Chapter Sixteen: The Eldest Daughter of the Li Family

  At dinner time, Wei Hong arrived at Deju Building as scheduled. As soon as he entered the door, he called a waiter: "Young man, stir-fry three of your most famous dishes for me, pack them in a brocade box after they're done, and have them delivered to my home. Also, please tell my wife that I won't be coming back tonight, so she can eat and rest early. Oh, and put the bill on Mr. Li's account." Wei Hong was a postmodern man with no traditional constraints, he wanted to take Yuanniang along, but she refused. After various excuses from Yuanniang, Wei Hong still insisted, but eventually surrendered when the beauty was about to cry.

  "Which Mr. Li?" The young shopkeeper looked at Wei Hong with a puzzled expression, sizing him up as he burst in noisily.

  Wei Hong glanced at the young man and didn't answer, instead asking: "Which boss booked your second-floor VIP room for tonight?"

  The young fellow tilted his head, thought for a moment, and then his body suddenly shook: "Oh, sir, you're talking about Li the big boss of Hongyuan Business Firm?! You are the honored guest that Boss Li is going to entertain tonight?"

  Wei Hong nodded: "How, doesn't it look like?"

  "Ah, just like that, sir! Please follow me upstairs. I'll show you the way." The young servant's face wore a smile, but his heart was filled with doubts. This man was dressed so shabbily, clearly not some big shot, yet he had somehow managed to gain the favor of Old Master Li and was being treated to a private banquet.

  Wei Hong didn't know what the young servant was thinking, nor did he want to know. As they went upstairs, he kept urging him: "Don't forget to send those three dishes back, don't let Madam go hungry! Otherwise, the consequences will be severe!"

  The young waiter didn't dare to neglect Mr. Li's esteemed guest, so he sent Wei Hong to the door of the elegant room on the second floor and then hurried downstairs to urge the chef to cook. Wei Hong stood outside the door of the elegant room, politely knocking on the door. After knocking once, there was no response from inside, and Wei Hong felt a little puzzled in his heart. Could it be that Mr. Li hadn't arrived yet? Since he hadn't arrived, Wei Hong simply pushed open the door and went in. However, as soon as he opened the door, he found that there was a woman inside staring at him with a strange expression.

  The girl was about sixteen or seventeen years old, wearing a plain white dress, big eyes, high nose bridge, skin as white as snow, hair as black as ink. If only her appearance is considered, she would not lose to Wan Niang. At this time, she was sitting behind the dinner table, holding a book called "The Biography of Merchants" from "Records of the Grand Historian", which belonged to very early business books.

  Seeing the woman staring at him, Wei Hong was very embarrassed and touched his nose, thinking that he might have walked into the wrong room. That young man had repeatedly said it was this room, so it shouldn't be wrong, could it be that the young man was intentionally making things difficult for him, trying to trip him up and see him make a fool of himself?

  Just as Wei Hong was in a dilemma, the woman slowly closed the book and put it on the table, thoughtfully opening her mouth to speak to Wei Hong: "Sir, aren't you Wei Hong, Young Master Wei?"

  Hearing this, Wei Hong was slightly stunned: "You are Li Boss's daughter?"

  The young lady nodded slightly, stood up, and bowed to Wei Hong: "I am Li Qiulan, nice to meet you, Master Wei. I have long heard of your great name, and today I see that you are indeed a man of grandeur and extraordinary bearing. 'Jing' and 'zhong', the constant is sufficient; 'you' and 'jiu', the benefit is boundless. Your casual words contain such profound philosophy, it truly makes me admire you to the extreme."

  People always say that the more beautiful a woman is, the more dangerous she is. Beauty is the most effective disguise, it can destroy one's mind and blind their eyes. Wei Hong now has a deep feeling about this. He couldn't tell whether Li Qiulan's words were sincere or flattering. Wei Hong didn't dare to underestimate this little girl, so he quickly bowed and greeted: "Wei has met Miss Li, those 'Jing' and 'Ying' are just my shallow views, not worth mentioning, I'm afraid it's laughable for the miss. By the way, where is your respected father?"

  Li Qiulan didn't answer immediately, but instead asked Wei Hong to take a seat first, then called over an assistant to serve tea. As she sipped the tea slowly, she spoke in a careless tone: "Hehe, young master is too modest. To be honest with you, I've been learning business from my father since I was a child, so I'm somewhat familiar with it. Your words just now contained great truths about the business world! Because there are some matters that need my father's attention at the moment, he can't come over right away. He's afraid you'll be bored alone, so he sent me to keep you company first."

  "Accompany?" Wei Hong furrowed his brow. For Li Xiehe, what in the business could be more important than the prospects of Hongyuan Business Firm? This point was clear to both Li Xiehe and Wei Hong, so when it came to "accompanying", Wei Hong naturally had his doubts.

  Li Qiulan looked at Wei Hong curiously: "Right, it's accompaniment. What's wrong?"

  Since seeing Li Qiulan, Wei Hong felt that this little girl was not simple. Just now, listening to her say that she had been studying business with Li Xiehe since childhood, apart from how to do business, the tricks and means of the business world must have also been learned. Wei Hong became even more cautious, but looking at her pure and tender face, it was indeed a young girl. Li Xiehe really went all out, actually letting his own daughter accompany the guests...

  Shrewd Li Qiulan seemed to have seen Wei Hong's doubts and smiled cleverly: "Young master is worried about the taboos between men and women?"

  "Wei didn't worry about this kind of thing, mainly because you're still too young..." Wei Hong said without thinking, his acting skills were seamless, seemingly unintentional but actually intentional in probing Li Qiulan. Until Li Qiulan slightly furrowed her brow, Wei Hong suddenly changed the subject: "What I mean is that I'm afraid there's a generation gap between us, and we don't have a common language..."

  Upon hearing this, Li Qiulan's slightly furrowed brow slowly smoothed out, and she put on a smile again: "On this point, young master need not worry. Although Autumn Lotus is just a woman and still young, I've been by my father's side since childhood, learning from his experiences and discussions. I don't dare say I have unique insights, but I do understand the basics of business. On other topics, we might not be able to chat much, but on this topic of business, Autumn Lotus is confident she can discuss it with young master."

  Li Xiehe's skills were already known to Wei Hong, and he didn't need to compare himself to others. In a head-on confrontation between the two, they would be evenly matched, with each having a 50% chance of winning. Wei Hong was curious about Li Xiehe's daughter: "Miss Li, I suppose you're aware of the sewing machine matter? I'd like to hear your thoughts on it."

  Li Qiulan seemed to have expected Wei Hong to bring up the topic of sewing machines, so she replied without hesitation: "Sewing machines are indeed full of potential, and it's not an exaggeration to call them a sharp weapon in the textile industry. However, their drawbacks are also obvious."

  "Oh? What's wrong with it? Tell me about it?" Wei Hong suddenly became interested.

  Li Qiulan said in a low voice, "This sewing machine is good, but it's expensive and the manufacturing process is complicated. Ordinary people can't afford it, and even if some small workshops can use it, they are just small-scale operations. Moreover, most people don't understand sewing machines, let alone daily maintenance and repair. If you spend a lot of money to buy a sewing machine and it breaks down, it's a big problem for ordinary people. Therefore, the rise and daily maintenance of sewing machines must rely on strong financial support. It's like a woman, no matter how beautiful she is, if she doesn't have makeup and fine clothes to maintain her appearance, she will eventually become an old hag."