() jiē dào niú rú zhèng de xún wèn diàn huà hòu ， xiāo qí jiǎn dān de jiǎng jiě le liǎng jù ， rán hòu biàn tóng yì le bù zài qù měi guó de gōng kāi chǎng hé xīng fēng zuò làng de yāo qiú 。
() 接到牛儒正的询问电话后，萧奇简单的讲解了两句，然后便同意了不再去美国的公开场合兴风作浪的要求。
Receiving a call from the elderly scholar Niu, Xiao Qi gave a brief explanation and then agreed to no longer stir up trouble in public places in America.
shào nián yì fāng miàn shì mài niú dà shū de miàn zi ， xiàn zài gěi ào bā mǎ diǎn miàn zi ， bǐ tā dāng shàng zǒng tǒng hòu zài gěi miàn zi yào huá suàn dé duō 。
少年一方面是卖牛大叔的面子，现在给奥巴马点面子，比他当上总统后再给面子要划算得多。
On one hand, he was showing respect for Old Man Cow; it made more sense to give Obama some face now rather than after he became president. On the other hand, this decision was also about his own business interests.
lìng yì fāng miàn yě shì yīn wèi tā zì jǐ de shēng yì 。
另一方面也是因为他自己的生意。
Xiao Qi understood that if you hated someone, don't always show your hatred; people will constantly be on guard and you'll find it hard to strike when the time is right. Instead, bury your hate in your heart, act casual around them, and wait for a critical moment—like when they're at the edge of a cliff—to push them off.
xiāo qí míng bái yí gè dào lǐ ， rú guǒ nǐ hèn yí gè rén ， qiān wàn bú yào shí shí kè kè de qù biǎo lù chū lái ， zhè yàng rén jiā jiù huì shí shí kè kè de fáng bèi zhe ， fǎn ér huì ràng nǐ zhǎo bù zhǔn jī huì qù bào fù 。
萧奇明白一个道理，如果你恨一个人，千万不要时时刻刻的去表露出来，这样人家就会时时刻刻的防备着，反而会让你找不准机会去报复。
Of course, Xiao Qi's enmity toward America wasn't as deep. In fact, one of his wives was genuinely an American beauty, making him an American son-in-law too.
xiāng fǎn de ， nǐ bǎ chóu hèn mái zài xīn lǐ ， jiàn le miàn jiù xī xī hā hā de ， ràng tā méi yǒu jǐng jué xìng， rán hòu zài zuì guān jiàn de shí hòu ， bǐ rú zài xuán yá biān de shí hòu ， zhǐ yòng nà me qīng qīng de yī tuī ， jiù shén me wèn tí dōu jiě jué le 。
相反的，你把仇恨埋在心里，见了面就嘻嘻哈哈的，让他没有jǐng觉xìng，然后在最关键的时候，比如在悬崖边的时候，只用那么轻轻的一推，就什么问题都解决了。
But while emotions were one thing, earning money was another.
dāng rán le ， xiāo qí hé měi lì jiān mín zhòng de chóu hèn ， bìng méi nà me shēn 。
当然了，萧奇和美利坚民众的仇恨，并没那么深。
Just like Clinton and Bush, they made life difficult for China when in power but once out, would act as "old friends" to China, constantly seeking favors. Clinton even gave seven or eight speeches in China, insisting that he wasn't shameless, making others believe him. Truly a genius!
shèn zhì yú tā de yí gè lǎo pó hái shì míng fù qí shí de měi guó piào liàng xiǎo yáng mǎ ， shào nián hái shì měi guó nǚ xù ne 。
甚至于他的一个老婆还是名副其实的美国漂亮小洋马，少年还是美国女婿呢。
So Xiao Qi decided to learn from his seniors; he'd only occasionally show off his prowess and always appear as America's good friend when it came to business.
bù guò ne ， gǎn qíng shì yì fāng miàn ， ér zhuàn qián jiù shì lìng yì fāng miàn le 。
不过呢，感情是一方面，而赚钱就是另一方面了。
However, Xiao Qi's bet against American oil futures had already caught the attention of Wall Street's big sharks, who were determined to take a piece out of him. This was unavoidable.
jiù hǎo xiàng kè lín dùn hé xiǎo bù shén ， zài tái shàng de shí hòu duì huá guó zhēn de shì zhū duō diāo nàn ， kě yí dàn xià le tái ， jiù shì yǐ “ huá guó rén mín de lǎo péng yǒu ” zì jū ， yī tiān dào wǎn jiè zhe huá guó lái dǎ qiū fēng 。
就好象克林顿和小布什，在台上的时候对华国真的是诸多刁难，可一旦下了台，就是以“华国人民的老朋友”自居，一天到晚借着华国来打秋风。
On a late afternoon in early May, Tony invited Xiao Qi for tea.
kè lín dùn guāng pǎo huá guó yǎn jiǎng jiù shì qī bā cì ， zì jǐ bú yào liǎn bù shuō ， hái yào ràng bié rén xiāng xìn tā men shì zhēn de bú yào liǎn ， shí zài shì rén jùn jié a ！
克林顿光跑华国演讲就是七八次，自己不要脸不说，还要让别人相信他们是真的不要脸，实在是人俊杰啊！
The custom of afternoon tea originated from either England or Guangdong—this much was lost to history. But it was well-known that people from these regions loved their afternoon teas.
suǒ yǐ xiāo qí jué dìng xiàng qián bèi xué xí ， zhǐ shì ǒu ěr de lù lù zhēng róng jiù xíng le ， píng rì lǐ hái shì yào yǐ “ měi lì jiān rén mín de hǎo péng yǒu ” de shēn fèn chū xiàn de ， zhè yàng cái hǎo zhuàn qián ma 。
所以萧奇决定向前辈学习，只是偶尔的露露峥嵘就行了，平rì里还是要以“美利坚人民的好朋友”的身份出现的，这样才好赚钱嘛。
In America, Xiao Qi didn't often indulge in snacks during the day, but after reincarnating, he drank a lot of afternoon tea for business and task assignments.
rán ér ， xiāo qí duì yú měi guó shí yóu qī huò de duì dǔ ， què shì yǐ jīng bèi huá ěr jiē de dà xiǎo è yú men dīng zhù le ， shì sǐ yào zài xiāo qí de shēn shàng yào xià yī kuài ròu lái ， zhè què shì méi yǒu bàn fǎ bì miǎn de 。
然而，萧奇对于美国石油期货的对赌，却是已经被华尔街的大小鳄鱼们盯住了，誓死要在萧奇的身上要下一块肉来，这却是没有办法避免的。
The weather in Chengdu in early May wasn't quite summer yet, but the sun was shining brightly. Xiao Qi usually enjoyed a cup of black tea, which had a slight bitterness that could be enhanced with lemon and honey.
yú shì jiù zài 5 yuè chū de yī tiān xià wǔ ， tāng ní zhǎo le xiāo qí chū lái hē xià wǔ chá 。
于是就在5月初的一天下午，汤尼找了萧奇出来喝下午茶。
However, he preferred it plain, just as he liked natural beauty over surgically enhanced beauties from South Korea.
xià wǔ chá de xí guàn ， zuì zǎo dào dǐ shì cóng yīng guó xīng qǐ de ， hái shì cóng liǎng guǎng xīng qǐ de 。 yǐ jīng bù kě kǎo jiū ， bù guò zhè liǎng gè dì fāng de rén ， dōu xǐ huān hē xià wǔ chá ， què yǐ jīng shì hěn zhù míng de shì shí 。
下午茶的习惯，最早到底是从英国兴起的，还是从两广兴起的。已经不可考究，不过这两个地方的人，都喜欢喝下午茶，却已经是很著名的事实。
Even the woman walking past their café didn't catch his attention.
xiāo qí zài měi guó de shí hòu ， xià wǔ bìng bù xǐ huān jiā cān shén me de ， dàn shì zhuǎn shì chóng shēng zhī hòu ， wèi le tán shēng yì hé bù zhì rèn wù 。 xià wǔ chá què hē dé bù shǎo 。
萧奇在美国的时候，下午并不喜欢加餐什么的，但是转世重生之后，为了谈生意和布置任务。下午茶却喝得不少。
"Hey, Tony, when are you going to stop staring?" The young man said lazily. "That woman's obviously got implants; can't you feel how hard those two lumps are?"
5 yuè de róng chéng ， zhǐ shì zài chūn tiān de wěi ba shàng ， bìng méi yǒu zhēn zhèng de jìn rù xià tiān ， bù guò tiān qì yǐ jīng shì hěn bú cuò le ， zhì shǎo néng kàn dào yáng guāng míng mèi de tiān kōng 。
5月的蓉城，只是在chūn天的尾巴上，并没有真正的进入夏天，不过天气已经是很不错了，至少能看到阳光明媚的天空。
"You have no taste!" the fat American turned his head, disdainfully saying, "I'll just squeeze her tonight and who cares if they're fake? I'm not marrying her!"
zài zhè zhǒng shí hòu ， xiāo qí tōng cháng xǐ huān hē yī bēi hóng chá 。 suī rán shì lüè wēi de kǔ sè yì diǎn ， bù guò rú guǒ jiā yì diǎn níng méng hé fēng mì de huà ， wèi dào jiù huì biàn dé hěn hǎo 。
在这种时候，萧奇通常喜欢喝一杯红茶。虽然是略微的苦涩一点，不过如果加一点柠檬和蜂蜜的话，味道就会变得很好。
"Would it be okay to break them?"
zhǐ bù guò xiāo qí xí guàn le hē yuán wèi ， jiù gēn tā xǐ huān tiān rán de měi nǚ ， bìng bù xǐ huān hán guó nà xiē shǒu shù dāo měi nǚ yī yàng 。
只不过萧奇习惯了喝原味，就跟他喜欢天然的美女，并不喜欢韩国那些手术刀美女一样。
"I thought you were Schwarzenegger! How could you break them?" Tony said with a lecherous look. "Eastern women are like water; much more enduring than our American women, whose pores are so big."
shèn zhì bāo kuò le miàn qián kā fēi tīng lǐ miàn zǒu guò de nà yī wèi 。
甚至包括了面前咖啡厅里面走过的那一位。
Xiao Qi shrugged and didn't bother discussing such matters with the lecherous American.
“ wèi ， tāng ní ， nǐ hái yào kàn dào shén me shí hòu ？” shào nián lǎn yáng yáng de dào 。“ zhè ge nǚ rén yī kàn jiù zhī dào shì lóng xiōng le de ， nǐ méi gǎn jué dào nà lù chū lái de liǎng tuó ， hěn yǒu diǎn yìng bāng bāng de ma ？”
“喂，汤尼，你还要看到什么时候？”少年懒洋洋的道。“这个女人一看就知道是隆胸了的，你没感觉到那露出来的两坨，很有点硬邦邦的吗？”
The woman who had walked by was in her late twenties or early thirties, and apart from her artificial breasts, she wasn't particularly attractive. Xiao Qi wondered why Tony found her so captivating.
“ nǐ zhè ge rén zhēn méi yǒu qíng qù ！” féi pàng de měi guó lǎo piān tóu huí lái ， bù xiè de dào ：“ wǒ zhǐ yào jīn wǎn róu niē yī wǎn shàng jiù hǎo le ， zhǐ yào shǒu gǎn hǎo ， wǒ guǎn tā shì bú shì jiǎ de ！ yòu bú shì ná lái dāng lǎo pó ！”
“你这个人真没有情趣！”肥胖的美国佬偏头回来，不屑的道：“我只要今晚揉捏一晚上就好了，只要手感好，我管她是不是假的！又不是拿来当老婆！”
Americans were peculiar; while countless Chinese women were willing to jump on them for honor, respect, envy, and green cards, the ones they chose were mostly considered ugly by their own standards—super ugly.
“ niē bào le yě méi yǒu guān xì ma ？”
“捏爆了也没有关系吗？”
Sometimes, Xiao Qi thought that if China and America merged, with Chinese people marrying American types, it would be a harmonious society indeed!
“ nǐ yǐ wéi wǒ shì shī wǎ xīn gé a ？ zěn me kě néng niē bào ？” tāng ní lù chū wěi suǒ de shén sè，“ dōng fāng de nǚ rén jiù gēn shuǐ zuò de yī yàng ， kě bǐ wǒ men měi guó nà xiē máo kǒng cū dà de nǚ rén yào yǒu nài lì duō le 。”
“你以为我是施瓦辛格啊？怎么可能捏爆？”汤尼露出猥琐的神sè，“东方的女人就跟水做的一样，可比我们美国那些毛孔粗大的女人要有耐力多了。”
After drinking a cup of coffee, Tony whispered, "Young Master Qi, did you know that at least ten investment banks in the US want to take you down? Including Citibank?"
xiāo qí sǒng sǒng jiān 。 bù qù hé zhè ge wěi suǒ de měi guó lǎo tán lùn zhè yàng de wèn tí le 。
萧奇耸耸肩。不去和这个猥琐的美国佬谈论这样的问题了。
"Really?" Xiao Qi was taken aback. "Our relationship with Citibank isn't good enough for that? Americans are really mercenary!"
gāng cái zǒu guò qù de nǚ rén ， nián líng èr shí qī bā le bù shuō ， chú le yī duì rén gōng xiōng qì ， zhēn de méi yí gè dì fāng shì piào liàng de ， tiān zhī dào tāng ní zěn me huì kàn dé mù bù zhuǎn jīng 。
刚才走过去的女人，年龄二十七八了不说，除了一对人工胸器，真的没一个地方是漂亮的，天知道汤尼怎么会看得目不转睛。
"Don't be so sensitive," Tony said with a smile. "It has nothing to do with me. In fact, none of us who are close to you participated; they excluded us."
měi guó rén fēi cháng de qí pā ， suī rán yǒu wú shù de huá guó nǚ rén yuàn yì pū shàng qù kào tā men ， yǐ cǐ huò dé róng yù （！？）、 zūn zhòng （！！？？）、 xiàn mù （：……） hé lǜ kǎ 。 dàn tā men xuǎn zé de huá guó nǚ rén ，95% dōu shì shǔ yú zài huá guó rén yǎn de chǒu nǚ ， ér qiě shì chāo jí chǒu nǚ 。
美国人非常的奇葩，虽然有无数的华国女人愿意扑上去靠他们，以此获得荣誉（！？）、尊重（！！？？）、羡慕（：……）和绿卡。但他们选择的华国女人，95%都是属于在华国人眼的丑女，而且是超级丑女。
Citibank had many acquaintances among Xiao Qi's circle—Tony, Wade, Powell, Mochiev, and Jiup. They were known as the Asia-Pacific faction.
suǒ yǐ yǒu shí hòu ， xiāo qí zài xiǎng 。 rú guǒ bǎ huá guó hé měi guó hé bìng ， ràng huá guó rén yě qù qǔ měi guó rén bù xǐ huān de nà xiē lèi xíng de měi nǚ ， yí dìng yě shì fēi cháng hé . xié de shè huì ba ！
所以有时候，萧奇在想。如果把华国和美国合并，让华国人也去娶美国人不喜欢的那些类型的美女，一定也是非常和.谐的社会吧！
However, compared to the Americas and Europe, the Asia-Pacific faction was clearly less influential in major financial centers. Despite being a key client of Citibank, Xiao Qi wasn't worth 5 billion dollars in this high-stakes bet.
hē le yī bēi kā fēi ， tāng ní xiǎo shēng de dào ：“ qí shǎo ， nǐ zhī bù zhī dào ， xiàn zài měi guó qǐ mǎ yǒu shí gè tóu xíng ， xiǎng yào kēng nǐ yī bǎ …… qí jiù bāo kuò le wǒ men huā qí ？”
喝了一杯咖啡，汤尼小声的道：“奇少，你知不知道，现在美国起码有十个投行，想要坑你一把……其就包括了我们花旗？”
They calculated that while they still made some money from their business dealings with Xiao Qi, the big profits were going elsewhere. The shares of DreamPad and its app store, as well as Chosegirl, had all been sold without their involvement.
“ bú shì ba ？” xiāo qí yǎ rán de dào ，“ wǒ hé huā qí de guān xì hái bù gòu hǎo ma ？ nǐ men měi guó lǎo kě zhēn shì jiàn lì wàng yì a ！”
“不是吧？”萧奇哑然的道，“我和花旗的关系还不够好吗？你们美国佬可真是见利忘义啊！”
If it was just a regular company's shares, it might have been fine, but these were clear golden geese—buy them and make money!
chú kāi tán shēng yì de shí hòu ， hé měi guó rén shuō huà ， nǐ qiān wàn bié cáng zhe yē zhe ， yào mà jiù mà ， fǒu zé shuō bàn tiān guǎi wān mò jiǎo de huà tā men yě tīng bù dǒng 。
除开谈生意的时候，和美国人说话，你千万别藏着掖着，要骂就骂，否则说半天拐弯抹角的话他们也听不懂。
Xiao Qi's relationship with Citibank was so good that they wouldn't sell to him. The Americas naturally harbored resentment, deciding to win this bet against Xiao Qi to show him who was boss.
ái mà de tāng ní xiào zhe shuō dào ：“ zhè kě bù guān wǒ de shì ér ， shì shí shàng ， hé nǐ jiāo qíng hǎo de wǒ men zhè qún rén ， yí gè dōu méi yǒu cān yù jìn qù …… tā men zhǔ dòng de bǎ wǒ men pái chú le 。”
挨骂的汤尼笑着说道：“这可不关我的事儿，事实上，和你交情好的我们这群人，一个都没有参与进去……他们主动的把我们排除了。”
While the others were blinded by greed, the Asia-Pacific faction understood clearly: although Xiao Qi had sold shares in three companies, none of them went to a bank.
huā qí yín háng xiāo qí de shú rén hěn duō ， bǐ rú tāng ní 、 wéi dé 、 bào lì jié 、 mò qí yé fū 、 jié pǔ zhè xiē rén ， jī běn shàng suàn shì yī xì de ， rén chēng “ yà tài xì ”。
花旗银行萧奇的熟人很多，比如汤尼、韦德、鲍力杰、莫奇耶夫、捷普这些人，基本上算是一系的，人称“亚太系”。
This proved that he wasn't planning on selling to any banks. If he did sell to other banks but not Citibank, it would be unreasonable. Since he hadn't done so, they couldn't say he was ungrateful.
bù guò zài shì jiè zhǔ yào de jīn róng dì pán lái shuō ， yà tài xì xiǎn rán bǐ bù shàng měi zhōu xì 、 ōu zhōu xì ， suǒ yǐ suī rán xiāo qí shì huā qí yín háng de zhòng yào de kè hù ， dàn xiāng duì yú 50 yì měi jīn de duì dǔ jù kuǎn ， shén me dōu bù suàn 。
不过在世界主要的金融地盘来说，亚太系显然比不上美洲系、欧洲系，所以虽然萧奇是花旗银行的重要的客户，但相对于50亿美金的对赌巨款，什么都不算。
That's why Tony came to Xiao Qi early to avoid any lingering resentment from his faction.
tā men jì suàn le yī xià ， hé xiāo qí zuò shēng yì yǐ lái ， suī rán hái shì yǒu zhuàn qián de ， dàn guān jiàn de dà tóu què shì méi tā men de fèn ér a 。
他们计算了一下，和萧奇做生意以来，虽然还是有赚钱的，但关键的大头却是没他们的份儿啊。
So, conflicts exist everywhere; it wasn’t just a Chinese invention. (To be continued.) If you like this work, please support the author by voting for recommendation tickets and monthly passes on Qidian. Your support is the greatest motivation! For mobile users, visit m.qidian.com to read.
Receiving a call from the elderly scholar Niu, Xiao Qi gave a brief explanation and then agreed to no longer stir up trouble in public places in America.
On one hand, he was showing respect for Old Man Cow; it made more sense to give Obama some face now rather than after he became president. On the other hand, this decision was also about his own business interests.
Xiao Qi understood that if you hated someone, don't always show your hatred; people will constantly be on guard and you'll find it hard to strike when the time is right. Instead, bury your hate in your heart, act casual around them, and wait for a critical moment—like when they're at the edge of a cliff—to push them off.
Of course, Xiao Qi's enmity toward America wasn't as deep. In fact, one of his wives was genuinely an American beauty, making him an American son-in-law too.
But while emotions were one thing, earning money was another.
Just like Clinton and Bush, they made life difficult for China when in power but once out, would act as "old friends" to China, constantly seeking favors. Clinton even gave seven or eight speeches in China, insisting that he wasn't shameless, making others believe him. Truly a genius!
So Xiao Qi decided to learn from his seniors; he'd only occasionally show off his prowess and always appear as America's good friend when it came to business.
However, Xiao Qi's bet against American oil futures had already caught the attention of Wall Street's big sharks, who were determined to take a piece out of him. This was unavoidable.
On a late afternoon in early May, Tony invited Xiao Qi for tea.
The custom of afternoon tea originated from either England or Guangdong—this much was lost to history. But it was well-known that people from these regions loved their afternoon teas.
In America, Xiao Qi didn't often indulge in snacks during the day, but after reincarnating, he drank a lot of afternoon tea for business and task assignments.
The weather in Chengdu in early May wasn't quite summer yet, but the sun was shining brightly. Xiao Qi usually enjoyed a cup of black tea, which had a slight bitterness that could be enhanced with lemon and honey.
However, he preferred it plain, just as he liked natural beauty over surgically enhanced beauties from South Korea.
Even the woman walking past their café didn't catch his attention.
"Hey, Tony, when are you going to stop staring?" The young man said lazily. "That woman's obviously got implants; can't you feel how hard those two lumps are?"
"You have no taste!" the fat American turned his head, disdainfully saying, "I'll just squeeze her tonight and who cares if they're fake? I'm not marrying her!"
"Would it be okay to break them?"
"I thought you were Schwarzenegger! How could you break them?" Tony said with a lecherous look. "Eastern women are like water; much more enduring than our American women, whose pores are so big."
Xiao Qi shrugged and didn't bother discussing such matters with the lecherous American.
The woman who had walked by was in her late twenties or early thirties, and apart from her artificial breasts, she wasn't particularly attractive. Xiao Qi wondered why Tony found her so captivating.
Americans were peculiar; while countless Chinese women were willing to jump on them for honor, respect, envy, and green cards, the ones they chose were mostly considered ugly by their own standards—super ugly.
Sometimes, Xiao Qi thought that if China and America merged, with Chinese people marrying American types, it would be a harmonious society indeed!
After drinking a cup of coffee, Tony whispered, "Young Master Qi, did you know that at least ten investment banks in the US want to take you down? Including Citibank?"
"Really?" Xiao Qi was taken aback. "Our relationship with Citibank isn't good enough for that? Americans are really mercenary!"
"Don't be so sensitive," Tony said with a smile. "It has nothing to do with me. In fact, none of us who are close to you participated; they excluded us."
Citibank had many acquaintances among Xiao Qi's circle—Tony, Wade, Powell, Mochiev, and Jiup. They were known as the Asia-Pacific faction.
However, compared to the Americas and Europe, the Asia-Pacific faction was clearly less influential in major financial centers. Despite being a key client of Citibank, Xiao Qi wasn't worth 5 billion dollars in this high-stakes bet.
They calculated that while they still made some money from their business dealings with Xiao Qi, the big profits were going elsewhere. The shares of DreamPad and its app store, as well as Chosegirl, had all been sold without their involvement.
If it was just a regular company's shares, it might have been fine, but these were clear golden geese—buy them and make money!
Xiao Qi's relationship with Citibank was so good that they wouldn't sell to him. The Americas naturally harbored resentment, deciding to win this bet against Xiao Qi to show him who was boss.
While the others were blinded by greed, the Asia-Pacific faction understood clearly: although Xiao Qi had sold shares in three companies, none of them went to a bank.
This proved that he wasn't planning on selling to any banks. If he did sell to other banks but not Citibank, it would be unreasonable. Since he hadn't done so, they couldn't say he was ungrateful.
That's why Tony came to Xiao Qi early to avoid any lingering resentment from his faction.
So, conflicts exist everywhere; it wasn’t just a Chinese invention. (To be continued.) If you like this work, please support the author by voting for recommendation tickets and monthly passes on Qidian. Your support is the greatest motivation! For mobile users, visit m.qidian.com to read.