New Century Anime Warrior

Just as Si Hua was fantasizing about a bright future, his hands kept grasping at the air.

The phone rang, and Tang Huijuan, with her sharp eyes, immediately spotted Pan Lei's name and guessed that it might be related to her son's college application plans.

He quickly shoved the phone into Si Hua's hand, while he and Si Hong listened intently.

"Hey, Aunt Lei, happy weekend!" A sweet tongue is essential.

"Oh? There's been a result from your discussion with President Chen?"

"My parents? They're here, waiting for your good news, hahaha."

"Tonight?" When Si Hong heard that Pan Lei wanted to have dinner with his family, he nodded quickly and told his son to agree.

The civil servant, tested by alcohol, immediately understood that there was serious business to discuss, and it was likely good news.

That's just how Chinese people are; when things are going well, they prefer it to happen over drinks, with good wine to liven things up.

If things are going badly and we're at a loss, maybe it's best if we don't meet up for now.

When things get so bad that they can't be resolved or delayed any longer, it's best to have another face-to-face discussion over a dinner.

They all have many years of grassroots work experience.

With his parents' approval, Si Hua immediately arranged a time and place for a dinner with Pan Lei.

Originally, Si Hong thought that since it was to help his son with his studies, the Si family should host a dinner for Pan Lei.

The Si family wasn't given a chance, because the person who was really going to host this dinner was Chen Yan.

Although not highly educated, the worldly-wise Si Hong instantly realized that this President Chen Yan had designs on his son.

It wasn't exactly a trap, since I'm just an ordinary person with no power or influence. I genuinely felt there was nothing for these big company leaders to scheme against, and I didn't have much leverage to negotiate.

However, Mr. Chen still took the initiative to offer to treat everyone to dinner, which, to put it in a more traditional way, was a bit of a condescension.

In the context of grassroots politics, this Mr. Chen most likely came with the intention of seeking cooperation.

Collaborating with your 17-year-old son? What kind of international joke is this?

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Generally speaking, when a big shot treats someone to a meal, it's bound to be something special. This time, the dinner was held at a farmhouse restaurant on the outskirts of Guangnan Prefecture. It was a bit remote, and it's said that all the ingredients were raised and grown on their own farm, especially the free-range chicken, which was considered exceptional.

Very good, this is very Guangnan.

"This must be the director? I've heard so much about you."

As soon as Pan Lei entered the room, Chen Yan, who had been preparing tea in the private room, immediately came to greet the Si family of three.

He started off by mentioning his department or bureau level, so it seems he did his homework.

"Oh, Vice President, Vice President, you're too kind, Mr. Chen." Seeing this, Si Hong quickly took two steps forward, presented the item with both hands, and smiled broadly, speaking in a loud voice.

In his previous life, when Si Hua first graduated and started working, he accompanied his boss to social events and behaved more maturely and appropriately than other recent graduates. This was largely thanks to his father's teachings and example, as he had been influenced by his father since childhood.

The only downside is that I'm often criticized for being a bit too formal and conservative.

Si Hua said there was nothing he could do; this was the only type he had ever seen.

"It's our honor. Si Hua performed so well in our competition this time, and it brought us a lot of attention from the public and society. It's a blessing for us. Thank you to the two of you for raising such an outstanding child."

Chen Yan's words were surprisingly sincere.

After a round of polite exchanges, a classic scene unfolded where Chen Yan and Si Hong, the two middle-ranking officials, shook hands and struggled for several minutes until their hands were bruised; neither wanted to sit in the host's seat.

Finally, it was Pan Lei who spoke up to mediate, and everyone was able to sit down properly. At this point, Si Hong and Chen Yan were already calling each other "elder brother" and "younger brother."

"The reason I invited your family here today is not only to thank you for nurturing such an outstanding young talent for our country, as mentioned earlier, but also to discuss with you both the future development plan for Si Hua."

As Chen Yan spoke, he poured tea for Si Hong.

"Brother Chen, just say what you're thinking. Your sister-in-law and I are practically illiterate, unlike you and President Pan, who are social elites. But as long as it's good for the child, we have no objections."

Si Hong tapped his teacup three times, his answer perfectly watertight... We may not be highly educated and can't articulate the details, but we can judge whether something is good for the child; that's the only standard.

"Great! Big Brother is so generous!" Chen Yan lightly tapped the table and continued, "Hua Zai must have mentioned me to Big Brother, right?"

"They basically told me everything, including that line about 'we're going to fight our way out.'" Si Hong said, sounding a bit excited. "So we came here with very high expectations."

It's no wonder Si Hong was excited. Back then, due to the humanitarian movement, he was unable to go to university as he wished. In the 1980s, he started working at the forest farm as soon as he came of age. Later, due to his outstanding management skills, he was transferred to the government.

Naturally, he has dealt with many investors from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and foreign countries.

In those days, you would often encounter many arrogant capitalists who always spoke with a condescending attitude.

These government officials, who worked hard to attract investment to their hometown, suffered a lot of humiliation.

Moreover, due to the presence of Grandpa Si, an old underground party member, the family members' temperaments were so righteous they were almost wicked, and Si Hong's cold-faced judge image was somewhat influenced by these jobs.

Anyone would find that unbearable.

So when Si Hua described Chen Yan's character, Si Hong really looked forward to meeting Chen Yan.

Especially the phrase "Let's fight our way out" ignited a fire within Si Hong.

At least this unexpectedly clear-headed Taiwanese businessman shouldn't bring up any ideas that clash with his values.

"Haha, it was just my wild talk, big brother overestimates me." Chen Yan laughed happily, it seemed that the junior leader from the grassroots government in front of him agreed with him.

"We at Universal Music are very optimistic about the talent that Andy Lau has shown. In fact, we noticed him a long time ago when we saw the videos he posted on Bilibili."

Taking a sip of tea, Chen Yan continued, "Even within our globally distributed talent pool, Andy Lau's demonstrated abilities and potential are top-notch."

"Therefore, I suggest that the Asia-Pacific headquarters increase its investment in talent from mainland China."

"The Asia-Pacific headquarters responded quickly, but requested that Andy Lau's training arrangements be listed under the Asia-Pacific headquarters, not the Greater China region."

"That's why we invited your family here to discuss this."

"If the Asia-Pacific headquarters comes directly to contact Andy Lau, no matter what benefits they offer, I hope you can refuse them."

These words left Si Hong completely bewildered.

What kind of operation is this?

You, a key employee of a multinational corporation, expect us to refuse the conditions offered by your superiors?

However, Si Hong, who had been working in grassroots government departments for more than 20 years, soon realized that, well, it really was a bunch of weird and wonderful people.

No wonder Chen Yan specifically mentioned the Asia-Pacific headquarters and the Greater China region; so there was this factor involved too...

"Aren't they on our side?" Si Hong asked a very direct question, using the word "we" to indicate that his family was on Chen Yan's side.

Chen Yan naturally understood the hidden meaning behind the question.

"Yes, they prefer to promote a broad Asian strategy in the Asia-Pacific market and have always intentionally downplayed the cultural identity of a single country, especially for those of us who speak Chinese."

"During the previous Asia-Pacific quarterly meeting in Singapore, the Indian CFO asked us why we insisted on emphasizing that 'Voices of a Distant Star' was a 'Chinese science fiction'..."

Even Tang Huijuan, who wasn't particularly politically astute, could now discern the intentions of these Asia-Pacific leaders from the Global Group.

So the Asia-Pacific headquarters is trying to create problems in Sihua's training program.

That is definitely unacceptable.