Catch the sea: start with a sand shovel and take over the entire beach

"Brother, actually I still owe you money," Zhao Qin said jokingly.

Zhao Ping was taken aback for a moment, then laughed. "Before you got married, even though we separated our households, you were the youngest, so it's not like I should be expected to take care of you. In recent years, I've taken more from you, so how should we settle that score?"

“You didn’t take any of my money. You know we’re brothers, so don’t mention those two hundred million.”

"That won't do..."

"Brother, don't beat around the bush, just listen to me."

The two were arguing when Zhao Anguo suddenly appeared. "You two are both here?"

"Dad, why are you up?"

"I was afraid you were both asleep, so I got up to check on you when I heard it raining. What are you two arguing about?"

"It's nothing," Zhao Qin replied instinctively.

Zhao Ping then mentioned that his younger brother didn't need to repay the loan, saying, "Father, isn't it the right thing to keep clear accounts even between brothers?"

Old Zhao snorted, "You brothers can settle your own lawsuits. Don't bother me. I'm leaving."

He turned and left the wheelhouse, and after taking a few steps, a smile couldn't be suppressed on his face.

The two brothers set aside their dispute, because the investment was requested by Zhao Qin, and Zhao Ping genuinely didn't have the money at the moment, so it was too early to discuss whether or not to repay the money.

Zhao Ping brought up another matter, "Second Uncle... no, now it should be Third Uncle who said that A-Kun was released in July this year."

"So fast?" I remember the sentence was six years, but by July it was only about three years.

"I guess they spent money. I heard they were injured during their work and their disability has been reduced. But it seems that after they are released, they can't leave the city and have to go to the police station to register regularly."

"Let's put him under house arrest. I heard that the requirements for that are very strict."

Zhao Ping didn't quite understand either, but he knew one thing: "Aqin, I reckon they must have used your name to smooth things over."

"Third Uncle wouldn't dare, would he?" While Zhao Haidong might have dared to boss him around like a boss in the past, he wouldn't dare now, even if he had a lot of guts.

To make things difficult for Zhao Haidong's family now, he doesn't even need to lift a finger; he just needs to inform his fourth grandfather.

He thought of one possibility: "Father should know."

"You're saying Dad agreed to them doing this?"

Zhao Qin gave a light "hmm," and said, "It's a family business, after all, he's his nephew. My father is now the head of the Zhao family, so it's not easy for him to refuse when my third uncle asks him for help."

"Ask about it tomorrow."

"There's nothing to ask. Let him go. If he's really going to start anew, that's fine. But if he's still not honest, I can find a way to throw him back in once, and I can do it again."

"I don't need to worry about that. I reckon if he really had any ideas, Uncle San and A Peng would definitely not allow it."

Zhao Qin stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and changed the subject again, "Brother, I'd like A Yuan to study at a university in North America for a year or two in the future."

"There are good universities in China too." Zhao Ping's thinking was actually undergoing a subtle change.

I used to hope that my son could get into a good university, and of course I still hope so now, but I'm not as eager as before. In the end, it's because the family has capital now, and no matter how well my son studies, he will still have to come back and inherit the family business.

“I want him to study finance. Inland universities are not good at this field, so at the very least, it has to be Hong Kong City University.”

“That kid is very determined, I’m not sure I can make decisions for him. I think graduating from university and learning from you is better than going to school.” Zhao Ping still had some reservations.

"Brother, we need to look at things from a forward-looking perspective. A-Yuan isn't the type to be content with small gains. As for capital operations, what I know is only what I've learned from a few books in the last two years, which is far inferior to A-Ke's knowledge."

Like with this investment, Lao Ke said I turned a perfectly good fundraising process into a gangster gathering.

If it weren't for him helping me, I would be in even worse shape.

Of course, I respect A-Yuan's own choice. I'll talk to him about it in more detail when he's a bit older. I won't pressure him to get a degree, so the study abroad period doesn't need to be too long, one to two years will be fine.

Discussing these things may seem a bit far-fetched, but Zhao Qin can no longer afford to be complacent. He must think about the future of his family's future, more than ten years from now.

If Ping An doesn't work, then Ah Yuan will have to shoulder the burden of the family business from now on.

Even if Ping An is capable, he still needs a trustworthy and powerful assistant.

As for sibling rivalry, Zhao Qin wasn't worried. On one hand, he was likely to live for several more decades, and letting go at that time wouldn't mean ignoring it.

Secondly, A Yuan is actually cold on the outside but warm on the inside. He doesn't deliberately show it, but he is quite good to his younger siblings.

The rain lasted quite a while, not stopping until after 4 a.m. The two brothers, far from sleepy, kept chatting until dawn.

"I'll take over for a bit, you guys rest." Mr. Chen entered the wheelhouse and ruthlessly kicked Zhao Qin off the helm. The next moment, the engine started, the ship shuddered, and then slowly moved forward.

Zhao Qin arrived at the aft deck and smiled knowingly when he saw the sea otters neatly lying on the deck.

After inspecting the area, the old cat returned to the wheelhouse to chat with Mr. Chen.

Ah Chen started making breakfast, while Lao Dao did his morning exercises on the foredeck with Chen Xun and Qian Bijun by his side. Zhao Anguo and Chen Dong were still in bed.

As the sun rose and breakfast was ready, Zhao Qin ate his breakfast, then picked up the straw mat again and spread it on the bow of the boat. He soon fell into a deep sleep.

When he got up, it was almost noon. The card table next to him was set up again. He suddenly got excited, washed up, and went over to Ah He. He snatched the cards from Ah He's hand and said, "Count me in."

"Bro, perfect timing, I lost terribly this morning."

He wasn't given a chance to play more because it was lunchtime. After lunch, he kept insisting on playing cards, but even Chen Dong, who wanted to play the most, ignored him.

Feeling utterly bored, he went to the aft deck to play with the sea otters. When they went back into the water, he returned, only to find the group had started playing cards again.

Feeling the time was about right, he opened the system and began summoning Laifu. With a confirmed location and Simba leading a large force, whether Huzi came or not was no longer important.

But he needed Lai Fu to keep watch and warn of any approaching ships.

To his delight, the search revealed that Laifu was not far away; at its flight speed, it would likely arrive in two hours.

To his surprise, even as evening approached and the boats reached their destination, Lai Fu was still nowhere to be seen.

The ship was now anchored near an island, about 12 nautical miles from the shipwreck reef he had discovered last time. It would only be an hour's journey to get there tomorrow. As darkness fell, Zhao Qin also turned his gaze away from the sky.

"Qin, dinner's ready." Zhao Ping called out from a short distance without asking what he was doing.

"Big brother, you guys eat first, I'll be right there." He had barely finished speaking when he heard a shrill cry from the north, which then grew louder and louder.

Before he could move, he suddenly felt a slight gust of wind, and the next moment a figure descended from above and landed on the railing.

"Haha, Laifu, so you were waiting for Huzi to come along."

Laifu made a cooing sound, telling Zhao Qin that it wasn't just Huzi who had come; Wei Yixiao and the others had also come. He added that Dazhuang was bringing a large army, but since they were slow, they probably wouldn't arrive until late at night.

Zhao Qin had intended to get some water for Laifu, but it turned out to be just there to report something. After conveying its message, it flapped its wings and flew away, probably to hurry and give directions to Dazhuang and the others.

……

P.S.: This is not meant to belittle domestic universities. First of all, the protagonist is a nationalist patriot, but being a nationalist does not mean being closed-minded. He understands the principle of learning from others and using what others have done to improve himself.