Su Ning didn't answer right away. She tapped her teacup against the tabletop, neither too lightly nor too heavily, and spoke in a cold tone:
"I strongly dislike it when people interrupt me."
"I apologize, I lost my composure. Please don't mind me, Miss Su. Do continue..."
Despite saying this, the stormy waves in Chen Huaiqian's heart still couldn't calm down. Chemical fertilizers were rarely used domestically, and few people knew about them—but he was an exception.
When he had left Peiping, he was at the lowest point of his life. During that time, he went abroad, wanting to find peace and ponder where the future of his country and his own life lay.
It was abroad that he encountered chemical fertilizer, this greatest invention of the 20th century, which could actually increase grain yields drastically!
Food is the paramount necessity of the people.
With fertilizer, countless people would be saved from starving to death.
But after the ecstasy came deep despair—yes, fertilizer was wonderful, but foreign countries monopolized the technology and production lines. It was utterly impossible to produce fertilizer domestically!
It was a fall from heaven to hell.
Chen Huaiqian still remembered the advice and warning from a foreign friend:
"Weak places shouldn't dream of getting things they shouldn't have; it will only bring them disaster. Chen, your country is not yet capable of possessing fertilizer technology."
The frustration of that moment still lingered.
It made him anxious and uncertain. Was Su Ning really going to set up a fertilizer factory?
...
Meanwhile, Su Ning was still listing her requirements for the factory. It had to be said that she was extremely demanding and picky: the site had to be large, far from residential areas, yet not too far from the city of Peiping.
She even had all sorts of requirements regarding the terrain, greenery, and water sources.
This caused the Secretary-General, who had come in to change the tea and didn't know the context, to nearly scald his hand. He swallowed hard and shot pointed looks at his old friend.
A deal is a deal, but their status should be equal.
This is a bit too much.
Mayor, stand your ground! Don't forget we agreed beforehand to maintain a reserved and composed attitude... You can't just let her demand whatever she wants!
If you back into a corner on the very first step, what will you do later?
Chen Huaiqian, however, was completely distracted.
Whatever Su Ning said, he just nodded. He caught the Secretary-General's hints but ignored them. Right now, he had only one thought in his mind:
If it really was a fertilizer factory, he would be willing to level the city hall right now to serve as the factory building.
"...That's about it for the requirements."
It was cold, and the mayor's office didn't even have a stove. Even wearing a fur cloak, she couldn't stand the chill. Su Ning just wanted to wrap this up quickly and return to her hotel with its air conditioning and fireplace.
So she said lightly:
"What was it that Mayor Chen asked just now?"
Hearing this, Chen Huaiqian visibly perked up. Forcing himself to stay calm, he repeated his question. Hearing the word "fertilizer," the Secretary-General beside them was also stunned.
What? Fertilizer? It was actually a fertilizer factory!
Su Ning held her hot tea to warm her hands and nodded slowly:
"It is indeed a fertilizer factory. I've investigated the domestic industries, and to be honest, there's not much technical depth. Markets like cotton spinning and light processing are quite saturated."
"If I rashly enter those sectors, not only will I fail to make much money, but I might also step on certain people's toes."
At this point, she spoke with a hint of annoyance:
"Naturally, I won't do a loss-making business."
"As it happens, there are hundreds of millions of farmers in this country, and the agricultural planting area is massive. With such an excellent market, I think building a comprehensive fertilizer factory is a good idea."
"However, I haven't seen any fertilizer on the market. Could it be that there are restrictions on this kind of chemical industry domestically? Damn it, that would be troublesome."
Su Ning frowned impatiently, as if annoyed by the imagined "industry restrictions."
"What restrictions? There are none at all."
The Secretary-General, being impatient, interrupted without regard for his position, terrified that Su Ning might change her mind and the fertilizer factory would fall through. He blurted out the fact that there were simply no fertilizer factories in the country at all.
"...Therefore, Miss Su, as long as your fertilizer factory is built, it will be absolutely one of a kind."
"You will absolutely make a massive profit!"
Chen Huaiqian didn't have time to stop him. He sighed inwardly and consoled himself.
They could hide it for a while, but not forever. Knowing the domestic fertilizer industry was a blank slate would make Su Ning even more fearless... but she was already arrogant and domineering enough before.
All things considered, it made no difference.
Sure enough, Su Ning's eyes lit up after hearing this, and she said bluntly:
"No domestic fertilizer technology? So, I am the first. Fertilizer plays a huge role in grain production. Mayor Chen, the government should provide me with resources and support."
The Secretary-General... wished he could slap himself twice.
Chen Huaiqian, who had anticipated this, simply nodded. "For a patriotic merchant like Miss Su, the government will naturally not turn a blind eye."
He promised to report it immediately to the Nanjing government. Seeing Su Ning smiling without speaking, he understood implicitly and upped the ante, saying he would speak to his own faction to ensure the government took it seriously.
That was more like it. It's easier to get things done when you have people on the inside.
Fertilizer production wasn't that simple. Having a production line wasn't enough; raw materials and instructional personnel for production were also needed. These were very difficult for Su Ning to manage all by herself.
With a colossus like the government helping out, it would be foolproof.
"Then I'll have to trouble Mayor Chen," Su Ning said, then offered him a sweet deal: "Once the fertilizer is produced, we'll need a pilot site. I hear your family owns quite a bit of land, Mayor. I wonder if you could help?"
When Chen Huaiqian heard "fertilizer pilot site," he knew Su Ning was intentionally offering a favor. This was fertilizer—an easy twenty to thirty percent increase in yield.
No one could resist such a temptation.
He was just thinking about who he should win over with this batch of fertilizer... but when he heard the second half of her sentence, he froze.
His thoughts were dragged into his memories.
Indeed, his family had a lot of land. As the eldest son and grandson, he had been taught by his elders from a very young age how to manage tenant farmers and handle the harvests.
In a daze, he seemed to smell the fragrance of wheat drying in the sun.
It vanished in an instant.
"Then I shall thank Miss Su on behalf of my family."
After a long pause, Chen Huaiqian spoke softly. The Secretary-General beside him cast a few worried glances at him, secretly hoping that the fertilizer Miss Su offered could become an opportunity for his old friend to break the ice with his family.
Suddenly, a burst of noise came from outside.
Su Ning looked outside curiously, only to see people walking in twos and threes in the same direction, holding bags, basins, and other items.
"They are going to collect their New Year goods," the Secretary-General explained. "Tomorrow is the Preliminary Eve, and today is the last day of work, so they are distributing them now."
"Speaking of which, we really must thank Miss Su."
Chen Huaiqian added, "Without your 'meeting gift,' let alone New Year goods, these people probably wouldn't even know where to earn their New Year's dinner." As he spoke, he also looked outside.
From such a distance, their faces couldn't be seen clearly, but their joy was incredibly palpable. As if infected by it, Chen Huaiqian also smiled, fine wrinkles appearing at the corners of his eyes.
He opened a drawer and took out a velvet box.
"Courtesy demands reciprocity. You gave us a meeting gift, and while I cannot afford a return gift comparable to a hundred thousand US dollars, I cannot pretend to ignore it either. I hope Miss Su likes this small token."
Hearing this, Su Ning raised an eyebrow.
The box opened.
A mechanical watch rested on the black velvet, gleaming with a silvery metallic luster under the light. Its hands moved in quiet rhythm. The only jarring detail was that the time on the watch was wrong.
"It was like this when we acquired it from the pawnshop," Chen Huaiqian explained. "Someone must have tampered with it."
"It wasn't their doing," Su Ning replied softly.
Lowering her gaze, she slipped off her bracelet and skillfully strapped the watch onto her wrist. She did not even need to look; fastening it at the fourth hole was a perfect fit, neither too loose nor too tight.
The time on the watch was not actually wrong.
What it displayed was the time of another dimension.
