Chapter 21: A Traveling Troop (1)

  ument.write(

  After the meeting, all officers returned to their respective offices and started getting busy.

  Xu Shaowen walked out of the conference room, and Li Zhenning caught up with him in a hurry. He stopped Xu Shaowen and said: "Wenyuan, are you really sure about this expense? I've seen the design for the new barracks, plus the increase in military pay, it's not a small amount of money."

  "Don't worry, the funds will absolutely not be a problem." Xu Shaowen said with ease, exuding an air of confidence. He currently holds $19 million in shares at the Chinese National Bank, and withdrawing just a small portion would solve the current issue. Moreover, his stocks purchased in the US might have already started to multiply in value.

  "Alright, I believe you." Li Zhenning let out a sigh of relief and then said, "Just now my dad had Fu Bo come find me. Dad hopes that we can go back for dinner tonight. After all, it's been so long since we returned to Shanghai, and we still haven't gone home yet."

  Xu Shaowen thought for a moment, anyway the work had already been assigned and there was nothing urgent to do, so he nodded and said: "Alright then, I'll go to your place for dinner tonight."

  ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

  In the evening, Xu Shao-wen and Li Zhen-ning brought only four guards and took the inspector's sedan to Li's villa. Li Wanqi had already prepared a sumptuous dinner and was overjoyed to pull Xu Shao-wen and Li Zhen-ning into the house by the hand. Two months later, Xu Shao-wen and Li Zhen-ning were promoted to Shanghai Garrison Commander and Frontier Defense Supervisor, which was what the Li family had been looking forward to for a long time.

  At dinner, Li Wanqi deliberately let Xu Shao Wen and Li Yue Ru sit together. Li Yue Ru was very happy that Xu Shao Wen had returned to Shanghai, but she was shy and didn't say much from start to finish, only blushing slightly and constantly stealing glances at Xu Shao Wen. In Li Yue Ru's small heart, she gradually felt that Xu Shao Wen in his military uniform looked very majestic.

  Li's father and son had a long conversation with Xu Shaowen at the dinner table.

  After dinner, Li Wanqi called both Xu Shaowen and Li Zhenning to his study. After the three sat down, Li Wanqi's face was very calm, saying: "In any case, Zhenning has finally made a name for himself this time. Originally thought that today would still have to wait for a long time, at least two years later when you graduate, but it's also an opportunity."

  "Dad, actually this time we're also quite unlucky," Li Zhenning sighed, "The central government has been pushing me and Wen Yuan away, but in the end it was Wen Yuan's uncle Xu who mediated for a long time before we were finally transferred to Shanghai."

  "What's wrong with coming to Shanghai?" Li Wanqi burst out laughing, "Here the mountains are high and the emperor is far away, it's a great place to show off one's skills." He paused for a moment, then turned to Xu Shao Wen and said, "Wen Yuan, the bank business has been doing very well, Yu Lao and I plan to open a branch in Guangzhou and Shandong, what do you think?"

  Li Zhenning was quite surprised, but soon guessed what was going on and said, "No wonder you didn't tell me how much the military supplies dividend was last time I asked Dad. It turns out that you and Wen Yuan have opened a bank together."

  "What's the difference between me and Wen Yuan, your father's not yours either, and Wen Yuan is now considered half a family member." Li Wanqi didn't plan to explain anything to Li Zhenning, so he just went along with his idea and laughed loudly.

  Li Zhenning smiled and didn't say anything else. Now he finally knew why Xu Shaowen always thought that expenses were a small matter.

  Xu Shaowen smiled and said, "Banking is Uncle Li's and Yu Boss's specialty. If they want to open a branch, let them do it. As a military man, I don't understand much about this."

  "That's good, then I'll take it as Wen Yuan agreeing." Li Wanqi nodded and said.

  Xu Shaowen thought for a moment and then said, "Actually, I think that some small banks in Shanghai, if we have the strength, can be completely acquired by us, reducing competitors, so as to increase the benefits of our National Bank."

  Li Wanqi nodded thoughtfully and said: "Wen Yuan's idea is good, I'll discuss this matter with Yu Lao in detail over the next few days."

  "That's all for Uncle Li and Boss Yu," Xu Shaowen said politely. He paused, changed the subject, and said, "Uncle Li, the Military Governor's Office is a bit short of funds recently, hoping that the National Bank can lend 2 million yuan in cash."

  "Look at what you're saying, the National Bank has half of your shares, and you still need a loan? Besides, two million is not a big number, as long as it helps the Military Governor's Office, I, Li Wanqi, can take care of this two million privately." Li Wanqi waved his hand generously, with a very heroic tone. He now regards the Military Governor's Office as his own industry, and whether it's Li Zhenning or Xu Shao Wen, they are all part of the Li family.

  "Alas, this is not good. Public and private should be separate, Uncle Li's favor is too great, Shao Wenke dare not accept it." Xu Shao Wen hastily declined, after Li Wanqi gave him $160 million, in fact, $2 million was still a large sum for the Li family.

  Li Wanqi thought for a moment and didn't say much more. He also understood that Xu Shaowen wanted the National Bank to make some extra interest and improve its operations. It seemed that Xu Shaowen was still very considerate of the National Bank. He said, "Alright then, in that case, I'll give the bank a call tomorrow and have them transfer two million directly to your military governor's office."

  Xu Shaowen nodded and said: "Then I'll trouble you, tomorrow I will send a team to escort."

  ———————————————————————————————————————————————

  The Garrison Headquarters chose a new recruit training camp in Qingpu District, on the west side of Shanghai, in a suburb with mountains behind it. This project was not small, and the Garrison Headquarters' secretariat had the Shanghai Garrison Command mobilize engineering troops along with hired workers to start work together. Working day and night, the large drill ground was completed within a week's time, and then another two weeks were spent building the cafeteria, shooting range, and barracks.

  Xu Shaowen, in order to prevent someone from embezzling and producing a subpar project, almost every week would go to the new barracks construction site for inspection two or three times. This put great pressure on Chen Sen of the secretariat, who didn't dare to slack off at all. According to the intentions of the military governor's office, the new barracks must be built with high standards, requiring that the soldiers' living quarters not be difficult to endure and that the training facilities be complete and perfect, so the entire construction cost of the new barracks exceeded 200,000.

  Zheng Rucheng was so angry with Xu Shao Wen that he couldn't help but laugh and cry. The 200,000 yuan in expenses could have been enough to build three Shanghai garrison battalions. In the end, he only handed over 70,000 yuan in expenses, leaving the remaining 130,000 yuan for Xu Shao Wen to deal with himself.

  －－－－

  Collecting votes and shamelessly asking for flowers~~ haha!

  Thank you all for your support!