[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-romantic-path-to-success":3,"chapter-the-romantic-path-to-success-the-romantic-path-to-success-chapter-531":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Romantic Road to the Top",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},2146722,3567,"Chapter 531","the-romantic-path-to-success-chapter-531",531,"\u003Cp>Shi Deyou treated Zhang Kaishan and Su Xinghui to a meal, without wine, very simple. In less than half an hour, the meal was finished. Zhang Kaishan said, \"Secretary Shi, then we will leave.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Shi Deyou said, \"Very well, you go. Don't worry, we will definitely do our best to facilitate this matter as soon as possible.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Zhang Kaishan nodded, and he and Su Xinghui went out of the guest house. Yan Xiangjie had already finished his meal and was waiting in the car. After the two got into the car, he started the car and drove toward Shangjun County.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui said, \"Uncle Zhang, I want to go to Jingcheng in a few days to do some preparatory work.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Zhang Kaishan’s eyes lit up. He knew that Su Xinghui said this, and he must have some certainty. He nodded, \"Very well, you go.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Returning to the town government, Su Xinghui saw Joao in the Party and Government Office. He was still with his assistant, Huang Zhaoxian. Liu Yongjun was chatting with them.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Seeing Su Xinghui, Joao said happily, \"Mr. Su, you are back!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui stepped forward and shook his hand, \"Mr. Joao, sorry to keep you waiting! Let’s go, let’s go sit in my office.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Joao and Huang Zhaoxian followed Su Xinghui into his office. Once seated, Joao said somewhat impatiently, \"Mr. Su, can you take out your new work for me to see? Your paintings sell very well in France, and many people like them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui smiled and said, \"Very well, then wait a moment, I will go up and get the paintings.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui went upstairs to his room and took out the paintings he had painted in the past few months. There were seven in total. He took the paintings to the office and let Joao see them.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Joao looked at the paintings one by one. After reading them, he exclaimed, \"Mr. Su’s paintings are getting better and better. These paintings will definitely sell very well when taken to France.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Huang Zhaoxian also nodded in admiration.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui smiled, \"Thank you, Mr. Joao.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Joao said, \"How about this, Mr. Su, your paintings sell very well in France now, and the price is getting higher and higher. I can't let you suffer a loss. How about 10,000 US dollars for each of these seven paintings? What do you think?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>10,000 US dollars each? Su Xinghui was shocked. The magnitude of Joao’s price increase this time was too large, right? He couldn't help but look at Joao suspiciously. Joao, generally speaking, was still a relatively honest businessman, but no matter how honest a businessman was, he was still profit-seeking. This price increase was too large, and there must be some article in it.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Joao looked at Su Xinghui with a smile, \"Why? Mr. Su, are you dissatisfied? If you are dissatisfied, I can add some price. How about 15,000 US dollars each?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui shook his head, \"No, no, Mr. Joao, I am not dissatisfied at all. On the contrary, don't you think this price is a bit too high?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>10,000 US dollars each, seven paintings meant 70,000 US dollars. At the then-current foreign exchange rate, it was 600,000 Renminbi. This was undoubtedly an astronomical figure.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Joao said, \"Mr. Su, art is priceless. As long as they encounter works they like, some people are willing to pay a sky-high price to buy a painting. Your works are liked by many people in Paris, and the prices they offer are very high. Don't worry, I offer 10,000 US dollars to buy a painting of yours, and I can naturally sell it at a higher price. After all, we still have to cooperate for a long time, so I won't let you suffer a loss.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui’s heart moved, and he smiled, \"Mr. Joao, I think the person willing to pay a sky-high price for my painting is surnamed Hou, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Joao was suddenly speechless. He had no psychological preparation that Su Xinghui could guess this person.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui smiled and said, \"How is it? I guessed right, right? This person is surnamed Hou, an old gentleman, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Joao could only nod and said somewhat helplessly, \"Mr. Su, you are too smart. Yes, the person who bought your painting at a sky-high price is Old Mr. Hou. I think you have already met, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Sure enough, Su Xinghui’s guess was correct.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>This should be a move made by Hou Guangbi to repay Su Xinghui’s kindness. He originally wanted to buy paintings directly from his hands, but Su Xinghui didn't agree, so he took a roundabout way to save the country through such a method.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>He must have asked Joao to buy his paintings at a high price, and then he bought them from Joao at a higher price. By doing this, Joao could make a lot of money without any risk, so why wouldn't he do it? No matter how high the price he offered, he wouldn't lose money.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>The reason he only offered a price of 10,000 US dollars each at the beginning was probably because he was afraid of scaring him all at once. Otherwise, offering 20,000 or 30,000 each was possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui smiled, \"Mr. Joao, if this is the case, my paintings cannot be sold to you. This is no longer a normal art trading behavior. I don't want to obtain profits that I shouldn't obtain in such a way!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Joao said sternly, \"Mr. Su, your morality is very noble, which makes me respect you! However, art is priceless. Since Old Mr. Hou likes your work and is willing to pay a high price, why don't you sell it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui said, \"China has China’s national conditions, which Mr. Joao may not understand enough. In short, the price you offered is too high, and I cannot accept it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Huang Zhaoxian on the side was dumbfounded. He didn't expect such a thing to happen. The money delivered to his hand, and it could be said to be legal income, Su Xinghui actually didn't accept it.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Joao said, \"Then how about this: the price of each painting is based on the price of the last painting 'Man Conquers Nature', 5,000 US dollars each. You should accept this, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui shook his head, \"This price is also high. How about this: let’s go by the average price of the last time, 2,000 US dollars each.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Joao said, \"Then let’s count it as 3,000 US dollars each. This price is not much higher than the last price, and it is relatively close to the market price of Mr. Su’s paintings. This should be no problem, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui still shook his head and refused. This was truly a strange scene: the person selling the painting was lowering the price, while the person buying the painting was raising the price.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>In the end, both sides negotiated the price to 2,500 US dollars each. Joao shook his head, \"Mr. Su, I have never seen a person like you in so many years. I really admire you!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>At this time, Huang Zhaoxian had already drafted the contract. He said to Su Xinghui, \"Mr. Su, seven paintings, 2,500 US dollars each, totaling 17,500 US dollars. The current exchange rate of US dollars to Renminbi is 8.7, so it totals 152,250 Renminbi.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui looked at it and nodded, \"Not bad, let’s make it an integer, 150,000.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Although Su Xinghui said he only wanted 150,000, Huang Zhaoxian still paid Su Xinghui the full amount, not even a cent less. Both sides exchanged contracts, Joao took the paintings, stood up, and said, \"Mr. Su, then I will take my leave. I can tell you that you are the person I respect the most since I came to China!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui stood up and shook hands with Joao and Huang Zhaoxian, and said to Joao, \"Mr. Joao, thank you!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Sending Joao and Huang Zhaoxian away, Su Xinghui shook his head and smiled dumbly. He knew that Hou Guangbi had good intentions, wanting him to legally obtain more income. However, Su Xinghui had his own principles of conduct. If he accepted the price of 10,000 US dollars each while knowing there was something fishy, how would he be any different from those corrupt officials?\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui still went to the local tax office to declare and pay taxes. This time, he paid more than 24,000 in taxes, and he still had nearly 130,000 in his hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Amidst the flattery of Director Wang Houde, Su Xinghui took the nearly 130,000 to the Agricultural Bank branch, deposited 80,000 into his passbook, and kept the remaining nearly 50,000 on himself.\u003C\u002Fp>",1446,"2026-06-16T17:50:43.208Z","2026-06-17T08:56:06.694Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","399d6c7f6465155785b2cfb7369932a7778ce296e22691ae7025ecd2c55f2518","the-romantic-path-to-success-chapter-532","the-romantic-path-to-success-chapter-530",572,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-romantic-path-to-success-cover.jpg"]