ebookland Chapter 745 Keeping an Appointment
Chapter 745 Keeping an Appointment
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Xiaoguo clenched her fist excitedly, took a deep breath to calm herself down, and turned to walk towards Zhou Xun's office. She was so eager to tell Zhou Xun the good news that she forgot to knock and pushed the door open when she got to the office.
Zhou Xun was sitting behind his desk reading documents when he heard the sound. He looked up and frowned slightly.
"Mr. Zhou!" Jiang Xiaoguo's cheeks flushed with excitement. "Good news! Good news! No one..."
Before Jiang Xiaoguo could finish speaking, Zhou Xun interrupted her coldly: "Get out and knock on the door."
Jiang Xiaoguo's excitement froze instantly, the heat in her cheeks quickly fading as she realized the inappropriateness of her actions. She hesitantly retreated, gently closing the door behind her, and then respectfully knocked three times.
"Come in." Zhou Xun's calm voice came from inside.
Jiang Xiaoguo pushed the door open again and stood cautiously in front of the desk. Looking at Zhou Xun, who had once again lowered his head to look at the documents, she didn't dare to speak for a moment.
Zhou Xun waited for a while, but heard no sound. Finally, he raised his eyes, a hint of helplessness flashing in them: "Didn't you have something to say? Why didn't you say so?"
"Oh, oh," Jiang Xiaoguo finally realized what was happening and quickly said, "President Zhou, it's good news! I... I've found an investor who might be interested in the unmanned supermarket project!"
Zhou Xun put down the documents, leaned back in his chair, his eyes sharp, showing none of the joy Jiang Xiaoguo had expected: "Are you in charge of this project?"
Jiang Xiaoguo was taken aback by the question, clearly not expecting Zhou Xun's reaction: "No..."
Zhou Xun still didn't give Jiang Xiaoguo a chance to explain, interrupting her again: "Since it's not your responsibility, why are you worrying about it?"
Jiang Xiaoguo wanted to explain that she did it for Zhou Xun, that she couldn't bear to see him working so hard, that she didn't want to see him have disagreements with the other directors, and that she couldn't bear to see him leave the company and never see him again. But when these words came to her lips, she just couldn't say them!
Seeing that Jiang Xiaoguo stopped talking, Zhou Xun directly dismissed her: "Alright, go out and do your job."
Looking at Zhou Xun's cold, aloof, and businesslike demeanor, Jiang Xiaoguo felt a surge of grievance and disappointment. She pursed her lips, lowered her head, turned away dejectedly, and walked heavily toward the door.
Seeing Jiang Xiaoguo's eyes dim instantly and her visibly disappointed figure, Zhou Xun's fingers tightened unconsciously around the pen. He knew how important this project was to the company and to himself. He had explored almost every possible investment channel recently, but the responses had been lukewarm. Jiang Xiaoguo… a newcomer who had only been with the company for six months, with no connections—what reliable investment could she possibly find? Reason told him that this was most likely a waste of effort, or even a blunder.
However, seeing Jiang Xiaoguo's excited expression at the possibility of being able to help, only to be doused with cold water, Zhou Xun felt a subtle tug at something deep inside.
He remembered that she had secretly consulted a lot of extra information, and that he had seen her pondering over a pile of industry reports after get off work... Even if this effort might be in vain, shouldn't it be denied so bluntly?
Was it because he couldn't bear to see Jiang Xiaoguo's enthusiasm dampened, or... was Zhou Xun unwilling to let go of even the slightest possibility?
Perhaps, it's both!
Just as Jiang Xiaoguo was about to open the door, Zhou Xun's deep voice rang out again, breaking the stagnant air in the office:
"and many more."
Jiang Xiaoguo paused, looking back with some confusion. What did that mean? Hadn't she finished cursing? Did she want to continue?
"You just said... you found investors? Could you explain the details?"
When she heard that Zhou Xun had called her for this reason, the light in Jiang Xiaoguo's eyes instantly reignited and was almost scorching. She stared intently at Zhou Xun, and her undisguised surprise and joy made Zhou Xun look away uncomfortably.
"What are you still standing there for?" Zhou Xun tapped the table with his pen, his tone impatient, trying to cover up his momentary unease. "What's going on? If you're not going to tell me, then get out and get to work."
"I'll tell you, I'll tell you!" Jiang Xiaoguo was afraid he would change his mind, so she quickly walked back to her desk and explained in detail how Duan Jiabao contacted Lin Bufan and how the other party agreed to look at the project information first. "...So, President Lin needs us to send all the project information to his email for evaluation first."
"Lin Bufan?" Upon hearing this name, Zhou Xun's eyebrows twitched slightly, and his previously somewhat languid posture straightened a bit. He knew the weight of this name and naturally had no doubt about Lin Bufan's financial strength!
After a moment's thought, Zhou Xun tapped his fingers unconsciously on the table, and quickly made a decision: "Simply sending the materials over makes us seem insincere and lacks the efficiency of face-to-face communication. Someone like Lin Bufan is hard to persuade with just a cold, hard plan. Pack your things and come with me to Yunmiao Village. We'll talk to him in person."
"Huh?" Jiang Xiaoguo was completely stunned, her mouth slightly agape, utterly unprepared for things to develop this way. President Zhou was going personally? And he was taking her with him?
Looking at Jiang Xiaoguo's silly expression, Zhou Xun urged her impatiently, "What are you 'ah'ing about? Hurry up and go back to pack your luggage, bring the necessary business trip supplies, and I'll have my assistant book the earliest flight right away." As he spoke, he picked up the internal phone, ready to notify his assistant, but then, as if remembering something, he added without looking up, "Confirm the ID number and send it to my assistant; we'll need it to book the flight."
"Oh! Okay, Mr. Zhou! I'll go right away!" The huge surprise left Jiang Xiaoguo dizzy. She suppressed her almost jumping for joy, nodded hurriedly, and then staggered out of the office.
As soon as the door closed, Jiang Xiaoguo leaned against the corridor wall, clutching her chest, feeling like her heart was about to jump out of her chest. She quickly took a few deep breaths, trying to calm her excited emotions, and then, without delay, jogged back to her workstation, frantically packing her things. Her mind was already racing, planning what clothes to bring and how to improve her relationship with Zhou Xun while ensuring the completion of her task!
……
As evening fell, the warm yellow lights in the courtyard gradually came on. Lin Bufan, Xu Hongdou, and Chen Nanxing were sitting around a stone table, playing cards in a fierce battle.
"Haha, I won again!" Lin Bufan triumphantly threw out his last two cards, picked up a piece of paper, dipped it in tea, and pretended to stick it on Chen Nanxing's face.
Chen Nanxing turned his head to avoid it: "That's enough, there's almost nowhere left to stick it on my face."
"Don't you understand the principle of accepting defeat?" Lin Bufan persisted.
Xu Hongdou couldn't help but chuckle as she looked at the haphazardly written notes on Chen Nanxing's face. She elegantly covered her mouth and teased, "Nanxing, just hang in there a little longer, and I bet you'll soon transform into a giant mop. We'll be counting on you to clean the yard then."
Upon hearing this, Chen Nanxing immediately glared fiercely at Xu Hongdou, but the dangling note diminished his imposing aura considerably: "Xu Hongdou! How dare you laugh at me? Do you think you're any less shameful? You're clearly the pot calling the kettle black!"
Amidst the laughter and banter of the three, a head peeked in through the courtyard gate. It was Xie Zhiyuan: "Hey, don't forget to come over for dinner tonight!"
Lin Bufan was shuffling the cards smugly, without even looking up: "I know, I won't forget, I'll get over it after this round."
After Xie Zhiyuan finished delivering the message, he turned around and tried to slip away, but Chen Nanxing called out to him loudly.
"Hey! Xie Zhiyuan, your family is hosting a dinner party, why did you only invite him? Why didn't you invite us?" Chen Nanxing crossed his arms, feigning displeasure, his tone clearly joking: "Is it just because he's rich? You guys are so snobbish!"
Xie Zhiyuan was young and easily embarrassed. He was stunned by Chen Nanxing's half-serious teasing. He stood at the door scratching his head, his face flushed red. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, but couldn't utter a complete sentence.
Xie Zhiyuan was scratching his head and stammering at the door when his brother Xie Zhiyao's voice came from behind with a smile: "Who's being snob? Comrade Chen Nanxing, we're just a small family, we can't accept such a big accusation."
The group looked in the direction of the voice and saw Xie Zhiyao slowly walk into the courtyard. He first nodded to Lin Bufan in greeting, then his gaze fell on Chen Nanxing and Xu Hongdou. His face showed his usual gentle yet shrewd smile: "It was A Yuan who didn't explain clearly. My grandmother specifically instructed that President Lin be invited to try some home-cooked food, and that the two beauties be invited to join in the fun. Food tastes better with more people, you know. It's just that A Yuan is shy when he sees beautiful women, so he didn't have the heart to say it."
Upon hearing this, Chen Nanxing crossed his arms, raised his chin slightly, and deliberately adopted an arrogant demeanor: "Hmph! You only think of inviting me now? You have no sincerity at all! I'm not going!"
Xie Zhiyao wasn't annoyed. He smiled good-naturedly and turned to Xu Hongdou: "Then what does this beautiful lady think? Would you do me the honor of having a meal with us?"
Xu Hongdou put down her cards, thought for a moment, glanced at Xie Zhiyao's face and Lin Bufan's amused expression, then smiled and readily nodded: "Okay, I was just wondering where to have dinner tonight, so I'll bother you then."
"That's wonderful, we're more than happy to welcome you, don't say it's bothering us." Xie Zhiyao's smile became even more genuine. He patted Xie Zhiyuan, who was still a little confused, next to him: "Then we'll go back and make some more preparations, and wait for you all to arrive." After saying that, he took his leave with his younger brother.
As soon as the courtyard gate closed, Chen Nanxing jumped up and rushed to Xu Hongdou, shouting angrily, "Xu Hongdou! How could you do this? You've clearly betrayed our revolutionary friendship! What happened to our agreement to unite against a common enemy? How could you so easily defect to the enemy!"
Xu Hongdou slowly and methodically arranged the playing cards on the stone table, without even raising her eyelids. Her tone was calm yet reasonable: "What else can we do? Lin Bufan went to President Xie's house for dinner tonight. No one will cook, so I have to find a place to eat, right?"
Chen Nanxing thought about it and suddenly felt that it made a lot of sense, so she immediately grabbed Xu Hongdou's arm and shook it: "You can't leave me alone! We're good sisters with revolutionary friendship!"
Xu Hongdou, unable to resist Chen Nanxing's nagging, had no choice but to say helplessly, "Then you can come along with me."
"I already said I wasn't going! Now I'm changing my mind and going too, how embarrassing! It makes me seem like I have no principles!"
Xu Hongdou Bear shrugged: "Then there's nothing I can do. You'll just have to stay here and starve all by yourself."
"Hmph! So what if I'm hungry? I won't die from missing one meal!"
Although Chen Nanxing was stubborn, his actions betrayed his words. In the end, he followed Lin Bufan and Xu Hongdou to Xie Zhiyao's house next door!
The Xie family courtyard was quite cozy. Grandma Xie was carrying the last dish out of the kitchen, a kind smile on her face. Lin Bufan stepped into the courtyard, and when his gaze fell on Grandma Xie, he paused almost imperceptibly, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes.
Whoops!
There are quite a few familiar faces in this small Yunmiao Village!
Seeing that everyone was seated, Lin Bufan enthusiastically took out his phone: "Such a heartwarming moment, it would be a shame not to take a picture to commemorate it. Come on, look at the camera!"
Everyone huddled together, and with a "click," a group photo brimming with smiles was captured.
The atmosphere at the dinner table was harmonious. After several rounds of drinks and dishes, Xie Zhiyao felt the time was right. He picked up his glass and carefully began, "President Lin, there's something I'd like to confirm with you again. What you said at the horse farm last time about investing in Yunmiao Village, is that still valid?"
Lin Bufan glanced at the little cutie locked in the stable, a playful smile on his lips, and said, "Didn't you say you weren't selling the little cutie? Did President Xie and your little cutie have a fight?"
Xie Zhiyao smiled somewhat embarrassedly: "President Lin is joking. I was blind to your greatness at the time and thought you were joking. After all, investing 100 million for a horse is too frightening."
Lin Bufan picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, chewed it slowly, and only after swallowing did he look up at Xie Zhiyao with a playful smile on his lips: "So now? President Xie, have you... changed your mind?"
Xie Zhiyao quickly picked up his wine glass, a sincere smile plastered on his face: "President Lin, to be honest, after you left last time, I made a special effort to learn about your glorious past."
This understanding has truly broadened my horizons, and I am utterly impressed by your strength and courage, Mr. Lin!
It was then that I realized you weren't joking. If I had known earlier, I would have given you the little cutie right then and there!
Upon hearing this, the little cutie in the stable was horrified. So, the reason you didn't give me away at the last minute was because you thought they were just bragging? And I was so touched! Disgusting, utterly disgusting!
Xie Zhiyao had no idea what the little cutie was thinking. He continued to persuade Lin Bufan: "President Lin, to be honest, investing in Yunmiao Village is definitely a sure thing. Our scenery is beautiful, and the people are kind and honest. With increased publicity, the number of tourists has been steadily increasing."
Lin Bufan put down his chopsticks: "So how much are you going to let me bet?"
Xie Zhiyao rubbed his hands together with slight hesitation: "Actually... I just want to ask President Lin to take over a guesthouse."
This time, Lin Bufan's pupils dilated in shock. He looked Xie Zhiyao up and down in astonishment, wondering if he was possessed by some evil spirit. Otherwise, why would he, a big boss, come here to take over just a guesthouse!