Electronic Nezha

Chapter 86 The heroes see the same thing

After hanging up the phone, I said to Lao Wang, "The boss from the South is treating us to dinner tonight in Versailles. Come with me."

Old Wang said, "I think I'd better not go. We've never eaten Western food before, what if we embarrass ourselves?"

"Then we definitely have to go. What's there to be ashamed of? They're having a farewell dinner and they're bringing along a couple of fruit vendors. Do you really expect to have a deep partnership with them in the future?"

"That's true, then I should go and see for myself."

I went next door and told Li Ping about it again. Li Ping was wrapped in a military overcoat, hunched over in a chair, and reached her hands to warm them with a small stove made from a paint bucket. In winter, the fruit stall's heating equipment can only be like this; any warmer and it won't be good for the fruit.

After listening, Li Ping asked, "What could I do there?"

"Have a meal."

Li Ping also found it funny: "Okay, then I'll just be responsible for eating."

The dinner was scheduled for 6:30, and Lao Wang was still nervous when it was time for us to leave.

He examined his clothes from head to toe and said, "You don't need to wear a suit to that place, do you?"

“What era are we living in? We don’t need to!” I said. “It’s my fault. I never suggested taking the employees on team building activities before—mainly because I felt awkward meeting their boss, you know?”

Old Wang chuckled.

Li Ping remained calm, took off her military overcoat, and changed into a women's down jacket that she usually wore.

The three of us drove off in my car. When we arrived at Versailles, the place was much more lively than when Liu Zhenhua and I had been there last time. Li Ping got out of the car, stared blankly at the brightly lit hall for a moment, and said to Lao Wang and me, "You guys go in first, I'm going to put on some makeup." As she spoke, she took out a lipstick from her pocket and started applying it in the rearview mirror.

Old Wang chuckled and said, "You look good even without makeup."

“This is a matter of respect,” Li Ping said.

I told her the exact location and pulled Lao Wang inside. It wasn't that I didn't want to wait for her; I just wanted to go to the restroom beforehand.

As soon as we entered the hall, we saw Director Xu and his clerk, Xiao Zhang, with a large group of people around them. As soon as Director Xu saw me, he pulled me in front of a man in his forties and said, "President Chen, this is Liu Chuanfeng." Then he solemnly introduced me, "This is President Chen."

Before I could speak, Mr. Chen laughed and said, "Mr. Liu must be great at basketball." Then he shook my hand and said, "Chen Yong."

That feels good! My name has finally received positive feedback for the first time, and I can't help but feel a bit more favorably disposed towards Chen Yong.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Director Xu pulled me over to the young man in his early thirties next to Chen Yong. Without needing an introduction, the young man shook my hand firmly and said crisply, "Chen Feng, Chen Yong is my cousin."

Chen Feng looked very capable, and his Mandarin was much more standard than his cousin's; he had the air of a business elite.

Including the Chen brothers, there were a total of 7 people in the Southern business group in the hall. Director Xu gave me a quick introduction, and I can't remember the rest of the people.

"Who are you all waiting for?" I asked.

Chen Yong said, "We've been waiting for you." It turned out that a group of bosses were waiting for me. I was thinking that since I was a guest, I might embarrass the hosts if I arrived early, so I deliberately arrived five or six minutes early to go to the restroom before coming in.

I clasped my hands in apology and said, "Forgive me, forgive me for making a group of billionaires wait for me." Chen Feng laughed and said, "If it weren't for you, we would have lost over a hundred million as well."

A group of people walked towards the dining area laughing. Chen Feng glanced at the entrance unintentionally, and then his eyes fixed on it. I looked over and saw Li Ping enter the gate and look around for us.

"Ping'er!" I waved.

Li Ping walked over quickly. Her so-called makeup was just a little lipstick, but it immediately made her look much more radiant.

Chen Yong asked, "Is this Mr. Liu's girlfriend?" He knew I was divorced, so he asked that.

"No, I'll introduce her to everyone later." I called Li Ping over and we took our seats together.

When we sat down, the bosses and I politely declined each other's seats. In the end, the three of us sat to Chen Yong's right, while Director Xu was moved to Chen Yong's left by Chen Feng. Chen Feng sat down next to Director Xu, and Xiao Zhang consciously sat at the serving area. Western meals don't use round tables, but the hierarchy is still obvious. I inexplicably ended up in the seat of honor.

At that moment, I saw Qiao Yan in the distance directing the waiters to pour drinks for this table. As soon as I stood up, I saw him wave his hand and mouth to me, probably meaning "we'll talk when we're done."

Through small talk and greetings, I roughly figured out the backgrounds of these southern business owners. Chen Yong was the leader of this group, Chen Feng was his cousin, and the man next to Chen Feng, surnamed Li, was Chen Feng's brother-in-law. All three of them were from Wenzhou, and the other business owners came from various regions of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

I guessed right, this really was the bosses' farewell dinner. Originally, three Wenzhou men wanted to invest in some upstream industries, but they ran into a professional swindler. During this period, the bosses had to come back every few days to deal with all sorts of messy things, and they were already overwhelmed. Fortunately, in the end, they didn't suffer any financial losses. In the end, it all came down to someone instigating trouble at the fruit market, which ruined Chen Bing's scam. Rumor has it that that person was me...

In terms of actual contributions, Sun Zhancheng and the other three, as well as Sister Zhao, are all older than me. The reason I have the honor I enjoy now is entirely because I said that Chen Bing is a liar.

Chen Yong, holding his wine glass, said, "We didn't enjoy our meal here last time, so returning today is a way to make up for it. But then again, it's a good thing we didn't enjoy it last time, otherwise everyone here would have lost some of their wealth."

Everyone laughed with lingering fear, while Director Xu gave an awkward laugh.

Chen Yong raised his glass and said, "Come on, let's toast to my new friend next to me, Liu Chuanfeng. He's the one who helped us protect our wallets."

I clinked glasses with Chen Yong, then gestured to the people in the distance and said, "Welcome back again, bosses. Don't be afraid of being bitten once and then afraid of everything—Chen Bing isn't from our area."

Everyone laughed again, and Director Xu quietly gave me a thumbs up.

I took the opportunity to introduce Lao Wang, saying, "This is my partner, Wang Zili. He has also contributed a lot to everyone's affairs."

Chen Yong led the group in toasting Old Wang again. Chen Yong put down his wine glass and said, "Mr. Liu, I heard that you chose this place to eat right away. It seems that we are of the same mind."

I waved my hand and said, "I'm not a hero. As for why I chose this place, Brother Wang, you can reveal the answer to everyone."

Old Wang said, "The owner here is Fengzi's ex-wife's current partner."

Everyone was stunned for a moment. Some quick-witted people made sounds like "hmm" and "oh," while others gradually realized what was happening. Then the whole room burst into laughter, and some people even applauded.

Chen Yong laughed and said, "Mr. Liu, with your magnanimity... I wouldn't agree if you weren't a hero."

I chuckled and said, "These days, everyone's struggling, let's help each other out." If Chen Yong hadn't brought it up, I naturally wouldn't have brought it up either, but since it's been brought up, there's no point in hiding it. The reason I asked Lao Wang to reveal the truth is that I noticed he was a bit reserved. Among this group, Xiao Zhang, who was sitting at the food counter, was someone he could only look up to. Saying he didn't understand Western dining etiquette and was afraid of losing face was secondary; who among these people cares about that? I saw more than one boss cut his steak into two pieces, stacked them up, and rolled them into his mouth.

Sure enough, after the burst of laughter, Old Wang relaxed a lot.

(End of this chapter)