These two, who were called Uncle Hao and Auntie Chang, were definitely not nobodies. Since they were invited by Qin Changan to have lunch on the first day of the Chinese New Year and were the audience for the Qin Family’s big news, they were thought highly of by Master Qin.
It was a mystery to Qin Sheng and a lot of other people where Qin Changan’s business stopped. It was so unpredictable that even the most professional accounting organizations should make some efforts to investigate and calculate.
The Chinese capital market named all of Qin Changan’s businesses, including the listed and unlisted companies, as Changan Industries, which included almost all enterprises, especially real estate. He invested and held a couple of real estate companies, enjoying the advantages of a broader picture and also taking the risk of an unstable capital chain.
Qin Changan realized the problem and consulted some business professionals. Changan Industries was then adjusted and restructured into a financial industry-centered mode, focusing on two aspects—one was insurance, banking, stocks, and other financial sectors; the other was private equity investments, angel investments, and other investing and holding sectors. The two aspects were like a titan’s two strong arms, shaping Changan Industries into one of the biggest players in the Chinese capital market.
The two distinguished guests here each controlled one arm of Changan Industries, in other words, they were the most valuable assistants of Qin Changan. Their resumes and family backgrounds were shocking to most people.
There are cliques in all companies, like the House of Lords and the House of Commons in Parliament, and it was the same with Changan Industries. Conflicts went on all the time before Qin Changan put forth his own opinions. This situation had its two sides to Qin Changan, the manager, and to the internal structure of the whole company. But Qin Changan still should be careful to keep the balance.
However, this balance would be lost due to Qin Sheng’s return…
Uncle Hao, Hao Mingyi, was a local of Beijing, graduated from Qinghua University, and then studied further abroad. After that, he worked for foreign financial organizations and some of the world’s top 500 companies. He had reached the highest position in an international company, but then went back to China, working for a central enterprise and teaching at Qinghua University. Now he was poached by Qin Changan to work in the Changan Industries. While Auntie Chang, Chang Xinyi, also a Beijing local, had similar working experiences as Hao Mingyi and enjoyed a more powerful background since she used to work in the Central Bank of China and the four major banks in China. She was more capable than most men in the field.
Qin Changan had some other assistants, who were all elites having successful careers at home and abroad. They were the major reason why Changan Industries stood on its two feet in their investments in foreign countries, unlike most other private or central enterprises that fell flat once they started in other countries.
Hao Mingyi and Chang Xinyi had worked for Qin Changan for several years, but never heard a word about this son. They only knew Qin Ran, who had been taking charge of the angel investment company and never entered the core layer of the enterprise. This was Qin Changan’s decision and Qin Ran’s own will.
Now Qin Changan got a son from midair and introduced him to them so formally. Hao Mingyi and Chang Xinyi, who were both sophisticated and smart, already had some ideas on their minds.
Smart people never waste time and energy on questioning the details. Qin Changan had to have his own reasons to have a son at this time, and these two people were not interested in the story behind it. They both had an idea about Qin Changan’s lovers and wouldn’t feel surprised if Qin Changan had a few illegitimate children.
They only cared about what effect this new son would have on their careers.
Hao Mingyi and Chang Xinyi sat still in shock when Qin Sheng was staring at them and thinking. Qin Sheng had already gotten some answers about these two people. Hao Mingyi mentioned “extra work”, so these two were obviously senior executives of Qin Changan’s company.
They had the very look of elites, totally different from common people. Qin Sheng greeted them in a proper voice. “Uncle Hao, Auntie Chang, nice to meet you.”
Qin Sheng started the conversation, so Hao Mingyi and Chang Xinyi had to react then.
They were both sophisticated enough to be cool on this occasion, concealing every feeling and behaving normally. Chang Xinyi smiled. “Nice to meet you, Qin Sheng. If I knew I was coming to see you, I would have prepared a present for this first meeting. Your father should have told us. I’ll bring you my present next time.”
Qin Sheng immediately sensed the woman’s tact and wits. “That’s very nice of you, Auntie Chang.”
Hao Mingyi followed up and said, “I found that Master Qin looked a bit different today. He eyed us with happiness. It’s because of this big, good news.”
Qin Changan had expected their surprise. Only a limited number of people knew about the existence of Qin Sheng—the few people who knew about the incident of the Qin Family and his peers since childhood. None of the staff in his company had any idea about this.
“Just take a seat. Help yourselves here.” Qin Changan turned to Qin Ran and said, “Ran Ran, go to the kitchen and see if our lunch is ready.”
Qin Ran squinted. “Uncle Hao, Auntie Chang, I’ll be back in a minute.”
Then Qin Ran left. She knew a lot about her father’s company, but she didn’t want to take a share in it. She was not capable enough to deal with those things perfectly and didn’t want to take any risks for the company. Moreover, she was not ambitious about her father’s business. Her father was enthusiastic about his business, and didn’t want others to help.
After Qin Ran stepped away, Qin Changan said, “Lao Hao, Xinyi, you must be curious about where my son has come from. It’s the Qin Family’s old story, unknown to my staff. Qin Sheng was taken away from home by my father when he was young, and he’s just gotten back recently. You knew nothing, so I asked you here to introduce him to you.”
Hao Mingyi and Chang Xinyi exchanged a tacit glance and said nothing, waiting for Qin Changan’s following words.
“I asked you to come, of course, not only to meet him, but for some other plans. Qin Sheng is now studying in the advanced class at Qinghua SEM, and I’ll give him a position in the company after he finishes studying. You know, I’m getting old and not energetic enough to run the business. He will take over for me one day so that I can enjoy my retired life then. But Qin Sheng is still young, lacks experience, and knows little about my business. He needs you. I’ve never considered you as assistants, you’re my good friends and I trust you. Qin Sheng’s future is on your hands.” Qin Changan persuaded them in a soft voice, with a totally different attitude from usual. It was an important thing to take control of these elites intelligently to keep the balance in his enterprises.
“There it is,” they thought.
Hao Mingyi and Chang Xinyi got what Qin Changan meant right away. Qin Sheng was going to take Qin Chang’s place. But things were complicated. The relationship net in the whole enterprise was complex—the small leaders of all branch companies would definitely not accept the new boss easily and the stockholders might have their own ideas toward the new boss. If Qin Sheng was not capable enough, any troubles would be their reasons to stage a coup.
Hao Mingyi put his opinion forward at once. “Boss, this is what we should do. You don’t have to…”
Qin Changan’s smile meant a thousand words. He eyed Chang Xinyi, who then said, “Boss, we’ll absolutely teach him well once he enters the company. This is our business. I believe that he won’t frustrate you.”
Before Qin Changan could say anything, Qin Sheng seized the opportunity and said, “I’m very grateful to you, Uncle Hao and Auntie Chang. I really need your advice on business. If I do something wrong, you just say so and criticize me, and never worry about who I am. I have to start from the basics and make progress little by little to become good enough.”
Qin Sheng had no idea of today’s arrangement, but he was ready to take his first step in getting to know the company and the staff.
Qin Sheng was careful and humble to give the two a nice impression of him in order to prove that he was not the kind of arrogant and good-for-nothing young man who would be willful and bad-tempered in the company, annoying the high-leveled executives and stockholders and ruining the business.
Qin Ran got back at the time. “Dad, Uncle Hao, Auntie Chang, lunch is ready.”
“Well, that’s all. You must be hungry now. We can continue the talk while having lunch.” Qin Changan retained his smiling face and stood up. He was satisfied with Hao Mingyi’s, Chang Xinyi’s, and Qin Sheng’s performance. He was teasing when he said that he would slack off in his business, but he would like to stand behind Qin Sheng, supporting him to take his place, before a real retirement. Even a little mistake would make not only Qin Sheng, but the whole Qin Family suffer bitterly. Qin Changan, of course, would never let that happen. The wealth and power pooled by the Qin Family for generations should always be cherished and maintained carefully.
While having lunch, Qin Changan, Hao Mingyi, and Chang Xinyi chatted about some interesting topics related to work and life. Qin Ran sometimes put in a few words to join in, while Qin Sheng just listened and said nothing. However, during the meal, Qin Changan told the two in a veiled way not to inform others of Qin Sheng’s identity so that Qin Sheng wouldn’t receive any “special help” when working. His two assistances understood him right away.
After lunch, Hao Mingyi and Chang Xinyi left. Qin Sheng and Qin Ran stayed home for the whole afternoon to entertain the continuous guests, who were all Qin Changan’s friends and their children. Qin Changan introduced Qin Sheng to everybody, and they were, of course, astonished.
Guests came and went by dusk. Qin Changan went out to meet up with his good friends when it was nearly dinner time.
Qin Sheng was a bit tired. He didn’t like to entertain the guests but couldn’t help doing so because, after all, he was supposed to grow to adjust himself.
Qin Ran sensed Qin Sheng’s tiredness. She flashed a small smile. “You’re tired, right?”
“I’m fine.” Qin Sheng lounged on the sofa and watched TV.
Qin Ran pulled Qin Sheng’s arm. “Let’s hang out and relax. It’s dull at home.”
“Where are we going?” Qin Sheng frowned.
Qin Ran didn’t tell him. “Just come with me.”
Qin Ran informed other people at home and went out with Qin Sheng. Ma Weiyang and her other friends asked her to hang out, and she didn’t want to leave Qin Sheng alone, so she took him along. It was not bad for Qin Sheng to get along with her friends.
