The opponent was indeed angered because Shuishui had used ambiguous words. What did she mean by being religious? Although she was religious, what she said was commonly believed. The opponent said confidently, "Nowadays, homosexuality is indeed opposed in many regions. In some countries, homosexuals who display affection publicly are imprisoned for more than ten years. Majority of people infected with AIDS are also homosexuals. Therefore, I firmly believe that homosexuality and what come with it bring harm to society."
She started to emphasize that there was an alarmingly large number of people suffering from AIDS. This was indeed the truth, but Shuishui could also refute it. Shuishui said, "Do you know how AIDS spreads? This means that a man with AIDS can pass on the disease to a woman during unprotected intercourse. It is transmitted only through intercourse and blood contamination. Mother-to-child transmission can also occur during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding. Homosexuals are not entirely to blame for the transmission of the virus. It is simply unfortunate that homosexuals are considered to be the highest transmitters of the disease, but then you don't have the statistics to prove it. Since you used that as your argument, then let me ask you, in countries that imprison homosexuals because of their openness and expression of their homosexuality, is imprisonment due to a national law, or is it because of something else?"
Shuishui was also unwilling to be outdone. She felt strong, and the opponent started to blabber incoherent sentences. Shuishui was also trying to lead them away from the main topic. At first, the opponent was conscious of the strategy Shuishui's team was using and deliberately tried to redirect arguments to the main topic, but they later gave their arguments out of mere confusion. Shuishui could not help but laugh, and the time was up. Shuishui's group received 45 points, while the group from the first high school received 32 points.
The first high group couldn't believe that they received a very low score.
The judges gave a slight explanation. "Your fluency isn't bad, but you've already deviated from the main point. You're the opposing party, and your main goal was to oppose homosexuality, not AIDS. Also, only the lead debater was speaking in behalf of the team. The other two speakers were idle."
The girl was dissatisfied. "But the girl on the other team also gave rebuttals all by herself."
"In the beginning, her teammate presented the scope and parameters of the debate. After that, the lead debater grabbed the reins and represented the team. Everyone on their team spoke. You also didn't have enough evidence to refute their arguments," the judge said in a brutally frank manner. However, he was pleasantly surprised that the main speakers from each team spoke good English. He felt that if all contestants spoke like them, they wouldn't have a difficult time trying to understand what they meant during debates.
Shuishui smiled faintly and thanked the judges. Then, she left the stage with her teammates. Their coach greeted them with open hands and a wide smile. "You were so great!" he said.
Ma Yue was happy. She laughed and said, " I noticed how the other team started to deviate from the topic."
Shuishui also laughed at the thought that their strategy worked. "Yeah. They really deviated from the topic. That definitely didn't work out well for them."
Luo Ming felt that it was Shuishui's doing. "You're too bad. You confused them and led them astray, so they started talking about other things," he said.
"If they had paid more attention, they wouldn't have been misled. Do you guys want to stay and watch or what?" Shuishui asked.
"Let's stay and watch. In the future, they might also become our opponents." Luo Ming planned to stay and watch to see how strong the other debate teams were.
Shuishui looked behind her. "I'll go back first. My father is here."
Ma Yue wanted Shuishui to stay and watch with them. "Okay, but you can actually watch more. If we watch together, we'll be able to plan better."
Shuishui refused. "Sorry. I live near the school and rarely see my father."
She walked over to her father. Qian An gave Shuishui a hug. "Awesome. My Shuishui is still as amazing as ever," he said affectionately.
"Dad, it's also because of you," Qian Shuishui said and smiled.
Qian An smiled. "You're becoming more and more eloquent."
"I only say that to Dad. It's the weekend. Dad, I see that you've been quite busy recently. If you're busy, you can go to the office. I'll accompany you. I can even help you out," Shuishui said with a smile. She wanted to help her father with his affairs, if she could.
"You, as long as you don't cause trouble for Dad. However, if you're curious, you can come with me. I will give you something to do. If you do well, I will reward you!" Qian An appreciated his daughter's thoughtfulness.
"En, then go back to the apartment and bring Qian Anzhi along." Qian Shuishui remembered that Qian Anzhi was still sleeping at home when she left, so she guessed that he would be asleep until noon.
Qian An nodded. "Okay. Call him and ask him to prepare." He felt that if Anzhi was near him, he would feel obligated to study.
Shuishui called Qian Anzhi. Her first call didn't go through, but the second time, Qian Anzhi answered. "Hello?"
When she heard his lazy voice, Shuishui knew that he had just woken up. "Get up and get ready. Dad and I will come to pick you up. We'll be there in about ten minutes. You go downstairs. We'll go to Dad's office for lunch."
Qian Anzhi didn't really want to go. "Ah? Dad is coming? Why are you going to the office? Why am I going with you? I won't go. You guys go."
"We're already on the way. You can't say no. Dad is listening. You're on loudspeaker," Shuishui said.
"F*ck. Why didn't you say so earlier? I'll get up right now. When you arrive, call me so I'll go downstairs." Qian Anzhi immediately jumped up and ran to the bathroom. He felt that his sister always tricked him. She even used the loudspeaker. It wouldn't be good if their Dad heard what he said.
Shuishui didn't actually use the loudspeaker. She just wanted to scare Qian Anzhi. Sure enough, he fell for it.
Shuishui couldn't help but laugh. She found her brother quite adorable.
Qian Anzhi was focused on his phone. He readied his Bluetooth headset in case Shuishui called.
When Shuishui and Qian An arrived outside the apartment complex, Shuishui called Qian Anzhi. She didn't disturb her father because he was still on the phone.
When Qian Anzhi arrived downstairs, he got into the car and was about to say something. When he noticed that his father was on the phone, he kept quiet.
Qian An drove to the office. When he ended the call, he called out Qian Anzhi. "Anzhi, what time is it? It's almost noon and you were still sleeping."
"Dad, I was out with my friends yesterday, so I slept late. Also, I oversleep during weekends." Qian Anzhi found an excuse. He would never admit that he had been playing on Shuishui's computer all night. He only fell asleep when Shuishui herself woke up.
Shuishui naturally knew the truth, but she didn't expose him.
Qian An parked the car in the garage and brought them into the office building.
There were fewer people in the office on weekends. People who saw Qian An accompanying two children were curious.
"Brother-in-law, you're here." When they arrived at Qian An's office, they found Uncle Li sitting inside.
Qian An looked at him. "I remember that you don't have to work on weekends."
"Yes, but it's our own company after all. Brother-in-law, you're already here. How can I still be slacking at home? I'm sorry I waited inside your office. I'm a little embarrassed." Uncle Li could sense Qian An's displeasure, so he explained in advance.
Qian An wasn't a stingy person. He simply said, "It's nothing. Why do you want to see me then?"
Uncle Li looked at the two children. "I want to talk to you alone."
Qian An nodded and turned to his two children. "You two sit outside first. I'll bring you down for lunch later."
"Okay." Shuishui nodded and went out with her brother.
She closed the door and let the two talk privately.
Uncle Li smiled and said, "Brother-in-law, I came here this time because I have something to discuss with you. Isn't there a large furniture mall here? Last New Year, they encountered several internal problems, and now they want to sell their place. The boss is a friend of mine, and he said that he could sell it to us at a low price. I want to discuss this matter with you. Maybe we can buy it and manage it ourselves."
Qian An had never made furniture before, and he had no intention of exploring that area of business. He said, "We already have many projects in the company as it is, and they make up most of our largest expenditures. If we want to use money to buy that piece of land, we can't do it without tens of millions. The company also doesn't intend to make furniture."
Uncle Li knew that Qian An would not be interested, but he continued to persuade him. "Brother-in-law, you can't say that because there aren't many stores selling furniture now. If that friend of mine had not lost a large amount of money in a different investment, he wouldn't have considered selling such a profitable business."
Qian An knew that the business was in a strategic location. It wouldn't be much of a loss if he bought it. However, he needed to consider the company's current capital flow. "I can't shell out a large amount of money in one go," he said.
"Don't worry. You can pay it in installments. I've talked to my friend.He said it is payable for a year." Uncle Li tried his best to persuade Qian An.
Qian An pondered and said, "I'll have to consider this matter."
"Brother-in-law, this friend of mine said that he'll only give me three days. If you don't want it, he'll sell it to someone else. There's no need to worry about selling that place. You can trust me. He said he will manage it for us. I'll definitely increase the profit." Uncle Li Was boastful.
Qian An was not an impulsive person. He was the kind who would carefully consider his actions, especially if the company was at stake.
"Big Brother, I'll give you an answer the day after tomorrow." Qian An planned to drag it out until the end. He would think carefully about it, or whether it was worth the risk or not.
Uncle Li could not help but say a few more words. "Brother-in-law, don't blame big brother for blabbering. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I've already asked about the price. It's 28 million."
"28 million?" Qian An was surprised that the price was indeed lower than the market price.
"Yes, and that includes whatever's inside." Uncle Li felt that this was not enough to tempt Qian An. How could he tempt him? He became hopeful when he saw that Qian An was surprised by the price.
"It is indeed quite profitable." Qian An felt that the price was a little unreasonable. "Why would he rather lower the price than hang it up on the shelves? That way, he'll earn more," he asked Uncle Li.
"It's like this. He wants it paid in installments. The first installment must be 10 million. Unlike other people, we can easily shell out that amount." Uncle Li was hoping that Qian An would consider buying the property.