Chapter 57

Lei Xihuan always felt that there was something wrong with Guan Zhitao and the Belia Venture Capital he represented. △↗

However, Guan Zhitao successfully won over Village Chief Xu and the other village officials with his vague promises and the extraordinarily high returns. Some people had already started calculating how much money they could invest.

"Everyone in the village must be mobilized," Guan Zhitao said as he was about to leave. He gestured in the air as if he were a superior leader inspecting the area: "Every single person in the village must be mobilized. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get rich. If you miss it, it will never come again. Don't say I, Er Fat, don't care about the village. Whoever doesn't invest will have no one to blame but themselves. Old Xu, here's the account. Just transfer the money directly to this account."

Village Chief Xu and the village officials nodded obediently, like schoolchildren, and watched Guan Zhitao's car drive away before they dispersed.

"Uncle Xu, be cautious," Lei Xihuan was uncertain, but his gut feeling told him something was wrong: "Online loans do offer high returns, but the risks are also significant. I've seen many reports where the managers of these online platforms run away as soon as their funds dry up."

"Who is Er Fat? A big boss, and a fellow villager. Why would he cheat us?" Village Chief Xu clearly didn't believe Lei Xihuan: "Xihuan, at a critical moment, it's the villagers who are most reliable. I need to go raise some money. Er Fat said that if we miss this opportunity, it will never come again."

Lei Xihuan felt helpless.

Although Uncle Xu and the other village officials had watched him grow up and had been kind to him, in their eyes, he was still just a child, a child with little influence, incomparable to a boss like Er Fat.

Forget it, no point overthinking it. Just focus on my own business.

The two arowanas had completely transformed. The golden arowana was now so vibrant that even Lei Xihuan, a layman, could tell it was better than Jiang Bin's.

However, the silver arowana looked strange to Lei Xihuan. Its entire body had turned a shiny white, and although the color looked good, there wasn't a trace of red left on its body.

Everyone has their own destiny, so be it...

...

Early in the morning, Mo Fat's call came: "Brother Xihuan, I'll come to pick you up in a bit."

"We're going tomorrow, why are you picking me up today?"

"I'm coming to get my fighting crab." Mo Fat laughed on the phone: "I've been waiting. I've made an appointment with Jiang Bin to have a crab fight on Wednesday night. I'm counting on the crab you've been raising for me. By the way, there's one more thing. Annie's dad said he got some good tea and wants to invite you for a cup this afternoon."

Annie's dad inviting me for tea? Lei Xihuan was a bit at a loss.

What's going on?

It definitely won't be just a simple tea session.

"Alright, I won't say more. I'm almost in Zhunan. Wait for me at the village entrance."

Mo Fat hung up, and Lei Xihuan stood there in a daze for a moment.

Zhu Guoxu looking for me? Could it be because of me and Annie? But there's nothing between us, just some jokes.

Is Zhu Jinyan's health worsening again?

No, he was fine when I talked to him the day before yesterday.

Forget it, forget it. I can't guess what these big bosses are thinking.

He went to the pond, told Little Fat that he would be gone for a few days, and asked him to stay at home.

Little Fat lazily surfaced to listen, then lazily sank back down.

He fished out the two arowanas and placed them in the special aquarium given by Yoshida Masahiro, then walked out.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to check the fish pond. Ye Shoucai was busy building a shed. Lei Xihuan called out: "Brother Ye, I'm going to Yundong for a few days."

"Go ahead, go ahead. I'll take care of things here." Ye Shoucai didn't even look up.

Having a helper was definitely more convenient. He didn't have to worry about everything.

He waited at the village entrance for a while and saw Mo Fat's Volvo arrive.

The car stopped, and Mo Fat, with his jiggling fat, waddled over, a pleading look on his face: "Brother Xihuan, where's my fighting crab?"

Seeing his eager expression, Lei Xihuan smiled and shook his head, handing the fighting crab to Mo Fat.

"Wow, impressive, impressive." Mo Fat couldn't take his eyes off it: "Brother Xihuan, no need to say more. This fighting crab will definitely win. When we win the prize, we'll split it fifty-fifty."

"Forget it." Lei Xihuan placed the aquarium in the back seat and sat in the passenger seat: "Do you know why Zhu Guoxu is looking for me?"

Mo Fat started the car: "No idea. Zhu Guoxu, though rich, is very low-key and rarely appears in public. His ideas are often surprising, yet he always manages to succeed. One day he might announce he's investing in project A, but by the press conference, it turns out to be project B..."

Lei Xihuan had only met Zhu Guoxu once and knew very little about him, except that he was generous, giving away a villa without hesitation.

In their brief encounter, he found Zhu Guoxu to be quite amiable, but now, hearing Mo Fat's description, it didn't quite match his impression.

Mo Fat shared everything he knew about Zhu Guoxu.

Zhu Guoxu's rise to wealth was quite legendary.

He didn't go to college but joined a small company as a salesperson, a company with just a storefront, a desk, and a few chairs, barely better than a shell company.

Later, a large company offered him a better position, but Zhu Guoxu turned it down.

Half a year later, the small company's owner changed to Zhu Guoxu. Two years later, the large company that had offered him a position also changed hands, with the new owner being Zhu Guoxu again.

After that, Zhu Guoxu's business grew larger and larger. However, no one knew how he had succeeded, and he never talked about it.

"Some say he's the richest man in Yundong, while others say he's just a facade," Mo Fat said while driving. "He never defends himself against these claims. Even when asked, he just smiles. He's usually low-key, but he always makes his move at the critical moment. I heard his Juncheng Group is importing the world's most advanced water treatment project from Singapore. Xihai Group was a competitor but somehow lost."

On the way from Zhunan to Yundong, Mo Fat kept talking about Zhu Guoxu, giving Lei Xihuan a preliminary understanding of Annie's father...

...

This was Lei Xihuan's second visit to Xiangxie Garden.

The first time, he had received a villa. What about this time? Good or bad?

He didn't see Annie or Zhu Jinyan, only Zhu Guoxu reading a newspaper in the garden.

As soon as he saw Lei Xihuan, Zhu Guoxu waved him over: "Xihuan, come over, come over. What's this character?"

It was the character "yao" (垚).

"Mr. Zhu, this character is pronounced 'yao.'"

"Yao?" Zhu Guoxu repeated, then laughed: "I thought it was just 'tu.' What does it mean?"

"It means 'high mountain.'" Lei Xihuan had always been good at Chinese and knew many obscure characters.

"High mountain?" Zhu Guoxu put down the newspaper: "You need to read more. I finished high school and started working, so my education is low. Now there are many characters I don't recognize."

Lei Xihuan smiled: "Mr. Zhu, it's an obscure character. It's not surprising you don't know it. Besides, finishing high school was quite good in your time, right?"

"Not really. Sit down, why are you standing there?" Zhu Guoxu's eyes fell on Lei Xihuan's aquarium: "Is this the arowana you'll use tomorrow? Old Liu, help Xihuan take it inside."

Lei Xihuan handed the aquarium to Old Liu and sat down opposite Zhu Guoxu.

Zhu Guoxu poured him a cup of tea: "In our time, college graduates were valuable, the pride of the nation. Just take two young men of the same age, one a college graduate and the other a high school graduate. The college graduate would definitely find a wife more easily. And in the factory, the college graduate would go straight to the office after a short period of training, while the others would be workers for life."

He didn't talk about any serious matters but seemed lost in his memories: "I didn't go to a regular high school but a vocational high school, where you could graduate no matter what score you got and would be assigned to a specific factory."

"Like a technical school?"

"Similar, but different." Zhu Guoxu took a sip of tea: "In vocational high school, you had to study both skills and culture. But I really couldn't continue. Do you know what I studied?"

Lei Xihuan shook his head.

"A high school specifically for training furniture factory workers." Zhu Guoxu laughed: "I studied furniture design and management, but I never used those skills. As soon as I entered the factory, I was assigned to the paint shop as a painter. I quit after less than half a year and became a salesperson."

"You were quite bold." Lei Xihuan knew a bit about that time: "Back then, a factory job was a stable position."

"I'm not the type to settle, and I'm bold." Zhu Guoxu sounded self-deprecating: "When my father heard I quit, he was furious, searched for me all over town, and when he found me, he beat me up and demanded I go back to the factory and apologize."

"What did you do?" Lei Xihuan's curiosity was piqued.

"I refused." Zhu Guoxu's voice was filled with pride: "I pretended to agree, then took advantage of his momentary lapse and ran away. My father was so angry that he didn't speak to me for a whole year."

Lei Xihuan smiled.

He hadn't expected his second meeting with Zhu Guoxu to start like this.