Li Ye's act of having the driver, Qu Qingyou, take the Mercedes-Benz car keys left Shang Bin deeply displeased. But his control over his emotions was strong; though his gaze was unfriendly, the false smile on his face remained radiant.
He clasped Pei Wencong's hand tightly again and said warmly, "Ah, Mr. Pei, you're far too polite. And you came today without Little Li giving us any advance notice. We've truly been remiss, truly remiss."
"Little Li" naturally referred to Li Ye. Pei Wencong had just said that he was Li Ye's good friend, so his visit today was meant to support Li Ye. Since Li Ye had not notified them in advance to receive him, Shang Bin was not entirely wrong to say they had been remiss.
But to outsiders, those words gave the impression that "Li Ye was a minor character."
Li Ye was a deputy general manager, after all, only one rank below him. Did calling him Little Li somehow make it reasonable?
But then Shang Bin noticed that Pei Wencong's expression had become somewhat strange.
"Mr. Shang, I held shares in the former Light Vehicle Company, so I can be considered half an owner of Jingnan Automobile Group. I'm not a guest here today, so how could there be any question of being remiss?"
"Ah?"
Only then did Shang Bin realize that he had said the wrong thing.
Hong Kong capital did not hold much of a stake in the Light Vehicle Company and had never fought for much say, so Shang Bin and the others had forgotten and mistakenly treated him as an "outsider," when in fact he was one of the owners.
Of course, that was also how many mainlanders thought: they treated foreign gods of wealth like pigs to be slaughtered. Dragon or