The Crimson Crystal Summit was held as scheduled.
Qin Siyang did not participate.
He spent his time in the hotel eating and sleeping, then sleeping and eating.
However, to ensure he looked good the next day and to avoid getting an upset stomach during the Chamber of Commerce ceremony, he refrained from eating too much of the hotel's freshly cooked dishes.
He only had a little porridge.
The meeting started at 8 AM and lasted until 8 PM.
By the time Zhao Longfei and the others returned to the hotel, they all looked exhausted.
Hearing some noise in the lobby, Qin Siyang stepped out of his room to gather information about the meeting.
Li Tianming threw his tie onto the sofa.
"Luckily, Old Qian chaired the meeting today and cut out a bunch of pointless speeches. Otherwise, this thing would have gone on all night."
Beside him, Zhang Kuang's hair was even messier than before, looking like he had been scratching his head a lot.
"Seriously, Qian Wenzhao was the perfect choice as chairman. I suggest that from now on, every meeting we attend should be chaired by him!"
Zhao Longfei nodded, "Don't worry. After today's meeting, everyone realized how good he is at running things. From now on, Qian Wenzhao will probably be the go-to chairman for all major meetings."
Hao Liang plopped onto the sofa, cursing angrily, "Damn it, those guys from the military are straight-up bandits. I almost fought them on the spot."
Chang Tianxiang sighed, "The situation did get quite tense. If Secretary-General Gu hadn't called in to stabilize things, it would have been hard to wrap up."
Hao Liang asked, "Who notified Secretary-General Gu?"
"Wu Yu. He previously chaired a key scientific research project personally launched by Secretary-General Gu, so they know each other."
Hao Liang snorted, "Figures. I already noticed back at the safe zone. Wu Yu is a downright schemer. He didn't say a word during the meeting, but he went behind our backs and tattled to the Secretary-General."
Wu Yu adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, "Hao Liang, if not for me, you'd have been beaten to death by those military guys today. Not only do you refuse to thank me, but you also slander me?"
"What did I do? Wasn't I fighting for our interests? The military guys demanded that Old Li only get the absolute minimum share of the Crimson Crystals, what kind of bullshit is that?"
"Even if they were trying to start high to negotiate down, this is beyond ridiculous!"
Zhao Longfei took a drag from his cigar, stepped aside, and chuckled, "Between the two of you, the military's aggressive stance on Crimson Crystals took a major hit. At the time, I actually thought Professor Wu and Professor Hao had coordinated this whole good cop, bad cop routine."
"Who the hell would coordinate with that schemer on such a shady tactic."
"Hao Liang, that's enough."
Li Tianming also stepped in to mediate.
"The share of Crimson Crystals we secured this time is acceptable. The financial and material support we received also met our expectations."
"All our hard work and preparation weren't in vain. Our research in South Glory is ready to go. Tomorrow, we celebrate with a feast! Principal Zhao, you're coming too, right?"
Zhao Longfei replied, "I can't make it tomorrow. You guys go ahead. The Zhao Chamber of Commerce's founding ceremony is tomorrow—I have to be there."
"Oh, right, I heard about that. But we've been busy preparing for the Crimson Crystal meeting, so I didn't follow up. Need any help?"
"No need. The Chamber of Commerce is about securing funding and resources for South Glory University. That's my job as principal. You professors should just focus on research."
Li Tianming didn't press further.
Since Zhao Longfei said he didn't need help, then he really didn't need it.
Besides, Li Tianming felt mentally drained from all the stress these past days and wasn't in the mood for more formal socializing.
"Alright, then tomorrow it'll just be us and little Qin having dinner."
Qin Siyang smiled subtly, as if there was more to it.
Zhao Longfei took a drag from his cigarette and glanced at Qin Siyang with a displeased look.
"Little Qin won't be going either."
"Why not? He's attending the Zhao Chamber of Commerce ceremony?"
"That's right. He has to be there."
"Why does he have to be there?"
"Because…"
"Ahem."
Qin Siyang interrupted Zhao Longfei. Seeing the smug look on his face, Zhao Longfei knew this kid wanted to brag himself.
He waved his hand nonchalantly, signaling Qin Siyang to speak.
Qin Siyang smiled at the confused Li Tianming, "Old Li, you can call me Little Qin. But I'd prefer if you addressed me by my official title."
"Title? What title? The Model Student of Ju'an School?"
Qin Siyang straightened his collar and said, "You can call me Chairman Qin."
"Chairman?"
Li Tianming jolted up, "You're the chairman of the Zhao Chamber of Commerce?"
"What, is that not allowed?"
Zhao Longfei exhaled a smoke ring and calmly corrected him, "Vice."
"Vice chairman is still a chairman. You, a mere board member, have no vision at all."
"My mood was already bad. If you keep running your mouth, I'll rip your head off right now."
Noticing that Zhao Longfei actually seemed irritated, Qin Siyang immediately lowered his head, "Uh… Sorry, Director Zhao. Please forgive my behavior. I'm still just a kid."
Li Tianming and the others were all stunned.
'Qin Siyang… is actually the vice chairman of the Zhao Chamber of Commerce?'
Zhao Longfei explained, "The announcement was made a while ago. Qin Siyang is the vice chairman and a board member. But you all were focused on preparing for the Crimson Crystal meeting, so you didn't notice."
"But… how did he become the vice chairman?", Li Tianming still found it unbelievable.
Qin Siyang argued, "Zhao Sifang is chairman. Gu Yunpeng is also vice chairman. So why can't I be vice chairman?"
Lu Daoxing scratched his bulbous nose, "What's this? The Zhao Chamber of Commerce is raising a squad of child soldiers?"
Zhao Longfei sighed, "It's a young people's organization. We're setting things up early to train them."
Li Tianming was full of questions, "Zhao Sifang is a Zhao. Gu Yunpeng is a Gu. Training them makes sense. But why him?"
Qin Siyang immediately protested, "What, people with the surname Qin aren't worthy of being trained?"
Wu Yu calmly remarked from the side, "Compared to those two, as an orphan of the Qin family, you really don't qualify."
"Professor Wu, you—"
Zhao Longfei cut him off, "Little Qin, that's enough."
Qin Siyang raised his chin high, smugly glancing at Li Tianming.
Li Tianming was still puzzled.
Zhao Longfei said, "If you're really curious, go to the Zhao Chamber of Commerce ceremony tomorrow, you'll get most of your answers there."
Qin Siyang being vice chairman had completely piqued Li Tianming's curiosity.
"But we don't have invitations."
Qin Siyang waved his hand dismissively, "No big deal, I'll just take you with me."
"If you're following the vice chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, who's gonna stop you?"
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