Chapter 28 Deep Sea Radio Waves

Chapter 28 Deep-Sea Signals

Tan Youming was sprawled across Shen Zongnian's bed, holding Shen Zongnian's phone, with three or four fruit plates on the nightstand and a panda plush clutched in his arms—the epitome of a young master's demeanor.

Guan Kezhi let out a surprised "Whoa!"

The young master looked up: "I told you I'm fine, but you insisted on coming."

"If I hadn't come, how would I know how you usually throw your weight around?"

Tan Youming immediately retorted: "Dream on! Would your son usually get this kind of treatment?" At some point, Shen Zongnian's room had become a forbidden zone, off-limits without permission.

Tan Zhongshan watched him, deep in thought, until Guan Kezhi turned and called to him: "Go open the window wider." The weather was nice today; since he wasn’t feverish, some sunshine and fresh air would do him good.

"Alright." Tan Zhongshan walked to the window and pushed it open. Outside was a spacious balcony where a lemon tree grew, its leaves lush and green, bearing golden-yellow fruit. Deep within the pot’s foliage, a corner of a cardboard box was visible.

"Shan-ge."

Tan Youming called again: "Shan-ge!"

Only then did Tan Zhongshan snap back to attention and return to the bedside, asking his son: "What instructions does Little Tan Boss have?"

Tan Youming said: "You didn’t tell Grandma and Grandpa, did you?"

"No," Tan Zhongshan replied, speaking to both Tan Youming and Shen Zongnian, "Grandma and Grandpa went back to Chuntai Mountain."

"That’s good," he said, "If you’d come half a day later, I’d have fully recovered. I’m going back to work tomorrow."

Tan Zhongshan smiled: "So diligent."

Tan Youming nodded: "It’s only because I’m afraid your company will go under. You know Pinghai can’t manage without me."

Tan Zhongshan laughed again and called him a good kid.

Tan Youming handed the panda plush to Guan Kezhi to play with: "Are you staying for dinner? Shen Zongnian made slow-cooked broth."

Tan Zhongshan turned to look at Shen Zongnian, who said: "Yes, stay for dinner before you go."

Guan Kezhi sighed: "Can’t stay, baby. We’re heading to the Wang family soon."

Only then did Tan Youming notice his mother was wearing a new wide-brimmed hat, black silk gauze, and retro-style long gloves that reached past her elbows—a rather formal look.

Shen Zongnian saw them out, only then remembering that Wang Jing was the newly appointed vice chairman of the chamber of commerce.

As Tan Zhongshan passed through their living room, filled with traces of daily life—walls covered with models, a lemon tree on the balcony beyond, a kitchen simmering with soup, a vibrant money tree plant—he glanced at the child he had raised with his own hands.

People often said that compared to Tan Youming, Shen Zongnian resembled his son more.

But in Tan Zhongshan’s heart, they were the same—both were his children.

Only, at some point, the child who never smoked had also learned to smoke.

Shen Zongnian stood by the door, looking directly at Tan Zhongshan: "Uncle Tan?"

After his expression shifting several times, Tan Zhongshan finally said: "Zongnian, don’t overwork yourself. If Youming acts up, don’t indulge him. He can’t always rely on you."

Shen Zongnian was taken aback and replied softly: "Not at all."

The Wang family had been promoted and were hosting a banquet for relatives and friends. After socializing for half the day, Guan Kezhi kicked her high heels off as soon as she got back into the car. Relaxed, she began sharing the day’s gossip with Tan Zhongshan.

Tan Zhongshan, silent all afternoon, suddenly spoke as the Lincoln returned to Baojing Mountain: "Xiao Zhi."

Guan Kezhi was replying to work messages and looked up: "Hm?"

Tan Zhongshan leaned back in his seat, wearing a suit and tie, exuding a maturity bestowed by time and timeless handsome features, though a faint trace of helplessness and worry tinged his features: "I might have... said the wrong thing."

Guan Kezhi leaned closer: "What happened?"

Guan Kezhi thought he had scared another subordinate and, after a moment’s consideration, said: "If it’s really bad, just go apologize."

"..." Tan Zhongshan felt somewhat helpless but was amused nonetheless. He took the jacket containing his phone and medicine box, opened the car door for his wife, and they entered Wanjing Hall together.

The spring cold snap lasted only three days before temperatures abruptly rose. The streets were overwhelmingly taken over by chinaberry and western fishwood flowers as the island welcomed its first tourist peak and production surge of the year.

According to TCB Financial Channel, leading groups such as Minglong, Huantu, and Pinghai will launch joint projects in the first quarter. Rising stars like Kexiang Technology and other cutting-edge tech firms have already taken the lead in applying for the first batch of physical engineering projects in the bay area...

Amid cutthroat competition, the CEO of Pinghai could only afford one day for illness, arriving punctually at the park the next day.

With everything needing revival, Mr. Shen Zongnian and Mr. Tan Youming spent over half a month jumping between meetings, work, and social engagements, each spending three days away from home.

With both bosses running nonstop, their executive offices also kept the lights on, often ordering late-night snacks and afternoon tea for each other.

Tan Youming, dizzy from reviewing reports all day, went to make tea to clear his head. Passing the executive office, he remarked: "This... eating again?" He wondered how many food-loving staff HR had hired—the company cafeteria wasn’t enough for them, so they placed outside orders.

The second and third assistants, a man and a woman, quickly wiped their hands and stood up to offer their seats when they saw their boss leaning against the doorframe with a mug. Only Yang Shiyan seemed unafraid, still holding a crispy Portuguese tart: "Boss, want some? Ordered by Huantu’s office."

"Sure," Tan Youming was genuinely hungry and stepped inside, "What’s there?"

Yang Shiyan brewed coffee for the boss: "Shrimp dumplings, fried sugar pastries, golden cake, Yuxinju’s Golden Eighteen Pieces."

"So extravagant." Even the simplest snacks from Yuxinju were delicious, though pricey.

Yang Shiyan hurriedly added: "We ordered the new set from Tangxin Restaurant for them yesterday."

Tan Youming had been too busy lately to even play the playboy, munching on shrimp dumplings while consulting his subordinate: "What’s in the new set?"

"There’s a lot," Yang Shiyan recounted the (company-funded meals) like a pro, "Walnut rolls, pineapple buns, black gold lava buns—too many to list."

The items were the same, but the dough master was a chef specially invited from Guangzhou, making the flavors more authentic. Thus, old wine in new bottles, packaged as a new set to attract urban professionals and tourists.

After three shrimp dumplings and two pieces of golden cake, Tan Youming wiped his mouth and said: "Next time, add an order of swan-shaped pastries."

Yang Shiyan knew what he meant, but: "Manqing said Mr. Shen never eats afternoon tea or late-night snacks."

Tan Youming picked up his mug and left: "You order what you want. Whether he eats it or not is up to him."

"..."

After eating, it was back to work. Tan Youming stayed in his office until nine o’clock. Jianxin’s first-quarter report and the progress of Sunset Island’s first phase lay spread across his desk. Both his internal and external network computers were running simultaneously, and even the cufflinks beside his mug looked dull.

Yang Shiyan knocked and entered: "Boss."

"Still here?" Tan Youming didn’t require employees to stay overtime; they could leave once their work was done.

"Getting ready to," Yang Shiyan, who’d been enjoying expensive treats from Yuxinju, felt compelled to be thorough. She placed color-tabbed folders in front of him: "The red tabs are most urgent. I’ve roughly sorted them—focus on the highlighted sections. The rest are meeting notes from yesterday’s session at the high-tech district, already archived for your later review."

Tan Youming couldn’t tell who was the boss anymore—she’d just dumped a week’s worth of work. He nodded: "Great, no need to go home tonight either."

Yang Shiyan wasn't finished yet. She opened the schedule to check with him: "Since you have a golf game with President Zhang from Dun Gong tomorrow afternoon, I've rescheduled your meeting with Director Yang to two days from now."

"There's an exchange forum with the Commercial Arbitration Commission on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at Deli Hotel, but I've cleared your schedule for next week. Would you like to book the flight in the next couple of days?"

The postponed Rotterdam trip was back on the agenda, but Felipe has China visit plans for late this month, so Shen Zongnian, Tan Youming, and he eventually decided to meet in Jing City.

Tan Youming glanced through the most urgent documents and quickly had a general idea: "No need to book tickets."

"The flight plan has already been filed," Zhong Manqing, sitting in the passenger seat, turned slightly to report to Shen Zongnian. "We depart at 10:40 a.m. next Tuesday. The itinerary and materials have been sent to the Jianxin executive office."

They had just returned from inspecting the factory in the new district. Shen Zongnian continued working during the return trip. Today's inspection results weren't completely satisfactory; compared to improving quality and efficiency, Shen Zongnian placed greater emphasis on improving safety protocols and sustainable development.

His gaze remained fixed on the laptop: "Does the timing work for Tan Youming?"

"Assistant Yang confirmed his availability."

"Who did the marketing department put forward?"

"Huang Bin."

Shen Zongnian said calmly, "Switch it to Lin Yuzhou."

Zhong Manqing was surprised Shen Zongnian remembered him: "Okay."

"What about Jianxin's side?"

Zhong Manqing: "VP Yang will go personally, along with his assistant, plus their legal counsel and two team leaders."

"Hmm."

Entering the subsea tunnel, the signal weakened, forcing Shen Zongnian to stop working. The tunnel was brightly lit by yellow lights, and vehicles darted like luminous fish in the sea. Shen Zongnian leaned back and closed his eyes to rest.

In the space where both the tablet and laptop lost connectivity, his phone stubbornly remained connected. The screen lit up, and Shen Zongnian opened it.

"Quit playing dead."

The previous message was from three hours ago: "Where are you?"

He was probably in a meeting at the time and didn't reply. Scrolling up the chat history—

"Shen Zongnian, do you know what's in Yuxinju's new menu offering?"

"Yang Shiyan says I'm no longer the top food and entertainment expert in Haishi."

"Do you remember where I put my white tennis shirt? I need it the day after tomorrow."

"Bring your racket too."

"Back in the city yet?"

Scrolling up revealed many more messages. It was unclear if Tan Youming was actually working seriously, managing to squeeze out gaps to send hundreds of messages even within such a tight schedule. His time management skills made Shen Zongnian marvel at him.

Tan Youming's messages were as noisy as the chatterbox he is, like a live wire, bombarding relentlessly until he got a response. However, they provided Shen Zongnian, who had been running nonstop for eleven hours straight, with five minutes of rest and relaxation.

The company car moved steadily through the subsea tunnel. The faint light from the screen accompanied Shen Zongnian through the most vulnerable veins of the heart of the deep sea. Looking at his phone, the fear and panic Tan Youming showed when startled awake by a nightmare that night resurfaced, reminding him not to drag this out any longer and to accelerate making the right decision.

But no matter how resolved he was, Tan Youming had already called him directly.

In this sturdy space sealed against ocean and storm, Tan Youming's voice cut through the deep sea clearly reaching his ear: "Where are you? Why aren't you replying?"

Shen Zongnian: "Bad reception in the tunnel."

Tan Youming wasn't fooled: "You've been in the tunnel for three hours? You should change your car."

"..." Shen Zongnian asked, "What's up?"

"Can't make it back tonight."

Shen Zongnian didn't ask for a reason, simply grunted in acknowledgment.

However, Tan Youming volunteered the information: "Dun Gong's proposal needs more revisions."

He also demanded: "Send me your location when you get back to the city."

"...Hmm."

The journey from the suburbs to the city took under half an hour. Zhong Manqing used the time to quickly review the schedule before the trip with Shen Zongnian.

"There are long meetings tomorrow and the day after, Mr. Shen. The inspection of the remaining nine factories in the Southern District will probably have to be scheduled after your return from the business trip."

Shen Zongnian mentally ran through the timeline and said, "From now on, leave the scheduling to assistant number two."

Zhong Manqing paused, momentarily confused.

"You will conduct the Southern District inspection the day after tomorrow in my place." Shen Zongnian had long intended to give his assistant exposure in core project teams. With Zhong Manqing's ability, managing and balancing the vice presidents was only a matter of time.

This opportunity came sooner than Zhong Manqing had imagined. She sat up straighter and quickly said, "Understood, Mr. Shen."

After dropping Zhong Manqing off at home, Shen Zongnian said to the driver, "Back to the compound."

They departed for Jing City as scheduled on Tuesday. The ACJ jet cabin was open and bright. The two bosses occupied the front cabin, while Zhong Manqing, Yang Shiyan, and other accompanying staff could freely use the cabin's entertainment facilities.

"With the recent exchange rate drop, Felipe might not agree to last year's terms," Tan Youming was scrolling through the recent acquisition news of Felipe's family and concluded, "It won't be easy to negotiate. It might not be settled within a week."

"It's fine," Shen Zongnian stopped, shifting his gaze from the computer to Tan Youming's face, and called his name, "Tan Youming."

Tan Youming looked up: "Huh?"

Shen Zongnian, unusually not working, leaned back in his seat, seeming inclined to chat: "What do you think of the Sunset Island project?"

Tan Youming didn't know why he was asking suddenly. After a moment's thought, he gave an objective assessment: "Slow to start but promising."

With parent companies like Huantu and Pinghai, it's hard not to have a future.

This was also the first project they worked on together with a market value exceeding ten billion, hailed by financial magazines as a star project as notable as Polly Bay. Tan Youming was proud, bold, and full of confidence: "Overtaking Minglong is imminent."

Shen Zongnian rarely curved the corners of his mouth slightly, but it was faint and quickly faded, as if he were just asking casually: "Have you considered taking on the role of its operations manager?"

Tan Youming pulled his attention away from the data: "Aren't you handling it?"

Shen Zongnian spoke as if just making conversation: "There are many more phases to come."

Tan Youming guessed: "Is the overseas energy project about to be established?" Huantu and Pinghai have intertwined aspects but also many relatively independent operations.

He said: "I can assist in management, but you should still lead it." Energy projects are for market expansion; Tan Youming hoped the other wouldn't put the cart before the horse: "Huantu isn't shifting its focus overseas."

Only companies that are on their last legs would withdraw from their home turf and abandon the market; Huantu faces no such dilemma.

Shen Zongnian wiped his hands with a hot towel and said offhandedly, "Oh, so it seems Minglong is failing too."

Tan Youming was momentarily speechless: "Zhao Shengge did that back then to escape Zhao Maozheng's control." Shen Zongnian doesn't need to escape anyone.

"Besides," Tan Youming shot back indignantly, "since when is Zhao Shengge the benchmark? Why should we follow his example? If we focus and do well, surpassing Minglong isn’t impossible!"

Tan Youming was brash and ambitious. They were still so young—if five years weren’t enough, they’d take ten; if ten years weren’t enough, they’d take twenty. He and Shen Zongnian had their whole lives ahead of them.

This wasn’t just arrogance on Tan Youming’s part. Objectively speaking, in the current three-way split of Haishi, Minglong’s slight edge wasn’t due to differences in leadership capability but rather "legacy issues." Though all three operated within the same circles, their foundational conditions were inherently different.

In the post-Shen Zhongwang era, Huantu was mired in internal turmoil and severely weakened. Shen Zongnian received no support and could barely protect himself. It took him several years after taking power to fully restore order.

The Tan family, known for its gentlemanly business approach, employed strong yet steady and moderate strategies. Compared to the highly aggressive Zhao Maozheng, Tan Zhongshan, who prioritized building broad connections, expanded his territory at a relatively slower pace.

Only Zhao Shengge had both geographical advantages and human resources aligned in his favor. From a young age, he had major say within the stringent heir system meticulously crafted by his grandfather, Zhao Maozheng.

Zhao Shengge was grounded at heart, Shen Zongnian decisive and resolute, and Tan Youming quick-witted and adaptable. Each had his own strengths. If they had truly started on equal footing, it would be hard to say who would dominate the post-Haishi era.

Tan Youming, who had hated studying so much in his school days, was now full of grand ambitions. Shen Zongnian was somewhat bemused but didn’t say anything more.

Fired up with determination, Tan Youming was ready to dive into work immediately. Shen Zongnian pushed his laptop lid down, poured him some lemon tea, and said, "Catching up isn’t something that needs to happen right this moment."

Tan Youming stared wide-eyed: "Since when are you the one telling people to relax?"

Ignoring his sarcasm, Shen Zongnian turned to look at the clouds outside the window and asked casually, "Any places you want to visit this time?"

Tan Youming looked at him as if he didn’t recognize him.

Shen Zongnian said drily, "Weren’t you the one complaining that you’ve fallen off the top of the food and fun rankings?"

"Oh," Tan Youming thought for a moment, "then there are way too many."

He loved the capital deeply—he’d visited multiple times as a child for red-themed summer camps and knew its famous mountains, rivers, and eight major cuisines like the back of his hand: "We can explore Shichahai, Liulichang, Dongjiaominxiang, and feast on dishes like 'It Seems Like Honey,' 'Three Non-Stick,' and copper pot mutton hotpot."

"The capital is now in the season of crabapple blossoms. Last time we visited Soong Ching-ling’s former residence, we missed the flowering season," Tan Youming started imagining excitedly. "I wonder if we’ll have time to see the pandas."

With so many plans, he seemed to have completely forgotten who had just vowed to work hard and surpass Minglong.

Outside the window, after takeoff, the azure sea stretched out, and the islands grew smaller and smaller. By the time they returned, the scene would likely be entirely different.

Shen Zongnian gave a soft hum of agreement.