Old Harden, can you handle having your vision-shifting abilities on all the time?

Xu Xing said calmly, "Old Zhou, I am Xu Xing."

"Xu Xing? Oh, it's you!"

Zhou Zhihai suddenly realized, and asked, "What's wrong? You already have questions for this old man after only a few days?"

Xu Xing glanced at Zheng Guodong, whose expression was beginning to change, and slowly said, "I do have a question for Elder Zhou. I have taken on an S-level restoration project at Chengxinzhai, a large Qing Yongzheng celadon vase with double dragon handles."

However, the project's original owner's niece invited one of your disciples, Engineer Zheng Guodong. Engineer Zheng believed that my record of restoring a Yongzheng celadon-glazed Yuhuchun vase was fabricated and a fraud, and that this project should not have been undertaken by me.

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

Zhou Zhihai's voice suddenly rose, filled with anger as he asked, "Zheng Guodong? He's next to you? Please let him answer the phone!"

The angry shout came through clearly via speakerphone, and the studio instantly fell silent.

Zheng Guodong's face turned deathly pale. He stared incredulously at the phone in Xu Xing's hand, then back at Xu Xing, his eyes filled with horror and panic.

"Teacher? How is that possible..."

Qin Wei was also stunned. She stared blankly at Xu Xing and then at Zheng Guodong. The sarcastic expression on her face had frozen, replaced by confusion and disbelief.

How could this con artist, whom she sees as a mere charlatan who relies on hype, possibly know Zheng Guodong's teacher? And even be able to call him directly?

Moreover, judging from Old Zhou's tone, he seemed to value Xu Xing quite a bit.

Wang Benquan and Old Shen were also stunned, watching the dramatic scene unfold before them with bewilderment.

Xu Xing handed the phone to Zheng Guodong and said calmly, "Engineer Zheng, Old Zhou wants you to answer the phone."

Zheng Guodong took the phone with trembling hands, turned off the speakerphone, and held it to his ear, his voice hoarse as he called out, "T-Teacher..."

"Zheng Guodong! You've really gotten some guts!"

Even without speakerphone, Zhou Zhihai's angry shouts could be clearly heard over the phone: "Who told you to go to Chengxinzhai to steal clients? Huh? How have I been teaching you? You've forgotten all the industry rules!"

"Teacher, it's not me, it's Miss Shen..."

Zheng Guodong was rambling incoherently, and cold sweat was pouring down his forehead.

"I don't care about Miss Shen or Miss Wang! Since Wang Benquan dared to hand over the project to Xiao Xu, it means that she has the ability to fix it. What makes you think you can question her?"

Just because you're my disciple, Zhou Zhihai, does that give you the right to be so arrogant?

"Teacher, I'm sorry, I didn't know..."

Zheng Guodong bent over, his face no longer showing any of his previous arrogance, only fear.

Zhou Zhihai roared, "Apologize to Xiao Xu right now! And get back here immediately! You disgraceful wretch!"

"Yes, yes, teacher, I understand, I'll apologize right away..."

Zheng Guodong responded repeatedly.

After hanging up the phone, Zheng Guodong, looking ashen-faced, handed the phone back to Xu Xing with both hands and then bowed deeply to Xu Xing.

"XCMG, I'm so sorry! I offended you this time! Please forgive me!"

His voice trembled; he was genuinely terrified.

Zhou Zhihai holds a prestigious position in the industry, but he is rigorous in his scholarship and has extremely high expectations for his students. He detests such unruly and arrogant behavior.

I'm afraid I'll be punished when I get back today for what happened.

Xu Xing took the phone and said calmly, "Engineer Zheng, you're exaggerating. I hope you'll be more careful with your words in the future if you don't have solid evidence."

"Yes, yes, definitely, definitely!"

Zheng Guodong nodded repeatedly, not daring to look at Xu Xing, Qin Wei, or Old Shen again. He turned around, lowered his head, and quickly left the studio.

His back looked disheveled.

Qin Wei stood frozen in place, her face alternating between red and white.

Her biggest asset left in such a disgraceful manner, and she even bowed and apologized to Xu Xing in front of everyone.

She felt a burning sensation on her face, as if she had been slapped hard several times.

Old Shen was so embarrassed he wanted to disappear. He opened his mouth several times but didn't know what to say.

Seeing this scene, Wang Benquan felt all the pent-up anger in his chest vanish.

He then sighed and turned to Xu Xing sincerely, saying, "Engineer Xu, I'm sorry you had to suffer today. It was my fault for not handling things well, which caused you to be questioned for no reason."

He paused, glanced at Old Shen, and then raised his voice, saying, "Let's not repair this bottle!"

Uncle, since your family has a more suitable candidate, we'll give up on this project.

Old Shen panicked and quickly said, "Benquan, I..."

But Wang Benquan ignored him and continued to announce to Xu Xing and everyone in the studio: "I see Xu Gong's ability and value very clearly. Today's incident is my fault, which has affected Xu Gong and everyone in the porcelain group. So..."

He turned to his secretary who was following behind him and said, "Notify the finance department to give each restorer in the porcelain group an extra subsidy of 50,000 yuan this month, and each assistant 20,000 yuan."

In addition, have the finance department renegotiate the contract with XCMG, raising the base annual salary from 600,000 to 1.5 million, putting him on par with Team Leader Chen Ming!

The secretary immediately wrote it down: "Yes, Mr. Wang!"

Chen Ming, Liu Zhen, Zhao Fang, Sun Hao and the others were taken aback at first, then their faces lit up with surprise.

A subsidy of 50,000 is not a small amount. More importantly, President Wang is supporting Xu Xing with real money and concrete actions, while also reassuring the porcelain team!

As for Xu Xing receiving a basic annual salary of 1.5 million, which is on par with Chen Ming, the team leader, no one had any objections.

After all, Xu Xing's abilities are undeniable, and he is worth the price.

Wang Benquan then said to Xu Xing, "We have no shortage of XCMG's S-level projects. Since my uncle has reservations about this bottle, we won't touch it. I'll give you a few alternatives later. We'll fix whatever you're good at, and we definitely won't let you suffer any losses!"

These words were spoken with conviction, offering Xu Xing a way out and compensation while also clearly stating their position.

Xu Xing is a core talent of Chengxinzhai and cannot be humiliated. As for Elder Shen, since it's your own family making trouble, then let them make trouble themselves.

Old Shen's face turned completely ugly; he could hear the alienation and disappointment in Wang Benquan's words.

He wanted to say something, but looking at his niece who was standing there dumbfounded, and thinking about the farce that had just happened, all his words got stuck in his throat.

"Mr. Wang, you're too kind."

Xu Xing nodded to Wang Benquan and said calmly, "In that case, I'll rest for a couple more days. I can start anytime once Mr. Wang has arranged the new project."

He understood the unspoken meaning behind Wang Benquan's words.

With today's commotion, Zheng Guodong is definitely out of the question, and now Shen Congnian can only rely on him.

But since you've done something so trivial, you naturally have to pay the price.

Wang Benquan's move was a strategic retreat to gain additional compensation from Shen Congnian, which would ultimately fall to Xu Xing.

So if this project comes back on track, the price will be different.

As for Elder Shen, if he still wants to repair the bottle, he will have to grit his teeth and pay an even greater price to earn Xu Xing's forgiveness.

"Okay, XCMG, get some rest and get yourself in good shape."

Wang Benquan breathed a sigh of relief; Xu Xing's understanding of his implication was a great comfort to him.

He glanced at the distraught Old Master Shen again, sighed, and said, "Uncle, let me see you out. Qin Wei, it's time for you to leave too. You're not welcome in my company anymore."

Qin Wei snapped out of her daze and hurriedly went to help Old Shen up. She didn't dare to look at Xu Xing and the porcelain group again, and followed Wang Benquan out of the studio with her head down.