Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

"Oh, well, if you're not, you're not. I can't figure it out anyway. That good-for-nothing boy of mine never applies himself—drives me mad," Fifth Uncle-in-law said. "See, I was just talking to your mother about bringing your cousin to the city to see something of the world, so he can take over from me someday. Otherwise I really can't rest easy."

See the world? Take over? Not borrow money? Yang Puqi was taken aback, not quite following what Fifth Uncle-in-law meant. Seeing Yang Ce's confusion, his mother explained, "Daming, it's like this. Your Fifth Uncle-in-law is an entrepreneur in Dayu Village—he runs a breeding farm. But that cousin of yours is a disappointment—drinks and gambles with a pack of fair-weather friends all day long, and won't listen to a word your Fifth Uncle-in-law says. When he heard your father had become a chairman here, he came, hoping to have your cousin study at your father's company and mend his ways."

"Exactly, that's just what we were discussing," Fifth Uncle-in-law said. "I hear big companies build character. I want to put that rascal in here to toughen him up a bit—otherwise how's he ever going to take over from me?"

Yang Cenbin finally understood. This Fifth Uncle-in-law of his did not seem short of money; he was simply a failure at raising his son. His boy—this so-called Fifth Cousin of his—was probably some village bully who spent his days up to no good.

But who had told Uncle Five that big corporations were good for a person? A big corporation was not a shelter that took in anyone and everyone. If he came, would that not just cause trouble? Especially when it was one's own relative—someone you could not simply fire. A real headache.

To be continued.

986. A Helping Hand

Mother Yang glanced at Yang Puqi, then at Uncle Five, and said, "This is one thing I can't decide on my own. Your brother Dahai may be the chairman, but even he can't call all the shots by himself."

"I know that, I know," Uncle Five said. "I know a big company isn't like my little breeding farm, where a man can hand out posts to his own kin. I know it's a hard thing to ask. But if it weren't hard, would I be begging you? Sister Sumei, please think of something."

Yang Ce had not expected Uncle Five to make such a peculiar request. He had not come to borrow money, nor to ask for some ordinary favor—he had asked for something that looked easy but was in fact a headache.

"Uncle Five, let me say a word or two about this." Seeing his mother's difficulty, Yang Ce could not hold back.

"Oh, yes, yes, you're—Daming, isn't it? You're a university student, more educated and clear-sighted than any of us. Whatever you say is bound to make sense." Uncle Five nodded hurriedly.

Seeing Uncle Five's honest, simple manner, the dislike Yang Ce had felt for him earlier melted away entirely. Had the request not been such a troublesome one, Yang Ce would already have agreed.

"Uncle Five, tell me—if Fifth Cousin went to work at your breeding farm right now, what do you think that would look like?" Yang Ce did not answer directly, but first put a question to Uncle Five.

"That—" Uncle Five hesitated, then said, "If that no-good boy went there, he'd be fishing one day and drying nets the next, throwing his weight around because I'm his father. Nobody would dare touch him if he skipped work. Him coming would be nothing but trouble for me—better not to call him at all."

"Heh, so that's how it is." Yang Ce smiled, then went on: "Then, Uncle Five, tell me—are we relatives or not?"

"Of course we are. How could we not be? If we weren't kin, I wouldn't be coming to ask you for help." Uncle Five nodded. "Sister Sumei and my wife were the best of friends when they were girls."

"Then there's your answer." Yang Ce shook his head. "Think about it, Uncle Five. Fifth Cousin going to your farm—he'd slack off for sure. So if he came to my father's company, wouldn't he slack off just the same? He'd think: this is a company run by relatives anyway, so even if I drift along, nobody will dare say a word against me."

"Right!" Uncle Five slapped his thigh, his brow furrowing. Helplessly he said, "Why didn't I think of that? Daming's got it right. Round and round, it comes to the same thing—that rotten boy would be exactly the same there. Once he's in Brother Dahai's company, he'd still be leaning on being the chairman's relative, borrowing the tiger's might to bully people."

Mother Yang understood that Yang Yanzhou's reasoning made sense, though for the most part he was helping her turn Uncle Five down. She also understood that a relative and a father were two different things. However cocky that Fifth Cousin might be, he could still tell the difference between the two.

People might respect you, flatter you, and not dare cross you or rein you in because you were the son of the breeding-farm owner. But if you came here, you would be nothing but a distant relation of the chairman. If you truly could not do the work, no one would spare your face.

That was the gap between a big conglomerate and a small family business. But Uncle Five could never grasp such reasoning, and he nodded as though it were profound truth: "It takes a university student for you. Look at him—how thoroughly he's thought it through!"

"Uncle Five, it isn't that I don't want to help," Mother Yang said. "Daming has laid out the reasons for you. Think about it—if we went to great trouble to get your son into the company and he carried on just the same, wouldn't all that effort be wasted?"

"That's true enough." Uncle Five shook his head. "Ai, so what's to be done?"

Seeing Uncle Five's expression, Mother Yang could not help but soften. "How about this, Uncle Five—I'll call Old Yang and ask whether he knows any companies well disposed toward us, and see if we can get someone placed there. Wouldn't that do just as well?"

"Yes, if it could be done that way, that would be wonderful!" Uncle Five said happily.

Yang Jiyan gave a bitter smile. His mother was too soft-hearted—wasn't this as good as agreeing to it again? Ai, never mind. Yang Ce sighed. His mother had taken on the favor, so it had to be done. He said, "Mom, I have a friend. I'll give him a call and have Fifth Cousin go to his place."

After Yang Yanzhou finished, he shot his mother a meaningful look. Mother Yang did not know what Yang Ce was up to, but she played along: "All right, then give him a call and ask."

Yang Ce did this because, if his father had to ask someone else, that too would create a debt of favor—and when others came to him with similar requests, he could not refuse them. Better, then, for Yang Ce to take the job himself and place the boy in the company run by Bao Lin and Hou Lin.

Either way, the companies belonged to his own subordinates. Even if they grumbled, there was nothing they could do but put up with it. Yang Yongjin did not want to make trouble for his father.

After Yang Yanzhou finished, he called Hou Lin and asked him to arrange for a relative to enter the company. Yang Yanzhou made it clear that the young man was only there to learn and be tempered, and that the post could be arranged however Hou Lin saw fit—he would not be staying long in any case.

Hou Lin agreed without a moment's hesitation to whatever Heng instructed. After the call, Yang Ce smiled bitterly to himself. This was the second time, it seemed, that he had called Hou Lin to arrange for someone to enter the company. The first had been Jing Yu—he wondered how she was doing. He hoped her outlook on life might have changed; being another man's mistress was not exactly a career with a bright future.

There were many women around Yang Juehuan, but Yang Jiyan would not admit that any of them was a mistress. Each was someone Yang Juehuan loved—though his love was spread rather thin. "Done." Yang Ce hung up and said to Uncle Five, "Uncle Five, just have Fifth Cousin come directly to me. I've arranged everything else."