Along the national highway outside Dongming City, rows of tall poplar trees stood tall. Wen Liang and Ning Xi stood side by side under the trees. Chang Cheng leaned against the rear of the Lexus, glancing in the direction he came from from time to time, feeling rather bored.
"By the way, there is something I want to ask you about..."
Seeing Wen Liang hesitate, Ning Xi asked curiously, "Why, is there anything else you can't tell me?"
"That's not the case!" Wen Liang pondered for a moment, then talked about the conflict that happened in the Beijing bar, mentioned the strange words Shangguan Chenlu said, and whispered, "Did you hear any rumors?"
"I have been staying in Shahe for a while, so I don't know much about the capital. However, considering Shangguan Chenlu's personality, she actually asked you to take care of Shenxue. I'm afraid she has already prepared for the worst."
The two looked at each other and saw the solemnity in each other's eyes.
The cold wind blows on my face, it’s freezing cold!
After a long while, Ning Xi looked to the southeast and said to herself, "Sister Yan, what are you going to do..."
It was already past eight o'clock in the evening when they returned to Qingzhou. After entering the city, Wen Liang dropped Chang Cheng off near People's Park, let him take a taxi back to rest, and then drove to Chunxi Road.
The car stopped under the street light outside the No. 1 courtyard. Wen Liang looked at the room on the second floor. The warm light shone through the curtains, bringing a bit of spring warmth to this winter day. He took out his cell phone and dialed the landline in Xu Yao's room. After two beeps, he heard Xu Yao's crisp and clear voice: "Hello, who is this?"
"Are you asleep?"
"No, I just washed my feet." Hearing Wen Liang, Xu Yao's voice instantly became much softer, and asked: "Are you still out of town?"
"Well, there's a lot to do. Did you have fun today?"
"It's quite fun. Everyone is going crazy. You didn't see how strong Xiao Ning is. Haha, her legs were shaking after riding the roller coaster. If I hadn't supported her, she would have collapsed to the ground..."
Xu Yao chattered about the interesting things that happened in Century Park today, and Wen Liang listened quietly, occasionally interrupting to make a joke. The two of them chatted on the phone for nearly an hour across a courtyard. It was not until Wen Liang's phone was about to run out of battery that they said good night to each other and hung up the phone.
Wen Liang watched the lights on the second floor go out, and then sat in the car for a while before driving to the secret base in West City. He fell asleep on the bed without washing up. After an unknown amount of time, Wen Liang was suddenly startled by a nightmare and sat up, his body soaked with sweat. He turned on the desk lamp and checked his phone. It was only a little after three in the morning, but he was no longer sleepy. He put on his coat and sat on the windowsill of the bedroom, looking up at the moon thousands of miles away, wondering what he was thinking.
The next morning, when Chang Cheng bought breakfast, Wen Liang no longer looked abnormal from the night before. He felt refreshed and sat in the living room leisurely watching the morning news.
"Boss, soy milk and fried dough sticks, hot... Hey, isn't this the garrison base of Lingnan? They will be stationed in Mingzhu City next year, but it will be open to the public so soon?" (Due to the strict new policy, real place names are not allowed to appear. HK uses Mingzhu City instead, please forgive me)
The TV is broadcasting the training of the troops that are preparing to enter Mingzhu City in July next year. Generally speaking, domestic TV stations rarely report on the military. However, given that the people of Mingzhu have widespread doubts and distrust of the garrison, the Lingnan base has increased its transparency and exposure and gradually carried out positive publicity and reporting.
Only by being honest can we build mutual trust!
"There are only a few months left, so it's time to lift the veil and let those royal subjects on the other side have less paranoid delusions." After waiting for a while and not hearing Chang Cheng's response, Wen Liang turned his head and looked over. This rough man was standing there blankly, with a rare look of melancholy on his face.
"Are you thinking of Captain Xu?" Wen Liang asked with a smile.
Chang Cheng had been with Wen Liang for so long, and he understood his mind and character. He knew that he didn't care about these things, so he smiled bitterly and said, "Yes, I remembered what happened in Nighthawk before. Captain Xu was very kind to me. If it weren't for him, I'm afraid I would still be in prison..."
"When I'm not so busy, I'll give you a long vacation. Go to Lingnan for a few days and catch up with old friends."
"Boss, that's not what I meant..."
Wen Liang raised his index finger, interrupting Chang Cheng's words, and said with a smile: "But don't think about it recently, I can't do without you here."
Chang Cheng didn't say anything, but he was very grateful in his heart. He quickly prepared breakfast and asked, "Where are we going today?"
"Go to Yishan!"
When they arrived at the Yishan Water Factory, Zhong Congjiang and Fu Jinjing were already waiting at the door. They picked up Wen Liang and went directly to the R&D department. The R&D department's conference room of more than 200 square meters was packed with people, all staring at the bottle in Wen Liang's hand.
This is a plastic bottle carefully designed by the Phoenix Bird design department. It uses PET food-grade plastic and draws inspiration from the flow of spring water in the wind. The slender bottle body draws a gentle arc in the middle, as if standing as gracefully as a girl. The first feeling when holding it is comfort, then firmness, followed by the urge to take a sip, which fully reflects the humanized design concept.
Wen Liang looked at the Yishan water in his hand. The transparent bottle highlighted its clean and flawless texture. The sky blue label had five elegant characters "Yishan Pure Water" written in vertical rows. It was generous and simple, yet vivid and exquisite. He unscrewed the cap, first put it to the tip of his nose to feel it, then took a small sip, carefully savoring the smoothness and coolness that spread from the taste buds on the tip of his tongue to his throat and stomach.
Zhong Congjiang and Fu Jinjing didn't dare to breathe and looked at the expression on Wen Liang's face cautiously. The conference room with dozens of people was silent, but everyone could hear the sound of their own rapid heartbeats.
Ten seconds seemed to last as long as ten years. Wen Liang finally put down the bottle in his hand and praised: "Pure, refreshing, and a little sweet. Yes, this is the taste!"
There was a sudden burst of deafening applause in the conference room. Although it had gone through countless inspection procedures and the feedback received was unanimous that it had reached the ideal quality, the person who made the final decision was Wen Liang. Before his approval, all the efforts and hard work were built on castles in the air and might have to be torn down and started all over again in the next moment.
"Thank you all for your hard work over the past six months. Without your hard work day and night, there would be no Yishan Water, and there would be no future for Yishan Drinking Water Company. Here, on behalf of Mr. Zhong, Mr. Fu, and the company, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to you all. Of course, verbal praise is not enough. I announce that all employees will receive an extra month's salary at the end of the year, and those who have outstanding performance and great contributions will also receive special rewards!"
There was another round of thunderous applause. Wen Liang smiled and pressed his hands, saying, "But this is only the first step in a long journey. I hope everyone will guard against arrogance and impatience, seize the opportunity to successfully promote Yishan water to the market, and let consumers across the country and even the world know that we have such high-quality water in Yishan, such delicious water. Do you have confidence?"
"have!"
Everyone's blood was boiling and they couldn't wait to get back to work. Wen Liang smiled slightly, and the last wing finally spread out. The sky above was no longer so far away!
(I was so confused about revising the outline that I banged my head against the ground...) (To be continued)