The director of the Oil Production Plant across from them had already said, "Forget it, let's call it off." In such a tense atmosphere, Liu Shang's presumptuous remarks were badly timed.
Just as Manager Zhong was secretly frowning and thinking of how to salvage the situation, Song Guangyuan, whose anger had long been building after Pan Qingfeng's provocation, suddenly exploded.
"Liu Shang!"
"Do you have any sense of proper conduct at all?!!!"
"Is this the place for you to make decisions and speak out on your own?"
As the atmosphere grew extremely awkward, Pan Qingfeng waved his hand.
"President Song, why are you getting so angry with a kid?"
"I think young people should be like this—unwilling to admit defeat and full of fighting spirit."
"Come to think of it, this Liu Shang is even a few years younger than my own son!"
"All right, Liu Shang. I, Pan Qingfeng, am willing to believe you, and I'm even more willing to take this gamble."
"You're right. There's still time before the end of the year. It's not time to draw conclusions and declare that I'm bound to lose!"
He had indeed made the right bet!
Liu Shang took a deep breath, then brought up the PPT for the next well. "President Pan, leaders, our technical approach for the next well is this..."
Before he could finish, Pan Qingfeng interrupted him again. "Liu Shang, there's no need for the technical presentation."
"Go ahead and do whatever you need to do with this well. All I want is the final result—the field response and the additional oil production from the measures!"
"Well, Manager Zhang and Manager Shen, I've never interfered with your technical matters."
"But today, let me have the final say for once. We'll fully cooperate with Huahai Company on this profile-control well and let them handle it as they see fit."
"Once construction is complete, we'll all take a look at how effective it really is!"
Pan Qingfeng had deep roots in oilfield circles and was even more of a forceful figure within the plant.
Though he sounded polite and modest, he had effectively made the final decision. The other leaders naturally smiled and nodded in agreement.
After leaving the Oil Production Plant, Song Guangyuan said nothing. With a dark expression, he got straight into the car.
Manager Zhong pulled Liu Shang into his own car, his expression equally grim.
Given what he knew of Song Guangyuan, he feared Liu Shang's actions today would not end well.
Sure enough, as soon as they returned to the company, Song Guangyuan announced a meeting, one that required all of the company's technical leaders to attend.
Seeing Song Guangyuan's livid face, everyone who entered the conference room fell silent and became exceptionally cautious.
Once most of the attendees had arrived, Song Guangyuan slammed his hand on the table.
"Liu Shang!"
"Do you even know what your job responsibilities are and what you're supposed to be doing?"
"In a situation like today's, was it your place to make decisions and say something like that?"
"With the relationship between Pan Qingfeng and me, do you think I needed you to stand up and secure that well for me?"
"Stop being so childish, playing petty tricks and acting so self-righteous, all right?!!!"
"Let me tell you, the reason we weren't going to do this well was because I personally called Pan Qingfeng last night. The point was specifically not to do this well!"
"There would be no results and no profit. We'd already affected Pan Qingfeng's prospects for promotion at the end of the year, and I, Song Guangyuan, have no face to keep doing it!"
As Song Guangyuan raged and roared, the conference room became completely silent.
But Yang Xu, Ma Yuan, and the others were already secretly delighted.
After a moment, Manager Zhong finally found a good opportunity and gave a light cough.
"Liu Shang, you're still too young."
"In the future, if you're unsure about something, at the very least you should let someone know in advance."
"You work for a company now. You're no longer in school."
"Why don't you hurry up and apologize to President Song?"
On the surface, Manager Zhong was criticizing Liu Shang, but he was actually giving him a way out and trying to prevent the situation from getting worse.
After Manager Zhong finished, Liu Shang took a deep breath and looked at Song Guangyuan's sharp gaze.
"President Song, if I've affected your plans in any way, I'm sorry."
"However, even if you intend to fire me, could you at least let me finish this well first?"
"If this well fails, I'm willing to bear the resulting cost losses myself."
"Of course, I know you're very angry right now and have a great deal more criticism to make. But please wait until I finish this well, all right?"
Hearing Liu Shang say this, even Manager Zhong began to feel faintly angry.
This brat refused to take the way out he had offered him and actually insisted on pushing upstream against Song Guangyuan's fury!
This was truly going to be difficult now!
Liu Shang's words actually made Song Guangyuan laugh in anger.
He nodded helplessly, but his tone became even colder. "Fine. I'll let you handle this well, and when the results are in, we'll settle the score together."
"All the company supervisors present, listen carefully. Fully cooperate with Liu Shang on this well. Just like the previous well, spare no cost and allow no unnecessary interference."
"Liu Shang, even if I'm going to fire you, I, Song Guangyuan, will make sure you accept it wholeheartedly and have nothing to say."
"As for the cost of the measures, I won't make a student like you bear it. I, Song Guangyuan, am not that petty."
"But let me make this clear in advance: if you don't achieve the results you promised, don't blame me for not giving you a chance when the day comes for you to leave the company."
"That will only prove that you aren't suited to leave campus and start working this early."
"Finally, let me personally remind you: stop playing tricks and resorting to crooked schemes. This shortcut to success through me, Song Guangyuan, will never be open to you!"
With that, Song Guangyuan angrily flung his hand and stormed out of the conference room. Everyone else packed up their things and dispersed.
Song Guangyuan's final remark had been subtle and deliberately aimed at Liu Shang. He was telling him to give up and stop harboring improper thoughts about him and his precious daughter, Song Jia.
But Liu Shang had never thought in that direction at all. So after hearing Song Guangyuan's words, he merely found them baffling and did not dwell on them.
After returning to the office, Manager Zhong immediately pulled Liu Shang into his own office.
"Ah, you kid, why are you so stubborn!"
"If you had just taken the initiative to admit your mistake to President Song, then for my sake and Professor Xu's, President Song couldn't have done much to you."
"But look at you now. How are you going to end this?"
"So many of us, including Professor Xu, have failed on so many wells. How can it suddenly succeed when it comes to you?"
"Liu Shang, I know your technical skills are better than those of other students your age, so naturally you have plenty of confidence."
"But oilfield technology has to be learned step by step. It relies heavily on experience and accumulated knowledge."
"Ah, something has happened in Professor Xu's family again. For now, we can only wait for him to return before discussing this anew."
Before you continue