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32. Chapter 32
"Dismissed." Shen Yunqing rubbed his temples, tiredly walking out of the conference room.
When Xianrenyan first opened, due to his miscalculations, he was outplayed by Yu Antong, which tarnished the reputation of Juyinglou. Xianrenyan took this chance to lure away their clientele and flourished. This caused the other shareholders in his company to speak ill of him.
It took considerable effort for him to stabilize his position in the company. His recent promotional discount at the Juyinglou branch opposite Xianrenyan further irritated these shareholders.
Just thinking of the old men's reactions made Shen Yunqing nauseous – a bunch of superficial geezers, acting as if they're losing their lives over a bit less profit.
Changxiang Chinese Web.
They don't seem to realize that by leveraging the high traffic of the festive season to regain customers and weaken Xianrenyan, the short-term losses can lead to significant long-term returns.
Though Xianrenyan has been thriving for the past six months, due to its recent inauguration, there have been countless promotional offers. Yu Antong, in his haste, even opened two more branches, making significant investments. It's likely their net profit for the past six months isn't much.
With this price war, there's no way Yu Antong has the capital to compete with him, unless he asks the Xing family for money.
How would Xing Lixuan, a man renowned for his business acumen, feel if his partner showed such ineptitude and asked him for money?
Shen Yunqing couldn't help but smile at the thought. Xing Lixuan would surely be disappointed in such an ineffectual spouse.
Plus, the flowers he had sent anonymously... Once Xing Lixuan's displeasure with Yu Antong has been kindled, revealing Yu's infidelity...
Shen Yunqing, in high spirits, gently touched a potted plant in his office. Their divorce seemed inevitable, and he wondered if they'd even make it through the New Year.
Knock, knock, knock. The sound of knocking broke Shen Yunqing's contemplative moment.
"Come in."
The subordinate entered with an anxious look, reporting, "Mr. Shen, about Xianren Banquet..."
Shen Yunqing’s lips curved slightly, "Have they started to cut their prices too?"
"No," the subordinate shook his head. "They've closed for the holiday, claiming it's for the New Year break."
Shen Yunqing slammed the table, "How could that be?"
In his plan, if Yu Antong kept his prices unchanged, the massive loss of customers would lead to daily losses. With the capital accumulated by Juying Tower, he could easily outlast Xianren Banquet.
If Yu Antong borrowed money from Xing Lixuan to compete in the price war, it would lead to Xing's discontent. If they were to divorce, bringing down an unsupported Yu Antong would be much easier.
Whichever path Yu Antong chose, it was a dead end.
But he never anticipated that Yu Antong would forsake holiday profits by closing his restaurant.
All his meticulous plans and efforts convincing the company shareholders were in vain. Yu Antong remained unscathed!
Shen Yunqing let out a bitter chuckle.
"Mr. Shen, there's another matter..." The subordinate hesitated.
Desperate for some good news, Shen snapped, "The roses! The ones I asked you to send anonymously! Did the messenger notice Xing Lixuan's reaction?"
"That's what I wanted to discuss," the subordinate began. "Mr. Xing had also sent roses to Yu Antong that day. His expression did change upon seeing the anonymous bouquet. They both left shortly after, but there was no hint of a quarrel between them."
Carefully, the subordinate showed his phone to Shen, "Mr. Shen, please have a look at this."
Shen's face lost its humor, "What is it?"
The subordinate opened a screenshot from a social media feed, "A college friend works as an assistant at Mr. Xing's company. This is a screenshot of Mr. Xing's post that she shared in our alumni group."
Seeing their usually stoic boss flaunt his relationship online, the subordinate's female classmate had lamented in their group chat about not finding such an exemplary man herself.
The other classmates also chimed in with their desire for a similar relationship, breathing life into a chat group that had been quiet for so long.
Shen Yunqing gestured for the subordinate to leave, his face ashen, as he opened his own social media app.
Although he didn't have Xing Lixuan's WeChat ID, there were undoubtedly overlaps among friends of friends. Scrolling through two pages, Shen Yunqing saw several shared posts from Qi Jingyao's Moments.
Shen Yunqing stared at the video of Xing Lixuan and Yu Antong kissing in the mall, his fingers gripping the phone so tightly they turned bloodless white. His eyes were filled with bloodshot redness, making them appear hauntingly intense.
Why? What's so special about Yu Antong that Xing Lixuan is so utterly smitten, willing to do all this for him?
——
Yu Antong woke up past nine. The warmth from the bed next to him had long faded; Xing Lixuan was gone.
Stretching lazily, Yu Antong heard noises from the bathroom and called out, "Xing Lixuan?"
"Mhm." Xing Lixuan came out from the bathroom, toweling his hair, "Awake now?"
As Yu Antong slowly tried to sit up, he inquired, "Why are you showering at this time?"
Xing Lixuan quickly approached, helping Yu Antong up, "Went for a morning run."
Now, Xing Lixuan, being the disciplined man that he was, had replaced his night workouts with morning runs to accommodate Yu Antong's early bedtime due to his pregnancy. And today was one of his later starts.
Yu Antong grumbled, "I don't need your help. I'm just a bit groggy from waking up. It's not like I can't move on my own." His belly didn’t show any signs of pregnancy yet; he wasn’t that frail.
Sitting up, Yu Antong poked at Xing Lixuan's abs, clearly envious, "What's the point of you having such toned muscles? I can't enjoy them now. Don't you dare flaunt them in front of me."
Xing Lixuan chuckled softly, "I'm saving them just for you."
Turning his head away to avoid temptation, Yu Antong threatened while dressing, "Just you wait a month!"
After the first trimester, he'd allow himself a little pleasure.
Not wanting to tease further, Xing Lixuan dressed himself and accompanied Yu Antong to breakfast. Since Xing's parents were early risers, they had finished their meal, leaving the two of them at the table.
Yu Antong ate three soup dumplings, two palm-sized egg pancakes, and drank a full glass of warm milk, burping contentedly after.
Then, he headed to the study to review the annual financial summary report sent by Fu Xin on his computer.
Xing Lixuan also went to the study to organize some stuff.
The six months of finance courses he took were worth it; he actually understood the plethora of data and charts.
As Yu Antong noted the increasing revenues, his face lit up with a pure, earnest smile resembling a farmer celebrating a bountiful harvest. After all, who wouldn't be genuinely delighted seeing money?
He laughed heartily to himself, "I must be a business genius! Making so much money on my first venture!"
Overconfident, Yu Antong continued browsing.
"Free chili sauce with in-store purchase" promotion resulted in a loss of 850,000.
The promotion of 20% off for new users on the "Xianren Banquet" app incurred a loss of 1.35 million.
The rent, decoration, and furniture costs for the two new branches totaled a loss of 8 million.
Total expenditure on food ingredients...
Employee salaries, benefits, training costs...
Yu Antong's smile fades as he continues to read.
By the time he sees the net profit at the end, the smile on Yu Antong's face has vanished completely.
"Ah!"
Yu Antong lets out a sharp shriek, startling Xing Lixuan who is sitting next to him.
"What's wrong, baby?" Xing Lixuan stands up in a rush, examining Yu Antong's physique, "Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"
"No, I'm physically okay." Yu Antong replies, with a disheartened shake of his head, pointing to his chest, "It just hurts here."
Worried about potential heart pain, Xing Lixuan insists, "I'll drive you to the hospital right away."
"No need for the hospital." Yu Antong gestures to the computer, "You'll understand once you see this."
With the focus he reserves for negotiating with tough business opponents, Xing Lixuan quickly scans the accounts and realizes what's going on.
"You nearly gave me a heart attack," Xing Lixuan exhales in relief, "I thought something was seriously wrong."
Although Xing Lixuan is upset about Yu Antong's abrupt reaction, he doesn't chastise him. Instead, he consoles, "It's okay. So you made a bit less. For your first business venture, earning five million in six months is impressive."
Considering the daily profits of his own company, Xing Lixuan sincerely continues praising, noticing Yu Antong's lingering gloom.
"I have a friend named Qi Jingyao, whom you might not know. Initially, he started his business with one billion as capital given by his dad. Can you guess how much he made in a year?"
Yu Antong, still downcast, replies, "How much?"
Xing Lixuan: "One yuan."
Yu Antong, astonished: "What?"
This wasn't a fabricated story by Xing Lixuan. Back then, Qi Jingyao was nearly beaten to death by his father over this fiasco.
Simply keeping one billion in the bank would have yielded millions in interest in just a year. Not making money work for you is essentially losing money in the business world.
But Qi Jingyao, a tactful person, was just being rebellious and making rash decisions on purpose due to disagreements with his father.
Ultimately, the family business would still end up in Qi Jingyao's hands. He threatened his father that if he wasn't allowed to date men, he'd squander the entire family fortune.
Managing to earn only one yuan out of such antics is quite the feat.
Realizing he couldn't control his son, Qi's father eventually gave up.
Xing Lixuan, of course, doesn't relay all these details to Yu Antong. Instead, he says, "Does that make you feel a bit better? Many are far worse off than you."
"Not really," Yu Antong shakes his head, "At least your friend preserved the capital and gained an extra yuan."
Yu Antong said despondently, "You don't understand. The financial statement Fu Xin gave me didn't account for the initial 70 million I invested. So, in the end, not only did I make no profit, but I also lost over 60 million!"
In hindsight, he might as well have sold Jianbing Guozi near his school.
He had heard that the most popular Jianbing Guozi stall near their school, run by a couple, earned over a million annually. They even bought two apartments for their son.
Xing Lixuan was lost for words.
Yu Antong wrapped his arms around Xing Lixuan's waist and lamented, "Ah, making money is so tough. I've lost even the money for our son's milk powder. So heartbreaking."
A part of Xing Lixuan wanted to laugh, but he held back, fearing Yu Antong might get upset. Luckily he was standing, and Yu Antong, being seated, couldn’t see his face.
Patting Yu Antong's head, Xing Lixuan thought to himself, "How can this silly darling be so adorable?"
"Losses in the first year of investment are quite common," Xing Lixuan consoled. "This strategic loss is meant to penetrate the market. Future profits will make up for it. By next year, you'll definitely recover the capital and even make a profit."
Yu Antong knew that was logical, but the thought of working hard for half a year only to lose 60-70 million was devastating.
It's just too overwhelming!
"During the New Year, I'll take you to our relatives' homes for greetings," Xing Lixuan said, handing over the newly organized list of gifts. "They'll surely gift you a sizable red envelope."
Yu Antong asked innocently, "Aren't red envelopes given only to children? Do adults like me get them too?"
Xing Lixuan explained, "For a new daughter-in-law's first New Year, it's customary to receive one."
Without the slightest hint of embarrassment at being called a new bride, Yu Antong's spirits lifted. Browsing through the list, he asked, "How many relatives will we be visiting?"
Author's note: Tongtong thinks: Let's see how much money I made. Oh no, my heart aches!
CEO Xing: I have a friend...
Qi Jingyao: I'm cutting ties. Goodbye!
Many thanks to the angels who supported me with Emperor's votes or Nutrient solutions between 2020-01-10 18:29:13 and 2020-01-11 17:42:32.
Gratitude to the nutrient angels: Weijun with 6 bottles; Cat Idol Meow with 2 bottles; Snow Fox, Tang Pear Drop, and Gulu with 1 bottle each.
I deeply appreciate your support and will continue to work hard!
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