Chapter 108: Everyone Has Two Sides

Due to his past life experiences, Su Chunfeng deeply rejected the Jianghu of Esoteric Arts after being reborn. Just now in the living room, he almost couldn’t hold back from refusing Yan Hongqiang outright and formed the thought of absolutely not allowing Yan Hongqiang’s Hongyun Construction Co., Ltd. to undertake the Logistics Park project. But reason told him that using Fengshui Numerology to boost a company’s fortune was, in itself, a perfectly normal and acceptable practice.

Furthermore, since Shi Linheng was willing to use Fengshui Numerology to help enhance the fortune of Yan Hongqiang’s Hongyun Construction Co., Ltd., especially with his level of Esoteric Technique cultivation—setting up a large Feng Shui tree array in the project area ahead of time—it basically meant the Wantong Logistics Park project was practically in their hands.

If Hongyun Construction Co., Ltd. ultimately failed…

Shi Linheng would definitely be greatly surprised and puzzled, and would investigate who had prevented this project cooperation from being finalized. Combined with the recent Magical Duel incident on South Ring Road, Shi Linheng would inevitably trace back and uncover Su Chunfeng’s identity as an Occultist.

That would be terrible.

So the upset Su Chunfeng immediately got up and went to Chen Xian’s study to calm down and think carefully about how to handle this matter.

He couldn’t leave Chen Xian’s home because he knew that, given his father’s personality, if he left, his father would undoubtedly be completely overshadowed by the arrogant and overbearing Chen Yufang. He was also well aware that if they hadn’t partnered with Chen Yufang initially, they would never have successfully secured the dozens of acres of development land from the Erdaokou Town government, obtained a bank loan of over three million, let alone have the Wantong Logistics Park project that was now in the construction planning phase.

As for kicking Chen Yufang aside now that the work was done…

That was even more impossible.

Putting aside all the legal issues, while Su Chunfeng’s personality might allow him to do such a thing, his father and mother absolutely would not do something like this.

Moreover, business was meant to be long-term. Chen Yufang’s personal work ability, as well as her and her father Chen Xian’s network of connections in Pingyang City, would bring great advantages to this Logistics Park. At the very least, it could help the Logistics Park avoid many troublesome issues during long-term operations, such as delays or intentional hassles from departments like industry and commerce, taxation, city management, public security, fire safety, and so on.

After thinking for a long time, Su Chunfeng finally managed to step back from his rigid thinking.

Actually, which construction company undertook the Logistics Park project didn’t really matter. And with Chen Yufang’s shrewdness and capability, even if she was influenced by unseen, mysterious fortune and was set on Hongyun Construction Co., Ltd., she would still be very strict regarding funds.

After all, in every expense, she had her own money involved.

Hearing the sounds of Yan Hongqiang saying goodbye in the living room outside, Su Chunfeng opened his eyes and said to Chen Xian, who was quietly reading a book, “Grandpa, I didn’t disturb you, did I?”

“Hmm?” Chen Xian turned his head, took off his glasses, and smiled, “As long as I’m not disturbing you. Are you feeling better now?”

“Yeah.” Su Chunfeng stood up and said, “I’m going to have a good talk with my cousin-aunt.”

Chen Xian hesitated for a moment, then spoke earnestly with a pleading tone, “Chunfeng, your cousin-aunt… she’s just too arrogant and self-centered by nature. Her heart isn’t actually bad, and she’s very serious about her work, and capable… In the future, you and your father should be more tolerant of her.”

“I understand.” Su Chunfeng nodded with a smile, pulled open the door, and walked out.

In the living room, Chen Yufang and Su Cheng were discussing the planning and construction of the Logistics Park and various aspects of investment. After Su Chunfeng went to the study earlier, Chen Yufang, in a much better mood without that irritating thorn in her side, seriously and firmly gave many rejections and criticisms regarding the project report, design drawings, and plans submitted by Yan Hongqiang’s company.

What made Su Cheng, who had barely spoken, feel proud and happy was that almost all of Chen Yufang’s opinions during the discussion with Yan Hongqiang were exactly the ideas Su Chunfeng had proposed earlier.

Su Chunfeng walked into the living room, sat down on the sofa without ceremony, and smiled, “How did the discussion go?”

Su Cheng smiled and said, “Not bad. That General Manager Yan said he would go back and re-prepare the project report and design drawings, trying his best to follow our ideas and meet our requirements.”

“Oh?” Su Chunfeng looked at Chen Yufang and asked, “What requirements did we propose?”

Chen Yufang pursed her lips. But because her conversation with Yan Hongqiang just now had been reasonable and well-argued, making Yan Hongqiang, who seemed to be an expert construction company General Manager, nod repeatedly, apologize, and praise her ideas as perfect, she was in a pretty good mood now. She was a very pragmatic person and knew Su Chunfeng’s opinions were correct. So now she wore a somewhat amiable smile, “What requirements could there be? Just follow your ideas. Also, Yan Hongqiang did propose a good suggestion.”

“What?” Su Chunfeng asked.

Chen Yufang picked up the planning diagram and pen from the coffee table, marking on it as she said, “His idea was, since we still have a big shortage of funds, we could consider building temporary structures. Just now I asked him for a rough budget for temporary structures and did some mental calculations myself. Compared to the funds needed for ordinary brick houses, we could save three-quarters! This way, after deducting the costs for building walls, gates, and hardening the ground, we could still save some extra. Then we could build a row of temporary structures on the north side first. Even forty or fifty, or thirty-some rooms could be rented out quickly to recoup funds, then we could invest that into building more temporary structures… Many markets in the city are doing this now, and nobody minds that they’re temporary structures. And after three or four years, when our funds are sufficient, we can demolish them and rebuild, making the Logistics Park more standardized.”

“That’s a great idea.” Su Chunfeng leaned over, pointing to the south side and saying, “The plan here is to build two-story buildings. Since our funds aren’t plentiful now, we could also build some temporary structures there to rent out as warehouses.”

“Right, and a restaurant too. We can build one first… we’ll take it step by step.”

“Leave the other areas empty for now, no investment. That way we avoid having too few renters at the start and avoid waste from having to demolish and rebuild later.”

“Mhm, our office and employee dormitories can also be temporary structures…”

…

Unconsciously, as Su Chunfeng and Chen Yufang discussed serious business, they lost the confrontational attitude they had earlier. Instead, the more they discussed, the more enthusiastic they became.

When they finally quieted down, Chen Yufang suddenly remembered their previous conflict and couldn’t help but laugh helplessly, giving Su Chunfeng a reproachful glare, “You little rascal, your head works pretty well… And you dared to challenge your cousin-aunt earlier? That’s just being impudent, you know?”

“Yes, yes.” Su Chunfeng nodded with a smile, “Just discussing the matter at hand.”

“Well…” Su Cheng smiled and said, “Yufang, don’t take it to heart with a child. He’s still young. I don’t think there’s anything else today, so we’ll head back first. We can stay in touch by phone.”

“Alright.” Chen Yufang smiled.

Su Chunfeng, however, smiled and said, “Dad, you go back first. There might be something at the store. I’ll take the bus back later myself. I just thought of some things I want to discuss further with my cousin-aunt.”

“Alright then, you two chat. I’ll head back first.” Su Cheng agreed, getting up and walking out. In his heart now, he was thinking about having his eldest son just drop out of school and come home to help with the business. He really was good material. In truth, Su Cheng saw things clearly. He was also quite unhappy with Chen Yufang’s domineering behavior, but because of family relations—he was her brother-in-law—and because Chen Yufang was highly capable and had connections from her official family background, Su Cheng really couldn’t say much. It would be much better if he had his eldest son by his side helping every day.

After Su Cheng left, Chen Yufang made another cup of coffee and returned to the sofa, pursing her lips almost childishly, “I’m not pouring you any.”

“If you had just ordered me earlier, I definitely would have made coffee for you,” Su Chunfeng said with a smile.

“Now that’s more like it.” Chen Yufang crossed her legs smugly, holding her coffee with a somewhat elegant air as she sipped slowly.

After calmly thinking things over in the study, Su Chunfeng had come to realize a lot. Although many of Chen Yufang’s actions and methods were indeed overly arrogant, that was just due to her personality. Her cold, displeased remarks when Su Chunfeng offered his opinions could also be understood. After all, any capable adult would probably dislike a half-grown kid who seemed to know everything, criticizing and pointing fingers at their plans and ideas.

And yet, afterwards, Chen Yufang actually adopted Su Chunfeng’s ideas, which given the company’s current capabilities were somewhat unrealistic, and based on them thought of an even better plan to save funds and gradually improve.

Su Chunfeng smiled and said, “Cousin-aunt, there are some things I need to say to you in advance. Please don’t get angry when you hear them.”

“You’ve already annoyed me enough. What more anger is there?” Chen Yufang retorted with a playful smile.

“It’s like this.” Su Chunfeng showed an embarrassed expression, carefully choosing his words, “The prospects our company has now are almost entirely due to your hard work and dedication. I have to admit, my father and I are not as capable as you in handling these matters.”

A look of satisfaction appeared on Chen Yufang’s face, “Stop with the flattery. Go on, say ‘but’…”

“Okay, then I’ll speak frankly.” Su Chunfeng smiled, “I think that in the future, whenever there’s any important company business, especially concerning development prospects or major financial investments, it’s necessary for you to discuss it with my father, or at least inform him beforehand. Don’t you think so?”

Chen Yufang was stunned, her pretty brows slightly furrowed. She certainly understood the meaning behind Su Chunfeng’s words.

“We are family, and also partners.” Su Chunfeng sighed, “Throughout history, many relatives and best friends became enemies because they went into business together… Ultimately, the reasons lie in people’s selfish thoughts and mutual distrust. It’s human nature, nothing strange about it. To prevent mutual suspicion, it’s necessary to discuss things as much as possible during everyday work.”

Chen Yufang nodded slightly, looking at Su Chunfeng with a half-smile.

“Cousin-aunt, you still don’t really understand my father.” Su Chunfeng leaned back a little, smiling faintly, “Actually, for many things, discussing them with him essentially just means letting him know. He deeply trusts any decision you make… But you shouldn’t not let him know at all, right?”

Being advised and even gently scolded by a half-grown child like this made Chen Yufang blush slightly.

Thinking about it carefully, she really hadn’t handled these matters properly.

And the reason she acted this way, besides her personality, was that she did somewhat look down on Su Cheng from the bottom of her heart. But now, hearing Su Chunfeng’s words, she couldn’t help but feel a little ashamed and puzzled—it turned out her brother-in-law Su Cheng actually understood everything perfectly well. He had just been generously tolerating her bossy, domineering behavior all this time, which also meant he had considerable trust in her and recognized her ability.

So, it wasn’t that Chen Yufang was too capable, nor was Su Cheng too foolish…

Rather, Su Cheng was just accommodating her as much as possible, letting her take bold actions, all for the company’s benefit and development, as long as no major mistakes were made.

Wasn’t that more like a leader?

Or perhaps, behind all this, it was Su Chunfeng, that clever little genius, helping his father stay steady behind the scenes, calmly watching the company’s progress and Chen Yufang fighting at the front?

Thinking of these things, Chen Yufang sighed softly and nodded, “You’re right. I’ve been negligent in this regard.”

“Please don’t mind me.” Su Chunfeng showed a somewhat nervous, simple, and shy smile.

“Little devil…” Chen Yufang glared at him reproachfully.