Chapter 53 Business Star

ied him all along, so even if service staff had bad attitudes, they dared not say anything.Miss Wang was embarrassed, but she didn't pay much attention to Su Can. However, many customers who were stro...Chapter 53 Business Star

The crowd found Zhao Qiao's words rather peculiar. Among the numerous well-known entrepreneurs from within the province who had attended today, at least one-third of them knew him personally, recognizing his status and level. His statement seemed somewhat out of place for someone of his age and standing.

However, Zhao Qiao didn't seem to think so himself. In fact, after several interactions with Su Licheng, he had learned about the information related to Su Cang. The youth was now the founder of the "Fashion Culture" magazine that had been established by someone who hailed from Chengdu. Moreover, he also had business interests in America. To view this young man through conventional eyes clearly didn't fit.

A few people felt surprised and then seemed to understand as they noticed Su Cang's expression when talking with Su Licheng, finding it somewhat amusing. They knew that regardless of age, Su Cang was only younger than them; he simply had better academic performance within the system and attended a good university or possessed some minor talent. Hence, his father must have been boasting about him like picking up a treasure in front of Zhao Qiao, leading to Zhao Qiao making such a joke.

Su Cang ignored the gazes from these six individuals and their parents. When he looked at Zhao Qiao, his eyes narrowed slightly. Su Cang remembered that this Uncle Zhao was the center of attention during his father's classmate gathering seven years ago; now, after so many years had passed, it seemed his status hadn't diminished but rather increased even more. Moreover, Zhao Qiao didn't carry any airs about himself and gave off a sense of warmth towards others, making Su Cang feel sincerity in his words. This Zhao Qiao is truly impressive; no wonder he has thrived so much. "It's nothing special. Uncle Zhao, I remember you well; you look even younger than what I remembered."

Su Cang looked at the middle-aged man who still had few wrinkles on a well-preserved face.

"I'm not young anymore, I'm not young anymore. Your dad and I are getting old soon; it will be your generation's turn in the future..." Zhao Qiao smiled.

A slightly pot-bellied middle-aged man wanted to steer the conversation back to a main topic and asked, "Old Zhao, do you think I have any chance of being named one of the top entrepreneurs this year You're part of the evaluation committee, right Give me some hints. Our Xinrong Copper Industry has developed rapidly, with growth far surpassing previous years. This year's output has already surpassed a billion yuan. Every year in recent times, everyone talked about breaking ten hundred million, and we've actually achieved it this time. Isn't that obvious to all eyes All of us at the company are waiting for me to bring back an award."

The middle-aged man who seemed to be the father of the girl with a single-fold eyelid spoke calmly but couldn't hide his sense of pride and satisfaction. Hearing about the company's output breaking the billion yuan mark, some people openly showed surprise and envy, wondering how lucrative the non-ferrous metals industry must be.

The single-fold eyed girl felt somewhat proud as she slightly raised her head; evidently, her father was highly respected in her heart.

"Mr. Wen, if your big company can't get in, then why did we come here today Our Jiang'an enterprise barely reaches an annual output of 200 million yuan; would it not be directly disheartening for us to leave empty-handed Wouldn’t this be demoralizing" At that moment, the father of the double eyelid girl spoke up. The double eyelid girl smiled slightly upon hearing her father's words, which seemed to explain why she was at the center among these people—she was more beautiful and came from a bigger company than the rest.

"I'm still thrilled about our company breaking through 400 million yuan this year. I thought we could finally catch a breath of fresh air. But with your arrival, Mr. Wen, it's as if you're telling me to bow my head and become a humble ox. Even if I were willing to be such an ox, there’s no way I could compete with you, Mr. Wen." Several people remarked. The middle-aged man called Mr. Wen waved his hands repeatedly but seemed pleased with the compliments.

Zhao Qiao then said, "Actually, the selection for outstanding entrepreneurs is not solely based on the size of their enterprises; otherwise, General Su's Dayuan Construction would have a clear advantage. However, it's not as simple as that. The criteria also include product innovation, technological advancement, talent utilization and recruitment, asset management, capital operation, management levels, and rational allocation of resources." "So there are no one-size-fits-all rules."

"Dayuan Construction It’s a state-owned enterprise within the province with a market value in the billions!" Everyone's eyes were drawn to Su Licheng mentioned by Zhao Qiao. They didn't know who he was, but Dayuan Construction had an illustrious reputation. This heavy-hitting group involved diversified operations and dominated the construction industry within the province.

"Oh my gosh, General Su, I apologize for forgetting your background; you're such a big figure in our provincial circles…" One person immediately shook hands with Su Licheng, showing great enthusiasm. His company was currently enjoying a golden period of cooperation with Dayuan Construction's subsidiaries and thus treated the top leader of this partner enterprise with utmost respect.

Some who cared about their image weren't as exaggerated but expressed some envy: "Dayuan Construction is like a star; media reports about it are frequent, and provincial leaders pay close attention. If we talk about privileges, you guys have to be the most privileged group within our province…"

Others handed over business cards on the spot: "Old Zhao and General Su were comrades-in-arms before; I'm Chen Shufu from Honorable Pharmaceutical. With Old Zhao's connections, we should get together more often in the future." Witnessing his father, Su Licheng, being fawned upon by this small group of people, the atmosphere became lively.

Su Can cast a glance around the room. The grand hall was spacious enough to accommodate hundreds of people seated at tables; some were already seated while others gathered in clusters as they did, each representing one or two highly admired CEOs from prestigious companies. These individuals were no ordinary folks, indicating that today’s competition would be fiercely intense.

However, the entire scene had a strange infectious quality to it. Today's appearance of Zhao Qiao reminded Su Can of 2005 when his father was at a gathering with fellow soldiers in Rongcheng. At that time, there were also the mayor and political advisor of Xiahai City, as well as some notable figures from Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Back then, Su Licheng was merely an outsider, definitely not one of those being追捧 (fawned over). Su Licheng could never be compared to people like Zhao Qiao.And yet today they were on equal footing; his father had become a red-hat businessman. The change in circumstances gave the impression that things and people had changed. Guo XiaoZhong suddenly felt quite impressive, looking at those who had once looked down on him now giving them an appraising look as if they were ready to start over. Guo XiaoZhong shook his head slightly, ignoring them. However, he found the two women who kept glancing their way very pleasant.Next, several of the businesspeople introduced their children. Su Can and Guo XiaoZhong only learned then that the single-eyed girl was Wen Lu, while the double-eyed one was Xia Zhiming. Among the four boys who didn’t like them much was Yang Lei; the other three were Zhong Yuan, Liu Xinming, and Xu Hu—children of these famous businesspeople. Some came from Yu City."Ai, let's hang out someday. We can go on a road trip to Xu Hu's place. It’s off Rongyu Expressway where there's a great fish restaurant in the mountainous region nearby. Then we'll spend the night soaking in hot springs at Xi Ling. Some people will be coming from Yu City for the football club opening ceremony, bringing two Lamborghinis and some pretty ladies. After eating the fish and enjoying the hot springs, let’s head to Yu City where Xu Hu can show us around since he's like a local boss there. The whole trip will probably take about five days, then we'll drive back to Rongcheng. How about it Are you in" Wen Lu winked with a smile as she spoke; this year she was interning at Rongcheng Television and almost qualified as an announcer—she certainly knew how to talk.Since Su Can was the son of the general manager of Dayong Construction, his company’s victory at this award ceremony was virtually certain. If they could bring him into their circle now, it would boost everyone's morale and strengthen them considerably.The boy named Xu Hu also puffed out his chest and scrutinized Su Can’s expression carefully before saying, "We can’t call me a local boss in Yu City; I do have some friends there who we can play with. When the Lamborghini arrives, it will be from Zhongfan Group’s Yi Lihuan. The football club is opening soon this year, and we can watch the matches together in Yu City. Which player does Su Can like We’ll drink and chat about him when we get there. Interested"Guo XiaoZhong was a bit dazed listening to these boasts of road trips, five-star hotels with hot springs, beautiful women, and luxury cars. How far away such a life seemed from his own! As for Su Can, he stood rooted in place after hearing Wen Lu and Xu Hu’s words.He had heard of Zhongfan Group even in the future; it was one of China's largest private enterprises, manufacturing motorcycles, automobiles, investing in football clubs, with more than ten thousand employees now. This year alone its revenue could be around forty to fifty billion yuan—a giant that shone brightly even in his time.

Its CEO, Yi Shuwen, is a prominent figure in the business world of Yu City. His son, Yi Lihuan, who is now probably around thirty years old, started working for Zhongfan Company as a salesman right after he turned twenty, doing everything from running sales to promoting various products. Now that Zhongfan has grown into what it is today, Yi Lihuan can be considered one of the most dazzling young businessmen in southwestern China, far beyond what someone like Su Can could ever aspire to.

In an era where a Lamborghini draws quite some attention, it's not surprising for someone like Yi Lihuan to have such a car.

"What kind of car are you driving these days" the young man named Yang Lei asked with a somewhat flippant tone. He was a bit disappointed after learning that Su Can was the son of the CEO of Dayong Group and wanted to outshine him in terms of lifestyle.

Su Can met Yang Lei's slightly hostile gaze, grinned, and said, "I ride a Giant bicycle; my scooter is a Yamaha 125 with an internal three-speed gearbox. But it’s parked at Shanghai University right now. I don’t think I can join you guys on your road trip."

"With beautiful girls, hot springs, live sports matches… and such prime seating positions, isn't that tempting To just reject the offer outright seems a bit harsh. They seem to really want me along," said Guo Xiaozhong who was sitting in the back row with Su Can and his mother Zeng Ke as the conference began. He still seemed reluctant.

After Su Can finished speaking, Xu Huwenlu and others were initially stunned for a moment before laughing softly behind their hands, finding it amusing; Xia Zhiming even pointed at him saying "It’s quite interesting." Despite some more attempts to convince Su Can, he found excuses to decline. Then Guo Xiaozhong turned to Su Can and asked, "You like If you give me a car, I’ll go with them. What do you think"

Guo Xiaozhong thought about it for a moment before patting Su Can on the shoulder, saying, "Are you just kidding around How can I join if you don’t want to How would I even communicate with them ‘Hello beautiful lady, I’m your friend from Shu總公司’—that’s just ridiculous." “So stick with me then. When do we not have time for a hot spring bath” replied Su Can with a smile.

"Alright, alright, let's find some time and go together, right Tang Wu will come too, won't she" Guo Xiaozhong said greedily, thinking that with the presence of the school beauty Tang Wu from No. 27 High School today, Wenlu and Xia Zhiming would certainly feel inferior.g of the new Party Secretary, every employee felt elevated in status when they went out. Following this incident, Sousuicheng proposed at a workers' meeting, "We must not only live well but also live...