How could Dong Haifeng not speak up? He had been waiting for this opportunity for far too long. As soon as the news of Weisheng's factory construction spread, he knew that Yan Xunan would never cooperate with him and share the profits. Now, he could only rely heavily on Song Qing as his backer. In recent years, he had poured just as much effort into the power project cooperation as Song Jingmo.
"We lost our advantage long ago in the development of Power One; it was fraught with disaster from the very beginning. My dear niece, while we slowed down and stopped, Weisheng was working day and night. They built research institutes, invited experts, and now they're building factories—they haven't let up for a moment. But think about it, your father and I have spent several years of our energy on Power One. If I said I wasn't heartbroken seeing this, I would be a hypocrite. The fruits of your father's labor over so many years have to be shared by others; it's just unbearable."
"Xunan is, after all, the son-in-law of the Song family."
"That's not how it works. I remember when Song Ning wanted to take 10% of the shares, Lao Song talked to me and said that although he had always been a little biased towards you, he still gave her half of the assets, which was reasonable."
Indeed, it's no exaggeration to say that the 10% stake back then was half of Fuhua's.
Today, Fuhua's stock is only worth half of what it was back then.
Song Qing's expression softened slightly, and Dong Haifeng knew that this had hit the nail on the head. He was absolutely right; Song Qing's hesitation was indeed due to concerns about the relationship between Weisheng and Fuhua.
“You might say that Uncle doesn’t care about family ties, but we both know very well how Yan Xunan treated Xu’s Construction last year. Putting aside their relationship as uncle and nephew, back when Weisheng was still in charge of Old Yan, if it weren’t for Xu’s Construction, Weisheng might not have been able to develop to where it is today. No matter how capable or resourceful Yan Xunan is, he probably has no choice but to accept this favor.”
Song Qing pursed her lips tightly, took out her car keys, and didn't want to listen anymore.
Dong Haifeng followed him out of the garage. "In the business world, we're both willing to do things that add icing on the cake. We can understand why the Xu family has fallen to this state. But if Fuhua doesn't rise up now, and that day comes, will you blame Weisheng or yourself?"
Song Qing stopped and said calmly, "President Dong, I have naturally considered what you said. I will take charge of arranging the research process for Hongshang. We will never allow Weisheng to replace Fuhua Power as a pioneer."
Dong Haifeng nodded in satisfaction, "Yinkong is your investor. They were also involved in Power One and contributed a lot. This time, Hongshang..."
Song Qing felt that he was being too aggressive these days. Even though she was unhappy, she couldn't seem to find the words to refuse him.
“Zhengwei is my husband. I will handle it. You don’t need to worry about it, Mr. Dong.”
Dong Haifeng chuckled awkwardly and said, "That's right, that's right."
Song Qing turned to leave, but he suddenly blurted out, "My dear niece, just take this as me saying something out of the blue, but in the business world, you shouldn't trust even your closest relatives completely!"
*
She naturally couldn't believe that Yan Xunan and Song Ning would betray her at the same time. This pain hadn't healed to this day, so much so that she always remained wary of Yi Zhengwei.
She trusted Yan Xunan so much back then, and even after ten years, she was still so confident that Yan Xunan would not hurt her.
But she failed, failed miserably, and has yet to recover.
She was relatively more forgiving of Xu Zhihan's betrayal, which also made her realize that if a person carries emotional debts, they cannot always be rational in their dealings with others.
This is also her biggest concern in not wanting Yi Zhengwei to take over.
Back then, she could easily get Yi Zhengwei to join the project, but today, she finds it increasingly difficult to do so.
She had placed too much expectation on him, just as she had secretly hoped for Yan Xunan back then.
She had failed once, and she was afraid of failing again, without even a reason to convince herself otherwise. But how could she not feel sorry for Yi Zhengwei? Because of her mistake, she blamed him for the shadow she had cast on him.
If he really wanted to help her, wasn't she being too unfair to Yi Zhengwei?
She sat in the middle of the bed, wrapped in a thin blanket, meditating in the darkness.
She knew that Yi Zhengwei had been disappointed in him. That day, on the way to pick up Xiao Huainian, Yan Xunan questioned her about why she had dragged Madam Song into this mess. Naturally, Yi Zhengwei would have thought the same thing.
In other people's eyes, Song Qing had become a naive businesswoman who would do anything for profit. So that day, she lost her mind. Thinking of the way Yi Zhengwei looked at her that night, she really didn't want to feel that way.
She suddenly felt very cold, so she grabbed her winter quilt and snuggled tightly inside. She wasn't that cold-blooded; she just didn't want to be manipulated or used by others anymore, and she didn't want Fuhua to fall into trouble because of her mistakes.
Why can't Yi Zhengwei understand everything she does? Is it just because she's a woman?
*
Xiao Huainian was getting old and only wanted to live a peaceful life with Madam Song. When Song Qing visited them, they immediately became tense, and Madam Song desperately tried to find other topics to talk about. Song Qing thought, it seems it's not anyone else's fault; it's her. She really acted too calculatingly. She smiled silently, took the scissors Madam Song handed her, and started pruning flowers with them.
"Uncle Xiao, if staying in Linchuan is too boring, you can take Mom around for a walk," she suggested while drinking Wang Ma's soup.
"Xiao Qing..." Madam Song was a little confused.
She smiled and said, "Xiao Ning and I are both married and have many things to do. These past few months, you've been by my side every step of the way because I'm pregnant, which has been too hard on you. Now that everything is fine, it's time to go out and relax."
Xiao Huainian was ultimately an honest and kind person, and he was grateful to Song Qing for bringing them together. Among the Song family, the one who had influence and could hold the reins was Song Qing. Although Xiao Ning had never objected, he really hadn't expected Song Qing to make the decision.
“But what about Zhenhua…” Madam Song sighed softly.
"I can handle things over there, you don't need to worry." She stretched, looked at the bright sun, and got up.
"However, I don't want to see what happened last time again." She said coldly to Madam Song.
As for the last incident, it was naturally Mrs. Song who mediated and arranged for Xiao Huainian to help Weisheng with the preliminary research.
"No, Xiaoqing," Madam Song said guiltily.
She nodded. "Have a good time."
Wang Ma followed her out, and said with some concern, "Miss, haven't you and Zhengwei made up yet? I haven't seen him in a long time."
Song Qing could never put on a mask around Wang Ma; in her heart, Wang Ma was more like her mother.
She sighed, "I know what you're going to say. It's true, I was too negligent with Zhengwei, but some things aren't that simple."
Wang Ma seemed to understand but not quite, and only said, "If they are family, it's all easy to talk about. I'm not saying anything bad about the Second Miss, but after everything that has happened, only Zhengwei is someone I can truly trust. You two are husband and wife, and now you even have a child. You can be considered the closest of relatives. What can't you talk about openly?"
Song Qing nodded, feeling a warmth in her heart. Yes, they were already pregnant. Because of the child, it was as if their blood already flowed in each other's veins, making them inseparable.
“You know, your master has been too harsh on you since you were little. Business is business, but you can’t ignore feelings. Zhengwei has been incredibly good to you and to Fuhua. Listen to Wang Ma’s advice, don’t be so stubborn. You have to know when to back down and not hurt people’s feelings too much.”
Song Qing hugged Wang Ma tightly, and it took her a long time to calm down. It wasn't that she didn't understand these principles, but the fact that someone could say them to her like this made her feel warm inside. Since she was little, her father had always taught her how to shoulder the burden of Fuhua, but he had never told her how to be a wife.