Upon arriving at the airport, Su Jie stopped looking at his computer, turned it off, and stuffed it into his bag. At that moment, a message from his father, Su Shilin, came through on his phone.

“Song Qiong, phone number xx…. flight number….”

The message contained detailed information about picking someone up.

“Who exactly is this person?” Su Jie wondered. “Is this a task from the company? By the way, it seems the boss recently switched security jobs, moving from his previous company to Zhonglong Group as the head of security, and apparently got promoted.”

In fact, Su Jie was also concerned about his family’s situation. During these days away, his mother, Xu Ying, was still a university professor, but it seemed she was partnering with some friends on projects.

As for his father, Su Shilin had changed companies. Originally, his father’s company wasn’t very large, but the work was quite relaxed. Now, Zhonglong Group was extremely vast, with a global influence surpassing that of Haoyu, being a well-established enterprise. The last time Su Jie used a ride-hailing app to mock Li Xiaozhen, it was a product developed by Zhonglong Group.

To enter this industry, Haoyu had also developed software but couldn’t compete with Zhonglong, ultimately having to exit the market in disgrace. This was one of Haoyu’s more unsuccessful investments.

However, when Zhonglong Group tried to enter the gaming market, they were severely beaten by Haoyu.

The two sides had clashed several times, each with their victories and defeats.

Zhonglong was the old big brother, while Haoyu was the suddenly rising newcomer.

Now, both sides had acknowledged each other’s status.

The chairman of Zhonglong Group was named Song Longhua, a legendary figure who had grown up in poverty, later served in the military, and upon returning to civilian life, started a business that spiraled into a massive commercial empire. Moreover, he was low-key and rigorous in his style; it was said that he would go out alone with just a suitcase, taking taxis and standing in line. His clothes and shoes were all old and very simple, no different from an ordinary person.

His children were also very low-profile, never showing their faces, making it difficult for the media to know who they were. Unlike the flamboyant young masters of Haoyu Group, who were constantly surrounded by scandals, Song Hengyi rarely made an appearance.

Zhonglong Group’s management was extremely strict, making it hard to get hired. However, once hired, the benefits were excellent, with the company covering almost everything.

Song Longhua even developed real estate not for external sale, but as rewards for internal employees.

In contrast, Haoyu was quite stingy, offering low salaries and requiring frequent overtime.

Strangely, however, applicants for Haoyu kept coming in droves.

This was a peculiar phenomenon in the industry.

Su Jie was very meticulous and knowledgeable about business, having researched the top-ranking companies in the country.

Among domestic private technology companies, Zhonglong Group ranked in the top three, closely followed by Haoyu.

As for the Xu family, although they were large now, they operated in an old, sunset industry, which would inevitably decline if they did not rapidly transform. It was only a matter of time before they faded from the historical stage; the question was whether it would be sooner or later.

‘Dad is indeed somewhat inscrutable,’ Su Jie thought, a notion flashing through his mind. ‘He switched to Zhonglong Group; could it be part of a larger plan? But I’ve seen Zhonglong Group’s recruitment information, and they only want tech talents with high educational requirements, not to mention they also consider personal character. Those who smoke or drink are outright rejected. Given the boss’s preferences and age, it’s basically impossible for him to get in, and the HR personnel are known for being strict and unsentimental, so connections won’t help.’

These thoughts flashed through his mind, connecting various clues, and Su Jie began to understand more clearly. Including the fact that his father had him pick someone up likely had some meaning behind it.

“It’s about time; I’ll head to the pickup area,” Su Jie said to the driver as he made his way to the pickup point.

Sure enough, not long after, a girl walked out of the exit, standing about 1.75 meters tall, dressed in ordinary sportswear and running shoes, carrying several bags and dragging two or three large suitcases. With so much luggage, it would be a struggle for even a strong man, yet she was still trying hard to pull them along.

“Song Qiong.”

Su Jie held up a sign to greet the girl.

He had already seen her photo from his father’s message, and despite some differences, he recognized her instantly with his keen eyesight.

“You’re Su Jie? Here to pick me up?” Song Qiong was about to free her hands to make a phone call when she spotted Su Jie, her eyes lighting up.

“Let me help you with the suitcase,” Su Jie offered, grabbing the largest suitcase. He weighed it slightly and looked at Song Qiong, realizing it was very heavy, wondering what was inside.

“Is it heavy? Then you can take this one,” Song Qiong said, handing him a smaller bag.

“I’m just curious, how can you, a girl, manage to carry such a heavy suitcase?” Su Jie grasped the suitcase firmly, lifting it effortlessly.

Then he grabbed another large suitcase with ease, showing no signs of strain.

Not only that, but he switched hands, securing the other two large bags on top of the suitcases and lifted them all without breaking a sweat, his face calm and composed.

“You’re really strong!” Now it was Song Qiong’s turn to be surprised.

“You’re not weak either; you managed to bring so much luggage by yourself,” Su Jie remarked. “Why didn’t you just ship it?”

“The things inside are very precious,” Song Qiong replied. “I was afraid the courier would damage them. By the way, Su Uncle said you were strong and could help me carry things. I didn’t believe it at first, but now it seems you really are quite skilled. You don’t look like you have much muscle, though. Is this internal strength?”

Su Jie’s physique, dressed, was merely healthy-looking, not like those muscular strongmen.

In fact, Su Jie noticed that the more he practiced the “Thirteen Protectors’ Golden Bell Iron Shirt Dragon-Tiger Vajra Qi Gong,” the more compact his body became, with a feeling of contraction in his flesh and bones. He suspected that if he continued practicing, he would appear even slimmer, much like the character “Li Yuanba” from legends, “with a face like a sickly ghost and bones as thin as a stick.”

However, he knew this was a normal phenomenon.

Some international track athletes were even thinner than him but had tremendous explosive power and frightening endurance.

“There’s no such thing as internal strength,” Su Jie noted a detail; Song Qiong actually referred to his father as Su Uncle. “It’s just that I’m a bit stronger.”

He carried the suitcases and bags to the parking lot and placed them inside the car. Song Qiong sat in the car and sighed, “I’m really exhausted. How about you?”

“I’m fine,” Su Jie asked. “Where are you headed?”

“Let’s go to Zhonglong first,” Song Qiong said, giving an address that was the headquarters of Zhonglong Group.

“Are you an employee of Zhonglong or…” Su Jie wondered, connecting the dots. The chairman and founder of Zhonglong was named Song Longhua, and since Song Qiong also had the surname Song, he began to suspect something.

“Didn’t Su Uncle tell you?” Song Qiong glanced at Su Jie. “Song Longhua is my grandfather. Su Uncle used to help my grandfather, and now my grandfather has invited him to help with some matters again.”

“That makes sense,” Su Jie vaguely guessed some things in his heart; his father was indeed not a simple man. “I heard that the children of your Song family don’t get cars when they go out and aren’t allowed to have assistants; they arrange everything themselves, right?”

“Exactly,” Song Qiong sighed, “Also, when we get to the building, you can drop me off nearby. I need to carry the suitcase myself to avoid being seen and getting scolded.”

Su Jie nodded, comparing the upbringing of the Song family with the Feng and Xu families.

He had seen Feng Hengyi and Feng Yuxuan from the Feng family. Both of them were arrogant and domineering at their core, but each had their strengths. They seemed to embody a Western mindset, believing that the more high-profile they were, the more popularity and attention they could garner.

The Western style was completely different from the Eastern approach, which emphasized humility as per the I Ching; the more capable one was, the more they concealed their abilities. In contrast, the West believed that if one had abilities, they should be publicly proclaimed to gain fame, wealth, and support.

As for some disciples from the Xu family, they had become spoiled and shortsighted due to excessive indulgence from their family.

As for the Song family’s disciples, looking at Song Qiong, she was just ordinary, no different from an average girl.

‘The Feng family has ability and temper. The Xu family lacks ability but has temper. The Song family’s abilities are unknown, but they lack temper. I wonder how the Zhang family is?’ Su Jie thought of Zhang Manman. ‘She has abilities and can be temperamental with some people but not with others. She knows how to navigate situations; otherwise, she wouldn’t have sought out Zhang Jinchuan and given up so many benefits. However, the Zhang family is too low-key, to the point that people hardly know them.’

The young generation of several companies flashed through his mind in an instant.

Suddenly, he thought about national fortune and human fortune.

‘If the cultural atmosphere of the country fully aligns with the West, the Feng family’s style could truly explode and become mainstream. If the cultural atmosphere of the country maintains its traditions while developing its own characteristics, then the Song family will gain the upper hand.’

Nation, family, and people.

Su Jie increasingly understood some things.

In the car, Su Jie and Song Qiong chatted casually.

Meanwhile, in the Zhonglong Group office, Su Shilin was chatting with a “middle-aged man” in his seventies.

This “middle-aged man” was Song Longhua.

He was already over seventy years old but looked like he was in his fifties, adept at maintaining his health.

Su Shilin sat boldly across from him, lighting a cigarette and taking a puff.

Outside the door, several assistants were wide-eyed, knowing that smoking was completely banned in Zhonglong Group. Even if an executive lit a cigarette, they would be immediately fired. Yet here was a man in a security uniform smoking in the chairman’s office, and the chairman was smiling.

However, beside Su Shilin, a large-capacity air purifier was running, sucking up all the “secondhand smoke,” ensuring that Chairman Song Longhua wouldn’t be affected health-wise.

“Little Su, you finally agreed to help me this time,” Song Longhua said, watching Su Shilin smoke three cigarettes in a row before stopping. “Now tell me, what kind of treatment do you want? You don’t want money?”

“Nothing much,” Su Shilin flicked the cigarette butt, which accurately landed in a distant trash can, the ember extinguishing mid-air, and it was unclear what technique he used. “I don’t want money; it’s just that my fate seems to dictate I can’t have money. Every time I have money, something unfortunate happens.”

“You believe in fate?” Song Longhua asked.

“Not really,” Su Shilin took a big sip of tea. “But not believing it can also lead to trouble. To be honest, I’m here to help you so that my son can meet your granddaughter. I’ve discovered something troubling: my arch-enemy’s daughter is about to get close to my son. If this blows up, whether he kills me or I kill him, it’s going to be a big problem.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep