Rumors
Did she bully you?
After Chi Ju left, Aunt Rong turned to ask Feng Yue.
Feng Yue's gaze shifted from the corner of the stairs that Chi Ju had walked through back to Aunt Rong, without a trace of pity or tenderness: "Yes."
"You think you can be bullied?"
Aunt Rong's cold expression remained unchanged; her favoritism towards Fengyue was always just for show.
"Stay safe in the building," Aunt Rong said, ignoring what Feng Yue was saying, and turned to walk downstairs. "Zhang Chenglin isn't in Shandong right now. If he's really being targeted by those big bosses, I wouldn't dare keep him here directly."
Feng Yue's brows twitched, and she lowered her gaze without speaking.
Her focus was entirely on the fact that "Zhang Chenglin is not currently in Shandong".
Zhang Chenglin and she had no real relationship. To Zhang Chenglin, she was probably just a passerby he met by chance and not important, so he naturally wouldn't tell her about his movements.
This was also the first time Fengyue had heard about Zhang Chenglin from Aunt Rong.
Fengyue knew that Aunt Rong was reminding her to mind her own business. After all, although Aunt Rong was the head of Huayuelou, she was ultimately not as powerful and influential as those so-called "big bosses." If those big bosses really wanted Fengyue by name, Zhang Chenglin could use his power to suppress them, but she couldn't, and shouldn't.
"Come on, what are you doing standing here?"
Qiu Qiao walked over with a smile and gently pulled Feng Yue's hand.
Feng Yue turned to look at her, a slight smile playing on her lips: "Let's go."
"Your Mr. Zhang hasn't been here lately?" Qiu Qiao suddenly asked, then added, fearing Feng Yue might mind, "The sisters have been talking about it lately, and they've had quite a few complaints."
Fengyue was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Understood."
Qiu Qiao turned to look at her, still feeling uneasy.
*
During their three-day trip to Northeast China, Zhang Chenglin and Ji Yuxing planned to meet with more than a dozen people, but half of them turned them away.
“Hey, tell me,” on the third night in Northeast China, the weather was nice but freezing cold. The two of them, wrapped in thick fur coats, huddled at the entrance of their lodging, looking at the snow piled up on the road in front of them. Ji Yuxing asked Zhang Chenglin, “What exactly are our identities here?”
"Don't make such dangerous remarks," Zhang Chenglin reminded him, glancing around to make sure no one was overhearing him.
Ji Yuxing lowered his head and chuckled softly, "It is a bit dangerous, I won't say anymore."
After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Chenglin suddenly reached out and patted Ji Yuxing on the shoulder, "It's my fault."
"What are you saying?" Ji Yuxing reached out and gave him a light tap on the shoulder. "You're here at my house, spouting nonsense."
Zhang Chenglin chuckled softly and said, "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have come back to the Northeast at this time, and you wouldn't have run into all this mess..."
"Shut up!" Zhang Chenglin was interrupted by Ji Yuxing before he could finish speaking: "Putting aside whether it's because of you that you've run into these messes, among the people currently under Mr. Sheng and Lao Tan's control, I'm the only one from the Northeast. No matter who's in charge of this matter, even if they send Zhou Zhu, I'll still come."
"Besides, with you handling this and me doing the work, what if you weren't here?" Ji Yuxing lowered his eyes, a mixture of joy and frustration in them: "Then I'd have to handle it all myself, and then..."
Ji Yuxing shook his head suddenly as he thought about it: "I can't even imagine how terrible the outcome would be."
Zhang Chenglin chuckled softly, his shoulders shaking slightly with laughter.
"Are you mocking me?" Ji Yuxing feigned anger and pressed on.
"No, no," Zhang Chenglin immediately interjected, as if to show his loyalty: "How could that be? I'm too happy to have a companion like you, how could I dare to laugh at you?"
Ji Yuxing: "...You'd better be."
Zhang Chenglin answered without hesitation: "Of course I am."
"Hmph," Ji Yuxing chuckled, changing the subject: "When are you going back tomorrow?"
"I'm leaving tonight," Zhang Chenglin explained. "I made an appointment with Zhan Lihui this afternoon."
"Hmm?" Ji Yuxing asked in confusion, "Wasn't he one of those who refused to see anyone before? Why did he suddenly change his mind?"
“Who knows,” Zhang Chenglin shook his head, staring blankly at the swirling snow in front of him. “Maybe he suddenly figured it out.”
“Actually…” Ji Yuxing hesitated, which piqued Zhang Chenglin’s interest: “Hmm?”
Ji Yuxing initially wanted to ask if Jiang Yuanxing had made the move, but considering that Zhang Chenglin had always been reluctant to use Jiang Yuanxing's power, he ultimately chose to remain silent.
"It's nothing," Ji Yuxing took back what he was about to say and sighed, "Did you know that Aunt Rong will be attending the Puyu Chamber of Commerce's leadership transition this time?"
Zhang Chenglin frowned: "Where did this news come from?"
“It’s just a rumor,” Ji Yuxing chuckled quietly, “but I’ve confirmed with He Zhonghua that one of the invitations they sent out did indeed go to Huayuelou.”
"Aunt Rong and the Puyu Chamber of Commerce..." Zhang Chenglin asked, as if he had never known anything about Aunt Rong's relationship with the Puyu Chamber of Commerce.
"Do you know what Aunt Rong's original name was?" Instead of answering Zhang Chenglin's question directly, Ji Yuxing threw the question back at him.
Zhang Chenglin thought for a moment, but couldn't find any relevant information in his mind: "I don't know."
“Xiao,” Ji Yuxing reminded him.
"Xiao Zhirong?" Zhang Chenglin frowned even more deeply and blurted out the name.
“Yes, Xiao Zhirong, the youngest daughter of the Xiao family, one of the three top families in Shanghai.” Ji Yuxing nodded, completing what Zhang Chenglin hadn’t said.
Zhang Chenglin narrowed his eyes slightly, seemingly lost in thought.
Shanghai, this bustling modern metropolis, was once home to three powerful families who held sway over the city for centuries, safeguarding its glory.
One was the Chiang family, who controlled the economic lifeline of half of China.
One is the Gu family, a scholarly family with a history of over a hundred years.
One is the Xiao family, whose ancestors were military generals for generations. After Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, the ancestor of the Xiao family retired from the military and returned home to run a security escort business, which was very successful.
Later, with each outbreak of war, many powerful families were unable to withstand the blows and disappeared, with the Gu family and Xiao family in Shanghai being typical examples.
Xiao Zhirong, the youngest daughter of the Xiao family, was born late in life to the head of the family and his wife. With three older brothers who doted on her, she naturally grew up carefree.
When Xiao Zhirong was twenty years old, she married Zhong Yanchang, a poor scholar who was studying in Shanghai.
Later, Zhong Yanchang was admitted to university, and Xiao Zhirong became a well-known businesswoman in Shanghai. After Zhong Yanchang graduated from university, the Xiao family fell into poverty, and Xiao Zhirong became a fallen phoenix overnight, barely surviving.
But the pampered young lady had never experienced hardship. Zhong Yanchang couldn't bear to see his young lady suffer with him, so he followed He Qidong into the Puyu Chamber of Commerce. Five or six years later, he became one of the top decision-makers of the Puyu Chamber of Commerce, the largest chamber of commerce in the country.
But a few years later, Japan launched a war against Shanghai, and Zhong Yanchang died in the two-month-long war for the sake of the country and the people.
After that... Zhang Chenglin didn't know much about what happened, because he hadn't paid attention to it, and he wasn't familiar with people of their generation.
——
"So why didn't you send invitations to Aunt Rong before?" Zhang Chenglin didn't quite understand. "You only sent them this time?"
“No,” Ji Yuxing shook his head and explained, “According to He Zhonghua, they had sent them to Huayuelou before, but Aunt Rong refused them all. I don’t know why she agreed this time.”
"You agreed?" Zhang Chenglin suddenly asked, catching Ji Yuxing off guard. "Yes, what's wrong?"
Zhang Chenglin pondered, he didn't know why, but he just felt uneasy.
The Puyu Chamber of Commerce has always had a very strict system for leadership transitions, as it not only reviews the transitions of the decision-making level but also strictly controls changes in the executives of ordinary member companies.
As Ji Yuxing said, "He Qidong won't announce that he will pass the leadership to He Zhonghua, will he?" He joked that this sentence only takes a few seconds, and the announcement at the general meeting of leadership will also only take a few seconds. However, before that, from the time He Qidong submits the application to the completion of the entire process, and finally to the announcement at the general meeting of leadership, it will take at least a year, and in some cases three to five years.
So why Xiao Zhirong suddenly accepted the invitation to the Puyu Chamber of Commerce's leadership transition meeting after nearly ten years is a very intriguing matter.
Zhong Yanchang and Xiao Zhirong have been married for ten years without having any children. Zhang Chenglin really couldn't figure out Xiao Zhirong's purpose in going to the leadership transition meeting.
Could it be that they've already found a successor?
“Oh right,” Ji Yuxing suddenly remembered something and said to Zhang Chenglin, “Last time in Shanghai, Lao Zheng asked me to go back to the Northeast and get him some Northeast specialties, saying that his wife likes to eat them.”
A crack appeared on Zhang Chenglin's calm expression: "You bastard, where are his principles?"
While Zhang Chenglin was relentlessly criticizing Zheng Mingzhe, Ji Yuxing watched with glee.
“I went home last night and asked my family to prepare some things. Can you take them back tomorrow?” Despite the jokes, Ji Yuxing didn’t forget the important matter: “I reckon Lao Zheng will be at the Puyu Chamber of Commerce’s leadership transition meeting this time.”
"Hmm." Zhang Chenglin nodded, seemingly in response to which of Ji Yuxing's questions.
The Puyu Chamber of Commerce, as its name suggests, takes Shanghai and Chongqing as its northern and southern endpoints and core, and extends westward and eastward to develop the economy along the way, ultimately radiating to the entire Puyu economic circle, including Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, and Anhui.
Therefore, Zhang Chenglin, He Zhonghua and Zheng Mingzhe will meet again at this Puyu Chamber of Commerce leadership transition meeting, but Ji Yuxingjia's industries are mainly developed in Northeast China and are not included in the Puyu economic circle.
As for Zhang Chenglin, he was merely succeeding Zhang Deyue, which is why he had no choice but to attend every leadership transition meeting.
“I have a feeling,” Ji Yuxing said, reaching out to catch some snow and gently crushing it, “that this year’s Puyu Chamber of Commerce leadership transition meeting is going to be another earth-shattering event.”
As if it were a question he had thought about many times, Zhang Chenglin nodded in agreement as soon as Ji Yuxing finished speaking.
“Let’s go,” Zhang Chenglin said, standing up and lightly patting the snow off his fur coat. “It’s getting late. Go back to your room and get some rest. We have things to do tomorrow.”
“Hmm.” Ji Yuxing raised an eyebrow and nodded, then stood up with him.
I had been squatting for a while, and when I suddenly stood up, my legs weren't used to it and I almost fell.
Zhang Chenglin had already entered the room, but upon hearing a strange noise behind him, he turned around and glanced at Ji Yuxing.
Fortunately, Ji Yuxing was already standing still when he turned around.
Ji Yuxing: That was close, I almost got laughed at again.
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