Siheyuan: I am a trader in both worlds!

Chapter 499 Persuasion
It's just a matter of widening and dredging the river channel, but for the people of Beijing, this could be a problem, a very thorny one.

But for the technologically advanced future, this is no big deal at all!

"We can build the Three Gorges Dam, and we were able to build it 20 years ago! Widening a small river? That's a piece of cake!"

Lao Luo and Bai Ling certainly knew that widening and dredging the river would be a piece of cake for future generations, and wouldn't be a big deal at all.

In fact, they had always hoped to use the channel of future generations to help Beijing solve these problems that seemed unsolvable in the short term.

In this way, Beijing can rest easy and no longer worry about either the technical aspects or logistical support.

The problem is, later generations didn't open charitable halls!
It's not just your mouth
"Hey brother, I'm in trouble. For the sake of our brotherhood, please lend me a hand."

They will immediately extend a helping hand and help you without asking for anything in return.

They also have demands!

Moreover, in some ways, their demands are even more excessive than those of their big brother, Russia!
Establishing a deep partnership with them is even more dangerous than trying to get something from a tiger!
Even if they are truly blood-bound, brothers and friends who are as close as can be!
Therefore, I am particularly conflicted.

On the one hand, the people of Beijing are hoping that future generations will respond to their expectations, generously donate money, extend a helping hand, and selflessly help them.

On the one hand, they feared that future generations would be too generous and too selfless, to the point of truly treating this place as their own home, and then...
That would be bad!
Although there are also beings on their side that later generations greatly fear and would absolutely not dare to underestimate.

But after all, the strength of later generations is there for all to see!
A super civilization that is more powerful than the Americans, or even more powerful than the Americans and the Russians combined, is something that Beijing dares not easily accept and must treat with utmost caution.

Therefore, although the people of Beijing really wanted the future to help them, when it came to actually doing it, they couldn't help but feel uneasy and hesitant.

As for this, Ximen Lang, who was unaware that the future generations and the people of Beijing had already secretly joined forces, was naturally not very clear about it.

He simply thought that the people in Beijing were starting to be afraid of everything again, worried that future generations would make exorbitant demands and take the opportunity to offer conditions that they absolutely could not accept.

He patted his chest and vouched for Xia Yiyi, guaranteeing her future.

"I know what you're all worried about for no reason. You're just afraid that Yi Yi will take the opportunity to bite you back. I completely understand your concerns!"

"But to be honest, you guys are really worrying unnecessarily, completely needlessly so! How should I put it? You're all being a bit petty and judging others by your own standards, you know?"

"Although she did mention some conditions involving sovereignty that you absolutely could not accept before, let's be honest, after you clearly rejected her, didn't she change her mind? Did she never make any more unreasonable demands? Was she always wholeheartedly considering your needs and thinking of you in every way?"

Three questions in a row were asked, and even Bai Ling, who had always been prejudiced against Xia Yiyi, had to admit that the later generations, led by Xia Yiyi, had indeed done everything they could to be kind and righteous.

Even the biological father and son, who share a bond with their father, are no different.

After leaving Bai Ling and Lao Luo speechless, Ximen Lang continued, "But what about you? You're always suspecting her of this or that. You're constantly paranoid, thinking she's plotting something bad to trap you. It's like you're suffering from severe paranoia! Tell me, is that reasonable? It's unreasonable, isn't it?"

As for their concern that building the canal would be too expensive, they said they wouldn't be able to raise that much money in a short time.
"That's even more ridiculous and unnecessary! With me here, what are you afraid of? Putting aside the fact that we're in a difficult situation, I wonder if Yiyi could lower the price a bit and put herself in your shoes."

"Even if she doesn't have one, I'm still here! If that doesn't work, I'll go and persuade her myself. If once doesn't work, I'll try twice, and if twice doesn't work, I'll try three times. I refuse to believe that I can't persuade her with my silver tongue!"

His words, brimming with confidence yet also full of ambiguity, made Bai Ling, whose mind was becoming increasingly sleazy after being exposed to Ximen Lang's increasingly vulgar pronouncements, start to have doubts.

"Is your persuasion legitimate? Is it persuasion or seduction? Can you explain it clearly? And that silver tongue of yours, ptooey! You filthy scoundrel!"

He glared fiercely, a glare that seemed utterly unreasonable.

This left Ximen Lang completely bewildered.

Without giving it much thought, he took Bai Ling's eye roll as a sign that Ximen Lang was questioning him and immediately spoke up.

"Others may not know my skill level, but Ling'er, you should know it if you've experienced it firsthand! With my skill, I'm definitely number one! I'm personally taking action, how could that be wrong?!"

The words were so ambiguous and even somewhat inappropriate for children that Bai Ling, whose face was flushed red, wanted nothing more than to tear Ximen Lang's mouth apart and stop him from spouting such nonsense!

But this is something we really shouldn't take too seriously.

Especially with Lao Luo and Hao Pingchuan, two outsiders, watching from the side.

It might just make things worse by trying to explain it!
Given Ximen Lang's confident assertion, it's highly likely he genuinely didn't mean anything by it; it's very possible he simply meant it literally, and it was just his own unhealthy thinking that led him to misinterpret it.
So, although Bai Ling felt very uncomfortable, annoyed, and uneasy, she ultimately didn't say anything more.

He simply nodded and brushed the matter aside, not daring to give Ximen Lang another chance to continue the topic.

Bai Ling quickly changed the subject.

“Of course we trust you. As for Yi Yi, we also believe she has good intentions. But widening and dredging the river is, after all, a huge project, and a long-term one at that. It requires the strength of the whole country and takes several years, or even more than a decade, to see results.”

"With something this big involved, we definitely need to be more cautious! It's normal to overthink things! If it were Yi Yi, she would definitely consider all the issues before giving an answer, just like us."

"So it's normal to overthink it. Even if Yi-yi knew, she would definitely understand. As for Yi-yi, for something this big, we should have informed her in advance to give her some time and also to give ourselves some time."

“Perfect timing. You left in such a hurry that you didn’t seem to say goodbye to Yi. Why don’t you two give each other a call? Or you could just make another trip and discuss it with her. After that, we can talk about widening and deepening the canal.”

(End of this chapter)