A whirlwind marriage with a high-ranking official: Lights out, don't force me to take the initi

At a small state-run restaurant near the International Hotel, Wang Yingxue insisted on treating everyone to a meal.

Ye Wenxi and Ding Jiahe couldn't refuse her, so they ordered a few stir-fries. After the meal, the three of them returned to the hotel.

The room at the International Hotel was indeed nice, with white sheets, thick curtains, and a black rotary telephone in the corner, its lacquered surface gleaming, giving it a rather grand appearance.

Ding Jiahe stared at the phone as soon as she entered the room: "Oh, there's a phone in this room?"

"I can't call outside," Ye Wenxi slumped onto the bed, "I have to switch to the switchboard, and if the switchboard is busy, I'll have to wait in line."

"It's okay, I'm not in a hurry," Ding Jiahe put down her bag. "I'm going to call Wang Hao later and tell him what I bought today."

"Okay, you stay here and wait in line. I'll go downstairs to the public phone booth."

"Hey~ don't go, I'll call you."

Ye Wenxi waved her hand: "It's okay, you can fight inside, I'll go downstairs. I need to talk to him about something private."

She finished speaking and winked playfully.

Ding Jiahe grinned, then pouted, "So cloying."

The international hotel has several telephones at the front desk.

It was rush hour in the evening, and people on business trips were calling home to let their families know they were safe and to report on their work. There were two people queuing up in front of the phone.

Ye Wenxi waited until the two people in front of her finished their calls before borrowing the front desk's phone to dial her home number.

It rang twice before being answered.

"Hey, what are you doing at home?" Ye Wenxi asked sweetly, fiddling with the phone cord.

"Missing my wife," Lu Weidong said with a smile on his face over the phone. "You have a room all to yourself?"

"No, I booked a triple room. Just wait, I'll be back in a few days."

"There's nothing I can do if I don't wait," Lu Weidong chuckled. "You've booked a triple room, so I can't go even if I want to."

Ye Wenxi rolled her eyes.

"Go to hell! We've only been apart for a few days, and you're still talking about going to bed and back? If you really can't handle it, figure it out yourself." Ye Wenxi said in a low voice, her tone slightly irritable.

Lu Weidong: "........."

"Alright, I have something to tell you," Ye Wenxi cleared her throat, "Is it possible to get that voucher you used to buy the refrigerator?"

"You want to buy it for Ding Jiahe and the others?" Lu Weidong immediately guessed her purpose.

"Yes, I want to give them a wedding gift."

"Okay, I'll go ask again and see if I can still get refrigerator vouchers."

"Okay, I'm fine now."

"Hanging up so soon?" Lu Weidong chuckled on the phone. "Don't you want to chat a little longer?"

"Oh, you don't know, the International Hotel is getting a lot of phone calls tonight, mostly from business trips. There are people in line behind me, so I can't take up space."

As Ye Wenxi spoke, she turned around and glanced at the people waiting behind her. The person behind her was the aloof and fashionable woman she had seen in the restaurant that afternoon.

"Call me when you have time."

"Okay~~~" Ye Wenxi hung up the phone and turned to the receptionist, saying, "Comrade, how many minutes did I talk? How much did it cost?"

"The city bus fare is 60 cents in total."

Ye Wenxi took out some change from his pocket, counted out six one-mao coins and handed them over, then turned and walked back.

Lin Wanzhi's gaze fell on Ye Wenxi, and she couldn't help but look at him a few more times.

The woman wore light makeup, an elegant office lady-style dress, black leather shoes, and her long hair was slightly braided and secured at the back of her head with pearl spring hair clips, revealing her fair neck.

Looking at her clothes and appearance, you could believe she was a high-level white-collar worker in a Hong Kong office building.

Lin Wanzhi is increasingly unable to understand this place in mainland China.

The streets are gray, the buildings are old, the streetlights are dim, and the sanitation is even more worrying, yet some people are dressed more fashionably than those in Central.

This intense sense of temporal and spatial discontinuity felt both illogical and unbelievable to her.

It was as if this country was forcibly blending the old and the new, the rustic and the modern, the backward and the avant-garde, onto the same land at a speed she could not comprehend.

Lin Wanzhi sorted out her thoughts, walked to the front desk, and dialed the landline in the Hong Kong office.

"Michael, we've visited several candidate factories in mainland China today."

"There's one I think is pretty good..."

She briefed Michael on the progress of the talks and the results of the field visit.

After listening, Michael pondered for a moment on the other end of the phone: "Which one do you prefer as the joint venture partner?"

"Red Star Apparel".

What is the success rate?

"About 80%."

Michael chuckled on the other end of the phone: "This is a large factory with above-average overall strength. The mainland wouldn't be willing to give it up for a joint venture with us."

The implication is that he doesn't agree with this 80% probability.

"I know, so I want to talk to them about a 'betting agreement'," Lin Wanzhi said calmly.

Michael's eyes sharpened instantly on the other end of the phone.

He unconsciously rubbed his thumb and forefinger together vigorously a few times, his brows furrowing slightly.

"How many dollars do you want to talk about?" Michael asked.

"Six hundred thousand," Lin Wanzhi answered decisively.

Michael chuckled. "Six hundred thousand dollars in foreign exchange. That's almost double our original target."

"Michael, I can do it," Lin Wanzhi said firmly.

Michael paused for a moment, then said, "I need to discuss this with the headquarters in the UK."

"OK, I understand," Lin Wanzhi replied.

"In comparison, how's the publicity going? Which relevant authorities have you been in contact with?"

Lin Wanzhi leaned against the counter, her fingers twirling the telephone cord: "The media here is too official and too orthodox; fashion-related promotions can't go through this channel for the time being."

"As far as I know, the only propaganda outlets that can be related to clothing are the Women's Federation and some local newspapers and magazines."

"That's too little," Michael replied succinctly, with a hint of dissatisfaction. "What about GG? Is it completely impossible to make GG in mainland China right now?"

"It's almost impossible. Currently, apart from a very few state-owned products, you can hardly see commercial GG products. They are only displayed in department stores, without any distribution channels," Lin Wanzhi answered truthfully.

"However..." she lowered her voice, "I saw something unusual at the department store. A non-state-owned clothing factory called 'Wenxi Garment Company' made a large promotional poster and I heard they often have exhibitions and sales at the department store."

Michael paused for a moment on the other end of the phone: "Non-state-owned? Why can a company that isn't state-owned do GG?"

"They were jointly founded by military families and have the backing of the military region," Lin Wanzhi explained.

"Oh..." Michael's tone noticeably softened.

When he heard that it was founded by military families, he thought it was nothing special.

I stopped taking it seriously and didn't even ask about the details of the clothing company.

"Is there anything else to add?" Michael asked.

Lin Wanzhi twisted the telephone cord between her fingers, her eyes showing a hint of hesitation.

But two seconds later, her eyes became sharp and focused, as if she had made up her mind.

"there is none left."

Lin Wanzhi's voice was calm and even.

Michael paused for a moment, then his tone softened unusually: "Linda, thank you for your hard work in the mainland. The reason we sent you there is because you are our most outstanding manager in the Far East region. We hope you can give it your all and prioritize the group's strategic goals."

"Okay," Lin Wanzhi replied in a flat tone.

The two didn't say anything more and hung up the phone.

Michael called out from inside the office, "Peter, come in here for a moment."

Peter, the secretary sitting by the door, quickly knocked and went in: "Michael, what is it?"

"I want to see this year's partner recruitment targets and Linda's full-year performance report."

"Okay, when would you like to need it?"

"Right now!" A serious glint flashed in Michael's eyes, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Secretary Peter paused for a moment, then said, "Okay, I'll go right away."

Michael sat behind his desk, unconsciously rubbing his thumb and forefinger back and forth, as if twisting a piece of paper that didn't exist.

His fingers gradually closed, forming a fist.