Chapter 836 - Fanning the Fire

Translator: Thyaeria

When Su Tao entered the district, the style of the building had changed completely. He could see short houses made of red bricks, and it made a drastic difference compared to the skyscrapers in the city.

Su Tao arrived at the location that Wang Xuan had sent him. Entering the courtyard, he saw a vast garden with different varieties of trees and plants filling up the garden. Streams were flowing down the artificial mountain as anyone could tell that this courtyard was owned by a wealthy person in the previous dynasty.

The reason why Su Tao came was mainly because he wanted to look at the candidate. As he still did not have a good understanding of Wang Xuan, he had to be cautious.

“I was informed by the attendant that you came. Come, I’ll bring you to the room.” Wang Xuan came out to welcome Su Tao with a smile.

As he turned from the corridor, he was greeted with a huge hall. The hall was well ventilated, and there were curtains hung in the surrounding walls. Occasionally, there would be a refreshing breeze that filled the entire hall with floral fragrance.

There was a gorgeous woman wearing cheongsam sitting in the corner. She was strumming on a zither. There were two people sitting on the table, which was situated at the center of the hall. One of them was Li Anbo. As for the second one, it was also someone he knew as he smiled bitterly in his heart.

“Let me introduce you. This is Shu Haonan, and this is Su Tao!” Wang Xuan smiled.

“It’s been a long time.” Shu Haonan stood up as he shook hands with Su Tao.

Although Su Tao wasn’t willing, he still shook hands with Shu Haonan. Since Shu Haonan was polite to him, Su Tao naturally had to return the courtesy as well. At the same time, Su Tao sighed in his heart. There were many people in Beijing, but the upper circle wasn’t big. This should be his third time meeting Shu Haonan.

His first meeting with Shu Haonan was under Jiang Qinghan's recommendation. The second meeting was when he had a conflict with Gu Yang in the buffet restaurant, and they even fought. This time, Wang xuan actually recommended Shu Haonan to compete with Qin Jingyu?

In his heart, Su Tao did not agree to this candidate that Wang Xuan had introduced.

After all, Su Tao had grudges with Shu Haonan in the past. Furthermore, Shu Haonan still kept pestering his master despite being engaged.

He had accidentally found out that Shu Haonan was still pestering Jiang Qinghan a while back. That day, Yan Sha was playing with Jiang Qinghan’s phone, which Su Tao gave a peek out of curiosity. In the end, he saw the messages that Shu Haonan left for Jiang Qinghan.

At that time, Yan Sha was sneering at Shu Haonan for being shameless. She also spoke in a confident tone that her mother wouldn’t go for someone like Shu Haonan, who was unloyal to his marriage.

Even Yan Sha had a bad impression of Shu Haonan, nevertheless Su Tao.

Shu Haonan had no idea what was going through Su Tao’s mind as he spoke out, “It was a pity that we couldn’t have a chat the last time we met. At the same time, I would like to apologize to you on behalf of Gu Yang. How’s your master doing?”

Although Su Tao was filled with disdain for Shu Haonan, he still smiled, “Well, we wouldn’t get to know each other if we didn’t fight.”

After all, Shu Haonan had lowered himself to talk to Su Tao, so Su Tao had to be polite as well.

Su Tao understood Shu Haonan’s personality well. He was someone who was proficient in enduring, and he wouldn’t reveal his own feelings easily.

He was a complete opposite of Qin Jingyu.

If Su Tao had to use an example from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Qin Jingyu was equivalent to Cao Cao, while Shu Haonan was similar to Liu Bei.

Never underestimate Shu Haonan. Shu Haonan was a fellow proficient in concealing himself. So if you were caught by surprise, you might be consigned to eternal damnation.

“You guys know each other?” Wang Xuan was a little shocked.

“We do.” Shu Haonan nodded his head with a smile.

Sitting by the side, Li Anbo kept a smile on his face. But in his heart, he already knew that there was no meaning to this meal anymore. Su Tao was facing this situation too indifferently, and he seemed to be brushing it off.

However, Wang Xuan did not notice the spark between Su Tao and Shu Haonan. He smiled, “It’s fate for us to come together, so let’s chat while we eat.”

When the plates came, the atmosphere on the dining table was peaceful. But Wang Xuan noticed that Su Tao would brush it off whenever he tried to go into topic. As for Li Anbo, he kept silent as he chatted casually about stuff happening in Beijing.

After eating for more than an hour, Su Tao stood up as he used the Three Flavour Hall as an excuse to leave. As for Shu Haonan, he also left shortly after.

Sending the two of them out, Wang Xuan knitted his brows, “What does Su Tao mean with that?”

“Isn’t it obvious? He thinks that Shu Haonan isn’t a suitable candidate.” Li Anbo shook his head with a bitter smile.

“Shu Haonan has a firm standing in the government system, and he also has the Gu Family as his backing. If he’s handling this matter, he can definitely make Qin Jingyu feel the pressure.” Wang Xuan sneered as he continued, “Su Tao is too insensible!”

“We’re also at fault for not doing our homework. There is a conflict between Shu Haonan and Su Tao, to begin with. So how can the two of them work together?” Li Anbo shook his head bitterly.

“So are we going to just give up?” Wang Xuan reluctantly asked.

“Judging from our interaction with Shu Haonan, he also seems to be interested in it. But since Su Tao isn’t willing to help, then we can think of something ourselves. After all, do we really have to depend on him to get everything done?” Li Anbo already had a plan in mind.

“That’s right. With our resources, it won’t be an issue for us to deal with the source of goods for Shu Haonan.” Wang Xuan smiled after a brief stun.

“Shu Haonan was in the special force. He definitely has his own connection. Even without Su Tao, we can still get things done, just that it might take a longer time. It’s just a matter of time for Shu Haonan to reach the same height as Qin Jingyu.” Li Anbo added.

After receiving Li Anbo’s tactful instructions, Wang Xuan smiled, “I’ll contact Shu Haonan later and see how we should go from there.”

“We can just treat Su Tao as a stranger since he isn’t willing to work with us.” Li Anbo casually replied.

But when Wang Xuan heard those words, he started worrying for Su Tao. A stranger meant that Su Tao would be an opponent, and it would be painful to become Li Anbo’s opponent. Li Anbo was proficient in scheming. He was like a hawk when he schemed, and he would catch his opponent by surprise.

Qin Jingyu sat in the teahouse as he watched the crosstalk performance on the stage. Turning to Tong Zuoqing, he smiled, “This place doesn’t look like a teahouse at all. It looks more like an opera theatre.”

“People nowadays are impatient, and who has the mood to enjoy tea? Most of the customers come here to relax, and tea is only secondary. Most importantly, I need to bring something fresh to their eyes and ears.” Tong Zuoqing shrugged helplessly.

Although his teahouse did not bring him significant profits, he was never lacking in customers. Even if he suffered the suppression of the Ni Family back then, he still recovered swiftly. His teahouse had become his source of information once again.

“You're getting deeper in your research on the human heart.” Qin Jingyu’s eyes flickered. “How’s the situation with Su Tao?”

“The Wang Family now hated Su Tao to their core. Not long ago, they even sent funeral wreaths to the Three Flavour Hall. I took advantage of this matter and advertised a little in the background. Right now, everyone in the upper circle knows that Wang Guofeng committed suicide because of Su Tao.” Tong Zuoqing wore a smug as he took a deep seep of tea.

He had spent quite some time on Su Tao’s conflict with the Wang Family from the background. Overall, it seems to be pretty effective for now.

The Three Flavour Hall might be doing well recently. But in Tong Zuoqing’s view, the Three Flavour Hall was still lacking compared to the Wang Family’s Pharmacy, which was deeply rooted in Beijing.

If the Wang Family made use of their resources in the medical industry, it wouldn’t take long for the Three Flavour Hall to close down.

Letting someone do his dirty work was a technique that Tong Zuoqing was fond of using.

“Continue to fan the fire.” Qin Jingyu sneered. “Isn’t he going to apply for the Ten Best National Healers? I’ll see how he gets it with his reputation ruined!”

Qin Jingyu was fearful of Su Tao’s identity as a National Healer. After all, Su Tao could make use of that identity to meet with the leaders of the country. It was an enormous invisible wealth.

Qin Jingyu’s plan was to get Su Tao expelled from the National Healer Team. This way, he could weaken Su Tao’s strength.

Tong Zuoqing nodded his head. But in the next moment, he knitted his brows together, “Su Tao has been meeting with Wang Xuan recently. They seem to be getting well together.”

“Su Tao and Wang Xuan aren’t in the same category, and they won’t cooperate together.” Qin Jingyu was unconcerned as he shook his head.

“Why is that?” Tong Zuoqing was surprised. Because it was impossible for his information to be wrong. Wang Xuan and Su Tao met up twice recently, and even Li Anbo had appeared.

Li Anbo was someone on the first ranking of China’s Elite Ranking. Even Qin Jingyu was only ranked after him.

“Wang Xuan’s backing is the Wang Family. There are rumors recently that Wang Jiajia is going to get married to Huo Kun. Don’t you know about Su Tao and Huo Kun’s relationship?” Qin Jingyu sneered.

“He was Ni Jingqiu’s ex-fiance. On the contrary, Su Tao has a close relationship with Ni Jingqiu. But you can’t say for certain that they won’t get together if their interests are involved. After all, Wang Xuan isn’t Wang Jiajia.” Tong Zuoqing analyzed with his brows knitted.

“I still have some understanding about Su Tao. That fellow has meticulous thoughts, and he’s also prideful deep down his bones. He will never work together as long as he doesn’t like that person.” Qin Jingyu was treating Su Tao differently from before now. He had done his research on Su Tao.

As Tong Zuoqing sighed, he knew that Qin Jingyu had his own plans on his matter, “Wang Xuan has been introducing Shu Haonan with some force recently. They’re planning to dip their hands in the firearm business.”

“Although Shu Haonan is still someone, that person is too overly cautious. He lacks the temperament of a leader, and someone like him isn’t compatible to be my opponent.” Qin Jingyu smiled in disdain.

“That’s for sure!” Tong Zuoqing smiled. “But we still have to be cautious about Li Anbo.”

Qin Jingyu nodded his head in agreement. Li Anbo was truly an opponent that he had to be cautious with.

Tong Zuoqing had now become Qin Jingyu’s trusted aide. The suggestions from Tong Zuoqing were more impartial, and it was what Qin Jingyu needed.

Claps sounded out from beneath the stage as the crosstalk performance had come to an end. Next up was a small performance.

Tong Zuoqing had managed the programs in the teahouse well. It was similar to the Spring Festival Programs.

“You have to be cautious with Rangure.” Tong Zuoqing warned. “Her underground research facility is attracting too much attention. It’s just a matter of time before it’s being investigated.”

Qin Jingyu knew that Tong Zuoqing’s source was trustable as his face turned cold, “Rangure is really bold. I have already warned her in the past, but she still gets herself involved in this matter. But this woman still has some worth for the time being, and that’s why we’re not touching her.”

Tong Zuoqing nodded his head. Rangure had now become an important chess piece in Qin Jingyu’s hand, and it was impossible for Qin Jingyu to throw her away easily.