Chapter 37

Xiyang House, Conference Hall.

When Li Luo, Cai Wei, and Yan Lingqing arrived, they found the seats all occupied, with all the senior management of Xiyang House present.

At the front, Zhuang Yi wore a smile, but beside him sat an elderly man with a somewhat stern face.

"Huh?"

Upon seeing the elderly man, Cai Wei and Yan Lingqing both exclaimed softly, then explained to Li Luo, who looked somewhat puzzled, in a low voice: "This elderly man is called Zheng Ping. He is an elder at the Xiyang House headquarters. He has a high standing in Xiyang House and was one of the first elders when the two lords established Xiyang House."

"However, this old man is extremely rigid and strict, a stubborn and hard-headed person. He usually stays at the capital headquarters. His sudden arrival, without any prior notice, suggests that he may not have come with good intentions."

As the two women introduced Li Luo, everyone in the conference hall stood up and bowed to him.

Even the elder Zheng Ping from the Xiyang House headquarters stood up, looking at Li Luo and saying, "Greetings, Young Lord."

"Too polite, Elder Zheng." Li Luo smiled at Elder Zheng Ping, then took his seat with Cai Wei and Yan Lingqing.

"When did Elder Zheng arrive in Nanfeng City?" Yan Lingqing suddenly asked.

Elder Zheng Ping's face remained expressionless as he replied, "The performance of the Xiyang House Tian Shu County branch has been poor this year. The headquarters has sent me to take a look and to finalize the unresolved issue of the branch president."

As he spoke, he fixed a stern gaze on Yan Lingqing and said, "Vice President Yan, I have reviewed some financial reports. The performance of the First-Class Refinement Room under your management has been extremely poor, even affecting Xiyang House's reputation in Tian Shu County. Do you have anything to say about this?"

Yan Lingqing replied coldly, "If you want to know why, you should ask Vice President Zhuang Yi."

Vice President Zhuang Yi immediately retorted, "Vice President Yan, don't blame others for your own incompetence."

"If it weren't for you secretly restricting the materials for the First-Class Refinement Room, causing my operations to sometimes be unable to proceed, would this result have occurred?" Yan Lingqing coldly rebuked.

Vice President Zhuang Yi complained, "The situation in Tian Shu County for Luo Lan House is already poor. The refinement materials must pass through the three major families in Tian Shu County, who have a tight grip on us. The materials we can obtain are naturally limited. Moreover, the Third-Class Refinement Room under my management is the best-performing refinement room in Xiyang House. Shouldn't it be given priority?"

"You!" Yan Lingqing slammed the table in anger.

"Silence!"

Elder Zheng Ping angrily shouted, glaring fiercely at Zhuang Yi and Yan Lingqing. "You both have your reasons, but I am not interested in hearing them. I am only concerned with Xiyang House's performance. Whoever drags Xiyang House back and affects its reputation will not be spared by me."

"The performance of the Tian Shu County branch has been getting worse, and the root cause is the lack of a president to manage the overall situation. Therefore, after discussion at the headquarters, the Tian Shu County branch must quickly decide on a new president."

The conference hall fell slightly quiet, and the other senior management remained silent, as they clearly understood that the conflict over the presidency was between Yan Lingqing and Zhuang Yi, with deeper implications behind it. They wisely maintained their neutrality.

Li Luo's eyes flickered. In fact, Elder Zheng Ping's words were not wrong. The Tian Shu County branch of Xiyang House was currently plagued by internal strife. To truly maintain stability, deciding on a president was the most important thing. Of course, the key was... who would be chosen as the president?

Thinking this, he smiled and asked, "Elder Zheng Ping, who do you think is more suitable to be the president?"

Although Elder Zheng Ping was not polite to Yan Lingqing and Zhuang Yi, he still showed respect to Li Luo. He paused for a moment and said, "According to the usual rules of Xiyang House, the president is generally the head of the best-performing refinement room."

Zhuang Yi's face showed a subtle smile. Among the three refinement rooms of Xiyang House, the Third-Class Refinement Room under his management had the highest annual profit, making this rule most advantageous for him.

However, Elder Zheng Ping continued, "These are the usual rules, but if the Young Lord has any suggestions, you can propose them. I can relay them to the headquarters, but this time, the Tian Shu County branch must decide on a president. Otherwise, I may have to stay here indefinitely."

"I hope the Young Lord does not blame me. Everything I do is for the benefit of Xiyang House and Luo Lan House."

Zhuang Yi's expression remained unchanged, but he was inwardly annoyed. This old man was really being meddlesome.

Li Luo glanced at the elderly man, deep in thought. It seemed that Elder Zheng Ping was not, as Yan Lingqing had guessed, sent to target them. At least, what he said did not align with Pei Hao's side.

The sudden dispatch of someone from the Xiyang House headquarters to Tian Shu County likely involved the open and covert struggles between Jiang Qing'e and Pei Hao's factions. However, the final person sent was the unaligned and rigid Elder Zheng Ping, indicating the result of the final struggle.

In a sense, this was not necessarily bad news.

However, if the president was to be decided based on the performance of the refinement rooms, Yan Lingqing would be at a significant disadvantage. After all, the Third-Class Refinement Room under Zhuang Yi's management was the heavyweight product of Xiyang House, with annual profits even higher than the combined profits of the First and Second-Class Refinement Rooms.

Yan Lingqing also understood this, her face cold and her eyes filled with anger, ready to lash out.

However, Li Luo suddenly placed his hand on her hand, fixing his gaze on Elder Zheng Ping and asked, "Is it true that the refinement room with the best performance will be promoted to president?"

"Yes." Elder Zheng Ping nodded.

Li Luo pondered for a moment and finally said, "This method is good. Let's proceed with it."

This statement immediately caused a low murmur of surprise.

Cai Wei and Yan Lingqing looked at him in shock, clearly not understanding why he had agreed, as this clearly meant giving up the presidency.

Zhuang Yi was also stunned for a moment before breaking into a broad smile. "The Young Lord truly understands the bigger picture! Indeed, our ultimate goal is to make Xiyang House better. If Xiyang House thrives, won't it also benefit the Young Lord?"

Elder Zheng Ping was also surprised. He asked Li Luo, "Young Lord, are you really sure about this?"

Li Luo smiled and nodded, then without saying more, pulled the still stunned Cai Wei and Yan Lingqing out of the conference hall.

As they left the conference hall, Li Luo immediately released the two women. Yan Lingqing, her voice tinged with anger, said, "Li Luo, what are you up to? That rule is extremely disadvantageous to me. Why did you accept it? If you don't want me here, just say so, and I'll return to the capital immediately."

Cai Wei also stared at Li Luo, her eyes filled with confusion. From their interactions, Li Luo did not seem like someone who acted rashly, but his actions today were truly incomprehensible.

Since Yan Lingqing had come to the Tian Shu County branch of Xiyang House, she had put in a lot of effort to maintain the current situation. Now, because of Li Luo's words, everything would be undone.

Li Luo looked at the two women and smiled. "Sisters, I'm not a fool. Can't I see who is truly trustworthy?"

Cai Wei looked at him in confusion, while Yan Lingqing crossed her arms and turned away, unwilling to talk to him.

"Although this rule is disadvantageous to Sister Lingqing, don't you think it's a legitimate opportunity to put Sister Lingqing in the president's position and get rid of the troublemaker Zhuang Yi?" Li Luo smiled.

Cai Wei and Yan Lingqing frowned. This was indeed a good opportunity, but the key was... Zhuang Yi was in an absolute advantage. Who would ultimately be driven away?

Cai Wei's eyes flickered, and she stared at Li Luo in surprise.

"Could it be..."

"Do you have a way to help Sister Lingqing turn the tables?"