Chickens and dogs fly in chaos and rebirth

Chapter 111

Killer move

Qiu Shanglin constructed a Harrod-Dodd-Frank economic growth model on paper. This wasn't a particularly accessible mathematical model for her. Despite being considered a bright student by outsiders, she didn't possess an astonishing talent for data processing and spatial reasoning. Talent is beyond her control; she preferred humanities subjects. However, her position was clear: the behind-the-scenes leader of a large corporation couldn't possibly be someone who only knew the past and present, yet was completely ignorant of business management.

Fortunately, she wasn't in charge of the company's specific operations, so she tried to choose more accessible and easy-to-understand examples as entry points for her reading. Over the years, she has accumulated a wealth of knowledge and skills, which has finally paid off.

Qiu Xialin walked over and took away her pen: "Sis, we're here on vacation, are you planning to spend the whole morning drawing nonsense?"

She rubbed her temples, feeling rather bored. Her problem with not being able to sleep in a particular bed had flared up again, and she had tossed and turned all night without getting a good night's sleep. The aftereffects of waking up at four in the morning were kicking in: "Where are Mom and Dad?"

Xia Lin rolled her eyes: "After breakfast, I saw you were working hard and didn't dare to disturb you. I said I wanted to get closer to real life, so I went to the morning market."

Before leaving, my mother muttered to herself, worried that her daughter was studying too hard.

Where's your brother?

He pouted, "I went out for a run, and I just got back! I said, can't you two just stop for a few days? You're working so hard, and my brother is pushing himself too. Are you both bored with life and always looking for trouble?"

Hearing his younger brother's incessant complaints, Shanglin chuckled and tapped his forehead: "You rascal, if you're going to be lazy, just say so. Don't blame your brother and me for being diligent!"

He was actually quite satisfied with the way Changsheng was done.

Li Changsheng has many strengths, but his most outstanding quality is perseverance.

He persisted in practicing martial arts, exercising every morning, learning to paint, and remaining steadfast in his devotion to her for ten years...

Before leaving home, Shanglin put an academic monograph on the Steinberg model of pioneer interests in her bag. It was in English and the technical terms were difficult to understand. She looked up the unfamiliar words on the first eighteen pages last night, but didn't have time to read it through. She planned to find some time to read it through today.

Who knows? Maybe you can find a story while stuck in traffic or waiting at a red light.

When Yin Yeyao found them, she saw this scene.

A girl in a white cotton blouse and floral skirt sat on a stone bench, her head slightly bowed as she turned the pages of a thick book, her expression focused and oblivious to her surroundings. Sunlight shone on her hair, giving it a soft, pearly sheen. Qiu Xia Lin fanned herself with her hand while gesturing animatedly as she spoke to Li Chang Sheng, who held a drink to his lips, listening perfunctorily to Qiu Xia Lin's words, but his eyes never left the girl engrossed in her book.

An Lan exclaimed "Eh?" and jumped over, tilting her head with a straightforward and innocent expression: "You're the friends Ye Yao wants to meet?"

Shang Lin looked up at the sound and met a pair of deep eyes. She was startled, then realized that she had run into an acquaintance. Her gaze passed over An Lan's shoulder and revealed a smile as she nodded slightly to him in greeting.

Immediately, she felt an unpleasant gaze. She looked away and clearly saw the contest in An Lan's beautiful eyes and the slightly disdainful scrutiny.

She was slightly taken aback, and before she could figure out why the other person was unhappy, An Lan had already withdrawn her scrutiny and pretended to be innocent as if nothing had happened: "Hello, my name is An Lan, and I am also Yin Yeyao's friend."

She stood in front of Qiu Shanglin, but her gaze was fixed on the other two, treating Qiu Shanglin as if he were nothing.

The hostility was so obvious that even the most oblivious Xia Lin sensed it, let alone the sensitive Chang Sheng. Without a word, neither of them responded to the beautiful woman's friendly greeting, but instead both looked at Xia Lin, awaiting her reaction.

Shanglin smiled back, a smile that was both self-deprecating and somewhat amusing.

The atmosphere was slightly awkward, but fortunately Yin Yeyao stepped in time: "Shanglin."

A gentle call conveys boundless understanding.

Yin Yeyao casually greeted the other two, walked past An Lan to Shang Lin's side, bent down to flip through her book, and noticed the margins were filled with notes. He read a few lines: "Monopoly market revenue curve and supply curve?"

"Are you interested in monopolistic markets?" he joked.

Shang Lin smiled but didn't say anything.

Yin Yeyao pondered for a moment, then spoke frankly: "It's unlikely. Whether it's clothing, vegetable companies, or Hua Qianshan's real estate, it's difficult to form a monopoly without government authorization. In China, unless you're involved in railways, postal services, electricity and water supply, or natural resources like oil and coal..." A sudden thought flashed through his mind, and he stared into Qiu Shanglin's eyes in surprise:

"Are you eyeing the railway uniform?"

Shanglin smiled approvingly at him, without offering any further explanation, and pointed to a set of formulas in the book: "I don't quite understand this part about AR curves."

Yin Yeyao looked carefully and slowly explained: "AR=PQ/Q=P=a-Bq, TR=Aq-bQ squared, TR is a parabola opening downwards, AR and MR are both curves with negative slopes. Give me a pen and I'll draw it for you."

Shang Lin handed over a pencil, and Yin Yeyao casually drew on the smooth stone table. Shang Lin then took out another pencil and kept adding something or asking questions next to his curves.

They acted as if no one else was around, and An Lan's expression gradually turned ugly.

She was about to lose her temper, but Li Changsheng and Qiu Xialin were both busy with their own things as if nothing was wrong. She stomped her feet and glared, but the two, engrossed in their questions and answers, completely ignored her. An Lan rolled her eyes in frustration. However, knowing that Yin Yeyao had a bad temper, she suppressed her patience and waited obediently.

Fifteen minutes later, Yin Yeyao put down his pencil, still wanting to say more: "These are the general short-run equilibrium conditions for monopolistic competition firms. Specific issues need to be addressed in specific contexts. Different regions and policies will lead to different conflicts, which you will need to resolve gradually in practice."

Shang Lin put down his pen, picked up the drink that Chang Sheng had prepared and drank it, saying, "Well, it's just a rough idea. We still need to discuss the details with A Hai and the others."

Upon hearing this, he pondered for a moment and said, "If this were to be implemented in the south, I might be able to help you. Assistant Cheng, come here!" He called over the burly man who had been following him closely, neither too close nor too far, and introduced him: "Cheng Yuanfang, his position is Assistant General Manager of Qinghe Real Estate Development Company. He has good connections in the local area and can get more help than Brother Hua. I'll have him talk to you properly another day."

Shang Lin nodded politely: "I'd rather just leave it to myself and have Shen Hai come over so he can learn from Brother Cheng."

Cheng Yuanfang was a trusted confidant of Yin Yeyao for many years, and also the driver and bodyguard who accompanied him to Huaiqiao City that year, covering his escape from Xu Mi's surveillance for three days. Officially the company's assistant general manager, he actually never involved himself in company affairs, as everyone in the Yin family knew. He was specifically responsible for handling Yin Yeyao's personal matters; anything shady was now being handed over to him. Outsiders described them as follows: 'Yin Yeyao is a treacherous and cunning man, and Cheng Yuanfang is his loyal and vicious dog. At Yin Yeyao's command, he'd dare to bite not only strangers, but even his master's own family!'

Some time ago, Yin Yeyao sent his mother Xu Mi's trusted lieutenant to prison. The lieutenant wasn't a greenhorn, yet he confessed to all his crimes as soon as he entered prison, thanks in no small part to Cheng Yuanfang. He's not only adept at biting people, but also at making connections. He's particularly skilled at cultivating relationships with local underworld figures and those in less-than-honorable government departments.

Even Xu Mi treated this man with deference, yet he dared not act presumptuously in front of Qiu Shanglin. Qiu Shanglin was polite to him, and he became even more respectful: "Miss Qiu, please don't say that. I'm just a roughneck. Please feel free to ask me anything."

This was all because he knew Qiu Shanglin's position in the young master's heart.

Shang Lin smiled tactfully: "Brother Cheng, just call me Shang Lin. I'm too young to accept such a respectful title."

They exchanged polite words, while An Lan gritted her teeth in resentment.

Cheng Yuanfang had never given her a kind look—not that he dared to show any disrespect to this eldest daughter of the An family, but rather that he was always expressionless towards her, knew nothing when asked, and shook his head when pressed further. The contrast in their attitudes was truly infuriating.

She was seething with hatred, and Li Changsheng was also feeling terrible.

Everyone knew Yin Yeyao's intentions, and he understood them all too well. He had used his proximity to the water to force Gu Zhiyuan and drive away Ji Yunwen, and finally managed to make Shang Lin understand his feelings, but who would have thought that Yin Yeyao would suddenly appear halfway through!

Coincidence? Ha, what a coincidence!

He had been in the South for so many years, traveling back and forth between Guangzhou and Shanghai hundreds of times, how come he had never run into Yin Yeyao? How come he just happened to appear in Hangzhou when Qiu Shanglin arrived?

Seeing the two of them huddled together studying some kind of curve only fueled his anger.

Qiu Shanglin talks about literature and history with Gu Zhiyuan, speaks of romance with Ji Yunwen, and is even more in sync with Yin Yeyao. When they talk about making money and managing the company, their eyes light up. So why is it that they have nothing to say to each other when they are with me?

It seems like they're always playing, just playing. Even those who don't talk join in... Often, they run out of things to say, and they and the three from Xia Lin fall silent together, or they do their own thing and don't say a word for most of the day.

Li Chang was discouraged for a long time until Gu Zhiyuan enlightened him. As expected, outsiders see things clearly. Gu Zhiyuan said, "You two grew up together, you've already said everything you wanted to say. The fact that you can be in the same room without speaking and not feel awkward at all proves you have excellent chemistry and are comfortable with each other's presence. If you don't believe me, try locking me or Yin Yeyao in a room with her for a few days!"

Because we're somewhat familiar yet not very familiar, we rack our brains to come up with topics. Once we run out of topics, we're guaranteed to be so awkwardly uncomfortable!

His words weren't entirely correct, but they did make some sense—but that's another story.

The encounter was quite serendipitous. Yin Yeyao was practically a Hangzhou native, knowing the city intimately. An Lan, on the other hand, had only visited Hangzhou a few times and knew little about China's historical sites and classical culture, showing little interest whatsoever. Furthermore, Li Changsheng was preoccupied with his own affairs, and Qiu Xialin deliberately kept him at arm's length, making their reunion and travel together somewhat awkward.

Cheng Yuanfang, an outsider, followed at a distance, his expression impassive but inwardly sighing.

Young master, oh young master, your heart is so full of love, but the girl doesn't appreciate it at all... How old is she? Sixteen or seventeen? Still a minor. I can't encourage him to abduct a minor, and Qiu Shanglin is truly outstanding; he's probably not the only one eyeing her. If I'm not careful, she'll be snatched away by someone else. This is really difficult...

Now An Lan is causing trouble, and the young master's mother favors An Lan...

He was worried sick for Yin Yeyao, but Yin Yeyao was completely oblivious, only delighted.

They admired the scenery and chatted with Qiu Shanglin along the way. An Lan felt that Yin Yeyao was unusually gentle today—he never looked at her with such gentle eyes, never spoke so softly, and never thoughtfully asked if she was tired or thirsty…

While I was completely taken aback, I was already feeling incredibly jealous.

As the saying goes, the most poisonous heart is that of a woman. A jealous woman often loses her rationality and is most easily swayed by slander.

Yin Yeyao stayed with Qiu Shanglin for two days. She became increasingly anxious and never spoke kindly to him. Yet she couldn't bear to leave Yin Yeyao for even a moment. Every day, she watched him fawn over Qiu Shanglin, and she couldn't help but feel extremely sad.

That evening, as they parted, Shanglin said she would be leaving Hangzhou the day after tomorrow, but it was a pity she hadn't seen a real Longjing tea garden. Yin Yeyao readily agreed and promised to take her to a tea garden in the suburbs the next day so she could see the tea-making process and the small workshops firsthand.

An Lan returned to the hotel, her thoughts racing. Finally, she made a phone call, calling the caller "Fifth Brother Yin," and poured out her troubles about Yin Yeyao's refusal to accept her and his opposition to another insignificant girl's advances. She didn't know what he had advised her, but at first she stubbornly refused, then hesitated, finally revealing the truth and laying out her plans for tomorrow. After speaking, she felt a pang of regret and repeatedly gave him instructions:

"It's a promise, just to scare the little girl, but you absolutely mustn't hurt Ye Yao!"

Yin Wu laughed heartily on the other end of the phone, reassuring her: "Don't worry, Ye Yao is still my cousin. I won't hurt him. At most, I'll find someone to scare him and let him know how powerful you are!"

Brother Yin put down the phone and grinned wickedly at his friend sitting next to him: "This time we're going to teach Yin Yeyao a lesson—I'll make him embarrass me at the board meeting!"

His friend casually clipped his fingernails: "What are you planning to do?"

He rubbed his hands together, eager to get started: "Find a few people and ambush them on their way up the mountain. First, lure Yin Yeyao away, then harass that little girl, and it would be best if we could beat him up to vent my anger!"

His friend chuckled: "You planned all this, and you just let him off so easily?"

Yin Wuge's eyes widened: "How can you say it's an understatement? I'd love to skin him alive and eat him alive, but I'd have to wait until the old man passes away before I can do it—besides, the An family's girl knows my plan, and if something really happens, she'll probably report me to the old man!"

He was satisfied after beating Yin Yeyao up and didn't think about anything else.

His friend seemed unconcerned but didn't try to persuade him further. He blew on his nails, handed the nail clippers to his subordinate standing behind him, and the two exchanged a glance. The subordinate took the clippers and left the room. Fifth Brother Yin didn't seem to care. He slammed a deck of cards on the table and shouted, "Again! Again! I refuse to believe I can't beat you!"

The other party reminded him, "Fifth Brother, you owe me 300,000."

He frowned: "What, you look down on me? So what if it's 300,000? My surname is Yin, are you afraid the Yin family can't pay you back 300,000?"