Chapter 126 Jinjiang's Exclusive Sharp Sword

"This gift is too expensive! I can't accept it!"

Su Ruyi took the document handed to her by Old Master Zhang, glanced at it, and was so frightened that she immediately pushed it back.

"One should not refuse a gift from one's elders."

"It depends on what it is. This gift is too extravagant for me. We're only engaged now, and you're already giving me such a big gift. Do you expect me to give you the Zhang Group when we get married?"

Su Ruyi didn't believe in this and pushed the document back directly.

Who would dare accept such a generous gift as a plot of land as an engagement present? Su Ruyi would never dare to accept such a large gift.

This plot of land is in the Xinghua Village area. The demolition compensation alone cost an unknown amount. Although real estate is only a small branch of the Zhang Group and doesn't amount to much, it doesn't mean this sum is insignificant to the Zhang Group.

With such a large initial investment, it's not fair to give it to her for free; Su Ruyi has no right to accept it.

The reason why Su Ruyi and Lu Ting's business was so successful was partly due to their own abilities, but also because Old Master Lu had given them a lot of support.

Although they could have succeeded without him, it's always different when someone shields them from trouble.

There's no debt between them, but Old Master Zhang's gift was excessive, giving the impression that this was the end of their relationship.

Su Ruyi thought this way, and that's what she asked.

Old Master Zhang glanced at Su Ruyi and said, "Stop talking nonsense."

Ms. Su Ying remained calm and did not comment, leaving everything to Su Ruyi to handle.

Su Ying wouldn't have been so hands-off in the past, but since she realized that Su Ruyi was capable of taking responsibility for her own actions, she stopped treating her like a child, respected her thoughts and decisions, and listened to Su Ruyi's opinions.

This is what Su Ruyi admires most; it would be difficult for her to switch identities so easily.

Grandpa Zhang was not surprised by Su Ruyi's refusal, and said, "Since you won't take this land, then you will be responsible for its development."

Su Ruyi was even more surprised, "Isn't Zhang Qingfeng in charge of developing this land?"

"We'll talk about these things later. Just tell me whether you dare to accept it or not."

Su Ruyi immediately perked up; what was there to be afraid of?

The plastics factory has already started construction, and the surrounding land prices have risen accordingly. That area has been identified as the economic and political center of Qing Province and a key development target in the future.

Although Xinghua Village is relatively far away, it has the best environment in that area.

Moreover, according to the newly planned highway, it only takes about ten minutes to drive there, making it very suitable for development into a high-end residential area, which will be provided for high-end talents who work in the plastics factory area in the future.

The future prospects of this land are already visible, and participating in this project is basically a guaranteed profit.

Lu Ting now has the capability to develop such projects and is able to take on such projects.

"Of course I'd like to! I'll accept this gift!"

Su Ruyi readily accepted the gift. As for why Zhang Qingfeng went there, that would become clear when they discussed it in detail later.

Apart from Grandpa Zhang, the gifts from everyone else present were all fairly normal, within their means, which was something Su Ruyi and Lu Ting had agreed upon beforehand.

The engagement ceremony was simply a gathering of acquaintances for a meal, allowing Lu Ting to formally meet his future mother-in-law and for both families and friends to get to know each other. It wasn't a grand affair, and there was no need for gifts.

Everyone present knew Su Ruyi and Lu Ting's personalities, and they were all familiar with each other, so no one was being polite.

That evening, Su Ruyi and Lu Ting talked about Grandpa Zhang's gift.

"Zhang Qingfeng put a lot of effort into this project, so how come he was suddenly kicked out?"

Although Su Ruyi didn't mention it at the engagement banquet, it didn't mean she wasn't curious; it was just that the occasion wasn't right.

Lu Ting had heard some news and said, "I heard that he resigned voluntarily."

Su Ruyi was even more surprised: "Really? He was only in charge of real estate at Zhang's Group. If he leaves, he'll have nothing left?"

"I had only heard rumors before, but it hadn't been officially announced. But today it seems to be true."

"Such a big piece of pie, just give up like that?" Su Ruyi asked incredulously.

Lu Ting replied, "Because of the previous real estate bubble in Hainan Province, many people's confidence was shaken, and there are quite a few people who are not optimistic."

Su Ruyi is looking at the present from the perspective of the future, so she feels that the future is very bright.

In reality, the real estate market has not yet entered its golden age. It will only truly see a surge in prices a few years later when the housing system is reformed.

Qing Province is already less developed than other places, and even the slightest disturbance can cause fluctuations in the real estate market. Currently, it is in a slump, and many people in the industry cannot see the potential for a future surge in housing prices.

Su Ruyi had seen several reports in the newspapers from so-called experts analyzing that housing prices were in a slump and that they were not optimistic about the real estate market.

Of course, this does not mean there is no profit to be made. The properties developed by Lu Ting show great potential, and a large number of investors are still flocking to them.

It's just that for some people, the temptation isn't that great.

At least within the Zhang Group, there are areas with higher returns. Real estate is relatively weak compared to the group itself, with high costs, high risks, and slow returns.

But Zhang Qingfeng had Li Yiyi by his side. She knew that the golden age of real estate would arrive soon, and that entering the market now would allow them to achieve great things in the future.

If you wait until the golden age to enter the market, the entry barrier will be completely different from what it is now.

Zhang Qingfeng was very proactive before, why has he suddenly given up now?

"Is it inappropriate for us to keep talking about other men?" Lu Ting cleared his throat, his implication clear.

It's late at night, time to go to sleep.

Even though you're not married, there are some things you can do after getting engaged, as long as you take precautions.

It's good to have a premarital checkup. If there's disharmony in your sex life, it can also affect the quality of your marriage.

Su Ruyi smiled and put all these messy things out of her mind.

The next day, Su Ruyi went to Zhang's Group.

Lu Ting originally planned to accompany her, but Su Ruyi thought about it and declined.

Lu Ting has his own plans for today, and this is a gift from Grandpa Zhang to Su Ruyi. Although Lu Ting will be the one to carry out the final implementation, Su Ruyi will still be responsible for the initial stages.

Su Ruyi arrived at Zhang's Group again, and just like last time, Li Mingzhe's assistant came down to pick her up and take her upstairs, where Li Mingzhe personally received her.

Li Mingzhe didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "Currently, there is a temporary vacancy for the person in charge of our company's real estate division. However, since the land has already been purchased, we can't just leave it undeveloped. Therefore, the chairman is giving it to you as a gift, hoping that you can develop it well and live up to the expectations of that land."

Su Ruyi: "What's going on?"

"The original person in charge had his own plans and has withdrawn from this business."

Su Ruyi looked suspicious: "It's that simple? You won't go back on your word, will you?"

Li Mingzhe laughed: "Miss Su is joking. This is no child's play."

"He just gave up like that?"

Su Ruyi still couldn't believe it. Could it be that Zhang Qingfeng had now successfully joined Zhang's core project?

"This was originally an opportunity given to him by Old Master Zhang, but he had his own ideas. After a big argument with Old Master Zhang, he left the Zhang family."

Su Ruyi was even more shocked upon hearing this. Zhang Qingfeng didn't even want to stay with the Zhang family anymore?

Zhang Qingfeng felt that he had been neglected for a long time, and he had been able to endure it and perform well before because he thought there was still hope to change Old Master Zhang's opinion.

Now that I feel hopeless, I've given up entirely.

The Zhang Group originally did not have a real estate development business; it was Zhang Qingfeng who proposed expanding into this area. Previously, the group only had an engineering team specifically responsible for the group's construction work, serving the group's needs.

Originally, the group had also seen the future prospects of the real estate market and had such intentions. Zhang Qingfeng was the first person to clearly put forward this idea, and Old Master Zhang appreciated him very much at the time, so he handed everything over to Zhang Qingfeng.

Zhang Qingfeng always felt that he was not valued, but in fact the old man valued him very much and wanted to make it a key development project in the future.

However, since Grandpa Zhang wanted to train him and felt that his temperament was currently unstable, he did not provide him with too many resources.

But Mr. Zhang was very generous with the funding each time, though he wasn't so quick to grant funds for other projects.

Li Mingzhe struggled to navigate a group of old men, finding it extremely difficult to implement reforms.

The real estate business is different; there aren't as many people interfering.

But Zhang Qingfeng didn't see these things; he only saw what others possessed.

This is also related to the fact that other younger members of the Zhang family have joined the company one after another and have all performed well. Zhang Qingfeng believes that he is being targeted, which is why he has no opportunity to make a big splash.

Li Mingzhe didn't mention any of this to Su Ruyi. No matter how close Su Ruyi was to Old Master Zhang, there were many things within the Zhang family that were inconvenient to discuss with her.

However, to reassure Su Ruyi, Li Mingzhe revealed, "He inherited the old lady's manpower and resources and has other plans."

Mr. Zhang's ex-wife is still alive. The two divorced during a special period, and they did not remarry after Mr. Zhang was exonerated.

The fact that Mr. Zhang was treated so badly back then was largely due to this old lady.

The old lady was the daughter of a wealthy landowner, and the two were forced to marry by Zhang's family.

He was studying abroad at the time, but he was tricked into coming back and then forced to go through with the wedding ceremony.

Mr. Zhang and Mrs. Zhang did not have a good relationship. Mrs. Zhang was clearly a conservative and never supported or even opposed what Mr. Zhang had done back then.

Grandpa Zhang has the skill and power to stop her, which is why Grandma couldn't stop him.

However, she also caused a lot of trouble in the beginning, making Grandpa Zhang increasingly dissatisfied with her. The two had very different views, and their relationship had always been very bad.

If it weren't for the strong opposition from Mr. Zhang's parents, who in those days couldn't survive if a woman was divorced, Mr. Zhang would have chosen to divorce long ago.

During those turbulent times, Zhang Qingfeng's father would take the initiative to report crimes, which was supported by his grandmother.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the old lady continued to behave the same way in private, thinking herself superior to others, and hoarded a lot of gold and silver jewelry.

Those gold and silver treasures were obtained by the old lady's father from exploiting ordinary people, and some of them were even obtained through robbery.

The old lady's father was not only a large landowner, but also had many men under his command who were involved in robbery and plunder.

Although the old lady donated a lot to save her life, she still had some savings at the bottom of her coffers.

Grandpa Zhang was unaware of these things, but one time the old lady thought she had been caught, so she decided to take the initiative.

In this way, they can protect themselves.

Out of consideration for their marital bond and for the fact that his wife had given birth to his children, Mr. Zhang did not attack his wife. The divorce brought him a great deal of relief.

Unexpectedly, Mr. Zhang was later exonerated and regained everything that belonged to him. The country also valued him highly and provided him with various policy support.

Grandpa Zhang was a capable man; although he was quite old at the time, he was still able to restore the glory of the family.

The old lady regretted her decision and wanted to remarry, but Mr. Zhang ignored her and did not remarry.

The old lady has money and some manpower, but compared to Grandpa Zhang, she is no match at all; in reality, she is still quite powerful.

Zhang Qingfeng had previously wanted to inherit Old Master Zhang's family business, so he did not rely on the old lady, fearing that Old Master Zhang would be displeased.

Now that he has discovered that Old Master Zhang doesn't like him, he has abandoned this place and gone to live with the old lady.

Su Ruyi didn't know much about the old lady, only that she knew from Zhang Qingling that the old lady was very sexist and disliked granddaughters like her.

Some of the people Zhang Qingfeng used to design the plastic factory were from the old lady's side.

Su Ruyi and Li Mingzhe officially signed a contract, obtaining the development rights to that piece of land.

Everything will be handled by Su Ruyi. Zhang's Group will not get involved; they will only contribute land as equity and receive dividends.

Su Ruyi funded the development as the developer, while Lu Ting's construction company was responsible for the construction.

Su Ruyi transformed herself into a real estate developer. Although most of her properties were mortgaged and her debts were terrifying, she appeared much more powerful in the eyes of others.

Su Ruyi remained as usual, currently focusing her main energy on decorating the wedding room.

She misses her old apartment from before she traveled through time, so she will renovate it based on that style.

However, with one more person, we also need to consider rooms for the child and the nanny in the future, so we need to make significant changes to the existing facilities.

The rooftop needs to be well-designed and turned into a beautiful sky garden, so that people can enjoy the beautiful scenery without leaving home.

Su Ruyi had also considered whether to move their marital home to a villa. She hadn't bought a villa before because she felt it was unsafe for a single woman to live in one.

But now that it's a family unit, and she herself isn't as weak as the previous generation, moving into a villa isn't a problem.

In the end, Su Ruyi decided to use the large apartment as their marital home.

There are currently no villa complexes in the provincial capital that satisfy Su Ruyi, so she will not consider them for the time being.

Two days after the engagement party, Su Ying left.

Li Mei was even more reluctant to part with her biological daughter, Su Ruyi, and had no heart for work. She looked gloomy as if she had just broken up with her boyfriend.

Even Su Ruyi couldn't help but sigh, "I don't understand, I really don't understand."

This relationship is quite complicated.

However, it must be said that her mother is very charming, so it's no wonder that she often talks about her mother.

"Sister Su Ying, you must come visit often in the future!" Li Mei said, her eyes filled with reluctance.

Su Ying readily agreed: "Don't worry, I'll come often in the future. The plane is really fast, it arrived in the blink of an eye."

Although airplanes are fast, to get back to Xiangli Village, you still have to take a bus from the provincial capital to the city, then from the city to the county, and then from the county to the village.

This is only because the village has developed; otherwise, we would have to go to the town first and then to the village.

Going around in circles like that, the whole day is gone, which is really inconvenient.

However, this was already very fast for Su Ying.

Before leaving, Su Ying found Lu Ting and asked him to take good care of Su Ruyi.

Although she believed that Su Ruyi could take good care of herself, as a mother, she couldn't help but worry.

"I'll say it again: don't rush into having children. You should wait until after you're married. Although Ruyi is more mature than her peers, she's not ready to welcome a new life yet."

Lu Ting agreed, and Su Ying left with peace of mind.

Although Su Ruyi was somewhat disappointed, she quickly recovered and became engrossed in the broadcast of "The Sword".

Su Ruyi knew that the Economic and Technological Development Zone was planning something big, but she didn't expect it to be this powerful.

The first episode was extremely explosive, mentioning a pollution problem in a certain area.

Currently, China is focusing on economic development, but insufficient attention has been paid to the negative impacts of these developments.

In pursuit of development, some local governments have chosen to turn a blind eye to certain problems, sacrificing the interests of some people in exchange for economic growth.

The Sword was exposed without any hesitation, causing an uproar.

The entire 45-minute program comprehensively revealed the underlying interests and exposed how some people knowingly broke the law and acted extremely arrogantly and domineeringly in the local area.

The pollution caused harm to local residents, yet they received no compensation whatsoever. Some residents and officials who tried to report the pollution were persecuted or even killed. Many people fell ill due to the pollution, were forced to leave their homes, and lived in poverty.

One after another, the bloody incidents related to this event were laid bare before people's eyes.

After reading it, Su Ruyi gasped. The TV station was too bold, and the reporter who conducted the in-depth investigation was amazing.

There is no ambiguity, only harsh reality.

The program became a national sensation as soon as it aired, and major newspapers and magazines reported on it.

As the exclusive title sponsor, Su Ruyi also reaped another wave of benefits.

Su Ruyi took out a portion of the profits and asked the TV station staff to contact the victims, provide them with treatment, and alleviate some of their pain.

Regardless of how this matter is ultimately resolved, even if the victims receive compensation in the future, it will be a long process.

But illness waits for no one; it must be treated promptly to prevent it from worsening.

After thanking her on behalf of the patients, Liu Quan asked, "You said before that you could arrange for people to protect the reporters, does that still stand?"

“It counts,” Su Ruyi replied readily. “A reporter was threatened?”

"Yes, although we tried to keep it from the reporters, people still found out and discovered that we were being followed. Our TV station has had its windows smashed and paint splashed on it for the past few days."

Su Ruyi angrily said, "How dare you!"

"That shows they're scared and have a guilty conscience!" Liu Quan sneered.

After the show aired, Liu Quan was under tremendous pressure, but he became even more excited.

This shows that the response has been very strong, and the program will receive more and more attention.

All the previous perceptions that their TV station only did silly and nonsensical things have disappeared because of this show.

They can bring joy to ordinary people and also create profound programs that speak for the people!

The next few episodes will be even more exciting, and Liu Quan is prepared for a storm of excitement, but he also needs to ensure the safety of the reporters.

"Okay, I'll arrange it right away. I'll cover all the expenses."

Liu Quan was even happier to hear this, as he knew that cooperating with Su Ruyi was the most worry-free option.

He overruled objections and insisted that it was the right thing to do to put the Ruyi Clothing billboard in "Happy Club".

Su Ruyi acted immediately and asked Lu Ting for more people.

Upon hearing about their usefulness, Lu Ting quickly selected several skilled individuals to join the television station and follow their instructions.

“My comrades are all very capable. I always felt that they were underutilized when they worked with me on engineering projects. This job is more suitable for them.”

Su Ruyi thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you set up a security company?"

Lu Ting has many capable people under his command. Although they can work on the construction site and do a very good job, it's a pity that their skills don't match their jobs.

These people are very skilled, adventurous, and have a strong sense of justice.

Before, when they were running around with Lu Ting, they found it interesting, but some of them found it difficult to adapt to doing these things back on the construction site.

"Security company?"

“The public security situation is not good now, and many wealthy people need protection. We can set up a security company to provide professional security services.”

Su Ruyi had considered this matter before, and felt it was a pity that some of Lu Ting's subordinates would abandon their martial arts skills after training for so long.

Although many people were assigned to security work, it was mainly internal or involved recommending suitable personnel to others, which was not very systematic or professional.

However, because she had many things to take care of, she forgot about the thought after it flashed through her mind.

Lu Ting also had a lot on his plate and hadn't thought about developing in this direction.

“That’s a good idea. I’ll talk to Lao Liu later and see if he’s interested in setting up this business.”

Lu Ting has a lot on his plate, and now he's taken on Su Ruyi's project, so he definitely doesn't have time for these things.

The program "The Sword" aired under pressure, with each episode featuring extremely provocative themes that always sparked heated discussions and enhanced the reputation of the Hunan Economic Television.

Su Ruyi privately set up a reward fund for the program's reporters, so that they could have a certain level of financial security.

However, this matter was not made public, so as not to make Su Ruyi a target of public criticism.

This show has offended many people, and the production team has become numb to receiving threatening and intimidating letters.

Although Su Ruyi was not afraid of those people, she did not want to cause trouble for herself.

One day, Liu Quan called, his voice filled with hesitation.

"Director Liu, do you need to keep things from me? If you have something to say, just say it."

Liu Quan sighed, "It's an episode about 'The Sword'."

Su Ruyi never interfered with the "Sword" program; she either paid money or was just a spectator. Liu Quan's hesitation sent a chill down Su Ruyi's spine.

Could it be that something has gone wrong with the businesses under her or Lu Ting's names?

Although they have always maintained strict standards, the scale of their operations is so large that it is inevitable that some things will be overlooked.

"Director Liu, stop beating around the bush and just say what you want to say."

Liu Quan: "President Su, you have a close relationship with the Zhang family of the Zhang Group, right?"

Su Ruyi breathed a sigh of relief, but then took another deep breath.

The Zhang Group has always been a model enterprise in Qing Province, supporting half of the province's economy. If something were to happen to it, it would be like stirring up a hornet's nest.

Mr. Zhang has a heart full of loyalty to the country and the people, but it's impossible for such a large enterprise to be without some problems.

"The Sword" is indeed bold; it dares to investigate anyone.

But Su Ruyi thought about it and realized that if the Zhang Group really had problems, Liu Quan wouldn't care about her feelings first, for fear of putting her in a difficult position.

In comparison, she's nothing but a nobody.

"Which member of the Zhang family has run into trouble?"