Chapter Twenty: Even Shrewder Than a Swindler

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“Me…? Su Lai…”

When Jiang Xiwen shook hands, he gently squeezed Su Lai’s delicate hand—a gesture only the two of them noticed, executed with perfect subtlety so it appeared neither forward nor disrespectful.

He recalled the first few times meeting Su Lai in his previous life, unable to utter a word, and couldn’t help feeling satisfied with himself. Looking at Su Lai’s slightly flushed cheeks, he found her irresistibly charming.

His gaze lingered on Su Lai’s face once more, but the shy hesitation from earlier had vanished, replaced by a wild, ardent warmth. Even though Su Lai carried herself with poise, she was still a girl barely in her teens, and could hardly withstand such a look. Her lovely face grew even redder with embarrassment, and she lowered her head, unsure of what to say.

“Sweet girl, it’s time for us to go. Say goodbye to the two uncles and this young gentleman,” Wang Chengyun, having finished her conversation with Fan Qiang, came to Su Lai’s rescue.

Su Lai hurried to her mother’s side, glanced up to bid farewell to the trio, and quickly pulled Wang Chengyun towards the exit.

Wang Chengyun shook her head and smiled. “This daughter of mine—just as your uncle said you were well-behaved, you start showing your mischievous side…” She nodded at Fan Qiang, then followed Su Lai out of the River Fresh Pavilion.

Fan Qiang turned and smiled at Qi Huanchang and Jiang Xiwen. “Wang Chengyun is a formidable woman. At thirty-six, she’s already become vice president of Tianyuan Software. Tianyuan Software is the general agent for SCP, the multinational enterprise. She’s also an old friend of Chairman Tian.”

So it turned out Su Lai’s mother was a friend of Tian Weidong—no wonder his company in the previous life was able to secure Tianxing’s business so easily; they had known each other since early on. Once I win the Tianxing contract and get close to Tian Weidong, you’ll see what I’m capable of.

Jiang Xiwen mused silently. In his previous life, Wang Chengyun had a favorable impression of him, always trusting him as the company’s core programmer, but to become her son-in-law, one had to excel in business—a field in which Lin Zheng took the lead.

Jiang Xiwen was quite familiar with SCP, the internationally renowned ERP product manufacturer that entered Huaxia in the early 90s. Of course, he understood what ERP meant, but Qi Huanchang and Fan Qiang assumed he didn’t, and began discussing it at length over the meal. Qi Huanchang especially, eager to flaunt his IT knowledge over Jiang Xiwen for once, seized the opportunity.

Jiang Xiwen let them talk, never revealing that he understood even more than they did. By the time Qi Huanchang finished, half the dishes had been served, and Fan Qiang was urging everyone to drink. Jiang Xiwen used his youth as an excuse to abstain, while Qi Huanchang drank enthusiastically.

Fan Qiang changed the way he addressed him. “Xiwen, this chubby fellow is a real drunkard. I first met him here, and he managed to drink all five of us alumni from Nanshen University under the table.”

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Qi Huanchang protested, “Since you’re treating us, Fan Qiang, what’s wrong with drinking a few more glasses? Stop making up stories about me in front of my student.” He grabbed a piece of mandarin fish and washed it down with another cup.

Fan Qiang shook his head and smiled, ignoring Qi Huanchang. He ladled a bowl of nourishing fish soup for Jiang Xiwen. “Here, Xiwen, eat more. You’re still growing. Nourish that brain of yours, full of wealth. Maybe we’ll get a chance to work together someday.”

After testing the management system earlier, Fan Qiang was fully convinced of Jiang Xiwen’s programming skills. In his eyes, Qi Huanchang—though fond of money—didn’t know how to make it, and was wasting this talented youth. If Jiang Xiwen were in his hands, before he grew up, he could be turned into a money tree.

Fan Qiang’s network was extensive; he could easily secure several software projects. He had long noticed that the software industry was the easiest for starting from scratch, but unfortunately, he himself couldn’t code. That was another reason he took a job at the computer training school—to find skilled but money-naïve partners for entrepreneurial ventures.

He befriended Qi Huanchang for this purpose. Qi Huanchang’s personality fit his requirements, but his skills weren’t high enough to handle all the development alone, and he refused to do commercial software.

After several years of work, Fan Qiang had earned no more than fifteen thousand—a high salary for Huaxia in 1993, but far from enough for starting a business.

Seeing Jiang Xiwen produce such an excellent computer room management system single-handedly, Fan Qiang calculated: if every Tianxing branch installed a set, Jiang Xiwen could earn one and a half million based on the discounted price for private software purchases.

Fan Qiang had been searching for opportunities—now, with a commercially valuable young talent before him, how could he possibly let him slip away?

Despite Jiang Xiwen’s performance, which seemed to mark him as a software genius but business novice like Qi Huanchang, Fan Qiang, cautious by nature, decided to probe him further over dinner. If he could persuade Jiang Xiwen, within half a year, relying on his skills and Fan Qiang’s contacts, they could start a software company.

Jiang Xiwen caught the implication in Fan Qiang’s “alone” remark; he was clear about his own worth. The other man obviously treated him like an ordinary high school student, so he stayed calm, feigning ignorance, sipping the delicious fish soup, and said, “If we’re going to collaborate, we should include Teacher Qi. After all, it’s about developing follow-up products for your Tianxing group. Teacher Qi said if you buy this set, the contract must stipulate ongoing support and development.”

Fan Qiang nodded with an admiring look. “Xiwen, impressive! At your age, not only are your programming skills outstanding, but you also understand these business matters—I’m really impressed. Come visit me often if you have time.”

Seeing Jiang Xiwen apparently oblivious to his probing, Fan Qiang felt a little pleased. He prided himself on being patient; as long as Jiang Xiwen kept visiting, there would be opportunities to convince this young man.

“Thank you, Principal Fan…” Jiang Xiwen stuffed a mouthful of meat and mumbled, “If there are any new requirements for the software after the trial, just let me know and I’ll modify it.”

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“Alright!” Fan Qiang nodded, then turned to the solitary, drinking Qi Huanchang. “Stop drinking. If you keep going, I won’t be able to carry you home. By the way, there’s something I haven’t told you—our Tianxing finances are managed by the Shanghai headquarters and need Chairman Tian’s personal approval. Besides, you wanted to promote this software for nationwide use, so it’ll take some time to report up.”

This was exactly what Jiang Xiwen had been waiting to hear. He knew Tian Weidong well—the middle-aged entrepreneur’s habitual catchphrase was “consult the people,” referring to his staff. Except for absolute control of finances, most major decisions were made after thorough surveys and consideration.

Jiang Xiwen remembered that it wasn’t until he, as a senior programmer for SSUN Huaxia, led the development of Tianxing’s national network management system, that Tian Weidong finally changed the financial system. In other words, in 1993, when Tianxing had only been established for two years, even installing a management system just for Yangjiang branch required headquarters’ approval.

Fan Qiang was satisfied with the system; all he could do was recommend it strongly to Tian Weidong and persuade him to evaluate it, which might only happen via a phone call. Perhaps Tian Weidong would trust Fan Qiang and let Yangjiang branch buy the system, but at most, that would be a deal worth twenty thousand yuan.

If Jiang Xiwen wanted the entire Tianxing network to use his system, he needed all the teachers at Yangjiang branch to be satisfied.

Once people have grown accustomed to laziness, it takes great resolve to return to diligence. After Tianxing’s teachers got used to the system’s convenience, they would surely advocate for its adoption during Tian Weidong’s employee survey.

With staff opinions gathered, Tian Weidong would inevitably come to Yangjiang to meet Jiang Xiwen personally, and at that point, the rights to develop the national network management system for Tianxing would easily fall into Jiang Xiwen’s hands.

That was why Jiang Xiwen left the test version at Yangjiang branch, letting them use it freely.

Qi Huanchang loved to drink and could hold his liquor. He waved his hand. “Alright, we’ll wait for your call. Didn’t drink enough today—no one to keep me company.”

Fan Qiang chuckled twice and poured him another glass. The three ate for about half an hour before saying their goodbyes. Fan Qiang tried to persuade Jiang Xiwen to stay and play games at his place, but Jiang Xiwen politely declined. Fan Qiang then asked for his phone number, but Jiang Xiwen once again redirected him to Qi Huanchang, saying all matters should go through Teacher Qi.

Watching this computer genius, seemingly clueless about everything else, Fan Qiang could only sigh and admit defeat.

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