Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Chapter 134: Chapter 124: I Don’t Want to Lose, I Want to Win Once

May 17th. Futian District, Shencheng City.

Chen Yansen leaned against the Mercedes, loosened his tie, and let out a long sigh. He turned to Cao Dahua. ”Give Old Zuo a call. Why isn’t he here yet?”

”Don’t worry, I just called him. He’ll be here any minute!” Cao Dahua said, sticking out his belly and wiping sweat from his brow.

Wang Zihao got out of the car, retrieved two bottles of mineral water from the trunk, and handed them to the men.

Cao Dahua took the water and thanked him. ’I haven’t been back in so many years,’ he thought. ’I’d forgotten how muggy and hot it gets in Shencheng City in May.’

Chen Yansen waved a hand dismissively, got back into the rear of the car, adjusted the air vent, and aimed it at his face.

Song Yuncheng glanced out the window. Seeing that Wang Zihao was chatting with Cao Dahua and not paying attention to the car, she handed her half-finished bottle of water to Chen Yansen. ”Here.”

Chen Yansen didn’t refuse. He took it and tilted his head back for a long drink.

He had originally only planned to bring Wang Zihao and Song Yuncheng. But when Cao Dahua heard he was going to Shencheng City to set up a factory, he insisted on coming along, claiming that as an instructor at the Innovation Park, he ought to help Chen Yansen with the inspection.

After the four of them landed, they rented a Mercedes ML500 from a car rental agency and drove straight to the address Zuo Hongyu had given them.

Unexpectedly, Zuo Hongyu had dropped the ball and was a full half-hour late for their appointment.

”KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—” Wang Zihao turned and tapped on the car window.

Chen Yansen looked toward the intersection and saw Zuo Hongyu getting out of his car, out of breath. He jogged over, his face full of apology, with another person trailing behind him.

Although annoyed, he still got out of the car and greeted them with a smile.

”President Chen, I’m so sorry. Something came up at the last minute and delayed me.” Zuo Hongyu’s face was beet red with embarrassment.

”Let’s go see the factory you mentioned first,” Chen Yansen said, not adding anything else.

Cao Dahua stood to the side, shooting Zuo Hongyu a harsh glare.

Just then, the man behind Zuo Hongyu spoke up. ”Hello, Mr. Chen. I’m Zhou Jinling from Ouhan Mobile Phone. Old Zuo is late mainly because of me.”

Chen Yansen glanced up at him. He saw a middle-aged man, not yet forty, wearing a blue suit that was noticeably dusty. Half of his hair had turned white, a stark contrast to his age.

”Xiaozhou? Are you Xiaoxiangxi?” Cao Dahua rubbed his eyes, hardly daring to believe it.

”Brother Hua, it’s been a while,” the man replied with a bitter smile.

Chen Yansen smiled. He hadn’t expected the three of them to be old acquaintances. He glanced at his watch and suggested, ”There’s a tea shop over there. Let’s go sit and talk.”

Chen Yansen’s gaze shifted between Zhou Jinling and Zuo Hongyu. He knew something must have happened before they arrived.

”How did you get so old-looking?” Cao Dahua blurted out, unable to restrain himself.

He was four years older than Zhou Jinling, but Zhou Jinling looked at least ten years his senior.

”Brother Hua, let’s talk over there.” Zuo Hongyu pulled Cao Dahua along, heading in the direction Chen Yansen had indicated.

Song Yuncheng got out of the car as well, following the group.

After they were seated, Zuo Hongyu glanced at Zhou Jinling. Seeing he wasn’t talking, he took the initiative to explain. ”Xiaozhou was threatening to jump off a building this morning. It took me a long time to talk him down.”

”My factory went bankrupt, my wife left me, and I found out my kid isn’t even mine. I really don’t feel like living anymore.”

Zhou Jinling shrugged, picking up where Zuo Hongyu left off, and said with a self-deprecating laugh.

Fuck!

That’s so tragic!

No, ’unlucky’ is more like it!

Chen Yansen leaned back, as if afraid of catching the man’s bad luck.

”Xiaozhou, I heard from Old Zuo that you’ve been doing quite well these past couple of years. How did it suddenly come to this...?”

Cao Dahua asked, his face a picture of confusion.

”Two months ago, the authorities launched the ’Double Strike’ campaign, specifically targeting knockoff phone manufacturers like Ouhan. Now, not even one in ten of the knockoff phone makers in Huaqiang North are left. They’ve either shut down or been locked up. I was actually one of the lucky ones; I was released after paying a fine.”

Zhou Jinling sighed, a miserable smile on his face.