National Tide 1980.

The person most affected by the outcome of the district government's closed-door meeting was not Ning Weimin, but Qiao Wanlin.

As soon as the meeting ended, Qiao Wanlin seemed to have lost his backbone, and he was completely dejected.

He didn't go straight back to the service bureau, nor did he bother to exchange pleasantries with people from other government departments. He didn't even consult with Deputy District Chief Xu before walking out of the district government office building in a daze.

The early spring wind felt like a knife cutting his face, but he was completely oblivious.

Now all he can think about is Secretary Zhao's words, "Ask the experts in the city for their opinions."

That's not asking for opinions, is it?
That was a death sentence for Ning Weimin, and a reprieve for Qiao Wanlin's career.

"It's over, it's over..."

Qiao Wanlin wandered aimlessly through the streets, feeling utterly frustrated, as if he had a wad of damp cotton stuffed inside him. What a wonderful game of chess it should have been!

With Ning Weimin taking over, the amusement park and aquarium are working together, which will boost the economic data, cultural development, and tourism industry of Chongwen District.

As the person who facilitated this connection, it's only natural that he, as the deputy director, would be promoted to director.
Everything was as beautiful as the apricot blossoms hanging on the treetops in early spring, about to bloom in a lively and bustling manner.

But now?

Once the Kumagai-gumi, this "giant crocodile," got involved, the winds in the city shifted, and the cooked duck flapped its wings and flew away.

"What the hell are you bastards doing, causing all this trouble..."

He walked away, slapping his thigh in frustration.

That's not all; besides losing face, he also lost all sense of dignity.

He originally thought it was a sure thing, so he patted his chest and guaranteed it to Ning Weimin.

But the result?

The result was that they were left hanging in mid-air.

Ning Weimin has been busy for a while now, and has even made a rough plan for the renovation of the amusement park.

But just one sentence from above is enough to make someone bow their head and be eliminated. What kind of situation is this?!
This is absolutely infuriating! How could I possibly run into such a shitty mess...?

And so, Qiao Wanlin cursed, resented, and hated in his heart... He wandered aimlessly through the streets, as if only in this way could he vent the anger and rage he had been holding in.

It wasn't until he had walked for more than half an hour in the cold wind, his hands and feet numb with cold, that Qiao Wanlin suddenly came to his senses—Oh no! He had to inform Ning Weimin about this!

Despite such a huge change, people are still foolishly waiting for good news.

If I don't say anything, I'll really offend them.

Finally remembering that he still had to act as an informant, Qiao Wanlin hurriedly found a public phone and wanted to call Ning Weimin.

The problem was that Ning Weimin's mobile phone rang for a long time, but no one answered.

So, Qiao Wanlin had no choice but to call several places Ning Weimin might be going.

Unexpectedly, the result was the same: neither Yunyuan nor Pierre Carton knew where Ning Weimin was.

This is how to do?
Qiao Wanlin was extremely anxious. After all, Ning Weimin owned too many businesses and could go to too many places. His whereabouts were not so easy to guess.

However, people can be quick-witted. Just as the people behind Qiao Wanlin started making sarcastic remarks to urge him on, appearing somewhat impatient,
Qiao Wanlin then thought of another place—that's it! That kid's most concerned about the aquarium project right now! He might be on the construction site right now!

He quickly called the construction site office at Longtan Lake, and it rang several times before someone lazily answered.

"Hello? Who is it?"

"This is Qiao Wanlin from the District Service Bureau! Is General Manager Ning here?"

"Oh, Director Qiao! General Manager Ning is here, inspecting the project."

"Oh, thank goodness! Please tell him for me, I'll go find him right away..."

Qiao Wanlin finally breathed a huge sigh of relief.

After hanging up the phone, he quickly hailed a minivan and headed straight for the Longtan Lake Aquarium construction site.

At this moment, the construction site was bustling with activity, the machines roaring.

Ning Weimin was standing on a high platform, holding blueprints in his hand, checking the project requirements step by step with several designers and the person in charge of the construction site, looking at the exterior of the Shen'ao building, which was already taking shape.

Qiao Wanlin took a deep breath and walked over with a stiff upper lip.

Ning Weimin's image gradually became clear, his long black down jacket fluttering in the wind.

Standing there, with his upright posture and focused expression, he looked like a business tycoon surveying his domain.

Standing below, Qiao Wanlin, whether it was the perspective or his own guilt, suddenly felt a sense of shame and an urge to prostrate himself in worship.

Qiao Wanlin looked up at that familiar yet unfamiliar figure, unsure of what he was feeling.

In any case, he now finds it difficult to reconcile the Ning Weimin in front of him with the Ning Weimin he remembered from ten years ago.

There's a phrase called "a complete transformation," and Ning Weimin perfectly explained its true meaning.

“Weimin…”

When Qiao Wanlin saw that Ning Weimin had finished giving instructions and was getting a water glass, he quickly greeted him.

Ning Weimin turned around, saw it was him, and a look of surprise appeared on his face. He then put down the blueprints in his hand and quickly walked down the steps. "Hey, Lao Qiao, what brings you here at this hour? You didn't even call ahead."

"I called, but no one answered. I looked for you everywhere, and finally got through to the construction site office before I could find you."

"Hey, bad signal. Look at this piece of junk, it's such a hindrance."

Ning Weimin then laughed again, "Have you eaten yet? If not, let's go eat. It's better to be lucky than lucky. I've seen enough here. I'll treat you to a meal. We can talk about anything over dinner."

Qiao Wanlin forced out a smile that looked worse than a grimace, and rubbed his hands together as if he were sitting on a wax statue.

His eyes darted away, avoiding Ning Weimin's gaze. "Why are you even eating? I'm not hungry at all... Actually, I... I came to talk to you about the amusement park. The district just had a meeting this morning..."

Seeing his dejected appearance, Ning Weimin roughly understood what was going on. In front of the people on the construction site, he didn't say anything, but simply gestured for Qiao Wanlin to enter a makeshift prefabricated house next door.

The prefab house was very simple, with only a long table, a few folding chairs, and a coal stove that served as both a water heater and a heating station. It was a temporary place for receiving guests on the construction site.

As soon as he sat down, Qiao Wanlin collapsed into the chair like a punctured balloon.

He covered his face with his hands, his voice filled with deep exhaustion and guilt.

"Weimin, I'm so sorry, I've let you down this time."

Ning Weimin poured him a cup of hot tea and casually overturned the ashtray on the table.

Then she pushed the ashtray in front of him and said calmly, "Have a drink of water and a smoke first. We can talk about it slowly."

Qiao Wanlin picked up the water cup; the tea was scalding hot, and his hands were trembling slightly.

He stopped drinking, put down the cup, and instead took out a cigarette case from his pocket, lit a cigarette, and tried to calm himself down.

"The district held a closed-door meeting today, and no one expected that the Japan-China Joint Venture would actually bring in reinforcements. A large Japanese multinational corporation, called Kumagai Gumi, has intervened and wants to take over the shares held by the Japan-China Joint Venture. This company is in the construction business and is quite powerful; it seems they've monopolized many high-end projects in Beijing in recent years. Oh, right, the Nine Dragons Amusement Park at the Ming Tombs is theirs. The key is that they have close ties with the city government, and the city... the city government specifically gave them instructions. Secretary Zhao and District Chief Zhang dared not go against the higher-ups' wishes, fearing that offending the city leaders would lead to repercussions. Although District Chief Xu has been arguing and fighting for us, in the end... it was too late. The majority of people still want to follow the city's lead. In other words, the district has essentially rejected you on this matter."

At this point, Qiao Wanlin sighed, his eyes reddening.

“Weimin, blame me if you must. I know how much effort you put into this project, and I know I made a good promise. But who could have imagined that the Japanese would be so insidious and despicable? They just wouldn't let us have a smooth ride. They actually found other Japanese companies and used city leaders to pressure the district. Now that things have turned out like this, I really have no face to see you. This isn't just your loss, it's mine too. I was too naive. Now I see, you were right after all…”

He choked back tears, shook his head, and then slammed his fist into his thigh. "To be honest, I really wanted to help you get this done, and I also wanted... I wanted to use this opportunity to climb the ladder. But now, the duck that was almost in my mouth has flown away. Those bastards are really despicable; even though they lost, they didn't forget to leave a disgusting mess before they went..."

Qiao Wanlin became increasingly angry as he spoke, truly heartbroken and indignant.

To his surprise, Ning Weimin's reaction was different from what he had expected. Not only did he remain calm, but he also smiled.

"Old Joe, what are you doing? It's nothing serious."

Ning Weimin reached out and patted Qiao on the shoulder, his tone unusually gentle.

Qiao Wanlin was stunned, staring at him in disbelief.

"What did you say? This isn't a big deal? We've just lost our shares in the amusement park, and...you're really not worried at all?"

Ning Weimin picked up his enamel mug, gently blew on the floating leaves, and his eyes were as calm as still water.

"What's the use of being anxious? What's the use of being angry? Since it has already happened, instead of lamenting here, we should think about what to do next."

He looked at Qiao Wanlin with a deep gaze, "Let me put it this way, we're not necessarily going to lose until the very end. Don't be fooled by the district meeting; this amusement park issue might not be over yet."

"what?"

Qiao Wanlin's mouth dropped open, his mind filled with questions.

"With things already like this, is there any hope for a turnaround? The city has already set the tone..."

"Setting the tone in the city is one thing, but whether it can be successfully implemented in the end is another. Even at the very last moment before signing the contract, there is always a chance for things to turn around."

Ning Weimin put down his water glass, leaned forward slightly, and a meaningful smile appeared on his lips. "Since I've made my move, I don't intend to admit defeat easily. The business world is like a battlefield; until the very last moment, who knows who will emerge victorious? Japan and China have already made their move, but I haven't retaliated yet. I can't just not allow myself to defend myself when they attack."

Looking at the inscrutable expression on Ning Weimin's face, Qiao Wanlin's previously flustered heart inexplicably calmed down.

He suddenly realized that the person in front of him was never the kind of person who would be defeated by a little setback.

In an instant, he seemed to recall Ning Weimin's reaction when he learned that someone had written to the Service Bureau to report him and Zhang Shihui for violating regulations back at the Chongwenmen Hotel.

Ning Weimin did not sacrifice others to save himself; instead, he took the initiative to get involved and ultimately used the exchange method to achieve a precise counterattack. He even managed to get rid of Qiao Wanlin and his uncle, Team Leader Qi, from their old rivals in the workplace.

He still admires this to this day.

He couldn't help but believe that some people were probably born geniuses who could find a way out no matter how difficult the situation.

"Weimin, you...you have an idea?"

Ning Weimin smiled but didn't answer directly. Instead, he said, "Old Qiao, good things often come with difficulties, and setbacks are normal. Don't blame yourself too much. I know you've done your best this time. The district has its difficulties, and you have your own helplessness, which I understand. In any case, I have to thank you for connecting me with this. If you hadn't thought of me like this, I probably wouldn't have even gotten close to it, and it would have all passed me by."

He paused, looking at Qiao Wanlin's astonished expression, his eyes sharpening again. "However, if I want to turn things around, I need your help now."

"Tell me! I'll go through fire and water for anything I can do!" Qiao Wanlin immediately declared.

"No need for me to go through fire and water," Ning Weimin waved his hand. "I just need you to help me investigate some things."

"what's the situation?"

"Regarding the Kumagai Group, who is in charge of them in the capital? Who in the Kumagai Group contacted the city about this matter, and who in the city is involved in it?"

Ning Weimin said, enunciating each word clearly, "The more detailed the better. Besides that, I also want to know the general operations of the Kumagai Group in the capital, what kind of business they've taken on, including the actual operating status of their Kowloon Amusement Park. How about it? Can you do that?"

Qiao Wanlin was taken aback. "I can try. It shouldn't be a big problem. But why are you checking this? Do you mean to..."

Ning Weimin stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the aquarium under construction outside, his gaze calm and firm.

"I plan to speak with the head of the Kumagai Group alone first."

"what?!"

Qiao Wanlin was so shocked he almost jumped up. "You're going to find the head of the Kumagai Group? Is this...is this appropriate? Do you really think they'd spit out what they've got?"

"Why not? Let's talk first. What if they're willing to reason with us? Wouldn't that be great?"

Ning Weimin turned around, his smile widening. "Old Qiao, do you think I'm the kind of impulsive, reckless person who acts rashly? I wouldn't do something I'm not sure of. They might be a powerful multinational corporation, but this is, after all, our territory. And I'm not exactly broke. If it were two years ago, before the Japanese economy collapsed, I might have let them off the hook. Now, that's not an option. They have money, and I have money; they have people, and I have people. And there's one more thing they don't have..."

He turned around, looked at Qiao Wanlin, smiled, pointed to his temple, and gave his answer—"A mind that's even more calculating than theirs."

Although his tone was calm, it conveyed an undeniable confidence.

"You arrange for them to come out, and I'll handle the rest. I want to see just how big this 'crocodile's' appetite really is, and whether it's truly stubborn enough to not be afraid of losing its own hand. Since they want to play, I'll play along."

Looking into Ning Weimin's eyes, which seemed to see through everything, Qiao Wanlin suddenly felt a surge of inexplicable courage.

Perhaps, this duck hasn't really flown far yet. (End of Chapter)