Chapter 132: If No One Envies You, You Must Be Mediocre

The current Songjiang International Auto Expo and the accompanying International Automotive Summit Forum were once again held at the Songjiang International Exhibition Center. Although there was still an hour before the official start, the multimedia exhibition hall on the third floor was already occupied by a significant number of corporate executives, experts, and scholars from the domestic and international automotive industries.

Passing through the multimedia hall, Zhao Guoyang followed Director Wang into a lounge. Inside, Songjiang Mayor Huang Zhigang sat in the center. To his right sat Li Kejian, and to his left, Ji Chongxuan. Beside them were Liang Xiaofeng and five other experts and scholars in sharp suits. Director Fang Xuesen was not among them.

Seeing Zhao Guoyang and Wang Ziqing enter, Mayor Huang gestured to them: "Little Zhao, come and sit. We’ve been waiting for a while—you were the only one missing."

Zhao Guoyang felt a slight pang of embarrassment. While Mayor Huang’s words were meant to praise him, they inadvertently drew a fair amount of resentment toward him. It was, after all, rather awkward for a young man in his twenties to keep such a group of high-profile figures waiting. As expected, when he looked up to nod in greeting, he caught glimmers of dissatisfaction in the eyes of several people present.

However, since he had decided to attend this summit, Zhao Guoyang was not going to let such trivialities bother him. As the saying goes, those who are not envied are mediocre, and Zhao Guoyang never considered himself mediocre.

Seeing that Zhao was ready, Huang turned his attention to Liang Xiaofeng: "Director Liang, everyone is here. Please introduce the others to Little Zhao."

Liang Xiaofeng nodded and introduced the five unfamiliar faces one by one:
Mao Zhichun, Chairman and General Manager of Songqi Group;
Zhang Guangyao, Vice President of Songjiang Jiaotong University, Dean of the School of Automotive Engineering, Party Secretary, and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences;
Lv Zhen, Secretary-General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers;
Xiao Guodong, a member of the SRE (Society of Reliability Engineers) Songjiang Chapter, who possessed fifteen years of experience in reliability engineering and automotive body design, having worked for several Fortune 500 automotive companies, and currently serving as the Minister of Technical Development at Songqi Group;
Zhu Yanyan, a professor at Jichuan University, Director of the Automotive Safety Technology Research Institute, and one of the forty-three professors in Songjiang city to receive a State Council special allowance.

After the introductions, Zhao Guoyang stood up and politely greeted each of the prominent figures with a slight bow. Under the watchful eye of the Mayor, the experts could not afford to be dismissive and responded to Zhao with polite smiles.

Once the pleasantries were finished, Mayor Huang began outlining the points of focus for the forum. His only requirement was unity—to maximize the advantages of the Chinese side to push forward the negotiations between Songqi Group and the Volkswagen Group. Having discussed these matters multiple times, he kept the briefing brief.

Concluding, Huang turned to Zhao Guoyang, interlaced his fingers, and introduced him to the room: "Little Zhao might be unfamiliar to some of you. Given the time constraints, I won't go into detail. In short, once the forum begins, if there are any questions you feel unsure about, just leave them to Little Zhao to handle..."

The expressions of the five experts shifted instantly. Clearly, they had not expected the Mayor to hold such a young man in such high regard. Watching their reactions, Zhao Guoyang felt a silent amusement. It was understandable that they would question his ability; after all, they were among the top figures in the domestic automotive industry. While they lacked the seniority of the veteran academicians Li Kejian and Ji Chongxuan, those two were not strictly "automotive specialists"—Li’s expertise spanned heavy industry, aviation, and military fields, while Ji’s mechanical and electrical background only partially overlapped with automotive manufacturing.

Sensing that Zhao might feel uncomfortable, Ji Chongxuan tilted his head and spoke up: "Guodong, Little Zhu, don't underestimate the younger generation. Little Zhao's expertise might just surprise you!" Ji dared to single out Xiao and Zhu because they had both been his students in the past. They owed him a degree of respect, and his words carried weight.

Xiao Guodong, in his forties and looking every bit the scholarly researcher in his black-rimmed glasses, exchanged a look with Zhu Yanyan. Zhu, whose bright, expressive eyes made her look far younger than her years, seemed to soften her skepticism after hearing her teacher’s endorsement.

Unlike Ji, Li Kejian was not worried about Zhao being marginalized. In his eyes, Zhao Guoyang’s importance far exceeded that of these experts. "Little Zhao, sit next to me later so we can communicate easily if anything comes up," Li said, looking at him kindly.

"Uh... very well, Elder Li!" Zhao Guoyang noticed a sharp, piercing glance from Mao Zhichun and hesitated for a split second before nodding.

As the time approached, Mayor Huang consulted briefly with Li and Ji, and the group headed toward the multimedia center. As they left, Mao Zhichun maneuvered to walk beside Zhao. He extended his hand with a seemingly hearty demeanor: "Comrade Zhao, Elder Li and Academician Ji think highly of you. Whether or not Songqi Group wins today depends entirely on you."

Facing the overly enthusiastic Chairman Mao, Zhao Guoyang remained humble: "Chairman Mao, I am merely an advisor, playing a role similar to Yang Xiu. The heavy lifting will still be done by President Zhang, Secretary-General Lv, and the rest of the team."

"Oh, come now, Little Zhao, don't be too modest. Excessive modesty is just pride in disguise," Mao laughed.

"Chairman Mao, rest assured. Little Zhao will not let you down," Ji Chongxuan interjected as he passed by.

"Oh? Since Academician Ji says so, I shall wait and see," Mao replied, his tone carrying an ambiguous undertone.

Zhao Guoyang knew perfectly well that the Chairman did not trust his abilities due to a lack of understanding. He simply smiled with reserved composure, choosing to let his actions speak for themselves.