Chapter Eleven: Director Wang’s Dilemma

After arriving at the factory, Jiang Weiguo was not there yet.

Shen Guodong lit a cigarette and began to ponder his future.

The eighties were a time overflowing with opportunity. If you were bold enough and had the foresight, making money would never be a problem. And Shen Guodong possessed nearly thirty-five years of experience from the future!

If memory served him right, the year he finally passed away, disheartened and unfulfilled, was precisely 2021.

That meant there were thirty-five years between now and then, with all the major trends and patterns already established.

Among the internet companies, it was almost always Goose Corporation and Ali at the forefront, forming opposing camps.

By then, property prices had stabilized, no longer growing in the wild, unchecked manner of before. So now was the perfect moment to lay foundations and seize opportunities!

Having been granted a second chance at life, Shen Guodong refused to live insignificantly. Since he was here, he was determined to live brilliantly. If he didn't become the world's wealthiest man, richer than nations, then it would be meaningless.

A dream of fortune and prosperity had always burned within Shen Guodong’s heart.

In his previous life, such dreams were distant and unreachable; countless ambitions had to remain locked inside, never to be realized.

But in this life, Shen Guodong had countless opportunities within his grasp.

These ten years would be full of dramatic changes: real businesses would develop at high speed, and shopping centers would blossom everywhere, taking root and sprouting across the land of Summer Country. From the year 2000 onward, commercial complexes—what ordinary people called shopping malls—rapidly seized the market.

Qianda Real Estate rode this wave, enabling its chairman to secure the position of Summer Country’s richest person, holding it firmly until, after 2010, the internet fully entered the mobile era and was then overtaken by Ma Huayun from Jiangnan and Ma Teng from the southern city of Kunpeng.

Those two alternated as the wealthiest in Summer Country, their rivalry stirring up endless debate.

Thinking of this, Shen Guodong’s gaze sharpened. Since he had been reborn and already knew how the future would unfold, he would not give Ma Huayun, Ma Teng, Wang Jianlin, or any of the others a chance!

Whether internet, virtual economy, real economy, or anything else, he would thoroughly seize them all; he would enter every industry across Summer Country.

This was Shen Nanfeng’s grandest ambition!

At present, the richest man was still the tycoon from Harbor City, known as Superman Zhang Jiacheng.

But Shen Guodong was completely confident that, given ten years, he could surpass this so-called Superman. There could be many supermen, but only one god.

Shen Guodong believed that he would be the god of commerce.

"Young Shen, what are you thinking about? You seem lost in thought."

Jiang Weiguo entered, patting Shen Guodong’s shoulder and grinning, "Have you heard? Word has spread about the factory holding a commendation ceremony for you. Plenty of young women have asked me about you!"

"Ah, Director Jiang, please don’t tease me. I’m already married; I don’t bother with such things. My wish is simply to make money so my wife doesn’t have to work so hard."

Shen Guodong replied somewhat grumpily.

He was no longer the man he used to be, preoccupied with such matters.

"You really have changed! You had a wife before and still flirted with the girls. Now, when someone comes to you, you refuse!"

Jiang Weiguo joked, "What do you think? With your reputation in the factory, even if you’re married, as long as you’re willing to divorce, countless girls would line up for you!

Or you could keep the flag flying at home and raise banners outside, haha… We're all men; I’ve been through it myself, and I know how young men think. Besides, our country has always practiced polygamy; it’s just that now it’s called something else and you can't get a second marriage certificate!"

Shen Guodong found the conversation dull and didn’t want to dwell on it. He rolled his eyes, "Director Jiang, if you keep saying things like that, I’m leaving!"

Jiang Weiguo’s expression changed instantly, and he put away his smile. "Young Shen, don’t go. I’m not joking anymore. Director Wang wants you to come over."

"Wang Chenliang? What does he want with me?"

Shen Guodong replied irritably; this man had given him a hard time before. Now he wanted to curry favor—no way. Everyone knew this success was thanks to Director Xu.

Their rivalry had already reached a boiling point.

The position of factory director was becoming increasingly clear because of this incident; only a fool would try to join in now. At least Shen Guodong wasn’t foolish and wouldn’t miss the chance to get close to Director Xu, rather than being a fence-sitter.

Even though Director Xu was already officially promoted, Shen Guodong still gave proper respect.

Their authority outweighed his; if he refused to cooperate, Director Xu couldn’t protect him if Wang Chenliang tried to ruin him, since he’d be disobeying a superior’s orders.

These were indisputable facts.

He arrived at Director Wang’s office.

Shen Guodong bowed slightly, "Director, you called for me."

"Sit down," Wang Chenliang pointed to a nearby stool.

Hu Mingyuan was also in the office.

The two were birds of a feather, so Shen Guodong didn’t say much. "Director, please speak candidly. I need to get back to work; there’s a lot to do."

"Nothing is more important than my business. Stay here; no one will say anything!"

Compared to Director Xu’s mild and reserved manner, Director Wang was much more arrogant, his moods visible at a glance.

Shen Guodong could see these were troubled times.

Since Director Wang had spoken, Shen Guodong was happy to play along.

"Here's the thing, Young Shen. There’s an opportunity for promotion and wealth; do you want it?" Wang Chenliang said after a moment’s thought.

Shen Guodong understood perfectly, but his face remained blank. "Promotion and wealth? Please clarify, Director Wang. If there’s an opportunity, I’ll seize it, but my abilities are limited; I might not be up to the task."

"No, you don’t need any special abilities. Just make a choice," Wang Chenliang replied calmly. "I’ll handle the rest; you just need to cooperate. If the higher-ups ask, say the machine you repaired last time actually had major issues, and you managed to fix it only because of your specialized knowledge. How you explain it is up to you, but just make sure to claim all the credit for yourself. This has nothing to do with Director Xu. Well? Isn’t this a great chance for promotion and wealth? Do you want to take it?"

With the conversation laid out so plainly, Shen Guodong naturally understood.

The credit would be his, but Director Xu, who brought in the production line, would not only lose recognition but bear some blame.

"Kid, this is a great opportunity, good for you and Director Wang. It doesn’t matter which director you support. Why stick so firmly with that Xu fellow? When Director Wang gets promoted, your rise will be like a rocket!"

Hu Mingyuan chimed in, laying out the pros and cons.

Now it was up to Shen Guodong to make his choice.