I was forced to start the second round because I was raised in poverty

The expert he mentioned in Chapter 308 is none other than Old Deng!
Su Cheng wondered if Lao Deng had some connection with the Ma family.

With the economic opening up implemented in 78, by 96, Lao Deng had already reached a certain scale, and the group should be in a period of rapid growth, right?

It's perfectly normal for him to have done some business for the Ma family in his early years.

Su Cheng felt that the entertainment hall inspection shouldn't be a problem, since nothing needed to be changed.

What is the significance of the Ma family bringing so many people here?
This is like a perfectly carved jade piece, with no room for improvement.

Let alone Su Cheng, none of the other consultants could come up with any solutions.

Su Cheng changed his approach. He stopped thinking about the entertainment hall and began to organize the information he could find and summarize the problems he would face.

The most crucial question is: Why did the Ma family hire Su Cheng to handle their consulting cases?

Su Cheng didn't believe it was just a coincidence.

From Zhang Yangwen and Jiang Shuyue's perspective, this is normal, because Ma Ru not only invited them to conduct research and investigation, but also invited other consulting firm teams.

But Su Cheng didn't believe it was just a coincidence.

What if that's exactly what they want Su Cheng to think?

They didn't just invite Su Cheng's family, so there's nothing to doubt.

Su Cheng has encountered quite a few situations where she had to make a meal of dumplings just for this dish of vinegar.

Su Cheng has a bold guess:

Did the Ma family approach me to do business in order to help them meet their KPIs?

The question is, why would the Ma family help them?
Su Cheng had no connection with the Ma family, and besides, the Ma family didn't know that he was Su Tianyan's son.

Even if the Ma family knows your true identity, they don't know that you have Old Deng's KPI requirements!
But if one person gets involved, things will be different.

Bai Zihua.

If nothing unexpected happens, Mr. Bai has already arrived in Australia.

Whether Su Cheng is still in Australia or not is unknown, but Bai Zong has definitely met with the Ma family and, without telling Lao Deng, instructed the Ma family to take care of him and help him complete his huge KPI business as much as possible.

A KPI of one billion is a piece of cake for the Ma family; they can easily complete it by giving Su Cheng a consulting business under any pretext.

Just like now.

Su Cheng was free to fill in any amount on the contract; as long as he filled in nine nines, the KPI would be met.

However, filling in nine nines would be too conspicuous and wouldn't pass Old Deng's test.

For example, if the Ma family asks you for advice, you can't deliberately feed them food.

If you want to eat this vinegar, you have to make some dumplings first.

For example, they hired many consulting teams to cover up the Ma family's true intentions.

In order to feed Su Cheng, the Ma family had to feed the others first, so as to demonstrate their legitimacy.

There are still a few questions that Su Cheng is unsure about.

The first question is: Does the Ma family know that they are Su Tianyan's son?
This depends on whether Mr. Bai told the Ma family the truth.

The security of Australia is not as good as that of the mainland. Su Cheng guessed that the Ma family did not know his true identity and might say that he was just a distant relative of Lao Deng.

It's more likely that the person is a relative of someone from another branch of the family.

Otherwise, if the Ma family were to kidnap and detain him, demanding that Old Deng exchange certain assets or contracts in exchange, that would be playing with fire.

Mr. Bai is a cautious person. He would take risks to help himself behind Lao Deng's back, but he wouldn't play with fire or joke about Su Cheng's personal safety.

Su Cheng's speculation is based on the assumption that Lao Deng and the Ma family have no grudges. If they do have grudges, then they should be even more careful, and the main thing to guard against is the Ma family.

Su Cheng, let me put it this way: Old Deng isn't afraid of dying in Australia, but Boss Bai is.

Regarding personal safety, even if Lao Deng doesn't make arrangements for himself, Boss Bai will.

Having figured this out, Su Cheng's next step is to observe discreetly and simply follow President Bai's instructions.

Su Cheng glanced at the time; it was almost three hours already, so he ended his investigation of the entertainment hall.

As the three were leaving, they encountered the foreigners who had come with them to conduct the survey in other halls.

These foreigners had probably finished their survey long ago, so most of them sat down at the table and played games to pass the time.

Some of them had won a lot, with stacks of chips piled up in front of them.

Some lost so much that they only had a few chips left.

Su Cheng didn't know if anyone was using their own money to exchange for chips while playing, but he thought it was unlikely.

Zhang Yangwen observed the elite faces of those consulting professionals; their attire and demeanor were completely different from those of other gamblers.

Zhang Yangwen knew they might be killing time, or they might be using this to research the design of the entertainment hall.

However... the expressions they displayed while waiting for the cards to be revealed and placing bets were remarkably similar to those of the other players.

This is very strange.

Zhang Yangwen has a question.

Even if these elites in the consulting industry know it's a trap, will they still fall into it?
His question was answered by Su Cheng.

The answer is: yes.

"It's like I want to search for some information, but after opening the browser, I end up browsing other things."

“If we come in today, it will have an impact.”

"It's just a matter of degree."

Su Cheng took away their chips in the hopes of eliminating these ideas at the root.

It's better if you don't sit at the table to play, but once you sit at the table, the deepest part of human nature—the gambler's mentality—will definitely be triggered.

Even if you know it's a trap, it's useless.

Some of the consulting elites who didn't get a table might return to the arcade after finishing their work for the day.

Su Cheng estimated that there would definitely be a small group of people who would give back the labor fees they received from the Ma family to the Ma family.

Even if they don't post the stickers for the Ma family in Australia, they'll still post them back in their own countries.

It's possible that he lost money in Las Vegas while transiting on his way back to North America.

Those who have played at the table, regardless of winning or losing, find it difficult to calm down.

How to describe it... The flame in their hearts will keep flickering until it is gradually extinguished by gambling or other stimulating behaviors.

It's like I wanted to drink milk tea but refrained from doing so to lose weight, and then I ended up ordering barbecue takeout for dinner.

To save money, I didn't buy a nice piece of clothing, and then I spent the money on virtual items in the game.

The safest approach is to avoid choosing this type of fire.

The consulting teams from various companies gradually left the entertainment hall and returned to the conference room where they had met earlier.

Ma Ru met with them precisely at the end of the three-hour meeting.

"Thank you for your hard work, everyone."

"I believe everyone already has some thoughts of their own. Is there anything you'd like to share with us now?" "Or would you prefer to talk to me privately?"

Silence fell over the meeting room.

Everyone still prefers to talk to Ma Ru one-on-one in private.

That's just how the consulting industry is; everyone relies on their brains for a living, so of course they won't share their insights publicly, especially when they're surrounded by their peers.

Ideas may overlap, and what you say may have already been said by others.

How can one demonstrate their value?
If someone points out something you didn't see, how embarrassing would that be? It would make you feel like you're incompetent.

The last person to speak can simply summarize what the previous speakers have said.

Ma Ru thought that it was a waste of time for each team to talk to him for an hour or two.

Ma Ru never intended to find another team; what he really wanted to find was Su Cheng.

But now it seems we can only meet in private. We still have to go all out with the act, otherwise we'll easily give ourselves away.

Before Ma Ru could change her mind and ask her assistant to arrange a meeting, the feng shui master stepped forward, willing to generously share what he had just seen and heard from his investigation.

Ma Ru clasped her hands together and respectfully expressed her respect to the feng shui master: "Master, please."

While Jiang Shuyue was inspecting the hall, she explained to Su Cheng the different schools of thought among these feng shui masters.

The most active and mainstream sect on Hong Kong Island is the Zhengyi sect, which allows marriage and childbirth, and also allows vegetarians to eat meat.

However, they usually provide theoretical guidance and rarely conduct commercial site surveys.

The Zhengyi sect is also active in Australia, but the Quanzhen sect holds a special position here and has a deep influence. They are also among the few Taoists who can directly participate in commercial house surveying.

The master did not understand English and spoke entirely in Chinese.

However, even if he used Chinese, it would be difficult for people to understand him, because his speech was not in colloquial language, but in classical Chinese.

The spotlight in the Greedy Wolf position cast a warm yellow light, making people's faces look as if they were covered in gold powder.

The blue light of the Po Jun position floats, making the chips look like treasures from the deep sea.

The Wenqu acupoint flickered between light and darkness, causing my brain to churn like turbulent water.

Besides the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, earth), there are also sayings such as Qian (☰) being three continuous lines, Kun (☷) being six broken lines, Zhen (☳) being an upturned bowl, Gen (☶) being an overturned bowl, Dui (☱) being missing at the top, and Xun (☴) being broken at the bottom.

Even native speakers like Su Cheng had difficulty understanding it, let alone the foreigners, who were even more confused. Even with the simultaneous interpretation by the Chinese translators in the team, they still only had a vague understanding.

This feng shui master described the micro-expression training of dealers as: face reading to boost luck.

He described the high-oxygen environment as having a subtle fragrance that stirs the inner fire within.

He described blocking out sunlight and suppressing melatonin as: "The dark wall of heaven and earth shuts off the connection with the seasons."

He described the spatial cognitive deprivation design of "one main and eight auxiliary spaces" as "a dragon-trapping formation with winding waterways and corridors."

"The nine-palace golden grid hanging above is not extravagant, but rather a way to lock away the divine light of mortals. When one looks up at the golden grid, the brow chakra suddenly heats up, which is the movement of the Greedy Wolf Star."

"The entire hall is lit according to the brain meridian star chart. Mr. Ma must have consulted an expert beforehand."

Actually, after listening to this, it seems that this feng shui master really does have something special about him.

Because this feng shui master specifically mentioned the river outside and the boatmen rowing on that river.

Three hours ago, Su Cheng was laughing at them, thinking that these metaphysical masters liked to look at rivers and water to determine where their fortune lay.

In fact, they also perceived the time, but in a different order. Su Cheng looked inside first, while they looked outside first.

Perhaps they noticed the boatman from the beginning, which is why they went in the opposite direction to observe him more closely.

Su Cheng assumed they usually read books like the *I Ching*, the *Tai Xuan Jing*, or other books related to traditional Chinese medicine, but that wasn't the case.

They're still using the same approach as Su Cheng and his team: environmental psychology, behavioral psychology, economics, and so on.

However, after being packaged by this feng shui master and expressed in the metaphysical way of the "I Ching," it becomes a completely different thing.

The items are the same, but the wording is different.

They used the I Ching to express it.

Actually, there are advantages, namely that you don't need to waste too much time explaining to customers: "You wouldn't understand even if I told you. Anyway, I have a basis for my work, so just make the changes according to my instructions."

Su Cheng was quite envious of these feng shui masters. They could just package up esoteric terms like "form method," "yin-yang balance," and "five elements and eight trigrams," add a bit of "placebo effect," and that would be it.

In mainland China, you have to painstakingly break it down and explain it to those bosses, making sure they understand before they're willing to believe and implement it.

If the boss is someone who believes in metaphysics, it's a different story. They can just say, "There's too much evil energy here," and that one sentence will make the boss change it.

Su Cheng felt that he was just too young and didn't look old enough. Otherwise, with his six eyes, he could wear a Taoist robe and tell fortunes, read faces, and change feng shui for people.

If you really can't afford to eat anymore, you can open an online store and offer cyber fortune telling services for 50 yuan a time. Business might be pretty good.

Other masters look at birth charts and birth dates, but Su Cheng looks at clients' photos, their WeChat Moments posts, and their way of speaking.

A client asked Su Cheng: Master, am I destined for wealth?
Based on the client's way of doing things and his thought process, Su Cheng judged that the client would not be able to make money within three to five years.

The feng shui master's final conclusion regarding the entertainment hall was: nothing needs to be changed, as it would affect the overall feng shui.

Amidst the puzzled expressions of many foreigners, Ma Ru politely replied to the feng shui master, "What the master says is absolutely right."

“My father once sought out a highly skilled person in mainland China for special guidance.”

The master is not accepting payment today; consider it an opportunity to broaden one's horizons.

"Oh? Where is this fellow Daoist now? Could you introduce me to him?"

"I'm sorry, Master, he is not a member of any religious sect, and he has now gone into seclusion and is no longer in contact with the outside world. We cannot reach him either."

"To live in seclusion in the mountains, far removed from the world, is truly the mark of a wise person!"

Su Cheng almost burst out laughing.

The "expert" they were talking about was actually Old Deng, who never believed in such metaphysics.

After the two finished talking, Ma Ru first sent someone to see the feng shui master off before returning to the conference room.

Ma Ru had her assistant assign numbers to these consultants.

It's almost lunchtime, so Su Cheng and the others can go to the entertainment hall's restaurant for a meal first.

After dinner, Ma Ru would have private conversations with various consulting firms in her office, listening to their professional advice in turn.

Su Cheng got a relatively late number, so she was scheduled for the next day.

Jiang Shuyue breathed a sigh of relief. She thought this was a good thing, saving her from having to wait until 11 or 12 at night. She also had an extra night to prepare and could have a good discussion with Su Cheng about how to report their investigation to Ma Ru the next day.

After the disbandment.

Jiang Shuyue asked, "President Su, shall we go back for dinner now or go to the entertainment hall for dinner?"

"Let's go back."

Su Cheng originally wanted to say that the further away from the casino the better, otherwise it would arouse the desire in her heart.

However, this time he changed his tune: "This place is a convergence of three yin elements, a reverse wind and water formation, a dark and extremely ominous situation. The sooner we leave, the better."

Jiang Shuyue: ? ? ?

what?
(End of this chapter)