Rebirth: Starting with Capturing the Goddess Mentor

Chapter 329 Chamber of Commerce Dinner
After dropping Xi Yingying off at home, Chen Yan drove his brand-new Rolls-Royce Phantom back to Longhu Yanlanshan.

I skillfully entered the password to open the front door, but instead of the familiar fragrance, a strange smell wafted out.

It smelled like a short circuit mixed with the burnt smell of something that had been roasted.
Chen Yan frowned subconsciously, quickened his pace to change his shoes, and headed straight for the kitchen, following the source of the smell.

The closer you get, the stronger and more pungent the burnt smell becomes, mixed with the sizzling of oil in the pan and the sounds of frantic clattering.

Pushing open the kitchen door, the scene that greeted him made him instantly understand, leaving him both annoyed and amused.

Jiang Zhixin was standing in front of the stove wearing a tank top and shorts, her hair casually tied back, with a few strands of hair stuck to her forehead by sweat.

(P.S.: Outfit suggestions are for reference only.)
Holding a spatula in one hand and trying to turn off the still-smoking stove with the other, her face smeared with what looked like either sauce or grease, she looked rather comical, a far cry from her usual glamorous goddess image.

Chen Yan glanced into the pot. The braised pork, which should have been delicious and flavorful, was now blackened and unrecognizable, stuck firmly to the bottom of the pot, stubbornly exuding the aura of a disaster scene.

"I wipe..."

Chen Yan darted forward, swiftly turned off the main gas valve, and grabbed the pot lid next to him to cover the still-smoking "weapon," blocking out most of the smoke.

He quickly turned on the range hood to its highest setting, then looked helplessly at Jiang Zhixin, who looked guilty.

"baby."

Chen Yan said with obvious teasing, "Your hands are made for wearing jewelry; there's no need for you to be messing around in the kitchen."

As he spoke, he gently pushed her shoulder, leading her out of the kitchen. "Sweetie, don't do it next time. You almost set the kitchen on fire."

Jiang Zhixin was pushed out by him, her cheeks flushed, half from heat and half from embarrassment.

She glanced back at the horribly mangled pot and stammered, "I'm so sorry, I... I was planning to cook you a big meal... The recipe seemed pretty simple..."

Chen Yan raised an eyebrow: "Why do you suddenly want to cook me a big meal?"

Jiang Zhixin lowered her head and said weakly, "Didn't you help me make money in the stock market? I wanted to express my gratitude..."

Chen Yan leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, a mischievous smile playing on his lips: "I'm touched by your thoughtfulness. However..."

The man then changed the subject, his tone laced with a roguish flair, "Instead of wasting your energy on pots and pans, you might as well try out a few different positions at night. That's much tastier than braised pork."

Hearing the man's teasing, Jiang Zhixin raised her hand and lightly punched him, scolding, "You're so annoying! You're never serious!"

She glared at him, but her eyes were filled with tears, more shy than angry. She turned and ran towards the bedroom, saying, "I'm ignoring you. Do it yourself. I'm going to take a shower!"

Watching her slender figure disappear around the corner, Chen Yan chuckled softly and shook his head.

He took a deep breath, turned around, resignedly pushed open the kitchen door, and began to clean up the "post-war ruins".

Clean the burnt pot, open the windows for ventilation, and wash it again...

More than half an hour later, when Chen Yan carried two dishes and a soup out of the kitchen—a plate of stir-fried seasonal vegetables, a plate of tempting sweet and sour pork ribs, and a bowl of tomato and egg soup sprinkled with scallions—the restaurant was filled with the aroma of food, completely dispelling the previous burnt smell.

Jiang Zhixin, looking completely refreshed, was already sitting at the dining table waiting.

She had just taken a shower, and her long, dark hair, still damp, cascaded smoothly over her shoulders, exuding a faint fragrance of shower gel.

She changed into a soft white spaghetti strap dress, revealing her delicate collarbones and rounded shoulders. The flowing skirt accentuated her snow-white skin.

The lighting is soft, the food is delicious, and the woman is as beautiful as jade.

Chen Yan placed the dishes on the table, his gaze lingering on her for a moment. The simple white dress looked exceptionally charming on her.

He pulled out a chair and sat down, urging, "Eat quickly! Eat well so you can work properly!"

Hearing this, the blush that had just faded from Jiang Zhixin's face returned, and she glared at him irritably: "Are you born in the Year of the Ox? You have endless energy every day!"

Chen Yan smiled confidently and said, "I haven't even used my full strength yet, and you can't handle it?"

"Ha~"

Jiang Zhixin retorted provocatively, "Keep bragging. Let me see you use your full strength!"

This is outrageous! This is utterly deceitful!
Chen Yan secretly made up his mind that he would not be soft-hearted tonight.

Even if you cry, I'll still beat you to a pulp...

…………

After finishing his meal in a great hurry, Chen Yan rushed into the bathroom.

It's hot now, and if I don't shower, I feel sticky all over, which is uncomfortable and unhygienic.

After showering for 10 minutes, Chen Yan walked out of the bathroom naked.

Jiang Zhixin doesn't eat much, and she had already finished eating and was rinsing her mouth in the master bedroom's bathroom.

She is very clean and brushes her teeth and rinses her mouth after every meal.

Without saying a word, Chen Yan picked her up and carried her to the big bed.

He leaned in and pressed down on her.

At this moment, Jiang Zhixin's stunningly beautiful face was less than 10 centimeters away from Chen Yan.

He could see the tiny black mole at the corner of her eye when he got close.

I could smell her pleasant scent up close.

Her skin was delicate and smooth, like the finest white jade, making one want to hold it in their palm and gently caress it.

Chen Yanguang observed subtle changes in his body even when watching closely.

Chen Yan was very surprised. Logically speaking, all the women around him were extremely beautiful, so he should have some resistance to beauty.

But he still gets impulsive every time he's around Jiang Zhixin!
That night, Chen Yan craved her for a long time.

Jiang Zhixin was getting a little annoyed by his persistence.

"Chen Yan... Ah!!"

"Why did you hit me?!"

Chen Yan continued expressionlessly, "Forgot what to call me?"

"Honey, what time is it? Don't you have to go to work tomorrow, no, today?"

Jiang Zhixin's hair was completely soaked, with a strand clinging to her flushed face.

It has a kind of unspoken allure.

She looked helplessly out the French windows; it was almost dawn.

........................

Later, Jiang Zhixin couldn't remember how she fell asleep. When she woke up, she was dry, obviously having already taken a shower.

But the man by the bed was gone. Jiang Zhixin called out several times, but there was no response.

She picked up the phone on the table and was immediately shocked!
Good heavens! Is it already 11 a.m.?
Oh no, I'm late again!
I opened WeChat and found many unread messages.

There were messages about school work arrangements; there were also messages from Bai Wei; and there was a message from someone whose contact name was 'husband'.

(9:00 AM)

Husband: "Honey, I'm going to the office now, you can sleep a little longer~"

(10:15 AM)

Husband: "Are you up?"

Husband: "How about it? Can you handle it when I go all out? Didn't you almost faint last night? Hehehe~ Useless little thing!"

Jiang Zhixin looked at the messages on her phone and chuckled to herself.

Ha, what a boring man, what's there to be proud of?

That's incredibly childish.

........................

Ten days later.

Beijing.

Inside a high-end villa, heavy curtains were half-drawn, filtering the slightly lazy afternoon sunlight. In an elegant tea room, on a rosewood tea table, steam rose from the spout of a purple clay teapot, and the finest Pu'er tea exuded a mellow, aged aroma.

Two middle-aged men who looked to be in their forties or fifties sat facing each other. They were Zhen Rong, the founder of 51job, and Guo Sheng, the founder of Zhaopin.com.

The atmosphere seemed relaxed, but a heavy feeling lingered between the two of them.

"Old Guo, try this tea cake. It's been around for a while." Zhen Rong picked up the teapot and skillfully poured the tea. His movements were steady, but a hint of anxiety was visible deep in his eyes.

Guo Sheng picked up the small celadon teacup, but only sniffed it before taking a sip.

His brows were furrowed, and his voice was clearly irritated: "Old Zhen, I'm not in the mood for tea right now."

Zhen Rong put down the teapot and sighed softly, "Yes, who could have imagined? A sophomore in college could create something like this in just a year and a half..."

He paused, a hint of apprehension in his voice, "Their user base has already surpassed ours. Although it's only a slight lead, this momentum..."

"It's more than just a slight lead!"

Guo Sheng slammed his teacup down on the tea table, spilling a few drops of tea. "Ever since they announced they were completely free last month, their user numbers have skyrocketed! The rate at which we're losing daily active users is so fast I can't even sleep!"

"Free! He's hurting himself 800 while injuring the enemy a thousand! Our foundation built over a decade is about to be destroyed by him using this barbaric method!"

"Brutal, but effective."

Zhen Rong's voice lowered, carrying a sense of helplessness in the face of harsh reality. "The way the internet works is sometimes so unreasonable. He has grasped the core pain points of job seekers and small and medium-sized enterprise owners—direct communication and zero cost. The barriers we built back then based on information asymmetry and channel advantages seem somewhat... cumbersome in front of him."

The two fell into a brief silence, broken only by the bubbling sound of the boiling tea.

After a long pause, Guo Sheng finally spoke again: "Old Zhen, what do you think about us offering it for free?"

Zhen Rong glanced at Guo Sheng but didn't say anything.

Guo Sheng sighed silently, knowing that his idea was too unrealistic.

After more than a decade of development, the boards of directors of both companies were no longer monolithic. Both men knew that the board would never approve such an absurd idea that would cut off all of the company's revenue.

Moreover, both Zhaopin.com and 51job.com generate over 1 billion RMB in revenue from their VIP memberships annually. Do you really want to offer them for free?

Okay, let's refund those billions of annual membership fees first.

Cut off all revenue and still have to bleed over 10 billion yuan.

Forget about getting the board to approve it; I reckon if they said it out loud, the board would vote to remove them from their chairmanship.

The two remained silent for a long time.

“Old Zhen, you usually have a lot of ideas, what do you suggest we do? We can’t just stand by and watch him dominate the market, can we?” Guo Sheng asked.

Zhen Rong's fingers tapped lightly on the smooth tea table, a habitual gesture he made when he was thinking.

"This Chen Yan... although he is young and impetuous and his methods are aggressive, it is by no means just luck that he was able to build an app to this scale in such a short time. He must have a master behind him guiding him, or he himself has extremely high business talent and execution ability. Dealing with such a person, tough methods may not be effective, and may instead provoke him to a greater backlash."

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and slowly said, "After thinking it over, perhaps... we can try to make contact with him, find out his background, and also express our 'goodwill'."

"Goodwill? He's stealing our jobs, and we're supposed to be nice to him?" Guo Sheng felt he was losing face.

"It's not a sign of weakness, it's a strategy."

Zhen Rong corrected him, “Old Guo, the business world is like a battlefield. You have to know when to back down. Besides, we’re just looking for a possible space to coexist. I plan to hold a high-profile chamber of commerce event in Hangzhou, inviting some internet upstarts and representatives from traditional industries. Of course, this ‘Boss Chen’ must be on the list of key invitees.”

"Invite him? And then what?" Guo Sheng asked, puzzled.

"And then?" A shrewd glint flashed in Zhen Rong's eyes. "In a setting like the Chamber of Commerce, which is both public and private, find a suitable opportunity to talk to him. Express our appreciation for new things, and also 'subtly' mention that the healthy development of the industry requires healthy competition, and that excessive free services may disrupt market order and ultimately harm the interests of all participants... We could even imply that if the three of us could reach some kind of tacit understanding, such as maintaining a reasonable and acceptable bottom line for core services, and working together to expand and strengthen the market, wouldn't that be much better than mutual destruction and bloodshed?"

"Three kingdoms," Guo Sheng asked thoughtfully. "You mean, recruit him?"

"That's what I mean."

Zhen Rong nodded. "Tell him that 51job, Zhilian, and his boss Zhipin can each occupy a place in this huge recruitment market and form a relatively stable pattern. We acknowledge his position and hope that he can understand the industry rules and cancel this destructive free policy. Let's all coexist peacefully and make money together."

Guo Sheng remained silent for a moment, his anger subsiding slightly, but his doubts lingered: "This kid is ambitious. Would he really accept a proposal to 'divide the world into three parts'? Isn't all this effort he put into making it free just to swallow up the entire market?"

"How will you know if you don't try?"

Zhen Rong put down his teacup, his tone carrying the confidence of a seasoned veteran, "It's good for young people to be energetic, but they also need to understand that too much rigidity can lead to failure. He needs time to digest the market and resources to consolidate his position. The olive branch we've extended might just be the stepping stone he needs."

"At the very least, we need to make him understand that our two families are not powerless to fight back. If we are pushed too far, we can unite and fight back, and he may not have an easy time either. This is to give him a more dignified and less strenuous option."

He looked at Guo Sheng and said, "Old Guo, what do you think? At this chamber of commerce meeting, we should all step forward together to give him enough 'respect' and 'attention,' and it's okay to be a little humble."

"In addition, let's find two more popular female celebrities to go with us. Young people can't resist the charms of beautiful women."

Guo Sheng looked at the rising steam on the tea table and finally let out a heavy sigh: "Alright! We'll do it your way!"

........................

(P.S.: Thank you to reader 20241111140809881 for the 6000 points reward~)

(End of this chapter)