Chapter 34 Thus in Reverie

won’t be recognized by everyone and might even be laughed at by those who claim to have much experience. But if you know what you're doing is right in such circumstances, then it's just right, and you...Chapter Thirty-Four Nostalgia Thusly

Xiong Mingnong was no fool. Presenting only one blueprint to the Bo Hai team for consultation and demanding they produce new pens based on that design… these individuals were hired solely for learning purposes, and moreover, Zhao Mingnong along with others who would be apprenticing under experts like those in Shanghai have all been promised not just wages from the stationery factory but also a second salary from Shushan Company. This effectively ensures that the entire team of the Shushan Stationery Factory is firmly under his control.

Zhao Mingnong had long considered himself part of the Shushan family; if it hadn't been for Shushan’s timely arrival, their factory might not have survived.

The upper echelons of the head office were solely interested in their own benefits. For a gift factory with no promising future, abandoning them would be done sooner rather than later. Had it not been for someone high up wanting to take action against Su Licheng, they wouldn't have suddenly decided to appoint him as the contractor and overseer of the shutdown matters. This move was aimed at eliminating Su Licheng's prospects using the livelihoods of all those workers in the factory. Zhao Mingnong appeared simple-minded on the outside but his heart had already turned cold towards the head office.

Shushan Chain’s timely appearance made Zhao Mingnong guardedly watchful initially, thinking that they might be coming to exploit their predicament. However, even without a confirmed contract, Shushan had already offered many constructive suggestions.

This wasn't just about good intentions!

Su Licheng’s concern for Zhao Mingnong and the other workers in dire straits also reflected his care for all employees in their factory. In today's world, leaders with such sincerity were rare.

Zhao Mingnong didn’t mind whether Su Lan and Wang Ming took over the gift factory under Su Licheng’s guidance or not; he only cared that this would lead to a better life for all laid-off workers in the factory. To live more honorably, even if it meant giving his life, it was worth it!

Many people in the company looked down on Zhao Mingnong. Many of his fellow old comrades had moved up to the head office where they thought sitting comfortably behind desks and sipping tea made them superior to him. They considered themselves much better than Zhao Mingnong.

Zhao Mingnong didn't care about this.

The new stationery factory having been contracted out meant that the head office, lacking ways to deal with Su Licheng now, would leave them alone. The workers from their factory wanted others to see how they could live with dignity and not be seen as disposable pawns by everyone else.

However, although the new factory had been established and machines installed, along with technical workers arriving from Shanghai, several plans were proposed at management meetings but none seemed feasible. Copying other products without innovation would make it hard to break into the Chengdu market; they lacked a product plan that could give them competitive advantage. As such, Zhao Mingnong could understand what Su Lan brought.

One of the technical workers from Shanghai looked at the blueprint and was somewhat surprised: "This design is quite interesting. I wonder which studio Factory Director Zhao got to draw this"

"Just follow this, these are all customized for our factory by my friends!" Zhao Ming揮了揮手，顯得很有範兒。倒是讓對方十分困惑，心想你就是個鄉巴佬，哪來的朋友有這樣的水平？

趙明農還不忘得意地對蘇燦眨眨眼，蘇燦微微笑了笑，這些作為蜀山推廣的第一代產品，想必將擁有超越這個時代的競爭力，占領蓉城市場不是難事，甚至拿下西南省區也不是難事。不過要朝省外蔓延，這點影響力顯然就不夠了。到時候蘇燦自然還會推出第二套產品方案，推陳出新。但這目前還不是蘇燦所要考慮的事情。

總之前幾天熬夜還算冇有白費。

喝了點趙明農珍藏的碧螺春，出了廠長辦公室，天空的日光晃得人睜不開眼。

站在眼前的是那個畫室裡的白衣女孩，“你就是蘇燦吧？”

女孩有點畏縮，不過看得出她用很大勇氣才說出口。

蘇燦愣了一下，她率先開口，“我在電視上看到過你。”

這讓蘇燦莞爾了。看來一週曝光台過後雖然關於他的資訊漸漸淡忘在公眾眼裡，但有些印跡還是冇有抹去的。

"Thank you for helping my family, my dad told me to thank you. And your sister too! You’re our factory’s benefactor!" 很樸素的話。這個女孩並不漂亮，事實上錢隆看上她或許也是因為她那股淡淡質樸的感覺。

蘇燦點點頭，燦然一笑，“冇什麼啦！我們是校友嘛，互相幫助是應該的！”

大概想起了有關錢隆的事，這個女孩臉上有些紅暈。不過經過交談，生疏感逐漸消失。“我還知道你跟趙承言他們起了衝突呢，你要小心哦！錢隆他們可討厭了！”

蘇燦對這女孩好感起來。原來是知道錢隆等人的手段，特意來提醒自己的。

蘇燦轉身，踩著草葉伸出地縫的水泥地上對她背影揮揮手，“放心啦！我知道的。”

女孩看著蘇燦的背影，似乎用了極大的勇氣。“還有哦，祝你追到唐嫵！”

Su Can stepped on a stone and nearly stumbled to the ground. He turned his head back, only to see the mischievous expression of the girl. Some people have guessed that since he transferred schools at the same time as Tang Wu, who used to be close friends with her, he might take advantage of this situation to get closer to her and pursue her romantically. It’s indeed hard to explain.

That night, high-rise buildings in a small city were lit up; stars twinkled above. Through the glass at home, one could see outside lights reflecting colorful halos, scattered everywhere with a somewhat dazzling feeling.

The phone rang. While sitting on the sofa in the living room reading a book and enjoying sweet osmanthus petals stuffed into his mouth, Su Can picked up the phone casually and held it to his ear.

Lin Luoran’s giggle came from the other end of the line before Wang Weiwei spoke: "Hello. Since no one was around at noon and I just got back, I only noticed you called my house by looking at the caller ID. What's up"

Su Can pondered for a moment then asked, “Do you know Zhao Chengyan”

"What happened" Wang Weiwei’s voice turned serious, "This brat is the adopted son of Liu Cheng from the Political and Legal Committee. His father is Vice-Chairman of the Discipline Inspection Commission Zhao Zhuoyan, a distant relative of the Zhao family. He's just a lackey. So what Did he bother your peaceful life"

Su Can felt both amused and exasperated. Ever since he came to No. 27 High School, in Wang Weiwei and Lin Luoran’s eyes, he was an ascetic monk who had left behind the colorful world they inhabited. These people were quite aware of their princely status; they thought that without them, everything would be boring and stagnant, counting days until death.

However, whenever Su Can talked about such matters with Wang Weiwei, he could sense a politician's shadow lurking in his words, which seemed somewhat harsh to Su Can’s two lifetimes’ soul. Nevertheless, it was also well-known that Wang Weiwei’s family detested Liu Cheng deeply.

But secretly, Su Can felt amazed at this development. No wonder Zhao Chengyan acted so arrogantly; he turned out to be the adopted son of fallen official Liu Cheng! Since Liu Cheng used to dominate Rongcheng, it was evident that as his adopted son, Zhao Chengyan’s internal clout within No. 27 High School was considerable.

It came as no surprise then that such a person could do things like breaking someone else's bar and having the police station dare not move against him.

Wang Weiwei told Su Can more incidents over the phone. When Zhao Chengyan entered No. 27 High School in his first year, there was a reception party at Jinjiang Hotel; its third-floor hall was filled with one hundred tables of guests. Liu Cheng came and said a few words, causing thunderous applause across the venue; several notorious gang leaders from Rongcheng also showed up to congratulate him on his admission, giving Zhao Chengyan red envelopes that made him grin uncontrollably.

The event was later reported by journalists present at the scene, criticizing Liu Cheng’s close relationship with these notorious individuals. As a result, some of those reporters were fired while others had sticks smashed over their heads and spent months in hospitals.

Su Can paused for a moment before saying, “If I told you that I’ve gotten into trouble with this guy, would you believe me”

Wang Weiwei was silent on the other end of the line before darkly retorting, "Just a tiger without legs. If you can step on it to crush its head." Wang Weiwei’s underlying meaning was that Liu Cheng had been shot and Zhao Chengyan was now an unprotected cub.

Su Cun smiled and hung up the phone.

Wang Weiwei slammed down the receiver. Lin Luoran, who was standing next to him along with Lin Zouwu, leaned in curiously: "What's going on"

"Zhao Chengyan," Wang Weiwei gritted his teeth.

"This brat dares to provoke us Su people!" Lin Zouwu rolled up his sleeves.

"Do you remember what he said about us when Zhao 6 was around Back then, this kid said that he would eventually bring down my father. It's really been 'eventually', and it nearly happened too—if it weren't for Su Cun...

Lin Zouwu made a decision: "Alright, we need to call Zhang Xian and Zhuo Zhiyu right away to discuss this matter. Once we’ve settled everything, contact Su Cun. This is all cause and effect; if not for Su Cun, I might have forgotten about this guy! We should give Zhao 6 a dose of reality now. It's time for Zhao Chengyan to know that even under the spotlight of our Lin and Wang families, Su Cun is someone he can't touch."

Lin Luoran pulled her legs up and curled into a corner by the bay window. The moonlight fell on her face; she seemed detached from what her brother and Wang Weiwei were discussing, her thoughts wandering far away.

In fact, recently she had been having fun with Liu Rui and Xue Yiyang, finding it unbelievable that their originally different circles could integrate after a certain person left. They had just finished eating barbecue by the lakeside and returned.

Lin Luoran used to gaze into the distance, but now she felt like there was something elusive out of her reach.

Might it be that because this couldn't be grasped, such a way was chosen to let those who witnessed his departure share in the circle he once lived in, under the same sky and along the same path, with an indistinct presence.

From this point on, one can only reminisce.

The phrase remains true: It will get better and better.

Thanks to everyone’s trust and support in Little Fish. I’ve gotten used to expressing my feelings at the end of each chapter, so let me indulge a little here; it's quite satisfying for me to do this for you all.

Read slowly, today’s update is sent, we’ll see each other tomorrow.g Ruiyuan's desk and said, "Old Cheng, your report needs to be rewritten from scratch. You need to have content that is uniquely yours; Mayor Zhou doesn't want something pieced together like this. It...