Chapter 288: The Greatest Profit
Chapter 288: Chapter 288: The Greatest Profit
Mr. Guo listened, pondering for a moment without speaking.
Guo Dongmei suddenly spoke as if she’d just remembered something important. "I think this might have something to do with Zhao Nuanyue’s master, Sun Haoran. Back in Nianqiao Village, Sun Haoran was there too. And when Gu Qingyu returned to Jincheng City, he brought Sun Haoran with him. Since Sun Haoran is a renowned doctor, I believe it must be thanks to him that Gu Qingyu is still alive."
"As long as that Gu fellow is alive, our Guo Family will never know peace. Only when Gu Qingyu is dead can we reap the greatest benefits," Guo Donghai said in a low voice, wishing Gu Qingyu would drop dead right then and there.
"If Sun Haoran detoxified Gu Qingyu and he continues to live, won’t we be in a very passive position? The Li family is bound to get tired of us," Guo Dongmei said worriedly. She wasn’t just anxious about the future of their enterprise, but her own as well.
She had earned great merit by poisoning Gu Qingyu, which made the Li family see her in a new light. However, Li Gongming had been obviously avoiding her lately, leaving Guo Dongmei deeply frustrated.
But having already given herself to Li Gongming, Guo Dongmei wasn’t about to give up. She was determined to get a firm grip on him.
Mr. Guo stroked his beard and said earnestly, "There are two sides to every coin. Gu Qingyu staying alive certainly affects our Guo Family, but the effects aren’t all bad. Some are good."
"But he’s our enemy. How could Gu Qingyu not dying possibly benefit our family?" Guo Dongmei was completely baffled. Her political acumen and professional competence were, of course, no match for the wily old Mr. Guo.
"Yes, my sister is right. Gu Qingyu is our enemy. His death is what serves the Guo Family’s interests. How could there be any benefit to him being alive?" Guo Donghai also looked around, hoping his father would enlighten them.
Mr. Guo spoke slowly, "It’s actually quite simple. The Gu Family isn’t the Guo Family’s enemy; they’re the Li family’s enemy. Haven’t you noticed that the Li family has grown somewhat distant from us lately? They even look down on us, as if they think the Guo Family is no longer useful."
After hearing his father, Guo Donghai thought it over carefully and nodded. "I have noticed that. The Guo Family has done so much for the Li family and performed meritorious service. Are they trying to discard us now that our purpose is served?"
As Guo Dongmei listened to her father, her thoughts immediately turned to Li Gongming and his hot-and-cold, ambiguous attitude toward her.
Meanwhile, Li Gongming had been making eyes at that Wu Jingjing, often eating with her, talking and laughing, and growing very close to the Wu Family.
"Heh, it might not be a case of ’discarding us after we’ve served our purpose’ just yet, but it’s a fact that they don’t value us as much as they used to. ’When the cunning rabbits are dead, the good bows are stored away.’ Our strength has already been put to use, so the Li family thinks we’re not very useful anymore. But Gu Qingyu’s performance—the fact that he’s still alive and kicking—is the Guo Family’s opportunity," Mr. Guo said in a low voice, a hint of smug satisfaction in his tone. He could read the situation clearly, which was why he could always rise through the ranks in the brutal world of politics, getting promoted step by step.
Back then, he’d been able to betray the Hua family and strike at Gu Qingyu to become a trusted confidant of the Li family. Naturally, he could also use the Li family, stepping on their heads to climb even higher.
In politics, nothing was off-limits. There was only constant compromise and suppression, climbing up by stepping on the heads of others.
"You mean that as long as Gu Qingyu exists, he will be a constant threat to the Li family, and so the Li family will always have to be courteous to us?" Guo Donghai figured this part out. "Is that it?"
"Mm, that’s part of it. It’s good that you were able to see that," Mr. Guo nodded, affirming his son’s words.
"Is that only one part? What’s the other part, Father? Just tell us, so we can be prepared and not lose our composure and mess things up when the time comes." Guo Donghai was getting anxious. He craved a higher position, craved greater power.
Everything his father was doing now would be his resource in the future, so Guo Donghai was paying extremely close attention.
"Dongmei, you are a daughter of the Guo Family. You must think of the family’s interests. Only when the Guo Family prospers will your own value multiply." Mr. Guo said in a low voice, his eyes flashing with a sharp light.
Feeling her father’s scrutinizing gaze, Guo Dongmei immediately said, "I understand, Dad. I can only do well if the Guo Family does well. Lately, Li Gongming has been so hot-and-cold, so ambiguous. He wants me to do things for him, but he’s unwilling to give me any commitment. It’s been agonizing. The way he’s acting proves he’s just trying to use me and the Guo Family."
Hearing his daughter’s words, Mr. Guo nodded. "It’s not easy for you to see that, but it’s good you do. It’s obvious that Li Gongming has no intention of settling down with you. Since that’s the case, there’s no need for you to be so eager to cling to him. As Gu Qingyu becomes more and more powerful, the Li family will have to take action. If they can suppress Gu Qingyu, we can fish in troubled waters and take another step up. If they can’t suppress Gu Qingyu, then Gu Qingyu will inevitably move up and suppress the Li family. As the Li family’s subordinates, we must of course take precautions and not put all our chips on them."
Hearing this, Guo Donghai and Guo Dongmei were so shocked they were speechless.
"Dad, we already climbed up by stepping on the Hua family. Are you saying we’re going to step on the Li family to climb even higher this time?" Guo Donghai was thrilled, his heart pounding violently.
Guo Donghai was so thrilled because he had already tasted the immense rewards that came from stepping on others to get ahead. Ever since climbing up over the Hua family, people who used to look down on him now bowed and scraped, trying to curry favor with him.
If they could climb up by stepping on the Li family, the benefits would surely be even greater. When that day came, he, Guo Donghai, would be able to do whatever he wanted in Jincheng City.
Hearing her father’s words, Guo Dongmei’s face turned a little pale.
She hadn’t thought her father would consider using the Li family to climb higher. ’What about me and Li Gongming then?’
Seeing the change in his daughter’s expression, Mr. Guo wasn’t worried. He said slowly, "Dongmei, do you know? Regardless of whether we use the Li family to get ahead, a strong Guo Family brings you considerable benefits. First, you could find a man much better and more outstanding than Li Gongming. Second, if you really can’t let go of Li Gongming, then once the Guo Family rises, he’ll be the one coming to you, begging and fawning over you. Don’t you think that would be satisfying? Vindicating?"
As Guo Dongmei listened to her father, she reflected on the past year. She had spent all of it trying to please Li Gongming and the Li family, yet they had acted as if they hadn’t even noticed her efforts, offering no commitment whatsoever. Li Gongming, for his part, remained hot-and-cold and utterly ambiguous.