Noon.

Song Guanchao was hosting a lunch for President Chu and Mr. Tao.

Wu Qiangwei was also there.

Mayor Zheng actually wanted to come too, mainly to meet with President Chu of Tianyun Group.

However, Wu Qiangwei didn't mention it, and he felt it wasn't polite to invite himself.

So, the lunch was just a few people.

Wu Qiangwei offered a toast: "President Chu, I salute you."

"No need to be so formal, Secretary Wu."

"Mr. Tao, I toast to you."

"So polite."

As they toasted and drank, Wu Qiangwei didn't drink much, but Song Guanchao was brave enough to accompany them, finishing two bottles of baijiu by himself.

President Chu had a typical tolerance, but Mr. Tao's capacity seemed bottomless.

And he was quite fond of drinking.

He really liked Song Guanchao's style of drinking a whole glass at once.

Song Guanchao also appreciated Tao Lianguang's straightforward personality.

By the end, the two had their arms around each other's shoulders like long-lost uncle and nephew, leaving President Chu and Wu Qiangwei dumbfounded.

Tao Lianguang, being a lead investor, surprisingly had no airs at all.

This demeanor wasn't like a state-owned enterprise leader but more like someone from a military background.

President Chu chatted casually, asking, "Mr. Tao, did you serve in the army?"

"Yes," Tao Lianguang replied, "I was in the Ministry of Railways."

President Chu was surprised, "Railway soldiers?"

"Right."

"Wow, impressive."

President Chu quickly raised his glass: "Let's drink together, brother."

Tao Lianguang was puzzled, "Why? You were in the Ministry of Railways too?"

"Not really," President Chu laughed, "I served in the north before."

"All soldiers, we should drink together indeed."

The two slurped down a drink, and Song Guanchao followed by lifting his glass: "President Chu, you and I should drink together too."

President Chu asked, "Why? Were you also in the army?"

Wu Qiangwei replied, "He just retired earlier this year."

Both men were surprised: "Where did you serve?"

"Nanjiang Military District."

All three shared a military background, so they soon delved into talking about their military days.

The two had served in an earlier era when military life was particularly tough, leaving them deeply moved.

"Xiao Song served later and doesn't understand how tough our times were."

"Yeah, Xiao Song was fortunate; if it were our time, with his small build, he'd be crying in a few days."

Song Guanchao was displeased; why diminish him while boasting about yourselves?

He scoffed, "What you're saying, serving wasn't easy for me either. I didn't eat any less of the hardship you did."

Tao Lianguang retorted, "You didn't endure any hardship. During our drills, we were deep in the mountains with venomous snakes and wild boars in sight, real weapons and live ammunition, faced with monthly death quotas."

Song Guanchao was speechless, "Mr. Tao, it's only been a few years. Do you think there are no rigorous drills or journeys deep into the wilderness now?"

"No bragging, today's intensity is no less than back then."

"To say something that might hurt your pride, if you both joined the army in the same year as me, now you'd be the ones offering me smokes when we met."

The two raised their eyebrows: "That's quite an exaggerated statement."

"Exaggerated?" Song Guanchao, getting bold from the drink, said, "Just one question, what rank did you retire at?"

Tao Lianguang replied, "Colonel."

President Chu laughed, "I was just a Captain."

Then he asked, "And you?"

"Me? Not high, a Lieutenant."

"..." The two were stumped.

Hearing his earlier question, they assumed he retired at least a Major.

Only a Lieutenant?

What's there to brag about?

Song Guanchao lit a cigarette, squinting as he exhaled, saying, "I enlisted at 22, retired at 26."

"In my first year, I became the regiment's rookie king."

"Also in the first year, I received several third-class merits and two second-class merits."

"In the second year, the special forces wanted to recruit me, but I didn't go."

"When they recruited again the following year, I still didn't go."

"Later, a leader from the special forces taunted me, saying I was afraid of not keeping up with their training intensity."

"Being young and hot-headed, I couldn't hold back and practically overturned the special forces."

"This made the special forces a bit embarrassed, leading the commander to personally order the formation of a second special forces unit."

"Before retiring, the commander transferred me to be his security officer. It felt pointless, so I left the service."

Under their skeptical glances, Song Guanchao lifted his chin and said, "Tell me, if you joined the forces in the same batch as me, wouldn't you be offering me a cigarette and calling me squad leader by now?"

After quite a while, Tao Lianguang finally asked, "You're not joking?"

President Chu also doubted, "Sounds too far-fetched, doesn't it?"

In four years, to achieve so much.

If it's as he said, his future is indeed beyond limits.

Using a term from a novel, Soldier King, wouldn't be an exaggeration.

Song Guanchao said, "Is that far-fetched? The more unbelievable parts I haven't even mentioned yet."

"Tell us."

"Can't say," Song Guanchao inhaled from his cigarette and said, "It's classified information."

"..." The two twitched their lips, now even classified information was involved, making it sound even more fantastical.

The two didn't believe it.

Wu Qiangwei, did!

It was the first time she heard about Song Guanchao's military past.

Her eyes couldn't help but shine with the unique admiration a girl has for a boy she fancies.

"Alright, enough of that,"

Tao Lianguang said, "There's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" Song Guanchao asked, "Mr. Tao, you don't want to spar with me, do you? That won't do, you're not young anymore. What if I accidentally break your arm, and you don't give me the investment money?"

"What nonsense,"

Tao Lianguang jokingly scolded, "That urban redevelopment project in your city."

"What about the project?"

"Can you have any say in it?"

"That's Secretary Lu's project."

He couldn't interfere.

Song Guanchao shook his head, asking, "Mr. Tao, wanting to invest?"

"Invest?" Tao Lianguang snorted, "Invest in that bullshit!"

That was rather crude.

It even made Wu Qiangwei blush slightly.

Song Guanchao asked, "Does Mr. Tao have issues with the project?"

"Hmph!" Tao Lianguang said, "There's an area related to it, former employee dormitories, baths, and a school from the Ministry of Railways…"

"And then?"

"That area is coincidentally up for demolition, and I've heard the compensation is very low."

"How low?"

"Around seven to eight thousand."

"What's the market price?"

"About ten thousand."

Song Guanchao sobered up a bit, asking, "Mr. Tao, are you sure?"

"Would I tell you if I weren't sure?"

"I can't make the call on this, but I can give it a try."

Just after speaking, he remembered Wu Qiangwei was still at the table.

He cleared his throat and quickly said, "What does Secretary think?"

Wu Qiangwei hummed, "I'll ask around later."

'I'll ask around...'

Hearing such a clearly perfunctory remark, Tao Lianguang wasn't hopeful.

After the meal, having had a great time talking.

They left the private room and stood at the hotel entrance, chatting a bit more.

Song Guanchao and Wu Qiangwei, got in a car and left.

President Chu stayed to chat with Tao Lianguang.

Both men were of similar age, had served, drank together, and were developing the best of friendships.

"Let's go have a cup of tea somewhere."

They got into a car.

On the road, Tao Lianguang said, "That Xiao Song, no wonder he was a soldier, he sure can boast like one."

President Chu was about to agree but suddenly recalled the scene where Chairman Zhao had arranged for him to come.

For Chairman Zhao to personally arrange this, this Secretary Song must have a significant background.

Yet, as he interacted, Song Guanchao didn't seem to have any background.

So what was it that Chairman Zhao had noticed in him?

According to what he said, he'd only been in the system for a little over half a year.

Before this, he was always in the military.

Before the military, he was in school.

Could it be his background was built up in the army?

A thought popped into Chu's mind: Could everything Song Guanchao said be true?

He suddenly grabbed his phone, saying, "I'll ask around, see if what Xiao Song said is true."

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.