Chapter 141 — Old Buffon's Origins

"Ah—" Though he had already braced himself, Zheng Zetao was still frightened badly. A big shot like Baolin—when would he ever have had the chance to come near such a person? Still, after the shock, he hurriedly said, "Brother Yang, you're right. I drank too much horse piss earlier and was a bit muddled. Just now, in Brother Yang's BMW, the little breeze outside sobered me right up. If I said anything improper, Brother Yang, please just treat it as me farting."

"I don't think I opened the windows, did I? I remember I had the heater on," Yang Hengye said.

"Same thing, same thing! Southeast wind or northwest wind, so long as it wakes me up, it's a good wind!" Zheng Zetao said.

"All right, I know what's on your mind—you're afraid I'll hold a grudge and take revenge, right?" Yang Ce glanced at Zheng Zetao.

"Heh heh—" Having his thoughts laid bare, Zheng Zetao gave a dry laugh.

"Relax, I can't be bothered to hold anything against you." Yang Ce waved his hand. "I've got more than enough to keep me busy every day without finding time to make trouble for you."

"Thank you, Brother Yang!" Zheng Zetao said joyfully, over and over.

By rights, Zheng Zetao was being rather too fawning—but anyone who understood the Zheng family's current situation would not say so. The Zheng family had risen on the back of a bathhouse, with no deep background to speak of, only sound management and a stroke of opportunity. Moreover, through the deliberate scheming of the Zheng family's eldest—Zheng Zetao's elder brother—they had come to know many powerful and influential people, and the bathhouse had grown ever larger, until it had become a full-service club.

The Zheng family's club was located in Donghai. But recently there had been trouble: over some trivial matter, a conflict had arisen with a young scion of Donghai—though this scion had considerable backing, one of the so-called Four Young Masters of Donghai.

They had thought it could be settled with money. The Zheng family's eldest had approached many people of influence, but all mediation had failed, because the other side had only one condition: the Zheng family's club must close. When Zheng Zetao learned of Yang Juehuan's background and connections, his heart stirred at once. Perhaps he could start with Yang Cenbin and see whether connections could be found that might persuade that Donghai scion to let the Zheng family off.

In this way, a bad thing might yet turn into a good thing. That was why Zheng Zetao was being so exceptionally fawning.

To be continued.

701. The Company's Composition

"Zhao Sisi, how are things?" Yang Ce walked through the company's front doors and immediately saw Zhao Sisi busy at work.

"Yang Ce, you're here." Zhao Sisi set down the work in her hands and looked up. "We're almost done—just a few more minutes and it'll all be finished."

With that, she turned to the staff busy cleaning and said, "Hurry it up, everyone. This is Mr. Yang, one of the company's general managers. Get to know him."

"Good day, Mr. Yang," the employees chimed in as soon as they heard that the company's other general manager had arrived.

"Don't let me keep you from your work," Yang Ce said, nodding to them.

Seeing the scale of Yang Ce's company, Zheng Zetao no longer harbored any doubts. He was now certain that Yang Ce was a man of deep connections, so he took the initiative to grab a spare rag and pitch in alongside the staff.

Yang Ce frowned slightly. This Zheng Zetao was being a bit too eager to please. If he had been afraid of retaliation before, well, Yang Ce had already told him he would not come after him. For him to carry on like this now was a little hard to explain.

Unbidden zeal betrays a hidden scheme. A moment's thought was enough for Yang Ce to roughly grasp Zheng Zetao's intent. The fellow was surely looking for a chance to attach himself to him—though Yang Ce had not guessed that Zheng Zetao meant to use him to smooth over other connections.

Li Dadong was a blunt, straightforward sort who knew nothing of tact. Zheng Zetao's sudden change left him baffled, and he could not help asking, "Zetao, what's gotten into you?" Zheng Zetao's earlier words with Yang Ce had all been spoken out of Li Dadong's and Yao Yang's hearing.

"Ha, it's nothing. I've got time on my hands anyway, so I thought I'd lend a hand and see if there's anything I can do," Zheng Zetao said with a chuckle.

"By the way, Zhao Sisi, this is Lin Yanhe, the one I mentioned to you. She's from our school too, an economics student, come to help me run the company." Yang Ce paid Zheng Zetao no mind—if the man wanted to make a fuss, let him. Instead he turned and introduced Lin Yanhe to Zhao Sisi.

"Hello, Lin Yanhe. I'm Zhao Sisi—just call me Sisi from now on." Zhao Sisi extended her hand warmly. She had vaguely learned something of Lin Yanhe's circumstances from Zhang Bin, and toward this girl who shared such an ambiguous connection with Yan, she naturally felt she ought to be friendly.

Though as a woman she did not much approve of Yang Ce's arrangement, Zhao Sisi was the sort of girl with a strong sense of the bigger picture. Everything she did now revolved around Zhang Bin, and Yang Ce was Zhang Bin's best friend—so of course she would not put Yang Ce in an awkward spot.

"Hello, Sisi. Then you can call me Zhiyun." Lin Yanhe hurriedly shook Zhao Sisi's hand.

To be honest, Zhao Sisi's strength lay in advertising and publicity; company management was not really her forte. For a while Zhang Bin had handled everything—after all, he had a father who was a boss to advise him from behind the scenes, so dealing with the problems of running a company had not been too hard. Zhao Sisi had always just played a supporting role.

But these past few days Zhang Bin had been in the hospital, and the whole weight of the company had fallen on Zhao Sisi's shoulders, leaving her feeling she was not quite up to it. Now, seeing that Yang Ce had brought in help—and an economics student from their school, no less—she was naturally delighted.

"Li Dadong, what do you say? Willing to stay and help out at the company?" Yang Ce asked, looking at a thoroughly bewildered Li Dadong. And his way of addressing him had changed from the old teasing "Big Winter Melon" to a plain "Li Dadong."

"Huh? Me?" Li Dadong blinked, thinking he had misheard. "You mean you're asking me to come work at your company?"

"That's right," Yang Ce said with a nod. "Is that something you'd consider?"

"This company?" Li Dadong asked, still not quite certain.

"Yes, this company," Yang Ce answered.

"Lin Yanhe's here too?" Li Dadong still could not quite believe it.

"She is," Yang Ce said firmly.

"Then why ask me at all?" Li Dadong was all the more baffled. By any normal reckoning, a man could not dodge his romantic rival fast enough—he would try every trick to send the rival far, far away. Yet here was Yang Ce, planting him right beside Lin Yanhe. What was that supposed to mean?

"To ask you to help out at the company, of course," Yang Ce said with a shrug. "I'm inviting you here, so naturally it's to help."

"But—" Li Dadong was lost. He could not tell what Yang Ce was really after. Was he sincere, or testing him, or plotting something?

"Li Dadong, don't read too much into it." How could Yang Ce fail to see Li Dadong's misgivings? "The truth is, Zhiyun has always thought of you as her elder brother—now, and always. You two may not have become lovers, but there's no reason you can't be family. All this time, you haven't been back to Zhiyun's house, have you? You've been avoiding her, haven't you?

That's not something Zhiyun wants to see—and it's not something I want to see either. Our generation is mostly only children; no elder brothers or sisters, no younger ones. For Zhiyun to have a big brother closer than a real one—that's a kind of happiness.