Tang Tianlong brought Xia Lei to the tea house’s innermost private room. Xia Lei saw Ling Han, Ye Kun, Mu Jian-Feng, a few military personnel, and a stranger. This person looked to be in his 50s and had clear white skin. He had taken care of his skin well. He gave off an air of haughty arrogance, which made people think that he was not an ordinary person.

That must be what they call the aura of a leader.

Although no one had introduced him yet, Xia Lei could already guess this person’s identity. He must be Yu Shanhe.

“Xia Lei, come, let me make introductions.” Ling Han stood up.

Xia Lei smiled. “I know all the leaders here except for him.” He looked at Yu Shanhe and asked courteously, “This is...?”

Yu Shanhe stood up without waiting for Ling Han to introduce them. “My surname is Yu, and my name is Shanhe,” he said with a smile. He stretched out a hand. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr Xia.”

Xia Lei stretched out both hands to grab Yu Shanhe’s hand. “Nice to meet you too, Mr Yu.”

Normally, Xia Lei was supposed to call him “Senior Official Yu” or something, but there was no need for the courtesy since he knew that he had ulterior motives.

“Mr Xia, I’d like to bestow four words unto you.”

Xia Lei smiled. “What is it?”

“Dragon of the people!” exclaimed Yu Shanhe.

“Mr Yu sure knows how to joke.” Xia Lei smiled as he said, “I shall also bestow four words unto you, Mr Yu.”

Yu Shanhe’s brows raised slightly. “Eh, what is it?”

Xia Lei said, “Concealed deep, and hidden.”

All eyes in the room were on Xia Lei once he said those words. He obviously seemed to know Yu Shanhe’s identity. It was a great disrespect for him to talk to Yu Shanhe in this manner. Based on status, it was an honor for Xia Lei to get the four words from Yu Shanhe. But in terms of status, Xia Lei did not have the qualifications to return four words back to him. Doing so was overestimating himself. More importantly, the words Xia Lei gave him were “Concealed deep, and hidden.”

Whether these words were praising or mocking, the result would be different depending on which angle you looked at it from.

“Mr Xia, what do you mean by these words?” Yu Shanhe felt somewhat unhappy.

Xia Lei gave him a smile. “Mr Yu, I do not mean harm. What I mean by ‘concealed deep, and hidden’ is that Mr Yu is a very powerful person.”

Xia Lei was no fool. He was someone with an IQ of 998. Yu Shanhe appeared

right at the time when the Thunder Horse Military Factory could not get loans. It was not just Yu Shanhe — Mu Jianfeng and Ye Kun had also come. Was this a coincidence? He had known right away that this Yu Shanhe came for Thunder Horse Military Factory. This was not the first time something like this had happened. Mu Jianfeng and Ye Kun had done the same before. Back then, he only had the XL2500 sniper rifle. And now, he had more than one card in his hand. He now had the Gust assault rifle, Thunder Dragon intelligent lathe second-generation, and even tanks, artillery, and the defense system from the Rheinmetall AG. The upgrading of Thunder Horse Military Factory now was like moving the entirety of Rheinmetall AG over to China. This cake of Xia Lei’s was too tempting and anyone would want a slice of it.

If Thunder Horse Military Factory completed this upgrade, its scope of production capabilities would increase and encompass all of its future products of manufacture. Its presence was a threat to Hanwu Weapons and China Industrial Group. Would these two large military groups and the stakeholders standing behind them just stand and watch such things happen? Would they not take action?

Now, these people had come.

However, Xia Lei did not understand why Ling Han would meddle in this since he represented the ZN Bureau.

The atmosphere became awkward and weird.

“Hehe.” Ling Han laughed. “Sit, sit, let us all sit. Do you all want to stand and talk until Grandfather Tang’s opening banquet?”

Yu Shanhe seemed to respect Ling Han quite a bit and he stopped arguing about the four words Xia Lei said to him.

Xia Lei also sat.

Ling Han brought Xia Lei a cup of tea. This cup of tea had been prepared in advance, specifically for Xia Lei.

“Thank you, Brother Ling.” Xia Lei was very courteous.

Ling Han patted Xia Lei’s shoulder. “What are you doing being so courteous with me?’

Xia Lei only smiled but did not say anything. He had begun to feel a bit of ill-will and wariness of him since he found out that Ling Han was Mr Z.

Xia Lei sat down. Before he even had two sips of tea, Yu Shanhe glanced a Mu Jianfeng, and Mu Jianfeng glanced at Ye Kun.

“Ahem.” Ye Kun cleared his throat and looked at Xia Lei, “Mr Xia, recently the Thunder Horse Military Factory has been making a lot of moves. You butted heads with us in the light weapons market in the past, and you’re now reaching into the heavy weapons and heavy equipment industries. Your appetite sure is big.”

Xia Lei smiled and said, “Just say what you want to say. There is no need to beat around the bush.”

“Then I will be frank with you.” When Ye Kun said that, he looked at Yu Shanhe from the corner of his eye. “We, Hanwu Weapons, have been providing parts to Thunder Horse Military Factory for the Gust assault rifle. But recently, we have not received our payment from Thunder Horse Military Factory. How do you think we should solve this matter?”

Mu Jianfeng also butted in. “Mr Xia, there is also our China Industrial Group’s accounts receivable.”

Xia Lei said, “So you came to ask for money. Do you all think that Thunder Horse Military Factory has reached a point where it can’t even pay its suppliers?”

Thunder Horse Military Factory’s XL2500 sniper rifle and Gust assault rifle sold well globally, and there were many countries which wanted to buy but could not. How would it get to a point where it could not even pay its suppliers?

This was just Mu Jianfeng and Ye Kun’s excuse to get to the main topic.

Xia Lei could tell. This Yu Shanhe was the one who had organised all this, or he was the manipulator behind the scenes. But he would not negotiate with him himself. The ones who would negotiate with him were the representatives of Hanwu Weapons and the China Industrial Group, Ye Kun and Mu Jianfeng. They were the speakers of this group of profiteers, and maybe sometimes the scapegoat.

“Mr Xia, now that is wrong of you to say that.” Mu Jianfeng carried on. “Everyone is working to build up the country’s national defense. We could say that the China Industrial, Hanwu Weapons, and Thunder Horse Military Factory are brother entities. Now that Thunder Horse Military Factory has encountered a problem with capital, how can we still ask you for money at a time like this?”

“Did Mr Ye not just ask me how I’d solve it?” asked Xia Lei.

Ye Kun replied, “Mr Xia, I was not asking you for money, I was only mentioning it. Our three companies are an entity. Now that Thunder Horse Military Factory has run into trouble, I will talk about it since you find it embarrassing to mention it, so we can all discuss it and think of a solution together.”

What pretty words.

Xia Lei laughed. “Right, you are right. My Thunder Horse Military Factory is currently undergoing a major phase in the upgrading but the bank would not give me the loans. Is this the trouble that you were talking about?”

Ye Kun and Mu Jianfeng both looked at Yu Shanhe.

Yu Shanhe coughed. “Mr Xia, since you three are affiliated companies, I would like to speak of my personal standpoint and say a couple of words.”

“Please speak, Mr Yu.” Xia Lei was courteous.

Yu Shanhe said, “So far, our country’s military industry is far inferior to the West’s. Although we have a number of exports, they were still mostly light weapons that the West look down on. This situation must change. Mr Xia, what do you say?”

“How do we change it?” asked Xia Lei as he stared at Yu Shanhe.

“I am just stating my own viewpoint.” Yu Shanhe reiterated this point. “I suggest that you three companies merge, and have you assume the position of the group’s chairman. What do you think of my proposal, Mr Xia?”

“Three companies integrated into one?” Yu Shanhe’s proposal surprised Xia Lei.

“That’s right, three companies into one. That would not only increase the three companies’ competitiveness on a global scale, but it could also save costs and increase profit.” Yu Shanhe glanced at Ling Han and said with a smile, “Mr Ling, what do you think of my proposal?”

Ling Han nodded. “If the three companies come together, I believe that Xia Lei is the candidate most suitable to become the chairman. We have all seen his abilities. Moreover, even if the three companies are integrated, they must defer to Thunder Horse Military Factory.”

This was Ling Han’s stance. He agreed to the merging of the three companies. From his words, it was obvious that he was protecting Xia Lei’s interests. He did not try to hide the fact from the people in the room that he was on Xia Lei’s side.

“I knew you’d agree with my proposal, Mr Ling. This is something great that could revitalize our military industry.” Yu Shanhe looked at Xia Lei and said with a smile on his face, “Mr Xia, what do you think?”

Xia Lei stayed silent, like he was thinking about the problem.

Ye Kun spoke up before Xia Lei said anything. “How can that do? If we talk in terms of qualifications, Elder Mu should be that one most suitable to take up the position of chairman. I agree that Mr Xia’s ability is strong but I do not think that that is enough to make him the chairman.”

“Kun.” Mu Jianfeng said, “Do not say anymore. This is the new generation. Background and qualifications do not mean anything. What is important is one’s ability. After the three companies are merged, our goal is to become a military giant in the world. We need to let the whole world see how impressive the Chinese military industry is.”

“That’s right, as expected of Elder Mu.” Ye Kun agreed. “I had personally hoped that Elder Mu would take up the position of chairman. However, since Elder Mu has said so, I also think that the position of the chairman should be held by someone with the ability. Mr Xia is our country’s best machinist and electrical engineer. He also built the Thunder Horse Group from scratch. One can see that his talent in corporate management is very impressive! Therefore, I also raise both hands in favor of him to become the chairman!”

“Although Xia Lei will take up the position of chairman, I, Mu Jian-Feng, would still like to say that I will do my utmost to assist Xia Lei to fix the Thunder Horse Military Factory’s current financial problems.”

“Elder Mu is sure noble,” said Yu Shanhe in praise.

Everyone in the room smiled.

All except Xia Lei, of course.