Chapter 120: Forum

can't make a success out of any venture."His father’s voice said."But continuing like this isn’t a viable solution either... It looks like Manager Huang also doesn’t have much confidence in the compan...Chapter 120: The Forum

The third day of the Homecoming Festival was the Nan Da City Development and Economic Forum. Prior to this, Song Zhen, newly appointed Honorary General Manager for Shanghai Region by Senkawa Group China, was invited to speak at this forum about a "path of self-cultivation" for Chinese corporate development. Local newspapers and media had already set their sights on Song Zhen, the female CEO of Senkawa's China division returning from abroad.

Due to Senkawa's focus in inland strategy, there were currently many efforts being made to build up her image and report about her. From returnee Peng Hua to fashion model, people always found an exciting intersection between beauty and talent.

For Shanghai's many high-income professionals, Song Zhen, newly appointed General Manager of Senkawa China, could be a topic of conversation at tea breaks or dinner parties due to her youth and background. And Nan Da's male students were accustomed to passing around men's magazines with her seductive cover during boring lectures.

So on the third day of the Homecoming Festival, Su Can was dragged early in the morning by a few wolves from 602 dorm to attend the city development and economic forum held at the College of Economics auditorium.

Lin Guangdong and Li Pengyu also accompanied him. These days Lin Guangdong was familiarizing Li Pengyu with some internal operations and management at Da Boluo Holdings, so they simply booked a suite in a hotel to work from, sparing them the trouble of going back and forth.

At this time Tang Wu and dormmate Tong Tong, as well as others from the same building, followed over. Since they rarely saw Su Can, they didn't forget to tease Tang Wu when seeing him today.

The group noticed that both inside and outside the auditorium were packed with people.

It was worth noting that although each college had receptions and activities during this Homecoming Festival period, it wasn't as lively as on opening day. Many colleges only managed to put up some decorations for a bit of fun; these events mostly didn't have much to do with ordinary students. Most students could still stay in dorms playing games or hanging out at the library, or holding hands with girls strolling around bustling Nan Da.

Clearly, this situation here was quite rare.

But it seems quite normal." Nowadays, a significant portion of college students are most concerned about job issues after graduation. Things that are too abstract are far from the current generation of college students, whereas lectures and forums related to entrepreneurship and work tend to be very popular, often with no empty seats. This is an area that all the girls in Tang Wu's dormitory are particularly interested in.

Privately, Zhang Xiaoqiao nudged Su Can and said, "This might be one of the most beautiful places on campus right now. By the way, I heard that Cheng Congcong from Tang Wu’s dorm was also chosen as a host for this forum. Many people queued up to apply for these positions..."

Su Can looked around and noticed that the girls standing at the door wearing cheongsams were indeed some of the most attractive students in their respective departments. The overall preparation by the school authorities for this forum seems meticulous, indicating a high level of student interest.

At this moment, several luxury cars kept entering the parking lot nearby. When one car’s door opened and four people got out, Su Can was surprised to see that they included Xie Sidian, the wealthy young man from Beijing whom he had encountered at Nan University Holiday Hotel a few days ago. Xie Sidian gave him an ambiguous smile as he saw Su Can and others standing by the entrance before entering through the VIP passage.

"Do you know anyone accompanying Xie Sidian" Su Can turned to ask Lin Guangdong and Li Pengyu.

Both of them shook their heads. Lin Guangdong said, "Behind Xie Sidian is Hongtong Group and Senchuan Corporation, which have been engaged in a fierce acquisition battle involving several hotel companies in Hong Kong. It’s rumored that this time the same group behind Senchuan Corporation is also involved, explaining why Xie Sidian has appeared recently in Shanghai."

At this moment, a group of about ten people walked over. Their ages ranged from thirty to forty-five. Leading them was a vice-dean of Nan University, with Tao Qing—the mother of Song Zhen who had moved to the mainland—standing next to him. Tao Qing wore a gray-white suit and her hair was neatly coiled; despite the wrinkles on her face, she looked sharp-witted.

Walking behind them were people related to Senchuan Corporation, including one or two district-level officials. These accompanying figures actually highlighted Tao Qing's commanding presence.

Since she is Song Zhen’s mother, Su Can greeted her as she walked up the steps: "Hello, Aunt Tao."

Tao Qing had naturally seen Su Can earlier; however, she did not expect him to greet her so sincerely. After all, their last meeting was rather unpleasant, and Tao Qing had shown no affection for him from one side, believing that Su Can, with his high emotional intelligence, could sense this as well.

She hadn't expected Su Cang to greet her. With her character, if Su Cang pretended not to see her, she would naturally do the same, and after that, her impression of him might drop to its lowest point. But things turned out differently now.

"Hello. Are you here with classmates Song Zhen didn't tell me last time that you were a student at Nan University," Tao Qing was somewhat surprised when she saw the group around Su Cang. Last time, Song Zhen only introduced Su Cang's company as having business dealings with her enterprise, and Tao Qing merely thought he was young; she hadn’t expected him to still be an undergraduate.

Although Su Cang’s company seemed weak compared to their SP enterprises, his current age made Tao Qing reconsider her impression of him. At least it reduced the suspicion that he was after Song Zhen's beauty and the wealth and status of her family through cronyism.

"Yes, I should have had more opportunities to explain last time," Su Cang smiled but didn’t say it was because you weren't interested in me at all.

“Alright then, see you inside. Song Zhen will speak on the stage later; an opportunity to speak at a Nan University forum is certainly precious. You should support her friends and classmates from Nan University." Tao Qing smiled warmly while looking around at everyone behind Su Cang, feeling that she hadn’t slighted anyone. She even paused for a moment when seeing Tang Wu before leaving through the VIP entrance with her entourage.

No matter how graceful or charming her demeanor was, she left an unforgettable impression on everyone around her.

Li Han looked at her back and praised her with admiration, “Is that Song Zhen’s mother With a mother like this, it's no wonder her daughter is extraordinary.”

Su Cang only smiled. Tao Qing could only reveal her prowess through the kind smile and proper language she used in public; it was completely different from when they had met alone previously. Su Cang thought that this must be how Tao Qing ruled things at Senchuan Group’s family villa complex in America.

Running into Su Cang was just a short interruption easily forgotten, but Tao Qing entered the Economics College auditorium of Nan University with her mind heavy with worries. Recently, she had been troubled by something; although they had received many messages beforehand about their competitors planning unfair competition against Senchuan China, there were several media attacks on Senchuan China recently, and even a foreign trade enterprise under them was forced to close—though it didn't affect the core business, it still shocked everyone at Senchuan Group.

The Senchuan side responded accordingly by mobilizing several high-profile figures, including officials from the industry department in Beijing and influential political leaders with clout. Even in Shanghai, there were allies of Senchuan Group providing support. However, as they began to deploy these key players, it also indicated that their opponents were coming fiercely.

However, for a large corporation like the Morikawa Group, as long as they don't engage in any illegal activities or shady dealings, Tao Qing is not afraid at all. As long as she herself doesn't make mistakes, the person hiding behind this event would be unable to find any leverage against them.

Tao Qing's worry lies in dodging obvious attacks but being vulnerable to hidden ones. If their opponent sees that Morikawa Group's defenses are impenetrable and flawless, might they take an unconventional approach

After taking her seat as a guest speaker, Tao Qing received several calls—one from Song Zhen’s father, another from her uncle, and even one from a bigwig in Beijing checking in. After receiving this call, Tao Qing felt much more at ease. It was because of this matter that Morikawa Group would take the opportunity presented by Nankai University's Alumni Festival to hold a forum speech as part of their series of actions to stabilize both internal and external situations.

Following the mayor of Shanghai's speech report, and an exposition from the director of a monetary research institute with subsequent Q&A session, the host said, "Next, please welcome Ms. Song Zhen, general manager of Morikawa Group (China) Co., Ltd., to deliver her presentation titled 'The Way for Chinese Enterprises to Cultivate Themselves.'"

Amidst enthusiastic applause, Song Zhen, dressed in a very office lady-like fashion with her black hair cascading over her shoulders, stepped onto the stage.

This new general manager of Morikawa Group (China), nurtured as the female successor, did not display flamboyance or dazzling brilliance under the spotlight but instead offered an unexpected kind of elegance.

During a brief pause in applause, Song Zhen took a deep breath. Tao Qing had repeatedly confirmed whether she was ready for this; delivering a report at such a forum event during Nankai University's Alumni Festival is something many entrepreneurs may never achieve. This isn't like walking the runway in Paris, and Song Zhen naturally felt the pressure of it all. If she felt unable to proceed, her uncle, who had been the former general manager of Morikawa Group (China) and a well-known figure in domestic enterprises, would immediately take over the report.

But Song Zhen politely declined; she believed that starting from now, she had the responsibility to shoulder the family business and carry forward the legacy of this three-generation-old enterprise with countless bittersweet memories and history to make it more illustrious.

Therefore, she had to take on the challenge. As the applause died down, Song Zhen began her report in a crisp voice, presenting it in her own style.

Meanwhile, Xie Siqian and others nearby curled their lips with an excited expression in their eyes, an action not missed by Su Can who had been privately observing them all along.ether, her eyes softened, and there was even a hint of admiration returning....The warm and deep male voice rang out again at this moment, "Su Cen, are you Su Cen from Xiahai City"All present couldn't...