Chapter 1549: Puppets, You Have to Find Obedient Ones

Shi Ran chuckled to herself.

She had no desire to be any sort of president; there were too many matters, and too many conflicting interests involved in every aspect, so she did not want to expend any more energy on these meaningless things.

Ji Yingjie was willing to do things for the sake of fame and reputation, but she was not.

Of course, being the Chamber of Commerce President would, to a certain extent, bring benefits.

But that was aimed at the weak, or enterprises that had only just started out.

For a group like Dingsheng, which was deep-rooted and had a solid foundation, there was no need for a president to manifest its social status!

Shi Ran was consistently aloof, and even less willing to get involved.

Ji Yingjie gave up on the idea of having Shi Ran be the president for her own use, yet she still hoped to have one of her own people in that Chamber of Commerce President position, so she racked her brains thinking and thinking!

After thinking it over, only Gu Zhihao was the most suitable.

The most obvious advantage—easy to control.

He had no ideas of his own, no tangled web of relationships, and was her husband's son-in-law; no matter how she looked at it, he was the most suitable candidate.

The countryside.

After the couple quarreled last time, Shi Yucheng went to live in the countryside.

With the children in boarding school and no need to worry about them, he felt much more relaxed!

Shi Yucheng noticed his wife had arrived and assumed she had come to find him to go back, but who knew that Ji Yingjie didn't even pay him any mind and started searching the whole courtyard herself.

"What are you looking for?"

"Where did Gu Zhihao go?"

Shi Yucheng was alert: "What do you want with him? I'm telling you, don't just have nothing to do and think about bullying people."

"Why would I bully him for no reason? The way you say that, it's as if I'm some fierce, terrifying person who loves to bully others. Stop talking nonsense, where is Gu Zhihao? Tell him to come out and see me."

"Do you not have any idea yourself whether you are fierce and terrifying?" Shi Yucheng did not say where his son-in-law had gone.

"No, I don't want to talk to you, I have serious business with him."

"What serious business? You can just tell me."

Ji Yingjie said crossly: "I can't talk to you about it; aren't you not the president anymore?"

Shi Yucheng:...

"You still haven't given up on that idea?"

"Of course, why should I give up? Hurry up and have him come out."

"He went to the village committee office."

Ji Yingjie lifted her foot to leave, but her husband grabbed her: "Yuke is also at the village committee office; she definitely won't agree."

Ji Yingjie was dissatisfied: "You father and daughter are truly troublesome. This is a good thing, why wouldn't you agree?"

Shi Yucheng persuaded her: "Do you understand that a tall tree catches the wind? We don't want to catch that kind of wind. Only you, at your age, are still willing to show off. You don't lack food or clothing, and you have enough money to spend for several lifetimes; isn't it better to be safe and steady?"

"Look at Xuanxuan and Hanyu, they are both preparing to step back to the second line and retire. Why is it that at your age, you refuse to admit you're getting old?"

Although Shi Yucheng was nagging, everything he said was from the bottom of his heart.

However, his wife did not want to hear it. Ji Yingjie said: "I am a born warrior, always needing to charge forward. Even if I die, I must die on the road of the charge. I will not step back to the second line; it is never possible."

The couple parted on bad terms once again.

Ji Yingjie went to the village committee office, but she drew a blank again.

The Village Chief was not in the office at all, but the villagers said he had gone to the construction site to supervise work.

She knew that construction site.

It was not far from the Gu Family, and it was her niece's house.

That damned old man, despite the distance being so close, he lied to make her take a huge detour.

Ji Yingjie went to the construction site to look, and this time she found him.

He was standing at the construction site, directing the workers, and despite the weather not being hot, he was sweating profusely from exhaustion.

Yuke was there too.

She was serving her husband tea and water, using a towel to carefully wipe the sweat beads from his face.

Yuke was originally smiling, but when she saw her stepmother, her face immediately fell: "What are you here for?" Her face was full of wariness.

"The way you say that, can't I come over to see you all when I have nothing to do?"

"The sun must have risen in the west if you're coming to see us." Yuke would not be fooled by her few words.

"If you have something to say, just say it."

Ji Yingjie did not like to beat around the bush and stated her purpose directly: "Sheng Hanyu is stepping down as Chamber of Commerce President. I want your husband to be it. What do you think?"

Yuke: "I don't think much of it. Our life is quite good right now, and he doesn't want to be any president."

"Just because you don't want to be it doesn't mean he doesn't want to be it."

Ji Yingjie asked: "Gu Zhihao, do you want to be this president?"

"I don't."

Ji Yingjie:...

Gu Zhihao was even more lacking in ambition; he only hoped that his family would be safe, sound, and happy, and that was enough.

Truly spineless, Ji Yingjie grumbled to herself.

But now was not the time to lose her temper; after all, she still needed to use them, so even if her temper was fiery, she had to suppress it!

"I know you are afraid of trouble, but as long as you nod and agree, you don't need to worry about the rest of the matters. All the operations will be done by me; you only need to sit in the president's chair." Ji Yingjie began to paint a big picture for the two of them.

Yuke hit the nail on the head: "That just means being a puppet for you, letting Zhihao sit in the president's chair to be your cash cow, so you can do whatever you want. No, we don't agree."

"It's not like that; you will see real, tangible benefits!"

"Whatever you say is useless. Anyway, I won't agree. Our Zhihao is doing just fine as Village Chief; he doesn't want to go be any president."

"Correct."

Gu Zhihao had no ideas of his own; he listened to his wife.

Seeing that Shi Yuke's attitude was very firm, Ji Yingjie left sullenly!

But she would not give up easily.

The next day, she calculated the time when Gu Zhihao would be alone, called him, and asked him to come out for a private chat.

He was a bit hesitant and did not want to go, but he was also a little afraid of Ji Yingjie.

"Um, I... don't have time."

"What kind of business could you possibly have? When I tell you to come out, you come out. Less nonsense, and don't tell your wife, otherwise I'll make you regret it!"

Under the dual pressure of his mother-in-law's threats and inducements, Gu Zhihao had no choice but to come out.

Ji Yingjie listed the various benefits of becoming the Chamber of Commerce President for him: "Look, once you become the Chamber of Commerce President, your two children can also be class cadres at school. What child doesn't like having capable parents? It brings honor to them as well..."

Ji Yingjie's ability to persuade people was still very strong.

She did not just have a domineering side.

Gu Zhihao was soft-hearted to begin with, and since his mother-in-law had touched upon his deepest concerns, even though his wife had given him a thousand warnings, he was now tempted.

His younger son originally had good grades, and the teacher had been preparing to let him be the Class Monitor.

The child was incredibly happy and had been excited at home for several days, but at the moment the Class Monitor was announced, it wasn't him; someone else had been chosen.

It was replaced by a child in the class whose grades were not very good and whose performance was not outstanding, but whose father was a cadre in the town!

Gu Yubiao cried at home for two days, blaming his father for not having a high enough rank!

His father was a Village Chief, but the other person's father was a cadre in the town, so the position of Class Monitor had to be handed over.

"Is the Chamber of Commerce President a higher official than a cadre in the town?"