In a high-rise building located in the core district of Jiangnan City.
Inside the lavishly decorated chairman’s office, Jiang Chenfeng sat with a gloomy face. He suddenly picked up the documents on the desk and slammed them in front of several senior executives, shouting angrily, “Useless trash! What am I paying you all for? All the suppliers are about to run off, and you still haven’t come up with a solution. If this continues, we won’t even be able to fulfill next month’s orders!”
In the past couple of days, the suppliers who had partnerships with Chenfeng Group, for some unknown reason, seemed to have agreed in advance to terminate their contracts and switched to work with Lingxue Group instead.
Although the group had its own production chain, it was far from enough to meet the delivery demand. If they couldn’t fulfill the orders on time, they would have to pay a sky-high penalty fee.
The executives being scolded dared not speak up, all lowering their heads in fear.
Zhao Youde, the head of finance, stepped forward, frowning and speaking in a low voice, “Director Jiang, at the moment, our only option is to raise the prices. As long as we can stabilize the suppliers and ensure that next month’s orders are delivered on time, the losses can be minimized.”
Zhao Youde had once been one of Jiang Zhao’s trusted subordinates and was the first high-ranking executive to jump ship to Jiang Chenfeng’s side, so his position in the company was quite high.
Hearing this, Jiang Chenfeng clenched his jaw and sat back down in his chair, his expression still dark. “How much liquid capital do we have left in the company’s account?”
Zhao Youde hesitated slightly, then reported, “Due to the previous large-scale investment in new energy research and development, we now only have 10 million yuan in usable funds.”
New energy development had been one of Jiang Zhao’s core projects during his tenure. He had invested heavily in it. However, due to Jiang Chenfeng leaking confidential information, the project was ruined, which ultimately led to Jiang Zhao’s removal from his position.
When he heard that only 10 million yuan remained, Jiang Chenfeng’s face turned even uglier. Sitting in this position at the top of thousands, all he felt was a rising sense of helplessness.
Damn it. How did everything go so smoothly when Jiang Zhao was here, yet the moment he was gone, everything started to fall apart?
Still, Jiang Chenfeng had managed the logistics department for two years, so he quickly calmed down and gave orders, “Outsource a portion of the orders. Also, starting this month, reduce everyone’s salary by 20%, including mine. Once we get through this difficult period, everyone will receive bonuses.”
These words made the executives’ hearts sink. Both decisions were completely inappropriate for the current situation.
Outsourcing meant compromising on quality, which could easily anger the client and lead to canceled contracts.
And cutting salaries? That was a death sentence—it would spark panic among employees.
As for the promise of bonuses?
Heh, they were all adults. Who couldn’t spin a dream?
Clearly, these two decisions would push the group to the edge of a cliff. A single misstep, and it would all come crashing down.
Facing this dire situation, all the executives couldn’t help but think of one person.
…
Elsewhere, in a quiet harbor in Jiangnan City.
After over thirty minutes of driving, the Maybach slowly pulled up in front of a three-story western-style villa.
Inside the car, Jiang Zhao stared at Qin Lingxue, who had been sleeping on him the entire ride, his face full of black lines. He raised his hand and gave her a slap on the butt.
Smack!
…
Three minutes later, Jiang Zhao stepped out of the car, holding his right cheek with a bitter and aggrieved look. “Do you even follow logic? I kindly tried to wake you up, and you hit me?”
Qin Lingxue had reacted instinctively earlier and knew she was in the wrong. She quickly grabbed his arm and comforted him, “Alright, don’t be mad. When we get home, I’ll wear black stockings for you, okay?”
“Do I look like that kind of guy?!” Jiang Zhao said with righteous indignation, then added under his breath, “That’s not enough. Red heels too.”
What could Qin Lingxue do? Faced with this wronged little boy, all she could do was spoil him.
Hand in hand, the two walked into the villa. Upon hearing the commotion, Qin’s father and Luo’s mother came out.
Qin Hongyun frowned, his sharp gaze locked onto Jiang Zhao. His tone was cold as he said, “Where did this punk come from? Daring to date my daughter? I’ll give you three seconds. Get out now!”
In response, the woman who followed him out, Luo Qiuqiu, smacked him hard on the head and scolded coldly, “Our daughter’s nearly thirty. She finally found a boyfriend. If you dare cause trouble again, believe it or not, I’ll cut off your allowance!”
Seeing this exchange between husband and wife, Jiang Zhao finally understood why Qin Lingxue was so domineering—it was in her genes.
Qin Lingxue ignored her parents, dragging him inside as she said indifferently, “This is just how my family is. Get used to it.”
After shooting her husband another fierce glare, Luo Qiuqiu turned to Jiang Zhao, her face instantly softening into a smile. “You must be Xiao Jiang. Lingxue told me about you. Come in, sit down, make yourself at home.”
Once inside the living room, Jiang Zhao noticed the room was filled with all kinds of decorations. With his eye for detail, he immediately recognized that many were antiques—extremely valuable.
Just as Jiang Zhao picked up his cup and took a small sip, Luo Qiuqiu smiled and said, “Xiao Jiang, when do you plan on marrying our Lingxue? You’re not getting any younger. It’s better to get married early and give us a chubby grandson soon.”
Hearing this shocking statement, Jiang Zhao almost spat out his tea.
Counting out their previous business entanglements, he and Qin Lingxue had only officially been together for two days—and now marriage? Wasn’t this progressing a bit too fast?
Seeing the change in his expression, Luo Qiuqiu’s smile faded slightly. She frowned and asked, “What’s wrong? You’re not planning to marry my daughter, are you?” As she spoke, a faint sense of pressure radiated from her.
“You two… you’re not pretending to be a couple just to fool me, are you?” she added suspiciously.
Without saying a word, Qin Lingxue wrapped her arms around Jiang Zhao’s neck and planted a firm kiss on his lips. She calmly said, “Now there’s no doubt, right?”
Watching this, Luo Qiuqiu’s eyes shimmered. She understood her daughter better than anyone.
Usually, when she saw those rich second-generation heirs, she was full of disdain. Yet now, she was so forward—it was obvious she wasn’t lying.
“Hahaha, alright then. Do whatever you two want. I’ll go prepare lunch. Old Qin, get in here and help me!”
Once the couple left, Qin Lingxue rested her head on Jiang Zhao’s shoulder and said softly, “When we get back, you should come work at my company. Starting a business from scratch on your own is a huge waste of time. I don’t have that much patience to wait.”
“You weren’t saying that before,” Jiang Zhao muttered in dissatisfaction.
In his heart, relying on a woman for a living meant being incompetent. After all the glory from his previous entrepreneurial days, how could he possibly be willing?
Qin Lingxue’s voice suddenly turned cold. “Can’t you think about our future for once?”
“You know better than anyone how long it takes to build something from nothing. We’ll eventually get married, have kids. I don’t want my future children to grow up in a loveless home.”
Jiang Zhao fell silent, unable to argue.
He truly hadn’t thought that far ahead. He still thought of himself as the high-spirited youth from before.
But… he was already 27. Most people his age probably had kids old enough to run errands by now.
“Alright, I’ll work at your company. But I have one small condition: after we get married… I’m the head of the family.”
Smack!
“…!”