Chapter 27: Gifts And The Decision To Enter The Market

Su Pingnan’s way of wooing girls was like his way of navigating the underworld—simple, rough, and direct.

For a whole week after that incident, that mysterious man disappeared from Li Luoran’s life without a trace.

Sometimes she would recall his deadpan, negotiation-like pickup lines and smile faintly.

Things were quiet until a week later. Two young men in black suits came looking for her.

That day, Li Luoran was in a white fitted sports top with a ponytail, out for a morning run. The two black-clad young men abruptly blocked her path. The college boys on the field, especially those who were constantly looking out for Li Luoran, tensed up immediately and cracked their knuckles threateningly. If they spotted any sign of trouble, they’d rush in to play the hero.

The two men were also stunned by Li Luoran’s beauty. They exchanged glances, as though they could understand why their boss was behaving this way.

“Miss Li Luoran?”

At that time, the title “Miss” had not yet taken on the particular connotations it would later acquire. (“Xiaojie”, or “Miss”, has become a term for hostesses. It’s a shady term now.)

“Mhm.”

“Mr. Su instructed us to bring this to you. Please accept it.”

As he spoke, one of them respectfully handed an exquisitely crafted box to her.

Li Luoran shook her head and didn’t take it. “What is it?”

“We don’t know either. Mr. Su only told us to deliver it to you in person, he said it’s a gift between friends.”

She took the box and opened it anyway. The two men immediately turned and ran as if they were being chased by a dozen others, which made her smile faintly.

Inside was an eight-pointed star malachite pendant earring with a finely set diamond in the center. Li Luoran liked it at first sight, but she felt she couldn’t accept something so valuable. Watching the two figures reduced to black dots in the distance, she covered her mouth and chuckled as she decided to get Du Dandan to return it to that fool the next time she headed home to Wucheng.

In Li Luoran’s mind, Su Pingnan had left a very strange impression on her. She was both curious and a little afraid.

That night, when Du Dandan finished recounting what her friend had told her, Li Luoran remained silent for a long time. These matters were simply unimaginable given the clean family environment she’d grown up in.

Zhao Xia, somewhat riled up, said, “The real underworld isn’t about heroic youths or dashing lads. This man is damn potent. Luoran, say something—I’m swooning.”

Listening to the bravest girl in the dorm, Zhao Xia, Li Luoran stayed silent. But a sentence her beloved aunt, who had studied in Britain before, had told her surged into her mind: “A woman with a strong mind never fears the challenges that come with love. Regardless of whether it’s an abyss or a beautiful scene ahead, you have to face it with confidence.”

The restaurant named Jinxiu Pavilion by Su Pingnan was being renovated at an astonishing speed. It was the first project Han Bing was responsible for that followed his vision entirely, and he threw himself into it almost wholeheartedly. Four hours of sleep a day and a perfectionist attitude left the contractors complaining nonstop.

At first the workers complied, but later they began to openly resist. Han Bing didn’t hesitate and told Su Pingnan about it.

Su Pingnan smiled and said nothing. That evening, Guo Guangyao hosted a dinner for the contractors. Su Pingnan showed up for only half an hour and refused to drink with any of the others who approached him, but drank three cups alone with Han Bing.

The next day, Han Bing was surprised to find that overnight all the problems had vanished—everyone was in harmony and worked with renewed vigor.

Su Pingnan was now devoting most of his energy to Ertai Town.

He knew that next year, Fengcheng would fully open up mountain goods trading, and Ertai Town would become exceedingly prosperous.

With that early investment as an example, Jinxiu Group spent heavily to buy another prime location in Ertai Town. After dropping that large sum, the foundation for a hotel chain named Jinxiu Hotels had already begun construction.

Su Pingnan had now invested in Ertai Town to build a pine-nut processing and storage center, a walnut processing plant, and a hotel. He was now the town’s largest investor, so almost every aspect was greenlit immediately. By the time the local forestry-affiliated native products company in Fengcheng realized what was going on, they found Jinxiu Foods already well-established, and that pine nuts were continuously being pulled into the center at Ertai Town and then shipped to Wucheng.

Su Pingnan’s operations had grown too fast and too big. The taxi company had yet to make money, since he had invested in it early and did not expect it to earn much now. The company’s cash flow depended entirely on pine nut supply, so the books never showed much cash surplus. Finding another cash cow became his top priority.

Alone in his office with the door locked, Su Pingnan flipped through his packed notebook very seriously. He was looking for the business best suited to him. Opportunities were plentiful, so he discarded many low-margin projects one by one.

The words “infrastructure development” caught his eye—this was something that Tiannan Province was about to go into. Several expressways and national roads would begin construction next year. Su Pingnan’s expression turned stern. His current capital and scale were insufficient to take the lion’s share on-site, so the only way in was through supplying raw materials.

But while engaging in sand pits and quarries required small investments and yielded large profits, the biggest risk was that local strongmen would all participate, making it a mixed and brutal arena. Su Pingnan weighed whether it was worth forcibly entering. Conflicts would surely arise after entry, and how to handle those conflicts was the question.

In the end, he decided to go for it. Su Pingnan closed his notebook and made up his mind. Most people hadn’t noticed next year’s opportunities anyway. If he laid plans early, he might secure a big share. As for conflicts, now that he was well-established, what was there to fear?