Two days later, Li Jie, who successfully completed the test, was finally initially accepted by the Ma family. Ma Shichang "happened" to return home. After receiving the notice, Ma Qitong happily took Li Jie to meet Ma Shichang.
In the study, Ma Yunfei stood quietly behind Ma Shichang. Ma Shichang crossed his hands on the table and looked at Li Jie quietly.
Ma Qitong was more adventurous and was the first to break the silence and said: "Dad, this is Xiaozhuang, he saved me!"
Ma Shichang nodded lightly: "I know."
Li Jie stood there numbly and secretly looked at the old man sitting opposite. His temples were slightly gray, but his eyes were bright and his momentum was calm. Just sitting there gave people a feeling of calmness and self-power. Li Jie was very
I am familiar with this kind of momentum. It is a temperament developed by being in a high position and holding the power of life and death all year round.
Ma Qitong glanced at the dull Li Jie, couldn't help but secretly twisted his arm and whispered.
"Call someone quickly!"
Li Jie said lightly: "Hello!"
"kindness?"
Ma Yunfei's dark eyes shot out a cold light like ice. This man was so disrespectful. He actually dared to use such a perfunctory attitude when facing his father, the king of underground forces.
Ma Qitong also realized that Li Jie's words were inappropriate, so she quickly smoothed things over and said coquettishly: "You can't say something nice, you are such a piece of wood!"
A son is like a father. Ma Yunfei's slight moan revealed the fluctuations in his heart. Ma Shichang is so sophisticated that he doesn't care much about things like this. What he cares about is whether he can get substantial benefits. Compared to him, Ma Yunfei is still a little immature.
, unable to express emotions and emotions.
Ma Shichang knew that if he didn't speak later, Ma Yunfei would definitely scold him. In fact, he still admired Li Jie's skills in his heart.
The main business of their Ma family is completely shady. Those masters attracted by money may betray them at any time because of money. The only real master they have trained is Xie Tianhao.
Ma Shichang is already sixty-two this year and has long passed the age of knowing destiny. He doesn't care about some verbal offense. He doesn't want to make the situation tense because of Ma Yunfei's reprimand, so he speaks before Ma Yunfei speaks.
.
"I like it. I like boys with personality. Those who only know how to flatter others will not achieve anything."
Ma Yunfei glanced at his father thoughtfully, secretly pondering the meaning of Ma Shichang's words. Ma Qitong was overjoyed, thinking that her father was just out of love with her, and it was for her own sake that she didn't care about Li Jie's rashness just now, thinking of her here.
I couldn't help but feel very moved, and I just flattered him.
"Dad, you are so kind!"
Ma Shichang usually hates flatterers, but there is only one exception, and that is Ma Qitong. Whatever Ma Qitong says, even if he clearly knows that Ma Qitong is flattering, he will be very affected by it. However, considering that there is an outsider present,
The smile on his face just flashed away.
"Don't flatter him! Don't worry, I won't kill him. On the contrary, I'm wondering if he can stay and work for us. In this way, wouldn't you be able to be together every day?"
Ma Qitong was overjoyed when she heard this, nodded hurriedly, clapped her hands and shouted: "Okay! Okay!"
After saying this, he grabbed Li Jie's arm and stared at Li Jie with a pair of big eyes, his brows filled with tenderness.
"Xiaozhuang! Please agree! My father has agreed that we should be together, and now it's up to you! Quickly, please agree!"
Although Li Jie wanted very much to agree, but considering his personality, he deliberately looked indecisive. A tone of hesitation became stronger and stronger in his eyes. He looked at it.
Ma Qitong looked at Ma Shichang again, her eyes roving back and forth between the two of them.
The other three people in the study did not choose to disturb Li Jie at this time. Ma Shichang knew very well that forcefulness is not sweet. If a person does not sincerely surrender, there is no guarantee that there will be no problems in the future, even if there is any oversight.
All of them may bring irreparable losses to the Ma family's business. What he wants is for Li Jie to do it voluntarily, not by force.
The reason why Ma Yunfei did not choose to speak was, on the one hand, because his father, Ma Shichang, was in front of him and he could not go beyond his father to decide whether Li Jie would stay. On the other hand, he disliked Li Jie very much. He looked down upon this kid all day long.
With the strength of the Ma family, if it weren't for the fact that this boy was the one recognized by his younger sister, he would have been able to resist teaching him a lesson.
Ma Qitong knew that Li Jie was used to walking alone, and that his temperament was unruly and might not be suitable for teamwork. Although she really wanted Li Jie to stay, she loved him and loved everything about him. She didn't want to force Li Jie to
To make a decision, even if Li Jie finally rejects her father's solicitation, she will not waver in her determination to follow him.
After a long while, Li Jie raised his eyebrows and said in a deep voice: "I'm used to being a loner, so I might not be suitable to work under you."
Ma Qitong was not surprised when she heard the answer that she had guessed a long time ago, but she still wanted to try her best one last time. Although she loved Li Jie very much, she could not let go of her family. Of course she wanted to see the best of both worlds.
So she stretched out her hand and pulled Li Jie's sleeve, and said in a sweet and sincere voice.
"Xiao Zhuang!"
Ma Shichang had never seen such a groveling daughter. Ma Qitong's cry just now was almost heartbreaking. He was already angry when Li Jie refused his solicitation, but for the sake of his daughter, he decided to do it again.
Give it a try.
"Do you love her?"
"Answer me directly!"
Li Jie blurted out: "Love!"
Ma Shichang nodded slightly: "Okay! Stay and help me. This is not Ma Shichang telling you, this is your prospective father-in-law asking you again!"
Hearing her father's straightforward words, a blush suddenly flashed across Ma Qitong's face, as red as a basin of fire. After the embarrassment, joy surged in her heart. Ma Shichang's words were tantamount to directly betrothing her to him.
Li Jie.
One of them is Du Xiao's daughter, and the other is a killer. There is no place for people like them to get certificates. Moreover, Li Jie has a bad relationship with his parents, so he can make the decision on his own. The only thing missing is his father's nod of approval.
Now that Ma Shichang personally acknowledged Li Jie's identity, the two of them were in harmony from now on. Ma Qitong suddenly smiled like a flower, and her heartstrings trembled with sweet happiness.
"Dad, you are so kind!"
This sentence was said with sincerity. Ma Shichang's old face was filled with joy, and his face was full of smiles. Ma Qitong turned to Li Jie and said: "Look, my dad is quite good, Xiaozhuang."
...You just agreed, right?"
Today's situation has been rehearsed several times in Li Jie's mind. Faced with Ma Qitong's plea, he finally nodded and said a faint word.
"good!"
Ma Qitong was satisfied when he saw this, Ma Shichang was also satisfied to see his daughter happy, and Li Jie was also satisfied with the result. Ma Yunfei was the only one at the scene who was dissatisfied, but he didn't show it on his face. Anyway, the days ahead are still long, and he has a lot of things to do.
Time plays slowly.
"Okay, you and Xiaozhuang leave first. Your third brother and I still have something to discuss."
Ma Qitong smiled and nodded happily. Her purpose of coming today has been achieved. Not only that, it has even exceeded her expectations. She is immersed in the joy of happiness at this moment, and of course she will not have any dissatisfaction.
"Okay, dad, Xiaozhuang and I are leaving first."
Li Jie nodded slightly to the father and son, and then followed Ma Qitong out of the study.
After the two left, Ma Shichang's expression changed instantly, and he became cold and intimidating. He pointed to the seat opposite the desk and said calmly.
"Go over and sit!"
Ma Yunfei knew that what he was going to talk about was related to the life and death of the Ma family, so he immediately put aside his previous thoughts about how to deal with Li Jie, walked to the opposite side of the desk in a few steps, and sat down calmly.
"Tell me about the recent survey results!"
Ma Shichang suffers from mild rhinitis, which happened recently. His voice was very nasal when he spoke. Ma Yunfei pondered for a moment and went through the survey results in his mind.
"The force that has recently competed with us for market share is very mysterious. After investigating for so long, I only know that the boss opposite is named Lin, a middle-aged man. The other party is very careful and has never shown up at the transaction site. He usually conducts remote command.
"
"But one thing is certain, the other party should be dominated by clan forces. According to the description of the middlemen who have dealt with them, the group of young people who come into contact with them all treat each other as brothers. In addition, we have investigated their transportation system
The raw materials eventually disappeared along the southeastern coast."
"The clan consciousness there is very strong. Through two-phase research, we can initially determine that the other party's home base is in the southeastern coastal area."
"And the water transportation in this place must be very convenient. They ship in such large quantities, and they must consume a lot of raw materials. Waterways are the most suitable channel."
"In addition, they should have a certain degree of influence in the local area, and the official government is likely to have their protective umbrella. Otherwise, just relying on sneaky transportation will definitely not be able to keep up with their shipment speed."
"That's all that's been investigated so far. With this information, it's just a matter of time to find them. Dad, don't worry, give me a month, I will definitely be able to find their lair!"
Ma Shichang frowned, pursed his lips tightly, and showed deep wrinkles on his forehead. This situation was beyond his expectation. In order to investigate this mysterious force, the Ma family tried their best, but for so long they only got
To be honest, he was a little dissatisfied with this little information.
Recently, he felt a sudden uneasiness in his heart. The reason why he has been able to live freely without being caught is because of his incomparable intuition, which is far beyond ordinary people.
When he sensed something was wrong, he immediately used his private power to investigate. Although the final investigation results showed that everything was normal, he still smelled a hint of rain coming. The seemingly calm water surface was actually already undercurrent.
surge.
Ma Shichang murmured: "Time is running out."
"What?" Ma Yunfei frowned slightly and couldn't help but uttered a voice of surprise. He didn't know why his father said these somewhat incomprehensible words. Could there be some changes that he didn't know about?
"Dad, what happened?"
Ma Shichang looked into the distance with his eyes full of melancholy: "It's nothing, it's just that I have a very bad premonition recently. I always feel that something is going to happen. Alas, I hope I am overthinking it."
Ma Yunfei looked at his father in panic and surprise. He had not seen his father with such a look in his memory for a long time. The last time in his memory was ten years ago. That time, the Ma family suffered extremely heavy losses, and his two brothers died.
Died in that incident.
"Dad? Did something happen? Now that I have grown up, I can share your worries. You must not bear it alone!"
Ma Shichang sighed softly and shook his head: "I don't know yet. You should pay more attention to the official news recently. Let's put aside the affairs of the Lin surnamed forces for the time being. They are just scabies, and the officials are our confidants.
Serious trouble."
Regarding Li Jie's matter, if Ma Qitong hadn't threatened him with death, Ma Shichang would never have accepted Li Jie at this juncture. He knew how dangerous it was to accept a person of unknown origin during extraordinary times, but in the end, emotion won.
reason.
He didn't want to see Ma Qitong heartbroken. After all, he only had a son and a daughter left. Although Ma Yunfei was mostly behind the scenes, dangers were everywhere.
The only one who is truly safe is his youngest daughter Ma Qitong, who is far away from the family business. If something happens to Ma Yunfei one day in the future, he will only have this daughter left. Moreover, when he was young, he owed too much to his children, and he did not regret it until he was old.
He couldn't bear to regain his family, and he didn't want to let his daughter down.
Ma Yunfei unconsciously touched his smart bald head. His father's intuition has always been very accurate. I'm afraid this matter is not groundless. He has been focusing on investigating the forces of the Lin family some time ago and paid less attention to the official. His father's
The warning made him wake up instantly. Everything has its priorities. When he suddenly heard the news, he even became less interested in continuing to investigate his mother's whereabouts.
"I understand, I will focus on it, Dad, then I will put that matter aside for a while?"
Ma Shichang nodded: "Well, remember to concentrate and be careful, and don't get distracted by other things. In the recent period, you only need to be responsible for this matter. Other matters will be left to Uncle Da for the time being."
Hearing this, Ma Yunfei suddenly felt a trace of doubt in his heart. He frowned and glanced at Ma Shichang vaguely.
'Why give it to Uncle Da?'
'Is it possible that my father is preparing to come back and take charge of the family?'
'No, how could I think so? Even if my father wants to come out again, there is no need to use such tactful means. As long as he gives an order, who dares to stop him? Not even me!'
'And it's impossible for my father to joke about the life and death of the Ma family. Yes, I must be overthinking it. It's impossible and unreasonable!'
…………
…………
These thoughts exploded like sparks in Ma Yunfei's mind one by one, and then extinguished one by one. Everything happened in an instant. In reality, only about ten seconds passed. Ma Yunfei came back to his senses and immediately replied respectfully.
"Dad, don't worry, I know what to do."
After saying that, he asked casually: "By the way, Dad, what should we do with Xiaozhuang?"