Chapter 22: The Wind and Rain Are Coming

  Today was a tumultuous day, first with the basketball game against Mu Shan, then being caught by the school authorities, and later hearing many inside stories from Zuo Yu Xi. Wen Jian felt dizzy and disoriented, his whole body aching, so he rushed home to take a bath and change clothes. Fortunately, Ding Mei was cooking in the kitchen, and Wen Huai Ming hadn't come home from work yet, so no one questioned his dirty appearance, allowing Wen Jian to breathe a sigh of relief after having fabricated a bunch of lies.

  After dinner, Wen Huaiming returned from outside and went straight to the study without saying a word. Ding Mei and Wen Qian looked at each other in surprise. Wen Qian stopped her mother who wanted to take a look and brought a cup of tea to the study door, knocking gently before pushing it open without waiting for a response.

  Wen Huiming was writing something under the desk lamp. Wen Can put down his teacup and asked, "Is everything not going well with Qinghua Factory?"

  After that incident, Wen Huiming no longer hid anything from his son. He put down his pen and rubbed his temples, saying: "The provincial government has differing opinions, with a large number of people supporting Zhou Yuanting, making Secretary Xu very difficult."

  After a moment of contemplation, he said: "Who is the reliable support in Xufu Yan's province?"

  In the officialdom, the most secretive and hardest to conceal is the relationship network. At Xu Fuyan's level, outsiders will never know where his true trump card lies. You think you've seen everything, but it may just be the tip of the iceberg. Some people seem to have a deep background and an unshakeable foundation, but in reality, they're just pretending to be something they're not, using deceitful tactics to create an illusion.

  When false becomes true, even truth becomes false; this is the most realistic portrayal of officialdom.

  Wen Jian knew that Wen Huai Ming had followed Xu Fu Yan to Guangshan City several times, and maybe he could catch some information. Wen Huai Ming sighed: "The provincial party committee's vice secretary Qian, the deputy governor in charge of industry Zhu, the director of the Provincial Economic and Trade Commission Yan, the director of the Planning Commission Wang, the director of the Industrial Hall Lin, big and small officials saw seven or eight, but who is really willing to help Xu Fu Yan, I have no idea. During the day, I wandered around various departments, at night after the banquet dispersed, I returned to the hotel, where Xu Fu Yan went, I don't know."

  Wen Han nodded slightly, this was also within his expectations. Wen Huai Ming's current loyalty to Xu Fu Yan was trustworthy, but his rank was really too low. In the provincial power struggle, he didn't even have the qualifications to be a pawn. Xu Fu Yan naturally wouldn't let him know too much.

  After a moment of deliberation, he smiled and said: "Although Qinghua Factory is a top-notch enterprise in the province, it's not worth those big shots paying too much attention to it. The final decision still has to be made by the Qingzhou Municipal Party Committee and Government. So whether the province supports or opposes it, they won't say anything decisive, taking a stand that is too clear-cut means being responsible for it, right?

  Wen Huiming sighed, throwing the material he was writing to Wen Qian and said: "So Xu Fuyan wants to inspect Qinghua Factory again tomorrow, I need to prepare some materials to go with him, maybe I'll make a speech on site..."

  "Oh?" Wen Cheng raised an eyebrow, took the materials and joked: "Secretary Jiayou is really powerful this time, two inspections of Qinghua Factory within a month, this signal flare is shining brightly."

  "Who says it isn't?" Wen Huaiming furrowed his brow tightly, "The opposition is so fierce, it's really hard to say whether it's good or bad."

  "Never mind, after all, Xu Fuyan is a master, and being forced to this step is indeed helpless. The eyes of the masses are bright, Zhou Yuanting dare not be too excessive, public opinion is nothing but sometimes just the sound can intimidate people."

  Wen Huiming glared at him, his face stern as he prepared to scold, but Wen Jian hastily raised his hands in surrender: "Alright, alright, I know I was wrong. Dad, we should add the following sentences to the materials: State-owned enterprise reform is a gradual process, but it cannot be done at the expense of the people's interests. No matter what scheme Qinghua Factory adopts for its reform, first and foremost, we must ensure that state assets are not lost; secondly, we must fully consider the placement of over 3,000 employees; and thirdly, we must guarantee that within a certain period of time, losses will be turned into profits. You can refine the specific content later, as long as these three points are emphasized, we'll be in an unbeatable position!"

  Wen Huaiming has been in the officialdom for many years, and he understands it thoroughly. First, occupy the high ground of politics; second, cater to public opinion; third, set obstacles for opponents. With grandeur and vision, his words are straightforward and upright, making Zhou Yuanting feel like he's swallowing a fly, yet unable to utter a single "no". These aren't particularly profound theories, but rather Wen Huaiming's subconscious reluctance to deeply offend Zhou Yuanting, which makes him hesitant and indecisive in his actions.

  Wen Ze is telling him that since things have reached this point, there's no turning back. If Xu Fuyan takes a step back, he'll lose control of most of Qingzhou, but as the secretary, he still has some power. However, if Wen Huaiming takes a step back, can he still hope that Zhou Yuanting won't come looking for trouble with him?

  So whether it's self-preservation or scheming, what Wen Huaiming needs to do most is to push Xu Fuyan forward until he has no room for compromise with Zhou Yuanting.

  Wen Huaiming clearly understood Wen Jian's meaning, and after a long moment of contemplation, he slammed his hand on the table: "Let's do it this way!"

  The next day, Xu Fuyan's speech at the Qinghua Factory caused a huge stir, but Zhou Yuanting didn't mention it at all during the routine office meeting. The disdain was clear. Meanwhile, Wei Chenfeng, one of the main forces behind Fang Xi and the municipal party committee member and propaganda department head, actually instructed Qingzhou TV to downplay the incident in that night's Qingzhou News broadcast. Xu Fuyan's 15-minute speech was edited down to less than five seconds of footage. This was truly outrageous and astonishing. Originally, after Xu Fuyan raised his flag, some forces that had been itching to make a move and curry favor with him once again went into hiding. It can be predicted that before the situation becomes clear, Xu Fuyan will hardly find any support in Qingzhou.

  Xu Fuyan wanted to test Zhou Yuanting's bottom line, but unexpectedly after firing the second shot, he found that he was so vulnerable. The current situation is that it is difficult to break the balance in the province without strong support. To open up the situation, one can only rely on oneself to fight alone in Qingzhou, but facing Ming Tang and Zhou Yuanting, this giant who has been operating in Qingzhou for over ten years, his feeling of powerlessness became more and more serious.

  And all of this was within his expectations.

  He encouraged his father to do those things, precisely to push Xu Fuyan into a dead end. The more difficult Xu Fuyan's situation became, the more important Zuo Yuxi's support would be, and as an intermediary, his position would become even more stable, this was a plan that killed three birds with one stone.

  Everything is ready, what's needed now is to find a suitable opportunity to visit Xu Ya's father, the nominal leader of Qingzhou, nicknamed "Lift-Hand Secretary" Xu Fuyan.

  This side, saying it's easy is easy, but if you say it's difficult, it's even more difficult than pushing Li Yu Xi, Xu Yao, Ning Xiao Ying and Ji Su at the same time.

  On the tenth day after school, he was at home thinking of a solution when he suddenly received a call from Li Shengli, which made Wen Chong overjoyed. Almost a month had passed, and he thought that Li Shengli still didn't believe his sincerity, or couldn't get out of the blow of his wife's betrayal. Regrettably, he also let out a sigh of relief, no matter what, he had tried his best and had an account with Nuan Nuan.

  I didn't want Li Shengli to really call over, Wen Jian immediately rode his bike to his house. After school started, he was busy competing with Mu Shan and had no time to come and see Nuan Nuan, which made Wen Jian feel a little guilty. Perhaps it was because of the improved mood that Li Siqing's face regained some color, not as pale as when they first met, her hair tied back with a rubber band, walking with a swaying gait, looking like she had gained some vitality and enthusiasm of people of the same age.

  Li Shengli had Wen Qian sit down at the edge of the table, while Li Siqing sat obediently on a small stool beside her, shelling corn from a winnowing basket. Her family lived in the suburbs, but they weren't farmers and didn't have any land, so this corn must have been gleaned from someone else's field - it was all small and shriveled, the kind of thing that people usually threw away.

  "Uncle Li, how can I put it, you being able to understand those things, I...I'm really happy!"

  In his past life, Li Shengli treated Wen Qing very well. When the two families got together, they always bought the best food and toys for Wen Qing, making little Li Siqing jealous. This life, being able to help him walk out of the shadows, Wen Qing was truly delighted.

  Li Shengli's hair was washed very clean, and he even put on the sky blue work uniform of the agricultural machinery factory. He shaved his beard and looked very spirited. After listening to Wen Chen's words, a moved expression flashed in his eyes, and finally he stretched out his hand to gently stroke the edge of the table, sighing: "In the blink of an eye, two years have passed, even you have grown up and become sensible..."

  With a hint of acidity at the tip of his nose, he smiled and said: "After resting for two years, it's time to make some moves. Do you want to hear my plan?"

  Li Shengli nodded: "Mm, go on."

  Wen Ze suddenly pulled out the latest version of the Qingzhou City map, spread it on the table, and handed Li Siqing a pencil to draw a large circle in one area.

  "Uncle Li, what do you think is the common point here?"

  Li Shengli took a closer look and pointed to one corner, saying: "It seems that the residential areas of the Municipal Bureau of Commerce, Municipal No. 1 Construction Company, Industrial and Commercial Bank, and Power Plant are all located here, as well as some other residential quarters." Then he moved his hand downwards, "As for this side, I'm not quite clear... it seems like two years ago there wasn't..."

  "Good! That's a newly developed business district, not many companies have moved in yet, and there aren't many people working here, so it looks a bit deserted. But look, at this location," Wen Qian tapped the pen on the map, "it's right at the intersection of the two, no matter if it's city officials or private company employees going to work, they all have to pass by here. Either way, these people are great potential customers."

  Li Shengli looked at the breakfast shop plan book given to him by Wen Qian, if it wasn't for the fact that everything in it made sense, he wouldn't have believed a word of what this young man said. Now looking at it again, he naturally understood his meaning and slapped his thigh: "Not bad! Opening a restaurant here will definitely make money!"

  "Great, we've reached a preliminary consensus - opening a restaurant! But what's the positioning of the restaurant? You used to be in this business, why did it fail?"

  Li Shengli thought for a moment and said: "I've been thinking about this problem for a long time, it seems like I understand it somewhat, but can't quite put it into words!"

  "In my opinion, there are three main reasons. Firstly, the foot traffic is too low, your store is located at the entrance of the agricultural machinery factory, mainly facing single employees of the factory, how many people can you get? Secondly, it was a time when purchasing power was low and everyone's consumption desire was not strong. As for those guys in the agricultural machinery factory, I don't know? They can eat a steamed bun with vegetable soup and finish it clean, how much money can they spend in your store in a year? Thirdly, and most importantly, you are operating on a small scale, but the variety of products is too wide, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, buns, fried dough sticks, steamed buns, porridge, soy milk, tofu, brain, hot pepper soup, noodles, stir-fried noodles, rice, and various small stir-fries. A day's sales can't be much, but the cost of all the ingredients is high, a month's waste is a lot. Doing business like this, how can you not lose money?"

  Li Shengli was originally a kind and honest person. He quit his job to start a business, which was the most courageous thing he did under Zhao Yaqing's temptation. However, he eventually lost all his savings and even his wife left him for someone else. For the past two years, he has been thinking that with his excellent cooking skills, honesty, and generous servings of food, there is no reason why he should be losing money. So, he often complains about being unlucky and having fallen on hard times. But after listening to Wen Qian's words today, he finally looked at him in a new light.

  Li Siqing had already stopped what she was doing, her small hands supporting her chin as she listened intently to Wen Chen's words. Although there were some things she didn't quite understand, just by looking at her father's expression, she knew that Brother Wen Chen was speaking the truth. The little girl's thoughts were simple and laughable; in her eleven-year-old mind, Wen Chen was undoubtedly the most capable person, without a doubt, without exception.

  This is the simplest worship and the most moving appreciation, without any ulterior motives, no right or wrong, with not a single impurity.