Only after being reborn did I realize how fascinating the world of the rich is.

Soon, the wheels of time rolled into 2004. After Jiang Xueying finished refueling and loading her ammunition, Li Xiaofeng took her to the airport, where she flew back abroad to continue her studies.

The anti-Japanese war drama that Li Xiaofeng invested in is about to start filming, and Fang Huiya has already joined the crew to film.

However, before the Lunar New Year was over, Li Xiaofeng received a call from an unknown number. When he answered, he found that it was Hou Guowei calling.

"Oh, Director Hou, do you have any instructions?"

"Haha, Mr. Li, you're too kind. I did consult about what you mentioned last time, and it's true that I was a bit hasty and oversimplified things."

However, I was only doing this because I was asked to do it.

President You has personally flown in from Beijing to resolve this matter completely. When are you available? Would you do me the honor?

"Oh, Director Hou, what are you saying? You're giving me this much face because you think highly of me. How could I not have time? I might not have time for others, but I'm on call 24/7 for your orders!"

Li Xiaofeng adopted a very humble attitude.

He had only met Hou Guowei once, and he didn't know what kind of personality or temperament the other man had. But it was always good to keep a low profile and at least not offend anyone.

Hou Guowei didn't put on airs and said politely, "Hehe, Mr. Li, you're too kind. It's rare to see such a young and promising boss like you!"

The two exchanged a few more pleasantries, agreed on a time and place, and then hung up the phone.

When Li Xiaofeng arrived at the agreed hotel, he discovered that in addition to President You and Hou Guowei, the Wei family father and son were also there, which seemed to be a trap to force him to abdicate.

Li Xiaofeng showed no stage fright whatsoever. He sat down confidently, ate and drank as he pleased, answered all questions, and even cracked a joke with the crowd occasionally, showing no signs of nervousness.

Of course, Hou Guowei was the host of the banquet, and no one, including Li Xiaofeng, would let themselves outshine him; that was the bare minimum of courtesy.

When everyone was quite drunk and in high spirits, Hou Guowei finally got down to business.

"Xiaofeng, everyone here is older than you. Chairman Wei is old enough to be your elder. There's a saying that goes, 'No fight, no friendship,' and 'It's better to resolve a feud than to let it fester.' I think if we can talk things out, everything will be fine!"

Seeing the expectant look in Hou Guowei's eyes, Li Xiaofeng smiled and said in a very generous manner, "No problem. Since Director Hou has already spoken, then President You, please go ahead and tell me. Anyway, I've already stated my terms!"

President You glanced at Li Xiaofeng and said with a somewhat arrogant expression, "President Li, I can understand your feelings, but what you did was a bit unfair!"

Why should our grudges with Chairman Wei be dragged into this? Even though we're all in the same industry, we should compete fairly and not resort to underhanded tactics.

For a while, media reporters were besieging our company every day, making it difficult for us to carry out our work normally. Your salespeople were also constantly using these things to slander us. Isn't that going a bit too far?

Li Xiaofeng sneered, ignoring President You, and said to Hou Guowei, "Director Hou, I came here with sincerity. You're not setting up a trap for me, are you?"

"Xiao Li, don't worry about it, nothing's wrong. We're here today to solve a problem!"

Hearing Hou Guowei call him Xiao Li made Li Xiaofeng very uncomfortable, and his mood became somewhat gloomy.

It wasn't that Li Xiaofeng was overly sensitive or liked being flattered; rather, Hou Guowei's use of that term in this setting was clearly an attempt to suppress him.

It's worth noting that he used to address Li Xiaofeng as "General Manager Li".

Li Xiaofeng smiled and said in a nonchalant tone, "Really? When I was wronged before, some people were slandering me in the media every day and had their salespeople slander us to steal our customers."

Now that it's my turn to be unlucky, anyone with a conscience should slap themselves and berate themselves for deserving this retribution. How can they have the nerve to come and denounce me after doing something wrong before?

"Xiao Li, don't be ridiculous. President You is your senior. What's wrong with him saying a few words to you? Is he wrong? You're still young, you need to learn the meaning of respect!"

Hou Guowei looked displeased, and his tone was much harsher than before.

Li Xiaofeng smiled and continued, "Director Hou, I've heard that there's a common practice within the system: once something goes wrong, the most important thing isn't solving the problem, but rather calming things down as quickly as possible, right?"

Hou Guowei said somewhat impatiently, "Xiao Li, do you have something to say? Isn't calming things down the solution?"

Li Xiaofeng sneered and said in a nonchalant tone, "Quietizing the incident is not about solving the problem, but about dealing with people, especially the easiest ones to deal with."

Therefore, to quell the situation as quickly as possible, the solution is not to punish the person who did wrong, but to target the kindest and most easily compromised person.

As long as someone can't withstand the pressure, compromises, and gives up their own interests, everyone else benefits except for that person who is unlucky, and the problem is solved, right?

As for this unfortunate fellow, you've already compromised, so you'll have even less face to argue afterward. Director Hou, don't you agree?

Hou Guowei said sternly, "Xiao Li, what do you mean by that!"

Seeing that Hou Guowei was still pressuring him, Li Xiaofeng became less polite, raised his voice, and said firmly, "Director Hou, I respect you. You just said that I should respect General Manager You."

But shouldn't the word "respect" be preceded by "mutual"?

What, do you all think I'm young and easy to manipulate and bully?

But have you ever thought about this? I, Li, started from scratch and built such a large business in such a short time. Wanzhong Media alone is enough for President You and Chairman Wei to look up to.

Do you really think I'm just lucky?

Do you really think I, Li, lack courage, determination, perseverance, methods, strategy, and even a temper?

Li Xiaofeng said "no" six times in a row, tapping the table once for each statement, and then tapping the table several times for the last one. His string of blunt words silenced everyone present.

However, Li Xiaofeng did not stop there. Instead, he said in an even more forceful tone, "I came here today thinking that President You and Chairman Wei were seeking reconciliation with me and were preparing to have a proper talk."

But I never expected that you two would come to attack me. No problem, let's continue. Whatever your next move, I, Li, will accept it!