At a roadside food stall, Kong Zhengui sat under a sun umbrella, lowered his head and poured himself a glass of beer, not answering Yu Mingyuan's question.

　　"Su Tiannan's matter is just an excuse, right?" Yu Mingyuan asked again.

　　Kong Zhengui looked up and drank a whole mug of beer, slowly shaking his head and replying, "Yes and no."

　　"What do you mean?!"

　　"Su Tiannan brought people back to the association without even saying hello, that's a fact, right?" Kong Zhengui frowned and explained, "He brought trouble to the association, that's also a fact, right?"

　　"Yeah," Yu Mingyuan didn't refute.

　　"Why do I say yes and no?!" Kong Zhengui continued clearly, "First of all, I really think what he did was wrong, but everyone makes mistakes. You've made mistakes, and I've been confused too, so Su Tiannan's matter doesn't prove anything. But I can criticize him, right?"

　　"Yeah!" Yu Mingyuan only responded.

　　Kong Zhengui sighed, "Secondly, I'm wondering why Su Tiannan went to his younger brother Tianyu first, instead of coming to us?! That's also the excuse you mentioned."

　　Hearing this, Yu Mingyuan stopped eating and looked up at Zhengui, asking, "Feeling insignificant?"

　　"Since the association was established, you, me, the Su family, the Bai family, and the later Zhou family, everyone has been doing their job and building up the business together. But now, the balance of the association is gone, that's also a fact, right?" Kong Zhengui stared at Yu Mingyuan, asking word by word, "If the Su family only had Su Tiannan in the association, who would he consult first when he encountered such a thing?"

　　This was already very clear, and Yu Mingyuan immediately understood what Kong Zhengui meant.

　　"Of course, I'm not targeting anyone, I'm just talking about this balance issue," Kong Zhengui emphasized.

　　Yu Mingyuan slowly put down his chopsticks, stared at the other person, and waved his hand, replying, "Zhengui, your style of doing things is still too roundabout. That's where you're not as good as Su Tianbei."

　　Kong Zhengui was silent for a while, "You're right."

　　"I'm just asking you one thing," Yu Mingyuan asked, knocking on the table, "Are you unhappy?!"

　　Kong Zhengui gritted his teeth, feeling an impulse to respond, but he finally held back.

　　"It's just the two of us here, can't you be clear about it?" Yu Mingyuan frowned and sized him up, "What are you afraid of?! Are you afraid that after I talk to you, I'll go back and tell Liu Zi about this?"

　　"It's not that..."

　　"Then what is it?!" Yu Mingyuan shouted and asked, "I'm just asking you, are you unhappy?! Be a man, answer me directly!"

　　Kong Zhengui was forced into a corner, his right hand clenched the beer glass. After a moment of pause, he suddenly looked up and replied, "Yes, I am unhappy!!"

　　"What are you unhappy about?!"

　　"The money, we all invested together; the effort, we all put in together! But now, no one can interfere with the association's development direction. Only Liu Zi has the final say." Kong Zhengui shouted, "No matter if something is right or wrong, as long as he nods, no one else has a say!"

　　"Anything else?" Yu Mingyuan asked.

　　"Yes!" Kong Zhengui continued, "I admit, since the association was established, Liu Zi has hardly made any big mistakes. The association's main backers and connections were all built by him, including the most important Chi Army and Lao Li! In terms of contribution, he is indeed stronger than many people, and stronger than me. But the problem is, the association has developed to this level, and we are no longer just individual entities, but a team whose honor and disgrace are tied together! That is to say, if something succeeds, everyone benefits, but if something fails, everyone dies! Take the seventh island incident this time, for example, what will be the consequences if it fails? The Su family will be ruined, but my Kong family will be too?! At that time, if I go to explain to the regulatory commission and the upper-level opposition parties that our Kong family had no decision-making power, will it still be useful?"

　　"So you didn't directly participate in the seventh island matter? Instead, you went to take care of your sick father?" Yu Mingyuan asked very directly.

　　"Yes, that's one of the reasons!" Kong Zhengui nodded, gritting his teeth.

　　"Anything else?"

　　"No more!" Kong Zhengui shook his head.

　　Yu Mingyuan paused for a moment, then held up a finger and said, "I'll just say one thing. The issue of the association's balance is one thing, and you scolding Su Tiannan, taking the lead in complaining about him, and putting pressure on Liu Zi is another. If there is a problem with the association, we can wait until things are settled before we talk about it properly, instead of you jumping out and singing a different tune halfway through, let alone you opening fire and questioning Su Tianyu in front of all the core shareholders! Because you are not making suggestions, but instigating everyone to attack Su Tiannan, seizing on a mistake and constantly magnifying it."

　　Kong Zhengui looked at Yu Mingyuan, his eyes showing some surprise.

　　"Doing this hurts everyone's feelings." Yu Mingyuan looked at Kong Zhengui and said, "Liu Zi knows what's going on, so he doesn't say anything, but he's definitely angry. Tianbei is a cannon, but he's not stupid. He can figure it out, so he was impulsive and took action."

　　Kong Zhengui lowered his head and took out a cigarette case.

　　"But I accept what you said about balance. There are so many people in the association, everyone needs a halo and needs to have their own position." Yu Mingyuan put his hands together and looked at him, "Maybe you don't know, but Fei Guangtou's entry into the association was approved by me, and Tianyu pushed him to me! He did this partly to make me feel better, and partly to make everyone feel better. He is more sensitive than anyone else. After you opened fire last time, he actually thought of all the reasons."

　　"I didn't expect Tiannan to have an accident!" Kong Zhengui looked up and emphasized.

　　The two were silent for a while. Yu Mingyuan picked up the wine bottle and poured himself a glass, and also poured one for Kong Zhengui, "I'm going to reorganize the management structure and subdivide the responsibilities of the senior management! In the future, I will hand over all the personnel relationship maintenance of the Tongji Association to you, including the relationship with the garrison troops, which will also be handled by you!"

　　Kong Zhengui was stunned.

　　"During the start-up phase, if there are problems, shout them out face-to-face, don't engage in office politics!!" Yu Mingyuan said with a very serious expression, "Zhengui, we are brothers who have come out together, and the shared experience is far more important than some results!"

　　Kong Zhengui was silent for a while, then raised his glass and clinked it with Yu Mingyuan's.

　　The two drank it all in one gulp.

　　Two hours later, Kong Zhengui returned home alone, stood in the yard, and burned all the prepared application for withdrawal of shares and the assessment report for asset liquidation at once.

　　……

　　Around four o'clock in the morning.

　　Yu Mingyuan drove to the entrance of the Su family's house and called Su Lao Er more than a dozen times in a row.

　　"What's the matter?"

　　"I'm at the door! Come out!" Yu Mingyuan said with a drunken hiccup.