Lord of the Desert

Chapter 408 Backing up
The next day was August 6th.

Xijing had been sunny for many days before, but the clouds were getting thicker day by day; today it was as if the mountains and the sea were hanging upside down, making noon feel like dusk.

Afternoon, Xuanbing Pavilion in Shen Mansion.

The faint light from the sky is refracted into the slanting raindrops.

Shen Maya leaned back in the armchair, tapping the armrest with his fingers from time to time, like an ordinary, decadent old man.

Within half a quarter of an hour, the most important descendants of the Shen family arrived one after another. After paying their respects, they sat down in two rows.

Shen Maya supported his chin with his hand and gave a brief account of what happened in the southern trip yesterday. He then asked his attendants to distribute the transcribed documents for everyone present to read.

“The first thing was the business plan for Tiannanxing;
The second document was the company system and articles of association drafted by Hong Fan. I saw that they were different from the current ones. They defined the positions of directors and supervisors, set clear job levels for the shopkeeper and clerks, and also had an "equity incentive" plan. "

He chuckled as he spoke, probably because he found these new concepts interesting.

"The structure of Tiannan Bank was tentatively agreed upon yesterday. Wen Zhongguan, the supervisor of weapon production, will serve as the general manager of the company, and Hong Fan will temporarily serve as the chairman. The Hong family, the Shen family, the Shura Sect, and the weapon production supervisor will each have one director seat - Hong Fu from the Hong family, Yuan Lingxue from the Shura Sect, Wen Zhongguan from the weapon production supervisor, and He Laoer will serve as the supervisor."

"I don't know where that guy got so many new ideas, but after watching it, I found that the responsibilities and powers are clearly defined. You can also take a look and learn from him."

Shen Guoying, Shen Xingzhou and others already knew that Hong Fan wanted to work in partnership with the Shen family, but it was not until now, after reading the documents in hand, that they knew exactly what it was.

At this moment, several family leaders exchanged glances, each with doubts.

"Grandfather, being able to make money is naturally good, and Guoying does not doubt Hongfan's ability."

As the patriarch, Shen Guoying gritted his teeth and spoke first.

"But the Zhu family has been on good terms with us for many years..."

"What do you mean by friendship? We just married off a few of each other's daughters and we have some interactions from time to time."

Shen Maya sneered.

"These are just superficial things. I don't care about your ancestor. Zhu Zhanran usually pretends to be bland, but he doesn't care either."

At this point, the younger generations all understood what he meant - Shen Moye usually did not value his dignity, and would often joke and bargain with his subordinates, but he was actually cold and shrewd, as if there was ice running in his veins.

Our ancestor had done things like abandoning the Liu family many times in his life, and he was going to do it again against the Zhu family.

But why bother?

"Grandfather, is this worth it?"

Shen Xingzhou spoke tentatively.

"The Zhu family is not like other middle-class families. If we have a big conflict with them, I'm afraid there will be consequences in many aspects."

"There are consequences, but they are not major consequences."

Shen Maya replied.

"Money is not important, business is not important, what is important is martial arts, and the people are the carriers of martial arts."

"With the Liu family gone, our position in Xijing has become even higher."

“It’s lonely at the top, so make plans early.”

After these words were spoken, everyone fell silent.

Shen Maya is over one hundred and forty years old, and there is basically no hope for him to ascend to the heavens and the three realms. It is time for him to consider his affairs after his death.

"Our ancestors had a far-sighted vision."

Shen Guoying praised it.

"Hong Fan is extremely gifted in martial arts. He may be able to be on the Earth Ranking in the future. However, he is still young. Even if he is at the top of the Heavenly Pride Ranking, it will take at least 20 to 30 years for him to realize his potential. The longer the time, the higher the risk."

Guoying also agreed to make friends with him, but wasn't it too big a gamble to offend the Zhu family in exchange?
Or maybe there's another way?"

Shen Moya looked solemnly at his cautious great-grandson, and suddenly laughed when he saw him racking his brains to come up with a tactful word.

"You're treating me like a tiger when you talk like that?"

He waved his hand.

"It's not just Hong Fan, the Tiannanxing also has the Shura Sect involved. You can use this opportunity to get closer to Li Pochen, and then you can make up for it."

The title of "Angry God" has its own weight, which calmed everyone down and made them feel that their ancestor did not get stuck in the dead end of Hong Fan.

Then, Shen Moye added casually, "By the way, shouldn't our clan send a director to Tiannanxing? I think it would be a good opportunity for Tiexin to go. "

Upon hearing this, Shen Guoying's heart skipped a beat - this old man was still thinking about his self-proclaimed plan to recruit a son-in-law? ! "Grandfather, please take back your order. It's not good for a girl like you to show up in public and have close contact with a man outside of her family..."

He stood up and said hurriedly.

"It's not good at all, it's just too dense!"

Shen Maya interrupted loudly, completely exposing his true purpose.

"You guys are ignorant, I know you think I'm old and confused!"

He was so angry that he puffed his beard and glared, and then he clenched his fist and extended his thumb.

"Let me give you a few facts first - first, if I hadn't been born early and there weren't even three rankings at that time, I would definitely be at the top of the Tianjiao Ranking. Is there no doubt about that?"

Who dares to question such words?

Shen Yubo lowered his head and curled his lips, and was hit on the forehead by an icy force, crying out in pain.

"Second, if Duan Tiannan wasn't slow in martial arts training, would he have been able to top the Tianjiao Ranking?"

Shen Maya stretched out his index finger and said again.

This time no one objected.

“Third, Gu Yixin was the leader in the past two years, and it was a rare achievement for him to beat the previous leader to reach the top.”

Middle finger.

"Fourth, Qu Luoyi is now at the top of the list."

Ring finger.

"The four of us are all optimistic about Hong Fan, the consensus of the top of the Tianjiao Ranking. Do you losers understand?"

Shen Maya cursed a lot, but when he saw the younger generations huddling their heads like eggplants hit by frost, he softened his expression.

"I don't want you to treat me like a tiger and force me to obey you, but you have to get to the root of the matter."

He spoke earnestly.

"There is only one Shen in Xijing. A family like us is considered to have some assets in the world. Even if we face the Zhu family or the Liu family, as long as it doesn't become a life-and-death feud, it doesn't matter whether we are better or worse. As long as we can practice martial arts and have food to eat, even if we advance an inch or retreat an inch, it is only a temporary honor or disgrace."

"Guoying, you are not stupid, but you have never seen the real disaster of war. You can't imagine what I experienced when I was a child, when the snake people corrupted half of Liangzhou, so you can't tell the difference between human connections."

"Do you think that just helping each other out, building up momentum, and doing small things is called networking?"

Shen Moye smiled contemptuously, leaned back in his chair, and many past events emerged on his face.

"That's all bullshit."

He spoke with hatred.

"Our Shen family has already reached this point. We don't need those extras. What we need is a tough guy who can support us at the critical moment."

"This person must not only have ability, but also friendship."

"Let me give you an example. Your ancestors like me can't do that."

He said this while pointing at himself.

"Even if the Zhu family married a hundred daughters to me and behaved politely during festivals, I would just stand by and watch when his family was in trouble. The Liu family tried their best to please me, but in the end, didn't I harm Liu Rui with my own hands?"

Shen Moya laughed, then remained silent for a while, his face full of fatigue.

"I'm used to doing things that are treacherous, so I know how difficult it is to stab someone in the back."

"There are so many martial arts talents in this world. Don't you understand why I am not angry with Hong Fan even though he hurt the reputation of my Shen family and frightened Tie Xin?"

Shen Maya raised her head slightly and looked into the distance.

"Hey, on February 29th last year, that kid said in front of Xu Guinian and me that he would come to Wuzheng Garden to avenge his brother, no matter what.

"Just because of this, I will always look up to him!"

PS: Today I posted a total of nine chapters written in the past half month, totaling 24,000 to 25,000 words.

Recently, after psychological counseling, I feel that my condition has gradually stabilized and improved. I hope that my writing speed can continue to increase, and I can return to the time when I updated 4,000 words a day soon.

(End of this chapter)