Chapter 53 A Banquet with Hidden Motives

Chapter 53 The Hongmen Banquet: A Banquet with Hidden Motives

In the morning, at the silk factory's staff residence, Zhang Xiangping, who worked the afternoon shift, came out of the west side unit carrying a spittoon and happened to run into Bai Ting, who had just stepped out of the east side unit.

Bai Ting also saw Zhang Xiangping but ignored her, heading down the stairs first.

Zhang Xiangping, holding the spittoon, silently rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "Dressed like a temptress."

Bai Ting not only dressed beautifully now but also wore makeup every day.

Her clothes were either *Vilanido* dresses and jackets that Wang Chuang brought back from the factory or items Wang Junwei bought with her while shopping—after all, the family was well-off now.

Although the couple was reluctant to spend the money their son earned and brought home, wanting to save it carefully for Wang Chuang to buy a house, get married, and have children—at least they didn’t have to worry about money and could spend their own earnings with peace of mind.

And it was precisely because Bai Ting was attractive and well-dressed that she recently found a new job outside.

The job was selling pagers in a small shop on a street in Jing'an—basically, a sales job, with commissions and a base salary, no shift work required, and the income was much higher than at the silk factory. The work was also easier, without having to stand all the time.

Bai Ting had been working there for a few days now, going in at 9 a.m. and returning at 5 p.m. She was selling pagers quite well and was gradually getting the hang of it, learning how to sell them and introduce them to customers.

Bai Ting thought this job was pretty good.

Her thinking had become more open-minded too; she felt that if pagers sold well, she could eventually open her own shop and sell pagers herself.

Being her own boss and running a business would surely earn her more than working for someone else.

Meanwhile, Wang Chuang had gone on another business trip to another province due to factory material issues.

Having gained experience out in the field for a while now, he had gained his own insights, handling things much more skillfully than at the beginning.

Wang Chuang had also replaced his pager with a cell phone.

Jiang Luo had replaced his too, though his pager wasn’t bought by himself—Huo Zongzhuo had given it to him.

Huo Zongzhuo had been staying in Haicheng recently. He met with the president of a local bank and several leaders in the banking sector, signed documents, and completed the paperwork to secure a bank loan for land acquisition.

He also attended several land auctions in Pudong.

In addition to the two plots of land earmarked for him by Pudong, he snagged two additional plots.

After the auctions, he had a couple of meals with several other business owners who had also bid on land, networking and discussing land development and Pudong’s future development.

In short, he was extremely busy.

Huo Zongzhuo had always remembered his promise to Jiang Luo and had tried several times to find an opportunity to take Jiang Luo back to Suzhou. But either he had last-minute matters to attend to, or Jiang Luo was too busy to track down, so the two had yet to return to Suzhou, each staying in Haicheng to tend to their own busy agendas.

Amid all this busyness, one day, Huo Zongzhuo had business at the Pudong Development Office and, quite coincidentally, ran into Zhao Guangyuan in the hallway just as he was preparing to leave. Zhao Guangyuan had just returned from outside.

The two faced each other, both somewhat surprised, then smiled and approached each other, shaking hands and exchanging greetings.

"By the way," Zhao Guangyuan remembered something and said, "I’ve been too busy lately. I knew you didn’t have time, so I didn’t invite you."

"Do you have some free time these days? Find a moment to come over to my place for a visit."

"Sure, I’d be glad to," Huo Zongzhuo agreed readily. "I’ll stop by Zhao Guangyuan’s home for a visit."

They settled on a specific time before parting ways.

After leaving, Huo Zongzhuo thought for a moment while driving, considering what to bring when visiting Zhao Guangyuan’s home.

Bringing anything too lavish would be inappropriate—Zhao Guangyuan was a government official and certainly couldn’t accept such gifts.

So he decided to bring modest gifts for Zhao Guangyuan’s wife and two sons instead.

Huo Zongzhuo knew that Zhao Guangyuan, to show sincerity, would surely have his wife and two sons help host him.

Huo Zongzhuo estimated that Zhao Guangyuan’s sons couldn’t be much older than Jiang Luo.

And thinking of Jiang Luo, Huo Zongzhuo smiled.

Jiang Luo had recently opened *Vilanido* counters in shopping malls in Jinling.

With three counters and one factory in Haicheng, and now another counter in Jinling, Jiang Luo was a big-time boss now.

Meanwhile, Jiang Luo was moving steadily ahead—the factory operated efficiently, making sure it could supply products to all four counters in Haicheng and Jinling.

He also made time to make two more trips to Wencheng, adjusting some of the products with the Shengfei logo, phasing out slower-selling items and replacing them with items he believed the market would prefer.

Recently, Zhang Zhiqiang’s factory had also undergone adjustments—he had earned some money, taken out additional bank loans, and was in the process of upgrading the production line equipment.

When Jiang Luo visited Wencheng and had free time after handling business, Zhang Zhiqiang took him to see the new machinery in the factory.

Jiang Luo thought it was great and reminded Zhang Zhiqiang to focus on establishing a brand if possible—earning less now was fine, but he needed to keep a long-term vision.

Zhang Zhiqiang and Jiang Luo had a meal together, chatting casually. Zhang Zhiqiang said, "To be honest, I’ve been having some thoughts lately, considering venturing into something new."

Hmm?

Jiang Luo ate his food and glanced at Zhang Zhiqiang.

Zhang Zhiqiang continued, "Do you remember You Sen?"

"The one whose son went to Haicheng to muscle in on your business."

Yeah.

Jiang Luo replied calmly, "I remember. What about him?"

Zhang Zhiqiang said, "I don’t know if he got some inside information, but he went to Shenzhen and Guangcheng."

"I heard he secured a plot of land somewhere in Shenzhen and plans to start a factory there. I’m not sure exactly what he’s up to, but I heard he took out several loans—from banks and also borrowed heavily from local business owners he knew."

Zhang Zhiqiang ate as he talked, "His son is also out there now, running some kind of operation. I heard he’s made quite a bit of money."

"Right now, only You Junyu’s grandmother is left in their hometown, looking after his sister who’s still in school."

"All his aunts, uncles, and cousins have followed them out there."

Jiang Luo smiled slightly but didn’t comment, only saying, "Shenzhen is indeed a good place."

Then he asked, "What else are you thinking of doing?"

Zhang Zhiqiang sighed and said, "I just feel like making toys isn’t profitable enough."

"Remember when we each bought a workshop in Yueqing?"

"The situation in Yueqing is really booming now."

"That Boss Dong, from whom you bought the workshop, has expanded his business so much that he's even started selling overseas, earning in U.S. dollars."

Jiang Luo gave a slight smile. "So after all that, it turns out you regret buying the workshop in Yueqing back then and not going into the transformer business yourself."

"Boss Zhang."

Jiang Luo mused, "If you think something is profitable and you want to do it, it's best to start now, right away."

"If you just think about it without acting, you'll only regret it later when you see others succeed, thinking, 'I should have known better.'"

Zhang Zhiqiang thought for a moment and nodded. "You're right. Just talking won't get you anywhere; I have to take action."

"In a few days, I'll buy a plane ticket and fly to Guangzhou and Shenzhen to see what it's like."

"I want to see for myself what's there that attracted You Sen to travel all the way there."

"If there's something profitable to do, I'll get involved too."

"You Sen shouldn't be the only one making money, right?"

He added, "How about you, Boss Jiang? Want to come along? We can check out Guangzhou and Shenzhen together."

Jiang Luo replied at a leisurely pace, "Did you forget? I’ve been to Sino-British Street, which is in Shenzhen."

Zhang Zhiqiang then remembered. "Right, right, I almost forgot. You’ve already been there."

"What did you think of it?"

Jiang Luo didn’t elaborate, saying only, "I didn’t visit other places, but Sino-British Street was packed with people."

He also pointed out, "Did you know Shenzhen was designated as a Special Economic Zone back in 1980?"

"Now that it’s an economic zone, its future development is bound to be promising."

"Right, right!"

Zhang Zhiqiang snapped to attention and immediately said, "I’ll find time to go check it out as soon as possible."

Jiang Luo wasn't concerned with Shenzhen, Guangzhou, You Sen, or You Junyu.

Others had their own businesses; he had his own path.

Not long after, Jiang Luo returned to Haicheng.

As soon as he arrived at the company, a colleague told him that Pacific Department Store had reached out again.

Jiang Luo knew it couldn’t be Guo Ronghai.

After that last meal, Guo Ronghai wouldn’t approach him on a business basis again, nor had he contacted Jiang Luo privately. Jiang Luo was certain that the one looking for him was most likely Pacific Department Store’s Young Master Li.

The colleague said, "Boss Jiang, they’ve asked you to another dinner."

He added in a low voice, "They even mentioned having Manager Guo apologize to you."

That confirmed it—it was definitely Young Master Li.

After a moment’s thought, Jiang Luo said, "Go ahead and reply. This dinner is one I should attend."

Jiang Luo figured that if Li Fengrui was inviting him to a meal, there had to be something behind it.

Although he had almost no interaction with Li Fengrui in his previous life, he had heard about Young Master Li’s ruthless methods.

Jiang Luo suspected that, with Vilanido counters set up in three of Haicheng’s four major department stores but not in Pacific Department Store, whatever the reason, he had likely indirectly "offended" Young Master Li.

Jiang Luo wasn't bothered by the idea of having offended someone—it wasn’t intentional.

He could only say that Guo Ronghai, that parasite, brought bad luck and caused trouble everywhere.

Two days later, Jiang Luo went to a restaurant on East Nanjing Road as agreed.

Entering the private room, he found the round table empty, with no one there except a young man in a white shirt sitting on a sofa nearby.

When the door opened, the man stood up. Seeing Jiang Luo, a flicker of surprise crossed his face—clearly, he hadn’t expected Jiang Luo to be so young and strikingly handsome.

Li Fengrui’s eyes held a hint of deeper meaning, though his expression remained neutral. He extended a hand professionally and said, "My surname is Li, Li Fengrui."

Jiang Luo walked over, smiled, and shook his hand. "Jiang Luo. Jiang as in ginger, Luo as in falling."

"Hello, Boss Li."

Li Fengrui replied, "Hello, Boss Jiang. Please, have a seat. Make yourself comfortable."

They sat down not far from each other—Jiang Luo on a single sofa, Li Fengrui on one end of a longer couch.

Li Fengrui initiated the small talk. "I wasn’t sure what cuisine you prefer, so I chose this place on East Nanjing Road."

"I also thought you might frequent the Peace Hotel and could be tired of it."

"So I picked this newly opened restaurant."

"Newly opened?"

Jiang Luo responded politely, "I don’t come here often, so I’m not very familiar with the area."

"Since Boss Li chose it, it must be good."

Li Fengrui smiled. "I opened it. It just started operating this month. Boss Jiang, please try the food and let me know if anything isn’t to your liking. I’ll have them make adjustments."

Jiang Luo smiled and chatted casually, thinking to himself, *As expected of the young master of the Li family—opening a restaurant on East Nanjing Road requires some serious backing.*

He thought, *Well, this is a Hongmen banquet.*

They continued with light conversation. Li Fengrui mentioned he had just arrived in Haicheng not long ago, having recently graduated and returned from abroad. Jiang Luo, already knowing, asked where he had studied overseas and mentioned he was a local of Haicheng.

They exchanged polite small talk, and as the conversation flowed, the atmosphere gradually warmed. Then the private room door opened, and Guo Ronghai walked in without a word.

Jiang Luo, with his back to the door, didn’t see him at first.

When he turned and noticed, he saw Guo Ronghai kneeling silently in front of the coffee table beside him, head bowed toward Jiang Luo.

Jiang Luo glanced over, knowing the Hongmen banquet had officially begun. Feigning surprise, he looked at the kneeling Guo Ronghai, then turned back to Li Fengrui with a puzzled expression. "This…"

Li Fengrui smiled. "I heard recently that my manager offended you, Boss Jiang. This is nothing—just him here to apologize."

As soon as he finished speaking, *smack*—Guo Ronghai began slapping himself, left and right, clearly using force. The sound echoed clearly in the spacious private room, one slap after another.

Jiang Luo glanced at Guo Ronghai again, then met Li Fengrui’s gaze. He understood that this was both Li Fengrui’s way of showing sincerity and a natural display of authority from someone in power.

Young Master Li could have Guo Ronghai kneel here slapping his own face now, and with a flick of his hand, squash him like an ant.

Several months after his rebirth, Jiang Luo finally encountered the first real obstacle on his path upward.

That obstacle is called capital.

Li Fengrui is capital.

Jiang Luo is just an ordinary person with no background.

When an ordinary person runs up against capital, if capital doesn’t want you to live, you won’t last a second.