I'm reborn and I'm an international student again?

Chapter 961 Join Us!

Forty minutes later, at Huade Science and Technology Park.

"I have the utmost contempt for people who speculate in stocks and play games, and you actually want me to do those things." Chen Yifeng slammed his fist on the table, his face dark.

"What era are we living in? Can't you be a little more progressive? You're still complaining about making money, no wonder your business is getting worse and worse. Let me tell you, the big companies these days are all in finance and gaming... Why? Because the profits are high!" Shi Danai said with a look of utter exasperation.

"If stock trading could make you rich, then nobody would need to do any other work. Stock trading is essentially gambling, and in China, it's like playing in a black market casino. You're asking me to invest because you want to save your company's financial problems, talking about making big money through capital operations—that's all bullshit. If my money gets stuck in there, who knows what excuse you'll come up with. Your Dwarf Networks has a revenue of around 25 billion, 99% of which comes from games. Your net profit exceeds 8 million annually. You're so kind as to ask me to invest in such a huge cash cow—what are you after?" Chen Yifeng said this with a wary expression.

The two had never had a good relationship.

Although they have both perished, Chen Yifeng felt that such a lucrative business was something he would never allow anyone to get involved in if it were him.

"It's nothing, we just want to be friends with you!" Shi Danai cleared his throat.

"Make friends? What kind of friends would I make with you? We have completely different ideas and we can't get along." Chen Yifeng sneered.

Many years ago, he had mocked the other party in front of so many people. The whole of Jianghuai Province knew about it, and Shi Danai must have held a grudge.

"I'm talking about us. Of course, I really want to be your friend!"

"We? Who are you referring to!"

"The Taishan Gathering!" Shi Danai smiled smugly.

"Taishan Gathering?" Chen Yifeng frowned upon hearing this.

He knew about the Taishan Association; it was an organization run by a group of bosses.

Shi Danai was a member a long time ago, and he turned his fortunes around by relying on this organization when he was in debt.

Otherwise, with so much debt, it would be very difficult for him to fight alone.

"Hey Yang, join us! You'll get more resources, and everyone in the organization helps each other. You know what happened to me in the past..." Shi Danai continued to tempt him.

"Not interested." Chen Yifeng shook his head.

He looked down on the Taishan Society; he had his own circle and a much wider network of connections. Furthermore, Chen Yifeng liked to hold positions in various associations, meaning his background spanned many industries.

He glanced at Shi Danai's somewhat anxious eyes and asked again, "I'm curious, you've gone through so much groundwork just to recruit me, what's your motive? If the Taishan Society is so united and friendly, why would you need an outsider like me for help?"

"Something's happened... You know, I used to be a shareholder of the Underworld Bank. You should know Lu Qiang from the Taishan Society; he's the CEO of Fan Hai Group and a good friend of mine. Fan Hai Group has an investment and shareholding relationship with the Underworld Bank. There have long been different factions within the Underworld Bank's board of directors, divided into three factions. Old Lu and I are in one faction, holding 10% of the bank's shares. To have more say on the board, we..."

"Oh~~ So you wanted to use me as a pawn!" Chen Yifeng immediately understood after hearing this.

"Don't put it so harshly. We're in an alliance, and you'll benefit from it too." Shi Danai's face turned red.

"Still not interested!" Chen Yifeng slowly picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"Our membership is growing, and we will eventually gather influential entrepreneurs from all walks of life..."

"Alright, alright, do you think I don't know anything? Apart from the founders, there aren't many who joined later. Even those who joined ended up leaving. Take Feng Yun, for example... didn't he start his own little organization? What kind of trouble can you rabble cause together? Don't try to make yourself look good." Chen Yifeng put down his cup, as if he had just heard a big joke.

Entrepreneurs all have their own small circles, and he is no exception.

The Taishan Society is nothing in Chen Yifeng's eyes.

Before Shi Danai could say anything more, the phone on the table suddenly rang.

Chen Yifeng frowned, said a few words, and then hung up.

"Alright, I have something to do. You can go now, let me think about it some more!"

"No, I'm not leaving. 'Think about it' is just empty talk." Shi Danai, a big boss, suddenly started acting like a child, throwing a tantrum.

His bottom was glued to the table as if it were coated with glue, and he refused to get down no matter what.

"Are you kidding me? This is my company. Should I call security to carry you out?"

"Then go ahead and hit me."

"Get down here right now, what kind of behavior is this?"

"I'll sit right here."

“Then I’ll have someone move the table away too, and then I’ll call the newspaper and make you famous as their representative tomorrow.”

"..."

Upon realizing he was about to embarrass himself, Shi Danai reluctantly got off the table.

Although he got off the table, he showed no intention of leaving.

"Knock knock." There was a knock on the office door.

"You should leave now!" Chen Yifeng was about to lose his temper.

The people outside waited for a long time, but there was no movement inside, so they simply pushed the door open and went in.

Shi Danai subconsciously turned his head and saw several people in uniform standing at the door, which immediately aroused his curiosity.

"Mr. Chen, we are from Shanghai. We are here because of the several works of art that were stolen from you..." The woman in the lead introduced herself before Chen Yifeng could even speak.

"What theft? What nonsense are you spouting? Shi Danai, you go back now." Chen Yifeng's tone turned stern.

Seeing that he was really about to get angry, Shi Danai could only slowly move towards the door with small, shuffling steps.

He kept turning back every three steps, clearly trying to stall for time and eavesdrop.

"Mr. Chen, we're serious. We understand why you didn't answer our calls before. After all, there are so many scammers these days. But we've already come to your door, why are you still unwilling to believe us? We've found the stolen items, and we'd like to ask you for more details." The woman's face turned cold when she realized her good intentions had been taken for granted.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Nothing was stolen from me," Chen Yifeng continued to insist.

Do you know Wu Zu?

"I don't know him!"

"Now we are officially informing you that your antiques were previously taken to Shanghai for a private transaction! Those in your possession are likely all fake!"

"Shut up! I think you're the fake one!" Chen Yifeng suddenly became agitated.

As Shi Danai reached the door, he wanted to call someone to bring him a bag of melon seeds and a small stool so he could sit down and slowly enjoy the melon seeds.

"Mr. Chen, your reaction is very strange. A normal person wouldn't react like this upon hearing these words. I now strongly suspect that you are involved in this antique trafficking case!"

"You're crazy! Get out of here!"

Chen Yifeng immediately swore.

"What are you trying to do? Get rid of us?" the woman pointed at him.

"I'm talking about Shi Danai! Are you out of your mind?" Chen Yifeng was so angry he was about to vomit blood.

"Mr. Chen, I'll be going now~" Shi Danai covered her mouth and slipped away at the door.

After everyone left, Chen Yifeng closed the office door.

Before the woman could even speak, he erupted in fury: "You...you...it's all your fault..."

Chen Yifeng was so angry that he couldn't speak and was trembling all over.

"What's wrong with me? Did I just hit the nail on the head? You really are involved in this case. Let me guess, you probably insured these artworks first, then had someone steal them, and then got them back by committing insurance fraud!" The woman's lips curled into a smile.

"Are you out of your mind?!"

"Then why did you have such a strange reaction?"

“I run an auction house. You’re telling people in front of others that my things were stolen and that they’re all fake. Who will dare to buy from me in the future? Do you know how much damage that will do to my business? Do you know who that bald guy standing at the door was? That’s Shi Danai! He’s a representative! If he starts gossiping outside, then…” Chen Yifeng roared.

The three uniformed men looked at each other, their faces flushed red.

I thought I could come here to solicit some donations, but instead I got a thorough dressing-down.

"How can you talk like that? Even if we're wrong, you can't talk like that!" After waiting for a long time, the woman finally managed to squeeze out a sentence.

"What, you think you're right? Don't think you can yell and shout just because you're wearing this coat. Everything has to be reasonable. Understand this: I'm a taxpayer, I'm the one supporting you. I'm not paying to listen to you lecturing me!" Chen Yifeng sneered.

He had just been targeted by the police in the courtyard a while ago; he had reported the incident when he was surrounded, but they never caught him. Naturally, he didn't have a friendly attitude towards people in uniform.

Xinlu City Internet Industrial Park.

"Let's go, it's getting late, let's get something to eat. You three have worked hard today too." Looking at the three women who had been busy all day, Chen Xi stood up and waved his hand.

"I'm exhausted, and my stomach is growling." Saori rubbed her belly.

"Not very big, but it can eat a lot." Zhao Lingshan pouted.

"Her breasts aren't big, but she's quite tall." Saori puffed out her chest.

"Who said I'm not old? I'm only a little younger than you, I can still grow!" Zhao Lingshan blushed with anger and looked down at her not-so-small chest.

However, its size is still incomparable to that of gauze.

"Alright, alright, watching you two argue every day is giving me a headache." Jin Nana rubbed her temples.

Seeing the three chattering away, Chen Xi awkwardly made his escape first.

At the company entrance, those who were not hired did not leave but began to gather together and chat.

Others came from other places, and because there were so many people, they were still queuing.

"It's time to go home. Come back tomorrow," the security guard announced through a megaphone after receiving the notification.

Although he was just a gatekeeper, he was enjoying himself exceptionally well today.

With so many people coming for interviews, many are trying to gather information to increase their chances of success. So the guard's drawer is stuffed full of cigarettes today.

"This interview is even harder than getting into Tsinghua University or Huazhong University of Science and Technology. The questions are all vague; they just ask questions without giving answers. How am I supposed to know where I went wrong?"

"Exactly, they even asked me what my dreams are! Do they think they're an angel investor?"

"I just came up with a whole bunch of ideas, all for the company's benefit, and they still didn't hire me. I don't think this company was genuinely looking to hire me; they're probably just trying to create hype!"

“I’ve been here all morning, queuing all day. The interview only lasted less than ten minutes, wasting my whole day.”

"You can't say that. Other companies just tell you to wait for their notification if you don't get a job. They rejected me outright, which is quite straightforward. That way, I don't have to waste time looking for other companies."

Those who failed their job interviews sat together at the main entrance, smoking and chatting, while those who had just finished get off work complained incessantly.

"Brother, we're late." A tall, thin boy with dark skin sighed.

"There's nothing we can do, the bus had a flat tire. I think we should come back tomorrow." Zhang Feng said calmly.

"I overheard people chatting, saying the interviews were really tough, with really tricky questions. I just asked the security guard, and he said this livestreaming company is going for a more inclusive approach, meaning they'll distribute traffic evenly. Does that mean even if they do a great job, they can't make big money? Look at other platforms, those popular streamers make tens of millions in sales per session. If our performance is unique, we should be able to attract a lot of fans. But because of the platform's rules, we're restricted everywhere. Aren't we just like everyone else? This company owner is crazy to come up with such an idea. If they operate like this, nobody will be motivated, and how can the company ever succeed?" Zhang Yun said, hands on his hips.

“We don’t have any fans yet, and how do you know that other people start companies to make money?” Zhang Feng lit a cigarette.

"Why start a company if you're not making money? Are you out of your mind?" Zhang Yun stared wide-eyed.

“I asked my cousin, and they said this company was set up at the behest of the higher-ups. Look how big this place is; it was all specially approved by the higher-ups.”

"They must be trying to make money, otherwise who would go to such lengths to please the boss? Shameless! Ugh, my cousin is really something. There were supposed to be three sheep, but now there are only two. Should we change our name back to Fengyun?"

“My cousin probably doesn’t think much of us, after all, he used to run a big business. If we can achieve something, then we can bring him in later. The name Fengyun feels a bit strange, Fengyun Fengyun, Fengyun Fengyun. Isn’t it a bit too similar? In the future, when fans call us, they’ll think they’re calling out to Boss Feng, ‘Aba Aba.’” Zhang Feng felt that the name was a bit inappropriate.

Just as the two were talking, the gate slowly opened, and a Mercedes-Benz G-Class drove out.

"Holy crap, bro, did you see that? That car is so cool! We're going to buy one when we're rich!" Zhang Yun exclaimed excitedly, pointing at the Mercedes. He would have jumped up if there hadn't been so many people around.

“This car costs millions. Let’s think about something more practical. If we have the money, let’s buy a house first,” Zhang Feng patted his younger brother on the shoulder.

"You just don't dare to dream, always pretending to be so mature. We're the same age! Just you wait, we'll definitely become huge internet celebrities, and then I'll buy a bunch of nice cars to drive in rotation!" Zhang Yun declared confidently. (End of Chapter)