Two people living under the same roof while in the middle of a passionate relationship naturally ended up in bed together that night. The next morning, Wang Cheng made Chu Yifeng leave before Papa Wang arrived. Chu Yifeng had stayed overnight at his house before, but they still did not dare be too blatant about it. If it happened too often, his parents would definitely grow suspicious.
After the incident with the brat, Papa Wang did not dare bring the fragrant pig over again and left it for Mama Wang to look after instead. Wang Cheng had business to handle regarding the jam factory, so once Papa Wang arrived, he headed out.
The jam factory Chu Yifeng had mentioned was an old-established factory with fifteen years of history. But as competition grew increasingly fierce, several attempts at reform had failed, and the business kept declining until it finally could no longer hold on. The old factory manager was now looking to sell it.
In fact, several established jam companies were interested in acquiring the factory, but the old manager refused. Once a larger company took over, the staff would certainly be reorganized, yet many of the employees had been with him since the factory was founded. If those people lost their jobs, they would have to go home unemployed, and finding another stable job would be difficult. So the old manager’s condition was that he was willing to sell the factory cheaply, but the existing employees could not be dismissed.
With Boss Xie acting as an intermediary, Wang Cheng soon met the old factory manager.
The old manager was already in his sixties, more than ten years older than Papa Wang. His temples were gray, the corners of his eyes weathered by age, and a trace of gloom sat between his brows, probably because he had been unable to find a buyer for so long. The longer this dragged on, the greater his losses would become. When Boss Xie introduced Wang Cheng, the old manager was visibly surprised to discover that the potential buyer was such a young man.
“Young man, Boss Xie should already have told you my condition. As long as you agree not to replace the factory workers and let them stay on, I’m willing to sell the jam factory to you at a low price. What do you think?”
After his brief surprise, the old manager immediately turned to business. Wang Cheng was young, but he trusted the people Boss Xie introduced. The two men were not especially close, but the packaging factory and jam factory were not far apart and had dealt with one another before. They were all businesspeople; if someone had a bad reputation, word traveled quickly.
“I need to inspect the jam factory before I can decide.” Wang Cheng did not agree immediately. He was happy to have the possibility of buying an existing factory, but if its condition was too poor, he might as well open a new one himself.
Hearing that, the old manager knew Wang Cheng was serious and personally took him around the factory. He was willing to do so because he had confidence in the place. Under his management, the jam factory might not be the best in the industry, but he had always placed great importance on hygiene and discipline.
After seeing it, Wang Cheng was indeed satisfied. The factory was somewhat old because of its age, but it would still be usable after some renovation. The equipment for making jam was already there, and some of the machines had only been bought by the old manager a year ago. Since there was no production today, the factory was mostly empty. Once they finished looking around, they returned to the office.
“You’ve managed the jam factory very well. I can agree to your condition, but there’s one point we need to make clear first,” Wang Cheng said directly.
“Go ahead.” The old manager became serious.
“I can keep everyone on for a trial period, but if anyone makes a mistake later that crosses my bottom line or harms the factory, I’ll dismiss that person without hesitation. I hope you can understand that.” Wang Cheng was worried some people might rely on the old manager’s condition as a shield.
“That’s only natural. If they make mistakes, you don’t need to take me into consideration.” The old manager readily agreed. He had made the condition only because of a number of veteran workers at the factory. If those old colleagues had poor character, he would never have dared make such a request.
The two sides reached an agreement and arranged to sign the contract the day after tomorrow. Wang Cheng then left with Boss Xie. They parted ways on the road, and Wang Cheng first called Chu Yifeng. After learning that he was at the company, Wang Cheng drove over to see him.
It had been quite a while since Wang Cheng last came to Huaying Real Estate. This time, however, he was no longer there as an employee. Cheng Cheng and Fang Tian were delighted to see him. Fang Tian knew he was probably there to see the boss and did not keep him chatting for long. He even considerately dragged Cheng Cheng away with him. It looked like these people were doing perfectly well even without Wang Cheng around. Watching the two bicker as they left, Wang Cheng smiled and shook his head before turning toward Chu Yifeng’s office.
“Boss Chu, I’m here.”
Wang Cheng knocked on the door. He had assumed Chu Yifeng was alone inside, but when he poked his head in, he saw two other people besides him. Both turned at the sound of his voice. One was Shen Yuan, whom Wang Cheng knew. The other was a stranger.
Shen Yuan’s reaction was fairly normal. He already knew that Chu Yifeng and Wang Cheng had laid everything out and were now together. The other person clearly did not know, so he looked surprised. He also seemed several years younger than Wang Cheng and did not look like someone from the same circle as Chu Yifeng and Shen Yuan. Maybe he was a junior relative?
“Sorry. Carry on. Pretend I was never here.” Wang Cheng immediately started closing the door.
“No need. Come in.”
The moment Chu Yifeng spoke, the surprise on the stranger’s face became even harder to hide. He really was young; everything showed plainly on his face.
Hearing him, Wang Cheng stopped worrying about it, walked in, and closed the door behind him.
The young man stopped looking at him and instead stared fixedly at Chu Yifeng, clearly wanting to say something but not quite daring to ask.
“Wang Cheng, come here. Let me introduce someone.” Shen Yuan smiled and beckoned Wang Cheng over. Once he approached, Shen Yuan patted the shoulder of the young man beside him. “His name is Lei Yunze. He’s Leon’s younger cousin. You can call him Xiao Ze or Yunze.” Then he told Lei Yunze that Wang Cheng was Chu Yifeng’s friend.
Lei Yunze was twenty-two and had not yet graduated from university, though he was close. This time, when he heard Shen Yuan was coming to Shanhai City, he wanted to see Chu Yifeng and pestered Shen Yuan until he agreed to bring him along. Only after getting permission from the elders in the family did Shen Yuan reluctantly take him with him.
“Hello. Nice to meet you.” Lei Yunze could not imagine that Wang Cheng had once been Chu Yifeng’s employee. The tone Wang Cheng had used when he came in was far too casual, and more importantly, Wang Cheng’s appearance was too striking. Lei Yunze therefore assumed they moved in the same social circle. Since Wang Cheng was also his eldest cousin’s friend, he did not dare look down on him.
Wang Cheng shook his hand and carried himself naturally and confidently, which made Lei Yunze think even more highly of him. Anyone his eldest cousin regarded as a friend surely could not be ordinary. He simply did not know which prominent family Wang Cheng belonged to. Lei Yunze could not remember ever hearing of a scion named Wang Cheng. Before he could puzzle it out, Chu Yifeng began sending them away.
Lei Yunze did not want to leave so soon. He had seen his eldest cousin for less than ten minutes, but he did not dare disobey him either, so he left while looking back every few steps.
“Boss Chu, has that younger cousin of yours not been weaned yet?” The moment the office door closed, Wang Cheng reverted to himself. It was not that he disliked Lei Yunze’s behavior; the younger man simply looked painfully eager for Chu Yifeng’s attention.
“I don’t have any milk here.” Chu Yifeng flipped through a document and said calmly, “Weren’t you meeting the jam factory manager today to discuss the transfer? You’re done? How did it go?”
Wang Cheng nodded. “We’re signing the contract the day after tomorrow.”
“Need help?” Chu Yifeng went straight to the point.
“You even figured that out.” Wang Cheng rested both hands on the desk and crossed one leg over the other. “The old manager is willing to sell the factory to me cheaply, but I don’t have enough liquid funds, so I wanted to borrow some from you. I’ll pay you back once I recoup the investment.”
“How much?”
Wang Cheng held up a number. There would be plenty of expenses coming up, and he was worried about cash flow, so he planned to borrow a little extra.
Chu Yifeng said nothing. He simply took out his checkbook and wrote him a check.
Wang Cheng accepted it, looked at the amount, and sighed. “Being friends with a rich guy really is great. You never have to worry about not being able to borrow money.”
Chu Yifeng raised a brow. “And where exactly does that leave me as your lover?”
Wang Cheng immediately corrected himself. “Having a rich lover really is great. You can borrow however much you want.”
“And you don’t even have to pay it back,” Chu Yifeng added.
Wang Cheng shot him a disdainful look. “If I don’t have to pay it back, then it isn’t called borrowing.”
Chu Yifeng had only been teasing him. He knew Wang Cheng’s personality, and there was never any need to spell this sort of thing out between them. “Do you want me to go with you the day after tomorrow?”
“If it isn’t on your way, I don’t think there’s any need.” Wang Cheng did not want him running back and forth over something this minor.
Chu Yifeng did not insist.
The Chengping market was as lively as ever. The sun was about to set. A woman selling vegetables saw that there were hardly any customers left and that most of the vegetables in her baskets had already been sold. What remained had been sitting there since morning and was starting to wilt. Customers generally would not buy them in that condition, and she usually took such leftovers home for her own family. So she decided to pack up, shoulder her baskets, and head home. When she reached home, however, she discovered a car parked outside. She was immediately puzzled. Her family had never had dealings with people who drove cars. Had a guest come?
The woman entered the house, and everyone inside looked over at the sound. She discovered that the so-called guest was an unfamiliar man of twenty-seven or twenty-eight, more than ten years younger than her husband. Before she could ask anything, her husband came over and pulled her into the kitchen. Just before entering, she heard her father-in-law address the man.
“Mr. Zheng.”