Chapter Forty-Seven Abacus

  Fenghuo Lao Da appeared again in the book review section last night, so for Lao Da's sake, we must continue writing well, red votes and all that, you know what I mean...

  The status of Minsheng Group in Xi'an, perhaps outsiders do not know, or when hearing the two words "Minsheng", the first thing that comes to mind is the banking giant China Minsheng Bank. However, if you ask ordinary people in Xi'an, they may not know how strong Minsheng Group is and how large its background is. But from the nearly ten Minsheng Department Stores distributed throughout Xi'an, it can be seen that the energy behind this massive entity is very powerful. Additionally, with the recent high-profile announcement of partnering with dozens of international luxury brands to strongly enter the northwest luxury industry, Minsheng International, located just a wall away from Zhonglou North Street and Century Jinhua Zhonglou Store, is about to open.

  Xi'an holds a pivotal position in China's luxury goods industry, as can be seen from the various city luxury rankings and the increasing number of international luxury brands entering Xi'an. The luxury goods market in Xi'an has always been dominated by three major players: Parc, Century Jinhua, and Zhongdai International. However, with the sudden entry of Minsheng Group, the previously balanced landscape has become more interesting.

  "Three lives, if you choose to develop in Xi'an later on, it's still necessary to maintain a good relationship with these young masters. Although they may not be able to help at critical moments, personal relationships are things that require frequent contact.

  Aunt Zhao now regards Li San Sheng as half a son, so she thinks about many things from his perspective. Aunt Zhao believes she has a clear understanding of Li San Sheng's background."

  Guo Li Renhe Sichuan Cuisine is a catering chain brand built by Renhe Catering Company under Chengdu Renhe Group in recent years. Currently, there are several chain stores in Xi'an, and the reputation in Xi'an is not bad. Aunt Zhao knew that Mr. Li Sansheng liked to eat spicy food, so she chose Sichuan cuisine.

  Find a location close to the glass, no private room was chosen because Aunt Zhao felt that if a private room were chosen, the atmosphere would not be as good as in the hall, and it's better to cook at home, although her cooking is not bad.

  "Hmm, my grandfather used to say that if you want to tie two people together, either make them owe you or make you owe them, the principle is the same." Li San Sheng nodded in understanding of Zhao's good intentions.

  Aunt Zhao is a vegetarian, but she doesn't really reject meat dishes either. She ordered a sesame sauce phoenix tail and vinegar-glazed cucumber. Yuanshan loves to eat meat, so he ordered a Taibai duck and sesame oil chicken. As soon as they heard the word "meat", their mouths started watering loudly. Lisan has always teased Yuanshan about this, saying that ordinary people say "rou" (meat) but Yuanshan says "you". Yuer likes to eat fish, which is typical of southerners' eating habits, so she ordered a sour vegetable fish. Mingyue was very casual and said, "Whatever you guys order, I'll just eat it."

  "Three lives, wanting to get entangled with business people, there must be benefits, but wanting to get entangled with officialdom also requires benefits. But if you really want to get along with them and enjoy wine and words instead of scheming against each other, you need to be sincere, especially those people in officialdom. Everyone stands in at least one circle, without a circle you are an outcast."

  Zhao Yi has lived in Xi'an for decades, perhaps with Zhao Yi's background in Beijing she can only be considered ordinary, but in the northwest, this small piece of land, she still has some say. Li San Sheng has been staying in Zhao Yi's private club, not big or small, for two or three years now, and although Zhao Yi doesn't say it, he knows who's who in his heart.

  "I'm just an ordinary commoner, how can I have so many skills to win the favor of these arrogant young masters?" Li San Sheng said with a bitter smile or self-mockery while eating the dishes that Zhao Yiniang, Mingyue and Yu'er had served him, looking at Yuan Shan's envious expression.

  "Aunt Zhao didn't tell you these things before because you were just in high school, although Aunt Zhao could see the sharpness hidden beneath your ordinary appearance, others couldn't. Now Aunt Zhao doesn't mind making you a facade." Aunt Zhao said with a gentle smile, Xu Niang was half old, but still had a lingering charm, perhaps referring to women like Aunt Zhao who were already in their forties.

  "Third Brother, why don't you marry into our family in the future? It's just right to not let an outsider have it cheaply." Yuer said with a sly smile and a wink at Li Sansheng.

  "This is fine," Guan Yuanshan nodded in agreement, but what greeted him was Zhao's chestnut, and all he could do was lower his head to eat his own meat, while Mingyue giggled beside him.

  "Damn it!" Li Sansheng cursed with a smile, Yu'er's words were 70% true and 30% false. Li Sansheng still didn't know what kind of attention this girl was seeking. Yu'er said that her father was just a slightly higher-class nouveau riche, but Li Sansheng dared not think so. At the tenth anniversary dinner of Qinling College, Li Sansheng had seen the uncle who wore gold-rimmed glasses and always had an ambiguous smile on his face. If he was considered a nouveau riche, probably there were only a few genuine businessmen in China.

  "That young man who looked promising and knew his place was Ma Ziqiang. Far Mountain just mentioned that he is the second son of Ma Nangang, the chairman of the board of directors of Minsheng Group. I don't have much to do with his father, but I have a bit of a relationship with his mother, although we're not particularly close. Compared to his older brother Ma Zilin, who has already taken over Minsheng Group, I think more highly of him. Do you know who was behind the recent moves by Minsheng Group? They've been expanding into real estate, luxury goods, and partnering with Sichuan Renhe Group, which is the parent company of this restaurant we're eating at today, to get into the football industry. Without them, Guoli Renhe wouldn't have been able to take down Shaanxi Zhongxin so easily."

  Zhao Yi was telling Li Sansheng about these not-so-big-not-so-small things in their circle, and Li Sansheng had been taking care of everything in an orderly manner over the past two years. This wasn't something that a young man who had only attended high school could accomplish.

  "Zhao Yi, I'm absolutely sure that if I go to the bathroom for a bit, Ma Zi Qiang will definitely follow me," Li San Sheng said with a smile after some thought.

  "Hehe" Aunt Zhao smiled lightly, but seemed to already know what Li Sansheng wanted to say in his heart.

  "Businessmen don't lack money, but they lack political capital. This is exactly what Zhao's wife has. As long as there are a thousand roads, they will take all of them. In their eyes, there is no such thing as being content, only profit." Li Sansheng seems to understand this group very well, probably because he spent a lot of time with Heizi and others, getting used to it, and Zhao's wife also knew this point very clearly.

  "Who's that woman who still looks so charming, you rascal?" the guy asked Ma Ziqiang with a lewd smile.

  "If I were in charge, I'd be happy, and then I wouldn't have to worry about not having anyone to confide in within the government." Ma Ziqiang said with a faint smile, it seems that the relationship between the two is quite good.

  There are four men at this table, all of whom appear to be wealthy and well-connected young masters, or to put it bluntly, second-generation rich kids. They seem to be on an equal footing with each other, and their family backgrounds are all roughly the same level.

  "Lin Zi, you just came back from the US and probably don't know, people we're familiar with all call him Zhao Yi, very ordinary, not in business or politics. But his husband you must know, Guan Dapeng, Deputy Director Guan." The man sitting next to Ma Ziqiang, who looked about the same age as Ma, explained with a smile.

  "Tsk, tsk, Old Huang, she's the widow of Deputy Director Guan." Lin Zi suddenly remembered something he had heard before after Old Huang's hint, but his face still wore a lecherous grin.

  "Lin Zi, I advise you not to provoke that woman, otherwise your dad and uncle combined won't be able to save you. Do you know why the big shot from the provincial capital left Shaanxi in a low-key manner back then? It was because of the Deputy Director Guan incident." Ma Ziqiang seemed to understand what had happened back then more clearly, and reminded him with good intentions.

  These four people, Ma Ziqiang, Old Huang, Lin Zi, and a man named Old Bai who never spoke and had a shiny bald head, were all sworn brothers from their school days. They came from similar family backgrounds and shared similar interests, so there was no reason for them not to stick together. Their relationship was pretty good, with more emotional connection than your average drinking buddies, but none of them dared to be certain that when they got into trouble, these brothers wouldn't stab or kick them in the back.

  "In our circle, it seems like a world of unlimited possibilities, but in reality, only we know the helplessness at this position. Without background or support, it's just a matter of big fish eating small fish and small fish eating shrimp, and then getting eliminated. These years have been a cycle of one batch falling and another rising to take their place. The Tang City Group was once so glorious, but now they're also nothing but a shadow of their former self.

  Old Huang sighed, the glory of the older generation couldn't hide the sharpness of this younger generation. However, compared to the passion and blood of the older generation when they were fighting for power, this younger generation lacked that same fire in their bellies. The older generation is slowly exiting the stage, and if they don't seize the opportunity to climb up during this reshuffle, they'll only fall harder.

  There have been many examples over the years telling them that they've already passed the age of being young and reckless. Now, as they approach thirty, they think more about their future."

  "Lao Bai, especially the path you're taking now, is even more perilous than ours. There's no absolute guarantee that something won't happen in the future. This is a realistic society, not some melodramatic fantasy. The government wants stability, and you two are double-edged swords. If anything happens, you'll be the first ones to be thrown out." Ma Ziqiang looked at his silent brother, who was one of the closest people to him among their group.

  "Zi Qiang, don't tell me you want to get close to that woman." Lin Zi immediately thought of Ma Zi Qiang's idea. Minsheng Group looks glorious and is a major taxpayer in Xi'an City, but compared to its arch-rival Jinhua Group, the latter receives more attention from the government. As long as it doesn't want to fall behind, it has to pay out more.

  "If I have the chance, I wouldn't mind. My mom said that Zhao Yi is not an ordinary woman, people in the circle only know that Zhao Yi is the wife of Deputy Director Guan, but they don't know that Zhao Yi has a father who is a general with stars on his shoulders. Moreover, the relationship between the Guan family and Deputy Minister Xiao is quite intriguing." Ma Zi Qiang's eyes shone brighter than ever before.

  "The higher you stand, the more afraid you are of falling. We're all the same." The old white-haired man who hadn't spoken looked at Li Sansheng, who was chatting and laughing with Zhao's wife on the other side, and said with a piercing gaze.

  Human feelings are cold and warm, worldly affairs are hot and cold, they scheme and fight, deceive and cheat each other. They have seen a lot, so they become more fearful.

  "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore, tonight we'll go to Soho and pick up chicks." Linzi felt the atmosphere was a bit strange, with a lewd tone, said, and several people continued eating and laughing, but each had their own hidden intentions.

  Aunt Zhao only looked at Ma Ziqiang and naturally didn't see the few people who came with Ma Ziqiang. Li Sansheng was chatting while eating, with lively characters like Guan Yuanshan, so the atmosphere wouldn't be cold.

  At this time, Li Sansheng seemed to want to verify what he had just said, got up and looked at Zhao's aunt who went to the bathroom.

  Everyone has an abacus in their heart, calculating human relationships and worldly affairs, calculating everything they can.