Chapter 29: Dinner, Proposal

Since that incident, whenever the bad students from No.1 High had conflicts with other schools, offended someone they shouldn’t, and couldn’t resolve it, they’d use various connections to find Su Anxi and beg her to step in.

But Su Anxi had her own preferred way of doing things—after subtly probing to understand the situation, she would gracefully apologize on behalf of those people.

Bit by bit, this pretty girl at Changyang No.1 High was turning into something of a legend.

“Bring me to look for Anxi, I’m going to take her out for a meal. I’m very sure she’s not eating well at the school cafeteria because this girl is extremely frugal.”

Su Pingnan told the driver Wang Chenguang to go to No.1 High, then turned to Su Jianguo with a smile. “Old Ninth Uncle, why don’t we all have a meal together before going home?”

Su Jianguo hurriedly nodded—Su Pingnan had amazed him, so there was no thought of objection. Two SUVs turned around in the wind and snow and sped toward Changyang No.1 High.

As soon as school ended, Su Anxi looked up and saw a familiar figure quietly waving at her in the wind and snow.

Su Anxi immediately leaped with joy, for the first time bouncing toward a man in front of her companions.

“Brother Wenwen, you’re here!”

As she spoke, her little head kept looking around.

Su Wenwen had essentially grown up in Su Pingnan’s home. Among the Su family’s four siblings, aside from Su Pingnan, he was the closest to Su Anxi.

Patting Su Anxi’s ponytail affectionately, Su Wenwen said, “Stop looking. Your second brother is here—he’s tied up with something, so he sent me to pick you up for dinner first.”

“Sounds good.”

Su Anxi smiled with her pretty eyes and nodded eagerly. Her companion, Xi Nannan, was a tall, delicate-looking girl. Hearing these words, she tugged Su Anxi’s arm, her face full of pleading.

Curiosity not only kills cats, it can kill people too. Xi Nannan’s curiosity about Su Pingnan had come to a dangerous point.

Xi Nannan was a local of Changyang County from a well-off family and she had noticed Su Anxi’s changes. The girl was precocious and had inquired about Su Anxi’s oft-mentioned second brother. Once she did, the little girl grew interested in the famous “Little Red Robe.”

Su Anxi looked back at her companion’s pleading face and said to Su Wenwen, “Wenwen, I want to bring my friend along.”

“Okay.”

Su Wenwen naturally had no objection.

Su Pingnan’s first step into society was in Changyang County. At that time he was ruthless and fierce, like a monster making a big ruckus in the small county.

The place wasn’t big and there were only a few well-known big bosses. Su Pingnan had left early for Wucheng and made a big splash there, so when people in Changyang mentioned “Little Red Robe,” they’d give a thumbs-up.

Su Pingnan’s pine-nut business was large, plus some enterprising locals did some reselling for him and made good money, so they respected him thoroughly. That’s why his reputation in Changyang County was unusually useful.

Because he often sent things to Su Anxi, these people were familiar with those black SUVs—one advantage of a small place is how fast news travels.

When Su Pingnan’s car made a round, the most plugged-in bosses immediately knew he’d returned to Changyang and promptly organized a feast for themselves with Little Red Robe.

Su Pingnan’s return to Changyang this time was aimed at the Chinese bluestone resources across the county’s nine towns and eighteen townships. His reputation in the county was big but his time there was short and his foundation not solid enough.

These local bosses were the partners he intended to cooperate with. Since they came to him, Su Pingnan readily agreed to a tentative discussion. His inherently domineering side surfaced—he planned to unite them to monopolize Changyang’s Chinese bluestone resources.

No one except Su Pingnan knew that next year Tiannan Province would launch a major infrastructure project. Changyang’s countryside had abundant Chinese bluestone, convenient transportation, and advantages in stone hardness and extraction. Su Pingnan knew that if he secured it, the profits would be double those of the pine-nut business.

They ate at the county’s most popular old restaurant, where the head chef was said to use ancestral Republican-era techniques. Since opening it had been packed every year. Business was extremely good.

Su Pingnan didn’t want Su Anxi involved in such a banquet, so he had Wang Chenguang take Old Ninth Uncle to the adjacent room and reserved a completely separate table for his family.

Everyone was polite, but Su Pingnan joked and laughed with them, and the dinner was congenial. After a few glasses, Guo Guangyao came in, handed Su Pingnan a Changyang County map he’d just bought, toasted with the others, and then retreated to the adjoining private room.

“All of you big brothers are prominent figures in Changyang County. For treating me so well today, I’ll take the first drink in respect.”

Tilting his head back, Su Pingnan downed his glass and continued, “Heaven has granted me great favor and continuously puts food on my table. I was lucky to make a small name in Wucheng, but my heart remains in Changyang, with you brothers. I was going to return to my village and throw a big party for myself, but all of you have been so hospitable, it makes me feel bad not to give back. So rather than wait, I’ll seize the day and lay out a scheme for enormous wealth. Let’s see if any of you are interested.”

When Su Pingnan finished speaking, several people’s expressions turned serious and their faces sobered considerably.

After all, Little Red Robe’s operations in Wucheng involved millions—his daily pine-nut business brought in mountains of gold. He was regarded as very wealthy, so any business opportunity must be considerable.

These Changyang big bosses each had their own businesses and connections and sometimes clashed. But their assessment of Su Pingnan was strikingly unanimous: “Little Red Robe is ruthless but has many brothers. He keeps his word—a man whose promise is as good as gold.”

Right now, the thugs across Changyang’s nine towns and eighteen townships say in fights: “You think you’re tough? If you were really tough, you’d learn from Little Red Robe: go to Wucheng and make a name for yourself. Stop pretending here.”

So when Su Pingnan got serious, these people immediately straightened up.