71: Chapter 71 Reunion with Her

Three pairs of eyes stared fixedly at him. Everyone remained silent, seemingly lost in thought about whether the possibility Cao Xiao spoke of actually existed.

"As long as you can produce over one hundred thousand tons of goods at once, it might barely make sense. We don't care if the titanium mine you mentioned is real or not, but you must keep your mouth shut. You cannot reveal a single shred of information," Father He said first.

"There is a total of one hundred fifty-two thousand tons. I will hand it all over to Hongdu to handle. I won't ask for payment until it has all been processed. You decide the price." Cao Xiao was going all out. This bit of titanium sponge meant nothing to him. As long as he could resolve the immediate crisis, he would have been willing to take out all two million plus tons from his space if he weren't afraid of it being too shocking. He did not want to lose He Yueyou.

"We will consider this a misunderstanding, but you need to learn a lesson: understand the market situation before bringing things out. It's not that we are overreacting; it's that Hongdu has suffered too many major losses. Do you know what kind of reaction this batch of titanium sponge would cause if released into the domestic market? The entire titanium industrial system would be severely hit. If it were released into the domestic futures market, under the manipulation of interested parties and foreign hot money, it would also have a strong impact on the entire stock market. We dare not imagine what would happen then; the consequences are too severe."

Mother He admitted verbally that it was a misunderstanding, but she was still blaming Cao Xiao for being reckless, explaining the severity and dangers of the consequences to him. She paused, exchanged glances with Liu Guitang and Father He, and the other two nodded. She spoke again: "Find a discreet warehouse to store the goods, and we will go to transport them. Make everyone who knows about this matter forget it forever. For those who cannot keep their mouths shut, send them to a detention center for at least half a month. If you can't handle it, call me, and we will deal with it. It's not that we are cruel, but we need to use this shipment to do something. If it succeeds, it will offend many people, so having them forget it is for the best."

"There is a warehouse in Tianxing Garden. I will pack it up in fruit crates, and you can take it away in the name of transporting fruit. There are very few people who know about this; I will issue a gag order. I guarantee no one will know that this shipment came from me."

Cao Xiao guessed what they would do with this batch of titanium sponge; it was nothing more than putting it into the international futures market. Presumably, once they succeeded, the price of titanium sponge might be cut in half. However, this had nothing to do with him. What he cared about was the opinion of Father He and Mother He. The immediate crisis was resolved, and he felt relieved.

The reason such a crisis occurred was, first, that he was too careless, and second, that the capability of the industrial mother machine was too powerful, which caused him to be somewhat disconnected from reality. The underground titanium concentrate deposit he discovered was not a large mine, but the current production capacity of the titanium industry was not high, and the annual output was even smaller. Yet, the industrial mother machine could extract and smelt an entire titanium mine in a short time, whereas it would take others decades just to finish the extraction.

"This matter ends here. Old Liu, call a board meeting tomorrow. We are going to play a big game this time." Father He swept away his previous gloom and instantly became high-spirited.

"Relying solely on Hongdu won't be enough. We need allies to raise enough funds in a short time, and we also need complete channels. We also need the customs to cooperate with keeping it confidential. But we must have a thorough plan before we act; otherwise, if the wind leaks out early, we at Hongdu won't be able to bear it and will have our fruits snatched by others," Liu Guitang added.

"Alright, let's talk about these things tomorrow. Old He, hurry up and get the snake meat stewed. Later, we'll have a good drink with Cao Xiao to help him calm his nerves. Old Liu, contact the other shareholders and have them help spread the word about Cao Xiao's ginseng auction tomorrow. Tell them Cao Xiao is our He family's son-in-law, and tomorrow we will represent Hongdu and go over together to show support for Cao Xiao. Otherwise, I'm afraid this kid won't be able to hold down the fort." Mother He said to Liu Guitang.

The atmosphere eased, and the few of them chatted happily. During dinner, Cao Xiao drank a good amount with his future father-in-law and mother-in-law. He didn't go home and stayed there for the night.

Early the next morning, he went to Tianxing Garden. The auction was set for four o'clock in the afternoon, so even if some people only heard the news today, they would still have time to make it. There wasn't much to set up; he had already prepared the auction items. He just needed to arrange some tables and chairs in the hall and set up an auction stage. He had made quite a few of these using the wood he obtained from Changbai Mountain last time and stored them in the wine cellar, so he just had to move them out.

This was a private auction, and the people attending could be considered his guests, so he had to prepare the reception matters properly. He and Sister Li alone couldn't handle it, so he borrowed a few chefs and over a dozen servers from Chen Huaisu. Mother He also arranged for over a dozen security guards and reception staff to come and help.

Before two o'clock in the afternoon, guests began to arrive one after another. Fortunately, his teacher and Chen Huaiyu helped with the reception. Later, Father He, Mother He, and Liu Guitang also arrived with several shareholders of Hongdu Group. To Cao Xiao's surprise, He Yueyou also arrived.

"Xiao Xiao, leave this to us. You go and chat with Yueyou for a while!" Liu Guitang said when he saw Cao Xiao staring blankly at He Yueyou.

"Mm, Yueyou, let's go upstairs and chat!" Cao Xiao came back to his senses and said happily to He Yueyou.

"Okay!"

He Yueyou's expression was still calm, but a faint, imperceptible blush appeared on her face. Cao Xiao took her to the third-floor terrace and sat at the stone table under the grape trellis. Both of them were somewhat hesitant to speak.

"Yueyou, how is your work over there?" Cao Xiao broke the silence first.

"I've resigned from my job there. I'll be staying in Huanghe City from now on. My mother told me to go to Hongdu to work and gain some experience first. Cao Xiao, you've changed so much recently that I almost don't recognize you," He Yueyou said with some emotion.

"Some things have changed. The life I'm living now is one I wouldn't have dared to imagine before, but I am still me. I am still the same Cao Xiao in your eyes. Some things will never change." Cao Xiao knew where the changes in him came from, and his mindset toward things had changed too. It was only his mindset that had changed; he was more open-minded and confident than before. And precisely because of this, his love for He Yueyou had deepened. He was no longer as insecure as before. He believed that he would definitely be able to give He Yueyou happiness; whether materially or spiritually, he could provide it to her!

"I know. You used to peek at me often. I discovered it, but you hadn't realized it yourself. You also often stared at me blankly, and you did it again today!" He Yueyou said.

"Uh, cough, cough, that... that..." Cao Xiao's face flushed, and he was instantly unable to find words.

"Pfft! Alright, you don't have to say it. I know it all; otherwise, I wouldn't have agreed to that matter. Can you tell me about your recent affairs?" He Yueyou laughed when she saw Cao Xiao blushing, unable to speak.

"After I sent you to Jinghu City last time, I went to see my Second Uncle, and then..." Cao Xiao organized his language and, after making some slight modifications, briefly told He Yueyou about what had happened during this period. He also carefully brought up his intention to adopt An Guoer, his eyes carefully observing He Yueyou's expression.

"Are An Ni and An Guoer here now? Let me see them before I make a decision. Also, don't go to those dangerous places by yourself in the future. You were lucky last time; otherwise, if something happened to you, what would I do?" He Yueyou listened to the story about An Guoer and did not state her position. Instead, she scolded Cao Xiao a bit.

Cao Xiao was not disappointed. He Yueyou did not explicitly oppose it, nor was she unhappy. Although that last sentence was a scolding, Cao Xiao felt very happy hearing it. She was worried about him, which also proved that He Yueyou had him in her heart. This made him instantly overwhelmed with a feeling of happiness, and he was somewhat dazed for a moment.

"Mm, I won't take risks anymore in the future. I'll take you to see them right now." Cao Xiao looked at He Yueyou with tender eyes and nodded heavily, promising her.