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Chapter 11: We can’t negotiate, but you don’t have to play tricks like this.
When they arrived at Zheng Maoxun’s office, Chen Wengang gestured for him to sit on the sofa and took a seat opposite.
This was the posture for a long conversation.
However, Zheng Maoxun didn’t want to have a heart-to-heart talk with him, so he crossed his legs and created some distance between them.
After all, the shallow bond they had formed over the past few days was either for Chen Wengang to speak well of Zheng Yucheng or criticize him. In Zheng Maoxun’s mind, he had already decided that he wasn’t qualified for either: “What do you want to say?”
But Chen Wengang asked, “Tell me the truth, what is your cousin, Huo Niansheng, booking a hotel for?”
Zheng Maoxun suddenly uncrossed his legs. He adopted a mysterious expression, leaning forward with a somewhat eerie look on his face:
“Let me tell you, it’s actually planned by me, myself, Zheng Maoxun. I conspired with Huo Niansheng…”
“Just sit properly.” Chen Wengang reached out and patted his leg, “I’ve told you many times not to shake your leg.”
“Just talk.” Zheng Maoxun warily watched his hand, “Don’t touch me; I warn you.”
“Your cousin, if you say he’s planning a bank robbery, I’ll believe it. What’s the point of him conspiring with you?”
Zheng Maoxun discerned a subtle hint of disdain in his attitude: “You’re looking down on me!”
Arguing with a child was always exhausting. Chen Wengang lowered his head and thought for a moment, “Your mother found out.”
Zheng Maoxun’s surprised yet indignant expression confirmed that this guess was almost certainly correct.
After all, if Zheng Maoxun hadn’t come to make sarcastic remarks, it might have been worth speculating about a conspiracy. His presence, on the other hand, indicated that it wasn’t a big deal—just a matter of taunting. Mrs. Zheng was well-informed and had a long reach, so discovering this loophole wasn’t surprising.
It was practically a freebie for her. Not serious enough to affect the Zheng family, but enough to deduct points from Zheng Yucheng in Zheng Bingyi’s mind.
However, she couldn’t conveniently book this hotel under her own name. Huo Niansheng was her nephew, and helping her was a minor favor.
Having figured out these relationships, Chen Wengang stood up and prepared to leave.
Zheng Maoxun hurriedly stopped him, “Hey, aren’t you in a hurry at all? Don’t you and Zheng Yucheng wear the same pants? If this important event goes awry, my dage will lose face.”
Chen Wengang turned around, staring at him thoughtfully for a moment.
Zheng Maoxun felt that he was being looked at as if he were a rusty kettle, being examined to see if it could still shine.
He subconsciously leaned back: “Look, this is not the attitude of seeking help.”
Chen Wengang smirked, “My surname is Chen; yours is Zheng. Theoretically, you should care more about the company than I do, so I won’t beg you.”
Zheng Maoxun fell silent; this verbal sparring match concluded with him unable to come up with a more logical rebuttal.
But before he could argue further, Chen Wengang spoke again, “If this matter drags on, at best, you’ll run to Yifu and complain. Originally, it was Zheng Yucheng’s job mistake, and if you want to complain, you can. But don’t keep causing trouble in the company; it will affect others’ normal work.”
Zheng Maoxun reevaluated him, saying, “I seem to understand… why Dad always says you’re sensible.”
“Why?”
“You’re just like this, especially good at mediating. Like just now, I argued with him, and you played the good guy in the middle.”
“Is that so?” Chen Wengang smiled, looking relaxed. “I’ll take that as a compliment. If one day I’m not working here anymore, I might consider becoming a social worker, helping people with family conflicts and neighborhood relationships every day.”
“Why won’t you be working here anymore?” Zheng Maoxun caught onto information he hadn’t considered before. “Are you leaving?”
“Maybe,” Chen Wengang said. “I’ll graduate in a year, and I need to consider my future.”
“Why don’t you just stay?” Zheng Maoxun said anxiously. “There’s no reason for anyone to fire you. When you graduate, you can find a 996 job outside. It won’t be better than staying in your own family’s company, with better treatment and faster promotions. Why not think it over?”
The thermostat, showing signs of its age, suddenly made a rattling noise, continuing for a while before stopping on its own.
Chen Wengang didn’t expect such a strong reaction from him. “I haven’t thought it through yet. Anyway, you should work hard in the future.”
Zheng Maoxun watched his departing figure, scratched his head, and sighed irritably. He thought this guy really didn’t know what was good for him.
Sitting at his desk, realizing there wasn’t much work today, he glanced at the messages on his phone inviting him for a drink with friends. He closed the messaging app again. After some contemplation, he downloaded the course PPTs he hadn’t opened yet from his email, planning to see if there were any assignments.
Unfortunately, he only managed to read two pages before his eyelids began to battle, nearly falling asleep directly.
***
Returning to the Zheng family that day, Zheng Maoxun, for some unknown reason, didn’t rush to lodge a complaint.
However, Mrs. Zheng was not one to remain idle when the enemy stirred. Troubles had to be dealt with eventually.
A day later, Xiao Lin from the administrative department hesitantly came to the document department to find Chen Wengang. The young lady seemed embarrassed:
“Um, Wengang, are you free today? It’s about Mr. Yu; we’ve already contacted him and scheduled a meeting. We plan to go to his company to discuss face-to-face, see if we can negotiate the venue. Our boss, Manager Mao, asked me to invite you along.”
“Who else is going?” Chen Wengang asked. “Is Zheng Yucheng going too?”
“No, he’s not going… or, not that he’s not going, Manager Mao said there’s no need for everyone to go together. So we’re splitting up. Today, the three of us will meet Mr. Yu, and Zheng Yucheng will go to the Crown Hotel to see if they can come up with other solutions.”
After listening, Chen Wengang almost let out a sarcastic laugh. Manager Mao really knew how to play the game.
Sending Young Master Zheng to find a solution at the hotel? What good solution could a hotel possibly have?
When it came to such face-losing requests as begging someone, it wasn’t Zheng Yucheng’s turn. Instead, they sent the inexperienced young girl, Xiao Lin, along with him. What kind of scheme were they plotting? Any man, when faced with a charming young lady’s sweet talk, would find it hard to resist. Wasn’t that the thinking behind it?
He originally didn’t want to get involved, but at this moment, he said, “Call me when you leave.”
Half an hour later, Manager Mao came with a beaming smile to personally call the two to assemble.
The three of them took the company’s official car, and with the driver stepping on the gas, they crossed half the city to reach Yu Shanding’s catering company.
Upon arriving at the other party’s turf, they were directly stopped outside.
The receptionist, unaware of their visit, said, “Our boss’s surname is Yu; that’s correct, but I haven’t heard of any appointments today.”
Manager Mao continued to wipe his forehead with a tissue, repeatedly explaining, “He probably just forgot. We did arrange to meet with Mr. Yu Shanding yesterday, and look, there’s even a call record. You surely have his mobile number, right?”
The receptionist hesitated for a moment and said, “Alright… you can come in first.”
She led the three to the reception area, provided them with disposable cups filled with water, and then went back.
With no one attending to them, the situation became awkward. Unfortunately, Yu Shanding’s phone was consistently out of the service area, and they couldn’t reach him no matter how many times they tried.
Watching Manager Mao dial repeatedly, sweat pouring down his face, Xiao Lin asked, “Manager… Shall we just wait here?”
Manager Mao snorted, “What else can we do besides wait? We’ve come all the way here. Can going back to the office solve the problem?”
Chen Wengang remained calm, his hands neatly folded on his abdomen as he leaned back on the sofa, closing his eyes to rest.
They sat there all morning, but Yu Shanding never showed up.
The embarrassment of being left waiting reached its peak as lunchtime arrived, and patience correspondingly ran out. Employees flocked to the reception to pick up their takeout orders, filling the air with delicious aromas. Manager Mao’s pool of annoyance swelled, silently cursing the certain Mr. Yu, treating himself as if he were a dish.
Zheng Corporation was a massive conglomerate, and this was just some insignificant catering company. If it didn’t yield to pressure, it should consider itself lucky!
Manager Mao hadn’t played the role of a “grandson” for many years, but he had no choice now as he was trying to please Zheng Yucheng.
The three of them quietly came out without anyone else in the company knowing.
When Manager Mao answered a call from his subordinate, a hint of resentment was evident in his voice.
Chen Wengang, disturbed by the conversation, opened his eyes slightly, unsure if he was awake or had just taken a nap.
Xiao Lin whispered, “Hey, what kind of person is this? I really admire your composure.”
Chen Wengang also lowered his voice, “You can take a break too. Anyway, Mr. Yu probably won’t show up today.”
As expected, it was almost half-past five to six in the afternoon when Yu Shanding finally returned the call, saying, “I’m really sorry; my mind is like a pig’s today! It was really unfortunate; I’ve been inspecting suppliers in the countryside all day… The signal in the village is bad; I didn’t even get any calls.”
His tone was like a bell, without any apology, “How about this, can you come to the Medusa Nightclub? I have time now.”
Manager Mao gritted his teeth, “Mr. Yu, let’s negotiate if we can, but if not, there’s no need for you to play tricks like this.”
He responded with an “Oh,” and casually said, “Sorry about that. Are you still coming?”
Before the word “no” could be uttered, there was a sudden weight on his hand. Chen Wengang held him back, “Don’t hang up yet; I’ll go.”
The man surnamed Mao looked surprised, “Are you sure? Going alone?”
Chen Wengang said casually, “Don’t get your hopes up too much; just going to see what he really means.”
***
During rush hour, Chen Wengang arrived at the Medusa Nightclub almost at 8 o’clock, the peak of traffic.
The red and green glow of neon lights blinked overhead, and at this time, the nightlife was just unfolding its lively corner.
Yu Shanding played a prank by sending a vague location. Chen Wengang turned left and right along the way, even mistakenly entering the wrong disco.
Inside, the music was booming, and the laser lights from the rotating ball formed a web, capturing the swaying bodies of men and women on the dance floor.
Before leaving, Manager Mao urged Xiao Lin to come along with Chen Wengang, saying that having more people would make it easier to strike up a conversation.
Chen Wengang looked down on him, but as soon as Manager Mao left, he hailed a taxi and let Xiao Lin go home directly after work.
However, upon entering the nightclub alone, with his stomach churning almost to the point of nausea, Chen Wengang regretted not slipping away earlier.
He, a person who had read too many books, could hardly stand this kind of noise, and the crowded and unfamiliar crowd made his nerves hypersensitive.
Due to the experience of being splashed with sulfuric acid in his previous life, he always had severe stress reactions, causing him to subconsciously fear strangers walking toward him for a long time. It took one or two years of psychological counseling to finally overcome the shadow.
When Huo Niansheng was still alive, he never let him stay alone in crowded places.
In such a place where people and ghosts mingled and the atmosphere was boiling, that sense of panic was haunting him again. Chen Wengang pressed his chest. His face was getting worse, but fortunately, a bright idea finally struck him. There were too many people here, and he suddenly felt dizzy—
This nightclub was owned by Yu Shanding, so where else could he be?
He found an employee passage marked “No Entry for Idle Persons,” and his ears finally quieted down. Chen Wengang moved the sign and walked straight in. Dressed in a suit and leather shoes, he surprisingly wasn’t stopped as a guest. He followed his memory to the general manager’s office, knocking on the door.
The first to come out was a glamorous secretary who hurriedly buttoned up her shirt.
Surprisingly, Yu Shanding, interrupted in the middle of something, was only slightly surprised. He looked at the business card: “Oh, little buddy, your last name is Chen, right?”
He matched the image in Chen Wengang’s memory perfectly, with a bald head, a pointed round face, and a fierce look, resembling a butcher. Despite his intimidating appearance, several strings of Buddhist prayer beads were wrapped around his sturdy wrists. Behind him, a white wall displayed a picture of a thousand-armed, thousand-eyed Guanyin Bodhisattva.
This Yu Shanding, with the demeanor of a compassionate butcher, looked helpless. He spread his hands and tossed his business card onto the table, “Fine, since you’ve come looking for me, I won’t play hard to get. I booked the banquet hall, but I’m doing it on someone else’s behalf. I’m just a small player, not someone who wants to use it for myself. I really don’t want to withhold it from you, the Zhengshi Group, but whether we can negotiate or not isn’t solely up to me, you know.”
After saying this, he glanced over, and there stood Chen Wengang, calm and composed, just coldly watching his performance.
The two of them locked eyes for about five seconds.
Yu Shanding took a step back, redirecting the conversation, “But I don’t want you to come all this way for nothing. How about this! My friend is playing upstairs today. I can take you there to meet him. You can coordinate the venue and time yourselves. What do you think?”
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