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

Chapter 403 Initially, no one cared about this disaster (6k views, please subscribe)

The human world operates largely through "secrets".

This is a rather formal way of putting it; in internet terms, it means that the world operates based on "information asymmetry."

Because I know some things you don't, I can gain the upper hand faster than you and reap more benefits. To put it bluntly, many things are just that simple.

Since embarking on this path, Lü Yao has come to understand that the difference between him and some others lies in the "information gap."

So even after learning the whole story from Rong Nianqing, he didn't have a particularly strong reaction. Everything is the best arrangement, and that statement is most appropriate for his current position.

Given the changing circumstances, all he needs to do is follow the plan he has set for himself step by step.

Rong Nianqing was also very satisfied with Lü Yao's reaction.

From a personal perspective, after putting in so much effort, being treated this way would normally cause some complaints or grievances for most people. However, Lü Yao had no such thoughts and simply focused on his work.

Time passed quickly as they quietly focused on their work.

Before we knew it, it was already August.

August is a scorching season; even in the far north, the days become unbearably hot.

Because of its basin topography, Sichuan is not only hot but also extremely humid. In terms of the unbearable climate, it is almost comparable to the hot and humid Guangdong and Guangxi regions.

In such hot weather, people in urban areas will more or less go out to have fun at night, especially in Sichuan, a region known for its "leisure and romance"—a little-known fact: in the national divorce rate rankings, the top three regions are: Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning, Northwest China, and Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan.

In China, many divorces are surprisingly similar in that they all stem from accidentally being cheated on.

When Lü Yao was studying abroad, he also spent some time in Sichuan. This place truly lived up to its reputation. During his time studying abroad, Lü Yao personally experienced several instances of Cao Cao's advances. The key point is that none of these were initiated by Lü Yao himself; he was the passive one.

As the weather gets hotter, every day after work, when Lü Yao drives his Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which he bought here, out for a quick bite to eat, there are always local young women dressed particularly smartly, pretending to cover their chests and collars, bending down to the car window and knocking to ask, "Hello, is it convenient to add each other on WeChat?"

Each time, Lü Yao would politely shake his head as a sign of refusal.

If Lü Yao were twenty years younger, he might have ruined his kidneys by now to achieve what he has. But now, with his youthful body and the experience he has gained, he is less likely to be attracted to such things.

To take it a step further, who knows if there might be a "sleeper agent" planted here?

Lu Yao had set up a similar scheme for Yao Qiguang. Even though the woman Jian Xiaojie had sent to set up the scheme had completely disappeared from Yao Qiguang's world, and even Lu Yao didn't know where she was, Yao Qiguang would always show a little bit of something unusual on certain special days.

Many people are like this—they are troubled by regrets throughout their lives.

For people in Lü Yao's circle, anyone who suddenly approaches is suspicious, even if it's someone you meet while looking for fun; they could be someone set up by someone else.

Many people in the business and entertainment circles have already stumbled because of this, and Dongzi, who is practically a fellow townsman of Lü Yao, has a lot to say about it.

Therefore, from late June to early August, Lü Yaozhen lived a life of simplicity and detachment, going out early and returning late every day, maintaining a regular schedule, and devoting himself entirely to his work and career.

This kind of disciplined lifestyle actually surprised many people.

That day, after finishing his work outside, Lü Yao bought a bowl of chicken soup rice noodles to take home. He sat down to prepare the food, looking at his work on his tablet while preparing to eat. But he had only taken a few bites of the chicken soup rice noodles when he suddenly received a call from Rong Nianqing: "Where are you?"

Lü Yao was taken aback: "In Mianyang."

Rong Nianqing: "Going home after get off work?"

Lü Yao: "Yes."

Rong Nianqing: "I've already left Mianyang Airport, and I'll be at your place in a little while."

Lu Yao was puzzled: "What's the matter? Why are you in such a hurry?"

Rong Nianqing did not answer Lü Yao's question, but said very quickly and coldly, "Let's talk when we meet."

After saying that, Rong Nianqing hung up the phone.

Lu Yao glanced at his phone, which had been disconnected, with a bit of a puzzlement. Then, while eating his noodles, he slowly began to think. Although 2017 was later recognized as the year that marked the beginning of foreign trade frictions, these frictions would only intensify the following year. Logically, Lu Yao should have had a year to enjoy some rare leisure time.

Why is Rong Nianqing coming here in such a hurry?

Could it be that my cultural dumping tactics this year have caught the attention of people across the ocean?

Is this right?
There was no use in thinking about it. After finishing his noodles and cleaning up the trash, Lü Yao waited patiently at his current residence.

Rong Nianqing didn't keep Lü Yao waiting for long. Less than half an hour later, a black Cadillac Escalade quietly pulled up in front of Lü Yao's current residence. Lü Yao got up and went out to greet it.

Then Rong Nianqing and Jian Xiaojie got out of the car one after the other and walked into the yard.

Lu Yao greeted them with a smile, "What brings you two here together? Have we been officially recruited?"

Rong Nianqing laughed and said, "In a sense, we have long been incorporated, and it is a very stable kind of incorporation. There are not many people in the country who dare to bare their teeth at us now. At most, they will do some small tricks behind our backs and slowly erode and take over our bodies."

Lü Yao stepped aside: "Come in and let's talk."

Once inside the lobby, Jian Xiaojie sniffed around the room like a dog with its nose. After exploring the entire place, she shook her head and clicked her tongue, saying, "Why does this place smell so bland? You were so well-behaved back in Mianyang?"

Lu Yao laughed: "So what do you want from me? Do you expect me to throw parties here every day?"

Jian Xiaojie just couldn't understand it.

She leaned against the bar in the middle of the hall, arms crossed, and asked in bewilderment, "Then I don't understand, what are you doing hiding here? Wouldn't it be better to go back to Shangnan? When you're free, you can have some fun with us, and when you're busy, we can all meet up. Even if it's a gap year, this is about the right time."

Lu Yao smiled and said, "I've only been out for a short time."

Jian Xiaojie unleashed her "head tilt kill" skill: "Has it not been long? I feel like it's been a long, long time. Since you left Shangnan, I feel like Shangnan has become extremely boring."

Today, Jian Xiaojie wore a dark purple satin shirt with a wide-sleeved collar, paired with simple, flowing wide-leg pants. The shimmering silver accessories on her neck and hands complemented the rich colors of her outfit, giving her a very elegant look.

Therefore, this head tilt kill is also very lethal.

In particular, Lü Yao has been a vegetarian for more than two months.

Fortunately, Lü Yao's experience kept his inner turmoil at bay. He laughed and said, "You still have time to have fun?"

At this point, Jian Xiaojie immediately broke down, then gritted her teeth and said resentfully, "Since you've said that, does that mean I can assume you knew all along that this year would be especially busy, so you came out early to enjoy your leisure time?"

At this moment, Rong Nianqing, who had been quietly drinking water, chimed in: "Right? I've always felt like we're working for President Lü. Look at President Lü, he keeps throwing things at us one after another. Today he's packaging this, tomorrow he's marketing that. He's relaxed, but we're exhausted."

Lü Yao laughed and protested, "Don't talk nonsense, I'm busy too, okay? I've been looking at documents even when I'm back for dinner. Do you think I'm really hiding here taking a vacation?" Then Lü Yao spread his hands and said, "You didn't fly over here specifically to criticize me, did you?"

Rong Nianqing smiled and said, "Of course not."

Her expression quickly turned serious: "Something has happened on an international level."

As she spoke, Rong Nianqing looked at Jian Xiaojie, who continued, "This is no longer a secret. Across the ocean, they've already initiated the so-called 'International Comprehensive Trade and Competition Law' against China."

Lü Yao nodded: "I know about this."

Because a very fashionable figure has arrived from across the ocean, who can be described as the number one loudspeaker in the political world. He does things in a very unconventional way and especially likes to inform his fans about what he is going to do through social media.

In terms of sheer absurdity, it's only slightly less impressive than a comedian becoming the head of a faction.

However, although this blond-haired leader acted eccentrically, he was not a fool. Although many of the things he did later were outrageous, his core principles were always very clear.

After four years of experience and another four years of refinement, nearly ten years had passed, during which he developed more mature political skills.

It's fortunate that he has a futuristic perspective; otherwise, an ordinary person wouldn't be able to accurately diagnose that blond guy.

Jian Xiaojie said, "What you know is only the surface information. It seems that the other side of the ocean is dissatisfied with the trade deficit in recent years and wants to extort some benefits, but my friends overseas told me that their thoughts go far beyond that. What they want to do is completely destroy the transformation of China's high-tech industries."

"We must completely integrate ourselves into the established international division of labor."

Rong Nianqing added, "I've also received news that many foundations, investment companies, and institutions in China have started contacting domestic high-tech companies, especially those that have close economic ties with overseas high-tech companies."

"The message from across the ocean is very clear: they are being asked to take sides."

Lu Yao thought for a moment and asked, "Have you, Mr. Lei, and ByteDance all received the news?"

Rong Nianqing nodded: "Yes, all the top-tier companies in China have received the news."

Lu Yao laughed and said, "Samsung from Silla also sent me a message. Their suzerain country is demanding that Samsung reduce trade with us, especially banning the export of their chips, screen panels, and memory chips."

Rong Nianqing chuckled, "Not bad! They call it a gap year, but they're actually very well-informed. This 'trade investigation' has already attracted the attention of many powerful countries, and domestic high-tech entrepreneurs are all worried and in disarray." Lü Yao, however, said somewhat nonchalantly, "What's the panic? Isn't this a good thing?"

Rong Nianqing frowned: "Good news?"

Jian Xiaojie repeated, "Good news?"

Lu Yao explained to them, "In the short term, our export trade will suffer huge losses, and even many domestic enterprises will suffer huge losses. But this is an opportunity, an opportunity for self-purification. As long as we can get through this, we will have an even greater advantage."

What he said makes a lot of sense; if you just persevere, there is often hope.

The problem lies in the word "endure".

How do we endure it? How long do we endure it? What do we use to endure it?
Rong Nianqing began to worry, saying, "That makes sense, but we can't do things this way. We've expanded so much now, and the amount of money we invest in R&D every year is already enormous. Without the profits from export trade, even if we can hold out for a while, we can't keep doing this forever."

Lu Yao said firmly, "No matter what, we have to persevere. Don't worry, if we can't hold on any longer, someone will be there to back us up."

"And when we can't hold on any longer, it's easy to tell who the werewolves are and who the good villagers are."

After saying that, Lü Yao got up and pushed out a movable whiteboard from his study.

During his time in Mianyang, Lü Yao would combine the future information in his mind with the resources and intelligence he currently possessed to analyze the current situation. After more than a month of repeated deductions, an analysis of the current national situation was presented on this whiteboard.

When Lü Yao presented this document, Jian Xiaojie and Rong Nianqing found themselves drawn to the whiteboard and began to examine it closely.

The content on this whiteboard covers economics, technology, humanities, military affairs, and other aspects.

On either side of the whiteboard are the major powers of the Eastern and Western worlds today. The comparisons between various indicators are clearly listed and posted, and the possible responses of both sides are also connected by icons and lines.

Finally, all the information pointed to a blank sheet of paper at the bottom, which was pasted on the whiteboard and had the words "Foreign Trade Conflict" written on it.

Judging from the information on Lü Yao's whiteboard, this trade conflict will not end anytime soon.

Instead, it will.
When Rong Nianqing and Jian Xiaojie saw the possible duration deduced by Lü Yao, their pupils both contracted slightly, and then they looked at each other.

After a long silence, Rong Nianqing finally said softly, "You mean, this trade dispute will last for ten years?"

Lü Yao smiled and nodded: "Yes."

Jian Xiaojie was lost in thought for a long time before she murmured, "Ten years... I'll be over forty in ten years."

Oh shit!

Has it taken that long?
Jian Xiaojie was a little skeptical: "Are you really serious?"

Lu Yao took out a cigarette from the table, lit it, and said with some melancholy, "Right, I don't really believe it either, but the data is there, and I can't find a way to convince myself not to believe it yet."

The uncertainty of the future lies here: an uncertain "variable" can make many people take chances and do things that seem reasonable at the moment, but will seem very foolish when the time span is extended.

Just like many years ago, there was a guy who smuggled and sold spoofing machines. After being caught, he stubbornly refused to talk, thinking that he could make a fortune after he got out of prison with these things. It was this kind of wishful thinking that led to him being sentenced to many years. Many years later, when he got out, who the hell still used spoofing machines?

Those who can transcend the limitations of time to view problems and find a correct and enlightened path can already be considered three-quarters of saints.

At that moment, Lü Yao suddenly recalled a sentence that later appeared on the internet:

"If I could go back in time, I would be more determined than anyone else, because I have seen what future victory would look like. And that is why the people of that dark and turbulent era seem all the more great."

Jian Xiaojie and Rong Nianqing's eyes refocused on Lü Yao's projection chart.

Rong Nianqing's eyes swept over the deduction diagram again and again, her scrutinizing gaze as earnest as Liu Bei looking at the "Longzhong Plan" drawn for him by Zhuge Liang.

The more Rong Nianqing looked, the more she felt that something was wrong.

"Armaments," "technology," "economy," "competition," "barriers," "global discourse power," "hegemon." After Rong Nianqing reorganized these extracted words in her mind, an absurd and bold idea suddenly appeared in Rong Nianqing's mind.

The moment this thought crossed Rong Nianqing's mind, the hairs on her body stood on end.

Then Rong Nianqing realized that if she had noticed this change, then it was impossible for Lü Yao not to have thought about it.

Rong Nianqing then raised her hand and lifted the white paper pasted on the bottom of the whiteboard. The paper originally read "Foreign Trade Friction," but below it were two words circled by Lü Yao: "Cold War."

The moment Rong Nianqing saw those two words, she suddenly felt how heavy the piece of paper she had just lifted was.

His gaze shifted instantly, as if burned by those two words.

Jian Xiaojie leaned closer and saw those two words, then fell silent instantly.

Silence quickly spread throughout the villa, both inside and out.

Lu Yao silently smoked his cigarette, each exhale of disgust sounding like a sigh.

Jian Xiaojie was the first to give in and went to Lü Yao's side to ask for a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag. Rong Nianqing was next.

So the three of them stood in a neat row, silently smoking one cigarette after another.

Soon the place became filled with smoke, but the villa that Lü Yao bought had its own constant temperature and air purification system, so the smell of smoke did not last long.

After the three of them quickly finished off Lu Yao's half-pack of cigarettes, Jian Xiaojie finally asked in a slightly hoarse voice, "Is this really real? To be honest, those two words of yours scared me a little."

That half-century-long clash between the pinnacles of human civilization left a profound and lasting shadow on the world, so much so that at the end of the last century, the entire globe, under such pressure and shadow, witnessed the emergence of numerous apocalyptic cultural themes.

Today's "post-Z generation" young people may not understand the horror of this pressure, but adults who lived before the Z generation clearly know how terrible that world was, and many countries even have so-called "doomsday clocks".

During that half-century standoff, the things that both sides produced in the economic, technological, and military fields, some of which were declassified more than a decade later, are still astonishing even half a century later.

In addition to these macro-level changes, countless disasters have occurred at the micro-level.

The existence of an individual seems so insignificant in the face of such a clash of civilizations, the pinnacle of human civilization to date.

So after hearing Jian Xiaojie say that, Lü Yao sighed, "Actually, I also hope I'm wrong."

But this moment is just like that moment.

With a futuristic perspective, Lü Yao was more convinced than anyone else of the reality of this future.

Rong Nianqing added, "If that's really the case, a lot of people will die."

Lü Yao nodded.

This is inevitable.

Many people in the trade and technology sectors will be implicated, and many more important but unknown researchers will be targeted in this turmoil.

As for Lv Yao, Rong Nianqing, Jian Xiaojie, and their group who own Microlight International and have mastered high-precision chip manufacturing processes, they will definitely be targeted.

At this moment, Jian Xiaojie suddenly realized: "So that's why you asked me to transfer as many of my businesses back to China as possible? Judging from this, it seems that the impact on our side isn't that great."

Once you reach the first level, money really is just a number. For an individual, as long as the money is still in the place of issuance, no matter how high the number is piled up, it has no meaning.

The real significance of money lies in the feedback brought about by changes in the data behind it.

Currently, Microlight International is controlled by Lü Yao, Rong Nianqing, and Dr. Liang, while many other chip manufacturing-related industries are controlled by Jian Xiaojie. Jian Xiaojie has also transferred many of her overseas businesses to China, so even if the situation becomes very severe, her losses will not be that great.

Thinking of this, Jian Xiaojie became somewhat happy: "Ha, back then, those old fogies in the family all said that my decision was irrational, and even wanted to impeach me. Now look what's happened! They're in for a world of trouble."

Lu Yao then reminded them, "Actually, we can take advantage of the situation before it gets too serious and let them make a wise choice quickly."

Jian Xiaojie smiled and said, "I know, but whether I can persuade them is another matter."

Rong Nianqing finally digested the bombshell information Lu Yao had dropped. After accepting this possibility, Rong Nianqing asked, "So what do we do next? At the beginning of the foreign trade dispute, many people probably didn't realize this."

Not to mention many businessmen.

Even now, many people in the Heavenly Palace are unaware of the seriousness of this foreign trade dispute; they simply consider it another instance of trade extortion from across the ocean.

Lü Yao nodded and said, "Yes."

"At first, no one cared about this disaster. It was just a wildfire, a drought, the extinction of a species, the disappearance of a city, until this disaster became relevant to everyone."

(End of this chapter)