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Chapter 311: Chapter 253: The Giant Trouble Stirrer (Please Subscribe!)_1
After exchanging greetings with Liu Zhi, Chai Ren returned to the open-air banquet table.
At this time, Mu Jian was carefully feeding his daughter French fries. The table was also filled with various fruits and snacks, as well as some already prepared dishes. All kinds of food filled the large table, after all, there were so many people on the farm. In their home, they didn’t have a lot of rules. Bodyguards and servants also ate together, although the bodyguards took turns to eat.
Moreover, it wasn’t easy for Chai Ren to visit, there was no way Mu Jian would just offer him some grilled meat and beer. He wouldn’t want to lose face like that.
Watching Mu Jian attentively feeding his daughter, Liu Qian sitting there feeling out of place, just like when his relatives visit his home. However, he did not regret coming with Chai Ren. After all, familiarity breeds fondness, it doesn’t take long for friendships to form.
Chai Ren noticed Liu Qian was quietly drinking his tea, so he sat next to Mu Jian and said, "Mr. Liu, don’t be shy, feel free to take whatever you want to eat."
"Okay, Young Master Chai." Liu Qian nodded and smiled.
Afterward, Chai Ren also grabbed a French Fry from the plate and, taking advantage of Mu Jian’s temporary pause in feeding, brought it to Mu Wan’er’s mouth, smiling and saying, "Here, Wan’er, eat a French Fry."
"No." Mu Wan’er shrank back and shook her head.
"Why not?" Chai Ren asked, acting as if he’d taken a major blow, wearing a bitter smile.
"Mom and Dad said not to accept anything from strangers." Mu Wan’er said seriously, then turned to Mu Jian and asked for praise, "Daddy, am I right?"
"Haha, good girl, you’re absolutely right. You should never accept anything from strangers." Mu Jian laughed heartily.
"The uncle isn’t a stranger. Uncle is a friend of your father, and I’ve been knowing you for several years." Chai Ren questioned.
Listening, Mu Wan’er bit her finger, thought about the logic here, after three seconds of ’deep contemplation,’ she looked at Chai Ren and said earnestly, "But if I haven’t seen you for so long, you’ve become a stranger."
What a clever little thing, already adept at sophistry at such a young age.
Chai Ren didn’t tease her anymore, lest he be ’bullied’ by this father-daughter pair.
"Clever girl, just like your dad." Seeing Chai Ren’s expression, Mu Jian laughed.
Taking advantage of Liu Qian going to the toilet, Mu Jian’s expression became serious and said, "Young Master Chai, how did your business talks go?" Monkey and Fighter naturally went along, he didn’t know how much Liu Qian knew, so he had to act like he was ’plotting’ something.
"Not bad, everything went pretty smoothly." Chai Ren nodded, laughing.
"I’ve heard about the iron mine you’re planning to buy. Be careful, it’s not easy to deal with the armed forces there, and their appetites might not be small." Mu Jian said seriously.
"No need to worry. Aren’t we still counting on Lai Mu? It shouldn’t be a big problem." Chai Ren laughed. Lai Mu is the son of the president of that African country, and also, the only child. His father was only the vice-president when he was in school, and was elected president just two years ago. Although he doesn’t have absolute power, he is certainly not a pushover.
"But it’s still uncertain whether his father will be president next term. You can’t expect to mine the entire iron mine within fifteen years. Once you lose this protection, it could get troublesome." Mu Jian said, sounding a bit worried.
Chai Ren shrugged.
"What can I do about it? It was a windfall to begin with. You can’t expect to strike gold, right? Anyway, my bottom line is that as long as I break even, how much profit I can make is another matter. Moreover, I’m not the only shareholder. In the later stages, I can apply for a bank loan to cover expenses. Even in the worst-case scenario, if something happens, I’d only lose a little skin. But even if those guys are bastards, they wouldn’t prevent me from doing a business that breaks even, right?" Chai Ren said casually.
His goal is just the underground iron ore. There are plenty of ways to make money. If he loses out here, he would figure out a way to make money elsewhere. Therefore, he doesn’t fear making no profit from these iron ore deposits. Consolidating power and securing his position is already profitable in itself. Money? It’s just a tool. Only the average second-tier would chase after money. He’s long since passed that stage of thinking.
"Yeah, that’s true. After all, your main objective isn’t making money." Mu Jian also laughed when he heard this. Although he didn’t understand politics, he had gained some insights from various family gatherings. Money was merely something ordinary people cared about; as one moved higher up, it was all about having the power to speak.
"What about you, are you planning to keep running this farm?" Chai Ren started munching on a mango.
"Yeah, why not, I feel it’s quite good. I plan to sell off some shares and assets and start an investment company. The internet industry has been developing rapidly these past few years, I’m planning to dip my toes into it." Mu Jian replied.
The assets left behind by his father were far more than just this farm. They also included shares in many companies and real estate. This estate was simply his father’s retirement place. Every year, the dividends from the shares and the rental income of the real estate amounted to more than 20 million dollars after taxes. If he hadn’t paid high estate taxes initially, his assets would’ve far exceeded Liu Qian’s.
"That sounds good. I would suggest investing in our country’s internet companies. The industry is in its early stages and there’s a lot of market space." Chai Ren suggested. His assets were mostly focused on heavy industries. While he believed that the internet future would be profitable, he didn’t have much interest in involving himself. In the end, it was a matter of different paths.
"Sure, we’ll see how it goes. If there are any difficulties, I’ll come to you." Mu Jian nodded.
"Ha ha, that’s welcome indeed." Chai Ren laughed heartily. Mu Jian’s network of connections in the United States could be a great help to Chai Ren’s resource planning. Previously, they were classmates. But, if they became linked by business interests, their relationship would become even closer.
Seeing Liu Qian return, the two paused in their business discussion.
"By the way, how’s the red wine you’ve been brewing?" Chai Ren suddenly asked. Seeing the red wine on the table reminded him that Mu Jian had planted a large swath of grapes. These weren’t meant for eating but for wine-making. Previously they supplied grapes to other wineries, because Mu Jian’s father liked baijiu but disliked red wine, and therefore didn’t brew them. After taking over, Mu Jian, a fan of red wine, had built a wine cellar, but Chai Ren hadn’t tasted any of his wines yet.
"It’s going pretty well, everything is set up properly, and the wine is still aging in the vats. I tested planting many different varieties of grapes since I didn’t trust those so-called professionals. Why should I conform to their standard for good red wine? I like adding sugar to it! Who can stop me from skipping their set process? So I tried everything, and no joke..." Mu Jian perked up at the mention of red wine, and was eager to gush about it.
"Wait, is it drinkable or not?" Chai Ren cut Mu Jian off. He didn’t care about Mu Jian’s quirky drinking habits or special preferences, he just wanted to know if it was drinkable. The most important thing was whether he could swindle some to take home first and worry about the taste later.
"Of course it’s drinkable! But the flavor still isn’t quite stable. I ’m thinking about establishing a vineyard brand in the future, and challenging those traditional red wine makers. Why do they get to define what’s good? I wouldn’t ever take their nonsense, I’m determined to find a hundred ways to drink wine: adding sugar, ice, cheese, lemon juice..."
Mu Jian was becoming more ridiculous. Chai Ren could hardly bear to watch and his face was full of bewilderment; he wanted to ask: are you sure what you make is drinkable and not toxic?
Liu Qian twitched a bit at all this and wondered if Mu Jian was mentally okay. My god, isn’t there something wrong with adding sugar, ice or cheese to red wine? It’s not like preparing plain water or something.
".... "
Everyone was silent.
Inclusive of those bodyguards, they couldn’t help but complain upon hearing Mu Jian’s ’madcap imaginings’. They felt that the wine-making world was about to have a new ’troublemaker’.
How deep-seated his resentment must be.
"Jianzi, wake up, don’t go crazy." Chai Ren smiled bitterly, interrupting him.
"You’re the crazy one. I’m just curious. Drinking the same kind of wine gets boring, is it wrong to try something new? I even plan to publish a book about it." Mu Jian scornfully said.
"...Fine, you do whatever you want, but don’t use me to test it, I don’t want to die." Chai Ren covered his face.
"Coward."
PS: The next Chapter will be around ten o’clock.
