Rebirth 78: After being jilted at the altar, I reached the pinnacle!

Pei Zhenguo smiled, not embarrassed by his unusual attitude, and asked Li Hanliang, "I heard you were wronged today? Did Wei Jun stand up for you?"

Li Hanliang nodded, unable to say that he refused the meal, nor could he ask any more questions. He could only follow Pei Lao's questions to further probe his meaning.

“Uncle Zhou used to be my dad’s bodyguard,” Pei Shuxin whispered. “He and Uncle Qiang should have stayed at home, but Uncle Qiang never married and Uncle Jun had a grandson, so my dad arranged for him to go to a technical school.”

Upon hearing this, Li Hanliang gasped.

It should be noted that the name Zhou Weijun alone is a well-known name in Anfeng County, yet even such a person is merely a bodyguard in Pei Zhenguo's household.

Moreover, in this day and age, what level of authority would someone have if they had a bodyguard at home?

In his previous life, he had dealt with many people in high positions, but to be honest, his business scale in his previous life did not involve people of Pei Zhenguo's level.

Li Hanliang inwardly wiped away a cold sweat, but his face remained calm. "So that's how it is. What a coincidence."

"But speaking of which, I really have to thank Elder Zhou for what happened today. If he hadn't appeared in time, Jing Kaiyuan might have been released. Once he went out and made his own moves, it would have been really difficult to clear my name."

Pei Zhenguo nodded and looked Li Hanliang over again. "What are your plans for the future?"

"I want to do business, big business!" Li Hanliang made no secret of his ambition. "The pig farm was my first pot of gold, the steamed bun shop was my second, but these are all small businesses. Once I've accumulated enough capital, I want to do big business, real estate!"

Pei Zhenguo frowned.

Pei Jianjun immediately sneered, "You've really gotten bold! Don't you know that all our land is state-owned? I think your thinking is crooked and your backside is crooked!"

"Jianjun, shut up." Pei Zhenguo interrupted him.

"Hanliang, tell me, what's your basis for this idea?" Pei Zhenguo was clearly more interested in Li Hanliang, and he even sat up straighter.

Li Hanliang said, "In my opinion, although the current economic situation is good, if my country's economy wants to develop in the long term and rapidly, it must undergo some reforms."

"In my humble opinion, perhaps the higher-ups have already realized this problem. We'll see what happens next spring."

Pei Zhenguo's body visibly trembled, and even his eyes, which had almost never shown any shock before, widened.

"Who told you this?" he asked warily.

Li Hanliang frankly said, "This matter... can anyone tell me? It must have been analyzed with my brain."

As he spoke, he became somewhat embarrassed and modest, "Mr. Pei, I'm just treating you as my elder, so I'm just saying what I really think. If I've said anything wrong, please forgive me."

Pei Zhenguo stared at Li Hanliang in shock for a long time, neither saying that he was right nor wrong.

After a long pause, he simply looked at Pei Jianjun and said from the bottom of his heart, "Jianjun, you must learn more from Hanliang. Only by focusing your mind on the right things can you cultivate great wisdom."

Pei Jianjun didn't take it to heart, gave Li Hanliang a disapproving look, and then said, "I know, Dad."

Li Hanliang, however, had already begun to ponder the matter.

Judging from Pei Zhenguo's reaction, he clearly already knows that reform and opening up will be implemented next spring.

He even knows about this policy; he must be at some incredibly high level!

To be honest, Li Hanliang was a little intimidated.

After all, he was still in the early stages of developing his abilities and didn't want to get involved with such an important figure so soon.

"Hanliang, so you're saying you're determined to become a businessman, and you won't change your mind?" Pei Shuxin's worried question broke the silence in the main room.

Li Hanliang nodded. "That's right, this is my lifelong ambition! I will definitely become a successful businessman!"

"However, the kind of businessman I want to be is different from others; I want to be a Confucian businessman!"

"A Confucian businessman?" Pei Shuxin asked, puzzled.

In this era, the concept of Confucian merchants had not yet emerged. The general perception was that merchants were necessarily slick, worldly, and lacking in manners. Li Hanliang keenly sensed Pei Shuxin's concerns.

“That’s right, I want to be a cultured businessman,” Li Hanliang said. “I definitely won’t have time to take the college entrance examination this year. After all, so many mouths in Xiaoliangzhuang are waiting for the profits from our pig farm to eat. I can’t abandon my fellow villagers.”

"But next year, I must take the college entrance exam."

Pei Shuxin's eyes lit up as she listened, and she couldn't help but excitedly grab Li Hanliang's hand, "Hanliang, it's so wonderful that you have such ambition!"

"Let's take the exam together next year!"

Seeing this, Pei Zhenguo was even more satisfied, so much so that he could no longer hide his satisfaction and nodded directly, "This is a good thing."

"Dad!" Pei Jianjun was almost delirious with anger!

No, he felt that the old man was more confused than he was now!

Soon, the nanny prepared a large table of dishes.

In this day and age, this feast, with chicken, duck, fish, and meat, is even more grand than the Lunar New Year.

Li Hanliang was somewhat flattered by the scale of the Pei family's hospitality, and he couldn't fathom Pei Zhenguo's intentions.

People say that serving a ruler is like serving a tiger, and Li Hanliang is now experiencing that firsthand.

However, he is not afraid of fear or pressure; the more difficult the challenge, the more determined he is to win!

After finishing dinner at the Pei family's house, it was already past midnight. Pei Zhenguo took it upon himself to have Pei Jianjun ride his bicycle to take Li Hanliang back to the shop.

Pei Jianjun was furious, but he dared not disobey his father and could only do as he was told.

How could Li Hanliang dare to let him give him a ride? The scene was too strange, so he suggested that the two of them walk there. "It just so happens that I've been wanting to talk to you about the pork supply for our textile factory, but I haven't found the time yet."

"No rush, we'll talk on the way." Pei Jianjun snorted coldly, but his expression finally softened a bit.

The factory manager was pressuring him too much, but he couldn't bring himself to ask Li Hanliang for help, so they were stuck in a stalemate.

Li Hanliang knew that Jianjun cared about his reputation, so he took the initiative to speak on the way, "The pure local pork from our Xiaoliangzhuang sells for two yuan a pound in the market, but the contract price for the technical school canteen is one yuan and sixty cents. So, Jianjun, I'll give our textile factory one yuan and threety cents. What do you think?"

Pei Jianjun had originally intended to make a few sarcastic remarks, but upon hearing the price, he immediately stopped in his tracks, his eyes lighting up with delight: "What did you say? One yuan and thirty cents a pound? Li Hanliang, are you sure?"

He knew the price of pork. If he sold it for 1.3 yuan per jin, Li Hanliang would definitely lose money, losing at least 2 mao per jin!

"What do you think?" Li Hanliang asked with a smile.