Chapter 146: Gently Provoking
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Hey… Ling Chen, why did you call me so early? Is there something urgent?” Zhou Chao lay in bed with the phone on speaker, his eyes still closed. If there weren’t voices coming from the other end of the call, it would seem like he was talking in his sleep.
“Boss, I’ve sent you the agenda for the annual meeting. Can you take a look to see if any modifications are needed?”
“Mmm, go ahead and send it to me; I’ll take a look later.” Ling Chen could tell from the lazy tone of his boss that he had once again disrupted his peaceful sleep.
After ending the call, Ling Chen checked the time on his phone – exactly 8 o’clock. “Hmm, it seems like 1 called too early!”
Without further disturbance, Zhou Chao quickly drifted back into slumber, and by the time he woke up again, it was already 10:30.
“Hmm? It seems like Ling Chen called me this morning?” Zhou Chao glanced at the phone on his pillow and recalled what Ling Chen had mentioned.
As he looked at the documents sent by Ling Chen, Zhou Chao remembered what had happened.
“I should let Ling Chen know next time not to call me so early!” Seeing that the message was sent at 7:40 in the morning, Zhou Chao shook his head in resignation.
Ling Chen, an earnest and diligent CEO who rises early and handles tasks efficiently, was performing well overall. However, his occasional pranks on his boss needed to be addressed; there would be opportunities to set him straight.
Zhou Chao rubbed his sleepy face vigorously, then opened the folder and began reading.
As he skimmed through the lengthy document, Zhou Chao felt his head spinning. After a long sigh, he started reading in earnest.
Zhou Chao quickly went through most of it, as it mainly covered the agenda for the annual meeting. When he reached the list of performances, he was stunned. The program list was densely packed, spanning two full pages. Apart from singing and dancing, there were also magic shows, cross-talk performances, comedy acts, musical instrument performances, and more!
Zhou Chao counted roughly; there were nearly 40 performances in total. Even Ling Chen and Lin Wu had a singing performance. Zhou Chao was starting to feel a little excited.
After spending about 20 minutes, Zhou Chao finished reviewing the entire annual meeting agenda. He noticed one issue – the hotel Ling Chen had chosen didn’t seem to be large enough. With several hundred employees attending, Zhou Chao felt it might be a bit crowded. It was almost year-end, and many larger hotels had already been fully booked!
“Hotel? Hotel!” Zhou Chao suddenly remembered that he owned a Hilton hotel. Why was he worried about finding a place for the annual meeting?
He immediately called Qian Jin.
“Boss, hello!”
“Hello, Qian Jin. I hope I’m not interrupting your work?” Qian Jin was in the middle of a meeting and gestured to the others to pause their presentation. He then stepped out of his office.
“No, Boss, you’re not disturbing me. I’m not busy at the moment.”
“Alright, let me get straight to the point. My group is planning an annual meeting, and we haven’t found a suitable venue. Can you arrange a hall that can accommodate 700 people by tomorrow?”
“Boss, no problem at all. Our own hotel can handle it!”
“Good, please arrange it as soon as possible. We’ll need it the day after tomorrow.”
“Sure, Boss!” After hanging up the phone, Qian Jin turned and entered the meeting room.
“I’d like to say a few words!” Qian Jin walked in and stood at the front of the meeting table.
“Two days from now, all hotel reservations will be postponed. At the same time, prepare the multifunctional meeting hall. Our Boss will be holding the annual meeting in our hotel, and 1 don’t want anything negative to catch his eye. Every department needs to give it their all!”
Hearing that the Boss would be holding the annual meeting at their hotel, this was a test for everyone. If the event went well, all would be fine, but if not, they might have to pack their bags and leave. So, the heads of departments were giving it their utmost.
“Alright, meeting adjourned. Make sure to inform the customers about the rescheduling.”
Although Qian Jin was confident he could handle it, he couldn’t help but have some doubts mixed with anticipation about the Boss he hadn’t met yet.
Meanwhile, Zhou Chao was still on the phone with Ling Chen.
“Ling Chen, I’ve reviewed what you sent me. It’s all good, but we need to change the hotel.”
“Boss, I wanted to change it too, but with the upcoming New Year, all the larger hotels have been fully booked. 1 found this one with the help of a friend.”
“I see. 1 forgot to mention earlier; the entire Hilton chain in the Huaxia region is also under my ownership…” Before Zhou Chao could continue, there was a loud thud from the other end of the phone.
“What happened, Ling Chen?”
“Boss, I’m fine. I just tripped a little!” Ling Chen rubbed his knee and wondered if he should tell his boss that he had been so distracted by his words that he didn’t watch where he was going, resulting in a little stumble.
“Oh, about the hotel, I’ve already arranged it. It’s at the Hilton in Jing’an District. Please coordinate with Qian Jin as soon as possible. Also, get your work completed promptly.”
Zhou Chao fell silent for a moment and then continued, “When the time comes, set up a mysterious Boss Grand Prize, let’s say, for ten lucky winners. It’ll be all about luck!”
“Alright, Boss! I’ll arrange it immediately! I’m sure they’ll be thrilled. After all, when our Boss does something, it’s bound to be lavish!”
“Good, that’s it then.” Zhou Chao hung up the phone, checked the time, and realized it was almost noon. He was still in bed.
He quickly got up, took a brief shower, changed his clothes, and grabbed the keys to his Lamborghini Veneno. Then, he left the house.
Zhou Chao drove the Lamborghini Veneno to Lujiazui, planning to grab a quick bite to eat and then prepare a small surprise.
He found a restaurant in Lujiazui, had a light meal, and then entered shopping mode.
As soon as he entered the mall, he headed straight for the luxury brand stores, and the first one he visited was Louis Vuitton.
“Welcome to Louis Vuitton!” The sales associate at the entrance greeted him.
“Hello, sir. I’m delighted to assist you. Is there anything specific you’re looking for?”
Zhou Chao waved his hand and walked over to the display cases filled with various bags.
“How much is this bag?” Zhou Chao picked up a classic design and asked the nearby sales associate.
“Sir, the price of this bag is around 100,000 yuan.”
“I’ll take ten of them, all in a similar price range.”
“Ten?” The sales associate widened their eyes in surprise.
“Yes, do you have ten of them?”
“Sir, we happen to have ten that are similar to this one. Are you sure you want all of them?”
“Yes, please pack them all for me.” Upon hearing Zhou Chao’s request, the sales associate quickly went to the counter and informed the manager. Soon, the manager joined the sales associate, and they began packaging the bags.
“Sir, it’s a total of one million yuan.” Zhou Chao took out a black card, and the manager’s eyes lit up. After all, as a luxury brand manager, they knew what this kind of card was. It required a minimum balance of one billion yuan to obtain.
“Sir, here’s your bank card. Please keep it safe.” The manager smiled and handed it over.
Zhou Chao took the bank card and looked at the pile of bags on the table, feeling a bit overwhelmed. He knew he would have to buy more later, and carrying all these bags would be inconvenient.
It seemed like the manager sensed Zhou Chao’s situation and suggested, “Sir, we can arrange for someone to deliver these to your home.”
“Alright, that works. I’ll leave my contact number, and we can arrange it later.” Zhou Chao left his phone number and then went on to buy a variety of cosmetics, perfumes, jewelry, and more from brands like Hermes, Chanel, and Gucci. He purchased ten of each, spending around five million yuan in total.
Zhou Chao left his contact information with the luxury stores and then drove away from Lujiazui..