For example, a few people not far away who were also about to enter the door were exactly like this. Among them, an old lady with gray hair, dressed in a steady and luxurious manner, frowned as if she were somewhat dissatisfied.
"Grandmother, is that Su Ning?"
The young boy she was leading by the hand couldn't help but ask. This was the person who had hired his mother to teach English...
"Yes."
The old lady's face was frosty. She looked down at her grandson, shaking her head as she strictly educated him: "Yes, this is Su Ning. Looking only at the surface, do you think she looks very majestic and proud?"
"You're wrong. She has already gone astray."
The young boy was puzzled, but he knew that his grandmother was never wrong when she spoke, so he listened quietly.
"A woman has two reincarnations in her life. The first is her birth. She was very lucky in this regard, becoming the only daughter of a wealthy man, but because of this, she was spoiled too much by her father."
She sighed faintly and said with pity:
"The second reincarnation is marriage. For the first ten or twenty years, a good life depends on the maiden family, but for the rest of her life, it depends on who she marries and how her in-laws are."
"Su Ning will have a hard time with marriage."
"Ah, why?"
The young boy asked in surprise. Although he was small, he also knew that everyone wanted to marry a daughter-in-law with a lot of money and a generous dowry. Su Ning should be very rich, right?
His mother had only stayed abroad for a few years.
She didn't even go to college.
Being hired by Su Ning to teach English, she could actually get an extremely high salary. He still remembered that his grandmother had commented at the time that this was the behavior of a nouveau riche.
"You are still young, so you don't understand." The old lady touched her grandson's head affectionately:
"Most harmonious and loving couples in this world feature a strong man and a weak woman. Su Ning's conditions are too good, and her temper is strong and ruthless. Would a capable man be willing to marry her and suffer this kind of anger?"
"Even if he patiently married her for a while, it would be inevitable that they would quarrel and fight later on."
"I understand."
The young boy nodded thoughtfully.
He thought of his own family. His mother was too strong abroad just like this, always bypassing his father to make decisions, casually interfering in business, and sometimes even quarreling with his father.
It was too much.
He had seen his father drinking unhappily several times.
Over here, the old lady also thought of her daughter-in-law Shang Wenyun, frowned, and said:
"The Su family's style is improper, and Su Ning is the kind of person who takes risks and plays with power. Perhaps tomorrow she will fall to a point of no return. Your mother is short-sighted and shouldn't work for such a family just for some money."
"It ruins her reputation for nothing!"
Hearing this, the young boy also felt dissatisfied with Shang Wenyun and whispered:
"I will persuade her properly."
The servants nearby listened and shook their heads secretly. If they didn't let Shang Wenyun go to teach, then the family should give her money. Without money, were the orphan and widow supposed to drink the northwest wind?
The old lady didn't feel guilty at all.
Shang Wenyun had cursed her perfectly good son to death. For the sake of the child, not beating her to death was already a tremendous mercy.
Still wanting money? Keep dreaming!
"Well, but I will send you back after the New Year. The weather is cold, and your mother is busy making that little bit of money. I heard that Lingling even ended up hospitalized because of her care."
"Grandmother is not at ease with you."
The old lady smiled and said. In fact, after the New Year, their whole family was going to visit people in other provinces. The grandson was too young, and she was afraid that he would get sick from the fatigue of the journey, so she wasn't taking him along.
——Besides, as a mother, Shang Wenyun couldn't completely neglect her duties.
Great, he could stay until the New Year.
The young boy nodded happily.
Grandmother's house had delicious food and drinks. He was a noble and precious young master, entirely unlike at his mother's place, where the house was small, and not only was there no one to serve him, but sometimes he even had to work!
The grandmother and grandson were enjoying themselves harmoniously.
Suddenly, another car arrived. Deputy Mayor He held his head high and stepped out, surrounded by his subordinates. A starved camel is still bigger than a horse; immediately, many people gathered around.
"I want to be like him in the future."
The young boy said enviously.
"Worthy of being my good grandson, what a great ambition." The old lady was very approving, then talked about Deputy Mayor He's identity, and subsequently smiled with a strong sense of superiority:
"So seeing is believing. It's rumored outside that Mayor He has fallen into a disadvantage in the political struggle, but just look at his appearance. He is obviously full of confidence, without the slightest look of being down and out."
"Maybe the situation is actually the other way around."
As she spoke, her heart was moved.
Adding icing on the cake is not as good as sending charcoal in the snow... It seems that the family could also invest a little bit.
Being affirmed by his grandmother for the person he admired, he pursed his lips and smiled shyly. Suddenly, another idea popped up: it would be great if Mayor He could bring down Su Ning quickly.
This way, his mother would have to go home.
And she wouldn't be laughed at by others...
…………
The temple fair had officially begun.
The venue where Su Ning was located was very different from the places where ordinary people enjoyed themselves. It was a semi-open stilt house that not only sheltered them from the wind and rain but also allowed them to see the liveliness outside.
The biggest advantage was that there was no need to squeeze around in the crowds.
After coming in, Boss Duan enthusiastically introduced other people to her. Some Su Ning knew and had even "dealt with," while others she was meeting for the first time.
Before long.
A huge circle had formed around Su Ning.
Most of them were probing her background abroad. To be able to get imported weapons, her methods and background must be incredibly deep! The more reserved ones, like Boss Duan, asked indirectly if she wanted to do some business here.
To get something, one must first give.
As long as Su Ning wanted to take root and do business in Beiping, as the president of the chamber of commerce, he had plenty of ways to help. Once he helped, they would have a relationship.
After that, making requests would just be mutual benefit between friends.
Countless eyes, bright and dark, fell upon Su Ning in the center of the crowd. She naturally noticed it and nodded calmly and coldly:
"Doing business... naturally, I have this idea in mind. Although my father left me a lot of inheritance, sitting around eating away a fortune is not a conventional method."
Was the inheritance just "a lot"?
The others silently criticized. Someone had roughly calculated that the money Su Ning had thrown out in the past few months was at least a million, and this excluded the big chunk of bribes that was hard to estimate!
Seriously, everyone knew how hard it was to make money abroad. For Mr. Su Huaishan to be able to save up a million-dollar fortune in just a few decades meant he was already a god-like existence.
Therefore, there was a rumor in the market.
Su Ning, after investing in Mayor Chen, probably had her pockets almost empty by now.
But even so.
They wouldn't look down on Su Ning because of this. If the money was gone, they were willing to provide generous help, as long as Su Ning shared a little bit of her connections and technology from abroad.
Thus, everyone enthusiastically volunteered themselves:
"What business does Miss Su want to do? My family's main business is a flour mill, with plenty of experience and manpower. We can run it jointly, as long as you provide the machinery."
"I have a cigarette factory..."
"...Tea houses and grain shops..."
Su Ning seemed to be listening seriously, but in fact, she was instructing the system in her mind to record the video so she could study it slowly when she went back. When they had pitched just about enough, she shook her head and said with regret:
"Sorry, none of these are the businesses I want to do."
"How is that possible?" Someone blurted out, laughing with a bit of sarcasm:
"It's not that I don't believe Miss Su, but we people here cover almost all the profitable businesses in the country. It would be strange if not a single one caught your eye."
These words were a bit prickly.
Boss Duan wanted to say something to ease the tension, but before the words could leave his throat, he heard Su Ning's reply.
"A fertilizer factory."
"I am going to open a fertilizer factory." The area fell dead silent. Su Ning, devoid of any smile, repeated herself as if she had been annoyed by the speaker. With a cold expression, she said,
"If I didn't hear incorrectly just now, none of you here are involved in this field, right?"
The crowd looked at each other in dismay.
Indeed, they weren't... Moreover, the word "fertilizer" was foreign to many of them. However, those who knew its value immediately grew red-eyed with greed.
Fertilizer, this was fertilizer!
There was absolutely no need to worry about selling this stuff. The tiny amount of fertilizer imported from abroad every year was almost entirely carved up by the major landowners of various provinces.
As long as one had seen the effects of fertilizer.
No one would not want it.
Boss Duan said, "Miss Su, you can get the machinery—no, no, no, what am I saying? With your abilities, even fertilizer production machinery is a piece of cake."
"That's right, the machinery is already on its way." Su Ning nodded. Without waiting for anyone else to speak, she coldly shattered their expectations:
"I have already communicated with Mayor Chen regarding this matter. He told me that the government will fully support me. The land, raw materials, and manpower will gradually be put in place."
The crowd's eager eyes cooled down considerably.
"Actually, sometimes the government's words don't count for much."
Boss Duan pondered for a moment, looked at Su Ning, and began to sow discord with a worried expression:
"Right now, two tigers are fighting, and it's unknown when a victor will be decided. It's quite possible that your machinery will arrive, Miss Su, but the other things will still be nowhere in sight. Wouldn't that delay you?"
At first glance, it sounded quite reasonable.
The government was unreliable.
Which makes it the perfect time to use you people who want a slice of the pie, right? Su Ning sneered in her heart. However, she had leaked this information precisely to use the fertilizer factory as bait.
The more people she won over, the larger the interest group formed around her would be, and the stronger her power would become.
And so, the crowd watched.
Hearing Boss Duan's words, Su Ning's expression seemed to waver slightly, and their spirits immediately lifted—even those who didn't know about fertilizer could guess it was a good thing from the reactions of others.
They also followed suit and began to persuade her.
Some used their own experiences as examples, telling Su Ning how unreliable the government was and how much money it had swindled from them in the past.
Even more of them laid out their own conditions.
Stating what kind of help they could provide.
Truth be told, some were actually quite useful. For example, fertilizer production required steps involving phosphorus and alkali. The domestic factories producing phosphorus and alkali were very scattered and lacked scale.
This would be a troublesome matter in the future.
Yet, it just so happened that someone here owned exactly this kind of factory!
Under the crowd's concerted efforts, Su Ning finally relented, "Since everyone is so passionate, how about this: wait until the machinery arrives. If the government hasn't settled things by then... I'll have to trouble you all!"
Hearing this, they finally smiled.
As the saying goes, a centipede dies but never falls down. Deputy Mayor He's defeat was hard to conceal, but it would take at least two or three months for him to be completely finished off.
By that time, the machinery would have long since arrived!
...
While things were lively on this side.
Not far away, Deputy Mayor He's gaze was gloomy and cold. He glanced to the side from time to time, unable to even take in the Peking opera on stage that he usually loved listening to the most.
The people surrounding him were constantly meeting his cold shoulder with warm enthusiasm.
Over time.
They became displeased as well, and the crowd slowly dispersed. When he came back to his senses and realized something was wrong, he was immediately filled with anger, viciously spitting out harsh words, "Fine, if you don't come now, don't ever come again!"
He flicked his sleeves, wanting to leave.
But he couldn't bear to miss the chance to see Su Ning die with his own eyes. He sat back down with an angry huff. His confidant beside him was also anxious, terrified that the master would vent this anger on him.
Just then, a waiter walked by carrying tea.
He quickly called him to a stop, asked for a cup of tea, and offered it to Deputy Mayor He, whispering, "Have a sip of tea to calm your anger. Don't ruin your health over this. No matter how arrogant and smug they are over there, it'll only last for another hour or two... Master, you are destined to live to a hundred!"
These words were pleasing to the ear.
Deputy Mayor He had originally felt the tea was too bitter, but now he could taste a hint of sweetness. He happily took two more large gulps before setting it down:
"That's right, why should I bicker with a dying person?"
The Peach Blossom Fan was coincidentally being performed on stage, and he shook his head to the rhythm, humming along—
"Watch him feast his guests.
Watch him build his high tower.
Watch him..."
The confidant suddenly realized he couldn't hear the voice anymore. He turned his head to look, only to see Deputy Mayor He staring up at the sky with wide eyes, streams of black blood gushing out from his throat.
