My Daily Basic Stipend Is 10 Million

Chapter 134: Chapter 134: We Are Family

With the contract settled, Zhao Hui was about to thank Huang Guangyuan and take his leave, but Huang Guangyuan insisted that he stay for tea.

It was time for a private chat, so Huang Guangyuan dismissed the floor manager.

Zhao Hui felt a little out of his element. He’d never been in a situation like this before.

Fortunately, Huang Guangyuan was a master at setting the mood, and Zhao Hui navigated the conversation cautiously.

Just then, Zhao Hui’s phone, which was on the coffee table, rang.

He quickly excused himself. It was rather impolite to take a call while meeting with Huang Guangyuan, so he prepared to reject it.

But then he saw the caller ID: it was Chen Xiao.

He hesitated for a moment before looking at Huang Guangyuan. "It’s President Chen’s call."

Huang Guangyuan immediately sat bolt upright and gestured. "Please, take the call!"

"Pres... President Chen!"

"Brother Hui, I told you to call me Chen Xiao! We’re family, no need to be so formal."

The office was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Huang Guangyuan, who had just raised a cup to his lips, nearly fumbled it. With a slightly trembling hand, he set the teacup back down on the table.

He lowered his head, pretending to be deep in thought, but inside, his mind was reeling.

"In the next day or two, give Liu Haoran a heads-up. Next week, you’ll report to President Xu. I’ve asked her to make you the Vice President of Business at Jiangzhou Wansheng Square, in charge of merchant recruitment and operations."

"Don’t worry. You’ll be assigned dedicated assistants, and professional recruitment and operations managers will be there to support you. But you also need to learn the ropes and get up to speed quickly."

"Any problem with that?"

Chen Xiao had given him a heads-up about this at home, but he never expected to be made the VP of Business. He would be the second-in-command of the entire plaza, wielding real power over merchant recruitment and operations.

He was both apprehensive and filled with soaring ambition.

What man doesn’t have a heart for his career? He said, his voice thick with emotion, "I’m just afraid I’ll mess it up and let you down!"

Chen Xiao laughed. "Don’t overthink it. I can afford your tuition."

Zhao Hui replied, "I’ll do as you’ve arranged."

After he hung up, Huang Guangyuan got up to refill his teacup, but Zhao Hui quickly rose, insisting on doing it himself.

Huang Guangyuan said, "Don’t be such a stranger. Treat this place like your own home. If you really see me as a brother, you’ll come by more often for tea!"

’Brothers?’ Zhao Hui found the thought comical. A month ago, forget Huang Guangyuan—even the floor manager probably wouldn’t have given him the time of day.

But now, Huang Guangyuan, the top dealmaker in the entire Hanjiang Business Community, was calling him a brother and acting afraid he might refuse.

’And I’m about to become the VP of Business at Jiangzhou Wansheng Square!’

It was no exaggeration to say his recent progress had been like a rocket launch.

"Making him the VP of Business... aren’t you worried you’re rushing things?" Zhao Xiangjun asked, concerned. She was well aware of her brother’s limitations.

But Zhao Hui really had changed a lot lately, and she wanted to hear Chen Xiao’s honest assessment.

Chen Xiao replied, "It’s not that drastic. You have to have some faith in him. Besides, if any real problems come up, I’ll be there to help."

"Chen Xiao, you’re really something else! You’ve gone and created a whole family bucket!"

Chen Xiao laughed. He knew what she meant. With his arrangements, they now owned the mall, owned the store in the mall, managed the store, and managed the mall. What else could you call it but a family bucket?

When Xu Jia visited the store, she was met with an unprecedentedly warm welcome. The former colleague who had left a year ago had returned, transformed into a company leader!

Her story was the stuff of legends.

Xu Jia joked with them, her tone half-serious. "When I left, I entrusted Xiangjun to your care. Turns out she’s been harassed so many times this past year, and not a single one of you stood up for her. I’m so disappointed!"

Of course, she didn’t consider that no one else could guard Zhao Xiangjun like a mother hen protecting her chick, the way she herself did.

She held a quick meeting at the store and sent the supervisor back to the office. Now that she was in charge of retail operations, her work schedule was flexible; she didn’t need to clock in.

She found Zhao Xiangjun and Chen Xiao and insisted on treating them to dinner to express her gratitude.

Zhao Xiangjun suggested they eat at home, as she wasn’t a big fan of eating out.

Neither Chen Xiao nor Xu Jia had any objections. They could have a couple of drinks at home and then head straight to bed without worrying about who would drive.

Since they had come in two cars, Xu Jia rode back with Zhao Xiangjun in her Wisdom Realm R7, while Chen Xiao drove back by himself.

It wasn’t rush hour yet, so traffic was light and the drive was smooth.

Riding in the passenger seat, Xu Jia was completely smitten with Zhao Xiangjun’s car. She declared that as soon as she made enough money, she’d buy the exact same model so they could have matching "couple cars."

"Hey, watch your mouth! Don’t distract me while I’m driving," Zhao Xiangjun chided, seeing her friend’s lack of a filter.

"Oh, give me a break. Have you ever actually driven this thing? Isn’t it all self-driving anyway?"

"Whoa! Holy crap, a G-Wagen!"

"What is it now?" Zhao Xiangjun jumped, startled by the sudden outburst.

Xu Jia pointed ahead. "A Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen!"

It took a second for Zhao Xiangjun to realize she was talking about the boxy, rugged Mercedes-Benz SUV.

"It’s just a car. What are you so excited about?"

Xu Jia replied, "Don’t you know this is my dream car? It’s a lot of guys’ dream car, too. You don’t think your Chen Xiao likes them?"

Zhao Xiangjun replied instinctively, "If he liked it, he would’ve bought one by now, wouldn’t he?"

Fair point. With Chen Xiao’s financial resources, buying a G-Wagen would be no different than buying a toy car.

"But he does like Mercedes-Benz. I see him driving that CLS all the time. I still think the G-Wagen suits him better!"

"Oh."

Zhao Xiangjun normally wasn’t one to be easily swayed, but after hearing Xu Jia, she couldn’t help but glance a few more times at the G-Wagen up ahead.

On the way up from the underground garage, Xu Jia kept eyeing Zhao Xiangjun’s clothes.

"What is it? You’re being weird."

"Babe, you don’t dress like a rich woman at all. Back when you were broke, you spent all day online shopping, but you always said, ’What you wear doesn’t matter, so why waste money!’"

"But you’re not short on cash anymore, and you’re still wearing this stuff. Shouldn’t you be wearing Chanel or Louis Vuitton?"

Zhao Xiangjun rolled her eyes at her. "What’s the difference what I wear? If I find something I actually like, I’ll buy it. Why be so fixated on brands?"

Fair enough. When you’re broke, what you wear is all the same. When you’re rich, you can afford anything, so what you wear is... still all the same.

Back at the apartment, Chen Xiao had already arrived and was sitting on the living room sofa in Zhao Xiangjun’s place.

Seeing the two of them enter, Chen Xiao called out, "Xu Jia, why don’t you invite Ren Jie to join us for dinner?"

"Why would I call him? This is a family dinner. What would he be doing here?"

’Alright, you win,’ Chen Xiao thought. ’You’re one of the family, and your own husband is the outsider!’

Seeing the look of resignation on Chen Xiao’s face, Zhao Xiangjun laughed. "Jiajia always says she has a good eye for everything in life, except for men."

Chen Xiao offered a moment of silent prayer for Ren Jie, then smiled and asked, "And what about you?"

"I have a bad eye for everything... except for men."

HA! Chen Xiao burst into hearty laughter.

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