This was their company’s first team-building event since its establishment. Everyone was particularly invested in it. They spent an entire afternoon carefully choosing the venue. In the end, they picked the bustling Fengsheng Restaurant, located in the busiest part of the commercial street. Standing at the base of the restaurant, they all felt a deep sense of nostalgia. Every brick and tile in this place had been laid by their own hands. They had spent countless sleepless nights, either laying bricks or painting walls. At that time, they could never have imagined that two months later, this commercial street would become the busiest in Shuangyang County. Now, even though it was already 7 p.m., the area was still brightly lit and bustling with people.

In that moment, they all smiled at the same time, their eyes filled with pride. — This was the starting point for Xuyu, and also the place where their dreams began.

So, they entered Fengsheng Restaurant. The boss quickly handed them the menu. Lao Zhou and the others happily took it, glanced at the prices, and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Is everything this expensive?” “At these prices, this meal will probably cost us half a month’s salary!”

At that moment, a mocking laugh came from behind them. “Heh, you guys were so confident when you left before, and I thought you’d turn out to be something impressive. But now, you can’t even afford a meal—how pathetic.”

Lao Zhou and the others turned around, and they saw a familiar face. As they remembered the past, their anger, which had been building up inside, flared up.

“Song Ming!”

“Don’t talk nonsense here!”

Song Ming’s mocking expression didn’t diminish. In fact, it became even stronger. “So you’re angry now? Looks like I hit the mark!”

“I heard that you guys ended up working at some no-name, tiny company. Not only could you not do projects, but you couldn’t even afford to eat. I didn’t believe it at first, but I didn’t expect you to be in such a terrible state.”

Song Ming’s gaze slid over Lao Zhou and the others, finally stopping on Zhao Chen, and pretended to be kind, saying, “But I’m a generous person. If Zhao Chen kneels down and begs me today, I might throw a couple of small projects your way…”

Just then, a beautiful female voice interjected, “Oh? You’re giving us projects? That’s quite the offer.”

Everyone immediately turned their attention to the voice, including Song Ming and the others.

“Boss—”

“Meng Jie!”

When the people from Xuyu heard this voice, they immediately cheered and quickly made way. Meng Suihuan walked down the aisle and stood in the center, smiling brightly. Her gaze was direct and fixed on Song Ming.

“It’s a pity, though. Our Xuyu is not some garbage disposal company that accepts any random project. We won’t lower our standards by taking any stray cat or dog’s project!”

Xuyu?!

Everyone was stunned by these two words. Even Song Ming, who had been so arrogant just moments ago, now wore an expression of shock as he looked at them.

“You guys are from Xuyu?!”

After all, in the past few months, Xuyu’s name had been making waves in Shuangyang County, especially since they had developed this commercial street and sold all the shops in just two days. They had earned millions in profit. The news had spread like wildfire in the industry. Song Ming and the others were naturally familiar with the name, but they had never imagined that this praised project was the work of Zhao Chen and the others, whom they had looked down upon!

“I don’t believe it!”

“If you really are from Xuyu, then why are you complaining about the price of a meal?!”

Song Ming grasped at any possible excuse, desperately trying to convince himself that they were just lying to him. It couldn’t be true, it couldn’t.

Meng Suihuan couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. She directly addressed the staff at Fengsheng Restaurant.

“Today, I’m covering everything here at this restaurant. Put all the bills for the people here under my name.”

At this, everyone in the restaurant became excited. Even the patrons dining there couldn’t help but shout out.

“Boss Meng is so generous!”

Meng Suihuan smiled again and then turned her gaze back to Song Ming, her eyes growing cold.

“As for your table, if you can kneel down and beg me, I might reluctantly let you stay.”

“Otherwise, you can leave, or I can have someone escort you out!”

Feeling the strange looks from around them, Song Ming’s face turned bright red with anger. He couldn’t speak a complete sentence for a long time, and could only point at Meng Suihuan, “You—” He nearly fainted from fury.

Meng Suihuan: “…”

With that little figure and height, how dare he try to act tough in front of her?

This team-building event was a great success, and because of her grand gesture of covering the bill at Fengsheng Restaurant, Meng Suihuan received even more attention. Soon, it was time for the award ceremony.

Meng Suihuan had woken up early, putting on a bold and powerful makeup look. She had carefully matched her outfit to complement her appearance. The people from Xuyu were already waiting outside, and when they saw her, they couldn’t help but tease her.

“Meng Jie, you’re completely radiating power today. Before even stepping on stage, I can already feel the pressure!”

“Is this your first time on stage? Are you nervous?”

…

In fact, Meng Suihuan was a little nervous. Although she had attended various events before and had even hosted press conferences in front of large crowds, this event was different. She was going to receive an award from the local government, an award that was only given to those who had made outstanding contributions to the city. It was a huge honor! She had secretly practiced her speech several times last night.

But when the people from Xuyu asked her, she replied without missing a beat, “What’s there to be nervous about for a small event like this?”

Unfortunately, these people weren’t as easily fooled as they once were, and they all “eh”ed in unison.

Lao Zhou directly exposed her.

“Don’t be so stubborn, Meng Jie.”

“Xiuhe told us this morning not to disturb you, so you could sleep in a bit. She said you secretly practiced your speech for hours last night.”

This familiar scene.

Everything felt so familiar. Oh she remembered, she was roasted and exposed in her excuses before too.

“Hey, stop teasing the boss, this is going to be broadcasted,” someone reminded.
“Definitely need to prepare well,” another added.
Meng Suihuan: “…”

This award ceremony had invited many famous people from Shuangyang County, along with some media and reporters. Lao He, who had been recognized for his involvement in the commercial street project, also received an award. When he saw Meng Suihuan arrive, Lao He smiled at her and reassured, “Actually, you don’t need to be nervous. Sometimes the more relaxed you are, the better the result.”

Meng Suihuan took a deep breath and nodded.

The ceremony proceeded at a fast pace. After the leaders delivered their speeches, the formal awards began. When it was Meng Suihuan’s turn, her thank-you speech was brief, but her following actions caught everyone’s attention. She unexpectedly began to address the audience on the spot, speaking eloquently. In the end, she wrapped up her speech by expressing her continued commitment to contributing to the city, and perfectly concluded her performance.

Her actions not only left a strong impression on everyone but also served as excellent free advertising for her company. Truly impressive!

After the ceremony, Meng Suihuan received the confirmed news from Lao He that the campus relocation project had been settled. For her, this was fantastic news. She had already completed all the other formalities, and once this matter was finalized, she could officially begin the project.

Back at the company, she held a two-hour meeting with the team to thoroughly discuss the details of the project. Soon, someone raised a crucial question.

“Boss, I just thought of a problem. The government has approved this project, but if the school doesn’t move after we finish building the building, won’t our plan be wasted?”

After all, situations like this were common, especially when it came to large matters like a school relocation, which couldn’t be completed in a short time. It could take one or two years, or even three to five years—there was no certainty.

Meng Suihuan raised an eyebrow and said confidently, “In that case, we’ll think of a way to get them to move sooner!”

Everyone understood the logic. When they were working on the commercial street project, they also faced many difficulties. In the end, they overcame them and achieved great success. With that thought, everyone regained their confidence and believed they could do it this time as well!

In the meantime, they visited Shuangyang Middle School for a site survey, hoping to get some inside information. Unfortunately, it seemed that the school was not planning to move in the short term. Jiang Chengxuan and the others tried various methods, but the progress was minimal.

Finally, thanks to Jiang Chengxuan’s persuasive skills, they managed to extract some information. It turned out that the school was facing financial difficulties, so they weren’t considering relocation at the moment.

With this information in hand, the solution became clearer. They decided to lower the price and take over the project. However, just as they thought everything was moving smoothly, the director who had verbally agreed to the matter was transferred. When they went to discuss it again, the newly appointed director acted evasively, stating that they would handle it themselves and not to worry about it.

The problems kept piling up!

“Ugh, this Director Li is really stubborn. We’ve already lowered the price so much, and he still acts like it’s no big deal. I think he’s doing this on purpose, deliberately targeting us!”

After all, the price they offered was the lowest in the industry, but the other party kept making excuses, which clearly indicated something was going on.

Just when Meng Suihuan and the others didn’t know what to do, Lao Zhou brought some news.

“I figured out what’s going on! It’s all that Song Ming’s doing!”

He then shared the information he had gathered. It turned out that the newly appointed Director Li was Song Ming’s relative. Lao Zhou had run into them at the school, and when he realized what was happening, he almost rushed over to beat Song Ming up. But Song Ming wasn’t scared at all. In fact, he even acted arrogantly.

“This is the consequence of offending me, Song Ming!”

This was definitely something no one had expected. But after Lao Zhou explained everything, it all made sense. No wonder they always felt like Director Li was targeting them. It turned out that was the case.

“You should have seen his smug face. It was absolutely disgusting!”

“Now that we know he’s behind this, we should expose the whole thing!”

“…”

Meng Suihuan paused for a moment and asked, “If the other side hasn’t violated any rules, we might not get anywhere by making a scene. But if everything they’ve done is within the regulations, won’t acting rashly damage our reputation?”

It could also leave a bad impression on the school. It wasn’t worth it.

Lao Zhou scratched his head and said, “Boss, now that you mention it, I suddenly remember something. After I caught Song Ming, he wasn’t the least bit nervous. He even gave me a strange smile.”

Everyone immediately reacted. If the other party were doing something wrong, they should have been panicking at a time like this. Since Song Ming seemed so confident, perhaps they had guessed correctly. The other side wasn’t just trying to block them from securing the project—they were also trying to sabotage them and tarnish their company’s reputation!