Not a god

Chapter 203 Preparing to Return to Jiangcheng

The air quality here in Sheshan is good, and you can see the stars in the sky in summer. The courtyards here are similar to those in old houses in Suzhou, with artificial hills and flowing water. At night, the sounds of insects and frogs can be heard continuously.

Yiyi, who had been crouching in the corner by the pond for half a day, finally succeeded in her hunt. Returning from her hunt, she ran back with a huge toad in her hand, scaring the two little ginger children half to death.

"What did you get?"

"What are you holding?"

"Throw it away now!"

Grandma was a plump old woman, sitting happily in a wicker chair in the yard.

Young people all live in the city center, and the older folks aren't used to the environment in those buildings. This place has a nice environment, but it's sometimes too quiet. These past few days have been unusually lively.

After He Laosan finished washing up and changing his clothes, he shaved his beard and tied his hair into a bun, which made him look much more refreshed. He was the kind of handsome middle-aged man who must have made mistakes when he was young.

He took out a pack of cigarettes from his chest pocket, pulled out two in a snap, and handed them to Chen Xi with practiced ease.

He couldn't refuse the cigarette offered by his father-in-law, so He Laosan took out his lighter and tried to light it twice but failed.

Chen Xi stretched out her finger, and a small flame appeared. After the flame went out, two small red dots lit up in the darkness, and two wisps of smoke rose up.

"Amazing."

"Just a little trick."

He Laosan asked, "When did you arrive?"

"Last week."

"When to go back?"

"the day after tomorrow."

"so fast?"

"Has everything that needed to be dealt with been mostly taken care of?"

"I heard you're working at the Youth Federation now?"

"Ah."

He Laosan glanced at him and said casually, "You've really changed quite a bit since then."

"What changes?"

"With your personality, I thought you'd just keep running your coffee shop and slack off for the rest of your life."

"Why is running a coffee shop considered a way to just get by?"

"Is it because of Wanwan?"

"What does this have to do with Wanwan?"

"Don't treat adults like fools. I can see that you care too much about Wanwan. You're afraid that achieving too much will make Wanwan feel scared and pressured, so you've been suppressing your talents... Why are you suddenly thinking of doing something again?"

"..."

Chen Xi didn't know what to say. He Laosan was right. He didn't really know what he should do, nor did he have any desires. Everyone in the world was chasing after something, but he seemed to be the only one who wasn't. Because everything was too easily obtained, everything seemed boring and dull to him. In the past, he only knew how to focus his attention on Jiang Wanwan. He was slacking off, but his slacking off was caught by Wanwan, who had been reborn.

He then pretended to tinker with some things with Su Jiu'er and the others, unknowingly getting involved with so many people and things. How did he suddenly get so deeply involved? What was the point of all this...?

He paused for a moment after thinking about this, and said, "Why so many whys? I just did it."

"Is he a high-ranking official?"

"The president of the Youth Federation is my junior from university. She asked me for help, and I just lent a hand and didn't do much."

"Is that all?"

Chen Xi knew what the other person wanted to say.

After his several public appearances, netizens only thought that the Youth Federation had a handsome director who had risen to the management level at a young age, which was simply the template for the protagonist of a novel, etc. However, for many big bosses, Chen Xi's every move was related to their real interests and touched the hearts of many people.

With the internet so ubiquitous now, many things can't withstand scrutiny, especially when the Jiangda Alliance was just starting out. Some of Chen Xi's advanced strategic decisions seemed increasingly suspicious upon closer examination. The government built base stations for mobile phone development and constructed highways as soon as a car factory opened. Tell me, whose will did you represent?
He sighed and said:
"The situation in the Youth Federation is quite complicated right now. Although I have a lot of power, many people are watching me, and it wouldn't be able to operate like this without the support of the government. If I keep working here, I'll almost be a permanent employee. Su Jiu'er and I are just being pushed out to play minor roles in the spotlight..."

Chen Xi knew that he had really risen to a high and powerful position. However, the He family members were all meticulous and honest, and they would not say anything to make things difficult for him. Only He Laosan, who was willing to take risks, would come to his son-in-law to sound him out.

No, that's not right. He felt that his father-in-law probably represented not only him personally, but also the dozen or so families in Shanghai.

"If you're under a lot of pressure, why don't you come and help your cousins? They've been working themselves to the bone lately."

"No."

"Don't be so heartless. When you were little, you and Wanwan would come here to play, and He Gu and the others would always make sure you had something good to eat and something fun to play with..."

After finishing her last sip, Chen Xi stood up and said to the other side, "Wanwan, Uncle He insisted on giving me a cigarette, saying that if I don't smoke, I'm disrespecting him."

……

The following day, Chen Xi went to the Shanghai branch to hand over the responsibilities, and then prepared to return to Jiangcheng in a couple of days.

During this period, this branch has recruited several second-tier experts. One is a wild second-tier expert, a purely talented player, and the other three are from some old-era families.

The Youth Federation welcomes all comers, new or old, as long as they cough, they are considered lucky.

In any case, their framework is different from other guilds. If the Youth Federation continues to develop in this way, it will eventually complement the Mu Shou Si. One is a means of coercive management, and the other is the big hand of the market, providing a platform and soil for the Chosen Ones in society, and even other guilds.

The Youth Federation will not compete with other guilds for profits, but things like the Dream Tower, test mechs, and other things that the government must keep firmly in its hands and that no one is allowed to touch will be produced and managed by the Youth Federation.

Some departments within the Youth Federation, such as Tiangongtang and Sinongtang, contain many things that are classified as military secrets, which other guilds cannot easily exploit.

Besides a few second-tier experts, due to the special circumstances in Shanghai, a third-tier expert was also brought in.

This third-tier expert was a remnant left behind by Mr. Guan during the great purge over the past six months. He was an old immortal with some reputation among the common people, whom Chen Xi did not recognize.

The old master was assigned to the Shanghai branch to oversee things and act as a enforcer, but there wasn't much for him to do except drink tea and give pointers to the younger members.

After the Shanghai branch was established, it also sent some people to form several teams to participate in the competition. The strongest team consisted of four second-tier members and one first-tier member, with Zhao Xiaoyan, a key member from the headquarters, serving as the team leader.

The one at level one is Fu Xiaoliu, the former president of the Shanghai branch, who is not far from breaking through to level two.

If such a team were in another region, other teams could only compete for second place. But this is Shanghai. There are already more than ten teams with all members at Tier 2 in the preliminary rounds. It's uncertain whether they can even go to Jiangcheng to participate in the finals.

(End of this chapter)