Liu Ning dared not accept Ma Jili's apology and hurriedly waved his hand, saying, "Young Master Ma, you're too kind. It was my fault for me interfering in your affairs. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'll leave now and disappear immediately." With that, Liu Ning turned and left.
Seeing this, the others also wanted to leave. After all, they had just been mocking Hu Xiaojiang. Now, Hu Xiaojiang's luck had suddenly turned around. The Taiwanese VIP, Ma Jili, was actually listening to him and even flattering him. If Hu Xiaojiang turned around and mocked them, that would be bad.
Seeing everyone about to leave, Hu Xiaojiang immediately spoke up, "Hey everyone, don't rush off! Old Ma, you see, my friends are all here and I'm a bit short on cash these days. Could you ask the Shi family for me?"
Magili nodded repeatedly and said, "It's my pleasure, it's my pleasure. This meal is on me, everyone please eat and drink to your heart's content."
Hu Xiaojiang addressed the crowd, "Did you all hear that? Tonight, Young Master Ma is treating us, so you all have to give him face. Anyone who leaves is disrespecting Young Master Ma and showing him contempt. We're going to drink with Young Master Ma until we're completely drunk. Come on, let's go inside and have a drink." Hu Xiaojiang urged everyone to leave, and no one dared to go. Anyone who left would be disrespecting Ma Jili, a serious offense.
During the meal, Ma Jili frequently toasted Hu Xiaojiang to express his goodwill. Under his influence, no one else dared to look down on Hu Xiaojiang and they also toasted him. Hu Xiaojiang got drunk in no time. Fortunately, his cronies were thoughtful enough to put him in a car and send him home, otherwise he would have had to stay at the hotel overnight.
Ma Jili left with a belly full of resentment and anger, but on the surface he still had to pretend to be respectful. He secretly encouraged himself, thinking that revenge is never too late, and he would deal with everything when he returned to Taiwan.
As the plane landed, Majili's heart was racing. He was already planning how to get revenge on Zhao Qiang. "The best way is to escalate the political tensions between the two sides. Majili can't do that on his own, but if he exaggerates his experiences in Beijing to his parents and grandfather, they will definitely become dissatisfied with the mainland, and then he will have an opportunity."
Full of anticipation and hope, Ma Jili stepped off the plane, but before he could do anything else, he received a phone call. It was Zhao Qiang calling. Ma Jili's tone was different from when he was in Beijing; he said lazily, "Mr. Zhao, what can I do for you? I just got off the plane, I'm very busy, don't bother me unless it's important."
Zhao Qiang was unaffected by Ma Jili's tone and said, "Old Ma, you've gotten off the plane, have a safe trip."
Magili said, "You're not going to just walk up and greet me, are you?" Magili's eyes revealed disdain. He had already returned to Taiwan; this was his own little territory. If it weren't for the bomb in his heart, he would have hung up the phone long ago.
Zhao Qiang said, "Yes, I'm just coming to greet you, and at the same time, I want to conduct an experiment with you, Young Master Ma." "An experiment?" Ma Jili didn't understand. "What are you planning? Zhao Qiang, don't say I didn't warn you beforehand. If you dare to do anything shady, the Ma family won't let you off the hook." Ma Jili was a typical example of someone who had forgotten the pain once the wound had healed. "Mr. Ma, please observe our experiment carefully. Please watch your assistant closely."
"Pfft!" Magili heard a muffled thud, and then one of his assistants, who was walking beside him, suddenly collapsed to the ground. Blood gushed from his mouth, nose, and eyes, with the most frothy blood coming out of his mouth. His body convulsed like a slaughtered pig, but the convulsions would subside for a moment before he went still.
Magili was stunned and shouted into the microphone, "What...what did you do?!"
Zhao Qiang said, "It's nothing. I told you I wanted to conduct an experiment with you, Mr. Ma. This experiment proves two things: first, there are definitely bombs in your hearts; second, my remote control can definitely be used for long-distance detonation. Don't worry. There's also a test subject for you to try defusing the bomb. I welcome your research in this area. I've set the detonation for him at 8 PM the day after tomorrow. Please tune in, Mr. Ma. Goodbye."
Magili collapsed on the spot. The people who were there to greet him at the airport were baffled. Why was this young master so agitated after receiving a phone call? No one understood why Magili's assistant had suddenly vomited blood. Soon, an ambulance arrived, but the autopsy revealed no trace of a bomb. Doctors speculated that the assistant had died from a sudden ruptured heart. Magili, of course, didn't believe this, but he dared not reveal what had happened. He was utterly dejected, like a wilted eggplant. Thinking that another assistant would be killed in the explosion the night after tomorrow, Magili felt he had to do something.
The first thing Ma Jili did was find the most professional doctors and the most advanced equipment to examine the remaining assistant, but the results showed that everything was normal. Just as Zhao Qiang had said, nothing could be detected on the scan. However, Ma Jili was not willing to give up. He didn't care about the life or death of an assistant, especially since this assistant was already mentally impaired and had lost all his former spirit. Now he was like a walking corpse. Ma Jili was even more ruthless and ordered an autopsy.
Magili himself didn't dare stay in the operating room; he set up a monitor and hid in the control room. As the assistant's chest was opened, Magili's heart clenched in mid-air. If the assistant's heart didn't explode, then he was certain that this was all a hoax orchestrated by Director Zhao Qiang. He had nothing to fear; he could take revenge however he pleased! He would definitely cause the Hu family immense trouble! As for the assistant who was killed in the airport bombing, someone must have secretly sabotaged things, rather than Zhao Qiang remotely controlling him.
Magili watched as the doctor cradled the beating heart on the screen, his face turning ashen. He'd really been fooled! But this thought was quickly shattered by a burst of blood on the screen. A muffled thud came from the loudspeaker. The heart the doctor was holding exploded, blowing the doctor's head and upper body off with it. This was a local, outstanding doctor, gone just like that. Magili felt a pang of regret.
The power of this explosion shows that this bomb is extremely special. Judging from the power of the second bomb, the assistant at the airport should have been blown to bits, but there was no damage to his body. It must be that the power of the bomb automatically decreased under the pressure in his chest cavity, but it automatically increased its power in the external environment, trying to kill the person performing the surgery as well. The person who designed this bomb can be described as vicious.
Magili broke out in a cold sweat. Since the other party was so ruthless, there must be a bomb inside his body!
Just then, his phone rang, snapping Magili out of his panic. He instinctively answered, "Hello?"
"Mr. Ma, it seems you acted quickly, performing surgery on your assistant in such a hurry. My monitoring signals show you've already spoken to him. So, did you get the result you wanted?"
Majili felt a chill run through him: "It was you, Zhao Qiang? You...you're too ruthless, you actually blew him up."
Zhao Qiang said, "I warned you, any surgery that involves opening your chest cavity will inevitably result in an explosion. Don't blame me. Okay, now there's still a bomb inside you. Good luck, maybe one day I'll press the button when I'm in a bad mood."
A sudden thought flashed through Ma Jili's mind: "Wait, Zhao Qiang, I admit you're very capable and have advanced technology, but what can you do to me if I hide in a room with signal jamming?" Zhao Qiang chuckled: "That's exactly what I wanted to say. Mr. Ma, you can conduct an experiment. I'll give you time to hide. Tomorrow night at eight o'clock sharp, I'll activate the bomb inside your body. You'd better be careful." With that, Zhao Qiang hung up the phone. Ma Jili stared blankly at his phone for a long time. Could it really be impossible to block the remote control signal? But that's impossible! It's known that wireless signals can definitely be blocked. But Ma Jili also thought of the disguise techniques he saw in Beijing. Perhaps the people in Beijing really have a new wireless transmission method. What should he do then?!
[768] Hu Xiaojiang's Career
The Hu family, whose residence in Beijing is not large, originally had two sons and a daughter. However, perhaps due to political infighting, only one son, Hu Dahai, survived. Hu Dahai's generation only has one son, Hu Xiaojiang. The Hu family is considered to be sparsely populated. However, the Hu family seems to be experiencing a turn of fortune and is climbing towards its peak. Hu Dahai is also expected to advance further in the near future, and there is a strong possibility that he will be admitted to the Politburo Standing Committee.
Hu Dahai entered his father's room and said, "Dad, the guests have almost all arrived. Would you like to go out and take a look?"
Hu Weimin put down the documents in his hand and said, "Okay, Dahai, isn't it a bit excessive for us to make such a big deal out of Xiao Jiang's birthday this time?"
Hu Dahai laughed and said, "Dad, why are you hesitating now? You were the one who strongly supported celebrating his birthday back then."
Hu Weimin chuckled as he stood up: "I also hope he can have a fresh start, but I feel like I'm causing trouble for dozens of guests. Fortunately, they are all friends I get along well with, so I don't think they will have any objections."
Hu Dahai said, "Dad, don't worry, it's no trouble at all. They're actually quite happy, after all, not just anyone can befriend the Hu family these days."
Hu Weimin nodded: "What you said makes sense, but remember this: one must never be ostentatious, or one will incur divine wrath."
Hu Dahai said, "I understand, let's go, Dad."
Hu Xiaojiang was all smiles. Many of the people who came today were his friends. These princes were considered Hu Xiaojiang's good friends, but there were also many who used to look down on him. However, now that Hu Xiaojiang had someone to rely on, he was full of confidence and looked down on those friends who did nothing all day and could only live off their parents. The reason he invited them was simply to show off.
"Hey, Xiao Jiang." Someone called out before even entering the house. It was Lingzi, Brother Wan, and Er Ma who came together.
Hu Xiaojiang went out to greet them: "Everyone's here! Please come in."
Brother Wan handed the gift to Hu Xiaojiang: "Happy birthday! This is just a small gift from everyone who came together, nothing special."
Hu Xiaojiang said in a serious tone, "You've already given me, Hu Xiaojiang, face by coming here, so why bring any gifts?"
Lingzi said, "Come on, Hu Xiaojiang. I know you're pleased with yourself. It's not anything valuable. You know we're all a bit tight on money lately. Just accept it and don't complain. We'll return it to you for our birthday later."
Hu Xiaojiang said, "What's there to be afraid of if you're short on cash? Follow us, and I guarantee you'll make a fortune." He then began to boast.
Er Ma asked eagerly, "Really? What kind of money are you going to make? We have connections in our family, tell us first and we'll think about it."
Hu Xiaojiang led the three into the house. Everyone stood in a corner, and Hu Xiaojiang said, "Originally, my sister wanted to arrange for me to work at Sky Media..." Before Hu Xiaojiang could finish speaking, Lingzi said disdainfully, "Come on, Hu Xiaojiang, you're going to brag again. Yes, we admit that you did suppress Magili, but you can't just say things like that. Do you think you can just walk into Sky Media? That's a media giant in Hong Kong. They don't give any face to people from Beijing. If it weren't for that, would they dare to report so much corruption news?"
Hu Xiaojiang said, "Why would I lie to you? My sister is very familiar with the boss of Sky Media, but I never said I wanted to join Sky Media. I only said that I had intended to go there before. Can you please let me finish?"
Brother Wan chuckled: "Yeah, I once wanted to become a senior executive in the youth health product industry, but in the end I didn't want to go."
Hu Xiaojiang said, "You underestimate me. I don't even want to go for youth health products."
Lingzi laughed and said, "Yes, you don't care to go. Everyone knows that you, Young Master Hu, are capable."
Hu Xiaojiang could only state his purpose directly: "I want to start a beverage company."
Er Ma said, "Tch, you might as well go to Sky Media. That way you could see the beautiful Chen. You're so stupid to be making drinks." Er Ma is a womanizer. If he doesn't fantasize when he sees a beautiful woman, it's like he's been killed. Chen Xinyu is the type of beautiful CEO in the industry, so Er Ma naturally has his eye on her. He probably masturbates to her all night. That's just the kind of person he is!
Hu Xiaojiang didn't have a good impression of Er Ma to begin with. He only invited him because he was on good terms with Lingzi and Brother Wan. Otherwise, those two might not have come. Hearing Er Ma say this, Hu Xiaojiang coldly said, "Er Ma, I think you're the stupid one."
Er Ma blushed, wanting to get angry but not daring to. After all, Hu Xiaojiang was not the same person he was a few days ago. He smiled apologetically and said, "Xiaojiang, what I mean is that the domestic beverage market is now divided up by Coca-Cola and a few other domestic companies. It's impossible for you to squeeze in and get a share of the pie."
Hu Xiaojiang said, "It may seem impossible to you, but I am confident that I can make the product famous overnight. Not for any other reason than that it was my brother-in-law who proposed this, and I trust him. If he says it can be done, there is nothing he can't do."
Er Ma was very surprised: "What? Your 'brother-in-law'? You mean your sister has a man?"
Hu Xiaojiang was unhappy: "Er Ma, I know you have feelings for my sister, but you should also consider your own abilities. Do you think you can win her over? My sister is such a wonderful girl, do you think you can pursue her? Don't you even know your current status?"
This wasn't meant to insult Er Ma. He was just a playboy with no career of his own, while Hu Qian was the CEO of Rednet Technology. Their statuses were so different that they couldn't be compared at all. So Er Ma wasn't really angry and said, "Then who is your brother-in-law? I want to see if he's qualified."
Hu Xiaojiang said, "My brother-in-law is not someone you can get close to. Just wait and see, I will definitely make this beverage company strong and big, and show you my abilities!" Hu Xiaojiang was now full of confidence. In fact, this so-called beverage company was completely separated from the youth health company. The employees, production lines, sales, etc. were all ready-made, so Hu Xiaojiang was extremely relaxed. If he couldn't do well under these circumstances, he might as well buy a block of tofu and kill himself. Not to mention that Zhao Qiang was preparing to launch an alien beverage!
Lingzi nudged Brother Wan: "Old Wan, look who's that?" Someone walked in from outside, causing a chorus of flattering voices around them.
Brother Wan exclaimed in surprise, "It's Zhang Lingfeng?"
Er Ma said, "That's right, I've seen him a few times before, it's definitely him. What's he doing here?"
Hu Xiaojiang said smugly, "Of course it's to celebrate my birthday!" After saying that, Hu Xiaojiang ignored his three friends and went to greet Zhang Lingfeng. Zhang Lingfeng was receiving everyone's compliments. Although he was just a company manager, his company's products were currently in high demand all over the world. No matter how much money you had, you couldn't buy them. The amount of quota you were given depended entirely on their mood! And without the products of the youth health product company, a country could be brought down by the virus in just a few days. This had already been proven.
Zhang Lingfeng saw Hu Xiaojiang and laughed, pushing away the crowd that had gathered around him to flatter him. "Xiaojiang, you've been causing quite a stir lately. It's time to settle down and get back to work. You can help me with some of the work. I've been working myself to death lately and haven't had time to pick up girls. Tonight, let's have a couple more drinks, and then Brother Zhang will take you out for some fun."
Hu Xiaojiang said with a bitter face, "Come on, if I go out with you, my sister will skin me alive."
Zhang Lingfeng knew he had a terrible reputation among Zhao Qiang's women; he was now synonymous with a womanizer. However, Zhang Lingfeng wasn't ashamed; in fact, he was proud of it. A womanizer? Being able to outshine Zhao Qiang was a skill in itself! "Where's your brother-in-law? Hasn't he arrived yet?"
Hu Xiaojiang said, "No, I just called and they said it's already on its way."
At this moment, Lingzi, Wan Ge, and Er Ma quietly squeezed over. The three of them approached with grins, "President Zhang? It's a pleasure to meet you!" The three of them took the initiative to greet him and extended their hands to shake hands with Zhang Lingfeng.
Zhang Lingfeng frowned. He had always been an arrogant spoiled brat, but he had toned it down considerably in recent years. "Xiao Jiang, who are they...?"
Hu Xiaojiang said, "My friend admires you a lot. Let's give them some face, Brother Feng."
Upon hearing Hu Xiaojiang's words, Zhang Lingfeng immediately smiled and casually shook hands with the three of them: "Hello everyone."
Er Ma was so nervous he couldn't speak. "...Okay..." The general manager of the youth health products company shook hands with him. What kind of treatment was this? It was said that even the prime ministers of major countries like Britain and France were ignored by Zhang Lingfeng. If you wanted to get the products, you had to wait in line, or he would bribe you to get a quota in advance. The slimming tea was a life-saving drug, and with the virus treatment drugs, it was an even more miraculous drug to restore order and save the people and the country.
Lingzi asked, "Mr. Zhang, are you and Xiao Jiang friends?"
Zhang Lingfeng's face hardened: "You kid, why are you asking such a brainless question? If we weren't friends, would I be attending his birthday party? We're not just friends, we're very close brothers! Right, Xiao Jiang?" As he spoke, Zhang Lingfeng put his arm around Hu Xiaojiang's shoulder. How could Zhao Qiang's brother-in-law, Zhang Lingfeng, not take him seriously?
Hu Xiaojiang said smugly, "Of course."
There was another commotion at the door. Zhang Lingfeng glanced around and said, "It's Chen Xinyu. Go and greet her, or your brother-in-law will scold you for not taking her seriously enough. I can take care of myself." It was another of Zhao Qiang's women. Zhang Lingfeng didn't dare to overshadow her, or Chen Xinyu would kick him a couple of times. Others might be afraid of Zhang Lingfeng, but these women wouldn't.
Hu Xiaojiang hurried out to greet them. In fact, Hu Dahai had already been greeting them at the door. These guests were not as casual as Hu Xiaojiang's friends. If they were not treated well, they might get angry, and they definitely had the power to get angry. Of course, Chen Xinyu would never get angry. After all, the Hu family had Hu Qian. What would Hu Qian think if she got angry with the Hu family?
After Chen Xinyu finished exchanging pleasantries with those around her, Hu Xiaojiang approached with a smile. Chen Xinyu asked, "Why didn't your brother-in-law agree to let you go to Sky Media? Are you afraid of seeing me? Am I that scary?"
Hu Xiaojiang said, "Sister Xinyu, you're really joking. You know I work in animation, but I'm not interested in media. I'd rather do something more practical. I want to earn some money to get married. If I had my brother-in-law's ability to have multiple wives, how could I support my family without saving up a lot of money? My dad's savings aren't enough to go around."
Chen Xinyu laughed and scolded, "Are you praising your brother-in-law or scolding him?"
Hu Xiaojiang said, "How could I dare?"
Chen Xinyu handed over the gift box, saying, "This is a birthday present I bought for you. If you don't like it, you can give it away."
Hu Xiaojiang quickly took it, "Of course I like it, Sister Xinyu, please come in."
Chen Xinyu said, "Zhao Qiang has already told me, so don't worry. As long as your product yields results, Sky Media will immediately launch a full-scale promotion. Have your sister call Zhao Ling again later and ask her Lingdong Entertainment to insert some soft advertisements in the TV series. I think we can get things going very quickly."
Hu Xiaojiang chuckled: "Thank you for your guidance, Sister Xinyu."
At this moment, Hu Qian rushed in from outside, apologizing repeatedly, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, something urgent came up at the company and I'm late. Xinyu? You're here early! Come in and have a seat. I'll help my dad greet the guests first, and we can have a proper chat when Zhao Qiang and the others arrive."
(Thanks to Heart in the Sky for the 1964 coin donation! Thanks to bigj for the support!) RO!
Book II [769] Preconditions
The guests who came to the Hu family today were naturally too many for Wan Ge, Lingzi, and Er Ma to handle. They were all people they wanted to see but couldn't usually get to see. The three of them needed to re-evaluate Hu Xiaojiang and, of course, the power of the Hu family. Although they said they were here to celebrate Hu Xiaojiang's birthday, the Hu family also had a desire to show off. Adults and children are not different; who doesn't want to show off? And sometimes you have to show off. Otherwise, how will others know your strength?
Hu Dahai greeted everyone at the door with a radiant smile, and Hu Weimin also came out to meet everyone once all the guests had arrived. This made Hu Xiaojiang almost lose the birthday atmosphere, but fortunately Hu Qian took the lead in cutting his birthday cake, which finally allowed Hu Xiaojiang to show off his face.
The birthday meal was very lavish. Zhao Qiang's side was filled with a large table of people. Hu Xiaojiang naturally had to sit with him. These older sisters could control his life and death. His face was so full of smiles that his muscles were almost stiff. Besides him, there was only one other man, Zhang Lingfeng. The two of them could only look on with envy while surrounded by a bunch of beauties. Fortunately, Hu Qian spoke up soon after.
"Xiao Jiang, you and Zhang Lingfeng discuss how to hand over personnel and equipment, and what kind of publicity and support are needed later. Prepare a shortlist for your sister Xinyu, and then have her create a detailed plan for Zhao Qiang to review. As for the installation and commissioning of the production line, your sister Xiaowei will be in charge. You just need to manage the administrative matters." This is your first time handling such an important task, and I hope you'll take it seriously. If you can't even do this well, we'll be very disappointed in you.
Hu Xiaojiang patted his chest and said, "Sister, don't worry. I will definitely do my best. I dare not say that I will satisfy you 100%, but at least I won't make any big mistakes."
Hu Qian said, "That would be for the best. Then Dad and Grandpa can breathe a sigh of relief. You're not a child anymore; you know what you're doing."
Hu Xiaojiang and Zhang Lingfeng went to the next room to talk. "The two of them were indeed a little embarrassed sitting among a group of women. They enjoyed the sights, but Zhang Lingfeng didn't dare to have any bad ideas about any of the women. That would suffocate him. So coming out was the right thing to do. After a brief toast by the guests, the room quieted down.
Xu Xiaoya nudged Zhao Qiang's foot under the table, gesturing for him to speak. Zhao Qiang coughed and said, "I wasn't planning on talking about serious matters for Xiao Jiang's birthday, but Xiaoya said it's not easy for us to get together, so we should talk about some things."
Xu Xiaoya said, "The main reason is that the matter is urgent and it's not suitable to discuss it over the phone, so I'm using today's occasion. Regarding our development goals for the near future, here's a document for everyone to take a look at first." The document is top secret; after you've read it, please put it in this shredder to destroy it. A shredder was placed on the cabinet in the corner. It seems they were prepared in advance.
Actually, not many people came today. Zhao Ling and Chen Xinxin from Shanghai couldn't make it due to time constraints, and Su Xiaosu was filming and couldn't come either. However, the main people involved in this matter are Luo Xiaowei, Yang Shiqi, Yang Shiyun, and Hu Qian. The heads of other companies are not really involved in this matter.