Chapter 46

"Father, that Li Mu didn’t give me any face at all. You have to stand up for me on this!"

That evening, Guo Yuhang was at home, hysterically shouting at his father, who was the mine manager.

Although Guo Lin doted on his son, after hearing the whole story, he felt it was merely a verbal dispute. He waved his hand helplessly and said, "Alright, I’m the mine manager, but I can’t go around punishing an 18 or 19-year-old kid for you. You should find a few people outside to handle it yourself."

"I’m not asking you to punish him!" Guo Yuhang clenched his teeth, emphasizing the word "him" even more.

After saying this, Guo Yuhang’s face turned grim. "I’ll deal with him myself, but you have to help me get his parents fired from the mine!"

Guo Lin frowned. "Yuhang, conflicts between kids should not escalate to the family level. My position is not easy. Many people are eager to see me removed from this position. I can take risks to earn you a lifetime of wealth, but I can’t take risks to do something as childish as this. Do you know how many people would be puzzled and how many would gossip if a state-owned enterprise (SOE) manager fired two SOE employees without reason?"

In SOEs, workers’ jobs are often referred to as "iron rice bowls" because they are very stable. Unless someone commits a grave error, they cannot be fired. Firing employees without cause would be like smashing someone’s livelihood in front of thousands of workers, which would invite a lot of resentment.

Guo Yuhang’s mother, Xue Guilan, who was sitting nearby, also tried to persuade him. "Yuhang, these days, even the mayor can’t fire SOE workers without reason. It would offend all the workers."

Xue Guilan, the vice-chairman of the Xiling Coal Mine Union, knew the workers very well. They could easily become agitated over unfair treatment. A few years ago, when the Xiling Coal Mine’s performance was poor and wages were delayed for months, over a thousand workers sat in protest in the city center, causing a complete traffic shutdown and even alarming the city’s party secretary.

Guo Yuhang was unhappy and stomped his foot. "Father, Mother, I’ve already found out. The girl’s name is Su Yingxue, and her father is Deputy Director of the City Public Security Bureau, Su Weimin. When I went to sign up for the driving school, I immediately took a liking to her. But that Li Mu not only flirted with her, he also embarrassed me in front of her. How can I ever hold my head up in front of her again!"

"Su Weimin’s daughter?" Guo Lin squinted, sizing up his son. He thought to himself: He knew his son all too well. His son was always out causing trouble, had no real ambitions, and had even slept with a girl from the mine’s technical school, which had cost him a lot of money to resolve.

Guo Lin didn’t oppose his son dating, but he believed that dating should be done with foresight. What future could there be with a girl from the mine? Now, his son had set his sights on Su Weimin’s daughter. Su Weimin, at 41, was already the deputy director of the city’s public security bureau. Although he was the third in command, he was young and would eventually be promoted. After a few years, he could even become a vice-mayor in charge of public security. This political background was already quite impressive in Haizhou.

In comparison, Guo Lin’s position as mine manager seemed less significant. He had no political background, only some connections within the mining group, which was based in Pengcheng, so he had no political base in Haizhou.

If his son could get involved with Su Weimin’s daughter, it would be a great thing!

So, Guo Lin asked with interest, "What else did you find out?"

"I also found out that she applied to Renmin University in Yanjing this year."

"Ah." Guo Lin clicked his tongue. "She’s going to university soon. Why are you putting so much effort into this?"

"I want to go to university in Yanjing too!"

Guo Yuhang blurted out without hesitation.

Guo Lin and his wife Xue Guilan exchanged glances. They had always wanted Guo Yuhang to go to university. Even though he had scored less than 200 points in the college entrance exam, Guo Lin still wanted to pay for him to attend a for-profit university. On one hand, he wanted his son to gain some experience, and on the other, he couldn’t bear the embarrassment of his son dropping out after high school.

However, Guo Yuhang had always strongly resisted going to university. The reason was simple: in Haizhou, he was a typical second-generation rich kid. Although he couldn’t control everything, he had a certain level of influence, and many girls were eager to be with him. But if he went to another city, he would lose this advantage.

Now, Guo Yuhang had decided to go to university in Yanjing because of Su Yingxue, whom he had met only once. This made Guo Lin and his wife very excited. They had been trying to persuade him for a long time without success, but now he had changed his mind because of a girl.

Guo Lin immediately said excitedly, "Going to Yanjing is great! There are many private universities in Yanjing. I’ll pick one close to Renmin University for you. Don’t worry, once you’re in Yanjing, I’ll buy you an apartment and a car. Then you can slowly pursue Su Yingxue."

"Su Yingxue!"

"Right, Su Yingxue!"

At this moment, Xue Guilan also chimed in, "Once you’re in Yanjing, you’ll have a car and an apartment at 19. What girl wouldn’t be interested? Your parents will give you plenty of pocket money to cover all your expenses in Yanjing!"

Xue Guilan knew that her son would be swayed by such incentives. Their family was quite wealthy, with millions in hidden assets. Just last year, the Xiling Coal Mine had earned them several million from the coal it produced. They had only one son, so they would naturally provide him with everything he needed.

Guo Yuhang was immediately tempted and blurted out, "Then I want a Toyota Crown, the 1995 Millennium Edition, with the highest configuration!"

Guo Lin thought for a moment. The highest configuration of the Toyota Crown cost around 600,000 to 700,000 yuan. Although it sounded expensive, it wasn’t a problem for their family. If Guo Yuhang wanted to buy such a car in Haizhou, Guo Lin would never agree, but in Yanjing, it wasn’t as much of a concern.

So, Guo Lin said, "Alright, if you’re willing to go to university in Yanjing, I’ll buy you the Toyota Crown you want and an apartment near Renmin University!"

Guo Yuhang was thrilled but didn’t forget about Li Mu. He blurted out, "What about Li Mu? We can’t let him off easily. It would be best to make it so he can’t even afford to go to university, to keep him away from Su Yingxue. If his problem isn’t solved, I won’t go to Yanjing!"

Xue Guilan, seeing her son’s newfound enthusiasm for university, wanted to maintain it. She thought for a moment and said to Guo Lin, "They are both employees. Firing them outright won’t work, but we could have them laid off in this month’s batch."

"Laid off..." Guo Lin pondered for a moment. The Xiling Coal Mine was currently undergoing a wave of layoffs. There were two planned batches this year, and another one at the beginning of next year. When the mine’s production decreased and resources were depleted, more than half of the workers would be laid off. As the mine manager, he didn’t focus on each batch’s list, but for ordinary workers like Li Mu’s parents, if they weren’t laid off in this batch, they would be by the end of the year or early next year.

Xue Guilan, seeing that Guo Lin was considering it, added, "Firing them would be too obvious, but layoffs are different. These days, as long as it’s not a leadership position, anyone can be laid off without causing a fuss."

Guo Lin, influenced by his wife, nodded. "The union is in charge of this. You handle it."

"Alright." Xue Guilan immediately agreed. "I’ll take care of it."

Guo Yuhang felt much better, filled with satisfaction. He couldn’t help but look forward to the future, where he would be learning to drive with Li Mu and Su Yingxue. He wondered what Li Mu would think if he knew that his parents were laid off because he had offended him. The thought made him chuckle.

Moreover, Guo Yuhang suddenly became very excited about going to Yanjing.

If Li Mu knew about this scene and combined it with the events of his previous life, he could deduce that Guo Yuhang’s decision to go to Yanjing was likely because of Su Yingxue. It was highly probable that Guo Yuhang had met Su Yingxue at the driving school and pursued her to Yanjing.

Although Guo Yuhang didn’t end up with Su Yingxue in his previous life, his father, Guo Lin, kept buying him property in Yanjing, which allowed him to ride the wave of the city’s skyrocketing housing prices and become a billionaire a few years later.

But the only unknown now was whether offending Li Mu would affect the smooth course of his life as it had in his previous life.

---

**End of Page**