Homo Sapiens

Less than three days passed.

Li Qingye, who was still in Bamana, received the intelligence report.

Taking off his headset, Li Qingye shook his head with a calm smile. ”I thought they would drag this out, but I didn’t expect them to cave so quickly. As expected, they can’t seem to shake off that old Confucian mindset.”

”What about Qingye Medical?” Phil inquired.

Li Qingye waved his hand dismissively. ”Ship their order at market price. As for a discount, they won’t get a single cent. Do they really think I’m a pushover?”

”Yes, Boss.”

...

「Hai Zhou Port.」

Inside a dockside warehouse, the synthetic ammonia equipment and several hundred sets of various machine tools, which had been held up here for more than half a month, finally received clearance for loading.

Huang Kang, who was personally in charge of this matter, had been stuck at Hai Zhou Port for over half a month. He’d even sprouted a few white hairs. Upon receiving the news, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

In contrast, Chief Engineer Li Xinyi and the others who were also stuck here had actually gained a few pounds.

「Inside a hotel near the port.」

”President Huang, when are we going to Luzon?”

Huang Kang answered without a second thought. ”We’ll fly over tomorrow. We need to avoid any more trouble. By the way, Old Li, you must have heard the rumors, right?”

”About the branch factory?” Li Xinyi said, uncertain.

Huang Kang explained in a low voice, ”Yes. After this incident, I expect the head office will speed up preparations for the new branch. You should chat privately with the other engineers. The salary and benefits at the Hongsawaddy branch definitely won’t be bad.”

”What’s wrong with staying in the country? Do we really have to go to Hongsawaddy?” Li Xinyi sounded resistant.

’Heh.’ Huang Kang sneered inwardly. ’I used to feel the same way, but the ordeal of the past half-month has been a reality check.’

’If these ”delays” keep happening every other day, with all sorts of problems popping up one after another, what’s the point of even running this equipment factory?’

He now understood the decision made by Long Yuanzhi and the head office. They had clearly anticipated that such things were inevitable. Unless they could find another powerful backer to latch onto, it was better to just obediently get out.

”Old Li, even if you’re not thinking about yourself, think about the men under you. If you work at the Hongsawaddy branch, the company has promised to provide housing, and your salary will increase by 1.5 times.”

”They’re giving out housing? For real?” Li Xinyi was skeptical.

But Huang Kang nodded affirmatively. ”Of course it’s true. The unmarried guys should give it serious thought. With the head office’s resources in Hongsawaddy, housing is no problem. They’ll even help you find a wife.”

”What? The company is handing out wives?” Li Xinyi’s eyes went wide.

Huang Kang’s mouth twitched. ”Heh, get your mind out of the gutter. The company will organize matchmaking events internally. The head office has a ton of subsidiaries—nurses from the hospitals, tellers from the banks, cashiers from the supermarkets, workers from the clothing factories, teachers from the kindergartens and elementary schools... you think you’ll have trouble finding a wife?”

Hearing that list of professions, Li Xinyi looked troubled. ”Uh... aren’t those jobs a bit... awkward?”

”Not a fan of the women in those professions? I heard the head office also has large farms under its umbrella. If the guys don’t mind a farm girl who’s maybe not so cultured, the company can arrange that too,” Huang Kang added.

”The head office really is resourceful.” With the conversation having reached this point, what else could Li Xinyi say?

Even though he himself had a house and a wife, a huge number of the engineers and technicians under him were single.

Some of them weren’t short on money; they just had very small social circles or were too awkward and reserved, which was why they were still single.

The head office offering housing, plus access to a large pool of eligible female employees, would indeed be a big draw for many of them.

That evening, Li Xinyi told the more than one hundred engineers and technicians heading to Luzon about it, immediately piquing the interest of many.

Take Ma Jun, for example, an equipment assembly engineer at Donghua Equipment Company.

He tossed and turned on his mattress.

His roommate, industrial control systems engineer Qin Guodong, moved his laptop aside and picked up a yogurt. ”Brother Ma, still not sleeping? We’ve got a flight to Manila tomorrow.”

”Guodong, do you think this story about the head office giving out houses is reliable?”

”What? Thinking of going, Brother Ma?”

Ma Jun replied helplessly, ”You know my mom passed away last year. All told, it cost over two hundred thousand. I’ve only got about three hundred thousand left now. If I want to buy a place in Peng City, that’s probably just enough for a down payment. I’m almost thirty-five, and I can’t even guarantee I’ll have this job forever.”

”I looked up Hongsawaddy online. The cost of living is pretty low, but there are mixed reports about public safety. I’m planning to check it out first. When the company starts building the branch factory, they’ll definitely need us to go over and help out,” Qin Guodong suggested.

”Yeah, I’ll check it out first too.” Ma Jun was also hesitant.

After finishing his yogurt, Qin Guodong spoke nonchalantly while packing away his laptop, ”If the conditions are decent, working in Hongsawaddy might be worth considering.”

”Don’t you have a girlfriend?” Ma Jun was surprised.

Qin Guodong poured out his woes. ”Don’t even mention it. You know how we had to work all that overtime at the factory a while back? She got mad that I didn’t spend her birthday with her, and then she broke up with me.”

”But didn’t your family say you two were getting engaged at the end of the year?”

”Forget it!” Qin Guodong spread his hands. ”Right now, I just want to be left alone. Work is already exhausting. I really don’t have the energy to look for someone new.”

”You’ve at least dated a few. Your big bro here is probably going to die alone,” Ma Jun said, staring dejectedly at the ceiling.

Qin Guodong joked, ”I hear the girls in Hongsawaddy are nice, and the company even arranges matchmaking. You should give it a shot, Brother Ma. It’s not like you have anything to lose.”

”Heh, I’d rather not get my kidneys harvested.”

...

「In a low-key private garden estate.」

The words ”Wang Family” were carved onto a stone by the entrance.

Deep within the estate, in a large courtyard.

A white-haired old man was practicing Tai Chi. Two other men were also in the courtyard, but they dared not disturb him.

After finishing a set of Tai Chi, the old man, his forehead beaded with fine sweat, picked up a towel to wipe his brow. He then took a cup of Xinyang Maojian tea, gently skimming the surface with the lid a few times before savoring its clear bitterness and delicate fragrance.

”Anping, where is Zhiyuan?”

”Father, he is in Modu.” The middle-aged Wang Anping didn’t dare to meet the old man’s gaze.

The old man set the teacup down on the stone table beside him. ”Does he act without thinking of the consequences? Or have I been too lenient with you all? That person has already established himself. If you don’t have a way to take him down in one blow, then don’t go out and embarrass the family.”

Cold sweat beaded on Wang Anping’s forehead. ”Father, I will discipline him properly. I guarantee it won’t happen again.”

”Hmph. So reckless. How can he inherit the family business in the future?”

Hearing this, Wang Anping’s face turned even paler.

But the old man showed no warmth. ”Du Shuping and Yang Haibo dangled a bit of petty profit in front of him, and he couldn’t resist? Tell him to behave himself for a while. Otherwise, he can go on a long ’vacation’ to Vancouver!”

”Father, I will discipline him strictly.” Wang Anping had already understood his father’s underlying meaning: if this continued, his son would lose his inheritance rights.

As Wang Anping hurriedly departed.

In the courtyard, the old man turned to the other middle-aged man, who had been silent the whole time.

”Yicong, what have you found out about that kid?”

The middle-aged man, Wang Yicong, replied respectfully, ”Patriarch, his power base in Hongsawaddy has become immense. If we want to move against him, we may have to be prepared to make an enemy of Hongsawaddy itself.”

The old man didn’t seem overly concerned.

”He’s just a young man. It’s normal for the young to be hot-headed. Since Wu Heguang’s Donghua Group has been eaten, let’s let the matter end here. I hope he’s smart enough not to look for trouble himself.”