Chapter 405: What Is Your Responsibility?

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"Jin Peng, I really never thought that! Don't go saying nonsense—I could never do something so heartless as rebellion!"

Hao Jian was truly panicked; if Jin Peng believed he wanted to rebel, not only would his chair as factory director of Factory Seven be unstable, but the reputation of being a traitorous wolf would be unbearable.

"Why are you so flustered, Old Hao?"

Jin Peng rubbed his scalp and said calmly, "I know you didn't think that—if you had, I'd have already punched your face into a peach blossom. But the people around you need to be replaced."

"What? Who are you talking about?"

Hao Jian had spent years as factory director and had grown quite composed, mastering the art of hiding his emotions—but today, talking with Jin Peng, he suddenly felt out of sync.

In the past, Jin Peng had been shrewd, but he seemed less capable than Hao Jian in this regard! How had he become so sharp all of a sudden?

Jin Peng exhaled slowly and said gravely, "I don't know who it is, but for years in Jingcheng, I've been following Li Ye, and people keep telling me I'm the real hero behind Pengcheng Factory Seven."

"But you, Hao Jian, are far from the capital, surrounded by people whispering the same things—how could you have forgotten who lifted you up after only three good years? How could you forget what a pitiful state you were in before you met Xiao Ye?"

Hao Jian froze, suddenly drenched in cold sweat.

Had he really been swayed these past two years? Had his ears truly grown soft?

No, I haven't.

Hao Jian shook his head hard, forcing himself to calm down.

But Jin Peng seemed to see right through him and smiled: "Old Hao, you may not have rebelled in your heart, but the people around you certainly do."

"Zhao Kuang didn't want to be emperor when they draped the yellow robe on him—but if he didn't take the throne, how could his men become marquises? Don't you remember how San Shui stirred me up?"

"Right now you're just using factory money to make money in Hong Kong—what if next you swallow your brothers' shares and hand them out to your new allies?"

"Boss, you can't accuse me like this—I have conscience!"

Hao Jian burst into tears, a thirty-something man sobbing uncontrollably under Jin Peng's words.

Jin Peng felt a pang of pity seeing Hao Jian's state.

He handed him a towel to wipe his tears, then said softly: "Old Hao, I'm not framing you—we've simply had too little experience, and these past few years have been too smooth, impossibly so."

"In Jingcheng these three years, I've met countless capable people—those who climbed to directorships, managerial posts, all of them sharp as knives. Compared to them, I truly respect them."

"But they never had our luck. They're stuck in their chairs for ten or twenty years without moving. But us? In just three years, we've nearly reached the heavens!"

Jin Peng sighed: "I told Li Ye this. He said plainly—we're riding the tide, riding the wave of momentum. But we've accumulated too little."

"When Li Ye first built Pengcheng Factory Seven, didn't he have us use the factory to gain experience? If we'd taken shortcuts back then, just doing quick flip deals, could we now be connected to so many people and opportunities?"

Hao Jian shook his head firmly: "No, absolutely not. Flip deals always end in ruin. What we have now—Xiao Ye calls it 'different perspective.'"

"So next time you have an issue, ask Xiao Ye first. Don't trust those random outsiders—Xiao Ye gives you opportunities, while they only want to take them from you."

Hao Jian couldn't help but admire him, sincerely telling Jin Peng: "Jin Peng, you've truly surprised me—you've progressed far more than I have these past years."

"Of course. You don't know who I deal with every day."

Jin Peng rubbed his scalp, clearly proud.

In Pengcheng, Hao Jian focused on "business." But in Jingcheng, Jin Peng understood "human nature" far better.

When Hao Jian left Jin Peng's home, he was already half-drunk.

He walked onto the street and found Xiao Na, whom he'd just called.

"Why didn't Manager Jin send a car to pick you up this late? I just took a shower."

Xiao Na's words carried a hint of reproach, and something more.

But half-drunk Jin Peng replied coldly: "Tomorrow morning, go back to Pengcheng. See Section Chief Zhou about something."

"See Section Chief Zhou?"

Xiao Na blinked, then brightened: "Is the Hong Kong stock trading deal settled? I always said Hong Kong analysts are top-tier—they explain things clearly in a few words."

"Why waste time on a clothing factory making pennies when you've got such a golden chance?"

"Don't worry, Director Hao—my classmate is now a senior executive at British Company. She's given us VIP treatment."

Sitting in the backseat of the car, Hao Jian watched Xiao Na's beaming face and suddenly felt a wave of disgust—for himself.

"Why did I ever believe her? Was it her college graduate status? Or… her youthful face?"

Hao Jian had sent Xiao Na to see Section Chief Zhou not for any good purpose—but to process her dismissal, to kick out this college grad who kept preaching about overseas opportunities.

Back home, Hao Jian tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Finally, he got up and called his family in Pengcheng.

"Hello, Cuicui? You're still awake? Get your mother on the line."

After a moment, Hao Jian's wife, An Xiaolian, answered, concerned: "Why are you calling so late? What's wrong?"

"Nothing serious—I just wanted to…"

Hao Jian paused: "Xiaolian, Cuicui's health is better now—shouldn't we have another boy?"

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On the other end, An Xiaolian paused, then softly spat: "You old lecher—how can you even think of having another child under current birth policies?"

"Go to Hong Kong to have them! I've already planned it—we'll have more kids, the house will be livelier, our hearts will feel more at peace…"

The next afternoon, Jin Peng picked up Li Dayong and Wang Qiang first, then Hao Jian, and they drove together to Zaojunmiao to find Li Ye.

But after arriving at Zaojunmiao, Li Ye took them first to a street basketball court.

When they arrived, six or seven young men were already playing, split into two teams for three-on-three half-court games.

Seeing Li Ye get out and walk over, Jin Peng followed and asked: "Xiao Ye, you brought us here to play basketball?"

Li Ye nodded: "You got it—we're here to play."

Behind him, Hao Jian, Li Dayong, and Wang Qiang looked bewildered—wasn't this supposed to be a shareholders' meeting? Why had it turned into a sports event?

The problem was, Hao Jian didn't know how to play basketball.

Neither did Wang Qiang. Li Dayong and Jin Peng had only ever handled a basketball—just dribbling and shooting.

But Li Ye was already chatting with the young men.

"Guys, how about a five-on-five?"

They glanced at Li Ye's group and sneered: "Can you even play? You don't even have proper shoes—we're training to represent the street in the competition."

Li Ye smiled: "Twenty minutes. Loser buys a case of Pengcheng Red Bull."

"Whoa, you're a rich guy? Let's play!"

The young men no longer cared about Hao Jian and Jin Peng's leather shoes—a case of Pengcheng Red Bull cost dozens of yuan! At the actual match, showing it off would at least make the opponents jealous.

Once the game started, things went exactly as the young men expected—Li Ye's team offered almost no resistance, getting dunked on repeatedly, the score 18–4.

It was hopeless: Hao Jian moved like a sleepwalker; Wang Qiang trailed Li Ye like a bodyguard, rushing to block anyone who came near him.

As for Jin Peng and Li Dayong, they could only helplessly "watch the boss play."

When the leader plays, even if you embarrass yourself, you still have to join.

But later, things changed.

Though Li Ye wasn't skilled, he knew how to imitate Hikaru Sakuragi.

He couldn't shoot accurately—but he could dunk.

After Li Ye landed eight consecutive dunks, the crowd began cheering, and the young opponents lost their rhythm, starting to play out of spite.

When Li Ye drove, all of them blocked him; when he didn't have the ball, two still followed him.

Because of this single-target focus on Li Ye, their own team lost all fluid coordination.

After twenty minutes, Li Ye's team lost 41–26—but his performance earned thunderous applause.

And when Li Ye paid up and bought them a case of Pengcheng Red Bull, the young men cheered and admired him even more.

"Bro, you're a real one—come back often, really often—we'll treat you to soda…"

Li Ye waved goodbye and led Hao Jian's group back to the Sihe Academy at Zaojunmiao.

Once inside and the gate shut, Li Ye asked: "Back on the court, why did they play so chaotically later?"

Everyone looked at each other—was Xiao Ye asking us to flatter him? But you hate flattery the most!

Finally, Jin Peng said: "Obviously, it's because you're so good—we just dragged you down."

"No. They forgot what their roles were."

Li Ye spoke calmly: "A basketball team has five players—point guard, power forward, small forward—each has fixed responsibilities. The ball-handler handles the ball, the rebounder grabs rebounds."

"But in the end, everyone wanted to show off, wanted to dunk—how could it not get chaotic?"

Li Ye scanned them coldly and asked: "We five are like a team. What role do you each think you should play?"

Hao Jian broke into cold sweat again—he suddenly understood something.

Li Ye entrusted him with Pengcheng Factory Seven. All these years, no matter how much he tinkered with production, Li Ye never criticized him. But now, seeing Pei Wencong making big money and wanting to go to Hong Kong to chase profits…

Chasing profits in Hong Kong was Li Ye's job.

Li Ye can dunk. Can you, Hao Jian? Do you have the height? The vertical leap?

Hao Jian sighed and lowered his head: "Xiao Ye, I was wrong. I didn't think things through—I didn't realize the risks in Hong Kong."

"Old Hao, your mistake isn't that—you didn't realize how vital your role is!"

Li Ye cut off Hao Jian's self-criticism, speaking calmly: "Your responsibility, Old Hao, is to one day earn the right to sit in the Great Hall for meetings."

(End of Chapter)

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