Big Brother Is Employing Child Labor!

"President Shen asked me to thank you for him." Yan Yi'an looked conflicted as he spoke to Yan Xianjue.

Yan Xianjue's eyes widened in surprise. "Thank me for what?"

Yan Yi'an recalled the subtle expression on President Shen's face when they spoke.

"Thank you for tripping Second Aunt Shen yesterday." Yan Xianjue: "..."

He gave Yan Yi'an a suspicious once-over.

Really? Why didn't he believe that at all?

Would President Shen really go out of his way to thank him over something so trivial?

Hadn't his role been even smaller than his big brother's, who had helped call the police?

Yan Yi'an did not explain. President Shen only had one daughter.

He had raised her like a precious jewel. If Yan Xianjue had not stepped in yesterday and provoked her in the waiting area—

Second Aunt Shen might really have succeeded.

That was what the police had extracted from Second Aunt Shen today.

Yan Yi'an had initially suspected that President Shen had heard Yan Xianjue's inner thoughts.

He tested him repeatedly before confirming that President Shen could not hear them. He truly was thanking Yan Xianjue for helping his daughter yesterday.

Well, workaholics did not really understand doting fathers.

"What do you think of the Shen Household?" Yan Yi'an asked.

Yan Xianjue warily raised his head. "What are you trying to do?"

"Even if it's a marriage alliance, it wouldn't be my turn, right? You and Second Brother are both still single!" Yan Xianjue craned his neck to look at him.

Yan Yi'an pressed at the vein throbbing in his forehead.

"Why do you think President Shen came personally to thank you?" He looked at Yan Xianjue, who seemed somewhat confused, with amusement.

He patiently explained it to his little fool. "Not only did he come, he also brought a project proposal."

"To show his gratitude, Shen Corporation is willing to concede three percentage points."

He asked encouragingly, "Now why do you think he came to thank you?"

Yan Xianjue puffed out his cheeks. "He's so cunning."

Father Yan and Mother Yan smiled in relief.

Thankfully, he would not lose his head just because someone was temporarily grateful and offered a few concessions.

"Then, Big Brother, are you going to agree?" Yan Xianjue asked curiously.

Yan Yi'an shook his head. "I want to leave the decision to you."

Yan Xianjue's mouth fell open. "Wh... why?"

"I haven't even graduated high school yet, Big Brother!"

"You're employing child labor!"

Yan Xianjue was heartbroken.

Yan Yi'an remained unmoved and calmly pulled a document from beside him.

He crossed his legs and leaned back against the sofa.

His fingers tapped incessantly against the document, but he said nothing.

Yan Xianjue began to panic.

[Big Brother isn't seriously thinking of training me to join the company, is he?!]

[Yan Ci! You've done me grievous harm!!]

He turned to Mother Yan for help. "Mom, the Gaokao is only two months away. I don't have time."

Seeing Yan Xianjue's pitiful gaze, Mother Yan softened a little.

Father Yan secretly wrapped an arm around Mother Yan's waist.

Mother Yan turned her head away, refusing to look at him.

Yan Yi'an had come home early today to hold a brief family meeting with them.

It concerned Yan Xianjue's education.

Their own child naturally had no issues with his character.

But the values in those terrible novels he read were truly hard to praise.

Yan Xianjue was only eighteen, right at the age when he could easily be influenced.

His inner thoughts also showed that he was rather impulsive by nature.

Mother Yan had happened to hear Yan Xianjue thinking about making money.

So she wondered whether Yan Xianjue could learn some business matters from his eldest brother.

She did not expect him to dominate the business world.

As long as he could learn even thirty percent of his eldest brother's abilities, develop proper values, and avoid being easily deceived, that would be enough.

Once Mother Yan voiced her idea, Father Yan and Yan Yi'an both voted in favor.

That was how Yan Yi'an came to test Yan Xianjue.

With no help coming, Yan Xianjue could only turn back around resentfully.

He took Shen Corporation's project proposal from Yan Yi'an.

The moment he opened it, his heart settled.

"Reject it. Reject it immediately!"

Yan Yi'an nodded. "Go on. Why reject it?"

[Because this is the project that will break Shen Corporation's cash flow, forcing Shen Fangli into the entertainment industry to earn money and plug the hole!]

[I may not understand this stuff, but it's definitely a huge trap!]

"This proposal from Shen Corporation probably would not have qualified to land on Big Brother's desk in the first place."

"That's why President Shen chose to visit personally and offer thanks over such a minor matter."

"On one hand, he wanted the Yan Household not to spread this matter around, but that definitely accounts for only a small portion of the reason."

"On the other hand, he wants Yan Corporation's investment."

Yan Xianjue frowned. He still did not like this kind of behavior.

"If conceding a few percentage points counts as his thanks, then his gratitude is far too cheap."

Yan Xianjue made something up. "His plan sounds good, but the tiny bit of profit he's giving up simply can't compare to the risks Yan Corporation would have to bear."

"High risk, low return. Only an idiot would invest!"

Yan Xianjue spoke with conviction. If they could not hear his inner thoughts—

They might have believed him.

But it was fine, Yan Yi'an thought. Being able to use the advantages he already had to make a judgment barely counted as passing.

Yan Yi'an took an exquisitely crafted fountain pen, clearly showing heavy use, from his suit pocket.

Yan Xianjue craned his neck, wanting to see how he would respond to the proposal.

Instead, Yan Yi'an handed the pen to him. "You do it."

Yan Xianjue's hand trembled. "Huh? Big Brother, you're serious?"

Yan Yi'an smiled. "Of course."

Yan Xianjue had gotten one thing right.

Yan Corporation received countless project proposals every day from people seeking investment.

For a contract of Shen Corporation's middling size, if President Shen had not come under the pretext of offering thanks, it might not even have made it onto Yan Yi'an's desk.

He disliked President Shen taking advantage of Yan Xianjue's kindness, but this contract was perfect for letting him practice.

Yan Xianjue hesitated briefly, then accepted the fountain pen.

"Then I'm really writing it?" he confirmed with Yan Yi'an once more.

Yan Yi'an merely nodded.

Father Yan and Mother Yan looked at him encouragingly as well.

With great caution, Yan Xianjue wrote four words on the first document he had ever reviewed, in every sense of the phrase: "Not approved."

He handed the document back to Yan Yi'an.

Without even looking at it, Yan Yi'an put it away, apparently not intending to add any comments.

Though he knew the possibility was small, Yan Xianjue could not help asking, "Aren't you afraid I made the wrong call?"

"What if this project suddenly makes a huge profit someday?"

Mother Yan said with a smile, "Xianjue, do you know how many projects Yan Corporation invests in every year?"

"And how many proposals get rejected?"

"Forget your big brother—even your father, who has steered Yan Corporation for most of his life, can hardly say that every decision he made was right. That every project he chose made money, and not one project he rejected ever did."

Yan Yi'an nodded. "Even if it is an overlooked gem, a pearl lost in the sea, and it eventually makes an enormous profit, from the moment you wrote 'Not approved,' it has nothing to do with you anymore. There is no need to regret it."

Yan Xianjue blinked. "All right."

[Looks like Big Brother has a pretty good mindset.]

[But don't worry, Shen Corporation's project is doomed.]

[Before long, the state will introduce new policies related to waste disposal.]

[If I remember correctly, Shen Fangli's father has already started construction on this project.]

[Even if his proposal is well written, it can't change the fact that it runs completely counter to the new policy. What good could come from going against government policy?]

[If he wants to change direction, he'll need another huge injection of capital.]

Yan Xianjue suddenly recalled that, in the novel, Shen Fangli's father had shown the proposal to the Lin Household—Lin Shi's father.

That was how the two families began working together.

[No, absolutely not. If there's money to spare, invest it in our own subsidiaries!]

[As long as Big Brother's battery technology isn't stolen, the Yan Household will definitely rise even further.]

[Let the Lin Household fight among themselves instead!]

[That little wolf cub Lin Shi hasn't grown up yet. His father can't beat Lin Lang, the male lead of the business-war novel.]

[While the Lin Household tears itself apart, quietly developing ourselves is the real way forward!]