Legendary Captain

Chapter 157 Xu Qing is about to depart

Xu Xian was astonished. They had only met for five minutes, and the choice of his daughter-in-law had already been decided? This speed was too bizarre.

Xu Xian said helplessly, "Mom, all you know is her age, right? What else do you know? Is this how you decide on a daughter-in-law? Isn't this too frivolous? And you said that your opinions are only for reference, and who I end up with is my own decision, and you are not allowed to interfere. I need to make this clear to you beforehand, so please remember that."

Although Xu Xian respected his parents' opinions, when it came to his life's most important matter, he still prioritized his own ideas.

"I know, Xianbao!" Huang Ying chuckled. "This is just a suggestion, a suggestion, you know! That girl's name is Xia Qing, right? What a nice name! She speaks so gently and has such a good temperament. She's the epitome of a virtuous wife and loving mother! Right, Xianbao?"

Huang Ying and Xu Jingyang have very different standards for choosing a daughter-in-law, except for the standard of beauty, which they agree on.

Xu Jingyang prefers a daughter-in-law who can help Xu Xian in his career, which leans towards material support. Huang Ying, on the other hand, prefers a daughter-in-law who provides more emotional support, the typical image of a virtuous and capable wife.

Therefore, Xu Jingyang favors Wen Jingshu as his daughter-in-law, while Huang Ying now prefers Xia Qing. Xia Qing is the kind of woman with a very obvious virtuous and gentle temperament.

As a woman of the same type, Huang Ying may have a resonance with Xia Qing, because she fell in love with Xia Qing after only five minutes of interaction.

"What's so great about a virtuous wife and loving mother? Poverty makes life miserable for couples. Without material support, won't they end up arguing over daily necessities? Xu Xian, we need to find a woman who can support you in your career and help you with your material life," Xu Jingyang coaxed patiently.

Xu Xian scoffed, "Dad, you might as well just say I'm a kept man."

"Can you stop being so sarcastic, you unlucky kid?" Xu Jingyang said unhappily. "So what if you're a kept man? Lots of people want to be kept men but can't. Besides, being a kept man is a skill, why look down on a craft? And what's wrong with being a kept man? There are ways to actually keep a kept man!"

Just as Xu Jingyang was about to launch into a long explanation of the proper way to be a kept man, he felt Huang Ying's murderous glare from not far away and immediately shut his mouth: "Xu Xian, let's talk about this in detail later."

"Want to discuss this in detail? Are you looking for death?" Huang Ying would never compromise on Xu Xian's choice of partner: "What do you mean by 'poverty-stricken couples face a hundred sorrows'? When we were rich, didn't we also face a hundred sorrows? In the end, isn't it all a matter of people? As long as the material conditions are acceptable, that's fine. As long as the couple loves each other, even bitterness can be turned into sweetness."

"You're still thinking about that little girl from the Wen family, aren't you? Let me just tell you straight, I don't agree to her being Xianbao's wife!" Huang Ying said firmly.

Just as Xu Jingyang was about to argue, he noticed that Xu Xian was still there, so he suppressed his anger and said to Xu Xian, "You go out first, I need to talk to your mother for a few minutes."

Xu Xian was caught in the middle between his parents, but sensing the strange atmosphere, he felt it was really dangerous for him to stay any longer.

"Then I'll go out first, you guys chat." Xu Xiangang was about to leave, but after thinking for a moment, he added, "The soundproofing here isn't good, so don't make too much noise, there are people outside."

Xu Jingyang glared at him: "Get out of here right now!"

"Alright!" Xu Xian left the room briskly and smoothly, leaving Xu Jingyang and Huang Ying behind.

After Xu Xian left, Xu Jingyang lowered his voice as much as possible: "Do you know that Xu Xian doesn't like flying at all? Or rather, he doesn't like being tied down. But even achieving basic financial freedom is probably not something two working-class people can easily achieve. Yes, the level of material wealth is not equivalent to the level of happiness; it's just a matter of probability. None of us can predict the future, so I can only choose the side with the higher probability. Besides, in the later stages of our marriage, the conflict between our career philosophies has simply extended to other areas, which I don't think is representative. Moreover, didn't Wen Jingshu and Xu Xian get along quite well before? Didn't you tacitly agree? If that incident hadn't happened, they should be married by now! Why are you objecting now? Or is it that you don't dislike daughters of wealthy families, but simply dislike the Wen family?"

As the topic came up, Huang Ying gradually calmed down, and she suddenly looked directly at Xu Jingyang: "So when did you become able to tolerate your enemy's daughter?"

Xu Jingyang's pupils contracted sharply, and he quickly lowered his voice, "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying Wen Mingyuan ruined your career, and you're still willing to let Xianbao marry his daughter? Or is this one of your ways of getting revenge?" Huang Ying said coldly.

Xu Jingyang was shocked: "You knew all that? How did you know?"

"Who benefited the most? Who is the most suspicious?" Huang Ying said. "Back then, Tianyu Construction and Shenggong Construction were locked in a fierce battle. When Tianyu collapsed, wasn't it obvious who the biggest beneficiary was?"

"That's not enough. That's absolutely not a valid reason." Xu Jingyang couldn't accept such a statement.

"This is just speculation, and of course it doesn't constitute a reason, but once we have a goal, things will be easier, won't they?" Huang Ying said.

Xu Jingyang asked, "Are you asking for a favor?"

"No, it was Sister Mei who offered to help," Huang Ying said. "I at least need to find out who dared to plot against me."

Mei Tingting not only owns Qingyuan Group, but also Lianshan Group, inherited from her father, both of which are leading business giants in China. If one is determined to investigate things within these circles, most things can be found.

Moreover, if Wen Mingyuan really did reach a private cooperation agreement with Sanshan Special Steel Company, in order to compensate Sanshan Special Steel Company for its losses, Wen's Group would have to secretly provide Sanshan Special Steel Company with financial benefits, which would involve a huge flow of funds, making it even more difficult to conceal.

Xu Jingyang pondered for a moment: "This should only be Wen Mingyuan's personal idea, and has nothing to do with Wen Jingshu."

"But I can't accept Xianbao living with someone who harmed us," Huang Ying insisted. "Although my Xianbao and the Wen family girl weren't officially engaged at the time, they had both tacitly agreed. But Wen Mingyuan stabbed us in the back. Does such a despicable person deserve to be my Xianbao's father-in-law?"

"So what? Does Wen Jingshu not have money? Does she need to share a house with Wen Mingyuan? Anyway, out of sight, out of mind, what's there to worry about?" Xu Jingyang was quite easygoing.

Huang Ying sneered, "Isn't your only intention to get revenge on Wen Mingyuan? You just can't let go, that's your mentality, that's your attitude!"

The moment Huang Ying finished speaking, Xu Jingyang slammed his hand on the table and roared, "That's right! I'm not reconciled! I want Wen Mingyuan to pay the price!"

"His son has absolutely no interest in inheriting the family business, and he's not capable enough. In the end, Wen Mingyuan still had to hand over the family business to Wen Jingshu. As long as Xu Xian and Wen Jingshu get married, their child will be the heir of the Wen family, and that child will bear the surname Xu! Old man Wen schemed and plotted, but in the end, didn't he still end up with our surname?" Xu Jingyang said fiercely.

"Shameless!" Huang Ying's voice rose as well: "Is Xianbao your tool for revenge? Xu Jingyang, how dare you!"

Outside the ward, Xu Xian sat listlessly in a chair, listening to the faint sounds of arguing coming from the middle of the room. Even though he couldn't make out the details, it was enough to give him a headache. He sighed helplessly, "They're arguing again!"

Suddenly, Xu Xian noticed that the ward seemed to have quieted down, and asked curiously, "Did you finish making noise so quickly?"

In the hospital room, Xu Jingyang answered a phone call. A strange smile appeared on his face as he spoke: "Chairman Wen, what brings you here?"

"Xu Jingyang, I won't beat around the bush with you. It was your idea not to let your son help, wasn't it?" Wen Mingyuan asked.

Wen Mingyuan didn't say anything, but Xu Jingyang knew everything.

"Otherwise what?" Xu Jingyang laughed. "What's the point of this meaningless confirmation?"

"Tell me, what conditions would it take for me to help?" Wen Mingyuan was a very direct person, without uttering a single unnecessary word.

Xu Jingyang glanced at Huang Ying beside him: "How can you discuss matters concerning the life and death of the group over the phone? Come over for a face-to-face meeting! Oh, and bring your daughter along too, to the same hospital!"

After saying that, he hung up the phone. He smiled at Huang Ying and said, "It seems things have already spiraled out of your control!"

In the dressing room of a certain event, Lian Shanxue had an assistant assigned by the publicity department who was there to provide assistance at any time.

"Sister, do you think people who have been punished recently can cooperate in appearing in the promotional video for the year-end celebration?" Lian Shanxie asked her assistant.

The assistant said with absolute certainty, "That absolutely won't do! Every punishment is publicly announced. If this gets exposed, wouldn't it be a disgrace to Xingyou?"

"Do you have someone in mind?" the assistant asked.

Lian Shanxue: "Sis, could you check out a co-pilot in the flight department named Xu Xian? He told me he seemed to have gotten into some minor trouble, I don't know if that will affect things."

"Xu Xian? Wait a minute!" The assistant used his mobile phone to log in to the company's intranet and checked Xu Xian's punishment records.

"Forgot the tablet? Hmm? Why is the punishment notice still pending?" The assistant noticed that Xu Xian had forgotten the tablet. Although the punishment notice had been written, it had not been made public, which seemed very strange.

Lian Shanxue was unaware of those administrative issues; she was only concerned about Xu Xianman's dissatisfaction: "Sister, do you think this is acceptable?"

"This wouldn't have been a big deal in the past, but lately they've been cracking down on work style issues, and there are a lot of people watching, so it might be difficult to handle," the assistant said with difficulty.

"Is it that serious?" In Lian Shanxue's opinion, forgetting tablets wasn't a major problem, so why make such a big deal out of it?

The assistant said, "Isn't this how it is in domestic civil aviation? Tight for a while, then relaxed for a while. Every time a major safety incident occurs, there's a period of heightened tension. It's not uncommon."

Although the assistant is not a frontline staff member, they still know the ins and outs of certain key aspects.

Lian Shanxue hesitated for a moment. Even though she would prefer to film the promotional video with Xu Xian, she had no choice but to accept the pressure of reality.

"Alright," Lian Shanxue said, somewhat disappointed. "Then let's look for it again later."

"Oh, right, there's one more thing. The Chimelong movie has been temporarily postponed," the assistant said.

"A film about Chimelong? The one about the volcanic ash incident?" Lian Shanxue asked.

The assistant replied, "Yes, Chimelong just notified me."

"What's going on?"

The assistant frowned in confusion: "Chimelong didn't give a specific reason, or even an approximate delay time. I have a feeling this deal might fall through."

Even if something caused a delay, there should be an approximate timeframe. However, Chimelong Airlines couldn't even provide an approximate time. This strange situation indicated that something unusual had happened, and she even sensed a possible cancellation.

Lian Shanxue's eyes darted around several times, revealing a thoughtful glint within them.

She knew the inside story of that so-called incident, and the fact that the promotional video for this incident had problems, does that mean that there have been some changes in the aftermath of the volcanic ash incident?

Lian Shanxue always showed unusual interest in anything concerning Xu Xian.

"Sister, can't I just ask around? I want to know the exact reason for the delay." Lian Shanxue seemed stubborn.

The assistant couldn't understand why Lian Shanxiue was so persistent: "This is difficult to handle, after all, it involves the vice chairman's son. You're just helping out casually, so whether it's postponed or canceled doesn't really matter, right?"

"It's not easy to find out, is it? Then forget it." Lian Shanxue didn't make things difficult for her assistant. This was indeed a difficult situation to handle, involving some confidential matters of the company's senior management.

Seeing that Lian Shanxue wasn't too bothered by the matter, the assistant breathed a sigh of relief and added, "By the way! If the coordinator for the year-end celebration can't be decided after the airline exchange meeting, the company will have to appoint one itself, and we won't consider your opinion then."

Xingyou Airlines maintains a high degree of autonomy over Lian Shanxue. They even fully considered her opinions when selecting personnel to work with her.

However, if the two sides fail to reach an agreement for an extended period, one side must compromise in order to produce the year-end celebration video, and that side will inevitably be Lian Shanxue. The airline exchange meeting is also the final deadline.

Lian Shanxue didn't have much of a negative reaction to the decision. The company had made a considerable concession; if they couldn't find someone both she and the company approved of, did that mean the work would just have to stop?

However, it seems that if Xu Xian isn't suitable, she doesn't have anyone she particularly wants as a partner. She'll just have the company assign someone randomly after the airline exchange meeting.

……

At Xu Qing's home in the suburbs of Tianning City.

"So you want me to explain this whole stack of stuff? Do you know how much there is? Are you trying to kill me with exhaustion?" Xu Qing pointed to the thick stack of documents on the table, his face turning green.

Mei Tingting leisurely sipped her tea, raising an eyebrow: "Weren't you quite motivated? You even took Han Qi on a test flight a while ago, you've really grown up!"

It turns out that Xu Qing had taken Han Qi to test fly the new aircraft without Mei Tingting's knowledge.

"What are you talking about? I don't understand a word you say!" Xu Qing laughed, pretending to be nonchalant. But feeling Mei Tingting's cold gaze, he couldn't keep up the act any longer. He coughed a few times to ease the awkward atmosphere. Perhaps pushed to the limit, he even retorted defiantly, "So what if it flew away? Can time be reversed?"

Xu Qing acted like a dead pig that wasn't afraid of boiling water.

Mei Tingting smiled faintly, moved closer to Xu Qing, and whispered something in his ear. Xu Qing felt the devilish whisper, and his face fell: "No more, really no more, not a single drop!"

"What if Zijing wants a younger brother or sister?" Mei Tingting asked with a smile.

Xu Qing snorted coldly, "Kids don't know any better, a good beating will do the trick."

His son, Xu Zijin, had been clamoring for a younger brother or sister for some time now. Little did the boy know that his request would cause his old man to be forever unable to straighten his back.

"What about the test flight?" Mei Tingting continued to ask.

Xu Qing gritted her teeth and vowed, "I hate airplanes the most! No, I hate them! I hate them terribly, both physically and mentally!"

Mei Tingting was very satisfied with Xu Qing's pragmatism: "This is a one-time exception!"

"This is the last time!" Xu Qing nodded obediently, looking incredibly compliant.

"Can you remember all this information?" Mei Tingting asked, pointing to the documents on the table.

These are all test data for the new aircraft, serving as supporting evidence to verify its safety and economic viability. They are also powerful evidence used to persuade the major civil aviation companies.

"But there's just too much data. How am I supposed to remember it all? Even if I just read it aloud, my mouth would be burning. Are they really interested in listening to me?" Xu Qing didn't believe that the bosses would have the patience to listen to him talk about data for hours on end.

Mei Tingting frowned; she actually had the same concerns, but didn't have a better solution: "What do you suggest we do?"

"Have someone compile a comparison of our aircraft's economics with current mainstream regional jet models, just include the conclusions," Xu Qing said.

Mei Tingting: "What about the safety report?"

Shouldn't we first convince them that the plane is safe?

"Our new aircraft has reached the point where it's allowed to fly commercially, surely it has passed all the safety tests? Don't they know that?" Xu Qing said, "Even if we showed them the airworthiness certificate, they would still be worried. After all, even if it has passed all the safety tests, there are precedents of major safety accidents."

For example, a certain MAX model.

New models, without the test of time, always make people uneasy.

At this point, decision-makers must weigh the economic benefits against unforeseen security risks.

This is not irresponsible.

If the security issues are foreseeable, then choosing economy is simply unethical. However, since it has passed security tests and the concerns only exist for new models, then a trade-off between economy and security can be made.

After all, if you can choke to death while eating, what in the world is completely safe?

"You can designate a preferential policy that will provide additional benefits to the first batch of companies to purchase. Within five years, we can focus solely on breaking even, and within ten years, we can maintain a low profit margin. After all, we're not in it for the money," Xu Qing said.

To expand the market, Xu Qing was willing to forgo all profits for five years, just to avoid losses. After all, continuously losing money was not a sustainable strategy.

Over the next five years, the goal is to slightly increase profits. With continued funding, the project can continue its healthy cycle.

Mei Tingting knew that Xu Qing wanted to be remembered in history, so she wasn't surprised by his decision. Xu Qing had never pursued profit, but fame; even someone as detached as Xu Qing couldn't escape the mundane.

"Whatever you say, you go and negotiate," Mei Tingting said. "By the way, if you're going to Yunnan, why don't you stop by Xu Xian? It's been a while since you've seen him!"

"Do you still remember him?"

Mei Tingting turned her head and snorted, "It's not his fault that he has a good-for-nothing father. But don't pave the way for him in everything. Just lend him a hand when it really matters. He's not your son!"

(End of this chapter)