First update, please subscribe to the genuine version!

...

And so, Qin Fang had another fallout with Director Zhao, who liked to stir up trouble for no reason.

However, Qin Fang wasn't going to let it go at that; he was certain that Director Zhao was acting on someone's behalf, and the first person Qin Fang suspected was Wei Minghe, who had suddenly appeared and wanted to discreetly buy the technology from him.

"Brother Fei, I want to ask you something. Do you know someone named Wei Minghe?"

After some thought, Qin Fang decided to give Qiao Zhenfei a call. If Wei Minghe could mobilize people from the Ministry of Science and Technology, it meant he was a person of considerable clout, and Qin Fang couldn't afford to take him lightly.

"Wei Minghe? The son of Minister Wei Zongren of the Ministry of Finance? How did you end up crossing paths with him..."

Qiao Zhenfei hesitated for a moment but quickly caught on.

"The Minister of Finance's son?"

Qin Fang, upon hearing this, felt somewhat stifled. The Ministry of Finance was definitely a lucrative department, and with Wei Minghe being the son of its minister, his status was considerably significant.

Just having a father who was the Minister of Finance, why would Wei Minghe stick his nose into Qin Fang's project so abruptly?

Qin Fang also understood why Director Zhao would come to help; it was undoubtedly at Wei Minghe's behest. Although Director Zhao was not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, officialdom dealings were complicated, and if Zhao could successfully handle this, Wei Minghe would surely not let Zhao's efforts go unrewarded. A simple nod from Wei Minghe could lead to Zhao's promotion and wealth.

"It's not that I wanted to clash with him, it's like this..."

Qin Fang gave a wry smile and didn't conceal anything from Qiao Zhenfei, telling him straight about his plan to sell the improved lithium battery technology.

"You really have the complete technology?"

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Qiao Zhenfei asked in surprise, his tone seemingly quite interested.

"Huh? Brother Fei, what do you mean by that?"

Qin Fang was slightly taken aback and asked with some uncertainty.

"Don't get me wrong! I'm not Wei Minghe. Now that you mention it, I understand why he has set his sights on you. The Minister's brother-in-law, Wei Minghe's uncle Fang Wenshan, is the head of Guangnan Group. You must be familiar with Guangnan Group if you are planning to sell this technology, right?"

Qiao Zhenfei laughed after catching the tone of Qin Fang's voice, realizing that Qin Fang had misunderstood him, and promptly explained the situation.

"As you know, with my influence in Shenzhou, I have some project collaborations with Guangnan Group, so I'm quite familiar with Fang Wenshan... Here's what we'll do: I'll handle the issue with Wei Minghe for you!"

Qiao Zhenfei briefly shared what he knew and generously took on this trouble for Qin Fang.

"Ah, the environment within the country..."

Qin Fang couldn't help but chuckle wryly. He had seen his fair share of the world by now, but the more he saw, the more he realized how difficult it was to do business. Almost any significant business inevitably had some connection to the bureaucracy, and growing wealthy silently was not an easy task.

Regardless, during the few days of the conference proceedings, Wei Minghe did not harass Qin Fang further, nor did anyone else bother him. Qin Fang took the opportunity to rest and awaited the last few days of the conference, when he would negotiate business deals.

...

The lithium battery industry seminar was of decent scale and grade, and after several days of sessions, the scheduled agenda had finally been completed. In the following days, various manufacturers engaged in mutual exchanges.

Potential partnerships could be sought, including the sale of production lines, complete technologies, and even products or companies – all topics open for discussion.

For this reason, a banquet was specially held that evening, inviting participating guests, and Qin Fang, of course, was on the invitation list despite having not attended a single session of the conference.

The banquet served not only to celebrate the successful commencement of the seminar but also to officially start the cooperation and exchange.

Chen Jiangnan, of course, was present too, and he had agreed to introduce a few lithium battery manufacturers to Qin Fang at the banquet – they were the "fat sheep" they were planning to slaughter.

Qin Fang naturally attended with pleasure, and Xiao Muxue accompanied him as his date to the event.

After these few days of nourishment, Xiao Muxue had shed her former naïveté and became more voluptuous. Her demeanor had matured considerably, and dressed up elegantly, her seductive charm was perfectly displayed. Her arrival nearly instantly captured the attention of many men.

"To be honest, seeing so many men envious, I feel quite satisfied!"

Xiao Muxue attracted enough attention, and as her man, Qin Fang was subjected to numerous piercing gazes, those envious eyes truly capable of ripping him to shreds.

However, Qin Fang ignored it all. Without envy, jealousy, and hatred, how could he demonstrate his presence?

"Miss, may I buy you a drink?"

A young man who thought highly of his wealth approached Xiao Muxue, blatantly disregarding Qin Fang's existence, holding a drink for himself and preparing one for Xiao Muxue, and extended a very gentlemanly invitation.

Qin Fang didn't speak, just amusedly watched the young man who seemed quite handsome, and even though he spoke Chinese very well, Qin Fang could easily tell he was not a compatriot.

"Sorry, I don't drink alcohol!"

Xiao Muxue declined his invitation straightforwardly, not even extending her hand, still clinging to Qin Fang's arm.

"Oh, is that so? I was presumptuous, then! I am Li Mingjun, may I ask for the young lady's name?"

The handsome man was not at all embarrassed; in fact, he was quite thick-skinned and, instead of retreating due to Xiao Muxue's refusal, he introduced himself and inquired about Xiao Muxue's name.

"Li Mingjun, from Korea's Seven Stars Group? No wonder you're so handsome..."

Xiao Muxue just smiled and did not respond, but Qin Fang revealed a smile and immediately identified the man's identity, while casually complimenting his "handsomeness."

Among the top ten ranking lithium battery manufacturers in the world, Japan held six seats, dominating the top six, Korea had two, in the seventh and eighth positions, and the remaining two were from Dragon Country, naturally ninth and tenth.

These were the rankings Qin Fang found from two years ago, and in these two years, Korea's market share advantage in this sector had been growing, especially the pillar of Korea's Seven Stars Group, which surged to the top three from seventh, with unstoppable momentum and dominance.

The rise of Korean enterprises had led to the decline of Japanese businesses, but Dragon Country wasn't faring much better either. Its small companies might be on the rise, but the only two in the world's top ten, BYD and Guangnan Group, were on the decline.

That's why, when Qin Fang learned that Wei Minghe came to trouble him for the sake of Guangnan Group, he could understand it, but Wei Minghe's methods were too underhanded, too overbearing, which was what really irked Qin Fang.

Li Mingjun was the deputy head of the delegation representing the Seven Stars Group at this conference. Rumor had it that he was the son of Seven Stars Group's chairman and had considerable influence and decision-making power within the delegation, so even the head of the delegation had to show him respect.

Chen Jiangnan had already copied the details of the personnel from various enterprises attending the conference for Qin Fang, which was the reason why Qin Fang could recognize this name on hearing it.

"Who are you?"

Even though Li Mingjun wanted to ignore Qin Fang's presence, now that the latter had complimented him, pretending he hadn't seen Qin Fang was not an option. However, he clearly looked down on Qin Fang and asked haughtily.

"Qin Fang, just a nobody!"

Qin Fang graciously introduced himself and then offered his hand to the man.

"Hmph!"

Upon hearing Qin Fang's praise, Li Mingjun was neither modest nor appeared to take it as a given. His eyes nearly rolled back to the ceiling, and with a disdainful snort and one hand holding his drink, he made no move to shake the hand extended toward him.

Qin Fang's face became somewhat embarrassed, and he quickly lowered his hand, though the arc in which he did so was a bit unusual.

Xiao Muxue's expression changed slightly. She had initially thought this Korean named Li Mingjun was quite polite, but didn't expect that this courtesy was only meant for beautiful women like her. As for men, he was so arrogant, even looking down on Qin Fang.

To look down on Qin Fang was to look down on her, Xiao Muxue, so how could she be courteous to him? She wanted to rush over and kick him hard in the crotch.

She had always been learning self-defense for women from Tang Feifei, and this groin-kicking move was her and Tang Feifei's favorite, a pity it had never come unto use.

Yet today, she still couldn't put it to use, as she had just moved to act when Qin Fang stopped her. He smiled and shook his head at her, mouthing "leave it to me," causing Xiao Muxue to immediately hold back, smilingly awaiting how Qin Fang would handle Li Mingjun.

"Mr. Li, to meet is to share destiny, so I'll kindly remind you, your 'fly'... is down!"

Qin Fang wore a brilliant smile, then chuckled and gave this gentle reminder before he and the equally amused Xiao Muxue walked past Li Mingjun, making a swift exit.

"Fly? What do you mean 'my fly is down'?"

Li Mingjun, confused by Qin Fang's remarks, didn't catch on immediately. Watching Qin Fang walk away, he couldn't help but inquire further.

This wasn't very loud, but the banquet was a place where everyone behaved with restraint, the atmosphere generally serene. His sudden question immediately attracted a lot of attention.

All eyes turned to Li Mingjun, and following his words, they instinctively glanced at a certain area, leaving each of them with oddly twisted expressions on their faces. (To be continued. For more, please visit www.qidian.com. More chapters are available there, and they support the author and legitimate reading!)

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.