heard that Wang Zhendong is planning to divest. I guessed you would go to President Qu so I called him yesterday and told him about the situation of the Si Yuan Group. I don’t know though if he can help.” Xu Jing said with a pause, “Do you remember what I told you when you asked me to take back Shanyu’s investments?”
Hearing this, Qi Yu was now sure. Xu Jing really had come to make a show of strength!
——“Qi Yu, I have worked hard for you for so many years. These are not just investment projects, behind each project there is a network of interests and contacts that you can use in the future. You think we can just take all those back because you say so?”
Those words were still ringing in his ears. But after the Si Family incident happened, Qi Yu didn’t believe that Xu Jing hadn’t realised what his intentions were for asking him to do that in the first place!
When the nest is upset, no egg is left intact. If the share price of the Si Yuan Group had fallen after the Si Family’s divestment, plummeted to the point of possibly delisting, what would have been the use of Shanyu’s connections?
“I remember, I still remember. You said that I was still young and that I hadn’t yet seen the sinister nature of society. Not everyone is as loyal and righteous as I imagined…” Qi Yu’s eyelids drooped slightly. He raised his eyes again and there was a flash of cold light in them. “I know this is the reality. But I never expected that you would be the one to personally teach me this lesson.”
Xu Jing: “If this is what it takes to make you realize…”
Qi Yu’s hand clenched around the phone and he interrupted him, “Jing Ge, if you asked me to make this call just to make me agree with what you said at that time, you might be disappointed. Although you invested in Yang Xiaoxue and Qu Weixiang at the beginning, don’t forget that it was Shanyu’s money that you used. I came to Qu Weixiang today, not just to ask him for help, but to talk about cooperation. Cooperation is reciprocal, it’s mutually beneficial! If President Qu is as confused as you on what is primary and what is secondary, then all I can only say is that maybe we were fated to meet only to part. I’m not going to be all meek and subservient, at someone else’s mercy just because of this little setback!”
There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.
Qi Yu waited for two seconds without getting a response. He said, “If you have nothing else to say then I’ll be saying goodbye.”
Xu Jing still didn’t answer, Qi Yu gritted his teeth and pressed the hang up button directly.
Qi Yu put away the phone and suddenly felt powerless. He leaned against the door of the conference room, taking an additional ten seconds. He looked up at the outdated fluorescent lamps and exhaust fans overhead…
He never thought that Xu Jing would leave him. He never thought that Xu Jing would oppose him one day. But these things had become reality one by one.
When he confronted Xu Jing just now, he was not without fear.
After all, he knew that the reason he was able to say confidently that he “wasn’t going to be someone else’s mercy” was because he had enjoyed a life of luxury since he was young. Before him were people shouting to open up a path and behind him were people to protect him. Ever since he could remember, his father’s career has gradually grown and it was the environment surrounded him that let him form these sort of notions.
But as his mother said, there was no constant wealth in this world. For everything, extreme prosperity forebodes the beginning of decline. If the Si Yuan Group’s circumstances keep on declining then he’ll be faced with more and more predicaments. Would he be able to hold on to his true intentions?
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
…
Hl Te tegglfvis rtbbx tlr tfjv. Lf gjlrfv tlr rqlglar jcv gfaegcfv ab Ugfrlvfca He’r boolmf.
He Qflzljcu kjr rlaalcu bc atf rboj mtjaalcu klat Jte Zfcu, tbivlcu j uijrr atfgwbr oeii bo afj rajlcr, rwlilcu ilxf j xlcv biv ecmif.
Hl Te mjiifv bea “Ugfrlvfca He”.
“Mlclrtfv?” He Qflzljcu ragfamtfv tlr cfmx ab ibbx ja tlw, tegglfvis ugffalcu tlw ab mbwf jcv rla.
After Qi Yu was seated, he looked at Qu Weixiang and said sternly: “Mr. Qu, Xu Jing simply explained to me that he had called you and that he’d told you a bit about the Si Yuan Group. I guess, you also know of my other identity from him. To tell you the truth, the Si Yuan Group has encountered some difficulty recently. A shareholder suddenly wishes to withdraw his investment. We do not want this to affect the share price of the group, so we are looking for a new partner to take over his shares. The Si Yuan Group has been listed on the NSDK since ten years ago. Ever since its listing, its market value has been stable and improving. Our clothing brand, Mei Wei is well-known both here and abroad. We have offices and a complete sales chain in eleven countries including China, Japan, the United States and Australia. After some screening among Shanyu’s past investment projects, I found that your company has developed very well during the past two years and has abundant financial strength. If you are willing to provide us help at this time, once we get through this crisis together, the Si Yuan Group will definitely work together with Long Xian Foods for its long-term development. But to be honest, the Si Yuan Group hasn’t yet reached the point where we have absolutely no way out. If President Qu is reluctant to provide help, we won’t insist on it.”
Qi Yu’s speech was eloquent, neither humble nor arrogant. Qu Weixiang was a bit dizzied by his words. At first, he looked at with a somewhat hopeful look on his face and hearing the end, he was left a bit stunned. He hurriedly said, “Eh? No, didn’t I just say that I wanted to help? Chief Xu, he, he didn’t ask me not to help.”
Qi Yu frowned. “To be honest, I don’t know what Chief Xu’s purpose was by asking me to make this call. You might just tell me what he told you.”
Qu Weixiang put down the water glass and explained, gesturing, “He told me that Shanyu was originally yours but because you’re still studying, he just managed it for you temporarily. Maybe because he was afraid that I wouldn’t acknowledge you, he also asked me that is there’s anything you need, for me to look after you for his sake.”
Qi Yu was silent for a moment, then said, “Actually, Xu Jing left Shanyu Investment half a year ago and is no longer a member of our Si Yuan Group. I won’t deny the help he had given you back then, but if you’ve only decided to cooperate with us because of the favor you owe him, in fact, that is not necessary.”
“What are you saying?” Qu Weixiang waved his hand, “Of course, we remember the favor that Chief Xu granted us but I also remember the favor we owe Shanyu. After all, the money came from Shanyu. Without that money, Long Xian wouldn’t be where it is today. To be honest, before you came, I thought about it and called my daughter last night. My daughter had the same idea as you had just now. She said that a large group like Si Yuan, which has been on the market for many years, won’t crumble so easily. Your stock price is fluctuating right now because something happened to the Si Family and it will be fine after a while. But if we can take this opportunity to create deep ties with you, there definitely won’t be any need to worry about our development in the future…”
Chu Meng turned surprised eyes at Qi Yu, then went to look back at Qu Weixiang.
That Qu Weixiang picked up his cup, still looking a little nervous. “But I don’t know how much you want, I can only take out 600 million at most.”
When Chu Meng heard “600 million”, she was stunned. Before she came, she’d heard from Qi Yu about how big the funding gap would be for the Si Yuan Group. She hadn’t expected that this miserly-looking old uncle would take out 600 million in one go! This level of arrogance could send all those decked out white-collar elites in the entire Fengmao building flying several whole streets!
Met with their silence, Qu Weixiang thought they were dissapointed with the little amount of money. He looked at Qi Yu and explained, rubbing his cup, “We originally wanted to use this 600 million to invest in offline chain stores across the country. I’m sorry but I can’t come up with any more.”
Qi Yu hurriedly put his fist against his lips and coughed lightly, “It’s just the right amount. But are you really planning to spend 600 million?”
Qu Weixiang: “Of course, how could I possibly joke up so much money!?”
Qi Yu said gratefully, “Then allow me to thank President Qu first.”
Qu Weixiang breathed a sigh of relief when he heard these words, “What ‘thank’? Aren’t I paying this money to buy shares in your Group. I’m not giving it to you for nothing.” He glanced at the time and said, “It’s already twelve o’clock. Let’s go down and have some lunch first. If we tarry any longer, the food the cook prepared will get cold.”
When Qi Yu went downstairs, he called his father and told Qi Yuancheng about the progress of the matter. When Qi Yuancheng heard the result of his discussion with Qu Weixiang, he was quite surprised and his words were full of joy. He said he would immediately send people from the Group to meet Qi Yu and his party. They’ll be there to discuss in detail about the transfer of the shares.
The two of them followed Qu Weixiang to the cafeteria where there were still many workers eating. The workers weren’t the least bit intimidated seeing Qu Weixiang. One after another, greetings of “Boss Qu” rang out. It showed just how popular President Qu was in this company.
Qu Weixiang took Qi Yu and the others into a private room, and said with a smile, “I usually sit outside and eat with them. It’s lively but I’m afraid you’ll find it noisy. So, I had them open a private room specially for today.”
After they were seated, the kitchen cook personally served the dishes. Together with Wang Meng, there was only the four of them eating but the table was full of dishes. Qu Weixiang then said, “Our place is pretty far and remote. The conditions are a bit rough but I hope you won’t dislike our home cooked dishes.”
“Of course not!” How could Chu Meng dare to look down on him at this time? Ever since Qu Weixiang said that he would invest 600 million yuan, this old man appeared to her like a smiling Buddha radiating golden light.
During the meal, Qi Yu found a topic to talk about with Qu Weixiang. “President Qu, what major is your daughter studying?”
When Qu Weixiang heard him mention his daughter, his whole face grew radiant once more. “She’s studying marketing. Is that also related to doing business?”
“It’s almost the same…” Qi Yu smiled, “Hearing your daughter’s remarks, I felt she had a good view of the overall situation. I thought she was studying corporate finance.”
Qu Weixiang glanced at Qi Yu, “hehe” and smiled. “Actually, my daughter knows you.”
Qi Yu was startled: “Knows me?”
Qu Weixiang: “Well, she read news about you online. She said you’re studying at Stafford University, which is a much better school than the one she’s attending. She also said that you’re competing against the prince of the Lin Family. But she thinks you’re young and handsome. She figures you’re probably more promising than that kid from the Lin Family…”
Qi Yu: “…”
“I don’t know much about those things but since she said that, you must be very good.” Qu Weixiang suddenly remembered something. He put down his chopsticks and took out his mobile phone, “Oh, yes. She heard you were coming to meet me and she called me to ask if she could add you on WeChat!”
Qi Yu: “…”
Chu Meng, who was beside him, couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter. She asked, “President Qu, does your daughter have a boyfriend already?”
It seemed that Qu Weixiang didn’t use WeChat very much. Squinting his eyes, he slowly poked at his phone. Glancing at Qi Yu from time to time, he said quietly, “Not yet.”
After the meal, their group returned to Qu Weixiang’s office and talked about a lot of details of their cooperation. After Qi Yuancheng’s team arrived, they took over the follow-up negotiation work.
Qi Yu took the opportunity to step out. He borrowed a cigarette from Lawyer Han and walked to the end of the corridor by himself to have a breather.
The windows of the corridor faced west and there were few high-rise buildings out here in the countryside.
Qi Yu lit a cigarette and took a deep breath.
Although Qu Weixiang had already agreed to invest, he still had a trace of melancholy in his heart when he recalled the phone call with Xu Jing just now.
Qi Yu took out his phone, hesitated for a moment and called Xu Jing again.
After the call connected, this time it was Qi Yu who spoke first, “You knew President Qu was going to help, didn’t you?”
Xu Jing: “He agreed?”
Qi Yu: “Don’t play stupid with me. You’ve engaged with him before so you should know what kind of person he is.”
Xu Jing: “So what? In business, things change rapidly. The money’s still with him. How could I be sure that he’d give it to you?”
Qi Yu chuckled and sneered: “Xu Jing, just what do you mean by all this? Do you think I would owe you a favor because you called President Qu? Or do you think you me something so you’re doing this?”
For a while, there was silence on the other end of the line. When Qi Yu thought that Xu Jing wouldn’t say anything, he finally heard the other party’s voice. It was still as gentle as he remembered. There was no arrogance or any purposeful teasing to make him stumble. Instead, there was a trace of exhaustion and depression—
“…Xiao Yu, I just want to see you bow your head and admit your mistake, why is that so difficult?”
The fire in Qi Yu’s eyes seemed to be instantly extinguished by the other party’s words.
He froze there, until the soot fell and almost burned his fingers. Only then did he react.
“Jing Ge,” Qi Yu’s eyes, though, did not waver at all and he said earnestly serious, “You have your reasons and I also have mine.”
Xu Jing didn’t refute any more. The trace of exhaustion seemed to be Qi Yu’s imagination.
Immediately afterwards, Qi Yu listened to Xu Jing’s steady voice, “I learned from Lin Huan that Wang Zhendong’s divestment was caused by people from Lizao. It’s good that President Qu is willing to fill Wang Zhendong’s vacancy but I doubt this would be the last. This is just the beginning. Those small shareholders that Si Yuan just added a few months ago are uncertain factors. You should pay more attention.”
Qi Yu flicked off the cigarette ash and asked in a low voice, “Didn’t you go join Lin Huan? Aren’t you afraid your new boss has something to say about this?”
I’ve been by your and your father’s side for seven years. You really think I’m some unfeeling cold-blooded animal?” Xu Jing couldn’t help but ask angrily. He paused, then calmed down, “But that’s all I can tell you. I hope you can get through this difficult time smoothly.” He immediately hung up the phone.
Qi Yu glanced at the phone, exhaled a puff of white smoke and squinted at the sky in the distance. He saw that the horizon was tinged red.
The sun was about to set.
He repeatedly pondered the words Xu Jing had just said. Fu Yansheng’s words — “Without your permission, I can’t just rashly make a move.” — seemed to echo in his ears again. In that instant, he couldn’t help stretching out his hand and slamming it against the window sill.
Leave if you want! Why were they all still trying to make him bow his head!
F*ck.
“…Chief Qi?” Just as he lost control, Chu Meng also happened to be looking for him. When she saw Qi Yu suddenly stretched out his hand and slammed the window sill, she was startled. “Are-are you here?”
Qi Yu tilted his head to look at Chu Meng. His eyes were filled with a steadiness that shouldn’t be possible for his age.
But Chu Meng didn’t forget that Qi Yu had been angry just now and she asked with a smile, “What’s the matter, didn’t President Qu already agree to invest?”
————
【Interlude】
Qi Yu: Leave if you want! Why were they all still trying to make me bow my head! (*￣︿￣)
Fu Yansheng: ? ? ? *Getting shot while lying down*? ? ?
Mistake?? What mistake?? Am I missing something? Did I skip a chapter where it talked about Qi Yu’s mistake??? I cannot understand what mistake Qi Yu made?? Is my memory failing me, or is XJ the one not understanding??? These spicy noodles in front of me are not helping-
Thanks for the chapter ♥️
By mistake, XJ meant that QY’s way of doing business was ‘too innocent&clean’. XJ kept insisting that in order to be a good businessman, one must be willing to use any possible means, which QY was against with.
Im confused- Maybe I’m just dumb, but how is that a mistake??? Everyone has different ways of doing business, no? At this point isn’t he just forcing his ways onto Qi Yu?
exactly lol that’s what they’re fighting about
<Or do you think you me something> ? and < “ I’ve been by you and>
I get why Qi Yu clings on to Xu Jing dang and with how unclear his future with FYS is…
Thanks for the chapter <3333
thanks for the chapter!
to be honest, the moment xu jing tattled about qi yu’s ‘online friend’ back then to father qi (when qi yu still doesn’t know fu yansheng’s identity and still chatting with f1s) right after qi yu confided in him, i already declared that i wouldn’t like him. And everytime he showed some hostility towards fu yansheng just because qi yu is ‘alienating’ him, my negative opinion keeps growing. And now seeing his pettiness, i’m so annoyed. i think he’s jealous that qi yu has more similar views and opinions with fu yansheng than with him, and he wanted to force his own stance on qi yu.
How ‘doing business cleanly’ be a mistake ah..
I don’t like who Xu Jing is, if you can’t like someone for who they are when they aren’t doing anything morally or legally wrong then leave and stop trying to get them to change to fit your needs and wants. I kind of wanted to see him change so Qi Yu could be happy but Qi Yu is better off without this self righteous guy
xj ve a comer caca, mien🙄
xu jing is such a scumbag, idk if he does it knowingly or not (idk which option is worse). ppl said in the early chapters that fys were kind of grooming qy but for me xj fits that better who tries to force qy in his mold without regards for qy own opinions or morals