After washing his face with cold water, Wen Huaiming straightened his clothes in front of the mirror. The hard work of the night had not left any trace on his face. His eyes were not tired at all, but sharper and brighter. Perhaps everyone who walks on the road of power is so energetic. Only in this way can they break through the siege in the thorny and dangerous officialdom and rise to the top.
Ding Mei walked out of the bedroom wearing a coat and yawning. She looked up at the clock on the wall and complained to Wen Huaiming who had just walked out of the bathroom, "It's only six o'clock and you're up and tossing around... Did you sleep in the study again last night?"
Wen Liang was stretching in the living room, punching and kicking vigorously. Hearing this, he shouted, "I'm such a grown man standing here, and you don't even care about me! Mom, can you stop being partial to me?"
Ding Mei glanced at him and snorted, "How dare you yell, when did you come back last night?"
Wen Liang coughed dryly, pushed Ding Mei to the inner room, and said, "It's not even daybreak yet, go take a nap, I heard it's good for your skin."
"If you dare to go out and fool around every day again, watch out for your skin!"
After finally tricking Ding Mei into coming in, Wen Liang looked at the time and said, "Is it time to go?"
"The car will come at 6:30," Wen Huaiming paused for a moment, and the look of wanting to say something but not being able to say it last night reappeared on his face. "Forget it, when I come back from Guanshan, we can discuss some issues in detail."
Wen Liang nodded, picked up the briefcase from the coffee table and handed it over, saying softly: "At this point, if you succeed, you will be happy, and if you fail, you will not worry. Don't put too much pressure on yourself!"
Wen Huaiming took the briefcase, stood at the door, took a deep breath, and strode out!
The Bayi store is still crowded. The new store manager is a round-faced girl named Lin Li, who is Xiaoyin's neighbor and good friend. Xiaoyin went to the Xueyuan store near the 19th Middle School to help Tan Xue, and recently she has to take charge of the third and largest store in Qinghe, Huashan store. After this period of training, Lin Li can basically take on the responsibility. Just as Li Shengli's recent energy is focused on the establishment of a new company, he promoted her to be the store manager.
Seeing Wen Liang squeeze in from the crowd, Lin Li hurriedly pulled him by the hand and led him into the back kitchen. Several chefs were doing their own jobs. Youtiao, scallion pancakes, egg pancakes, the newly served pumpkin pancakes, and steamed dumplings filled the long table. Fresh and sweet soy milk was steaming in a special cylindrical aluminum pot. Three waitresses kept running in and out. Although it was busy, everything seemed in good order under Lin Li's care.
"Where's Uncle Li? Why didn't he come today?" Wen Liang took a fried dough stick from Lin Li, thanked him, and took a bite, his mouth full of fragrance.
"The boss said there is a job fair at the company today..."
Wen Liang slapped his forehead. Ning Xi had called him the day before yesterday and asked him to come over and check it when he had time. However, he had been so busy with Yishan's matter these past two days that he had completely forgotten about it.
After leaving the Bayi Store, Wen Liang took the bus to the Xueyuan Store as planned. When he arrived, the morning rush hour had passed. Although there were still many customers in the store, it was not like the Bayi Store where even the entrance was crowded with people. As he walked up the steps, the door suddenly opened from the inside, and a girl ran out in a hurry with a few books in her arms, and bumped into Wen Liang's arms.
Poor Uncle Wen hadn't slept all night and had insisted on running several kilometers for morning exercise. His legs and feet felt a little weak at this time. With the girl's scream, the two of them bumped into each other and fell down from the more than one-meter-high steps, with the books scattered all over the floor.
Wen Liang sighed at his bad luck, but still spread his arms and hugged the girl's shoulders, protecting her in his arms. He tightened his back muscles and endured the collision.
Bang!
The piercing pain came from the coccyx. Qingzhou's sanitation and cleaning work did not stand the test at this moment. Several triangular stones penetrated through the clothes and hit the coccyx fiercely. At the same time, the girl instinctively protected herself and bent her hands to block the chests of the two men. When she landed, her elbows were facing down, hitting his chest. The double attack from above was fatal. Almost instantly, Wen Liang's face turned pale.
"Ahem... Ahem, classmate, you must lose weight..."
Wen Liang endured the pain and started joking, regardless of the indecent image of lying on the ground with his limbs spread out. The girl in his arms came to her senses and realized that if it weren't for the boy under her, she would definitely be injured. She raised her head and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
They were both stunned at the same time, their eyes met, and they could hear each other's breathing!
After an unknown amount of time, Wen Liang smiled bitterly and said, "Xie Yan, if you don't get up from me, my legs will be crippled. Will you support me for the rest of my life?"
Xie Yan cried out "Ah!" and stood up in a hurry. When he stood up, his left foot accidentally stepped on the side of Wen Liang's thigh. If he tilted a few inches, Uncle Wen would have more than just his two legs broken.
Wen Liang was trembling all over, and Xie Yan was about to cry, apologizing over and over again: "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I... I..."
“Stop it, first…” Wen Liang took a breath and said with a grin, “Pull me up first.”
Wen Liang was leaning on one side of his body, and with the help of Xie Yan, he finally recovered the ability to walk upright. Looking at the fresh and refined face of the girl beside him, her starry eyes filled with tears, he could vaguely smell a faint fragrance on his nose, and felt the delicate and soft touch on his arm. Somehow, he suddenly remembered the poem that was widely circulated in later generations: You are from Yuanmou, Yunnan, and I am from Zhoukou, Yunnan. Holding your furry little hand, love makes us walk upright.
He shook his head and despised himself in his heart. It is said that when you are well fed and warm, you will think about sex. He was almost an inch away from having his anus broken, but he was still thinking about these nonsense...
Although Wen Liang was not a gentleman, he did not have any dirty thoughts towards Xie Yan, a strong and independent girl. He calmly struggled with his arms and tried to move a few steps away.
Xie Yan tightened her hands, still holding his arms without letting go, her small body bearing the weight of Wen Liang, not realizing that her slightly raised and beautiful chest was being touched by a boy without any distance. She tilted her head, a few strands of hair messed up by her ears, her white teeth biting her red lips, fearing that Wen Liang would get angry and leave in anger.
Wen Liang knew what the girl was thinking and smiled, "I'm the one who was hurt. If you dare to cry, I'll cry in front of you!"
Xie Yan burst into laughter, but couldn't help but shed tears. From the day she became sensible, the hardship of life, the cold stares from outsiders, the difficulty of growing up, the shallowness of self-esteem, the humbleness of pride, all of these made her understand that except for her mother, no one else has the responsibility and obligation to take care of her, forgive her mistakes, tolerate her faults, and warm her heart.
Until I met Wen Liang, the boy who always had a smile on his face. No matter how much trouble I brought him, or even put him in such a dangerous situation, he would never say a word of blame, and when he looked back, he was still so gentle.
Xie Yan let go of his hand and took two steps back. He stared at Wen Liang with his eyes that were not stained by dust, and said seriously: "I'm really sorry!"
"I have thick skin and flesh, so a bump won't really matter." Wen Liang saw that she still couldn't let go, so he smiled and said, "I heard a magpie calling when I went out this morning, and when I got here, a beautiful woman hugged me. You know what, it really works, ha!"
Xie Yan was a little shy, but more of it was a warm joy, not sure if it was because of his words or because of seeing this person.
But no matter what, she felt very satisfied and happy that the boy who often appeared in her dreams stood in front of her so vividly.
Wen Liang twisted his waist slightly, and the pain in his tailbone eased a little. He bent down to help her pick up the textbook on the ground and said, "Hurry up and go to class. Don't be late."
Xie Yan opened his mouth but didn't know what to say, so he took the textbook and walked away a few steps. As if he mustered up a lot of courage, he suddenly turned back: "Are you still here at noon? I... I'll treat you to lunch!"
Wen Liang smiled slightly and said softly, "I'd love to, but I'm really busy today. I have something to talk to Sister Tan about, so I have to leave right away."
Seeing the lingering regret and disappointment in the girl's eyes, Wen Liang's heart softened. He sighed secretly and said, "This Sunday, Liu Zhihe, um, the fat guy who got into a fight in your school during the last exam, is going to celebrate Yang Yang's birthday. If you have time, come along."
Uncle Wen spoke of the fight in a nonchalant tone, as if it had nothing to do with him. If Liu Zhihe were there, he would have rushed up screaming and fighting desperately.
Xie Yan nodded happily: "Well, I will definitely come!"
Only after Xie Yan's back had gone away did Wen Liang grin and move step by step into the store. Tan Xue was busy behind the cash register and when she saw Wen Liang she hurried over to greet him.
The two of them went to the kitchen, and Wen Liang explained his intention. He wanted to register a company in Tan Xue's name and only do one project. It shouldn't cause losses, and it won't cause any trouble for her. At the end, he smiled and said, "Of course, there won't be any illegal activities. Don't worry. It's mainly because I'm a little old, and many things are difficult to handle..."
Tan Xue didn't wait for him to finish, and didn't even ask about the company's main business project, and she agreed immediately. Although she didn't have the vision and realm of one of the seven giants of Qinghe Group in the future, her loyalty and trust in Wen Liang were no different.
Wen Liang had just agreed with Tan Xue to pick up his ID card tomorrow when his phone rang. Ning Xi's slightly teasing voice reached his ears: "Boss Wen, do you dare to put one tenth of your energy into picking up girls into the company? You didn't even show up during the first recruitment?"
Wen Liang gestured to Tan Xue to leave, walked out the door, and said with a smile: "Boss Ning, you have to respect leaders who dare to delegate power. It's okay to be sarcastic, but you have to have real evidence... Picking up girls? Even if a beauty like you is sent to me for free, I'm too lazy to make a move..."
"Bah! Go to hell!"
He hung up the phone directly and Wen Liang laughed. He said, "Brother is too lazy to do it, but you can't move other places without a fool. Little girl, you are still too naive!"