Volume 10: Pro and Con
Chapter 2: My Struggle (Part 2)
“I thought you were going to hang up on me directly,” Lu Li said, half-joking.
Long Di laughed casually. “Are you talking about the matter between you and my brother-in-law—er, with Mr. Chu? I knew about that a long time ago, but it doesn’t stop me from thinking you’re a very outstanding young man.”
He coughed twice and said to Long Jing, “Girl, go watch TV. I need to chat with Little Lu for a bit.”
Long Jing shouted from a distance, “Brother-in-law, remember to send the money!”
“What money? Little Lu, don’t give her any money!” Long Di’s words seemed more directed at Long Jing.
After sending Long Jing away, Secretary Long said, “I happened to be in the capital for a work report during that time. Hehe, Little Lu, you probably don’t know, but Mr. Chu sighs every time he mentions you.”
Lu Li was silent for a long moment. “I know. He’s probably very disappointed in me.” This world was just that complicated. The evil dragon wasn’t evil; it hadn’t even harmed him. Even if he, a hero from the countryside, wanted to take up his sword to slay the demon, he couldn’t find the so-called ultimate quest.
“That’s right. He had high hopes for you. I’m telling you this so you won’t be angry at Mr. Chu. Remember that incident with your conflict with the Yan family? It was Mr. Chu who went to negotiate with Zhu Xi, trading a vote of approval on the bill for your future personal safety.”
Lu Li’s heart jolted. So that was how it was… The revision of the new law was indirectly pushed forward because of his existence.
Looking at it this way, Chu Xiaodong truly had held very high expectations for him.
Lu Li sighed. “Uncle Long, does Mr. Chu know that you’re communicating with me like this?”
Long Di smiled and said, “Don’t worry. Mr. Chu said the Chu family still owes you a great favor. As long as you don’t break your promise to him, he generally won’t obstruct any of your actions. I’m just chatting with you purely because I see potential in you.”
“What’s there to see potential in?” What was there to see potential in about a man full of lies and philandering affections?
“You’re a bit like I used to be. Our Long family is just a small family in Chuanhai. When I met Long Jing’s mother back then, I was also like you—hehe, don’t be angry—a toad lusting after a swan’s flesh. At that time, I probably wasn’t as determined as you, so I just thought about giving up.”
Lu Li’s interest was piqued. “And then?”
“Then, by a strange twist of fate, I went to be my brother-in-law’s driver and secretary. It really was a strange twist of fate. You wouldn’t believe the coincidences and misunderstandings involved,” Long Di said with great emotion. “I’m not young anymore; I already have white hair. Looking back, life’s opportunities really change in an instant. I believe the opportunity that belongs to you, Little Lu, is actually not far away. A dragon changes with the tide, and a man rises with the momentum. You are still young. Don’t let this small matter get you down!”
Lu Li believed that Secretary Long’s words came from the bottom of his heart. He had never in his life listened to the teachings of an elder, so at this moment, his heart was naturally filled with emotion.
“Long Jing said you seem to have made some game, with an income in the eight figures? That’s remarkable,” Secretary Long said again. “Do you have any plans for the future at the moment?”
The other party was speaking to him from the heart, so Lu Li was naturally unwilling to hide things. “I plan to start a company.”
“What’s the scale?”
“I’ll keep it under twenty people.”
“That’s too small. If you start so low, the expansion speed will also be affected.”
Lu Li actually wanted to explain that his industry was not like traditional manufacturing; quality was more efficient than quantity. But he thought for a moment and kept his mouth shut, waiting for Long Di to continue.
“I’ll personally fund you. Do you think that’s feasible? We’ll double the company’s scale—no, triple it! If you register the company in the province I currently administer, I can also get you policy benefits.” Long Di dropped a huge bombshell as soon as he opened his mouth. “If you’re worried about me taking away your actual control, I can split the funds into several groups and invest under the names of different companies.”
This was truly delivering a cake to his doorstep. Why would he, Long Di, need to go around offering benefits to others? Wasn’t it usually him sitting and waiting to receive benefits?
Lu Li was overwhelmed by the favor. “This help is too costly. I’m afraid I can’t bear it.”
“Little Lu, I’m helping you not because you are the Chu family’s designated son-in-law, but because you helped Long Jing. You might think it was just a small matter, but I actually went to the school to investigate afterward, and what Long Jing experienced at her previous school was even worse than I had imagined. If not for your guidance and reminder, I might have had to wait twenty years to know regret,” Long Di said earnestly. “This money is, on one hand, my repayment, and on the other, my investment in you as a person.”
Lu Li fell into deep thought. Indeed, to start a company, he needed a large amount of startup capital, and before Deep Sea Chronicles was officially released, the company would be operating at a loss. Putting aside the living expenses for him and the girls, the actual funds he could use were only a few million. After deducting various costs such as manpower, venue, and networking, the investment left for Deep Sea Chronicles would be even less.
He wanted to elevate Deep Sea Chronicles from a small-scale game to one that could compete with the mainstream market. The old workshop-style work model had to be eliminated.
Everything boiled down to two words—”short of money.”
“I’m endlessly grateful.” Lu Li had no more words of refusal. Refusing again would seem overly hypocritical and pretentious. He didn’t ask how much Long Di would specifically invest, but he could guess it would not be a small sum.
As Long Di said, he was currently a toad, and Chu Jingyi was the swan. If a toad wanted to eat a swan’s flesh, it had to seize every opportunity to strengthen itself.
In his past life, in order to secure investments, he often had to shuttle between four or five drinking parties. But now, he didn’t need to do anything, and someone would come to his door to give him money. Lu Li thought, perhaps his talent wasn’t in entrepreneurship or game development, but in dealing with women? Be it Long Jing, Chu Jingyi, or even Wen Hupo… it was like using a lever, using women to obtain social resources dozens or hundreds of times greater than his own.
If he were old, he would definitely write a book to publicize his newly discovered theory of the interpersonal leverage effect. The title would be My Struggle: A Forty-Year Battle Against Poverty, Machinery, and Class Stratification. The first chapter would be about “My Family,” then “My Hard Studies at Chuanhai No. 1 High”… He scratched his head. He felt this book title was somewhat inauspicious.
After hanging up the phone, Lu Li looked at the number Long Jing had left for him, his heart feeling as if it were filled with sunlight, the previous gloom swept away bit by bit. He began to feel full of confidence for the future. He was already far superior to most people, so what reason was there to be dejected?
An Baili and Wen Hupo finished watching TV and walked into the house to see Lu Li smiling radiantly.
“Li, what’s wrong?” An Baili looked at him with concern, afraid that Lu Li’s emotions had sunk to a low point and he was laughing out of extreme sadness.
His connection with Chu Jingyi hadn’t been truly severed, and a new dawn had appeared in his career. How could Lu Li not be smiling at this moment? He looked at the two girls and felt that after all the twists and turns, he had finally reached a new vista.
