Although Li Lianyī said nothing about the events at Donghai Hotel on the phone, Jiang Wúming took the initiative to tell her about his relationship with Huángfǔ Weixià.
This was because Wei Qiānyuān’s retaliation was triggered by the matter at Donghai Hotel.
And the incident at Donghai Hotel had already spread throughout the upper echelons of Long Country.
Jiang Wúming felt it was necessary to clear up any misunderstandings with Li Lianyī.
After all, he had an engagement with Li Lianyī—he was Li Lianyī's fiancé in name!
However, after Jiang Wúming clarified the misunderstanding, Li Lianyī showed no reaction, merely saying, "The moon is so round tonight." This left Jiang Wúming completely bewildered, unable to fathom Li Lianyī's meaning.
He strongly considered calling her back to ask, but ultimately abandoned the thought. Shaking his head, he stopped dwelling on it and instead pondered how to make Wei Qiānyuān pay the price!
Tianyao Group was a gift Jiang Wúming had given to Sū Shīyùn, and also a stage for her to showcase her business acumen.
Wei Qiānyuān intended to use his schemes to oust Sū Shīyùn from this stage and to sow discord between himself, Li Lianyī, and even the Li family. Jiang Wúming naturally had to respond!
...
At the same time.
Lǐ Gǔyī returned to his small courtyard.
Under the cover of night, Lǐ Shànglái was still kneeling in the courtyard, his body trembling uncontrollably.
It was already late autumn, and the weather had turned cold. Moreover, Yaoshen Valley was located in the mountains, where the temperature was several degrees lower than in the city.
Lǐ Shànglái, dressed in a suit and shirt, hadn't felt the cold in the city, but in Yaoshen Valley, it offered no protection against the chill.
"Uncle!"
Despite shivering all over, Lǐ Shànglái, seeing Lǐ Gǔyī approach, made a strenuous effort to keep his body still.
"Get up."
Lǐ Gǔyī stopped and spoke.
"???"
Lǐ Shànglái did not move, instead staring at Lǐ Gǔyī with a bewildered expression.
This was because, in his memory, his uncle had always been a man of his word, both in the past and after becoming the head of the Li family, possessing great authority within the family.
Now, Lǐ Gǔyī, who had ordered Lǐ Shànglái to kneel in the courtyard for three days and three nights, was telling him to get up, which left him stunned.
"Jiang Wúming will soon teach that unscrupulous Wei Qiānyuān a lesson, and he might need your help with some matters. Contact Jiang Wúming and see what he needs from you and Longteng Pharmaceuticals. Cooperate unconditionally, and then return to Donghai overnight!"
Lǐ Gǔyī gave his instructions, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
"Yes... Yes, Uncle."
Lǐ Shànglái nodded subconsciously, then stood up, his face filled with shock!
He wasn't a useless individual, having been placed in the position of chairman of Longteng Pharmaceuticals; his emotional intelligence and IQ were both high.
He extracted a crucial piece of information from Lǐ Gǔyī's words: the Li family had informed Jiang Wúming about Wei Qiānyuān's actions and intended to fully cooperate with Jiang Wúming in teaching Wei Qiānyuān a lesson—this meant the Li family had accepted Jiang Wúming!
And the Li family's acceptance of Jiang Wúming must have been with Li Lianyī's explicit consent!
Yet, just a few days ago, Jiang Wúming had 'snatched the bride' at Donghai Hotel!
Under such circumstances, not only was Li Lianyī unbothered, but she also accepted Jiang Wúming as her fiancé. This brought a far more intense shock to Lǐ Shànglái than anything before!
He had even briefly thought his ears were deceiving him!
Were his ears deceiving him?
"Lǐ Shànglái, if you cooperate fully with Jiang Wúming, and Jiang Wúming has no objections to your previous actions, then you will continue to serve as chairman of Longteng Pharmaceuticals. Otherwise, you will return to Yaoshen Valley to cultivate medicinal herbs!"
The next moment, before Lǐ Shànglái could recover from his shock, Lǐ Gǔyī spoke again, providing the answer.
It wasn't auditory hallucination!
The Li family not only accepted Jiang Wúming but also supported him to an extent that exceeded Lǐ Shànglái's imagination!
Seeing Lǐ Shànglái standing there as if he had seen a ghost, motionless, Lǐ Gǔyī didn't say anything.
After all, even he had been shocked when he first heard Li Lianyī's decision.
What was Lǐ Shànglái's shock compared to his own?
By the time Lǐ Shànglái regained his senses, Lǐ Gǔyī had already returned indoors.
"Uncle, I'm leaving. Please rest early."
Lǐ Shànglái bowed deeply towards the wooden house, then turned to leave, his mind gradually shifting from shock to bewilderment: How would Jiang Wúming retaliate against Wei Qiānyuān?
Despite his bewilderment, Lǐ Shànglái did not immediately call Jiang Wúming to "pay his respects." Instead, he first greeted Li Lianyī before leaving Yaoshen Valley and dialing Jiang Wúming's number.
...
The next afternoon at three o'clock.
Several bureau chiefs from the Mindong District arrived at Wei Qiānyuān's office to report on their work.
Accompanying them was one of Wei Qiānyuān's deputies, named Zhōu Yùn, who was in his forties.
Upon returning to work that afternoon, the heads of several bureaus went to Zhōu Yùn's office to report. Tianyao Group had rectified all existing issues and applied for a joint inspection team to conduct an acceptance inspection so that production and operations could resume as soon as possible.
After hearing the reports, Zhōu Yùn gave no instructions and led them directly to report to Wei Qiānyuān.
As an old hand in the system, Zhōu Yùn naturally knew that such sensitive work required reporting to a superior.
Moreover, he was well aware that the matters concerning Tianyao Group were orchestrated by Wei Qiānyuān.
Without Wei Qiānyuān's permission, even with ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare to agree to Tianyao Group's resumption of production!
"Mr. Wei, we would like to report on the matter of Tianyao Group together."
Zhōu Yùn, after entering the office with several bureau chiefs, stated his purpose directly.
"Sit down and talk,"
Wei Qiānyuān nodded slightly, gesturing towards the sofas.
Zhōu Yùn and the bureau chiefs sat on the sofas as instructed by Wei Qiānyuān.
"Mr. Wei, this morning, the general manager of Tianyao Group, Qián Jìn, reported the rectification results of Tianyao Group's issues and invited several bureaus to form a joint inspection team to conduct an acceptance inspection," Zhōu Yùn reported after taking a seat.
"Oh?"
Upon hearing this, Wei Qiānyuān's brow furrowed slightly.
He had used his authority to issue instructions, forming a joint inspection team composed of several units to inspect Tianyao Group and issuing a notice for suspension and rectification. His goal was to collude with Lǐ Shànglái to expel Sū Group from Tianyao Group.
Now, Lǐ Shànglái had not yet responded with the Li family's opinion, yet Tianyao Group had reported its rectification results, applied for inspection and acceptance, and was preparing to resume operations!
This made Wei Qiānyuān very confused and he felt a vague sense that something was amiss!
"I understand."
Despite his confusion, Wei Qiānyuān did not show it on his face. After a moment of contemplation, he issued an instruction, "There is a lot of work in the district recently. You should focus on your other tasks first and put this matter aside for now."
"Yes!"
Zhōu Yùn and the bureau chiefs immediately rose to receive the order and then turned to leave Wei Qiānyuān's office.
The acceptance inspection of Tianyao Group's rectification results was to be put on hold.
This was Wei Qiānyuān's instruction to them—to disregard it!
After Zhōu Yùn and the others left, Wei Qiānyuān furrowed his brow and pondered for a moment. Then, he took out a spare mobile phone and dialed Lǐ Shànglái's number.
"Hello, Mr. Wei."
On the other end of the line, Lǐ Shànglái was in his office boiling water to make tea for Jiang Wúming. Upon seeing Wei Qiānyuān's call, he answered only after receiving Jiang Wúming's permission and turned on the speakerphone.
"Mr. Lǐ, I just heard that the general manager of Tianyao Group, Qián Jìn, has reported the rectification results and invited the joint inspection team for an acceptance inspection. What is going on?" Wei Qiānyuān asked directly, his tone somewhat somber.
"Mr. Wei, this was done at the instruction of Tianyao Group's Chairman, Sū Shīyùn, who asked Qián Jìn to do so. Sū Shīyùn believes that those issues were minor and would be resolved once rectified."
Lǐ Shànglái responded fluently, but inwardly, he was secretly astonished by Jiang Wúming's methods.
This was because the report on Tianyao Group's rectification was arranged by Lǐ Shànglái to be done by Qián Jìn after receiving instructions from Jiang Wúming.
And what he was saying now was what Jiang Wúming had told him in advance.
In other words, Jiang Wúming had anticipated that Wei Qiānyuān would call Lǐ Shànglái, and had even prepared what Wei Qiānyuān would ask and how to respond.
"She really is wishful thinking!"
Wei Qiānyuān sneered.
Whether Tianyao Group had issues or whether the rectification was complete was not important; what mattered was his word.
If he said Tianyao Group had problems, then it had problems!
"Mr. Wei, you are right. I even specifically communicated with her about this matter, but she insisted on her way, saying that once the relevant departments received the rectification report, they would immediately send people to inspect and accept it. She also said that if the district disagreed, she would personally approach the relevant leaders in the city," Lǐ Shànglái continued to respond according to the script prepared by Jiang Wúming.
"Heh... a mere chicken that has flown onto a branch with Jiang Wúming's help, truly believes she's a phoenix. Let her go find them. I'd like to see who would dare to inspect Tianyao Group without my approval!"
Wei Qiānyuān sneered, then asked, "By the way, how are things on your end? What did Old Master Li say?"
"The Old Master has been in seclusion these past two days, researching medicinal formulas. We'll have to wait until he comes out of seclusion."
Lǐ Shànglái replied.
"Please hurry. Also, you can let that Sū Shīyùn come and find me personally. I want to see that chicken beg me abjectly!"
After a moment of thought, Wei Qiānyuān changed his tune, his words filled with mockery.
This time, Lǐ Shànglái did not immediately reply.
This was because this statement was not part of the script prepared by Jiang Wúming.
"Okay... Okay!"
Lǐ Shànglái subconsciously cast his gaze towards Jiang Wúming. Seeing Jiang Wúming nod slightly, he finally responded, his body involuntarily trembling as if struck by an electric shock.
At that moment, he suddenly felt as if he had been plunged into an ice cellar, a chill running through him from head to toe!
...