Zhong Pingjiang closed the file in his hand and placed it on the desk. He leaned back against the sofa, tilting his head back and closing his eyes, as if he had fallen asleep. Zhong Yun, however, knew he was wrestling with a difficult problem.

This was his habit; whenever he encountered an intractable issue, he would retreat into this stillness. Zhong Yun dared not disturb him, sipping his tea slowly, taking small, deliberate mouthfuls until the pot had yielded all its flavor. Only then did he hear his father exhale a long, slow breath.

Zhong Yun quickly sat up straight, awaiting instruction. Zhong Pingjiang slowly opened his eyes, and within them was something Zhong Yun couldn't decipher. "It seems it’s time I told you a few things." Hearing the solemnity in his father's tone, Zhong Yun’s curiosity was instantly piqued, but he remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"In this country, there actually exist many ancient aristocratic families," Zhong Pingjiang said, glancing at his son. "You must already know this. Our nation is quite fortunate; we have avoided major upheavals from ancient times through the modern era to the present day, which is why our development has been so swift.

Conversely, our nation is unfortunate because we failed to excise the cancer of these powerful families, resulting in the current situation where state power remains largely controlled by them." Zhong Yun offered a slight smile, surprised to see such a fiery, critical side to his father. Seeming to realize he had strayed off topic, Zhong Pingjiang quickly corrected himself. "Actually, our Zhong family used to be a moderately well-known aristocratic family." Zhong Yun’s eyes widened in disbelief.

He had never imagined his own family could be connected to any 'noble house.' Was it a fallen house? That sounded too much like a melodrama. The reality proved even more melodramatic than he imagined.

According to Zhong Pingjiang, just over a decade ago, the Zhong family was a mid-sized lineage on the planet Lanzhan, one with a thousand years of history. However, after making a deadly enemy of some major power, the enterprise that sustained the entire clan was systematically bankrupted. They could no longer remain on Lanzhan and were forced to relocate to other planets.

The clansmen scattered, and the Zhong family was officially declared extinct. Beneath his father's placid expression, Zhong Yun sensed a fierce, hidden resentment. This event must have impacted his father profoundly, still gnawing at him after all this time, which was why he had kept it buried for so long, never mentioning it to anyone.

Was he working so desperately to earn money to restore the Zhong family’s prestige? Why was his father telling him all this? Was he trying to warn him never to forget the humiliation of their clan’s downfall?

To revive the Zhong family? Zhong Yun speculated internally. Though Zhong Pingjiang said nothing explicitly, Zhong Yun felt the heavy weight of his earnest expectation.

Zhong Pingjiang did not reveal the identity of the Zhong family’s enemy, perhaps fearing Zhong Yun might act rashly out of righteous anger. Yet, he failed to consider that Zhong Yun had no intention of asking; he had plenty of his own pressing matters to attend to and hardly had the time to worry about an enemy on another planet. What happened to the old Zhong family—what concern was that of his?

He had never benefited from its glory. This was Zhong Yun's genuine thought. If Zhong Pingjiang knew his son's mindset, he would likely be driven to fury and death.

For over a decade, restoring the Zhong family had been his singular purpose. He worked tirelessly for this, never daring to slacken even slightly, striving by every means possible to establish his company. It had to be admitted, the indoctrination methods of these aristocratic families were top-tier.

The father and son then discussed a few other matters. "Oh, right," Zhong Yun said as he was about to leave, remembering something. "The receptionist at the company—why has she been replaced?" Zhong Pingjiang knew exactly whom he meant.

That impossibly beautiful woman had left a strong impression on him. When she applied, she had presented a graduation certificate from the Journalism department, which he found both amusing and absurd. He wasn't running a media company; why would he hire a journalism major?

He had immediately dismissed her, but the beautiful woman proved surprisingly persistent, immediately offering to take any job. He recalled the company needed a receptionist and, hoping to make her retreat due to perceived difficulty, offered her the position of front desk greeter. To his surprise, she accepted without a second thought.

A truly strange woman, Zhong Pingjiang mused. With her credentials and appearance, she could have thrived at any media firm, yet she insisted on a low-paying job completely unrelated to her field. "Perhaps she was transferred to another department," Zhong Pingjiang said, realizing he hadn't seen her that morning either.

Suddenly, he looked at his son with a strange expression. "Why are you asking about her?" "She borrowed money from me," Zhong Yun dropped the line, and before his father could press the issue, he quickly slipped out. Zhong Pingjiang was left alone in the office, his brow furrowing with a rising sense of apprehension.

On one hand, his son was clearly growing impressive; on the other, he seemed rather preoccupied with women. Should I fire that receptionist? Zhong Pingjiang wondered.

He didn't want his son getting entangled in female distractions. But this wasn't the time for such worries. The cooperation with Starshine Group was paramount.

Zhong Pingjiang set the thought aside for the moment, picking up the contract again to examine it closely. After a long while, he picked up his phone and dialed a lawyer friend... When Starshine Group leaked the news that they intended to collaborate with Zhong’s Mechanics, not many people were surprised.

Those with any business acumen could see the magnitude of change the "Zhong Stabilizer" would bring to the entire machinery industry, predicting that Zhong’s Mechanics, holding the patent, was poised for meteoric ascent. Numerous metal corporations rushed to offer raw material supplies to Zhong’s Mechanics; it simply appeared that Starshine Group moved faster. However, when Starshine Group and Zhong’s Mechanics jointly announced their cooperation two days later, it shocked a great many observers.

The two companies had actually reached an agreement concerning a new metal alloy, deciding to jointly establish a new venture. The total investment was a staggering fifty billion Davo credits. It was almost a carbon copy of the cooperation with Giant Machinery Group, with the only difference being that Zhong’s held only forty-nine percent of the shares in the new company.

Even this small detail stunned everyone. People began re-examining this new company, established less than four months prior, with a registered capital of 1.2 billion, barely forty employees, yet capable of bringing forth two new technologies worth hundreds of billions. What was the true origin of this firm?

Investigative parties swiftly began probing the background of the company’s CEO. They soon discovered he originated from a now-declined aristocratic house on Lanzhan Planet—a branch of the Zhong family from Planet Hua Zhi. The Zhong family of Planet Hua Zhi ranked among the top ten super-families in the entire nation, dominating the high-end information technology sector.

Many people speculated whether this Zhong Pingjiang was merely a pawn of the Hua Zhi Zhong family. More people, however, argued against any close connection; if there were one, wouldn't the Zhong family promote both technologies themselves and claim all the profit? Why share the windfall with the Zhong and Chen families?

Regardless of the endless discussion and speculation, everyone reached one consensus: a star enterprise was rapidly ascending. P: Vigorously seeking votes. Brothers who still have tickets, don't forget to cast them!