Chapter 194: The King and the Meritorious Servant

Hangzhou City South City Middle School back alley is close to the West Lake attractions, and there is also a small park next to it. The environment is very quiet. Every evening, people who have worked all day like to take a walk and chat here to relax. However, today is a bit different.

People walking here are all relaxing and walking slowly, but there is one person walking very cheerfully. He is not the kind of person who rushes past like he is catching a train, but the whole person is in a happy mood, bouncing around like a child. Of course, if he really were a teenager, it would be fine, but the key is that he looks like a middle-aged man in his forties, and he has such a happy pace, which looks very incongruous.

This happy middle-aged man was none other than Li Qingyuan. He had just bid farewell to Zhou Ming and walked out of the teahouse. As he recalled what Zhou Ming had said in the teahouse, he couldn't help but feel excited, and his blood even began to boil. In this state, the fact that he didn't howl with excitement already showed that he had a strong psychological quality. However, even so, this middle-aged man in his forties still couldn't remain indifferent.

'Isn't that Qingyuan? What's so happy? Your oral liquid has finally broken through the million mark?'

Everyone walking here is a neighbour, and everyone knows each other. Seeing Li Qingyuan jump about so much, someone immediately asked curiously.

Li Qingyuan shook his head and said, 'If it was just my oral liquid that had broken through the million mark, I wouldn't be so happy. There's something even more worth being happy about. It's that my dream is finally coming true, that I have the opportunity to bring out a big enterprise that dominates the whole country!'

Not everyone knows Li Qingyuan, but at this moment everyone is stunned because no one knows what he is talking about. What is the realisation of a dream and bringing up a large enterprise that dominates the whole country? A man of such an age, who has never had a stable job, has always lived off his wife's salary. Now that he has finally done some business, he doesn't do it properly and always wants to get involved in other shady ways. He must have come up with another crazy idea.

This is the common thought of many people, and they feel sorry for him. Of course, Li Qingyuan doesn't know this, and by this time, he has already run home.

Li Qingyuan returned home and pushed open the door. His wife, Zuo Huizhen, frowned at the first sight of him: 'What are you jumping for? Your daughter is doing her homework inside. Don't disturb her. Let me tell you, tomorrow we'll buy some fruit and go find Ye Jianlin. You'd better apologize to him and give in. After that, you'll follow him in making oral liquid, and don't even think about beverages and food.'

Hearing his wife's words, Li Qingyuan refused at that time: 'Why not think about it? Not only do I want to keep thinking about it in the future, I want to think about it big time!'

Zuo Huizhen stood up angrily and said, 'I said, why are you so stubborn? Does it mean that what I just said has fallen on deaf ears? I'm telling you, you're going to go tomorrow whether you want to or not!'

Then Zuo Huizhen's tone softened again and she said, 'Qingyuan, I know you don't think much of Ye Jianlin, but his uncle is the deputy director and has connections with the big shots above. I know you have your own ideas, but this is no time to be thinking about them. Now the loan sharks are at the door, and tomorrow I might have to sleep on the street with my daughter. Why can't you think about us and the family?'

Zuo Huizhen finished speaking in one breath, and Li Qingyuan tried several times to interrupt but was unable to do so. Now that she had finished, he immediately said, 'Will you listen to me finish? Can't you see that I am very happy now? I am the pillar of this family, how could I not think about this family and let you sleep on the street? I told you that you wouldn't believe it, but I just ran into Boss Zhou Ming outside!'

'Big Boss Zhou Ming? Which Big Boss Zhou Ming?' Zuo Huizhen was a little confused.

'Where is there a second Big Boss Zhou Ming?'

Li Qingyuan said anxiously, which made Zuo Huizhen remember: 'Are you talking about the Big Boss of the eight-treasure porridge you often follow? You ran into him?'

'Isn't he?' Li Qingyuan said, 'He's in Hangzhou City, he invited me to his company, he wants to buy the company that sells his product in Hangzhou City, and he wants me to be the president of the company. You tell me what else I'm going to do? Boss Zhou and I think the same way, we think the future is definitely the world of drinks and food, oral liquid health products are difficult to last long!'

Li Qingyuan was very excited talking to himself, but Zuo Huizhen just looked at him in disbelief: 'Qingyuan, are you okay? Don't have a panic attack!'

Zuo Huizhen said, and then she reached out to touch Li Qingyuan's forehead, but Li Qingyuan shook her off: 'I'm not having a panic attack, I'm perfectly fine!'

'You're doing fine. Look at what you're saying now?' Zuo Huizhen said, 'I don't know if you don't know Zhou Ming yet? What kind of big boss is Zhou Ming? I heard that he sells hundreds of millions of cans of his eight-treasure porridge, making more than a billion yuan, and is a super rich man in the country. How would someone like him come to you, and how would such a good company of his hire you to be the president? You're still having a panic attack, aren't you?'

'I didn't!' Li Qingyuan exclaimed. 'I'm telling you, this is a dream that belongs only to us men, a dream that only a big shot like Boss Zhou could see!'

After emphasising this point, Li Qingyuan took a breath and continued, 'At the time, I just said that if I was given the task of making eight-treasure porridge, I could definitely sell one billion cans. In the future, there will definitely be problems with health products such as oral rehydration solution. Only drinks and food will remain popular forever. You all thought this was ridiculous, but only Boss Zhou took this seriously and believed that this was the future development trend. This is the vision of a great man!'

Looking at Li Qingyuan's determination to serve his emperor, Zuo Huizhen said with some concern, 'Isn't that right? Qingyuan, don't be fooled. What if he's a fraud and just wants to trick you into giving up your shares or the Baby Smile company? Those big bosses are all heartless!'

'That's impossible!' Li Qingyuan said firmly. 'To say he's a fake is pointless, because I can wait until after he's bought the Baby Smile company.'

'As for you saying he cheated me?' Li Qingyuan said with a smile, 'that's even more pointless, because you've forgotten about the land he auctioned off in Nanjiang? I'm sure this congee is just a small part of his big business. Mr. Zhou is indeed very capable, but his energy is limited, and he can't be everywhere at once. The congee business definitely needs someone who can manage on their own, and I'm that person!'

Li Qingyuan's eyes sparkled as he spoke: 'The Eight Treasures Congee has only been established for less than two years, but it has already swept the country and is poised to dominate the nation. What if it develops for a few more years or even a decade? It will definitely become a top business empire!'

'And there's Zhou Ming,' Li Qingyuan's eyes shone even brighter, 'he's an extraordinary person, and I believe that in the future, whether it's his vision or his eloquence, he will definitely become the top businessman in the country, or even the world. I'm lucky to be able to follow him from now on. If I miss this opportunity to be a founding hero, I'll regret it for the rest of my life, you know?'

...

While Li Qingyuan was back home, shouting these words to his wife, on the other side, Zhou Ming and Su Han got back into the car, and Zhou Ming couldn't help but laugh out loud.

'Han, I didn't expect today's progress to go so smoothly, it's a bit unexpected. I just extended an invitation to him and gave him a glimpse of his dream, and he agreed so readily,' said Zhou Ming.

'Yes, it is a bit too smooth,' Su Han said, 'but I think this smoothness is only natural. After all, he has been hit by so many blows before. Not only has he been arguing with his two partners for more than half a month, but Ye Jianlin and Wu Zheng are still threatening him like that. I'm afraid his family is also against him now. Under such circumstances, he is on the verge of a complete breakdown.'

'It was on the verge of collapse, and it was you, Zhou Ming, who gave him hope again. How could he not agree readily?'

Su Han thought for a moment and continued, 'And Zhou Ming, you also said that he is a man with ideals, so you also promised to help him acquire the brand Baby Smile. You have helped him achieve his ambitions and his ideals, so it would be too mean of him to be picky.'

'That's what you say, but from what I hear from Han, it sounds like I'm the one who's suffering a great loss,' said Zhou Ming.

'It's not a great loss, but you'll still suffer some loss,' said Su Han. 'After all, the company is currently on the rise, and sales are about to break the million mark. From Li Qingyuan's perspective, I'm afraid the other two partners are very short-sighted and will definitely try to raise the price and take a big bite out of you.'

Zhou Ming laughed heartily when he heard Su Han say this: 'No matter how high they raise the price, it's not going to be higher than that of the eight-treasure porridge, is it?'

Su Han shook his head and said that he definitely wouldn't, and Zhou Ming continued, 'That's it. In fact, I want to say that even if the company Baby Smile can really compete with the company Eight Treasures Congee, I would be willing to exchange it, because we can replace projects like Eight Treasures Congee at any time. Only by combining Li Qingyuan and Baby Smile can we be the most powerful. I believe that with Li Qingyuan, our Eight Treasures Congee can reach the next level!'

'I believe in your judgment, Zhou Ming. Do we need to control the shares a little, just in case something goes wrong in the future?' Su Han asked again.

'Xiao Han, are you worried that Li Qingyuan will usurp the throne when the Baby Smile company develops in the future?' Zhou Ming asked.

Su Han nodded and said yes, and Zhou Ming told her with a smile, 'I want to say that this is not important at all, because if he really wants to usurp you, you cannot balance it with the market system of shares. On the contrary, this kind of tactic will make people look down on you. And more importantly, in the future, the brand of Baby Smile will also have the beverage and food markets, which you cannot predict. He wants to be the richest person in the country, and I can give him that. Do you think he still needs to usurp the throne?'

'Fine, even if he is greedy and wants more wealth, am I a dead man? I can just turn the gun around and shoot back at Baby Smile, no matter how big the business empire is at that time, I can destroy it!' Zhou Ming said, full of confidence.