Xie Sui thought back to the events of his past life. His cousin hadn't achieved much; back then, Xie Sui was busy with his own startup, constantly on the brink of ruin, and only became successful ten years later. Because of this, he hadn't paid much attention to his cousin's affairs.
He only knew that his cousin got married and then divorced, and his career never took off.
Now that he thought about it, it was probably because Hu Pan had been terribly mistreated by him. They got married and then divorced, and she was suppressed by her father-in-law her entire life. He wondered if his cousin regretted it in his past life.
However, in this life, he surely regretted it. After all, Hu Pan was such an outstanding girl, and now he was completely out of her league. He avoided her whenever they met.
There's an old saying that the best revenge for separated couples is to live better than them, making them want to avoid you.
Hu Pan had achieved that now. He wondered if Xie Chen had any regrets, and to what extent.
But considering his aunt's character, if his cousin became the village head, she would probably feel like the entire village belonged to her.
This was typical of someone holding him back. Xie Chen was also somewhat foolishly filial, and the future might not be bright for him.
Xie Sui wasn't very familiar with matters concerning the system, so he went to talk to someone knowledgeable, like Secretary Tang.
Sometimes it felt like Secretary Tang was practically his secretary, handling all sorts of major and minor issues. He was truly a talented individual.
It wasn't just about Xie Chen's matters; Xie Sui also needed to return to Hong Kong City, and he had to hand over affairs in the county town.
Compared to Du Feiyun's constant setbacks, Xie Sui's side was going smoothly. Generally, projects supported by the government were given a green light, and as long as one didn't self-destruct, they could proceed steadily.
Secretary Tang heard he was returning to Hong Kong City and expressed some concern. "When will you be back? To be honest, I don't trust that young Master Du. He's just for show; real work still needs to be done by you."
Xie Sui chuckled, "If those words reach his ears, he'll be quite petty. He genuinely wants to build a career. Don't underestimate him. He's already doing quite well.
First, help me resolve a major issue. Our village head is incompetent. I want to elect a new one. Do you have any suggestions?"
Secretary Tang was speechless, "You've really gotten ambitious. You think you can just change the village head as you please?"
Xie Sui scoffed, "He's not living off the public funds. It's just a village head, but it concerns the unity of the village. This village head is creating division. If it's not resolved, the village will eventually fight. I'm not alarmist; this is the truth."
Secretary Tang said, "Village heads are usually elected by the villagers themselves, a democratic decision. Also, to prevent the village head from becoming a dictator, there's a village party secretary, and before, there was a team leader. I'll look into your village's affairs later."
"Alright, thank you for your trouble. My cousin is a university graduate, and he wants to try. But I worry about his capabilities. If I refuse him directly, it will hurt his feelings. After all, he's my cousin. It's not good to make things too unpleasant."
Secretary Tang smiled, "That's easy. Your cousin might not be suitable as a village head, as he lacks prestige in the village due to his youth. But he can be a village party secretary, and one with official status. However, he can't be in his own village. He needs to go to a remote village; the more remote, the easier it is to achieve results."
Xie Sui thought this was good. "Then send him to another village as a village party secretary. This will satisfy his desire for officialdom and prevent my aunt from getting too arrogant and holding him back."
"Okay, I'll arrange it. The Sangeliang Village in the neighboring province is in need of a village party secretary, and he can take office immediately."
Xie Sui said, "Isn't the neighboring province Qiong Province? It's known as a poor province, even poorer than ours. Can my cousin handle it?"
"As long as he's not afraid of hardship, he can. Otherwise, would a young university graduate get this opportunity?"
"Alright, you arrange it. Make sure to explain everything to him clearly. He's a bit sentimental. Don't have him resent it in the end after doing the work."
"I understand. I'll explain it clearly."
Secretary Tang's eyes flickered, and he asked, "Do you really not know Miss Du's whereabouts? The higher-ups are pressuring us, ordering a deadline for solving the case. The pressure is immense. The police chief is already preparing to be removed."
Xie Sui looked innocent. "Heaven and earth as my witness, I swear, I truly don't know. You can investigate if you don't believe me. I'm too busy caring for my wife to bother with her.
Although I do find her annoying, it's not to the point where I'd deal with her. She's just a woman. I have that much magnanimity."
Secretary Tang looked disappointed. "Alright, I just thought you were resourceful and might be able to find her."
"I'm not good at solving cases. I can't help."
Secretary Tang said, "Then fine. However, your child's full moon banquet should still be held in the county town once. Many people have inquired with me. You are a celebrity in the county now. Holding such a joyous occasion only once is not enough."
Xie Sui found it troublesome. He wasn't holding the full moon banquet to collect red envelopes. Holding it once meant a lot of fuss, and it was only for a small amount of money, not worth it. He'd have to return the favor later.
"No need to hold it. Why bother people? We'll just invite a few tables of our close friends. It'll be quiet and casual. I'll arrange it later."
"Alright, I'll inform Secretary Liu. He's also been asking about you."
"Why bother the secretary? He already gave a red envelope. I've received his well wishes."
Secretary Tang smiled, "You. So many people rack their brains to get on the secretary's good side, and you actively avoid him."
Xie Sui wasn't actively avoiding him, but he didn't want to get too entangled with the top leader. It wouldn't be good for either of them.
After seeing Secretary Tang off, Xie Sui went to check on his joint real estate company. Since he was going to do it, he wanted to do it properly. The government had approved a location for office space, so Xie Sui planned to build an office building first. It needed a facade.
Currently, it was just a dilapidated courtyard, a single-story building. In Xie Sui's opinion, it was as rudimentary as it could get.
Du Feiyang and Tang Ling also found it unappealing and were still staying at the guesthouse. Having been accustomed to spacious and bright large offices, coming to a place like this felt overwhelming.
They had initially hired some office staff. The project department hadn't been established yet, and the construction department would be outsourced to a state-owned construction company, saving Xie Sui a lot of trouble.
Although the exterior was run-down, the interior was well-decorated. It had all the necessary facilities, and the rooms were kept warm. It was passable.
It was Xie Sui's first time visiting. The beautiful female secretary served tea, a little nervously greeting the three bosses.
Xie Sui glanced at her, wondering who hired the secretary.
He looked at Du Feiyang, as if this guy was behind it.
"You can go down now. I'll call you if there's anything."
"Yes, President Xie, President Du, President Tang. You guys chat."
As soon as the person left, Xie Sui confronted him, "This is a real estate company, not an entertainment company. You hire a pretty female secretary, isn't that asking for trouble?
I'm warning you, don't mess around. This is strictly regulated in the mainland. The crime of hooliganism is punishable by death. I'm not scaring you."
Du Feiyang cried injustice, "I didn't! She was assigned from above, said to be a dispatched graduate with official status. She's not under my jurisdiction."
Xie Sui was half-believing, "Really?"
Tang Ling said, "Yes, Secretary Tang arranged it. Those clerks were also sent by him."
Xie Sui was speechless. "He really doesn't consider himself an outsider. He's shoving all sorts of people on us. Why doesn't he keep them himself?"
Tang Ling spread his hands, "Perhaps he's also avoiding suspicion."
"Alright, let's not talk about this. We need to recruit a general manager, a human resources department, and a finance department. Let's build the core team first. We can't wait for them to send people. They're all useless, just here to slack off. We'll send them away later."
"We were thinking the same thing. Du Feiyun brought in a management team from Hong Kong City, all professionals. But his side is in chaos now, even facing lawsuits. Those people are all free."
Xie Sui's eyes lit up. "Is it that serious? It seems, Feiyang, you might win without a fight. Does Du Feiyun think the mainland is easy to deal with?"
"Poor mountains and wicked waters breed difficult people." He'll give this young Master Du a good lesson.
Du Feiyang raised his eyebrows triumphantly. "My elder brother considers himself an elite, but in reality, he's a good-for-nothing. Without Father's backing, he's nothing."
Xie Sui said, "You are also a young master of the Du family and have Du family shares. You're more capable than Du Feiyun. Why don't you try to lure these people over to work for us? We'll have ready-made personnel, and they're professionals!"
Tang Ling was stunned. "Wow, Brother Xie, you're something else. You're poaching from Elder Brother Du's corner. Aren't you afraid of angering him to death?"
"You don't need to say anything. Just tell them that resident engineers, designers, and other key personnel will have their salaries doubled, and their year-end bonuses will be two months' salary. If they perform well, their bonuses will be doubled."
These were all talented people. They couldn't stand being in Hong Kong City and came to this poor place to suffer. Those engineers must be full of resentment.
The best method was high salaries. People always wanted something. If they were suffering, they should earn more money.
Du Feiyang said, "Alright, I'll go now. Brother Xie, just watch."
Du Feiyang acted immediately. Tang Ling chuckled, "Brother Xie, aren't you afraid of them becoming estranged brothers?"
"They're already estranged. This is just one more thing. Besides, it was Old Master Du who instigated it. It doesn't matter if I add to it. He wanted his sons to fight, so let's show him a fight."
Xie Sui didn't quite understand Old Master Du's intentions. If it were him, he'd let his sons compete healthily without hurting their feelings. They were all born to the same father, and making them like enemies, what's the point?
Having sons was for them to support each other and not be too lonely. Raising them like his family was worse than not having them.
"Winter is not suitable for construction. Let's finalize the preliminary work first. We still need to recruit a general manager, and they must be capable. I'll keep an eye out.
Next spring, we'll build the office building first. We need a facade; we can't be so shabby. Let the designer create a landmark, something the whole city will know our company by."
"Alright, I'm in the catering business, and you're pulling me into real estate. This is too big a leap."
Tang Ling found it amusing. He had never thought of getting into real estate.
"If you want to do catering, that's fine too. But not here. You should go to the city, or Shenzhen, or Pengcheng. There are many rich people there. The mainland's economy is not yet developed. If you do catering in the county town, even if you don't lose money, it's definitely not worth your hard work."