Chapter 50 - Strong Medicine Administered Gradually

ing two younger applicants.Among the final candidates was Li Yulian, a woman in her thirties who had previously worked as an accountant at a textile factory and is now unemployed after being laid off...Chapter 50: Strong Medicine Administered Gradually

Luckily, there were some pleasant surprises constantly happening. Of course, it depended on how one perceived them. For Su Cen, passing a series of exams and seeing his business ventures bear fruit and yield income was indeed surprising; being able to return home and see his concubine was equally surprising.

For example, this summer vacation when he returned home, the house had gotten a new water heater, a small sofa had been bought, and the positions of sofas and chairs in the living room had been rearranged, bringing him many fresh feelings.

Zeng Ah mentioned that the big sofa cracked shortly after Su Cen left for winter break. Now, things' quality is increasingly inferior to those from the past; she also talked about how when she married Su Cen's father, a set of furniture could last five or six years, and even the old electric fan in the house had been used for ten years.

Su Cen said that at least you're now a provincial agent for Shushan (a brand), still bemoaning such trivial matters. Unexpectedly, this elicited some retorts, but it made Su Cen feel close to them.

In the kitchen, there was the aroma of Zeng He cooking ribs. Sitting on the new small chair he had bought for home, Su Cen sent messages to inform everyone that he'd arrived safely. He couldn't help but think about the romantic scenes during his journey with Tang Wu. Suddenly, Su Cen felt a sense of time rushing by and never stopping for anyone. If one year ago, Tang Wu would never have acted as she did on the plane. But in this short span of a year, so much had transpired. He formally met Tang Wu's family, likely leaving a deep impression; his career was being exposed, striving to advance and compete to stay at the forefront of the era. Before ending his first year of college, he pushed over Tang Wu, concluding with his formal endowment since rebirth not devoted solely to ten fingers.

In this year, the world continued its rapid development in a grand manner, with heroes emerging one after another; his life was being reshaped and heading toward a new direction.

This time, just like his previous life, he did not know what his personal future would be like.

Only this time, unlike his past life where he was crushed by life's pressures, he could seize the present and do things that would never make him regret.

Tang Wu arrived home and thought that her treatment at home was probably similar to what she had been experiencing. During university times, there were always these relaxed days before returning home for summer break, free from the anxious atmosphere of waiting for winter break or Lunar New Year. It was a time when one could fully enjoy their comfortable home and begin planning visits with friends. Drinking small cups of alcohol, watching all-night sports matches, going on dates—there would be countless opportunities to spend time freely.

However, this time when Su Cen returned home, he felt that things were somewhat different. As soon as he entered the compound, people who lived there called out to him from a distance. These people were all employees of the head office and by age comparison, Su Cen should address them respectfully as uncles and aunties. The warmth with which they greeted him now was markedly different from when their family first moved into Da Rong Construction several years ago, or even during the period when Su Licheng had just ascended to the position of general manager. These long-term residents wouldn’t treat someone like Su Cen—someone who grew up outside the compound—as naturally as they would children they had known since young; instead, there was an artificial quality to their interactions.

Now, however, things felt more sincere. They seemed to have truly accepted him from the bottom of their hearts. Moreover, Su Cen attending Nan University made him a standard bearer for excellence in this community's eyes. In private conversations, some even said that Mr. Su Licheng’s family was indeed remarkable; not only did he himself achieve outstanding results, but his son was also impressive—raising a child like Su Cen was truly commendable. Of course, the current situation could possibly be related to Su Licheng's recent policies that have won him public support.

As soon as Su Cen got home and had barely settled in, the doorbell rang repeatedly. Visitors came one after another, some bringing gifts while others sought out Su Licheng for business discussions, causing Su Licheng’s mother, Zeng Aizai, to feel a bit perturbed during lunch when she reminded her husband to inform their staff that any matters could be discussed at the office rather than bring them home. She wanted her son to have some peace and quiet after returning.

In the afternoon, Dage Construction's deputy general manager Bei Jianjun invited Su Cen for a welcome dinner. At the table, Bei Jianjun said, “Su Cen, your achievements are remarkable. Compared to you, we all feel outdated. Talents emerge in every generation.”

"Don't spoil him too much; the biggest fear is that he becomes arrogant and self-important." Although Su Licheng occasionally pours cold water, there's a smile on his face.

Zhong Jianjun then brought up the current situation of their group to Su Licheng again, saying, "Advancing step by step requires patience; drastic measures taken slowly are better."

Su Licheng nodded in agreement.

Su Cen woke up feeling refreshed and beautiful. After drinking a glass of plain water, he ate steamed buns with eggs and milk. Looking through the floor-to-ceiling window, he saw Rongcheng bathed in sunlight, with dense paulownia trees lining the city streets and vehicles flowing continuously. In the distance, Tang Wu should be enjoying her equally beautiful first morning during her vacation.

After chatting on the phone with Tang Wu for a while early in the morning, just listening to her enchanting voice over the phone was enough to make one's blood boil.

Su Cen had only just returned and didn't want to go to Shushan or Dunhuang yet. Seeing that Wang Ming and Zhao Mingnong’s matters could be put on hold for now, this short summer break wouldn’t be idle; he hoped to have a few days at home as a buffer beforehand.

Sunlight streams in from the side, and several newspapers lie on the coffee table. Currently, Daye Construction may well be the most talked-about state-owned enterprise in Rongcheng, with this personnel adjustment stirring a lot of discussion among the city's residents. Su Cen seems to still hear the conversation he had with his father, Su Licheng, in the study yesterday evening.

“Everyone is talking about your dad relinquishing power over a drink; I don’t care about such rumors. To completely address the factionalism within the group and repeated personnel disputes, it’s necessary to centralize control while decentralizing operational management—this is at least the basic principle. People say this is democratic centralism, but in reality, it's limited democratic centralism. For unified management to be achieved, internal controls must be implemented across brand management, human resources, financial investments, and finances. This needs to be carried out regardless of any pressure.”

Su Cen understands that the personnel adjustment is just one step in Daye Construction's structural reform.

At the beginning of the new century, many powerful enterprises ventured into Rongcheng, with numerous competitors clashing with Dage Construction across principal and ancillary businesses. Among them were domestic giant央企和國企，大格建工集團的龍頭地位受到了強大的壓力。在做強做大主業的同時，大榕建工也在四處“狼”性出擊，進行多元化發展，不久前新川南航空重組入股就是其中之一的舉措。

Under such circumstances, the group's internal operations and energy distribution must not lag behind external expansion of the industrial chain. Su Licheng’s strong grip on power to reduce internal consumption struggles while forcefully implementing structural reforms is an inevitable trend.

This year, Su Licheng also has considerable confidence; since he and Sun Jiayong took charge of Daye Construction together for a year, the total value of engineering contracts this year exceeded 0 billion yuan, showing a growth rate of over 1%; it’s expected to complete an enterprise output value of around 25.8 billion yuan, up by approximately 3.9% from last year; overseas markets realized a profit and tax total of roughly 4 billion yuan, with a year-on-year increase of about 76%; the return on net assets reached 14.6%, and the preservation and appreciation rate of state-owned assets was over 105%. They have fully surpassed all targets set by the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

This is clearly evident from the financial statements, which also gives Su Licheng strong support for his bold restructuring moves. For Wang Bo, this makes it more convincing to face skepticism in official circles.f it nothing more than a test for him. He ended up with his efforts easily exploited.However, fortunately, this Xiao Zhaoxu, who thought he had everything under control from the start, actually made a...