Chapter 123: Yibin Guesthouse
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
The next morning, Zhou Chao slowly rose from his bed, shaking his head to alleviate the hangover from last night. He still felt a bit dizzy. Glancing at the clock, it was only 9 o’clock in the morning. He reluctantly got out of bed, realizing that he had only been drinking last night and hadn’t eaten anything. His stomach growled.
“Boss, you’re up. I made some millet porridge. I’ll serve you a bowl.”
Zhou Chao sat at the dining table, waiting for Xiao Wu to bring the millet porridge. It smelled quite good.
“Why didn’t you go to the company today?” Zhou Chao asked after taking the millet porridge from Xiao Wu.
“Sister Lan is planning to register the company today, but she needs some of your documents, so she asked me to bring them over later.” Zhou Chao didn’t say anything in response and began to eat the millet porridge that Xiao Wu had cooked.
“Well, your millet porridge is surprisingly delicious.” Xiao Wu scratched his head in embarrassment when he heard Zhou Chao’s compliment.
The millet porridge had been simmering for a while and was just right. Zhou Chao finished the bowl quickly.
“Boss, do you want another bowl?” Xiao Wu asked when he saw Zhou Chao finish the first one so quickly.
“No need, I’m not a pig. Why should 1 eat so much?”
“Hehe, I just didn’t want you to go hungry, boss!”
Upon hearing this, Zhou Chao chuckled in surprise. He hadn’t anticipated that beneath Xiao Wu’s unassuming demeanor, there was a quick and clever mind at work.
“I’ll go get the documents for you. You should get going and handle your business. Learn well from Wang Lan!” With that, Zhou Chao headed upstairs, while Xiao Wu began to clean up the table.
In no time, Zhou Chao returned downstairs with a file bag.
“Here you go, Xiao Wu,” he said, handing over the file bag to Xiao Wu, who was standing by the sofa.
“Boss, I’ll go off then!”
“Sure, go ahead,” Zhou Chao said as Xiao Wu left with the file folder.
Zhou Chao looked at Xiao Wu leaving and then lay down on the sofa.
“Hmm?” Zhou Chao was puzzled when he felt an object beneath his head as if he had inadvertently rested it on something. He quickly sat up and removed the cushion, discovering that it was Shoufu hidden behind it. Fortunately, Zhou Chao had been lying down; otherwise, Shoufu would have been caught in an uncomfortable situation like being squashed between him and the sofa.
Zhou Chao picked up Shoufu and patted its back, and soon Shoufu began to purr.
“Hey, do you think of me as your masseur?” Zhou Chao teased Shoufu, who was enjoying the attention.
Time passed quietly as Zhou Chao continued to pet the cat. When he finally came to his senses, it was almost 11 o’clock.
“All, petting a cat can ruin a person’s life,” he complained, but his hand didn’t stop petting the cat.
Zhou Chao took out his phone and called Xiao Yang. After all, he had to deal with it sooner or later.
“Hey, you’re in Jingdu? You called me at this hour. What, are you trying to mooch a meal off me?” Zhou Chao was momentarily stunned. He wanted to say, “Didn’tyou invite me to Jingdu?”
But instead, he replied, “No, I just wanted to consult you about the special steel.”
“Oh, so you know about the special steel too? Every word you say is like breaking my leg. Alright, how are you going to repay me?” Zhou Chao finally understood that Xiao Yang wanted to invite him to a meal.
“Brother Yang, I’m not familiar with Jingdu. How about you pick a good restaurant? I’ll treat you to lunch!” Xiao Yang couldn’t hide his smile when he heard Zhou Chao’s words.
“Ahem, ahem. Can simply having a meal resolve everything? By the way, Old Master Ma quite appreciated the bottle of wine you had me deliver last time. I found it to be quite excellent!”
“Brother Yang, can you drink at noon?”
“Who said I’m planning to drink during lunch? Don’t you realize 1 brought it over so I can enjoy it at home in the evening?” Zhou Chao responded to Xiao Yang’s sincere words with a wry smile.
“And there’s the last bottle of Lai Mao. There will be no more once I finish it!” Zhou Chao revealed his secret weapon without hesitation, and he could hear Xiao Yang’s laughter on the other end of the phone.
“Brother Yang, can you start laughing after hanging up the phone?!”
“I wasn’t laughing. You heard wrong. At noon, well go to the Yibin Guesthouse. The Sichuan cuisine there is quite good. I’ve already reserved a spot. Just go there directly!”
“Alright, 1’11 head over right away.” The Yibin Guesthouse was quite far from where Zhou Chao lived, located in the West City District. Zhou Chao took the last bottle of Lai Mao wine from the wine cellar and set off in his Rolls-Royce Phantom.
The distance from home to the Yibin Guesthouse was only around 35 kilometers, but it took Zhou Chao an hour to reach there. Upon arriving at the guesthouse, he was surprised to find a large crowd of about a hundred people gathered there, which momentarily caught him off guard.
He walked in directly. Xiao Yang had already given him the room number for a private room, so Zhou Chao went in and asked a waiter for directions to the private room.
Zhou Chao pushed open the door to the private room and saw three people inside, chatting animatedly. Besides Xiao Yang, he didn’t recognize the other two.
“Brother Yang!” The three people chatting were interrupted by Zhou Chao’s sudden arrival.
“You finally made it. Take a seat! Let me introduce you. This is Li Yao. You can just call him Brother Yao. Don’t be fooled by his appearance. He looks simple and honest, but he’s actually quite cunning!” Zhou Chao was in disbelief when he heard Xiao Yang’s introduction.
“Brother Yao!”
“Don’t listen to him, he’s the worst one!” Li Yao, sitting next to Xiao Yang, retorted when he heard himself being introduced like that.
“Chao, let me introduce you to this person. This is Jiang Yu, also known as Jiang Li’s eldest brother!” Xiao Yang said meaningfully, and Jiang Yu glanced at Zhou Chao upon hearing Xiao Yang’s introduction.
“Uncle Jiang!” Zhou Chao quickly got up and called out. Jiang Yu looked at Zhou Chao in disbelief, then turned to Xiao Yang, who nodded slightly.
“Why are you calling me Uncle Jiang when nothing is in progress yet?” Xiao Yang looked at Zhou Chao without patience. Zhou Chao really couldn’t hold his enthusiasm.
“How long have you known Jiang Li?” Jiang Yu, who was sitting at the side, asked Zhou Chao.
“We’ve known each other for almost half a year.”
“Are you two dating now?”
“Yes, we confirmed our relationship a while ago.”
“How did you meet?”
“Alright, today we’re here to have a meal, not for a Q&A session. Jiang Yu, mind your own business. Let them have their own lives. If your sister can find a good man like Zhou Chao, it’s her luck! Alright, Zhou Chao, go call the waiter to serve the dishes.” Perhaps Xiao Yang had more authority among the three, as Jiang Yu didn’t inquire further after Xiao Yang spoke.
“Sure!” Zhou Chao opened the door to the private room and called the waiter to serve the dishes. In less than three minutes, the dishes were brought to the table.
“Alright, let’s eat, everyone. Since it’s noon, we won’t drink alcohol. We’ll welcome Zhou Chao with tea instead. Let’s all raise our cups!” Xiao Yang, sitting in the middle, raised his teacup, and everyone else followed suit.
“Cheers!”