Film and Television: Bao Zong has finance in his left hand and entertainment in his right.

He could tell that although Hu Ruoling came from a noble family, she was also a woman who liked pretty jewelry and shopping. However, Liu Xiaobao guessed that Hu Ruoling probably rarely went out shopping because of her status.

Therefore, Liu Xiaobao boldly speculated that compared to going to high-end clubs or similar places, shopping, which is nothing more than ordinary shopping in the eyes of ordinary people, might be more special for Hu Ruoling.

This is why Liu Xiaobao suggested going shopping today, rather than visiting tourist attractions.

Although Wangfujing was not as prosperous as it would be in the 21st century, it was still very lively because it had become a commercial hub. It was only morning, but the place was already bustling with people.

Just as Liu Xiaobao had predicted.

At first, Hu Ruoling had the leisure to introduce things to Liu Xiaobao while they were shopping. However, as they strolled around, Hu Ruoling's attention was drawn to the dazzling array of goods. Her eyes were only on the products, and she forgot that she had come to accompany Liu Xiaobao shopping.

Liu Xiaobao was not angry because he was being ignored.

On the contrary, when he saw Hu Ruoling's fascination with those products, Liu Xiaobao secretly rejoiced that he had guessed Hu Ruoling's preferences correctly. The casual shopping behavior that ordinary women could do was a rare thing for Hu Ruoling.

So Liu Xiaobao began to cater to her preferences, using the simplest methods to pursue girls to win over Hu Ruoling.

Liu Xiaobao didn't ask Hu Ruoling what she liked, but he kept a close eye on her. Whenever Hu Ruoling looked at something for more than three seconds, he would signal Su Jie behind him to buy it, regardless of the price.

That's right, Liu Xiaobao's offensive was very simple and direct: a money offensive.

He knew very well that although Hu Ruoling came from a noble family, it was precisely because her father held a high position that her family's economic conditions, while not bad, were by no means wealthy.

Therefore, even if Hu Ruoling likes something, she won't buy it casually.

The fact that Hu Ruoling hesitated to buy the Hermes bag she really liked when she was in Hong Kong is the best proof of this.

As for Liu Xiaobao, the last thing he lacks right now is money. If he can win Hu Ruoling's favor through this means, Liu Xiaobao is absolutely willing to do so.

As for whether Hu Ruoling's family will agree to her marriage with Liu Xiaobao, that's not something Liu Xiaobao should consider right now; that's still a long way off.

What he needs to do now is to win over Hu Ruoling first, and then talk about other things; otherwise, everything will just be empty talk.

After strolling around Wangfujing, Hu Ruoling only bought a hat and a scarf, and didn't buy anything else. Clearly, Liu Xiaobao had guessed correctly again; Hu Ruoling wasn't the kind of rich kid who could just swipe his card whenever he wanted.

However, unlike Hu Ruoling, Su Jie, who was following behind Liu Xiaobao, was now carrying large and small bags, and Su Jie could hardly carry anything else.

After they had finished shopping at Wangfujing, Hu Ruoling was leading Liu Xiaobao back to the car when she finally saw Su Jie, who was carrying large and small bags.

"Mr. Bao, you actually bought so much stuff!"

Liu Xiaobao smiled slightly, without explaining, and simply asked Su Jie to put all those things into the trunk of the car.

Then, at Liu Xiaobao's suggestion, Hu Ruoling led him to Sanlitun for a stroll.

As before, after strolling around Sanlitun, Hu Ruoling only bought a pair of sunglasses, while Su Jie was once again laden with bags and packages.

It was already evening. After having dinner with the famous "Old Mo" restaurant in Beijing, Hu Ruoling finally took Liu Xiaobao and his companion back to the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.

It wasn't until they got off the bus that Liu Xiaobao told Hu Ruoling the truth.

"Ms. Hu, thank you for accompanying me shopping today. The items in the back are gifts for you as a token of my gratitude. I hope you like them!"

Just as Hu Ruoling was about to refuse, Liu Xiaobao turned around and walked into the state guesthouse with Su Jie.

Curious, Hu Ruoling took out a few items from the trunk and looked at them, only to find that the trunk contained all the things she had seen and loved that day.

Most of these items were women's jewelry. Hu Ruoling knew it wouldn't be appropriate to return them to Liu Xiaobao, so after careful consideration, she decided to accept them.

But Hu Ruoling was sensible enough to know that since her father worked in the system, she couldn't just accept gifts from people. So instead of taking these things home, she went to the old man's Xishan Villa.

After meeting the old man, Hu Ruoling did not hide anything and told him about the gift Liu Xiaobao had given her. Only after the old man nodded in approval did Hu Ruoling breathe a sigh of relief.

The old man then smiled and teased Hu Ruoling, "Well, it wasn't a waste of time for Grandpa to arrange this task for you, was it? Look, you only spent one day playing with Xiaobao and you've already received so many gifts. No wonder Grandpa sent you to do hard labor, right?"

Hu Ruoling couldn't help but stick out her tongue; she hadn't expected the old man to have noticed her earlier displeasure.

Now that the old man had seen through her, Hu Ruoling felt very embarrassed: "Grandpa Deng, why do you always make fun of me? I'm such a beautiful woman accompanying President Bao on his tour of Beijing. He must be very proud. It's not too much for him to give me a small gift!"

The old man chuckled again: "There are almost a hundred items here, and this is just a small gift. Do you expect Xiao Bao to give you the whole (Wang Wanghao)?"

Hu Ruoling blushed: "I don't want him!"

The old man then stopped smiling and asked meaningfully, "Ling'er, tell Grandpa the truth, what do you think of Xiaobao as a person?"

Hu Ruoling tilted her head and thought for a moment before answering the old man.

"Boss Bao is actually a pretty good person. He's clearly a very capable person, but he's not arrogant or boastful, and he doesn't have any airs at all. Unlike those boys in Beijing, who are clearly just relying on the protection of their elders, they all act like they've accomplished something great, with their noses in the air and being arrogant and domineering. I can't stand boys like that the most!"

After hearing Hu Ruoling's evaluation, the old man asked a follow-up question at the opportune moment.

"I didn't expect Ling'er to have such a high opinion of Xiaobao. So tell Grandpa honestly, do you like Xiaobao at all?"

Chapter 174 I'm Willing to Marry CEO Bao (Please Subscribe)

Upon suddenly hearing the old man ask such a question, Hu Ruoling instinctively wanted to avoid it.

She replied to the old man in a hushed tone, her voice muffled.

"Grandpa Deng, what nonsense are you talking about? Mr. Bao and I are just ordinary friends. There's no question of liking or disliking each other!"

The old man was an experienced man, and seeing Hu Ruoling's appearance, he immediately understood what was going on.

The old man originally wanted Liu Xiaobao to win Hu Ruoling's heart through his own abilities, but he knew it might be difficult, since Liu Xiaobao wasn't single and already had two fiancées, and Hu Ruoling knew about it.

So after understanding Hu Ruoling's thoughts, the old man decided to help Liu Xiaobao.

The old man thought for a moment, then said to Hu Ruoling, "Ling'er, do you know why I suddenly asked you such a question?"

Hu Ruoling initially thought the old man was trying to tease her again, but when she saw the serious look on his face, she stopped joking and instead asked him very seriously, "Why?"

The old man no longer hid anything from Hu Ruoling and exposed Liu Xiaobao's desire to interfere in national resources and his desire to marry her.

The old man wasn't trying to undermine Liu Xiaobao; he was actually helping him.

The old man knew very well that Liu Xiaobao's methods of pursuing Hu Ruoling wouldn't work in a short time; only by laying things out on the table could he get a result as quickly as possible.

If Hu Ruoling has feelings for Liu Xiaobao and doesn't mind that Liu Xiaobao has other women, then the old man would be happy to see them get together.

Although the old man and Liu Xiaobao had only met twice, the old man was a man of great stature, and he would never misjudge a person.

Judging from Liu Xiaobao's demeanor and his actions in Hong Kong, the old man could conclude that Liu Xiaobao, who was knowledgeable and patriotic, must be a good person, and that Hu Ruoling's marriage to him would definitely bring more blessings than harm.

However, the old man would not force Hu Ruoling to marry Liu Xiaobao. The reason he brought this up now was simply to shorten the time it would take for Liu Xiaobao to pursue Hu Ruoling.

If Hu Ruoling has absolutely no interest in Liu Xiaobao and cannot accept the fact that Liu Xiaobao has other women, the old man will tell Liu Xiaobao to give up on this idea as soon as possible.

At that point, the old man won't convene the leadership team to discuss resource cooperation anymore. He'll secure Liu Xiaobao a job building a national highway, and then let Liu Xiaobao go back home.

Now that the matter has been laid out clearly (abcj), the decision-making power no longer lies with the old man and Liu Xiaobao, but with Hu Ruoling.

After the old man finished speaking, he didn't press Hu Ruoling for more information. He simply lit a cigarette and quietly smoked it while waiting for Hu Ruoling to figure things out on her own.

As for Hu Ruoling, after listening to the old man's words, her first thought was not about herself and Liu Xiaobao, but rather she was shocked by Liu Xiaobao's audacity.

She never expected that Liu Xiaobao would dare to get involved in projects related to the country's important resources. This is something that ordinary businessmen would never dare to do!

Even though Hu Ruoling came from a high-ranking official's family, she never dared to imagine that such a thing would happen, so at this moment Hu Ruoling greatly admired Liu Xiaobao's courage.

However, after the initial shock, Hu Ruoling, who comes from a family of top-level cadres, also realized the implications of this matter.

Although the old man didn't explicitly say he was worried that someone was after Liu Xiaobao's wealth, Hu Ruoling still understood the point.

At the same time, she also realized that the reason Liu Xiaobao wanted to marry her was to use her identity and background as a protective shield, so that it would be easy to invest money but difficult to get it back.

However, perhaps due to her family background and upbringing, after understanding this, Hu Ruoling did not prioritize her personal feelings, but instead focused on the benefits that Liu Xiaobao's investment in national resource development could bring to the country.

After thinking for a long time, Hu Ruoling looked up at the old man and asked directly.

"Grandpa Deng, can you be honest with me? If Mr. Bao's funds were invested, wouldn't our country's key projects be able to accelerate significantly?"

As soon as the old man heard Hu Ruoling's question, he understood what she was thinking.

While the old man was pleased, he did not hide anything from Hu Ruoling and answered her.

“Ling’er, you know our country’s current financial situation. Mineral resource development is slightly better, as we can use manpower to speed things up. However, energy, heavy industry, and highway construction all require large investments to see results. If we continue at the current pace, even though reform and opening up have increased the country’s fiscal revenue, it will probably take at least ten or eight years to see any progress or improvement in these areas. Moreover, I’m afraid we won’t be able to catch up with Yingmei within twenty years.”

The old man did not answer Hu Ruoling's question directly, nor did he mention Hu Ruoling's marriage to Liu Xiaobao. He only analyzed the country's current situation and difficulties for Hu Ruoling, believing that Hu Ruoling would have her own thoughts.

Hu Ruoling clearly understood what the old man meant. After listening to his words, she took a deep breath and then firmly said to him.

"Grandpa Deng, I've thought it through. I'm willing to marry Boss Bao!"

The old man smiled with satisfaction, but he did not express his agreement. Instead, he reminded Hu Ruoling.

"Ling'er, Grandpa knows you're a good child, but Grandpa doesn't want to see you sacrifice your lifelong happiness for the development of the country. If you don't like Xiaobao, I don't approve of you marrying him!"

“Who says I don’t like him? Grandpa Deng, I like him. Actually, I had a good impression of him back in Hong Kong.”

When Hu Ruoling said this, she subconsciously thought of the time she helped Liu Xiaobao. Her pretty face turned bright red, and she shyly lowered her head to the ground.

The old man was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, and then asked with great interest, "Hehehe... Ling'er, that boy Xiao Bao already has two fiancées, don't you mind?"

Hu Ruoling didn't look up, but simply replied to the old man.

"What can I do even if I mind? She met him before me. Am I supposed to force them apart just because I mind? That would be too hurtful. As long as he doesn't betray me, I'll turn a blind eye! But Grandpa Deng, I'm afraid this matter will be difficult to get through to my parents. Could you perhaps…"

The old man smiled and nodded.

"You truly are a good child who grew up by my side. Don't worry, since you and Xiao Baolang are mutually attracted, I will help you talk to your parents about this matter."

"Thank you, Grandpa Deng! I'll be going now, please get some rest!"

Hu Ruoling left, and the old man murmured something as he watched her departing figure.

"This child is so sensible. He's willing to make such a great sacrifice for the country. I just hope I didn't tie the wrong knot and didn't just play matchmaker for someone else..."