Enterprise Salon

The sea breeze by Pinqing Lake still carried a hint of life's struggles.

Today was February 28, 2025.

The late February cold snap made pedestrians on the roadside instinctively bundle up.

In the car, Jiang Miao looked at the familiar sights on both sides of Binhai Avenue, his gaze somewhat lost in thought. At this moment, he, Jiang Haibo, Ke Yong, Li Zixuan, and others were driving to the Pinqing Lake Enterprise Service Center.

Several small electric scooters quickly weaved through the traffic, ignoring the traffic lights at the intersection.

Ke Yong stepped on the brake, and the pickup truck slowly stopped at the red light.

Suddenly, Jiang Miao's eyes narrowed.

"Accelerate!"

"What?" Ke Yong thought he had misheard.

"Accelerate, go through!" Jiang Miao roared again.

Ke Yong didn't have time to think, instantly released the handbrake, then shifted gears, and slammed the accelerator.

The pickup truck shot out like an arrow, speeding through the traffic light intersection.

Three seconds later.

Boom! A large truck transporting steel pipes rushed out from the opposite lane of the traffic light intersection and crashed headfirst into the spot where the pickup truck had just been.

Five or six cars at the intersection were twisted and mangled. Even more terrifying were the steel pipes that flew out due to inertia, piercing through several cars in front.

Ke Yong, who had already driven over two hundred meters away, stared dumbfounded at the rearview mirror, his chest heaving uncontrollably: "Huff... huff..."

Jiang Haibo and Li Zixuan were also still shaken.

Jiang Miao didn't explain anything, but instructed, "Keep going! If the police come to ask, just say we were in a hurry. Don't stop at the next few traffic lights, just go straight through."

"Yes." Ke Yong also regained a little composure.

The reason Jiang Miao had sensed the problem just now was that he habitually observed large trucks, dump trucks, and concrete mixer trucks while on the road.

When that large truck came speeding from the opposite direction, he noticed that its speed was too high. A look at the appraisal panel revealed that its braking system had malfunctioned.

In that instant, he made the most correct choice, telling Ke Yong to run the red light directly.

In the car, Jiang Miao closed his eyes and rested, recalling the data of that large truck in his mind. The appraisal panel could store all recorded data.

Soon, he found the malfunction data for the large truck's braking system: 'The brake valve of the air brake is aged, causing it to be unable to brake. The manufacturing time of all components of the air brake system is 2014. The manufacturing time of most parts of the large truck is also 2014, with similar degrees of aging. It seems I was overthinking.'

In this situation, human factors could basically be ruled out.

It wasn't that Jiang Miao was overly suspicious, it was mainly because it was too dangerous just now. If he had been a few seconds slower, the large truck would have definitely hit his car.

After running four red lights in a row.

The pickup truck stopped on the roadside in front of the Pinqing Lake Enterprise Service Center.

Li Zixuan handed the invitation letter to the host's greeter.

The greeter looked at the invitation letter: "So it's Mr. Jiang from Hai Lu Feng Agricultural Technology Company. Mr. Jiang, please come this way."

This time, Jiang Miao and the others came to Pinqing Lake to participate in the "Pinqing Lake Enterprise Salon."

The Enterprise Salon is a long-term exchange event hosted by the Shanmei government, including exchanges between official institutions and enterprises, and between enterprises themselves.

It is held annually, with one session each month, and the theme of each session is different.

This month's theme is "New Opportunities, New Era, New Technologies."

As soon as Jiang Miao entered the venue, Li Ke from the Tax Bureau, whom he had met before, spotted him and waved from a distance. He also led his employees over.

"Li Ke, it seems you've recovered well."

"Oh? With Mr. Jiang's words, I feel relieved." Li Ke was clearly troubled by pancreatic cancer. He then pulled Jiang Miao towards his circle.

"Mr. Jiang, this is our Director Huang..."

"Director Huang, this is Mr. Jiang Miao, the founder of Hai Lu Feng Agricultural Technology Company..."

"Hello!"

"Mr. Jiang is young and promising. Your company was a major taxpayer last year, ranking 16th in the city."

Jiang Miao said with a smile, "It's all luck!"

"Hahaha, Mr. Jiang is truly humble."

After socializing for more than ten minutes, Li Ke introduced him to relevant personnel from the Bureau of Industry and Information Technology and the Bureau of Commerce.

While the official personnel were chatting enthusiastically with Jiang Miao,

Not far away, the bosses or representatives of other invited enterprises were also quietly discussing Hai Lu Feng Company and Jiang Miao, this rising star.

However, those enterprises were clearly divided into several circles.

There was the state-owned enterprise circle, which had a somewhat aloof and detached feel.

There were the small circles of local powerhouses: the Urban Business Circle, the Lufeng Business Circle, the Haifeng Business Circle, and the Luhe Business Circle.

There were small circles formed by enterprises from other regions, such as the Peng City Business Circle in the Shenzhen-Shanwei Cooperation Zone.

Birds of a feather flock together.

The term "hometown folks" is an unavoidable topic and reality in China. Now, Jiang Miao also had to join these various small circles.

Of course, Jiang Miao did not intend to delve too deeply into these small circles. While small circles have benefits, they also involve some troublesome social obligations.

Therefore, a superficial engagement is sufficient; there is no need to be overly concerned. For Jiang Miao, his stage is the entire world; Shanmei is just a small pond.

However, just because he didn't want to delve deep didn't mean others didn't want to have in-depth exchanges with him.

For example, Gu Haijing, the boss of Haijing Company, which is also in the field of aquatic seedling cultivation, actively approached him.

"Mr. Jiang, hello, I am Gu Haijing from Haijing Company."

One doesn't hit a smiling person. Jiang Miao also smiled and extended his hand to shake hands with the other party: "Hello, Mr. Gu, I am Jiang Miao. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Gu Haijing was not dressed in a suit and tie like other entrepreneurs, but wore a relatively traditional Chinese linen outfit. His skin was dark with a reddish tint. When shaking hands, Jiang Miao felt the roughness of the other party's palm. This was an entrepreneur who often worked on the front lines.

"Mr. Jiang, your eel artificial breeding technology is very impressive. Are you interested in cooperating?"

Jiang Miao smiled and shook his head, "Not in the next year or two, for now."

"Oh? That's a real shame. I'm very optimistic about this technology. It's just a bit regrettable that it was stolen by the Ryukyuans!"

"Our company is currently pursuing legal action. I believe justice will prevail."

Jiang Miao's seemingly naive response left Gu Haijing a bit speechless, but he didn't show it. Instead, he smiled and offered his blessings, "Then I wish President Jiang all the best. This is my business card. If you need anything, feel free to call me."

"Thanks." Jiang Miao took the business card, then pulled out his own from his pocket and handed it to the other party. "President Gu, this is my business card. Please take care of me in the future."

"Absolutely, absolutely."

After leaving Jiang Miao, Gu Yiming, Gu Haijing's youngest son who had come along to see the world, said with a displeased look:

"Dad, that kid really doesn't know what's good for him."

However, Gu Haijing immediately straightened his face and lowered his voice to scold his clueless son, "What kind of occasion is this? Do you have any manners? Say whatever you have to say when we get home! Otherwise, go back immediately."

"Got it..." Gu Yiming quickly lowered his head.

"Behave yourself." Gu Haijing turned his head and instructed his assistant, "Xiao Zheng, keep an eye on this kid later. Don't let him talk nonsense."

"Yes, President Gu."

"Dad! Do I really need to?"

"Hmph, trouble comes from the mouth. Doing business requires harmony to generate wealth. Your unrestrained behavior will only create enemies for yourself. As the saying goes, business is not about righteousness, but about relationships. If the other party doesn't want to cooperate, that's their freedom."

Gu Haijing was indeed a little uncomfortable after being rejected by Jiang Miao, but having been in business for so many years, he had learned to remain calm regardless of favor or disgrace.

With the mindset that it's better to have one more friend than one more enemy, he didn't show any dissatisfaction in front of Jiang Miao.

As for his youngest son Gu Yiming's behavior, that was creating enemies for himself, so how could Gu Haijing not be angry?

After more than an hour of conversation.

Jiang Miao's face was almost frozen from smiling, and the awards ceremony for this enterprise salon finally began.

As the host announced the start of the awards ceremony, Jiang Miao breathed a sigh of relief and quickly led Jiang Haibo, Li Zixuan, and Ke Yong to their seats.

The host's modulated voice echoed through the venue.

The first batch of enterprise representatives to go on stage to receive awards did not include Hai Lu Feng Company, because the first batch was to commend the top ten taxpayers from the previous year.

The second batch was to commend the top ten investing enterprises, and Hai Lu Feng Company was also not included.

It wasn't until the third batch that it was Hai Lu Feng Company's turn.

This batch was to commend innovative enterprises. As the Hai Lu Feng Company, which had researched the technology for artificial breeding of eels, it was among the list of commended enterprises in this batch.

Jiang Miao and the representatives or bosses of the other nine enterprises went on stage and received the commendation certificates from the head of the Bureau of Industry and Information Technology.

"President Jiang, keep up the good work!"

"Director Li is too kind, it's all for the contribution to our hometown!"

Everyone helps to carry the sedan chair.

Then, the representatives of the recognized enterprises stood together for a group photo. Following that, three groups of recognized enterprise representatives and official representatives stood together for group photos.

The whole process took over an hour.

It wasn't until nearly 11:30 AM, close to noon.

The host solemnly announced, "Distinguished leaders! Esteemed guests! The third session of the second Shanmei Pinqing Lake Enterprise Salon has successfully concluded! Please exit in an orderly manner!"

Clap clap clap...

Thunderous applause erupted in the venue.

Jiang Miao also smiled and applauded. He was genuinely applauding because this enterprise salon had left him physically and mentally exhausted. After all, he had to deal with all sorts of people, unlike the freedom he had when he was at his company.

Now, it was finally over.

As soon as he walked out of the venue, Jiang Miao quietly complained, "Old Jiang, this meeting is too draining. It's more tiring than spending several days researching in the lab. Next time, you should come in my place!"

"Boss, this is my first time participating in this kind of event too. It is indeed a bit draining," Jiang Haibo was also physically and mentally exhausted.

"Ah Yong, drive us to get something to eat."

Ke Yong nodded and quickly went to get the car.

Jiang Haibo wiped his glasses and asked, "Boss, where should we eat?"

"How about Luhe Lei Cha?"

"Luhe Lei Cha? That works. I haven't tried it yet."

Soon, Ke Yong drove the pickup truck over.

After getting in the car, Jiang Miao instructed, "Go to Kuishan Market on Tonghang Road."

"Kuishan Market? I'll look it up on the navigation."