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

Two days later, in Beijing.

Chen Xi couldn't help but yawn as soon as she got off the plane and arrived at the company.

"Mr. Chen, you really dared to speak your mind at the University of Malaya. Future entrepreneurs should learn from you and be brave enough to speak the truth." Feng Yun held a bottle of mineral water and looked at him with a smile.

"Oh dear, saying so much doesn't seem to change anything; instead, it just makes us a target for attacks." Chen Xi waved his phone at Feng Yun.

The phone screen was filled with comments on Weibo, all accusing Chen Xi of arrogance. Like Shi Cong, his past had been thoroughly exposed. These people claimed he was just a rich second-generation heir who grew up overseas, simply spouting nonsense to grab attention.

Some people even went so far as to label all overseas returnees as spies.

Chen Xi casually swiped the screen a couple of times, and the top comments were getting more and more outrageous.

"That guy surnamed Chen doesn't know anything! South Korea is treating us with great respect right now. Did you see the news today? South Korea is preparing to fully open its borders to visa-free travel for us! This is a sign of the restoration of the Ming Dynasty system, a time when all nations come to pay tribute, don't you understand?"

"Exactly, what's with this rich kid who went abroad to coast along, pretending to be a rational and objective person? He's been kneeling for so long he can't stand up anymore, has he?"

Scrolling down further, the tone shifts again, with a group of "rational people" starting to analyze Chen Xi's motives.

"Don't let him lead you astray. Tesla's Gigafactory is almost finished, and this guy used to work with Musk on new energy projects. Now he's jumping out and spouting nonsense, clearly trying to create a negative online marketing campaign to hype up his own new car! This is a devastating blow to domestic new energy vehicles; he's practically a traitor."

"So it's just a capitalist tactic: boycott Chen Xi! They'll say anything to sell cars!"

Feng Yun leaned over for a peek and couldn't help but smack his lips.

"These people have quite the imagination, but then again, nothing is unchangeable. If you say it can't be changed, it's because you haven't tried hard enough. Look at how things are going wrong now, everything is going wrong, and we still have to come up with changes!" Feng Yun waved his hand, strongly disagreeing with Chen Xi's statement.

"Oh? What does President Feng want to change?" Chen Xi stroked his chin.

"There are so many! Look at food safety, environmental quality, hospital problems, and banks... I wish I could be in two places at once..."

"Oh, Mr. Feng, what are you planning to change? The bank?" At that moment, two people walked into the conference room.

“Yeah, this bank stinks like a pawnshop. It relies on its monopoly to copy the Western system, but it can’t even do it completely. How can it not change?” Feng Yun said, looking at Wang Tong and Pu Jian.

"Oh dear, what's wrong with Lao Duan... I wonder who reported him, or maybe he was framed." Wang Tong sat down and opened a bottle of mineral water to drink.

"I don't know either. You know the tone of Mr. Duan's voice in meetings. He's not good with words, so he must have offended a lot of people. He's offended several people in Huahetong alone, and I bet there are even more outside." Feng Yun chuckled mischievously.

Duan Yixiong used to always disagree with him, but now that Duan Yixiong is gone, he feels very relieved.

“I’ve heard that Old Duan has made quite a few mistakes. But we don’t care about his mistakes outside, what’s wrong with Huahetong is that it’s harming everyone’s interests, don’t you think?” Park Geon glanced at everyone, and finally fixed his gaze on Chen Xi.

“President Park is right, but President Duan has not only harmed the interests of everyone present, but also the interests of the company, our partners, and the public,” Chen Xi added.

"Wow, Mr. Chen's awareness is really high, yes, yes. No wonder he can give speeches at foreign universities." Park Geon clapped his hands.

“Now that President Duan is gone, and what he did caused serious losses to the company, I think he should be kicked out. What do you think?” Feng Yun straightened up.

No one spoke upon hearing this.

However, this also implies that Duan Yixiong has been eliminated.

Seeing this, Feng Yun spoke again: "That General Manager Duan is gone, his shares..."

Upon hearing this, Cao Zhi's face twitched.

He was the only one without money here, and he had the fewest shares. Now that Duan Yixiong was gone, he couldn't take them back even if he wanted to.

"Huaxing has been busy acquiring several companies lately, so you guys can handle it as you see fit," Wang Tong said casually.

Everyone present was stunned when these words were spoken.

Who is Huaxing? Even if they acquire multiple companies, they will never run out of money.

Could it be that there was a large deficit from the previous rural loan issue?

Sun Dixun didn't come to the meeting today...

After these events were connected, everyone's expressions returned to calm.

"What do you think, Mr. Chen and Mr. Wang?" Feng Yun asked again.

"I'm a little short on cash lately..." Chen Xi said.

Wang Zhi remained expressionless.

"I'll take over Duan's shift then," Feng Yun chuckled.

"Mr. Feng, you didn't set this up, did you?" Park Geon looked at him with a smile.

"How could that be? I don't have such great powers." Feng Yun didn't explain further, just smiled and waved his hand.

"By the way, Mr. Feng. You just mentioned changing the banking industry and the pawnshop model. Is that related to Ant Financial?" Park Geon asked.

“That’s right. Once Ant Financial goes public, banks will change their ways. All the loan assistance companies they partner with will disappear, and no one will have to suffer anymore!” Feng Yun replied firmly, even though he knew that Huaxing also had banks.

"It's fine to say these things in the meeting room, but don't say them outside," Park Gun finally managed to say after a long pause.

"Haha, just kidding. I'm not stupid, why would I say such things outside?" Feng Yun laughed it off.

"Mr. Feng, I'm quite curious. You say you're a businessman, and now Huahetong has invested heavily, with the returns completely failing to cover the costs. It's already far exceeded the initial budget. Why are you increasing the investment? If it were using public funds, that would be one thing, but this is your personal money. Don't give me that 'serving farmers' rhetoric; there are no reporters here. Also, Mr. Chen, do you think the path we've taken so far is correct? I mean, is the direction from above correct? Does solving rural problems meet the current development needs?" Park Jian looked at Feng Yun and then at Chen Xi.

Neither of them spoke when asked about these questions.

“I don’t think you yourselves have the answer either,” Park Gun shook his head.

"That depends on whether the higher-ups are truly implementing this policy. If the subsidies and benefits are in place, Huahetong will naturally have income. With sufficient income, they can continue to develop rural areas." Feng Yun finally managed to say something after a long pause.

He gleaned some information from Park Geon's words: despite massive investments in agriculture, rural areas, and farmers, significant changes have been slow to materialize.

This spending isn't like running out of toilet paper; even a state apparatus has to consider the current situation. There must be differing opinions within the government, or perhaps these opinions existed before, but are now much stronger.

"Ha, businessman's mindset."

"Mr. Park, didn't you just say I'm a businessman? Haha."

Feng Yun wasn't angry after hearing this; instead, he burst into laughter.

Chen Xi remained silent.

Actually, in his previous life, he was quite confused in the later stages and eventually killed himself.

Continuing this project in this lifetime is not for making money or for any lofty ideals.

“What President Feng said makes sense. Whether it will work out or not depends on what the higher-ups are thinking. Are they just going to engage in superficial formalism, or do they really intend to carry out sweeping reforms? Solving the problems of agriculture, rural areas, and farmers, if you dig deeper, is actually a disguised way of solving the gap between the rich and the poor and the problem of the purchasing power of the lower class.” Chen Xi picked up the water in front of him and took a sip.

Everyone listened quietly.

"However, on the other hand, for thousands of years, the social structure has been scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. Now times have changed, and it has become scholars, merchants, artisans, and farmers. But no matter how the order changes, 'scholars' will always be firmly in first place. I'm thinking, if the economic data in rural areas really improves, can it really change the most important thing? Everyone knows perfectly well what the purpose of some leaders sitting in those positions is."

To say they work themselves to the bone entirely to serve the people is an overstatement. Beneath the surface, most people are simply seeking to tighten their grip on power and use achievements to gain even more. Rural infrastructure and agricultural subsidies are slow-acting and time-consuming projects. Power needs to be consolidated, which requires tangible economic data to back it up.

Once the higher-ups realize that this path is too expensive, or won't yield impressive short-term performance indicators, the winds can change at any moment. When that happens, the "businesses" at the forefront—whether they're building agricultural platforms or trying to disrupt the banking ecosystem—will ultimately become stepping stones to fill the gaps if they cross the line with the "scholars" and financial stability.

For a businessman to try and instruct his superiors is a major taboo throughout thousands of years of history. In my view, for things to truly improve, this social structure, entrenched for millennia, must be completely and utterly broken down. That is, when everyone—whether laborers, farmers, or merchants—no longer feels fear or trepidation when encountering those high-ranking "scholars," when they no longer need to bow and scrape before them, then society will truly change, and these deep-seated problems will naturally be resolved.

After Chen Xi finished speaking, both Wang Tong and Park Geon's expressions changed.

Feng and Chen were both merchants, while they were scholars.

"Mr. Chen's insights are indeed unique, but the national conditions are different, and we can't just apply them blindly. You've lived in the West for a long time and are used to their theories, but they might not be suitable for our context. Besides, we're all sitting at the same table to solve practical problems. Like now, aren't you two communicating and discussing with us on equal footing, speaking freely? There's no question of being subservient." Wang Tong finally gave a rather official answer, leaving no room for rebuttal.

"Haha, that's what you call a leader. President Chen said so much, but President Wang just raised the bar with one sentence." Feng Yun said, trying to smooth things over while mocking the other party.

New House.

Wu Wanrong was sitting in his office drinking tea.

He has mixed feelings because the transfer has been arranged and he will soon be going to take up a post in the mountain city.

In recent years, he has transformed Xinlu from a home appliance capital into a venture capital city, and his achievements have been recognized by higher authorities.

This transfer is not considered a simple relocation within the industry; rather, it is referred to as a rotation of personnel in high-level positions and the assignment of important responsibilities.

In other words, crossing provincial borders and becoming directly administered municipalities is a mandatory course for promotion within the system; it can be said that success in this course elevates one to the elite level.

Although Xinlu is developing rapidly, it is still only the provincial capital. The administrative level and political status of Shancheng and Xinlu are not on the same level at all.

As a long-established industrial city, Chongqing is now facing the challenge of slowing growth in traditional manufacturing industries such as automobiles and laptops, and the need for industrial upgrading.

The higher-ups transferred him there hoping he would bring his experience from Xinlu to the industrial giant in Southwest China and perform systemic surgery on chips and integrated circuits.

On the surface, it certainly appears to be a major turning point in his career.

However, Wu Wanrong knew in his heart that the waters of the mountain city were quite deep.

With so many financial institutions clustering there, illegal and irregular operations are frequently exposed online.

But over the years, those financial institutions have actually increased rather than decreased.

Although these issues are handled by the relevant departments, the position he gets after being transferred there is not low. So how should this be handled?
This is a big problem.

Shenzhen.

"Damn it, they actually tried to scam me! They must have a death wish!" Yang Dan was slamming her fist on the table and roaring in frustration in the office.

Mr. Zhu has now disappeared. Billions of yuan have been embezzled, and it wasn't just his money that was involved.

"Buzz." Just then, the phone suddenly rang. Yang Dan picked it up and saw it was her father. She quickly suppressed her anger.

"Hey, Xiaodan, is the money all taken care of? Your sister will take you out of the country... Don't waste that money, it'll definitely be enough for the rest of your life." Yang Dingtian's voice was full of exhaustion on the phone.

"Um... Dad... that money... is gone..." Yang Dan naturally dared not hide such a large sum of money.

"What? The money's gone?"

"Dad, don't get so worked up. I've already sent people to look for it, and... we still have businesses, we can earn that money back in a year."

"Most of our money is currently frozen; only some clean businesses are still operating, as for online games..."

"Is there a problem? It's running perfectly fine now. Wait... Dad, what are you talking about? I don't understand." Yang Dan was actually a little confused. Her father suddenly called and talked about leaving the country and his money for the rest of his life. It felt like he was making his final arrangements.

Yang Dingtian only said that the money that General Zhu had taken away was a normal transfer.

How come all the money is gone now?

Yang Dan was a little taken aback.

Macau region, Grand Sun Group.

The opulent hotel building reeks of money; every brick and tile was salvaged from someone else's wealth.

The group's chairman is currently sitting in his luxury car, resting with his eyes closed.

As soon as the car arrived at the hotel entrance, several law enforcement vehicles with flashing lights sped past.

Everything happened so suddenly; the chairman had barely opened the door when he was surrounded by a group of uniformed law enforcement officers. (End of Chapter)