Time Travel: The Queen's Coronation

After being kicked out of the board of directors of St. De International School, Bao Guoqiang frequently contacted his business partners in an attempt to strengthen his lineup and tried to find other new allies to expand his team.

The Sanlongcheng renovation project is currently under intense bidding, with Xujia Real Estate, Haoyang Group, and several other real estate developers among the finalists. Originally, this project wasn't a major undertaking, so many major developers stayed away. However, he owed me a favor at Grandpa Shen's dinner, and Haoyang Group's participation this time was a repayment of that favor.

Initially, Xujia Real Estate held a clear advantage over the other companies, but the entry of Haoyang, a leading company, dramatically changed the situation. Xujia Real Estate's advantages were instantly extinguished, and they were completely crushed by Haoyang. Xujia Real Estate had put in a tremendous amount of effort to secure this project. A successful bid for this project would ensure smooth progress on several subsequent urban village renovation projects. Failure to secure this bid would significantly impact future plans.

Because Haoyang had interfered, and the relationship between Haoyang and Zhongding was well known, Mr. Wang Zhe also understood what I meant. He created a chance encounter on the road that day and took the opportunity to treat me to afternoon tea.

Mr. Wang poured me tea respectfully. "I don't know what kind of tea Mr. Wei likes to drink. I often drink Tieguanyin here. It tastes pretty good. Mr. Wei, you should try it too!"

I picked up the teacup, sniffed the tea, took a sip, and replied with a smile, "The tea is rich and fragrant, with a sweet aftertaste that lingers on my tongue! Great tea! They say Mr. Wang is a tea connoisseur, and today I see that his reputation is well-deserved! Thanks to Mr. Wang, I can drink such good tea today!"

"Good tea needs people to appreciate it! When this place first opened, it mainly sold this affordable Tieguanyin. Later, as the business grew, many precious teas were introduced. Over time, the style of this place also improved. Fewer and fewer people come here to taste this Tieguanyin! Such a good tea has been forgotten!" said Mr. Wang regretfully.

"It seems that Mr. Wang is a nostalgic person!"

"You're right, I do feel nostalgic! Look, this watch is the last one my wife bought me before she passed away, and I've worn it for over a decade. Whenever it breaks, I get it repaired instead of getting a new one. My children keep urging me to get a new one, saying it's too outdated and should be replaced, but I refuse to listen! It's not the watch I miss, but the people! Sanlong City is where I grew up, and I submitted my bid with great expectations. There's a large tree and a land temple in Sanlong City that I want to protect. That place is very important to me; it carries the memories of my youth and the faith of the people of Sanlong. Anyone else would likely ruthlessly demolish it, as it holds no value to them. Just as my children don't understand the significance of this watch to me, neither can you. So, I hope President Wei will be so kind as to give an old man like me a break in the bidding! I know Haoyang has no desire to compete for this project, and he's only disrupting it to warn me and my unfortunate son-in-law, Bao Guoqiang!"

"Old people are always wise. The elders can see clearly the little tricks of the younger generation!"

"Although I am old, my eyes are blind but my heart is not! To be honest, compared to my son-in-law, I appreciate your talent more."

"Why? Bao Guoqiang is the son-in-law you personally chose!"

"It's just a business marriage! I can't say I admire him that much. On the contrary, I despise his little tricks! He's not very capable, but he thinks highly of himself. So I really don't have the time to bother with the mess he's made. I have no interest in getting involved in what's going on between you two!"

"He is your son-in-law! Are you going to watch him die without helping him?" I asked tentatively.

"He's just a son-in-law! And I have more than one son-in-law!" Old Master Wang said nonchalantly.

"If you can guarantee that you will not help Bao Guoqiang in the future, Haoyang Group will withdraw from the subsequent bidding!"

"Of course! I won't destroy myself! As an old man, I've made it this far, and I still know what I should and shouldn't do!" Grandpa Wang said as he filled my tea.

"Then let me wish you success in winning the bid!" I said, holding up the teacup.

Haoyang Group withdrew from the bidding at the last minute, and Xujia Real Estate won the bid as expected. Haoyang Group's withdrawal attracted the attention of Bao Guoqiang, who became even more anxious and visited his father-in-law's house more frequently.

The Sanlongcheng bidding dispute prompted Mr. Cao Yeming of Yeming Property to approach me. Since I had no personal connection with him, I hesitated when he suddenly invited us to a dinner, but ultimately went with Li Zhanwen.

As soon as we arrived, Mr. Cao tried very hard to please us, personally serving us tea and water, fearing that he would neglect us. We felt a little embarrassed to have such an elder serving us two younger people in this way.

"Mr. Cao, please feel free to say whatever you want! It's really tiring for us two juniors to be served like this by you, an elder!" Li Zhanwen pulled Mr. Cao to sit down, and his son also sat down.

After Mr. Cao sat down, he exchanged a glance with his son and said slowly, "I know that Guoqiang has offended Zhong Ding, and he's quite stubborn and also very concerned about his reputation, so he hasn't apologized yet. Therefore, I asked you two to come here to apologize on his behalf!"

Mr. Cao wanted to fill Li Zhanwen's glass, but I stopped him. "Hey! Old man! Bao Guoqiang is your grandson. He should take responsibility for what he did. It has nothing to do with you. You don't have to do this!"

"Uh! Mr. Wei, Mr. Li, how about we make a big deal out of a small matter, or let a small matter go to nothing? We all meet each other here in this small place of Hegang." Old Master Cao said while observing our reactions.

"Old man, your proposal is not fair to us!"

"Uh, well, you guys, we're all in business. In business, harmony brings wealth..."

Before Mr. Cao could finish, I interrupted him. "Grandpa, you should tell Bao Guoqiang these words! He stubbornly incited netizens' hostility towards Fu Sheng Liu Ji, forcing Fu Sheng Liu Ji to close down. The losses are too great! We can't just let this go! He even instigated his son to encourage his classmates to isolate my son at school. I can't tolerate this! My child is my Achilles' heel!"

"How about you state a condition and I try to persuade him?"

"Old man, didn't you ask us to come here today just to ask us not to attack Ye Ming Property? You don't have to play nice and ask us to reconcile with Bao Guoqiang. Just promise not to stand on Bao Guoqiang's side, and we promise not to affect the innocent Ye Ming Property!"

"But Guoqiang is my grandson! As the saying goes, blood is thicker than water. I can't bear to see him isolated and helpless!"

"You have more than one grandson! And you can't take care of so many grandchildren, why would you care about a useless grandson like him! I don't ask you to support me, I just want you to promise not to stand on Bao Guoqiang's side, or just stand by and watch!"

"This..." Mr. Cao was very embarrassed.

"I don't need to explain Haoyang and Fangchuan's status in the Hegang real estate industry, right? If these two major developers stop cooperating with Yeming Property, you should know better than us what kind of losses Yeming will suffer!"

Mr. Cao and his son looked at each other in silence for a long time. Mr. Cao's son Cao Fei asked, "If we are truly neutral, will you really keep your promise and not attack us?"

"Of course! I'm not Bao Guoqiang, I mean what I say!"

The Cao father and son were still hesitating, and I couldn't help but say, "I understand your difficulties. After all, he is my grandson by blood. But since ancient times, you can't have your cake and eat it too. Between family and career, you can only choose one!"

"Is there really no third way?" Old Master Cao frowned.

"If there was a third way, you wouldn't have to come to us, old man!"

Seeing that Mr. Cao was still indifferent, I could only pull Li Zhanwen up and said, "Since Mr. Cao hasn't made a decision, let's go first! But time waits for no one, and the opportunity is fleeting!"

As soon as we arrived at the door, Cao Fei chased after us and repeatedly confirmed whether we could avoid being affected if we remained neutral. I kept giving him affirmative answers to dispel his doubts, and finally they agreed.

Later, I defeated all the people that Bao Guoqiang wanted to win over and disintegrated their alliances one by one. Now the Yami Group is an isolated city and can be attacked at any time!