The room suddenly fell silent.
Su Ning's words sounded like pure fantasy to Huang Yu, completely unbelievable. In his mind, he was reluctantly stooping to her level—
But what was he hearing now?
She had no intention of having him work for her at all, and was rejecting him outright.
Heh, she must have overheard his conversation earlier.
She couldn't save face, so now she was forcefully claiming she already had someone else in mind.
This actually piqued his interest.
"Miss Su, you really don't have to be like this. My temper isn't the best, but since I accepted Huaiqian's invitation to come here, it means I will properly help you train your subordinates. This is a matter of my personal sense of responsibility."
Huang Yu raised an eyebrow and added,
"Of course, during my tenure, everything regarding training must follow my orders. I hope you won't interfere too much."
This point had to be made clear.
After all, he had long heard that this Miss Su Ning was prone to nepotism and did whatever she pleased, recklessly placing her clansmen and relatives everywhere. This private armed force was surely no exception.
She could arrange the personnel however she liked.
But as for how they were trained.
She would have to listen to him.
Su Ning: ...
How many people had she met by now who were so overconfident that they couldn't even understand human speech?
It was strange; they all seemed to be men, too. Did males automatically come equipped with a "cannot understand human speech" module?
She looked at Chen Huaiqian in confusion and asked,
"Are you sure this friend of yours is a legitimate outstanding graduate from the Whampoa Military Academy?" Su Ning pointed at her head and smiled contemptuously. "It seems like there's something wrong with his brain."
"Huang Yu's academic record is excellent."
What else could Chen Huaiqian say?
Could he say that he had spent a great deal of effort to trick this highly sought-after talent, Huang Yu, into coming here, and had bitterly persuaded him for days before he agreed to serve Su Ning for a period of time?
Or should he ask Miss Su to calm her anger, saying that a lack of patience in small matters would ruin great plans, that local warlords were already making unusual moves, that war was in the near future, and that forming an armed force to save their lives was the top priority?
None of these things could be said.
"What do you mean?"
Huang Yu's mentality finally exploded. Questioning his academic level was denying the first half of his life. He glared at Su Ning.
"I never speak nonsense."
Su Ning calmly walked into the room and found a seat like the master of the house. Even though she was sitting, her expression was condescending.
She was arrogant to the point of being detestable.
"Therefore, my disdain for you comes from the bottom of my heart." She leaned against the back of the chair and stated out of sheer boredom, "You think you are very capable, so I must be desperately thirsting for talent... Pfft, a frog in a well, arrogant and conceited."
Huang Yu laughed out of anger.
"Fine. You say I am a frog in a well. Then I wonder what kind of great master Miss Su has hired. May I have the honor of meeting them to broaden my horizons?"
On the side, the Secretary-General was also curious.
Oh, his mouth was no longer being covered by Su One. Although he didn't know why, the feeling of being able to breathe freely was too wonderful—people always realize how important something is only after losing it and getting it back.
Back to the main topic.
If Miss Su really had hired someone, who could it be?
It should be known that those fierce subordinates from before had vanished without a trace after escorting the fertilizer production line. Many interested parties had scoured Beiping and the surrounding areas but couldn't find a single trace of them.
An adjutant of a minor warlord had just arrived in Beiping.
After learning about this matter.
He acted all mysterious and spread many bizarre stories and speculations. Connecting them to the real situation, there were actually quite a few people who half-believed them.
The result was that the reputation of Miss Su's uncle as a half-immortal became even louder. His doorway was crowded like a marketplace every day, and people even rushed over from thousands of miles away to seek his guidance.
"You have already seen him."
Ah, who?
The people present didn't react for a moment. Lin Sen naturally took a half-step back, and everyone's gaze fell on the prominent Su One.
Su One looked straight ahead, his face calm.
At first glance, he actually had the demeanor of a great general who was fearless in the face of danger.
"It's him?"
Huang Yu looked disdainful and spoke maliciously, "It's perfectly understandable that Miss Su likes pretty faces; after all, it's in a woman's nature. But to be so blinded by lust as to force someone without the ability into a high position is a massive mistake."
The last few words were still floating in the air.
Su One's fist, carrying a fierce wind, was already right in front of his eyes.
...
The two began to fight.
"Ding, detected that the host is acting rich and heartless, ordering the robot Su One to attack a level-three plot character. Rewarding..."
Hearing the voice in her head.
Su Ning looked at the disheveled Huang Yu in surprise. This egomaniac was actually a plot character? Recalling the original novel's plot, she found she couldn't match him to anyone at all!
"Please, host, do not automatically blame this system for every little discrepancy. Systems have system rights too."
The Rich and Heartless System said faintly.
"I didn't say anything!"
Su Ning felt greatly wronged.
"Heh, although you didn't say it out loud, it can be analyzed from your micro-expressions that you were definitely thinking it. No, even thinking it is not allowed."
"..."
Finally, the system told Su Ning that this character did exist in the original novel. The reason she couldn't match him up was that Huang Yu not only appeared very late, showing up almost in the last dozen chapters or so.
He had also changed his name.
"Alright." Su Ning suddenly understood. During the Republican era, people often changed their names, either to express their ambitions or because they had suffered a blow in life.
And Huang Yu had experienced both.
The late stages of the original novel had reached the most chaotic times. The Japanese army was invading China on a massive scale. The torrent brought by the era swept away all love, hate, and enmity, and most of the plot characters died at this time.
Some readers mocked themselves like this:
"I feel like an executioner. I turn a page of the book and a dozen people die. I turn another page, and oops, even more people are dead."
Huang Yu appeared late and was squeezed among heaps of dying plot characters, so naturally, he didn't attract much attention. Su Ning felt that the only reason he could be rated as a level-three plot character was because the manner of his death was quite heroic, and among those who died with him were heavyweight plot characters.
As for how he died?
—He was a soldier, so of course he died on the battlefield.
Just as Su Ning was immersed in bickering with the system and casually recalling the plot, a voice suddenly pulled her thoughts back.
"Miss Su truly has an abundance of talent under her command."
Chen Huaiqian sighed.
On the field, the seemingly thinly built Su One completely held the upper hand, while Huang Yu could only barely hold on. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that it wasn't because Huang Yu lacked skill; this was an absolute crushing of raw power.
When his punches and kicks landed on Su One, the other party's breathing didn't even change, as if he was just being tickled.
The situation was completely different the other way around.
After fighting for so long, every swing of Su One's fists and kicks still carried a fierce wind, showing how great the force was. When they hit Huang Yu, he grimaced in pain.
As one side weakened, the other grew stronger.
The outcome went without saying.
Su One raised his knee and pressed it against Huang Yu's back, his hands locking Huang Yu's arms and twisting them firmly backward. Unable to move at all, Huang Yu was forced into a half-kneeling position on the ground.
"Master, I have won."
Su Ning waved her hand to indicate she knew. She looked down playfully at the disheveled Huang Yu: "Well, was I wrong to call you a frog in a well?"
"I still refuse to accept this!"
Huang Yu raised his head and grinned, his teeth stained with blood.
"I'll admit he's better than me when it comes to hand-to-hand combat, but leading troops into battle takes more than just fists. Does he know anything else? I am definitely better than him at the rest."
"Then let's have another match."
Su Ning was indifferent. This was the perfect opportunity for Su One to build a reputation, saving them the trouble of him being questioned when he took over as the drill instructor later. Time waited for no man; everything had to be accelerated, faster, and faster still.
......
An hour later.
Huang Yu stared blankly at the sand table before him. His territory was already overrun with Su One's flags. It was a crushing defeat; he had been beaten without any ability to fight back.
And it wasn't just that.
Prior to this, whether it was on the subject of training new recruits, excavating defensive positions, or even domestic and foreign military theory and tactical requirements, Su One's performance had been utterly flawless.
"I lost."
Huang Yu lowered his head in admission. But in the next second, he grabbed Su One's hand and looked at Su Ning with fervent, impassioned eyes. "Miss Su, his talents shouldn't be confined to training a single regiment of recruits. He should be aiming for much greater heights."
"The country needs Su One."
"Huang Yu!"
"Our nation is in a state of vulnerability right now, Su One..." Despite being interrupted, Huang Yu didn't so much as glance at Chen Huaiqian. He just kept talking until Su One forcefully shook off his hand, causing him to stop in stunned silence.
He then watched helplessly.
Su One walked over to stand behind Su Ning. He stood as straight as a javelin, his head slightly bowed, but his eyes were constantly scanning and monitoring every movement around her.
A picture-perfect bodyguard.
"You, sigh."
Huang Yu stomped his foot anxiously, his eyes filled with profound frustration at seeing such potential wasted. Realizing that Su Ning was the key to all this, he swallowed his exasperation and was just about to try persuading her again.
"I am Chinese, and I fully support defending our home and country," Su Ning said with genuine sincerity. "But just because Su One is with me, does that mean he can't do his part for the country?"
Of course he couldn't.
Just as the words were about to leave his mouth, Chen Huaiqian chimed in at the perfect moment. "The regiment Miss Su is preparing to establish is also officially commissioned by the central government." Even though everyone knew it was essentially Su Ning's private militia.
But the procedures were completely legal and compliant.
No one could deny the legitimacy of this regiment.
Huang Yu was left speechless. He tried to argue back, only to find that Su Ning was completely ignoring his words, while Su One didn't even spare him a passing glance. Finally, he said in utter exasperation:
"Then can I be an instructor here too?"
It would give him a foot in the door.
He would definitely find a way to persuade Su One, to redirect his personal loyalty into a greater love for the nation.
"No."
Su Ning's eyes were icy, showing absolutely no mercy. "I've already told you, I don't need a piece of trash training my soldiers. Trash can only produce more trash!"
The sound of rewards rang out incessantly.
Oh, she had hit a nerve. The more someone prided themselves on their abilities, the more intensely they suffered when that pride was shattered.
......
The office returned to a state of quiet. Su Ning and Chen Huaiqian sat across from each other, casually discussing matters regarding the fertilizer plant as if nothing had happened.
"...We finally managed to sort out the profit distribution today. They really are a bunch of cunning old foxes," Su Ning said, recalling the exhausting verbal sparring she had to endure.
"Still, now that the hardest hurdle is out of the way, things should go much smoother from here on out."
Hearing this, Chen Huaiqian nodded.
"Here's to hoping everything goes smoothly with the plant." He suddenly lowered his voice slightly. "What's the absolute earliest we can start producing fertilizer?"
"At least a month."
Su Ning keenly sensed that something was off. A thought flashed through her mind, and her expression turned grave. "Has the situation changed?"
She saw the man opposite her nod.
Just as she suspected.
Calculating the timeline, it was already February. If things were strictly following history, the signs should already be appearing. But this was a world inside a book, so there were bound to be some subtle differences.
Su Ning's heart beat rapidly.
She felt no fear, only the calming certainty of the inevitable and a surge of excitement.
"I have a way to produce the fertilizer within half a month," Su Ning said after a moment of contemplation. She understood what Chen Huaiqian was getting at. As long as she had the fertilizer, all factions would give her face, significantly increasing her safety.
"That's good."
In truth, it didn't even take half a month.
Fourteen days later.
The fertilizer plant produced its very first batch of fertilizer.
