Chapter 98: Xiao Feng Arrives

Li Ming and I sat inside the house, smoking and saying nothing.

Waiting for Xiao Long to come back after admitting his mistake.

After a while, Xiao Long came back,

Li Ming helped me to stand up,

I gently patted Xiao Long's shoulder,

"Xiao Long, well done. At noon the boss will prepare something tasty for you."

Xiao Long smiled.

Li Ming then asked Xiao Long, "Will you continue staying here with your boss to drive, or are you preparing to intern at the police station?"

I said, "Xiao Long, stay by my side for now. Niu Ju said that after an interview, he will assign you to an internship."

"Alright, brother, I'm leaving Xiao Long with you. By the way, He Qing told me Xiao Shitou went to see Zhou Wei."

"How did you let Xiao Shitou work on the construction site?"

"Our mother saw Xiao Shitou in work clothes and felt heartbroken."

"Let me tell you, stop letting Xiao Shitou work on the construction site."

After hearing Li Ming's words, I smiled,

"Brother, I'm going to toughen him up a bit. Kids need to endure hardship; without it they'll never grow up."

"Ru Meng is a girl, but if she were a boy I would have already sent her to work on the construction site."

"Brother, I'm leaving. This education of the kids is truly a difficult matter," Li Ming said and left.

After Li Ming left, Sun Dajun pushed the door open and entered,

Sun Dajun saw Xiao Long cleaning the office, looking obviously smug.

"Dad, look, I've drafted a lay‑off plan. Do you think it's workable?"

Sun Dajun placed the plan in front of me,

I examined it carefully,

The plan is decent; instead of a simple outright lay‑off, it uses a bottom‑rank elimination.

Each office has a quota, and it's carried out once a week.

This will make many people nervous, and their work will become more diligent and proactive.

I glanced at Sun Dajun and thought, "No need to ask, this is another thing Ya Li cooked up."

Sun Dajun could never have thought of it,

I said, "Sun Dajun, not bad, very good, I support it. Do it this way; you've got the skill. In a while, when the Group Company pays off its debt, I'll retire completely, and handing the Group Company over to you will truly put my mind at ease."

After hearing me, Sun Dajun smiled even more happily,

"Dad, this is like the Yangtze's back waves pushing the front waves, each wave higher than the last."

"Alright, I hope your wave will surpass mine. Go implement it." I said, picked up the pen, and signed the plan Sun Dajun handed over with gusto.

Sun Dajun left, extremely proud.

Around seven p. m., Shi Yong finally brought Xiao Feng from the Provincial Capital.

I leaned on my cane and stood at the doorway to greet her,

Xiao Feng, upon seeing me, immediately ran to my side,

"Jianqiang, how's your leg? Does it still hurt now?"

Hearing Xiao Feng's caring words,

I suddenly recalled how, many years ago, Xiao Feng told me at Qi He that she felt sorry for me.

In the blink of an eye, nearly thirty years have passed.

Xiao Feng hasn't aged; her long jet‑black hair and fair face seem as if time has paused on her. Perhaps she has no burdens. After following Ye Jianming, she needn't worry about food and drink, has endless money, and no children to cling to her.

Xiao Feng is far happier than I am.

Xiao Feng looked at me, her eyes moist, and said, "Jianqiang, why has your hair turned so white so dramatically."

I smiled,

"Mainly because I think of you."

"Alright, stop joking. I know you're overworked, the burden on you is too heavy. You never enjoy life; why earn so much money?" Xiao Feng said, holding my hand.

"Let's go, we'll have a simple meal and chat while we eat. Xiao Long, go arrange the restaurant; important guests are arriving, make sure the dishes are prepared well," I told Xiao Long.

"Alright, boss." Xiao Long replied and then left.

Xiao Feng supported me,

"Jianqiang, these past days I've been in Hainan, my heart can't settle. Zhou Wei is in a coma, and your company has hit another crisis. This is what's going on, Lao Ye teased me, saying I'm too concerned about you. I'm overly worried about your affairs."

I said, "Mainly because I met you before Lao Ye. These days I've been hoping you'd come; only you can help me."

Xiao Feng and I entered the Group Company while talking,

We quickly arrived at the fourth‑floor restaurant,

Xiao Long had already set up the wine and dishes.

I gave Xiao Feng the seat of honor,

Shi Yong and Xiao Long sat nearby,

The signature dish in our Group Company restaurant is spicy chicken,

Because I love this flavor, I invited the best Zaocheng fried spicy chicken chef to the restaurant.

Whenever I entertain guests in the Group restaurant, he will specially fry spicy chicken for me.

Staring at the steaming spicy chicken,

I said to Xiao Feng, "Sister Xiao Feng, try the Zaocheng spicy chicken. I'm sure you can't find this flavor in Hainan."

Xiao Feng picked up a pair of chopsticks and said, "We really can't eat it; over there they mainly stew and roast chicken, and it's chicken that has eaten coconut,

The chicken meat is a bit sweet, I don't like it,

Better our Zaocheng spicy chicken, it has flavor."

Xiao Feng, after speaking, started eating in big bites.

I and Shi Yong drank alcohol, while Xiao Long and Xiao Feng drank drinks.

I then raised my cup,

to Xiao Feng I said, "Welcome, sister Xiao Feng, for your arrival. As soon as you came, I felt reassured."

"What reassurance? I still can't give you a loan," Xiao Feng laughed.

"My brother means, being able to chat with Sister Feng makes him very happy," Shi Yong said.

"You, Shi Yong, always say, don't call me sister; you're much older than me," Xiao Feng said to Shi Yong.

Shi Yong pursed his lips,

"Men never grow old, women never love; you haven't seen, old men are the darlings of the older girls."

"Shi Yong, drink alcohol; only drinking can shut your mouth," I said.

Shi Yong chuckled,

raised his cup and gulped the wine down.

Xiao Feng took two bites of the spicy chicken,

"Jianqiang, the spicy chicken from your company is quite authentic. Where did you hire the chef?"

Shi Yong said, "The head chef from Wang Lao Wu's spicy chicken shop in Zaocheng is our company's dedicated chef. Because my brother likes this, our company's spicy chicken is the most famous among all company cafeterias in Zaocheng."

The superiors who came all praised it.

Xiao Feng then said to me, "Jianqiang, I know why you are losing money; you let everyone eat it."

I laughed heartily,

"If the Group Company turns a loss by eating, then we're too powerful. Eating spicy chicken every day costs so little. Xiao Feng, have you opened a hotel in Hainan?"

Xiao Feng, upon hearing that, got angry and said, "No, you don't know that Hainan's business environment is worse than ours. Hainan has already become the domain of Northeastern people.

Northeasterners love to form gangs to collect protection fees,

Our hotel hasn't even opened yet, and they've already collected it several times.

It made Lao Ye lose confidence in opening.

I am also angry; in Zaocheng who dares to bully us, but in Hainan we live like a grandson.

I really don't understand Lao Ye, traveling so far, spending so much, opening a hotel—what's the point?"

I continued, "Brother Lao Ye, perhaps you think Hainan is a tourist city; opening a hotel there would yield great returns. Hotels are real estate; this investment is stronger than anything."

"Investing in immovable property, why not directly invest in real estate? Hainan's property keeps rising. If we had just bought a house, we'd already be making money now.

Investing in hotels is a pit.

We've poured all our money into it, and there's still no return," Xiao Feng complained.