094 The Fallen Noble House

Zhong Pingjiang closed the documents in his hands and laid them on the desk. He leaned back into the sofa, shut his eyes, and sat utterly still, as though he had fallen asleep.

Zhong Yun, however, knew he was pondering some difficult matter. It was his habit; whenever he encountered a thorny problem that was hard to solve, he would sit like this.

Zhong Yun did not dare disturb him. He sipped his tea slowly, one mouthful at a time, savoring it at an unhurried pace, and only when the pot had been steeped until it had lost all flavor did he hear Zhong Pingjiang let out a long breath. Hastily sitting up straight, he waited for his instructions.

Zhong Pingjiang slowly opened his eyes. There was something in them that Zhong Yun could not quite understand. “It seems it is time to tell you a few things.”

Seeing how grave he sounded, Zhong Yun’s curiosity was stirred, though he kept silent and waited for him to continue.

“In this country, there are actually many ancient noble houses.” Zhong Pingjiang paused there and looked at his son. “I’m sure you already know that much. In truth, our country has been fortunate. From ancient times to the modern age, society has never suffered any major upheaval, and that is why development has been so rapid. Our country has also been unfortunate, because it never managed to cut out the cancer of these noble houses, leaving state power in their hands even now.”

Zhong Yun smiled faintly, not expecting his father to have such a fiery side.

Perhaps realizing he had drifted off topic, Zhong Pingjiang went on, “In fact, our Zhong family used to be a rather well-known noble house as well.”

Zhong Yun’s eyes flew wide open. He had never imagined that his own family could have any connection to such things. Could it have been a fallen noble house? That would be far too melodramatic.

The truth proved even more melodramatic than he had imagined. According to Zhong Pingjiang, more than a decade ago the Zhong family was still a mid-sized noble house on Blue Star, one that had endured for over a thousand years. But later, after forming a death feud with some powerful faction, the company that had sustained the entire clan was driven into bankruptcy. Unable to remain on Blue Star, they were forced to move to other planets. Their members scattered in all directions, and the Zhong family was effectively wiped out.

From his father’s composed expression, Zhong Yun could sense the fierce unwillingness hidden beneath it. Clearly, this matter had affected his father profoundly; even now he still could not let it go. Otherwise he would not have kept it bottled up for so many years, never mentioning it to anyone.

Was he working himself to death to earn money because he wanted to restore the Zhong family?

Why was Dad telling me all this? Was he warning me never to forget the blood feud that destroyed the family? Or urging me to revive the Zhong family? Zhong Yun guessed silently to himself.

Though Zhong Pingjiang said nothing more, Zhong Yun could still feel the earnest hope beneath those words.

Zhong Pingjiang did not reveal who the Zhong family’s enemies were. Perhaps he was afraid that, in a fit of anger, Zhong Yun might do something foolish. He had not expected that Zhong Yun had no intention of asking at all. He already had a mountain of serious matters to deal with; how could he spare any thought for enemies on another planet?

What did the Zhong family’s past have to do with me? I never benefited from it anyway. That was Zhong Yun’s thinking.

If Zhong Pingjiang had known his son thought that way, he might well have died of anger on the spot. For more than ten years, he had treated the restoration of the Zhong family as his sacred duty. For that, he had worked tirelessly, never daring to relax for even a moment. He had done everything possible to get the company off the ground.

One had to admit that the brainwashing skills of these noble houses were truly first-rate.

The two of them chatted a while longer about other matters.

“Oh, right,” Zhong Yun said as he was about to leave, suddenly remembering something. “What happened to the receptionist at the company? Why has she been replaced?”

Zhong Pingjiang knew exactly whom he meant. That stunningly beautiful woman had left a deep impression on him. When she first came for the interview, she presented a diploma in journalism, which had left him both amused and exasperated. He was not running a media company—what use did he have for someone with a journalism degree?

He had rejected her on the spot, but to his surprise, the beautiful woman was quite persistent. She immediately said she was willing to do any job. Remembering that the company still needed a receptionist, and intending to discourage her, he mentioned the position of front-desk greeter. To his astonishment, she agreed without a moment’s hesitation.

What a peculiar woman, Zhong Pingjiang had thought. With her education and looks, she could have developed perfectly well at any media company. Why insist on seeking out a position that was completely unrelated to her field and paid so little?

“She may have been transferred to another department,” Zhong Pingjiang said. He also realized that he had not seen her when he came to the company today. Then, with a strange look at his son, he asked, “Why are you asking about her?”

“She borrowed money from me.” Zhong Yun tossed out the line and, before he could be questioned further, quickly slipped away.

Only Zhong Pingjiang remained in the office. His brows knitted together as a trace of worry rose in his heart. On the one hand, his son had indeed become outstanding; on the other, he seemed rather interested in women.

Should I have that receptionist dismissed? Zhong Pingjiang thought. He did not want his son to become obsessed with female charms.

But now was not the time to dwell on such things. Cooperation with the Stellar Group was the matter of utmost importance. Zhong Pingjiang set the thought aside for the moment, picked up the contract again, and read it carefully. After a long while, he took out his phone and called a lawyer friend.

When the Stellar Group let it be known that it intended to cooperate with Zhong Machinery, not many people were surprised. Those with any eye for the future could already see how much of a revolution the Zhong Stabilizer would bring to the entire machinery industry, and that Zhong Machinery, holding the patent, would soar in the near future.

Quite a few metal enterprises wanted to supply raw materials to Zhong Machinery. One could only say that the Stellar Group had simply moved faster.

However, two days later, when the Stellar Group and Zhong Machinery released their joint statement, it stunned countless people. The two companies had actually reached an agreement on a new metal and would jointly establish a new company. The total investment would amount to fifty billion Dawo credits.

It was almost a replica of the cooperation with the Giant Machinery Group. The only difference was that this time the Zhong family would hold only forty-nine percent of the shares in the new company.

Even so, it was enough to shock everyone. People began to reexamine this company, founded less than four months earlier, with registered capital of 1.2 billion and barely forty employees, yet already able to produce two new technologies worth hundreds of billions, even trillions. What on earth was its background?

Those with an interest in such things quickly began investigating the background of the company’s chairman. Before long, they discovered that he came from a fallen noble house on Blue Star, and that this house was a branch of the Zhong family of Flower Star.

The Zhong family of Flower Star ranked among the country’s top ten elite clans and stood as a giant in the cutting-edge information industry.

Many speculated that this Zhong Pingjiang might be a pawn of the Zhong family. More people, however, did not believe he had any real connection to them. Otherwise, why would the Zhong family not promote the two technologies themselves and keep all the profits? Why hand benefits over to the Zhong family and the Chen family instead?

Whatever the rumors and guesses, everyone agreed on one thing: a rising star enterprise was ascending into the sky.

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