Chapter 57: Toxic Chicken Soup

Wang Linhe, unable to get out due to the commotion outside, was already anxiously scratching his head on the kang.

When Li Xian and his group entered the dormitory, Wang Linhe quickly inquired about what had happened earlier. After learning the whole story, the old man was quite furious and repeatedly instructed Xu Chaoyang to handle the matter seriously and ensure it would not happen again.

However, Li Xian knew well that incidents like today's could not be resolved simply by punishing a person or issuing orders from a leader. In a society where connections could allow some people to act with impunity while those without connections struggled to survive, the situation only began to improve after twenty years but still existed to some extent.

Later, society progressed with the advent of mobile phones, computers, and various social media platforms, and with the national government's repeated emphasis on the quality of government personnel, making some people less daring in their blatant misconduct.

In his own environment, having no connections made it incredibly difficult to accomplish anything.

Initially, Li Xian had considered developing in other regions. He thought about real estate and the internet, imagining making money passively. But after carefully reflecting on the information of that era and the backgrounds of those who later became prominent figures in the Chinese economy, he gave up on this idea.

Many prominent figures nostalgically speak of how difficult and challenging things were back then, but such statements are often tinted with subjective impressions of those times. In reality, most of those who succeeded in an era when all order was upended, values were questioned, and boundaries had vanished had resources that their contemporaries could not access.

Bill Gates once proudly claimed that he started his business from scratch and worked tirelessly in the office for weeks to become the world's richest man. However, he never mentioned that his mother was already a chief director at IBM, and his first major order came from IBM.

Warren Buffett said he entered the futures market at eight and became a stock market tycoon through talent and self-study. Yet, he never mentioned that his father, who was a congressman at the time, took him to the exchange, where the chairman personally greeted them.

This was the situation abroad.

In China, real estate tycoon Ren Zhiqiang's father was the president of a bank in Liaoning Province and later became the vice minister of the Ministry of Commerce. Ren Zhengfei's father didn't have much of a background, but his father-in-law was a deputy provincial cadre. Liu Chuan's father was a prominent figure in Chinese law. Xue Manzi's father was the Minister of the United Front Work Department, and Wang Shi's father, Wang Hui, was the head of the Liuzhou Railway Bureau, with his father-in-law being a high-ranking official in the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee.

As for the normally low-profile Xiao Ma, his father, who was the general manager of the Yantian Port Group, would drive a Mercedes to handle his accounts. While Ma Jiek had always claimed to be a grassroots figure, his family's deep connections with General Chen were undeniable.

Combining these observations, Li Xian reached a conclusion.

It's not that having a background guarantees benefits, nor is it that these super-rich figures lack talent or exceptional qualities. However, their backgrounds reveal an important point: having a powerful father or a strong network of connections increases the likelihood of success.

More crucially, with a strong background, once you become successful, no one dares to snatch your wealth… just like Li Xian's current situation.

With his present background and capital, entering such a competitive field would likely mean not surviving until the end. Instead of delivering packages in the south, it made more sense to use his knowledge of his hometown to develop and expand.

Thus, for Li Xian, he was indeed in a troublesome era.

An era… where you know it will improve in the future, but is still full of difficulties right now.

Seeing that Li Xian's mood was somewhat down, Wang Linhe waved him over and formally introduced Xu Chaoyang. Then he shifted the topic to the allocation of positions.

Xu Chaoyang, understanding the cue, immediately smiled and said, "Xiao Li, I've heard from Uncle Wang about your situation. With your intellect, it's a waste to just muddle through in society. Your job isn't settled yet, and the bureau is planning to invigorate the secondary forestry industry. The Multi-Industry Bureau is currently short of people. Would you like to go there?"

In reality, the Multi-Industry Bureau wasn't lacking in staff. But given the current situation at the forestry bureau, there was no room for expansion in forestry as the main industry. More development space had to be extracted from the diverse utilization of forest resources.

Faced with Xu Chaoyang's offer, Li Xian wiped his nose and said, "I'm not interested."

Wang Linhe was taken aback, not expecting Li Xian to refuse so decisively. He immediately became agitated, "How can you be so ungrateful?"

Li Xian sneered.

Wang Linhe's intention to place him in the bureau was something he had already learned from Zheng Weishi. He would have been open to a good unit, considering working while developing his own career.

But now that Xu Chaoyang wanted him to go to the Multi-Resource Bureau, his interest waned immediately.

What does the Multi-Resource Bureau handle?

Forest land cultivation industries, raising chickens, cows, and forest frogs.

Aside from cultivation, it deals with forest by-products, such as making salted and vacuum-sealed products from forest fungi, or processing pine nut paste, mineral water, and other beverage products. Li Xian knew this direction would be correct in twenty years. But right now, due to the limitations of the era and location, these things were doomed to fail.

Seeing Li Xian publicly reject the job, Zheng Weishi laughed and pointed his chin at Wang Linhe, triumphantly saying, "Old Wang, didn't I tell you? This kid's ambitions aren't here! Your efforts are all in vain!"

As he was speaking, Li Xian moved closer to Xu Chaoyang and said sheepishly, "Director Xu, is the Commercial Bureau still in need of people?"

Zheng Weishi's smile instantly froze.

Xu Chaoyang was also embarrassed, not expecting this young man to be so… unconventional. He was dissatisfied with the job placement offered and even wanted to choose his own position!

What does the Commercial Bureau handle?

The Commercial Bureau oversees industries like board factories, plywood factories, cement, lime, and tiles… all the wood-related and basic industries within the forestry bureau.

He couldn't help but look at Wang Linhe and said, "Uncle…"

Wang Linhe, seeing Zheng Weishi's look of satisfaction, was smiling smugly.

Noticing Xu Chaoyang's questioning glance, he waved his hand grandly, "You start there the day after tomorrow!"

Once the old man had spoken, Xu Chaoyang nodded, "Alright, Zhiye is also at the Commercial Bureau. Xiao Li can accompany her."

Li Xian's job was thus decided in such a casual manner.

…

As Li Xian bought drinks and groceries to celebrate becoming an honorable civil servant, the Commercial Bureau, where he was about to start, was surrounded by around fifty furious employees. Inside the bureau, several staff members who were also working overtime during the National Day holiday were trapped in the office building.

Among them was Wang Linhe's granddaughter, Wang Zhiye.