Chapter 149 Busy
I returned to the hotel room alone and sadly, it was already completely dark outside. Not long after I fell on the bed, there was a knock on the door.
I climbed down from the bed helplessly and went to open the door. Fan Yunting stood outside the door and said to me, "I heard you open the door, so I came to check. Have you...had dinner?"
I shook my head and said, "I have no appetite. I won't eat anymore!"
Fan Yunting looked at me with a strange expression. She hesitated for a long time before saying, "Can I... come in?"
I turned around and walked back to the room, and suddenly lay on my back on the bed. Fan Yunting closed the door and came over to sit next to me. I knew what she wanted to ask me, but I didn't explain it. I just closed my eyes, feeling confused and unable to make sense of it.
Fan Yunting looked at me silently for a long time before she said, "Xu Shu...is she still angry with you?"
I opened my eyes and saw a faint sadness on Mr. Fan's face. I said, "No, everything remains the same. She will not violate our contract."
"I... didn't expect your relationship with her... to be so good. No wonder you are so sure!"
I smiled bitterly and sighed, "I myself... didn't expect this, but... actually nothing has changed. We are still good friends, that's all."
"Really? I heard you say to her..."
"Mr. Fan!" I interrupted her and said, "Just pretend you didn't hear about this! I don't want to... cause trouble to the great star Xu."
"Oh? Well... all right then!"
I closed my eyes again and said, "I'm sleepy. I'll take a nap first. Please help me close the door when you leave."
“…”
But she didn't leave for a long time. I haven't slept since I came to the United States. Although my mind was in a mess, I fell asleep unconsciously in my drowsiness...
We stayed in the United States for nearly a week. While Xu Shu was busy filming a Hollywood drama, she took time out to find a well-known Hollywood director to design, produce and shoot a two-and-a-half-minute commercial. And with her personal connections, she invited Hank Grayston, a popular Hollywood actor, to play the leading role. The background music of the commercial was also composed by the famous Chinese composer Liu Kun.
After the film came out, Mr. Fan and I were both very satisfied with it. We felt that the pictures, plot and music were perfect, and the advantages of the Yejianxiang tea beverage were also very prominent.
Xu Shu also invited the famous American photographer John Edwards to shoot a large number of photos for the advertisement. After we returned to China, we would select and synthesize them with computers and they would be launched on a large scale in flat media and street billboards.
These days, every evening, I always appear at that street corner on the outskirts of Los Angeles, watching Hua Jingjing coming back from outside from afar. I didn't disturb her, letting her remain in the dark.
After everything was done, Mr. Fan and I flew back to City B from the United States with our achievements. We immediately started a large-scale, all-round advertising campaign. For a while, all major TV stations, mainstream newspapers, and every corner of the city were filled with the image of the big star Xu Shu holding Yejianxiang tea, and her famous advertising slogan: "It smells good! It tastes good!"
In May, Yejianxiang tea was launched on the market and it became a big hit. With the huge star appeal of the big star Xu Shu and the international superstar Hank, people in all cities in China are proud to drink Yejianxiang tea. In addition, the unique fragrance and taste of Yejianxiang itself make this drink like a king, dominating the market. Distributors in various places are sold out every day, and orders are pouring in from all over the country. Even if we work overtime now, it is far from enough to supply with our existing factory machines.
This is really a sweet trouble. In addition to the excitement and celebration, the company had to step up the purchase of equipment and raw materials, preparing to increase productivity and work hard. In late May, the first 20 million yuan of funds promised by Chairman Xu Shu had been deposited into the company's account. The company had more money on hand. By June, Yejianxiang Company had five large factories and 16 production lines under construction, producing 300,000 bottles of beverages every day, but the demand was still far greater than the supply. Such a hot sales performance not only surprised and delighted us, but also made our peers envious and jealous. Mrs. Green filed a lawsuit and took our company to court. She said that we stole their company's research products for illegal production and demanded that our company immediately stop production and sales and compensate their company for the loss of 30 million yuan. Of course, we couldn't agree. The final development of this Yejianxiang tea drink was entirely the result of the wisdom and hard work of our company's staff, and had nothing to do with Mrs. Green Company. So we hired the most famous lawyer in the country to fight them to the end.
The lawsuit is still ongoing, but the beverages will continue to be sold. Our company is operating normally, and we are also starting to develop a variety of products.
Time passed quickly, and the Chinese national men's football team led by Milutinovic failed to score a single goal in the World Cup and returned home in complete defeat.
My sister was admitted to Xiamen University, planning to major in law.
"This damn weather is so hot that I can't even survive." I pushed open the car door, and the oncoming heat wave made me curse. After I got out and closed it, I pressed the remote key in my hand, and with two "beep" sounds, my Hainan Mazda automatically locked.
Under the drizzle of the sun, I walked into the building where the company was located. The company was different now. While renting the entire 14th floor, due to the development of business and the increase in staff, the 13th and 15th floors were also renovated and put into office use.
The elevator stopped on the 15th floor. After the door opened, I walked out. The receptionist stood up and said sweetly, "Good morning, Mr. Tang!"
I nodded and said, "Good morning!" and walked towards my vice president's office. The men and women employees of the company I met along the way all respectfully stepped aside and called out, "Mr. Tang!"
I nodded one by one, and then opened the office door. My secretary, Miss Zhang Lanlan, followed me in immediately. While making tea for me, she said, "Mr. Tang, there will be a regular executive meeting at 9 a.m., and I have already placed the required materials on your desk. At 10:30 a.m., you will meet Mr. Wang and his party from Qingdao Mermaid Company in Shandong Province. You will have lunch at the International Hotel at noon, and you will need to accompany them. At 2 p.m., the R&D department will report to you on the development of new products. At 2:30 p.m., the municipal government will have an entrepreneur gathering, and Ms. Fan asked you to go in her place. At 6 p.m., Ms. Fan will host a banquet for Sun Hong, the president of Jianghan Company, at Ziguang Pavilion. Mr. Fan said that Jianghan Company is our largest supplier of raw materials, and you will also be needed to attend. At 8 o'clock..."
I angrily shouted, "That's enough!", interrupting her. I turned around and shouted, "Is this going to kill me? No, is Ms. Fan here? I want to see her!"
Zhang Lanlan said cautiously: "Yes, I am, but..." I didn't finish listening and immediately rushed out of the office.
I came to Mr. Fan's office and opened the door without saying hello to Secretary Zhou. I was the only one in the company who dared to do this. Normally, no one would have any objections and would not dare to stop me. But today, Secretary Zhou stood up and said anxiously, "President Tang, wait a minute!"
But it was too late. I opened the door and saw Fan Yunting sleeping soundly on the reception sofa. Secretary Zhou came over and said in a very soft voice, "Boss Tang, Boss Fan worked until dawn last night. She was asleep when I came this morning. And you asked me to wake her up at almost nine o'clock, so there's not much time left. Please don't wake her up!"
I admired her but was puzzled. Fan Yunting was a workaholic. I had never seen anyone who devoted herself to work more than her. Was she even human? Didn't she need to rest?
I nodded and prepared to close the door to let her sleep a little longer. Unfortunately, Fan Yunting was still woken up by me. She raised her head from the sofa and said, "Tang Qian? Come here, I was looking for you."
I said, "Hey! Are you awake? I'm so sorry for disturbing you. You should go back to sleep. We can talk later."
Fan Yunting raised her wrist to check the time, frowned and said, "There are still twenty minutes left. Forget it! I won't sleep anymore. I can use this time to discuss something with you. Come in!"
I had no choice but to walk in, sit opposite her, and say, "Well, I have something to tell you too."
Fan Yunting sat up straight, stretched her arms and yawned loudly. Her clothes were not in place because she was lying down. Her top slipped out of her skirt, and when she stretched, half of her slender waist was exposed. A cute little belly button was exposed in front of my eyes.
I coughed and said, "Mr. Fan, please be careful!"
Fan Yunting stretched her body contentedly before putting her hands down. She stared at me with a half-smile on her face and said, "What are you paying attention to? What part of my body haven't you seen? What's the point of paying attention?"
My face turned red and I was speechless. Fan Yunting told me not to mention that, but after returning from the United States, she kept mentioning it from time to time, reminding me that I had seen her body all over! You must not forget it! I don't know what she meant by this? What's the point? What's the point of always mentioning such an unfortunate thing?
In order to change the subject, I asked, "Mr. Fan, you said you wanted to discuss something with me. What is it?"
Fan Yunting said, "Oh, by the way, we have almost bought all the Yejianxiang tea leaves these days. I believe there is not much left except for the remote places deep in Yunwu Mountain. Although the tea we bought is enough for production for a summer, it will be difficult for us to expand production next year if the current situation continues. In addition, major beverage companies have already set their sights on this piece of cake and are preparing to compete with us next year. Therefore, the competition for acquisitions next year will be very fierce, and the prices will be driven up very high. I think we should plan ahead and make plans in advance."
I thought it made sense, and immediately had some preliminary ideas in my mind, so I said, "Mr. Fan really thinks far ahead! Do you have any opinions?"
Fan Yunting said, "I don't understand technical matters, so I can't give any opinions. I just wonder if we can buy a large area of land in the suburbs to plant it. Then we can save a lot of purchasing costs and even shipping costs. Not only will we be self-sufficient next year, but we can also expand production at any time. I just don't know if it's technically feasible? Can the tea tree survive in the field?"
I said, "It's not a problem to grow them. But without the soil and environment of Yunwu Mountain, the leaves that grow won't have fragrance, and that won't be Yejian fragrant tea. But Mr. Fan's advice is still very useful. We can hire local residents, rent large tracts of wild tea forests, and then plant large tracts of artificially grafted tea trees. I think by next year, we will have enough Yejian fragrant tea for our use."
Fan Yunting said, "That's fine. At most we still have to pay for the shipping. But if other companies come to buy, we will sell it to them at a higher price. We can all do business and make money! Haha!"
I knew what she meant by the high price, so I laughed and said, "Mr. Fan, I think it's really unlucky for others to compete with you for business!"
Fan Yunting smiled and rolled her eyes at me, saying, "Are you praising me or insulting me? By the way, you said you had something to tell me, what was it?"
I said, "Mr. Fan, the company is getting bigger and bigger, the business is getting better and better, and there are more and more affairs. Look, as the company's boss, you work until dawn without taking a break. If you want to take a break, you only lie down for half an hour and then go back to work. Even an iron man will collapse from exhaustion. Don't you know that?"
Seeing that I actually cared about her, Fan Yunting stood up from the sofa in excitement, walked to me in two steps, leaned over and grabbed my hand and held it against her chest. She said happily and touchedly: "Tang Qian... I'm so happy! I worked so hard, and it finally paid off. Did you see it all?"
I quickly pulled my hand back from her grasp, sweating. This Fan Yunting, since she came back from the United States, not only has she been constantly talking about the fact that I have seen her body, but she also often treats me as an outsider, and her actions are sometimes so intimate and ambiguous that it is unbearable. I remember once I accompanied a VIP to dinner and drinks until very late, and after I sent her home, she actually hugged me under the pretext of being drunk, asking me not to leave... I don't know if she was really drunk or just pretending, anyway, after I escaped, when we met the next day, she had a normal expression as if nothing had happened. But the intimacy shown when there is no one around still happens often. Here it comes again!
I said with a smile: "Boss Fan, what I mean is, do we need to work so hard? Not to mention you, even I, the vice president, have to work from the beginning of the day until midnight. If it is for product development, then I have nothing to say, but as a vice president in charge of production, I only have to attend meetings, have meetings, accompany guests for dinner, and other boring things all day long. Isn't it depressing?"
Fan Yunting blinked and said, "Well, go on. What next?"
I took a breath and said, "Mr. Fan, I don't think these things should be done by us. You are the general manager, you just need to make big decisions and grasp the general direction. You don't have to do everything yourself, that will be exhausting. And I only need to focus on research and development and production. Those troublesome things like holding meetings and receiving people can be done by others!"
Fan Yunting smiled and said, "There are only two leaders in the company, you and I. If we don't do it, who will? Others don't have the qualifications to do it! I saw that you didn't like these things, so I wanted to work harder so that you could focus on production. But the recent lawsuit has kept me so busy that I really don't have any extra time. You just need to take care of it. After I'm done with this, I'll let you relax a little. Please!"
I sighed and was about to speak when the office door suddenly opened. Secretary Zhou said excitedly, "I'm sorry, Mr. Fan, that... that big star, the chairman... she's here!"
