Who's Throwing Money Around?

Even though Murong Feng had gone to bed very late the previous night, his habit of waking up early had him up at dawn. The curtains were left open, revealing a serene view of Taihu Lake in the early morning light. Due to yesterday's light rain, the sky was dotted with a few pale gray clouds. The sun was hidden behind the clouds, casting golden rays that edged the clouds and illuminated patches of the blue sky, making them even brighter.

Ye Zi was still asleep, her face flushed with a rosy hue. Murong Feng tenderly kissed her delicate face and quietly got out of bed. He went for a jog along the lakeside boardwalk constructed by the hotel. He hadn't missed a day of his morning runs in the past two years, even when staying in hotels in unfamiliar places.

The air, cleansed by the previous day's rain, was exceptionally fresh. The wind created ripples on the lake's surface, and the distant Taihu Bridge occasionally had cars passing over it, contributing to the overall tranquility and harmony. After running for a while, the sun gradually rose higher, still partially obscured by clouds, but its golden rays pierced through, reflecting off the lake's surface in a sparkling display. Murong Feng felt particularly cheerful. Despite the wild night before, he felt energetic and full of strength. He wondered if this was the so-called balance of yin and yang.

Returning to the room, Murong Feng found that Ye Zi had woken up but was still feeling a bit weak. They playfully teased each other and shared a moment of intimacy before getting up to tidy themselves.

Murong Feng drove Ye Zi to the gate of Weifu High-Tech's park, where they reluctantly said their goodbyes. He promised to visit her over the weekend, which brought a smile to her face. Ye Zi waved at Murong Feng before turning to enter the gate.

"Miss Ye, you're early today!" Ye Zi was greeted by a young man in a suit and gold-rimmed glasses as soon as she entered. It was Gao Yang, the secretary of the board at Weifu High-Tech. He smiled as he talked to Ye Zi, but his eyes followed the recently departed Passat, "SU A01789," a familiar number. Suddenly it clicked—this was the car of Li Zhenjun, the second son of the Huaxia Group!

The Huaxia Group held a dominant position in Jiangsu's business world. Gao Yang, as a second-generation businessman in Jiangsu, often interacted with others like him and was naturally familiar with Li Zhenjun, known for his strict upbringing and low profile, which included driving a Passat.

Don't be fooled by the Passat's exterior; despite its appearance, the car's license plate indicated provincial government use, and Li Zhenjun had extensively modified the car. It had an S15 engine, high-strength camshafts, forged pistons, turbo boost systems, NOS acceleration, air-fuel ratio controllers, and adjustable shock absorbers. This Passat was well-known among the young elite of Jiangsu.

Puzzled, Gao Yang asked Ye Zi, "Miss Ye, do you know Li Zhenjun?" He lamented internally; Li Zhenjun was notorious for his promiscuity, but he never imagined his reach extended to Wuxi. Ye Zi had only been in Jiangsu for just over two months, and already that guy had hooked up with her? If Li Zhenjun had made a move, did that mean Gao Yang had no chance?

Ye Zi was taken aback, "Li Zhenjun? I don't know him." Gao Yang pointed, "I saw you getting out of that Passat just now. That should be Li Zhenjun's car." Realizing the misunderstanding, Ye Zi laughed, "Oh, that car was driven by my boyfriend. Maybe he knows the Li Zhenjun you're talking about." She smiled, pleased that Gao Yang had witnessed this, as it might deter any further advances from him. "Well, Mr. Gao, I'll head up now." Gao Yang nodded blankly, still pondering who Li Zhenjun would lend his car to.

Murong Feng drove swiftly back to Nanjing. As soon as he entered the Huaxia Industrial Park, his phone rang. "Murong Feng, where are you?" It was Li Suyan's cool voice. "I just entered the park. I'll be at Baicao Garden soon," Murong Feng replied, puzzled by the increased iciness in her tone. "Hurry up, I'm waiting for you downstairs. The Huaxia Group's PR department will provide us with materials on corporate culture today. This is a rare opportunity!" Murong Feng agreed, hung up, and sped up.

Initially planning to head to the Baicao Garden apartments, Murong Feng reconsidered. Knowing he might get too busy with the materials to return the car later, he redirected to the administrative department's garage to return the car to Director Qin.

In Director Qin's office, besides him, there was a young man with an imposing presence—Li Zhenjun. As Murong Feng entered, Li Zhenjun glanced at the keys in his hand, grinning slyly. "Well, speak of the devil. Old Qin, is this the guy who took my car out for a whole day and night?"

Director Qin looked apologetically at Murong Feng and respectfully addressed Li Zhenjun, "Minister Li, this is Mr. Murong from a research team under the National Development and Reform Commission in Beijing. He needed a car yesterday, and since your car wasn't in use, I took the liberty of lending it to him. It's my fault!" Li Zhenjun sneered, "We'll deal with your issue later." Turning to Murong Feng, he said, "You're Murong Feng, right? How was it, driving my car around?"

Murong Feng, quickly understanding the situation, noticed Li Zhenjun's significant position and didn't want Director Qin to take the blame. He smiled and said, "Minister Li, I'm sorry. It's not Director Qin's fault. I needed a car urgently and borrowed yours. But I've filled the tank, and nothing happened to the car. I apologize, okay?"

Li Zhenjun, who had planned to use this opportunity to humiliate Murong Feng, maintained his disdainful tone, "Filled the tank? Nothing happened? And that's it? Do you know what kind of car this is?"

He motioned for Murong Feng to follow him outside. Though annoyed by Li Zhenjun's arrogance, Murong Feng knew he was partly in the wrong and followed him out.

Outside, Li Zhenjun pointed to the car's license plate. "See this plate? It's a provincial government plate. You didn't pay tolls, ran red lights, and the police ignored you. Why should you enjoy this privilege?" He then opened the hood, pointing to the engine. "This is a modified Nissan S15 engine with a six-speed gearbox, perfect for drifting. You drove it for a day, causing significant wear. Do you think just filling the tank covers it?"

Amused by the exaggeration, Murong Feng asked, "So what do you propose?" Li Zhenjun had been waiting for this moment since the night before and grinned, "How about this—I won't make it hard for you. Just pay a maintenance fee. Consider it like renting the car." He didn't care about the money, just wanted to embarrass Murong Feng, assuming a grad student wouldn't have much money and he could then further ridicule him.

Murong Feng thought that Li Zhenjun's demand seemed reasonable, so he nodded and smiled, "Okay, how much would be appropriate?" Li Zhenjun was taken aback, seeing Murong Feng's calm demeanor. He smirked and said, "Hmm, it doesn't have to be too much, how about 20,000?" 

Murong Feng paused for a moment. Noticing Li Zhenjun's strange smile, he realized that this guy was probably messing with him. Even if it were a rental, it wouldn't cost this much! 

So you want to mess with me? Murong Feng chuckled and said, "Only 20,0001? This engine is quite impressive!" He deliberately approached and marveled at the engine compartment, then turned to ask, "Minister Li, how much did you spend modifying this car?" 

Li Zhenjun looked puzzled, "Why do you ask?" "Oh, I want to see if the wear and tear cost is worth it." Li Zhenjun laughed, "I'll tell you. I spent a total of 800,000 yuan2 modifying this car! It's enough to buy three new cars. What do you think, worth it?" 

Murong Feng laughed as well, "These past few days, I found driving this car quite comfortable. How about I add 200,000 yuan3, making it 1,000,000 yuan4 to buy your car? What do you think? I'll take on any further wear and tear costs myself!" 

Li Zhenjun was genuinely stunned this time. He sized up Murong Feng as if seeing him for the first time, circling around him a few times before suddenly bursting into laughter. He walked over, patted Murong Feng on the shoulder, and said loudly, "Alright, alright, alright, I've never met someone like you, this is interesting, interesting!" He suddenly took out his phone, dialed a number, and laughed, "Little sis, your classmate is quite interesting, I like him!" Who knew what Li Suyan said over the phone, but he hung up with an awkward smile and said to Murong Feng, "You're not joking, are you? Do you have 1,000,000?" 

Murong Feng casually took out a checkbook from his pocket, scribbled a few lines, and handed a check for 1,000,000 to Li Zhenjun. Then he took the keys from him and said, "You can cash it anytime!" He then closed the Passat's engine cover, got in the car, and drove away. Li Suyan was probably getting impatient waiting at the apartment entrance! Now, he could drive straight to the apartment.

Given the time he would be spending in Jiangsu, having a car would be very useful. 1,000,000 yuan was nothing to him now.

Li Zhenjun stood there, dumbfounded, watching Murong Feng drive away with his car. He looked down at the 1,000,000 yuan check in his hand and suddenly burst into laughter again, "Damn, this guy acts more like a rich young master than I do! He's got character, I like it!" Li Zhenjun had always been carefree and flamboyant, priding himself on his generosity. Given the Huaxia Group's immense wealth, he was well-known in Jiangsu's circle of elites for throwing money around. He didn't expect to be outdone by Murong Feng. It was both infuriating and amusing. However, he couldn't help but feel a certain fondness for Murong Feng. As for Murong Feng dating Xiao Qiang, that was now at the back of his mind.

Suddenly, he slapped his forehead, "Damn, selling this car for 1,000,000 yuan is a huge loss! Even getting another license plate like this one would be a hassle!" He quickly called a friend in the provincial government, "Director Liu, if there's a new plate available this month, save one for me! Hey, don't ask about the car... I gave it to a brother from Beijing! Alright, I'll treat you to dinner later!" Of course, he wasn't going to ask Murong Feng for the car back. Looking at the check in his hand, he could only shake his head and smile wryly.

Li Suyan was waiting at the apartment building entrance. When she saw Murong Feng driving up, she didn't complain but remained as cold as ever, "Let's hurry to the administration building. The PR department has prepared internal documents on the company culture. These are internal materials, and we only have access because we're introduced by the NDRC. Let's go quickly; there's a lot to review!"

Murong Feng sighed inwardly; it was finally time to get busy! He let Li Suyan into the car and drove toward the administrative center building.

Even though she studied in Beijing, Li Suyan knew this car belonged to her second brother. Thinking of his strange phone call earlier, she couldn't help but ask, "Whose car are you driving?" Murong Feng smiled, "I just bought it from someone." He didn't elaborate, and although curious, Li Suyan, accustomed to being cold and detached, didn't press further. She made a mental note to ask her second brother about it later.

This time, Li Suyan and Murong Feng received internal documents on the corporate culture of the Huaxia Group.

The corporate culture training at the Huaxia Group is a systematic project managed by a dedicated department under the president's office. It is said that back in the day, Li Zhengyi spent three days talking to several professors from Renmin University, sharing his personal experiences to help draft the foundational documents of the corporate culture. They focused on three key questions: why Huaxia Group succeeded, what factors supported its success, and what additional elements were needed for greater success.

After years of drafting, refining, and multiple revisions, the final corporate culture document of the Huaxia Group was published. It covers six main aspects: core values and goals, growth and value distribution, basic business policies, organization policies, HR policies, control policies, and succession plans.

Phrases like "Never let Lei Feng suffer losses; contributors must receive fair rewards" and "For the prosperity of our great motherland, the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and for the happiness of ourselves and our families, we strive tirelessly. With our excellent products, we will stand among the world's leading telecommunications companies; we do not simply seek scale expansion but aim to make ourselves better..." These lofty ambitions attracted and united many talented, patriotic, and ambitious individuals, leading to the Huaxia Group's continuous success and growth.

As Murong Feng flipped through these documents, he felt the spirit of people-centeredness, encouragement of innovation, openness, cooperation, and dedication. He couldn't help but admire Li Zhengyi, the founder of the Huaxia Group. To summarize such profound corporate culture, Li Zhengyi must be an extraordinary figure. Murong Feng hoped that during this research visit, he would have the chance to meet him!

Unexpectedly, that opportunity came sooner than he thought!