Although there was a brief unpleasant interlude, the mother-in-law's birthday banquet eventually concluded successfully.
In the following days, Xia Yuqing and Song Qiao both returned to their usual routines.
Early this morning, as soon as Song Qiao arrived, he received a call from the secretary.
"Little Song, are you free tonight? Come out for a drink with me, and I'll introduce you to a friend."
Secretary Gao's mood was clearly good, and he spoke to Song Qiao with a hint of a smile.
Upon hearing the secretary's invitation, Song Qiao's heart immediately fluttered with excitement.
The secretary was usually extremely busy and rarely contacted him unless it was for something important. Now that he was unexpectedly invited for drinks, it surely meant that the matter of developing the commercial street had made some progress.
"No problem, Secretary Gao. You set the location, and I'll be there on time tonight."
Song Qiao suppressed his inner excitement and readily agreed.
"Then it's Xinyuan Restaurant, eight o'clock tonight, see you there." The secretary hung up the phone directly after speaking.
...
Around seven in the evening, Song Qiao instructed his driver, Old Hu, to take him to Xinyuan Restaurant.
Upon entering the private room pre-booked by the secretary, Song Qiao was taken aback for a moment, a hint of surprise flashing across his face.
Sitting next to Secretary Gao was Zhao Tong, the real estate magnate of the province.
In his previous life, this man could certainly be considered a renowned entrepreneur. Although his company's overall market value was not comparable to his own past achievements, it could still comfortably rank among the top fifty in China.
He hadn't expected to meet them here today. It seemed that Zhao Tong was the person the secretary wanted to introduce him to.
"You're here, Little Song, come and sit. Let me introduce you, this is our Mr. Zhao. The land you've set your sights on is being developed by him."
Hearing this, Song Qiao, who had just sat down, stood up and shook hands with Zhao Tong respectfully, greeting him.
After all, the other party was far superior to him at the moment and could definitely be considered a powerful figure who commanded immense wealth.
"Mr. Song indeed has good foresight. The development of this land is already underway. Even with only a small portion completed, many businesses have already moved in. I'm sure it will be a top-tier cash cow in the future."
Zhao Tong shook Song Qiao's hand politely and couldn't help but praise him.
"Haha, that's true. Mr. Song's vision is indeed incredibly sharp."
As Secretary Gao spoke, he took out a box of high-grade ginseng from under the table.
"Little Song, because of your suggestion for development, that kid Guo Jun will likely make quite a fortune from this. Consider this gift my thanks to you."
The secretary, without allowing for refusal, handed the ginseng to Song Qiao.
Song Qiao did not refuse. In this era, such exchanges of gifts were considered perfectly normal. Even as a reborn individual, he had to abide by these rules, or else, no matter how capable he was, he would eventually be overwhelmed by the tide of the times.
Afterward, the three began to clink glasses and chat about everyday matters. From Zhao Tong's words, Song Qiao learned that the man had a beloved daughter whom he doted on.
This immediately plunged Song Qiao into memories of his past life.
In his previous life, a highly talked-about incident had occurred in the business world.
Zhao Tong's daughter had gone to Qingyun Lake in the local area for a trip and unfortunately drowned. In a fit of rage, Zhao Tong had bought Qingyun Lake and had it filled in.
This incident had directly made the news and caused a huge stir across China.
And just now, he seemed to have heard Zhao Tong mention that his daughter was going to Qingyun Lake for an outing.
Thinking of this, his expression immediately changed.
"Mr. Zhao, quickly call your daughter back and tell her not to go near Qingyun Lake."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhao was clearly taken aback, unsure of what Song Qiao was up to.
"Oh, Mr. Zhao, trust me on this, tell her to leave quickly, or there will be danger."
Song Qiao didn't know how to explain it to the other party and began to persuade him frantically.
Finally, unable to resist Song Qiao's insistence, Zhao Tong made a call to his daughter.
He told her that something had come up at home and asked her to return quickly.
Seeing this, Song Qiao breathed a sigh of relief and felt at ease.
As expected, just as the three were about to conclude their meal, Zhao Tong's phone suddenly rang. It was his secretary.
The secretary informed him that the water level of Qingyun Lake had risen, and two tourists had drowned that day. Fortunately, Zhao Tong had left early and thus narrowly escaped this disaster.
Upon receiving the call, Zhao Tong's face instantly changed. He looked at Song Qiao with surprise and then said gratefully, "Mr. Song, how did you know something would happen there today? You truly saved my daughter's life."
"Heh, I was just guessing based on the heavy rain recently. I didn't expect it to actually happen."
Song Qiao waved his hand dismissively and came up with an excuse to gloss over the matter.
"Mr. Song, regardless, I owe you a favor for this. If you ever need my help in the future, please don't hesitate to ask. If it's something I can do, I won't hesitate."
Zhao Tong, being a doting father, saw Song Qiao as a lifesaver after he had saved his daughter's life. He now clearly regarded him as his benefactor.
Song Qiao simply nodded slightly, not taking the matter too seriously.
When he helped Mr. Zhao, he hadn't thought of all this; he simply wanted to save another life.
"By the way, Brother Song, tomorrow I've contacted the city's Chamber of Commerce, and we're planning to host a business gala here. The purpose is to meet more friends in the business world. You must grace us with your presence."
During their subsequent casual chat, Mr. Zhao seemed to recall something and reminded Song Qiao.
Song Qiao did not refuse this. Attending more business events would be beneficial for his wife's media company.
Afterward, Song Qiao suddenly brought up Zhang Chuan. The man had repeatedly pestered him, making Song Qiao curious about his identity.
Since both he and Zhao Tong were doing business in the provincial capital, Song Qiao decided to inquire about him.
"Him, humph, a speculator. He made a small fortune a long time ago, but rumor has it he lost it all in the last two years. People in the circle don't even want to associate with him anymore."
Zhao Tong thought for a moment and then truthfully told Song Qiao about Zhang Chuan.
Song Qiao quietly noted this information, without showing too much reaction, and then the three happily concluded their meal.
Upon returning home, Xia Yuqing, whose family was involved in the Chamber of Commerce, had naturally also received an invitation to the business gala. This was her first time experiencing such a renowned event, and she felt a bit nervous. She insisted on bringing her husband and her sister, Xia Xueqing, along.