amaotonovel Chapter 1347 1990
Chapter 1347 1990
Chapter 1347 1990
Outside the Boeing 747 window, the clouds stretched across the sky like crumpled cotton wool, and the air conditioning in the cabin carried a cool breeze that made the stray hairs on Liang Sichen's forehead sway gently.
She clasped her hands together on her knees, her fingertips unconsciously twisting the seam of her beige suit trousers. Her gaze would occasionally drift to the window, then quickly return to the small table in front of her, even causing the untouched glass of juice on the table to sway.
Qin Hao sat down beside her, taking in her restless state. He put down the financial magazine in his hand, rested his elbow on the armrest, turned his head to look at her, and said with a hint of mockery, "Why does it feel like you're not returning home to reunite with your parents, but rather like an ugly daughter-in-law meeting her in-laws?"
Upon hearing this, Liang Sichen immediately turned her head and glared at him—there was no real annoyance in her eyes, but rather as if her secret had been exposed: "I just haven't been alone with them for a long time. You know, I went to America when I was ten, and only came back once or twice in between, and each time it was always in a rush. Now that we're suddenly going to be together for a long time, I don't know how to get along with them. Especially... especially I'm most afraid of those scenes where we hug and cry as soon as we meet. Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps."
As she spoke, she subconsciously rubbed her arms, as if she could already feel the intimacy that made her uncomfortable all over.
Seeing her like this, Qin Hao's smile faded slightly. He gently comforted her, "Relax. They are your parents, not outsiders. Just act naturally. No matter what you do, they will tolerate you. Even if you still bicker with them like you did when you were little, they will only think you haven't changed."
Hearing him say that, Liang Sichen's tense shoulders finally relaxed a little. She let out a long sigh, leaned back in her chair, and silently closed her eyes. Sunlight streamed through the porthole, falling on her face and outlining her soft features. The anxiety she had felt earlier seemed to dissipate with that breath.
More than ten hours later, the plane landed at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport. As soon as Liang Shenchen saw her parents in the crowd after exiting the arrival gate, her mother quickly came to greet her.
Liang's mother was wearing a navy blue silk shirt, and her hair was neatly combed. But as soon as she saw her daughter, her eyes instantly reddened. Before Liang Sichen could react, she hugged her tightly, her voice trembling with tears: "Sichen, I've been looking forward to your return. I missed you so much."
Liang Sichen felt a little stiff from the hug. She raised her hand and clumsily patted her mother's back, as if comforting a wronged child. But she felt nothing in her heart—no excitement of a long-awaited reunion, no urge to cry, only a sense of "just as I expected."
She opened her mouth, but in the end she only whispered, "Mom, I'm fine, I'm okay."
Mr. Liang stood aside, watching his wife and daughter embrace, his eyes full of tenderness. He then turned to Qin Hao and extended his hand, saying, "Mr. Lei, Si Shen has been abroad all these years, and thanks to you for taking care of her, I am truly grateful."
His tone was sincere, and he gripped Qin Hao's hand firmly, clearly showing his genuine gratitude.
Qin Hao quickly returned the handshake, smiling and shaking his head: "Mr. Liang, you're too kind. Actually, I've been traveling all over the country and abroad these past two years, and I haven't spent much time in the United States. Sishen is able to take such good care of herself mainly because of her own efforts."
These words only made things worse. Liang's mother hugged Liang Sichen even tighter, and her sobs grew louder: "My silly daughter, you must have suffered so much, haven't you? All alone abroad, without a single person to help you..."
Liang Sichen looked helpless and could only gently push her mother away, whispering, "Mom, I really didn't suffer. My work is going very well."
Seeing this, Mr. Liang quickly stepped in to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, there are too many people at the airport, this isn't the place to talk. Let's go back to the hotel first. Sishen just got off the plane and she's tired."
As he spoke, he looked at Qin Hao and warmly invited, "Mr. Lei, why don't we go to the hotel together? I'll treat you to a nice meal tonight."
Qin Hao waved his hand apologetically and said, "Mr. Liang, I'm sorry, I have some urgent business in Donghai and I have to go there right away, so I won't be able to come with you. I'll come to visit you again after I'm done with this."
Seeing his resolute attitude, Mr. Liang did not press the matter further and nodded, "Then Mr. Lei, please take care on your journey."
After saying goodbye to the group, Qin Hao turned and strode quickly towards the car outside the airport. Liang Sichen stood there, her gaze unconsciously following his retreating figure until the black-clad man disappeared into the crowd before she slowly looked away.
Liang's father saw all of this. He frowned slightly, seemingly lost in thought, but did not say anything. He simply said softly, "Let's go to the hotel."
Upon arriving at the hotel room, Liang Sichen changed into a comfortable cotton dress and sat on the sofa. Her mother poured her a glass of warm water, sat beside her, and held her hand, asking her all sorts of questions.
Liang Sichen then briefly recounted her work experience over the past two years since graduation—from working as an assistant at a Wall Street law firm, to later switching to an investment company, participating in several small business financing projects, and now starting to get involved in financial market analysis.
The more Liang's mother listened, the more worried she became, her brows furrowing into knots: "How can a girl like you handle such a tiring job? Why don't you come back to China? The country is developing quite well now, and your father and I can take care of you. Isn't that great?"
Liang Sichen smiled, withdrew her hand, picked up her water glass, took a sip, and said firmly, "Mom, I'm not a child anymore. I can take care of myself. Besides, I have my own career goals and plans, and I won't be considering going back to China in the short term."
Mr. Liang, sitting on the single sofa opposite, put down his teacup upon hearing this and asked curiously, "Oh? Can you tell Dad about your goals and plans?"
Liang Sichen sat up straight, her eyes becoming serious: "I plan to spend three years thoroughly understanding the financial rules of Wall Street, including the operating logic of the capital market, the process of listing companies, and risk control. Then I will spend two years trying to become a junior partner at Bear Stearns. Once I have enough experience and resources, I will start my own business, specializing in helping domestic companies list in the US."
"This..." Mr. and Mrs. Liang exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes. Mrs. Liang opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know where to begin.
After calming himself down, Mr. Liang tentatively asked, "Sishen, did you come up with this career plan yourself, or... did someone else come up with the idea for you?"
Liang Sichen didn't hide anything and frankly said, "It was Brother Hao who helped me with the planning. He said that the next five years would be enough for domestic companies to transform themselves, and by then many companies would definitely have a need to list overseas. I trust his judgment; he's always very accurate in his assessments."
"This..." Mr. Liang was speechless for a moment. If someone else had said this, he would have thought they were delusional—as a senior bank executive, he knew all too well the state of domestic enterprises. Many state-owned enterprises were mired in triangular debt, barely able to pay salaries, let alone township and village enterprises and private companies. They lacked money, technology, and management; how could such companies possibly list in the United States?
The person speaking was the owner of Haoran International. With an annual foreign trade order volume of hundreds of billions of US dollars, it would be unbelievable to him that he didn't understand the US market or the rules of international capital.
After a few seconds of silence, Mr. Liang slowly said, "I hope Mr. Lei's judgment is correct."
Liang Sichen wrinkled her nose slightly, her tone stubborn: "I believe in his judgment, it can't be wrong."
Mr. and Mrs. Liang exchanged another glance, their eyes filled with deep worry. They were worried not only about their daughter's seemingly unattainable plan, but also about the relationship between their daughter and Qin Hao—not to mention the nearly ten-year age gap between them, the key issue was that Qin Hao already had a family.
These thoughts remained unspoken, and he didn't know how to tell his daughter, so he could only worry inwardly. It was Liang's father who recovered first, giving his wife a wink and deliberately changing the subject: "By the way, your grandfather is coming back from Hong Kong tomorrow. Sishen, why don't you take a good rest today and adjust to the time difference, then come with us to pick up your grandfather tomorrow? He misses you a lot."
Liang Sichen nodded, but her stomach growled at an inopportune moment. She smiled a little embarrassedly, "Mom and Dad, I'm hungry. I want to eat crab roe buns."
Upon hearing this, Liang's mother slapped her forehead and said with annoyance, "Look at me, I was so busy talking that I forgot you just got off the plane and haven't eaten yet. Come on, Mom knows a famous old restaurant that makes the most authentic crab roe buns. Let's go there now."
"Mmm!" Liang Sichen immediately stood up, and a hint of girlish excitement finally appeared on her face.
...At the same time, Qin Hao had already boarded a special car prepared by the Shanghai branch and was heading towards the East China Sea.
His main purpose in returning to China this time was to attend the completion ceremony of the first phase of the Donghai Chemical Project.
Over 95% of the equipment in the first phase of the Donghai Chemical project is domestically produced, making it a top priority within the Ministry of Chemical Industry. The ministry's leaders specifically asked Song Yunhui to invite him back for the inauguration ceremony, essentially hoping he would secure some foreign trade orders for Donghai Chemical.
After all, earning foreign exchange by producing chemical products with domestically manufactured equipment is fundamentally different from spending a lot of money to import equipment from abroad to earn foreign exchange. The former can drive the development of the domestic equipment manufacturing industry and save a lot of foreign exchange expenditure, which is completely different.
When the car arrived at the entrance of the Donghai Chemical Plant, it was stopped by the security guards. Qin Hao was about to get out of the car to talk when he saw a figure in a dark blue security uniform walking quickly towards him.
The man was tall with broad shoulders and a familiar, cheerful expression on his face.
"Da Xun?" Qin Hao asked, somewhat surprised.
When Xun Jianxiang saw Qin Hao in the car, his eyes lit up immediately. He rushed over and opened the car door: "President Lei! You've finally arrived! Xiao Hui specifically asked me to wait for you here."
Qin Hao got out of the car with a smile and patted his arm: "When did you come to Donghai? I heard from Xiao Hui that you were at Jingzhou Chemical Plant. How come you were suddenly transferred here?"
"Hey, don't even mention it!" Xun Jianxiang sighed, his tone full of emotion. "Ever since Secretary Shui retired, Jingzhou Chemical Plant has been in complete disarray because of those guys who don't understand the business. I felt stifled there. After Xiao Hui heard about my situation, he helped me coordinate and got me transferred to Donghai. Now I'm the head of the security department here. It's not a high-ranking position, but at least I'm happy with it."
Qin Hao looked at Xun Jianxiang's still jet-black hair and the more composed demeanor on his face than before, and patted him on the shoulder with a smile: "Not bad, you look much more mature and energetic than before."
Xun Jianxiang scratched the back of his head, a hint of lingering fear on his face: "Actually, I owe a lot to your advice, Mr. Lei. That night, I almost couldn't resist taking action, but remembering your advice, I managed to hold back. Although I was still a little injured that day, at least I didn't go in. The others who couldn't hold back with me were just released from prison a couple of years ago, and their hair has turned white; they look ten years older than me..."
He waved his hand quickly after saying this, "Hey, why am I telling you all this? I'm just bringing up unpleasant things. Come on, I'll take you to find Xiao Hui. He's busy receiving the department leaders right now, so busy he barely has time to breathe. You wouldn't believe it, he's barely even having time to eat these days."
Qin Hao followed Xun Jianxiang into the factory area. Along the way, they saw many workers in overalls and several large chemical equipment. The factory area was clean and tidy, exuding an air of order. Not long after they walked, they saw a group of people gathered in front of an office building. Song Yunhui was talking to a middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit, with a polite smile on his face.
As he got closer, Qin Hao recognized the middle-aged man—it was Lu Xiaodi.
Lu Xiao spotted Qin Hao immediately and walked up to him with a smile, a stark contrast to her usual serious demeanor in the ministry, a nonchalant smile playing on her lips: "We've been waiting for you, busy man, to come back. I thought you wouldn't show up until the ceremony started."
Qin Hao stretched and teased, "I'm not as busy as you, Director Lu. I heard you're about to be promoted from deputy director to full director? You're so young to have reached this position, impressive."
"Sigh, what's so great about it?" Lu Xiaodi sighed, his tone tinged with self-deprecation. "It's just the last bit of energy my dad had before he retired. At this point, I guess I've reached my limit. It'll be difficult to climb any higher."
Qin Hao laughed and scolded, "Don't pretend to be innocent after getting the benefit. How many officials your age are there in the whole country? Don't play the victim with me."
Lu Xiaodi shrugged, his tone tinged with envy: "That's still nothing compared to you. I heard your assets are over 100 billion now, and you live such a carefree life—such a huge business empire, you call the shots all by yourself, you can do whatever you want. Unlike us, we're dancing in shackles every day, having to consider this and that in everything we do."
Qin Hao glanced at Song Yunhui, who was standing awkwardly to the side, and knew that if they continued talking like this, the topic would go astray. He quickly interrupted, "Alright, let's stop praising each other here. If we keep going, it will sound like we're bragging. Don't let Xiaohui laugh at us."
Lu Xiaodi realized something and immediately followed up, saying, "Yes, yes, I was so busy chatting with you. Director Song, I'm a little hungry. President Lei just got off the plane, I guess he hasn't eaten yet? Why don't we eat and chat at the same time, and I can tell President Lei about the situation of Donghai Chemical."
Upon hearing this, Song Yunhui finally breathed a sigh of relief and nodded quickly: "Okay, the cafeteria has prepared the food, let's go there now."
The cafeteria looked rather simple, but it was clean. The three of them found a seat by the window.
After eating a few bites of food, Qin Hao first chatted with Song Yunhui about the recent situation at Donghai Chemical.
Song Yunhui explained in great detail, his tone full of anticipation for the project.
After the two had finished their conversation, Lu Xiaodi suddenly lowered his voice and leaned closer to Qin Hao to ask, "I heard that the US is showing signs of easing its embargo on us. You're well-informed in the US, have you heard anything about it?"
Qin Hao put down his chopsticks, his expression becoming more serious: "A loosening of restrictions is inevitable. Many American companies are now investing and building factories in mainland China. To improve the productivity of these factories, they naturally need to upgrade their technology and equipment. However, don't have too high hopes. They will definitely still restrict some cutting-edge equipment and core technologies. In the end, independent research and development is the only way out; you can't rely on others."
Lu Xiaodi nodded thoughtfully, clearly taking his words to heart. Song Yunhui, however, brightened up and quickly asked, "Brother-in-law, you said the embargo has been eased somewhat. Could there be an opportunity in the chemical equipment sector? Although our first phase of the project used domestically produced equipment, it still lags behind the world's advanced levels. If we could import some technology..."
Qin Hao smiled at his eager eyes: "You'll need to communicate with the foreign companies about this yourselves. But I think, given the current situation, you have the initiative. After all, the first phase of Donghai Chemical's project has already been put into operation, which proves that we have the ability to manufacture large-scale chemical equipment ourselves. If those foreign companies want to cooperate again, they'll have to show some sincerity."
Upon hearing this, Song Yunhui's face lit up with joy. He had previously regretted the embargo, feeling that the first phase of the project had not reached its ideal state. Now, hearing Qin Hao's words, hope was rekindled in his heart.
The following morning, the groundbreaking ceremony for the first phase of the Donghai Chemical project was officially launched. Leaders from the Ministry of Chemical Industry attended the ceremony and delivered speeches from the podium, offering numerous words of encouragement. They affirmed Donghai Chemical's breakthroughs in domestically produced equipment and expressed high hopes for its future development.
After the speech, the leader announced the appointments on the spot: Ma Baoping was officially appointed as the Party Secretary of Donghai Chemical, Song Yunhui was appointed as the factory director, and Han Zegang was appointed as the deputy factory director.
After the ceremony, Qin Hao followed Song Yunhui to his office. The office was small, with a huge planning map of the Donghai Chemical Plant area hanging on the wall, and the desk piled high with documents.
Qin Hao glanced around to make sure no one else was there before lowering his voice to ask, "Have you seen Director Ren recently? What do you think of her?"
Song Yunhui paused for a moment, thought carefully, and then replied, "Her personality... well, how should I put it, she's a bit stubborn and sometimes inflexible. When working with her, we often argue over some details. But undeniably, she's extremely conscientious and responsible in her work, and she's very meticulous. Tasks assigned to her never go wrong."
At this point, he suddenly realized something, and his eyes widened: "Brother-in-law, you wouldn't be thinking of..."