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

Xu Lei asked, somewhat puzzled, "How can we expect the higher-ups to solve our problems themselves? We don't even know them. Why would they help us? I think it's more reliable to try and find some connections!"

Li Xiaofeng smiled, pointed at Xu Lei, and said in a somewhat teasing tone, "I didn't expect that after training you for so long, you still have a lot of low-level mentality and no sense of perspective at all!"

If I try to resolve this by pulling strings and using my meager existing network of contacts, it would be like throwing an egg against a rock, and might even give others ammunition to use against me!

But what would they think if I showed them that I wanted to work hard to develop the manufacturing industry, instead of diving headfirst into real estate like others, just wanting to make a quick buck?

Xu Lei listened to Li Xiaofeng's words with wide eyes, seemingly not quite understanding why, at Li Xiaofeng's level, solving problems required starting from such a high dimension, rather than directly addressing the problem itself.

Li Xiaofeng smiled and continued, "There's a saying that goes, 'It's easier to see the King of Hell than to deal with his underlings.' Especially within the system, the less power someone has, the harder they are to deal with, while the more power someone has, the simpler their demands are."

Therefore, all I need to do is adjust my development direction to align with the will of those in power, think what they think, be anxious about what they are anxious about, and let them gain more tax revenue and political achievements.

When I'm not in any major problems, they'll naturally lend me a hand. That's called having shared interests, and it's much more effective than wining and dining or flattering someone!

"Mr. Li, should we contact a few media outlets to publicize our situation and use public opinion to put some pressure on our superiors?"

Li Xiaofeng shook his head and sighed, saying, "Power has a byproduct: arrogance. When someone helps you, it's called bestowing a favor or a reward, which gives people a sense of superiority that comes with power."

But if you use public opinion to fight against power for no reason, will people still help you? In the end, they might even use the opportunity to give us a warning!

Let's wait and see. We'll consider other options after the investigation team releases its findings or after someone from the investigation team comes to talk to me.

If I were to resort to public opinion, I would have to wait until the investigation team reached an extremely unfavorable conclusion. This would be called a forced counterattack, and it would be easier for others to understand.

But if they start causing trouble before anything has even happened, that's called "picking quarrels and provoking trouble," which is what people within the system despise most, as it disrupts social harmony and stability.

A few days later, Xu Lei found Li Xiaofeng with a furrowed brow: "After the tax authorities took away our accounts, they said they found more than one million yuan in them that were suspected of tax evasion, and they said they would conduct further investigations on us."

Li Xiaofeng sneered: "Our annual revenue of several hundred million yuan has been messed up by them. Only a little over one million yuan of the funds are problematic, and that's still suspected of tax evasion."

This is nitpicking. If there is even a slight discrepancy in the payment period between us and our suppliers, each payment would amount to at least several hundred thousand!

"When that guy surnamed Wei was targeting us before, they did investigate. Don't they know how clean our finances are?"

"What should we do? What if the investigation team tries to give us a warning?"

"It's unlikely. If the investigation team wanted to put us in a bad light, they would have talked to us directly. It's probably someone else trying to pressure us and get some benefits out of our land."

In this way, you can have your CFO directly liaise with the tax authorities, explain the problems that have arisen, and tell the CFO that their attitude must be sincere.

If they try to impose arbitrary fines or make any other excessive demands, don't argue with them. Just forward their tickets and unreasonable demands to the investigation team and see how they react.

A few days later, one of the heads of the investigation team found Li Xiaofeng, and his secretary introduced him to Li Xiaofeng: "This is Secretary Li of the investigation team."

Seeing Secretary Li extend his right hand to him, Li Xiaofeng quickly extended both hands to shake it, saying in a very humble tone, "Secretary Li, thank you for your hard work and for coming to guide our work!"

This Secretary Li was about fifty years old, with deep wrinkles on his face, but he still had a kind appearance.

He waved his hand, dismissing his secretary, and smiled at Li Xiaofeng, saying, "Mr. Li, before coming here, I really didn't expect you to be so young. Mr. Li is truly young and promising!"

"Secretary Li, you're too kind. I can't accept the title of General Manager Li. I'm much younger than you, and you're my elder. From now on, please just call me Xiao Li!"

Secretary Li didn't mince words and smiled, saying, "We both have the surname Li, so we're practically from the same clan. I won't stand on ceremony with you then. Little Li, what's your opinion on the loss of state-owned assets at Hongxing Electric Vehicle Factory?"

Li Xiaofeng smiled and said in a neither humble nor arrogant tone, "Secretary Li, it's like this, my adoptive father was an employee of Hongxing Electric Vehicle Factory, and I have a deep affection for this factory."

But I have never worked in this factory, and I didn't know much about the specifics of it before I bought it.

In the past two years, I've made some money through hard work and struggle. Later, one of my childhood friends, Xu Lei, who is now the sales director of this factory, told me that the factory is about to go bankrupt and will be auctioned off.

So, I learned more about the factory and felt that it had a promising future.

"Can you tell me about the specific future prospects of this electric vehicle factory?" Secretary Li's eyes flashed with a sharp light, as if he wanted to see through Li Xiaofeng's thoughts.

Li Xiaofeng said seriously, "I think that ordinary people in China are not wealthy enough to buy cars, and the urban traffic capacity is not enough to allow everyone to use cars for travel."

Therefore, lightweight electric vehicles will become an indispensable tool for people's daily short-distance travel, and they are also energy-saving and environmentally friendly, with great potential for future market development.

In addition, as far as I know, several leading manufacturers in the electric vehicle industry do not seem to have very strong financial resources.

With my personal financial resources, I believe I can compete with them and eventually hand over the reins to this electric vehicle factory, becoming a leading manufacturer among them.

Upon hearing Li Xiaofeng's words, Secretary Li's eyes lit up, and he asked with some surprise, "So how much money do you plan to invest in this factory?"

Li Xiaofeng mysteriously held up one finger.

"One hundred million? Or one billion?" Secretary Li also became curious.

"Keep investing until Hongxing Electric Vehicle Factory becomes the largest electric vehicle factory in China!"

Secretary Li laughed, leaning back on the sofa with a relaxed posture, and said with a smile, "Little Li, you're really funny!"