Chapter 134 - Father-in-Law (Part Two)

"What?! You mean the Chairman spoke to you about the Eight Great Families? How is that possible? How could he possibly reveal such matters to you?" Su Guohui’s shock deepened, and he waved his hands repeatedly. "Impossible! How could the Chairman share such top-secret information with you? It’s impossible, absolutely impossible!"

"Heh, if it were truly impossible, how would I know about the Eight Great Families? Do you think I have any reason to lie to you about this, Uncle Su?" I stared straight at the stunned Su Guohui and said calmly, "To be honest, Uncle, the Chairman didn't just tell me everything; he also appointed me as the Deputy Patriarch of the Huazhu family. That is to say, I have already become a member of the Eight Great Families. In this world, there are no impossibilities, only miracles."

Su Guohui fell silent. Given his status, he understood my words perfectly; he had simply been in a state of denial, rejecting the reality in front of him. For the longest time, he had viewed me as nothing more than a somewhat talented teenager. He never imagined that someone like me could possess power, capital, or a background of any significance. My words effectively dismantled his entire perception of me, and he clearly struggled to accept it. Yet, he was already defaulting to the truth of the situation. After all, if I were just an ordinary high school student without any connections, how could I possibly know about the Eight Great Families?

"Who on earth are you? Xiao, since you like my daughter and I promised you three months to prove your capability, I think you should be honest with me about your identity and everything else. Who are you? What kind of background do you have? Why would even the Chairman..." Su Guohui’s eyes betrayed his inability to fathom me. Indeed, my behavior must have seemed erratic to him—from the incident at the police station to this conversation, my trajectory felt like a wild leap, jumping from a common high schooler to someone with talents admired by major Japanese corporations, and now, someone holding the secrets of the state. He could no longer see through me.

"Very well. Since my father-in-law wants to know everything, I shall be completely candid." I gathered my thoughts, feeling it was time to reveal my true identity to the Su family. "My name is Xiao Qiang, a student at No. 4 High School. But if you think I am just a child from an ordinary family or a student with good grades, you are mistaken. I developed several advanced technologies and used them to earn my first pot of gold. After a period of growth, I founded the Sunshine Group."

"Sunshine... Group..." Even though Su Guohui had braced himself for my revelation, he still looked dazed for a long moment before trembling, "Are you talking about the Sunshine Group in C City?"

"Is there any other Sunshine Group in this country?" I wasn't surprised by his shock. My purpose today was twofold: to fulfill the three-month promise and to reveal my true strength to the Su family. "I founded the Sunshine Group, and I acquired the Tianlai Group. Of course, your close friend Chu Zheng’s Huangchao Group also joined the Sunshine Group not long ago."

"No wonder, no wonder... Even Old Chu is your subordinate. No wonder he’s been so close to you, no wonder..." Su Guohui seemed numb to the series of shocks I had delivered. After his moment of realization, he didn't say much, simply waiting for me to continue.

"The Sunshine Group is currently expanding rapidly. A dozen high-tech companies and enterprises have been acquired and integrated. Give me one year, and I will have the power to make the Sunshine Group a renowned conglomerate in China. Of course, I don't just want that. I know that in China, an enterprise without government support can never grow big or strong. I must have power—the kind of power that supports the group's development." I smiled at Su Guohui. "And the prerequisite for all of this is to solidify my rear guard, which is the base of C City. That is why I had to eliminate Xia Wang Construction and Xia Fugui. It is also why I want to help you remove Xia Guomin. They are brothers; one handles commerce, the other politics. If we join forces to overthrow the Xia family, from then on, you will control the politics of C City, and I will control the commerce."

"You still haven't told me how you convinced the Chairman to trust you enough to make you a Deputy Patriarch." Seeing me pause, Su Guohui couldn't help but ask. He had been preparing to deal with the Xia family for a long time and had investigated everything thoroughly. He had always assumed it was Zhang Jing, the president of the Tianlai Group, who was going after Xia Fugui. Now that he knew I was the president of the Sunshine Group, it wasn't hard to guess my motives. But his real interest lay in my relationship with the Chairman.

"Heh, Uncle, have you seen the television reports on that competition? Did you see my entry?" I asked with a smile.

"Hm? Your entry? You mean that vector aero-engine? That was just a design drawing... could it be that it was real?" Su Guohui looked enlightened. "Good heavens, if that thing is real... how is it possible? How could you design something like that? How did you do it?"

"How I did it doesn't matter, Uncle. You guessed right. I intentionally used the vector aero-engine for the competition because I knew that with it, the Chairman would have to come find me. I just didn't expect the Chairman's power to be so weak," I said, shaking my head helplessly. "I had no choice but to gift the technology to the Huazhu family, letting them reap the benefits."

"You... you actually gave such precious technology to the Huazhu family?" If Su Guohui was shocked before, he was now ready to jump off the sofa. Anyone with a basic understanding of aviation knows what a vector aero-engine means for a nation's air force. The fact that I had offhandedly gifted such technology left him speechless. Just imagine: any family possessing this technology would tip the nation's entire air force in their favor. "You were too reckless! You must know that the eight families have existed in a relative state of equilibrium. Once one family becomes too powerful, it means the beginning of open conflict between them. This is a disaster for China!"

"I know. I considered that. But Uncle, have you ever thought about the concept of 'breaking to build'? The fact that a nation's power is controlled by eight conglomerates is an absurd reality. A country without a true leader is a tragedy. Who is to blame? It's the current system that allows these eight powers, along with a few smaller ones, to dream of ruling the country. The country has been reforming for over a decade, and the economy has improved, but this chaotic upper echelon leaves hidden dangers for the future. To put it bluntly, if the top beam isn't straight, the country has no future. So, rather than waiting for the volcano to erupt before looking for a cure, it is wiser to handle the strategy before the eruption. Only by acting first can one gain the advantage." I spoke eloquently to Su Guohui, providing a thorough analysis of the current situation where the Eight Great Families dominated the central government. Indeed, a chaotic upper echelon could never lead the country to true strength.

"You are right. Every member of the Eight Great Families knows this, but taking action is incredibly difficult. Even the Huazhu family, the strongest of them all, doesn't have the ability. And you think a high school student from C City can do it? Do you think that’s possible?" Su Guohui agreed with my assessment but remained skeptical of me. Yes, anyone from the Eight Great Families would feel the same way.

"Not at the moment, but I believe I can do it," I said, my eyes filled with confidence and determination. "Of course, to succeed, I need the support of others. That is why, Uncle, I hope the Su family will help me achieve this goal."

"Hm? You want the Su family to help you? Do you want to be the Chairman?" Su Guohui gave a rare smile, though it was clearly laced with sarcasm.

"Wrong. The Chairman will remain the Chairman. But I will eliminate the Eight Great Families and establish a true central government—a core that doesn't engage in backstabbing or endless conflict over interests," I said, ignoring his smirk. "To put it simply, I am going to form an organization that will wipe out the Eight Great Families!"

"If the Eight Great Families were so easy to eliminate, the upper echelons of China wouldn't have been in chaos for decades. Your words are nothing more than a fantasy." Su Guohui’s expression grew more disdainful, though he nodded. "Kid, I admire your talent and your analytical skills. But don't get too ahead of yourself. This isn't something a person like you can boast about."

"Heh, I said, there are no impossibilities in this world, only miracles." I shrugged and smiled. "If you don't believe me, that's fine. I just hope you won't hold me back. As long as the Su family doesn't interfere with my actions, that will suffice. One day, I will make you and the Su family willing to join my organization."

"Big talk! Fine. If you can prove that what you say is feasible, then of course I will be willing to lead the Su family to join you." Su Guohui frowned. "Since you like Su Xin, your first opponent will be the Song family, right? Tell you what, kid—I'm not looking down on you, but if you can take down the Song family, not only will I let you marry my daughter, but I will also convince everyone in the Su family to follow you. How about that?"

"Deal!" I wouldn't be foolish enough to think empty words would convince Su Guohui. As a seasoned veteran of the political arena, how could he believe me without seeing results? Especially when I was still just a high school student. "But can the three-month deadline be canceled? Do you really think that as a Deputy Patriarch of the Huazhu family, I am inferior to a mere Song Jie?"

"Hm, the deadline can be canceled. But you know that the main purpose of the alliance between the Su and Song families is to prevent the declining Su family from being kicked out of the central government. So, if I refuse the alliance, you will have to fulfill that purpose for us." Su Guohui was straightforward; he certainly didn't want his daughter with someone she didn't like.

"No problem. I will discuss this with the Huazhu family. I will have the Huazhu family form an alliance with the Su family." I stood up and extended my right hand. "How about it, Father-in-law? Shall we toast to the first step of our cooperation: eliminating the Xia family's influence?"

"Good. This must succeed. You handle Xia Fugui, and I will handle Xia Guomin. With your influence in the Huazhu family, we won't need to go through the Z Province government for Xia Guomin. I will report it directly to the central government. If you put in a word with the Chairman, there's no way a small fry like Xia Guomin can escape justice!" Su Guohui stood up and gripped my hand tightly.

It was the first time I had seen Su Guohui smile so brightly. Of course, for a municipal party secretary who had been suppressed for nearly a year, what could be more satisfying than finally gaining real power?