Li Jingjing was also incredulous: "Zhao Qiang, are you really sure that Zhang Lingfeng wouldn't even give my dad any face?"
Zhao Qiang said, "That's because your methods are wrong. That person is actually very easy to get along with. I will help you secure a certain amount of goods each month. You will have to do the rest of the work yourselves. However, the price must be consistent so that I don't have to put myself in a difficult position."
Zhang Wenjing raised her hand and assured, "No problem, I will follow the leader's arrangements."
Seeing that Zhao Qiang had done her a great favor, Li Jingjing felt a sense of returning the favor and said to Zhao Qiang, "Did you know that my grandfather's birthday is coming up soon?"
Zhao Qiang nodded: "I heard from your uncle that the fifteenth of the eighth lunar month is an auspicious day."
Li Jingjing said, "Didn't my uncle say he was going back to Shanghai?" After saying that, Li Jingjing deliberately glanced at Chen Xinxin, the meaning of which was very clear: Chen Xinxin was probably going to go too.
Zhao Qiang said, "I mentioned it briefly, but nothing was finalized."
Chen Xinxin suddenly interjected, "I won't go. Let my mom go by herself."
Ignoring her cousin's words, Li Jingjing continued to say to Zhao Qiang, "Be careful if you go too."
Zhao Qiang said thoughtfully, "Thank you."
Li Jingjing said, "You're welcome. I should be thanking you. If the agency deal goes through, Wenjing will have a job."
Zhao Qiang said, "I'll give you a definite answer within the next day or two at the latest."
Sun Dongming, who hadn't gotten a chance to speak until now, finally had his chance. He reached out to Zhao Ling and said, "Sister Ling, I heard a group of new singers have arrived. Let me take a look." Zhao Ling was carrying a bag; she had a lot of documents to take home and process.
Zhao Ling said, "All the signed contracts are archived in the company. Here are just a few contracts from singers and models who have expressed interest."
Sun Dongming said, "Then we should definitely take a look. If there are any good cabbages, we'll reserve one first."
Zhao Ling took the documents out of her bag. Sun Dongming didn't manage to grab them all; Zhao Mingming took the other half. After only reading the first document, Zhao Mingming exclaimed, "Beautiful lady, sis! I've reserved this singer for myself; I won't marry anyone else!"
Zhao Ling glared at her younger brother: "Should I call He Shan over?"
Zhao Mingming immediately lowered her head, and Sun Dongming smugly snatched the document. The girl in the document was indeed eye-catching; she was very pure and cute, somewhat like Chen Xinxin but without her sexiness. She exuded more of a pure feeling.
As Sun Dongming flipped through the pages, he said, "Zhao Mingming, you're out of luck, but I'm almost there... Not bad, really not bad, Sister Ling, I've reserved this Su Xiaosu. I don't have a girlfriend, it's my turn."
Volume 2 [518] Go and take back what belongs to you
[518] Go and take back what belongs to you.
Zhao Qiang snatched the document from Sun Dongming's hand. Sun Dongming said aggrievedly, "Brother Qiang, you're already eyeing what you have and you're trying to take it from me?"
Zhao Qiang quickly glanced through the documents in his hand, then handed them back to Sun Dongming. Zhao Ling asked, "What? Is there one you like?"
Zhao Qiang shook his head: "Just taking a look. If we sign these celebrities, will the company still have enough funds?"
Zhao Ling said, "Pretty much, because these celebrities are all third-tier or even lower, so it won't cost much."
Zhang Wenjing also looked at the profiles of the celebrities she was about to sign and said, "They all look pretty good. Have they had plastic surgery?"
Zhao Mingming said, "Can celebrities who don't get plastic surgery still make it in the entertainment industry? I'll be their manager from now on, and I can occasionally take advantage of them... hehe..." Zhao Mingming chuckled wickedly, making Li Jingjing next to him feel a chill run down her spine.
The meal lasted two hours. Zhao Mingming and Sun Dongming got quite drunk, and Zhang Wenjing also drank a lot. Fortunately, Zhao Qiang didn't drink much, so he was able to take everyone home smoothly. Before parting, Li Jingjing reminded Zhao Qiang, "Please keep an eye on things like becoming an agent for youth health products, Brother Qiang."
Zhao Qiang said, "It shouldn't be a big problem. I'm just worried that it might be difficult to get approval from your maternal grandfather and your second uncle."
Li Jingjing snorted: "My second uncle? That's none of his business. As for my maternal grandfather, I'll handle that. You'll be eternally grateful if you just help me finalize the agency agreement."
Zhao Qiang said, "I'll contact them tonight."
As Zhao Qiang was about to leave, Li Jingjing hesitated, then said, "Brother Qiang... please be careful if you go to wish my grandfather a happy birthday."
Zhao Qiang nodded solemnly: "I'll keep it in mind." It must be something that Li Jingjing reminded him of twice.
After saying that, Li Jingjing closed the door. Inside, Zhang Wenjing was already fast asleep.
Back home, Chen Xinxin and Zhao Ling were busy processing company documents. They spent most of their daytime work checking on other employees, so they had to save most of the documents for the evening.
Zhao Qiang returned to his bedroom, turned on his computer, logged into QQ, and left a message for Zhang Lingfeng: "If possible, let's meet in Baiyuan City as soon as possible. We have important business to discuss." Then Zhao Qiang logged off, opened a search engine, typed in the three characters "Su Xiaosu," and pressed the search button.
Early in the morning, in the office building of Bafang Rubber Industrial Park in Baiyuan City, Chen Guangwei paced back and forth anxiously. Chen Shuxian, dressed in a business suit, came in carrying a pile of documents. She was mainly in charge of finance.
"Guangwei, what's wrong?" Chen Shuxian asked with concern.
Chen Guangwei said, "My father just called me."
Upon hearing that it was related to Chen Kezong, Chen Shuxian immediately gave up asking further questions. Just as Chen Xinxin could not forgive Chen Guangwei, she could not forgive Chen Kezong either.
Chen Guangwei said, "My father's birthday is coming up soon, and it's very important to celebrate it this time, but I have no idea how to do it."
Chen Shuxian said calmly, "Just go back when the time comes, there's nothing to worry about."
Chen Guangwei said, "But..."
Chen Shuxian said, "Xin Xin and I will not go, and we do not acknowledge that family."
Chen Guangwei said, "Shuxian, I know my dad went too far in the past, but as you've seen recently, he has shown remorse. It's just that he's too proud to admit his mistakes. We should take this opportunity to give my dad a way out so that the family can reconcile."
Chen Shuxian put down the documents and said, "Take a look at last month's financial statements. If there are no problems, sign them. I'm leaving." After saying that, Chen Shuxian closed the door and quietly left. No matter what Chen Guangwei said, she wouldn't listen, because she knew that her daughter would never agree to go to the Chen family in Shanghai, and there was no point in saying anything more.
In Chen Xinxin's office, Zhao Qiang leisurely sipped tea, while Chen Xinxin nervously reviewed documents. The rubber industrial park was already operating at high speed. Orders received earlier, plus the new orders Chen Guangwei received at last night's celebration, all needed to be fulfilled through overtime work. The new type of synthetic rubber had advantages that ordinary natural rubber couldn't match, and its price was on par with natural rubber. Which tire factory wouldn't be eager to place orders? This was a crucial factor in increasing the competitiveness of their products; if they didn't use this synthetic rubber, they would be eliminated by customers.
In fact, new synthetic rubber could be cheaper than natural rubber. However, considering that many natural rubber plantations need time to transform, the government intervened in pricing guidance. Anyway, it's about making more money, so Zhao Qiang didn't say anything. Of course, the quality of the synthetic rubber supplied to foreign countries is not what was theoretically designed. The best products are given priority to military enterprises, while civilian enterprises and foreign companies have to use the inferior products.
While signing the documents, Chen Xinxin said to Zhao Qiang, "Zhao Qiang, the amount of catalyst in our inventory is only enough to last for two days. You need to be prepared."
Zhao Qiang said, "Prepare the raw materials in warehouse number two, and I'll get them ready for you tonight."
Chen Xinxin nodded and picked up the landline: "Director Wang, this is Chen Xinxin. The materials at warehouse number two need to be loaded before the end of the workday this evening. Could you please make the arrangements?"
After hanging up the phone, Chen Xinxin asked Zhao Qiang, "I don't quite understand how you made the catalyst. It must be tiring for you to do so much work all night by yourself. Should we ask someone to come in and help?"
Zhao Qiang shook his head: "No need, you and Zhao Ling can just prepare more food for me tonight."
Chen Xinxin said, "No problem, we'll go to the supermarket to shop after work."
Knock knock knock, someone knocked on the door. Chen Xinxin straightened her expression and said, "Come in."
Chen Shuxian pushed open the door and entered. Zhao Qiang put down his teacup, stood up, and greeted her, "Hello, Aunt Chen."
Chen Shuxian said, "Xiaoqiang is here too. I'm delivering financial statements to Xinxin."
Chen Xinxin said, "Mom, you can just have your secretary do it."
Chen Shuxian smiled and said, "Mom missed you and came to visit. You're not going home tonight."
Chen Xinxin pouted: "That's not my home."
Chen Shuxian didn't stand on ceremony with her daughter and invited Zhao Qiang to sit down again. Chen Xinxin continued reading her documents. Chen Shuxian asked Zhao Qiang, "Xiao Qiang, have you heard about Chen Kezong's birthday celebration?"
Zhao Qiang nodded: "The fifteenth of the eighth lunar month, it's an auspicious day."
Chen Shuxian said, "Chen Kezong intends for Guangwei to take me and Xinxin home." As she spoke, Chen Shuxian observed her daughter's reaction.
Surprisingly, Chen Xinxin didn't argue with her mother. She looked at Zhao Qiang nervously with both eyes. Zhao Qiang said, "Well, it depends on how you look at it."
Chen Shuxian said "Oh".
Zhao Qiang said, "The Chen family owes you."
Chen Shuxian nodded, and Chen Xinxin also agreed with Zhao Qiang's statement. Zhao Qiang continued, "If we avoid it, it will seem like we are in the wrong."
Chen Xinxin said, "But I really hate everyone in the Chen family, and I don't like Li Jingjing either, yet you still want to help her."
Zhao Qiang chuckled: "I'm helping Zhang Wenjing, but there are other reasons that are complicated and I can't explain them clearly right now."
Chen Shuxian asked her daughter, "Xinxin, do you love Zhao Qiang?"
Chen Xinxin said, "Of course I love it."
Chen Shuxian said, "Then you must listen to what he says."
Chen Xinxin said, "As long as he doesn't make me particularly disgusted, I've never objected to him."
Chen Shuxian said, "Alright, let Zhao Qiang give his opinion, and we'll all listen to him, okay?"
Chen Xinxin said, "Okay."
Zhao Qiang said, "There's a saying I don't know if you've heard: 'What's meant to be will be.' You may not have realized it, but things have been turbulent in Baiyuan City lately, and I always feel unsafe."
Chen Shuxian recalled the incident where Chen Guangwei was almost hit and killed in front of the hotel, still feeling lingering fear: "Yes, I've been feeling strange lately, like I'm being followed."
Zhao Qiang said, "Therefore, there are some things that we must face and resolve. Even if we hide in Baiyuan City, we can't escape them, so we might as well face them bravely."
Chen Xinxin said, "Are you saying that if we don't go to Shanghai, we might be in danger?"
Zhao Qiang said, "I'm not sure, but what are they waiting for by not making a move for so long?"
Chen Xinxin said, "But if we go to the Chen family, we'll only be humiliated, so it's better not to go at all."
Zhao Qiang said, "Xin Xin, you need to think like this: it's the Chen family that owes you, not the other way around."
Chen Xinxin said, "So you mean you want us to go?"
Zhao Qiang said, "Go, take back what is rightfully yours, and make sure the Chen family never dares to look down on you again."
Chen Xinxin said, "But I..."
Zhao Qiang said, "With me behind you, what are you afraid of?"
Chen Xinxin nodded emphatically: "Okay, I'll listen to you."
Whether or not to go to celebrate Chen Kezong's birthday is still a long way off, so it's a bit premature to talk about it. After the topic was brought up, everyone went about their business and the work still had to be done.
In the afternoon, Zhao Qiang received a call from Zhang Lingfeng. It turned out that Zhang Lingfeng had arrived in Baiyuan City. Zhao Qiang arranged a meeting place, and the two of them rushed over to meet.
Zhang Lingfeng remained as arrogant and unruly as ever, acting nonchalant and self-important wherever he went. Whenever he saw Zhao Qiang, he always wore a mysterious and enigmatic smile.
"Young Master Zhao, how have you been lately?"
Zhao Qiang said, "It's alright, how about you?"
Zhang Lingfeng handed Zhao Qiang a cigarette, and the two of them puffed away: "There's nothing else to do but make money. The perfume business is doing exceptionally well. Foreign women are going crazy for it now. Many celebrities are begging me to touch their butts just to buy a perfume that's uniquely their own."
Zhao Qiang said, "Then you must be really happy."
Zhang Lingfeng said, "I don't feel anything. I still prefer the old days. Haven't you been thinking about anything lately?"
Zhao Qiang said, "I haven't thought about it. I think I'll remember it when the time is right."
Zhang Lingfeng chuckled: "That's true. You're having so much fun here that you don't want to leave. In my opinion, you should be exiled to the Sahara Desert, a barren land, so you won't have any women. You'll remember everything in a few days."
Zhao Qiang praised, "That's a great idea."