Big Data Cultivation

Chapter 173: Su Tai and Su Shi (Three more)

Feng Jun understood, Sister Shen didn’t say she couldn’t get a thousand tons of dynamite, of course, she didn’t say she could either.

She was only emphasizing that without a cooperative relationship, taking risks just wasn’t worth it.

Feng Jun had a feeling that this woman might be just a front, so he stopped beating around the bush, “If you really must find someone to collaborate with, I can introduce a bunch of gold diggers to you… Have you heard of Guo Heilian?”

“I’ve heard of him,” Sister Shen nodded and then shook her head, “Those guys are pure desperados, unlike President Feng, who already has a reputation in the jade industry… You are much more reliable than them.”

That reason was sound; people with fixed assets were naturally more trustworthy—monks can run away, but temples can’t.

All Feng Jun could do was respond with a wry smile, “I have the ability to deal with them, Sister Shen doesn’t have to worry about that.”

Upon hearing this, Sister Shen was first taken aback, then her eyes twinkled with interest as she asked, “My judgment is indeed not bad, but… if they fled, could you find them?”

That was a tough one, Feng Jun didn’t want to continue on this topic, “In that case, let’s not talk about it anymore, let’s just drink.”

Sister Shen glanced at him sideways, tempted to ask one more time if he no longer wanted the dynamite. But then she thought that with his means, it probably wasn’t an issue for him to buy dynamite elsewhere.

Nevertheless, she felt very regretful that today’s conversation hadn’t achieved her goal.

After dinner, it was barely past eight ten when Sister Shen extended an invitation—the night was young, why not enjoy the nightclub?

Feng Jun was the first to respond, saying he was quite tired and wanted to rest.

Wang Haifeng and Zhang Wei, both astute men, knew the negotiation hadn’t gone well and said they wanted to go home.

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After sending Sister Shen away with booked drivers, the three men reconnected by phone. This time it was Zhang Wei who led the way to a performance bar, claiming it was owned by a friend.

This performance bar was located within a large compound, which seemed to be Agricultural Science Institute territory, exuding a sense of peace amid the bustle.

Let’s not talk about Feng Jun’s car for the moment; as soon as Coach Wang’s Q7 parked there, its presence was commanding. Two security guards ran over at once, one quickly opening the door of the Q7, while the other, seeing the situation, sullenly turned to greet the guests at the “Passat.”

The performance bar wasn’t small, almost a thousand square meters in size, with a stage for performances measuring sixty or seventy square meters—big enough for group dances.

However, there weren’t many seats in the hall; even including the sofas in the booths, it could only accommodate about two hundred guests.

And at the moment, there were only seven or eight groups of customers, about thirty people in total.

The manager, a tall and beautiful woman, lit up when she saw Zhang Wei and greeted him with a smile, “Hey, Zhang bro, how long has it been since you’ve been here? Xiao Na was just mentioning you.”

“Hey, beauty, do you even know how to address people?” Wang Haifeng’s face darkened as he spoke seriously, “What’s all this about Zhang bro, Li bro? It’s Wei bro… got it?”

“To hell with you,” Zhang Wei kicked out, but his opponent, who already knew what was coming, easily dodged to the side; for a fitness coach, such moves were a piece of cake.

After a bit of roughhousing, the three found a booth to sit down, facing the stage. The manager beckoned for a fruit plate, beer, and popcorn to be brought over, and then waved for three girls to come over and sit beside them.

Zhang Wei briefly explained that this place was owned by one of his clients and was operating at a loss, but the client didn’t care about the money; it was all about convenience for personal amusement.

Wang Haifeng and Feng Jun exchanged glances, and Coach Wang spoke up, “That’s pretty much the same reason Sister Hong opened Hongjie.”

Feng Jun commented, “Tsk, when I’m free, I might as well open a place like this, so convenient to play around in.”

Both laughed, saying that this kind of thing should be left to Boss Feng to handle, as they really didn’t have that much money.

A few months ago, they looked at Feng Jun with disdain, but now their attitude had shifted dramatically, and not just Feng Jun was trying to adjust, even the two of them felt a little out of place.

Zhang Wei was better at adjusting his mood and continued to introduce the performance bar.

He said the girls here didn’t require a stage fee; they could be considered performers. When they came over to join you for a drink, they would later perform on stage, and you were expected to send wreaths, flower baskets, crowns, and the like—all voluntarily.

Was it alright not to send anything? Of course, if you could lose face, then don’t send anything.

Although the “performers” did toast, they did so in moderation, with far more restraint than the hostesses in nightclubs. The stage featured song and dance performances, though not as overwhelmingly loud as at a disco; the host’s voice was loudest only when speaking.

After sitting down and drinking beer for a while, Feng Jun asked about the background of that Sister Shen.

Zhang Wei casually mentioned that there was nothing impressive about this woman; she was just a deputy director of the county civil affairs bureau. However, her brother-in-law was the second-in-command at Zhengyang City Industrial and Commercial Bank, and she had a wide network of social connections.

Speaking truthfully, he didn’t even know how this woman got involved in the business of selling Thunder, “…Finance and securities are originally close relatives, I really didn’t expect her to be the one involved. I know her too, but then I remembered, her elder brother is the sales director of Zhenhua Factory.”

Zhenhua Chemical Factory… That’s right, it mainly produces plastic casings, but it’s a state-owned enterprise that shifted from military to civilian use, previously specializing in explosives.

Feng Jun snorted displeasingly and took a couple of sips from a can of beer, “She wants me to help her snatch an iron mine, is she nuts?”

However, Zhang Wei didn’t seem to mind, “These days, there are so many people with money but no project to invest in. Isn’t it normal to rack their brains for projects? We at the securities company come across a lot of such people, but I have to admit, I admire her guts for daring to get involved in a private mine.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Haifeng couldn’t help but sneer, “If you ask me, our country’s financial policies are quite funny—one side has a large amount of private capital with no outlet, while the other side has small and medium-sized businesses struggling to secure financing, with the manufacturing industry nearly collapsing.”

His dad was in manufacturing, so he had met many similar folks, and felt strongly about it.

“You make it sound so easy,” said Zhang Wei, who regarded himself as a professional in the financial sector and, naturally, had to sit squarely on the issue. He glared at Coach Wang irritably, “Easy for you to say, standing there without a care in the world. The current financial situation is already not bad for what it is… If you think you can do better, then go ahead.”

Wang Haifeng rolled his eyes, “Please be a bit more objective when you speak. I am a taxpayer, and since I have fulfilled my duty of paying taxes, I should enjoy the corresponding rights. You say ‘If you think you can do better, then go ahead’? You make it sound so easy… Why should my taxes go to support these incompetent individuals, just to produce crap?”

As the two bickered, a young girl sitting next to Feng Jun stood up and gave him a slight smile, “Brother, it’s almost time for my song, so I’m going to prepare.”

This was her way of giving advance notice: I’ve had a couple of drinks with you, so it’s up to you, brother, if you feel like supporting me or not.

When Feng Jun had no money, he was good at being frugal and saving, but deep down, he was quite spontaneous. When the young girl went on stage, he casually flagged down a waiter and ordered him to send a wreath to the stage.

A wreath cost a hundred yuan, not a big deal, but he also didn’t send a five-hundred-yuan flower basket. At that moment, he kind of understood Wang Haifeng’s attitude—We’re not short of money, but there’s no need to let others treat us like suckers, right?

The waiter asked for his surname, and after the wreath was sent up, it wasn’t long before the host on the stage started to thank “President Feng for the beautiful wreath.”

The wreath wasn’t expensive, but since this table of guests had just arrived and already started giving gifts, it was obvious they weren’t short of cash. As a result, two more young girls came over, one sitting next to Feng Jun, and the other next to Wang Haifeng.

At this “proper” table where it wasn’t appropriate to get handsy, the young girls were very sweet-talkers, the moment they opened their mouths it was “Thank you, President Feng, for coming here. Let me offer you a drink, wishing you a fun time.”

After this girl finished her toast, the one next to Wang Haifeng also turned around, “This boss…”

Feng Jun glanced at her absent-mindedly, and the next moment he froze, “Is that you?”

The lighting in the booth was dim, and only at this moment did he realize that this “performer” was actually someone he knew!

Despite the heavy makeup on the face of the acquaintance, he still recognized her.

The “performer’s” eyes fluttered, and she managed a forced smile, “This boss, have we met before?”

“Stop joking, okay?” Feng Jun replied irritably, “Don’t you own a beauty salon?”

This woman was none other than his middle school class president, Li Xiaobin—a girl with good looks and abilities, very assertive. In her last year of junior high, her father was diagnosed with cancer, and the classmates had even raised money for her. Later on, she moved south with her mother.

After Li Xiaobin left, she kept in touch with her classmates. Everyone knew that she attended an Open University in the south, attempted to study abroad after graduation but didn’t make it, and now ran a beauty salon in the metropolis.

Even two years ago, Feng Jun added her on WeChat, and every couple of months, she would post a status update, promoting new services at her beauty salon or showing off some delicacies.

In short, Li Xiaobin was one of those classmates who seldom posted on social media, but the friendship among the classmates was real, and she seemed to be living a fairly good and relatively fashionable life compared to other classmates, putting her in the upper middle class among them.

By coincidence, Feng Jun was also that kind of person—rarely posting on social media. Right after graduation, he often shared motivational content and comments on current events, but later got so busy that he couldn’t afford the time.

Later on, he became too embarrassed to post on social media, and in recent months, as his fortune turned for the better, he felt there was no need to show off—wealth had come so suddenly that he couldn’t just post a photo of a piece of Mutton-Fat Jade, stating that he was dealing in that business now.

However, some of his classmates were aware of his situation to some extent. The general impression was that “this guy is busy struggling for a living,” and the consensus was rather low.

Today, two classmates who seldom post on social media ran into each other in a distant place. Interestingly, the one who seemed to be doing not so well was acting like a boss, while the class goddess, the fashionable class president seen by former classmates, turned out to be making a living in a nightclub.

Upon hearing him say so, the woman who appeared to be Li Xiaobin shook her head calmly, “This boss, you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

After saying this, she got up and left, even looking somewhat flustered.