Latching onto a Powerful Backer

In the banquet hall at the Yu Family residence.

Su Zhengcai held up his glass, his weathered face creasing into a chrysanthemum-like smile. He said politely, "Director Yu, if you leaders hadn't spoken up for us at the Management Council this time, our Su Family would never have made it through. So I have to drink this toast to thank you for saving our lives!"

"Old Su, you..."

"Director Yu, I have to finish this." Without giving him a chance to object, Su Zhengcai raised his glass, tipped back his head, and downed 250 grams of baijiu.

Yu Jinrong looked at him and smiled.

Su Zhengcai immediately poured a second glass and continued, "Whatever the reasons, we really did cause the Management Council a lot of trouble. We petitioned the authorities, and some employees were injured. It certainly reflected badly on everyone and gave you leaders plenty to worry about. This second glass is my apology."

With that, Su Zhengcai drained another glass.

Yu Jinrong watched him, still making no move. He neither drank nor spoke.

Su Zhengcai's greatest talents were volunteering to drink penalty shots and trying to get freebies from prostitutes. After two glasses, he had already put away half a kilo of liquor, but even after setting his glass down, he showed no intention of stopping. He poured a third glass straight away. "Director Yu, you saved our Su Family, so we have to make our position clear. From now on, all eight hundred employees under the Su Family will go wherever you point us. If the higher-ups tell us to recycle bottles, we won't so much as touch a plastic bag."

"Hahaha!" Yu Jinrong laughed at his words and finally raised his glass. "Then I have to drink this one with you. Old Su, I've only just joined the Management Council. I'll still need the support of companies like yours to get my work done. Let's look out for each other from now on."

"We'll be counting on you to look after us," Su Zhengcai replied.

At that, Su Tianyu and the others all stood up. Even the two officials Yu Jinrong had invited filled their glasses.

"Come on, Old Su. Bottoms up!"

"Bottoms up!"

"...!"

The first two glasses had really just been a lead-in. Yu Jinrong hadn't helped the Su Family during the early stages of the incident, much less saved their lives. Su Zhengcai had only toasted him to give them a way to keep the conversation going. But the third glass was crucial, and it was the reason the Su Family had come today: to use the recent trouble as an opening to formally latch onto a powerful backer in the Management Council's upper ranks.

Yu Jinrong hadn't promised anything, but he had drunk the toast. That was enough.

Su Zhengcai had opened by downing 750 grams of baijiu, which certainly showed he was going all out. After everyone sat back down, the younger members of the Su Family adopted humble attitudes too, practically acting like lackeys as they went around toasting each of the guests. By the end of the round, everyone was a little dizzy, and the atmosphere at the banquet had grown much more relaxed.

"Old Su, I heard about what happened at Fortune House. Those youngsters in your family are pretty fierce," the official on Yu Jinrong's left said with a smile. "First they took off Lu Feng's ear, then they managed to get six hundred thousand in compensation out of Fortune House. That's some real backbone. The younger generation is a force to be reckoned with, haha!"

Su Zhengcai immediately perked up. "Well, we have a lot of boys in our family. They've been together since they were little, sleeping in the same room and sharing the same heated bed. They're all like blood brothers, and they really stick together. What else can they do? In times like these, how can children from ordinary families get by if they don't help each other out? But being fierce doesn't get you very far these days. You still need brains and an education. Look at me. I spent more than ten years in the army, fighting alongside Old Shen, Old Zhou, and the others before the Chinese districts were even unified. And after all that, I'm still just an ordinary nobody. It didn't amount to much."

"Heh." Yu Jinrong smiled at Su Zhengcai without replying.

"I heard you've made a connection with Wang Daolin too?" the official on his left asked again.

Su Zhengcai paused, then immediately replied, "Old Wang and I were army buddies to begin with. We slept in the same barracks during the Great South Shanghai Migration. But at the start, there wasn't much he could do about my case either. It wasn't until my nephew came back and pulled the Four Companies together that he helped work things out."

As he spoke, Su Zhengcai patted Su Tianyu on the shoulder and praised him with a smile. "This nephew of mine is something else. The Four Companies only joined forces to fight back this time because he suggested it."

Everyone turned to Su Tianyu, looking slightly surprised.

"Does your nephew work for the family too?" Yu Jinrong asked.

"No, he was studying at Old West Point Academy in District One." Su Zhengcai affectionately patted Tianyu's head. "He's only just graduated and come home."

"He understood the family's situation as soon as he came back?" The official on the left looked at Su Tianyu in surprise. "Young man, that's impressive."

"No, not at all. I'd heard a little about what was happening at home while I was still at school," Su Tianyu replied modestly. "I was just throwing out ideas. My eldest brother, Tian Nan, made all the final decisions."

Yu Jinrong looked Su Tianyu over. "You graduated from West Point?"

"Yes." Su Tianyu nodded. "The one in District One."

"Then you've got quite an education. But judging by your age...?" Yu Jinrong looked a little puzzled.

"My father used to be a senior military officer too, so I enlisted after graduating from high school at seventeen. I spent a year training at the grassroots level, then took the West Point entrance exam once I was old enough," Su Tianyu replied vaguely.

"Oh, I see." Yu Jinrong nodded slowly, then asked softly, "Then why didn't you stay with your original unit after graduation? West Point graduates have plenty of room for promotion, and with your qualifications, your prospects should have been pretty good."

"Something happened at home, and there wasn't much room for me to advance there anymore, so I thought I'd come back and apply for a public-sector position," Su Tianyu replied with a smile.

"Ah, this boy has had such a hard life. Both his parents died just after he got into West Point, and he was all alone in District One with no one to look after him. On top of that... all the contacts I had from my army days have retired, and we don't have the money to get him into a good unit. So I thought I'd have him come back and apply for a public-sector position. If he stays close, I can look after him." Su Zhengcai took over, making Su Tianyu sound utterly pitiful. "He's a determined boy, and he was outstanding at school too. Oh, right, Director Yu, you have influence everywhere and plenty of connections. Could you see about pulling a few strings for our Tianyu? Once he passes the civil service exam, maybe you could help him get assigned to a better department?"

Director Yu smiled at Su Zhengcai, paused, and replied, "Applications for this year have already closed. He'll have to wait until next year to take the exam."

"There's no rush. He can stay home for a year and take it then!" After saying all that, Su Zhengcai really just wanted to establish a connection for Su Tianyu. For someone like Director Yu, all it would take was a word, and that would be more than enough to help Su Tianyu.

Director Yu turned to study Su Tianyu. After a long moment of thought, he suddenly said, "The young man looks sharp, and he's capable too. Why don't you spend a year at my family's company first? When the exams open next year, I'll have my son find some connections and help arrange things for you."

Everyone in the room was stunned by those words. Even Su Tianyu looked at Yu Jinrong in complete surprise. He hadn't been prepared for this invitation at all.

Su Zhengcai was the first to react. He patted Tianyu's head and said, "Gone dumb? Hurry up and thank your Uncle Yu!"