Huo Lin merely glanced at her coolly and didn’t respond.
What Jiang Zhinian didn’t know was that military training was grueling, not to mention the dangers of the battlefield.
After years of crawling, fighting, and surviving, Huo Lin was well acquainted with more than just massage techniques for easing injuries. He also knew a great deal about emergency surgery and wound dressing.
“Why did you suddenly get a cramp?”
Jiang Zhinian pursed her lips and complained coquettishly, “That awful dorm room you arranged for me! The bed is way too hard. It doesn’t even have a mattress.”
Heaven knew how painful it was for someone like her, who had traveled here from the twenty-first century, to adapt to sleeping on a hard wooden bed.
Huo Lin gave a quiet grunt.
“I’ll have someone replace the bed for you.”
Jiang Zhinian immediately smiled.
“Don’t forget the Simmons mattress. And if you could throw in a few velvet quilts too, that would be even better.”
Huo Lin shot her a cool glance.
The little fox was so delicate. Could Huo Tingyun really take proper care of her?
Realizing that he was once again meddling in matters that weren’t his concern, his face darkened. He started the car and resumed the role of a proper chauffeur.
…
The night passed in the blink of an eye.
Early the next morning, Jiang Zhinian was awakened by a loud bang, bang, bang on her door.
Standing outside was none other than Cheng Yue, accompanied by several installation workers.
The thought that Commander Huo had actually asked him to replace Miss Jiang’s… bed—and had specifically sent him to carry out the task—made Cheng Yue’s face turn red again.
“Miss Jiang, the commander asked me to bring some people over to help you replace…”
His voice gradually trailed off.
Jiang Zhinian couldn’t help laughing at his reaction. She stopped teasing him and stepped aside to let them in.
Huo Lin’s people were indeed efficient. Before long, a brand-new Simmons mattress had been placed on top of a brand-new solid-wood bed.
Several new goose-down quilts and bedding sets were piled on top as well.
Jiang Zhinian curled her lips into a smile.
Commander Huo might not be very responsive when it came to people, but he certainly got things done efficiently.
No sooner had Cheng Yue and the others left than Meng Haoqian arrived, looking impatient.
“Jiang Zhinian, hurry up. I’ve arranged a meeting with several representatives from the European Chamber of Commerce. Don’t keep them waiting.”
Jiang Zhinian acted as though she hadn’t heard him.
Unhurriedly, she gathered up her long hair, applied a little skincare product, and selected a pair of high heels.
By the time Meng Haoqian was practically hopping with impatience, she finally got into the car.
Seeing that she had come empty-handed, Meng Haoqian eyed her suspiciously.
“Did you prepare anything? Don’t embarrass me when we get there.”
Jiang Zhinian rolled her eyes at him as though he were an idiot.
In an era when qualified translators were in short supply, communicating in English at a native level was effortless for someone with her skills.
As for the business plan, she had already come up with several preliminary ideas the night before.
Meng Haoqian secretly gritted his teeth.
This woman really had changed.
Not only was the infatuation she once had for him completely gone from her eyes, but now she couldn’t even be bothered to respond to half the things he said.
It was an oddly frustrating feeling—as if every punch he threw landed in a pile of cotton.
The car sped through the streets in silence and soon arrived at a small building in the middle of the bustling city.
The English sign above it made the place’s identity clear.
It was the local headquarters of the European Chamber of Commerce.
They pushed open the door to the reserved meeting room.
Inside, three blond, blue-eyed foreigners sat side by side.
The youngest looked to be around twenty, while the oldest appeared to be over fifty.
The moment they saw Jiang Zhinian, a flash of admiration passed through all their eyes, and they instinctively straightened in their seats.
After all, who wouldn’t want to make a good impression in front of a beautiful woman?
Especially when the woman before them was a classic Eastern beauty.
Her bright, watery eyes resembled a pool of autumn water, while her skin was as white and smooth as ivory.
Every movement she made was as captivating as a delicate rose in full bloom—breathtakingly beautiful.
Jiang Zhinian and Meng Haoqian took their seats opposite them. The one among the three who understood Chinese was just about to begin translating when Jiang Zhinian suddenly greeted them herself.
She spoke in flawless English, with a standard British accent.
Everyone was stunned.
None of them had expected this young-looking Eastern beauty to possess such fluent English.
The most shocked person of all was Meng Haoqian.
Since when did this supposedly useless rich girl, who used to follow him around every day, know how to speak English?
Yet Jiang Zhinian didn’t spare him so much as a glance. She simply smiled and continued negotiating with the foreigners.
It turned out that the three men were businessmen from Britain and Germany. They had stable sources of goods, but they were also driven by profit.
Unless Jiang Zhinian agreed to give up part of the profits, they were unwilling to cooperate.
Jiang Zhinian noticed that William—the youngest of the three—didn’t seem quite as firm in his stance as the others.
Instead, he appeared to have some concerns.
So she began speaking directly with William.
In any case, her goal had never been to secure all three suppliers. Even if she could establish a partnership with just one of them, it would still open up a new channel.
At first, William refused to explain himself.
But under her open and steady gaze, he finally revealed the reason.
Originally, the three of them hadn’t intended to raise their prices.
However, their previous local business partner had taken delivery of the goods, then suddenly gone back on the agreement and demanded a lower price at the last minute.
With no other choice, they had been forced to accept the loss.
After that incident, their impression of local businessmen had plummeted, and the three suppliers had jointly raised the threshold for importing goods into the city.
Jiang Zhinian smiled faintly and patiently explained that one businessman’s mistake could not represent every businessman in the city.
She also obtained the information of the merchant who had gone back on his word and promised that the local Chamber of Commerce would give them an explanation.
William exchanged glances with his two companions.
In one another’s eyes, they saw both admiration and trust.
Unexpectedly, all three of them agreed to cooperate.
The first shipment would include one hundred black-and-white television sets and fifty color televisions from several different brands.
And just like that, the meeting ended on a pleasant note.
Even after the three businessmen stood up and eagerly shook Jiang Zhinian’s hand, Meng Haoqian remained sitting there, completely dumbfounded.
It was no exaggeration to say that he hadn’t understood a single word throughout the entire meeting.
And what was worse, no one had even thought to translate anything for him!
Did they think he was invisible?
Still, judging from their expressions… Jiang Zhinian had successfully closed the deal?
Meng Haoqian scratched his head, forced a smile, and awkwardly said goodbye to the three men.
William stepped forward to shake Jiang Zhinian’s hand.
He had a thick head of brilliant golden hair that gleamed like sunlight spilling over a wheat field.
His eyes were a deep blue, so captivating they seemed like a vast sea of stars.
For this farewell, he used somewhat clumsy Chinese.
“Miss Jiang, very happy to know you. I hope we can work together again next time.”
Jiang Zhinian smiled warmly and replied with graceful ease, “Me too. I look forward to working together again.”
The moment they stepped out of the building, Meng Haoqian could no longer contain himself.
“Jiang Zhinian, have you been secretly learning English behind my back? When did you become so amazing?”
Jiang Zhinian was in a good mood.
“There’s plenty you don’t know about me. I’ll leave the rest to you. We split the goods fifty-fifty, okay?”
…
Night fell.
A part-time domestic helper came to Jiang Zhinian’s dormitory building and prepared dinner for her.
And if anyone asked why she needed a domestic helper, the answer was simple.
Jiang Zhinian couldn’t cook.
Not even a little.
Her slender, delicate hands were as pale and tender as scallion stalks, smooth as creamy jade.
Whether in the twenty-first century or in this world, she had never even washed a single bowl.
After dinner, feeling a little bored, Jiang Zhinian went downstairs and casually wandered around the compound.
When she returned, she immediately spotted a military jeep parked not far from the building.
It was Huo Lin’s car.
Her lips curved into a smile as she headed toward it.
But just then, Huo Tingyun’s voice suddenly rang out ahead of her.
“Niannian!”
The little fox’s eyes instantly lit up.
Both of them were here?
This was going to be fun.