At the start, I had to choose one of four options, and I immediately picked the Brahmin from the cou

Zheng Hao was baffled by his father's seemingly random exclamation. He scratched the back of his head and subconsciously moved closer to his dad. "Dad, what are you muttering about? Are you getting heatstroke because of the heat?"

Zheng Guodong glared at his son, who was acting silly. The air conditioner in his office was newly replaced this summer; it was a high-powered three-horsepower unit, and the whole room was as cool as late autumn. How could he have heatstroke? This kid is so smart that he's incredibly stupid when he should be, and he always speaks the truth when he should be pretending to be stupid.

"Alright, stop standing here in my way."

Zheng Guodong waved his hand dismissively, picked up the enamel mug on the table to take another sip of her cold tea, but found the bottom was empty, so he put it back.

"The auction starts tomorrow, Monday. Stop loitering around outside and stay put at the construction site. These kinds of events are for bigwigs from the provincial capital and city leaders. With your limited skills, going up there will only cause trouble for your brother Xiao."

Zheng Hao stiffened his neck, clearly not convinced by his father's conclusion, but he didn't dare to argue further.

"I know, Dad. You just think I have bad control over my expressions and can't hide my feelings. Xiao-ge says the same thing, and you say the same thing too. What's wrong with my face? It's just that I like to smile when I'm happy and yell when I'm unhappy, right?"

"You call that smiling? You call that wearing your heart on your sleeve. When people are doing business, they smile without saying a word, but you? You reveal their hand before they've even revealed it."

Zheng Guodong chuckled and cursed, but seeing his son in this state, as a father, he naturally couldn't leave empty-handed. "I'll have Xiao Huang transfer 500,000 yuan to your card later. Don't squander it. Also, what has your brother Xiao been up to these past few days? I haven't seen him since the official document came down."

"Five hundred thousand!"

Zheng Hao suddenly pulled his foot back from the threshold, his eyes, which had been drooping under the weight of his helmet, widened instantly. He sprinted back to his desk, bracing himself on the edge with both hands, his face plastered with a fawning smile.

"Thank you, Dad! You're my real dad! No, no, you're even closer than my real dad—no, you are my real dad! Dad, don't worry, I won't squander this money. I won't race cars, chase girls, or treat my cronies to barbecue. I'll save it all so that when Lansheng has any good projects next time, I can contribute some of the capital myself, so that Brother Xiao won't have to keep covering for me."

"You think you can save any money? The allowance I gave you last month was gone before the end of the month. The little bit left in your account isn't even enough for a decent meal. Tell me honestly, where did all that money go? Did you spend it on champagne towers for some girl again?"

Zheng Hao blushed and stammered, "That's not called reckless spending—that's called social investment. Don't you always say that doing business relies on connections? I was building relationships. That new place in the provincial capital, the minimum spend for just the booths is this much. If I don't order a few bottles of Ace of Spades, they won't even let me in."

Zheng Guodong leaned back in his chair, listening to his son's self-righteous sophistry, and almost laughed out of anger.

"Building relationships? Is that what you call building relationships? You're practically begging to be someone's money-giving benefactor!"

Zheng Guodong pointed at his son's nose and scolded him angrily, "Those rich kids from the provincial capital call you 'brother' and 'Young Master Zheng' to your face, but behind your back they'll laugh at you for being a country bumpkin from Jiangyang. Social investment? You can't even get close to their core circle of interests, what kind of investment are you talking about!"

Zheng Hao pouted, his neck stiff with resentment. "But I can't just sit here and watch. I'm a shareholder of Lansheng Capital now, I need to go out and broaden my horizons, build connections in the provincial capital. What if Brother Xiao needs me sometime..."

"Give me a break!" Zheng Guodong interrupted him directly, wishing he could smash the kid's blockhead open with an ashtray to see if it was full of water.

"You think those people in the provincial capital drinking with you is a sign of respect? They're only after Li Xiao, who's standing behind you! Without that 15% stake in Lansheng, you're just a second-generation peddler from Jiangyang County in their eyes, not even qualified for a booth! Social investment—are you investing capital or just your head? Don't you know that?"

Zheng Hao was speechless after being scolded by his father. His stiff neck slowly shrank back, and the smirk on his face disappeared.

Seeing his son slump down like a defeated rooster, Zheng Guodong sighed inwardly. This kid might not be the brightest, but at least he's obedient and knows what's good for him.

"Alright, stop standing here like a wilted eggplant. Dad scolded you earlier not because he thinks you're incapable, but because he's worried you'll go astray. The 15% stake you have now is a huge stroke of luck, but also a huge test. Luck can lift you up, but ability is what will keep you standing. If you want to continue sitting at the Lansheng poker table, it's not enough for Brother Xiao to be sentimental; you have to prove yourself worthy of this chair."

Zheng Guodong picked up the landline on the table, dialed an internal short number, and said, "Xiao Huang, transfer one million to Xiao Hao's card. Yes, transfer it now, through my personal account."

After hanging up the phone, before Zheng Guodong could say a few more words of advice, he saw that Zheng Hao, who had been looking dejected just a moment ago, now had eyes that shone like two searchlights.

The momentary air of profound understanding he had just displayed lasted less than three seconds before his facial features snapped back into that heartless, obsequious expression.

"One million?"

Zheng Hao's voice cracked with excitement, and he sprang up from his chair like a spring, rushing straight to the desk, wishing he could hug and kiss Zheng Guodong across the table.

The momentary air of profound understanding he had just displayed lasted less than three seconds before his facial features snapped back into that heartless, obsequious expression.

"Dad! My dear Dad! I knew you were just using a stern warning before praising me. Even though you were giving me a dressing down, you were ultimately just showing your love for your son!"

Zheng Hao was so excited that he danced around, and even forced two crocodile tears to the corners of his eyes. "Don't worry! I've spent this million on absolutely worthwhile things, and I'll make sure it does what it's supposed to do."

"Get out of here, stop trying to sweet-talk me."

Zheng Guodong chuckled and cursed, then gave the nasty shove in front of his desk with a feint kick.

"Hurry up and put the money away, and don't go around showing off like that!"

Zheng Guodong's expression turned serious, and he steered the conversation back on track. "Don't interrupt, tell the truth. It's been several days since the official document came down, and those big bosses from the provincial capital and Wenzhou have practically scraped the land off Jiangyang County. Why hasn't your brother Xiao, the person in charge, shown up at all? What has he been doing these past few days?"