y as before when they were hitting random passersby. They walked forward with sideways glances, acting nonchalant.The situation changed abruptly. The other side whispered to each other, then burst int...Chapter 117: Forced Buying and Selling

The white-haired old man sat in his wheelchair, staring at the pond and courtyard, slightly lost in thought.

Su Can came up to him and smiled, "Grandpa Xu, I'm here to see you."

Old Xu turned around to look at Su Can and chuckled dryly, "Oh, it's Su Can. A few days ago, Jianchuan told me that you were coming over. Come here, let me take a look at your build. You've grown quite a bit since the last time I saw you. Now you have some meat on your bones."

Old Xu pinched Su Can's arm bones with considerable strength, causing him to feel some pain.

However, Su Can knew that Old Xu was always very serious when dealing with anyone. This kind of behavior towards himself partly stemmed from the old man’s illness causing a slight weakening in his willpower. The other part was due to Su Can's unique nature.

After Su Licheng was promoted to vice president of Great Willow Construction, their interactions wouldn't be as secretive and cautious as those between him and other princelings. To Old Xu Taiguo, he was always the sternest figure at any banquet. During summer, people would remember him as an old man with a cane scolding female employees who climbed trees to steal magnolia flowers in the company's compound. Many Great Willow Construction workers recalled him as being like the giant demon lord from daily Japanese cartoons.

While others found Old Xu intimidating, Su Can merely saw him as strict.

"In my view, among all these good-for-nothing girls in this big courtyard, only Su Licheng's child is worth looking at! Don't the Americans constantly praise their students Yet when you go over there, they end up bowing down to you. Your dad told me how well you've been performing in school, and that it's his pride. Let those people be jealous."

Old Xu’s words had a certain power that inexplicably caused emotions to rise. Even with Su Can's level of composure, he still felt flattered and somewhat vain when receiving Old Xu's approval.

"Grandpa Xu, your health is most important. You need to take care of yourself."

"Right, you kids haven't even gotten married yet. My grandson hasn’t reached eighteen years old either... there’s still plenty more things that I have yet to see..."

The nurse next to him smiled and said, "Old Xu, you can easily live to be a hundred years old."

Old Xu chuckled and said, "Alright then, I'll make it to a hundred. If I add one more year, that's too much; if I subtract one, I won't agree either. Even Yama wants me to go down the road, but he can’t force me."

Old Xu signaled for the nurse to push him in his wheelchair and walked with Su Can on a small path. He then said, "Ah, getting old is tough. No matter how long I live, I can't just hog everything and not give later generations an opportunity to hone themselves… Reform and Opening Up have happened; things are different from our time when we had to pick up guns or face death. The江山is something that was fought for and won with blood. We must defend it. Leading tens of thousands of soldiers, I went through mountains and built roads, crossed rivers and set bridges. After returning, I led the construction of skyscrapers… Starting a business is hard, but maintaining one is even harder. Before the reforms in the 1980s, Construction Group had an army of ten thousand builders with assets worth hundreds of millions.

I've been troubled about how to manage these resources and now my hair has turned white."

Su Can nodded and said, "This requires a broad perspective and bold moves from the leader. Old Xu insists on state ownership, integrates construction resources, and develops in the context of a market economy. It's truly beneficial for our country." Su Can knew from this statement that Old Xu was hinting at his intention to step down; if this information were to be made public, it would cause a significant shake-up within the company and Chengdu. However, he chose to reveal it to Su Can, either out of carelessness or as a roundabout way to address his father's concerns.

Old Xu knew Wang Bo personally and had close ties with him, which meant that he wouldn't view Su Can as an ordinary youth.

Su Can’s words were also pointed; within the company, Mu Kai opposed the status quo of state ownership and always hoped to break up Construction Group for privatization to allow high-level personnel greater benefits. Xu Jianchuan, Su Licheng, Tong Jianjun, and others all insisted on state ownership. Given the current intense factional strife in the company, Old Xu's stance would determine the direction.

Ultimately, the internal contradictions within Dafeng Construction Group boiled down to a dispute between state and private ownership. State ownership could enhance national fundraising capabilities and risk resistance but centralized power could lead to corruption. Private ownership emphasized individual financing capabilities, invigorating social economy; however, increased competition could destabilize society and affect price levels.

With these words from Su Can, Old Xu glanced at him with a smile and said, "Dafeng Construction Group going public and pursuing diversified industries is my vision. I can say outright that I firmly oppose breaking up this company with such strong comprehensive strength. It's impossible for me to sell off my subsidiaries." In 1950, when the Soviets helped build Mo Su Building, our entire construction bureau was involved; they were truly advanced in doing things like this. But after privatization, their overall building capabilities significantly weakened. Now we're aiming at super high-rise buildings and can certainly surpass them!

Su Can nodded. In his memories from the future, Xu Jianchuan had a car accident, Old Man Xu was critically ill, there was a shift in power at headquarters, which then began moving towards privatization. This should have been when Mu Kai gained the upper hand and led to Su Licheng's construction units being dismantled, affecting his family's livelihood.

Now facing this moment again, but Su Can wasn't worried because based on events from the future, private ownership reforms had already begun, and Xu Jianchuan’s car accident would happen sooner than expected.

Thus, it is certain that Su Cen's rebirth has changed the course of history by moving his family to Dayong Construction. The most critical issue is what benefits his father will obtain in the next round of personnel adjustments after Old Xu steps down. Currently, Su Licheng already holds the position of deputy general manager at the engineering company; can he continue to rise rapidly to become the general manager

Su Cen's heart started pounding—this was no ordinary matter. If in a government department, it would take many years for someone like his father, who is merely a small clerk, to advance to a deputy bureau chief position. If he can stand on the position of general manager and successfully rank up to a vice-provincial level official, that would be a significant promotion within the system.

Dayong Construction, as a large state-owned enterprise, is truly where one can quickly rise without drawing too much attention, also being the place where the youngest officials are born.

Old Xu gave Su Cen a glance and stood up with his cane. Su Cen hurried to help him but was waved away; Old Xu patted his shoulder with the same force that would hurt but then laughed openly: "Your main task is to study hard in college and bring glory to your father. As for adult matters, it's not yet time for you to meddle."

Perhaps Old Xu had heard something from Wang Bo; this statement was delivered with a tone of traditional teaching, as if he felt that young people meddling in grown-up affairs was somewhat awkward.

Lin Guangdong's campaign for his magazine "Fashion. Culture", pushed by the provincial press group, has been quite successful. In Rongcheng, the popularity and influence of Pineapple Media are evident. Moreover, Lin Guangdong performed excellently at the American journalists' exchange meeting, some ideas even gaining recognition from professional media people. Actually, in everyday exchanges, what Lin Guangdong absorbed from Su Cen was the reason for his attention.

When investment firms and media people started to view this gold rush with hope, they were met by a wave of journalists with progressive thoughts and an understanding of politics.

However, when Su Cen talked to Lin Guangdong earlier, because he wasn't very familiar with this field, even the fashion magazine Lin Guangdong wanted to do was just a side product. Therefore, he only poured into him fragments from his memories of some future fashion media magazines, without any systematic knowledge.

These pieces of information were scattered in Su Cen's memory and were not systematic; they were also intermittent, but these situations would only happen eight years later. Of course, Lin Guangdong had foresight.

This made Lin Guangdong marvel at and trust Su Cen even more deeply.

Thus this time, Lin Guangdong did not just bring Daniel Lee Young from the US, but also turned some media attention to the actual fashion magazine in inland China.

Even eight years after Su Cen's rebirth, China’s level of development in fashion was still immature. The development of fashion magazines was mostly stuck at the imitation stage; the publishers themselves were not very accurate in their understanding and grasp of what their readers wanted. Additionally, the reading habits of the audience for fashion magazines had yet to become fixed.

In Su Cun's view, fashion magazines did not merely represent a pursuit of luxury and rare items; rather, they were rapid channels for spreading information about the cutting-edge trends in society. They served as media outlets to carry messages from various merchants and brands, harboring tremendous business opportunities.

Moreover, many consumption concepts in China had yet to form solidly, lacking proper guidance. As a result, with economic development, an increasing number of people were emerging who excessively idolized luxury brands and distorted their value systems regarding consumption.

"Consumption remains a constant theme concerning the welfare of the nation and its citizens," Ling Guangdong introduced the new fashion magazine at a gathering for media professionals in July. "Our goal is to correctly guide our readers' consumption concepts and values. We aim to ensure that people are not blindly pursuing certain luxury items or brands, but instead understand what suits them best—what suits you is the best." This earned him applause.

Securing attention from investors was usually a good thing, but Ling Guangdong seemed to encounter some difficulties subsequently.

"I've seen this Sharp magazine. They've published several issues in the south, but due to poor management, it's now in a semi-closed state. The editor-in-chief of Sharp Magazine, Xiao Zhaoxu, is the son of Jianghai Province’s propaganda minister and is widely known. He dropped out of university after his second year at Fudan University. He got into racing and magazine publishing on his own. Currently, he's only making losses with no returns. The quality of the magazine is extremely poor, with significant errors in a ten-page publication. It's just wealthy young men throwing money around without any real substance to their work. Due to his background, he can afford such wastefulness, and nearly ten companies provide him with financial support. If it were us, we wouldn't be able to play this game. I'm wondering what my friends mean when they say we've become a target for this nuisance."

Even though Ling Guangdong didn’t like discussing the matter openly, he still confided in Su Cun, who had received some information.

The widespread attention and discussion surrounding fashionization attracted not only investors but also individuals seeking to benefit from it. Xiao Zhaoxu was one of them; as the son of a propaganda minister in Jianghai Province's provincial committee, he was well-known across Zhejiang and Shanghai for being an influential figure since his college days. Students at key universities in these regions were aware of him.

Later on, after attending Fudan University, Xiao Zhaoxu dropped out again to establish a racing club in Zhejiang and published magazines focused on cars and fashion. There was extensive media coverage praising him as a college entrepreneur. Yet, he failed to live up to the expectations set by his powerful connections.

During recent gatherings for media professionals, Xiao Zhaoxu naturally targeted Ling Guangdong's Pineapple Media and Su Cun's Egg Roll Magazine.

He wanted to invest in Sharp magazine and collaborate with Ling Guangdong on the 'Fashionization' publication, essentially coercing them into it.

Ling Guangdong pondered for a moment before asking, "What do you think"

"I really want to slap him," Su Cun replied.these subordinate companies will be completely separated from the group, leaving many people's lives transformed beyond recognition.One used to be among those feeling powerless amid all this.Was what...