I'm in the county town, and you say I'm a big shot?

Chapter 665 We Don't Take Sides
That evening, Fang Qingye, in his capacity as the actual controller of Tuofang Technology, invited Ouyang Shaoqiang, Vasilisa, and his brother Ivan Ivanovich to dinner, along with Li Li.

Li Li is currently in charge of the work as the Vice CEO of Topway Technology.

When Fang Qingye first met Ivan Ivanovich, he was wearing a custom-made suit from the Italian brand Loro Piana, spoke fluent English, and had a lean build and a clean-shaven face—a far cry from the stereotypical image of a tough, warrior-like Russian. He was a completely Westernized, typical Russian elite.

During the banquet, Fang Qingye brought up fishing and invited Ivan Ivanovich to go fishing. Ivanovich happily accepted the invitation and couldn't wait to ask when.
"Tomorrow, tomorrow is Friday, do you have time?" Fang Qingye asked.

“Yes, my scheduling system shows that fishing is a top priority meeting, automatically rejecting all conflicting schedules.” Ivan Ivanovich’s humorous remark made everyone laugh.

The next morning, Fang Qingye asked Yue Kai to drive to the suburbs at the agreed time, and this time he went to Dianshan Lake again.

When he arrived at the western shore of Dianshan Lake Village, he found a BMW parked on the shore and saw Ivanovic sitting alone on a small stool fishing from afar.

"Hi, I didn't expect you to arrive before me," Fang Qingye greeted.

“I often night fish in Russia,” Ivanovich said. “On a freezing cold day, you pitch a tent, drink vodka, and quietly listen to the 'glug' of bubbles rising from under the ice, and the 'thud' of blackfish tearing through the ice. That feeling is absolutely amazing.”

He's definitely a seasoned angler.

Fang Qingye set up his fishing rod and sat on a small stool to start fishing.

Dianshan Lake is still beautiful in winter. The lake water ripples gently, reflecting the warm sunshine. Reeds droop low, and withered leaves occasionally brush against the water's surface, making a soft sound. Several water birds float quietly, occasionally bowing their heads to preen their feathers.

Fishing time passed quickly, and before they knew it, it was noon. The two returned to the car and ate their bread and water, which served as their lunch.

“Mr. Ivan,” Fang Qingye glanced at him and said, “Your DST Global has been quite active in the futures market lately, investing heavily in London Brent crude oil futures.”

Ivan laughed and said, "We Russians are a major oil producer and exporter, and we should have a place in futures trading pricing, just like you."

At this point, a mysterious smile appeared on Ivan's face: "Isn't your country also vying for a say in copper futures trading?"

"Dr. Vasilisa, your sister, told you that?" Fang Qingye asked in return.

“No, no, Mr. Fang, you’ve misunderstood.” Ivan immediately explained, “My sister never tells her about her work, just as I don’t tell her about what I do. We chat without talking about work; it’s our professional ethics.”

"It's an open secret in the capital market that Chinese companies are vying for control of the copper futures market. As a securities investment manager, it's normal for me to know this."

Fang Qingye nodded, took a sip of mineral water, and then asked, "So, Mr. Ivan, who do you think will win this game?"

Ivan elegantly tore off a piece of bread, put it in his mouth, and chewed slowly, as if it were a high-end pastry made by a three-Michelin-starred chef. After listening to Fang Qingye's question, he pondered for a moment and said:
"If it were just a battle between long and short positions in the LME futures market, you would have no chance of winning. But it's clear that neither of you is treating it as an ordinary battle between long and short positions; you're both vying for control of the copper futures market. This involves not only capital but also industry and even politics. There are too many variables to say."

"Yes, there are too many variables. We lost once 10 years ago, and I hope we won't repeat the same mistake this time." Fang Qingye looked at the vast lake in the distance and said calmly.

After listening, Ivan glanced at him and smiled, "From an outsider's perspective, I hope to see a wonderful match."

"DST Global isn't getting involved?" Fang Qingye looked away from him.

“Although I am just a senior investment manager and not a decision-maker at DST Global, I can tell you with certainty that DST Global will not be involved in this showdown.”

"Why? According to my information, many international investment banks are eager to try."

"As I said before, this is not a simple futures investment; there are too many non-economic factors involved. Also, our two countries are friendly countries—we will not take sides."

"OK, I understand."

“Mr. Fang, you specially invited me to go fishing today, is that what you were thinking about?” Ivan looked at Fang Qingye.

“Yes.” Fang Qingye said frankly, “Of course, I would like to admire Mr. Ivan’s superb fishing skills even more.”

Hearing this, Ivan smiled smugly. "Not bad, right? You seem to have caught one less fish than me." "But the fish I caught was bigger than yours."

"Really? Shall we have a contest after we finish eating?"

"OK!"

After lunch, the two fished until it got dark before heading home.

In the end, Fang Qingye caught a total of 12 fish today, one more than Ivan.

"That's not fair!" Ivan shouted indignantly. "This is your home turf, and mine is my away turf! Next time, let's go to my hometown, Lake Ladoga in St. Petersburg, to fish for Ladoga rainbow trout!"

“Sure, no problem.” Fang Qingye readily accepted the challenge.

Ouyang Shaoqiang and Vasilisa left Shanghai and took a flight back to Hong Kong, while Fang Qingye also took a car back to Nanxin.

He was in a good mood; this trip to Shanghai was very fruitful, and he even made some great fishing buddies.

After parking the car in front of her own lakeside villa by Nanxin Lake, Fang Qingye told Yue Kai to go home and then excitedly went inside with her suitcase.

Bai Ou has finished her postpartum confinement and moved back to her own home with her baby. Although she hired a nanny, her mother was worried and moved in to take care of her daughter herself.

As soon as Fang Qingye entered the living room, she saw Bai Ou wearing pajamas, holding her son and happily humming a nursery rhyme. When she saw Fang Qingye return, she quickly came over and whispered, "Yezi, your parents are going on a trip!"

"travel?"

"Yes, your parents came to see Yangyang yesterday and told me they are planning to go on a trip."

Fang Qingye's son was named Fang Ziyang, with the nickname Yangyang. The name was given by the child's grandfather, Fang Jianwen.

He said the inspiration came from Fan Zhongyan's "Yueyang Tower": "When spring is warm and the scenery is bright, the waves are calm and the sky and water are one vast expanse of blue."

The character "Yang" is derived from the imagery of the warm spring sun, and "Ziyang" implies a tree receiving the morning sun, full of vitality, and a bright future. Fang Qingye sighed inwardly when she heard her father choose this name.

It's "梓" again.

Don't you know that the characters "梓, 子, 紫" and "涵, 晗, 菡" are so prevalent among kids born in the 00s and 10s? You'll find out when you start school!
However, seeing that Bai Ou also liked it, Fang Qingye did not object.

Now, when Bai Ou mentioned that her parents were going on a trip, she said, "My parents go on a trip every summer vacation. Now that my mom has retired and my dad has also stepped down from his teaching position, it's normal for them to go on a trip."

"I know, but your mom and my mom had a fight not long ago. Are you still angry with her?" Bai Ou asked with some concern.

The two mothers-in-law were arguing about nothing other than taking care of the child. Zhang Meili said she would come to take care of her daughter-in-law after her postpartum period, but Wan Huizhen insisted on coming, saying that she had raised her daughter herself and knew best what her daughter's eating habits and preferences were, so it would be better for her to take care of her.

Bai Ou certainly hoped her mother would come to take care of her. Although the two often bickered, they spoke to each other without any reservations.

My mother couldn't win against my mother-in-law.

Bai Ou was worried that her mother-in-law would be angry about this.

After listening to his wife's story, Fang Qingye asked, "Where did my parents say they're going on vacation?"

"They said they wanted to go further this time, since they'd never been abroad before, and they wanted to go to the United States."

USA?!
(End of this chapter)