Chapter 145 Two Years Later

Chapter 145 Two Years Later

Shenzhen. Bai Ting, elegantly dressed in a skirt, entered the consultation room.

"Hello, Doctor."

She sat down, offered a brief greeting, and handed over her medical record.

"What seems to be the problem?"

The doctor took the record, his eyes rising from behind his white mask to meet hers.

Bai Ting pointed to her chest, saying, "Lately, I've been feeling some pain here."

The doctor gestured toward the curtain behind him: "Please lift your top so I can examine it."

"Okay."

Bai Ting stood up.

At Zhikun Group, in the spacious and brightly lit open-plan office, everyone was busy, with one diligent figure after another at their workstations.

Just then, a pair of legs clad in black dress pants and black leather shoes moved swiftly and purposefully between the workstations, as if in an urgent hurry.

The figure crossed several work areas, stopped at a particular workstation, and slammed a stack of documents onto a man’s desk.

Then, under the man’s stunned gaze, he grabbed the man by the collar, yanked him up, and slapped him across the face, muttering quietly, "Fucking idiot."

"Mr. Jiang!"

Everyone around was shocked.

The figure who had delivered the blow turned, his face grim, and strode away quickly without a word, ignoring everyone. No one dared to stop him.

It was none other than Jiang Luo.

Jiang Luo, the general manager and major shareholder of Shengfei Group upstairs, was also one of Zhikun's shareholders, where his word was law. Within the company, he was known as "The Godfather" or "The Young Master."

"The Young Master" slapped someone and left, leaving everyone else either awkward or exchanging bewildered glances.

The man who had been slapped could only cover his face, say nothing, and crouch down to pick up the documents Jiang Luo had scattered across his workstation, one by one.

"What happened?"

Why did The Young Master slap Manager Liu?

People at other workstations whispered and discussed in low voices.

Who knows?

Soon, Secretary Wen approached, tapped on the desk of the man who had just been slapped, and said, "Manager Liu, Director Huo is asking for you."

The man referred to as Manager Liu stood up and silently followed Secretary Wen.

As soon as they left, the surrounding workstations erupted in discussion:

"What’s going on?"

"Just got slapped by The Young Master, and now Director Huo is calling for him. Manager Liu is probably in trouble."

"What exactly happened?"

"Who knows? Go ask The Young Master."

"This is the second time The Young Master has slapped someone this month."

"You’re new; you’ll get used to it. After a while, you’ll understand. Our Young Master, General Manager Jiang, really knows how to turn on you when he’s unhappy."

"Is his temper that bad?"

"His temper isn’t bad; he just lashes out. The company and Director Huo enable him."

Jiang Luo returned upstairs after the incident. Entering the company, the wall behind the reception desk displayed several glittering gold characters: Shengfei Group Co., Ltd.

Jiang Luo’s expression had returned to normal by now, no longer cold. He walked toward his office, and Secretary Lu approached him quickly, saying, "General Manager Jiang, Rongxin’s Director Xue is here, waiting for you in your office."

"Okay."

Jiang Luo walked swiftly and efficiently to his office.

Pushing the door open, Jiang Luo didn’t look at Xue Zhizhong. As he made his way to his desk, he said, "I know what you’re after. The glass supply for Shenzhen’s Plot No. 6 can go to you, but not the landscaping."

"The brother-in-law of one of the directors at the Land Bureau specializes in landscaping."

"Most of the landscaping in Futian District is handled by that brother-in-law."

"If I give the landscaping to you, that director from the Land Bureau will come after me."

Xue Zhizhong stood up from the sofa with a smile and walked toward the desk. He grinned obsequiously at Jiang Luo, who had just sat down behind the desk: "If we can’t have the landscaping, that’s fine. As for the glass, General Manager Jiang, what do you think…"

Xue Zhizhong left the suggestion hanging, smiling ingratiatingly before quickly changing the subject: "There’s a Qing dynasty porcelain vase going up for auction in Hong Kong in a few days. I’ve already sent someone to bid on it. Once it’s won, the vase will be brought to you. I hear it’s exceptionally beautiful. Director Huo will surely love it."

With Xue Zhizhong being so adept at catering to his preferences, what else could Jiang Luo say?

He flipped through the documents on his desk and said at a leisurely pace, "The glass for both Plot No. 6 and Plot No. 7 will be supplied by you."

"Excellent!"

Xue Zhizhong smiled even more obsequiously. "Thank you, General Manager Jiang."

He added, "My wife went to Zhuji the last couple of days. When she returns, she’ll bring back some pearl necklaces for you. General Manager Jiang, feel free to take them and give them away as gifts."

As soon as Xue Zhizhong left, Secretary Lu immediately entered again. While clearing away the tea that had been served to Director Xue, he said, "General Manager Jiang, Chen Xin from JOVE is waiting for you in the conference room."

"Got it."

Jiang Luo was long accustomed to back-to-back tasks.

He processed a couple of documents, signed them, stood up, and went to the small conference room next door.

Pushing the door open and entering, Chen Xin, wearing a suit dress and sporting a neat short haircut, turned to look. She was about to stand up when Jiang Luo gestured: "Sit."

They both sat down. Jiang Luo leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. The woman across from him pulled out several stacks of documents from her briefcase: "ICBC is taken care of."

"As for Bank of China, we’ll need to rely on General Manager Jiang to put in a word."

"I heard Bank of China is recently procuring computers internally. Not sure if there’s some personal connections at play, but I hear they’re leaning toward Dell."

"I've tried everything, but Bank of China won't even meet with me. Even when they do, they say they won’t consider using JOVE."

Jiang Luo picked up the supply contract handed over by Chen Xin and looked at it, saying casually: "We both sell computers - why do I need to help?"

"Do I really need to pull strings for this?"

Chen Xin smiled: "After all, President Jiang is well-liked and well-connected. I can't compare to you."

"Alright."

Jiang Luo tossed the supply contract back. "It's just a quick phone call."

"You came to me and made the request, so how could I not agree, President Chen?"

"Alright, you can head back now."

As he spoke, he stood up to leave.

Chen Xin quickly looked at Jiang Luo: "President Jiang, how about having dinner together tonight? I want to talk to you about Beijing's Zhongguancun."

Jiang Luo turned his head slightly, pulling the door open to leave as he said impatiently: "Why copy Yu Dong's habits? If you want to discuss work, schedule it with my secretary. Do I look that free, just having dinner whenever you say?"

"President Jiang. Please!"

Chen Xin clasped her hands together pleadingly, with a sincere expression and a touch of feminine charm—a clear sign of her familiarity with Jiang Luo.

Jiang Luo rolled his eyes and relented before leaving: "Stay for lunch at noon, and we can talk about whatever 'Zhongguancun' you mentioned."

"Thank you, President Jiang!"

Chen Xin smiled.

So at noon, Jiang Luo made a phone call and handled JOVE's entry into Bank of China's Haicheng branch. When it was time for lunch, Secretary Lu brought in boxed meals, and Jiang Luo chatted with Chen Xin about Beijing's Zhongguancun while they ate.

Chen Xin believed that the internet would definitely be crucial to future computer and network development. She felt that JOVE shouldn't focus only on computer hardware but should also emphasize software and networks.

She also discussed with Jiang Luo that ISP company.

While they were talking, there were two knocks at the door. It opened, and a tall figure entered.

"President Huo."

Chen Xin looked over and greeted him immediately.

"Continue your discussion."

The man was holding a paper bag but didn’t go to the sofa. Instead, he walked behind the desk, sat down, placed the paper bag aside, and reached out a hand wearing a wristwatch to casually flip through the documents on the desk.

Chen Xin resumed the previous topic: "ZTE has taken a stake, and their registered capital increased to 80 million..."

Chen Xin wasn’t there just to eat; she left after finishing the discussion.

As soon as Chen Xin left, Jiang Luo went over and locked the office door. The moment it was locked, he turned and quickly walked toward the desk, almost pouncing onto the man behind the desk, settling into his lap.

"Lost your temper downstairs this morning?"

Huo Zongzhuo skillfully wrapped his arm around Jiang Luo’s waist, then took Jiang Luo’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Next time, don’t use your hand to slap someone. Doesn’t it hurt?"

Jiang Luo’s quick temper and lack of restraint these days were largely thanks to Huo Zongzhuo—it was indeed him who had spoiled him.

Jiang Luo took a breath, looking displeased, and said: "You have the nerve to say that. It was your guy."

"Got greedy on my turf. Really asking for trouble."

"Not only did he take the money, but he also didn’t do the documents properly, and I caught him."

The reason Jiang Luo had slapped someone that morning was simple: in a joint project between Shengfei and Zhikun, the person in charge of bidding—the same Manager Liu from downstairs—had taken kickbacks and favors from others and manipulated the bidding process, which Jiang Luo discovered.

This kind of thing was extremely minor, so minor that Huo Zongzhuo usually wouldn’t even bother with it. But Jiang Luo, having been spoiled these past few years, had become increasingly intolerant and couldn’t tolerate misconduct in company matters, which was why he had lost his temper and slapped the guy.

Huo Zongzhuo held Jiang Luo gently and said softly: "Liu Ping is greedy, but anyone in his position would be greedy."

"You don’t even care."

Jiang Luo shook his head in disbelief.

Huo Zongzhuo continued softly: "When anyone in that position would be greedy, what’s the point in managing it too strictly? If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. As a boss, sometimes you have to tolerate some dishonesty from those below you."

"Dishonesty is human nature, it’s only natural."

"As long as it doesn’t hinder the project or work, it’s fine."

"In Liu Ping’s case, the real problem, in my view, is that he didn’t cover his tracks well and got caught by you."

"But even if you found out, it’s not really a big deal."

"You’re his boss, the one managing him. It’s better for you to know than for him to take the money without anyone noticing, leaving you in the dark."

"When it comes to managing people, it has to be like this. You know he’s greedy, and he knows that you know he’s greedy, but he won’t mess things up, he won’t step out of line, and he certainly won’t dare to oppose you."

He added, "You slapped him, so be it. Next time, don’t use your hand—it hurts. He won’t dare say anything about you slapping him, at most he might come to me and shed a few tears."

"He dared to complain to you?"

Jiang Luo’s voice immediately rose. "What’s he crying about? Didn’t he deserve that slap?"

"I couldn’t be bothered to slap him again, otherwise I’d have given him a few more!"

"Alright."

Huo Zongzhuo smiled, holding Jiang Luo and looking at him with amusement, then reached up to pinch the young man’s chin. "Calm down."

Then he asked: "Why so angry? Too much work, too busy? Or did something happen?"

Huo Zongzhuo knew it couldn’t be just because of Liu Ping.

"Don’t even mention it,"

Jiang Luo finally eased his expression and mood, leaning into Huo Zongzhuo’s embrace, closing his eyes, and rubbing his temples as he spoke: "There was an incident at the Changsha clothing factory. A corner of a workshop roof collapsed and almost killed someone. Luckily, it was noon, and all the workers were out eating."

He was utterly exasperated. "I’m in real estate myself, and yet my own factory ends up with a construction company cutting corners."

"I got the call this morning and was furious."

Huo Zongzhuo showed no reaction upon hearing this, simply holding him and patting his back: "Rest for a bit. Don’t think about it for now."

"You don’t need to worry about the factory in Changsha. I’ll send someone to handle it."

After speaking, the two, in a moment of unspoken understanding, one looked up while the other leaned down, sharing a kiss.

Jiang Luo broke the kiss after a moment, preparing to rest his head on Huo Zongzhuo’s shoulder. But Huo Zongzhuo pinched Jiang Luo’s chin, lifting it for another kiss, this one lasting longer until Jiang Luo nearly reacted, slapping the man’s chest before they finally parted.

"Rest for a while. There’s some fruit; you can have some when you wake up."

Huo Zongzhuo held Jiang Luo securely, kissed his forehead, then leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes.