Since we are both reborn, of course I would choose the rich woman!

Chapter 360 An Unusual Meeting (6k views, please subscribe)

Liu Mulin had no objection to Lü Yao's arrangements. Even if Lü Yao asked her to arrange for a dump truck to meet with Mr. Liu, Liu Mulin would devise a practical plan for Lü Yao.

That's the best part about being a leader.

Leaders only need to set specific goals and assign different tasks or needs to different people. How to implement these tasks to achieve the goals is a matter for the subordinates to consider.

Doesn't that sound awesome?

This is indeed really enjoyable.

However, the person who gave the order will also bear the responsibility, because whether the subordinates can strictly follow the orders and whether they can achieve the goals are all things that the person who gave the orders needs to consider. If the set goals are not achieved, the person who gave the orders will be held accountable first.

Risk and reward are often relatively fair.

After accepting Lu Yao's task, Liu Mulin started ordering food for Lu Yao. Although it was a restaurant located in Dahai City, Kuang Gongzi Restaurant was not known for its local cuisine. Its signature dishes were bluefin tuna fatty fish, starry sky bird's nest, and braised pork with abalone and black truffle.

Of course, in addition to these Western-style dishes, there are also common local Shanghai dishes.

Dishes like Songjiang perch and stir-fried clover are all meticulously prepared by local chefs. However, in a place like Dahai City, purebred Shanghainese chefs don't eat them; only some elderly locals enjoy the taste of local cuisine.

Of course, this is not to say that local cuisine is not delicious. On the contrary, although local cuisine appeared very late, it was developed after Shanghai opened as a treaty port by combining local dishes with Western dishes and desserts. It is quite remarkable in terms of variety and flavor.

But Dahai City is, after all, one of the world's financial metropolises, a melting pot of Chinese and foreign cultures. Coupled with the cultural heritage and spiritual accumulation that Dahai City has accumulated since its opening to foreign trade, the purebred Shanghainese here are absolute fans of foreign cuisine.

Dishes like poached chicken, braised pork belly with pickled vegetables, and fish chin with water dripping from its chin sound incredibly rustic. Which local would like to eat such things?

Lu Yao didn't really enjoy the meal. He wasn't a big fan of Western food, and the only foreign cuisine he liked was Han Chinese food, because it was so similar to Northeastern Chinese food...

So even after finishing the meal, Lü Yao still didn't feel quite satisfied.

After finishing the meal, Lü Yao laughed and said, "Next time I come to Dahai City, let's go eat Northern cuisine, hot pot, or wood-fired pot. There's no need to insist on going to this restaurant that looks nice but doesn't taste very good."

Aren't Zhang Xiaonan and General Manager Liang from ByteDance amazing?
Didn't Jian Xiaojie still take people out to eat pickled bamboo shoots and pork soup? And they really enjoyed it. A pot of pickled bamboo shoots and pork soup, with fresh tender bamboo shoots and fresh green bamboo shoots, tasted unique. Add a pot of warm, authentic Shaoxing rice wine, and it was wonderful.

Private kitchens like Kuang Gongzi's... are quite different.

These are restaurants frequented by people who have become wealthy in Dahai City in the last ten or twenty years, or by locals looking for something new and doing business.

Anyway, Lü Yao wasn't really interested.

Liu Mulin said apologetically, "I'll remember that, and I'll make sure to arrange it well next time."

Lü Yao laughed: "I didn't mean anything by it. I was just being a bit blunt because you're like family to me."

Liu Mulin's expression softened considerably, and her beautiful, clear eyes seemed to be filled with a misty haze. She smiled and said, "I know."

Lu Yao smiled and prepared to get up and go back to rest, but before he left, there was a knock on the door of their private room.

The Kwong Gong Zi Restaurant has two floors, and each table has its own private space, which is relatively quiet and elegant. However, there are only two private rooms, one upstairs and one downstairs.

Logically speaking, no one should be knocking on the door at this time. Could it be that Mr. Liu received prior notice and came looking for me? Surely not.

He actually kept his trip a secret; no one knew about it except Rong Nianqing and Jian Xiaojie. Even the train tickets were arranged in advance by Rong Nianqing, and he entered the train through a special channel.

There's no possibility of the news leaking out.

Just as Lü Yao was brainstorming, Liu Mulin said, "It might be the owner of this restaurant. The owner of this restaurant personally serves dessert and a bottle of Haojiu to customers dining in private rooms. If you'd like, you can also chat with Boss Kuang."

Oh?
Although the food here is just average, the owner's service is very attentive.

Being able to open such a restaurant in the most central location of Dahai City, frequented by affluent high-class people, and with ingredients sourced from all over the world, demonstrates Mr. Kuang's "capability".

Especially considering that Boss Kuang is a woman, it's quite remarkable that she was able to set up such a stall in a place like Dahai City where land is incredibly valuable.

But Lü Yao didn't want to meet with this Mr. Kuang.

He arrived in Dahai City in a relatively discreet manner, and it was impossible for anyone within 500 meters of him to follow him. He also had their own latest privacy protection equipment, so his presence in Dahai City should still be kept secret.

The fact that Mr. Kuang could set up such a stall in Dahai City meant that he was either someone's mistress or that there were some issues in his family, but no matter what, Lü Yao didn't want to meet him.

Information is a resource.

Moreover, it is a very expensive resource.

So Lü Yao got up, went to Liu Mulin's side and whispered, "I'm going to the smoking room, you can take care of the outside."

Liu Mulin knew exactly what Lü Yao meant, so she nodded and said, "Okay."

After Lü Yao closed the door to the smoking room, he sat down near the door, lit a cigarette, and listened intently to the sounds outside.

As Liu Mulin opened the door, Lü Yao heard a gentle and refined voice from outside. The voice was full of intellectual composure. Even through the door and without seeing the person, a blurry female figure appeared in Lü Yao's mind.

Her figure is neither too tall nor too short, graceful and well-proportioned, with a plump and rounded physique, and her outfits match the style of the city of Dahai, even with a touch of French languor.

After arriving at the private room, the conversation seemed to be a normal chat. After serving fine wine and dessert, Mr. Kuang left the room.

The other guest in the room was not mentioned at all.

After there was no more noise outside, Lü Yao pushed open the door and came out, putting on the baseball cap and mask he had worn when he came in. After thinking for a moment, Lü Yao said, "Next time I come to Dahai City, I want to go to our own restaurant."

Liu Mulin smiled and said, "Okay."

It's not that Lü Yao is being overly cautious, but rather that he has to be this cautious now.

Although Dahai City is very close to Shangnan, it is not within his sphere of influence. Naturally, he has to be extra careful when doing things here. Lü Yao is now starting to think back on his trip to Dahai City and whether there were any oversights.

Logically speaking, there shouldn't be any, but in a place like Dahai City, Lü Yao still felt uneasy.

So after getting back into the car with Liu Mulin, Lü Yao said, "Can we intercept Mr. Liu tonight?"

Liu Mulin paused for a moment, but did not refuse, saying, "I'll make the arrangements now and give it a try."

After they finished dinner, it was getting late. At this hour, it would be difficult to catch Mr. Liu. Even if Mr. Liu was still out socializing, the surrounding environment wouldn't allow them to do something so outrageous.

Lü Yao didn't insist: "Then let's give it a try."

……

At the seaside pier in Dahai City, Mr. Liu boarded a yacht and quickly approached the shore. He had an important guest hosting a banquet at sea today, which was why Mr. Liu had come.

Having finished discussing everything, Mr. Liu excused himself to the important guest and left.

This is also understandable.

Mr. Liu has been dealing with a lot lately, not only various domestic issues, but also the impact on their position from Shanghai University, overseas communications standards setting meetings, and even a whole host of other things within Motorola, which he recently acquired.

Therefore, no matter how lively the gathering was, or how extravagant the entertainment, Mr. Liu could only go so far.

After getting ashore and returning to his car, Mr. Liu slumped into the back seat, let out a long sigh, and then said to the car in front, his voice full of exhaustion, "Let's go."

But the car didn't start as expected. The driver in the driver's seat didn't move at all. Mr. Liu, who was slumped in the back seat, frowned slightly. He propped himself up a little and looked in the rearview mirror.

The person in the driver's seat didn't shy away from looking at Mr. Liu in the back seat through the rearview mirror.

Mr. Liu immediately realized that the driver in the car was not his driver at all.

Although the position of driver is lowly, it is a very important position among high-level people. Drivers know exactly what people are doing in the car, whether they are making phone calls, chatting, or meeting with someone. Therefore, only their trusted confidants are assigned to this position.

Some big bosses will even hand over a portion of their vast wealth to their drivers for management.

Mr. Liu's driver was, of course, one of his confidants, and the two were already very familiar with each other. So Mr. Liu could tell that something was wrong with the driver just by looking in the rearview mirror.

After a moment of surprise, Mr. Liu immediately tensed up: "Who are you?"

He immediately tried to open the car door and rush out, but the door was already locked by the driver's side when Mr. Liu got in.

The unfamiliar driver in the driver's seat smiled and said, "Mr. Liu, don't panic, I just want to chat with you."

Before he finished speaking, Lü Yao, dressed in a black trench coat, emerged from the shadows of the dock.

The wind was strong at the seaside port of Dahai City at night. The howling sea breeze lifted the hem of Lü Yao's trench coat. Mr. Liu looked out the car window and saw a tall, slender figure slowly approaching his car from afar.

Even the well-traveled Mr. Liu had to admit that the person approaching him, even just the blurry black silhouette, looked incredibly handsome.

At this point, Mr. Liu roughly understood what was going on.

So he calmed himself down and sat quietly in the car to wait. Soon.

Lu Yao went to Mr. Liu's car. Before he could knock, the driver unlocked the door, so Lu Yao naturally opened the door and sat on the other side of Mr. Liu.

As soon as he sat down, Lü Yao let out a comfortable sigh: "This car is really nice. Once you sit down, you don't want to get up."

Seeing this, Mr. Liu on the other side smiled and said, "If Mr. Lü likes it, I'll give you a few."

Lu Yao laughed and said, "Mr. Liu is very generous. But I won't accept the car as a gift. I can't accept something for nothing."

Mr. Liu continued with a smile, "If Mr. Lü is a friend, then let alone giving you a car, I will do my best to get you whatever you want. I have quite a few friends both in China and abroad."

Lü Yao smiled but didn't say anything.

Mr. Liu was actually looking forward to meeting Lü Yao, but he did not expect Lü Yao to appear in such a "spy" manner. In China, unless someone has committed a particularly serious mistake, such methods are generally not used, especially for people like them who have deeply intertwined interests in the country.

The saying "a single hair can affect the whole body" perfectly describes someone like Mr. Liu.

However, it must be said that Lu Yao's way of meeting gave Mr. Liu a lot of novelty, so Mr. Liu continued, "Mr. Lu, I know why you came to see me. You have seen what we have done, and the power we have is definitely beyond your imagination."

"Even with the Rong family's backing and overseas influence, you still can't compare to us."

Mr. Liu chuckled as he said this, “Do you know why I’m so confident? It’s not because we have a lot of energy, but because we have a lot of people, not just a lot of people in China, and not just a wide range of industries in China.”

Lü Yao certainly knew what Mr. Liu meant.

But he remained silent and smiled.

That faint smile was like a mask cast on Lü Yao's face, making Mr. Liu's long speech seem somewhat like a monologue. The atmosphere was awkward, and Mr. Liu felt a little angry.

So Mr. Liu kept quiet.

Since you don’t want to talk about it, then let’s not talk about it.

If Mr. Liu remained silent for more than ten seconds and Lu Yao still didn't speak, he would have to "send the guest away."

Even though Mr. Liu no longer has the power to see the guests off, he still needs to express his attitude.

Lu Yao didn't keep Mr. Liu waiting for more than ten seconds. After only five or six seconds of awkward silence, Lu Yao suddenly said, "Mr. Liu, may I ask who you plan to vote for in the 3GPP meeting regarding the 5G communication control channel?"

Mr. Liu was stunned. He didn't understand why Lü Yao suddenly brought this up.

Because of this vote, many influential figures have recently approached them to discuss this matter.

Although Mr. Liu's family only owns Motorola, a telecommunications equipment company, they have connections with more than one telecommunications company both domestically and internationally, meaning that Mr. Liu's family is very influential on an international level.

He is fully capable of influencing the outcome of this vote.

This is also why Lü Yao doesn't believe the Liu family's sophistry on the future internet.

After gathering his thoughts for a moment, Mr. Liu asked, "Although you, Mr. Lü, have also invested in mobile phone manufacturers, the voting rights of the telecommunications equipment company belong to the main company. Besides, you are just a mobile phone manufacturer, so why are you concerned about this?"

Because of Lü Yao's involvement and influence, Xiaomi, which should have voted for Qualcomm, cast its vote for domestic companies instead.

Although it did not affect the final result and left a "bad impression" on the international stage, this vote successfully rewrote the "stance issues" that Xiaomi might be involved in in the future. After a deeper understanding, Lü Yao also understood why Xiaomi voted for Qualcomm.

Because Xiaomi phones are produced entirely through an integrated supply chain, without the support of Lü Yao and Rong Nianqing, and with chips, screens, motherboards, and even the operating system having to be sourced from overseas, Xiaomi had no choice.

He had to appear submissive in order to secure goods internationally.

but now.

Thanks to Lü Yao's relationship with Samsung and Xinjie, Xiaomi will no longer face shortages of screens and chips. Furthermore, this incident could serve as a prelude to future developments, generating positive public image. Lei Jun, a master of marketing, certainly wouldn't miss this opportunity.

To put it bluntly, the reason why Qualcomm was able to overwhelmingly defeat Huawei's communication standard solution at the 3GPP meeting is simply because foreign companies control the domestic supply channels.

However, Lü Yaoxian has solved this problem to some extent.

After losing the standard for setting data channels, Huawei activated its special ability, and it wasn't just business leaders who started lobbying various parties.

It was precisely because Lü Yao understood this that he approached Mr. Liu to discuss this matter before any non-business tycoons appeared. To put it bluntly, Lü Yao was using someone else's name to intimidate Mr. Liu, creating an unfathomable and mysterious image for him, in order to fool people like Mr. Liu.

This time, Lü Yao still did not answer Mr. Liu's question, but said to himself, "If I were you, I would definitely vote for Huawei after the next meeting starts, and I would even try my best to use my wisdom and ability to tip the scales of victory in Huawei's favor."

"The 5G communication standard will be extremely important in the next ten years. In today's increasingly internet-based and data-driven world, whoever controls the foundation of communication will, to a certain extent, control the future. I believe Mr. Liu understands this principle."

"If the formulation of this standard has nothing to do with China, it means that, at least in terms of communications, China will have to prepare to decouple from international standards. And once the two sides decouple..."

At this point, Lü Yao looked at Mr. Liu with a meaningful expression: "Tell me, what use are you and your partners?"

The saying "When the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked" is something that people like Mr. Liu couldn't possibly not understand.

But Mr. Liu still harbored a glimmer of hope: "Global trade and international division of labor are the general trend and the direction of human development and civilization. How could they decouple? How could they possibly decouple?"

Mr. Liu revealed a condescending smile: "President Lü, your ideas as young people are still too radical."

Lu Yao remained silent: "The purpose of keeping people like you around is for international trade, but we have been relegated to a subordinate position in the division of labor in international trade for too long. If we didn't have the ability to move up to a higher level, that would be fine, but now that we have the ability to move up in technology and science, we are being suppressed and unable to move up. Is that appropriate?"

"So once international standards become irrelevant to us—"

Sitting in the back seat, Lü Yao didn't even look at Mr. Liu, and he spoke using the word "we." This calm and indifferent attitude, which was somewhat arrogant, had already put considerable mental pressure on Mr. Liu.

Lu Yao's lips curled up slightly, a smile that appeared cold and menacing: "Then it will be time for reckoning."

“You may think this is unrealistic and impossible, but for businesses and families like yours, one more or one less makes no difference. You need to understand that it is you who need our market, not the other way around.”

These words!

This tastes amazing!

This perfectly matches some of the things Mr. Liu has seen and experienced.

In an instant, Mr. Liu felt as if the small carriage had suddenly become infinitely large, to the point that he felt as if he was being pushed back and further away from Lü Yao, even though he was sitting in the carriage.

This time, Mr. Liu's face was no longer all smiles, but he asked seriously, "May I ask, what exactly is your identity?"

Lu Yao smiled, said nothing, and opened the car door to leave Mr. Liu's car.

The driver in the driver's seat didn't say anything, opened the car door, and left with Lü Yao.

Watching Lü Yao and his companion gradually disappear into the night at the dock, Mr. Liu involuntarily opened the car door, stood on the other side of the car, and looked in the direction where Lü Yao and his companion had disappeared.

It was pitch black there, and there was no one in sight.

But in Mr. Liu's eyes, the dark night seemed to be slowly writhing, and although there was nothing there, it gave Mr. Liu an indescribable, chilling sense of fear.

So much so that when a figure came running quickly from the darkness, Mr. Liu subconsciously took a step back.

However, once the figure stepped into the light, Mr. Liu realized that the person rushing out was none other than his driver.

The driver quickly ran to Mr. Liu, bowed, and apologized, saying, "Mr. Liu, I'm sorry, I was coerced..."

"Shut up."

Mr. Liu, with a stern face, said, "It's good that everyone is alright. Get in the car and let's go back."

Throughout the journey, Mr. Liu kept a straight face and didn't say a word. After returning to his residence in Dahai City, Mr. Liu was still uneasy, to the point that he was restless and unable to sit still.

Unable to resist, Mr. Liu immediately picked up his phone and called a close partner, hoping to learn about the current state of the domestic industry through the partner's actions.

As for the overseas part, there is currently no news and everything is quiet and peaceful.

Meanwhile, domestic telecommunications manufacturers that have close ties with Mr. Liu or have cooperative relationships have not received any special news. There have just been more people visiting them recently, but none of them have had a meeting like tonight's that could bring Mr. Liu any sense of unease.

After contacting everyone around him, Mr. Liu became somewhat suspicious.

"Could it be that Mr. Lü is trying to scare me? But wait, would he be out of his mind to scare someone with something so baseless?"

Just to be on the safe side, Mr. Liu decided to wait a little longer.

hold on……

What if?
What if it's not just a scare tactic?
(End of this chapter)